'Other people are a trap' a blonde woman thinks to herself as she walks down a sidewalk. 'They tell you they got something you need or you want. Whatever. A smile. Friendship. Love' she tells herself as a bird flies past her. 'They're beautiful. And the way they make you feel is beautiful. How could it be any different, right?' she decides. 'They're your weak spot and your best parts all wrapped up in memory. That's the trap. The problem with people. Especially you and me. We were made for each other. That's why I gotta be a solo act' she decides as her eyes sparkle.
At that moment, a group of friends approach the venue where mutant superstar performer Dazzler is hosting her concert – for one night only. Ms. Marvel a.k.a. Kamala Khan looks around, wide-eyed, as Victor Borkowski a.k.a. Anole smiles. Laura Kinney a.k.a. Wolverine appears fairly emotionless, while Sophie Cuckoo looks at her phone. David Alleyne a.k.a. Prodigy and his boyfriend Dante walk with their arms around each other.
Ms. Marvel sees one of many Multiple Man dupes walking around the concert foyer. 'Boom. Tickets. Totally got 'em. You need my ID? No? You sure?' she asks as she walks past him, through the security scanner, deciding that is good, as all she has on her is this bangle – and a bag full of dazzling, handmade friendship bracelets. David and Dante are next, as David holds his phone up and tells the Madrox dupe that the tickets are perfectly formatted for scanner, with his phone brightness level set correctly. 'Hey, David?' Dante remarks. 'Yeah, babe?' David asks, to which Dante kisses David as they pass through the scanner. 'You make an excellent point' David decides.
Laura is next and the dupe greets her. 'All-access pass. The lady says “yo”' Madrox remarks. Laura ignores him and walks through the security scanner – which begins to beep. 'Pacemaker' Laura remarks nonchalantly. 'So, wait. You weren't messing with me?' Kamala asks. 'I'm never messing with you, Kamala' Laura responds, before telling her that Alison is the best. 'Even that part about being called the X-Terminators?' Kamala queries. 'Especially that part' Laura declares. 'Wow. X-Men are so cool' Kamala utters. Suddenly, there is a blur of bright lights that passes through the scanner.
'No, no, no. The minute I get my first check at the Danger Room, you'll have the monet. I'm not a charity!' Anole exclaims. 'Ugh. So much for trying out being nice. You're impossible, Anole' Sophie responds. 'We're mutants, Sophie Cuckoo' Anole responds as he passes through the scanner. 'Being impossible's just part of the culture'. 'I'd also appreciate you not using the C word around me' Sophie states as she walks through the scanner and uses her psi-powers to re-create her tracksuit into something more appropriate for a concert. 'Charity?' Anole asks. “CUCKOO!” Sophie snaps, before suggesting they go get dazzled.
The group of friends make their way through the large foyer, and Kamala notices that Sophie is engrossed in her phone. 'So, um, should we be worried about Sophie? 'Cus I'm worried about Sophie' Kamala declares. 'She's a big girl' Anole tells her. 'A big girl who's spending like eight hours a day minimum on Summoner' Kamala points out. Anole and a gray-skinned mutant smile at each other as they walk past one another, while Kamala exclaims that Sophie can't even play it on her phone – that she is just chatting. 'Feels like shorting out her powers and breaking up with the hive mind has kinda... changed her?' Kamala suggests. 'Dms open' a blond man remarks to Anole as he hands him a card, while a pickpocket swipes the man's phone from his back pocket. 'Very cool' Anole tells him, before he suggests that maybe Sophie has been a secret gamer girl this whole time. 'Who are we to judge?' he asks, noting that friendship is about acceptance.
Suddenly, Laura picks up a scent. At the same time, the mysterious blonde woman goes wide-eyed. 'No way. There's no way' she tells herself, when Laura exclaims 'You!' 'Hey, Scratch!' the mutant called Local smiles as he leans against a nearby wall. 'Do me a favor, okay?' Local asks, as he uses his powers to gain access to a secure doorway nearby. 'Access granted' the security door states. 'Stay outta this' Local narrows his eyes as Laura. Anole watches Local and asks 'He works for that creep gangster, Mr. Friend?' to which Laura tells her companions that Friend is just a literal puppet who works for Mojo. 'The... multidimensional super-powered media slug man?' Kamala asks. '...ah $#&%' David mutters, before turning to Dante and asking him if he minds hitting the merch line. 'The pride shirt in medium? This could...take a sec' David smiles at Dante. Dante looks over to Sophie 'You sure you don't wanna -?' he begins, to which Sophie tells him that she is good. 'But if ity gets dangerous, with your powers all wiggly -' Dante begins, to which Sophie assures him again that she is good, before she joins Laura, Anole, David and Kamala as they turn to Local.
'That's what everyone says the first time they encounter Mr. Friend' the mysterious blonde woman thinks to herself. She recalls that her camp hadn't had a problem in six months until he came through – and then they walked away with him – all of them. 'Maybe it was the time spent with you. Maybe the times after. But I don't trust smiles like that. Smiles like that don't know the word “no” - that's what my mutation's there for, I guess. Only thing it was ever really good for. Stepping just out of phase with the rest of the world. Into a time that's all my own. In other words... hiding' the blonde woman thinks to herself, after remembering Mr. coming to her camp.
At that moment, Local rushes down a corridor, but the young mutants chase their associate. Local tries to slow them down by using his powers to confuse them, and, grabbing some cabling that runs through this back stage area of the concert venue, he exclaims 'This ain't your problem, X-Kids...let the future come and just enjoy the ride!' he suggests as he uses the cabling to escape, being carried up to the narrow walkways above the staging area which are used to access the stage lights. Laura pulls on the cabling and tells Sophie and Anole to deal with crowd control if things go bad. Laura begins to give Kamala instructions, to which Kamala exclaims 'On your six, Wolverine! But what about Prof – I mean, David?' Kamala asks. 'Don't – worry – about me!' David responds as he easily climbs up to the walkway, where he joins Laura and Kamala.
Down below, Anole and Sophie stand at the entrance way to the back stage area, keeping a watch on all the concert attendees. Anole puts a comforting arm around Sophie and tells her that it is okay, that the others will be okay. 'Just feels like being left behind' Sophie explains 'Sophie, my love. My sweet, uptown, rich girl. Welcome to Team Useless. We get all the best gigs' Anole jokes.
'Everybody out!' Local orders as he bursts into the control room, where staff are busy preparing a live stream of the concert. 'This live stream now belongs to Mr. Friend and Associates!' Local proclaims as he uses his powers to take control of the technology, while the staff shield themselves. 'Yeah? Wanna bet?' Laura asks as she enters the control room, popping her claws. Local calls Laura “Scratch” and tells her to come on, and that this is just business. 'We don't care, music hater! You're going to tell us what you're doing, or face the wrath of three very irate Dazzler fans!' Kamala shouts, to which David points out that Local doesn't have to tell them, as it is evident. David states that Local is a technopath, working for a being powered by attention, and is here to insert a subliminal frequency into the concert recording. 'Syncopate a little Mojo into the beat, so that while everyone's boppin', here, the wide-release audience gets a little extra nonconsensual subtext. He turns Dazzler's fame into his, in every crowded movie theater or streaming click on the planet. Tell my I'm wrong' David summarizes.
'You make recruiting sound so evil. Isn't that exactly what you did with your little march? I heard about the meetings, Prodigy' Local retorts, before asking Prodigy how that is going. 'Putting food on anyone's table? Giving any kids a place to sleep? What about jobs?' Local asks. 'You talk $#&% about Friend, but he's the only one trying to help!' Local shouts, unaware that the mysterious blonde woman is standing in the shadows. Laura tells Local that this isn't help – it's manipulation. She explains to Local that “Mr. Friend” is an attention vampire, that praise, support and even hate give him the energy he needs to bend the world. 'This little whisper you're spreading – it's not radio free mutants. It's a parasite' she declares. Confused, Local tells “Scratch” that he can't just go back 'He'll kill me' Local utters. 'That's the point' David remarks, while Laura reminds Local that “Mr. Friend” is a monster. She puts a hand to Local's chest and tells him that mutants don't bow to monsters – they fight them – and not alone, either.
From an undisclosed location, the putrid Mojo can see what is taking place at the Dazzler concert. 'Ugh. I hate face turns. Guess this plot needs a bit more of an executive hand' Mojo decides, as he takes control of Local. 'I've got notes!' Local, possessed by Mojo, exclaims, emanating a bright red energy, which he uses to blast Laura. 'First off, we already cut this character!' the possessed Local exclaims, while Prodigy notes that Mojo taking over his followers is a new trick. 'And let's use the extras we paid for!' Lights spark out in the main area of the concert venue, and the crowd begins to panic, while Anole and Sophie step into action. 'Get down!' Kamala tells David as she increases the size of her hand to use as a shield to protect David when Mojo attempts to blast him. 'This chemistry? I like' Mojo decides.
'Back at you!' Prodigy tells Kamala as he shoves her aside, as Mojo decides that the choreo is simply “mid”. 'Close your eyes. Don't look. Don't listen' Sophie tells a girl out in the main area, while Mojo's face appears on a large screen on the stage, where he admits that he also had doubts about the whole mind-control recording plot – solid, but maybe a bit tired. 'I'm so glad we pivoted to live. Nothing beats good crowd work' Mojo grins, as a number of the concert-goers fall under his control.
As tentacles wrap around Prodigy and Kamala, the mysterious blonde woman thinks to herself that other people are a trap, but that if you get desperate enough, you take any hand offered – and when it starts to push, you let it. Anole and Sophie try to shield more of the concert-goers, while Local grins wickedly, his eyes glow red, fully under Mojo's control. The mysterious blonde decides that, soon enough, your pusher moved you so far from where you were that you've lost where you're going – and the push has become a grip. 'This is my city. Five years or fifty. I've seen it all. The same raves. The same people. The same mistakes. But when it gets bad, I can always step away. Outside of time, I have no problems. Maybe it's time I had one again' the mysterious woman wonders, as Laura begins to recover from the blast, getting to her feet.
'Well, Local... guess I'm stepping in the trap!' the blonde woman announces as she bursts through a barrier, brilliant colors shatter and Local is shunted backwards, slamming into a wall. Laura looks up, wide-eyed. '...Hi' she utters. 'Hi, Laura. Been a minute' Kiden Nixon announces as she stands nearby. 'Kiden? I thought you were...when you didn't come to Krakoa, I thought...' Laura's voice trails off. 'No time. Whole thing kinda flowed by. Especially the bad parts' Kiden explains. 'TL:DR?' Kamala whispers to David, who responds 'Kiden Nixon. Timewalker. Old friend'. 'Oldest friend' Laura declares. 'The first... and still the best!' Laura adds as she rushes over and embraces her dear friend.
'How long have you – how have you – wait, how much have you -?' Laura asks. 'That's a lot of questions. Maybe...more time than we have? The shows's about to -' Kiden starts to reply, to which Laura declares '$%&* the show. You're here now! Let's make the time' Laura adds, as she and Kiden start to walk away. 'Wait, what about Local?' Kamala calls out after them, but gets no response. 'Oh, come on. Distracted for one second and he's gone?' Kamala mutters. David tells her to exhale, and points out that they have stopped Mojo's plan, he's down one pet technopath, and chasing down Local isn't going to do a thing. 'What he needs to run from, he can't escape' David adds, as Local can be seen anxiously rushing down an alleyway.
Shortly, the concert is about to start, with Kamala, Anole, Sophie, David and Dante at the front of the crowd, leaning against the barrier. 'And then they were just gone' Kamala declares. 'Good for her' Sophie remarks, while standing nearby is Strong Guy, who acts as Dazzler's security. 'A break-in in the booth and it's under control before I even get there?' he complains. 'What can I say, Strong Guy? New York City takes care of our own' Prodigy boasts. Kamala complains that she was excited for all of them to do something together, and now, Laura has already gone. 'This whole night is -' she begins, to which Anole interrupts her and points out the night has not even started. 'Think of it like this, K. Normally, when we save the day, all we get is bruised and tired. Maybe pedestrians who yell at us. Cops doing a scream. But this time? For one night only – we get her' Anole declares as Dazzler appears on stage. 'NEW YORK CITY, HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TONIGHT?' Dazzler cries out as brilliant lights radiate around her.
Later, in Queens, Local looks anxious as he enters a room. 'You've learned to close the door. How well trained' Mojo calls out. 'Friend...what was that?' Local asks. 'Simple, my dear boy. You tried to use free will' Mojo responds, a tendril wrapping around Local as Mojo announces that he takes everything that is free. Mojo's tendril drags Local over to the desk which Mojo sits behind, and Mojo reminds Local that he opted in to this. 'Binge-watched of your own volition. And now you're obsessed. Can't stop thinking about the Mojo Show. Do you want to be with me? Or be me? Even you don't know. But I do' Mojo declares. Mojo holds Local by his head and remarks that musical episodes are a tacky grab for ratings, and for a show to get eight seasons, you need far more mature plotlines. 'The audience is happy? Their little characteristics holding hands? How sweet. Now it's time for them to hurt!' Mojo announces as he flings Local against a wall, and local looks back concerned.
