first story:
(Los Angeles, eight years ago)
Police are on the scene at a warehouse in order to investigate a massacre. Bodies of heavily armed super-villains lie on the ground as Anderson informs command that they have a situation. Everyone is dead except for one guy, who appears to have witnessed everything. Drool is formed around his mouth and tears are dried to his cheek. They wonder what could have done this.
(X-Men Headquarters, Graymalkin Industries, The Marin Headlands, now)
Molly Hayes has arrived at the X-Men's HQ where she is greeted by Colossus and Beast. She asks whoever is inside her head and telling her to come to San Francisco to please shut up now. It's giving her a really big headache. Colossus bends over and says hello, but before he has chance to speak to Molly, Hank interrupts and tells him that the less communicating, the less chance for misunderstanding. He tells Molly that she'll be wanting to see Miss Frost.
Watching from high above the Golden Gate Bridge are the runaways who view Molly's entrance from the flying Leapfrog. Victor tells them that she's in, and Chase asks if they're fighting yet. Karolina, sporting a Dazzler T-shirt, begins to tell him that it's not like she's going to just start a fight, but gives up when she realizes that she's probably wrong. Victor thinks that this is a terrible idea. Just for the record, he wants it known that, when the city blows up, they can all think back to this moment and remember that he called it. Nico replies that at least they're consistent with their bad decisions. Besides, what was she supposed to do? Molly's been harping on about this for weeks. Victor tells her that she's acting like Molly's going to summer camp. They just dropped her off with a mutant strike force because she says she's hearing voices in her head. Karolina thinks that's a little harsh. Molly is a mutant, too, and Kitty seemed nice, remember? She'll take care of Molly... until the fighting starts. Then they'll come pick her up. Klara asks where mutants come from. "Angstville," replies Karolina, "Now let's go eat."
Inside the X-Men's headquarters, Emma Frost is chatting with Cyclops. She believes that they should have been a little more selective with their little invitations for all mutants to come to San Francisco. She has very few limits, but being in the same room as... as that... it simply is not going to happen. She adds that Scott is a little afraid of her. Scott folds his arms in a defensive manner and denies this, adding that it's just that children don't like him, and she is much more motherly. Emma replies that she's going to slap him. She asks where the other urchins are that Molly runs with. Scott informs her that he sent a squad to keep an eye on them. "What are you not telling me? he asks. Emma tells him that she knew of Molly's parents. The Hellfire Club reached out to the Hayeses, but it went... poorly. She informs him that they were monsters. The girl is better off without them but she needs a mentor - someone other than her. Fine, replies Scott. He's the leader of the X-Men so he'll handle this, by delegating.
(shortly)
"Wolverine is a jerk!" cries Molly, as Logan holds his head in his hands. "And he smells like beers!" Logan swears that he's going to kill Summers. Molly says that she'd rather go with the tall shiny metal guy or the cat monkey guy than him. Emma reads Wolverine's thoughts, and Scott asks her what's happening. She tells him that Logan's actually visualizing disemboweling Scott now. It's quite disturbing, and Molly's asking for ice cream.
(San Francisco)
It's a beautiful day, and the runaways have made their way to the waterfront. Chase reckons it's way too clean in this place, and they only have one In-n-Out Burger in the whole city. How do these people survive? Nico admits that the lack of helicopters is freaking her out. Karolina feels that they're being unfair. They're in the touristy area, after all. She wishes Xavin was there. Nico reminds them that they're not staying. Molly's checking in with the X-Men and then they're off. "What if she wants to stay?" asks Karolina. Chase doesn't reckon that's gonna happen. A) The X-Men are tools. They're gonna give Mol the tour and sales pitch and she's gonna hate it. Secondly, the X-Men are tools. He doesn't notice Rockslide's huge body looming over him as he speaks. The others, however, do, and Vic asks Chase to ixnay on the "Men-xay are toolays." Rockslide leans over and asks what Vic just said. Chase barely registers him, but then turns to see Anole saying that he thinks 'turn around' was probably the gist of it.
Alongside them are several other Young X-Men including Dust, Loa and Mercury. Nico quips that this is why they should never leave the house. Chase bags the silver girl and the tattoo girl if they start fighting. Rockslide asks them to listen up. They're the X-Men, almost, and they're here to deal with them. Chase says they're not, and asks 'Fraggle Rock' if he can get his gloves out of the car before they tangle. Rockslide replies that it's okay.
(the worst tour ever)
Wolverine shows Molly, sporting her pig satchel, around the headquarters. She isn't interested in the bathrooms and hallways. She wants to see some super hero stuff. "And there's the door..." jokes Logan. He takes her to see the Blackbird, but she isn't interested as it doesn't talk to them like Leapfrog does. Plus, black is boring, but then Nico likes black and she takes care of them, so that's okay. She moves on to Cerebro where she meets the Stepford Cuckoos. One of them alarms Molly by pointing out that if she happened to be in the bathroom when they psychically scanned her, then they would see her using the... Molly screams before she can finish the sentence.
She moves on to the War Room where a live feed hologram of Storm dominates the center. Logan's asked her to come home, but she says that she can't. She notices Molly standing there and asks who she is. Molly replies that she's Princess Powerful, and asks Ororo if she's really a queen. When she grows up she guesses she'll be Queen Powerful, but then asks why her eyes are like that. Can she see okay? She points out her white hair and asks how old she is. Ororo can't deal with this and hangs up.
Next up is the science lab where Beast and his team are working. Molly talks constantly, and Dr. Nemesis tells Beast that if she doesn't shut up, he's going to dissect her. Beast quips that he's alarmingly fine with that. She's still talking by the time they reach the kitchen. Molly tucks into an ice cream as Logan pulls his hair out. There's only one thing for it.
(the classroom)
Molly can't believe that she would actually have to go to school. She asks where all the X-kids are. Logan replies that they keep them separated now, in case of rocket attacks. "For real?" gasps Molly. Wolverine then takes Molly to the Danger Room. She thinks it's a dumb name. What's the dangerous part? Boredom? Logan informs her that it's not turned on yet. "I knew that..." she replies. Prodigy calls down from the control room and asks Logan what intensity level he wants it at. "Ten hundred thousand," replies Logan, and he's not joking now. Prodigy places the level at 'one' and building blocks begin to form inside the room. Logan explains that they're nano-somethings. It builds stuff for you to fight. Molly asks what kind of stuff, but before Logan can reply that it can be anything you think of, Molly asks for a unicorn... and butterflies. Prodigy creates them and Molly seems impressed. Before she can do anything, Logan asks for it to be turned off.
Molly tells him to turn it back on. She was still playing. Logan bends down and explains that it's not a game. He doesn't know if she keeps up with current events, but there used to be millions of mutants and now there are under two hundred. They're not 'super heroes' anymore. They're trying to survive, and maybe, if they're lucky, they won't become extinct. Molly's bottom lip pops out and she asks if he's saying that they're not super heroes anymore. That's dumb. Logan tells her that she doesn't know what she's talking about. She a spoilt brat who lives in a fantasy land, and he doesn't have time to play mommy and daddy for her.
Molly smashes Wolverine right through the ceiling and into Scott's office, where Emma gets covered in debris. She flicks some stone from her clean white gloves and Scott grins. He asks Logan how it's going with Molly. Logan looks back at him and replies, slightly angrily, that he better pray that she leaves, because if she doesn't, he's going to beep kill her, and then he's going to find Scott and beeeep beep beep kill him and then he's gonna beep beeeep, right in the beeep head. That's how it's going beep."
They head downstairs and find Molly leaving. Emma asks her not to walk away. They can call her a taxi... Scott asks her to give it another try. She won't have to run any more. All mutants are welcome and her friends would be too. He's already sent a team to check in with them. Molly grinds to a halt and turns to Scott. Doesn't he know anything? she asks. They're just gonna fight. Someone has to take her to them right now.
(San Francisco, 98 miles per hour)
Wolverine drives his green mustang fast across Sutter. The car is airborne as he quips that he needs to get his special sword and get her to cut off his head with it. He asks for confirmation that her parents were super-villains. What the hell kind of super-villains raised her? Evil Care Bears? My Little Evil Pony? Molly asks him not to talk about her parents. He tells her that she would have been better if they'd made her evil, too. At least she'd have a better picture of how the world works. He stops talking and sniffs the air. Mol asks if he's smelling her but, before he can reply, he grabs her and leaps from the car which then explodes. Logan bleeds heavily as several heavily armed troops approach them. Just before she passes out, Molly weakly exclaims that they are toast. Her friends will save...
(the X SF Dance Club on Harrison)
The runaways and Young X-Men dance together as Pixie flies overhead, loving the music and lightshow. They are totally unaware of Molly and Logan's plight.
(elsewhere)
Molly wakes up. She is hanging upside down and wrapped in chains. Wolverine is similarly bound and hangs beside her. He is already conscious. Several soldiers stand around with their shoulder-held weapons trained on the two mutants. She thinks she's back home with her mom for an instant, and then wonders if she's in the Danger Room, because this seems a lot more dangerous. Logan asks her not to freak. He'll handle this. Molly bawls that this is his fault. Someone tried to blow her up because of him! An older guy wearing the same armor as the others corrects her. They didn't come for him, they came for her. He explains that it took him a year to find her, but now he's finally going to have his revenge on the Outcasts. Her parents!
Molly tells him that she doesn't remember seeing him on any of their pictures. Were they friends? The guy almost laughs. "Friends?! Do you even know who your parents were, girl?" Molly replies that she knows that they were super-villains. The guy replies that they weren't super-villains. He's a super-villain. What they were was far worse.
(flashback - eight years ago)
He and his crew were going to make a play for a chunk of the Pride's territory. Her parents killed them all right in front of him. They did something to him... made him watch. He couldn't stop watching. He ended up in hospital, unable to close his eyes due to what they did to him. The nurses had to put drops in them to keep them moist. He couldn't close his eyes to sleep, and almost went insane. After seven years it stopped.
(present)
"Seven Years!!" he cries. Molly replies that she doesn't believe him. Her parents wouldn't do that. Wolverine asks her not to listen to the guy, but he interrupts and says he's not finished yet. He adds that Molly's parents killed anyone who even thought about trespassing on the Pride's turf. Her parents were cruel, sadistic murderers. They hurt people and they liked it... he watched them enjoy it. Tears well in Molly's eyes as he informs her that her parents killed families and children. They killed anyone who stood in their way and anyone who crossed them, sometimes just for being human. Now they are dead and in hell, so that's where he's going to send her, so they know that he got payback. Wolverine interjects by asking if he's all done, or is there more to his sob story? He reckons the girl is more of a man than he is.
"Kill him," he orders. Logan quickly asks Molly to close her eyes, just as several shots ring out. They hit Logan in his torso and also shatter the chains that bind him. He falls to the ground, seemingly dead. The boss points his gun at Molly's head and asks her to tell her parents, when she sees them, that it was him. Before he pulls the trigger, Wolverine is already up and has his claws extended. He quickly slices his way through the soldiers, reminding Molly to close her eyes as he wades through them. He kicks the boss in the chest and he falls to the ground. He puts his claws right up to his flesh. "You wanna talk to people in hell? Get ready?" Before he can kill the guy, Molly shouts for him to stop. She reminds him that super-villains kill people, not super heroes. He's a super hero, not like her parents. Logan pauses and the guy gets up. He tells Molly that he's sorry her parents are dead... sorry he couldn't kill them himself. Molly's eyes glow, and she smashes the guy through the roof, heading rapidly skywards.
With the danger over, Logan asks if Molly is okay. She lowers her head and says that her parents were bad people. They were always nice to her. They said they loved her. But... what he said... Logan kneels down and cuddles her, assuring her that whatever the guy said, her parents did love her. Super-villain or not, anyone who has a kid as good as her couldn't have been all bad.
(later)
The sun begins to set over the headland as the runaways collect Molly. Victor tells her that he knows that they were kind of down on the X-Men before, but she really should give them another try. They're so nice. The students were so much fun. She's going to love it. Nico agrees that she should seriously consider it. Molly replies that the place is horrible. They are taking her home right now or she will beat them up forever. The Leapfrog then takes off and the runaways leave San Francisco behind.
