Cumberland, Kentucky, the edge of an old mine: Pete, the town sheriff stands on the edge of the mine as local rich man Chester Cabot tells him that he is still confused as to where his loyalties lie regarding the Guthries. Pete tells Chester that it is he who is compromising things, for even though mutants are essentially second class citizens, it is still illegal to kill them. Pete reminds Cabot that they are not in Birmingham during the 1960’s when you could kill a black man in broad daylight and be acquitted by a jury of white men. ‘Darn shame about that ain’t it?’ says Chester.
Pete tells Cabot to explain to him why they are here and Chester reminds Pete about how he said the X-Men were likely to get involved and he wanted to be prepared. Cabot exclaims that this is about as prepared as they can get. Pete stares down the gully and asks again what place this is, to which Cabot informs him that it is a place of power – the power to kill just about anything. Staring down into the mine Sheriff Pete is shocked when he sees bulldozers digging up the mine and scientist searching through the mine, and looking over some mysterious armor they have found.
Meanwhile, at the Cabot mansion, Abe Cabot tells his older sister, Julia to look harder to see the injuries he sustained at the hands of Jeb Guthrie. Julia tells her brother not to get testy as all it is, is a little sunburn and she cannot believe he is making such a fuss over it. Abe raises his voice and tells his sister that he could have died as he was electrocuted! Julia turns to her grandmother, who informed her about Abe’s accident and tells her that she cannot believe she scared her half to death over this. Grandma Cabot starts to say ‘But your father said –‘ Julia walks away arms folded across her chest and tells her that she cant believe she dragged her away from Josh for this. Grandma Cabot asks who Josh is as Julia frowns and tells her to leave her alone.
Julia runs into her bedroom and slams the door behind her. Sitting on a chair she stares longingly out the window. Julia’s grandmother opens the door, asking Julia to talk to her. After telling her to ‘go away’ Julia reveals that she remembers every moment with Josh – every look and laugh, every accidental touch – and she never dared dream that Josh would remember them too – but he did, and he sung them to her. Grandma Cabot puts a hand on Julia’s shoulder as Julia tells her that she realizes now she fell in love with Josh when she was ten – and that she has never fallen out of love with him. She adds that when her father sent her away to boarding school, she was miserable for missing Josh.
(Flashback to the summer Josh and Julia spent together)
Julia missed Josh’s attempts at poetry as he stumbled with words they were both too young to understand, but years later, Julia is eighteen and pretty, she knows that, however no love she ever came across has been as pure and intense as what she felt with Josh.
(Present)
Tears stream from her eyes as she says ‘that “young Guthrie” as you called him. My only love sprung from my only hate’. Grandma Cabot tells Julia that she should know her father would never allow it. Julia asks her grandmother if she doesn’t think she already knows that and reminds her that her father tried to teach her and her siblings to hate the Guthries as much as he did – for reasons she doesn’t remember, and for reasons even her father probably doesn’t remember.
Grandma Cabot reminds Julia that all the Guthries are mutants, to which the level headed young woman says ‘That’s not a reason, that’s an excuse’. She says that it is an excuse to turn inner pain into anger and focus it on someone else other than oneself, an excuse for those whose own inadequacies are so immense that they can only feel less deficient by dominating and controlling others who must be categorized as “beneath” them. Grandma Cabot looks shocked at the way her granddaughter is speaking and starts to remind Julia of the things the Guthries have done to them. But Julia cuts her off telling her that anyone would have done them if they were as mistreated and attacked as they have done to the Guthries. First because they were poor, then because they were mutants.
Julia declares that she missed Josh so much after she was sent away and just dismissed it as a girlish crush, but now that she has seen him again she understands how he has been thinking of her as well, and Julia’s heart aches for him. She reveals that she has never felt such passion and intensity in all her life, and she deserves to feel it, she cannot give up because of her father’s stunted emotional growth. Grandma Cabot’s attention is drawn out the window and a strange expression crosses her face. Julia asks her what she is looking at, and turning around to face the window she sees Josh Guthrie, flying towards her – and she smiles.
Meanwhile, at the Guthrie farm, Paige Guthrie, also known as the X-Woman “Husk” walks over to her mother Lucinda, who is standing on the porch wit her rifle. Paige asks her what she is doing, and Lucinda replies that she is looking for Josh, as he should have been back from the concert by now. Paige hugs her worrying mother and realizes that ever since she and Sam left to join the X-Men Josh had been the caretaker of the family, she tells her mother that if there was anyone she didn’t have to worry about it would be Josh. Lucinda tells Paige that any other night she would agree with her, and Husk realizes that her brother is probably out with Rosalinda.
Lucinda asks Paige how she knew about Rosalinda to which Paige replies that she has her ways and just because she lives in New York, it doesn’t mean her heart is not still in Kentucky. Lucinda admits that she never would have thought to hear her daughter say that, and brings up she tried so hard to stop talking with her Southern accent – Paige shifts uncomfortably away from her mother and walks to the other side of the porch. Lucinda apologizes and says that she didn’t mean anything by it. Paige tells her that she knows, but Lucinda apologizes again and tells her that she just got taken aback when her daughter returned to their home with ‘that rich man who looks like he stepped right outta heaven’.
Paige asks her mother if she thinks that all she wants is to ‘shake the hick off of me and forget y’all right?’ Lucinda just tells Paige that Warren didn’t seem too interested in her, the way most rich people are never interested in ‘poor white trash like us’. Lucinda asks Paige if she loves Warren, and pausing momentarily Paige asks if it matters, reminding her mother that she said herself Warren didn’t seem too interested. Lucinda realizes that Paige still loves him.
Nearby in one of the Guthrie’s barns, four of the X-Men – Warren “Archangel” Worthington, the sultry Lorna Dane a.k.a. Polaris, Wolverine a.k.a. Logan and Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner sit and discuss the recent events. Kurt asks Warren if he thinks the police officer is connected to it somehow and possibly crooked, to which Warren replies that at this stage he doesn’t know, but the speculation is based on his intuitive judgment. Wolverine tells Warren gruffly that he knows all about his intuitive judgments, and silence fills the barn as Warren looks at Logan before looking away and saying that he is sorry. Wolverine is shocked and asks if he just heard Warren apologize to him.
Warren tells Logan that he knows he has acted terribly towards him since he first arrived at the Institute and that he tried to sabotage him by getting Xavier to get rid of him. Warren admits that he was wrong, for Logan has been a good friend to almost everyone, including himself, and a valuable member of the X-Men, who has proven himself time and time again, but Warren misjudged him. Warren admits that he has given others a second chance far more quickly than he would ever have given Logan, which was unfair, however, he reveals that he is seeing things through different eyes lately and wants to formally apologize for his behavior. ‘So I'm sorry, Logan, I really am’. Wolverine smiles and asks Warren to tell them more about his intuitive judgments, as he is far more inclined to listen now.
Back at the mine, Sheriff Pete watches as the scientists put Chester Cabot into the super suit. One of the scientists explain that they upgraded the designs somewhat an removed the flight modes in order to make them more durable, for as advanced as they were there was still room for improvement. Cabot tells Pete that they found the suits buried under tons of rubble, as his son Abe was out here with his friends shooting squirrels when they came across them. Pete seems a little unconvinced and asks if they were ‘just lyin’ around like it was nothin’?’
‘Pretty much’ replies Cabot who reveals that the suits are apparently some leftovers from a big fight the X-Men had here with some kind of religious cult, but he doesn’t know much about it. Chester declares that he doesn’t need to know much about it, for it is just another mess mutants made for normal humans and once again it is ‘them mutant monsters’ messing things up for ‘us normal folk’. Cabot is not in the suit and extends one of it’s metal clawed hands declaring that the ‘point is, finders keepers, losers weepers. And there will be a whole lot of weeping in the Guthrie household tomorrow night’.
At the Cabot mansion, Josh hovers outside Julia’s window and when she asks him how he found her at night he replies that he followed the light she radiates, that there was so much light and the birds were singing as he flew here, confused by her brilliance into thinking that the sun had already risen. Grandma Cabot covers her mouth, stunned, as Julia remains speechless. Josh smiles and tells her to say something, to tell him she has thought of him as warmly and intently as he has thought of her over the last few years – and as warmly and intently as he thinks of her now.
Julia glances sideways and tells Joshua that he is a ‘winged messenger from heaven’ and that she has thought of him so often and so passionately and she is so glad to see him. But she is overwhelmed and afraid, struck by lightening and yet the power of the stricken ever seems to fade she says. A tear drops from her eye as she tells him that it is all so sudden and wrong. Josh puts his hands on Julia’s face as she tells him that she feels so much for him but she is a Cabot and her family – ‘hate Guthries, so what’ says Josh, cutting her off. ‘Hate is a choice, love it a gift’, Josh says, declaring that love doesn’t understand names or labels nor does it ask permission, it demands obedience, and while hate can change, love cannot.
Their faces move closer together as Josh tells Julia that it is only her name that is the enemy, while it is she that he loves, and Julia replies that it is he who she has always loved. The young lovers kiss through the open window and Grandma Cabot looks horrified before falling dizzily to the ground and passing out. Julia declares that the more love she gives to Josh, the more she feels in return, as if it were infinite in all directions. Josh tells her that it has always been with her, and that it always will be before asking her to come away with him right now.
At the Guthrie home Warren walks into the kitchen late at night and surprised to see Lucinda there he tells her he didn’t know she was still awake. Sitting at the table with a mug of coffee Lucinda tells Warren that ordinarily she wouldn't be, but she was hoping to have a little talk with him – about Paige ‘and about your friends out there in the barn’. Warren looks rather nervous.
Meanwhile, all suited up, Cabot is practicing how to use the super suit as Sheriff Pete asks him why he needs to do all of this anyway. Cabot tells Pete that that is the kind of question that makes him feels as if he is not as committed to the cause. Pete replies that it is more of a question of this being about a lot of money that he is spending on these weapons that can take on army, just to take out one family that would normally fall with a few bullets. Cabot reveals that this was not his original intent but that he is doing this to protect his children, reminding Pete that he saw what Jeb Guthrie did to his son Abe earlier this morning, adding that Jeb is one of Lucinda’s less dangerous children. Cabot smiles as he fires a blast declaring that when one is protecting their children, no expense is too great, and fire spreads where the shot was aimed.
At the Cabot mansion, Josh gently tugs at Julia as he tries to fly away from the window, telling her again to come with him. Julia asks where they are going and he tells her that they will go to the pound where they met as he wants to swim with her again right now, that he wants to lie with her under the stars and hold her so close. Julia tells him that she wants to, and pulling away from him she reminds him that he is a Guthrie and her father … Josh cuts her off and tells her to forget her father and her name. Josh admits that he feels like he has waited his entire life for this moment, to be with her, to be with a part of himself he did not even know was missing.
Josh asks Julia to not leave him unfulfilled in this, not to leave him incomplete or un-whole. Solemnly Julia tells him that she doesn’t want to, but that she has never wanted anything more in her life than to give him everything he is asking … Her voice trails off and she asks Josh to leave, for if her family were to find him here then they would kill him – which would kill her. Josh declares that he would rather die at their hands with Julia loving him, than face the horror of a life without her at his side.
Julia rests her head against a hand and looks away from the window as Josh continues to hover outside it he tells her that he will go, but only because he doesn’t want to make her suffer. He asks her to reassure him that she feels as he does and that she hasn’t withdrawn her love from him. Julia turns back to Josh and tells him that she will meet him tomorrow morning at sunrise at their place to prove that she feels the same as he does and that she will always feel the same as he does. Grandma Cabot comes too on the floor and Julia rushes over to her. Julia’s grandmother tells that she has never heard such beautiful loving words in all her long life. Sitting up, she tells Julia to go to him now, because if she doesn’t marry him then she will. Grandma Cabot adds that they will find a way to make Chester understand.
Elsewhere, Chester Cabot and some of his boys have suited up into the super suits and Cabot tells Pete to go back to the jail as he has given them the perfect alibi, as he and his boys will have supposedly been in jail all night and through tomorrow. Sheriff Pete asks Chester what he is going to do, to which the Cabot replies that he and the boys are going to practice with the suits for a while. Then if he can predict tomorrow’s news headlines they will say something about “armored super villains walking up over the hill around Jacobsen’s pond and then right down through the Guthrie’s back door”. Cabot adds that the story’s plot will be that the “super villains” were trying to get to the X-Men who were staying at the Guthrie’s at the time, and that unfortunately for the poor Guthries ‘they were all killed in the attack’.
Jacobsen’s pond, Josh sits near a “No Trespassing” sign when a car pulls up, and Julia rushes out of it and down to him. She has changed out of her waitress uniform and Josh tells her that he knew she would come. Julia tells him that she couldn’t stay away and while this is so amazing yet so fast. Josh asks if eight years seems too fast and they embrace, Julia telling him that ‘Forever seems not long enough now’. Julia tells him that she never wants to be separated from him again, and Josh swears that he never will be, they begin to undress each other when suddenly armored super suits – the ones worn by the Cabots – appear only meters away from the two lovers – and they are fast approaching.
