Banshee is taking M,Skin, Synch, and Jubilee to Maine for a field trip when they are stopped by armed police and diverted. In Faybrook, Maine, armed police have surrounded the local school where a mutant boy, Elliot, has taken a Mr L, a teacher, and 5 kids hostage because Mr. L promised he would help Elliot get into the school, but the board rejected all his pleas.
At Xavier’s, Penance is exploring the Biosphere when Chamber offers her some apples and she accepts. Husk is watching from the computer room and is miffed that he is making such an effort to reach Penance.
Back at Faybrook, The Orphan Maker is hidden amongst the crowd outside the school in an ice cream van. He is telling Nanny he will make her proud. Banshee and the kids arrive in Faybrook after becoming suspicious over all the armed police.
They soon learn that the mutant boy has hostages and he, M and Skin take out the swat team covering the school. Synch tries to synch in with Elliot, but instead synch’s in with another mutant signature. Before they can find out who it is, the Orphan Maker bursts out of the van and starts firing at Elliot’s parents, who have arrived on the scene to try to talk Elliot out of the school. Banshee releases a sonic wave at the bullets, diverting their course and saving Elliot’s parents. M and Skin attack The Orphan Maker.
Meanwhile, Jubilee has sneaked into the school through the basement and jumps into the room expecting a battle with an evil mutant, but instead finds that the children have been released, and Elliot, a terribly deformed mutant, cradling the body of Mr L, who had has a heart attack and died due to the stress of the situation.
Outside, Skin’s attack has made Orphan Maker’s armour begin to fuse together and lose power, so he flees telling Elliot’s parents that he has no need to orphan Elliot because they did that themselves years ago.
Sadly, Synch finds out that Elliott is not even a mutant, as he has no aura to synch up with. He is just a disfigured ugly kid.
