Season 3, Episode 13

X-Men: Evolution Season 3, Episode 13

SubTitle: 
Cruise Control
Original Air Date: 
Sat 23rd August 2003
Credits: 

Ungar, Avi Arad, Stan Lee (executive producers), Boyd Kirkland
(producer), Cydne Clark, Steve Granat (writer), Gary Graham (director)

Brief Description: 

The X-Men and the New Mutants are out on a cruise in the Caribbean and
having a great time, until a breakfast fiasco started by one of Tabitha's
bombs exposes them as mutants, and the passengers turn hostile. When the
ship anchors near St. Sebastian Island, Scott, Jean, Kurt and Kitty decide
to leave the ship and go tour the island. Bobby, Amara and Tabitha leave
too, as Amara is sick, and claims that it has to do with her powers and that
she has to get on land or she won't make it. Somehow, Amara merges with the
island's volcano and it starts acting up. The mutants save the day, exposing
themselves again, but this time the locals treat them right – like the
heroes they are. When the volcano begins to erupt again later, though,
they're having a hard time stopping it, even with the help of Ororo, who
notices they disappeared and went looking for them. Amara manages to stop
the volcano at will, saving the island yet again.

Full Synopsis: 

On the deck of a cruise ship in the Caribbean at night, the New Mutants are
having fun – Tabitha shuffles under a limbo stick with Sam holding one end
of the stick and Bobby and Roberto cheering. She makes it and high-fives
Bobby with both hands, and they start dancing. Amara, though, doesn't seem
to be having a good time at all, and seems seasick. She is by the railing.
Ororo walks to her and says that she's happy Tabitha came along. Amara says
that she wished that she'd chosen to stay home like Rogue, because she's
sick and not having fun. Ororo says that she can ask the ship's doctor to
give her something, but Amara declines, saying that she'll be fine. Tabitha
shows up and pulls Amara away, trying to make her feel better.

In the lower deck, Jean and Scott are sharing a peaceful romantic moment,
looking at the stars. They're glad to be away from Bayville – nobody knows
they're mutants or calling them names, and nobody's there to disturb their
time alone. They lean for a kiss, but just then Kurt and Kitty show up,
giggling. They then teleport and phase away. Scott and Jean try walking to
somewhere else, but then they notice ice statues float by – Bobby.

On the bow, Bobby is trying to impress Tabitha and cheer up Amara, creating
big ice statues. Tabitha asks him to do another one, and decided to make a
tribute to 'Titanic' – he creates a huge iceberg, climbs on the railing and
yells 'I'm the king of the world!' Scott and Jean interrupt in the middle,
though, and he looses balance and falls. In the radar cabin, the guy in
charge sees the iceberg and panics, and an alarm goes off. Back on the bow,
Jean levitates Bobby back up. Amara tries flaming up to melt the iceberg,
but after a second the flames go out, and she can't use her power. Scott
sends an optic beam to the iceberg, blowing it up. The danger over, Scott
gets angry at Bobby, telling him that the idea was to not draw attention and
that stunts like that will ruin the vacation for everyone. He walks away,
and Jean tells Bobby not to worry about Scott as he's been stressed lately,
and to use some common sense. Amara walks to her room. In the radar cabin,
the crew laughs at the guy for thinking there was an iceberg in the
Caribbean.

The following morning, Tabitha and Amara are in their room. Tabitha is
brushing her hair and getting ready for breakfast while complaining about
the size of the rooms. Amara is still sick in bed, but she says that she
isn't seasick – she felt this way before on the plane from Brazil – it
happens when she's away from the ground for too long, it has to do with her
powers. Amara says that she's sure she'll feel better once they'll dock in
the Bahamas, and Tabitha leaves for breakfast. In the hall, she finds Ororo,
and tells her that Amara is still sick. Ororo says she'll check on her and
reminds Tabitha to keep a low profile.

In the ship's restaurant, a woman is complaining about the food and the
service constantly, much to the annoyance of Tabitha and the others. Sam,
Roberto, Kitty and Kurt are sitting next to her. Bobby and Jamie are by the
buffet table, when Jamie creates a row of duplications to get as many
waffles as possible. Bobby tells him not to use his powers or Scott will get
angry, and Jamie absorbs the clones, dropping their plates. Scott and Jean
are sitting alone. Scott gives Jean a rose, and Kitty and Kurt laugh at how
absurd they look, and joke about it. Tabitha gets fed up with the woman's
complaints and throws a small bomb at her plate, getting food all over her.
In the most unfortunate chain of events, the woman screams and get up, bumps
into a waiter who tips, causing a fiery dish to fall and light a table with
fire. Jean uses her telekinesis to lift an aquarium, and the woman sees her
and yells that she's a mutant. Jean starts pouring the water, but someone
bumps into her, making her drop the aquarium, and lobsters are spilled
everywhere. All the passengers stand on the chairs as the mutants gather up
the lobsters. Jamie falls to the ground, creating a few clones, and Kurt's
image inducer short-circuits. The woman yells that they're all mutants.
Outside, Ororo is walking towards the restaurant, when suddenly everybody
starts running out screaming.

Later, Kurt, Kitty, Bobby and Tabitha are walking on the deck in their
swimming suits. Bobby complains that he's never Ororo this angry, and
everybody starts getting away from them and yelling at them. Tabitha
apologizes for messing up, and after another guy yells at them from the
pool, she decides to go check on Amara. Bobby can't resist the temptation,
and cools down the pool, making everybody get out.

In a corridor, Jean and Scott are again trying to get some time alone. They
get glares from passengers as well, and can't wait to dock in the Bahamas so
they can get off the ship. The P.A. system as that it looks like they've got
some rough weather ahead, so they won't be proceeding directly to the
Bahamas - instead, they'll anchor off St. Sebastian Island and wait it out.

Tabitha enters her room just as the message ends. Amara cries that it's not
good – she has to get to land soon, or she won't make it.

On the deck, another couple gives Scott and Jean a glare. They're frustrated
that the cruise is becoming just like home and Scott says that he was really
hoping they could just get away from it all. Jean looks at St. Sebastian
Island and gets an idea – she takes Scott's hand, and they fly away from the
ship above the waves by a dolphin. Kitty and Kurt watch them leave and
decide to join, and teleport away.

In Amara and Tabitha's room, Tabitha decides that she has to get Amara off
the ship and fast, but she doesn't know how. Just then, Bobby knocks on the
door to check on Amara, and Tabitha gets an idea. Later in the ocean, the
three of them are seen in an ice canoe, paddling to shore.

In the busy St. Sebastian Island marketplace, Scott and Jean are enjoying
themselves. Scott holds a postcard and tells Jean that there's an active
volcano on the island. They're having a great time relaxing without the
kids, but just than, they hear Tabitha yelling at a merchant about the price
of a hat. Bobby than notices them and they're annoyed that the kids are
there. Bobby explains that they had to get Amara on dry land and they're
taking her to the hot springs. He asks them if they want to join, but Scott
declines, preferring to spend his time with Jean, and then notices Kurt and
Kitty and says that maybe they'll join them. Scott than asks everyone to
really keep a low profile this time, and Tabitha assures him nothing will
happen.

In the hot springs, Kitty, Kurt, Amara and Tabitha get into the water, and
it feels great. Kurt turns off his image inducer and asks Bobby if he's sure
he doesn't want to join, but Bobby says that hot water isn't for him and
then creates an ice chair and sits. Amara is feeling much better now and
dives underwater to the bottom. There's a crack, and a hot stream comes out
of it. She fires up and swims along the crack. Back up, the water start
heating up really fast, and Kitty, Kurt and Tabitha rush out. They call for
Amara, and she rises from the water, still in her fire self, saying that
they have to leave. Bobby makes an ice slide and they all slide down.

In the island's café, Scott and Jean's time alone is yet again interrupted
as everything starts shaking. The locals are running everywhere as the
earthquake ruins part of the village. Scott and Jean use their powers to
keep the rocks falling from the volcano from hitting people, and then they
are joined by the others, who just came down. Bobby ices up a balcony,
preventing it from collapsing on a girl. Kitty phases a woman from under a
collapsed stand. Kurt teleports to the ground two people falling from a
building. Tabitha blasts the stuck doors of a turned over van and helps the
people out with Amara's help. The shaking stops for the time and the mutants
gather in front of the eyes of the villagers. They're sure that they'll
treat them like all other humans treat them, but the villagers just cheer at
them like heroes, to their surprise and enjoyment.

Later on the island, the mutants are enjoying the treatment they're getting.
Tabitha and Kurt are racing jet skis in the ocean; Bobby creates an
ice-skating court to impress some girls; Jean helps two fishermen to catch a
large swordfish; Kurt shows some villagers the wonders of his image inducer;
Kitty gives autographs for some kids while phasing through a table; Tabitha
and Amara are posing to the locals' cameras.

Back on the ship, Ororo is looking at the island. Jamie shows up and says
that he's sorry, but they're not anywhere. She asks him if he's sure he
looked all over, and he says he looked ALL over as an army of Jamies shows
up behind him. She gets angry, realizing they went to the island.

Back on the island, there's a big celebration, and the mutants are sitting
at a table and eating. They're all having a great time and enjoy the
treatment they're getting, when everything shakes again briefly. Bobby says
that it's probably just an aftershock and that they can take care of things
if something happens again, but Amara seems worried. Scott asks her if she's
still sick, and she tells him that she thinks she's the one who got the
volcano acting up earlier in the hot springs and that she feels connected to
it. Kurt then notices an angry thunderhead in the sea, and alerts the others
that they've been found. Before they have a chance to worry about it,
though, the volcano start shaking everything again, this time lava is thrown
from it. The locals are all scared and screaming as things go on fire. Amara
looks at the volcano, then cools down a fissure coming towards her, and
starts walking to the volcano. Tabitha tries to run after her, but lava
stops her. Scott shoots at some rocks to block the lava, but it flows over
them. Bobby tries ice, but the lava melts it. Kitty phases a woman through a
falling tree. Kurt teleports a man away from a collapsing pier. Amara, in
the meanwhile, is walking to the top. Ororo reaches the island and starts
raining over it, but it doesn't help much. Jean stops some lava as Scott
shoots the ground to create a ditch in front of it, redirecting it. Ororo
asks Scott and Jean where the others are, and Tabitha shows up, telling her
Amara went to the volcano, and she flies after her.

On the volcano, Amara is walking up as if nothing is happening. She flames
up and seems to have control over the lava. Ororo shows up in the sky and
tells her to step away, but Amara just stands there, and then falls inside,
to Ororo's horror. Then, the lava stops flowing and the fissures close. The
other mutants run up and ask Ororo if she found Amara, and Ororo answers
that she fell in. They're all shocked, but just then Amara bursts out on a
stream of lava and shifts back to her normal form. She explains that she
somehow merged with the volcano.

A short while later in the village, the locals cheer at the mutants
returning from the top. Ororo is amazed and agrees that it certainly is
nice, but it doesn't excuse their leaving the ship without asking her. She
flies away, leaving the others to return the way they came. They're all
upset that they have to return to the ship and Kurt says that he'd rather
fight another volcano. Amara jokingly answers that that can be arranged.

Featured Characters: 

Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Storm (X-Men)
Cannonball, Iceman, Magma, Multiple, Sunspot (all New Mutants)
Boom-Boom

Citizens of St. Sebastian Island
Ship crew and passengers

Notes: 

Amara mentions a flight from Brazil. In the comics, she was raised in Nova
Roma, Brazil, and the mention is a hint of that.

This episode was supposed to be aired between Under Lock & Key (Season, Episode 9) and X23 (Season 3, Episode 10), before Apocalypse had been released.

This episode first aired on ITV in the UK on Saturday July 12th as part of GMTV kids.

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