In a factory of a company named "Spear Sports Industries", a Morlock named Lucid, followed by Callisto and other Morlocks are breaking in. One of them, a woman named Cybelle, creates a hole in the wall with her hands. They enter and spill the company's product, a drink called "Pow-r 8". A security guard shows up, but a Morlock girl called Torpid paralyzes him. They leave, and the alarm goes off.

The following morning, the company's manager, Guy Spear, is asking one of his employees what is the damage this time. The employee answers that they're shut down for the day. Spear demands to know who is doing this, and the man says that they're questioning the guard. Spear says that he can't risk the bad press a week before Pow-r 8 hits the market, and orders to upgrade security.

In Bayville High, three kids are cutting a poster of Pow-r 8 and a skateboard, laughing to themselves. The bell rings, and everybody get out of their classrooms, including Scott, who is walking nervously. Suddenly Kitty spots him, and he heads back the other way, bumping into Jean. He tells her
that Kitty is coming, and Jean seems scared and tells him to run. Meanwhile, Evan walks to his locker and notices that it's a little open. He opens it and the picture of the skateboard pops out on a spring, scaring him to the
ground. A boy approaches and takes the picture, commenting on how stupid these jokes are. He then recognizes Evan as one of the mutants, and starts talking about how cool he thinks they are. Outside, Kitty is looking for Scott and Jean, but doesn't see them. They are in his car, and look for her too. When they don't see her, Jean rushes Scott to drive away. Suddenly, Kurt teleports in and tells them that Kitty got her driver's permit. They tell him that they know, and he gets out of the car, telling them that she's
looking for any licensed eighteen year old to ride with her. They again tell him that they know and start driving away. Kurt calls after them that he bets the professor will ask one of them to do it, and they yell a third "we
know." Kitty chases them, but they manage to get away. She then notices Rogue, and rushes to ask her when she turns eighteen.

In the street, the kid from earlier is still with Evan. He's jogging while Evan is on his skateboard. Evan asks why he is being friends with him, while all the other kids stay way. Suddenly three boys appear, and the kid yells at them for bugging him earlier, saying that now he has a mutant friend to help him. Evan gets angry, realizing that the kid is only friends with his so he can have a personal super-powered bodyguard, and tries leaving. The kids grab him, take his backpack and start teasing him. Evan can't resist
the temptation this time uses his powers to fight back, as a group of kids gather around to watch, including Kurt and Amanda who just happened by. Kurt
rushes in, drags Evan behind a building and teleports away.

In the mansion, Professor X is sitting by the fireplace and reading as Scott
and Jean enter. Xavier tells them that he has a very special and challenging
assignment for them. They both figure it out, and then Logan enters just in
time to hear the professor saying that he needs someone with nerves of
steel. Logan says that it sounds dangerous, and Xavier says that it very
well could be. Logan says that he'll do it, as he could use a good
adrenaline rush. Scott and Jean exchange smiles and hurryingly tell Logan
that it's his, but he owes them, before rushing off. Logan asks Xavier if
there are any explosives involved, and Xavier answers that hopefully not. He
hands Logan a set of car keys. Outside, Kitty rushes away for the freeway.
Logan looks terrified, yelling for her to wait for the gate, but she simply
phases them through it.

Elsewhere in the mansion, Spyke, still with spikes sticking out of him, is
walking angrily towards his room. Storm passes by him and tries asking him
what happened, but he brushes her off and shuts his door in her face. He
sits on his bed in frustration, then gets up in front of the mirror and
slowly retracts the spike, with much effort. He takes his shirt off, and
then realizes that there is still a spinal column of bone plates and spikes
on his back.

Back in the driveway, Kitty and Logan return and barely stop in time. It
seems that Kitty took of a change machine, a stop sign and a street sign
along the way. Kitty jumps out happily, and Logan slowly leaves and returns
to the mansion. Inside, he walks past Xavier, who asks him how it went.
Logan gives him the keys back and says that Scott and Jean were right – he
owes them, and he owes the professor too.

The following morning, Scott and Jean walk past a door and hear Kitty ask if
anybody has seen them. Jean lifts Scott in the air and tells him that she's
sorry, but it's either him or her and it isn't going be her. She throws him
into the room and Kitty is heard telling Scott that she was just looking for
him, as Jean escapes down the hall. In the kitchen, Evan is sitting with
cereal. Bobby is behind him, waiting by the toaster. Evan is holding the
milk jug in one hand and keeps pouring himself glasses of milk. Ray is
sitting across the table, and wakes Evan up, telling him that he wants some
milk too. Evan gives him the milk, and then sees that his hand is covered
with bone plates and hurries to hide it under the table. Ray asks him if
he's entering the Pow-r 8 skate, and Evan answers that yes. Ray tells him
that it's about to start.

At the skate, the boarders are practicing. Guy Spear stands in front of the
audience and welcomes everyone to the First Annual Pow-r 8 Skate, and then
talks about Pow-r 8, his new sports quencher, which blends vitamins and
toxic eliminators. Callisto is seen somewhere in the area of the skate, and
so is Spyke, signing up. Ororo, Kurt, Bobby, Jamie and Ray sit down in the
audience to watch. Guy finishes talking, and the competition begins. When
Evan enters, he is doing great, making a few stunts on the ramp. He skates
away to where the other skaters are a takes a bottle of Pow-r 8. Before he
drinks, however, Callisto walks past him, knocks the bottle out of his
hands, whispers to him "it's poison" and keeps walking. Ray, who was just
buying hot dogs and sodas for everyone, spots her. Some of the competitors
are starting to fall – one falls on the stairs, another looses balance and
hit his groin on the railing. Evan still seems to be in great control, as
the announcer mentions too. In the audience, his friends cheer and his aunt
leans over and tells Kurt she never realized he was this good. Kurt answers
that there's no doubt, this is his world. Just then, trouble start – a
jealous competitor demands Evan to disqualify himself. Evan refuses, arguing
that he didn't use any powers. Guy Spear hurries to break the fight, and the
kid tells him that Evan is a mutant and that he's cheating. Guy asks Evan if
that's true, and Evan says that his powers have nothing to do with his
skating. Guy says that he has to discuss this with the judges, but Evan
tells him that it doesn't matter – he knows exactly where this is going –
and leaves angrily. He skates away and takes a bottle of Pow-r 8. He starts
drinking, but again Callisto shows up and whispers "no". He spits out the
drink and drops the bottle, but Callisto came too late – he starts feeling
sick, holding his stomach and groaning as things get blurry. Then, spikes
start shooting out of him everywhere, ruining the arena and making tings
fall, as everyone start running away. Storm uses wind to blow away the
falling scoreboard, Iceman freezes the gaps that the spikes created in the
supporting beams and Kurt teleports a falling kid. Spyke start skating away,
still feeling sick, with Callisto running after him. Berzerker watches the
whole thing and starts running. Storm tries to find her nephew, but only
finds the Pow-r 8 bottle. Spyke falls of his board as Callisto reaches him.
He backs up to a wall, but Façade comes out of the wall and grabs him as
Torpid paralyzes him with her touch.

At the mansion, Kitty is driving and phasing Scott's car through the gate.
They stop, and Scott looks like he's about to get sick. Kitty phases out of
the car and asks Kurt if there is any news on Evan. He answers no, and they
teleport to join the search.

In the Institute's lab, Beast and Professor X are examining the Pow-r 8
bottle that Storm found. They find that the drink has a different effect on
humans and mutants. Storm walks in and asks Xavier if that means that Spyke
was poisoned. He answers that it seems that it is hazardous to mutants, even
through skin contact.

In the sewers, Caliban is checking Evan. Lucid comes and pours something on
his mouth. Evan wakes up to see Caliban, Lucid, Torpid and Façade looking at
him. He asks them what happened and Callisto answers that it was the Pow-r 8
– it's dangerous to mutants. He asks her if he'll be alright, and she
answers that they can ease his symptoms, but he must rest. He falls back to
sleep. Later, he wakes up and overhears a conversation between Callisto and
Caliban. Caliban thinks that it was a mistake to bring him because his
friends will look for him, but Callisto says that they had to - even if he
wasn't poisoned, with those plates growing on his skin, he'll never be
accepted 'topside'. Lucid approaches them and tells them that Guy Spear
added security, and that they can use Spyke's help. Caliban refuses, saying
that they can't trust him yet. Spyke lets them know he's awake, and asks
them why they are living down there. Callisto answers that the world is not
a kind place for mutants who look like them, or him. Underground, they find
acceptance and safety, though it's not safe anymore. He asks why, and she
takes him to a tunnel, telling him that Pow-r 8 goes into the sewers when
Spear cleans out his vats, poisoning them all. She says that they have to
stop him and he offers his help. Then, Caliban senses an intruder –
Berzerker. Callisto looks around, sees him, and yells to him that she can
see in the dark and that he can't sneak up on them. Ray reveals himself and
tells Callisto that by dragging Evan into this, the X-Men won't be far
behind. Callisto says that that will only happen if he'll tell them, and
Torpid paralyzes him.

In the Spear Sports factory, the Morlocks and Spyke are destroying their
equipment. Lucid uses his x-ray vision to point them to where to go; Cybelle
creates a hole in the wall; Spyke destroys the security cameras. In the
security room, Guy Spear enters and finds the security cameras off and the
guard under the effect of Torpid's paralysis. Meanwhile, Callisto and Spyke
are pouring some substance into the Pow-r 8. Spyke asks what is it going to
do, and Callisto explains that it'll taint the entire supply of Pow-r 8 and
then gum up the plumbing.

Back in the sewers, Berzerker succeeds to move. A Morlock called Scaleface
turns herself into a dragon and growls. Ray, who recognizes her by codename,
asks her to let him go. He then manages to run away and escape to the
street. He gets out his cellular phone and calls Professor X, telling him he
knows where Evan is.

In the factory, the guards and Guy show up and they start shooting at the
Morlocks and Spyke. Torpid is hit by an electric shock, and a fuse box blows
up when a guard tries to hit Cybelle. All the Pow-r 8 tanks start following
in a domino effect and it's almost poured on the Morlocks. Callisto hurries
everyone into the drains, and they run to the sewers, the Pow-r 8 wave still
chasing them. They reach a dead end, but Spyke uses his spikes to create a
'ladder'. Lucid, Cybelle, Façade, Callisto and Spyke holding Torpid climb
up. Spyke falls, but Callisto catches him. Suddenly, Cyclops' optic blast
shoots a hole from above, and Jean telekinetically holds back the Pow-r 8
and floats the Morlocks to Cyclops. Outside, Storm creates rain to dilute
the Pow-r 8. Spyke watches his three X-Men friends and then the Morlocks,
touches his spikes, and makes a choice. When Storm lands, the Morlocks and
Spyke are nowhere to be found. The Velocity shows up with Beast, Rogue and
Nightcrawler. Storm begs everyone to help her find Spyke, and Scott tells
her that they're not giving up.

The following morning in the factory, Xavier explains to Guy Spear that
Pow-r 8 is dangerous to mutants. Spear swears that he had no idea, and the
professor says he believes him. Spear says that it would have been enough
for the Morlocks to just tell him, and Xavier answers that they've learned
not to trust anyone as they've seen the dark side of human nature too many
times, and they now only depend on themselves.

In the sewers, Jean, Scott, Kurt, Ray and Ororo are searching for Evan and
calling to him. Eventually, he shows himself to his aunt. His body is now
covered in spikes – back, shoulders, arms. She runs to him, but he tells her
to stay back, as he is going through some changes. She tells him that it
doesn't matters and asks him to come home, but he refuses, saying that he
needs a break since everything is too crazy. She begs him to let them help
him, but he tells her not to worry about him and asks her not to look for
him, and then walks away to the Morlocks.

Outside the factory, Xavier enters the car and tells Logan to drive him
home. To his terror, though, Kitty looks back at him from the driver's seat
and tells him that Logan said she could drive. They drive away, and on the
stairs, Gut Spear tells his assistant to get them back in production ASAP:
Pow-r 8 suddenly became a lot more valuable.