Cable is tracking the genetic scientist that invented the deadly power-suppressing collars used in Genosha, Gottfried Adler. He arrives at a cottage in a frozen mountain peak where Warren Worthington III is on date with a girl. When Cable attacks, he and Warren engage in a gunfight, but Warren is hit and falls off a balcony. Cable interrogates the girl, who tells him Adler is in Scotland, and the warrior realizes she's referring to Muir Island. Right then Warren appears, flying with the help of angel-like wings, but Cable throws a flash grenade and escapes. The girl, still disoriented from the flash grenade, grabs a gun and accidently shoots Warren, who falls off the balcony again.
Meanwhile, on Muir Island, Scotland, Professor X asks his scientist friend Moira McTaggert if she can't demand to review Adler's work as she was the one who created the Mutant Research Center. Moira says that Adler is not properly a member of the MRC, he only pays to use the facilities, and that she doesn't know if he can reverse mutations. When they try to enter Adler's lab, Xavier uses his telepathy to probe the scientist's mind, but after getting a vision of a female mutant with blue skin, red hair, and clothed in white, he suffers from a powerful psychic backlash. Later, laying on a bed, Xavier wonders if Adler is a mutant and Moira suggests that might be why he's so concerned with finding a cure.
Back at the X-Mansion, the X-Men are continuing to rebuild the place after Juggernaut trashed it. However, Wolverine is being a jerk, eventually angering Gambit, but Rogue calls them out before a fight occurs. Jubilee comes running, saying that Xavier is calling them; Professor X explains that Adler has been developing a cure for genetic mutation. Wolverine and Storm are against the idea, but Rogue, anguishing from being unable to touch people, decides to take a shot. Gambit goes to her and tries to convince her not to take the cure, but an angry Rogue simply flies away.
Rogue arrives at Muir Island and goes to a pub where she's harassed by two mutant criminals, Pyro and Avalanche, whom she quickly defeats. She then goes to the Mutant Research Center and demands Doctor Adler to turn her into a human. Doctor Adler agrees and tells her to return in an hour; after Rogue leaves, it's revealed Adler is actually Mystique in disguise (the blue-skinned, red-haired, white-garbed mutant Xavier saw in his vision) and she's working for another mutant called Apocalypse. Apocalypse believes Rogue to be a fool but that her vast powers would be helpful, and orders Mystique to use the machine to enslave her. Rogue recollects her first instance of her powers, and how they nearly killed the boy she had a crush on. Meanwhile, Cable finally arrives at Muir Island and, after quickly defeating Pyro, he leaves to search for Adler.
Pyro and Avalanche crash in Adler's lab and kidnap the scientist, distracting Rogue by throwing the large pieces of lab equipment at her. The two mutants flee to the countryside where Adler transforms back into Mystique and confronts them. Rogue comes flying in and Mystique, once again disguised, flees while the three other mutants fight each other. Cable appears and confronts 'Adler'.
Meanwhile, back at the Mutant Research Center, Xavier and Moira go to the wrecked lab and realize Adler was kidnaped. Cyclops and Jean arrive, having gone after Rogue, and they find her as she's now fighting against Cable. Cyclops blasts Cable with his eye beams, while a charged rock sends Jean falling off a cliff, but she's saved by Rogue. After the ordeal, Rogue decides she doesn't want to be cured, but another mutant, Warren Worthington, does.
Tropes:
- Accidental Hero: Pyro and Avalanche's scheme to ransom Dr. Adler does them no good, but it ends up interrupting the procedure to brainwash Rogue into a slave of Apocalypse, and the ensuing rescue causes her to embrace her powers.
- An Aesop:Adler: But I thought you wanted to be cured.
Rogue: That's what I thought, too, Doc, but there ain't no cure for who you are. - Apocalypse How: Apocalypse wants to cause a Class X.
- Asshole Victim: As it's implied that the real Dr. Adler was the one aiding the Genoshan government in previous episodes by creating the mutant slave collars, he won't be missed.
- Blessed with Suck: Rogue, whose powers means she can't touch anyone or anything without hurting or killing them.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Apocalypse's plan, which is why Mystique is masquerading as a scientist in order to trick mutants into willingly submitting to the enslaving machine.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Rogue's confrontation with Pyro and Avalanche.
- Dramatic Irony: Cable wants to kill Adler, whose Arch-Enemy Apocalypse has already taken care of.
- Flashback: While waiting to use the machine, Rogue recalls accidentally putting her boyfriend Cody in a coma.
- From Bad to Worse: After Mystique explains what's going, Pyro admits he still finds this all very confusing.Rogue: [arriving] Y'all get away from him!
Avalanche: It gets worse. - Generic Doomsday Villain: Apocalypse.
- I Just Want to Be Normal:
- Rogue's motivation. Her saving Jean's life has her reluctantly accept that getting rid of her powers would be too great a sacrifice, because she can still use them to help people.
- Angel wants this too, which is why he's been funding Adler's work.
- It's Personal: Cable wants to kill Adler, but only because Adler designed the collars used to enslave mutants on Genosha.
- Jerkass: Wolverine, at the beginning
- Kill and Replace: The real Dr. Adler was killed by Apocalypse some time ago, and Mystique has been impersonating him ever since.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Cable is actually on the same side as the X-Men - it's just that the latter don't know the full story (namely that Dr. Adler had some involvement in the Genoshan government before he was eventually murdered by Apocalypse), and they just see some guy with a huge gun on the verge of killing a scientist (who, again, has been dead for some time and has been impersonated by a shapeshifter).
- Mythology Gag: Adler shares his last name with Destiny from the comics, long associated with Mystique, and sure enough, he turns out to be Mystique in disguise.
- Properly Paranoid:
- Wolverine says he always suspected Rogue had a soft spot for Gambit.
- Jean worries what Rogue's going to do because she can frequently sense her inner pain.
- Unwitting Pawn: Arguably the X-Men. Them stopping Cable to save "Dr. Adler's" life meant that they unintentionally protected an impostor under the employ of Apocalypse, who would go on to advance the latter's agenda in the next episode by enslaving mutants to commit acts of global terrorismnote .
- Winged Humanoid: Angel.
