Joyride | |
Season Two, Episode 9 | |
Air date | December 15, 2001 |
Written by | Cydne Clark Steve Granat |
Directed by | Steven E. Gordon |
Episode Guide | |
previous African Storm |
next Walk on the Wild Side |
- "You heard me. I want to be an X-Man. I'm serious."
- —Avalanche
Premise[]
Lance Alvers wants to join the X-Men in order to be closer to Kitty. Unfortunately, the rest of the Brotherhood, along with several of the X-Men, are not pleased with his decision as Lance has trouble fitting in. And it doesn't get any easier when he becomes the prime suspect for several recent joyrides.
Summary[]
Lance breaks down the Institute gates at night. Alarms go off and the X-Men scramble out of bed to get dressed. Grounds security guns begin firing on Lance, but he uses his powers to wreck them. He meets the X-Men at the front door. Wolverine pops his claws and asks what he wants. Lance tells them he's come to join the X-Men. Shadowcat asks if he's for real, Wolverine makes a crack about wanting to be the tooth fairy and everyone laughs.
Xavier comes out and tells them to give Lance a chance to talk. Inside when they ask Lance why he wants to join the X-Men, he glances at Kitty and tells them that it's just time for a change. Xavier agrees to let him join. Scott is shocked, but when he starts to object, Xavier cuts him off and asks Kitty to show Lance to a guest room. When they leave, Scott tells Xavier that Lance wouldn't be there unless he wanted something. Xavier says that what Lance wants is to be near Kitty. He tells Scott that he believes Lance's feelings for Kitty to be genuine and that it's a good start. He tells Scott to give him a chance.
Kitty shows Lance to his room, but with a somewhat nasty attitude. He unpacks by dumping his duffel into one drawer. Kitty is about to leave when she hesitates. She loses the attitude and tells him that she thinks it's cool that he wants to be an X-man, but that being at Xavier's can be tough. That the other guys aren't going to cut him any slack. Lance tells her he can handle it.
Next they show Lance running through a lot of training sessions with the New Mutants. First session is in the Blackbird. Bobby is flying as the others ride in the back. Lance is pretty nervous. Bobby promptly sends them into a spiraling crash and everyone screams. The sim shuts down and Bobby comes out pretty proud of himself. He runs up to Wolverine and tells him it took him almost twice as long to crash and burn. Wolverine knocks him down a notch or two and tells him that "hot-dogging" won't cut it.
Lance comes out of the sim looking pretty queasy. Kitty asks him if he's okay and he tells her that he's fine, being an X-Man is a piece of cake. When she turns away, he slaps his hand over his mouth and takes off running. Xavier asks Wolverine if he's not being a little hard on Bobby, that he's been known to do some hot-dogging himself. Wolverine tells Xavier that he can walk away from a crash, they can't. Kurt is cleaning in the background (still on probation from his stint with Tabatha) and has stopped to eavesdrop, Wolverine tells him to get back to work. Kurt grumbles to himself and asks who wouldn't want to be an X-Man.
Next session shows the New Mutants outside. They're supposed to take out some flying saw blades before they hit them. Amara and Bobby both fail and Scott has to blast the blades out of the air. Lance walks up and Scott slaps a hand on his shoulder and tells him that his new uniform looks a lot better than his old "fruit bowl".
Lance gets mad and shrugs off Scott's hand. Then he rumbles the training grounds and takes out the blade firing machines and the target. The New Mutants all gather around Lance congratulating him and Kitty starts giggling. Scott gets mad and leaves.
Next session is in the Danger Room. New Mutants are running a gauntlet. Lance makes it to the end without being hit. He throws his arms up in the air and starts hamming it up. They show Scott, Kurt, and Kitty in the control booth. Scott tells Kurt to watch this. They cut back to Lance, who's now waving happily at Kit. Scott sends out a large padded device that knocks Lance to the ground. The New Mutants laugh, but up in the booth, Kitty gives Kurt and Scott dirty looks as they high-five one another.
Next session is outside again. X-Kids are lined up in the pool playing drowning victims. New Mutants are supposed to save them. Rahne (Wolfsbane) goes after Kurt, Bobby saves Evan, and Sam (Cannonball) dives in after Kit. Lance is assigned, Rogue. He throws out a lifesaver and hits Rogue in the head. She goes underwater. He dives in and catches up to Sam. He hits Sam (and due to the way Sam's powers work), and Sam is "cannonballed" out of the water.
Lance surfaces near Kitty and she starts giggling. He "saves" her. Scott helps Rogue out of the pool. Sam comes to a crash landing as Scott yells at Lance. He tells him that he's saved the wrong victim and drowned two people doing it. Lance climbs out of the pool with Kitty in his arms looking very proud. He says "Yeah, but look who I rescued!" Rogue stomps past them looking very wet and very angry. She calls Lance a creep and knocks him and Kitty back into the pool.
Next day as the kids are all loading up to head off to school, Lance tells Scott "nice car." Scott turns to look at his car and realizes that it's been trashed. He gets angry as Lance and the New Mutants drive off. At school, the New Mutants tell Lance see ya later. As he's headed down the hallway, he's ambushed by the Brotherhood. Blob slams him into the lockers and they ask where he's been. Tab says that they've heard he's living with the "geek squad". When Lance doesn't deny it, Toad tells him that Mystique is going to "hand you your left arm" when she gets back. Lance tells them that the Brotherhood is finished and Mystique is never coming back. Quicksilver asks him if he's actually becoming an X-Man and Lance says "What if I am?". The Brotherhood come down on him and Lance pushes Toad out of the way and starts to walk off. Tabitha calls after him and tells him that the X-Men are never going to accept him. Poor Lance walks away looking pretty depressed.
That night at the Institute, Lance wanders into the hall yawning. He seems to be headed for the bathroom when he sees Jubilee, Sam, Bobby and Jamie sneaking down the hallway, he follows them. In the kitchen, Kitty is studying and making herself a snack (Peanut butter and apple sandwich). One of the New Mutants rush past the door and startles her. She asks if anyone's there, but when no one answers she goes back to her snack. She has to climb under the table to get her pencil and while she's under there, the other New Mutants run past. She phases her head through the top of the table, right over an X-Jet. Lance walks past the kitchen door, then does a double take. When he sees Kit's head on the plate, he passes out.
The New Mutants take out the X-Van and wreak general havoc. Bobby stumbles into bed early the next morning, just in time for Xavier to call out all of the New Mutants for a training session. Kurt is out in the hangar, busily scrubbing down the Blackbird as part of his probation. Wolverine gives a lecture on the jet, then they head out to the garage to drive the X-van. When they get there the van is a wreck. Jamie whispers to Sam that they should say something. Sam elbows Jamie and triggers multiples of him. The multiples stumble into Jubilee and knock her down. Wolverine asks what happened to the van and Scott immediately points a finger at Lance.
That night, Jubilee, Sam and Bobby tell Jamie that he can't go out with them again. He makes too much of a crowd. They send Jamie back to bed, then go into Lance's room and ask him along on a "joyride". Jubilee tells him that he's going to get the blame anyway. Lance tells them to forget it, that they've already gotten him in enough trouble. He pulls the blanket over his head and tells them to leave them alone. Bobby says it's his loss, that they're taking something bigger and faster. New Mutants head out to the hangar and the Blackbird.
Lance sits up in his bed suddenly realizing that they mean the jet. He knocks on Kit's door and when she answers he grabs her arm and takes off. They get to the hangar too late, the New Mutants are already taking off. The jet rolls beneath the walkway that they're standing on. Lance climbs under the handrail and grabs Kit's hand. She asks him what he's doing, but he just tells her to start phasing as he jumps. They phase into the Blackbird, but are thrown around as Bobby bounces it off of the walls.
They finally are able to take off and fly through the buildings and then up. Jubilee opens the top hatch and shows off by throwing fireworks into the sky. Kitty and Lance are trying to get into the cockpit, but Bobby pushes the jet wide open and they're thrown to the floor again. Kitty says that they're in big trouble. She takes Lance's hand and they phase into the cockpit together. She startles Jubilee and one of her fireworks hits the jet's controls. Bobby tells them that he's lost thrust control. Kitty tries to radio the Institute, but the radio has been fried too.
They're intercepted by a couple of air force jets. Lance tries to find the P.A. to let them know that they're friendly. Instead he sends out a couple of missiles. The jets aren't hit, but they think that the Blackbird is hostile, and return fire. Jubilee climbs out of the hatch and launches some more fireworks. The heat seeking missiles follow them instead and explode mid-air. Sam does some work on the controls and is able to cut propulsion. The jet goes into a freefall and Lance gets sick.
Bobby hangs out of the hatch and creates an ice ramp that scoops the jet back into the air. They're able to restart the engines, but more air force jets have arrived. Bobby flies into some caverns/cliff walls to try to lose them, but more missiles are fired. Lance is able to quake the cliff walls and the jets are forced to pull up. But Bobby still isn't able to dodge the missiles.
Kitty tells them that she thinks she can lose them. She tells Bobby to fly straight into a mesa. Bobby starts to argue but Kitty yells at him to do it. She grabs a hold of the jet and is able to phase the entire X-Jet. They pass safely through the mesa just as the missiles close in on them. The missiles explode on the mesa and the pilots don’t believe what they’ve seen. They call off the chase. Kitty collapses from the strain and Lance catches her. They smile at each other as the New Mutants are amazed that she was able to do it.
Next day, Scott accuses Lance of taking another joyride and causing the damage to the jet. Kitty tries to step in and defend Lance, but he pulls her back and says that he did it. Scott then says “I knew it”, only for him and Lance to look over at a guilty Bobby when Bobby says that Lance didn’t: “We did” (with the “we” meaning himself, Sam and Jubilee). Bobby then adds that Lance was only trying to stop them, and that they took the X-Van too. When Logan asks “Who’s ‘we’?” Sam says “And Scott’s car” before Jubilee finishes with “And your motorcycle”. When Logan asks “My motorcycle?” while looking as though he might lose his temper, Jubilee says “Just kidding” while smiling, along with Bobby and Sam. Xavier tells them that there was no official mention of the incident. Kurt comes strolling in, saying that all he has to do to finish off his probation is wax the X-Jet, only to drop his wax when he sees how the X-Jet looks, saying that what happened will take a lot of wax. Xavier tells Kurt “Consider your probation over” while Logan smiles a little before turning back to Sam, Bobby and Jubilee; Kurt, grinning, takes off like the proverbial bat. Xavier tells Bobby, Sam and Jubilee that their probation is just beginning; they can start by cleaning up the X-Jet.
Scott tries to lamely apologize to Lance, but Lance tells him to forget it. Xavier tries to apologize too, but Lance tells them that he's leaving. Kitty asks him to please stay, but he says that the X-Men are too high maintenance and he's going back to live with the Brotherhood. Kitty is looking pretty upset as Xavier tells him that he's welcome back if he ever changes his mind. As Lance starts to walk away, Kitty runs to catch up with him. She kisses him, then rushes back. Lance puts his hand to his cheek where she kissed him and smiles. As Lance leaves, Kitty stands back, looking pretty heartbroken.
Quotes[]
Avalanche: You heard me. I want to be an X-Man. I'm serious.
Wolverine: (sarcastically) Yeah right, and I want to be the Tooth Fairy!
(About letting Avalanche join the X-Men.)
Cyclops: Professor, I think this is a mistake. I know Lance; he wouldn't do this unless he wanted something.
Professor X: Yes, I agree. What he wants, is to be near Kitty.
Cyclops: But-
Professor X: I believe he's genuine about his feelings for her. And maybe, that's a good beginning. Now, let's give him a chance.
Kitty: Sorry there's no mint on your pillow, but I believe you'll find some gum under the chair.
Bobby: Hold on to your lunch!
Cyclops: (while helping Rogue) Wrong victim, Alvers. And you just drowned two people.
Avalanche: (holding up Shadowcat) Yeah but look who I rescued.
Rogue: (knocking Shadowcat and Avalanche back in the pool) Creep.
Kurt: (while washing the X-Jet) Wash the uniforms, wash the van, wash the jet. Man, this probation is making my fur kinky.
Pietro: You're becoming one of them. You're becoming an X-Man.
Lance: So what if I am?
Todd: Say what?!
Fred: Aw, man! And to think I used to look up to you.
Jubilee: (waking up Lance) Hey, we're going on another joyride. You wanna come with us? You're gonna get the blame anyway...
Lance: No, you've already gotten me in enough trouble today. Now leave me alone.
Bobby: (while leaving) Alright, but we are taking something bigger and faster.
Lance: (jolted awake) The X-Jet!!
Bobby: The propulsion's cut!
Lance: All right!
Jubilee: Um.. I'm new at this, but isn't that a bad thing?
Bobby: Well, it depends how you feel about emergency landings.
(while Lance throws up)
Kitty: (sarcastically) My hero.
Scott: Alvers! You took another joyride, didn’t you?
Kitty: Actually—
Lance: Yeah, I did it. So?
Scott: I knew it.
Bobby: No, he didn’t. (Lance and Scott look over at Bobby upon hearing his voice) We did. Lance was only trying to stop us. We took the X-Van, too.
Logan: (puzzled) Who’s “we”?
Sam: Uh, and Scott’s car.
Jubilee: And your motorcycle.
Logan: (doing his best to keep calm) My motorcycle?
Jubilee: (nervously) Just kidding.
Xavier: Well, luckily, there’s been no official mention of the incident. The military must believe that it was a UFO sighting, so... they’re no doubt covering it up.
Kurt: Now all I’ve got to do is wax the X-Jet, and my probation is history! (he stops when he sees the almost completely destroyed X-Jet) Oh, man! This is going to take a lot of wax.
Xavier: That’s all right, Kurt. Consider your probation over.
Kurt: (to himself, grinning) Yeah!
Xavier: (sternly turns to Bobby, Sam and Jubilee, while Kurt takes off) Yours, however, is just beginning — and you can start by cleaning up the X-Jet. (A remorseful Bobby, Sam and Jubilee begin walking over to the X-Jet)
Scott: (turns to Lance, now feeling embarrassed) I, uh... guess we all owe you an apology — especially me.
Notes[]
- The Lance and Kitty's relationship becomes more apparent in this episode.
- Though Spyke, Jean Grey, Multiple, Berzerker, Wolfsbane and Sunspot appear, they have no lines.
- It is shown later in the episode that Kitty's powers are improving, and she’s obviously getting stronger.
- This episode marks the third time Scott's Convertible has been destroyed. [1] [2] [3]
- This episode shows Kurt's continued punishment from a previous episode, Bada-Bing Bada-Boom. [4]
- However, at the end of the episode, Xavier has lifted Kurt from his probation, and punishes the NM because of their joyrides putting them now on probation.
Trivia[]
- Avalanche's and Cyclops' rivalry is very similar to Cyclops' and Wolverine's rivalry in the Marvel Comics. Avalanche (like Wolverine) is extremely rebellious, and doesn't like taking orders from Cyclops.
- In this episode there is a role reversal between Avalanche and Quicksilver. In the Marvel Comics, Quicksilver joins the good guys (The Avengers) shortly after his first appearance while Avalanche doesn't have any qualms about being a bad guy throughout the series.
- In the Marvel Comics Jubilee is shown to be as fun-loving, as shown in this episode.
- Cannonball is from a small farm, put under much stress, and not as fun-loving as often portrayed.
- This episode along with "Walk on the Wild Side", "Operation: Rebirth", and "Mindbender" are available on the DVD X-Men Evolution: Enemies Unveiled.
Cast[]
Main Cast |
Recurring Cast
Guest Cast |
References[]
|