“A Breed Apart” is episode twenty-two of season one of Mutant X and the season finale.
Though this is the season finale, it is sometimes listed and played before the previous episode, “Dancing on the Razor”, which makes that episode a bit confusing.
A woman is being chased by three GS agents. She is cornered and the woman, Kelly, says to the lead agent that she thought they were friends. Kelly raises a wall of fire but the female agent pushes it aside. Then Brennan zaps one of the three agents who was standing in a puddle and Shalimar drops in to fight the third, a feral. Brennan tries zapping the feral, but gets blown across the room instead. The female agent uses bars to make a cage around Kelly and Shalimar and Brennan leave; she doesn’t want to stay when there’s something wrong with him.
Back at the Sanctuary, they are telling Adam that the GS agents were all New Mutants. The woman in charge was a telekinetic, but she wasn’t responsible for what happened to Brennan. Adam is concerned; if Eckhart is fielding entire squads of New Mutant agents, it could get ugly. He wants to check out Brennan.
At the GSA, a woman snaps her fingers and everyone stops mid-movement. A pod is retrieved and the telekinetic lifts a man out of it. When the man is gone, the woman snaps her fingers again and everyone continues moving.
Emma asks Adam if Brennan is sick. Not exactly, but Adam’s research is still preliminary. He needs to know if Emma experiences any unusual manifestations of her gifts. It might have been an isolated incident, or it might be the first indication of a major shift in them all. Adam clearly suspects something.
Jesse is in a safe house, briefing some New Mutants who are entering the underground. Then Kelly, not a captive, arrives. She has an alternative offer to the underground, giving him a pamphlet, which mentions The Strand, an organisation for the gifted.
Dr Harrison is speaking to Eckhart. Eckhart is concerned; the man who escaped is Gabriel Ashlocke. Patient Zero, the first child of Genomex, whose New Mutant abilities are in a constant state of flux. He was podded for his own good, and that of the world. Eckhart wants the telekinetic, Fortier, to warn the field agents. Ashlocke’s New Mutant abilities are off the meter and it’s imperative he is brought back into custody. Given Fortier helped him escape, it’s doubtful she’s going to bring him back.
At the Sanctuary, Jesse is telling Emma about what happened at the safe house, handing her the flyer. He hasn’t told Adam yet, as he’s behind closed doors. In another location, Fortier is welcoming Ashlocke; Kelly and some other New Mutants are there.
Shalimar is running with headphones on when Brennan decides to surprise her. She manages to knock him down easily without even seeing he’s there. She doesn’t know how. Adam says her abilities have kicked up a notch. Then Jesse runs in, saying there’s something wrong with Emma. Who is firing mental blasts. Jesse turns intangible, and also manages to turn the stairs he was leaning on intangible. Brennan knocks Emma out with a single bolt.
Adam tells Brennan that what he suspected has been confirmed. They are all experiencing a New Mutant growth spurt. Brennan thinks that’s an understatement. Adam says that eventually, just like when Brennan first got his powers, he will be able to control them. The others are fine. Meanwhile, Ashlocke is speechifying about Eckhart, about not being on a GSA power trip or Mutant X invisibility, but taking their rightful place.
Jesse remembers he wanted to tell Adam about The Strand. He gave the flier to Emma just before she started blasting things. Adam goes to see Emma, who is now practicing. She thinks this makes her worthy of the team; everyone else got to go around kicking some whilst she just played with people’s feelings. When Adam reads the flyer, he sees something that worries him. He says it’s a good idea that they are getting more powerful; it’s going to be needed.
Ashlocke is the monster Adam told everyone about when they joined Mutant X, and as a result of Ashlocke, Adam created some things he now regrets. Ashlocke has every New Mutant power. Eckhart discovers the downside of his management style.