“Altered Ego” is episode fourteen of season one of Mutant X.
A woman and a man are eating take out in an apartment in a building listed as a development site. Cars are arriving, GSA by the looks of it. The woman touches the man and some sort of liquid is absorbed into his skin. He goes berserk for a bit, as the woman watches on, finding it funny. Afterwards, he tells her that he hates it when she does that. Then the GSA kick in the door. Both are taken, but Shalimar drops in and rescues the woman. They leave in the plane as the man is carted off.
The woman, Charlotte, is taken to the safehouse where Adam and Jesse are. Adam knows her and he’s glad she decided to contact them. He mentions the last time he saw her, and Charlotte reminisces that it was Adam, her and her father. They went to dinner and, tight after that, her whole life changed thanks to Adam. Charlotte may be smiling but it doesn’t seem real. Charlotte was hoping to be taken to the Sanctuary. Adam is sorry about what happened to her father. Charlotte claims she wants to join Mutant X, she could help. She’s gifted, she can turn bad people to good. Doesn’t Adam owe her this?
At the Sanctuary, Emma is talking to Brennan about Charlotte. It seems Adam and Charlotte’s father worked at the biochemistry department at Stamford. Until Adam turned him in. He was convicted for selling biological weapons and committed suicide before his trial. Charlotte’s power is manipulating the moral polarity of a person.
The man who was with Charlotte, Skeet, is at the GSA. His power is defoliating small plants. Eckhart wants to know about Charlotte cook. Why did she contact Mutant X? Because she hates Adam and wants to ruin his life the way he did hers. Skeet wonders what’s in it for him if he helps. Eckhart’s minion, Lynch, won’t use his painful-looking New Mutant powers on him, that’s what. Skeet explains that Charlotte can change people. Most times, it’s short, but sometimes it’s forever. Eckhart is interested.
At the safehouse, Adam is giving Charlotte some contact details. She’s going into the underground, but that’s not what Charlotte wants. She wants to join Mutant X. Then uses her power on Jesse, then Shalimar, who change and end up fighting each other. They come out of it fairly quickly, but Charlotte is gone.
Lynch is telling Eckhart that Charlotte is back on the streets because her plan failed. He feels that with the proper training and guidance, she could become an asset. Eckhart says that if Lynch wants to become Charlotte’s mentor, he can, but if she fails, Lynch fails. Really, never take on of Eckhart’s offers of this kind. Eckhart also offers some advice. Convince Charlotte they are collaborators, not captors; if her desire for revenge can be harnessed, it’s priceless.
Adam is checking Shalimar over. She says she could have killed Jesse. Or him, her, according to Adam. They’re lucky the toxin wore off. Shalimar wants to know what to do with Charlotte if they find her again. Adam feels responsible for what happened to her and has to help. No-one else can. Shalimar tells Adam to watch his back; Charlotte tried infiltrating Mutant X to turn them against each other.
Brennan and Emma are at Charlotte’s apartment when Emma gets a flash of her on a roof top. She tells Adam so he can narrow down the location. Skeet, Lynch and GS agents are also looking for Charlotte. Skeet says he knows where she will be. Adam has found the place, but Charlotte still doesn’t want to go with Brennan and Emma. When her father was arrested and killed himself, the others from her school reacted with the thought and compassion that was to be expected. They shunned Charlotte, were glad her father was dead and suggested she kill herself as well. Then the GSA shows up and Lynch uses his power on Charlotte whilst Emma and Brennan are fighting the other agents.
At the GSA, Lynch is manipulating Charlotte, telling her that Adam could have handled things better and that she could join the GSA, who want to get rid of Adam as well. The manipulation is pretty transparent, but Charlotte falls for it. Charlotte is also a weak point for Adam; he sees her as something other than a woman out for revenge on him. In addition, her powers work differently on people who aren’t New Mutants. Like Adam. You can guess where this is going to go.