“Russian Roulette” is episode three of season one of Mutant X.
Jesse and Brennan are talking to a woman, asking if she’s sure that she saw the Russians following her. She is; and that they saw her use her abilities, as she was underwater for 20 minutes. They want the girl to come with them, although she has heard weird stories about the underground. She stands, and a man sees her through the scope of a weapon. He is with a woman; detection apparently works but they are still out of range for neutralisation. The girl is convinced to go with Jesse and Brennan but, when Brennan stands, the two with the weapon also spot him.
The Russians leave their hiding spot and Brennan tells Jesse to go and take the girl. He throws electricity at the Russians, knocking them down, but the woman grabs the weapon as he approaches. She shoots Brennan with an energy bolt before he can fire more electricity – it’s a bit time consuming doing that. Jesse arrives with a car as Brennan is on the ground – the latter not being able to generate more electricity – and they leave.
Emma is scanning Brennan back at base. He says he’s fine. He isn’t. Adam told Emma that Brennan was hit with a particle beam that threw his DNA out of whack. Paraphrasing here. Jesse is talking to Adam. He didn’t see the weapon and Adam says it did more damage than merely neutralising Brennan’s power. When Jesse says the attackers were Russians, these means something to Adam. He brings up a hologram of a Pushka H5B7, a Russian military weapon from 1980 desi8gned to neutralise New Mutants. They need to get the weapon to fix Brennan by reversing the process, and they need the failsafe too, or the weapon will self-destruct
The Russian woman, Sonya, is meeting with Eckhart. It seems the two know each other. He also doesn’t think much of the Pushka, saying it was an embarrassment to Sonya’s government that led to her father’s death in a gulag. Eckhart is going to pay Sonya for each New Mutant she brings in. She claims the weapon works; he looks around for the New Mutants she has therefore captured. Sonya says there was a glitch; the electrical mutant got away, but the Pushka got him. Sonya leaves, telling Eckhart he knows how to get in touch.
Shalimar is with a family at their home. The father is a telekinetic, but the son, Daniel, isn’t. She’s finding the experience a bit weird.
Brennan is getting worse and Emma uses her powers to give him some peace. She asks Adam if they can save Brennan; he isn’t sure. Then they get a message that someone is calling Genomex from the safe house that Shalimar visited. The son, Daniel, is offering up his father and Shalimar both New Mutants, to Eckhart.
Eckhart calls Sonya and tells her about the family. He wants them alive and gives her a subdermal governor. Just in case the Pushka doesn’t work. Sonya replies that she’s solved the problems. Eckhart wants the New Mutants neutralised but alive. Not killed unpleasantly as the Pushka is wont to do.
Sonya contacts Daniel to arrange a meeting, but Adam is listening in. He wants Jesse to find the Pushka, learn how to use it and bring it back so they can save Brennan. No pressure. Adam plans to teach Daniel a lesson in moral responsibility. Daniel is grabbed and bundled in a car, taken to meet Eckhart. He was kept blind during the process, by the same means that Emma was in “The Shock of the New”. Eckhart explains what he does to New Mutants; Daniel seems all for it. However, what Daniel is seeing isn’t what’s really there; Eckhart is really Adam. This comes as no surprise. Jesse is going to take Daniel’s place at the meeting, but he pretends to be more mercenary than Daniel was. Daniel himself is keeping secrets.
The series seems to have improved a bit, fortunately, and there is less overuse of camera effects.