“Whiter Shade of Pale” is episode eleven of season one of Mutant X.
A man is in the Mutant X safehouse near the subway, wheeling a cart, when he hears something fall. He looks, but doesn’t see anything. Jesse and Brennan enter the safehouse; the man is the Mutant X delivery driver because he only needs to sleep half an hour a night. He has something for Adam; Jesse and Brennan have a prototype genetic sequencer that is going to be delivered to someone else to duplicate, after which it will be installed in safehouses across the country. Then Brennan sees the genetic sequencer lift into the air. The cart the delivery man was wheeling is pushed strongly and a case is hurled. Brennan hurls electricity, which briefly outlines a human shape and send them into a van window. Whatever it was opens a door and leaves. The driver says he thought he heard something before they came.
Adam was worried that something like this would happen once word of the sequencer got out, so he installed a tracking device in it that will be activated when the device is turned on. He doesn’t believe it will lead to the GSA, as the sequencer isn’t much use to Eckhart. It is useful to a New Mutant whose DNA is mutating out of control. Emma is surprised he is talking so calmly the theft of a prototype device he spent a year working on. Adam thinks Emma is upset enough for both of them. Adam says a stealth mutant will have taken it, and one desperate enough to do that really needs their help. Stealth mutants aren’t invisible; they create a light reflecting shield. Once their DNA starts to break down, this can be debilitating.
Aldus Burke, Eckhart’s minion of the week, is asking for a steady gig, not just to feed intel to the GSA. He has some information on the disappearance of some Mutant X hardware. Eckhart is mildly interested. The thief was invisible. Eckhart is more interested. Burke doesn’t know where it is, but if given a shot he will find out. So, he’s in. He’ll probably regret that.
Emma and Shalimar have returned to the safehouse to look for clues. Emma thought Adam would be angry about the theft. Instead, he seems excited. Shalimar thinks Adam knows who the thief is, someone he has history with. She spots blood on the van’s window where the mutant hit it.
Adam confirms the blood is from a New Mutant, and a woman, but beyond that he’s clueless. Yes, he’d normally match it against the database, but the DNA is too deteriorated. Which is why the thief needed the sequencer. Although Adam says in this situation, the sequencer will be about as much use as a band aid on a broken neck.
The sequencer is activated and its location is found. Adam heads to the house alone. When he gets there, he is knocked aside as the stealth mutant runs out the door. He calls a name, Danielle, then works out where the mutant is and grabs her. Then hugs and kisses her. Yes, they do have history. At which point Burke, who is a feral, arrives. Danielle turns invisible again, running off and telling Adam where to meet her. Burke takes down Adam and steals the sequencer.
Back at the Sanctuary, Emma asks about Danielle, saying she isn’t just a child of Genomex; she meant a lot to Adam. No, she didn’t scan him; there’s no need. Adam says he met Danielle 16 years ago and they fell in love. Danielle knew her lifespan would be limited, and disappeared.
Eckhart isn’t interested in the sequencer, but Burke says getting that is phase 1. He knows who the stealth mutant is, and Eckhart recognises her name. He asks how they failed to detect her presence, given the infrared goggles. Because Burke forgot to take them. Eckhart is going to reassign the case, but Burke wants to continue. Yes, he knows what the consequences are for failure.
Adam is at a restaurant when Danielle arrives. He asks if it’s happening. Yes; exactly as Adam predicted. Danielle didn’t come to see him; she thought Adam would hate her after she left. He did; for a bit. Danielle says that, after what Eckhart told her, she didn’t have much choice. That Genomex was everything to Adam. Adam says Eckhart was simply jealous. Danielle trusted him and, she says, so did Adam. She’s starting to lose control of her abilities.
Emma and Shalimar have gone to Danielle’s house. Emma is uncomfortable with what they are doing. Shalimar makes out it’s for Adam’s protection, as he hasn’t seen the woman in 16 years. Emma is fine with that reasoning. Danielle doesn’t live alone, though. She has a daughter, Catherine, who is also a New Mutant.
Catherine looks, say, 15 years old. Which does raise some obvious questions regarding the timescale. She, too, is a stealth mutant, and will suffer what her mother is going through as well. Danielle, meanwhile, is deteriorating further, and wants to try some experimental treatments.