US Airdate : 21 April 2003
UK Airdate : 10 August 2003

Shalimar (Victoria Pratt) and Brennan (Victor Webster) are at a science fair with teenager Megan Morrison (Mary Ann Stevens), the daughter of Senator Morrison (Janet Laine-Green), who they’ve been assigned to watch due to recent death threats against the Senator. In the parking garage the three are approached by two thugs who demand that Shalimar and Brennan hand Megan over. As one of the thugs grabs Shalimar, she sends him flying with a swift punch. Brennan then fires up a tesla coil, but is suddenly enveloped by his own electricity and lifted high into the air. Shalimar runs to Brennan, but is knocked out by a blast of his electricity. During the chaos, the thugs grab Megan and leave. Shalimar awakens to see electricity exploding uncontrollably from Brennan.

Blaming Adam (John Shea) and the team for Megan’s abduction, the Senator informs him that she’s hired investigators and will no longer need his help. Overhearing their conversation, Brennan apologizes to Adam for losing Megan. Adam assures him it wasn’t his fault and promises to determine what caused his powers to fail. Moments later, Brennan becomes even more discouraged when he overhears Emma (Lauren Lee Smith) and Jesse (Forbes March) speculating that his powers may be killing him. Meanwhile, the kidnapper tells Megan, who’s been brought to a vacant warehouse, that her life depends on her mother’s cooperation.

Senator Morrison’s head of security, Simon (Karl Pruner), is having tracking devices installed in the phone lines when Adam, Emma and Jesse storm in. Emma hits him with a telempathic burst, giving Jesse time to adhere a chip to the tracking device that will allow them to monitor all the Senator’s calls. Back at Sanctuary, Brennan loses control of his emotions when Adam asks him to sit this one out and assigns Shalimar to lead the team on Megan’s rescue mission. Brennan’s rage turns into raw energy and a stream of electricity shoots from his arm, knocking Jesse down and Brennan unconscious. Sensing the team’s concern, Adam assures them he’s working to stabilize Brennan’s powers.

When the kidnapper contacts the Senator, he demands five million dollars from her campaign fund as ransom for Megan. Monitoring the conversation, Jesse tracks the call and he, Emma and Shalimar take off. They arrive at a dairy factory only to find that they’ve been fooled by an elaborate computerized phone setup. As Jesse fiddles with the keyboard, the kidnapper’s voice suddenly fills the room. He says they shouldn’t have tracked the call and then activates a bomb, the team narrowly escapes the explosion.
Meanwhile, Brennan, feeling useless, convinces Emma to tell him what leads she’s uncovered. She informs him that she’s been investigating Simon and has learned he was involved in a similar kidnapping years before. Moments later, when Adam informs
Brennan he’s still not found a cure to stabilize his powers, Brennan storms off.
Brennan finds Simon and confronts him about the kidnappings. When Simon denies
being involved, Brennan becomes enraged and he begins emitting sparks. Admitting he’s part of the ransom scheme, Simon breaks down and reveals the kidnapper’s name is Christian (Daniel Kash). Totally losing control, Brennan knocks Simon to the ground with an electrical shock, before falling unconscious himself. He wakes up to find an angry Shalimar, who informs him that Adam’s found a cure and that they need to get back to Sanctuary with Simon immediately. Meanwhile, Adam and Jesse are filling the Senator in on Simon’s involvement, when Christian calls and demands that Simon deliver the money at 8 p.m.

Back at Sanctuary, Adam explains that Brennan’s genes are mutating faster than his brain can handle, and he believes Emma’s powers can help stabilize him. Brennan creates a tesla coil, which quickly envelops his body. Just as the electricity reaches its climax, Emma zaps him with a telempathic burst. The intensity causes an explosion, knocking both of them to the ground. As they get up, Brennan fires off a shot of electricity, which he’s completely able to control.

Outside the warehouse where Megan’s being held, Jesse attaches an electronic device to Simon’s chest, telling him it will shock him if he goes against the plan. Terrified, Simon enters the building and shows Christian the money. Shalimar and Jesse watch through a window and see one of Christian’s thugs aim a gun at Simon. Before the thug can pull the trigger, however, Emma appears and hits him with a telempathic burst. Brennan then fires up a massive tesla coil, but before he can shoot it, Christian pulls out a remote device that will activate explosives attached to Megan. Jesse phases through a wall and takes out the thug, while Shalimar ambushes Christian, kicking the device out of his hand. Brennan then shoots a bolt of electricity at the metal briefcase in Christian’s hand. The briefcase explodes and Christian falls to the ground. When the team finds Megan, Brennan surrounds her with a whirlwind of energy, while Jesse phases her body, making her transparent long enough to pull the bomb from her neck. After the ordeal, Senator Morrison and Megan express their gratitude for Mutant X’s help. Adam, still feeling guilty for the pain Brennan suffered, assures him he’ll do further research to try to control the negative effects of their evolving mutations.