The X-Impulse

"The X-Impulse" is the second episode of Season One of Kids' WB's X-Men: Evolution. It was written by Greg Johnson & Rick Ungar and directed by Gary Graham. It is the second episode of the series overall, and premiered on November 11, 2000.

Overview
''When Kitty Pryde discovers her mutant ability to phase through objects, she's naturally frightened and confused. Xavier sends Jean Grey on a mission to recruit her, only to find out that she has already been won over by Lance Alvers, otherwise known as the mutant Avalanche. Meanwhile, Wolverine's arch-nemesis, Sabretooth rolls into town and he's looking for a fight.''

Synopsis
One night, in an average middle-class home, a young girl is in her bedroom sleeping and she starts to dream. In the dream, the girl is flying high through a city, seemingly enjoying herself when she suddenly starts to fall. When she's about to crash from the fall, she wakes up from the dream to find herself in the basement of her home. She quickly starts to breakdown as her parents come running down the stairs to her cries. Her father asks her if she was sleepwalking, the girl denies this and replies that she fell through the ceiling. Meanwhile, at the Xavier Institute, the girl's mutant signature is picked up by Cerebro as it gives Charles Xavier her statistics. The girl's name is revealed to be Kitty Pryde, age fifteen, who lives in Northbrook, Illinois.

As Kitty's mother comforts her by reassuring that she was just having a nightmare, her father looks at the ceiling and replies that he's not that sure as he realizes how his daughter had managed her way into the house's basement as her sheets and pillow are half way phased through the ceiling. Upon seeing this, Kitty becomes further hysterical and confused as she starts questioning what she is and what's happening to her. Xavier tells someone to prepare the Blckbird.

The next morning at Bayville High, Kurt's running late for school again since he was getting another "Breakfast Burger Gutbomb" as he teleports in close to his class. But he gets caught by Principal Darkholme while trying to sneak into the school. She reminds him of his tardiness and begins to threaten to enroll him in one of her after school groups before Scott arrives to collect Kurt upon his teacher's request. As he dragged Kurt inside, Scott scowls Kurt about his junk food obsession.

Meanwhile, despite the previous events from last night, Kitty still decides to go to school before being caught by her mother while trying to sneak out. Her mother questions her decision about leaving while bringing up what they decided earlier, Kitty expresses her irritation that neither her father or her wanted to talk about it before her father starts calling for her. Kitty begs her mother to let her leave as her father would make her stay home. As her mother grants her permission to leave the house, Kitty blows her a kiss in gratitude as she's leaving while her mother looks on, concerned.

Later, Jean was selected by Xavier to accompany him in recruiting of Kitty. While traveling in the Blackbird, Jean questions why she was chosen for aiding him and not the rest of the team before Xavier explains that she could connect with the girl. Jean then asks about the other mutant signature that Cerebro picked up, the one in the foster home. Xavier clarifies the mutant's name is Lance Alvers as he tells her to keep her focus on Kitty and her parents and to let him worry about Lance. The two arrived at the girl's home, where her father rudely tells them that it's none of their business and to leave them alone as he profoundly slams the door in their faces. Jean cited that next time, they should call and get hanged up on instead before Xavier explains that she would have to make direct contact with Kitty at her school.

Meanwhile at the mansion, Logan's cleaning his motorcycle when he hears the hummer of Sabretooth's motorcycle in the distance. Turning his attention to the sound, he sniffs the air and catches Sabretooth's scent, confirming that it was his long-time nemesis. Sabretooth also catches Wolverine's scent while riding by the mansion. Logan quickly gets suited up and departs from the institute to pursue his enemy. While driving, Wolverine blazes by Scott and Kurt on their way home from school. Kurt asks Scott of Wolverine's reasoning for departing, Scott concludes that he looks angry and agrees when Kurt suggest that them should follow him.

After arriving at school, Kitty goes to her locker to put her books away while getting ready for her P.E. class before being shoved and locked in her own locker by two girls named Riley and Amy. Kitty pounds on the door and yells from them to let her out but the two girls laugh at her as they run away to their next class. Soon afterwards, a teenage guy comes out of the men's restroom as he looks around to make sure that the hallways are empty. He then starts to spray paint graffiti over all the lockers in the hallway. Inside the locker, Kitty hears something outside and begs to be let out before phasing through and simultaneously slamming into Lance Alvers as he's passing by. Lance is enthusiastic about Kitty's powers and choses to introduce himself to her as he tells her that he understands because she is just like him. Kitty is skeptical before he proves this by showing her his powers as he concentrates, causing a small earthquake in the near vicinity. After this demonstration, she concludes that he was some sort of freak before running off.

After arriving late outside for her gym class, Kitty fails the long jump course, much to the enjoyment of Riley and Sydeny. Lance and two other boys are on the school's rooftop trying to find a way to break into an office and steal test answers. Lance realizes that he can use Kitty to get into the office as he sees what happening on the track field below. When Riley takes her turn, Lance causes a tremor and hits Riley with a load of sand during her long jump. Kitty realizes Lance's involvement after he waves at her from the rooftop before running off towards the school and bumping into Jean Grey on the way.

Retreating to the school's auditorium, Kitty is frustrated and starts kicking around the set props on stage. She knocks over a bowl and as she tries to catch it, the bowl phases through her hands. Kitty begins to experiment with her powers before being walked in on by Jean, whom she tried to hide from by placing the mask she practiced with in front of her face. Though Jean tried to comfort her, Kitty did not believe her initially, thinking her to be one of Riley's friends. However, Jean insisted that she was not and tried to relate to her by revealing that when she first gained her powers, which she referred to as gifts that she hated them as well and showed her that she could levitate things after she was able to levitate the mask in Kitty's hands. But, Kitty still does not believe Jean as she says that is must be a trick. Jean comes back with the fact that she knows that Kitty believes her as Jean also reveals that she could read minds, much to Kitty's discomfort as this causes her to scream at Jean to get out of her head and running away from her. After Kitty's departure, Lance threatens Jean by telling her to leave Kitty alone before he goes to pursue Kitty.

Leaving the auditorium, Kitty changed clothes and retreated to her locker getting her books for her next period before being confronted by Lance. Initially trying to fight him, Lance properly introduces himself and reveals to her that he won't use his power as he merely wants to talk to her. At first Kitty's still wary of him, but after Lance explains to her how lonely and sick he felt after he first got his powers, that he knows what she's going through before inviting her to see him after school by the office in an hour. Soon afterward, Jean contacts Xavier via cell phone while he's at the Social Services Building in Chicago. She tells him about Lance's reaching out to Kitty while Xavier concludes that if Lance does then they won't be able to reach her. Jean agrees as Xavier tells her that he doesn't want to lose her and to stay with it and to keep trying.

Meanwhile, Nightcrawler and Cyclops track Wolverine to find him standing on the rooftop of a six story parking garage. He's looking for Sabretooth before the latter charges at Wolverine with his motorcycle, preparing to run him over. As Wolverine was able to dodge it, while addressing Sabretooth as "pops" and to bring it on as he unleashes his claws. While Sabretooth missed him, Wolverine was able to slice off his front wheel with his claw, causing Sabretooth to fall of the rooftop they were fighting on. Soon, Sabretooth started ramming cars through the said rooftop eventually hitting Wolverine in the back with a car. Wolverine was soon to be trapped, having been pinned by Sabretooth against a wall with a car.

Sabretooth tells him that it was their destiny that one would fall at the other's hand as Wolverine stresses that he was unaware that he believed in destiny. Wolverine is then saved by Cyclops and Nightcrawler after Cyclops fired a optic blast at Sabretooth, knocking him into a nearby car. Nightcrawler then proceeded to tackle at Sabretooth, only to be knocked down as Sabretooth's about to lunge at him. Wolverine then saved Nightcrawler from Sabretooth by slamming them both into an elevator shaft. After Sabretooth kicks him out and the elevator closes, Wolverine tried to slash his way inside using his claws in an attempt to get to Sabretooth before the elevator lowered with Sabretooth calling out to him, "A taste for things to come, Wolverine". With Sabretooth's escape, Wolverine angrily tells Cyclops and Nightcrawler that he doesn't fight their battles and in return, they should not fight his as he walks away. While Nightcrawler says that Wolverine really likes the two, Cyclops sarcastically replies that he really does, big time.

Meanwhile, Lance is outside the school's office waiting for Kitty. Once she arrives, she questions how does he take control. Lance tells her that the way to take control of her powers is to admit something that no one wants to - that they are outsiders and that there may actually be something wrong with them. As Kitty begins to become very depressed, Lance tells her that she should not fret but to embrace the fact. As the way he sees it is that fate dealt them winning cards, if they play them together. Kitty's still confused as nothing is making any sense to her but Lance reassures her. She succeeds in phasing through the school's office and she's excited about her powers for the first time. Outside, Jean Grey and Xavier met up with Kitty's parents telling them that Kitty has broken into the office as her parents tell them that she has never done something like this before. Jean departs with Kitty's parents to go find her.

As Lance finishes downloading the test results and about to change their school grades, Kitty gets upset as she realizes that Lance was using her and her powers for his own personal gain. Lance starts to get a bit more forceful with Kitty as she struggling to get away from him when Jean Grey and Kitty's parents arrive. Originally, Kitty's father tries to stop Lance but the said mutant uses his powers to topple a bookcase on top of him. Lance, afraid of what might happen if they're caught, creates a hole in the wall via his powers as they try to talk Kitty out of going with Lance. He tells them that it's too late as she's with him now as he grips her arm and starts to drag Kitty along with him through his escape route.

Things eventually escalate to the point where Lance decides to bring the whole school down to stop Kitty's parents and Jean from following them. While Lance began to take her away, Jean reminded Kitty that earlier she stated that she didn't want her powers to become a curse before stating that if she did go with Lance, they would indeed become her curse. Kitty finally realizes that Lance was wrong and dangerous after he tries to keep her from her family. After she phases her arm out of Lance's grip, Kitty runs back to her parents. Lance becomes quite furious, creating a large tremor that accidently causes the ceiling to fall in around her, then quickly leaves. Jean manages to use her telekinesis to keep the ceiling debris from collapsing around her and Kitty's parents with Xavier's help. As Kitty's parents are still grieving over the apparent loss of their daughter, Kitty phases through the rubble. After using her powers to save her family, Jean and herself, Xavier tells her that she used her gift well. Kitty hugs and apologizes to her parents as she tells her father that the X-Men want to help her and that she trusts them. Her father agrees as they all decide to talk with Professor Xavier about Kitty entering his school.

Later, Lance watches as the Fire Department puts out any flames from the remainder of the school. He walks away from the scene as Principal Darkholme appears behind him saying that he's blown his chances at this school. Lance asks who she is and replies that she's his new advisor and that she has made an opening for him at Bayville High. She further explains that she has much to teach him as she transforms into Mystique, while codenaming him Avalanche.

Credits

 * Written by:
 * Rick Ungar (story)
 * Greg Johnson (story, writer)


 * Directed by:
 * Gary Graham


 * Starring:
 * Maggie Blue O'Hara - Kitty Pryde / Shadowcat (first appearance)
 * Christopher Grey - Lance Alvers / Avalanche (first appearance)
 * Scott McNeil - Logan / Wolverine


 * Also starring:
 * Venus Terzo - Jean Grey
 * David Kaye - Prof. Charles Xavier / Professor X
 * Michael Donovan - Victor Creed / Sabretooth (first full appearance)
 * Kirby Morrow - Scott Summers / Cyclops
 * Brad Swaile - Kurt Wagner / Nightcrawler
 * Coleen Wheeler - Raven Darkholme / Mystique


 * Additional voices
 * Janyse Jaud:
 * Amy
 * Mrs. Pryde
 * Venus Terzo - Riley
 * Sam Vincent - Griff