X-Men '97 (2024) s01e04 Episode Script

Motendo / Lifedeath, Part 1

1
[JUBILEE] Previously on X-Men
[ROBERTO] Please don't hurt me.
I'm Roberto Da Costa,
heir to the Da Costa fortune.
What's this freak's trick?
No clue.
Kid didn't even try to use his powers.
[MEN GRUNTING]
Good guy or bad guy?
Definitely the good guy.
Your parents don't know, do they?
[ROBERTO] Some sort of solar energy.
Just reminds me that I'm different.
Be an X-Men, Jubilee?
I don't even want to be myself.
[SCREAMS]
The breeze is gone.
I cannot feel it, nor the moisture,
nor the air.
- [HANK] The effects appear permanent.
- [GASPS]
Name's Forge, Storm.
An old friend of Charles Xavier.
I'd like to help you get
back what you've lost.
[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]
Gambit found a little extra.
Here, take some cream with it.
Aw, thanks, Remy. You're sweet.
But our new boss beat you to the pot.
It's three sugars.
I'll take a cappuccino
if you just takin' orders.
No. Luckily, I am giving them.
After breakfast, the X-Men will report
to the Danger Room for drills.
We must be ready should
Mister Sinister resurface.
Surely our youngest member
deserves some jubilation
on her 18th birthday.
I second the blue Rogaine ad.
Kid deserves it.
Jubilee will see far more birthdays
should she learn to master her powers
to face a world that despises her.
Yo-ho! Someone's daddy didn't
get him a pony for his sweet 16th.
My parents perished when I was a child.
Who's got two thumbs that blasts
fireworks and turns 18 today?
Me.
Aw, happy birthday, sweet pea.
Boy, do we got some surprises for you.
But first, how do you wanna
celebrate the big 18th, huh?
We are all ears.
Big shocker, I know,
but let's go to the arcade.
It'll be just like old times.
What do we think?
- [MAGNETO GROANS]
- "You would have the master of magnetism
seen in a bar of childish make-believe?"
Ugh! This is bogus.
What's wrong with just one day
where I don't have to freak
out about the Professor,
or Jean and her clone,
or Cyclops and his latest control issue?
They aren't even here because they
just had to go play mutant politics
at the United Nations.
Genosha entering the UN is a big deal.
[SCOFFS] Small fries.
I'm the birthday Big Mac.
You actually do play video games?
Uh, this might be make-or-break.
The only people who hate video
games are bad at video games.
But actually, this one isn't mine.
Never even heard of a "Motendo".
Rogue said they had some surprises.
Day is looking up. Let's play!
I'd rather minha mãe
find out I'm a mutant
than be caught dead playing that.
- [START UP MUSIC PLAYS]
- [JUBILEE] Whoa! What's it doing?
- Hey!
- Whoa!
[BOTH GRUNT]
[YELPS, GRUNTS]
- [ROBERTO GRUNTS]
- What time is it?
How long were we playing?
I assume I won?
- [METAL CLANGING]
- Wait.
- [SCREAMS]
- Hey, let him go!
Whoa! Where'd the mansion go?
[ROBERTO GRUNTING]
How did we get downtown so fast?
Oh, boy!
[ROBOT CHIMES]
You know, it would be a lot easier
if you just used your powers.
What if there's cameras around?
My parents could see me on TV.
- Die, mutie!
- Die, mutie!
Do you really think
everyone is focused on you?
[ROBERTO] Yes.
[PHONE RINGS]
[JUBILEE] Wait a second.
It could be a trap.
A phone booth trap? That'd be creative.
Hello?
- [GAME BEEPS]
- Whoa! Hold up. Genosha?
But, like, way-back-when Genosha?
What the heck?
I was trapped here with Storm.
Gambit, too.
And a bunch of other mutants.
All enslaved to build by Bolivar Trask.
[ROBERTO] The dude
who created the Sentinels?
- [GUN FIRES]
- [GASPS]
[MAN 1] Move in! Fire!
- Halt!
- [MAN 2] Take 'em down!
[MAN 1] Go! Go!
[MEN GROANING]
I didn't do that.
Maybe it was
her.
Was that you, Hot Topic stalker,
calling us earlier on the phone?
[AUTOMATED VOICE] System error.
System error.
[JUBILEE GASPS] Like a cyberpunk mirage.
Duh! We are totally in a video game.
We're what?
Pay attention to the young lady.
You're, like, "totally in a video game".
Love the "totally".
Just what I was hoping for.
Classic Jubilee.
What in the name of all heaven is that?
Mojo here,
your primetime psycho
interdimensional alien TV producer
who feeds off ratings.
My greatest hit?
Putting the X-Men through
overly complicated death traps
to entertain my slaves
"Indentured audiences", sorry.
Looks like you've been dieting?
You noticed!
Got some nip, some tuck.
Actually, it's been
a horrible third quarter
and it shows, let's be real.
Ratings are down, down, down,
and I'm thirsty for the next big
thing, dirty girl. [CHUCKLES]
That's why I made the pivot
to video games.
The future of mind-numbery!
You're not just in a video game, honey.
You're the star!
Player numero uno of my
first blockbuster release,
where every level is based
off your own memories.
Really? Me? Please.
Big names are a fortune.
Dazzler had a gig, don't ask.
So you're my gamer
girl in a gamer world.
You connect with the youth.
You're their point of view.
Picture this, the future of Motendo,
that's "mo" for "Mojo",
in every home, on every world,
in every dimension! Hah!
Zapping up nom-nom-nom
energy from the brains of all who play!
I'll dominate the galaxies and
the 18-to-45 age demographic.
And what if we refuse to play your game?
What then? None of this is even real.
Well, I don't want to
say something scary,
like, "If you die in the game,
you die in real life", but
[CACKLES] Stakes.
Turn those frowns upside down
before I cut you like a one-hit wonder.
This is the dream, Jubilee.
Be young forever,
replay the golden hits, no growing up.
Think about it, Jubes.
The old X-Men are totally old-school.
Who's the Boss? Magneto.
Storm, Different Worlds.
Divorce Court: Summers v. Grey.
That's not X-Men.
You
You're my X-Men, Jubilee, so
Game on!
- [MAGNETO CACKLES]
- [CROWD CHEERS]
[JUBILEE] It's loading. Here we go.
[JUBILEE] All right! [GRUNTING]
[CROWD CHEERING]
[GRUNTS IN FRUSTRATION]
[ROBERTO] Savage Land?
- [BOOING]
- [EXCLAIMS]
[GRUNTS]
[YELLING]
[SPIRAL] She's at it again.
Patch that bug, Spiral!
This is what you get
when you kill tech support.
For failing to kill the bug!
Nothing lost.
Now, shush!
My favorite level.
[CROWD CHEERING]
I remember seeing this place
on the news with minha mãe.
Magneto's old base from
his megalomaniacal phase.
I acted like I hated mutants.
Minha mãe tried saying
there were good ones,
but I could tell she was spooked.
So I said, "They're all freaks,
and normal people would win".
Man, talk about simpler times.
Now, helmet head's bossing us around
and telling me how to spend my birthday.
It's unreal.
We should probably
find a way out of here.
What's the rush?
These levels are taking me back.
Jubes, listen to yourself.
None of this is real.
Sooner or later, you gotta grow up.
Otherwise, reality will smack you
right in the face Ahhh!
[JUBILEE] Roberto.
This talky-talky scene
is taking forever.
It's boss battle time, babies.
I am Magneto.
[GRUNTS]
Oh, no. Roberto's health is almost gone.
He's dying.
Okay, he's got a pattern of attack.
Typical boss battle shenanigans.
I just need to wait for it to cycle.
[GRUNTS]
One more.
[MAGNETO CACKLES]
- [GRUNTS]
- [MAGNETO GROANS]
[CACKLES]
[YELLS]
Roberto!
No, no, no.
This can't be happening.
Is that
an extra life?
How did that get in there?
Spiral, I thought I told
you to get rid of her.
[SCOFFS]
[GASPS] Did I die?
Was I dead?
Oh, thank goodness.
I thought I lost you.
I found an extra life.
Someone is definitely helping us.
[SPEAKING PORTUGUESE]
I don't speak justifiably
angry Portuguese, but I know.
I messed up, big time.
Still, this young lady did
take down old Magneto.
Bow before the lord of magnetism.
[ROBERTO] Whoa!
Hey!
[ROBERTO SCREAMS]
Huh?
[WOMAN] No need for
thank you among friends.
And by friends, I mean you.
I hacked you out of the game server
and into Mojo's broadcast servers
to buy us some time.
She's a plot twist.
She's in league with Mojo.
[BOTH] Zip it, Da Costa.
[CHUCKLES] Like I said, we go way back.
Now, we need to move.
That blobby tyrant fraud could
download in here any second
and then rip us back into
his game of deception.
Gonna hit pause here for a second.
I got a few questions.
Explain everything.
You gotta test a game before launch.
Running endless trial loops
with you two was too risky.
So Mojo needed beta testers,
digital replicas of me.
I'm the only one left.
I've played these levels inside and out.
Relived the glory days
more than I care to count,
but note the hair and wrinkles.
Before Mojo killed the beta,
I figured out a glitch
and hacked my way through
here before deletion.
Figures my game has cheat codes.
Very me.
[SIGHS] Jubilee, I know a part
of you wants to hang here.
It's nice knowing how every stage ends.
No surprises, no twists.
It always stays the same.
But that's not living.
Living doesn't get cheat
codes or extra lives.
But it has friends and family.
Love, loss and heapings of hope.
Life's a total risk and it's on you.
Take it.
So, Magneto was right?
A bit, but he's totally wrong
about one thing.
Video games rule.
Now, what do you say
we destroy Mojo's game
and get you two lovebirds out of here?
[GAME BEEPING]
Two Jubilees?
Cheaters!
[CROWD SHOUTING]
Guys, I think he fell off his diet.
Fine by me.
The bigger they are
the harder they pop.
Wow! I can do that?
[ABSCISSA] That ain't
the half of it. Just you wait.
[GROANS]
Whoa! Ah!
What's the testing on throwing to
a commercial during a video game?
[MOJO SCREAMS]
I got him!
[ABSCISSA] Hold up, cowboy.
It ain't over till the fat despot sings.
[MOJO] Time to end you nasty glitches.
You brats may have canceled me today,
but I swear, I'll gut you in the reboot.
[SCREAMS]
[CROWD CHEERS]
[ELECTRICAL BUZZING]
- Roberto, you could've
- Yeah, talk about risk.
[FORGE] Storm, dinner is ready.
My papa's bison chili.
It's a leaner cut.
Gives room for the spices
to do their magic.
You're very kind.
Well, a friend of Charles Xavier
is a friend of mine.
I owe that fellow a great deal.
As do we all.
How does it work,
a mutant who can invent
anything he can conceive?
I can get at parts of the brain that
are normally dormant in humans.
Draw unique connections,
see how bits fit,
like a Rubik's Cube
on constant autopilot.
Or simply a genius.
Well, life and love, God help me.
But if you're needing a neat toaster
or a thing that'll store
your mutant powers
Or a bowl of this delicious chili.
[LAUGHS] Yep, or chili.
Then I'm your man.
[ORORO] May I ask?
[FORGE] I was a soldier,
and there was a war.
I miss soaring.
The wind in my hair, so
powerful it's hard to breathe,
but so fresh as to be worth it.
Your mutant gifts have
allowed you to fix yourself.
What a blessing.
[FORGE] Wasn't anything to fix.
Just adapted and got a little creative.
Let's go for a ride.
[HOOVES CLOPPING]
[FORGE] Looks like you got creative.
Keep up.
I'm not building you a faster horse.
What a rude little man.
[FORGE LAUGHS]
[GASPS]
[WHINNIES]
[CHUCKLES] The goddess lives.
Beautiful, isn't it?
[OWL HOOTING SOFTLY]
[ORORO] That owl. I've
seen him before, circling.
Perhaps he is like the winds.
The moon affects tides and temperatures,
guiding the wind across
our planet's surface.
The winds here never shift.
They always blow east,
stuck like this owl.
[FORGE] You more than anyone know
how fast the weather can change.
The real trick to reversing
what the X-Cutioner did to you
wasn't making an inverted
version of its radiation.
[ORORO] It was creating a machine
that could safely channel such power.
Ah! You've been listening.
Last power differential clicked in
my head when we were out riding.
Like I said,
helps to get outside.
You ready?
[BREATHES DEEPLY]
[FORGE] Okay, Ororo, give it a try.
[ORORO] Winds,
heed my command.
I am Storm, mistress of the elements.
Rise, winds, and move the desert sands.
[CROWS CAWING]
Please, winds,
hear me.
[TEARFULLY] Please.
This isn't happening, Forge.
It can't be real.
[FORGE] I know, Ororo.
I know.
Oh. You're still working on the machine.
Why is fixing me so important to you?
Storm
[GRUNTS SOFTLY]
After the war,
I didn't have the resources to build
what I so easily saw in my mind.
The Defense Department
offered to help me
as long as I helped them
build some devices.
Devices that could be used to
neutralize dangerous mutants.
No.
No, no, no.
You made these?
No, a scientist in Scotland did.
Using my early designs,
rough strokes at best.
I left the government by then.
You of all people should know the perils
of trusting those in Washington.
[FORGE] That's not fair.
I was hurting, lost, bitter.
I gave up.
If I told you the truth in Dallas,
you wouldn't have let me help you.
So you lied.
My weaver of lies.
It hasn't all been lies.
This
This is not a lie.
No, don't you dare.
I could live forever.
And still, my endless imagination
would never conceive of
a thing as perfect as you.
A perfect path to your redemption.
You are a goddess.
Powers be damned.
How do you not see that?
Ororo, look at me.
Look.
I'll say it once, just once.
Then you can go or you can stay, but
I love you.
You meant to make me a goddess.
Instead, you have fashioned a fool.
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[HORSE WHINNIES]
Ororo!
I was just coming upstairs after you.
What? How did I return here?
- [THUDDING]
- [WARBLING]
[GASPS] By all things in the heavens.
Get out of my home, you damn demon!
[FORGE GROANS]
[FORGE GRUNTS]
[ORORO] Is this death?
- [CREATURE] No.
- [THUNDERCLAP]
You live.
Disappointed.
Trapped here, haunted.
Suffering, despairing.
I feast on misery.
And I, The Adversary,
shall not waste my meal.
[CAPTIVATING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING]
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