Five Against One
Contents
Cast
Betsy Braddock, Marie D'Ancato, Lorna Dane, Nathan Dayspring, Jean Grey, David Haller, Sofia Mantega-Barret, Cain Marko, Wanda Maximoff, Mark Sheppard
Moira MacTaggart, Charles Xavier, Gabrielle Haller
Timing
March 31, 2007 - April 1, 2007
Plot Summary
Already emotionally unsettled by the discovery of documents proving Charles Xavier to be his biological father, Haller consents to dinner with his visiting biological mother, Gabrielle Haller, whom he had until that point believed to be his aunt. This proves to be the final straw for Haller's strained sense of self-identity. Fed by his psionic powers, his Dissassociative Identity Disorder manifests itself in reality as four other entities: the alters Jack, Cyndi, Davey, and a man called Jemail. Jack, Davey and Cyndi flee the scene immediately.
Thanks to a tip-off from Betsy the school is alerted to Haller's situation and manages to retrieve the alters (although some more easily than others). David and his riven parts are returned to the safety of the school, where Xavier determines the phenomena will last only a day, two at most. David, however, only becomes more agitated.
The mystery of this is lifted by Jack, who takes it upon himself to send a mass-email to some select recipients stating that not only is David Charles' illegitimate son, but the stranger Jemail is actually the remnant psyche of a man named Jemail Karami, one of the gunmen who triggered David's catastrophic manifestation at age 10, and who has been living in David's head for over half his life. Lorna and Betsy reach the separate but mutual decision that enough is enough and head to the source. David, meanwhile, has gone to have Emotions by the side of the lake until Cain harangues him into pulling himself together, thus proving why everyone can benefit from the presence of a giant crotchety uncle.
Back in Haller's room Lorna finds Jemail graphically falling apart and recognizes him from a brief encounter in Glorian's dreamscape in January. No longer able to dodge the issue, Jemail finally reveals that six years ago David and Jemail were psychically knit together to preserve the integrity of both personalities. "Jim" was the name chosen by the resulting composite. The attempt was a failure: the internal conflict drove the defender-personality, Jack, to madness and self-abuse in his attempts to rid David's mind of the "infection." This, in turn, necessitated the placing of psychic locks on Haller's telekinesis to prevent the rogue alter from doing serious harm to himself or others. Though it solved the immediate problem, it becomes apparent this event primed Haller for his breakdown years later during The Rictor Effect. Until this point it had been believed the psyches of Jemail and David were inextricable. This is proven true; the forcible separation of the two young men is leading to Jemail's slow disintigration.
Along with Betsy, David's various personalities proceed to converge on the scene and are shortly followed by David himself. There David and his former victimizer have the first face-to-face confrontation they've had in years and resolve their differences with talking, violence, and extended metaphors about 80s cartoons. David and Jemail finally come to rights with one another and reintegrate into Jim; with the conflict removed Haller's powers cease their disruptive manifestations and the alters disappear. Several days later Jim celebrates his reclaimed unity by suggesting all applicable members of Xavier's and Snow Valley go to Harry's for Possession Night, and decides the majority of the school probably doesn't need to know about the whole gestalt-personality-and-Xavier's-bastard-son issue.
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Plotrunners: Tapestry
