NEW MUTANT X EPISODE: "ONCE AROUND"

A new episode of Mutant X, "Once Around," is scheduled to air in syndication this week. The episode is written by Mark Amato and directed by Bruce Pittman.

Below the photos is a plot synopsis, complete with spoilers. Click on the thumbnails for larger images.

Adam (John Shea) and Prosecutor Ronald Silverman (Christopher Bondy) wait inside the courthouse for the arrival of key witness Vic Collaruso (Robert Smith). Adam assures a nervous Silverman that Vic's testimony will finally put Sam Raymond in prison.

Moments later, Raymond (Lawrence Bayne), who's been evading trials for the last 10 years, enters and approaches Silverman with an outstretched hand. When Silverman takes his hand, an eerie connection is made which Adam notices.

Meanwhile, Brennan (Victor Webster) and Shalimar (Victoria Pratt) wait at the rear door for Vic to arrive, but as the car driving Vic approaches, a motorcycle cop comes out of nowhere and opens fire on the vehicle. Vic, realizing both FBI agents in the car are dead, slams his foot down on the car's accelerator and takes off. He then crashes into a row of garbage cans, grabs his tape recorder and one of the FBI agent's wallets and flees the scene.

Learning that Vic is missing, a disappointed Silverman tells Adam that Raymond's called "The Reader" because he knows things before they happen.

Meanwhile at the jail, Raymond's attorney, Harry Davis (Stephen Bogaert) is confident that even though the Judge granted a 48-hour continuance, the chance that Vic will still testify is unlikely. Raymond then discloses to Davis that he has the ability to look through people's eyes as if they were his own.

At Sanctuary, Jesse discovers that Vic used the FBI agent's credit card to rent a room at the Treelodge hotel. Adam and Emma (Lauren Lee Smith) rush to the courthouse to tell Silverman that they've found Vic, unaware that Raymond is using his powers to tune into their conversation.

Across town, Shalimar and Brennan bust into Vic's hotel room and tell him that they've come to protect him. Vic, realizing that he's in a no win situation, begins to panic. As he heads to the bathroom to dress, he insists that Raymond knows everything and that they'll never lock him away. Jesse, who's standing guard, enters Vic's room to warn the others that three of Raymond's men are approaching. Brennan grabs Vic from the bathroom and Jesse phases out the wall so they can escape. They climb onboard the Double Helix just as Raymond's men blast the aircraft with bullets, shorting out the controls. Brennan shifts to manual and Helix takes off, but the controls soon start to fail and Vic loses his cool.

Back at the courthouse, Adam and Emma ask Silverman whom he leaked Vic's whereabouts to. Silverman insist he told no one. Unbeknownst to them, Raymond is again tuned into their conversation.

Moments later, Emma confesses to Adam that she got the strong feeling that they were being watched. Pondering this, Adam figures Raymond might have psionic powers.

Meanwhile, as Jesse and Victor try to gain control of the aircraft, a terrified Vic begins telling the three the history of his and Raymond's relationship and how a woman named Claudia helped him turn his life around.

In the jail interrogation room, Raymond insists to Davis that if they can't find Vic that they need to go after someone close to him. He calls Martin (Matthew G. Taylor), one of his men who's searching Vic's hotel room, and orders him to do a once around while he's on the phone. Concentrating, Raymond is able to see the room through Martin's eyes and leads him to a pile of pictures. Figuring that the woman in the pictures is Vic's girlfriend, Raymond instructs Martin to find her.

Back on the Helix, the team prepares to land when the controls freeze and they start barreling towards the ground. On Jesse's suggestion, Brennan shoots an electrical arc at the control panel and the aircraft steadies. Jesse lands the Helix in a nearby schoolyard and Brennan, Shalimar and Vic take off in a dilapidated school bus, leaving Jesse behind to fix the Helix.

Meanwhile, Raymond's eyes shoot open when Adam and Emma enter the interrogation room. When he extends his hand for Adam to shake, Emma warns Adam not to touch him.

Back on the bus, Brennan and Shalimar agree to take Vic to see his girlfriend Claudia for a brief visit. Claudia (Megan Fahlenbock) and Vic are arguing in the bedroom when Adam alerts Brennan that Jesse is coming to pick them up in the Helix. Shalimar opens the door to tell Vic it's time to go, but to her surprise he and Claudia have vanished. As Claudia and Vic race down the street, Claudia hands him her cell phone and some money telling him she can't be part of his life. In that moment, Vic realizes that he has to testify against Raymond to prove his love for her.

Just as Vic and Claudia part ways, Raymond's thugs approach Vic. Shalimar and Brennan arrive just in time and take out Raymond's men.

Back on the school bus, Vic receives a call on Claudia's cell phone from one of Raymond's men who tells him that they're holding Claudia and that he has until 9:00 am the next day to turn himself in or they'll kill her.

At Sanctuary, the team discourages Vic from turning himself over to Raymond's people. Adam realizes that the only way to rescue Claudia and get Vic to the courthouse in time to testify is to create two of him.

In the examination room, Emma scans Vic's face while Brennan and Shalimar use a computer to synthesize his voice. Jesse arrives at Claudia's apartment disguised as Vic. Realizing that Martin is going to kill them, he leans in to Claudia and tells her to follow his lead. He touches the wall, phasing it and pulls Claudia through with him. Emma then appears and bombards Raymond's men with psionic blasts.

Later, Brennan and Shalimar bring Vic to Claudia's where they inform him that they've made arrangements for them to move somewhere safe.