Era #11, Part 18: Underground, Part 2 (District X)

Grade: B

David Hines ends the series with a solid, heartbreaking story. Young Billy Bates is ready to come out as a mutant to a girl he likes, but things go wrong when a fight breaks out in the girls' restaurant. He accidentally kills a rowdy human tourist, and he is forced to take her as a hostage and barricade himself in the storeroom as things escalate. Billy is scared and confused, and the police are mobilized in force to deal with a potentially destructive mutant power. it is up to Bishop to talk him down before somebody else is killed. 

There is no easy answer. Billy must hide his powers from his family because they are not ready to accept him, and his reaction to bigoted teasing is fueled by an emotional outburst that also alienates even the mutants around him (including the girl he likes). His phone conversation with Bishop and his exchanges with his hostage reveals somebody struggling to fit in as his body changes. Even the restaurant owner must make a hard choice in the end. There are no winners in Bishop's last case.

[6-stars] District X (2004) #13

[6-stars] District X (2004) #14

Collected in District X (Vol. 2): Underground