5/9

5/9 Jetstream has a very specific objection to Empath: being on the same team should not get him killed. Haroun al-Rashid generates the energy that propels his flight, with technological equipment helping him control it. That puts him opposite Cannonball, another young mutant learning how to turn tremendous propulsion into something more useful than a fast collision. Their rivalry gets a proper test in the Hellions' Combat Room. Jetstream offers a duel with the New Mutants' freedom at stake, and he takes the challenge seriously. He wants to know which student is better, with rules against deliberately killing or maiming the other. Sam wins through the way he uses the room and his training. The result gives their competition a practical answer rather than leaving it at boasting about speed. His argument with Empath grows directly out of Cannonball saving him during their first battle. Haroun knows which boy tried to protect him and which one was willing to let him fall. That gives his insistence on a proper contest a little more weight. He has already seen Sam make a choice that Manuel would not. The Combat Room makes them work rather than simply race in a straight line. Obstacles, distractions and changes of direction matter. Sam has to think about the equipment around him while continuing to fly, and Haroun has to contend with an opponent who is learning from the same experience. Their abilities are similar enough to compare, without making their decisions interchangeable. Jetstream's pride makes him a difficult opponent, but it also gives him standards. He can resent losing to Cannonball while recognizing that another student deserves a fair contest. The adults are much less interested in respecting that arrangement.