Black Lightning (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 4 - Episode #2.4 - full transcript
Previously on Black Lightning...
Don't make me rip that mask
off your face. You say it.
After all these years, huh, man?
According to Reverend Jeremiah Holt,
his church's Rebecca
Lee Crumpler Free Clinic
is in danger of shutting down.
The clinic is running out of time.
If I don't help, then I'll just be
wasting the gifts that God gave me.
That's what your father
always used to say.
God bless you, sister.
I'm gonna set up a meeting
so that you can convince
Dr. Jace to come on board.
I'd like to include you in a
team working to save the children.
- The pod kids.
- Yes.
Now, the purpose of Black Lightning
was to kill Tobias,
who killed my father.
I wanted you to hear it from me.
We caught Tobias.
She needs help.
She needs a therapist to talk to.
Can I help you?
My name is Perenna.
Where the hell are we?
A place inside you that will eventually
allow you to control your powers.
Before you can stuff your
feelings into anything,
we need to know what those feelings are.
_
_
What do you guys think?
- Baby, you look beautiful.
- Thank you, Mom.
Gorgeous.
All right, come on. Get together.
Yeah. Yeah, right.
Got to love pictures.
Oh, come on, Dad. You are old school.
Hey. Not all cameras
are used for selfies now.
- You really do look beautiful.
- Thanks.
Really, J?
This dude?
J, we need to talk.
I can't stop it!
You can. You are the storm,
so you can control the storm.
Don't fear it. Own it. Pull
the energy back into you.
Take a minute, and know
that you are this power.
Now...
put it in the box.
Hey, hang in there. I'm right here.
I can't. I tried.
- I tried. I...
- I know.
But you're making progress.
Who is this Khalil?
I've been in here two days
and haven't changed or nothin'.
How is it you never seem to age?
Well, a vegan lifestyle
mixed with a little
yoga really does work.
I keep saying black folks
got to get off of that
fried chicken and
watermelon Kool-Aid diet.
Plus, I do my best to
stay out of the sun.
I'mma ask you a few questions.
I know you gonna lie to me,
but do you happen to know
your whereabouts last Thursday night?
I'm pretty sure that's domino night.
Have you seen Marsellus White recently?
Man, now you digging in the crates.
It's been years.
How's that brother doing?
Great. Up until the moment
somebody snapped his neck.
Damn.
All this violence in Freeland...
- is disturbing.
- Mmm-hmm.
Conveniently, all this
happened the very same week
that the DNA evidence
in Alvin Pierce's murder
went missing from our evidence room
and one of my cops who had access
to that evidence room
got himself set on fire.
My condolences.
I'm sure his kids will be happy
to know that you're concerned.
You forgot something,
you translucent freak.
You are not going to get away with this.
Deputy Chief Henderson.
"Translucent."
That's a very interesting
choice of words.
It means you can see right through me.
And if you can see right through me,
then you know what I'm thinking.
He orchestrated this whole thing.
He killed his former lieutenant,
he got rid of our DNA evidence,
got himself arrested
knowing we would have to let him go,
all while rehabilitating his
reputation with one stroke.
Well, the judge will call that a theory.
I need hard evidence of something.
Murder, obstruction,
conspiracy to commit obstruction.
Without that, we're gonna
have to let him walk.
You got about 48 hours, if that.
As always, Ms. Montez,
you're a regular ray of sunshine.
She gave that money to Reverend Holt?
Yes.
Who'd she steal it from?
Mobsters from some break-away republic.
They were laundering money
for that redevelopment project downtown.
And you knew about this?
I did.
But you didn't come to me first?
If I'd done that, I would
have lost Anissa's trust.
I don't care about that.
I do. Listen, Jeff,
Tobias is still out there,
and he's got the briefcase.
And some faction of the ASA
is almost certainly still hunting metas,
which means that you and the girls
continue to be in danger.
If I had let Anissa go out there
by herself that night, she
might be dead right now.
And I wasn't about to let that happen.
I told her I was going to
tell you after the fact.
I have.
What you do now is up to you.
Not only was it illegal,
but you could've been hurt.
Bullets literally bounce off of me.
Only if you're ready for 'em.
And you think you saved
the clinic with that money?
No, you just made it a target.
Dad, Freeland is already a target.
This is way bigger than a clinic.
They have a reason for
buying all this property.
And whatever that reason is,
it means way worse things
than the clinic being a target.
That's because they're not just
gangbangers on a corner, Anissa.
These are professional criminals.
Aren't we supposed to be helping people?
We are helping people.
But unlike criminals,
we have rules that we need to follow.
- Rules made by who?
- Rules made by me.
Guess what? I have a
different set of rules.
Because I'm not gonna watch my people
get taken advantage of.
They are not your people, Anissa.
And as long as you're under my roof,
you will follow my rules.
Wow.
Okay. So you're going there?
No, we're not going
there. We're already there.
Okay.
If you're gonna use this house
to try and tell me what to do,
I'll make it easy for you.
I'll be out of here by morning.
So you leaving the rest for me, or what?
Oh, come on, Jen. Would you stop that?
Or you gonna get me crying, too.
Come here.
Look, I'm not dying,
okay? I'll still be around.
I just cannot have Dad thinking
he can control me.
You act like he doesn't
do the same thing to me.
You're 16. Your fast ass
could use a bit of controlling.
Oh, I'm fast? What are you, then?
Grown. And what I do
is my own damn business.
Anissa...
I know I'm doing a lot, but I don't know
how I'm gonna get though
all this stuff without you.
Really. I can't talk to
Mom. I can't talk to Dad.
Listen.
You know I'm always here for you,
right?
Give me that.
Khalil? Have you lost your
damn mind? He killed Dad.
Anissa, he killed Black Lightning.
Oh, so now you're sticking up for him?
When did he start texting you?
A while ago. But I never
hit him back. I swear.
Not once. I swear.
Yo, you've gotta shut this down.
Now, I know y'all used to be tight,
but he is not who he was.
You don't think I know that? I know.
Jennifer...
whatever you are going through...
this boy is not the answer.
I know.
Here.
And you better stay away from him.
Okay.
Look, even if I'm not in this house,
I will always be there for you.
Come here, little girl.
I love you, girl.
I love you.
I think we've put so much
attention on Jennifer,
we've forgotten this is all new
for Anissa as well.
This path she's taking...
Stealing.
It only leads to blood...
Hey, it's the same path
you took early on, remember?
No, I never stole.
Well, you may not have stolen or killed,
but how close to the edge did you get?
I'm sorry...
that you have to go through all this.
That you had to pull that trigger.
It was a live-or-die situation.
I chose to live.
I've come to terms with it.
Mr. Pierce?
You're letting Tobias walk?
First of all, I'm not
letting him do anything.
Unlike Black Lightning,
I'm not a vigilante.
I just can't go around
breaking the law. I am the law.
And secondly, where are you
getting your information from?
I can't say.
Of course you can't.
Well, whoever pulled your coattail
should've told you the
evidence against him is...
- It's all gone.
- Wait, what? But...
the newspapers? What about the DNA?
What about the guy he worked with?
He was murdered last week.
So he's just been playing
you the whole time?
Right now, that's what
it looks like, yeah.
No, no, there's gotta be something else.
And I'm confident he
made some sort of mistake,
and I will find it. But in the...
Put me on the stand.
Okay. Why? To say what?
That I was there. That I
saw Tobias kill my father.
You gonna perjure yourself now?
That's not how I roll. You know that.
I'm not lying. I was there.
What?
I was there.
I saw Tobias murder my father.
Gambi didn't let me say anything
because he thought it was
the best way to keep me safe.
Damn, bro. Any more lies or half-truths
you want to clear up?
Come on, man. Look, we gotta
squash this beef, all right?
So that you and I can work together
and take down Tobias.
You really don't understand
what position you've put me in
as a deputy chief or as a friend.
I got work to do.
Please try not to move.
Nobody knows you're here.
The straps are for your own protection.
I don't want you to hurt yourself.
Whatever it is you were shot with,
it went straight through.
Tobias.
With a harpoon.
You've lost a lot of blood.
You've gotta help me. Please.
Kara, you need to make your peace.
No, there's gotta be something.
Kara, you've got sepsis.
And it's only going to get worse.
You're trying to play me.
You lying old hypocrite.
You ain't no better than I am.
No, I'm not. But I've had time to atone.
You don't.
At least tell me what you know.
I'm not telling you a damn thing.
I'm hoping you might reconsider.
This is for the pain.
- Come on, man!
- Hey! Hey!
Hey, hey, hey! No, no! Enough!
Enough, both of you.
Everybody, back to class. Go. Go on.
Go. Now, look, I don't
know what this all about,
but at Garfield, we do not
settle disputes with our fists.
- Yeah, no, but I...
- No, wait. No, no.
No. "Hate is too great a burden to bear.
It injures the hater more
than it injures the hated."
Who said that? Hmm?
- Coretta Scott King.
- That's right. That's right.
Now, look each other in the eye.
In the eye.
Shake hands and squash
this beef. Come on.
- Yes.
- What's going on?
I heard there was fighting.
No, no, Principal Lowry, I
got it. Everything's okay.
Had I wanted your opinion,
Mr. Pierce, I would've asked.
Now, which one of you
threw the first punch?
It doesn't matter.
These young men have...
- Answer the question.
- His punk ass did.
Hey, man, he was talking
all that mess, dog,
and you know what?
Calm... Calm down, okay?
So it was you? What's your name?
Sekou Hamilton.
Congratulations, Mr. Hamilton,
you've just been expelled.
What? Hey, Mr. Pierce, what's...
And you are suspended for a week.
- What?
- Look, Principal Lowry,
these two are good kids.
They just made a mistake.
And this school has a
zero-tolerance policy
when it comes to fighting.
Now get back to class.
No, this school was
built on the understanding
that no one is beyond redemption.
Times change, Mr. Pierce.
And if you feel you're
unable to properly enforce
the school's new rules and policies,
well, you're free to leave as well.
Let's go.
Expelled? Come on...
Go back to class. Everything's fine.
Go back to class. It's fine.
Don't you ever talk to me like that.
Not here or anywhere else.
Are you threatening me, Mr. Pierce?
Oh, for the record, yes.
As I've said, if you
don't like my methods
or find you're unable to support them,
feel free to go.
No... To hell with that. Let's be clear.
I am only here to give you cover,
to give your presence
at Garfield legitimacy.
So we both know I'm not going anywhere.
No, no. You're here to give
cover to the board, not me.
Now, I understand
why they need their
Black Jesus, but I don't.
Because no child will
be shot, kidnapped,
or overdose on Green
Light on my watch, period.
Look, if you give that
kid another chance,
he will become a person
that we can all be proud of.
But you throw him out on the street,
odds are, he's gonna
become someone to be feared.
Zero tolerance.
The rule offers no
room for interpretation,
which is why it will be easy
for all of us to understand.
Yeah.
I take it it didn't go
so well with your father.
You mind if I crash for a few days?
Of course. You're always welcome.
You stay as long as you like.
Thank you, Uncle Gambi.
But I'm gonna have to let
your parents know you're here.
I know.
Come on, let's get you settled in.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
That's odd.
Are you expecting something to happen?
Yes.
No. No, no, no, no. This is not right.
This... What's happening?
What's happening?
Guess we know what his powers were.
If you knew he was gonna wake up,
why didn't you say something?
- We could've saved him.
- We couldn't.
The subject was experiencing
rapid mitochondrial deterioration.
- Death was imminent.
- No! He's not a subject!
He's a person, and his
name is Sean Phillips.
And now he's dead.
Indeed. And now we have more data.
I'll input this.
No.
Hey, sweetheart.
So how'd it go yesterday?
I see you're ignoring me.
Wonderful.
You know, I didn't think
there was anything else
you could take away from me,
and then you threw Anissa out.
I did not throw her out.
I confronted her.
She made a choice.
You know what, Dad? I get it.
It's cool. You never
make any mistakes, right?
You're perfect.
Uh...
All right, Tobias. Here's your lawyer.
How about a little music?
If you want, I can make a couple calls,
have you home by dinner.
It never ceases to amaze me
how all you white folks
feel this need to be the savior.
Makes me want to laugh
and at the same time,
punch you in the face.
Now, before my smile fades,
how about you tell me why you're here.
A, uh... significant
sum of money was stolen
from us by some bitch with powers.
Ah, so that's how the free clinic
got its miraculous donation.
Mmm.
Out of respect, we've come to you.
Before we spill blood on
the streets of Freeland,
your streets...
we're here to ask for permission.
You want to kill her?
We have ideas on how to make our point.
Permission granted, under one condition.
I want facial and body
recognition monitors
set up outside the clinic,
just in case Black Lightning shows up.
He's been walking around
Freeland every day,
and no one knows who his black ass is.
But I'm going to burn this city down
and everyone in it until I find him.
He's taken everything from me.
Tori, Joey Toledo, Syonide.
He's got to die.
And he's got to die soon.
We're on the same page.
_
You okay?
I lost another kid.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Yeah.
Did Jennifer tell you that
she fried another laptop?
What?
That girl is costing me a fortune.
I thought she was making progress.
She is. But this is
why I don't feel like
she's ready to go back
to school, you know?
I mean, it only takes one mistake.
Yeah, true.
Uh. Besides, I wouldn't want her there.
Garfield is not Garfield right now.
- Lowry?
- Mmm.
Yes, Lowry.
You know what? I want
to take my school back.
I mean, this guy, he's...
He's just a pencil pusher
trying to get to another raise.
He doesn't care about the kids.
So, then, take it back.
If there's one thing I
know about Jefferson Pierce,
when he puts his mind to something,
there aren't enough Lowrys in the world
that can stop him.
Everything happens for a reason.
My father would have loved you.
Good taste.
Great taste.
Oh, hey, sweetheart.
Hey.
You mind if I have a second with Dad?
Yeah.
Just...
Just remember you were sad
when she left yesterday.
It's good to see you.
Look, Dad, Gambi thinks
the free clinic's in trouble
and that someone's gonna attack it.
Just go ahead and say,
"I you told you so."
- I know you're dying to.
- No.
I wish I weren't right.
Dad, I think I need your help.
Well, I'm here to do
what needs to be done.
And I accept your apology.
Well, that's... That's funny,
because I didn't give one.
But I'll definitely take yours.
Yep. Let's go.
All right, Henderson's up to speed.
But since there's no
definite time or threat,
he couldn't get the clinic to shut down.
All they'll do is beef up
security for a week or so.
Okay, so what should we do?
Though there are no known
photos of Vladislav Zlovac,
the guy in charge of this
redevelopment project.
He just transferred $50,000
from one of his business accounts.
- To who?
- Don't know.
After being rerouted several times,
I traced it to a company in Chicago.
But it turns out, other
than a bank account
and a digital profile,
the company doesn't even exist.
Chatter on the Dark Web tells me
that the money was for
some sort of hired gun.
Now, the clinic only has
two points of entry...
The front door on the street
and this service door off the alley.
And Henderson says he'll
limit traffic on both sides.
Okay.
Now, based on what I'm hearing,
and knowing that they're gonna want to
inflict the maximum amount of damage,
an explosive device
seems the most likely method of attack.
So if they can't deliver
a blast by car or truck,
well, that just leaves us...
With every person who may
walk through that door.
Took long enough for
Popsicle Boy here to thaw out.
I need you to run some Sims
on a new chemical chain.
I reverse engineered
the ones you used...
Why would you do that?
Those calculations were off.
Yeah, but only by ten seconds.
Eight.
Look, I've run this
simulation several times,
taking into account both
corrosion and energy storage,
and even with the added ten
seconds it doesn't add up.
It was eight.
And what you're doing isn't working
because you're trying
to predict improvement
and I designed it to predict failure.
- Yeah, okay...
- I told you, Dr. Stewart,
they're all gonna die.
It's only a matter of how quickly.
- I refuse to accept that.
- I know.
I know. Your optimism amuses me.
But death catches us all, Dr. Stewart.
None of us gets out alive.
I'm here because I'm one
of three people in the world
who can do what I do.
And the other two aren't nearly as nice.
Oh, by the way, I came
across some samples
of stable metahuman DNA.
Do you know where
these samples came from?
Uh, the ASA acquired them.
One is a vaccine subject
that is actually stable.
The other two show no sign
of the vaccine or Green Light.
Had you noticed that both samples
have the exact same
set of protein markers,
each sequencing at a previously
uncategorized fashion?
They'd have to be related.
It's Genetics 101, right?
What if the metagene could be inherited?
Let's stay focused, okay?
Uh, run the simulation
on the chemical chain
and see if it doesn't lead
to a serum of some sort.
Just imagine an entire
family of metas, though.
Once the ASA found them,
we'd be able to poke, prod,
and scrutinize every detail
of their genetic makeup.
Now, that would be excellent.
The Dark Web's gone quiet.
And when people stop talking,
it usually means one thing.
That they're ready.
Well, we just have to be careful,
stay on our toes.
These guys don't play by
the same rules that we do.
You just couldn't help
yourself, could you?
Look, I'm just saying,
if we don't have a code,
we're no better than the criminals.
We'll always be better than them.
We're fighting for the people,
for Freeland, not for money
or trying to make some
young girl a sex slave.
If we aren't using our
powers to help people,
then what good are they?
You had to steal to help those people?
I don't consider
taking money back from
people like that stealing.
I consider doing it... Hang on.
You see this guy by the dumpster?
Oh, Gambi, you seeing this?
Just a guy trying to kill hunger pains.
So your mother and I were wondering...
if you want your own place...
maybe you'd want to move
into my father's old house.
Wait a second. Wasn't that woman
pregnant a few minutes ago?
It's the same woman.
Whatever she gave birth to ain't good.
You guys better get in
there. I'll take care of her.
Guys, I need everybody
out of here. Let's go.
Everybody out. Come on.
We gotta get out here. We gotta get out.
Guys, I need everybody out of here.
Go, guys, we need to be safe.
Get out here. Let's
go. We gotta get out.
Come on, we're not moving
fast enough. Let's go!
You, out.
Got a bomb.
I've got one in here, too.
What's going on here? Are you okay?
So I saw in the file
that you were interviewed as a child,
but there's no mention
of you being there.
So were you lying then,
or are you lying now?
- Wait a minute...
- I mean, it doesn't really matter.
Once the defense asks the
question, which he will,
the jury won't believe
anything that you say.
I've lived my whole life in Freeland.
My word usually means
something around here.
I'm sure it does.
But let's say that I actually
allowed you on the stand.
The defense cross-examination
would go something like,
"Mr. Pierce, have you ever lied
to investigators regarding this case?"
Yes, but...
"So, besides your word,
do you have any proof
that you were a witness
to this alleged crime by my client?"
No, but I...
"Mr. Pierce, did you love your father?"
Of course.
"Would you say that you
would do anything for him?"
Now, of course, at this point,
I would object to leading the witness.
The defense would withdraw his question
and ask some version of,
"Do you think my client
being released from custody
after decades of being wrongly accused
has anything to do with
you coming forward now?"
"Wrongly accused"?
Tobias Whale has gotten
away with this for 30 years,
while my father has rotted in his grave.
"No further questions, Your Honor."
Oh.
Mr. Pierce, I believe you. I do.
But right now, the
truth does not help us.
The only thing that helps
us make a case is proof.
So there's nothing, then?
Nothing to prove that
I was actually there?
I destroyed anything that could have
even remotely linked
you to that crime scene.
I did whatever I could to protect you.
So Tobias is gonna be
free to walk the streets?
I can't accept that.
If you hurt Tobias after they
drop the charges against him,
then you're the bad guy, not him.
We will find something, Jeff.
We will. I won't ever give up.
- Jennifer!
- Yeah.
Could you come down here, please?
Do you think we're overreacting?
No. No, we were leaning
in this direction already.
I mean, yes, I thought
she was improving.
But then, after the laptop,
now this thing with Dr. Jace...
Oh, she's gonna be mad.
And you know what? I
can't say I blame her.
Hey, what's up?
Sweetheart, there is something
we need to talk through with you.
Your mother and I have decided
it's not safe for you
to go back to Garfield.
What?
We're gonna homeschool you.
No, Dad...
Wait, I don't understand.
I've done everything
you guys asked me to do.
Yes, you have.
But you still can't control your powers.
I mean, not yet.
And there are people out
there looking for metas.
The police. The government.
Even my work helping
to save the pod children
is a threat to you.
- This isn't fair.
- We're sorry.
Yeah, we are really sorry.
I can't believe after
everything you guys
have put me through, that...
Wow.
I really am dying, aren't I?
I'm afraid so.
I swear I didn't know Proctor was bent.
I was just trying to serve my country.
You still can.
Help me. I need to find Proctor's case.
Is it as powerful as I think it is?
Burn me.
Don't put me in the ground.
Burn my body.
I will. I promise.
Tobias...
Tobias has the case?
Does he know how to use it?
Kara, where can I find him?
Tobias, how's it feel to be exonerated?
Oh, I've always had a strong belief
in our justice system.
And knowing I've been wrongly
accused all these years,
to see that system work firsthand,
only solidified my belief.
So what's next for Tobias Whale?
Well, much more than anything,
I want to once again become
an active member in society
and, most importantly, a
pillar of this community.
And let me just say this.
I can only hope and offer
up my prayers that, one day,
after 30 years, they
finally find the person
who really killed Alvin Pierce.
If for no other reason than to allow
Jefferson Pierce and his family
to finally find peace.
Now if you'll kindly excuse me...
Thank you for your time.
Hey.
I didn't expect you to text me back.
Yeah, well...
I'm back.
Yeah! One Hundred! One Hundred!
One Hundred! One Hundred!
One Hundred! One Hundred! One Hundred!
Don't make me rip that mask
off your face. You say it.
After all these years, huh, man?
According to Reverend Jeremiah Holt,
his church's Rebecca
Lee Crumpler Free Clinic
is in danger of shutting down.
The clinic is running out of time.
If I don't help, then I'll just be
wasting the gifts that God gave me.
That's what your father
always used to say.
God bless you, sister.
I'm gonna set up a meeting
so that you can convince
Dr. Jace to come on board.
I'd like to include you in a
team working to save the children.
- The pod kids.
- Yes.
Now, the purpose of Black Lightning
was to kill Tobias,
who killed my father.
I wanted you to hear it from me.
We caught Tobias.
She needs help.
She needs a therapist to talk to.
Can I help you?
My name is Perenna.
Where the hell are we?
A place inside you that will eventually
allow you to control your powers.
Before you can stuff your
feelings into anything,
we need to know what those feelings are.
_
_
What do you guys think?
- Baby, you look beautiful.
- Thank you, Mom.
Gorgeous.
All right, come on. Get together.
Yeah. Yeah, right.
Got to love pictures.
Oh, come on, Dad. You are old school.
Hey. Not all cameras
are used for selfies now.
- You really do look beautiful.
- Thanks.
Really, J?
This dude?
J, we need to talk.
I can't stop it!
You can. You are the storm,
so you can control the storm.
Don't fear it. Own it. Pull
the energy back into you.
Take a minute, and know
that you are this power.
Now...
put it in the box.
Hey, hang in there. I'm right here.
I can't. I tried.
- I tried. I...
- I know.
But you're making progress.
Who is this Khalil?
I've been in here two days
and haven't changed or nothin'.
How is it you never seem to age?
Well, a vegan lifestyle
mixed with a little
yoga really does work.
I keep saying black folks
got to get off of that
fried chicken and
watermelon Kool-Aid diet.
Plus, I do my best to
stay out of the sun.
I'mma ask you a few questions.
I know you gonna lie to me,
but do you happen to know
your whereabouts last Thursday night?
I'm pretty sure that's domino night.
Have you seen Marsellus White recently?
Man, now you digging in the crates.
It's been years.
How's that brother doing?
Great. Up until the moment
somebody snapped his neck.
Damn.
All this violence in Freeland...
- is disturbing.
- Mmm-hmm.
Conveniently, all this
happened the very same week
that the DNA evidence
in Alvin Pierce's murder
went missing from our evidence room
and one of my cops who had access
to that evidence room
got himself set on fire.
My condolences.
I'm sure his kids will be happy
to know that you're concerned.
You forgot something,
you translucent freak.
You are not going to get away with this.
Deputy Chief Henderson.
"Translucent."
That's a very interesting
choice of words.
It means you can see right through me.
And if you can see right through me,
then you know what I'm thinking.
He orchestrated this whole thing.
He killed his former lieutenant,
he got rid of our DNA evidence,
got himself arrested
knowing we would have to let him go,
all while rehabilitating his
reputation with one stroke.
Well, the judge will call that a theory.
I need hard evidence of something.
Murder, obstruction,
conspiracy to commit obstruction.
Without that, we're gonna
have to let him walk.
You got about 48 hours, if that.
As always, Ms. Montez,
you're a regular ray of sunshine.
She gave that money to Reverend Holt?
Yes.
Who'd she steal it from?
Mobsters from some break-away republic.
They were laundering money
for that redevelopment project downtown.
And you knew about this?
I did.
But you didn't come to me first?
If I'd done that, I would
have lost Anissa's trust.
I don't care about that.
I do. Listen, Jeff,
Tobias is still out there,
and he's got the briefcase.
And some faction of the ASA
is almost certainly still hunting metas,
which means that you and the girls
continue to be in danger.
If I had let Anissa go out there
by herself that night, she
might be dead right now.
And I wasn't about to let that happen.
I told her I was going to
tell you after the fact.
I have.
What you do now is up to you.
Not only was it illegal,
but you could've been hurt.
Bullets literally bounce off of me.
Only if you're ready for 'em.
And you think you saved
the clinic with that money?
No, you just made it a target.
Dad, Freeland is already a target.
This is way bigger than a clinic.
They have a reason for
buying all this property.
And whatever that reason is,
it means way worse things
than the clinic being a target.
That's because they're not just
gangbangers on a corner, Anissa.
These are professional criminals.
Aren't we supposed to be helping people?
We are helping people.
But unlike criminals,
we have rules that we need to follow.
- Rules made by who?
- Rules made by me.
Guess what? I have a
different set of rules.
Because I'm not gonna watch my people
get taken advantage of.
They are not your people, Anissa.
And as long as you're under my roof,
you will follow my rules.
Wow.
Okay. So you're going there?
No, we're not going
there. We're already there.
Okay.
If you're gonna use this house
to try and tell me what to do,
I'll make it easy for you.
I'll be out of here by morning.
So you leaving the rest for me, or what?
Oh, come on, Jen. Would you stop that?
Or you gonna get me crying, too.
Come here.
Look, I'm not dying,
okay? I'll still be around.
I just cannot have Dad thinking
he can control me.
You act like he doesn't
do the same thing to me.
You're 16. Your fast ass
could use a bit of controlling.
Oh, I'm fast? What are you, then?
Grown. And what I do
is my own damn business.
Anissa...
I know I'm doing a lot, but I don't know
how I'm gonna get though
all this stuff without you.
Really. I can't talk to
Mom. I can't talk to Dad.
Listen.
You know I'm always here for you,
right?
Give me that.
Khalil? Have you lost your
damn mind? He killed Dad.
Anissa, he killed Black Lightning.
Oh, so now you're sticking up for him?
When did he start texting you?
A while ago. But I never
hit him back. I swear.
Not once. I swear.
Yo, you've gotta shut this down.
Now, I know y'all used to be tight,
but he is not who he was.
You don't think I know that? I know.
Jennifer...
whatever you are going through...
this boy is not the answer.
I know.
Here.
And you better stay away from him.
Okay.
Look, even if I'm not in this house,
I will always be there for you.
Come here, little girl.
I love you, girl.
I love you.
I think we've put so much
attention on Jennifer,
we've forgotten this is all new
for Anissa as well.
This path she's taking...
Stealing.
It only leads to blood...
Hey, it's the same path
you took early on, remember?
No, I never stole.
Well, you may not have stolen or killed,
but how close to the edge did you get?
I'm sorry...
that you have to go through all this.
That you had to pull that trigger.
It was a live-or-die situation.
I chose to live.
I've come to terms with it.
Mr. Pierce?
You're letting Tobias walk?
First of all, I'm not
letting him do anything.
Unlike Black Lightning,
I'm not a vigilante.
I just can't go around
breaking the law. I am the law.
And secondly, where are you
getting your information from?
I can't say.
Of course you can't.
Well, whoever pulled your coattail
should've told you the
evidence against him is...
- It's all gone.
- Wait, what? But...
the newspapers? What about the DNA?
What about the guy he worked with?
He was murdered last week.
So he's just been playing
you the whole time?
Right now, that's what
it looks like, yeah.
No, no, there's gotta be something else.
And I'm confident he
made some sort of mistake,
and I will find it. But in the...
Put me on the stand.
Okay. Why? To say what?
That I was there. That I
saw Tobias kill my father.
You gonna perjure yourself now?
That's not how I roll. You know that.
I'm not lying. I was there.
What?
I was there.
I saw Tobias murder my father.
Gambi didn't let me say anything
because he thought it was
the best way to keep me safe.
Damn, bro. Any more lies or half-truths
you want to clear up?
Come on, man. Look, we gotta
squash this beef, all right?
So that you and I can work together
and take down Tobias.
You really don't understand
what position you've put me in
as a deputy chief or as a friend.
I got work to do.
Please try not to move.
Nobody knows you're here.
The straps are for your own protection.
I don't want you to hurt yourself.
Whatever it is you were shot with,
it went straight through.
Tobias.
With a harpoon.
You've lost a lot of blood.
You've gotta help me. Please.
Kara, you need to make your peace.
No, there's gotta be something.
Kara, you've got sepsis.
And it's only going to get worse.
You're trying to play me.
You lying old hypocrite.
You ain't no better than I am.
No, I'm not. But I've had time to atone.
You don't.
At least tell me what you know.
I'm not telling you a damn thing.
I'm hoping you might reconsider.
This is for the pain.
- Come on, man!
- Hey! Hey!
Hey, hey, hey! No, no! Enough!
Enough, both of you.
Everybody, back to class. Go. Go on.
Go. Now, look, I don't
know what this all about,
but at Garfield, we do not
settle disputes with our fists.
- Yeah, no, but I...
- No, wait. No, no.
No. "Hate is too great a burden to bear.
It injures the hater more
than it injures the hated."
Who said that? Hmm?
- Coretta Scott King.
- That's right. That's right.
Now, look each other in the eye.
In the eye.
Shake hands and squash
this beef. Come on.
- Yes.
- What's going on?
I heard there was fighting.
No, no, Principal Lowry, I
got it. Everything's okay.
Had I wanted your opinion,
Mr. Pierce, I would've asked.
Now, which one of you
threw the first punch?
It doesn't matter.
These young men have...
- Answer the question.
- His punk ass did.
Hey, man, he was talking
all that mess, dog,
and you know what?
Calm... Calm down, okay?
So it was you? What's your name?
Sekou Hamilton.
Congratulations, Mr. Hamilton,
you've just been expelled.
What? Hey, Mr. Pierce, what's...
And you are suspended for a week.
- What?
- Look, Principal Lowry,
these two are good kids.
They just made a mistake.
And this school has a
zero-tolerance policy
when it comes to fighting.
Now get back to class.
No, this school was
built on the understanding
that no one is beyond redemption.
Times change, Mr. Pierce.
And if you feel you're
unable to properly enforce
the school's new rules and policies,
well, you're free to leave as well.
Let's go.
Expelled? Come on...
Go back to class. Everything's fine.
Go back to class. It's fine.
Don't you ever talk to me like that.
Not here or anywhere else.
Are you threatening me, Mr. Pierce?
Oh, for the record, yes.
As I've said, if you
don't like my methods
or find you're unable to support them,
feel free to go.
No... To hell with that. Let's be clear.
I am only here to give you cover,
to give your presence
at Garfield legitimacy.
So we both know I'm not going anywhere.
No, no. You're here to give
cover to the board, not me.
Now, I understand
why they need their
Black Jesus, but I don't.
Because no child will
be shot, kidnapped,
or overdose on Green
Light on my watch, period.
Look, if you give that
kid another chance,
he will become a person
that we can all be proud of.
But you throw him out on the street,
odds are, he's gonna
become someone to be feared.
Zero tolerance.
The rule offers no
room for interpretation,
which is why it will be easy
for all of us to understand.
Yeah.
I take it it didn't go
so well with your father.
You mind if I crash for a few days?
Of course. You're always welcome.
You stay as long as you like.
Thank you, Uncle Gambi.
But I'm gonna have to let
your parents know you're here.
I know.
Come on, let's get you settled in.
Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
That's odd.
Are you expecting something to happen?
Yes.
No. No, no, no, no. This is not right.
This... What's happening?
What's happening?
Guess we know what his powers were.
If you knew he was gonna wake up,
why didn't you say something?
- We could've saved him.
- We couldn't.
The subject was experiencing
rapid mitochondrial deterioration.
- Death was imminent.
- No! He's not a subject!
He's a person, and his
name is Sean Phillips.
And now he's dead.
Indeed. And now we have more data.
I'll input this.
No.
Hey, sweetheart.
So how'd it go yesterday?
I see you're ignoring me.
Wonderful.
You know, I didn't think
there was anything else
you could take away from me,
and then you threw Anissa out.
I did not throw her out.
I confronted her.
She made a choice.
You know what, Dad? I get it.
It's cool. You never
make any mistakes, right?
You're perfect.
Uh...
All right, Tobias. Here's your lawyer.
How about a little music?
If you want, I can make a couple calls,
have you home by dinner.
It never ceases to amaze me
how all you white folks
feel this need to be the savior.
Makes me want to laugh
and at the same time,
punch you in the face.
Now, before my smile fades,
how about you tell me why you're here.
A, uh... significant
sum of money was stolen
from us by some bitch with powers.
Ah, so that's how the free clinic
got its miraculous donation.
Mmm.
Out of respect, we've come to you.
Before we spill blood on
the streets of Freeland,
your streets...
we're here to ask for permission.
You want to kill her?
We have ideas on how to make our point.
Permission granted, under one condition.
I want facial and body
recognition monitors
set up outside the clinic,
just in case Black Lightning shows up.
He's been walking around
Freeland every day,
and no one knows who his black ass is.
But I'm going to burn this city down
and everyone in it until I find him.
He's taken everything from me.
Tori, Joey Toledo, Syonide.
He's got to die.
And he's got to die soon.
We're on the same page.
_
You okay?
I lost another kid.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Yeah.
Did Jennifer tell you that
she fried another laptop?
What?
That girl is costing me a fortune.
I thought she was making progress.
She is. But this is
why I don't feel like
she's ready to go back
to school, you know?
I mean, it only takes one mistake.
Yeah, true.
Uh. Besides, I wouldn't want her there.
Garfield is not Garfield right now.
- Lowry?
- Mmm.
Yes, Lowry.
You know what? I want
to take my school back.
I mean, this guy, he's...
He's just a pencil pusher
trying to get to another raise.
He doesn't care about the kids.
So, then, take it back.
If there's one thing I
know about Jefferson Pierce,
when he puts his mind to something,
there aren't enough Lowrys in the world
that can stop him.
Everything happens for a reason.
My father would have loved you.
Good taste.
Great taste.
Oh, hey, sweetheart.
Hey.
You mind if I have a second with Dad?
Yeah.
Just...
Just remember you were sad
when she left yesterday.
It's good to see you.
Look, Dad, Gambi thinks
the free clinic's in trouble
and that someone's gonna attack it.
Just go ahead and say,
"I you told you so."
- I know you're dying to.
- No.
I wish I weren't right.
Dad, I think I need your help.
Well, I'm here to do
what needs to be done.
And I accept your apology.
Well, that's... That's funny,
because I didn't give one.
But I'll definitely take yours.
Yep. Let's go.
All right, Henderson's up to speed.
But since there's no
definite time or threat,
he couldn't get the clinic to shut down.
All they'll do is beef up
security for a week or so.
Okay, so what should we do?
Though there are no known
photos of Vladislav Zlovac,
the guy in charge of this
redevelopment project.
He just transferred $50,000
from one of his business accounts.
- To who?
- Don't know.
After being rerouted several times,
I traced it to a company in Chicago.
But it turns out, other
than a bank account
and a digital profile,
the company doesn't even exist.
Chatter on the Dark Web tells me
that the money was for
some sort of hired gun.
Now, the clinic only has
two points of entry...
The front door on the street
and this service door off the alley.
And Henderson says he'll
limit traffic on both sides.
Okay.
Now, based on what I'm hearing,
and knowing that they're gonna want to
inflict the maximum amount of damage,
an explosive device
seems the most likely method of attack.
So if they can't deliver
a blast by car or truck,
well, that just leaves us...
With every person who may
walk through that door.
Took long enough for
Popsicle Boy here to thaw out.
I need you to run some Sims
on a new chemical chain.
I reverse engineered
the ones you used...
Why would you do that?
Those calculations were off.
Yeah, but only by ten seconds.
Eight.
Look, I've run this
simulation several times,
taking into account both
corrosion and energy storage,
and even with the added ten
seconds it doesn't add up.
It was eight.
And what you're doing isn't working
because you're trying
to predict improvement
and I designed it to predict failure.
- Yeah, okay...
- I told you, Dr. Stewart,
they're all gonna die.
It's only a matter of how quickly.
- I refuse to accept that.
- I know.
I know. Your optimism amuses me.
But death catches us all, Dr. Stewart.
None of us gets out alive.
I'm here because I'm one
of three people in the world
who can do what I do.
And the other two aren't nearly as nice.
Oh, by the way, I came
across some samples
of stable metahuman DNA.
Do you know where
these samples came from?
Uh, the ASA acquired them.
One is a vaccine subject
that is actually stable.
The other two show no sign
of the vaccine or Green Light.
Had you noticed that both samples
have the exact same
set of protein markers,
each sequencing at a previously
uncategorized fashion?
They'd have to be related.
It's Genetics 101, right?
What if the metagene could be inherited?
Let's stay focused, okay?
Uh, run the simulation
on the chemical chain
and see if it doesn't lead
to a serum of some sort.
Just imagine an entire
family of metas, though.
Once the ASA found them,
we'd be able to poke, prod,
and scrutinize every detail
of their genetic makeup.
Now, that would be excellent.
The Dark Web's gone quiet.
And when people stop talking,
it usually means one thing.
That they're ready.
Well, we just have to be careful,
stay on our toes.
These guys don't play by
the same rules that we do.
You just couldn't help
yourself, could you?
Look, I'm just saying,
if we don't have a code,
we're no better than the criminals.
We'll always be better than them.
We're fighting for the people,
for Freeland, not for money
or trying to make some
young girl a sex slave.
If we aren't using our
powers to help people,
then what good are they?
You had to steal to help those people?
I don't consider
taking money back from
people like that stealing.
I consider doing it... Hang on.
You see this guy by the dumpster?
Oh, Gambi, you seeing this?
Just a guy trying to kill hunger pains.
So your mother and I were wondering...
if you want your own place...
maybe you'd want to move
into my father's old house.
Wait a second. Wasn't that woman
pregnant a few minutes ago?
It's the same woman.
Whatever she gave birth to ain't good.
You guys better get in
there. I'll take care of her.
Guys, I need everybody
out of here. Let's go.
Everybody out. Come on.
We gotta get out here. We gotta get out.
Guys, I need everybody out of here.
Go, guys, we need to be safe.
Get out here. Let's
go. We gotta get out.
Come on, we're not moving
fast enough. Let's go!
You, out.
Got a bomb.
I've got one in here, too.
What's going on here? Are you okay?
So I saw in the file
that you were interviewed as a child,
but there's no mention
of you being there.
So were you lying then,
or are you lying now?
- Wait a minute...
- I mean, it doesn't really matter.
Once the defense asks the
question, which he will,
the jury won't believe
anything that you say.
I've lived my whole life in Freeland.
My word usually means
something around here.
I'm sure it does.
But let's say that I actually
allowed you on the stand.
The defense cross-examination
would go something like,
"Mr. Pierce, have you ever lied
to investigators regarding this case?"
Yes, but...
"So, besides your word,
do you have any proof
that you were a witness
to this alleged crime by my client?"
No, but I...
"Mr. Pierce, did you love your father?"
Of course.
"Would you say that you
would do anything for him?"
Now, of course, at this point,
I would object to leading the witness.
The defense would withdraw his question
and ask some version of,
"Do you think my client
being released from custody
after decades of being wrongly accused
has anything to do with
you coming forward now?"
"Wrongly accused"?
Tobias Whale has gotten
away with this for 30 years,
while my father has rotted in his grave.
"No further questions, Your Honor."
Oh.
Mr. Pierce, I believe you. I do.
But right now, the
truth does not help us.
The only thing that helps
us make a case is proof.
So there's nothing, then?
Nothing to prove that
I was actually there?
I destroyed anything that could have
even remotely linked
you to that crime scene.
I did whatever I could to protect you.
So Tobias is gonna be
free to walk the streets?
I can't accept that.
If you hurt Tobias after they
drop the charges against him,
then you're the bad guy, not him.
We will find something, Jeff.
We will. I won't ever give up.
- Jennifer!
- Yeah.
Could you come down here, please?
Do you think we're overreacting?
No. No, we were leaning
in this direction already.
I mean, yes, I thought
she was improving.
But then, after the laptop,
now this thing with Dr. Jace...
Oh, she's gonna be mad.
And you know what? I
can't say I blame her.
Hey, what's up?
Sweetheart, there is something
we need to talk through with you.
Your mother and I have decided
it's not safe for you
to go back to Garfield.
What?
We're gonna homeschool you.
No, Dad...
Wait, I don't understand.
I've done everything
you guys asked me to do.
Yes, you have.
But you still can't control your powers.
I mean, not yet.
And there are people out
there looking for metas.
The police. The government.
Even my work helping
to save the pod children
is a threat to you.
- This isn't fair.
- We're sorry.
Yeah, we are really sorry.
I can't believe after
everything you guys
have put me through, that...
Wow.
I really am dying, aren't I?
I'm afraid so.
I swear I didn't know Proctor was bent.
I was just trying to serve my country.
You still can.
Help me. I need to find Proctor's case.
Is it as powerful as I think it is?
Burn me.
Don't put me in the ground.
Burn my body.
I will. I promise.
Tobias...
Tobias has the case?
Does he know how to use it?
Kara, where can I find him?
Tobias, how's it feel to be exonerated?
Oh, I've always had a strong belief
in our justice system.
And knowing I've been wrongly
accused all these years,
to see that system work firsthand,
only solidified my belief.
So what's next for Tobias Whale?
Well, much more than anything,
I want to once again become
an active member in society
and, most importantly, a
pillar of this community.
And let me just say this.
I can only hope and offer
up my prayers that, one day,
after 30 years, they
finally find the person
who really killed Alvin Pierce.
If for no other reason than to allow
Jefferson Pierce and his family
to finally find peace.
Now if you'll kindly excuse me...
Thank you for your time.
Hey.
I didn't expect you to text me back.
Yeah, well...
I'm back.
Yeah! One Hundred! One Hundred!
One Hundred! One Hundred!
One Hundred! One Hundred! One Hundred!