Black Lightning (2018–…): Season 4, Episode 12 - The Book of Resurrection: Chapter One: Crossroads - full transcript

Jeff makes one last, desperate attempt to remove Tobias as a threat. Khalil delivers Looker to Hassan and Mason despite the obstacles in his path, and Lynn and Lauren team up to track down the emitter so it can be destroyed and the Freeland metas can regain their powers.

Previously on
Black Lightning...

Look who's almost
the king of Freeland now.

Something's wrong.
I don't feel my powers.

TC, something's wrong!

What the hell happened to our powers?

He used me
to harness Val's nullifying powers.

Locating and shutting down
that emitter

is our only hope
of you getting your powers back.

I need more firepower.

Meta-boosters, my friend.

Designed to grant specified power
to whomever you choose.



Tobias has stolen meta-genes
from pregnant women,

and he's using
your R&D department to do it.

How can I help?

Well, Looker's a meta. She got this
silver thing in her blood that she can

put into other people
and make them do whatever she wants.

Tobias must have paid her
to make people set you up.

Let me take care of this for you.

- What did you do to me?
- Killed you.

We need her alive to take down Tobias.

You're going to admit
to everything you did for him.

And you'll get the rest
of the anti-venom.

Ishmael, I have some
loose ends I need to tie up.

I wanna go outside

In the rain



Uriah. Oh, my God.

So, you're Lightning, huh?

Don't cry.

Go.

Light up the world.

I, I...

Think I'm gonna cry

Come in.

Hey.

Was just, uh...
checkin' to see if you need anything.

I'm not goin' to school today.

Yeah, me neither.

Too soon.

I understand.

You know...

I had my doubts about therapy,
but it helped me and your mother.

So do you wanna talk about it?

Uriah's dead. It's my fault.

There's nothing to talk about.

No, Uriah's death is not your fault.

Tobias knew that I was
Lightning and Jennifer Pierce.

He promised me that anytime
I go out as Lightning,

someone I love would die.

He made good on his promise.

I'd finally found
my rhythm of being Lightning and JJ,

and now, I'll never be Lightning again.

Okay, I know it's difficult...

You don't understand.

Thanks to Tobias,
no one but me has their powers.

He could have anyone killed.
Anissa, Mom, even you.

Yeah, we don't have
our powers,

but we're still a family.

And we will protect
each other like we always have.

But in the meantime,

Freeland needs Lightning,
more than ever.

I can't watch anyone else die
because of me.

It hurts too much.

You know, I never told you

or your sister

the details about my father's murder.

He was about to expose Tobias
for the criminal that he is.

But Tobias had other plans.

So he cornered my father
at our old house

and he... beat him to death.

While I hid under the bed...

and watched.

You were there the whole time?

Then I locked eyes with my father.

There were no words.

...huh, Uncle Tom?

But I understood.

It's time for you
to eat your damn words.

If I made a sound,
Tobias would kill me, too.

So, I watched my father die...

while I cowered under the bed.

You can't save everyone, Jen.

And yes...

Yes, it hurts.

But over time, the pain dulls.

But the most important thing is,
you have to find a way to use it.

Now, until Gambi finds the emitter
that's nullifying our powers,

the only thing that's standing
between the people of Freeland

and Tobias...

is Lightning.

Being a superhero sucks.

Yeah.

Yeah, it does.

Last night I saw a superhero
He was black

He said, "This is for the street
Black Lightning's back"

Just like old times.

Yeah. Secrets and all.

Is there something
you wanna talk about, Lauren?

I'm risking everything to help you.

If Monovista knew
I was hacking into their server,

I'd be looking
at a serious prison sentence.

The least you could do
is explain how promethium

and my emitter are connected to
the stolen meta-gene.

I mean, come on, Peter.
You know I can keep a secret.

If it were up to me,
I would read you in,

but it's not my secret to tell.

Grace, honey, wake up, come on.

- Hey.
- Hey.

I'm in.

I've hacked into Monovista's
hidden servers.

Okay, so did you find
where Monovista's

manufacturing
its meta-gene harvester?

Because, guys,
I'm not allowin' this corporation

to steal anymore meta-genes
from unborn babies.

The Monovista servers were cleaned.

But I hacked into the CEO's
personal files instead.

The meta-gene harvesting project
is called "Event Horizons."

And only one harvester
was manufactured.

And after you acquired
these harvested genes,

all information associated
with Event Horizons

was transferred to this building.

Okay, so, does that include
the harvester and the schematics?

Nuking the building won't help
if they can just build a new one.

Not only does it contain
the schematics,

but also every meta-gene
Monovista's stolen.

Hmm. Two birds, one stone.

Well, Anissa, we're just, uh,
normal people.

- Are you sure we can do this alone?
- Come on, we've seen worse.

Now, if we just blew
these load-bearin' walls,

the whole building, it'll fall, right?

That building
is owned by a shell corporation

with ties to Tobias Whale.

And the harvester schematics
are protected by their local network.

Meaning that we'll have to have
boots on the ground

to gain access and expunge
any pertinent files.

All right, so, I think
destroyin' the harvester,

the building,
is all a piece of cake.

The servers are another story.

I think I might be
able to help with that.

Uncle Gambi. So, you sayin'
we throwin' that brick into the servers?

In a manner of speaking.

This is my personal Pandora's Box.

I've been collecting the most
harmful computer viruses since the '80s.

I think we can find
something that'll do the job.

Alvin Pierce's house is yours once
Jefferson signs over the deed.

I can read, thank you.

Just the call I've been expecting.

I've succeeded
in my mayoral election.

You're all welcome
to congratulate me now.

Your seat on the Shadow Board was
contingent upon securing the election

and establishing control
of the meta presence in Freeland.

And yet, we have confirmed reports
that Lightning remains active.

An oversight I'll soon correct.

The Shadow Board
does not tolerate failure.

Your seat has been rescinded.

Effective immediately.

Hmm.

Am I supposed to be impressed?

No.

But they sure are about to be.

My assassin was rendered invisible
through a meta-power chromatophores.

A power I granted,

and much like the good Lord,

a power I can also take away.

That's right. I now control
who has meta powers and who doesn't.

Freeland is just the beginning.

Star City,

Metropolis,

anywhere a meta-freak
dares to stand in my way

will meet the same fate
as this pixelated pissant.

Now, it's past time you all bow down

and pledge your loyalty to me.

Or...

All hail the king.

What's next, Your Majesty?

Red, don't get cute.

The endgame's upon us.

And while I admit
to no uncertain joy toyin' with my prey,

the time has come to finally
rid the world of Jefferson Pierce.

Well, I've duplicated
your ankle monitor's signal

and placed it on a feedback loop...

...that shows you're obeying
your house arrest.

Thank God for small mercies.

Any news
on the emitter's location?

I'm loathe to say it,
but my family needs its powers back.

Since the emitter's powered
by promethium,

it shares
an identical radiation signature

with the massive deposit of promethium

that I discovered beneath Freeland.

There's no way to differentiate
one from the other.

It's perfect camouflage.

Promethium is one
of Earth's rarest elements.

I don't understand how Freeland suddenly
acquired so much of it.

My working theory

is that when Gravedigger used Lightning
to take down the ASA's energy shield,

the resulting power surge
irradiated the bedrock of Freeland.

Transmuting the minerals
into promethium.

And Monovista swooped in
to strip-mine it.

It powers their DEGs, the emitter,

and who knows what else?

I have an idea on how
we can track the emitter.

Right now, Tobias is using it to blanket
Freeland with Val's nullifying powers,

but what if we
expand our parameters

to focus on Val's
meta-genic power signature

bypassing the camouflage
that's creating the deposits?

That tracks.

And once we destroy
the emitter,

every meta in Freeland
will regain their powers.

What are we waiting for?

To be honest,

Lauren is better suited
for this task than me.

And now that you move about freely,
perhaps it's time I introduced you two.

I think I found
a solution to our problems.

I'm listening, and which ones?

Look, everything
that Tobias has thrown at us,

the embezzlement scandal,
your arrest, Uriah's death,

is tied to the fact that he
knows our secret identities.

So, what if we change that?
We erase his memory.

Like you did with those cops
that tried to arrest you

- when you were helping the violinists.
- Yes, exactly.

I hit 'em with a high enough voltage
that it wiped their short-term memory.

Well, you don't have
any powers, Jefferson.

How do you expect to do that?

I might be able to build a handheld
device that could accomplish that,

but without your powers,

I'd be hard-pressed
to find an energy source to activate it.

Well, what about the promethium
you stole from Monovista?

That's a distinct possibility.

Give me some time
to run a few simulations.

Close the door, Detective.

Thanks to our new mayor,

there's an energy field around Freeland
nullifying all meta powers.

But Lightning...

Is the one exception.

She's the only meta-vigilante
unaffected.

What are those?

Meta-boosters.

They grant ordinary human beings
meta powers for a 72-hour period.

I want you to distribute them
to the Meta Task Force.

Have them put on these bracelets,

which will allow the powers to work
within the nullifying field.

When your team is comfortable with
their new powers, apprehend Lightning.

All due respect,

is that a good idea, Chief?

Feels like we're pourin'
gasoline on a fire.

Detective,

I'm held to a higher standard
than you can ever imagine.

If I can't neutralize Lightning,

I'll be Freeland's first
and last female police chief.

Permission to speak freely?

I'm sorry about
what happened to your husband.

Meta powers destroyed him
and your family,

but your husband was a good man

before the meta powers poisoned his mind
and made him kill your brothers.

Do you really wanna do that
to officers under your command?

You may have a point.

We'll do it your way.

For now.

You and your team have until the end
of the month to ground Lightning.

Dismissed.

Can we listen to something
other than this jungle jam?

I prefer a little bit more
treble to bass,

if you know what I mean.

Do you wanna tell Miss Daisy
what I prefer to do to her, Khalil?

You do know that I work
for Tobias Whale, right?

And when he finds out what you've done
with his most prized possession,

he will rip your spine out and kill you.

Hmm. Been there, done that.

Why can't we kill her?

Look, we're takin' her
back to Freeland to testify.

Clear Mr. Pierce's name.

Third person much?
What is that, Ebonics?

Okay.

This chick keeps writing checks
with her mouth that she can't cash.

Now, we gon' find out if she's
a beggar or a screamer, huh?

Looker, you don't need
the use of your arms, legs,

or even your pretty eyes to testify.

Am I understood?

Turn my joint back on.

Well, if it isn't my favorite
super-Negro, Jefferson Pierce.

To what do I owe this pleasure?

You win, Tobias.

My family needs the money,

so I'm ready to sign over
the deed to my father's house.

When and where?

Why don't we end this
decades-long dance... where it began?

Your daddy's house. One hour.

I'll be there.

Good. Don't be late.

Stop punishing yourself.

- That won't bring him back.
- Uriah was innocent.

He had nothin' to do
with any of this and Red killed him.

I know the emitter's stopping
your powers from working,

but can you track Red old-school?

I mean, Gambi set up a program to
monitor Red's magnetic power signature.

If he uses his abilities,
it'll lead us to him. Why?

Tobias had Red murder Uriah,
I plan to take Red from him tonight.

Isn't the emitter
draining your power, too?

My point exactly.

Red still has his power,

and you can't defeat him
in your weakened state. He'll kill you.

Not if I charge up
in the ionosphere first.

But I'll need you on comms to help me.

Too risky. I'm not doin' it, Jen.

- Ask Gambi.
- This isn't his fight, it's ours.

I know what I'm doing, TC.

The ionosphere will give me
enough juice for one fight.

Uriah deserves justice. Don't you think?

Justice or revenge?

- Does it matter?
- Yes.

I'll let you know when I find Red.

Lauren Caruso.

I'd like you to meet my close,
personal friend and colleague,

Dr. Lynn Stewart.

Your reputation precedes you.
I've been following your work for years.

It's a pleasure to meet you,
Dr. Stewart.

Thank you. And please, call me Lynn.

It's no small treat to meet
the mystery woman Peter's been hiding.

- I haven't seen him this happy in years.
- Oh.

This isn't awkward at all.

Forgive me, ladies, I have to
meet Jefferson on another project.

- I'll leave you two to your work.
- Yeah.

Peter's a good man.

Although, his ability to

compartmentalize his life is a bit...
frustrating.

You have no idea.

He tells me you have a theory
on locating my stolen emitter.

Well, I believe
the emitter's energy signature

is being used as a carrier
to nullify meta-genes.

I recently worked with a patient who
possessed the power to nullify metas,

rendering them... normal,
for lack of a better verbiage.

I'm not following how that ties
to my stolen emitter.

With the massive subterranean deposit
of promethium beneath Freeland,

it has made it impossible
to track its energy signature.

Well, I think we can trace and nullify
its meta-genic sequence instead.

- Hmm.
- May I?

Please.

Oh, this could work.

I'll need to create a new algorithm
so we can trace it.

Well, since promethium
remains a carrier

I think we could modify
the original algorithm

instead of starting from scratch.

Who knew my emitter
would be stolen for this?

All I wanted to do was provide
people with clean energy.

All I wanted to do
was save lives,

and then I was accused
of being a mass murderer.

No good deed.

I performed the due diligence.

You've saved countless lives,
Dr. Stewart.

I mean, you're being railroaded.

May I ask what this is about?

What...

Peter didn't tell you?

He claims it wasn't his secret to tell.

But with Monovista harvesting
meta-genes from unborn babies,

your daughter and her wife
trying to stop that,

and my emitter now
nullifying meta powers...

I can't quite connect all the dots.

I trust Peter Gambi with my life.

If he trusts you, so do I.

My family are metas.

And I'm trying to track down
the emitter that took away their powers

so they can protect this city
from a delusional, villainous mayor.

But you deduced that already.

Well, most of it.

And like I told Peter,
I know how to keep a secret.

Thank you.

Now, should we get to work?

Okay.

I told you he'd kill you.

Actually, I've been
trackin' you, Looker.

But Tobias contracted me
to kill you both.

All right.

Look, I ain't got time for this,
so you handle that.

Yeah.

You dangerous?

- Let's dance.
- Let's.

It's the infamous
Back in the house once again

Livin' the life
That of diamonds and guns

And now gems pulls Gats

Like a basehead
Pulls on stems

The Mobb got the bomb
Run out and tell a friend

Drop a gem on 'em

Back in the house
Once again

Livin' the life
That of diamonds and guns

And now gems pulls Gats

Like a basehead
Pulls on stems

The Mobb got the bomb
Run out and tell a friend

Drop a gem on 'em

Take a tire
All these fake crooks Need to retire

They gotcha gassed
Takin' back And snatch fire outcha

Maggot... havoc represent
For the Q-B-C...

Over the projects your game
I'm above it

It's combat
Gats, bangers and all that

You's a small cat
Whatever you on get off that

I mention, nothin' but
The real... presentin'

The hollow tip crew
41st side convention

Try for you half-steppin'

Like a fresh tec
Out of the box, yo

I'm testin'
There's no question

Bitch-ass
Have you confessin'

Like a DT
Left in state of depression

You under pressure
Intact no doubt catcher

The snitch-snatcher
Tookin' wit' asthma...

Too bad you wasn't good enough
to touch me with your poison.

I never had to touch you.

Check the hilt.

Keep it real kid
You don't know who you... with

It's the infamous
Back in the house once again

Livin the life
That of diamonds and guns...

You cheated.

The Mobb got the bomb
Run out and tell a friend

Drop a gem on 'em

It's the infamous
Back in the house once again

Livin' the life
That of diamonds and guns

And now gems pull Gats
Like a basehead pull on stems

The Mobb got the bomb
Run out and tell a friend

Drop a gem on 'em

Drop a gem on 'em

This should fit in the palm of your hand
for easy concealment. Try it on.

All right, now, you'll have to target
Tobias' lateral parietal cortex here.

- Here?
- Right.

All right. You sure it'll work?

Lynn assured me that that spot
will allow the electricity

to penetrate Tobias' hippocampus,

disrupting his brain's ability
to access long-term memories.

The promethium
will burn up on contact.

You get one shot. Make it count.

Where are we doing this?

There's no "we."

Jefferson, this is no time for bravado.

- I'm going with you.
- No. This is between him and me.

Win, lose, or draw, it ends tonight.

Hey, babe, pass me
those explosives.

What if these mothers

wanted to splice the meta-genes back
into their babies? Could we do that?

No. That procedure is irreversible.

But I'll promise you this,
when we're done,

we'll reach out to every mother
and let them know what happened, okay?

We can't do that.
It'd destroy them, Anissa.

I sure as hell would wanna know.

Those mothers did everything they could
to protect their babies,

only to have a corporation lie to them
and steal their very essence.

That's exactly why
I think we should tell them.

Well, if there is nothing
we can do to fix it,

why let them live the rest of
their lives with this trauma?

This is the kinda pain
I carry with me every day.

Anissa, you come
from a happy family.

You're strong, proud, and bulletproof.

You don't know what it's like
to be completely powerless

and at the mercy of other people.

No one should be
forced to live this way.

If we keep this secret
for these mothers,

at least they can live their
"happily ever after."

All right, I hear you.

And I think you're right.
Sometimes, I can be very stupid.

And I'm sorry.

- I love you.
- I love you, too.

Now, pass me those explosives.

Yep.

Thank you.

Hey, Lynn.

Got a sec?

Yeah, of course.

- What is that?
- It's my updated will.

I wanted to make sure that things were
in order before I go see Tobias.

Well, this is a little melodramatic
even for you, Jeff.

Yeah, I mean, with everything
that's been goin' on,

it's got me thinkin', you know,
about us and... our family...

What is it, Jeff?

I'm sorry, Lynn. Yeah, I'm...

so sorry about all the crazy things
our family's been through.

I never wanted this for us.

Before I go see Tobias, I just wanted
to make sure you heard that.

I'm sorry, too.

I've put you through a lot as well.

But now we have
three gifted daughters.

We saved the world several times,
and the multiverse, apparently.

And even though it's been difficult,
we're still standing.

No one really gets
the fairy tale they imagined,

but I really love the one
that I made with you.

I love you, Lynn.

I love you, too.

Now go do what you do best.

All right, TC,
how much time do we have?

The building is empty.
I triggered the fire alarm,

but the fire department
is seven minutes out.

Hey, that's plenty of time.

All right, charges are set.

We got two minutes
to get the hell outta Dodge.

What's your ETA?

The computer virus is chewing
through the mainframe.

All information has been wiped.
Let's go.

All right, you wanna do the honors?

Come on. Let's go.

You really should have told me
Tobias was tracking you.

Yes, well, he did try to kill us both.

Lesson learned.

He's not gonna stop until he succeeds.

You're the linchpin
of Tobias' whole plan.

Testify. Clear Mr. Pierce's name.

He's the kind of man who will move
heaven and earth to protect you.

Lucky for him,
it appears I have little choice.

Relax. I called them.

Looker. As promised.

She agreed to testify?

I'm right here, Officer.

And yes. I agreed to testify
that I falsely implicated the Pierces.

And clear the names of the people you
helped manipulate for Tobias Whale?

We'll see how you like
being controlled.

Here. I gave Looker a non-lethal dose
of my venom to neutralize her powers.

Half a milliliter dose every 12 hours
should keep her sedated and harmless.

Freeland is just down the road.

We have unfinished business.

Jennifer is better off without us.

Hey there, you

Shattered
In a thousand pieces...

Lightning, I got Red's 20.

Sending coordinates now.

Time for some payback.

Hey there, you

Try to stand up
On your own two feet...

Mr. Whale, the perimeter is secure.

As are the additional arrangements.

You can't take a hint.

You enjoy watching
your loved ones die?

You're gonna pay for killing Uriah.

I'll enjoy that.

Oh, my God,
the recharge didn't work.

Has anyone ever told you
you fight like a girl?

Time to join your friend.

You were playing possum.
I knew you had this.

Time to finish this.

The bracelet!

I surrender, all right? Don't kill me.

After what you've done,
you ask for mercy?

You win.

Lightning,
what are you gonna do?

Don't. It's done.

That man is directly responsible
for the murder of Uriah Coleman.

The evidence
is on the flash drive around his neck.

I'm gonna hunt you down.

You and the other meta filth deserve to
be wiped from the face of the Earth.

Live feed, Chief Lopez.

The world's watching.

Do you wanna be a hero, or a villain?

I know which one I am.

Do you?

You and the other meta filth deserve
to be wiped from the face of the Earth.

- Look, look!
- Is that real?

Oh, this is...

- How...
- Shh. Shh!

Shut up. Shut up.

Show me.

I'm gonna hunt you down.

You and the other meta filth deserve to
be wiped from the face of the Earth.

You and the other meta filth deserve
to be wiped from the face of the Earth.

Where are the rest
of your lackeys?

Forgive me. I mean your family.

It's just me.

Let's get this over with.

Everything is here.

Just sign the deed.

House is yours.

Is that it? I was expecting
some grandiose last stand.

All I see is a toothless dog
waiting to be put down.

You took everything.

My family, my reputation, my powers.

Even Freeland.
Just sign the damn deed.

You know, I've been waiting a decade
to hear you cry like that.

It was well worth the wait.

What do you got there?

Huh?

Not so toothless after all, eh?

But I never thought
you actually had the stones to kill me.

That was to wipe your memory.
I'm not a monster like you.

If you were the better man,
you'd do what's actually necessary.

Not this Tinker Tailor Soldier crap!

You know, I would've never
admitted this.

But seein' as that
you're gonna die tonight,

I might as well tell you,

I killed your daddy... right over there!

Get up.

I was there.

I saw what you did from under the bed.

And I dedicated my life...

to bringing you to justice.

You were there? You mean to tell me
you've been trying your whole life

to crawl out from under that bed
and avenge your dead daddy?

Damn!

You know what? Take your best shot.

I made you, Jefferson Pierce.

Forged you in pain and anger,
and look what you do with my gift!

Oh, Jeff.

You really are your father's son.

And you're gonna die like him, too.

Hey, Dad, you are
gonna be proud of what I did tonight.

Oh, for what?

Turning Red in to Chief Lopez?

I'm sure your daddy isn't too proud now.

Tobias?

Mr. Whale to you.

Didn't Jefferson teach you
better manners? Lethal Lightning?

What do you want?
I'm not playing games.

Oh, no game, sweetheart.

My city, my rules.

I warned you.

You made me do it.

What did you do?

And why do you have Dad's phone?

See for yourself.

Jefferson Pierce is dead.