Black Lightning (2018–…): Season 4, Episode 7 - Painkiller - full transcript

Previously on
Black Lightning...

I love you. You're the best thing
that has ever happened to me.

Painkiller,
this is your target.

Terminate with prejudice.

Yes, sir.

We're going to kill
the Pierces. Each and every one.

We have the Painkiller
operating system firewalled.

You're nothing without me.

It's always
going to be inside you.

- Hey!
- You're not even real.

We'll see after I finish my last mission
and kill the Pierce family.



Starting with that
pain in the ass you love so much.

Jennifer.

Promise me
you won't tell her where I am.

Painkiller is still inside of me.

The kill order is still inside of him.

I want you to watch her die.

No!

Does Jen know
you're leaving?

I'm not too good with goodbyes.

- Where are you gonna go?
- I don't know.

But I got to get out of Freeland.

I had your name removed
from the ASA register

so you'll have a chance
at somewhat of a normal life.

"There's one.



The path has been corrected.

Go forth and conquer."

These words came to me
in meditation

and led me here,

to Akashic Valley,

a place where I came to find
peace of mind and body.

A place where I'll piece together
a family and build a new life,

so that I can conquer
my own duality.

Me, Khalil, who wants
peace and vengeance.

And Painkiller...

who just wants a bloody war.

Understand
That we're strumming

Why understand
Where we're going

I understand life
Be flowing

Dreaming as you be
Talking to me

About where we'll be

I'm wearing your gold
You whispering that it's over

To yourself
It's creeping up my shoulder

I understand where
We're coming from

Understand my devotion

Don't understand
What you're doing

I understand that
It's plain to see

See

But not clear to me

Where the river flow
That's where I wanna go

With you, with you
With you

I just know that we are...

Welcome, Anissa and Grace Pierce.
My name is Imani.

I will be your concierge
for your stay with us.

We are so pleased that
you have chosen the Black Velvet

as the place to celebrate
your honeymoon.

If there is anything that you need,
just say my name

and I will be here
to assist you. Enjoy.

Last night I saw a superhero
He was black

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

There's a treacherous man
Living inside of me

He don't need your eyes
Or your sympathy

He don't wanna be loved
Unless it's for free

He cuts down his friends
Like Amazon trees

In the jungle of love
He's Dr. Freeze

He got a nasty habit
Yes, he got a disease

That he gave to a lovely girl
Named Tessa

She was his
Therapist girlfriend

She said, "Let 'em in
Ooh, let 'em in"

Whoa! Damn, bruh.

Give a warning before you shine
the sun in our eyes. All right?

Apologies.

- You good, babe.
- Yeah, I'm good.

Sheesh.

I'm going to the bathroom.

- Hey, man, can I have the bill?
- Yeah, of course.

Come on. Come on.

You gonna help me
or are you just gonna stand there?

Come on. Come on.

Have a good one.

Give her to me.

I'm not letting
that Pierce bitch get away this time.

That's one. But you don't
really want to kill Anissa.

That's Odell.
He put that in your head.

I know that.
But what you don't seem to understand

is that until I kill
every damn Pierce,

I'm in a constant
state of pain, a constant rage.

And I've told you the war is over.

For you, bruh! Not for me.

You know,
as soon as I'm done with that bitch,

- I'm coming after you.
- Two.

And why me? Odell's the one
who created you this way.

Odell didn't create me.

There is no light without shadow...

no sun without moon.

I was already buried
deep inside of you, Khalil.

Odell, he just weaponized
all that ghetto pedigree anger,

Black boy horror movie rage
that you tried to hide

by being the good running boy
with the pretty smile.

I said give her to me.

Nah, that bitch is dead.

Well...

She's not a bitch.

Well, well, well, well

That's three.

Is it the way I move?

That's why you think I'm bulletproof

Or is it in my cool?

You think I'll put
A spell on you

Oh, let it rain

It won't rain on my parade

Black girl, Black girl
Don't lie to me

Tell me where did you sleep
Last night?

In the pines, in the pines

Where the sun don't shine

I shiver
The whole night through

Black girl, Black girl
Where will you go?

To the place
Where the cold wind blows

Freeze-frame.

What happened?

I think you can see what happened.

What are you really asking me?

How did he get out?

He almost killed her.

The logic bomb
I put in your head gives you control.

It works even better
with your meditation practice.

But he's always looking
for ways to override it.

I'm assuming she's one of the targets
Odell implanted in Painkiller?

- Yeah, that's right.
- Yeah.

Logic bomb wasn't built
to override a kill order.

A kill order is like a GPS.

If the Pierces are anywhere
near him, he can sense them.

That's why you being all the way
out here was such a good thing,

so you'd never see
the Pierces again.

How the hell
did she end up here?

I guess the creator
had other plans.

Yeah.

Hell of a coincidence.

There's no such thing
as coincidences, Philk.

Synchronicity,
energy and intent combined to create

a spontaneous manifestation
of one's thoughts.

Hell, all Painkiller thinks
about is the kill order.

And he's even more intent
on killing Anissa because...

Because he failed his mission
in that previous encounter.

He bought her here.

Look, when the ASA was brought
down, you were out on your ass.

No one wanted anything
to do with anyone who worked for 'em.

I found you here, damn near
homeless and an alcoholic.

And I appreciate that.

Back then, I asked you
one simple question.

Can you fix what's in my brain?
And what was your answer?

- Yes.
- So I bought this building,

built this lab
to your specification.

Look, all I'm saying is you got
what you wanted out of the deal,

the lab, the bar, so you could
look in the face of your demons

and overcome them everyday,
you said.

Well, bruh, I still have
a demon in my head

and he almost
killed Jennifer's sister.

Look, I understand
why you're upset

and I'm working on it. You know that.

Now that we have some data

and we've seen what this thing does
when he sees a target,

it gives me something
different to work with.

But Khalil, this is the first time

Painkiller has shown up in a year...

so give me some credit.

And yeah, you did buy
all of this stuff.

But you wouldn't have known about

the ASA's hidden millions
if it weren't for me.

I think I was pretty generous
with your cut

considering I took all the risk.

Yeah, man. I'm not debating that,
but I need you to hear this.

I'm not your damn
Asian tech savior, man.

You need to also realize that
as much as you saved me,

I've done the same for you.

So back up a bit, bro.

Khalil, she's waking up!

Hey.

Happy to see you awake.

I believe you're going
to be all right.

I'm Donald. I'm here
to make sure you keep breathing.

Hey, that's not Painkiller,
that's Khalil.

He's not going to hurt you,
I promise.

There were a few good candidates.

Uh, the bad ones we tranquilized
and we left on the strip.

I mean, they won't remember
anything happened.

They'll think they just had
a few extra drinks and a good time.

You talk too much. Where's Nick?

Uh, Nick.
Well, Nick is kinda dead.

- You can't be this dumb.
- Uh...

How?

Well, we were dragging a subject into
the van when a fight broke out.

And some big Black guy
came out of nowhere

and he poisoned Nick
with one blow to the chest.

He sent him flying backward.

Poisoned?
Did you get a picture of him?

My camera doesn't take photos
of faces, it scans brains.

That's how we find
the smart subjects.

Bring Nick's body to the lab.

Re-engage.

What do you want?

Uh, just one more thing.
I took a pic of one subject

and her brain was abnormal
but amazing.

I mean, I told Nick
and he had me take another pic...

Please get to the point.

When I opened the van
to sort the subjects,

one of them had shape-shifted
into a large sleeping leopard.

- You captured a meta?
- Yes.

That's rare.
I want to see her now.

I thought I had him under control,
but he found a way out.

I don't give a damn how it happened.
But you're gonna fix this.

Especially after all the times
my family saved your ass.

Anissa, I'm not like you
and your family.

I don't go out there
trying to be some kind of superhero.

Painkiller could end up killing
a lot of innocent people.

And Grace is more than capable
of taking care of herself.

You coward. You know I could
have saved her myself,

but I can barely move
because of you.

They drugged her.
She's probably somewhere still drugged.

And the longer your punk ass
stands here making excuses,

it's gonna be harder
for us to find her.

Now, I almost lost her once,
and I will not lose her again.

No such thing
as coincidences, huh?

No such things as coincidences.

If she wakes, tell her
I went to go find Grace.

Freeze-frame.

Rewind.

Now stop.

See right there.

It's subtle, but he gave
that guy right there a signal.

Watch. Continue.

Stop.

Those are the two guys
we need to find.

I'll use the facial recognition
to track down their location.

Listen, I don't know anything.

They pay me to take the photos
and I wirelessly upload them

to a different
email account every time.

You setting these women up
for sex trafficking?

No. No, I would never do
anything as terrible as that.

Because you have morals.

Right.

Some of these people are weird.
They're in some sort of mind cult.

Jeez.

Dude, I can't believe you ran me over
with your car. Who does that?

Whoa. Come on, dude.

I didn't run you over.
If I did, you'd be dead.

Anyway, I don't think you're telling me
everything I wanna know, so...

I'mma finish the job.

No. No, no. Come on, dude.

I don't even know
the people that I work for.

The money just shows up
in my account.

They're just interested
in people's minds.

And how they work.

No, don't shut the door.

I put a tracker on him and his car.

He's an idiot, so it won't take long.

Don't need it.
Hacked the car's GPS.

He made a face-to-face
booth call on the strip

and then headed immediately
to a warehouse

on the outskirts of the Valley.

- I'm sending you the address now.
- Nice work.

Smart guy's not so smart.

I'll hit you when
you're close to the warehouse.

I'll try and hack
into the security cameras.

- Thank you.
- Yeah.

What was that, anyway?

Just some herbs I put together.

It'll help with the healing process.

Hmm.

You really know a lot about
healing and medicine, huh?

I was a medic in the Marines.

Some years ago.

You don't seem like the kinda guy
who would work for a murderer.

Khalil is not a murderer.

Yeah, well, that was
the second time he almost killed me.

Khalil didn't try to kill you.
Painkiller did.

He's at war with himself.

Khalil's been through a lot,
but you already know that.

When I left the military,
things weren't so good for me.

I suffered from PTSD.
Got pretty bad.

When I was finally able to see
the shrink at the VA, he just

gave me some meds to take
and sent me on my way.

One night my mind was hurting so bad,
I took more meds than I should have.

Did you try to kill yourself?

I don't know.

But I'm a pretty big guy,
so they didn't take effect right away.

So I came here,
thought I'd help the healing process

by adding quite a few
whiskeys to the mix.

You're a budding doctor,
so you can guess what happened next.

How did you know that?

Khalil told me.
He told me all about the Pierces.

He really admires
and loves you guys.

Hmm.

Anyway, when I woke up,
I was laying right where you are.

Khalil found me in that alley
pretty much dead.

Brought me here,
put me back together somehow.

He saved my life.

It's a wonderful story,

but I'm not gonna be convinced
unless he saves Grace's life.

I know what's it's like
to be one person on the inside

and have to pretend to be
someone else on the outside.

To lead a double life.
Struggle with identity.

Khalil's struggle is different,
but that's what he's dealing with.

Hmm.

You should understand that.

I never really had to hide
who I was. I've always been out.

Well, then, you're one
of the lucky ones, Anissa.

Or do you prefer Thunder?

Isolate the compound
that killed him.

I want the results
in an hour.

Keep her sedated until we find a proper,

more secure environment
for her to wake in.

I have special plans for this one.

There's two guards,
one at the top of the stairs

and one guarding
the entrance to the room.

Got it.

Man, I don't know what the hell this is,

but it is way deeper than we thought.

These people...
I can't even describe it.

A bunch of kids with computers
connected to their brains.

But Grace is definitely
not one of them.

Wait,
how many laptops?

About six. Looks like
one for each person.

Okay. I'll put in
a call to the police for the people,

you grab the laptops.

Maybe there's some information about
why they're abducting these people.

Who are you working for...

and where can I find them?

I want a name.

- Name?
- Maya.

And where?

Damn it.

Coincidentally,
the nanotech in their brains

resembles the tech in your brain.

Philky, there's no such thing
as coincidences.

Well, the victims' brains
have been partitioned,

effectively cordoning off a large
section of their brain like a computer.

They're being crypto-jacked to harness
the computing power of the brain

for criminal enterprises
like unravelling Bitcoins.

Okay, but what's
the other part of the brain doing?

Well, it ain't dead.
Sort of in a non-thinking state.

So the brain is meditating.

Don't you need to know that you're
meditating in order to meditate?

Okay, well, can this technology
help with Painkiller?

- It might.
- Good.

All the more reason for us to
find this Maya woman.

Kill two birds with one stone.
Save Grace and fix my brain.

I think I know someone
who can help us find out who Maya is.

This is the closest we've been

to finding a way
to get rid of Painkiller.

You really think
she can help?

She seems to know
everyone in the Valley.

Everything that went down
or is about to go down.

People say she can tap
into the Akashic records,

a place where the past, present
and the future exist.

- And you believe that?
- I do.

And a lot more.

Philky.

What up, Wo?

What up?

Khalil, this is Wo Man,
Wo, this is Khalil.

- Pleasure.
- Mine, too.

You said it was an emergency.
What's up?

We were wondering
if you've heard of a woman named Maya?

Apparently she's into
some real high-tech mind-bending stuff.

Tech that usually only the government
can get their hands on.

Yeah, I know who she is.

But there ain't no kind of future
in even saying her name.

I know that sounds dramatic,

but you could say it to the wrong person
and end up dead, Philk.

Come on, Wo.

This is personal. It's family stuff.

And plus,
we've got some debts between us.

- That we do, but...
- It's real personal.

And we're short on time.

Okay.

I'll secure email you the schematics
and location of her retreat

thirty minutes after you leave.

I'm going to say this
and then leave it alone.

If you insist on going there,
you'd better bring an army, okay?

'Cause that bitch don't play.

I just need guns. Lots of guns.

You got lots of money?

Impressive.

Right?

Hey, man,
what kind of game are you playing?

I have a message for Ms. Maya

You walk in here strapped to the nines,
with a long-ass butcher knife

saying you have a message
for someone?

I know you don't trust me.

Maybe for good reason.

But like you said,
I didn't make me like this. Odell did.

If you die...

I die.

Come on, Khalil.

Deep down inside,
your survival instinct...

in all of us.

You need me on this.

That's why you're here.

This technology is too important.

It could set us both free.

I can't take the risk of you
killing the wrong person.

What does that even mean, bruh?

"Set us free"?

But what you're really saying
is to set you free from me.

I'm not stupid.

I think it means we can stop
warring with each other

and finally live in peace.

No more kill orders
causing you pain.

No more fear or worry of Odell,
or anyone else controlling you.

You'll always be a part of me.

It's just a matter of how.

Then trust me.

I don't want Grace dead
as a result of collateral damage.

We'll go in, save Grace,
and then get the technology.

And if things get real bad,
then you'll finish.

Understood?

I'll be on my best behavior.

Wake up, boy.
We got a message for you.

PK, you're up.

'Bout damn time.

Everyone back down.

Delay him,
but I don't want him killed.

Katie, activate self-destruct.

- Password, please.
- Rosebud.

Self-destruct activated.

Put this safe house
on a ten-minute fuse, then blow it.

Understood.

Whoa, whoa, woman. Where in the hell
do you think you're going?

Where the hell do you think?

Let Khalil and Philky
handle this. Okay?

They will bring Grace back.

Listen to me.

I've known many women in my life,
but I have only loved one.

Now you done good, cousin Donald.

You got me up, back on my feet.

Now I'm going to use that strength that
you gave me to go save Grace.

Okay, I feel you, let's go.
I'm driving, though.

You're not Khalil.

You're the one
who almost killed my wife.

You're right. I'm not Khalil.

I'm Painkiller.
But he sent me to get you, not kill you.

- Then let's go.
- You go ahead.

I have unfinished business.

- Oh, my God. I love you.
- I love you more.

- Where's Khalil?
- Painkiller. He's inside.

Yo, the building's gonna blow
in, like, five minutes.

Whoa, whoa.
They're never gonna make it.

We have to try.

Painkiller,
Grace made it out

and the building
is gonna blow up in five minutes.

You don't have time
to find the tech. You've got to get out.

Get the hell out of here right now, PK!

You're going to get Khalil killed,
I mean it!

Get the hell out of here.

We gotta go.

I'm tired, man.

I know.

Me, too.

No, you don't understand.
My mind doesn't like me.

It's constantly attacking,

pressing me
with negative thoughts.

Always wanting to hurt someone.

She was my mother, too.

We are one.

It's just that they split us up
with all of their stuff.

But I will find a way
to put it all back together.

But we have to go now.

If I die, you die.

We could be done with all of this.

I don't want to die.

I want to live.

The part of you that is me
will live if I live.

I'm not your enemy.
And I will save us...

by any means necessary.

But you got to trust me.

- Hey.
- Hey.

Okay, yeah. I'm gonna go downstairs
and check on cousin Donald.

Yeah.

So, how are you, Khalil?

Well...

I'm about the same as I was
when I left Freeland.

Yeah, well, look, you made
some good friends here.

Yeah.

They're about
the only family I have.

- Hey, if you don't mind me asking...
- She's great, Khalil.

Yeah.

You know Jen's being herself.
She's changed...

quite a bit in other ways,
but we talk about you often.

- Yeah?
- Mmm-hmm.

I mean, that's besides...

Promise me
you won't tell her where I am.

Painkiller is still inside of me.

The kill order is still inside of him.

Most times I have control,
but that's just most times.

It seems like
anything that brings me joy

just brings the dark side out of me.

It's something I gotta work on
before I see her again, you know?

Yeah, I know. Yeah, I promise.

Listen, I really just wanted
to thank you, for real. For everything.

No. Thank you.

For trusting me
with what you love the most.

And for encouraging me
to do something good, Harriet.

You tried it.

You just keep doing it.

You're good at it, kid.

Hey. Maybe.

Maybe.

Anything worth knowing?

There's a lot there,

but nothing that's going
to help you with Painkiller just yet.

You got plenty
to get us on the right path.

Man, if we got
the tech from the building,

it might have been different.

That's in the past. Thanks.

So what do we got?

It's all in these laptops, man.

Each individual brain scan
tells a different story,

but, you know,
at the end of the day,

these crypto-jack victims,
they'll all live,

but most
will have some serious brain defects.

- It's a damn shame.
- But it's bigger, man.

They're ramping up abductions
of tourists on the strip.

This Maya, she's got her hands all
over it, but she's also like a ghost.

You have to go through the seven layers
of hell just to find a last name.

She got
everyone in her pockets.

Politicians, police
even the damn meter-maids.

It's like party pic dude said,

it's like a mind cult thing.

- Cults usually have a means to an end.
- Mmm.

And a charismatic leader,
like Maya.

I'm telling you, man, it's bigger than
just Bitcoin hacking, bruh.

Something much bigger.

They're really out here
ruining people's lives

and everyone just
looks the other way.

Everyone except us.

Everything will be okay

Everything, everything
Will be fine

Breath with me

Fine

- Breath with me
- Fine

- Breath with me
- Fine

- Katie, call him.
- Calling him.

Hi, Dad.

- How are you?
- I'm fine, beautiful.

How are you?

I'm excellent.

- Happy to hear.
- Dad, guess who's here.

Hmm.

Well, what a coincidence.

No such thing as
coincidences, Dad.

Everything will be fine

Everything will be fine