02x05 - ISSUE #205: You vs. Me

[bunniefuu]

[buzzing]

[electronic door whirring]

[knocking]

[guard] Hey! I told you to get up.

They're expecting you
in the lab in ten minutes.

Okay, okay.

[sighs]

[Pat yelps]

What? How did you get in here?

[echoing] I'm in your head.

- Who are you?
- You don't remember me?

You're the kid who was at Dion's school?

Keep going.

We-we don't know each other.

You don't remember me, but I remember you.

You took my dad!

[grunts] Go!

[tense music plays]

[Brayden groans]

[tense music continues]

[rumbling]

[electricity crackling]

[Brayden's dad grunts and groans]

No, watch out!

That thing, it's coming!

No!

- Brayden.
- Daddy!

- [Brayden's dad] Brayden!
- Daddy!

[Brayden's dad yells]

No!

[Brayden] That's what I remember.

[Pat exhales]

[Pat] That... That wasn't me. That...

That's not who I am.

People always say that
after they do something awful!

But it was you!

You k*lled my dad. You k*lled my aunt.

[Crooked Energy] And that's not all!

Oh my God.

[breathing deeply]

You have the Crooked Energy.

Okay, okay. Just please, please,

don't give into it.

Fight it, okay?

It feeds on your darkest impulses,
y-y-your jealousy and-and hate.

It-It'll take over your life,
and you don't want that.

[laughs] You want it!

No, I don't.

I can see inside your head!

The Crooked Energy ruined my life!
Don't come near me!

I told you, I'm in your head!

Well, get out!

Okay. I have to finish
what we came here to do.

If you tell anyone about me,
I'm coming back for you!

[breathing shakily]

[musical flourish peaks]

[sinister note plays]

[birds chirping]

We're here!

Complete and total isolation in the woods.

Yay.

[Dion] Hey, Tevin, guess what?

My granddad built this
with his own hands only.

Yeah? That's pretty cool, man.

That's why everything's so old.
Except those windows. Those are new.

You know how to fish?

We can eat the wildlife
fresh out of the water.

[bird squawks]

We can also eat Bumblebee Tuna.
Fresh out of the can.

[Dion] But that's not as fun.
Come on, Tevin.

- [Tevin] Uh...
- Tevin, make sure you two stay together.

Don't worry, Aunt Kat.
It's just the woods. Race ya.

Yeah, with monsters
crawling around Atlanta.

[Tevin, echoing] Don't worry.
I got his back.

[foreboding music plays]

[squawks]

[foreboding music peaks]

[Nicole] So I'm looking at Powered DNA?

[Pat] Well, yes.

So that's a rendered animation
of what's on that slide, yes.

And... And Powered people,
like Dion, have a triple helix of DNA,

unlike, say, you and I, who have a...

A normal double helix.
Take the mansplaining down a notch?

Sorry, yes. Um...

So my plan is to unwind
Dion's P-DNA strand,

and use it to create a gene therapy
that will neutralize your infection.

That sounds like it could work.

Yeah, I mean, in a weird way,

it's a version of-of what I did
as the Crooked Man.

Come again?

I mean, it's not the same, um, at all.

It's just, uh...

Yeah, no, uh...

What I meant is that it's...
There's, um, uh, just a parallel,

because I needed, uh,
Dion's powers, and now you need...

You should... Just don't. Don't.

You almost k*lled a child
to save yourself.

That's not the same thing
as using a sample of his DNA.

Yes, okay. Yeah, I know.
I know... You're right.

- I'm not the bad guy here.
- Well, that's to be determined.

- [man] Code Five, coming in.
- [Suzanne] Secure the corridor.

- [man] Go!
- [creature growls]

[Suzanne] Get that thing
to the medical lab immediately.

Tranquilize it so we can test it.
Out of the way! Move.

- [creature growls]
- Suzanne?

[creature growls]

Hey, you. Get back in the lab.

[man] Checkpoint, clear.

[creature roars]

[PA] Prisoner detained.

- [creature growls]
- Suzanne?

- [Suzanne] Get it under control!
- [guard] Keep it clear. Steady, steady.

- [Nicole] What's going on?
- [Suzanne] Hold up.

They captured this...
This creature from the sinkhole.

[creature growls]

[Suzanne] Is this what attacked you?

It looked like that, but

mine was way bigger.

[creature roars]

You're saying there's more than one?

[creature growls]

- [Tevin] It's beautiful out here.
- [Dion] Yeah, whatever.

There's a stream down there with rocks
and bugs, and sometimes frogs.

[bird squawks]

[rustling]

[Dion] Tevin, what's wrong?

Nothing.

Uh, let's head back. Get to work.

[Dion] Okay.

[Tevin] All right, Di,
up here's gonna be the starting line.

Tevin, I don't wanna play tag.
Tag is for little kids.

It's part of your training, all right?

Come on, race me to the cabin.

Fast as you can.
I'll even give you a head start.

- I don't need a head start.
- [chuckles lightly]

Confident, huh? It's gonna be
even better when I dust you.

Three, two, one.

Go!

♪ I'm a breath of fresh air ♪

♪ Yes, I am the best
Tell the rest to rest here ♪

♪ If you settle for less
Then you're left with a mess here... ♪

Psych!

♪ You can feel my style... ♪

You can't catch me!

♪ When I go and look at you
I see y'all foul... ♪

[Tevin] We'll see.

[Dion] Ha.

♪ ...the way that I get it
Admit it that I be 'bout my business... ♪

No victory lap till you get to base.

- [Dion] Where's base?
- Your Auntie Kat.

- [Dion grunts]
- Look out for the wall.

[Dion] Your walls are too slow, bro.

[laughs]

[Dion] Whoa!

Hey.

- [Dion grunts]
- [Tevin] Gotta watch where you're landing.

Didn't see the log?

- I was trying to outrun you.
- [Tevin] Here's lesson number one.

Don't let me or anyone else
knock you off your game.

Otherwise, you'll make mistakes.

- Got it?
- Yeah.

Come on.

Your team any closer to a cure?

I'm on my way to check on Pat's work now.

Excuse me? Pat's working on this too?
Please don't tell me you trust that man.

Nicole's infection is connected
to Pat's Crooked Energy,

and somehow Pat feels what it feels.

- That doesn't raise any red flags for you?
- [Suzanne] Of course it does.

But it means he can tell us instantly
what's working and what's not.

[Kat] He's not a doctor.

Tell him, from a medical standpoint,
he has a few curative options.

He can either neutralize the illness
using the creature's antibodies,

or maybe he could use...

[Suzanne] Stop, I'll put you on the phone
with him and you can tell him yourself.

Oh, no, no, no.
I have zero desire to talk to that man.

Yeah, well, we're all working
under less than ideal circumstances,

but this is for Nicole.

- Dr. Neese.
- You figure anything out yet?

Nice to see you too.
Uh, no, I'm still, uh, working on it.

Based on research I did as a resident,
you have a few curative options here.

Okay, th-thank you, Kat, but,
um, I'm working with Powered DNA,

which is significantly more complicated
than anything you studied at med school...

You know what's not complicated?
Your fragile ego.

Kat.

Pat, Nicole is my dearest family,

and you are everything
that has gone wrong in her adult life.

So unless you know
how to cure her at this exact moment,

I suggest you pipe down and listen.

Maybe I'm just having a hard time
hearing over your self-righteousness.

This... This whole thing's
been pretty hard on me too.

I got possessed, I lost my best friend,
I got rejected, I... I was dead there...

You put down any more
of that "I'm the real victim" crap,

and I will reach through this screen
and end you.

- Okay, why don't we stick to the science?
- Yeah, why don't we?

I think that this case
calls for an antibiotic approach.

Nope. Been there.

My idea is stem-cell therapy
using Powered DNA.

- What power?
- I'm still figuring that out.

There is research
with antibiotic therapy using nickel.

You're suggesting I use metal
as an antibiotic?

The metal works as a magnet in the blood.

If you can find a Powered person
with metal manipulation abilities,

you might have an antidote.

That's pretty good.

Um...

[Dion] Auntie Kat, I'm hungry.

Call me when you have an update. Hi, guys.

- a*s...
- Oh, okay. That's... rude.

- Looks like you have your orders.
- Yeah.

We all know how much she loves orders.

[monitor beeping]

That thing used to be human?

I've run blood tests. The sequencing scans
indicate that that creature has human DNA.

Human?

[rustling]

What was that?

As far as I can tell,

those are parasitic spores
that infect the host,

feed off their matter and energy,
and reproduce.

Meaning they're responsible
for turning this man from a human into...

Whatever the hell that is.

[doctor] Exactly.
And whatever the hell that is

means to make more of itself
by spreading spores.

I'm gonna turn into that.

- You have to lock me away.
- [Suzanne] Nicole.

I don't want to make anyone else sick.

Suzanne.

Set up a quarantine.

[doctor] Okay. I'm on it.

[suspenseful music peaks]

[piano playing]

♪ And I am telling you ♪

♪ I'm not going ♪

Cut.

Um, uh...

♪ You're the best friend I ♪

Uh...

♪ No, no, no, no way ♪

Cut. I said, cut.

Ms. Bonnie, that means
cut the accompaniment too.

[sighs]

Esperanza.

Yes?

[Kwame] To understand
your character's motivation,

you must understand
her given circumstances.

Okay.

And what does that mean?

Oh!

You're playing Effie.

One of the most iconic parts
ever written for the musical stage.

Effie has suffered.

She's much more talented
than everybody else.

She's special.

She's plagued by everyone's jealousy.

They call her a diva.

Everyone wants her to go

so they don't have to deal
with her specialness.

[sighs]

[Kwame] It's a curse.

Psst, save me.

Mr. Kwame.

You wanna see a drawing of the stage?
I have all the pyrotechnics in position.

And what is that?

Those are the flame shooters.

[Ms. Bonnie] You're not gonna
set those off in here, are you?

I mean, this carpet,
it looks very flammable.

I am not presenting my revue

in the drab confines
of this community center, Ms. Bonnie.

Hopefully, the school will be open by then
and we will have a proper stage

on which to perform.

- [Ms. Bonnie] There's still a fire code.
- Nobody cares about that.

All they care about
is seeing a great show.

And people like fire.

Approved.

Hello there. I'm Effie.

I'm Effie, and, boy, are you lucky.

I'm, like, awesome,
and I'm here to sing for you tonight.

What?

What? You can't handle how special I am?

Well, you're gonna
have a bad day, because...

[sighs]

I'm... great.

[sighs]

Can I tell you something? I'm not great.

I sing a lot at home and my dad likes it,

and I thought he'd like it
if I was on the show,

but now he can't be here,
and I'm really scared,

and everyone expects me
to do this big, amazing thing...

[Kwame] Esperanza, five-minute warning.

[sighs]

I just want to go home.

[sighs]

[birds squawking]

[Esperanza] We're on break, finally.

Mr. Kwame's intense.

Dion, I expect to see results
from your stay-at-home rehearsal.

[Dion] Okay.

I don't think I can do this, Dion.

- Yes, you can.
- [Esperanza] You don't know that.

[Dion] Remember when you knew
I had superpowers all along?

Well, here's what I know. You got this.

- Okay.
- [Dion] That's the spirit.

[Esperanza] Oh, and also tickets.

Mr. Kwame says that we each get
one free ticket to the show.

Cool. That means your dad
can sit in the front row with my mom.

[sighs] He's gonna be out of town working.

What? No! He's gonna miss your song?
Can you invite someone else?

Nobody else really cares.

What about... [gasps] Mr. Gary?

Yes! I'll ask Mr. Gary.

[Kwame] And we're back, people.
Look alive.

Thank you.

[Kat] Dion. These sandwiches
aren't gonna eat themselves.

- [bird squawks]
- [Dion] Coming!

[squawks]

[Kat] Why do Black people vacation
in the country anyway?

There could be something out there
lurking in the woods.

Why? Did you see something?

No. I'm just saying,
if horror movies have taught us anything,

there's always something bad
lurking in the woods.

Like zombies?

Or rednecks.

I think we're safe out here.

[bird warbling]

So my nephew's trainer
is the most eligible Black man on Earth?

Uh, I wouldn't say all that.

I'm not exactly the most eligible.

Way to not answer the question.

Nicole said your superpower
was putting up walls.

I just don't like talking about myself.

- [Kat] I call that a man with a past.
- I know what you're talking about.

Auntie Kat, I thought you were g*y.

- Uh...
- [Dion] I know it's a spectrum, but still.

I'm not asking for myself, nosy.

I'm just making an observation.

Whatever. You guys are boring.

[Tevin] Uh-uh. Dion.

Line of sight.

- So, what's your deal?
- Deal?

Um... Uh, I'm actually
in a deal-free zone right now.

[Kat] Sure you are.

All I'm saying is
Nicole is dealing with a lot.

A superkid, a sinkhole monster.

She doesn't have time for the foolishness.

So if you're interested in her,
don't talk about it, be about it.

- Understood.
- [Kat] Good.

[whooshing]

[bird squawks]

[Kat] Zombie or redneck?

[Tevin] Uh...

I'm sure it's nothing.
Keep an eye on Dion for me for a second.

Uh, am I the only person
who's seen a horror movie?

Black people
should not walk into the woods.

[phone buzzing]

- [Nicole] Please leave a message.
- Hi, Mom.

I know you're really busy at work,
so I just wanted to call to say hi.

Uh, I didn't really tell you
about my day yesterday.

You know, Brayden,
that kid I hang out with?

- [bird squawks]
- [Dion] He's kind of...

I don't know,

complicated, and...

We'll talk about it
when you call me back.Bye.

Dion. Come over here
where I can see you, buddy.

Okay.

[Pat] Parasitic infection?

That's worse than I thought.

Who knows how many other people
have been infected by now.

That's why we need to hurry, Pat.

Have you been able to isolate
the gene that controls metal?

Suzanne, I...

I can't even separate
the third strand yet.

Until I do that,
we don't have anything, okay?

So I'm...

Sweetie, I thought
you'd already gone home.

I was grabbing a cookie for the road.
They have some in the kitchen.

- You want one?
- No, thanks. I just have to finish this.

Oh, what is it?

It's an invitation for Mr. Gary
to go see the musical revue.

Oh.

- Mr. Gary, the security guard?
- Mm-hmm.

We're friends. We talk about flowers.

Thus, the flowers.

That's nice.

And there.

Now, all I have to do
is drop it off at the school office.

Oh, sweetie,
the school's closed, remember?

That's why we're here.

Oh, I forgot about that.

How am I supposed
to get this to Mr. Gary now?

I don't know his phone number
or his email address or his Instagram.

Does he even have an Instagram?

Give it to me.

I'll drive it by his house
and put it in his mailbox.

You know where Mr. Gary lives?

Oh. [chuckles softly]

We carpool to salsa lessons
every Wednesday night.

Oh, what?

We aren't allowed to have lives
outside of school?

[Ms. Bonnie chuckles]

Give it.

Thank you.

[Ms. Bonnie] You're welcome.

- He'll love it.
- [Esperanza] Really? You think so?

Mm-hmm.

[Dion] He's kind of,

I don't know,

complicated.

We'll talk about it
when you call me back. Bye.

[man] There she is.

- Hey, girl. How you doing?
- [Nicole sighs]

Hanging on.

Did you bring me lunch?

- Tassili's?
- [Simone] Mm-hmm.

Janelle found that place on her phone.

Said, "We gotta get Ms. Warren
something decent to eat." [chuckles]

I'm like, "Vegan?"
She's like, "Get with Afroism, Mom."

[Simone and Nicole chuckle]

Man, I'm all about Dat Ish Wrap.

So Janelle has gone 12 whole hours
without breaking anything.

I'm not breaking things.

[Simone] Oh, don't start, Janelle.

Like I don't have eyes.

The sooner she gets control
over these powers,

the sooner we can go home. [chuckles]

Oh, don't worry, baby.
Whatever's going on, I got you.

You don't get me. Nobody does.

We couldn't talk like that
back in the day, huh?

What don't people get about you?

[Simone] Talk, baby.

Maybe once you figure out
all you can do with your powers...

[scoffs] Apparently, the only thing
I can do is just blow stuff up.

Well, if you could do something different,
what would that look like?

[sighs]

I can see it, but I can't say it.

Try.

It's like I'm inside of it,

and everything is clear and singular,

and I understand.

And I'm part of it.

[gentle music plays]

I believe you.

I'm sure a lot of Powered people
feel how you feel.

Misunderstood.

[exhales deeply]

Maybe you could be their voice.

What do you mean?

BIONA asked me

to speak for the Powered people
on the Advisory Board,

but they should be represented
by one of their own.

Decisions get made
and it matters who's in the room.

Would you agree to representing them?

Assuming it's okay with your mom?

[Simone] It's up to her.

Yeah. [chuckles]

[Nicole] Good.

- I'll talk to them.
- [electronic door opens]

Nicole, hey. Excuse me,
I just need to, um...

So I-I-I've been trying everything.

Everything. I tried
to jury-rig a centrifuge,

to isolate the P-DNA strands
on a molecular level.

I-I have tried and,

I... I can't do it.

Because none of this has ever
been done before, so I-I-I tried, but I...

Maybe I could engineer something
in a week or a month, but...

Maybe if I... If I had the tools, but we...

Oh my God, your infection...
Oh, it's so much worse. [inhales deeply]

I-I wanna stop that thing from...

I just... I... I need more time.

I-I can't fix it. I'm sorry.

I'm so sorry. I...

Janelle, where are you going?

[crashing]

[alarm wails]

[Simone] Janelle, wait!

- Janelle, stop!
- [Pat] Don't... Don't touch anything!

[dramatic music plays]

[dramatic music fades]

[machine beeps]

[Pat] She...

She did it.
She separated the P-DNA strand. I-I...

I have what I need to make the cure.

Is this what you were trying to do?

[Simone exhales]

[Tevin] Come on,
there's nothing out there.

Okay, Tevin.

[sighs] You know what this is.

[sighs] It's just your anxiety, okay?

Get it together.

[Brayden, echoing] k*ll him. k*ll Dion.

He's dangerous.

k*ll Dion before he kills you.

He's not who you think.

What?

[Brayden] Dion! He'll k*ll us all.

He is not what you think.
I have to destroy him.

[Dion] Tevin!

[sinister music swells]

Dion?

[Brayden] He is not who you think.

Tevin? Dude, are you coming?

[breathing shakily]

[Dion] Tevin?

Yeah. Yeah, let's go.

Mom, I didn't know where you went.

So they're still working on a cure.

No news yet.

What you doing?

My daddy never could understand
how he got a daughter

who didn't care about science.

He was an engineer in the Navy,
he taught high school chemistry.

Then I had you.

You loved everything he loved.

He bought me a little science kit
when I was four years old.

It had a microscope and everything.
[chuckles] You remember?

He showed me how to make
a little volcano with baking soda.

[Simone] Of course I remember.

I cleaned up that mess so many times.

You two were buddies.

He was so proud of you.

So when he asked if he and Mama

could take you to visit his old Navy base
in Iceland to see the Northern Lights,

I said, "Sure,
take my six-year-old to Iceland."

- Well, I wanted you to come too.
- No.

I don't do airplanes.

I was scared to death
every day you were gone.

But not just because it was so far away,

but because

I felt like you were

passing me by.

No.

[Simone] I was afraid
that trip would change you.

And it did.

The night of the meteor shower

was so beautiful.

And I started crying.

You know, Grandpa told me not to be scared
and it was okay, but I wasn't scared.

I just wanted you
to see what I was seeing.

I don't understand what's happening.

I don't know what to do.

Well, do what you always do.
You're my mom.

Baby, I can't help you with any of this.

So help me with other stuff.

Like what?

Driving you around,
cleaning up the volcanoes?

Well, there's this boy...

[Simone] Oh, Lord, Janelle.

- [Janelle] What?
- Boys? Really, now?

- I'm almost 16.
- [Simone] I know, but...

Can we deal with one thing
at a time, please?

I-I just found out
you're some kind of genius.

- And Nicole is sick...
- You know, it's fine. Never mind.

It's cool.

We can talk about it another time, okay?

I'm gonna go check on Nicole.

I love you.

[Tevin] Okay, Dion, lesson number four.
Focusing on elements in your surroundings.

So if you can't do a good skip,
you just throw overhand, like that.

[splashing]

What's the point of this?

Uh, let's just call it
spatial intelligence.

I saw The Karate Kid, okay?

You're supposed to be training me
for something cool.

- Not all super powers are supernatural.
- They're not all super good either.

- [Tevin] What do you mean?
- [splashing]

Nothing.

You wanna tell me what's going on?

[splashing]

I want to be good,
but what if I did something that wasn't?

Okay.

I'm listening.

Yesterday, this kid from school
got me to break all my mom's rules.

- This kid got a name?
- Brayden.

Anyway, I wanted to tell my mom,
but she never came home.

I keep calling her,
but she hasn't called me back yet.

It's just... I made a mistake.

I let him knock me off my game,

and now Mom's gonna be so mad,
she's gonna give me the look.

The look?

[Tevin chuckles] Damn.

- [Dion chuckles]
- That is a look.

Tell me about it.

Everyone makes mistakes, Dion.

Not my dad.

- I'm sure he made some before...
- You don't know! You didn't know him.

You're right.

But from what I've heard,
he was an amazing guy.

So let me just speak on myself.
I have made a lot of mistakes.

But I try to learn from 'em
and make different choices.

It's never too late.

What if I'm a bad guy?

- I don't really believe in bad guys.
- What? Of course there are bad guys.

Darth Vader.

[chuckles] Darth Vader turned away
from the dark side before he died,

which shows you
he always had the power to be good.

What exactly happened with this kid?

He kind of got in my head or something.

That's peer pressure.

Come sit.

Look, just because
you get in with the wrong kid

doesn't mean you gotta stay there.

You get to choose.

But I chose wrong.

Then choose again.

[sinister whooshing]

[Brayden] k*ll him.

- You all right?
- [Tevin] Yeah.

- [Brayden] Do it, Tevin.
- Argh.

[Dion] Tevin?

[Brayden] He's evil.

[panting] Argh.

- [Brayden] Destroy him.
- What are you doing?

[Brayden] Before he destroys us all.

You have to do it now!

No!

[Brayden] He wants you dead, Tevin!

- [Tevin strains]
- [Brayden] Do it now!

Run!

Run! [groans]

[bird squawking]

[Dion yells]

[bird squawking]

[machine beeps steadily]

[doctor] P-DNA serum trial dose
now administered.

[creature grunts]

Is that supposed to happen?

You mean with the serum we just made up

that's never been tested
on anything before?

[doctor] Blood pressure's stabilizing.

[woman] Check C4s.

[doctor] Heart rate stable.
Run all vitals.

[woman] Running vitals.

[doctor] I'm seeing
a decline in the infection.

Do you see the blood gas levels?

My goodness, I think it's working.
He's regaining consciousness.

[straining] Help me, please.

I need to tell you...

[monotone beep]

[doctor] Ah, he's gone.

No.

No.

No.

- [wings fluttering]
- [Dion panting]

[birds squawking]

[bird squawks]

[Dion panting]

[Dion grunts]

[Dion panting]

[shrieks]

[Dion] Get off!

Get off me!

[Dion grunts] Get...

[dramatic music plays]