Police artist Jim Powell convinces his son JJ and daughter Daphne to go to Brazil with Stephanie as part of her research project. They reluctantly agree and take a flight into the rain forest, and hit a storm. As the plane starts to go down, Jim tries to reassure his family that they'll be okay. Daphne and JJ aren't convinced, particularly when the left engine flames out. They buckle up as the plane crashes into the river.
Jim wonders how his family ended up going from being perfect, to going down in a plane. He admits that his family grew apart, and Stephanie was too busy with her career for her to notice, and he was alone in his world.
The plane goes down in the river and the Powell swim to safety through a glowing phosphorescence. The pilot doesn’t survive.
Upon returning to the states, Daphne, JJ, and Stephanie start getting back into their normal lives. Jim admits that he was crazy to think a trip would change anything, and Stephanie says they have enough memories. She suggests they have dinner the next night, just the two of them, to remind them of how great they are together
Later, Jim practices batting with his friend, DA George St. John. He admits that his life doesn't matter, and George says he should discuss it with Stephanie. He suggests that Stephanie and Jim see a marriage counselor and gives him a card.
At work at the station, Jim works with a woman who has lost her husband to a robber wearing an Obama mask. He explains that she can help save someone else, but she's still in shock. Jim goes to get coffee and talks to Detective Cho, and admits that he doesn't know how she can face people that she can't help. Suddenly a suspect goes berserk and grabs a gun. In the struggle, the gun goes off. Jim shoves Cho out of the way, and the bullet seemingly misses. Once she leaves, Jim checks the bullet... that he caught in his hand.
Stephanie talks about waking up in the morning before realizing she can't connect with her husband or her kids.
Jim is making breakfast and in a surprisingly cheery mood. He inadvertently breaks the door handle off but covers for it, and Stephanie is too busy focusing on her career to notice. She gets the kids off to school, leaving Jim alone. At school, JJ gets out and Stephanie asks Daphne if she's okay. Daphne notices classmate Lindsay flirting with her boyfriend, Lucas Fisher, and quickly gets out to separate them and exchange insults. Once Lindsay goes, Lucas kisses her and promises to hook up with her later. Emily, Daphne's friend, comes by, and Daphne figures that Lucas doesn't know that Lindsay is hitting on her.
Stephanie goes to her board meeting and makes a presentation on a rare plant that she found in Brazil, a plant that dates back millions of years. Dr. Chiles is unimpressed, but the Chairman tells Stephanie to continue. Stephanie explains that there's nothing the plant can't do.
Jim rents the batting cage and goes in, and then turns the itching machine on to 90 MPH. After instinctively ducking the first ball, he catches the next one in his bare hand. Jim then turns the machine up as high as it will go and lets the next one hit him in the chest.
Stephanie returns to her office and finds her mentor, Dr. Dayton King, waiting for her. He tells her that the Chairman was impressed and wants to meet with her later at his hotel for drinks and a discussion that they'll fund her research. Stephanie is hesitant when she realizes she won't be home for her night with Jim.
Jim calls George to the batting cage and shows him how he can catch baseballs. George figures that it's some kind of a trick when the ball disintegrates in Jim's hand. Next Jim gives George a gun he's taken from the precinct supply house, and asks George to shoot him. Stephanie calls to tell him that she'll have to call off her date night, but promises that she'll get home as soon as she can. George is understandably reluctant to shoot Jim, but his friend convinces him. After a moment's hesitation, George aims, hesitates, and accidentally pulls the trigger. Jim catches the bullet, while George faints.
As Stephanie leaves, she gets a message to meet the Chairman at his hotel. She starts running... and keeps running, and running, faster and faster. In seconds she's halfway across town, moving at impossible speeds.
Jim explains that he pretended that everything was normal, counting the moments until he could test his powers again with George.
Jim and George meet atop a building and try to figure out if Jim can fly. Jim finally agrees to leap off the building and give it a try. He drops like a stone, but survives the fall to the concrete ten stories below. Jim realizes that he can leap, and jumps back up to the rooftop.
Stephanie decides to share her newfound power with her lab technician and comic book fan, Katie. They go to the racetrack and test Stephanie's top speed, while Katie wonders how she can function. Stephanie discovers that she has to eat constantly to deal with her accelerated metabolism. She then superspeeds home to help JJ with his homework.
At the station, George calculates the limits of Jim's abilities. He suggests that Jim tell Stephanie, but Jim is reluctant. Jim reveals that he's using a police scanner to check the pursuit on the masked robbers, and wants to use his powers to fight crime. Stephanie calls to tell Jim that she's caught up on everything for once and suggests he come home for sex. Afterward, Stephanie comments that Jim seems happy for the first time in a long while. He admits his life wasn't working out the way he hoped, and that he couldn't keep up with her. Stephanie points out that he stopped trying, and Jim says that they both stopped trying. He points out that she doesn't know that Daphne is worried about having sex with Lucas, and JJ has a learning disability. Before they can continue the discussion, Jim gets a call from George, who tells him the robbers are committing a robbery.
George directs Jim via radio as he leaps across the city to catch up to the robbers. The robbers drive down an alleyway, avoiding the police, and Jim leaps onto the car. He grabs the driver and hauls him out, and unmasks him. However, a second masked robber suddenly appears behind Jim and shoots him in the head. Jim clutches at the wound and pries out the bullet, and then collapses.
George gets Jim home and tells Stephanie what's going on. She admits she has a superpower of her own and can understand what's happened to her. They conclude that the plane crash and the phosphorescence in the water must account for their powers. Daphne calls home and Stephanie goes to get her, much to her daughter's surprise. She explains that she was playing basketball when she discovered she could read Lindsay's mind and hear her thoughts. She then heard the thoughts of everyone else in the gymnasium. Stephanie tells her that she believes her.
The family gathers at home and compares notes. JJ is disappointed that he's the only one without superpowers. Daphne figures that her power was a freak occurrence, and she doesn't want to be special. She figures that Stephanie and Jim are trying to convince themselves that they're special, and that the family is falling apart because of them. She and JJ storm out, and Stephanie admits that Daphne's right.
Jim does a sketch of the robber and gives it to Cho, and claims he got it from a witness. He confirms the man is Reed Koblenz, and that he is dating a woman named Sally Downes. He offers to go with Cho and her partner, Hixon, but she says he should leave it to the professionals. Once they go, Jim leaps across the city to Sally's address.
Daphne goes to Lucas home and they start to kiss, but she hears him thinking that he has to go be with Emily. She realizes that he's sleeping with Emily and realizes how he really feels about her reluctance to have sex.
Cho and Hixon talk to Sally, who claims she hasn't seen Koblenz since she posted bail. As they leave, they spot Koblenz coming in. He shoots and kills Hixon, and wounds Cho. He then takes Cho as a hostage and tells Sally to pack up everything and disappear.
Daphne comes home and finds Stephanie there. Stephanie says that she's there now, despite their past, and realizes that her daughter had another outburst of telepathy. Daphne tells her what happened and wonders why Lucas lied to her. JJ comes in and realizes they're talking about superpowers, and starts to walk away. Stephanie assures her that they're a family no matter what.
As Koblenz loads Cho in the trunk of his car, Jim arrives and tells him to release his hostage. Koblenz explains he doesn't have a partner, and demonstrates that he can teleport. The two fight and Jim manages to grab the gun, but loses it in the struggle. Koblenz grabs the gun and teleports behind Jim to shoot him at point-blank range. However, Cho gets out of the trunk and shoots him, and tells Jim to get out before IA arrives and wonders why he's there.
Jim arrives home and Stephanie tells him that he was always the perfect parent she wanted to be. She assures him that he's special, and she doesn't want to lose him. Stephanie asks him not to put his life at risk fighting crime, and he promises.
At school, JJ is preparing for a test. Suddenly he starts perceiving all the data and comprehending it, and finishes the test in a matter of seconds.
George takes Jim to his garage and shows him that he's rigged the place with TVs, computers, and Internet access. Jim now has a lair.
Jim and Stephanie finish telling their story to their marriage counselor, Dr. Allan. He says that they have a lot of work to do and recommends sessions twice a week.
Later, Dr. King goes to an underground chamber to examine Koblenz's corpse. Another man is there, and King tells him to find out who knows about him and take care of them. As King goes, the man concentrates and the lights flicker.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 13, 2015