30 Years Ago
A young Jeff and his father Alvin walks down the street in the rain and come across to Gambi. Alvin sends Jeff to the car, and Gambi complains that Alvin named names and Tobias is indicted. Alvin says that his editor killed his story, and Gambi tells him to leave it alone. Despite that, Alvin says that he's consumed with guilt about having Jeff take the vaccine.
Later, people gather at Alvin's coffin. Afterward, Jeff is sitting in the car and Gambi watches from a distance.
In his shop, Gambi listens to news reports about the violence in the city. On the street, police chase Jeff and grab him. His eyes glow and he blasts them back with electricity. Jeff runs off, frightened, and tries to climb over an electrical fence. He's shocked unconscious, and Gambi finds him and discovers that the boy's body is charged with electricity.
Now
Lynn tells Jennifer that she saved Jeff's life. She says that Jeff has a short circuit in his powers and it's disrupting his neural system. Gambi warns that everyone is looking for Jeff and they can't take him to a hospital.
Jennifer goes out on the porch and Gambi joins her. He asks if she's all right, and Jennifer talks about how she's a freak from a family of freaks. She wonders if Tobias and Syonide are metahumans, and Gambi explains that their powers are artificial, and Tobias takes a steroid that extends his life and makes him as strong as three men. He pulled Syonide out of an orphanage and took her in, and trainer her to be an assassin. Tobias had carbon-fiber body armor implanted under her skin, driving her insane with pain. Gambi figures that the implant in Khalil is causing him to produce a neurotoxin that causes instant paralysis. Jennifer insists that Khalil isn't a weapon, but Gambi says that Khalil made a choice and is with Tobias. He tells Jennifer that Khalil isn't the boy she knew anymore, and goes back inside.
At Tobias' penthouse, Khalil apologizes for apparently killing Black Lightning. Tobias asks if they should accept "Painkiller"'s apology, and Syonide draws a gun on Khalil and asks if he can put a dart in her before she shoots him. She and Tobias laugh and Tobias takes Khalil to take a seat. Tobias then tells Khalil never to apologize, and it was Martin who wanted Black Lightning alive. He's not upset that Black Lightning is dead, and figures that Martin will have to go eventually.
At the ASA base, Martin's underling Klovic tells Martin that the only man they could find connected to Tobias is Lala. The man says that there was a brownout and the stage 1 subjects are dying. They need a DNA sample from a stable metahuman to rewrite the bad DNA. There are four stable stage 2 subjects, but Martin insists that isn't enough. He tells his people to stop working and explains that they have to have more metahumans than any enemies. Martin orders them to find Black Lightning and Thunder so they can confiscate their DNA, and to find Lala as well.
The next day, Gambi tells Jennifer and Anissa that he knew Jeff had powers before he did. It took 15 years for Jeff to become Black Lighting when he saw that Freeland's people were losing hope. Anissa wants to go after Martin, but Gambi warns that they are shielded there and the ASA is looking for them. He says that Anissa is best for them right there and they go back to the house.
Lynn lies with the unconscious Jeff and talks about how she could feel death at the moment that Jeff flatlined. She says that they have a connection, and she needs Jeff to find it and follow it back to her.
Syonide brings Lala to Tobias, and he charges at Tobias. Tobias easily knocks him down, and Lala gets up and charges him again. When Tobias says the trigger phrase, Lala freezes. The crime lord says that he spent a million on the reanimation process and it's time for Lala to pay him back. Tobias explains that LaWanda and Will were side effects of the reanimation, and everyone Lala killed will come back to haunt, becoming tattoos on his skin, until he has no skin left.
The Past
Alvin returns home with Jeff and complains that his son was suspended. Jeff says that someone else started it, and Alvin tells him that an eye-for-eye mentality doesn't solve anything. His son wonders what if he's supposed to let them hit him, and Alvin tells him that he has to get back to work. He orders Jeff to read the Constitution and he'll quiz him at dinner.
Now
Jeff moans in pain and Lynn tells the others that his nervous system is shutting down.
Once the agents find Lala, they bring him in and he asks to speak to Tobias. Lala says that he can't tell him where Tobias is, and starts gagging. He reaches for his mouth and Martin realizes that Lala has det cord. He leaves with two of his agents and tells them to find Gambi and the metahumans, as Lala blows up behind them.
Lynn tells the others that they're losing Jeff.
Alvin puts on a record and calls Jeff downstairs. An adult Jeff stares at his father in surprise, and says that he should have helped him when Tobias came. Alvin says that he helped him by doing what he was told, and Jeff apologizes. His father says that there's nothing to be sorry for, and admits that peace isn't always peaceful. Alvin tells Jeff that only Jeff will know if all the injuries he's suffered is worth it. Jeff asks if it was worth it for Alvin, and Alvin admits that he doesn't know. He tells Jeff that he's proud of him and apologizes for leaving, but Jeff says that he can't stay there. Alvin tells Jeff to handle his business, and Jeff gets up and goes.
Jeff wakes up and Lynn kisses him in relief. Their children come in and hug him, and Jeff realizes that his powers are gone.
Klovic finds a surge in power after the attack at Garfield, but can't place the location. Martin realizes that the area is cloaked and tells his tac team to move in.
IN his penthouse, Tobias is injecting himself with the steroid. Syonide and Khalil come in and say that they can't tell if Lala exploded, and heavy tactical is rolling out of the ASA base. Tobias tells them to find out where they're going.
Lynn tells Jeff that his vital signs are back to normal, but she doesn't know if his powers will come back. Gambi reports that his perimeter sensors are lighting up and the ASA is coming, and Jeff figures that Anissa and Gambi can't defeat them alone.
The tac team moves in on the cabin, and Gambi watches them on the surveillance monitors. He warns that they can't stop them and have to retreat, Jennifer says that it's too much, and Gambi says that he'll engage them while Anissa gets her family out the back. Gambi hacks the tac team's comms and directs the Pierces to an emergency tunnel. Jeff tells Gambi to light up his costume, and says that he'll distract the tact team while Gambi leads his family away. Anissa points out that Jeff's head isn't bulletproof even if the suit is, and he kisses his family goodbye. Gambi warns that it's suicide, but Jeff tells him to light him up. After a moment, Gambi powers up the suit.
Jennifer starts emitting energy, and she hugs Jeff. Her energy jump-starts Jeff, restoring his powers. Jennifer collapses while Jeff summons electricity and tells Jennifer that she saved his life again. Gambi warns that the ASA won't disappear even if Jeff wins, and his best option would be to take off and make a life somewhere with his family. Anissa refuses to abandon the family, and Lynn says that she'll help. Jeff agrees and they prepare to fight.
Martin monitors the tac team going in from the ASA base. The soldiers move in, and Thunder walks out. She shrugs off the bullets and sends them flying with her thunderclaps. Black Lightning blasts others from the flank, and Martin refuses to let the tac team abort. He orders them into the cabin to grab hostages and use them as leverage.
Lynn tells Gambi to give her one of his shotguns, and says that her father taught her to shoot.
Khalil tells Tobias that a military team is attacking Black Lightning. They figure that since Martin's soldiers are in the field, it's time to go after Martin.
Bill receives word of the firefight and tells all of the officers to head there.
Thunder and Black Lightning attack the soldiers, who are forced to fall back. One of them shoots Thunder with an energy weapon, trapping her in a force field. Black Lightning jumps down and attacks the soldiers. Meanwhile, soldiers burst into the cabin, and Gambi and Lynn shoot them. Jennifer runs to Lynn and hugs her. Another soldier comes in, and Jennifer blasts him with her energy.
Black Lightning shorts out the containment weapons, freeing Thunder. Martin, watching, curses and Klovic tells him that the police are on their way. The ASA head has no choice but to abort the assault, and orders the field team to relocate the stage-two pods. Alarms go off and Klovic reports that they have a breach.
Khalil walks into the base taking out any agents coming at him. Tobias and Syonide come in behind him and shoot down any agents that Khalil missed. Martin orders his men to destroy the hard drives and sees Tobias and his people coming. He grabs a briefcase and goes through a door, training a gun on Klovic so that he won't follow him. Khalil comes in and paralyzes Klovic, and realizes that Martin has escaped.
The police arrive at the cabin. Gambi and the Pierces flee through the woods to a waiting vehicle and drive off.
Martin goes to the field lab, and Black Lightning and Lynn come in. Thunder and Jennifer cut off Martin as he tries to leave, and Black Lightning says that Martin knowing his identity will be a problem. Gambi arrives and says that he figured Martin was conducting a rogue operation. When Martin says that the Freeland kids they experimented on would have ended up in prison or on welfare, Jennifer blasts him into the air with an energy blast. Impressed, Martin says that most of the kids are dying. He can fix them if Black Lightning gives him a sample of stable DNA. If they don't deal, Martin promises to come back and kill them all. Gambi shoots him dead and admits that he is a monster, and Martin won't hurt any more kids. He tells the Pierces to take care of the pods while he drags out Martin's body. The scientist warns that if they open the pods then the kids will die. He says that he needs the briefcase, but Lynn says that she knows someone who can help the kids.
Later after the news of Martin's operations comes to light, news teams are interviewing people in the streets. They figure the government will try again.
Bill gives a statement saying that hard questions are being asked of the government. He admits that the city owes a debt to Black Lightning and Thunder.
Jeff is jogging down the street with his daughters. They return to their house where Lynn is waiting.
Syonide brings Martin's thumbs from the coroner's office, and Tobias uses one on the case. It doesn't open, and Tobias tells the chained-up Slovic that he'd better hope it works. The second thumb opens the case, and the contents glow with a green light as Tobias looks at it. He has Syonide kill Klovic and tells her that he's the king of Freeland and is going to rip the light out of Black Lightning.
Written by Gadfly on Apr 18, 2018