Lala walks into Garfield after hours carrying a gun, looks around, and finds Jefferson working in a classroom. He goes in and Jeff stares at him in shock. As Lala closes the shades, Jeff says that he thought he was dead. Lala tells him that he was dead twice and that he thought Jeff was the principal. Jeff says that he was, and Lala tells him that no one is checking the security cameras. When Jeff asks why he's there, Lala tells him that he came to see him and shoots Jeff in the shoulder. He says that when he dies what he's done come back to him, and this time he heard a voice telling him that he has unfinished business. Jeff's hand glows with electricity, and Lala says that he needs to know why he's there and the voice said that it's about Jeff and Earl. He explains that Earl was like a brother to him, and Jeff remembers finding Earl's body strung up on a basket in the gym.
Jeff gets to his feet and Lala says that Jeff must have killed Earl and he's going to tell him why.
At the sanctum, Peter works on a costume for Jennifer as Anissa looks on. Lynn comes in and Peter shows them Jeff's first suit. He explains that they discovered the suit was harming Jeff from the inside so they created a new one.
Lala tells Jeff that when Earl was around things were good. He sees the "ghosts" of Lawanda and Will, and Will says that they should kill Jeff. Lala argues with them, and Jeff wonders who he's talking to. Lawanda and Will keep arguing, and Lala tells them to shut up. Jeff offers to find him someone who can help him, and Lala angrily says that he doesn't need help and throws a desk across the room. He then tells Jeff to tell him what he wants to know or he's going to die.
Anissa goes out in the hallway and looks at the photo of Grace's foster parents. Jennifer joins her and tells her to go after Grace. She tells her sister that she's lucky there's hope she could have something real when her hope died with Khalil and goes back into the sanctum.
Lynn arrives at the ASA lab and leaves a message for Jeff to get back to her. She then runs Wendy through wind velocity tests as Odell looks on. Odell talks to Lynn privately and says that Wendy doesn't need to be coddled. Lynn insists that she's treating Wendy like a human being, and Odell says that the metas' relevance is based on their ability to be of service. He figures that Wendy can do other things for her country to keep the citizens safe. Odell says that they have no time to waste and asks if Lynn understands what he's saying. Lynn insists that all of the metas are her patients and she's not going to check her humanity at the door. Unimpressed, Odell walks out.
Bill arrives at the sanctum and says that he hasn't found Jeff. Peter has come up with 50 names that belong to the image that Bill gave him of Todd from the clinic. Three of them are connected to Tobias.
Jeff secretly uses his powers to remove the metal bullet from his shoulder. Lala paces around the room irritably and Bill cauterizes the wound and then tells Lala that Earl was a great student. He still thinks about Earl, and thought Lala and Earl were going to be successful. Lala figures that Jeff is stalling, and Will says that Jeff is stalling. When Lala asks how Earl died, Jeff says that he doesn't know and the police dismissed Earl's murder as a gang killing. Lala wonders if The 100 did it, and Jeff figures that they did and explains that Earl was being hassled by The 100 and came to him for advice. Jeff told him to go to the cops, and Lala angrily says that all he did was get Earl killed.
Lawanda knocks the gun out of Lala's hand, and Jeff charges him. He manages to grab the gun, and Will tells him to finish Lala off. Lawanda attacks him and Lala tells him to stop fighting. Jeff asks if they can get out of the classroom alive and says that he's trying to save Lala's life. Lala tells him that he already said that he died, grabs Jeff's gun hand, and puts it to his head. Jeff takes out the clip and says that it's not about saving his life. He figures that there's a void in Lala's memory, and brings up a picture of Earl from an old yearbook on the computer. Lala looks at the picture and cries.
Bill goes to his office and Detective Xxx meets with him. She reports that they got the ID on a car that blew up: it's Todd. Bill tells her to take the ID to evidence/
Lynn goes to the lob and discovers that she's been locked out. A technician, Rodney, tells her that she's not allowed in. Lynn goes into an adjoining observation gallery and sees Odell running tests on Wendy. When she checks the monitors, Lynn warns that Wendy is powering up too fast and will have an aneurism. Security guards take Lynn out as Odell continues powering Wendy up.
Peter checks the records and finds the records of Grace's foster brother. Anissa goes to his apartment and hears someone inside. She calls through the door that she just wants to make sure that Grace is okay. The brother opens the door and stares at Anissa, and says that trouble will find her if he doesn't leave. He tells Anissa to leave while he can and slams the door, and after a moment Grave reverts to her baseline body.
Jeff tries to bring back Lala's memories of Earl, and Lala remembers that Earl lived next door and wasn't involved in anything sketchy. Earl tried to get out of the game, and Lala was looking up to make more money with Earl's help. Lala got him a free pass, but The 100 went after Earl because Jeff told him to go to the police. Tobias had some men on the force and put a hit on Earl. Lala wasn't going to let anyone else kill Earl and murdered him himself. He then strung Earl up on the hoop to show Tobias that he was serious. Jeff tells Lala to turn himself in, and Lala refuses saying that he's going to make Tobias pay and after that it doesn't matter. He thanks Jeff for everything and leaves.
Out in the hallway, Lala turns and sees the ghost of young Earl watching him. Earl charges at Lala, turns into smoke, and merges with Lala's body as Lala screams in pain as a tattoo of Earl's face appears on his stomach.
Bill calls Peter and tells him that Tobias had Todd killed. Peter says that he got something on the clinic break-in and hopes he can identify what was taken from it. As Peter hangs up, Jennifer runs in and Peter shows her the costume he designed for her incorporating her ideas. She hugs him in relief, and Peter agrees to let her try it on. Jennifer gets into the suit foundation and enters the containment chamber, and her powers start a fire. Peter gets her out and she says that it was her fault for pushing it.
Thunder goes to Grace's apartment and breaks in. There are flies and a rotting half-eaten horse in the next room. Grace, shapeshifted as an old man, speaks out of the shadows and tells Grace that it's too late for her. A bookcase falls on Thunder and she dodges out of the way. The "brother" is in the kitchen and attacks Thunder. Thunder fends him off and the "brother" manages to hurt her with a few well-placed blows. They fight and the "brother" escapes out of a window.
At the Pierce house, Jennifer and Lynn return with pizza and Lynn complains about Odell's actions. She refuses to let herself be used to create weapons for the government. Lynn asks how Jennifer's day was with the suit, and Jennifer vaguely says that it was good. Jennifer figures that it's more important that she's safe, much to Lynn's surprise. Jeff comes in and says that he had a day, and Anissa comes down and says that she didn't find Grace. Anissa wonders how she knows if someone is more trouble than they're worth, and Jennifer says that she should ask Lynn because she's normal while Jeff isn't. She tells her family that they all deserve love like she had with Khalil, and Anissa hugs he for being a good sister.
The Pierces sit down for supper and Jeff explains that what happened to him doesn't matter. What matters is that he's there with his family. A technician watches them on a hidden camera as they settle down to eat.
Lala drives through the night, remembering.
Two Months Ago
Three Green Light babies float unconscious in tanks, and a doctor pours raw meat into a tank and then pulls bloody bandages out of one tank. The occupant inside--Lala—heals and wakes up. The man gets him out of the tank and hands him a towel, and tells Lala that he can't let him die because he still has work to do. He says that the pain is tied to Jeff and Earl, and says that Lala's past will give birth to him again and again until he unties the knot of his pain. If Lala wonders if he can die then, the man says that after knowledge comes redemption and then Lala will know peace. Lala demands to know how he gets redemption, and the man says that he'll know after he unties the knot.
Now
Lala tells Lawanda and Will that his entire life could have been different if it wasn't for Tobias. They say that he can't kill Tobias, and Lala admits that Tobias has killed him twice. Lawanda tells him that he has to be ruthless and savage if he's going to succeed, and Lala says that now he's doing it to save Freeland and that has to be his redemption.
Odell enters the monitor room and confirms that the technicians are the only ones who know the truth about the Pierces. They assures him that they are and he shoots them dead. Odell then establishes a connection with Jennifer's phone.
Written by Gadfly on Mar 5, 2019