In Gambi's basement, Jeff spars with Annise. Meanwhile, the news talks to police and citizens about Black Lightning and they all speak against him. Anissa lands a punch and Jefferson brings out some of Gambi's holograms. While she's distracted, Jeff slips away and then attacks her. She uses her super-strength to stun an oncoming hologram, and Jeff freezes the program. Jeff says that Anissa injured the man and he was an innocent bystander, and warns that she can't assume people are threats. He explains that they have to stop crime and violence without harming civilians, and warns that Anissa can't be reactive. Jeff figures that the attempt to frame him means he's getting under someone's skin, then punches her and says that she can't be startled. Anissa takes his advice and Jeff says that they have to clear Black Lightning. Her first training mission will be to find whoever killed Lady Eve, and they continue sparring.
At Tobias' new club, Lala arrives as two teenagers use the stage. They recognize Lala and say that Tobias hasn't been around since the shootout, The teenagers say that there were rumors that Lala was in jail or dead, and Lala says that he thinks that he was dead. He tells them to play the song again because he likes it, and walks off.
Gambi waits in a parked car and a man—Martin Proctor--drives up. Martin says that he regrets not killing Black Lightning as soon as he showed up. Gambi suggests that someone framed Black Lightning, but Martin says that he's put a price on Black Lightning's head and put the ASA at risk. Martin points out that Lady Eve got Green Light on the streets faster than anyone else in the country, and her death puts their experiment at risk. Gambi objects, but Martin says that Gambi failed to tell him who Black Lightning is and he's sending ASA operatives in to kill Black Lightning. He's sick of the people in the neighborhood and insists that they're doing God's work, and drives off.
At home, Jeff and Lynn are making dinner. Lynn says that Jennifer is in her room moping because Lynn told her that she has to do an unpaid internship at her lab until she finds a better after-school activity. She asks how training was, and then wonders if it's okay if she asks. Jeff assures her that Anissa is doing fine and Lynn worries that Anissa could get hurt. He tells her not to have any catastrophic thoughts and says that she's taking it seriously. Jeff points out that Anissa always reacts emotionally, and Lynn wonders how he trains someone to be what they're not. He figures that if Anissa wants to change the world, she has to change herself.
Later at the lab, Jennifer complains as she and Lynn clean up the lab. Lynn figures that she's bored, and Jennifer asks what's up with Jeff and Anissa. Her mother dismisses it as nothing, and discovers that the files Anissa brought her are missing. Lynn tells Jennifer that she's free to go home because she has something to do, and Jennifer says that she has to hang up posters at school with Kiehsa. Distracted, Lynn agrees.
Jeff and Lynn break into the morgue to check the crime scene. Gambi is monitoring them and warns that it’s not a good idea, and tells Jeff that there's a reward for Black Lightning's capture. Anissa prepares to break the wall, and Jeff tells her to consider how much force she needs. He has her tap the wall with her finger and it isn't enough. Anissa hits the wall a lot harder and breaks through. They enter the morgue and finally locate her body. She's badly burned by electricity, and Jeff sends photos to Gambi. Jeff tells anise that Lady Eve had friends and family and warns that people will die if Anissa doesn't learn how to modulate her powers. Anissa points out that there would be a tree pattern on Lady Eve's arm if she was hit with lightning. Gambi agrees and they figure that someone used an electrical weapon. When Gambi says that the weapons must be nuclear powered, Jeff confirms that Gambi can track the radioactive signature and leaves with Anissa.
Lynn goes to a lab to get a report on a sample she dropped off. The clerk says that someone broke in a few days ago, stole their samples, and messed up their computers. After checking the records, the clerk says that Lynn's sample was taken and the results file was destroyed. Lynn asks if there was a hard copy, and the clerk figures that there might be a copy in the to-be-filed folder.
At school, Jennifer and Kiesha put up posters and Jennifer mentions that she's applying at Harvard. Kiesha climbs up on a rolling platform to put up a poster, and Jennifer tells her to get down. Her friend ignores her and slips, and the phone and the poster in Jennifer's hands suddenly burn. Jennifer realizes what happened, and Kiesha says that she's fast. She sees Jennifer's burned-out phone and says that now Jennifer has an excuse to get a new one.
Lala rides with two men and LaWanda appears on the seat next to him. The two men in the front don't see her, and LaWanda warns that word is that Lala is dead. He insists that no one can take his spot, and assures LaWanda that the two men are cool. LaWanda asks if he'll kill them when he comes for him, and says that he should kill the two men right now. Lala talks to thin air, saying that she's crazy and he's good. The driver asks if everything's cool, and Lala says that it is.
When Jeff and Anissa get back to the basement, Gambi tells them that continuing the investigation is bad. He tells them to let him do it so they don't connect Jeff to Black Lightning. Anissa wants to go back out, and Jeff points out that she doesn't know what she's vulnerable to. Gambi says that he's waiting for Jeff to come to his senses, and then traces the radiation to Hampton Woods. He offers to check it out, but Jeff says that he has to train Anissa and can take care of himself. Gambi complains that Jeff is stubborn and walks away.
Once the clerk finds the file, Lynn goes back to her lab and checks the information and discovers that the sample from Alvin's lab matches Green Light.
Jeff and Anissa go to Hampton woods and follow the radiation trail. Lynn calls and says that the sample Anissa found is a vaccine. The components have the same active ingredients as Green Light, and the sample is from 1986. Lynn hasn't been able to find out who made the vaccine 30 years ago, and Jeff suggests that she talk to Gambi. He tells her to be careful and hangs up.
Gambi sits in the back of a church listening to a hymnist, and Mrs. Johnson comes up and greets him. She asks if there's anything she can do for him, and says that she believes God is there to help them. Mrs. Johnson tells Gambi that what they want and what they need isn't the same thing, and assures Gambi that he'll be in her prayers. Sighing, Gambi leaves.
As they continue through the woods, Jeff says that Gambi trained him in fighting and tactics even before he had powers. The tracker goes off and they find the killer's corpse and the weapon he used. Jeff wants to call in Bill and have him conduct an investigation and exonerate Black Lightning. He gives Bill the coordinates and explains that the weapon and the corpse are there.
In her room, Jennifer stares at her burned-out phone and tries to summon her lightning again. She finally manages to summon a burst of electricity.
Lynn goes to Gambi's shop and waits for him to come up. She sees a newspaper on the wall with a picture of Gambi when his shop opened years ago. When Gambi comes in, Lynn explains about the vaccine and Alvin was writing an article about it. Gambi claims that he doesn't remember anyone who was working on it, and abruptly says that he can't talk about it. Lynn remembers that Gambi moved to Freeland 30 years ago, and has never talked about his life before then. She says that Jeff trusts Gambi, and Gambi says it's time for him to have a talk with Jeff.
Jeff and Anissa stake out the shallow grave and hear a single man coming. As the man looks around, Jeff figures that a dirty cop intercepted Bill's dispatch and sent the man to get the evidence. Jeff tells Anissa to stay there while he confronts the man. When the man picks up the gun, Anissa runs up and knocks Jeff out of the way as the gun blows up, killing the man. A proud Jeff hugs his daughter.
When Jeff returns home, he tells Lynn that he failed to anticipate danger and almost died. He figures that he has to be careful not to screw up Jennifer's desire to protect people. Lynn finally tells Jeff that Gambi knows more than she thought. She says that Jeff needs to ask Gambi who he is and where he came from.
Lala goes to his home and showers, and a naked LaWanda appears with him. He asks how he died and why did he come back, and she says that it's all going to be okay and kisses him before disappearing into dust.
Jeff goes to the shop and confronts Gambi about who he is. Gambi insists that he was just trying to protect Jeff, and admits that he had to keep secrets from him. Now the only way to protect Jeff is to tell him the truth. Gambi's real name is Peter Esposito, and he came to Freeland as an agent for the ASA. The ASA were secretly giving the people a vaccine to keep them docile in an explosive popular environment. The vaccine inadvertently created metahumans, and it was Gambi's job to find them. When Gambi realized that the vaccine was killing children, he leaked the information to Alvin and it got him killed. Gambi insists that he had nothing to do with the experiment, and he protected Jeff to keep the ASA from getting him. Now he can't protect Jeff and Martin--the head of the ASA for the area--is looking for Black Lightning and Gambi can't stop him. If Jeff goes out in the suit then they'll find and kill him, and kill Anissa as well. Gambi begs Jeff to stop being Black Lightning, but Jeff tells him to stay away from him and his family and walks out.
Jennifer goes to Anissa's room and says that something weird is going on. She shows her sister the burned-out phone and says that she did it with her hands.
Written by Gadfly on Mar 14, 2018