In a morgue, Alice removes skin from female corpses and then leaves.
At Wayne Tower, Luke tells Kate about how Gotham's newest killer is called "The Skin Pirate" because he takes skin from his victims. He hit three morgues in one night and Luke checks surveillance cameras along the route. They pick up the Skin Pirate, and Luke realizes that it's Alice. Kate doesn't believe it, but Luke uses more cameras to positively identify Alice. Kate immediately prepares to go out, vowing that she'll stop Alice's new plot. She figures that she can track Alice through Dodgson, who she put a tracker on.
Alice asks Dodgson what he told Batwoman. He insists that he said nothing, and Alice promises that she'll kill him if he dead and then promises that soon Kate will get hers. Batwoman breaks in, taking out the gang members in the darkness. Alice yells at Batwoman to show herself, and Batwoman knocks her out from behind.
Later, Alice wakes up strung up from a pipe. Kate asks what the skin was for, and asks if the "Mouse" that Dodgson mentioned is a real or a figment of Alice's imagination. She tells Alice that if she keeps going down the road, it will end badly but she can get her into a rehabilitation hospital. Alice refuses to say what happened to her after the crash, and Kate calls Jacob so that he can find Alice and take her to Arkham. Kate says that Alice is contained and she thought he should know. Well aware that Jacob will track the call, Kate tells Alice to start talking. Alice says that if Kate releases her then she'll tell her her story.
As they drive off into the country, Alice tells Kate that Catherine faked her death. She tells Kate to ask her why she is like she is, and Kate finally does so. She says that it started when she woke up.
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Young Beth wakes up in a home and a man, Jonathan Cartwright, tells her that they found her by the river and the police will be there soon. Beth asks for her father, and Jonathan goes to make her a sandwich. Jonathan's son, Jonny, sits there playing with his trucks.
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Alice tells Kate that she doesn't know what the man's name is and it doesn't matter, and says that Kate should stop at a diner up the road.
Sophie suggests to Jacob that they get a team together, but he figures just the two of them should go. The trace on Kate's phone comes in and they head to the diner.
Catherine and Mary are walking along the river, and Catherine explains that she lied to Jacob above the bones they claimed was Beth's. She says that she was trying to give Jacob and Kate closure, and Mary tells her mother that it would be horrible. Mary begs Catherine to tell her she wouldn't do it, then draws away from Catherine and walks off when Catherine reaches to stroke her cheek.
Kate and Alice go to a diner and Alice says that she used to dream of running away to a place like the diner with Kate, but then she woke up and the hunger overwhelmed her. Kate asks where the person she knows, and Alice says that she went down the rabbit hole. Alice describes her past/
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Beth grows up with Jonny, who will one day take the name "Mouse". He says that he can do any voice he hears, and Jonathan gets them lemonade. Jonny covers over the left side of his face with his hair, and explains that people would be scared if they saw his disfigurement. The news runs a report on the search for the missing Beth, and Beth asks Jonny why the police don't know she's there. Jonathan comes back and abruptly turns off the TV, and tells Beth that he doesn't want them to leave her. She tries to run and Jonathan grabs her and throws her into a room, locking the door. Looking around the room, Alice finds a skinned face in a sink.
Mary goes to Wayne Tower to see Kate, and the concierge drags her to Luke. Luke asks what Mary wants, and she says that she's Kate's soon-to-be-ex stepsister. He tells Mary that Kate isn't there, and she asks Luke to say that she's on Kate's side and knows what Catherine did. Mary says that it's better to start from the beginning.
As Jacob and Sophie drive to the diner, Jacob tells her what Catherine did. Sophie realizes that Kate was right the whole time, but Jacob says that they have to capture Alice and test her DNA.
Kate asks Alice what Jonathan wanted to do, and Alice says that she wasn't a prisoner but a friend.
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Jonathan tells Beth that socialization is important and takes the skinned face out of the sink. He explains that Jonny didn't get the chance to develop a sense of purpose because the world made him an outcast. Jonny has waited a long time for someone like Beth. Beth says that she wants her dead, and Jonathan tells her that she'll get used to being there and leaves with the face in a pan.
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Alice explains that Jonny didn't have any friends until she came along, and Jonathan was trying to hide his son's face by experimenting with skin grafts. Kate starts to pass out and Alice waves goodbye to her.
Jacob and Sophie arrive at the diner. Gangers come out and shoot at them, and they take cover and fire back. Dodgson calls on Jacob to come out, and Sophie distracts the gangers while Jacob shoots a propane tank. It explodes, scattering the gangers. They find Dodgson and Dodgson tells Gotham that Jacob divided the Crows so only the wealthy are safe. Jacob slams Dodgson to the ground and beats him until Sophie pulls him away. Dodgson tells Jacob that he could have saved Alice.
Mary makes herself drinks and says that she's not going back to her penthouse. Luke is trying to research the Skin Pirate, and Mary says that she's going through a life crisis. May realizes that Kate is with Alice and figures that she's doing some sisterly bonding. She says that she's killed zero people and is the good sister.
Kate wakes up chained to a wall. Alice is watching her, and admits that she found the tracker and had a friend drug Kate's drink. She figures the plan she and Mouse have for Gotham will go better with Kate out of the equation. Alice then says that she finally managed to escape.
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Beth finds a loose nail and pries it loose, then uses it to pick the lock. She goes to a phone and calls Jacob, but Jonathan hangs up the phone and says that if anyone comes looking for her, he'll kill them and it will be Beth's fault.
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Kate remembers that Jacob had the call traced, but the GCPD didn't believe them.
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Jacob and Young Kate arrive at the Cartwright house, and Jonathan comes out and says that it was a prank. Storming past him, Jacob goes into the house and calls to Beth. He hears someone moving upstairs and goes up to find Jonny playing with his trucks. Jonathan follows Jacob up and says that Jonny mimicked Beth's voice. Jonny refuses to demonstrate until Jonathan insists, and the boy demonstrates his mimicry skills.
Young Kate comes into the house.
Jonathan says that he saw a news clip of Beth's disappearance and has become obsessed with Beth's disappearance.
Kate goes into the cellar, and Beth remembers Jonathan promising to kill anyone who looks for her. When Kate comes to the locked door of her room, Beth remains silent. After a moment, Kate goes back upstairs.
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Alice looks up the stairs and then turns to Kate, who is locked up in the room where she was once locked up. The villainess says that she waited for Kate to sense that she was there, but Kate sensed nothing. With that, Alice turns and leaves, closing the door behind her.
Jacob and Sophie drive back to Gotham, and Jacob recognizes the area and says he knows where Kate and Alice are.
Luke leaves a message for Kate saying that she should call him back. Mary sees his Internet research on the Skin Pirate, and helps Luke with his research. Luke discovers that Jonathan escaped in the Arkham breakout a few weeks ago and had a similar habit of skinning corpses. Arkham officials covered up the breakout, and they figure Jonathan has something to do with Alice.
Jacob and Sophie drive to the Cartwright house, and they split up to enter the house.
Kate tries to reach a nail in the wall. When that fails, she finds a nail stuck in her boot and pries it out.
Alice steps out, wielding a knife, and confronts Jacob. He asks where Kate is, and a disgusted Alice says that she's sick of Kate and asks him when he last asked where Beth was. Jacob says that they should go outside and talk, and then yells at her to drop the knife. He finally calls her "Beth", and Jacob reaches out for her. Alice stabs him in the chest and he falls to the floor.
Sophie finds Kate, but the now-adult Mouse attacks Sophie. Meanwhile, Kate uses the nail to pick the lock on her handcuffs. Sophie knocks Mouse loose and he stops to put the skinned face back on his mask. She runs off and finds Kate.
Jacob tries to crawl away, and Alice kicks him. Kate comes in holding a gun to Mouse's head, and tells Alice to decide which is more important to her: Jacob or Mouse. Alice figures that Kate is bluffing, and Sophie comes in and aims her gun at Alice. Irritated, Alice says that killing Jacob would be too easy and if they all walk out, no one has to die. Kate releases Mouse and goes to Jacob, and Alice leaves with Mouse. Jacob tells Kate that Alice is Beth.
Mary orders pizza and Luke tells her that her ride is there. She asks Luke to tell Kate that she's sorry, and Luke gives her the pizza back before she leaves.
Kate blames herself for what happened to Alice. Jacob joins her, and Kate wonders if anyone can save Alice.
Alice removes Mouse's fake face, and he says that he couldn't have visited her at Arkham without her being arrest. Mouse says that he felt her in his dreams.
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Jonny visits Beth and apologizes for tricking Jacob and Kate. Beth asks him to release her, and Jonny says that he wants to be her friend. He pushes a copy of Alice in Wonderland beneath the door to keep Alice company.
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Mouse gives Alice a copy of the book, and assures her that he'll escape her escape her pool of tears. Alice says that he saved her, and gives him the face that she assembled. Mouse says that he loves her, and Alice tells her "dear brother" that she loves him and she can help him become anyone he wants to be. Once they're done with Jacob, he'll never forget about her again.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 4, 2019