[Jennifer is alone on the front porch. Gambi comes out]
Sure. I'm a freak from a family of freaks and my Dad's got one foot in the grave. I'm fine.
Oh. When you say it like that. All right, not funny. I'm sorry.
Who were those people with Khalil? Are they like us? Metahumans?
Not exactly. Metahumans have organic powers, which means they come from within. Theirs are artificial. That albino man? He's their leader. His name is Tobias Whale. He takes a kind of a serum which is like a super-steroid. It makes him age slower and get stronger over time. At this point, he's got the strength of three men. My guess is he's the one who turned your ex-boyfriend.
That's what he does. That man has a gift for seeing the worst in people and bringing it out. That spooky looking woman with him? She's called Syonide. She was found in a dumpster as an infant with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.
Tobias pulled her out of an orphanage when she was eight years old. She was malnourished and abused. He clothed her, he fed her and he trained her to become an assassin. When she was fully grown, he had carbon fiber body armor implanted under her skin and, if she wasn't crazy before the procedure, the pain did the rest.
What did they do to Khalil?
I'm not altogether sure, but it looks like he's gotten an implant with a synthetic liquid metal. It's bracing his spine, but it's also causing Khalil's body to produce a neurotoxin like a snake's venom. Causes instant paralysis, so they weaponized him by giving him darts as a delivery method.
They made him into a weapon, but he's not like that.
Yes, he is. That young man had a choice and he made it. He is with Tobias Whale, the worst of the worst. Sweetheart, whatever you may remember, he is not your Khalil, anymore. If you want to stay out here for a while, okay. I'm going back in.
Mr. Tobias, I'm sorry. I know you said not to kill Black Lightning, I couldn't help it.
So this is what? An apology?
Sy, what do you think? Should we accept Painkiller's apology?
SSyonide
[pulls a pistol on Khalil] Good question. I have one too. Can you put a dart in me before I shoot you full of holes?
I know the answer to that one. [laughs with Syonide] Have a seat. [Syonide holsters her pistol and Khalil sits] I am unlike other men. The laws of convention and morality do not apply to me. That's Napoleon, and he was a weak-ass Frenchman. You're Painkiller. Never apologize. So you killed Black Lightning when Proctor wanted him alive, I'm not mad. Martin Proctor was down with Lady Eve, I always knew sooner or later he had to go. Just gonna have to be sooner, that's all. Real soon.
[Syonide takes the blindfold off of Lala]
Lala, I know you thinking, "Why's this funny looking Negro always messing with me?" [laughs] I love it, though. Something about your Velour tracksuit wearing ass I just like dragging. Anyway... [Lala leaps to his feet and charges towards Tobias, growling. Tobias punches him in the face, sending him flying back and laughs] Now, that's what they mean when they say "leveling up".
LLala
[rises to his feet] You hit like a bitch.
Hmm. [Lala tries to charge him again] The Devil deals the cards. [Lala stops and freezes] That's a corny ass line too, but it's effective. I took your life in order to make my purpose your purpose. I spent a cool mil on the reanimation program. It's time for you to pay that back.
LLala
Is Lawanda and Will alive, too?
No. Just side-effects of the reanimation. Eventually, everyone you killed is gonna come back to haunt your black ass, tattooing themselves on your body until there's no skin left. "Tattoo Man". It's time to get back to work.
Jeff, even if you win, the ASA isn't gonna disappear. If they think there's some kind of meta-human arms race, they are gonna keep coming after you. Your best option would be to take off, make a life somewhere with your family.
Whoa, and turn our back on the people? On Freeland?
Let them make us leave? Nuh-uh, they don't know us.
I'll help in any way I can.
So that's it, then. High-low tactics.
MPMartin Proctor
So, family affair? I knew it was you.
Yeah, and that's gonna be a problem.
PProctor
I am a federal agent. You will bring the weight of the United States government down on your heads.
That's bull. I suspected when you didn't call in reinforcements after your Green Light lab was destroyed that this was a rogue operation, which means we're not up against the ASA. We're just up against you.
PProctor
Thank political correctness. It's ruining the country.
The first Freeland experiment killed a lot of kids! And you thought it was a good idea to do a sequel?
PProctor
They would've wound up on welfare or in prison, anyway.
