Who left him unattended? Oh my God.
Check his pulse.
-Weak, but alive. -We need to get him to the medical unit.
-Get the gurney. -I'm on it.
-Pulse is fading. We're losing him. -Let's go, let's go!
Fast car ready at the ESS. I'm gonna need Chem 8, Utox, UA, LFTs!
-Wake up, Bug. -Mm-mm.
-Big day today. -No, it's not.
Yes, it is. Wake up.
Hey, don't be sad.
I'm sad too, but I'm here now,
and I want today to be special.
I don't.
I don't want today to be anything.
I can't wait to hear you sing.
Kwame told me that you have a solo in the opening number.
What?
I don't wanna sing that song.
It's called "Steppin' to the Bad Side," and I'm a hero.
Yeah, sometimes bad guys step to you.
So you gotta step to them.
Can I just stay with you?
I have to take care of some things.
-What is more important than-- -Hey, listen.
I want to spend every waking moment I have left with you,
but I gotta put some things and-and people together for you.
For your future.
So that I'll know you'll never have to go at it alone.
Besides, if you spent your whole day with me,
how are you gonna ride your bike to school?
By myself?
By yourself.
I'd say it's about that time.
Did you ride your bike to school today?
-Mm-hm. -All by yourself?
-Yup. -This is a big day.
You've been dreaming of this for so long.
-Was it everything you hoped it would be? -It was cool.
Why aren't you more excited?
I wish I could drive myself to school.
But I have to wait until I get my driver's license,
and my own tricked out van.
It's gonna be pink, by the way.
What's wrong?
Your mom is finally letting you grow up. Isn't that what you wanted?
I wouldn't mind holding off a little bit longer.
Ready for the show tonight?
I'm gonna need you and Jonathan backstage with me before I go on.
-We'll be there. -Yes.
We've been able to stabilize him, but I'm not gonna lie,
we're in uncharted territory here.
-Can he even hear us? -His EEG is flat.
I don't think he's coming back.
Is he brain-dead?
A coma this deep could mean that his mind is rebuilding itself,
but that might take a while.
And we have no idea what that Powered DNA might be doing to him.
True. Yeah. His breathing's erratic. His heart rate is up and then down.
There's some weird CNS electrical surge.
What's this bottom line here?
In highly scientific terms, either he's turning into Superman,
or disintegrating from the inside out.
I just don't understand how, knowing what you know,
you can just sit here eating lunch.
I'm hungry.
-Here you go. Enjoy.
Thank you.
Um, there's something I wanted to ask you.
Um…
-I don't really know what to call it. -A favor?
Yeah. It's about Dion.
You know they say it takes a village to raise a child.
So I'm using what time I have left to build one.
-You want me to raise Dion? -My sister is gonna do that.
But I would love your help.
BIONA is gonna be a big part of Dion's life.
That's a good thing. But I… I don't want him to grow up in a lab.
Or spend all of his free time with employees of a corporation
that might not always have his best interests at heart.
I don't want that for Janelle either.
So while you're looking out for Janelle,
can you look out for Dion too?
I know we don't know each other that well, but…
No, no, I get it.
We're part of a very specific club.
You've been a lifesaver for me, Nicole.
You got through to my daughter, brought her out of her shell,
and for the first time in I can't tell you how long, I…
kind of think she's gonna be okay.
-Janelle is gonna be unstoppable. -I owe you so much. So whatever I can do.
Thank you.
But, look, I don't want you to agree to this
until you understand the danger that's in it.
Dion's not violent.
No. Of course not.
But there's a Powered entity that has targeted Dion,
and it's killed a lot of Powered people.
But it hasn't been able to hurt him, and
I think it sees him as a threat.
To what?
Whatever it has planned for the future.
Why Dion?
Because I think Dion has what it takes to destroy it.
He's the only one that's fought it and lived.
But he's just a kid. He needs time to develop his powers.
Every Powered person is at risk as long as that thing is out there.
You just need to keep Dion safe
so that he can grow up and destroy it for good.
Wow. Uh, that was… a lot.
Um, just tell me you'll think about it.
Of course.
But don't take too long.
We're coming to Dion's show tonight.
So can we talk then?
Of course we can.
I'm so sorry this is happening to you.
Okay, Janelle. This is boss-level stuff.
Multiple objects,
and for an added level of difficulty,
wildly differing masses and molecular structures.
Are you up for this?
Bring it.
-I'm ready to dematerialize. -That's what I like to hear.
-Yes. -Yes! That's what I'm talking about.
-See? -I'm so proud of you. Want to go again?
Yeah.
How about we call it early today?
Dion's show is tonight, so we need to get going.
Uh, yeah, don't wanna be late for that.
Uh, we'll disintegrate some stuff another time.
Okay.
Janelle, hey.
Hi.
I-I wasn't watching.
N-No, you can watch. It's fine.
Really? I… I thought you hated that.
That was before.
I just didn't want you to think I was a freak.
So, of course, I started acting more like a freak.
Um, here, I just, um…
I just, uh, airdropped you a playlist.
Oh, wow.
I'm sorry. I just really wanted you to hear this. Um…
I'm in a band.
We're… We're pretty good.
-Aristotle's Backpack. -Yeah, our-our lyrics are insane.
Anyway, uh, listen.
I don't know if your mom lets you hang out
or if you want to hang out,
but I'd be down if you would want to, you know, uh--
Yeah.
-Yeah? -Yeah.
-Great.
I'm going to Dion's show tonight, actually, but I mean--
-Me too. -Okay, great. Yeah. I'll, um…
-I'll save you a seat? -Okay.
Huh.
So are you going to the show tonight?
Mm-hm. Yeah. Wouldn't miss it.
Or Nicole?
It's happening pretty fast, isn't it?
Yeah.
She'll be gone by tomorrow.
Did you talk to her about the village?
Simone, I'm… I'm the mayor of said village.
Looking to relocate?
It does look like a nice village.
Hey. Let's go, Mom.
I'll see you there.
Mom, my sessions with Tevin just keep getting better and better.
I have so much more control.
It's like somebody flipped a switch
and suddenly I'm on the other side of my abilities.
Good. That's good.
It is. And you know what? I had an idea.
You know how Nicole asked me to represent the Powered on the Advisory Board?
Well, I wanna do more.
I want to mentor Powered kids, like Dion.
I'm sorry. What are you talking about?
Well, the Powered adults, you know, they're cool,
but kids want to talk to other kids, you know?
We have our own stuff that we're dealing with,
and Dion and I, we have a lot in common.
He's an only child and I'm an only child.
I could be like his big sister, you know? Show him the ropes, scare off the bullies.
No.
No?
You need to worry about yourself first. You're just getting started with all this.
You don't need to be mentoring anybody.
-Why do you always have to be so negative? -I'm not negative.
It's just things are happening very fast
and I think we need to be very careful about committing ourselves to other people
before we know what we're doing.
Never mind.
Do we have time to go home? I want to change before the show.
Yeah.
I need to pick up a few things myself.
Hi, Bug.
So your dad used to make these videos for me,
and now you're making the videos for Dad, so…
…it's my turn.
Because this one's for you.
When you see this…
you're gonna have a lot of questions, and I won't be there to answer them.
But I can tell you this.
I always keep a coffee can
with 100 dollars tucked at the very back of the pantry.
Why did I lead with that?
You're just gonna buy 100 dollars-worth of Twix bars.
But you know what?
Enjoy.
Just make sure you don't eat them all in the same day.
I can tell you where I stashed the insurance papers
and the extra checkbooks.
And, by the way, your passport's expired.
I'm really, really sorry about that.
I even wrote down the recipe for your favorite mac and cheese.
But, Dion, you have to promise me, please never, never forget,
sharp cheddar is for flavor.
Colby Jack is for that below-the-surface mouthfeel.
Mozzarella is for the stringy-melty… American cheese for the golden crust.
And then, cream cheese for that extra special flavor,
and I'm not talking about the bougie garlic and chives cream cheese.
I'm talking Philadelphia.
Because, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
There's so much I want to tell you.
You gotta let the girl know if it's gonna be a date.
And when you have kids of your own,
hide the Sharpies.
You're gonna have to grow up…
a lot faster than you should.
But you're gonna be okay.
And even if you're not okay…
that's okay.
Because you have a great heart,
powers or no powers.
Huh.
Being your mom…
has, hands down, been one of the greatest things I've ever…
Should we wait for Chairman Cutler to join us?
As of this morning,
Mr. Cutler is stepping back from his duties as chairman.
Oh.
But the board is very intrigued by your urgent appeal.
We're all ears. Proceed when ready.
In our work to create a cure for the parasitic infection
afflicting Nicole Warren,
we have identified the primary difference
between our Supers and an ordinary human being.
Aside from things like telekinesis and teleportation?
Yes.
Aside from that.
The crucial difference is a third strand of DNA,
which we believe not only defines the abilities gifted to the Supers,
but which…
And this is the really interesting part.
We may just be able to create a gene therapy
to give exceptional powers to non-Supers.
I hope the reason you are speechless is because I just handed you
the scientific growth area and profit center of the next century.
Custom tailored superpowers
for any human being, agency, or army with deep enough pockets.
We stand on a threshold, and on the other side is BIONA,
a world leader that will dwarf Google, Apple, and Amazon.
All you have to do is fund a new team,
my team,
to immediately launch into this new application.
Do you have a head injury?
-Excuse me? -I asked if you had a head injury.
Because only a person with something seriously wrong with them
could present this insanity with a straight face.
I mean…
Look, we don't have this completely worked out,
but with proper funding--
Proper funding?
How about a half a billion dollars?
Because that's how much money BIONA, under Ben Cutler,
poured into covering up what happened in Iceland.
Settlements, hush money, medical treatments, relocation--
Yes, and I-I-I realize we've had a few setbacks--
Setbacks?
It's my understanding that we straight up killed a man in a lab a few days ago.
Now, maybe you don't find that to be an issue,
but to those of us who actually care about the welfare of humanity,
not to mention this organization,
that's kind of a black mark.
I was hoping you were offering us a way past this reckless error.
But instead, you come before this board and ask us for even more money
so that you can figure out a way to do this to people.
On purpose.
You can thank us for our time later.
Oh, and on a personal note,
this might be a good time for you to beef up your CV.
I'm gonna make billions of dollars.
The most important scientific discovery of all time.
You're going the wrong way.
-No, I'm not. -Yeah, Dion's school is back that way.
It's up by the, um…
What's with the suitcases?
Mom, where are we going?
Home.
To Chicago? Why?
It's time.
Did something happen?
-Mom, I don't wanna go back. -Decision's been made.
I finally have a place where people accept me,
where I'm figuring out what…
What I am, and who I am.
And you just decide to pull me out
and drag me back to Chicago without even talking about it?
-Ma, you can't do this. -What is my job?
Janelle, what is my job?
-To keep me safe. -And that is exactly what I'm doing.
-Safe from what? My friends? -You mean that boy?
-Baby, there'll be other boys. -What about Tevin and Dion and Nicole?
Baby,
Nicole's dying.
No, she's not, I saved her.
It wasn't enough.
She's gonna die. She told me herself.
I need to see her.
-No. -Yes!
-Stop it. -She believed in me.
And Dion's gonna be all alone.
-Mom, we have to go back. -No.
There's something hunting him, Janelle.
Something that wants to kill Powered people.
And so we're running away while he's in danger?
You're Powered.
That thing could come for you, and my job is to keep you safe.
-Stop it! -I'm not safe in Chicago.
I'm safe at BIONA, with people who understand me.
We are going home and we're gonna put this behind us.
You are not one of those people.
You have no idea who I am and you don't wanna know!
You just want me to shut up, put my head down
and pretend to be somebody else.
I want you to be okay. Okay?
-I want things to be normal. -I'll never be normal!
Janelle!
-Janelle!
Janelle! Janelle?
Janelle, baby.
Baby! Where are you? Come back!
Okay, let's try on this one.
Cut! Cut!
You done singing? 'Cause I have a set of sheet music here that says otherwise.
-I'm sorry, Mr. Kwame, it's just today-- -Dion, this is our opening number.
Your solo kicks off the show. You cannot let the energy drop, you hear?
You gotta give it this.
Strong arms. Project to the back row.
This is your moment to shine.
I'm sorry, Mr. Kwame.
I can't.
You got people in that audience?
-Who? -My mom.
Your mom.
I've been on stage many times with your mama.
Sometimes she was up, sometimes she was down,
but she always gave her best.
She never let her little personal drama shut her down.
She did it for them. For her friends, for her family,
for the people who came to the theater that night to feel something.
You know what she said to me when she asked me to direct this extravaganza?
She said, "Kwame, I love musicals, you know that,
and Dion is a natural performer."
"I want to see him shine."
"And I know you, Kwame, you will get that boy to shine his brightest."
And you know what?
I'm not gonna let your mama down. Are you gonna let your mama down?
No.
You gonna shine for your mama?
Yes.
Yes?
Is that… "Yes."
Or… "Yes!"?
The last one.
That's what I want to hear.
-Thirty minutes till places. Come on. -Thirty minutes, people!
That means the house is open, audience is coming in.
Get ready to make magic!
Don't let your mama down.
Come on, let's get these costumes. Let's move, move, move.
Ms. Warren.
Tevin.
You do clean up good.
Well, you know, I really tried for my date tonight.
Oh, you have a date. Where is she?
Yeah, she's supposed to be… You haven't seen her?
-No. -No?
Mm-mm.
Are those for me?
Are you performing tonight?
No, but
Dion's not much of a red roses type.
You know, you might be right. You wanna hang on to 'em for me?
Yeah, I can find a place for 'em.
For the love of all things holy, will you two kiss already?
Hi, sis.
How you doin'?
Ask my date.
I got this.
-Ow!
-Yo, Dion, are you okay?
-Easy on the curtain!
-We don't want the audience to see us.
Can you hear that?
Hear what? Dion, we're like 15 minutes away!
You're gonna take your spot, right?
Yeah.
-Do you want me to get Mr. Kwame? -No! No!
Where are you going?
Is it time for another injection?
I'm trying to hold out as long as I can.
Is it the, uh… The last one?
I'm just not ready to start the countdown yet.
I'm gonna hold out for every last moment with Dion.
Don't cry.
Don't tell me what to do.
I'm gonna give Dion his opening night gift.
You're gonna give him that before the show?
You know, go backstage, give it to him, tell him to break legs.
"Theater."
-All right, come on. -I got this.
Okay, listen. Tell him not to eat that before the show,
or he's gonna be dancing on the ceiling.
-Noted. I'll be right back. -Okay.
-What's up? -Kat, I am sorry to bother you.
I know you're with Nicole, but we have a situation here.
Pat injected himself with the isolated strands of P-DNA.
-What? Which ones? -Every single strand.
-Good Lord. Is he dead? -Not yet, but doesn't look good.
Wait, if he injected all that separated DNA,
how are you gonna work on a cure for Nicole?
-She's down to her last shot. -That's why I'm calling.
If we have to start over, collect new samples, try to separate them,
there's no time.
So I need to know,
is it medically possible to recover any of that material from Pat?
We could use metallurgic enzymes to extract the metallic P-DNA.
That would bring with it the telekinetic strands.
-Well, how fast can you get here? -Ten minutes.
But, Suzanne, listen, if Pat dies, none of this works.
Then you'd better hurry.
I need you to give Nicole a message for me.
-Dion.
Did you miss me? -Brayden?
You didn't think I'd be gone forever, did you?
You think you and the nerd Avengers would be enough to get rid of me?
Where are you?
I think you know exactly where I am,
and exactly what I'm going to do.
I'm not gonna let you hurt my friends.
The time for you letting me do anything is over.
I'm stronger than you.
I'm better than you.
And when I'm done, there isn't going to be any you left.
Just me with all your powers.
You want me? Fine, let's do this!
Meet me on the football field.
You mean the one where I kicked The Crooked Man's butt?
This night is going to end very differently.