Last time on "Naomi".
You knew my birth parents?
A lot of bad things happened back then.
I'm not used to this. - Used to what?
Having friends.
War is coming, I suggest you choose the winning side.
- Who the hell is Mac? - She works for Brutus.
But I suspect that Brutus has sent someone more formidable.
Julian trapped everyone in here just to get to me.
Superman stands for truth and justice.
I'm not Superman.
No. You're Naomi freaking McDuffie.
Wherever your destiny is leading you, I can't go with you.
But I'll always be on your side.
How did Brutus find us?
I don't know, but we have to hurry.
I don't know if I can do this.
We have to keep Naomi safe.
Hurry. We have to go now.
Start the transport vessel.
We're out of time. Go, go, go!
There they are.
Stop that ship!
We can't go back to Earth-29.
What about one of the planets in this universe?
That's not far enough away.
If such a place even exists.
There's no perfect option.
I don't wanna leave.
Everything I care about is in Port Oswego.
My friends are here. My life is here.
Do you know how long it's taken me to find a place that actually feels like home?
We do know. We hate that it's come to this,
but after what happened at the school, we have no choice.
Yes, we do. We can stay, fight.
Brutus won't stop, ever.
He's ruthless, and we have no idea what he's planning next.
What we do know is sending Julian and Mac here was an escalation.
We have to get you someplace safe, Naomi.
But shouldn't I get a say in this? It's my life.
We could try to find the power source.
What power source?
It's nothing.
A fantasy.
We can't just give up.
No one's giving up.
This is about buying you more time.
To get stronger.
Dee, you've seen me train.
I'm getting stronger, more skilled.
You've made great progress.
But beings like Brutus aren't easily stopped.
You need more time.
Zumbado, please.
You said I was the key to reuniting the 29. You said it's my destiny.
That's why you have to leave, Naomi.
I'm sorry.
But your future, the future of our planet depends on you being alive.
So I don't have a choice.
Since when did the five of you agree on literally anything?
If all five of us agree,
then you're smart enough to realize that this is important.
We need you to trust us.
I don't agree with this.
But...
I do trust you.
So, if you say this is the only way, then...
I believe you.
We've moved the pieces from Naomi's transport vessel
from the mill to Akira's workspace.
How long will it take you to repair it?
Couple days at most.
Until then, we all need to lay low.
It's gonna be okay.
I promise.
Hi.
This isn't the lunch room.
- I wanted some alone time. - Alone time?
Who are you and what have you done with Naomi?
If you're lonely when you're alone,
you're in bad company.
Jean-Paul Sartre.
AP Lit.
Ugh.
I... Right.
I may have slept through start of the week,
And I don't blame you. Existentialism can be hella boring.
You know, for a minute there I thought you might have been avoiding
the lunch table full of soccer players in the cafeteria,
You heard about me and Nathan.
Curse of a small town.
I'm sorry that happened.
Thanks.
But, I have something that will cheer you right up.
Sneak peek of next month's school paper. Check it out.
Wow, it's... It's great.
Yeah, we're doing a whole retrospective.
We're gonna talk to local business owners, eyewitnesses,
even a couple of conspiracy theorists.
Conspiracy theorists?
Why would there be conspiracy theories about Superman?
So, apparently, there are some people
who think that the Superman stunt wasn't a stunt at all.
They're saying he's an alien.
No, it seems kind of far-fetched.
Yeah, that's the... That's the fun of it.
I was also hoping that I could interview you,
and then we could do a little cross-promotion with your site.
Actually, I've been, kind of, taking a break from my site.
So...
So, you don't want to talk about Superman?
And you're taking a break from your site
and you're hiding out in a classroom.
Is everything okay?
Everything's fine.
I just think that the Superman thing is...
It's old news. Another topic might be better.
Oh.
Uh...
Yeah, I mean, it's kind of too late for that.
But, that's...
That's okay. Um...
I should go. Um...
I'll see you in class.
Yeah, sure. I'll see you in class.
Naomi.
You shouldn't be here.
I felt something when I touched it.
What do you mean?
I got this...
flash.
And I remember being put in the pod.
Has that happened to you often?
The first time was with Zumbado.
I...
saw our home planet
and I felt his memories like they were my own.
Psionic powers.
I didn't expect that.
What are they?
Uh...
Memories.
Premonitions.
Psychic powers are difficult to define.
You have a very powerful mind, Naomi.
Powerful enough to let me stay?
That decision has already been made.
- But you don't agree with it. - Irrelevant.
Your parents, Dee, Zumbado, they just want what's best for you.
I know that.
But I think you know something that can help me.
Akira, please.
There are many unique elements in the multi-verse.
Some of them we know about,
like kryptonite or Nth metal.
Others have yet to be discovered.
They are sources of great power.
It is rumored that one such power source might be on Earth.
You think it could help me?
I'm not certain, but yes.
I think it can amplify your powers.
I could get stronger.
Where is it?
I have never been able to find it.
Perhaps I'm not meant to.
Your mother was my friend.
You remind me so much of her.
I told myself that I was keeping you safe.
I wasn't sure if you were ready. I...
I should've given this to you a long time ago.
I've seen that locket before.
I believe it's the key to finding this source of power.
You saw something, didn't you?
A field. What does it mean?
I don't know. So much about the 29 remains a mystery.
But I do know there is no such thing as a coincidence.
Not when it comes to us.
I believe the secrets of that necklace are yours to unlock.
What's the point of a locket if you can't even open it?
I don't know.
You know, I stayed up all night analyzing it.
The composition, the construction, nothing.
Have your minority report flashes given you any more clues?
No, I just keep seeing the same red field with red flowers.
Right.
The frittata.
The fritillaria gentneri.
It's an endangered species that only grows in one place near Nevada.
We should be there in about four hours.
Still can't believe Akira is the weakest parent.
I think we all had our money on Dee.
Thank you for coming with me, Annabelle.
Of course. I did not survive babysitting Sophie
to get driving privileges just so you could move to space.
We are going to need some fuel.
All that frittata talk is making me hungry.
Oh, I've seen about six billboards for that diner.
Apparently they have the world's best fries.
Then we have to go.
For science.
Hey, buddy.
Nice shirt.
It's laundry day,
and you've never called me "buddy,"
which makes me think you want something.
Maybe I want to buy a comic.
You don't like comics.
Okay, maybe I just want to say hi. Have a nice little chat.
Which I will then write down for the next edition of the POHS post.
Why would you want to interview me?
Ah, well, I'm doing a retrospective on the Superman incident.
I wanna see how it's impacted your shop.
You know, 'cause it's a... It's a comic book store and, uh...
well, Superman.
Yeah, I get that. But why are you writing it?
You've never cared for comic books or Superman.
Uh, well, um...
Oh.
This is about Naomi.
What? No, it's not.
Uh, it's nothing to do with her recent breakup with Nathan?
What?
No!
Okay, maybe a little bit.
But, it doesn't even matter because she has zero interest in talking to me about it.
Which...
Is weird, right?
Mm, not really.
I mean, not any weirder than anything she's been doing lately.
What do you mean?
Come on.
You must have noticed, she's off lately.
All that stuff with a disc.
Yeah, those markings at the mill...
and Camp Shadow Ridge.
Her parents' anniversary party ending with a trip to the base.
Yeah. You know what, you're right.
Naomi has been acting strange for a while.
Ever since...
The Superman thing.
Did this interview just turn into an investigation?
It's time to find out what's really going on with our friend.
Great!
- Where do we start? - At the beginning.
With the guy who confessed to planning the stunt.
There is no false advertisement here.
World's best fries.
There's something about eating diner food in a place like this.
This milkshake is even chocolatier than the one at Murray's.
Never tell them I said that.
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday Dear Cheryl ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
Remember your 16th birthday?
You tried to surprise me at the bowling alley.
While you were trying to surprise me at the skating rink.
For our third BFF-versary, a sacred occasion.
If Jacob hadn't cracked, we would have waited for each other all day.
Instead, we combo-ed the parties and invented roller bowling.
Feels like such a long time ago.
Things were simpler back then.
Simpler doesn't always mean better.
Naomi?
You okay? Too much grease? I knew we should have blotted.
No. I just got another flash.
We better head out of here.
I am not about to argue with the space locket.
I still can't believe Zumbado was able to salvage this.
We caught a break.
The ship is constructed from an ethilium composite. It's...
Dynamic vibrational alloy.
We came across it in our research back home.
You're trying to re-endochronize the ship fragments,
regenerate and fuse the damaged areas.
That's the hope. I'm sequencing the molecular structure now.
Shouldn't be long.
Thank you...
for helping us get Naomi off this planet.
We know you don't agree with us.
No, I don't.
Running is a mistake.
We're just trying to keep our daughter safe.
I don't doubt that.
But Naomi has a greater purpose.
This is what Naomi's parents would have wanted.
Naomi's parents loved our planet.
They wanted to restore it.
If they knew that she was the key to doing that, they would choose differently.
Their choices are the reasons they're not here right now.
You don't know what they went through. They were my friends.
They were ours, too.
But they're not here. We are.
It's our job to keep Naomi safe. She's not ready.
She's more ready than you think.
You don't even know her.
I know she has the potential to be stronger than any of us.
Your fear is holding her back. Running is not the answer.
Who are you to lecture us?
To you and Zumbado, Naomi is nothing but a means to an end.
We're her parents.
We have been there every single minute of every single day.
All you've done is run and hide.
You might be right about me.
But I am right about her.
Sit anywhere you want.
Hey, buddy. Tips are for the servers.
If we turn around now and I push the upper limits of the speeding law,
we can make it home before night.
We're not going back, not yet.
You just had a vision of a red-eyed smoke monster,
and I'm not talking about the fun kind from Lost.
It was just a memory.
But what if it wasn't?
We can't just give up. I have to find the power source.
Babe, you don't even know if it exists or what it might do.
Maybe it's like Superman and the sun,
if I'm exposed to it, it'll give me more power.
You're putting a lot of faith in a magic locket.
I just don't want to see you get hurt.
I know that.
And I love you for that. But I have to try.
Please, Annabelle.
Uh, don't worry, that's totally normal.
This is normal?
It seems like we're about to overheat.
Just needs a little nap and...
Maybe some coolant.
There's a motel two miles away from here. We can stop there.
Whoa. This place is dope.
Anthony.
Lourdes.
Uh...
How do you know our names?
Uh, Naomi often talks about her close friends.
During boxing.
What can I do for you?
Uh, we wanted to ask you about the Superman incident at the square.
That was months ago. Why the sudden interest?
Uh, well, I'm working on a Superman story for the high school newspaper.
So...
That's not a good idea.
- Why not? - Because I already confessed to planning the stunt.
Right. We know that. It's just...
Some of the specifics don't really add up.
You said you did it for publicity, right?
To get people in the shop.
That's right.
It's not really working.
The intent was more, um,
artistic than commercial.
That was around the time Naomi started taking boxing lessons, right?
I have an appointment soon.
I really should be getting back to work.
Who's Akira?
How do you know that name?
Um... She was with Naomi at my store
and I overheard her name.
- Who is she? - It doesn't concern you.
What do you know about the Superman incident in the square?
Nothing.
Stop asking that and don't come back here again.
I'm so glad this place is vintage charming instead of Bates Motel.
I put coolant in the car and I called my mom
and told her I'm staying at your place.
Teenage deception complete.
Babe, are you listening to a power ballad right now?
That's definitely not on our playlist.
Do you ever wish you could go back to the way that things used to be?
Before Superman, before all of this?
Well, first off, anything pre Olivia Rodrigo is a non-starter for me.
That was a period of true darkness.
I'm being serious.
I know.
No, I don't wish that.
Do you?
Sometimes.
Three months ago, I was a normal teenager.
And now so much has changed.
With my parents, with Nathan, with everything.
And it's not just for me, it's for you, too.
Yeah, I've had my fair share of close calls, but...
isn't it also kind of awesome?
Almost dying?
Okay, not that part, but there's been a lot of good stuff too.
Would you have ever imagined
that we would be friends with a tattoo artist who has wings,
or find out that scary used car salesman
is actually a pretty stand-up guy,
or that your parents are aliens or that you have superpowers.
Three months ago, you were Superman's fan.
Now you're basically Superman 2.0, babe.
Superman is Superman.
He's confident. He's sure of himself.
He's always known that he should be a hero,
that he couldbe a hero.
We don't know that.
Maybe his comics are like Insta.
Maybe they only show the good parts.
Maybe... Superman's listening to sad girl music in his Ice Castle too.
You mean, his Fortress of Solitude?
Whatever, my point is,
even if you're not Superman yet,
isn't the journey kind of the point?
Everyone is expecting so much from me...
and I've trained as hard as I could,
but what if the adults are right?
What if I'm not ready?
Naomi, what's wrong?
The man who chased me when I was a baby?
He's here.
So, scary Red eyes, the alien assassin from your nightmare
is here in this motel right now.
He was knocking on doors.
I can't believe I'm going to die in Oregon's oldest motel room.
I thought worst case scenario I'd get dysentery.
Why would you get dysentery?
Like in the old video game, with the horses and the wagons?
Okay, we're not going to die, and we're not gonna get dysentery.
We just... We just need a distraction to get to the car.
Like in Jurassic Park.
When Jeff Goldblum distracts the dinosaur
so the kids can get to the car.
So we're Jeff Goldblum or we're the kids.
Wait. Are we the dinosaurs?
I was thinking more like Merry and Pippin from Lord of the Rings.
They distracted the Orcs.
Okay, we definitely shouldn't have let
Jacob talk us into that movie marathon.
Fire alarm. Classic.
- Ready? - Ready.
Let's go.
Where's the husband?
At the base.
We thought it was best to act normal.
How's the ethilium bonding?
We're close.
I just have to complete one more scan,
and then all that's left is to reprogram the Nav.
We never wanted this for Naomi.
Nobody wanted any of this.
I hate taking her from this place she loves.
Sixteen years, and we've asked ourselves every day if we did the right thing.
Were we really the best ones to take care of Naomi?
We love her more than anything but...
Would she have been better off with Zumbado,
or you?
Someone with powers.
Someone who could protect her in a way that we couldn't?
Maybe you're right. Maybe we have been holding her back.
Do you remember what it was like when the Tear first happened?
It was devastating.
For all of us.
I had my own pain.
This event that ruined our planet
also gave me powers.
I got stronger while everyone else around me suffered.
And I have never come to terms with that.
You can't blame yourself.
It was a random accident. Chance.
I believe it was destiny.
For better or worse.
But I had resigned myself to the fate of our planet.
And then I met Naomi.
And for the first time, in a very long time,
I have hope.
That's because you and Greg raised an incredible daughter.
Thank you.
I know you said the middle of nowhere,
but, uh, this is like the middle of nowhere.
Why would it send us here?
Did the space locket lie to us?
I don't understand.
So, what do we do now?
So, obviously, we weren't going to listen to Dee and Zumbado,
but what exactly are we doing in the woods?
So, my buddy said that he saw a weird flash in the Red River forest
on the day of the Superman thing.
So what do we think evidence of a Superman stunt looks like?
I'm not really sure.
What? I thought you were, like, the CEO of this forest.
I don't know, it could be anything.
It could be scorch marks on the trees,
it could be discolored grass,
anything that looks out of place.
What about a very weird rock?
We've seen markings like this before.
At the mill.
I think it's time to go.
You shouldn't have come out here.
Get behind me.
It's time for you to go.
This isn't over.
What the hell?
Who are you?
Do you see anything that seems like it could be an energy source?
All I see is grass.
Which technically is an energy source
for cows and other herbivores.
Maybe the space locket's broken.
Annabelle, someone's coming.
Oh, no.
It's Red Eyes, isn't it?
I've been searching for you for a very long time.
I won't let you hurt her.
I'm not here for your friend. She's inconsequential.
Hey, that's very rude!
I'm not leaving you.
And I love you for that. But this isn't your fight. Please, go.
Not this time.
Well, then get behind me.
I've seen you before.
You came after me when I was a baby.
Interesting how life comes full circle.
In the end, you always wind up back at the beginning.
Everyone else, the bounty hunter, Mac, Julian, came to take you home.
But me, I'm here to take you out.
Naomi, no!
Way above my pay grade.
Babes, you're not bleeding!
Are you invincible?
I'm sure you have questions.
What was that rock?
Who was that guy, and what the hell is going on?
Perhaps one question at a time.
You have wings.
What is this, some kind of secret military experiment?
Are you soldiers? Are you weapons?
We're none of those things.
The universe is vast.
Much bigger than humans think.
There are other planets,
other dimensions.
It really seems like you're talking about the multi-verse.
Which is very weird because that's a comic-book thing.
It's not real.
It is real.
So is Superman.
Superman, the guy who flies around in a cape
and is allergic to kryptonite, that guy?
You guys are messing with us.
How were you able to do those things?
Throw that guy, use... wings?
Because we aren't from this planet.
We must have died in the woods back there.
It's the only possible way any of this could be happening right now.
We are dead, right?
This is a lot to take in.
It will take some time to process.
You can't tell anyone.
You saved our lives. Why?
Because you care about Naomi.
And we care about her.
So Naomi knows about you two?
Yes. For a few months now.
Naomi's not from this planet, is she?
That is not our story to tell.
I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go back to that motel.
He said that in the end you always go back to the beginning.
Okay, well, we're definitely not taking life advice
from a guy whose day job is assassin.
This... was the beginning.
Uh, was that always there?
I think we're supposed to go through it.
Are you coming?
I think this one's just for you.
I'll be waiting right here.
Naomi.
We've been expecting you.
Who are you?
We're your parents.
Who are you?
We're your parents.
Mom?
Is that really you?
It's the essence of me. The essence of your father.
I miss you so much, even though I never really knew you.
I have so many questions.
We'll answer them as best we can.
What happened to you?
We don't know.
But if you're watching this, then it must have been something catastrophic.
Because of me?
No. None of this is because of you, Naomi.
Why did you send me to that Earth?
Out of all of the planets in the multi-verse?
We believe it offered a path to understanding
what went wrong on our planet.
The power source.
I couldn't find it.
Because there is no element.
You are the source of power, Naomi.
That's why you can save our world.
I'm not here to fight.
Just talk.
There's nothing to talk about.
- I know who you are. - And I know who you are.
A Thanagarian deserter taking refuge on Earth.
You must have been very tired of war to risk execution.
Leave. Now.
You can't be looking forward to what's coming.
Fighting another war that isn't yours.
I came here to make you an offer.
I'm not interested.
Even if it involves Qyeala?
Do not say her name.
She's alive.
You're lying.
I can help you find her...
if you do something for me.
You can save our world.
I'm just one person. How can I save an entire planet?
You'll need the 29. All of them.
I don't feel ready.
Heroes rarely do.
What if I'm never ready?
You need to trust yourself, your instinct, above all else.
What are you talking about?
Honey, the fact that you're listening to us and feeling us right now
means that someone has betrayed us.
That's the only reason we wouldn't be with you.
As difficult as this may be to accept, Naomi,
you must remember this.
Trust no one.