Épisode L'enfer du devoir S02E18 - Mutant X Saison 2

                                                                    Inferno



[Opening scene: The Double Helix interior. Brennan, Jesse, Shalimar, and Emma fly above the city searching for an arsonist.]

Brennan: You know, this is a hell of a way to spend a Friday afternoon, searching for a mutant firestarter from 10 thousand feet.
Jesse: Well, we get our best shot from up here, Brennan. As soon as our system picks up the specific heat signature of his burn, we can be on him in a flash.
Emma: Well, whoever he is, he's sick. He needs some serious therapy.
Shalimar: The only therapy I'd give him is my hands around his neck.
Jesse: We should just give him a job at a barbeque joint.
Shalimar (not laughing): You know, three people have already died because of the fires he's set.
Brennan: You know, Shalimar's right. If this is what this guy's gonna do with his gift, then he has to be stopped.

[Down on the ground, a thermal mutant shrouded in a long hooded coat slinks around an abandoned chemical plant. Opening his hands, he creates a fireball between them. Outside the building, Fire Marshal Ray Larkin approaches the door and notices that the padlock has been opened.]
Ray (into his radio): Come back?
Dispatcher: Metro Dispatch, go ahead.
Ray (looking up at smoke coming from the upper widows): Yeah, it's Ray Larkin. I think I've got a fix on the West Side fires bug.
Dispatcher: Hold your position. Police and Fire backup are being notified, code 2.
Ray: Nah, I can't do it. I'm going in.
Dispatcher: Ray, I don't think-
Ray (opening the door): Don't worry about it. I've got an angel on my shoulder.

[Up in the Helix, an alarm on Jesse's computer sounds.]
Jesse: Oh, we've got a hot spot.
Emma: Third fire in two days. This guy doesn't sleep.
Brennan: What's the heading?
Jesse (reading off his monitor): 1475. It's Midtown.

[Inside the chemical plant, the thermal mutant is busily spreading flames around the building when Ray Larkin enters behind him.]
Ray: Hey! [He starts to chase the mutant, who ignites a row of oil barrels between them, blocking Ray's path. Outside the building, Mutant X arrives and sees Ray's car parked outside.]
Brennan: All right, somebody's still in there. [He and Emma run inside.]
Jesse (turning to Shalimar): You don't have to go, Shal.
Shalimar (fearfully watching the flames billowing from the windows): Yeah, but I can't help from out here.
Jesse (touching her arm): Well, I tell you what. We'll flush him out; he's all yours. [He goes inside.]
Ray (seeing Emma come in): Get outta here, its gonna blow! [A blazing wooden scaffold topples onto him, knocking him unconscious.]
Emma (rushing to him): Brennan! Jesse! [She shoves the crate off, but his body is badly burned.]
Brennan (running up with Jesse): Emma!
Emma (crouching over Ray): We have to get him out of here!
Brennan (seeing flames everywhere): Jess, make us a way out! [He throws Ray over his shoulder.]
Jesse (searching for a safe wall to phase through): All right...yeah. [He phases a wall across the room, allowing them to walk through into the next room. Brennan lays Ray on the floor.] Oh man, he's been hit bad.
Ray (hoarsely): I have to stop him. I have to stop him.
Emma (kneeling over him): Shhhh. It's okay. We're gonna find him. It's okay. [She shoots a psionic blast at his head.] Let me help the pain.
Ray (his breathing easing): My wife. When I left this morning, I didn't...I didn't kiss her goodbye. [Through his mind, Emma watches Ray's wedding, then holds his hand as he begins to walk towards a bright white light.]
Brennan (staring at her): Emma? Emma? [He looks down at Ray as he dies, then back up at Emma, who is in a trance. He shakes her shoulder until she comes out of it.] Emma! Hey, what happened?
Emma (crying): I think I died with him. [Brennan and Jesse look at each other, disturbed.]

Opening Credits. "Inferno."

[Scene: The Double Helix docks in the landing bay of Sanctuary.]
Jesse: Home sweet home.
Brennan: Let's check in with Adam, see if he has any word from the fire department on what happened back there. [He and Jesse exit the Helix. Shaking her head, Shalimar gets up to follow them.]
Emma (touching her arm): Hey, are you okay?
Shalimar: No, I should've been more help back there.
Emma: Shal, you did everything that you could.
Shalimar: Well, it wasn't good enough. I mean, I can walk into a fight with 12 killers and not bat an eye, but fire? It's just that I got there, flames blazing out the windows, and the smoke, and I could feel the heat from the other side of the street. And I just lost control. God, it's just like my head shut down and I was just running on fear.Emma: An out-of-control fire is a killer, and the one that that bastard set could have taken us all out. Now you were the only smart one; civilians had no right walking into a fire.
Shalimar (frowning at her): You okay, Emma?
Emma (angrily): That was a class B fire, well into the open flame stage. There was nothing anybody could have done, and no one should have been in there except for fire professionals, do you understand that?
Shalimar (in surprise): Okay, do you want to listen to yourself? Because you're starting to scare me.
Emma: What? Look, I'm fine. Just...I'm sorry. [She stomps out of the Helix. Shalimar stares after her.]

[In Sanctuary's main room, Jesse's sitting at a computer as Adam paces around behind him.]
Adam: The fire marshal's report has just come in and this fire was just like the others. There's no traces of accelerant, no tampering with the wires, and extreme temperatures at the fire's origin.
Jesse: Yeah, I'm starting to think you were right. We're looking at a mutant fire starter.
Adam: Who has now killed four people.
Jesse: Yeah. Well, the guy we tried to save was the lead arson investigator. His name was Ray Larkin. [He pulls up Ray's obituary on the computer.] The guy's a third generation fire fighter; he's married. No kids, but he must have been well liked; they've already posted a memorial obituary on the website.
Adam: Now wait. If this guy was the lead fire investigator and he was in that building, then he just must have been a few steps behind the arsonist.
Jesse: Yep, unfortunately, that doesn't help us very much. Sure didn't help him, did it?

[Brennan sticks his head in Emma's room; she's working on her computer.]
Brennan: You okay? [She looks at him, puzzled.] After what happened back there.
Emma: What do you mean?
Brennan: That guy, dying in your arms. I thought...you'd be kind of out of it.
Emma: I'm fine. [She pauses, then looks up at him.] I saw his whole life right along with him. His friends. His family. His wife. And then the strangest sensations like...the taste of chocolate and the smell of his wife's hair.
Brennan: That's intense.
Emma: It's wild how fast it can all be gone. We have to catch the guy starting these fires, Brennan.
Brennan: And we're going to.
Emma: There's gotta be a pattern to how he chooses his burns. It means something to him.
Brennan: Well, maybe you should get a little rest, huh? What happened today was hard on you.
Emma: No, I'll rest when we catch this guy. [She turns back to her computer. Brennan leaves her alone.]

[Jesse finds Shalimar in the garage, standing in front of a barrel with a small fire blazing on top.]
Jesse (slowly walking up to her): I'll say this for you, you don't give up easy.Shalimar: I don't give up period.
Jesse: Shalimar, you're making yourself crazy. Fear of fire is primal for ferals.
Shalimar (smirking): Thanks for your vote of confidence.
Jesse: That's not what I'm saying. You've got nothing to prove.
Shalimar: Can't let my fear conquer me. I can get over this.
Jesse: You're the bravest person I know. But maybe you should just accept your weakness and move on.
Shalimar: Sorry, not ready to do that just yet. [Nodding, Jesse walks out.]

[In the main room, Emma paces in front of Brennan and Adam.]
Emma: I think we should go talk to Ray's wife.
Adam (leaning on a computer shelf): I think the last thing she'd want right now is people asking her questions.
Emma: You don't think I know how she's feeling?
Brennan: Well, hold on, Emma. What would we get from going to see his widow? We've already accessed all the files at his office.
Emma: Yeah, but he has files at home.
Brennan: How do you know that?
Emma (taken aback): Because...it's what people like that do. It's what I'd do.
Adam (shaking his head): I'm not convinced.
Emma: What if he talked to his wife about the investigation?
Adam (nodding): Okay. How would you go in?
Emma: Me and Brennan as journalists. [Adam and Brennan nod at each other, considering.] Good! So we're all agreed. [She heads back to her room.]
Brennan: Am I wrong, or is she acting really weird?
Adam: All right, look, she was plugged directly into Ray Larkin's emotions all the way through his death. It must have been incredibly intense.
Brennan: Yeah, but I've seen grief before, and I've seen trauma. Whatever Emma is feeling is something totally different.
Adam (patting his arm): Which is why you're gonna keep your eye on her. [Brennan gets up.]

[A few hours later, Brennan and Emma walk up the front driveway towards Ray's house.]
Brennan: Well, the place looks nice.
Emma (touching the car in the driveway as she passes): It's like coming home. [Brennan reaches for the doorbell.] Don't bother. Doesn't work.
Brennan: How'd you know that?
Emma (knocking): I just did.
Lisa Larkin (opening the door): Yes?
Brennan (handing her a card): Hello, Ms Larkin. I'm Brennan Mulwray and this is Emma deLauro. We're with the Metro Tribune. I know this isn't a good time, but we're doing a memorial piece on your husband and we were wondering if you had a moment to speak with us.
Emma: We're deeply sorry for your loss.
Frank Sanders (carrying boxes up to the door): I don't think so. You people are only deeply sorry when you don't see your byline on the front page.
Lisa: I'm sorry. This is Frank Sanders. He worked with my husband at the fire department. Please come in. [She lets Emma and Brennan into the house, stopping to talk to Frank in the doorway.]
Frank: I went through his files, but I couldn't find anything.
Lisa (nodding): Okay. Thanks.
Frank: I'm, uh, not gonna give up.
Lisa: Thanks, Frank. Thanks for everything.
Frank (patting her shoulder): Right. [He leaves with the box of records. She goes inside to join Emma and Brennan on the couch in the living room.]
Lisa (sitting next to Emma): Ray didn't talk much about work with me. When he was at home, he would try to put it out of his mind. Then I'd wake up at 2 am and he'd be at his desk trying to work stuff out.
Brennan (holding out a tape recorder): Was he any different with this case?
Lisa: If anything, he was more obsessed. He said whoever it was could just make fire appear.
Emma: Did he ever mention a pattern as to what the arsonist was burning?
Lisa (staring at her in surprise): You sound like Ray. He said there was always a pattern, it was just a question of finding it. I think he was onto something when he left. [She starts to cry.] God, was that only yesterday?
Emma (rubbing her arm): I'm so sorry.
Lisa (looking at her): You seem so familiar. I know you from somewhere.
Emma (frowning): I don't think so. Um...would it be all right if I took some photos of the house? You know, to help our readers get a feeling for how he lived?
Lisa (nodding): Okay. [Brennan continues to question Lisa as Emma looks around. Standing in front of a mirror, she's shocked to see Ray's image replace her own in the glass. Noticing Emma's staring into the mirror, Lisa gets up to come over to her. Emma's reaching out to touch the mirror when the glass suddenly shatters. She and Lisa look at each other, open mouthed. ]

******Commercial Break*********

[Lisa and Emma gaze at the broken mirror as Brennan comes up to them.]
Brennan: What happened?
Lisa: She was standing here, looking in the mirror. And it broke.
Emma: I didn't even touch it.
Lisa (smiling): Ray used to come in here all the time when I would sew. He said we could look in it every year and watch ourselves grow old together.
Billy (calling from the front door): Hello? [He walks into the room.] Sorry, I didn't know anybody else was here.
Lisa (going over to hug him): It's okay. They're reporters. They're doing a story on Ray. [Turning to Brennan and Emma, she starts to introduce him.] This is Ray's brother-
Emma (interrupting her): Billy. [Everyone stares at her.] Um...I did some research before we came over.
Billy: Well, Ray wasn't just a great fireman, you know. He did everything for me. Found me a job, he lent me money when I needed it.
Lisa: Billy.
Billy: I just want them to get the full picture of who he was, Lisa. I mean, he was my brother, for God's sakes.
Lisa: I know. [She hugs him.]
Brennan: Um...you know what? This obviously isn't a very good time. Mrs. Larkin, we'll come back tomorrow, okay? [Turning to Emma.] Come on.

[Back at Sanctuary, Adam and Shalimar join Jesse in the main room as he works on the computer.]
Adam: Did you turn up anything?
Jesse (sighing): I've been trying to come up with any connection between these fires, Adam. And I have come up with nothing.
Adam: Well, maybe we need to do a little hands-on investigating.
Jesse: Want us to check out the scene of the last fire?
Adam: Yeah.
Shalimar: I'll go. [They both look at her in surprise. She shrugs.] Place is already burned down, right? What is there left to be afraid of? Besides, it'll give me something useful to do on this case.
Adam (smiling at Jesse): That's a good sign.
Jesse (unconvinced): Okay.
Adam (gripping his shoulder): Keep working.

[Meanwhile, Emma and Brennan walk out of the Larkin's house and head back down the driveway.]
Brennan (taking off his fake glasses): What the hell was going on back there?
Emma: Nothing. I don't know.
Brennan: Oh, I think you do. You're just not saying.
Emma (finally looking at him): I saw something. [She keeps going towards the car. Sighing, Brennan follows her.]

[Shalimar, wearing a yellow construction hat, is wandering around the burned-out chemical plant when she sees Frank Saunders looking around with a flashlight. Stooping, he picks something up from the ground. Shalimar's feral eyes flash as she focuses on the object: a watch inscribed Fire Fighters Academy Class of 1991. Frank pockets the watch, then startles to see Shalimar standing in front of him.]
Frank: What the hell are you doing here?
Shalimar (holding out a card): I'm an investigator from Inner Bay Insurance Company. Kendra James.
Frank (snatching the card from her): I don't care who you are. Visits are supposed to be cleared through my office.
Shalimar (quickly): I called; you weren't there. So...any idea what happened here?
Frank (handing the card back): Not yet. Whoever it is hasn't left a clue in four fires. And this time, the son of a bitch killed a friend of mine.
Shalimar: That would be Ray Larkin.
Frank: I worked under Ray in the Fire Marshall's office for six years. What the hell was he thinking? He should have waited for backup before he came in here.
Shalimar: Well, at least it looks like you're in line for a big promotion.
Frank (glaring): What's that supposed to mean?
Shalimar: Maybe nothing. Or maybe you know something about what happened here...maybe more than you're willing to share.
Frank: All right, that's enough. Investigator or not, you're out of here. Now! [Smiling at him, Shalimar leaves. Frank touches the watch in his pocket and hurries out.]

[Brennan's driving Emma back to Sanctuary; Emma hesitantly tells him about what happened at the Larkin house.]
Emma: Back at the house, in the mirror, I saw Ray.
Brennan: What do you mean?
Emma: I was looking at myself, but I saw him.
Brennan (glancing at her): Okay...Emma, we're talking ghost stories here. You're starting to scare me.
Emma: When I was a kid, my mom was involved in the occult and spiritualism. Though I don't think she ever encountered anything other than her own imagination.
Brennan: Yeah, but we're talking about you here.
Emma: She didn't know about my abilities yet. One day she was doing a seance, calling on the spirit of some young girl, and I was in the next room, playing a game. Suddenly, there's this little girl in the room with me. She sits down, and we started playing. She had on this old fashioned dress and these shoes with buttons down the side.
Brennan: Let me guess, she was...dead.
Emma: She came to me, instead of my mom and her friends.
Brennan: Huh. So what are you saying, that Ray has come back to play with you?
Emma (nodding): I think he has.
Brennan: You need to be careful of where this is going.Emma (smiling): It's okay. I'm okay with it.
Brennan: Emma, you have no idea what this guy's spirit or his emotions, whatever the hell this is, wants from you.
Emma: He wants the exact same thing we do, to stop whosever is starting these fires!
Brennan: And how far is he willing to go to get it? Huh? Is he willing to kill you too?

[Back at Sanctuary, Jesse and Adam are working at two computers in the main room.]
Jesse: Okay, Adam, I think I've figured out how to solve this thing. In order to catch the guy setting these blazes, we've gotta get into his head.
Adam: So what, you're checking out the psychological profiles of arsonists?
Jesse: Exactly. Now, according to the statistics, this guy, he's male, he's white, he's in his early twenties, he comes from a low to middle class family with an absentee father, and over 70% become arsonists for either revenge or excitement.
Adam: And maybe this guy we're looking for is motivated by a combination of both.
Jesse: How so?
Adam (coming over to Jesse): Well, I think this guy gets a perverse pleasure out of creating these things. You know, the bigger the better. It excites him. Gives him a sense of power, gives him a sense of control.
Jesse: Wow, he is a sick puppy, huh?
Adam: Yeah, but the sick part? The more he does it, the more he's gonna want to do it again.

[Sure enough, at that very moment across town, the arsonist is slinking through another warehouse. Creating a ball of fire, he begins torching the place. Back at Sanctuary, Jesse's computer alarm goes off.]
Jesse: Adam, we've got another fire.
Adam (coming up behind him): Contact the others. Get them over there ASAP.
Jesse (over the comlink system): Brennan, Emma. Our firestarter's at it again.
Brennan (in the car with Emma): Where?
Jesse: Corner of 4th and Wellsley.
Emma: We're two minutes away. [Brennan turns the car around and speeds off. As they stride into the warehouse, the mutant stops creating fire and runs to hide.] He's still here, I can feel him.
Brennan: Which way?
Emma: I don't know.
Brennan: If you find him, call me. Keep your distance, okay? I don't want you to try and bring him down alone.
Emma: I'm not gonna do anything stupid!
Brennan: You may not, but I don't know what Ray Larkin would do. [They split up to search.]
Emma (spotting the mutant hiding behind some boxes): Hey! [She chases after him until he runs into a dead end inside a ring of oil barrels. Cornered, he turns and starts to create a fireball.]
Brennan (running up behind Emma): I don't think so. [He forms a tesla coil.]
Emma (grabbing his arm): Brennan, wait! [Brennan zaps the mutant, causing him to drop his fireball, igniting the oil barrels surrounding him. A huge wall of fire erupts, separates the mutant from Brennan and Emma. The fire alarm goes off overhead.]
Brennan (grabbing Emma): Let's get out of here. [They run out.]

*********Commercial Break***********

[On returning to Sanctuary, Shalimar walks with Jesse into the main room, telling him what she saw at the chemical plant.]
Jesse: Are you sure Frank Sanders is the guy we're after? I mean, he's the fire inspector. We're on the same team.
Shalimar: Hey! All I know is what I saw, okay? He picked up a watch out of the debris and slipped it in his pocket. Fast, like he was trying to hide it.
Jesse (sitting at a computer): Well, maybe he was gonna tag it for evidence.
Shalimar (sitting across from him): No, he shoved it in his pocket, not an evidence bag. And when he turned to talk to me, he looked as guilty as hell.
Jesse (drinking some juice): That is a huge leap.
Shalimar: Got an inscription. Firefighter's Academy 1991.
Jesse (snarkily): Hm. It's a shame you couldn't find something more specific for us to work on.
Shalimar (walking over to him): Just run it.
Jesse (pulling up a profile of Frank Sanders): Well, Frank Sanders, class of 1991.
Shalimar (holding his arm): See? It is his watch.
Jesse (turning to face her): Wait, now hold on, Sipplewitz, I mean, before you get too excited here, let's just see how all these pieces add up.
Shalimar: Okay, he works for the fire department, he knows fires.
Jesse: Mm-hmm.
Shalimar: How they go up, how they burn, the best way to cause the most devastation.
Jesse: Hmm.
Shalimar: Okay? The guy we're looking for, he knows what he's doing.

[In the lab, Adam and Brennan are pacing around Emma, who's sitting at the table.]
Brennan: Adam, there's something going on with Emma, okay? Ever since Ray's death, she's been different.
Adam: Well, I can't say I'm surprised.
Emma: Why?
Adam: Well, considering your telempathic abilities and the amazing connection you had with this guy when he died? Well, I was afraid there might be repercussions. Maybe what happened is that Ray's energy merged with yours when he died.
Brennan: So what are you saying, we need to call in a priest?
Adam: Listen, everything that we experience: our thoughts, our emotions, our feelings, they're all just kinds of energy passing through us, right? And just because the body dies it doesn't mean that the energy ceases to exist. It's got to go somewhere.
Emma: Yeah, that's exactly what I think happened. You know, somehow Ray's spirit took over a part of me.
Adam: Maybe it's because at the moment of his death, you were the path of least resistence. And, like it or not, maybe we can use his influence to find the guy who's starting these fires.
Brennan (staring at him): Adam, can I talk to you for a second? [Adam follows him out of the lab. Brennan grabs his arm.] Adam, she's vulnerable, and you encouraging her to believe in this stuff isn't gonna help.
Adam: What if it helps us find the arsonist?
Brennan: Well, I don't like it! And I don't think we should let her believe that it's okay to let this guy control her from the inside.
Emma (coming out of the lab, putting on her coat): I'm gonna go find the bastard who's starting these fires.
Brennan: No, we are gonna find him, Emma. We. Not just you.
Emma: I have to.
Adam: Okay, Emma, look at me. Emma, look at me.
Emma (finally looking at him): Look, I don't have a choice. It's like I have to resolve this to be free.
Brennan: No, until then, let's just be safe and keep those priests on speed dial.
Shalimar (coming up to them): I think Frank Sanders could be our guy. I saw him pick a watch up from the ashes at the fire scene. Jesse and I think it could be his. [Emma heads past her down the hallway.]
Adam (calling after her): Wait, where are you going?
Emma (not breaking her stride): Mulligan's Tavern.
Shalimar (to Adam): What's that?
Adam: It's a firemen's hangout.
Brennan: She won't go alone. [Adam nods at him; Brennan goes after Emma.]

[Inside the bar at Mulligan's Tavern, Frank is sitting at a table playing with his empty glass when Billy gently takes it from him and places a new drink on the table.]
Frank: What are you doing here, Billy? Your brother just died. Couldn't Ravella give you a couple of days off?
Billy: My choice. I can't sit at home. Make me feel better being around you guys. [Frank smiles up at him.] I swear, every time I turn around, I expect him to be walking in.
Frank: Ray was a good man.
Chase (calling from a table across the room): Hey, Billy, get your ass over here!
Billy: Your wings will be up in a minute, Chase.
Chase: Forget the wings! We're lifting one to your brother. [Billy smiles at Frank and heads over to Chase's table. Emma and Brennan enter the bar and Emma sits down across from Frank.]Emma: Inspector Sanders.
Frank: I got nothing to say to the press.
Brennan (standing over him): You're gonna wanna talk to us.
Frank: I said, no comment. [He starts to leave; Emma grabs his arm.]
Emma: Well, then, I guess we'll just have to print what we've got. Your watch was found at the scene of the chemical factory fire.
Frank: What are you talking about?
Brennan: It was inscribed by the academy the year you graduated.
Emma: Gotta admit. It doesn't look so good. So how come you didn't turn it over to evidence, Frank?
Frank: Inspector Sanders. So that blonde was working for you too, is that it? I should have hauled her ass in for impeding an investigation.
Brennan (sitting next to Emma): So then you deny it? The watch isn't yours? [Frank rolls his eyes.]
Emma: Oh, come on. You've never had a problem wagging your job before. Time to open up, Frank. Is it yours? [Frank pulls down his sleeve, showing them his watch.]
Frank: Now take a hike.
Emma: Fine, then whose is it? [He doesn't answer.] Oh, come on. You trust me, don't you? [She hits him with a psionic blast.]
Frank: It was Ray's.
Emma: That's impossible.
Brennan: Maybe it fell off when he was caught in the blaze.
Frank: No, it was at the point of origin, where the fire started.
Emma: So, what are you saying, that Ray's the arsonist?
Frank (shaking his head): No, it doesn't make any sense. I worked side by side with that guy for 6 years. If he's guilty, then I'm Jack the Ripper. Fact of the matter is, you never know. I sure wish somebody would explain to me how it got there.
Emma: Something's wrong here. This doesn't add up.
Brennan: No, it couldn't have been Ray's. There was another arson this afternoon.
Frank: There's no telling whether or not that was a copycat.
Emma: Ray is not the arsonist.
Frank: I hope you're right.

[When Brennan returns to Sanctuary, Shalimar's waiting on the second floor for him. She walks with him across the balcony]
Shalimar: Why didn't you nail Sanders?
Brennan: He's not the guy, Shal. The watch was Ray's.
Shalimar: Well, you sure he wasn't lying?
Brennan: Have you ever known anybody that could lie once Emma blew their mind?
Shalimar: Where is Emma?

[Across town, Emma knocks on the Larkin's door again. Lisa answers.]
Emma: I'm sorry to bother you so late, but I know you're a night owl.
Lisa: How do you know?
Emma: Well, life as the wife of a fireman, I guess you have to adjust to the crazy hours.
Lisa: Why don't you come on in? [Emma comes in and sits at the kitchen table while Lisa fixes them hot drinks.]
Emma: How are you holding up?
Lisa (sitting down across from her, putting a mug in front of her): Okay. It's a lot, you know, with the arrangements and all...[She trails off.] I must be losing my mind. I'm just used to bringing Ray a cup whenever he came home.
Emma: That's okay. Look, I wanted to ask you about Ray's watch. You know, the one he got when he graduated from the academy. He kept it in the top drawer of his closet.
Lisa (looking at her in surprise): Um...he never wore it. He hated watches. He used to say it just reminded him of the time he spent away from me.
Emma: What happened to it?
Lisa: I gave it to his brother Billy. I didn't think Ray would mind. I mean, Billy always dreamed of making it into the academy. And I guess I just thought this was the next best thing.

[As Lisa talks, the scene flashes to Mulligan's Tavern, where Billy's cleaning up.]
Bartender: Good night, Billy.
Billy: Yeah. [When he's alone, he rolls up his sleeve to show four large burns on his forearm from where Brennan zapped him at the last fire.]

********Commercial Break********

[Lisa and Emma are still talking in the kitchen of the Larkin's home.]
Emma: Where could I find Billy?
Lisa (frowning at her): He's at Mulligan's. Why? What's going on?
Emma (getting up): I just have to ask him a few questions.
Lisa (standing up): Okay, I'll go with you.
Emma: No. No, I need to do this alone.
Lisa (starting to tear up): But this is about Ray's death, isn't it?
Emma: When this is all over, I'll let you know what's going on. But right now, I need you to stay here, okay?Lisa: I know you're gonna think this sounds crazy, but whenever you're here, I have the strangest sense that Ray is in the room with us. Who are you?
Emma: A friend. Look, I gotta go.
Lisa (stopping her): Wait, no. There are so many things I wish I could have told him. So many things I wanted to say.
Emma (smiling at her): He already knows. You have to let him go.
Lisa (crying): I'm not ready.
Emma: You know how he used to say that he had an angel on his shoulder?
Lisa (whispering): That was always his parting line.
Emma: That angel was you. [Lisa smiles.] Goodbye, Lis. [She walks out of the house.]
Lisa (looking after her): Goodbye, Ray.

[Back at Sanctuary, a worried Adam tries calling Emma over his comlink as Jesse tracks her signal on the computer next to him. Brennan paces back and forth behind them.]
Adam: Emma, where are you? Emma, tell us what's going on.
Jesse: She's there, her comlink's activated. She's just not answering us.
Brennan: Okay, Adam, keep looking for her. If you find her, give us a call. We'll be in the Helix.
Jesse (looking up at him): We will?
Brennan: Yes! In case our arson bug is looking to make an encore. [Looking at Adam, Jesse throws up his hands and follows Brennan out.]
Adam (trying his comlink again): Emma. Can you read me? Do you copy? Emma, I know you can hear me. [Emma, driving down the street, hears Adam's voice over her comlink. She looks up into the rear view mirror. Ray's face stares back at her.]
Emma!Ray (over her comlink): Emma's not here right now.

[Up in the Double Helix, Jesse, Brennan, and Shalimar are waiting for the arsonist's pattern to show up somewhere.]
Jesse (checking his monitor): Still no hot spots. What makes you think this guy's gonna strike again?
Brennan: Because Emma's on the trial. She's figured it out, and now she's planning to take him down on her own.
Shalimar (behind them): Why would Emma do that?
Brennan: Emma wouldn't. Ray's taken over.
Shalimar: Okay... I don't know about you guys, but I am sufficiently creeped out.

[Emma walks into Mulligan's Tavern as Billy's setting up the chairs.]
Billy (hearing her come in behind him): We're closed.
Emma: We need to talk, Billy.
Billy (looking over at her): You're that reporter that was at my sister-in-law's house. Why are you looking at me like that?
Emma: I just can't believe you had me fooled for so long.
Billy: I don't know what you're talking about?
Emma: You know, you never could lie to me.
Billy (staring at her): I think you'd better leave.
Emma (walking up to him): Just tell me... [Her voice suddenly deepens into Ray's.] ...why you did it.
Billy (gaping in astonishment): Who are you?
Ray!Emma: Don't you think you owe your brother an explanation?
Billy: Ray?
Ray!Emma: Tell me why you set those fires.
Billy: Because I can. Because it's something I can do. You were the hero and I was the wannabe. Do you know what it's like, living under that shadow day in and day out? Constantly being reminded what a failure I am? Until one day I discovered there's something I can do that no one else can. And it feels good. And for once, something feels good. For a while there, we were quite a team. I'd start the fires and you'd try to put them out.
Ray!Emma: People died in those fires, Billy. I died.
Billy: I didn't mean that, Ray. Look, you weren't supposed to be there!
Ray!Emma: Billy, you need help. You have to turn yourself in.
Billy: No! [Opening his hands, he creates a fireball.]
Emma (backing away): Billy, don't do this.
Billy: I'm sorry, Ray. But I don't have a choice.
Emma: Billy, please don't do this. [Billy sends a huge blast of fire at her. Emma dives behind the bar for cover. Billy starts torching the place and Emma runs to the back door, only to discover that it's locked.] Billy, please!
Billy: This time you die for good! [She flees as he aims another blast of fire at her, then Billy runs from the room.]
Emma (trapped inside a circle of flames): Billy, wait!

[Up in the Helix, Jesse's computer's alarm goes off.]
Jesse: Uh-oh, we've got trouble.
Shalimar: Where?
Jesse: Milbourne and Delaware. That's Mulligan's Tavern!
Brennan (turning the Helix around): We just came from there.
Jesse: Well, there isn't gonna be for much longer. From the readings I'm pulling, he's really torching the place.

[Emma, trapped inside a blazing inferno, screams out for Billy.]
Emma: Billy, stop this, please! We have to get out of here!

******Commercial Break********

[Shalimar, Jesse, and Brennan arrive outside of Mulligan's Tavern. Brennan starts to run up the stairs, then turns back to look at Shalimar.]
Jesse (behind her): You don't have to go in, Shal.
Shalimar (looking up the stairs): I'm going in. [They file up the stairs into the building.]
Brennan (coughing in the smoke-filled entrance): Emma? Emma! [He runs down one hallway.]
Jesse (coughing in the smoke-filled entrance): Emma? Emma! [He runs down another hallway. As Shalimar comes in, coughing, she hears Emma cry out from the next room.]
Emma: Somebody help me! [Shalimar's feral eyes flash, but she swallows her fear and follows Emma's voice. Standing in the doorway, she spots Emma's vague figure through a wall of raging fire. Turning around, Emma sees her.] Shal! Help me! [Shalimar starts towards her, then backs away as panic seizes her.]

[Down the street, two fire trucks pull out of the fire station and rush to the scene, sirens blaring.]

[Shalimar continues to hesitate in the doorway as Emma screams at her.]
Emma: Shal, help me! [A sea of fire courses across the ceiling over Emma's head, and Shalimar's feral eyes flash again. Panting in terror, she leaps over the wall of flames and kicks open the back door.]
Shalimar (grabbing Emma): Come on! [Running outside to safety, Shalimar calls Brennan over her comlink.] Brennan, I got her. You gotta get outta there.
Brennan (into his comlink): You heard her, Jess. Let's move! [He runs outside the building. Jesse, finding no exit at the end of his hallway, turns around and dashes back towards the front entrance. On his way out, he passes Billy, who is trapped in his own circle of fire. Billy screams as a panel from the ceiling falls, crushing him.]

[Outside the building, Shalimar and Emma wait for Jesse, standing in front of the fire trucks while the firefighters begin to unload their equipment.]
Emma (starting back towards the building): Billy's in there. I have to save him.
Shalimar (grabbing her arm): No! It's too dangerous. [Jesse finally gets out of the building. As he runs down the steps, two huge fireballs bulge out through the windows.]
Emma (pulling away from Shalimar): I'm not gonna let him just die! [She runs headlong into Brennan, who blocks her way.] I have to help him!
Brennan (grabbing her shoulders): Billy's dead! There's nothing you can do! Ray, listen to me, okay? It's over! You have to let Emma go! Move on! Time to move on. [Inside Emma's mind, Ray is walking towards the light, holding Emma's hand. He looks back at her and smiles. Emma returns his smile, and he releases her hand. Turning back towards the light, he walks on alone. Emma turns away and emerges from her trance. Brennan strokes her hair.]
Shalimar (standing behind her): Emma?
Emma (turning, smiling at her): Shal. How did...How did you...?
Shalimar (smiling): I don't know. I guess my fear of losing you was stronger than my fear of the fire. All I know is, I don't want to try that again. [Emma hugs her.] Let's go. [Mutant X leaves.]

[Back at Sanctuary, Emma's lighting a candle in her room when Adam pops his head in the door.]
Adam: Hey. How're you feeling?
Emma: More like myself, if that's what you mean.
Adam (coming into the doorway): Good. I can only imagine what all of this must have been like for you.
Emma (shaking her head): It's like we were one. You know, each of our life experiences merged together to the point where I don't even know where I began and Ray left off.
Adam: And now?
Emma: I know that Ray still wishes that he could have saved Billy. Even after everything that he did.
Adam: Well, it doesn't matter what Billy did, he was still his kid brother. [He walks up to her.] I went to see Frank Sanders. I talked him into giving this to me. [He holds up Ray's watch.] I thought you should have it.
Emma (taking the watch, smiling): Thanks. But I'm afraid this isn't mine to keep.

[Later that night, Brennan and Emma sit in the car, parked outside the Larkin's home.]
Brennan: Well, you want me to come with?
Emma (gazing at the watch): No, thanks. I think this is something I need to do alone. [Brennan nods; she gets out and walks up the driveway to knock on the door. Brennan watches as Lisa opens the door and lets Emma in.]

The End