At The Dreaming, Alec is watching television, flipping through the channels. Every channel is showing the footage of Mule tossing a cop through the air. On one channel, a lawyer who looks just like Adam Schiff from Law & Order says that they will be going after whoever is responsible for releasing these transgenics for damages in the tens of millions. Alec comments that he's sure Manticore will be writing them a big fat check. Then Alec gets up and goes to look for Joshua, who is painting. Alec sees that Joshua has painted numerous pictures of Annie. Alec tells Joshua gently that he can't see Annie anymore. Joshua says he knows, but seems understandably bitter about it.
Max walks in with groceries. Alec pokes through them, and Max slaps his hand away. Alec complains that he's stuck there, and expositions that he's an innocent man who's wanted for murders committed by his clone. Technically, isn't he Ben's clone and not the other way around? I don't actually know which one came first. Max hands Alec a fake birth certificate that proves that he has a twin, and a fake passport that proves he wasn't in the country at the time of the murders. Alec is pleased that he'll be cleared of the murders. Max says that Alec owes her $2500, because she worked with the same guy that Logan uses. Since she worked in that klutzy mention of Logan, Alec asks how Logan is doing, and Max says that she wouldn't know. Alec and Max have to go to work. Max tells Joshua that she'll stop by tomorrow. Joshua says sadly that he'll be there.
On the television at Jam Pony HQ, some oily preacher type says that the transgenics are not mentioned in the Bible, and thus God didn't mean for them to walk among humans. Normal watches and yells out "Amen!" at appropriate intervals. Max and Alec walk up and ask who the guy on the television is. Normal informs her that it's "the Right Reverend Terry Caldwell, a man not afraid to speak the truth." An interviewer asks Caldwell why he doesn't think that the transgenics should be afforded even the most basic human rights, and Caldwell says it's because they're not human. Normal cheers this statement. Caldwell continues that the transgenics aren't even animals in the eyes of the Lord, because they are created on an assembly line, and not by God. In his apartment, Logan watches, and shortly after breaks in with an Eyes Only message about how the transgenics can feel and hurt just like humans. Alec comments that Logan is reaching out to someone, and it's not him. Max just watches sadly.
White meets with his government boss, who the closed captioning informs me is named Simms. Thanks, closed captioning! White complains that he can't do anything about the transgenics since his operation officially does not exist. Simms thinks the whole thing is a disaster. White wants to enlist public support, but Simms thinks that would create panic, as well as "congressional hearings" and "subpoenas." Simms claims that they are going to spin the whole thing and make it disappear now that they have the chief of police in their pocket. White says that he understands, but he doesn't seem too happy about it.
Logan thanks Asha for getting him a disk with the complete footage of Mule's aborted escape attempt. Asha backstories that she paid off a cop with Logan's money, and wonders why Logan would want it, when he could see it on television for free. Logan thinks that the cops only released an edited version of the footage. Logan reviews the footage, which shows that the cops went after Mule first. Logan thinks about releasing it via Eyes Only. Asha points out that she doesn't know if it will help, since people are more freaked out about "what [Mule] looks like" and "what he is." Logan says that he's probably just used to the idea that transgenics exist. Asha pauses and then asks if Logan has heard from Max. Logan's hasn't. Asha counsels him to give Max time, because she's scared. Logan says that he's the one who almost died. Asha points out that Max is a loner, and that this relationship stuff is all new to her. Asha adds, "It's new to both of them." Logan asks, "Both?" Asha says that she was talking about Alec. Are they trying to set up an Asha/Alec relationship here? Because I'm not buying it.
Max and Alec break into a plastic surgeon's office. Alec says that it's going to hurt, and that the bar codes are just going to come back in a couple of weeks. Max tells him not to be such a sissy. Alec lies down on the table, and Max takes a laser to the bar code on the back of his neck. Ouch. I don't know how much I would trust Max with that thing. She's very excitable. Then again, I guess I would rather have Max do it than Alec.
Asha starts to leave Logan's apartment. He calls her over to look at the footage some more. Logan points out a car (which we know belongs to White). When Mule attacks the cop, everyone else ran over to see what was going on, but White drove away slowly. Logan zooms in and shows her that you can see White's reflection in the mirror. Man, those hoverdrones shoot some high resolution video, if he can zoom in that much and have the picture be more than a bunch of pixels. I guess Logan also has some sweet interpolation software or something. Logan says that he needs to tell Max.
Max is getting her bar code removed when her beeper goes off. Alec checks it and notes that it's the second time that Logan has paged her in ten minutes, and maybe she should call him back. Max tells him, "Mind your knitting, grandma." Actually, she just tells him to mind his own business, but I like my version better. Max also orders Alec to hurry up.
Logan calls Alec's cell phone. Alec reveals that Max is with him, and moves to hand the phone over. Max doesn't want to take it, but realizes she has no choice. In a conversation filled with awkward pauses, Logan reveals that the hoverdrone footage puts White at the scene of Mule's mini-riot. Max thinks that White was just there to contain Mule, but Logan says that White was just sitting and watching. Max doesn't think that makes sense, since the government pays White to keep the transgenic issue quiet. Logan says that White is taking orders from someone else. Max realizes that it could be one of his breeding cult buddies. Logan thinks that they are trying to turn the public against transgenics. Logan thinks that they should get together and talk, just business. Max refuses. Logan begs. Max says that she'll look into it and tell him if she finds something, but he can't call her anymore. Logan hangs up and then kicks something across the room in frustration.
Joshua sits in The Dreaming, thinking and looking at one of his paintings of Annie. He stands and walks out. Later, we see Joshua walking down the street with a hood covering his head. He reaches a house, which he sneaks around. He climbs up and looks in the window at Annie. Ew, that's creepy. Annie is reading a book in Braille. Of course she is. Wouldn't she be listening to a book on tape or something? She's not Mary Ingalls, for crying out loud. Her dog comes to the window and sniffs Joshua, then barks. Joshua falls into some garbage cans. Some nearby punks hear the commotion and walk over to check it out. Since Joshua is on the ground, they don't see his face at first, and think that he was "peeping at a blind girl." Joshua stands up, and they see his face. One of the punks comments that Joshua is "one of those freaks from the TV." They start chasing Joshua down the street.
The morning, the punks are still searching for Joshua. One of them wants to give up, but the others don't. They call out, "Here, trannie trannie trannie trannie!" That conjures up another image entirely for me. Joshua hides in an alley. Annie's dog comes up and sniffs him. Joshua says hello to Annie, and she asks what he's doing there. He claims that he's recycling cans. Annie says that her dog must have missed him. Joshua missed the dog and Annie, too. Annie wonders why he didn't tell her that he was back from Mantia Coro. She looked the place up and found out that it doesn't exist. Joshua stammers, and Annie says that he doesn't have to make up an excuse; she must have misinterpreted their relationship. The punks show up and tell Joshua to get away from Annie. Joshua pushes Annie behind him to protect her. I don't think that she really needs the protection. One of the punks thinks that they should call the cops due to Joshua's size, but the lead punk has a chain. He attacks Joshua, and Joshua grabs him and tosses him aside. Joshua grabs Annie's hand and runs through the other punks, escaping. Once they are clear of trouble, Annie asks what the punks wanted. Joshua tells her to go home now. Annie is worried that the punks will come back, and begs Joshua not to leave her alone. Joshua picks her up and carries her down into the sewer. What about the dog? The punks catch up with them but only see the dog sitting there, barking. They agree to call the cops. Meanwhile, Max shows up at The Dreaming and calls out for Joshua.
White checks out the manatees at the aquarium. The priestess from the breeding cult walks up, and White makes a comment about how manatees are the result of a one-night stand between a dolphin and a whale. Is that true? Is that even possible? Okay, I looked it up and it's not true. In fact, manatees aren't even related (evolutionarily speaking) to whales or dolphins. You'd think a member of a breeding cult would know that. The priestess comments that the footage of Mule is doing a good job scaring the public. White says that he's been leaking information about Manticore to select members of the media. The priestess says that "the Conclave" wants White to "take things even further." The priestess says that people are already looking over their shoulders for "monsters," but the greater threat to the breeding program are the X-series transgenics, because they are able to pass as humans. White points out that it makes the X-series transgenics difficult to expose. The priestess says that if word gets out that there are human-looking transgenics, it will create paranoia and panic, and they need to exploit that kind of fear. White promises to take care of it. The priestess leaves, and White's phone rings. It's Otto, who reports that someone just called 911 reporting a wolfman. White follows the government line and says that they need to get on top of it before "some idiot cop makes a scene and the media gets wind of this." White hangs up and then dials the phone again. He calls a reporter at a television station and identifies himself as "your Deep Throat." I really don't need to know about White's sexual practices. Heh. Anyway, White tells the reporter about the wolfman.
Max wanders around The Dreaming, looking for Joshua. She flips on the television, where a reporter is interviewing one of the punks about the wolfman, Joshua. The punk claims that Joshua attacked them and then kidnapped Annie. Max hears the name and gets really interested. Max hears that the kidnapped woman is blind, and takes off. The reporter finishes her statement and walks off to find a cop to interview. The camera switches to a crane shot, which reveals that there are many cops present, and they are cordoning off the area.
The multitudes of cops have been joined by firefighters for some reason, and perhaps some military guys. Max arrives on the scene and surveys the area.
Some military guy gives a Tommy Lee Jones in the The Fugitive type of speech about how they are going to look in every manhole until they "trap this thing" and "flush it back to this position for takedown." One of the soldiers asks about Annie, and the boss tells him to assume that she's alive until they know otherwise, and that her safety is their number-one priority. Max overhears the whole thing.
Sketchy pesters a cop, saying that he's a reporter and asking the cop to talk to him. The cop tells Sketchy to move along or he'll be arrested. Sketchy spots Max and calls out to her. She tries to avoid him, but eventually turns around to face him. Sketchy asks what she's doing. A car comes along and honks at Sketchy, who's standing in the middle of the street. Max looks into the car and sees that White is the driver. They lock eyes. Max turns and runs away. Sketchy realizes that she's gone and chases after her.
Down in the sewer, Joshua leads Annie along. They reach a confluence of pipes, and the whole area is filled with water. Annie asks where they are, and Joshua says that they'll be safe there. Annie complains about the volume of the water pouring in. Joshua starts closing valves to prevent the water from pouring in. Annie asks what they do now, and Joshua says that they need to wait. They both hear the sounds of nearby cops. Annie is glad, because she thinks it means that they're safe. Joshua doesn't want to see the cops, for obvious reasons. He spots some cops coming towards them, so he claps a hand over Annie's mouth and drags her down into a lower part of the tunnel. The cops search with their flashlights and declare the area secure, so they leave. Joshua apologizes to Annie and asks her not to scream. Annie demands that he tell her what's going on, and why he's hiding from the police. Joshua says that he can't tell her. Annie asks what he did. Joshua responds, "It's not what I did. It's what I am."
Logan reads the paper, which is filled with stories about transgenics. On the news, they show a drawing of the transgenic being hunted. Logan realizes that it's Joshua, so he grabs his keys and splits.
Max sees a manhole, but there's a cop nearby. Sketchy arrives moments later and sees that the cop is now lying on the ground, moaning, and the manhole cover is slightly open. Way to cover your tracks there, Max. Sketchy removes the manhole cover and heads down into the sewers.
Otto and a new blond goon show up at the scene and ask White what they should do. White says that it's "so FUBAR that it's almost funny," and advises them that there's nothing that they can do, so they may as well go back to headquarters and watch it on television. Otto and the goons leave. White gets out of his car and buys a "Fudgy Buddy Cone" (i.e. a Nutty Buddy) from a vendor. He bites into it and savors the scene unfolding in front of him.
Down in the sewers, Joshua has just informed Annie of his true nature. Annie asks if he's one of the monsters that they talk about on television. Joshua says that he wanted to tell her earlier. Annie is confused, because she touched his face. Joshua admits that that wasn't him. Annie is upset that he tricked her and took advantage of her because she's blind. She starts to leave. Joshua tries to hold her back, but ultimately lets her go. So the blind girl is walking around the water-filled sewers alone. Nice.
The military people have finished checking the sewers and found no sign of Joshua. The boss can't believe that Joshua escaped, so he orders them to check everything again.
Alec puts his hood up to hide his barcode (is it reappearing already?) and walks over to talk to Logan. Alec asks if Logan has seen Max. Logan hasn't. Alec decides to page her.
Max is at a junction in the sewers when she realizes that military guys are approaching from both directions. Cut to the military guys meeting at the junction with Max nowhere in sight. Suddenly, her pager goes off. Oops. The military guys look up to find Max clinging to the ceiling. Max comments, "Should have put it on vibrate," and then swings down and takes out all of the military guys. And Sketchy. Oops. Max's pager goes off again, so she calls Sketchy an idiot and grabs his cell phone.
Back aboveground, a vendor is selling mutant T-shirts. Max calls Alec back. Alec tells Logan that it's Max on the phone. Alec guesses that Max is in the sewers looking for Joshua, and asks what makes her think that she'll find him before the cops do. Logan snaps his fingers to indicate that Alec should give him the phone. How fucking rude is that? I know it's an emergency and all, but he could use words. Logan tells Max that he's hacked into the military GPS computer so that he can see where they've already searched. Max looks around and tells Logan that she's at Junction J-12-R. Logan tells Max to go into the intersection and look around there. Max says that once she finds Joshua, they'll need to find a way out, because the military has all of the entrances blocked. Logan promises that they'll figure something out. Max tells him to be careful, because White is lurking about aboveground. Logan tells her to keep in touch. It's so nice that those cell phones work in the sewers. They might want to tell Buffy about that.
A reporter announces that the Reverend Terry Caldwell has arrived to lead a prayer service for the missing blind girl. Caldwell starts praying. Normal shows up to join him. Man, they are just involving everyone in this. Except OC. And Asha.
The military guys who took a beating from Max surface and tell the boss that they didn't encounter "the creature," but that they were beat up by a girl. White overhears this conversation and realizes that Max is down in the sewers.
Some military guys guard one of the sewer entrance tunnels. They stop to light cigarettes, so you know they are about to get beaten or killed, because only idiots and bad people smoke. White jumps down on them from above, knocking them to the ground, and enters the sewers.
Max creeps through the sewers. White walks steadily through the sewers, and cocks a gun. The editing makes it look like they are approaching one another, but then White reaches a corner and clocks someone -- and it's Sketchy. Dude is going to have a concussion at this rate. Although I don't know how you'd be able to tell. White sees Sketchy's press pass and calls him an idiot.
Joshua tries to talk to Annie, but she wants to be left alone. Joshua says that he's sorry; he was just trying to protect her. He says that they're going to go to the police so she'll be safe. Annie protests that they'll lock Joshua up, or worse. Joshua says that at least she'll be safe. Annie calls him over, presumably because she wants to touch his face. Joshua refuses, but Annie convinces him. Joshua walks over to her, and she runs her hand over his face. She looks like she's about to throw up. Oh, I guess she's crying. She says that it's no wonder her dog liked him, and then adds that her dog is a good judge of character. Joshua asks if she's not mad at him anymore. Annie says that she wouldn't go that far, but she understands why he lied. They hear voices, and Joshua says that someone is coming. Annie points out that they can't hide in the sewer forever. This is so Beauty and the Beast. Joshua lifts Annie up, and they enter a sewer tunnel. They walk along, holding hands. When they reach a junction, Joshua isn't sure which way to go, and Annie tells him to head to the left. Joshua wonders how she knows, and she tells him that she's a good listener because she's had a lot of practice. Joshua starts walking off, and Annie stays put. She says that she's going to stay there, because it's okay if they find her, but not okay if they find him. Joshua is speechless. Annie says that when they find her, she'll tell them that he went the other way. Joshua doesn't want to leave her there alone. Annie says that it's the only way that he'll get out, and promises to come by his house tomorrow. Annie puts her hand on his face and strokes it. Joshua starts to walk away. He looks back to see Annie standing there alone, and then continues on his way.
Above ground, more vendors have arrived, and it's night. I'm not sure why the vendors are allowed inside the barricades. You'd think that they would want to be outside the barricades, where all the onlookers are standing. Alec and Logan sit in the Asstek. Logan thinks that they should have heard from Max by now. Alec dials the phone and hands it to Logan. In the sewers, Max ducks around a corner to avoid some military, and her phone vibrates. She picks it up and tells Logan that she's at junction J-4-2. Logan checks the computer and tells her to double back, and that Joshua can't be far. Just then, someone grabs Max from behind. It's Joshua. She hugs him and tells Logan that she found Joshua. Well, he actually found her, but why bother with semantics at a time like this? Logan tells her that there's a tunnel about twenty yards away. They reach it. Logan tells her to go down one level. Logan shows Alec where he's going to bring them out of the sewers, but he figures that there are soldiers posted on the street. Alec says, "Not for long." I don't know why, but there was something really sexy about that comment. And I'm not usually on the Alec-love train (or at least not as much as some of the people in the forums).
Max and Joshua arrive in some sort of chamber. Joshua realizes that it's the same one where he was hanging out with Annie earlier. Logan tells them to take the second tunnel on the right, and quickly. Max walks over there, but hears military guys, so she and Joshua duck into another tunnel. Max tells Logan that they can't get through because there are too many soldiers. Logan looks at his computer and informs Max that some of them are approaching from behind her too. Joshua gets a bright idea; he starts turning the valves so that the water will rush in and knock down two of the soldiers. Max takes advantage of the distraction to take out some of the other soldiers. She and Joshua escape. The remaining soldiers shoot at them, then give chase.
Back aboveground, the boss listens as the soldiers explain what happened and that they are "in pursuit." All of the soldiers aboveground crowd around one manhole, guns cocked and ready. Max starts to climb up the ladder, with Joshua behind her. The crowd cheers. Anyone besides me think that they are using subterfuge again, and that Max is climbing up a totally different ladder? Of course she is. Sketchy emerges from the manhole. Normal, standing nearby, calls Sketchy an idiot. The soldiers haul him out while the crowd boos.
Max and Joshua emerge from an entirely different, completely deserted manhole. Well, deserted because Alec has apparently paid off all the cops. I liked it better when I thought he was going to kick their asses. But I guess this is the new, improved Alec who doesn't beat people up when he can avoid it. Max smiles when she sees Logan pull up in the Asstek, but then apparently remembers that she hates him.
Annie is still down in the sewer, plaintively calling out for help. White walks up and tells her not to worry, because it's all over. I was wondering what happened to White. I thought that Max would run into him again before it was all over. White stands there looking all sinister.
Logan drops Alec and Joshua off at The Dreaming. He offers Max a ride home, but she says that she has her bike. Logan tells her that no matter what's going on between them, he always has her back. Max says that she feels the same, and leaves. Logan drives off and Max looks after him sadly, probably thinking, "How could I love a man that drives that car?"
Max, Joshua, and Alec watch television in The Dreaming. Alec wonders what Logan's problem is, since everything turned out okay. The reporter on television says that officials wonder how the creature escaped. Joshua says, "The creature has friends." A different reporter has breaking news. We see a body bag being loaded into an ambulance. The reporter says that the cause of death was a snapped neck, and only someone with superhuman strength could have done it. Joshua looks up. The reporter reiterates that the kidnapped girl, Annie Fisher, was found dead at the scene moments ago, murdered by her kidnapper. Joshua starts trembling, and then beings pounding the floor and roaring in anger. Max and Alec look nervous.
Annie's body is loaded into the ambulance. White stands nearby, watching. His phone rings, and he answers it with the breeding cult greeting. He adds, "Just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" The ambulance carrying Annie's body drives off. Cut back to Joshua watching the television as the reporter says that the kidnapper is still at large, and there have also been reports of an X-series of transgenic that appear to be human; they may have assisted in the kidnapper's escape. Max and Alec hug Joshua. Wow, suddenly I'm actually interested in what's going to happen. That's the first time that's happened this season.
week: Max has a clone! And they're going to fight each other. Didn't I see this in a Jean Claude Van Damme movie?