02x03 - Belle Chose

[bunniefuu]

ECHO: Previously on Dollhouse I can't b*at you.

The FBI kicked me out for trying.

I want you to consider becoming Echo's Handler.

PAUL: Everything's gonna be all right.

Now that you're here.

PAUL: She's not gonna

TOPHER: Glitch? She's fine, Agent Ballard.

(IN CULTURED ACCENT) My head is on fire.

All you had to do was remember who you were!

ECHO: I remember everything.

I've been many people.

Do you know who's real? Caroline.

Will you help me? (MUZAK PLAYING) Goodness gracious, but it is good to be out-of-doors.

It certainly is.

And aren't Little Sister and Aunt Sheila having a time, though? What a healthsome and robust young lady you are, too.

You better watch out, Aunt Sheila.

Little Sister's playing to win.

(WOMAN GASPING) No use in moaning about it.

What? Me? Why, I'd love to join.

All right.

Don't think I'll be much match for Little Sister.

Now watch this drive.

Aunt Sheila.

It's not very sportsmanlike to just walk off because you don't like the way the game is going, is it? Right when it's my turn to play, everyone wants to quit.

Well, not this time.

(GROANING) Damn it, Aunt Sheila.

This is not how we play the game.

I guess we have to find a new Aunt Sheila.

(CAR HONKING) (SHOWER RUNNING)

Echo? Echo? I'm Echo.

Uh-huh.

Hi.

I was looking for you.

I'm glad.

Would you like a towel? Yes, thank you.

I'm wet.

- Good day.

- A treatment.

Would you like a treatment? Yes, please.

I enjoy my treatments.

- Shall I dress? - Yes.

Dress would be good.

ADELLE: Has Mr.

Ballard been given his engagement?

BOYD: He has.

And any progress on locating our troubled missing employee? She's not really missing, is she? She left.

Well, I call that missing.

I call that leaving.

One doesn't just leave this place.

- Claire did.

- Claire now, is it?

- Dr.

Saunders.

- Dr.

Saunders? - Where is Dr.

Saunders, please? - She's not here, Victor.

There is a man.

He's not his best.

Dr.

Saunders can help him.

Thank you, Victor.

We'll help him.

And we can also keep looking for Dr.

Saunders, yes?

(MONITORS BEEPING) How's the patient? Not complaining, considering he was hit by a car.

Have we determined yet if the condition is reversible? I have to finish mapping his neural landscape, but if I can figure out a way to sneak up behind his reticular activating system and give it a goose, that might do it.

It could also give him a man reaction.

- I choose not to hear that.

- Okay.

BOYD: Do we really want to wake this guy up? Mr.

Langton, have you no charity? We are working to reunite a desperate family with their wayward loved one.

And by wayward, do you mean that they've been looking for him ever since he skipped his last bail hearing? A bail hearing over a minor matter which has since been resolved.

- And by resolved, do you mean

- Yes, yes.

A judge was bought off.

There is no need to continue to translate me.

In any event, Bradley Karrens is not only a valued client, he happens to be a major shareholder in our parent organization.

If we can apply our resources to resolving his nephew's slight medical condition, we do it.

Report any progress.

See? We're doing good.

Uh-huh.

TOPHER: Uh-oh.

Boyd? IVY: So your client is an Edmond Gossen.

He's a Liberal Arts professor at Clairfield College.

Echo is being imprinted as one of his students.

What's the "R" stand for? Oh, that's the engagement designation.

"R" means romance.

As in R-rated? Great.

So she's the sex fantasy for some egghead academic who can't get one of his real students to sleep with him.

- Don't you just feel like dancing? - Not overly.

(GIGGLING) You know what it is? Normally at this time, I'm at yoga disco, so my body's just sort of programmed to do this.

She's not wrong.

What is it, Thursday? Tell me I didn't miss Gossen's lecture.

He's hard enough to understand even when you're there.

You're fine.

Paul here is going to see to it that you get there on time.

- Thanks, Paul.

I'm Kiki.

- Kiki.

First, Paul is gonna take you on a little spree.

Shopping or k*lling? Joke.

Good news on the coma front? Yeah.

Good news is that he's in a coma.

- I beg your pardon? - Just show her what you showed me.

This is a brain, a healthy brain.

Frankly, an overly smart brain.

It's my brain.

And this is Terry Karrens' brain.

See these dark areas, how they extend all the way out to here? You know why that looks like that? That's because Terry Karrens doesn't use that part of his brain, and that'd be where you find stored such things as empathy, compassion, an aversion to disemboweling puppies.

Basically, this is what some of your more famous serial K*llers' brains look like.

You're quite certain of this? Certain enough that I have serious ethical problems trying to wake him up.

Topher has ethical problems.

Topher.

Way to land it.

Judith, get me Bradley Karrens.

(GIGGLING) Hello.

You're new.

And, of course, you're always new.

And who are we today? - She's Kiki.

- Of course she is.

Excuse me.

Work order, Echo.

Echo? Echo? Who's doing that? I am.

Right, okay.

So not exactly a rocket scientist.

And normally that would be irony, but here, one never knows.

Stacy, why don't you take Miss Kiki here on back and stick her in the works? Wait.

Who's gonna pay for this? - Isn't that cute? On la casa.

- Free? Oui, oui.

- Did I win a prize? - You are a prize.

(SQUEALING EX CITEDLY) - Come with me.

- Oh, it's How long is this gonna take? Changing their insides is nothing.

Zip zip.

The outsides, that's art.

Art takes time.

Magazine.

I won't even do this for my wife.

I was trained at Quantico.

Adelle, tell me there's been a breakthrough.

- Of a kind.

- Can your people bring him back? - Convince me why they should.

- What? Bradley, when you came to me with your request, you assured me that conventional medical science would fail to revive your nephew, that news of his condition would be a crushing blow to your brother, Terry's father.

- All true.

- Yet somewhat incomplete.

Yes? I encourage candor.

I have a team standing by to return him to Mercy.

A return to mercy? That has a poetry.

All right.

All right.

All right.

When I told you the doctor said he couldn't be revived, that was true.

Revived in time is what I neglected to add.

In time for what? Well, you are no doubt aware of Terry's past, - his troubles with the law.

- Minor offenses.

What you know about is only what the family hasn't been able to scrub.

There have been other indiscretions.

Women, survivors I should call them, and when you have a survivor, you have a person that might be persuaded, monetarily or by other means, to stay quiet.

But when all you have are bodies - I see.

- We can't be certain, of course, but recent reports of abductions, missing persons might suggest Survivors? Terry and I have always been close.

If there are women out there, he'd tell me.

And I just know that if I can talk to him If he is to be questioned, we do it on my terms.

- Oh, I just - My terms.

That's all.

And I just love these.

They're my size.

They're just so BOYD: I'll take her.

What? I'll cover your engagement.

You're staying here.

Why? It turns out we have a sudden need for an FBI profiler.

- I suggested you.

- For what? To interrogate a possible serial k*ller.

Serial k*ller? Thank God.

Car! - Goodness gracious.

- Hello, Terry.

Hello? I'd like to know if I'm being charged with something.

You know you have to charge me with something eventually.

I know my rights.

How much does he know about who he is? Where he is? Straight brain dump.

He is Terry Karrens.

Right up to the moment he got hit by that car.

I don't understand why you won't just let me speak with him.

Mr.

Ballard received his training from the FBI.

He's very experienced in these matters.

We defer to him.

These missing persons reports, why do you think he's connected? Just a hunch.

No.

It's not a hunch.

A 42-year-old woman from Covina, a 16-year-old girl from El Monte, a 20-year-old from Whittier and a 38-year-old from Alhambra.

I don't see a pattern here.

For some reason, you do.

Who are these women? Who are they to him? They were in a real sense nobody.

The authors of some of the most important medieval literature had no concept of self-identity as we might understand it.

We think of them as anonymous.

They didn't think of themselves at all.

And I can see many of you would rather not be thinking of them, either.

Okay.

Your essays on the economics of love in Chaucer's "The Wife of Bath" are being returned to you.

If you have any questions or quibbles, my office is open.

(SCOFFS) Excuse me.

Professor, this can't be right.

- Miss Turner? - Kiki.

Okay, so I probably never should've taken this course to begin with, but I figured it was Medieval Lit, not Advanced Evil, how hard could it be.

So I skipped Intro to Evil or whatever.

But how is it that I get an F when this guy that we're reading, Chauncey, can't even spell? It's Chaucer.

It's Middle English.

Right.

Like Hobbits or something.

As I said, my office is open if you'd care to discuss it.

Yeah.

I'd care to discuss it.

I'm like the Scarlet lady with the "F" on her chest.

- A.

- Lf only.

The detail is exquisite.

- Huh? - Chaucer's detail.

Alison is his most fully realized character.

Well, then he sucks because I don't get her.

Really? Because I think I can detect a little Alison in you.

Yeah? Hello? These cuffs are digging into my wrists.

I have no circulation.

Hello? Well, about time.

Terry Marion Karrens? - Any part of that a boy's name? - What? So, Terry, I gotta ask, and I think you know I gotta ask, have you been practicing dentistry on large cats? Leopards? Pumas? What? I'm just wondering why it is you have traces of a veterinary-grade paralytic in your system.

I demand my phone call.

I want my attorney present.

No attorneys, no phone calls.

- I know my rights.

- And no rights.

You are in big trouble.

When my family finds out what you're doing, you and this entire department - This isn't a department.

- What? And I'm not a cop.

What do you mean? Who are you then? What is this place? This is the place you're not in.

And I'm the guy you're not talking to.

And these These are the women you're gonna tell me how to find.

VICTOR: I've never seen any of these women before.

Take another look, Terry.

Uh Squint if you have to.

I told you, I've never seen these women before.

I don't know them.

Let me help you out.

Mother, Big Sis, Little Sis and Aunt Sheila.

At least that's how you know them.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

This is exactly the wrong approach to take with Terry.

He needs to know you're on his side.

- But we're not on his side.

- Adelle, I know my nephew.

And you should visit your nephew.

Topher, escort Mr.

Karrens downstairs where he can see for himself the care being provided.

I'm sure you'll be impressed.

He's got his own private room.

And we've kept him very clean.

You know, Terry, when I was first told that this is what you did, abducted women who look like the women you grew up with - Who told you that? I figured, hell, this sick little twist must've k*lled his family.

It's a whole Norman Bates thing.

But, no.

Your real mother and sisters and your aunt are all still living in the family home.

You know what that makes you? Very weird.

- I'm not weird.

- No.

No, you're weird, Terry.

But what you're not is special.

It doesn't take a criminal profiler to figure you out.

Maybe just a pimp.

It's ordinary.

You're ordinary.

Maybe you got bottle fed.

Maybe you got dumped.

It doesn't matter.

At some point, you decided real people weren't worth it.

You pushed them away, alienated everyone in your life so you could surround yourself with the fakes, the copies.

It made you feel like you had some control.

You're not in control.

Does this look like a guy who's in control? Goodness gracious.

No, that's impossible.

That can't be me.

Oh, it's you, Terry.

- What is this? - You remember that car, don't you? You think you walked away from that without a scratch.

Is that what you think? This is a trick.

Is it? Uncle Brad? You need to tell me where to find those women, Terry.

They're the reason you're in that bed, they're the reason your Uncle Brad looks so worried, and they're your only hope of ever getting up again.

- (SOFTLY) They did this to me.

- You did this to yourself.

It's her.

That one.

It's all her fault.

What about her? Terry? She made me.

I didn't mean to.

I didn't want to.

She meant for this to happen.

Oh, you bitch.

You bitch! What did she make you do, Terry? You just want to have a nice time.

You want to have a nice day.

But they won't let you because they're not nice.

They are never nice.

They care more about their dates and their boyfriends, and they don't pay attention to Terry.

They never let Terry play.

No time for Terry.

They are whores.

No, she's not a whore.

You're saying she uses sex to get what she wants.

Yeah, I'm saying she's a lusty, bawdy, self-aware woman.

She doesn't allow men to define her.

She knows she's the one with the real power.

What power? Well, the same power that all women have.

I mean, you make a nice day.

You make shade.

You put plastic umbrellas in the drinks.

It doesn't matter.

It never matters.

But I thought women back then had to do whatever a man said.

Alison knows better.

Alison knows it's all up to her.

She can have what she wants.

She knows how to get it.

"Myself have been the whippe.

" She is the whip.

She's the one in control.

They never do what Terry wants.

They always do what they want.

She made me.

It's not my fault.

She made me.

So if she were here and you were Chauncey Chaucer.

And he's the author.

Doesn't matter.

She'd know how to get the F on her chest turned into an A.

You're learning.

Not literature, but still.

But I can fix this.

I can make this right.

They'll let me play again.

We just need a new Aunt Sheila.

PAUL: We know he's k*lled at least one.

The unfortunate, ubiquitous Aunt Sheila? I wasn't expecting that.

I didn't think he'd cross that line.

But it makes sense.

She probably fought back.

That's why he was wandering around with traces of that paralytic in his system.

He lost a piece and was out looking to replace it when the accident happened.

You gleaned quite a bit in there, all things considered.

But not enough.

By the way, smart move sending the uncle down there.

Well, I knew what you had planned.

I thought it might add a touch of pathos.

He was really getting on your nerves, huh? (PHONE RINGING) I couldn't stand another moment.

Yes? (ALARM SOUNDING) - What happened? - I don't know.

His uncle was visiting him.

And then he went into cardiac arrest or something.

- Where is Bradley? - He was right here.

False alarm.

It was nothing.

How was that cacophony nothing? Somebody tampered with the main lead.

Bradley, this is entirely unacceptable.

We tried it your way, Addy.

It didn't work.

Terry's gonna have a little chat with his unc.

Everything will be fine.

Now, Terry, I (PHONE RINGING) He's refusing to pick up.

Well, I would say this is a very positive turn of events.

- You think? - I do, assuming your profile is correct.

You still believe Terry Karrens will return to his victims? I think he's in the market for a new Aunt Sheila, but yeah.

All our Actives are tagged with a GPS strip.

We can find them anywhere at any time.

So if there are survivors, Victor will lead us to them.

What do you mean he wasn't tagged? Why not? They took his GPS strip out before they started all that complicated facial reconstruction, - the scar removal.

- But the surgery's complete.

Right.

But Dr.

Saunders is the one who signed off on having it taken out, and she kind of left before telling anybody to put it back.

Lovely.

So you're saying that we've imprinted an Active as a serial k*ller and then blindly let him loose upon the streets? I wasn't saying that.

Victor might not have a working GPS in his body but maybe Bradley Karrens has one in his car.

Oh.

Funny how my mind would never think to go there.

(WOMEN GROANING) - What's happening? - That stuff, it's wearing off.

- Where is he? - I don't know.

He k*lled her.

He k*lled her.

- I know.

- And he's gonna k*ll us, too.

No, he isn't.

We won't let him.

What's your name? - Megan.

- Megan.

I'm Robin.

We have names.

Remember that.

We're human, not his toys.

We're getting out of here.

Find a weakness.

- He's on foot.

- Damn.

Or maybe not on foot.

- ADELLE: What do you see? - Metrolink station.

If he got on it, he could be anywhere from the Valley, downtown, Hollywood.

The accident, the hit and run, where did it happen? Just outside Beverly Hills.

That has to be close to where he's keeping the women.

You think he's headed back there? Probably with a stop along the way to pick up a new Aunt Sheila.

The Hollywood line would put him straight towards Beverly Hills.

Yeah.

I'm gonna see if I can pick up his trail.

Your one-man manhunt's using public transportation now? Which is why you are going to provide assurance.

Beg pardon? Well, we cannot allow Victor to be used as Terry Karrens' vehicle for abduction and m*rder.

- I'm personally against it.

- You need to free Victor of him.

- Love to.

He's not here.

- I do know this.

A remote wipe? - It can't be done.

- It can be done.

- Alpha did it with Echo.

- But he used a tonal interface.

Serial k*ller Victor would need to have a phone.

I'd need to have a tone.

I'd have to get him to answer the phone.

- Do you have his number? - Obviously not.

- Well - Think of another way.

Think of it fast.

(GIGGLES NERVOUSLY) ECHO: "Upon an ambler easily she sat, "Well wimpled, aye, and over all a hat "As broad as is a buckler or a targe" A targe is a shield.

Yeah, still not following.

"A rug was tucked around her buttocks large" I guess a fat ass was a good thing in the 1300s.

"And on her feet, a pair of spurs quite sharp.

" Oh, nasty.

"The remedies of love she knew, perchance, "For of that art she'd learned the old, old dance.

" I'm liking that.

Where's your tune-age? (SEDUCTIVE MUSIC PLAYING) Don't you just feel like dancing? Yes.

Are you feeling my Bathy girl power? 'Cause I'm pretty sure I'm feeling your boy power.

Now let's talk about this F.

It must be love or something.

(PHONE RINGING) - This is Boyd.

- Hey, Boyd, it's Topher.

We're trying something here, and so we're calling all the Handlers in the field to let them know that I'm gonna be taking the biolink grid offline for a few seconds.

So when your screen goes dead, there's nothing to worry about.

Okay.

What are you trying? - A remote wipe.

- Why? Well, Victor's loose, doesn't have GPS, and apparently he's a serial k*ller.

Ah.

So what I'm going to attempt to do is go into his biolink feed, which doesn't tell me where he is but it does give me a way into his head.

I'm gonna reverse the signal, send a purgation tone and blow his mind.

(GIGGLES NERVOUSLY) - Literally.

- TECHNICIAN: Thank you.

And what, just leave him out there in his doll state, totally wiped? He'll be an empty-headed robot wandering around Hollywood.

He'll be fine.

We'll find him.

(CLUB MUSIC PLAYING) (CAR HONKING) - How will we know if we're successful? - Okay, look.

See this? Right now, his vitals are doing the mamba.

He's excited about something.

If the wipe takes, they should flatten out.

Go.

(HIGH-PITCHED SCREECHING) (SCREECHING CONTINUES) TOPHER: Huh.

(JAZZ PLAYING) You do have power over me.

You are an incredible woman.

What did you call me? I am an incredible woman.

Goodness gracious.

Hello, Mr.

Langton, how's your evening out? A lot like my evenings in.

I'm afraid there's been a little bit of a situation here.

Yeah.

I spoke to Topher.

- Did the remote wipe take? - It remains to be seen.

The attempt seems to have thrown the entire system offline.

We'll know all once Topher has rebuilt it.

Until then, we're blind.

We need to bring in all our field Actives.

Get them in pocket till the situation is resolved.

- I agree.

- You'll take point on this? I will do.

I'll start sending out the word, then grab Echo and come home.

Very good.

I thought I would make a nice day.

But they just won't let me.

You know what? Now they don't even get a new Aunt Sheila.

Yeah.

Full recall.

Everybody's coming home.

(PHONE BEEPS) Hang on, that's my other line.

(CAR ENGINE STARTING) This is Boyd.

Cooper, did you end the engagement? What? Cooper? Get back to the house.

It's fine.

Everything is gonna be fine.

Yeah.

This is Boyd.

I need an ambulance.

So how did it happen? Do we even know what happened? My best guess, I had to access the biolink grid for the remote wipe.

I thought I isolated Victor, but everything must've gotten scrambled.

So we assume Terry Karrens' imprint somehow got transferred to Echo.

Either that or my attempt to make her hot for teacher really didn't come off.

If Terry's in Echo, where did Kiki go? (REMED YPLAYING) I can see you stalking like a predator I've been here before Temptation calls like Adam to the apple but I will not be caught Hey, save a little, buddy.

'Cause I can read those velvet eyes And all I see is lies No more poison (VICTOR WHOOPING) You like dancing? (WHOOPING) I'm Kiki.

I don't know how I got here.

I sort of don't care.

Am I drunk? Have you seen this guy? Spin me faster Like a kaleidoscope (PHONE RINGING) Hello? Hello? Hang on just a minute.

Music is the cure So you can try to paralyze Hey, I noticed you watching me.

I think we both know why.

"As help me God, I laugh when I think how piteously a-nyght I made them swynke.

" Do you know what that means? I have no idea but it's wicked filthy.

How about buying a girl a drink before you swynke? - Okay.

- You think he might be what? (PEOPLE GASPING) (MUSIC STOPS) You suck.

Trying to hit a girl.

Oh, Paul.

Paul.

Thank God.

Why did you ever leave me? (SNIFFLING) You got a problem? - BIG SIS: I got it.

I got it.

- You got it? Oh, God.

(WOMEN PANTING) Go, go, go.

Okay, let's go.

Let's go.

Oh, thank God.

We thought that you were him.

I am him.

Hello, ladies.

Ready to finish our game? - She's really hurt.

- ECHO: She's really hurt? How do you think I feel? You tried to k*ll me with a car.

- What? - What? Don't play stupid.

You think I don't know what's going on here? What you've been up to? We need to get her to a hospital.

Oh, please, Mother.

Always protecting your little princess.

I am not your mother.

Well, then, I guess I'm not your son.

You always said, "Be a man.

" You do make it a little difficult.

You think You think you can make me dirty like you.

I am not They are whores.

- You did this to me.

- Please.

We just want to leave.

I'll just bet you do.

Everybody always wants to leave Terry.

How about you, Aunt Sheila? Huh? You still feel like leaving? Aunt Sheila? Aunt Sheila doesn't want to leave.

I say we all take a tip from her.

You're staying.

(SCREAMING) No.

No! Did I fall asleep? TOPHER: No, no, no, no, no.

Don't engage until we know the worm is dead.

You have to k*ll it in the G-line.

- The wave is hiding.

- Well, why is it moving? Because it's designed to go where it's not supposed to.

It's the whole point.

- MAN: What about now? - System's still down? Evidently.

I see you've made a friend.

I'm Kiki.

Wait, wait, okay.

- Okay, I think we're good.

- Yes.

- WOMAN: Yeah.

- All right.

Where is she? TOPHER: Beverly Hills.

I think she's gone shopping.

Maybe they're both Kiki.

He was here.

He's still here.

He wants to k*ll you.

You have to k*ll him first.

(STATIC) He's coming back.

He's coming back.

Get away from the door.

- He won't let me.

- What are you talking about? - Get away from the door.

- You have to k*ll him.

- What do you mean? - We have to k*ll her.

Yes.

No problem.

No.

No.

Yes.

He'll find you.

He won't stop.

He'll never stop.

He can't.

What you're saying doesn't make sense.

It doesn't have to make sense.

It just is.

He took you from a shopping mall.

He followed you from your house.

He'd been watching you for days.

Your little house, the yellow house.

He watched you from the street.

He sat in his car, and he watched you.

He could see your kitchen from the street.

He saw the boy, the red-headed boy.

He liked the way the boy looked at you.

That's why he took you.

He'll do it again.

You need to stop him for that little boy.

You won't get another chance.

Echo, are you okay? I don't think so.

Would you like a treatment?

ADELLE: I rather like him this way.

You know, you asked me to get into his head.

I never really could.

His uncle's having him transported back to the hospital this afternoon.

You think he'll ever wake up? Wouldn't it be nice if he didn't? - Good day.

- Good day.

I think he dreams.

Not anymore.

Goodness gracious.