- I wonder...
why is it that life always requires us to overcome
so much grief, suffering, and all that other crap?
Can't we just have fun and not have to deal with any of it?
That's what was going through my head
when first I heard about Hapna.
So, obviously, I jumped on it.
Some people said that it cured the pain of a heartbreak.
I thought, "That's weird."
"How can a broken heart ever be painless?"
"Isn't this too good to be true?"
"What if I'm just being duped?"
Those thoughts did cross my mind.
Funny...
It turns out that we were all being duped.
♪
[ Theme music plays ]
♪
[ Keyboard clacking ]
- Whoa...
- There's a 100,000 Skinners?
He's all over the place.
[ Electronic whirring ] - Wow!
Get a load of that one. - Gross.
- Someone must be hacking the surveillance systems...
Are they replacing all the faces with his?
- Yes... and it's being done with precision.
They've altered the polygon masks,
as well as the thermal imaging.
- So what are you saying?
Skinner is the one behind all this?
No way...
I'm only aware of three hackers...
that can pull off a task like this...
[ Clacking continues ] - And who are they?
- Popcorn Wizard...
Doctor 909...
and Mad Screamer.
Oh... that last one... is me.
- What? - Seriously?
- There's a strong possibility,
one of the other two hackers is helping Skinner out.
- Elaina, can you find them? - I'm on it.
- The surveillance cameras are no longer an option.
[ Cat meowing ] But this does give us one clue.
If Skinner has undergone plastic surgery
to change his appearance,
there would be no need to do all of this.
Which means?
- That he's still somewhere out there...
with the same face.
- Correct.
For now, I want Chris and Leland
to see what they can find at Skinner's residence.
- I have a lead I can follow up on, too.
- What lead do you have? [ Cat grumbling ]
- His name is Claude Cline.
He was my mentor when I worked at the Lab at my university.
In the past, he was involved in some
research projects with Skinner.
We might be able to get some kind of clue from him.
- Ah, man, this sucks.
Why'd I have to get paired up with you?
- Not a fan of you either...
Just do you job and I'll do mine.
Oh, come on.
♪
[ Camera shutters clicking ]
[ Indistinct chatter ]
- We're from Smile Clean!
- Yeah, and we're here to make
Mr. Skinner's home squeaky clean!
- Huh? Haven't you guys been watching the news?
The owner of the house has gone missing!
- Okay, but we were told we'd be paid up-front, so...
- I don't care.
I was told not to let anybody get inside!
- [ Grumbles ]
- All right then, sir.
- We'll just have them send the invoice to the both of you.
- Huh?! - Huh?!
Well, there's a cancellation fee
if you send us back without doing our job...
And just between us...
it's actually a pretty hefty amount...
[ Both groan ] [ Camera shutter clicks ]
[ Indistinct chatter ] - This is on your heads!
You people are the ones who prescribed me
this crap in the first place!
So do something! - [ Groaning ]
Ah-ah-choo!
Ah! [ Snorts]
[ Groaning ]
- Hold up.
Where's your mentor?
- They say he retired
and they don't have any information on his whereabouts.
- Oh, yeah? - However...
there's a rumor that he ended up on the streets.
- If that's the case, I might be able to help you find him.
- Great...
- Care to explain why you're so good at this?
- Really? You think so?
- You're just playing dumb.
- The same could be said about you.
- I'm not the one hiding anything...
- Okay then, what did you do
before you ended up on this team?
- I traveled all over the world as a secret agent.
- Yeah, right.
Let's see here...
[ Electronic beeping ]
[ Door lock disengages ]
Oh, nice. It's opened.
- Cleaning crew!
- Pardon us!
♪
[ Seagulls squawking ]
- There sure is a lot of them out here.
- So, where's this lead of yours?
- Guy's name is Jerry.
Met him in prison, two stays ago.
Now I hear he's the leader of this homeless community.
What? You scared or something?
- Absolutely not.
Ugh! - [ Chuckles ]
You don't have to act all tough in front of me.
Let's go.
♪
- I betcha he got busted. - Are you serious?
- Hey, guys, do you know anyone named Jerry?
He's supposed to be in charge of things around here.
- Jerry? - No clue.
- Excuse me.
Do you know a man named Jerry?
- Hey, buddy.
The guy you're talking to can't see anything.
[ Sighs ]
- Nothing of value to us here, huh?
- Yep.
And it's no surprise
since the FBI and cops
already swept this place.
- Gotta say, this house is pretty unremarkable considering
it's owned by a super famous scientist.
Know what I mean?
- Hm. - Is that Hapna?
Doesn't look like it.
- You don't suppose...
this thing could be a cure to Hapna?
- You're joking, right?
- [ Chuckles sardonically ] Yeah, there's no way.
- You're not one of us, are ya?
Jill's the one who runs the show around this place.
- Jill? - That's right.
She's right behind you.
- Oh, my gosh! Axel?!
- Huh...? - [ Chuckles ] It's been forever!
I'm so happy to see you! Just look at you!
You haven't changed a bit!
- Thanks! And look at you!
You're a woman now, Jerry!
- Yep! I go by Jill now!
- Well, I'm digging your new look, Jill!
- Oh, you! C'mere! Mm!
- [ Muffled groaning ]
- [ Smooching soundly ] - Wait...
[ Foghorn blows ]
- Oh, my, how many centuries has it been?
I thought that you were back in the slammer.
- Yeah, but then I got out again.
- Another prison break?
- Kinda. - You never learn.
So, what brings you here?
- We're looking for a man named Claude.
I was told he's been seen somewhere
around this area recently.
- Listen.
I'm a transgender woman with a record,
who's also gone through bankruptcy.
Around here, that's not an uncommon story.
Some folks were happy to hear the world is ending...
Even though you'll never hear them say it out loud.
These people have circumstances that have led them here.
So you have to understand that it's common courtesy
not to go digging up anybody's past.
- Well...
Back when I was an academic researcher,
a guy said to me...
"There will never be a black Einstein."
And that it was impossible for people like us
to win a Nobel Prize...
no matter how hard "we" tried.
Unfortunately, I ended up hitting him...
That man... was the dean of the university.
I was kicked out of the academy for my actions,
but Professor Claude stood up for me until the very end.
And to this day...
I have yet to thank him.
[ Solemn music playing ]
- Show me his picture.
- What's the matter, Professor?
- Whoop his butt already.
- Hm...
- Queen to Bishop.
- Huh?
Hm.
- The Professor's gonna win.
- Oh, yeah, it's over.
[ Chess piece clacks ]
Bishop to King, checkmate.
- Oh.
- He got it! - No way!
Now I'm out 3 days worth of food!
Goddammit!
- Is that you, Doug?
- It's been a long time...
Professor.
- Yo, dude!
Wanna play a game against me?
[ Flames whooshing ]
- You must be surprised.
Seeing how I've hit rock bottom like this.
- To be honest, I need your help.
I'm looking for Skinner right now.
- Ah, yes.
Things are a real mess.
- Do you happen to know where he might be?
- Hm.
I haven't talked with that man for years.
Little did I know,
that humanity would one day be killed,
by the medicine he invented.
Any information would help no matter how trivial.
- Hm. [ Tea kettle clattering ]
[ Steam whistling ]
- Professor? - Huh?
Right...
[ Whistling stops ]
- It's gonna be one-on-one. [ Ball thumping ]
You take the ball first.
How's 20 bucks a game sound?
Sounds good to me!
- I imagine that Skinner was someone
who most people saw as an honorable man.
But he was obsessed...
His research blinded him to everything around him.
Including the time of day,
and that made him a nuisance to all the people
he worked with...
It was exhausting,
and I knew I wouldn't able to keep up...
[ Ball thumping ]
So, I just cut all ties with him.
But then as I watched him rise to prominence,
it made me jealous.
I desperately wanted to outdo him.
To somehow leave my mark on the world.
And that frustration drove me
to falsify the results of my research.
It lead to the university firing me...
and that's how I ended up here.
[ Ball clatters ]
[ Ball thumping ] - Ugh!
[ Grunts ] - [ Whooshes ]
[ Feet moving rapidly ]
[ Ball whooshes, clatters ]
- No way! How's that fair?!
- Oh, right...
I just remembered.
This one time we got into
a passionate discussion about baklava...
- Baklava?
Isn't that a middle eastern pastry?
- Yes.
Skinner told us
that his Grandmother Belinda
made the best baklava in the world.
He raved on about how magical her recipe was,
and that no one could ever make it the same way.
- His grandmother?
- As I remember...
he mentioned she lived somewhere in Istanbul.
But I couldn't tell you if she's still around now.
- Thank you, Professor.
And I appreciate you standing up for me back then.
- Huh?
[ Ball thumping ]
- Ugh!
[ Ball whooshes, rim rattles ]
[ Ball thudding ]
No freakin' way!
[ Ball thumping ]
- So, tell me. Do you guys go way back?
- No... We just met.
- Well, as you can see...
Axel is the type of guy who can easily make himself at home.
Doesn't matter where he is, even prison.
[ Ball thumping ]
But then, before you know it,
he just up and vanishes.
I tell ya, that one...
he's a real mystery.
- Just be careful who you try to swindle next time.
- Damn.
Don't ever come back here!
- Let's get outta here.
You found your clue, didn't cha?
- Hm? Yeah.
- See you around, Jill!
- Come back soon, Axel!
I'll be waiting for ya, sweetie!
♪
- [ Sighs ]
No ID number. [ Keyboard clacking ]
No tax records, and no social security.
There's nothing coming up for Skinner's grandmother
on any database under the name of "Belinda."
- Does she really exist? [ Clacking continues ]
- I mean, even Skinner has a grandmother...
- Actually, we have no data on her.
Maybe it was erased intentionally?
- That's a possibility.
- Guys, hold on. Check this out. - Hm?
This area is known for its high crime rate.
No surveillance cameras or visual data available.
- Sounds like a perfect hideout. Skinner might be there.
- I think we might be getting lured into a trap...
- Can't deny that.
- Then we should go and see it for ourselves, right?
- It takes about 6 hours...
Take the Hyper Cube to Istanbul...
- Sounds like our only option.
[ Train car whooshes ]
[ Train rails rattling ]
[ Turkish music playing ]
♪
[ Indistinct chatter ]
- [ Sighs ]
We finally made it here!
- Leland, what are you wearing?
- Well, you know, I figured it was best to blend in
since they said it's not safe around these parts.
Do you think it's working?
- Yeah, I'm sure it is.
- Hey, hold up! Where are you going?
- I'm gonna prance around town for a while.
That should get their attention.
- We're dealing with targets who mask their traces,
so I set up some float traps. [ Electronic warbling ]
- And that's what these are?
- Yes. They monitor all transactions
that go through the node point.
I performed a pseudo-deconstruction
on the multiple compression functions
of the hash algorithm.
- Uh, layman's terms, please.
- Essentially, they're decoys.
- That makes sense...
[ Chattering in native language ]
- Huh?
Ugh! Oh, hello there.
Let me just say that, um, we're not here to cause any trouble!
- Well, Except for the fact that we do look super sketchy.
So, in times like these...
we run for it!
- Huh?! Hey, wait! Ugh!
[ Up-tempo jazzy music plays ]
- [ Grunts ]
- Ugh! - Uh-oh.
[ Scuffling ]
♪
Let's go!
- Whoa!
♪
[ Panting ]
Aah!
[ Engine rumbling ]
- Time to jump! - Huh?!
- [ Grunts, thuds ]
- Here is your chamomile tea.
Why, thank you.
Do you know where the prince is at?
- [ Panting ]
- [ Breathing heavily ]
[ Roof snapping ] Aah!
[ Glass shatters ]
[ Groaning ]
Hey...
- It's the prince!
- What the?
Where'd you go now?
- Here you are, Your Highness.
- Oh, sorry, but I'm kinda in a hurry...
[ Door thuds ] - Huh?!
[ Yelping ]
Hey, stop it!
It's not a watch!
Leave it alone!
[ Blade clinks ] Ugh!
- Enough already...
- [ Whimpering ]
- [ Thuds ] - Aah!
- [ Groans ]
[ Gunshot ]
♪
- Please, no!
[ Straining ]
Listen...
the only reason we came here
is to eat some of Grandma Belinda's baklava!
- Baklava?
- Belinda?
- Huh? - Belinda?
- Belinda...
- All: Oh...
- Huh?
- So, how's the Istanbul team doing?
- I haven't heard anything.
- Maybe they're dead? [ Electronic beeping ]
- According to their vitals on their bracelets,
we at least know they're alive.
- Well, okay then.
- But frankly,
I don't understand why Hersch made Leland go.
Aren't we better suited for this mission?
- Hm...
He gives off grandson vibes.
[ Doorbell ringing ]
- Coming!
Yes, I know. Just hold on a moment!
Thanks for waiting.
Are you boys the visitors who came from out of town to see me?
- Uh, yes ma'am!
- This is for you lads.
- Yes! [ Laughter ]
- Well, don't just stand there.
Come on in!
- I'm sorry, Miss Belinda.
We hate to drop in on you unannounced like this...
- Those boys didn't mean any harm.
They're just misguided. - Really?
- I hope you can forgive them.
- No worries...
I'm sorry I had to roughed them up a little bit.
- Well, here's the baklava you've been craving.
- Ooh! - Ooh!
- Eat as much as you'd like.
- So sweet! - [ Chewing soundly ]
- And tasty! - [ Munching noisily ]
- Awesome! - [ Chuckles ]
- Pace yourselves, boys. - [ Coughing ]
[ Gasping ]
- Would you mind telling me who you two are?
- Please don't share this with anyone,
but the truth is...
[ Sipping noisily ]
we're secret agents.
- Huh? - Huh?
- Do you mean...
like James Bond?
- Yeah... Something like that... - Ooh!
- No! You can't say that! - It's all right...
We're all about transparency these days.
- So... do you have a "License to Kill"?
- Of course. - [ Choking, coughing ]
[ Metal creaking ]
- Very well, then...
You must be here to ask about my grandson.
It's been years since I last saw him.
It's not like I was keeping it a secret.
It's just that no one ever bothered to ask me.
[ Electronic humming ] - Still nothing?
- No...
- They say patience is a virtue.
- You see, he tragically lost both of his parents
when he was little.
So I stepped up to raise him in his mother's absence.
- What was he like?
- He was a normal little boy,
and a kindhearted crybaby.
Nothing unusual there.
No matter the years...
or the chaos he has caused...
To me... he's still just the cute little grandson I raised.
- That's weird.
I think I've seen this flower somewhere before.
- Ah, that's right...
That is something he brought for me.
Apparently, it's a very rare variety of tulip
that hardly blooms.
- Do you remember the last time you talked to Skinner?
- Let's see... about 3 years back.
Yes. That's right.
He sent me a video message.
Wait here a moment.
[ Electronic beeping ] - They're not moving...
- Not an inch...
- What are they wasting time on?
- Hello, Belinda!
How have you been?
I've been pretty busy with work lately.
I wanted to visit for Christmas and have your baklava,
but it seems like I'm not going to be able to make it.
Once things settle down, I promise I'll come home.
So take good care of yourself until then.
Bye for now.
- I gotta say, that doesn't look like the kind of guy
who would commit the world's worst massacre.
- A fresh batch of my baklava is almost ready, boys!
- Great!
- Hm. It's Skinner. - Huh?
- He's gotta be watching us from somewhere.
He wants to make sure that Belinda is okay.
- So do you think...
he's watching us right now?
[ Slow wistful music playing ]
♪
What is that?
- Yo, Skinner.
You see me in there?! [ Tapping glass ]
Remember this face!
I'm coming after you!
Your ass is mine!
♪
[ Electronic warbling ]
- They took the bait!
- Who? Where?
- I've figured out where Doctor 909's hidden wallet is!
- Hidden wallet?
- Time to get wrecked.
[ The Boo Radleys' "Lazarus" plays ]
♪
- ♪ I ♪
♪ I must be losing my mind ♪
♪ I keep on trying to find a way out ♪
♪ There's no need ♪
♪ You don't lock the door anymore ♪
♪
♪ I ♪
- ♪ Ba, ba, ba, ba ♪
- ♪ You know I never go out ♪
- ♪ Ba, ba, ba, ba ♪
- ♪ And you know I start to forget things ♪
♪ It's okay they weren't essential anyway ♪
♪