Chpt10 Ep7: "There's No Place Like Home"

Chpt10 Ep7: "There's No Place Like Home" is an episode in the series Power Rangers: Omniverse

Plot
As the episode opens, a sound of commotion inside a darkened, suburban house occurs. A man is running from the house; his face is cut and bleeding. He makes it outside to the lawn, but turns around to see that his attacker is outside with him. He pleads with the attacker not to hurt him and says he "doesn’t know anything else”. As the attacker approaches, we see that it is Charlie Bradbury. She tells the man that she knows he doesn’t know anything else, but plans to torture him anyway. She smiles cruelly at the man.

At the bunker, Hunter is in the library talking to Castiel on his cell phone. We hear Hunter ask Cas to keep him posted with any updates. As Hunter is talking, Kurt enters the room carrying plates of egg white omelets. In order to control the Mark of Cain, Kurt is on a 12 step program of his own: no drinking, 8 hours of sleep, and eating healthy. As the duo researches more about the Mark online, Hunter comes across a shocking video that looks like Charlie beating someone up from earlier. Apparently, a neighbor videotaped the attack. Kurt is surprised that Charlie is back from Oz, and confused that she didn’t call them; he tries to call her, but she doesn’t answer. Kurt believes there has to be a reason for what she did. As they further research they find out about another victim, both within the city of Topeka, where Charlie has been spotted. They then decide to check it out.

As they are preparing to leave, Kurt is in his room packing up. But as he comes across a knife, his hand starts shaking noticeably and begins hearing the eerie ringing noise radiating from the Mark of Cain. His back is to the door, so Hunter doesn’t see the shaking when he comes to Kurt’s room to see if he’s ready to go. Kurt doesn’t tell Hunter about the shaking, and hastily stashes the knife under his pillow and proceeds to head out of his room.

In Topeka, Hunter and Kurt question the torture victim. He tells them that Charlie wanted to know about the Middleton drunk driving case. While a concerned Hunter watches, Kurt threatens the man until he admits that he gave Charlie a name, Councilwoman Barbara Cordry. It turns out, Charlie is tracking the driver that killed her parents.

Later that day, the duo are driving to the councilwoman’s house to interview her. As Hunter is driving, Kurt looks over Charlie’s file. We learn that her real name is Celeste Middleton, and that she may be going after the people who destroyed her family. Hunter insists that they have to find Charlie before she does something nobody can walk away from.

They arrive at the councilwoman’s home to interview her, but she brushes them off and refuses to talk to them, so they stake out her house later that evening, assuming that Charlie will come for her next. As they are waiting, Kurt continues to look through Charlie’s file and learns that she was diagnosed with some psychological problems when she was younger. Hunter says that if someone looked at their juvenile files, they would both have some unfavorable diagnoses as well. He insists that Charlie is a good kid and there must be an explanation for what she’s doing. As they are talking, a loud crash and a scream erupt from the councilwoman’s house.

Kurt and Hunter rush into the house in their Ranger forms with weapons ready and finds Charlie holding a knife to the woman’s throat. They try to talk Charlie into releasing the woman, but she taunts them and refuses. Finally, Kurt and Hunter put their weapons away, since Charlie knows they are not going to hurt her. Charlie shoves the woman at Hunter and runs off. Kurt chases Charlie and tackles her. They wrestle briefly, but she manages to slip out of his hold and gets away. Meanwhile, Hunter asks the councilwoman what information she gave up, and the woman tells him that Charlie wanted her bank statements. As this is happening, Kurt has chased Charlie outside just in time to see her driving away in an SUV. Though she has slashed one of the Impala’s tires, so he can’t tail her. Kurt watches in frustration as Charile drives away, but is then shocked when another Charlie drives up in a different car. As this is happening, Hunter rushes out of the house in time to see the second Charlie. Realizing that the Boys must have seen her twin, Charlie says “Right, we should, um, probably catch up on things.”

At a bar, Charlie tells the Boys that there are now two Charlies –one “good” Charlie and one “bad” one. They asked how this happened, and Charlie tells them that there was a war in Oz – the war for Emerald City. She says their side was losing the war, so she made a deal with the Wizard of Oz, who told her that in order to win the war, she would have to release her true “darkness”. The Wizard used the “inner key to Oz”, which opens your soul, to release Charlie’s dark side. DarkCharlie won the war single-handedly, but she did some terrible things to accomplish that. Charlie also tells the boys that the two parts of her are still connected physically, so if one of them gets hurt, so does the other one. Charlie says that all her darkness is with DarkCharlie, so she can only do good things, which is very difficult. She goes on to explain that DarkCharlie is seeking revenge to win her back. Charlie says she has been following DarkCharlie so she can lock her away forever, but Hunter says that won’t solve the problem. The Boys suggest that they get the key from Oz and put DarkCharlie back, but Charlie tells them that DarkCharlie broke the key, so there’s no way to get back to the Wizard. Hunter suggests that they find DarkCharlie before she gets to the person she’s looking for. He suggests that since she’s following the money trail, they should hack the bank records to see who was paying people off to make the case go away. Charlie says she can’t hack into anyone’s bank accounts, because hacking is “bad”, so Hunter convinces her to show him how to do it. Kurt goes over to the bar to get refills for everyone (non-alcoholic beverages) and we see that his hands are still shaking from the effects of the Mark of Cain.

Time passes, and we see Hunter, Kurt, and Charlie at the bar continuing to look into the case. They learn that the payoffs were all diverted through a series of dummy organizations, but all the money leads back to a man named Russell Wellington, a wealthy real estate executive. They learn that Wellington’s car was reported stolen the week of the Middleton's accident, and he temporarily went on sabbatical from work, only to show up two weeks later with bruises and a broken ankle. They surmise that Russell Wellington is the man who hit Charlie’s parents. Kurt agrees to try to protect Russell from DarkCharlie, while Hunter and Charlie return to the bunker to look through the Men of Letters’ files on the Oz key to see if there is a way to fix the key.

Kurt stakes out the real estate office until he sees Wellington arrive. Then, he goes into the office and pretends to be a client. He waits to be seen and stalls his way through a meeting with Wellington, but eventually Wellington loses patience and tells Kurt to leave. It is evening by this point. Kurt refuses to leave and tells Wellington that he is there to save his life. He tells Wellington that he knows about the car accident and the payoffs. Wellington is indignant and protests, but as he is arguing, the lights go out. Kurt tells Wellington to stay in his office and goes into the outer waiting room. As soon as Kurt leaves, Wellington tries to use the landline, but it is dead.

Kurt finds DarkCharile in the waiting room. He tries to convince her not to kill Wellington. DarkCharlie tells him that she doesn’t want to hurt of kill Wellington – she says she just wants to talk to him and tell him what he did to her life. She begs Kurt not to interfere, saying that she deserves a chance to tell Wellington what he did. To make her point, she gives her knife to Kurt and insists that she’ll hand Wellington over to the police as soon as she’s done talking to him. Kurt is skeptical at first, but when DarkCharlie surrenders her weapon and seems sincere, he allows her to go into Wellington’s office while he waits outside.

Inside the office, Wellington recognizes Charlie. He apologizes for what he did, and says that he’ll turn himself in to the police. DarkCharlie says she forgives him, and Wellington relaxes a bit. But then DarkCharlie closes and locks the door. Before Kurt can break the door in, DarkCharile stabs Wellington in the heart with a letter opener that was on his desk, and escapes out the window.

Meanwhile, at the bunker, Hunter and Charlie discover a Man of Letters named Clive Dillon. He is the one who originally discovered the Oz key. Dillon went to Oz, but left the key on Earth. L Frank Baum found the key and went to Oz to rescue Clive and Oz. That’s when Dorothy tagged along for the ride and got stuck in Oz. After Baum rescued Clive, Clive came back to Earth and retired from the Men of Letters. The Men of Letters changed Dillon’s identity (to Michael Carter), and he ended up living in a nearby town. Hunter questions how Dillon is still alive, since he’d be over a hundred years old, but Charlie tells Hunter that time is different in Oz. Charlie and Hunter leave to go question Dillon.

As Hunter and Charlie are on their way to Dillon’s house, Kurt calls them to tell them what happened. As they are talking, Hunter tells Kurt that they are heading to see Dillon (aka Carter) in Junction City. Hunter texts Kurt the address and they agree to meet there.

Next, we see Kurt in a bar (presumably near the place where Wellington was killed). He has ordered a shot of whiskey and is considering drinking it when DarkCharlie shows up. Kurt confronts DarkCharile about lying to him and killing Wellington, but she insists that he lied to himself,because that's his way. Kurt tells DarkCharlie that she will pay for what she did, but she insists that Wellington got what he deserved because he was the monster – not her. She insists that being dark set her free, and she challenges Kurt to admit that he feels the same way. Kurt tells DarkCharlie that she won’t be around for long, because a former Man of Letters in Grantsville is going to help them fix the Oz key and put her back where she belongs. DarkCharlie sneaks away from Kurt, steals his car and leaves. Minutes later, Kurt realizes she’s gone and rushes outside in time to see her drive away in the Impala. He calls Hunter to tell him what happened, and that he told her Dillon lives in a different town, which should buy them some time. He steals a car and heads to Dillon’s house.

Meanwhile, Hunter and Charlie arrive at Dillon’s house. At first, Dillon denies who he is. But when Charlie shows him the broken Oz key, he admits his identity. As they are talking, Dillon says that the six Oz keys are forged from Oz steel – they can only be repaired back in Oz. Hunter asks Dillon more details about what happened to him while in Oz. Dillon admits that a coven of witches captured him and used the inner key to release his dark side, who was evil and power hungry. Dillon’s dark side eventually became the Wizard of Oz. Charlie tells Dillon that Frank Baum’s daughter, Dorothy, runs Oz now and the Wizard is by her side. With Dorothy being in danger, they must find a way back to Oz. As they talk, they realize that there is no way to return to Oz and find the Wizard, but there is a way to being the Wizard to Earth. Dillon tells Charlie and Hunter that if he is mortally wounded, the Wizard will have to come to Earth to save them both. After a brief discussion during which Dillon blames himself for unleashing the Wizard in the first place, he pulls a gun out of a drawer and shoots himself.

Next, we see that Kurt has arrived at Dillon’s house in time to hear the gunshot. He prepares to rush inside, but DarkCharlie has also arrived – apparently having followed Kurt to the location. Kurt tells her that he will not let her inside and will keep her away from Charlie; after she taunts him and attacks him, they begin to fight.

Inside the house, Dillon has shot himself in the chest. As he is lying on the floor, a mirror in the room begins to glow bright green before shattering. The Wizard, wearing a dark cloak and mask, steps out of the mirror. We see that he has a scar on his cheek that is identical to a scar on Dillon’s cheek, proving to us that they are the same person. The Wizard is angry with Dillon for allowing himself to get shot, since his only task all these years was to stay alive and in doing so keep them both alive. Hunter tries to shoot the Wizard, but the Wizard uses telekinesis to fling Hunter’s gun from his hands. Then, he uses his magical powers to bind Hunter’s hands and feet with green bands of light. Hunter falls to the floor, unable to move or remove the bonds. As this is happening, Charlie suddenly shouts in pain and grabs her face. We see that her mouth is bleeding, and realize that Kurt and DarkCharlie are outside the house fighting. Every time Kurt hits or injures DarkCharlie, Charlie feels it. The scene briefly switches to the fight outside, which has grown more intense.

Hunter begs the Wizard to release him, so he can help his friend. The Wizard refuses, telling Hunter that his friend wanted to be a hero, and heroes die. As he says this, he extends a hand toward Hunter and we see that he is using his powers to strangle Hunter. As this is happening and the Wizard is distracted, Dillon tells Charlie to kill him. She refuses at first, but he tells her that he forgives her. As Hunter struggles to breathe, Charlie shoots Dillon. The Wizard falls over dead, with a bullet hole in his face. Hunter’s mystical bonds disappear, but suddenly Charlie is in a great deal of pain. Hunter grabs the keys from the Wizard’s belt, and tells Charlie to hang on.

Outside, Kurt and DarkCharlie fight viciously, until Kurt breaks her arm and overpowers her. Eventually, DarkCharlie ends up on the ground, with Kurt kneeling over her and repeatedly punching her in the face. As this is happening, Hunter suddenly appears outside, carrying Charlie, who is still conscious, but bleeding and in pain. Hunter shouts at Kurt to stop. Kurt stops, seemingly confused about how he ended up in his current position.

Hunter gently lays Charlie on the ground next to DarkCharlie. He puts the key from the Wizard’s belt in Charlie’s hand and steps back. As the two Charlies lie on the ground, they speak briefly. DarkCharlie presumes that Charlie has killed the Wizard. She says she knew Charlie was capable of that all the time. As the key begins to work, a shimmering, ghost-like light rises above DarkCharlie’s body and settles over Charlie’s body before being absorbed into it.

Once the process is complete and Charlie is “whole“ again, Kurt rushes over to her. As Kurt kneels on the ground he cradles Charlie in comfort, feeling sorry for what he did to her.

Back at the bunker, a few days have passed, and Charlie has apparently been resting and recovering. Hunter is in the main hall room talking on the phone to Cas. Hunter tells Cas that Kurt is “better” or at least calm for now, that they have to do something about the Mark. He says that they have to find Cain or find something else to help Kurt.

Hunter hangs up as Charlie enters the room. Her bag is packed and she is preparing to leave. Her left arm is in a sling and her face is bruised, but she is up and around. Kurt is reading a book in the library. They look at each other briefly from a distance, but don’t speak. Hunter asks Charlie how she feels, and her response is that she feels “balanced”. She thanks him for everything he did for her. And says since there’s no going back to Oz, she wants to help out on getting Kurt cured from the Mark of Cain next. Insisting they need to get it moving in saving Kurt on this. She then looks over to Kurt and walks into the library to talk to him.

Charlie tells Kurt that she won’t let what happened to her happen to him. When Kurt says it’s already happened, Hunter reminds him that Cain found a way to live with the Mark, so he should too. Kurt is skeptical, but Charlie reassures him that she and Hunter will find a way to cure him. She also says she forgives him after what he did to her darker-self. Kurt stands up, hugs her and apologizes. Charlie accepts Kurt's apology. She then hugs Hunter. Moments later after getting her things, says goodbye to them for now and heads out of the bunker. After Charlie leaves, Hunter asks Kurt if he’s okay, and Kurt says “no”. Hunter tells Kurt that Charlie is right, and they can “do this”. Kurt says “well then, let’s get to work”. He then looks down at his hand again and notice that it is not shaking due to the effects of the Mark, for now.