Fantastic S5 Episode 44(1/2/24)

Down at the police station, Rebecca leads a handcuffed Ava into the squad room where Don is filling out some paperwork. “Commissioner, I wasn’t expecting you to be here so late.” Don says. “I could say the same for you. I thought you were supposed to go home hours ago.” Rebecca says. “That was the plan, but I figured I’d get some work done instead seeing as how I didn’t have any plans for the holiday.” Don says. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Rebecca says. “Yeah right. Since when do you give a damn about someone not having plans for the holiday?” Ava asks. “What do we have here?” Don questions. “Don, this is my daughter Ava. I arrested her at the Slate Gray party for being in possession of a fake ID and for underage drinking.” Rebecca says. “Oh…” Don says. “The charges are completely bogus. This is just the Rebecca Rogers version of dishing out punishment to her supposedly misbehaving kid.” Ava says. “I assure you, the charges against you are very real. I’d be happy to point you towards the specific laws if you don’t believe me.” Rebecca says. “It seems you have your work cut out for you with this one…” Don says. “You have no idea. Oh, before I forget, is Meow Cat here yet?” Rebecca asks. “Yeah. Officer Phillips brought him in a little while ago, Detective Simms is in with him now.” Don says. “Great. Hopefully Kaylie can get to the bottom of why Meow Cat has been targeting Dannie. In the meantime, I’m going to bring my prisoner here down to booking and then down to lockup.” Rebecca says. “Seriously?!” Ava asks. “Yes, seriously.” Rebecca says. “Good luck.” Don says. “Thanks.” Rebecca says, before leading Ava out. Once Rebecca and Ava are gone, Don turns towards the interrogation room.

Inside the interrogation room, Meow Cat is handcuffed to a table as Kaylie paces back and forth in front of him, looking over a file. “You’ve been pretty busy these last few months, Meow Cat. Stalking Dannie, trying to attack Dannie, succeeding in attacking me. Is there anything you’d like to say for yourself?” Kaylie asks. “Is there any chance I could get a different cop assigned to my case?” Meow Cat says. “Sorry, not happening. I’ve been involved with this since the beginning and I have no plans on backing out now. So, why don’t we start from the beginning? Why have you been stalking Dannie all these months?” Kaylie questions. Before Meow Cat can answer, the door opens and an unfamiliar man walks in. “Sorry to interrupt, but this interrogation is over!” The man announces. “I’m sorry, who are you?” Kaylie asks. The man holds out his hand. “Mickey Dale, attorney at law. I’m Mr. Cat’s lawyer.” Mickey says. “That’s funny, Meow Cat hasn’t used his one phone call yet. How did you know to come down here?” Kaylie questions. “That’s none of your concern, Detective…” Mickey begins. “Simms. Detective Simms.” Kaylie tells him. “Right, whatever. Look, I’m sure you and my client were having a grand old time in here, but I’m gonna have to ask you to step out for a minute or two or thirty. I need time to confer with Mr. Cat.” Mickey says. Kaylie turns towards Meow Cat. “You heard the man.” Meow Cat says. “I’ll be right outside.” Kaylie says, before walking out. Once Kaylie is gone, Mickey sits across from Meow Cat. “You’re lucky I showed up when I did!” Mickey says. “Detective Simms was right about one thing, I never called you.” Meow Cat notes. “You’re right, a mutual friend of ours did.” Mickey says. “Hold on, Caleb hired you?” Meow Cat asks. “Its just us, Meow Cat, we can call him Corey.” Mickey says. “Corey told you his real name?” Meow Cat asks. “Of course he did. I’m an old family friend of his! Back in the day, I used to work for Corey’s dad. I’ve always been pretty damn good at cleaning up Cambino family messes.” Mickey says. “I see, so Corey sent you here to shut me up.” Meow Cat says. “I’m here to let you know it’d be a very bad idea to turn Corey in.” Mickey says. “I don’t know, sounds like a pretty good idea to me. In fact, I think I could probably leverage Corey in exchange for my freedom.” Meow Cat says. “But wouldn’t that make the deal you guys have void? I don’t think Corey would hold up his end of the bargain if you chucked him under the bus.” Mickey says. “So what the hell am I supposed to do? Because I refuse to go to jail for being Dannie Goo’s stalker when its been Corey this whole time!” Meow Cat tells him. “That’s what I’m here for. I’ve cooked up a plan to make sure you don’t see a single day in jail and to make sure there’s no reason to expose Corey. You interested?” Mickey asks.

In the Slate Gray restaurant, Mia aims her gun at Lucas and Lydia as Julia, Victor, Virginia, Dylan, Lysandros, Daisy, Lawrence, Gizelle, Andy, and Bethany all look on. “My my Lucas, this is probably the first time I’ve ever seen you speechless. Did I surprise you?” Mia questions. “This isn’t possible! Lydia and I checked on your body in the morgue after Acerbi shot you, you were dead!” Lucas shouts. “And yet here I am, alive as can be! There’s a very simple explanation for my resurrection.” Mia says. “Doctor Andropov, right?” Lucas asks. “Close. Andropov’s techniques were what brought me back to life, but it was Joe Fish who administered the drug that kept me alive long enough to deliver me to Doctor Andropov.” Mia reveals. “Joe Fish was still alive when Mia was supposedly killed.” Lydia points out. “Of course Joe would want to help Mia. The two of them worked together at LIBERTY at one time.” Lysandros recalls. “As did you, many years ago Lysandros.” Mia notes. “Now it all makes sense. Lydia didn’t want to get into the details about what she had been through these last few years but it was you, wasn’t it?! You are the one who has kept her prisoner all this time, kept her away from me and everyone else who loves her!” Lucas realizes. Mia smiles. “That’s right! And I must tell you, Lydia was a terrible house guest! Always insulting me and trying to escape, it was a very stressful time in my life.” Mia says. “My heart aches for you.” Lucas sarcastically says. “It wasn’t just Mia. Doctor Andropov was involved too, he is the one who cured my brain tumor. There was also someone else pulling the strings, someone more powerful than Mia and Andropov.” Lydia says. Mia smiles and discretely looks over at Lawrence. “Hey, look at me!” Lucas demands. Mia turns to face Lucas. “Yes?” Mia asks. “You’re going to pay for what you did to Lydia, you hear me? You’re a dead woman!” Lucas shouts. “Are you sure you want to be shouting that? There are a lot of witnesses.” Mia points out. “I don’t give a damn. After what you did to Lydia, I’m going to see to it that you don’t go to prison, you’ll be going straight to hell!” Lucas threatens. “And yet I am the one holding the gun. Looks like you’re at a bit of a disadvantage.” Mia says. Andy walks to the forefront of the room. “Mia, lets think about this for a second.” Andy urges. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my cousin Molly’s son. Andy, right? Its lovely to finally meet you.” Mia says. “Its nice to meet you too, I just wish it were under better circumstances.” Andy says. “Oh don’t worry darling, you and I will have plenty of time to get to know each other once I’m finished here!” Mia exclaims. “Why wait? Put the gun down and then you and I can go talk somewhere. I’ll bring you for a coffee at the Lakeside Diner, I’m pretty sure they’re still open. How does that sound?” Andy asks. “Absolutely lovely! I just have to take care of a few things here and then my calendar will be free.” Mia says. “Come on, you don’t want to do this. You’re already wanted for the crimes you committed the last time you were in Fantastic, do you really want to add more charges to the list?” Andy asks. “Considering the severity of the previous charges I was facing, I don’t think one or two more murders is going to make much difference in my overall punishment. You know what they always say, go big or go home!” Mia says. “Then how about we work out some kind of deal? If you agree not to hurt anyone, maybe we could get you a reduced sentence or something along those lines.” Andy says. “And how do you plan on making that happen? You aren’t a cop anymore.” Mia points out. “Andy might not be able to make anything like that happen, but I can.” Julia says. “You must be Julia Gray, Fantastic City’s district attorney and Lucas’ Lydia replacement. How delightful to finally meet you!” Mia says. “Well since you know I’m the district attorney, you must know that I have the power to make the sort of deals Andy is suggesting.” Julia says. “I’m listening.” Mia says. “If you put the gun down now, I’ll draw up a deal which would have you only serving 25 years for the crimes you committed the last time you were in Fantastic instead of the life sentence you would’ve gotten.” Julia says. “That is a lovely offer right there…for a 20 year old, perhaps. But for me, 25 years is still a life sentence!” Mia says. “Well that’s too damn bad because I’m not offering you anything better!” Julia snaps. “I never asked you to offer me a deal in the first place! Do you really think I’m concerned about going to prison? I have more than enough aces up my sleeve to make sure that never happens! Which is precisely why I am more than comfortable shooting one or more people in attendance here, which may include you District Attorney Gray if you decide to offer me any more insulting deals!” Mia warns. Virginia attempts to run at Mia but Victor has to hold her back. “Don’t you dare hurt a hair on my beautiful baby girl’s head! You got that, you old bag?!” Virginia asks. “Virginia, don’t! Mia is the last person you want to piss off.” Victor says. “I’d listen to my cousin Victor if I were you, Virginia was it? I assume you must be young Julia’s mother. Such a pity about her relationship with Lucas imploding over the span of mere minutes! I was really pulling for the two of them, you know!” Mia says. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Julia says. “Oh yes I do, darling. Take it from cousin Mia, once Lucas and Lydia are in the room together, it is as if no one else exists! That is basically what you have now been reduced to.” Mia says. “Don’t pay any attention to her, she’s nuts.” Lucas says. “Am I wrong? Were you not just about to tell Julia how you planned on leaving her to go back to Lydia? You should really be thanking me Julia, my arrival saved you from public humiliation.” Mia says. “Can you stop rambling and tell us what you’re doing here?!” Lydia asks. “Isn’t it obvious? I’ve been trying to track you down ever since you escaped the island. People have tried telling me that you probably drowned during that storm at sea, but I wasn’t so convinced. You’re far too irritating to die. So finally, after a while of not finding you, I realized you would probably be heading here, so I decided to try and intercept you. When I arrived in Fantastic, I heard that there was going to be a New Years Eve party taking place at the new hot spot in town, Slate Gray, and you know that I’m never one to miss out on a party! The thing that caught my attention though was that Julia’s mother would be hosting the party, which meant Lucas would probably be attending, which meant this would be where you would surface if you did find your way back to Fantastic!” Mia says. “So is your plan to take me back?” Lydia asks. “No darling, I’ve gotten all the enjoyment I could out of holding you hostage, keeping you from your loved ones. Besides, now that the whole world knows you’re alive, there wouldn’t be much point! So rather than dragging you back half way across the world, I figured it would be best to end everything right now by just killing you instead.” Mia says!

Back at the Fantastic P.D, Ava is now in a jail cell downstairs as Rebecca stands outside it. “Are you satisfied now? Are you gonna hang my mugshot on the fridge so you can always remember this day?” Ava asks. “You think I’m enjoying this?” Rebecca asks. “You seem to be.” Ava notes. “That couldn’t be further from the truth. I hate that it had to come to this, but unfortunately given your troubled relationship with authority, I feel like this was the only way I could get my point across.” Rebecca says. “What authority? I am 18! You don’t have any authority over me anymore!” Ava shouts. “You still live with your father and I which means you still have to follow our rules! Not only that, but even if you weren’t living with us, the law is the law. I didn’t arrest you because you forgot to put the milk back in the fridge or because you stayed out past curfew, I arrested you because you committed actual crimes.” Rebecca says. “Am I going to jail?” Ava asks. “That’s pretty unlikely. But since the courts won’t be open until January 2, you will have to stay in here for the next 24 hours.” Rebecca says. “Unbelievable! What kind of mother arrests her own daughter?!” Ava asks. “The kind that doesn’t want her daughter to live life believing the rules don’t apply to her! That seems to be your main problem, you think that you can do whatever you want and you’ll never have to face any sort of consequences. That isn’t the case, it doesn’t matter that you are a Goo or a Stanpatos.” Rebecca says. “I know that!” Ava claims. “I don’t think that you do! And if you do, I think you’re testing exactly how far you can take things before your father and I do something about it. Well I think I’ve more than answered your question, haven’t I?” Rebecca asks. “That’s ridiculous!” Ava argues. “Is it? You knew we were going to be at that party tonight, and yet you still went even after we told you not to! Do you expect me to believe you didn’t think we’d see you there? I know that’s not the case because you’re smarter than that! In fact, you’re smarter than a lot of the stunts you’ve been pulling lately!” Rebecca snaps. “I appreciate you thinking I’m smart, too bad that’s about as far as your faith in me goes.” Ava says. “Honey, I do have faith in you, more than you could ever realize! But I also realize that you’re acting out, struggling. You went through some terrible ordeals when you were younger, and I see now that maybe taking you on a trip around the world probably wasn’t the best way to help you. It isolated you, I see that now. I accept responsibility for my role in the way you have been behaving, now I just need you to accept responsibility for yours.” Rebecca says. Ava sighs. “Okay, maybe I have been kinda pushing your buttons and Dad’s on purpose. But also, I’m doing all this because I want to have some fun! I wasn’t able to really do much of that when we were traveling, I definitely wasn’t able to do much of it when I was a kid and I was in and out of comas! I get that I’ve been screwing up a lot, and I’ll try to do better.” Ava says. “I hope you mean that. I also hope you aren’t just saying this hoping I’ll let you out because I can’t do that.” Rebecca says. Ava nods. “I know you can’t. Can you at least stay with me though, so I’m not alone? Just for a little while.” Ava says. Rebecca smiles. “Of course I will.” Rebecca says. Rebecca unlocks the cell door and walks into the cell. Rebecca wraps her arm around Ava and walks her over to the bed. Rebecca and Ava then both sit on the bed and Ava rests her head on Rebecca’s shoulder. “Thank you.” Ava says. “You’re welcome. And always remember, you’re never alone as long as your Dad and I are around. We love you with all our hearts.” Rebecca says. “I know…” Ava says, clearly drowsy.

In the interrogation room, Mickey is still sitting across from Meow Cat. “So, does that sound like a plan?” Mickey asks. “No! I’m still going to end up locked up!” Meow Cat points out. “At least it won’t be in the slammer! Plus, you’ll probably end up doing less time AND Corey will hold up his end of your little deal!” Mickey says. Meow Cat sighs. “I guess it's probably the only way I’ll get Corey to hold up his end of the deal…so I don’t owe you anything, right?” Meow Cat asks. “Nope, your buddy Corey is footing the bill.” Mickey says. “He better be after the trouble he’s caused me! So what happens next?” Meow Cat asks. “Next I’m gonna go out there and have a little chat with Detective Simms, fill her in on your situation, and then hopefully when the courts open up, we’ll be able to convince a judge.” Mickey says. “Your boss Corey better hope so, because the minute they decide to send me to Baronville, I’m singing like a canary!” Meow Cat warns.

Out in the squad room, Kaylie is looking over a file when Mickey steps out of the interrogation room. “Counselor, you have a nice talk with your client?” Kaylie asks. “Oh yeah, it was a real blast.” Mickey says. “Great. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to continue my interrogation. Feel free to sit in.” Kaylie says. “Before we go back in there, there’s something you should know. My client…he isn’t well.” Mickey claims. Kaylie crosses her arms. “What are you talking about?” Kaylie asks. “He’s had…what do you call it…right, one of those psychotic breakdowns!” Mickey says. “What?” Kaylie asks. “We’ll go over all this when you go in and talk to him again, but I just wanted to give you a heads up. My client went after Dannie Goo because he believed they were Katie Cat and that Katie Cat had abandoned him like all the other Cats did.” Mickey lies. “Katie Cat is dead!” Kaylie points out. “I know that, and you know that, Meow Cat doesn’t know that! I guess Kitty Cat’s death must’ve really pushed him over the edge, drove him bonkers! Now he’s completely looney!” Mickey says. “I see. I just have one question.” Kaylie says. “Shoot!” Mickey urges. “Who came up with this ridiculous story? You or Meow Cat? Meow Cat isn’t smart enough so I’m guessing it was probably you.” Kaylie says. “Its not a story, its the truth! Meow Cat is unhinged! He doesn’t deserve jail time, they need to ship him off to a padded room at Riverview! He doesn’t need cuffs, he needs a straight jacket!” Mickey says. “If you expect me to buy this story, you’re the one who needs a straight jacket!” Kaylie says. Mickey smirks. “Believe whatever you want, detective, it doesn’t matter at the end of the day. What matters is what the judge believes!” Mickey says. Kaylie walks up to the interrogation room window and looks in at Meow Cat.

At the Slate Gray restaurant, Gizelle leans in close to Lawrence. “I have my gun on me. Say the word and she’s dead.” Gizelle whispers. “You can’t. If you shoot Mia in front of all these people, the police are going to have questions for you, questions that may bring too much attention to us and our operations.” Lawrence says. “If we don’t act now, there is a chance Mia could be taken into custody and expose you!” Gizelle points out. “Or someone else may shoot Mia and do us the favor. Lets just see how this plays out before we make any reckless decisions.” Lawrence says. Across the room, Lucas steps in front of Mia as she aims her gun at Lydia. “Don’t you hurt her!” Lucas warns. “If you want to play the role of Lydia’s human shield, you won’t hear any objections from me. You two can go together.” Mia says. Dylan steps forward. “Lets not do anything we might regret.” Dylan urges. “Excuse me! How does any of this concern you?” Mia asks. “I’m Lydia’s ex husband.” Dylan says. “So then you should be anticipating her impending demise!” Mia says. “I admit our relationship didn’t end in the nicest way, but I’d rather her blood not cover the floors here. I come here to eat pretty often.” Dylan says. “So what do you propose as an alternative?” Mia asks. “If you put the gun down and leave, I’ll make sure you get out of the country safely. I’ll even give you some spending money to reward you for your restraint.” Dylan says. “What a generous offer.” Mia says. “I’m glad you think so. So do we have a deal?” Dylan asks. “Hm…no, sorry.” Mia says. “What? Why not?” Dylan asks. “Because she doesn’t give a damn about money, all she cares about is revenge.” Lucas says. “See? Lucas understands me.” Mia says. “Oh my god, get on with it! Its late, I’m tired, I want to go home! So please just shoot them so we can leave!” Bethany urges. “Bethany!” Virginia scolds. “What? Unless somebody shoots her, its the only way we’re going to get out of here!” Bethany says. “For once, I agree with Bethany.” Daisy says. “Thank you ladies, your unwavering support means the world to me! Yay girl power!” Mia says. “I know you want us dead, Mia, but think about this for a second. If you shoot one or both of us, someone is going to take you down. You can’t shoot the entire room with a pistol.” Lucas says. “He’s right. There’s no way out of this for you.” Lydia says. “I suppose I better make this shot count then.” Mia says. Mia points her gun at Lucas and shoots him right in the chest!