Inferno
Season Two
US Airdate : 14 April 2003
UK Airdate : 03 August 2003
Examining a lock on a chemical building, arson investigator Ray Larkin (Alan Van Sprang) believes he may have found a clue to the westside fires. Entering the building, Ray sees a mysterious man painting the walls with fire, which is radiating directly from his fingertips. Seeing Ray, the man takes off running. Ray begins to chase after him, but the flames surround him and he grabs a nearby extinguisher. Meanwhile, the Mutant X team is searching for the mutant firestarter when they receive an alert about the new fire.
Arriving on the scene, Shalimar (Victoria Pratt) remains outside because of her feral fear of fire while the rest of the team enters the building. Emma’s (Lauren Lee Smith) powers lead her to Ray, who’s been badly injured. After Emma extinguishes the flames on his jacket, Brennan (Victor Webster) carries him to safety. Emma cradles a dying Ray’s head and uses a telempathic starburst to calm him down. When Ray suddenly stops breathing, Emma’s face pales, her eyes turn black, and she is hit with a series of images from various stages of Ray’s life, ending with a vision of her and Ray walking through a tunnel of white light. As Brennan shakes Emma out of her trance, she informs him and Jesse (Forbes March) that she just died with Ray.
Later at Sanctuary, Adam (John Shea) and Jesse read the official report of the fire and Ray’s obituary while Brennan goes to check on Emma. Adamant that they find the culprit, she tells him the details of the visions she had when Ray died. Meanwhile, Shalimar, determined to conquer her fear of fire, sits in her bedroom surrounded by burning candles. Back in the media area, Emma tells Adam and Brennan that Ray may have files pertaining to the recent fires at his home and suggests that she and Brennan pay Ray’s wife a visit. Concerned about Emma, Adam tells Brennan to keep an eye on her.
Posing as journalists, Brennan and Emma arrive at the Larkin house and introduce themselves to Ray’s widow Lisa (Jenny Levine). One of Ray’s co-workers, Frank Sanders (James Downing), is there and tells Lisa he hasn’t yet found anything in Ray’s files. As Frank leaves, Lisa lets Emma and Brennan know that Ray was obsessed with catching the mystery arsonist. When Emma reaches out to console an emotional Lisa, the two immediately sense a deep connection. Emma then begins looking around the house and, glancing into a mirror, is shocked to see Ray’s image looking back at her. When Lisa enters the room, Ray/Emma reaches out to touch her and the mirror inexplicably cracks. Moments later, Ray’s younger brother Billy (Jonathan Watton) arrives, and Emma surprises everyone by saying his name as if she knew him. Leaving the Larkin house, Emma tells Brennan how she saw Ray’s reflection in the mirror.
Meanwhile, Shalimar returns to the scene of the fire to investigate and, from a distance, watches Frank Sanders picks up a watch from the debris. Using her powers, she zooms in on the inscription, which reads, “Firefighter’s Academy, 1991.”
As Frank turns to leave, he finds a suspicious Shalimar in his face. Pretending she’s an insurance investigator, she questions him about the fire, believing that he’s the arsonist. Meanwhile, Brennan and Emma are sent to another fire that’s broken out close to their location. Reaching the burning warehouse, the two split up. Emma sees a dark figure behind a stack of boxes and begins chasing him. The figure suddenly stops and is about to shoot flames at her, but Brennan hits him with a tesla coil, knocking him into a stack of barrels. As Emma and Brennan approach the man, he ignites a wall of fire and escapes.
Back at Sanctuary, Shalimar and Jesse learn that Frank and Ray went to the Fire Academy together. Meanwhile, Adam concludes that what’s been happening to Emma is a result of Ray’s energy merging with hers as he passed over. Just then, Shalimar enters and tells them she believes that Frank’s responsible for the fires. Because of Ray, Emma knows she can find Frank at Mulligan’s Tavern, and heads out with Brennan close behind. At the bar, Frank reveals to Emma and Brennan that the watch was Ray’s, and that because he found it in the spot the fire started, he believes Ray might have been the arsonist. Emma leaves the bar and goes to see Lisa about Ray’s watch. Lisa informs her that she had given it to Billy and that she can find him at Mulligan’s Tavern. An emotional Lisa then tells Emma that she senses Ray whenever she’s around. As Emma leaves, she lets Lisa know that Ray thought of her as his angel.
As Emma confronts Billy about the fires, her voice suddenly becomes intermixed with Ray’s. Horrified, Billy confesses he was always jealous of Ray and believed that his ability to start fires was the only thing that made him special. Emma/Ray begs Billy to turn himself in, but he stubbornly refuses and begins burning the tavern. When the team arrives on the scene, an apprehensive Shalimar enters the tavern and uses her feral hearing to locate Emma. Overcoming her fear, Shalimar then charges through the fire and pulls Emma to safety. Jesse finds Billy, but the ceiling suddenly collapses, crushing him. When Emma/Ray tries to go back inside to save Billy, Brennan grabs Emma and firmly tells Ray that Billy is dead. Suddenly, Emma is again struck by the vision of her and Ray walking through a tunnel of white light. This time however, Ray continues on alone breaking their connection. Back at Sanctuary, Adam presents Ray’s watch to Emma. Knowing it’s not hers to keep, Emma goes to give Lisa her husband’s watch.