"Come on, baby." "Where you going?" "Hey, the party's just getting started." "Help!" "Somebody help me!" "Hey, come here." "Get off me, you son of a bitch!" "Oh-ho." "Shh." "I'll teach you to run from me." "Leave the girl alone." "Why don't you get lost before I take you down?" "Mother, prepare to feast on the finest omelet in the land." "Before you join the convent." "No, I am making costumes for my Shakespeare class." " So... what do you think?" " I seem to remember asking you to make me an ET Halloween costume and you told me you didn't know how to sew." "Details." "Besides, you were 32 at the time." "The point is, proper wardrobe helps an actor connect to the words." "So Lady MacBeth, I presume?" "Desdemona." "Oh, Desdemona." "Yeah, me, too." "No, you hang up first." "No, you." "It's your turn." "Stanford sounds so amazing." "I can't wait for January." " January?" " When I leave..." " for Stanford." " What?" "Alexis applied for spring admission." "You remember." "Yeah, I just thought..." "well, you haven't talked about it for a long time, so I thought..." "Because every time I did, I saw the look on your face." "That look right there." "Oh, no, honey, it's just that Stanford is a big decision." "I mean, you sh... you should think it over." "I did, and there's no downside." "It's a great university." "Ashley is there." "I mean, I'll have enough credits to graduate early." "Yeah, but don't you wanna... you know, finish off senior year... with your friends, right, and prom?" "Don't you want to go to prom?" "Yeah." "Uh, Ashley just gave me his password so I can go check out his classes online." "Lady Beckett, milord." "Richard, are you crying?" "No, it's the onions." "Okay, I'll admit, it wasn't just the onions." "Not completely." "I mean, she's gonna be gone in a few months." "My little girl." "Yeah, but she's growing up, Castle, and she's going to a great school." "That's what you want, isn't it?" "Yes, I'm just not ready." "Okay, well, she is, so you two are just not on the same page." " So what do I do?" " Let her go." "Trust me, if you hold on too tight, you'll just drive her away." "Detective, detective, detective, what can you tell us about this homicide?" "Uh, no comment." "Excuse me." "For a murder in an alley, really?" "Officer Hastings, what's this all about?" "You should see for yourself, detective." " Oh!" " Yeah, tell me about it." "Uh, so he was..." "Split right down the middle, from the top of his head all the way down to his..." "Please." "The guy was sliced in two." "I'd say his unit is the least of his problems." "Then you do not understand the sacred bond between a man and his unit." "Okay, so what was the murder weapon, guillotine?" "A sword." "The tip broke off in the body." "Blood spatter indicates that the killer first lopped off the victim's hand, then took the big swing." "A single-edged blade, some kind of saber?" "Man, a sword." "That is so "Game of Thrones."" "Esposito, this looks like it might have been a ritual killing, so let's get photos of all the bystanders" " in case the killer came back." " On it." "Meanwhile, the Vic's name is Tyler Faris." "He just got out of Sing Sing a year ago for sexual assault." "Okay, we got any witnesses?" "Yeah, the girl he was in the middle of assaulting, a Marie Marcado." "I met him last night at Matt's bar around the corner." "He seemed like a nice enough guy, talking all big about his ship coming in." "Anyway... it got late." "I left with him." "But that's when he started getting all super aggressive." "I took off running." "He caught me." "I mean, God knows what he would've done if..." "If Conan the Barbarian hadn't shown up?" "What did the killer look like?" "It was so dark, I didn't really get to see his face." "You didn't catch anything... ethnicity, age, weight, height?" "She's holding out on us." "Well, Conan probably saved her life." "She doesn't want to throw him under the bus or under a Ben-Hur-style chariot." "Yeah, but she saw the killer." "Isn't she afraid for her life?" "She probably knows he wasn't after her." "A career felon smited in two?" "That's very Old Testament." "This... this plays like a vigilante killing." "Think Dirty Harry with a sword." "Who just happens to be in the alley when Faris is committing a felony?" "That timing is a little suspicious." "The killer probably followed him from the bar." "With a sword?" "Touche." "Let's talk to the next of kin." "Mrs. Faris, we're very sorry for your loss." "Don't sweat it." "Pardon me?" "These things can happen." "Not in this century, they don't." "Don't get me wrong," "I never expected my boy to end up in two hunks." "But I always knew, one day, he'd end up there, laying on a slab." "And why is that?" "Because Tyler was a no-good loser." "He made one dumbass mistake after the next." "I see." "Um, do you know if he was involved in anything that might have gotten him killed?" "Oh, I certainly expect so." "He told someone that his ship was coming in." "What does that mean?" "His ship was always coming in." "That was Tyler, always working an angle." "Ma'am, um, I'll need the names of all the enemies your son may have had." "You're gonna need a bigger pad." "Larceny, assault, fraud... you name it, Tyler Faris has done it." "Still, nobody deserves ending up like... that." "He got what was coming to him." "Dude, that's for the criminal justice system to decide." "Well, maybe a sword is a justice system." "Yeah, if you're Quentin Tarantino, maybe." "He made lots of calls to an untraceable burner phone in the past six months." "Behavior consistent with a criminal dirtbag." "Check this out." "Tyler Faris got into an altercation at a bodega three days ago." "He was gone by the time the cops showed up, but the shopkeeper says that he was fighting with some other guy over money." " Does the other guy have a name?" " Yeah." "Tony Valtini." "This guy's got a record, too." "Damn right, he does." "I remember Valtini from back in Narcotics." "The guy is totally mobbed up." "You know what else?" "His family owns this meatpacking plant out in Jersey." "Tony's nickname..." ""Tony the Butcher."" "I bet he split a few sides of beef in his day." "Yeah, I had words with Faris." "He used to work for me at Tony Valtini Enterprises." "Which division, drug sales or distribution of stolen property?" "I am a legitimate businessman." "Faris sucked at his job, so I canned him." "He thought I owed him back pay." "We settled it like gentlemen." "You don't believe me, go ask him." "We'd have to hold a seance." "He's dead?" "Let's just say, Tyler Faris is half the man he used to be." "A man divided?" "Split personality?" "Really, nothing?" "He was cleaved in two with a sword." "A sword?" "Much like the long knives used at a meatpacking plant." "Oh, hey, it wasn't me." "I had nothing to do with it." "But I know who did." "It was that guy..." "That nut job vigilante who attacked me." "You never reported an attack." "I don't like to be a burden on law enforcement." "Bottom line is, I'm leaving my warehouse one night..." "Three weeks ago." "All of a sudden, here comes this guy with a sword." "He accuses me of criminal conduct, unjustly, by the way, then he threatens to kill me if I don't leave town, and then... you know what he does then?" "What does he do then?" "He..." "Cuts me." "Look at this." "You see that?" " See that scar there?" " Looks like an "L"." "Mr. Valtini, could you please put your pants back up?" "He did that to me!" "He did that, with his sword, to me." "Okay?" "What did this man look like?" "You wouldn't even believe me if I told you." "Okay?" "But..." "I got cameras in my warehouse." "When he ran off, I caught him on video." "The time code lines up with the night that Valtini said he was attacked." "And according to E.R. records, he was admitted that night..." "knife wounds to the buttocks." "The sword of justice, bro." "Wait, is that..." "No." "It can't be." "It is." "Our killer is a superhero." "Really?" "A superhero?" "Yeah, our witness from the alley confirms that she saw this man kill Tyler Faris." "Well, why didn't she say that before?" "She didn't think that we'd believe her." "And quite frankly, she's right." "A masked vigilante on the loose, hacking people up?" "Tell me what your plan is to apprehend this individual." "We're, uh, we're looking for murders with the same M.O., we're also checking into enemies that Tyler Faris and Tony Valtini might have had in common, and finally, we're trying to track down" "where that suit and sword came from." "Reach out to Bellevue." "They probably admitted our suspect before." "He's clearly delusional or a psychotic." "Yes, sir." "Keep me apprised, detective." "Yes." "Don't waste your time on Bellevue." "You were eavesdropping?" "Can I help it if I have superhuman, daredevil-like hearing?" "Our killer is not crazy." "He cut a man in two and he's running around wearing a superhero suit." "I know costumes." "That one is not commercial." "He probably designed it himself, which means he's highly functional." "You know what I would love right now?" "Is if somebody would come here and give me a theory that would actually help me solve this case." "I've got one." "Every superhero has a persona, a mission, an origin story." "Learning who he is as a hero, what drives him, that will lead us to the man behind the mask." "Castle, what good is comic book mythology when our killer is not a superhero?" "What if he is a superhero?" "Like this one, who operates out of Queens." "Meet... the Red Marune." "Red Marune?" "Isn't that redundant?" "Don't worry, ma'am." "Red Marune, protector of all, beholding to none." "Sir, this is clearly not your purse." "I demand that you unhand it." "Ma'am, are... are you all right?" "Wow." "Impressive crime-fighting skills." "What do you think, mutant powers or years of training?" "Yes, well, sometimes, the runner stumbles." "The point is, there is a subculture of real-life superheroes that actually exists out there." "People crusading for the public good." "Yes, and usually, they get their asses kicked, just like this guy." "I think our vigilante is one of them." "Castle, if he's a crusader for the public good," " then why did he partition Tyler Faris?" " Ah, because tragically..." "His pursuit of justice has led him down the path of the dark side." "That is a fate that has befallen many a hero." " Cheers." " Thank you." "Trust me," "I am onto something with this superhero angle." "My spidey senses are tingling." "What's with him?" "Something about spidey senses and tingling." "Photos from the alley?" "We may have a suspect." "Tech says that that guy matches the height and build of the guy in the suit." "Not only that, when he saw the cops taking his pictures, he ran." "All right, have uniforms circulate his photo." " I want to know his name." " All right." "You know," "Castle might be right about this guy being a superhero." "I talked to a buddy of mine in Narcotics." "He said he heard rumors about a guy on the streets rousting drug dealers and dumping their stashes... a masked man with a sword." "Yes, it is a samurai sword." "So we're checking specialty stores and martial arts suppliers." "And what about the costume?" "Not available in any stores, just like Castle said." "Speaking of costumes..." "I know who the killer is." "Behold... a photo of our masked vigilante juxtaposed with issues from my own Marvel collection." "You have "Avengers" number 1?" "And there's more where that came from." "You're welcome to peruse my issues anytime." "Please note how the killer has drawn inspiration from costumes of other superheroes, for example, the color scheme evokes Spider-Man, the horned helmet... obviously an homage to Daredevil, the sword and scabbard..." "Deadpool, a high collar, just like Black Panther." "Now what do these characters all have in common?" "They're make-believe?" "They're driven by the death of a father figure or loved one." "Exactly." "I believe that our killer shares a similar backstory, which is why he's been inspired by these characters' costumes." "Furthermore, out of costumes, these heroes tend to be unassuming, so let's add mild-mannered to our profile." "Mr. Castle, so this is you working a homicide?" "A superhero who's mild-mannered, and someone killed his parents?" "Isn't that all of them?" "How can any of this produce even one useful conclusion?" "Let me direct your attention to the golden belt worn by our masked vigilante, based on the golden belt worn by Iron Man in only 11 original issues in 1963." "Which proves what, exactly?" "Our killer collected comic books, which means there is one place in this city he would definitely go." "You know, Castle, you might want to tone down the theories until Gates warms up to you." "Oh, I plan to melt Captain Permafrost by solving this case." "Yeah, well, good luck with that one." "Whoa." "You smell that?" "Wafting scent of printed pages?" "Comicadia beckons." "This place is the premier comic book shop." "It's the Vatican to a Catholic." "It's Mecca to a pilgrim." "It's upstream to a spawning..." "I know, Castle." "I bought my first comic here when I was 14." ""Sin City:" "A Dame to Kill For."" "Hard-core!" "Okay, wait, wait, okay." "If you could be any comic book character in the world, who would you be?" "Elektra." "Ah, a ruthless assassin who hides from her emotions." "No, maybe it's because she's got badass ninja skills." "What about you?" "Iron Man?" "Spider-Man?" "No, wait." "I know." "Annoying man." "Try billionaire industrialist Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. the Dark Knight." "He's brooding, he's handsome, and he has all the coolest toys." "Wow." "Digging deep on that one." "And did I mention what discerning taste they have here at Comicadia?" "Oh, Mr. Castle." " A-and you're Kate Beckett, right?" " Mm-hmm." "Oh." "Mike Hoover." "Sir, I am a huge fan." "It is such an honor to meet you." "Oh, the honor's mine." "We just got your Derrick Storm graphic novel." "I mean, the art, the writing... it is, in a word, awesome." "Tell me, what's your favorite part?" "You don't have to answer that question." "His ego does not need any more feeding." "Definitely where Derrick Storm escapes from the two bad guys" " by crashing the taxi cab." " Taxi cab." "Oh." "I'm sorry, detective Beckett." "I should've said spoiler alert." "Oh, no." "That's okay." "I won't be reading it." "Really?" "I saw your name on our list." "You preordered a copy." "Did she now?" "I was just being supportive." "Anyway, we're not here about that." "We need to ask you a few questions." "Yes, we do." "I don't suppose you know of any collectors of early Iron Man." "I'm sorry, Mr. Castle." "I-I can't share customer information." "Mike, do you recognize this man?" "Uh, no." "He doesn't look familiar." "What about..." "This one?" "Yeah, him I know." " You do?" " Yeah." " Really?" " Yeah." "The sword, the suit..." "that's our vigilante." "Lone Vengeance, that explains the "L" he carved into Tony Valtini's backside, but "Sword of Lone Vengeance," how come I've never seen this?" "Oh, it's online only." "It's kind of fringe, but it has a following." "A guy named Sean Elt writes it." "Looks like you put more thought into the killer's costume than he did, Castle." "It's a direct copy out of the comic book." "I've seen that before." "The knuckle plates, where?" "On the ground at the crime scene." "I thought it was a button, but this is it." "That's what it was." "It fell off of his suit." "If we can find that, if it's still there, it could lead us to the killer." "Uniforms widened their canvass." "Still can't find anyone who knows our mystery man." "Yeah, well, whoever he is, I can't connect him to any swords either." "I pray we nail this dude before I have to call every store on that list." "Thought you were kind of rooting for this guy." "That's when he was Joe Citizen taking it to the bad guys." "Now he's just some Nimrod in a suit." "Mm." "You gotta give him props for spirit, though, right?" "I mean, haven't you ever wanted to be a superhero?" "Going out there, prowling the city, knocking some heads?" "I do that now." "Yeah, I'm still here." "You did?" "When?" "I'll be right there." "Jake's pawnshop sold a samurai sword to some guy two hours ago." "They say he matches our photo of our mystery man." "Maybe he's replacing the one he broke off in Tyler Faris." "It was... here." "I know it was here." "Well, maybe somebody picked it up." "Or maybe it was a button." "No, it's... ah." "Aha." "There it is." "That is no button." "That is a piece of his costume." "You're right." "Castle, I think there's a partial print on it." "Aah!" "Whoa!" "Police!" "Stop!" "How cool was that?" "!" "Which part, that that was our murderer or that he just got away?" "I gotta call in an APB." "Espo, I gotta call you back." "Whoa, whoa, wait." "You're gonna want to hear this." "Yeah, we just saw our suspect." " He fled the crime scene." " Yeah, and I know where to find him because I know who he is." "What?" "How?" "Well, he bought a samurai sword at a pawnshop today, and now get this... he paid for it with a check." "His name is, uh," "Chad Hockney." "His photo matches the mystery man from the crime scene." "What's his address?" "NYPD." "Do not move a muscle." "Unless you can move faster than a speeding bullet." "This man..." "He's our killer?" "Well, to be fair, h... he was a lot more imposing in a dark alley... with a sword." "Yeah, he lives four blocks away from the crime scene, and CSU's going through his apartment right now to find... e-evidence to link him to the murder." "Tie this up in a bow, detective." "Get me a confession." "Take a seat, Mr. Hockney." "Uh, look, this is just a big misunderstanding." "I mean, I-I'm on your guys' side here." "Our side doesn't execute criminals." "See, yeah, neither do I." "Except for last night's episode of "Two Half-Men."" "We have a witness, Chad." "She saw you kill Tyler Faris." "And then like a moth to a flame, you were inexorably drawn back to the scene of the crime." "Which is when you realized you lost part of your suit." "So you came back to get it, or rather, take it from us." "This is all about your father, isn't it?" "You're driven by his death?" "My father's in Miami." "I-I don't know what you people are talking about." "So you're saying, you weren't in the alley slapping my hand with your sword, and you didn't kill Tyler Faris?" "No." "I-I would never kill anyone." "I mean, n-neither would Lone Vengeance." "Aren't you Lone Vengeance?" "Not the real one." "The real one being the comic book character?" "Comic book characters aren't real." "Okay?" "I mean the guy who assumed the persona of the comic book character." " And who is that?" " No one knows." "But he is a legend in the superhero community." "I dreamed of being him when I was Red Marune." ""Protector of all, beholding to none"?" "You've heard of me?" "We saw the purse-snatching video." "Yeah... that." "Ugh." "That hit the web and pretty much turned Red Marune into a joke." "Those were dark days." "I was about ready to hang up my tights for good, but then I decided to seek out Lone Vengeance's counsel." "What did he say?" "To stay the hell away from him." "But that... that only steeled my resolve." "I mean, I made this costume, I-I got a sword." "I was about to go out on patrol when you guys busted in." "How do you find him?" "I-I heard that Lone Vengeance, uh, frequented Lower Manhattan." "I-I roamed the streets night after night looking for him." "I finally ran into him, uh... near Beekman and Theatre Alley." "I want to be his disciple." "Maybe... his partner." "It's... it's my destiny." "He doesn't want a partner." "How do you know?" "Lone Vengeance." ""Lone."" "What do you mean, you can't make a case against him?" "He's wearing the same suit." "Yeah, well, apparently, he's not the only one." "Chad Hockney was in his apartment making that suit the night of the murder." "In fact, neighbors were complaining about the noise from the sewing machine." "I told the mayor we had our man." "Yeah, well, you shouldn't have done that." "Perhaps what I shouldn't have done was place my faith in you, detective." "Guys, where are we on the motorcycle?" "Checking registrations on silver Kawasakis." "We're also canvassing around Beekman for other sightings of Lone Vengeance." "Okay, let's put in a court order for the names of all of the people who downloaded the Lone Vengeance comics." "One of them might be our murderer." "To the untrained eye, this might look like a grown man reading comic books, but..." "I've been thinking about this, dad." "I think you should be happy for me." "I am." "I am." "I'm just gonna miss you, that's all." "Me, too." "But this is what I want." "Come." "Tell me about your classes." "What will you be taking in January?" "Uh, intro to statistics, microeconomic theory, the economic theory of the Islamic Middle East..." "Isn't Ashley an economics major?" "D... are you just taking his classes?" "That way, we can spend more time together." "What's wrong with that?" "To quote Spider-Man," ""with great power comes great responsibility."" "Not a lot of people get a chance to go to a school like this." "You need to think about your dreams and what you want." "This is what I want." "This is what Ashley wants." "This wasn't even his idea." "It was mine." "Well, this can't be all about Ashley, Alexis." "I mean, what if you guys break up?" "What then?" "We're not gonna break up." "Why are you trying to talk me outta this?" "I'm not." "I'm..." "I'm just trying to stop you from making irrational choices." "Why does everything I do have to make sense?" "Why can't I just do what I want every once in a while?" "That's all you ever do." "Hi." "I should've..." "I should've called." "Yoga, Castle." "I was doing... yoga." " Come on in." " Gotcha." "I found something that will shock and amaze you." "I downloaded all of the "Sword of Lone Vengeances."" "That's not shocking or amazing." "You didn't let me finish." "I was looking for clues as to the killer's identity in the comic books." "I didn't find any, but check out what I did find." "Take a look at these panels." "A hoodlum leaves his warehouse, uh, Lone Vengeance swoops in, and then carves the letter "L" in his right cheek." "Who does that remind you of?" "Tony the Butcher." "I checked the dates on the issue." "It came out after Lone Vengeance attacked him." "These panels emulate that event." "The only other person who was there was our vigilante." " So then you're saying that..." " It has to be." "Our killer is the writer of this comic book..." "Sean Elt." "Okay, thank you." "Sean Elt doesn't exist." "His name is an alias." "Or a nom de plume as we writers say." "Though why anyone would choose "Sean Elt"..." "Wait a minute." "It's an anagram." "Change the letters around, and you get..." "Stan Lee... comic book genius." "Trust me, he is no Stan Lee." "He's not even Sean Elt." "Yeah, all right." "Thanks, Bill." "Maybe next time." "All right." "So no help from tech on the real name." "The Lone Vengeance web site is registered solely to Sean Elt." "Well, whoever he is, he put more than Tony the Butcher in his comics." "I found two more real-life incidents that wound up as storylines." "Lone Vengeance shook down a drug dealer, and here, he set a truck full of flat screens on fire." "Okay, pull up the two police reports." "Let's see if they have anything in common." " I'm on it." " Thanks." "Something doesn't add up." "Lone Vengeance stamps out crime, both in the comics and in real life." "He's into this vigilante-style ass kicking, or in Tony's case, ass carving, but never murder." "So why would he suddenly kill Tyler Faris, and why in such a brutal way?" "The "Sword of Lone Vengeance:" "This time it's personal"?" "That has to be it." "Tyler Faris must have known Sean Elt." "He didn't as best as I recall." "I never heard of no Sean Elt." "Did your son ever hang out with the comic book crowd?" "Was he into comics?" "Just those slutty schoolgirl ones." "Oh, but lately, he had gotten all into... oh, what was it?" "Uh..." "Uh, "Sword of Lone Vengeance."" "Did he ever mention the writer of that comic?" "Was he hanging out with anyone out of the ordinary lately?" "Somebody mild-mannered, perhaps?" "Actually, I saw him talking on the stoop to a guy a few days back." "He was different." "Wore a suit." "As in mask and cape?" "Jacket and tie." "I overheard Tyler saying," ""I know the truth." "I know who you really are."" "Do you think you could describe him?" "Uh, fair-haired, youngish, with a beard." "Oh, and he wore one of them plastic ID cards... a-a green one." "Fair hair with a beard." "A green press badge." "The reporter from the crime scene." "Our suspect is one Paul Whittaker... former graphic artist who works the crime beat for the "New York Ledger."" "He's also a no-show at work and he's not at home, either." "We put out an APB and we flagged his credit cards." "Actually, that makes perfect sense." "As a crime reporter, Paul would see firsthand how lawlessness would ravage a community." "Compelled to do more than just write about it, he would don a mask and form-fitting tights to become Lone Vengeance." "But his plan to purge the streets hit a snag when Tyler Faris threatened to reveal his secret identity, causing Lone Vengeance to cut him down in a single, fearsome blow." "What?" "The student has become the master." "Or at least, he tried." "Actually, for a truly Castle-esque theory, it has to be fully thought through." "Since when?" "I did think it through." "Really?" "Then how did Tyler Faris know that Paul Whittaker was Lone Vengeance?" "I've got that one." "I just got off with the "Ledger."" "Turns out that our reporter Paul Whittaker has a burner cell phone that he uses to talk to confidential sources." "It's the same number that Tyler Faris made calls to." "So Faris was a source or a paid informant." "So that's how they knew each other." "And so maybe" "Faris was tipping off Paul about crimes going down in the neighborhood but Lone Vengeance kept showing up instead." "And that... is how Faris found out that Lone Vengeance was actually Paul." "He confronted Paul, threatened to expose him..." "So Paul Whittaker killed him to hide his identity as a half-assed superhero?" "Beckett." "Actually, it's perfect superhero psychology." "It's symbiosis." "See, Lone Vengeance is a part of Paul Whittaker." "Yin and Yang... one can't exist without the other." "Okay, seal off the area." "Paul Whittaker just maxed out his ATM at 71st and 7th." "Hmm." "That is one block away from Comicadia." "Hmm." "2 grand for all this?" "Man, you got a "Hulk" 181 here." "That alone is worth, like..." "I just need the money..." "I-in cash." "Look, uh, I'm in a bit of a hurry here" " so, uh..." " Really?" "Where are you off to, Mr. Whittaker?" "Or should we say" "Lone Vengeance?" "Really?" "Our killer's a writer?" "Well, writers can be men of action." "I've yet to see that, Mr. Castle." "So he's a journalist, like Peter Parker?" "Actually, Peter Parker was a news photographer." "Yeah, our guy's a little more like, uh, Clark Kent." "And he's mild-mannered, just like I... predicted." "Detective," "I'd like to call the mayor, let him know that we caught our killer." "Try to get a confession this time." "Yes, sir." "I think she's warming up to you." "Mm-hmm." "We're searching your apartment, Paul." "We found this artwork there." "We know that you were behind "Sword of Lone Vengeance."" "Well... well, there's no law against that, is there?" "Except you took it a lot farther than just making a comic book." "I mean, it's only a matter of time before we find the suit and the murder weapon." "Lone Vengeance stands for all that is good and virtuous, an army of one at war against crime, a defender of the innocent." "But that's just a-a character I created." "It's not someone real." "According to this, you were mugged last year outside an abandoned tenement building?" "Well, it's... it's New York." "People... people get mugged." "Only the mugger got the worst of it." "You ended up with a few stitches." "The mugger ended up in the hospital, and the cops say that you were "noncompliant."" "You know, there's a critical moment in the arc of every superhero, an awakening that transforms him, that drives him to embrace his destiny." "For you, the mugging was that moment." "That's when Lone Vengeance was born." "And then you used the "Sword of Lone Vengeance"" "as your comic book diary." "We know you killed Tyler Faris, Paul." "Your life is over, both of your lives." "You're going to prison." "What do you think those cons are gonna do when they find out that you ran around in tights?" "If you help us, if you confess," "I will keep you safe." "I will get you placed in segregated housing." "Now that is a good deal, Paul." "I would take it if I were you." "Okay." "Okay." "Okay." "It's me." "I'm Lone Vengeance." "And Tyler Faris found out?" "Yeah." "He... he threatened to expose me, so I killed him." "I'm gonna need you to write that down, Paul." "You said Lone Vengeance stands for all that is good." "So he has a code." "So killing someone, even someone like Tyler Faris, violated that code." "In a typical superhero, that would trigger a crisis of faith." "You must have been conflicted." "How did you feel when you killed Tyler Faris?" "Well, I-I felt bad." "I-I felt... really bad." "Paul, why did you chop off Tyler's hand after you killed him?" "I don't know." "I just..." "I just did." "Can I... can I write my confession now?" "Is... is that okay?" "Are you sure he didn't do it?" "Yeah, Faris' hand was chopped off before he was killed." "Paul didn't know that." "Then why did he confess?" "Because Paul is protecting the real killer." "Paul is the writer." "Lone Vengeance is the subject." "That's their relationship." "It's you and me all over again, but I'm Paul, and you're Lone Vengeance." "Really, Castle, is that how you see me, like a sword-wielding killer?" "Depends." "Will you be scantily clad?" "In your dreams." "Not to rain on your comic book fantasy, but if Paul is not Lone Vengeance, it puts a whole new spin on his mugging." "That's right, it does." "I bet Paul didn't beat up that mugger." "I bet that was Lone Vengeance." "That's probably how they met." "Wait a minute." "That abandoned tenement building where Paul was mugged, where is that?" "Near Beekman and Theatre Alley." "That's the same place where Chad Hockney found Lone Vengeance." "So either that's a coincidence..." "Or that's where he hangs out." "An abandoned tenement building... perfect place for a superhero lair." "You sure this is the place?" "Yeah." "The power company said that... unit 209's the only one with electricity." "Somebody tied it up to a pole." "Okay, if this is a lair, can I just say... disappointing?" "I mean, where's the mood lighting, the glass case with 50 samurai swords?" "Castle." "All right." "It's a modest lair built on a budget." "Wonder what else he's got hidden around here." "Beckett, got a guy on the fire escape heading your way." "I think it's him." "NYPD." "Do not move." "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "There are cops everywhere downstairs." "Now very slowly take off that mask." "Officer Hastings?" "I did not see that coming." "Can you believe it, Lone Vengeance, sword-wielding killer, ends up being one of our own?" "I don't know." "Maybe she had her reasons." "Whoa." ""Maybe she had her reasons"?" "What happened to "Nimrod in a suit"?" "Well, that's before I knew she was a cop." "CSU's going over your suit, Ann." "They're looking for Tyler Faris' blood." "They won't find any." "Yeah, well, you would know how to clean it up." "I always admired you, detective." "The kind of cop that you are, it made me want to get to know you." "Well, you could've been that kind of a cop." "Awards, first-rate evaluation..." "Why'd you let it go?" "My father owned a dry cleaners in the neighborhood." "He got held up, by some junkie, probably." "Shot dead over 80 bucks." "The day after I buried him, I applied to the academy." "So then you decided to take the law into your own hands?" "Being a cop wasn't enough?" "Someone killed my dad." "Nothing will ever be enough." "But doing what I do makes me feel better." "We arrested Ann." "I just thought you should know." "You're... probably wondering why I confessed, then." "You're in love with her." "You crossed the line, Ann." "Don't pretend like we're so different." "Let's talk about Tyler Faris." " Didn't you lose your mom?" " We're not here to discuss that." "Didn't you shoot the guy who killed her right here in this precinct?" "The bullet that you took, isn't that connected to her murder, too?" "Because that's the rumor." "I am not like you." "I didn't chop a man in half." "Neither did I." "Yes, you did, and you've got Paul Whittaker so turned around over it, that he tried to confess to your murder." "Paul?" "Why would he do that?" "Damn it." "I..." "I told him to leave town until I got this sorted out." "Well, you got it sorted out now." "I did not kill Tyler Faris." "I threw up my breakfast when I saw that body." "You were in the alley with me, Ann." "You took that piece from your suit." "It wasn't from my suit, and the only reason I wanted it was to figure out who's behind this." " Do you actually expect me to believe you?" " It's true." "I saw that disk at the crime scene." "I knew it wasn't mine, but before I could get it, I got sent off to canvass." "So I came back for it." "And, yes, I took it from you." "And what did you do with it?" "I had a friend in the crime lab run it for prints." "It came back with a partial, but it wasn't in the criminal database." "Look, if you don't believe me, ask him." "He still has it." "So somebody else dressed up as Lone Vengeance and killed our victim?" "It's the only thing that makes sense." "How does that make sense?" "Because it wasn't me." "I came across something when I canvassed Matt's bar where Tyler Faris came from." "He was a creature of habit." "He drank there every night." "He'd always leave between 1:00 and 2:00 and take the back door to the alley, usually with a girl." "So you're saying that the killer knew" "Faris was gonna show up in that alley?" "Well, she didn't kill Tyler Faris." "How do you know?" "I..." "I just..." "I know." "Well, if she didn't do it and Chad Hockney didn't do it, then we're looking at a third Lone Vengeance, a clever imposter." "Okay, so, uh, let's suppose that our killer is an imposter." "That would mean that he targeted Tyler Faris and wore a costume, either to make sure that nobody could identify him..." "Or to make sure he would be identified and frame Lone Vengeance for the murder." "And Tyler Faris was the perfect victim." "Yeah, he shows up in a dark alley like clockwork, even brings his own witness." "Okay, so then maybe our killer was a criminal who wanted Lone Vengeance off the streets..." "A criminal who wanted vengeance against Lone Vengeance and Tyler Faris..." "Someone who knew Tyler and his habits." "Someone who had experience wielding a blade." "Someone who pointed us to Lone Vengeance in the first place." "You think I killed Tyler Faris?" "Come on." "You're dreaming." "We know you wanted Lone Vengeance off the streets." "He was costing you money." "We read the comics." "Lone Vengeance was shaking down your dealers, burning your trucks." "So when Faris thought that he figured out Lone Vengeance's true identity, he knew you'd pay top dollar for it." "All right, even if this were true, which it's not," "I got no motive for murder." "You had to be asking yourself all these times" "Lone Vengeance was harassing your people, how did he know where to go?" "Who was tipping him off?" "I mean, it had to have been someone from the inside, someone with an ax to grind, someone just like Tyler Faris." "So you figured, why not kill two birds with one stone?" "Get rid of Faris and hang the murder on Lone Vengeance." "And that's it?" "I mean, that's all you got?" "You guys call yourselves cops?" "You oughta be embarrassed." "Here's the problem... you got no proof." "Actually, we do." "That's from your outfit." "We matched the partial print to your cousin Ernesto." "The tailor." "But he also confessed to making a Lone Vengeance outfit for you." "I want a lawyer." "And you will need one." "Those are your personal effects." "You probably want to make sure everything is there." "Thanks, detective Beckett." "Ann, you're a good cop." "And you've got somebody who cares about you." "Don't be so driven by the past that you throw away your future." "Take care." "Well, a murder solved and a notorious hoodlum off the streets for good..." "I call that a solid win." "I agree." "All because of the hard work and dedication of this team." "Thank you, captain." "That means a lot." "Of police officers." "Team of police officers, Mr. Castle." "Detective." "About officer Hastings..." "She, uh, fled the alley when you ordered her to stop." "Some reason you're not pressing any charges?" "I, uh..." "Think that given the number of folks wearing that costume, we can't prove that it was her in the alley, or anywhere else for that matter." "Exactly, sir." "She's a promising officer." "That said, it'd be bad for all of us if Lone Vengeance were to show up ever again." "I don't think that that will be a problem, sir." "Well, let's make sure it isn't." "Either she just grew a heart..." "Or she's worried about how it would look if the press found out that Lone Vengeance was one of our own." "A writer and his muse..." "Fighting crime, just like us." "Tomorrow?" "Mm-hmm." "Okay." "Oh, hello, mother." "Ah, Falstaff." "Really?" "It's King Lear." "Oh." "I have work to do." "Hey." "What's up?" "Uh, skyping with Ashley." "But we just finished." "You know... even when you were a little girl, you were a serious person." "I think I've just... gotten used to you being... sensible and mature, even more than me sometimes." "Sometimes?" "Point taken." "The thing is, Alexis, I know there are other sides to you... impulsive sides, romantic sides," "and I don't want you to deny them." "You were right." "With great power does come great responsibility." "I've always been good at doing what I'm supposed to." "But... but college is about doing what you want, you know, following your passion." "I'm picking my own classes." "I don't know which ones yet, but, um, no economics." "And you know what?" "Even if you're not in classes with Ashley, you still will see each other plenty." "I know, especially if we move in together."