Prey for the Hunter

"What happened to wanting to be like other girls?"

"I got over it."

—Barbara Gordon and Helena on their sense of normalcy.

"Prey for the Hunter"
Information
Episode number	3 of 13
Original airdate	October 23, 2002
Written by	Teleplay by: Edward Kitsis Adam Horowitz Story by: Adam Armus Kay Foster
Directed by	Chris Long
Chronology
Preceded by	"Slick"
Followed by	"Three Birds and a Baby"

"Prey for the Hunter" is the third episode of Birds of Prey. It aired on October 23, 2002.

Synopsis

Helena and Reese clash when they both try to track down a serial killer who destroys metahumans by usurping their powers. Meanwhile, Dinah skips going to school when she learns from Helena that there is a metahumans-only bar. And Barbara meets boyfriend Wade's parents, who think she is not normal enough for their son.[src]

Cast

Starring

• Ashley Scott as Helena Kyle/Huntress
• Dina Meyer as Barbara Gordon/Oracle
• Rachel Skarsten as Dinah Redmond
• Shemar Moore as Detective Jesse Reese
• Ian Abercrombie (credit only)
• Mia Sara (credit only)

Guest starring

• Joe Flanigan as Claude Morton
• Shawn Christian as Wade Brixton
• Robert Patrick Benedict as Gibson Kafka
• Callie De Fabry as Gabby

Co-starring

• Nathan Holland as Carl
• Josh Waters as Frosty
• Autumn Reeser as Girlfriend
• Charlene Hall as Kindly Teacher

Uncredited

• Marc Schaffer as Arnie Graves

Plot

Claude Morton

Huntress complains about wanting to live a normal life as she fights an acid-spitting meta-human who tried to mug a man in an alley. She defeats the attempted thief but suddenly he appears again, dying from an acid burn.

Claude Morton arrives from Blüdhaven to the New Gotham Police Department seeking help to apprehend a serial killer who doesn't kill the same way twice and requests the help of Jesse Reese. Huntress also wants Reese's help on how "acid guy" died, but since he refuses her, she goes to No Man's Land Collectables, and the bar underneath where Frosty is the bartender, to talk to Gibson Kafka, who doubts that it is possible for two meta-humans to have identical powers.

Meanwhile, Dinah Redmond starts her first day of New Gotham High School. Wade Brixton asks Barbara Gordon to meet his parents when they arrive in town, but she is apprehensive because of her disability.

Gibson Kafka

Morton stops his conversation about "creatures", what he calls Meta-humans, when he gets a major headache; a meta-human walks pass him. Later, Morton finds the pyrokinetic janitor and kills him by duplicating his power.

At lunch time, Dinah sneaks away from school and is caught by Helena in the bar. Dinah doubts that she needs school to be a super hero, but Helena tells her that it is necessary for a normal life, something Dinah has tried for 15 years, so she is now rejecting it.

Reese listens as Morton tells him about Batman and how his presence caused a meta-human population explosion in the city. Later, Morton kills Frosty as a way to lure Huntress, who is obviously attracted to Reese, into the open. He succeeds and the two fight. Huntress escapes her rival when Morton gets hit by a car.

Barbara is emotionally hurt upon meeting Wade's parents because his mother did not like that Barbara had lost the use of her legs. Soon after, she catches Dinah in the bar, playing pool, on a school night.

The team now knows who the murderer is, but when Huntress attacks Morton when he is near Reese, Morton purposefully feigns helplessness to hide his powers, putting Reese in an awkward dilemma, whether to shoot the woman who once saved him or to help a man who is being attacked. Huntress explains that because she is different that doesn't make her life matter any less; Reese agrees, but accidentally gets shot by Morton.

Morton chases Huntress and explains to her that he hates meta-humans because they give him migraines and powers he doesn't want, so he plans to kill them all to gain normalcy. The two fight again until Dinah arrives, amplifying Morton's migraine. Suddenly, all of the bar's patrons arrive; the migraine becomes overwhelming. Morton chooses suicide over imprisonment.

Choosing to be different

Huntress visits Reese in the hospital; she explains that she will not reveal her secret identity until he earns that right because he hurt her with his stereotypes about meta-humans, citing that just as not all police are good, not all metas are bad.

The team decides to enjoy being different at Gibson's bar.

Trivia

• This episode marks the first time that a main cast member was not present for the episode. The cast members not present were Ian Abercrombie (Alfred Pennyworth) and Mia Sara (Harleen Quinzel).
  • This leaves only four cast members to appear in every episode: Ashley Scott (Helena Kyle), Dina Meyer (Barbara Gordon), Rachel Skarsten (Dinah Redmond), and Shemar Moore (Jesse Reese).
• Gibson using the Shakespeare bust to open a secret door is a nod to the TV series Batman, in which the same mechanism opens a door to the Batcave.