Ms. Hellfire (episode)

Ms. Hellfire is the 31st episode of Charmed.

Summary
It’s Friday 13th, when the Charmed Ones barely escape an attempt on their lives by a mysterious hit woman known only as Ms. Hellfire, Prue assumes the assassin’s identity in order to find out who hired her. While Phoebe and Darryl race against time to protect the next potential target on the hit list Prue’s undercover work gets her entangled with a ruthless criminal Bane, who ultimately leads the Halliwell sisters to a confrontation with their old enemy Barbas. Prue gains a new power, Astral Projection. Also, the Charmed Ones tell Darryl that they're really witches.

Plot
Phoebe and Prue are having breakfast when Prue is called to an emergency staff meeting at Buckland's. Piper walks in and the others pretend not to recognize her, because she spends all her time with Dan. Piper says her life has been nice and normal lately and she doesn't even care that it's Friday the 13th.

As soon as Piper says that, a machine gunner starts shooting up the manor. The sisters run for cover. The shooting stops, and they think they hear the door opening. With only a few words, the sisters plan a counterattack--Piper will freeze the gunman, Phoebe will kick him down and Prue will blow him out the door. A leather-clad woman walks in and starts shooting at them from behind; Prue deflects the bullets back into the shooter, killing her. It's the first time the sisters have been attacked by a mortal, and the first time they've killed a mortal.

Among the woman's effects, the sisters find multiple passports, weapons, foreign currency, and a book with a list of names. Only "M. Steadwell" and "P. Halliwell" are not crossed out; nine others are crossed out. Another page lists the sisters' names and their powers; apparently whoever sent the killer not only wanted all three of them dead, but knew they were witches. Darryl walks in and is initially skeptical that the hit woman ended up being shot if the sisters were unarmed. Phoebe admits that the three sisters are witches. Elsewhere in the book, they find "M. Steadwell, plastic explosives, 10:00 AM". Phoebe leaves with Darryl while Prue goes to her meeting at Buckland's. The sisters ask Darryl to keep things hushed up where they track down the killer.

At Buckland's, the new regional VP, Mr. Cauldwell, partners Prue with Jack and demands that each partnership raise $100,000 worth of merchandise by tomorrow night if they want to keep their jobs. Piper is outside the meeting room urging Prue to leave. Suddenly, Prue slips into unconsciousness--and a clone of herself appears next to Piper. Both Prue and Piper are surprised, but Prue figures it's some sort of astral projection.

Darryl and Phoebe have located "M. Steadwell," who is really Marcy Steadwell, and rushes to her occult bookstore. Marcy is opening the door and Darryl tackles her as a bomb on the other side of the door explodes. Marcy believes that a protection spell she cast seconds earlier has saved her.

Prue and Piper check out the hit woman's opulent apartment near the manor. Prue finds expensive clothes, jewelry and wigs; Piper finds the refrigerator and cupboards empty, all mail addressed to "current resident", and roses with a card: "Ms. Hellfire, Until we meet at last, Bane". Prue starts trying on some of Ms. Hellfire's clothes. Just then, Bane's henchmen come in and mistake Prue for Ms. Hellfire. Piper freezes the henchmen and Prue proposes to go undercover; apparently nobody knows what Ms. Hellfire really looks like. Piper unfreezes the henchmen and Prue leaves with them.

Prue meets Bane and he says she didn't confirm the Halliwells. Bane asks about Steadwell and Prue only says that "it was a blast." Jack calls and Prue claims to be with a client. Bane is still talking to her at the same time. Prue briefly astral-projects to her office. Bane leaves with Prue and sends his right-hand man, D.J., to Bane's office.

Barbas appears to D.J. It turns out he hired Bane's gang to kill 13 witches (including the Charmed Ones) on Friday the 13th so he can permanently return from purgatory--but they have to be killed by midnight. Barbas brings out D.J.'s greatest fear, that Bane is being double-crossed and is going to kill him he finds out. Suddenly, Bane appears in the door and riddles D.J. with bullets. "Bane" disappears and D.J. heals.

Dan is at the manor with Piper, installing new windows. He asks her to move in with him; she says she'll think about it. Phoebe enters with Marcy. She is insufferably perky and is about to ask if Dan is a warlock when Piper freezes the room. Marcy freezes as well, evidently she is merely a practitioner and not a magical witch. Phoebe says that Darryl has put Marcy's name on the real Ms. Hellfire.

Bane and Prue enter his apartment. He offers her a small box and reminds her to kill the Halliwells. She opens the box and finds an exquisite diamond necklace.

D.J. and Barbas enter the morgue. Barbas kills the coroner with his greatest fear: being autopsied himself. They find the body of "Marcy Steadwell" and find she didn't die in an explosion.

Prue returns and the three recall the list of witches. Eleven names were on the list, but "P. Halliwell" counts three times, for 13 witches. The sisters realize that Barbas is after them. Piper and Phoebe don't like the idea of Prue heading back out again, especially since Barbas can use her greatest fear against her. Prue isn't worried; she conquered her fear of drowning. She promises to check in after an hour.

Prue meets Bane and demands to be paid. Bane says he'll pay her when the Halliwells are dead. Prue says the boss has the habit of disappearing rather than paying. The two dance for a while and even kiss. D.J. pulls Bane aside and they talk as Prue dances with the other patrons. D.J. says Marcy Steadwell isn't in the morgue, and he thinks the body is that of the real Ms. Hellfire.

Marcy runs around the living room, chanting; Piper gets annoyed and freezes her. While she is frozen, Dan appears at the door, creating a close call for Piper and Phoebe. Piper still isn't ready to move in with Dan.

Bane confronts Prue. Barbas appears and reveals that her greatest fear since conquering her fear of drowning is losing a sister. Barbas tells Prue that demons are masquerading as her sisters and she must kill them before they kill her real sisters.

Piper and Phoebe pass off Marcy to Darryl and go looking for Prue. They find the Porsche that Bane had given to Prue. Just then, Prue arrives at the apartment and flings Piper and Phoebe around the room. Piper and Phoebe run to the hall, but Prue chases after them and flings a decorative plate at them. Piper and Phoebe run to the patio and provoke Prue to astrally project. Phoebe and Piper recite various facts of their childhood and Prue is at last convinced. The three go after Barbas.

Barbas is threatening to kill Bane when Prue walks in. Barbas asks where Piper and Phoebe are. Prue replies, "They're right where they belong"--and Piper and Phoebe walk in. Before Bane and Barbas can react, Piper freezes them. Phoebe takes the gun from Bane's hand and Piper unfreezes him. Prue flings Bane into a wall and Barbas unfreezes on the stroke of midnight. Barbas disappears in fire.

Jack comes to the door, demanding where Prue has been. She says that she has raised $275,000 from an anonymous estate (actually Bane's gifts to her) and they go celebrate.

Guest Stars

 * Billy Drago as Barbas
 * Courtney Gains as DJ
 * Hynden Walch as Marcie Steadwell
 * Lochlyn Munro as Jack Sheridan

Special Guest Star

 * Antonio Sabato Jr. as Bane Jessup

Co-Stars

 * Carlo Castronovo as Willis
 * Tom Simmons as Coroner

Quotes

 * Phoebe: Hi. Do you recognize that person?
 * Prue: I don’t know, she looks vaguely familiar. Kind of like a sister we used to have. What was her name? Pi…P…
 * Phoebe: Pi…Pippy?
 * Prue: Piper?
 * Phoebe: Whatever happened to her?
 * Prue: I don’t know. She fell in lust with the next door neighbor, started spending all her time there.
 * Piper: That’s because she could, for the first time in months, her life was nice and calm and normal. I don’t even care that it’s Friday…
 * Phoebe: Shh! Don’t even say it.
 * Piper: The 13th. See, I said it and nothing happened.
 * (Suddenly someone starts shooting through the windows of the house. They scream and run past the dining room, into the living room. Prue and Phoebe dive behind the couch and Piper stays on the other side of the room.)
 * Phoebe: I told you not to say it!
 * Piper: Oh, so this is my fault?

:Darryl: And that’s why you’re standing here alive and she’s in here riddled with bullets.
 * Prue: It was self defense. You can check her gun if you don’t believe us. The only finger prints you’re gonna find on it are hers.
 * Darryl: Begs the same question. How come she’s got the bullets in her body if you didn’t fire the gun?
 * Phoebe: Do you really wanna know, Darryl?
 * Darryl: Tell me.
 * Phoebe: We’re witches. We have powers.
 * Piper: And we think that there’s a … how do I put this? A demon behind this.
 * Prue: The only way for us to find out who it is, is if you can keep all of this quiet for as long as possible.
 * Darryl: Let me see the book. (Piper hands him the planner.)

:Prue: Any idea why she was on the list?
 * Phoebe: Could be because she's a witch. I mean, not a magical witch but a witch practitioner, none the less.
 * Piper: A hyperactive witch practitioner.
 * Prue: I wonder if all the names were witches? How many were on the list?
 * Piper: Eleven. Except 'P. Halliwell' was only down once, so if you count us individually, thirteen.
 * Prue: Thirteen dead witches by midnight on Friday the thirteenth. Ring any bells?
 * Piper: Barbas.
 * Prue: Gotta be.
 * Phoebe: It can't be. I mean, we eighty-sixed him already.
 * Prue: He must have found some kind of loop hole. I gotta get back to Bane, try and flush Barbas out.

:Prue Halliwell: Why would a mortal want to kill us?
 * Phoebe Halliwell: You were a little sharp to the mailman yesterday, we all know how testy they can be.

:Prue Halliwell (turning a lipstick to reveal a blade instead): Not exactly Avon calling is it?