No Ordinary Family Episode 1.06 No Ordinary Visitors

It's a quiet night as the Stafford family prepares dinner. Mrs. Stafford answers the door only to be bowled over by masked robbers violently invading her home. Mr. Stafford runs in and splashes one robber with boiling water. Two other gunmen take him down as the burned guy rips his mask off and runs upstairs. While checking his face, the burned robber realizes he's not alone. Oblivious under his headphones, the Staffords' teenage son Trent is playing video games. He hasn't the faintest idea that there's a man standing behind him aiming a gun at the back of his head.

The night continues as the Powell family prepares dinner. Stephanie answers a door only to meet -- her parents, Barbara and Allan Crane. On a completely unannounced whim, the Cranes decided to visit their daughter for a few days. Feigning delight, Stephanie summons an emergency meeting outside with the other three Super Powells, ordering them not to use their powers while Grandma and Grandpa are in town. Jim reluctantly agrees. Steph's parents have a history of being oppressively judgmental towards both of them. If he could show Stephanie's dad his new powers, maybe he'd finally realize Jim's not a deadbeat.

The next morning, Jim gets a call from George about the Staffords' home invasion. Jim abruptly runs off to work, raising Allan's suspicions. Stephanie heads out to work too, leaving her parents alone in the house. The Cranes spend the day making the strangest discoveries: a surplus of sneakers, mounds of candy bars, and inexplicable damages to the home.

At the precinct, Jim recognizes Trent Stafford as a friend of Daphne's. He asks if there's anything he can do to help. Detective Cordero shoos Jim away. The robbers were masked so Trent saw nothing. No one needs Jim's help. George, on the other hand, thinks Jim would be very helpful in tracking the home invaders. But Jim can't -- no powers during the in-law invasion.

Later on at school, Daphne asks Trent if he needs to talk to someone. She's experienced her own share of trauma. He claims not to have seen anything, but as he walks away, Daphne grasps his wrist. As she holds him, something strange occurs -- strange even for Daphne. She's hit with a flurry of images -- a man with a burned face, no mask, and a gun pointed at Trent. Daphne lets go of Trent, not quite sure what happened, but positive Trent's hiding the truth.

At home, Daphne describes the new power to her parents. She can see people's thoughts. Jim asks if Daphne caught any distinguishing features of the bad guy: hair color, age, or scars, but Daphne doesn't remember enough for a sketch. Stephanie tells Jim to stop. It's way too dangerous for Daphne to get involved in this case. Catching criminals is for the cops, not their teenage daughter, especially not while the Cranes are nesting. It's bad enough her parents found the sneakers and are asking questions. In order to quell the Grandparents' growing suspicions, Jim proposes that they keep them away from the house. Barbara will accompany Stephanie to Global Tech and JJ will get the day off to play pool with Allan.

Jim's phone rings in the middle of the night. It's George and he's pulling one guilty card after another to get Jim to patrol with him. Finally, Jim can't resist. He tiptoes out to meet George, but not entirely unseen. Allan spots him sneaking out, confirming his suspicions that his son-in-law is a dirtbag.

The next day, Daphne reaches out to Trent again. She places a consoling hand on top of his just long enough to see what's keeping him quiet: The burned man threatened to kill Trent and his family if he spoke to the police. Daphne goes straight from school to the precinct and begs her dad to let her help. How can she live with herself knowing that she could have helped a friend but didn't? Jim caves and takes down her sketch. He gives it to Det. Cordero and makes him promise to obey Trent's wishes to keep it internal.

Meanwhile at the lab, Stephanie sticks to the distract-the-parents plan. Stephanie's mother, who has never fully appreciated Stephanie's accomplishments, is impressed by her daughter's status in the lab. If only Stephanie could put this much energy into her domestic life maybe she'd run a better household. Stephanie suddenly remembers why she can't wait for her parents to leave town.

At the pool hall, JJ holds up his end of the bargain. He uses his powers to line up the perfect shot, but holds back and misses on purpose. As much as JJ hates pretending to be his old dumb self, his Grandpa loves rubbing it in his face and taking his money. A bet's a bet, he says. JJ must learn to live with the consequences of his actions. Jim joins them and gives JJ permission to use his powers. JJ bets Allan his car he can win the game in one shot. Allan agrees. To his utter bewilderment, JJ wins. That should teach him to live with the consequences of his actions.

Despite Cordero's promise, the sketch gets broadcasted on television for everyone to see. Stephanie sees it and knows Jim broke his promise to keep Daphne out of it. Daphne sees it and knows Jim broke his promise to keep it under wraps. Jim apologizes to both and heads to the precinct to make things right. But Cordero could care less that he broke his promise to Jim. His first priority is catching criminals. He's posted an officer outside the Stafford house for their protection.

Stephanie impresses her mother by preparing a beautiful dinner. Her mother thinks it's lovely, or would be if only her husband was home in time to enjoy it. Clearly Stephanie is too busy with work to keep her family under control.

Later, at the table, Jim apologizes for being late. Work (AKA patrolling with George to make sure the Staffords were safe) ran late. Tense and awkward, the Powells try to enjoy their handsome feast. Jim's phone rings. It's George checking in to say all is well at the Stafford house. Jim apologizes, makes up an excuse, but Grandpa's convinced he can see right through it. All the mysterious phone calls, the lies, the sneaking out in the middle of the night. Obviously Jim is having an affair.

Defenseless, Jim begs Stephanie to reveal their secret, but she refuses. Stephanie's appalled at her parents' behavior. They've always disapproved of her decisions to the point that it's blinded them from seeing how wonderful a family she actually has. Angry and insulted, Stephanie runs out. Out of the kitchen, down the street, and all the way in super speed until she reaches The Grand Canyon for some fresh air.

George calls Jim. The burned robber has returned for Trent. Jim needs to come over and do his super thing before it's too late.

The robber has Trent at gunpoint. Trent pleads for his life, promising he didn't speak to the police. Determined to keep Trent from ever talking again, the robber fires just as Jim runs in. Jim shields Trent from the bullets and pushes him through the second-story window. They fall to the ground, Jim cushioning Trent's fall. Before Trent can thank Jim for saving his life, Jim leaps off. The cops arrive seconds later, detaining the robber. Trent doesn't know what to say.

Back at home, Jim finds Stephanie back from her run. As hurt as she is by her parents misjudgments, she admits she hasn't given them the chance to appreciate the Powells for who they really are. She wants to tell them the truth about their powers.

The next day, the Cranes make their departure. As they load up their cab, Jim begins to reveal his powers, but before he can explain, Allan tells him to stop. He doesn't need to explain himself. Allan apologizes for being out of line. It's obvious that Jim has been out at night on neighborhood watch duty and it was wrong for him to assume otherwise. Barbara also apologizes to Stephanie for always being so tough on her. She wishes she could have been as accomplished a mother as Stephanie. Stephanie assures her mother she's always been a super mom in her eyes. The grandparents depart, but not before handing JJ the keys to Grandpa's car. JJ won it fair and square. And until he's old enough to drive, it belongs to Daphne. Aren't family visits the best?