- Richard Castle: [signing autographs at SuperNovaCon] All right. Where do you want it?
- Kate Beckett: [breathy voice] Could you sign my chest?
- [Castle looks up, his eyes wide]
- Kate Beckett: [normal voice] Wow. That actually caught your attention.
- Richard Castle: What are you doing here?
- Kate Beckett: You'd know if you'd answer your phone.
- Richard Castle: Listen, if you want your very own signed copy of "Storm Season", I'd be happy to arrange a private signing.
- Kate Beckett: Cap your pen, Castle. There's been a murder here.
- Richard Castle: Here at SuperNovaCon?
- Kate Beckett: Mm-hmm.
- Richard Castle: Shiny.
- Richard Castle: I'm sorry, how is "Nebula 9" worthy of all this? I mean, they were canceled over a decade ago. After twelve episodes. Which was twelve episodes too many.
- Kate Beckett: But I thought you would be a fan.
- Richard Castle: I'm a fan of *good* sci-fi. "Star Trek", "Battlestar", that Joss Whedon show. But "Nebula 9"? No, no. It's all phony melodrama and lifeless acting.
- [they enter the crime scene]
- Kate Beckett: [awed] Wow.
- Richard Castle: Okay, this is a cool ship. The show is still lame, but this is a cool ship.
- [autographing a copy of "Storm Season"]
- Richard Castle: And here you go.
- Richard Castle Fan: Thanks. I'm your number one fan!
- Richard Castle: Well, thanks for coming.
- [after fan leave, to himself]
- Richard Castle: How far they fall.
- Kate Beckett: So I was a "Nebula 9" fan. Big deal.
- Richard Castle: Oh, you were beyond a fan. You dressed up in costume. *You*.
- Kate Beckett: [sighs] Okay, yes. I was a sci-fi loving, costume-wearing geek. And you know what? Not ashamed of it or of "Nebula 9". Despite what you think, it was an *awesome* show.
- Richard Castle: Hmm. I'll tell you what. I'll forgive you your terrible taste if you... try on that "Nebula 9" costume for me.
- Kate Beckett: In your dreams.
- Richard Castle: Look at my life. My dreams come true.
- Kate Beckett: So, do you have a cause of death?
- M.E. Sidney Perlmutter: It was a burn. A burn that penetrated tissue, muscle, and bone, leaving this perfectly cylindrical hole.
- Kate Beckett: Well, what kind of burn does that?
- M.E. Sidney Perlmutter: Well, one created by high levels of infrared radiation. The blood vessels were *cauterized* by the intense heat.
- Kate Beckett: Are you saying...
- Richard Castle: She was killed by a phaser?
- M.E. Sidney Perlmutter: [hesitant] Well, as much as it pains me, Mr. Castle is... largely correct. She was killed by a high intensity laser beam.
- Richard Castle: A real sci-fi murder
- [lowered voice]
- Richard Castle: at a sci-fi convention. This keeps getting better!
- [about Alexis and her skimpy sci-fi con outfit]
- Richard Castle: Well... i can see how anabelle felt betrayed. Some guys have no business commanding a spaceship.
- Kate Beckett: Just goes to show you sometimes people aren't what they appear to be.
- Richard Castle: For Alexis' sake, you're right, given what she was wearing.
- Kate Beckett: Castle, she is a full-grown *woman*.
- Richard Castle: Who, as we speak, is being ogled by thousands of sweaty, lecherous fanboys. It's just so... wrong.
- Kate Beckett: Can I just point out the fact that the costume that she was wearing is not so different from the one that you are asking me to wear?
- Richard Castle: Don't say that! That... It's so confusing, and disturbing.
- Henry Barnett: Kate Beckett! K-Bex! I knew it was you!
- Kate Beckett: [surprised] Oh! Henry Barnett. Well, it's been... years.
- Henry Barnett: Since our first semester at Stanford.
- Richard Castle: "K-Bex"?
- Kate Beckett: Umm...
- [to Henry]
- Kate Beckett: Uh, do you think we could catch up later? I'm actually here... for work.
- Henry Barnett: Oh, well, that explains why you aren't wearing your "Nebula 9" outfit.
- Richard Castle: [his interest piqued] You, uh... You have a "Nebula 9" outfit?
- Henry Barnett: Oh, she had a few. She was a *megafan*. You should've seen her as Lieutenant Chloe. Oh, wait, you can. Remember that photo we all took? I brought it to get it signed.
- Richard Castle: May I?
- Henry Barnett: [showing Castle the photo] It's us from back in the day.
- Richard Castle: Ooh!
- Henry Barnett: Isn't it frakking awesome?
- Kate Beckett: It's frakking something. Henry, I need that photo.
- Henry Barnett: What? Why?
- Kate Beckett: [holding up her badge] It's official NYPD business... Don't make me ask again.
- Kate Beckett: [entering the morgue] Perlmutter.
- M.E. Sidney Perlmutter: Detective Beckett.
- Richard Castle: Perlmutter.
- M.E. Sidney Perlmutter: And non-detective Castle.
- Kevin Ryan: This is like the Halloween from hell.
- Javier Esposito: Oh, yeah, this is probably too low-brow for you, huh? You're probably into that boring-ass, intellectual kind of sci-fi, like "Gattica" or "2001". And the monolith? What the hell was that?
- Kevin Ryan: Don't ask me. No, no. Swords and sorcery, that's more my thing. Like, uh, "Lord of the Rings".
- Javier Esposito: Yeah, I could probably see you as an elf. Or a hobbit.
- Kate Beckett: Mr. Winters, where were you last night between 10 and 11? And don't say your hotel room.
- Gabriel Winters: You can't be insinuating I had something to do with Annabelle's death? I told you everything I know.
- [Castle sees the laser gun strapped to his costume]
- Richard Castle: Then you wouldn't mind relinquishing your weapon.
- Gabriel Winters: This Thorian Blaster was given to me by the Vice-Chancellor of Loron when I helped save the Queen...
- Richard Castle: Oh, for the love of Pete.
- [Castle grabs the blaster and fires it; much to everyone's surprise, the laser works and burns a large hole in the set]
- Richard Castle: [quietly] "Zap," said the lady... You are so busted.
- Richard Castle: Perlmutter! Good to see you.
- M.E. Sidney Perlmutter: Ah! If only the feeling were mutual.
- Kate Beckett: You're right, okay? It was a stupid show. It was cheesy and melodramatic... I mean, a handful of Academy Cadets on a training mission, and, suddenly, the Earth is destroyed and they're all that's left of humanity? I completely understand why you hated it. But, Castle, I also understand why people *loved* it. Why Annabelle loved it. It was about leaving home for the first time, about searching for your identity and making a difference. I loved dressing up like Lt. Chloe. She didn't care what anybody thought about her, and I kind of did at that time... I mean, she was a scientist and a warrior, and that was all in spite of the way that she *looked*... It was like, I could be anything, and I didn't have to choose... So don't make fun, okay?
- Richard Castle: Okay.
- Kate Beckett: And besides, it didn't hurt that my legs looked *great* in her outfit.
- Richard Castle: What about you? How are, how are you doing?
- Kate Beckett: I'm fine. Why?
- Richard Castle: Well, it's hard to see your idols fall.
- Kate Beckett: Oh, Castle, Stephanie Frye was never my idol. Lt. Chloe was. And as far as I'm concerned, she's still out there fighting evil and saving humanity. And no self-centered actor's ever gonna take that from me... And you know what? If they do make a movie, I'm gonna be first in line to see it.
- Richard Castle: Annabelle said she was betrayed by someone she trusted. Maybe that was Captain Max.
- [Alexis and her friends in skimpy costumes walked by, Castle sees Alexis]
- Richard Castle: Oh, my God! Alexis?
- Alexis Castle: [Alexis and her friends turn around] Dad? What are you doing here?
- Richard Castle: What are you doing here dressed like that?
- Alexis Castle: We're Havacura. It's a tribe of female assassins who...
- Richard Castle: Don't wear clothes?
- Alexis Castle: You're overacting. And you're embarrassing me.
- Richard Castle: Oh, I'm embarrassing you? I'm the one who's dressed.
- [Castle tries to put his coat on Alexis]
- Alexis Castle: Dad!
- Kate Beckett: [Beckett grabs Castle and pulls him away] Castle, come on. Let's go.
- Richard Castle: Are you kidding me? Do you see what she's wearing?
- [Alexis leaves with her friends]
- Kate Beckett: Yeah, it's not that bad.
- Richard Castle: Not that bad? How am I gonna unsee that?
- Kate Beckett: How is it possible that she's killed by a *laser*?
- Richard Castle: Easy. Someone shot her with a laser gun.
- Kate Beckett: Real ones don't exist, Castle.
- Richard Castle: Actually, they do. There is an Advanced Tactical Laser that could melt a hole in a tank from five miles away.
- Kate Beckett: Read about it. It's as big as a truck.
- Richard Castle: Yes, well, obviously someone has constructed a portable hand-held version.
- Kate Beckett: Like who?
- Richard Castle: Well, let's go back to the e-mails of the crazed "Nebula 9" fans. And when I say "crazed fans", I'm... I'm not referring to you. You... are a megafan.
- Kate Beckett: Nice one, coming from the guy with a life-sized Boba Fett in his bathroom.
- Richard Castle: Point taken.
- [on the bridge of the "Nebula 9" ship]
- Kate Beckett: I can't tell you how many times I have had dreams about being in this very ship.
- Richard Castle: Sexy dreams?... You know, it's never too late to live out your fantasy.
- Kate Beckett: You do realize that this is still a crime scene?
- Richard Castle: Oh, right. Ew.
- Richard Castle: Do I look different to you?
- Kate Beckett: No... why?
- Richard Castle: Just, I feel so tingly. Something's wrong. I'm beginning to mutate like the Hulk or the Thing. Or worse, the Leader. What would happened to my hair?
- Kate Beckett: I prefer Dr. Manhattan... The blue skin, brings out your blue eyes.
- Richard Castle: Hey, tell me, you guys, do you think my hair is thinning?
- Kate Beckett: You're not losing your hair, Castle.
- Richard Castle: Okay, so if I wake up bald tomorrow, you'll still be attracted to me?
- [Beckett doesn't know what to say]
- Richard Castle: Oh, my God. You wouldn't.
- Kate Beckett: I didn't say that.
- [gets in the elevator]
- Richard Castle: No, but you were thinking it. I could see it in your...
- Javier Esposito: With that pumpkin head? Dude.
- Richard Castle: And, speaking of fantasies, how about we live out one of yours? What do you say to a little "Nebula 9" cosplay?
- [Beckett rolls her eyes]
- Richard Castle: Come on, it'll be fun. I'll serve you breakfast in bed for a week.
- [Beckett scoffs]
- Richard Castle: And, I'll do your laundry.
- Kate Beckett: Okay, fine. Do you really want to see me in one of my old costumes?
- Richard Castle: Yes, please.
- Kate Beckett: Then you have to promise that you're gonna watch a "Nebula 9" marathon with me.
- Richard Castle: Uh...
- [Beckett holds out her hand for a handshake agreement; Castle is reluctant to accept]
- Kate Beckett: And... no making fun.
- [Castle is still reluctant, but finally gives in]
- Richard Castle: You drive a hard bargain, but okay.
- Gabriel Winters: Look, I have no *idea* where that blaster came from.
- Kate Beckett: That's funny, since it was on your hip.
- Gabriel Winters: I grabbed it off the props table when I suit up, just like I always do. I didn't know it was real. Wait, you guys think I killed her and then kept the murder weapon on me? What kind of idiot does that?
- [Castle stares at him pointedly]
- Kate Beckett: Why didn't you tell us that you were having problems with Annabelle?
- Gabriel Winters: I played a lawyer in a well-regarded film that didn't come out. I know about the legal system.
- Richard Castle: "Danger. Do not enter." That is just the sort of sign you'd expect to see on the lair of an evil, laser-gun-making genius.
- [Castle knocks on the door, then peeks under the partially ajar bottom]
- Richard Castle: It's pitch black inside. But the door's partially open. I would say that's an invitation, wouldn't you?
- [last lines]
- Kate Beckett: [off screen] Okay, promise not to laugh.
- Richard Castle: I promise. Come on. Quit stalling. Come out already.
- Kate Beckett: Ready?
- Richard Castle: [sitting up in anticipation] Ready.
- [in slow motion, Beckett seductively teases her appearance, before jumping out in her Lt. Chloe costume and a Creaver mask and Castle jumps up in fright and falls off the bed]
- Kate Beckett: Do you like it? Huh?
- Richard Castle: That's not what you... That's not...
- Kate Beckett: You wanna make out, Castle?
- [roars]
- Richard Castle: [backing away] No...
- Kate Beckett: Come on, just a quick snog, right here on the lips. Isn't this what your dreams are made of?
- [Beckett growls and laughs, while Castle hurries to hide, locking the door behind him]
- Kate Beckett: [knocking on the door] Castle, are we gonna make out?
- Richard Castle: Maybe you... we should start with the "Nebula 9" marathon.
- Kate Beckett: Look, the fact is you had means, motive, and opportunity. And we checked with your hotel. You left at 9:45 p.m. and returned at 11. That's the *exact* time-window of Annabelle's murder.
- Gabriel Winters: I was busy handling a personal issue that I would rather not discuss.
- Kate Beckett: You're facing a murder charge.
- Richard Castle: Okay, look, we already know about the threesome with the Lt. Chloes. How bad can it be?
- Gabriel Winters: Well, let's just say my, um... weakness for fleeting romance... left me with a burning desire to see my doctor last night.
- Richard Castle: And it just got worse.
- [Beckett gags and covers her mouth]
- Richard Castle: Everyone in this room had a relationship with the victim. Each of you had either motive or opportunity to kill her. Uh... Ms. Frye, would you do me the honor of a little improvisation?
- Gabriel Winters: Trust me, that woman needs a script.
- Stephanie Frye: [annoyed] I'm happy to help.
- Richard Castle: Ms. Frye will be playing Annabelle Collins. I will be the killer. Annabelle had the murder weapon on her the night she died.
- [to Stepanie as he hands her a blaster]
- Richard Castle: Don't worry, this one's just a toy.
- [to the group]
- Richard Castle: Now, the killer confronts Annabelle. Annabelle, presumably to protect herself, drew her blaster. They struggled for the gun. The killer overpower...
- [to Stephanie as she struggles to hold on to the blaster]
- Richard Castle: I-I need you to resist just a little less.
- Stephanie Frye: Oh.
- Gabriel Winters: Told ya.