Season 2, Episode 01:
The Second Wave
On an alien planet far, far away, the atmosphere grows dark before a ship escapes from its surface. Moments later, the planet explodes in a blinding flash of light. The ship travels to Earth and descends through its atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to darken in response...
The time is "Almost Tomorrow". Some time after the team last fought the Mor-Tax, the planet has descended into a near-dystopian landscape, with rundown infrastructure, failing services and few-to-no authority figures in sight. The streets are littered with garbage as homeless men file into a local bar to drink, while a familiar face walks into a phonebooth to make a call...
Harrison reaches Suzanne at the Blackwood Estate to let her know the progress of a mission — he's been looking for information about General Wilson, who disappeared three weeks earlier and hasn't been seen since. At the estate, Suzanne expresses concern over Harrison's whereabouts and urges him to be careful in his travels, while Harrison reports that he's set up a meeting with a source who may be able to give him a lead.
At an abandoned industrial complex near the city, a new group of aliens called the Morthren (who now have human forms and aren't suffering from any degradation) congregate in a central area. Their two leaders, Big Bad Malzor and his head scientist, Mana, stroll through the crowd and walk up to an egg filled with other aliens, who soon pop out messily. One is dragged off to be given medical aid, while another looks up at Malzor and asks what happened to their planet, Morthrai. Malzor tells her that while Morthrai was destroyed, they will make their new home on Earth and that an entity called "the Eternal" will join them shortly. A guard then walks up to Malzor and tells him that their quest to kidnap "the human" is progressing as they speak...
No sooner has Harrison walked out of the booth than a pair of military officers approach, claiming to have been sent by Wilson himself. When pressed for answers, the soldiers give few answers but assure Harrison that their presence is of the utmost urgency. They guide Harrison to a car and usher him to enter, but before he gets in, a voice yells at him to get down. Harrison ducks as a man wearing a hoodie and wielding a rifle pops up from behind cover and shoots one of the soldiers, causing green blood to erupt from the man's chest. Harrison watches in shock and amazement as the second soldier tries to shoot at the armed figure, hitting a bystander who suddenly vaporizes into thin air. The armed figure guns down the second soldier and quickly ushers Harrison to his vehicle. Harrison looks on in surprise as the bodies melt down into nothingness before they drive off...
The man identifies himself as "John Kincaid", and hastily hands Harrison a handgun before telling him to keep a lookout in case they're being tailed. Harrison expresses confusion and surprise to what's happened, and asks where General Wilson is. Kincaid tells him that he doesn't know for certain, but that he's encountered the aliens before and is "learning fast". Harrison tells him to head towards their estate...
At the industrial complex, the Morthren gather as Malzor tells them that the Eternal has arrived. A portal opens in front of them and the Eternal, a cross between a jellyfish and an octopus, projects itself out of the portal and begins addressing the crowd. The Eternal speaks to them in whale-like tones, and Malzor responds that their journey was long and they will create a "new Morthrai". After several more moments of listening to the Eternal speak, Malzor says he understands before it disappears back into the portal. Malzor turns to the crowd and tells them that their task is clear before they disperse. In private, he tells Mana that the aliens who preceded them were "fools", and says that they need to be executed for their failures. He also asks Mana if her "weapon" is ready, and she says she only needs a human subject to test it on...
Back at the estate, Harrison brings Kincaid to Ironhorse, who begrudgingly reveals that the latter used to serve in Omega Squadron until he kicked him out. Harrison subsequently tells the group that the alien threat is still present and the Blackwood Project is still on their radar. Kincaid also reveals that he's been tailing Harrison for weeks and was waiting to see if the aliens would make an appearance to capture him, before telling the group that General Wilson had previously ordered him and his brother, Max, to initiate a mission just before he disappeared. When Ironhorse asks where Max is, Kincaid tells him that the job was a setup and Max died, but refuses to discuss it any further.
After calling a contact, Ironhorse tells the team that Wilson has been missing for the last three weeks, and a story about him being on "vacation" is just a cover. Norton also finds an energy spike located in the outskirts of the city, and realizes it corresponds to a group of strange weather patterns he'd noticed earlier in the evening. Ironhorse decides to conduct a recon mission at the site with his unit, and orders Kincaid not to get involved. He tells the group to "trust no one" before he leaves. Despite this, Kincaid (and Harrison, after some prodding) decide to follow him and figure out exactly what's going on at the site.
As Mana and another scientist, Ardix, discuss her new weapon and mull over finding the proper human subject to use it on, Ironhorse and his team begin their recon mission at the industrial complex. When they enter, they trigger a silent proximity device that alerts Malzor to the team's presence, and he orders his men to kill everyone except "their leader". At the same time, Kincaid and Harrison arrive at the site and elect to climb to the higher floors of the building in order to get a vantage point and see inside. Ironhorse's team continues through the base, but are besieged and swiftly vaporized by Morthren soldiers, while Ironhorse himself is stunned and left writhing on the ground as Malzor appears and smiles.
Ironhorse, immobilized and begging for death, is put into Mana's machine, which has two pods attached to it. Malzor and Ardix watch in shock as Mana operates the machine and causes a clone to grow in the second pod. After being created, the clone sits up and tells them that he, too, is Colonel Ironhorse, but says his mission is to "serve the Eternal". Malzor tells him to follow so he can give him new orders, while Mana tells Ardix to keep the original Ironhorse alive in case there are any problems with the cloning process.
At the same time, Harrison and Kincaid are crawling through an upper walkway when they witness the last member of the Advocacy being executed. Confused as to why the aliens are killing their own kind, they continue on and find the original Ironhorse still in the cloning machine, unguarded. Hauling him out of the pod, Harrison reacts in shock when Ironhorse tells him they made "a copy" of him. He orders them to both escape and rescue the others from the estate. Despite this, they refuse to leave him behind, and drag him out while another proximity alarm blares and a guard tries to stop them.
Having been ordered by Malzor to destroy the estate and kill anyone he finds, the clone Ironhorse is dispatched with a group of Morthren (disguised as Omega Squadron soldiers) and passes through the security checkpoint at the estate. He orders the Morthren to stay outside and keep anyone from entering, while he enters alone and finds Norton working at his computer. Surreptitiously planting some explosives on one of the computers, the clone is increasingly distracted and worried when Norton tells him about Harrison and Ironhorse's trip after he left. At the same time, Debi wakes up in her bedroom and gets a bad feeling, walking out of her room and around the house.
Harrison, in a panic after the real Ironhose tells them that the clone is planning to destroy the estate and everyone inside, frantically calls Norton on his phone and asks who's there. When Norton tells him that Ironhorse is with him, Harrison tells him to get out, but the clone disconnects the call. As Norton tries to escape, the clone pulls out his gun and shoots Norton in the chest, causing him to fall out of his wheelchair. He arms the bombs for 10 minutes and goes to leave, but Norton (who is Not Quite Dead) manages to push himself over to a hidden panic button and presses it. The clone pulls out his gun again and shoots Norton, killing him.
Suzanne hears the gunshot and freaks out before rushing to find Debi, while Kincaid and the others arrive at the front gate and hear the sirens. They drive up near the front door as the Morthren "soldiers" open fire, wounding one of the perimeter guards. Ironhorse orders Kincaid and Harrison to go inside and rescue Debi and Suzanne while he stays outside and provides cover fire, and they rush in.
Outside, Ironhorse and the last remaining member of Omega Squadron still alive manage to kill the two surviving Morthren guards by tossing a grenade behind the vehicle. Inside, Debi is still searching for her mother when she's met by the clone, who tells her that everything is alright and to follow him.
Suzanne finds Norton's body in the lab, and is met soon after by Kincaid and Harrison. While Harrison takes a moment to mourn for Norton, Suzanne tells them that Debi is somewhere in the house and she can't find her. They head back upstairs and find the clone holding Debi hostage in the living room of the estate. The clone calmly tells them that there's three minutes left before the explosives detonate, and there's enough time for everyone else to leave while he stays behind with Debi. Despite their attempts to dissuade him, the clone says that he is not letting Debi go, and mocks Harrison for his No One Gets Left Behind tendencies.
The conversation is interrupted by the appearance of the real Ironhorse, who is visibly struggling to stay on his feet. The clone congratulates the real Ironhorse on making it inside to see him, and says that they can die together. Ironhorse tells him that they're not the same, even though they're now linked, and orders Debi to close her eyes.
He then tells Harrison that it was good working with him before he stands up, takes the firearm he has in his hand and presses it against his chin before pulling the trigger. Ironside's death causes the clone to immediately fall to the ground dead, and Suzanne grabs Debi before Kincaid tells them to run. Both he and Harrison have a moment to look on at Ironhorse's body before they run from the estate. As Kincaid gets a few feet from the property, it explodes behind them in a giant fireball.
As morning breaks, Harrison gives a eulogy to their "fallen friends", while Kincaid promises to finish the job Ironhorse gave to him and protect the rest of the team. The team walks away, distraught and unsure of what to do next...
Tropes:
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Morthren successfully destroy the Blackwood Estate, via having the clone Ironhorse plant explosives in its lab.
- And I Must Scream: Ironhorse, once he's captured and witnesses his own clone being created, then being forced to remain in a pod as a power source for the double.
- Anti-Hero Substitute: Kincaid replaces Ironhorse, and is much more of a mercenary and loose cannon than his former commanding officer was.
- Anyone Can Die: By the end of the episode, half of the main characters have died, along with most/all of Omega Squadron and General Wilson.
- A-Team Firing: The Omega Squadron soldiers have shockingly-bad aim, with several firing entire clips wildly at the Morthren to no effect before being downed.
- Backto Back Badasses: Subverted. The episode sets up the possibility that Ironhorse and Kincaid (his protege, who he subsequently kicked out of Omega Squadron) are going to team up on a mission, and are seen practicing their combat maneuvers together in the estate's lab. However, Ironhorse orders Kincaid to stay behind and says the mission has nothing to do with him. The next time he encounters Ironhorse, the latter becomes The Load, who he has to protect while Harrison carries him out of the base.
- Characterization Marches On: Harrison has seemingly lost his kooky nature between seasons, and no longer has his tuning fork or or his other weird personality quirks. That said, it has been several months (if not years) between the events of the first-season finale and the second-season opener, and it's possible that he simply gave up those habits in the face of a changing society.
- Crapsack World: In the intervening time between the first and second season, the world has been plunged into a near-dystopian state where basic services are failing, the infrastructure is completely run-down and government officials are non-existent. It's implied that someone (either the Advocacy or the Morthren) did something to the Earth that all but destroyed most of society, though it's later suggested that a combination of Drugs Are Bad, corporations the legalization of said drugs and a failing welfare system are to blame.
- Creating Life: The Morthren's head scientist, Mana, creates a platform that can be used to instantly grow a clone of a human, via channeling the controller's own energy. That said, the clone is unquestioningly loyal to the Morthren and swears allegiance to the Eternal, while retaining the original subject's memories and personality.
- Cruel and Unusual Death:
- The Advocacy and their remaining soldiers are herded through a machine that seemingly roasts them alive, with the final alien Harrison sees clawing at itself to try and shield its skin from the rays before collapsing in a heap.
- It's implied that Ironhorse is being used as a living power supply for his own clone, and that the two are inextricably linked. By the time he sacrifices himself to save Debi, he's visibly weak, pale and disheveled, and has to support himself by leaning against a doorway. Even worse, his corpse is blown apart seconds later when the estate blows up.
- Death by Origin Story: Kincaid gets involved in the fight against the Morthren after his brother, Max, is killed during a routine mission (though they don't realize at the time that the enemies are the Morthren).
- Driven to Suicide: Ironhorse is forced to kill himself in order to destroy his own clone and save Debi's life.
- Eldritch Abomination: The Eternal, a sentient, floating... cross between a jellyfish and an octopus, which has one eye and seemingly projects itself into the Morthren base while speaking in whale-like sounds.
- Failure Is the Only Option: Dialogue from Malzor makes it clear that the Advocacy were so ineffective at trying to stop the Blackwood team that they've been reduced to the senior leadership and a few soldiers, who are summarily executed for their failures.
- Foreshadowing: Kincaid mentions that he and his brother, Max were ambushed by the Morthren and the latter was killed...
- Get It Over With: The disabled Ironhorse begs for Malzor to kill him when he's put into the cloning device, but the latter refuses on the grounds that he may be useful should the clone fail his mission.
- Gory Discretion Shot: Ironhorse moves out of frame just as he pulls the trigger of the gun against his chin. The end result is seen by Harrison and Kincaid before they flee the estate.
- Hand Wave: As a result of the Retool. Events in the first-season finale had Q'tara claiming that "millions" of aliens (a backup force) were due to arrive within the next five years. By the time the Morthren appear in the second-season premiere, their combined forces are no bigger than the size of a industrial complex.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Both Norton (who manages to press the panic button before being gunned down) and Ironhorse (who kills himself to save Debi) perform this in order to protect other members of the group.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: Discussed by the Blackwood team at the beginning, as they note that there hasn't been any alien activity for months.
- I Want Them Alive!: Malzor orders his troops to kill all of the Omega Squadron soldiers except for Ironhorse, who he winds up using as a guinea pig for Mana's cloning machine.
- Just Following Orders: The Morthren "soldiers" who attempt to kidnap Harrison use this as their rationale for not explaining where General Wilson is.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It's never made explicitly clear what the strange weather patterns and timed lightning strikes are in relation to the Morthren's arrival, with both Harrison and Norton giving different opinions. While the Morthren appear to have taken a ship to travel from their home planet to Earth, it's also possible that they may have transported or beamed themselves in some way to the planet.
- Men Are the Expendable Gender: Invoked. All of the casualties are men, and the clone Ironhorse takes Debi (a young girl) hostage, while crowing to the team that they'd all let themselves die just to save the life of one person (necessitating the real Ironhorse to make a Heroic Sacrifice to kill his clone and save her.)
- Mildly Military: Invoked - Ironhorse claims that he kicked Kincaid out from Omega Squadron because he wouldn't follow orders and was more interested in being a maverick alongside his brother, Max. However, Kincaid's tactics (which include combat rolling, recon from elevated positions and More Dakka) prove to be more effective at getting the job done. At the end of the episode, he stands in front of the ruined estate and promises Ironhorse he'll finish the job he set out to do before giving a half-hearted salute and walking off.
- No One Gets Left Behind: Invokved by Harrison when the real Ironhorse tells both he and Kincaid to leave him and warn the estate about the clone. Later mocked by the clone Ironhorse, who points to Harrison's tendencies as the reason why humanity will be overthrown by the Morthren.
- Not Himself: Ironhorse is cloned as the first subject for Mana's new machine, and gets an Evil Twin who causes mayhem and destruction before the original version kills himself (which kills the double as well).
- Opening Narration: The title crawl now features a different narration, via a news report talking about death and destruction in a bombed-out city.
- Retool: Within the first 30 seconds of the season, the world has changed (off-screen) to a sullen, downbeat near-dystopian society, the gulf between the upper and lower classes has dramatically increased, and crime is much more prevalent on the streets. By the end of the episode, half the characters are dead, the main setting has been destroyed and the survivors are left wondering what to do.
- Scary Dogmatic Aliens: The Morthren, as opposed to the Mor-Tax, are Nazi analogues who wear suspiciously-similar uniforms, have a rigid command structure and follow the will of a being/spirit called the "Eternal".
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Suzanne's attempts to develop a refined bacteria that will either weaken or outright kill the Mor-Tax throughout the first season is rendered moot when the Morthren (who have developed antibodies that render them able to take permanent human hosts) show up on Earth.
- Spotting the Thread: Norton figures out that the strange weather patterns as of late herald the arrival of a new alien menace, long before anyone else clues in.
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Norton barely has any screentime before he's shot and killed by the clone Ironhorse, while the real Ironhorse is captured soon after going on a mission, cloned, and is seen steadily getting more and more sickly until he finally sacrifices himself to save Debi and end the clone.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Kincaid, who not only was part of Omega Squadron once, but has many of the same character traits as Ironhorse. He becames the de facto military presence, as Ironhorse dies soon after he joins the group.
- Swiss-Cheese Security: Lampshaded by Kincaid, after Harrison gets the estate's security to let their vehicle pass through.Harrison: Our security's solid.Kincaid: Yeah? I'm inside. You don't even know who the hell I am!
- Highlighted later, when the clone Ironhorse deliberately gives the wrong answer to a security question one of the guards asks him in order to get through the gate — somehow, the guards at the gate don't notice that the size of the squadron that's returned is not only smaller than it was when they first left, but that the three soldiers in the car with the clone are not the same (actually Morthren soldiers).
- Taking You with Me: Ironhorse does this in order to kill the clone and save Debi's life.
- Time-Delayed Death: It is implied that a combination of the stun ray Malzor uses on Ironhorse and the cloning machine is slowly killing him, as he continues to get more and more disheveled and weak as the episode goes on. By the time he finally confronts his clone in the Blackwood Estate, the real Ironhorse can barely stand, speaks much slower and is nearly drained of color.
- Time Skip: According to an article in Issue #192 of TV Zone Magazine
, several months (or several years) have passed between seasons one and two. - 20 Minutes into the Future: Invoked, via the "Almost Tomorrow" title card.
- Uncertain Doom: The Omega Squadron soldier who kills the final two Morthren soldiers on the grounds of the Blackwood Estate is last seen slipping and catching himself after being wounded during the fight. He's nowhere to be seen after this, and his fate is left uncertain, even though he was last seen standing right beside Kincaid's vehicle and the team isn't shown to have taken him with them in the following episode.
- Villainous Rescue: Harrison nearly gets stabbed by an irate patron and several of his friends in the bar before he's saved by the timely arrival of the "soldiers" (actually Morthren troops), who drive the attackers away.
- "What Now?" Ending: The episode ends with Ironhorse, Drake and most of Omega Squadron dead, the Blackwood Estate destroyed and the remaining characters left unsure about what to do.
- Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: Defied. The Morthren decide to execute the Advocacy and the first wave of aliens in the most painful way possible, because they failed their mission.
- You Have Failed Me: The Morthren execute the Advocacy for their failure to kill the Blackwood Project.
