- The team goes on vacation to get away from their problems following the aftermath of Niles' departure, but have a hard time reconciling with each other. Oh, and an alien is there to kill one of them too.
- While Larry goes into space with the Spirit, the rest of team go on vacation to an isolated mountain resort. Unfortunately for them, Garguax the Devourer of World has been waiting for 70 years for Niles and his team to arrive so he can kill them on behalf of the Brotherhood of Evil.—Gislef
- Brotherhood of Evil: 1949
The Brain vows that Niles Caulder will be stopped. Monsieur Mallah is with Brain, and points out that Niles took out Fuchs and Morden in Paraguay. Brain figures their next on Niles' list, and has Garguax come in. Samuelson precedes his boss, playing triumphant music on a gramophone and proclaiming his boss' titles. Mallah tells Samuelson that it's just them and the latter should relax. Brain tells Garguax that they need backup against Niles, and gives him a transponder. When it activates, it will mean "she" is on site and must be eliminated. Mallah shows Garguax a photo of "she": Rita.
Samuelson drives Garguax to the Codsville Mountain Resort, and unloads Garguax's weapons in the cabin they've rented, puts the photo of Rita on the refrigerator, and removes the cloth from an energy cannon. Garguax opens a trunk with the transponder and transmit to Brain that they're in and there's no sign of the target. When Rita shows up, they'll be ready. Meanwhile, their presence will go unnoticed.
Later, Samuelson goes into the resort dining hall and does his introduction routine. Garguax strides in and takes a seat at one of the tables, and Samuelson serves him. A man at Garguax's table introduces himself and offers his hand to shake. Soon, Garguax is entertaining everyone with his jokes and stories, with Samuelson providing translation.
Garguax calls in every week and reports that there's still no sign of Rita.
1957
Garguax is still reporting in and remaining vigilant. Samuelson shows Garguax a newspaper with the headline that Niles and his Doom Patrol have defeated the Brotherhood. For the next decade or two, Garguax remains in bed, resisting all of Samuelson's efforts to cheer him up. He curses, pulls Rita's photo off the refrigerator.
Rita is at the manor, eating ice cream, and looks at the key Niles gave her. The alarm goes off, and Rita ignores it and reads a newspaper. It talks about the sinkhole and has a photo of the woman who emerged from the machine. Rita starts to lose control of her protoplasmic body, and gets into a potted plant's pot so she can melt down without making a mess.
Larry is drifting in space, looking at the wonders of the universe. The Spirit takes Larry to its home--a quasar--and energy tendrils pull Larry in.
Cliff is at Clara's house, tending to his grandson Rory when he cries. Clara and her friend Mel come in and saying that they were just going to let the baby cry. Cliff's hand twitches, and he says that he's done everything that needs doing. He goes to get the mail, still holding his grandson. Mel tells Clara that Cliff doesn't have to make up for lost time all at once. Clara insists that her father is just excited, and they hear the baby cry. The two women run out and find Cliff standing on the lawn as the sprinklers go off. Clara takes Rory inside, and Cliff admits to Mel that his robot body has frozen up. She goes back inside.
Vic is in his room, monitoring the phone calls of government agents. They think that Roni had help and hang up, and Vic has Grid run facial recognition trying to find Roni. Grid fails, and then it undergoes a mandatory shutdown. Vic realizes his cybernetics have all shut down, and calls his father Silas, who is at STAR Labs. Silas says that Quorum sent security people to STAR Labs because of Vic letting Roni goes, and says that he's doing everything in his power to smooth things over. He tells Vic not to anything to piss Quorum off more than he already has, and should lie low.
Vic hears Rita calling for help and goes down to check on her. She explains that she had an "episode", and needs to get out of the manor to avoid the reminders of Niles. Rita suggests that they take a proper vacation, and Jane comes in, the Secretary running the body. She books travel for their vacation at Codsville Mountain Resort. Vic asks if Jane wants to come, and the Secretary says that Jane is unavailable.
In Kay's mindscape, Kay is in a field looking out through the Secretary's eyes by using a mounted viewer. Jane comes up and asks Kay what she's doing, and asks her if she's okay. Kay asks Jane if she's okay, after Niles' death. Jane says that she's fine, and is disappointed that they're not going on a trip with the others. The girl thinks that they should go and it might be good for Jane.
Jane takes over the body and tells Vic that she's in, and tells Vic and Rita that they'd better not ruin it.
Clara finally comes over and checks on her father, who is still frozen. He insists that it has nothing to do with his hand issue. Cliff says that it's not an issue, but Clara doesn't believe him. She notes that Mel's mother had the same tremors, from Parkinson's. Clara suggests that Cliff should get it checked out, and says that she needs to be sure it's safe for Rory's sake. She says that she loves him, Cliff says it back, and Clara goes back inside.
Flit teleports Vic to the front yard, and Jane takes over and tells Cliff that they're going on vacation. Jane is carrying Rita's protoplasm in a bag, Cliff immediately agrees and asks one of them to knock him down because that loosens him up. Hammerhead eagerly does so, and Cliff is unfrozen.
The team goes to the nearly-empty resort and Cliff goes through the brochure. He finds a list of cool activities, including the Backbone, which is a mounted wooden ladder going up some 100 feet. The brochure says that someone can use the Backbone to discover who they are, and the only way to get to the top is to let go of one's fear.
In the quasar, Larry realizes that his bandages and deformed body face have disappeared. A radiation-deformed Larry walks up to Larry, and Larry deformed when he touches the other Larry. The originally deformed Larry turns into the Spirit, touches Larry's chest, and disappears. Larry finds himself back in his room, and tries to release the Spirit. It doesn't because it's not there, and Larry wonders where it's gone.
Vic walks along the bridge over the nearby lake, trying to get wifi or phone reception. He comes to the Backbone and finds Cliff looking up at it. Vic warns that it's a deathtrap, and Cliff tries to climb it but freezes. When Vic asks if Cliff is going to have the problem checked out, Cliff figures that there's no point because there's nothing he can do if he figures out the problem. He says that if he's living on borrowed time, this time he isn't going to waste it. Vic admits that STAR Labs has shut down his cybernetics, and says that he was just trying to give Roni another chance. Cliff figures that Vic loves Roni, which Vic denies. When he says that his tech is part of who he is, Cliff tells him that it has nothing to do with who he is and walks off.
Jane tries to relax at the side of the lake, which the bag holding Rita next to her. Rita suggests that Jane relax, and doesn't believe Jane when she says that she is relaxed. Jane says that it isn't her job as the Primary to relax, and says the other personas including Kay are trying to do more. She points out that she's the one who looks out for Kay. Jane asks if the resort is helping Rita with her "situation", and Rita admits that she can't reconstitute, then says that there's no point doing so. She says that she's failed at being "Rita Farr" and The Beekeeper, and her original Gertrude Kremp never had a chance. Rita figures that no matter what, they're out of the manor. Jane talks about Niles "abandoning" them after ruining their lives, and Rita figures it's settled that they're glad Niles is gone. Jane agrees and takes a drink.
Cliff goes to the steam room and finds Garguax there. Garguax says that the resort will do wonders for someone if they let it, sits down with Cliff, and introduces himself. The alien says that he's been there a while but hasn't tried the Backbone. They both reminisce about how it was great when they were younger, and how they lost the best years of their lives. Cliff says that he can't put his life back together, and they both curse Niles. Garguax realizes that Cliff is connected to Niles, and they both agree that Niles ruined their futures. They agree that their better men now, and Garguax leaves.
That night in the dining room, Vic, Jane, and Rita are drinking when Cliff joins them. Samuelson comes in preceding Garguax and playing Garguax's processional march. Garguax comes in, bumps Samuelson aside, and goes to the buffet table, waving to Cliff. Cliff tells the others that Garguax is a nice guy, and Garguax hates Niles as much as they do. Meanwhile, Garguax tells Samuelson that Cliff is "good people".
Vic thinks they should take on Garguax and Samuelson, and Cliff insists that Garguax isn't a supervillain. He says that Garguax is clearly on vacation, and Jane and Rita agree. Vic goes over anyway and introduces himself. Samuelson insults him, and when Vic wonders if they have a problem. Garguax assures him that they don't. When Samuelson insults Vic again, Vic just smiles and goes back to his table. He tells the others that they "worked it out", but Jane isn't convinced.
After dinner, everyone relaxes by the dance floor. Vic thinks they should so something about Garguax, and Cliff and Jane both insist that they're not superheroes. When Cliff asks Vic why he isn't looking the other way for Garguax like he did for Roni, Vic tells him to leave Roni out of it. Vic says that they should do it for Niles, and Cliff tells him that he doesn't care as long as Garguax hates Niles.
Rita says that they should enjoy their vacation, and Vic points out that they don't do anything so they don't need a vacation. He asks how the Beekeeper would handle the situation, and Rita tells him that looking the other way is what she does best. Rita tells the others that Niles believes she was destined for heroism, but she hung up on "the call to action". She explains how Niles left her a key to the compartment where the alarm is, and how the alarm went off. Vic wonders why Rita didn't say anything, and Rita says that she went on vacation instead.
Reforming to her human body, Rita figures that she should be herself if she's going to be honest with herself. She tells the others that she's no hero, and the Beekeeper was just another mediocre role, an attempt at relevance in a world that would rather see her forgotten. Jane says that Rita nothing wrong, and insists that they're not a superteam. Vic tells the others that he's literally equipped to deal with supervillains, and Cliff says that Vic should just take a break from the superhero shticks and just "be" for a moment. Vic tells Jane and Rita that Cliff has a brain issue and won't do anything about it. When Jane asks Cliff if he's okay, he says that he wants everyone to quit asking him that and insists that he's not fine and the one guy that might have known how to help him is dead. He says that Niles shit isn't there shit and walks off.
Jane tells Vic to give it a rest, and they're not a crimefighting team and he needs to get that through his skull. Vic storms off angrily, while Garguax secretly watches them. Back at their cabin, Samuelson says that he knew that their time has finally come. Garguax tells his lackey that it's over, and points out that Rita is finally there. The green-skinned alien points out that Niles is dead and Rita is a wreck and won't be a harm to anyone. Samuelson notes that they've waited 70 years, and Garguax says that the group are nice people and are no more beholden Niles then they are to Brain. He figures the transponder will never give them the signal, and their cause is long past. They're not giving up on the mission, but the mission gave up on them. Garguax thanks Samuelson for his service, but it's time to move on. He tells Samuelson to pack his things because they're leaving, and it's a good thing because they're finally free.
Cliff goes to the Backbone and insists to himself that he deals with his own problems.
Jane walks through the woods and comes to the Labyrinth, which is laid out with rocks on the ground. She steps over the rocks to get to the center, then sits down. Jane imagines that Niles' wheelchair is just outside the circle. She screams in anguish and walks over to the wheelchair, kicking the rocks out of her path.
Rita finds an art room and goes to the potter's wheel. She makes a pot out of shapeless clay, but it breaks and Rita squashes the clay and leaves.
Vic goes out into the woods and texts to Roni that he misses her. However, he still doesn't have wifi, and tries to get a signal. When he can't, he breaks the phone in anger and throws it away.
Cliff climbs the Backbone and reaches the top. The Backbone falls over from his weight.
In the facsimile of the manor, Larry tells the Spirit that he thought they were done with everything and it was supposed to be a fresh start, and they were supposed to be one.
The group gathers in the main room of the resort, sitting by themselves. Kay dances in the mindscape, and Jane goes to the dance floor and dances along. Rita joins Jane, then Cliff, and then Vic.
Garguax is leaving the sort, Samuelson carrying his luggage. The transponder goes off. Nearby, the drill-machine emerges from the ground and Rouge emerges. She runs to the resort.
The team is still dancing together. Garguax comes in, tells them to run, and then collapses. Samuelson is behind him with the energy cannon, having shot Garguax in the back. Cliff and Jane freeze up, and Vic instinctively tries to use his now-useless powers. Samuelson shoots them down. Rita gets away and runs for the doors out, and Rouge-now wearing Rita's face--arrives, shoves Rita back inside, and bars the doors. Samuelson fires a blast at Rita.
Afterward, Samuelson puts another song on the jukebox and dumps Rita's body with her teammates. The four bodies lie on the dance floor.
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