We open with a scene that is a total rip-off of the introduction of Wolverine in X-Men. In case you haven't seen the movie, it means that there are bunches of seedy-looking people in a seedy-looking bar, cheering on a fight taking place in a ring which is surrounded by a cage. Normal watches and cheers as two men beat the crap out of each other in the ring. A jeans-wearing man beats a bald man, and Normal is upset -- apparently, Normal bet that the bald man would win. A woman walks into the ring to announce the main event, with a grand prize of $5,000. The champion is undefeated, stands six feet ten inches, and weighs two hundred sixty pounds. His name is Sam "The Mangler" Miller. The challenger hails from parts unknown, stands six feet even, and weighs one hundred seventy pounds. Hey, it's Alec! He's calling himself "Monty Cora." Normal bets $300 on Alec. There's no way that Alec is ten inches shorter than Sam, no matter how many camera tricks they use to make it appear so. Sam threatens Alec, Alec cracks wise, Sam decks Alec, and the match begins. Alec uses his super speed to gain the advantage, and wins the match with an uppercut. Alec is declared the champion, and Normal is happy.
In the locker room, the announcer lady asks Alec why he's retiring. Alec says that he has bigger plans for his life, and will use the money to get started. The announcer lady says he knows where to find her if he changes his mind, and leaves. Alec turns to see two men in black looking at him. He asks what they want, and they hit him with a stun gun, knocking him unconscious. Blackie steps up and tells the goons to take Alec out the back.
Max and Logan make dinner in Logan's kitchen. Logan tells a story involving the mayor, a drunken escapade, a hooker, and the title to the mayor's car. I'm sure your imagination could come up with a better story than the one he actually told, given those details, so have at it. Max heads over to the stove to stir some sauce. She uses the stirring spoon to taste the sauce, and then puts the spoon back into the pan. Logan turns and realizes that Max just contaminated the sauce, since he and she can't swap any fluids or Logan will die. Max joins him in that realization moments later. Logan assures her that they can just turn up the flame to kill any bacteria, but Max isn't taking any chances as she angrily dumps the pan into the sink. I hope Logan has a garbage disposal, because otherwise his pipes are going to back up. Max is all angry that they can't even have dinner together. Logan points out that Max can still eat the sauce, and that he has other things that they can eat. She is kind of being a baby. Max says she can't do this, and walks out. As she leaves, she and Logan sadly put their hands up to the frosted glass in the door, the only way that they can "touch" now.
Someone or something sits outside a house numbered 542. Inside the house, a photographer takes amateur photos of a woman in lingerie, ironing. Then he wants pictures of her vacuuming. What the hell kind of porn is this? Please note that she's vacuuming a leather (or vinyl) sofa, which seems kind of pointless. The woman hears someone outside, but the photographer tells her to relax. Joshua bursts through the door, and in his surprise, the photographer's camera goes off while pointed at Joshua. Well, that was convenient. The photographer tells the woman to call the police. Joshua keeps yelling, "Where is he?" On the phone, the woman is being told to hold, because there is no one available to take her call right now. It's good to know that in the future, 911 is still a joke. Joshua runs through the house looking for "him," and the photographer slams Joshua with a baseball bat. The blow has little to no effect. Joshua knocks the photographer down and then runs out the door. The woman asks what that thing was. The photographer looks at the picture he took (I guess he was using a Polaroid camera) and says that that's a good question.
Lydecker phones Logan. Before Lydecker can state the reasons for his call, Logan assumes that he's following up on his last call, and reports that Max got back fine. Lydecker is relieved, and Logan says that it's funny, since Lydecker tried to hunt her down for ten years. Lydecker claims that those days are over, and that he'll be in touch with Max soon, because he's working on a lead. Logan refuses to take any more cryptic messages, and wants to know what's going on. Lydecker reports that Max has an unusual genetic makeup, which was news to Lydecker. Logan asks what it means. Lydecker doesn't know, but feels that Renfro found it important, since she kept the information in her briefcase. Lydecker also reports that he found a company ID with Renfro's picture, but the company doesn't exist. Lydecker holds up the ID, and we see that it's for a company called "RCF Demolition & Disposal." Logan agrees to pass the information on, and asks Lydecker to help him with something. Lydecker says he's listening.
Logan and Max go to visit some nervous guy who Logan says was a lab tech at Manticore. Apparently, Nervous Guy worked with DNA and such. Now, Nervous Guy wants to make enough money to leave town, because Manticore is trying to have him killed. He asks for $10,000 to try to find a cure for the retrovirus Max is carrying. Max thinks the price is absurd, but Logan busts out a wad of bills, and gives Nervous Guy half up front and half when he delivers the cure. Nervous Guy needs a blood sample from Max, and a couple of days to figure it out. Nervous Guy assures Max and Logan that soon they can "get back to sucking face." Max and Logan exchange uncomfortable looks, like they hadn't explicitly admitted that was the reason for finding this cure.
Max walks into the one bar they all hang out in. Does this bar have a name? Anyway, she tells Original Cindy about the potential virus cure. Max is worried that "things between [her] and Logan are never going to…" Blondie walks up and interrupts (hmm, foreshadowing of her interrupting Max and Logan's relationship?), and we finally get a name for Blondie when Max introduces her as Asha. Another name to add to my spell-checker.
Sketchy rolls up and asks Max to help him settle a bet. Apparently, Sketchy and his friends are having a disagreement over whether Eyes Only is right that Manticore burned down, or whether the news is correct that the place was just a VA hospital. Sketchy adds that if it was Manticore, a bunch of "super freaks" got out. The kind you don't take home to mother. Max looks uncomfortable and says that she doesn't get involved in politics. Asha agrees. Sketchy holds up a newspaper which claims that the freaks are out there, looking to feed. OC makes fun of Sketchy, which causes Sketchy to give more detail about these genetically enhanced freaks, which is that they all have bar codes on the backs of their necks, which they use to transmit information about normal people back to headquarters. Max looks worried as OC points out that the news says a rebel organization killed a bunch of veterans. Asha says that it was the S1W, and they would never kill anyone. Off everyone's interested looks, she backpedals, joking that you can never believe what the news says. Sketchy leers at Asha, "If I was making creatures in a lab, I'd make 'em look just like you." The girls all laugh, and OC advises Sketchy to stop reading the trashy papers. Max grabs the paper and says that she has to go. OC chases after her and wants to know what the problem is. Max shows OC the cover of the paper, which features a picture of Joshua and the headline "Mutant Attacks Continue." Max tells OC about Joshua. OC reminds Max that no one believes the papers anyway, and Max says, "Not yet."
Alec wakes up in a cage, which is suspended about two stories above the floor. Blackie asks if he has been in contact with "this girl," holding up the picture of Max that the techie made for him in the last episode. Alec says that they had "a fling," and when asked, adds that he doesn't hang out with other transgenics. Alec asks if Blackie is with the FBI or the NSA. Blackie says that he has been sent to "wipe out all evidence that Manticore ever existed." Blackie orders his goon to take a DNA sample before disposing of Alec's body, and then starts to walk away. Alec jumps up and says that killing him won't solve Blackie's problem, and that Blackie needs to find all the escaped transgenics first. Alec claims that he can help with that task. Blackie pauses and turns around as Alec asks, "Who better to hunt transgenics than another transgenic?" Blackie finds it hard to believe that Alec would turn against his own kind, but Alec claims that he will. Blackie gives a nod, and the bottom of Alec's cage flies open and Alec tumbles to the ground, only to be quickly surrounded by many men with machine guns.
A big needle is inserted into Alec's neck, just below his bar code. Alec asks what that was, and Blackie explains that it was a microexplosive that contains enough power to explode Alec's brain stem. If Alec locates and kills three transgenics in twenty-four hours, the explosive will be disarmed. Blackie hands Alec a watch that is counting down from twenty-four hours. Alec gets up and walks away, but Blackie calls after him to wait. Blackie wants Alec to bring back the bar codes of the transgenics he kills, and hands him a giant switchblade to accomplish the task. Alec leaves. A goon asks Blackie if he thinks Alec is lying about knowing Max. Blackie says that they should always assume the transgenics are lying. The goon points out that if Alec brings in Max's barcode, they can scrape it for DNA and get more information. Blackie gloats, "Either way, I win."
In his apartment, Logan looks at the paper with Joshua's picture on the cover, and comments that Joshua looks pretty dangerous. Max says that Joshua's not dangerous, and is probably only breaking into houses because he needs a place to sleep or something to eat. Logan promises to get the addresses of the houses that Joshua has broken into, to see if there is a pattern, which might lead them to where Joshua is hiding. Logan will also use his police scanner so that he'll hear if any more calls come in. Max worries that this is all her fault, since she put Joshua out in the world when he wasn't ready. Alec pops in and says that Max shouldn't be so hard on herself, because he's loving being out in the world. Alec says that he misses being with his own kind, and asks Max if she's hooked up with any other transgenics. Max tries to escort Alec out, but Alec picks up the paper and notes Joshua's picture on the cover. Max says that she's going to try to help Joshua, and Alec offers to join her. Logan's all snotty to Alec because he's jealous. Alec points out that reporting on freaks running amok affects him too. Max says she's going to check out Terminal City while Logan tracks down some leads. Logan isn't too hot on Max and Alec taking off together, but they do so anyway.
Max and Alec arrive at Terminal City. As they enter the facility through a hole in the fence, Max explains that it used to be a bunch of biotech labs, but when the pulse hit, they lost power and some viruses were released. Now, no one goes there unless they have nowhere else to go. Alec backstories that he and Max are immune to "common biowarfare agents." Alec asks what's up with the virus, and Max gets angry and doesn't answer.
Lydecker stands across the street from a fence with a sign on it that reads, "RCF Demolition & Disposal." He checks Renfro's ID card to make sure that it's the same as the sign, and then checks his gun to make sure that it's loaded. Lydecker heads into the building. He sees a guy, perhaps a guard of some sort, sitting in a chair, reading a comic book. He pulls out his gun and sneaks up on the guy, and then punches him out. Lydecker uses his flashlight to find some tiny skeletons in some rocks and dirt nearby, and then takes pictures of said skeletons with a digital camera. Lydecker's light catches a symbol painted on the wall, and he remembers seeing a similar symbol on some papers at Manticore.
Max and Alec come upon two homeless guys, and Max describes Joshua for them. Alec adds in that Joshua is hairy and growling. The older homeless guy says that he saw a lizard guy the other day, and he went into the sewer with his "panther lady friend." Alec and Max make for the sewer.
Alec and Max walk through the sewer. Max sees a dead dog, and Alec points out that something big took it out. Max assures him that it wasn't Joshua. Max's beeper goes off, and it's Logan. Alec hands her his cell phone so that she can call Logan back. Logan gives Max the information on Joshua's last break-in, including the fact that the owner of the house is named Sandeman. Max flashes back to Joshua telling her that his father's name is Sandman, and Renfro telling her to find Sandman. Max explains to Logan that she thinks Sandeman may have founded Manticore. Logan wonders why Sandeman would turn Joshua away and report him to the cops. Max promises to ask Joshua about it, and hangs up the phone. Max tells Alec to come with her, but Alec thinks that they can cover more ground if they split up. At least, that's what he says. Max agrees and leaves Alec alone in the sewer.
The photographer assures his lady that no one will be able to break through the new front door. So, of course, Max busts through moments later. Max jacks up the photographer and asks if he's Sandeman, and if Manticore means anything to him. Max continues to question the guy, but he clearly doesn't know what she's talking about, so Max throws him aside and stalks away in disgust.
In the sewers, Alec glances at his countdown watch, which is down to thirteen hours. Aboveground, one of the homeless guys looks for his dog. Alec sees a shadowy figure preparing to sink its teeth into the belly of said dog, and asks, "You're not really going to eat that, are you?" The creature, which looks like a panther, turns and growls at him. Alec convinces the panther lady to drop the dog and fight him instead. The panther lady gets Alec pinned against the wall, so he uses his trusty switchblade to stab the panther lady in the back and kill it. Alec picks up the dog and returns it to its master. Then, Alec finds the barcode on the back of the panther lady's neck and cuts it off. Yuck.
At Logan's apartment, Max and Logan sit verrrry far apart, and yet they talk to each other in near-whispers. That apartment must have great acoustics. Logan wonders why Max has never heard of Sandeman before, and Max says it's not like there was a statue of him on the quad. Logan reveals that Lydecker called and said that Max has special DNA (which Max already knows, since Blackie told her), but Max is way more interested in saving Joshua. Logan reveals that no one at any of the other houses that Joshua broke into was named Sandeman, and they're all over town, so there's no pattern. Max notices that one of Logan's paintings is missing and asks if Logan sold his Hockney to pay "that creep," the guy who's looking for a cure. Logan says that it's no big deal, and tells Max that the creep called, and says he's close to finding a cure. Max sort of smiles. Logan tells Max to go by the creep's place tomorrow. Max says that whether he finds the cure or not, she's paying for half of it. Logan tells her she doesn't have to, but Max says that she wants the cure too. They share a moment, and Logan tells her that she can get the money to him whenever she can. The police scanner coming to life interrupts their moment. The dispatcher is talking about someone having "a crazed dog cornered. No, it's a guy. No, it's a dog." As soon as the address is given, Logan turns around to talk to Max, but she's already gone.
Some dude has Joshua cornered in his garage, using a shotgun for maximum intimidation factor. Two cops show up, also with guns, making Joshua's escape seem even less likely. Luckily, Max buzzes in on her motorcycle and kicks some ass. Once everyone formerly holding a gun has been knocked out or scared away, Max looks for Joshua, but Joshua is gone.
Alec slaps the panther lady barcode into a little book he's carrying and comments, "One down, two to go." He checks his countdown watch, and he now has just over seven hours left. Alec comes upon some (presumably) homeless people gathered around a fire in a barrel. As homeless folks do. In television and movies. Anyway, Alec spots a transgenic that looks kind of like a younger version of Alec. The transgenic snaps up and asks Alec if they are remobilizing. The homeless people give them a funny look, due to the military jargon. Alec tells the transgenic to follow him, and not to make a big deal out of it.
The kid follows Alec into a building somewhere. Alec finds out that the kid was separated from his squad, and saw the signal telling them to go underground and await further orders. Alec nods, and then puts the kid into some sort of sleeper hold, rendering the kid unconscious. Alec finds the kid's barcode and pulls out his switchblade, preparing to cut it off.
Lydecker speaks on the phone with some sort of expert. I guess the expert is a folklorist or archeologist. I'm just going to call him The Expert. Anyway, The Expert is looking at the photos that Lydecker took of the tiny skeletons and the painting. The Expert explains that there is a legend that a Native American tribe kidnapped a white woman and forced her to have children with a boy from their tribe. The first and second children were stillborn, but the third was what they wanted. But The Expert doesn't know what was so special about the third child. Also, The Expert confirms that the painting does not belong to said Native American tribe, but he might be able to tell more if he could see the original photographs. Lydecker promises to bring them by.
Alec returns to Blackie and shows off the two barcodes he managed to find, then begs for more time to get a third. Blackie reminds Alec that the deal was that Alec would kill the transgenics. Alec says he did, but Blackie reveals that they found the kid near an emergency room with a bandage on the back of his neck. Aw, Alec didn't kill the kid. Of course, he did kill the panther lady. Blackie is disappointed in Alec, since he couldn't kill a transgenic that looked like him. Alec asks for the chance to prove himself again. Blackie agrees to let the kid count towards the final total, but Alec still owes him one more. Alec asks for more time, and Blackie disagrees, but does hand Alec a stun gun so that he doesn't have to hear them beg and scream. Blackie reminds Alec that time's a-wastin', so Alec takes off.
Logan tells Max that he figured out what's going on with Joshua's search. Apparently, Joshua was using a pre-pulse directory, and in that directory, a Sandeman owned all of the addresses Joshua searched. Logan reveals that Joshua is going through the addresses in order, and there are two left. He hands the addresses to Max, who thanks him. Max says she would hug him, but…and Logan replies that maybe she can in a couple of days.
Max walks through an alley, studying her sheet of addresses. Alec sneaks up and scares her, and then says that they need to talk. Max isn't interested, but Alec says that it's a matter of life or death -- his. Behind his back, Alec grabs onto the stun gun. Max accuses Alec of being dramatic and explains that she's got a lead on Joshua. Max leans over to do something, and Alec hungrily eyes her barcode. Alec looks at his dwindling time, now down to less than an hour, and says that he'll accompany her. Max and Alec hop on Max's motorcycle.
Max and Alec arrive at the address Logan gave them. Max spies Joshua and calls out to him. They hug. Joshua says that his father isn't there. Max notices that Joshua is holding a piece of an old directory. Joshua explains that he took it from "the people upstairs." Max tells him that it's old information, and the people probably don't live there anymore. Joshua says that he only has one more address, and Max agrees to check it out. Meanwhile, Alec looks both impatient and guilty, and then he says that no one is going anywhere. Alec hits Max with the stun gun, and after a struggle, does the same to Joshua. Alec goes to cut out Joshua's barcode, only to discover that it doesn't exist. Alec asks Joshua where his barcode is, and Joshua says that he was "first, special." Alec looks disgusted and walks over to a still-twitching Max. Alec says he's sorry, and pulls out his switchblade. Alec straddles a paralyzed Max and raises his knife, then quickly stabs it down. He collapses to Max, and the camera reveals that he stabbed the knife into the ground, not Max.
Nervous Guy works on removing the exploding device from Alec's head. Max takes the opportunity to give Alec a lot of shit for nearly killing her. Nervous Guy says he can disarm the device for $10,000. Max asks sarcastically if that's the only number Nervous Guy knows. Alec hands Nervous Guy a wad of cash and says that he'll pay the rest later. Nervous Guy says he needs it up front. Alec jacks Nervous Guy up and yells at him, but Max says that she has the money, and Alec will have to pay her back. Nervous Guy is excited that he can leave town tonight. Max is upset, since he hasn't found her cure yet. Nervous Guy isn't having it, and offers to give Max all of the information he's found so far so that she can hand it off to another former Manticore lab tech, if she can find one. Alec realizes what's going on. Max hesitates, and Nervous Guy reminds her that Alec only has about two minutes to live. Max tells Nervous Guy to go ahead, so he removes the device with seconds to spare. Nervous Guy packs up his things and leaves. Alec says very seriously, "I owe you, Max." Max yells at Alec to shut up, then reminds him that Nervous Guy was the last chance for her and Logan, and she'll never get over that. Max concludes by telling Alec to go away, because she can't even look at him right now. Alec sits there, and Joshua comes over and growls at him a little. Alec gets the point, grabs his jacket, and opens the door. After one last apology to Max, he leaves. Max says that she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up anyway, but she wishes she knew how to tell Logan. Joshua puts a comforting arm on her shoulders.
Lydecker speeds down the streets. Another truck pulls out behind him, then starts bumping the back of Lydecker's car repeatedly. Cut to the day, and a crane pulling Lydecker's truck out of the water. Some guy comments that the body must have been thrown clear, and they will have to drag the river. Lydecker's photos float in the water nearby.
Max and Joshua walk into a clearly long-abandoned house. Max says that it's the last address on Joshua's list. Joshua finds a book on the floor, and then says that it's his father's house. Joshua finds a cane with a carving of the Manticore symbol on top, the same symbol that Lydecker saw painted on the wall. Joshua tells her that it's his father's cane. Max flashes back to seeing someone walk with that same cane when she was younger at Manticore. In the flashback, the man leans down and hugs Max, calling her his "special little one." Joshua snaps Max out of her reverie and comments that his father isn't there. Max apologizes, since she knows that Joshua wanted to find his father. Joshua says that the plan is for him and his father to be together. Max adds her name into the plan, and promises to help Joshua find his father. Joshua thinks that his father can cure Max's virus, since he created them. Joshua also thinks Max can tell this to Logan to keep his hopes up. Joshua sleeps on the floor, holding the cane. Max watches him, then leans over to kiss his forehead.
episode: Another mutant freak is on the loose, and Max has to stop it.