Life is cyclical and so is the Doom Patrol. Larry’s new path following a final farewell to his love, John, set him on a crash course with an old enemy: the Bureau of Normalcy. The covert agency that haunts Larry’s past just can’t let things go between themselves and the Chief’s “toys.” Vic became the Bureau’s latest asset after his capture, but Darren and the beige squad should’ve known the rest of the Doomers wouldn’t let that lie. Now, with the help of Silas, it’s time for the “definitely not heroes” to get in that all too familiar mode. It’s time to boost Cyborg and get weird while doing it.
Inmate 721
Thanks to Darren Jones, the Ant Farm is Vic’s new home. And Darren isn’t letting him forget it. He isn’t letting his superiors forget it either, touting his new asset as a stupendous research subject, strong potential Bureau weapon and a means to end the Bureau’s reliability on S.T.A.R. Labs for scientific support. Darren sicks his research assistants on Vic, allowing them to poke and prod his body and mind. They notice that Vic’s operating system has been offloaded. The discovery doesn’t impede their invasive tactics.
Vic finally gets a respite from the torture. The quiet moment allows him to meet his neighbor, Inmate 722, and learn how hopeless it is to think escape is possible. Vic’s discouragement turns to surprise when Grid begins to reboot despite being extracted from his mainframe. What begins as a benign curiosity turns to horror when Grid forces Vic to watch footage of his mother’s death continuously. All attempts to stop his OS result in Grid rebooting on a loop. Vic finally loses the plot when Grid notifies him that more of his body is being converted to cybernetic material. His inability to stop his system reduces him to a screaming mess as Darren watches the Bureau’s bargaining chip crumble under his own psychoses.
Subterfuge
Back at Doom Manor, the rest of the team regroups to determine their next move. Cliff suggests that they bust Vic out, but Larry warns him against it. The Ant Farm is deep underground, highly guarded and Larry isn’t quick to revisit where he was tortured and studied for so long. He instead posits that they contact Silas. Everyone shoots that idea down, but, as if on queue, Silas arrives at Doom Manor hoping to respond to Grid’s distress beacon. What he finds is that Vic downloaded Grid onto his PC. Rita is quick to blame him for installing the nanites that are making him more synthetic, but Silas isn’t buying it. The nanites are only programmed to repair damaged tissue. Silas is stonewalled by all of his government contacts, including the Bureau, leaving him with only one option: a jailbreak. And he needs the Doom Patrol’s help to pull it off.
The team agrees to help despite Rita’s apprehension. They infiltrate the Ant Farm with Cliff posing as a prisoner and the others, sans Rita, posing as agents. The plan falls apart almost immediately when Darren imprisons the Doom Patrol and takes Silas to his son. Mr. Stone double crossed them. The team is separated into their own private torture scenarios as Silas and Vic reunite. Vic’s rogue system floods his HUD with images of Silas dissecting him, causing his anger to grow. He grows angrier when he learns of his father’s deal with Darren. Silas tries to calm him down, signalling to him that there’s more to the story. The double cross is actually part of the plan.
Warning Signs
Rita’s absence is explained when she emerges from Cliff’s mouth. The group smuggled her in so she could free them. She releases Cliff from his magnetic prison and makes her way to rescue Jane only to find she freed herself thanks to Karen. An alarm sounds as Jane subdues her aggressor, trapping Vic and Silas in Vic’s cell. The group rescue Larry and the Negative Spirit before deciding to free all of the prisoners, including the butts. A showdown with Darren ends quickly when the butts rush in and devour him and his squad.
Back in the cell, Silas produces a chip housing Grid, asking Vic to trust him and reinstall his OS. The request spawns footage of Silas ignoring an assistant’s concern over the nanites potential to go rogue in Vic’s HUD. The sight sends Vic into a rage and he attacks his father. The fight spills into the hall, leaving Silas bloodied and supposedly dead. Vic comes to his senses as Mr. Nobody gives him a standing ovation. He was behind the images Vic was forced to watch, including faking the footage of Silas ignoring his assistant’s apprehension. But beating his father to a pulp was all Vic. Nobody reminds Vic of his warnings about coming after him. Now there are consequences. The rest of the team find the Vic cradling Silas in his arms just as Nobody makes his exit. The Hangman’s Daughter’s painting was true after all.
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