Quinn, Wade, Arturo, and Rembrandt were ejected from the vortex. They looked up and noticed the landmark in front of them. Wade couldn't be happier. Before them was a majestic view of the Azure Gate Bridge.

WADE
I'm home!

ARTURO
Yes, Miss Welles, so it would appear.

Arturo knew that this world could easily be an alternate earth, but he didn't want to interrupt her happiness.

WADE
Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!

They set off towards the laboratory, but a vortex opened before them. The Sliders stared, wondering who would emerge. It was Quinn-1.

QUINN-1
Guys, I need your help!

REMBRANDT
What happened Q-Ball?

Arturo, for his part, was still marvelling at the appearance of the vortex.

ARTURO
You finished it!

QUINN-1
I sure did!

WADE
Finished what?

ARTURO
A device, Miss Welles, a new form of Sliding that we had been working on for some time. It was a sort of "teleportation technology" using hyperspace to travel between points on the same world. We abandoned that project the moment we retrieved Rembrandt's signal. Now, Quinn, why do you need our help?

QUINN-1
The Kromaggs. They're here.

"Not again," Quinn inwardly groaned. At least the Kromaggs were on their way out, he reminded himself.

ARTURO
At the lab?

QUINN-1
No, everywhere! They're all over the world!

REMBRANDT
Now hold on, I thought the Kromaggs weren't invading anymore!

QUINN
Well, this might be a last-ditch effort.

QUINN-1
Can you slide us back to the lab?

Quinn-1 opened his vortex and the group "slid" to his lab. Most of the damage had been repaired since the first Kromagg attack.

ARTURO
Well, Mr. Mallory, you've certainly done a fine job of cleaning the place up. It looks just as it did when we first left!

QUINN-1
There's lots more to do, but we don't exactly have time right now...

REMBRANDT
What do you want? Do you want us to fight?

QUINN-1
No. We need to work on this "virus."

QUINN
You have the virus?

QUINN-1
It was "dropped off" here, along with this.

Quinn-1 removed a contraption from his pocket.

ARTURO
Good heavens, that's Dr. Laze's device!

QUINN-1
Laze?

REMBRANDT
Yeah, we met back up with him.

QUINN-1
What's it for?

QUINN
Running.

Quinn-1 was confused.

QUINN
A runner is someone who spreads the Kromagg virus. The thing works, too. I've seen it work. It's got the Kromaggs in a panic.

QUINN-1
This isn't a sliding device.

ARTURO
No, Mr. Mallory, this device is made to protect people from the Slidecage.

Quinn-1 realized what had happened. In fact, he almost felt responsible for it.

QUINN-1
They got it?

ARTURO
That's correct.

QUINN
They've mass produced them, and they're protecting their remaining worlds with them.

A man ran into the lab.

MAN
Mr. Mallory! The army is pushing back the Kromagg invasion force, but new vortices are opening up everywhere.

REMBRANDT
What about the Dominion?

MAN
It's not under assault right now, but you never know.

QUINN-1
What about the rest of the world?

MAN
Not so good. The forces in Europe seem to be holding, but they're taking Asia, Australia, and Africa, and they've already taken South America and parts of Central America.

QUINN-1
This is an all out invasion! We need that virus now!

QUINN
I thought you already had it.

QUINN-1
The device and the virus came along with a note. It said to "activate" the virus before releasing it. They seemed to have forgotten that I'm not a doctor.

Quinn laughed. That had happened to "him" twice.

ARTURO
We should begin immediately. Rembrandt, why don't you and Wade go to the hotel and get a room. We've got over three weeks here, and trust me, you don't want to sleep here.

Quinn and Quinn-1 both told Wade to be careful. Wade was happy that both of them cared.

REMBRANDT
What the devil are you doing here?

COLIN
Remmy! Don't be angry at me! I was under Kromagg influence!

REMBRANDT
Get out of here, man! How do I know you're not still under those Maggots' "influence"?

COLIN
You have to trust me, Rembrandt!

Wade was still by the door. She had to stop this before something happened to one of them.

WADE
Remmy! Give him a chance!

REMBRANDT
Quinn told us how you tricked him! After all that time we spent together? It was a lie?

COLIN
No! I will explain it all, but I have to speak to Quinn.

Rembrandt didn't want to talk to Colin anymore. He didn't want to trust him. This was a lie, just like before. Wade didn't know what to believe. She was a trusting person, though. She had to believe him.

WADE
They're at the lab. You can come with us, but we need to get some rest.

Rembrandt couldn't believe what Wade was saying, but went along with it. Wade was a good person, and it didn't surprise him that she would be so trusting.

COLIN
I can go myself. Where is it located?

WADE
I wouldn't try that if I were you. Colin, is it?

COLIN
Yes. Colin.

WADE
The security's pretty tight up there.

REMBRANDT
And what with the Kromagg invasion, I'm guessing they're not in a mood for unannounced visitors.

COLIN
Then, I will wait until you two go.

Wade smiled, and Colin returned the smile. This stuck in Rembrandt's head. Colin hadn't smiled when he had returned last. Maybe what he was saying was true.

ARTURO
Blast! I'm a theoretical physicist, not a microbiologist!

QUINN-1
Come on, Professor, they're not that dissimilar.

ARTURO
Oh yes? We've used every form of energy and current that we have on this world, and the strain is still dormant.

Quinn-1 ran to his office and brought back a dictionary. The others wondered what he was doing as he looked up a word.

QUINN-1
Activate: "To induce radioactivity".

QUINN
Of course!

QUINN-1
Think of the irony. Three physicists and we didn't even think to use the physics term.

Arturo laughed as he prepared the experiment.

QUINN
Wait! Didn't we use radioactivity before?

QUINN-1
Yeah, I told you to do it about 20 minutes ago!

QUINN
No you didn't!

QUINN-1
Yes I did!

Arturo laughed at the two doubles' argument. But he had to stop it.

ARTURO
That's enough, you two! You're both acting like a couple of feuding brothers!

Quinn thought of Colin. He was still angry at his "brother" and his betrayal.

QUINN
Well, I never had a brother.

Just then, Colin, Rembrandt, and Wade entered the room.

COLIN
Not on your world...

Quinn looked at Colin.

COLIN
Now, don't be angry. Let's talk this over.

Quinn was reluctant to go with his "brother", but Colin seemed more human now. And Colin could give him some answers he was seeking.

ARTURO
Go on, Mr. Mallory! We can do this without you.

QUINN
Thanks, Professor.

Colin, Rembrandt, and Quinn went into Quinn-1's office.

COLIN
I must explain something.

REMBRANDT
Well, I would think so!

QUINN
First, tell us how you became a Kromagg spy.

COLIN
Brother, listen to...

QUINN
Don't call me that!

COLIN
I understand why you'd be angry. But I couldn't control my actions. I was under Koliton's control. He took me from my world about a year before I joined you all. He put me through a lot of mental anguish, and used illusions and drugs that forced me to forget my past. Then, he planted a secret "program" into my brain that would go send the coordinates of Kromagg Prime when we reached there. When I became unstuck, he saved and reprogramed me. He sent me to a labor camp, while he negotiated with Logan St. Claire. She was willing to turn you over, but when you escaped, he brought me back to capture you.

QUINN
What's so important about me?

COLIN
You were supposed to lead them to Kromagg Prime, but now, they needed your help to stop the virus. All hope of getting home is gone.

REMBRANDT
How did you escape from Koliton's hold on you?

QUINN
Yeah, and how did he control you from across the multiverse?

COLIN
Koliton has one of the strongest minds in the Kromagg Dynasty. He can control many people across the multiverse. But when he contracted the virus, he had to let me go.

Quinn figured out something.

QUINN
You're the one that saved me!

COLIN
Yes, I did. I had been released from Koliton's power and realized his plan. I used the Kromagg equipment to find your friends, and, then, I opened a vortex for you and sent you there.

REMBRANDT
How did you know to look for us?

COLIN
Even though Koliton was controlling me, I was aware. When I was released, I regained my past memories, and kept the ones that I experienced while being controlled. You can't possibly know how hard that is to experience.

QUINN
Actually, I do.

REMBRANDT
That Koliton is an nasty SOB, even for a Kromagg.

COLIN
Actually, Koliton is very intelligent. He was the one that created the plan for you.

Quinn didn't know what Colin was talking about.

QUINN
What plan?

COLIN
He didn't tell you?

Quinn shook his head.

COLIN
You're not from Kromagg Prime.

Quinn was amazed. This was the truth he had been searching for the past years. Arturo had finished his work and approached the room, to listen in on the conversation.

COLIN
Koliton came up with the plan over three years ago. He was going to make you lead him to Kromagg Prime. While you and your friends were being interrogated, they used a device that overwrote your quantum signatures with false ones. After that, all signature tests would send you to what you thought was Earth Prime.

QUINN
That wasn't Earth Prime?

COLIN
No, it was an ingeniously engineered world created by the Kromaggs. You stumbled upon it early, and the Kromaggs knew they would have to accelerate their plans. When you arrived, they captured you, Rembrandt, along with Wade. Then, when you finally arrived, Quinn, they put their plan into motion.

QUINN
What about the microdots, my mother, everything?

COLIN
It was all a Kromagg illusion, to trick you into unlocking their home world.

REMBRANDT
But we met her later, on a different Earth.

COLIN
The Kromaggs have a way of "creating memories". They can seem very real, and last a long time. I know.

QUINN
I can't believe this.

ARTURO
Sorry to intrude, but I must ask this. So you are saying that both Mr. Mallory and Mr. Brown have false quantum signatures that would show up on a normal test?

COLIN
Yes. They were designed to direct Quinn to the false Earth Prime.

ARTURO
Of course! When Quinn and I searched for you, Quinn, we couldn't find you. So we boosted the power and found Mr. Brown. He was the first one we found. Once we located you, we lessened the power and found that Quinn's quantum signature was different from everyone else's. The increased power of the scan would have cut through the false quantum signature, revealing the actual one.

Colin pulled a device out.

COLIN
Yes, and if you use this device, you can restore your original quantum signatures.

QUINN
So I'm from Earth Prime.

Quinn couldn't believe it. He wasn't from an alternate Earth. He was from the same Earth as Arturo and Remmy.

Colin waved the device over the two sliders for a few minutes, restoring their original quantum signatures.

Quinn-1 entered the room, carrying two vials of the virus.

ARTURO
Why two, Mr. Mallory?

Quinn-1 smiled.

QUINN-1
Just in case.

Just then, an alarm went off.

QUINN-1
No! That means there's a vortex opening inside the facility.

Quinn-1 ran and saw a group of Kromaggs using a device on the people in the lab. Rembrandt recognized the device, and recognized the way the people disappeared. This device was making the people unstuck.

QUINN-1
How do I use the virus?

QUINN
I don't know! Just throw the vial at them!

Arturo nodded his assent. It was an airborne virus. When the vial broke, it would escape and begin to multiply. Quinn threw the vial at the Kromaggs, and they retreated, leaving the "unstuck" weapon.

REMBRANDT
They left their gun.

COLIN
I know what to do with it.

QUINN
What?

COLIN
Use the device on me. I will inject myself with the virus, and use the device to bypass the Slide Trap. Then, I will travel to every world, spreading the virus. Unstuck I will reach every world faster than anyone.

Quinn couldn't deny the logic to Colin's plan, but he wouldn't allow it.

QUINN
No, Colin!

COLIN
Brother, it's the right thing to do.

QUINN
You could die! Being unstuck again will kill you!

COLIN
I have my secrets, Quinn. Right before I was released, I was mentally merged with Koliton. I learned a lot from him. That's how I discovered the plan... among other things. This will work, Quinn! Trust me!

QUINN
I won't allow it.

Colin gave up hope of obtaining Quinn's approval. Colin wanted to repay the human race for what he had tried to do to it. This was his shot.

Rembrandt, Arturo, and Wade returned to the hotel. Quinn and Colin stayed with Quinn-1 at the laboratory.

Quinn fell asleep but was awaken by the sound of a loud device. He had heard the device earlier that day. Colin was going to do it anyway. He got up and ran to the lab area.

Colin placed the device on his neck and implanted the virus into his arm.

QUINN-1
Don't worry. Your body won't reject the virus.

Colin nodded and stepped onto the platform. Quinn aimed the laser at Colin and prepared to fire.

QUINN
Colin! No!

COLIN
I have to do this, Quinn! Fire!

QUINN
NO!

Quinn-1 fired, and Colin was gone. He had risked his life to save humanity from the Kromaggs. Quinn was angry at his double.

QUINN
Why? Why did you do that?

QUINN-1
He wanted me to. Your "brother" felt very strongly about this. He wanted to rid the multiverse of the Kromagg Dynasty. He could take down the Kromaggs single-handedly. That is a great honor. And he will survive it, Quinn. I trust that he will.

Quinn put his hands over his face. Colin was gone. Even though they weren't really brothers, they felt as though they were.

QUINN-1
He's a martyr, Quinn. Except he won't die for the cause he's fighting for.

Quinn stood up and walked to the street. He looked at the sky. It was a clear night, and it was possible to see everything. Quinn was looking for the truth.

QUINN
Goodbye, Brother. We will remember your sacrifice. Always.