US Airdate : 05 April 2004
UK Airdate : 24 June 2004
Peter Hansen (Jeremey Elzinga), a 30-year-old man, is crouched behind a dumpster in an
alley when he sees a broken mirror. Picking up a shard, Hansen is deeply shocked by his
reflection. In a nearby car, Shalimar (Victoria Pratt) tells Jesse (Forbes March) she
received a tip that someone is trying to resurrect an old military experiment that is
somehow connected to him. Meanwhile, two guards dressed as paramedics drive their
ambulance down the alley, but the headlights from the vehicle reflect off the broken
mirror, causing the guards to stop. Hansen tries to get away but the men jump out and grab
him just as Jesse appears. When they pull their guns and shoot at Jesse, he lunges forward
and extends his palms, sending the bullets flying back at the assailants. As Hansen crawls
behind the dumpster again, Shalimar drops from above and knocks the guns out of their
hands. As the men run off, Shalimar walks over to Hansen, only to discover he is dead and
his body has aged to that of an 80-year-old.
The next morning, Jesse and Lexa (Karen Cliche) learn Hansen was part of the Tomcats, a
WWII naval fighter pilot unit. Lexa tells Jesse that the military led a series of
anti-aging experiments during the war, but the Dominion had them shut down. Jesse then
reveals that his estranged grandfather was a member of the Tomcat unit and decides to find
him to learn whats going on. Meanwhile, Brennan (Victor Webster) and Shalimar watch
Dr. Denise Saunders (Heidi Van Palleske) as she performs Hansens autopsy. She says
that while the outside of his body looks like an 80-year-olds, the internal organs
are representative of a healthy 30-year-old. In a lab across town, Henry Burns (David
Gardner), a wheelchair-bound old man, berates his associate Dr. Francis Gallant (Patrick
Garrow) for Hansens escape. Gallant explains that Hansens cell regeneration
occurred quicker than expected and they were unprepared when he suddenly woke up a virile
young man. Burns points out that although the cell rejuvenating stimulators were
successful, they only worked a short time and they must test their final subject.
Lexas Dominion contact tells her that Burns headed the experiments known as
Operation Immortalis, but he escaped after the Dominion shut it down. He
claims the research was destroyed and believes Burns has resurfaced to finish what he
began. Meanwhile, a virtual face appears on Jesses computer screen and tells him
that his grandfather is at a Veterans hospital and is in danger. As Jesse runs out, he
passes Brennan and Shalimar and asks for their help. At the hospital, Gallant inserts a
strange liquid into the IV bag of Jesses grandfather William (Desmond Scott) and
then leaves the room. Suddenly hearing a voice behind him, Jesse turns to find a hologram
of Adam (John Shea), who insists theres no time to explain, but that Jesse must
escape with his grandfather immediately as men are coming for him. Adam disappears and
Jesse quickly loads his grandfather into a wheelchair. He tells Brennan and Shalimar to
meet him by the eighth floor window and wheels his grandfather into the hallway. When they
pass Patty Paxton (Joan Gregson), she asks where hes taking William. Gallant
overhears her and goes after Jesse. Suddenly, with every step Jesse takes, his grandfather
gets younger. Reaching the window, Jesse phases them both safely through and into the
Helix.
At Sanctuary, Lexa suggests that Dr. Saunders examine the now 30-year-old William (Sean
Clement). As Jesse gets clothes for William, Adam appears to say the Operation
Immortalis files were not destroyed and then vanishes. When Brennan walks in, Jesse
asks him to find out where the files are. At the doctors office, Saunders tells
Jesse and Lexa that William appears healthy, but his body is still adjusting. Jesse
comlinks Brennan who informs him the files are at an airforce base and William offers to
help get them. A short time later, Jesse and William fly the Helix into the bases
airspace, setting off alarms and allowing Lexa to slip inside. When Jesse is unable to
shake the jet fighters pursuing him, William takes control, quickly loses the fighters and
returns to the base to get Lexa who has the files. Back at Sanctuary, the team reviews the
files and learns that Burns used the Tomcats to find a way to stop the aging process. When
William walks in and sees a photo of two victims, he gets dizzy and agrees to let Saunders
examine him. Jesse goes to his room and asks Adam to show himself. Adam appears and says
he believes the Dominion let Burns get away so he could finish his research. Meanwhile,
Saunders tells Brennan and Shalimar that William has begun to age again, but when
they go to tell William this news, they discover hes gone.
At the Veterans hospital, William enters Pattys room, but she becomes frightened
of the young man and runs away just as two guards appear and grab William. At Sanctuary,
Shalimar discovers William paid a visit to Patty and Brennan taps into the video camera in
the parking structure to see William being put into an ambulance. Using traffic cameras,
Brennan follows the vehicle to an old pharmaceutical lab and Jesse heads out. Meanwhile,
William is taken to Burns where Gallant enters and tells him that in order to stay young,
he must get shots of the serum on a regular basis. A short time later, Burns receives the
initial injection and grows younger immediately. The young Burns (Howard Hoover) pulls out
a gun and aims it at William, but before he can fire, Jesse enters, takes out the two
guards and Gallant. William suddenly elbows Burns in the stomach, knocking the gun out of
his hand. William grabs it and shoots Burns, who ages rapidly before letting out one last
breath. When Brennan, Shalimar and Lexa arrive, Jesse tells them to destroy everything.
That night, an elderly William returns to the Veterans hospital and gives an emotional
Jesse the Medal of Honor he received in the war. |
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