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Damn it! Every time!
So how are those
elbows and knees?
A tad sore? Feel little
painful bumps and bruises?
All right, all right.
Don't rub it in.
Quit gloating, will you?
It's just a little
reminder that you too
could have had a safe
and sound landing.
If the choice is
looking like a reject
from the Roller Derby or getting a
little sliced up from the pavement-
We'll take the pavement
every time.
You guys
are just jealous
because I've proven
this whole idea works.
Isn't it a little quiet
on this world?
A little quiet?
Since when are you the
master of understatement?
Yes-sir-ee.
"Rembrandt Brown
Sliding Pads-
a must for the serious slider.
"
Yeah, I'm going to make
a whole lot of money
when I get back home.
Hey, guys, what's a "Kromagg"?
It's written everywhere.
I don't know.
It's probably
some street gang or something.
What's wrong?
Something's interfering
with the readout.
I can't get a fix
on the next window.
Can you determine the source
of the disturbance?
Yeah, it's coming
from the north-northwest.
We'll have to move closer
to pinpoint the exact location.
This chaos is recent.
The bread's still fresh
and the paint's wet.
Yeah, there's a lot
of looting going on.
This is strange, Professor.
Whatever's affecting our device
must be giving off
an incredibly powerful
electromagnetic pulse.
And it's on the same
frequency as the timer.
What could do that?
That sound has "stay away"
written all over it.
Shouldn't we be walking away
from the big nasty noise?
We could move 100 miles, and still
not be free of this interference.
If we don't find
and stop it, we're sunk.
We'll never know
when to access the gate.
Good heavens!
The energy displacement is
wreaking havoc on the timer.
Is there anything
we can do?
We can get the hell
away from here.
I agree with Mr.
Brown.
A rapid retreat would seem to
me to be the obvious course.
The readout window is pulsing
in rhythm with the spaceship.
It must mean their
energies are synched up.
Never mind that.
It's seen us!
Run.
Come on, run!
Down! Down!
What if you could travel
to parallel worlds?
The same year,
the same Earth,
only different dimensions?
A world where the Russians
rule America?
Or where your dreams of being
a superstar came true?
Or where San Francisco
was a maximum security prison?
My friends and I
found the gateway.
Now the problem is
finding a way back home.
SLIDERS 2x12 "INVASION"
Shades of David
and Goliath, man.
Where's the slingshot?
Here.
Our timer operates
on a unique frequency.
Given the way it was being interfered
with, I figured the spaceship
must rely on a similar
energy source.
Activating the timer
was like turning on
a mega-laptop
inside of a jet plane.
It set this thing's
gyros spinning.
The result
was this crash.
Great, Q-Ball.
Remind me
never to fly with you.
Let's get the heck
away from this thing.
I'm with you.
Whatever's inside that thing
can't be too thrilled
with what you've done.
Let's just go.
Mr.
Mallory, over here.
Look at this, Quinn.
This is organic metal.
So this
in essence,
is a living machine.
Fantastic.
Fantastic, indeed.
An alien technology
from outer space.
But it's not
from outer space.
Who did this?
Who brought the Manta
to its knees?
I guess I did.
The Kromaggs aren't
going to like that.
They're not going
to like that one bit.
They will avenge this loss
with merciless ferocity.
Kromaggs, Kromaggs.
Who the devil are the Kromaggs?
They're marauders.
Killers.
And they eat eyes.
Human eyes.
They came here
to vanquish us-
riding a wave of Manta
ships to our world.
And so, our Earth
dies screaming.
I thought you said
they didn't come from space.
No, they're
from right here, man.
They're from right here.
That's the irony.
Don't you see?
I daren't say any more.
They might be watching.
They might well
be watching.
Ah, my lovely twin
daughters have arrived!
They too were set free
when the Kromaggs came to our city.
Come along now, girls.
We mustn't be here
when the vengeful masters arrive.
Good day to you.
May your punishment
be relatively painless.
Did you see that medical
bracelet he was wearing?
"Gatehaven.
"
My uncle used to work
at a place called Gatehaven,
only in our San Francisco,
it's a mental institution.
Maybe when
the invasion began,
the inmates were released
as their keepers fled the city.
Oh, great, we were listening
to some fruitcake
tell us what's what?
"Fruitcake"? That's hardly
politically correct, is it, Mr.
Brown?
However, back
to the task at hand.
Mr.
Mallory, we've got
to get inside this ship
and see what
we can learn
before somebody
comes looking for it.
Hey, come on.
What are you guys doing?
You're out of your
freaking minds.
Yeah, we were
just leaving, remember?
Can't leave, Wade.
There might be someone
or something
hurt inside the craft.
Good point.
Keep an eye out
for anything unusual.
We won't be long.
I promise.
Quinn, most of the ship
was buried on impact.
We'll have to dig
to get inside.
Careful, Mr.
Mallory.
This thing may still be alive.
We're breathing
Kromagg air, Mr.
Mallory.
As far as I can tell,
it's a standard
oxygen/nitrogen mix.
They must come
from a planet similar to Earth.
What do we
have here, eh?
What do you make
of these, eh?
Some sort of map?
I don't know, Wade.
I think we're asking for trouble
hanging around like this.
I mean, what about
common sense?
I guess that's something those
"brainiacs" wouldn't understand.
They're scientists.
Common
sense just gets in their way.
Yeah, wasn't it a scientist that sucked
me and my Caddy straight into an iceberg?
I was just
an innocent man.
A normal guy, trying
to live a comfortable life
as a beloved celebrity.
Along comes a scientist
and kicks me straight-
Rembrandt, we've been
through all this.
Look, you and I both know
that we should be leaving,
but as long as we're staying, how come
they got to go inside of that thing?
Why does the scientist
get to have all the fun?
They said they would
be out soon, huh?
It's already getting dark.
Professor?
I broke its neck.
I killed it, Professor.
If you did, you're
a hero, Mr.
Mallory.
This is an invading
soldier, don't forget,
not a social worker.
What's this?
I think we should get
out of here, Mr.
Mallory.
Hey, guys.
What's that
sound? What did you do?
I'm not sure.
It's an alarm.
Run for it!
Oh, jeez!
I think we've lost them
for the moment,
but they'll double back
when they can't find us.
We slide in 23 seconds.
Let's pray the gate doesn't attract
them before it's fully formed.
This is one world
I want to leave far behind.
Well, that was one ship
we should've left far behind.
But no, we had to satisfy
our curiosity.
Those soldiers
who where chasing us
look just like that thing
we found in the ship.
They remind me of some
kind of hideous ape.
What's so disturbing
about that face
is not so much
the ape in it, but the man.
Here we go.
Okay! Go, now!
Wade, the Kromaggs-
they're sliders.
Go!
Oh!
Ahgh!
Bravo!
The Professor landed
on that poor guy-
smashed his bread to bits!
Don't you dare, you
Welcome
to Versailles West,
in the country
of "New France.
"
The French apparently
rule this continent.
I have a feeling that this world is
going to be even worse than the last one.
Thank you.
You are English, no?
How is that tiny
little island?
It must be wonderful
for you to escape
those dreary shores
and come to New France, yes?
Yes, of course.
Wonderful.
Now, you say you saw a second
ship coming through a wormhole?
That's right.
And judging by my study
of the maps in the ship,
I would say that our little
madman was quite correct.
The Kromagg
are not aliens,
they're every bit as much
Earthmen as we are.
Come on, Professor.
You saw those butt-ugly faces.
You're going to tell me
that they're from some Earth?
Different Earths could have
followed different evolutionary paths.
In the 1960s there was
an anthropologist called Dreyar
who came up with the theory
of a "killer ape"-
an early primate that killed off
rival primate species.
Perhaps the Kromaggs are
a vindication of Dreyar's theory.
On our world, they were
an evolutionary dead end.
On their world,
they killed off
our early human ancestors.
Jeez, if these
things are sliders,
we need to find home before they do.
Our Earth needs to be warned.
Every Earth needs to be warned-
starting with this one.
Hold on, "Paul Revere.
" I happen
to agree with you, by the way,
but here's the problem-
how do we do it?
We can't just go up
to every gendarme and say,
"Excuse me, very shortly
an army of killer apes
will be descending
in your vichyssoise.
"
Enjoy your meal, English?
It must be wonderful
to have some real food,
not that crappy fish and chip.
I'm impressed, Professor.
No matter how much that guy
taunts you, you turn the other cheek.
Patience,
Mr.
Mallory.
Just wait till he sees his tip.
Brown, our treasurer,
let's have some of those
small pieces of silver
you won in the last casino.
Thank God for
the Professor's watch.
We would've been
washing dishes for a week.
I tell you, I just love
the French women.
You never know
what they're thinking.
Of course, I could say
that same thing
about Asian women
or Latin women.
Maybe it's a good thing you don't
know what women are thinking.
Cheer up, Professor,
it was only a watch.
"Only a watch"?
That timepiece
was probably worth more
than the gross national product
of Paraguay.
Nasty French planet-
filled with shifty,
backstabbing,
croissant-sniffing nitwits.
Professor,
you're killing us.
Maybe you should've saved some
of those insults for the waiter.
That frog-eating mendicant?
I wouldn't waste good material on him.
Professor
what's that in your pocket,
an atomic tomato?
Professor, you took that?
You shouldn't have.
You had no right.
Mr.
Mallory, if ever we get
back to civilization
this is the only proof
we have of Kromagg existence.
The question is,
why the devil is it flashing now?
Is that
what I think it is?
- Oh!
- Uh!
Is this "tangible proof"
of the Kromaggs' existence?
Hey, what gives?
I can't move away from the wall.
What's holding us up?
Gravity.
The Kromaggs are masters
of the gravitational sciences.
They've learned
to harness the Earth
as we once
harnessed the horse.
My name is Mary
and you are prisoners of-
guests
of the Kromagg Dynasty.
There's been a big
misunderstanding.
Why don't you let us go and there
won't be any hard feelings, okay?
Why does he keep standing there
while you do all the talking?
My masters refuse to learn
a *** sapiens tongue
so they've
taught me theirs.
I serve as their
telepathic interpreter.
You are now traveling through
an interdimensional tunnel
being transported
to Outpost Earth 113.
A barren world where advanced
life has never taken hold.
Hear that, Mr.
Mallory?
The Kromaggs
can control sliding.
Why are you
doing this to us?
You disabled a peace ship.
You murdered its controller.
We were defending ourselves.
We landed in the middle
of an invasion.
There was no invasion.
The Kromagg Dynasty
was invited in
to quell an internal dispute.
You intervened
without cause.
You speak for the Kromaggs.
How
did that come about? Why you?
I was selected-
chosen when I was
a little girl.
It was a great honor.
It began when they announced
their presence to the world.
TV, radios,
all channels- suddenly
they were everywhere.
The Kromaggs brought us
new ways, new ideas.
We accepted them
as our superiors
and they blessed
our world a thousandfold.
You will be debriefed
on Earth 113.
Your willingness
to cooperate
will determine your fate.
What time is it, Q-Ball?
Is it lunchtime
or dinnertime?
Dusk or dawn?
All I know
is that I'm hungry.
Can't figure out whether I want
to order pancakes or prime rib.
Can't help you there,
Rembrandt.
No windows no clocks.
The hours just seem
to run together.
Where's Professor?
They took him
while you were sleeping.
Notice how the four of us
have never been together
since we arrived
at this place?
Must be their strategy-
separate, confuse us,
interrupt our sleep.
Rembrandt Brown.
You may leave
your quarters.
Go down the hall
to the right, second door.
Let me go with him.
No.
You will remain
where you are.
I thought you said
we were guests.
Why are we being
treated like inmates?
Down the hall to the right,
second door.
Look, what about our
other friends anyway?
- Aren't we going to be reunited?
- Down the hall.
Yeah, I know.
"To the right, second door.
"
Rembrandt
stay strong.
Don't tell them anything.
Yeah.
Remmy?
Is that you?
It is you.
Oh, my God.
Dad-?
How could it be?
I mean-
How is it
that you're here?
The Kromaggs
now control our Earth.
What?
It happened while you were
gone, but it was a good thing.
The Kromaggs brought
new ways of doing things
and great prosperity
to us all.
What about the military?
Didn't we put up a fight?
Fight? There was
no need to fight.
We welcomed them.
I just told you that.
Why are you
so nervous, Dad?
It's been a long time
since I've seen my boy.
Of course I'm
a little nervous.
It's a natural thing.
The Kromaggs
are our superiors.
They have
far more discipline
and fantastic
mental capacities.
We can learn
a lot from them.
You still haven't
told me why you're here.
I'm on my way
to the Kromagg world-
a whole bunch of us.
The lucky ones
are going by the thousands.
We're on this rock
just waiting-
waiting for our chance
to complete the journey.
Word's out that
you and your friends
killed a Kromagg.
It's time to cooperate.
Tell them the truth.
Let them cross-check
their coordinates
so they can see that
our world's no longer a threat.
Then they might even
let you come stay with me
and your sister.
That's right, Remmy,
your kid sister's here, too.
If you don't want
to talk to them,
you can always
talk to me.
Who designed
your sliding machine?
Not the boy.
Who did it really?
The government?
The CIA?
Quinn did it
by accident.
What about the others?
What role did they play
in the machine's creation?
They had no role- none.
Do you know the coordinates
to our Earth?
Do you know which
sliding tunnel leads to it?
I'll tell you what, "Dad,"
you give me back my timer
and I'll take you there.
Hey, why are you
looking at me like that?
I don't know who you are
but you're not my father.
You see, "Dad"-
I never had a sister.
The Kromagg are
killing me with kindness.
Promise after promise
of what they will do for me
if I will just reveal to them
the whereabouts of our Earth.
Can you hear me?
Yes, we can hear you.
I'm sorry
to bother you again.
I guess I'm just lonely.
Thousands of us
prisoner on this world,
but they leave me
in solitary.
Why would the Kromaggs
keep thousands of Earth
prisoners on this world?
Some are here
for slave labor.
Some for food.
The Kromagg claim
to be a civilized people.
Believe what you want.
All I know
is there's a high price
on their black market
for human eyes.
I wouldn't worry too much.
From what I hear,
you're VIPs.
Maybe they'll let you
keep your eyes
if you tell them
what they want to know.
That's enough!
Now listen to me,
no matter how they threaten us,
no matter what they offer us,
we keep our secrets
to ourselves- right?
What's the matter?
You act like you've seen a devil.
I think maybe I did.
Talk to me, Professor.
We may have
seriously underrated
the Kromagg power
of hypnotic suggestion.
I have just been
talking to you,
but you weren't there.
Lord knows how
the others are taking it.
We want to help you.
We have the ability
to transport you
to your Earth.
You could be home
by tomorrow.
Isn't that
what you want?
Of course.
It's what we all want.
Then tell us true things.
I can't tell you
what you want to know.
I'm not a scientist.
Surely you know
where your home is?
Everyone knows that.
Not everyone.
Not us.
Have you no memories
of your city?
Your family?
I think of them
all the time.
But that doesn't mean
I know how to get back.
Are the four of you
the advanced scouts
of a sliding army?
No!
That's ridiculous!
Do the rulers
of your world
have plans to invade
the Kromagg Dynasty?
Of course not.
They don't even know
about you.
what are the dilactic
interdimensional
coordinates
of your home Earth?
I told you, again and again,
I don't know.
If you did know,
would you tell us?
No.
- Why?
- 'Cause I don't trust you.
I don't believe
the things you tell me.
I don't believe
anything you say.
If it meant
sparing your life,
would you tell us
what we want to know?
No.
Never.
What if Quinn Mallory's life
were at stake?
Would that make
a difference to you?
We have him
in the next chamber.
Unless your answers
begin to bear fruit
we will put him
to death
painfully.
They told me they'd kill Quinn
if I didn't cooperate.
So I just kept talking-
tried to keep them
off balance.
What did you
tell them exactly?
Just some of the worlds
that we've been to.
I figured if I appeared
cooperative
it'd buy us some time.
Well, I figure they got
inside my head somehow.
Painted a picture
of my father
that my eyes and my ears
would believe.
I got to tell you, man,
I just stood there
my heart thumping
through my chest
hoping that he would
morph into something else
or just vanish into thin air,
but he never did.
He actually was my father.
Just my father
on another Earth.
Who knows what
will happen to him now?
Not to mention a sister
who really isn't my sister.
The danger is, you see,
that the Kromaggs will try
to backtrack our journey
and find our Earth.
Did you say anything
to your father that might help them?
I don't think so, but who knows
what we're giving out?
You've spoken
to a hallucination.
We all could be
talking in our sleep.
You're right.
The Kromagg bag of tricks
keeps getting bigger
and our ability to resist
withers away with time.
We ought to try to escape from here
even if it costs us our lives.
Absolutely, man,
whatever it takes.
I'm with you.
What about Quinn?
We have no way
of knowing, Wade.
They may have held him personally
responsible for the pilot's death.
What are you saying?
What he's saying,
Miss Wells,
is that Quinn
may already be dead.
We may have
to go on without him.
Green-
I-
I never thought
I'd see green on this world.
It's so peaceful here.
Especially after being
cooped up for three days.
Alone.
My friends could sure
use some space.
I could only arrange this
for you.
It's a gift.
I sold it as therapy.
Perhaps the atmosphere
would make you
long for home
and lead you to talk.
Are your masters watching
us now? Are they listening?
No.
This is a sanctuary,
a place I'm allowed
to come to when I
truly want to be alone.
That's why
I bought you some time
and brought you here.
What do you mean?
The Kromaggs
have been testing you.
The carrot and the stick-
threats and promises-
their way of searching
your souls
trying to find hidden truths.
You are the first *** sapiens
they've encountered
who know the secrets of sliding.
This terrifies them.
All we want to do is get home.
We're no threat to them.
Understand, the Kromaggs'
Earth was hell,
fraught with endless
tribal warfare.
Then they discovered sliding
and were shocked to find Earth after
Earth dominated by *** sapiens.
Their fear and hatred
of us united them.
Now they have a single
military government
devoted to the sliding
conquests of other Earths.
A common enemy-
someone everyone can hate so they'll
band together and stop hating each other.
So that was an invasion
we slid into.
One of many
and all successful.
Why are you
telling me this?
Why take the risk?
The Kromaggs have
branded you a murderer.
Your hours are numbered.
I don't
want you to die.
I like you.
When you displayed such resolute
defiance against the Kromaggs
I had some kind
of breakthrough.
I can't really
explain it, but
I didn't believe my kind
was capable of such resistance.
They've brainwashed you-
about us- about everything.
But I'm going to fight them.
If you could bring me my timer
maybe we could get away.
You could come with us.
There's no time.
Tomorrow morning,
stage two of the interrogation
process will begin.
Your friends will be
killed here on 113.
You'll be taken back
to the Kromagg home world
where you'll be tortured
until they acquire
the information they desire.
I will never help them
find my Earth,
no matter what they do to me.
Do you understand?
I believe that about you
and your friends, too.
But there's nothing I can do.
But there is.
The Kromaggs trust you.
Help us.
I'm powerless.
I'm truly sorry.
I brought you here
to say goodbye.
I don't mean any harm, Q-Ball,
but is it really you?
In the flesh.
I've been with Mary,
learning as much
as I can about our captors
and trying my best
to gain her trust.
They took her to the Kromagg Earth
when she was
just a little girl.
It's a jungle planet.
Their
cities are built amidst trees
that would make the redwoods
look like matchsticks.
Mary was reviled by the populace,
who saw her as a monster.
They threw stones at her, spit on
her.
It must have been terrible.
She's supposed
to be a monster?
The Kromaggs ever look in a
mirror? The eye-eating freaks.
We'll probably
die here.
Maybe not.
She gave this to me.
What is it?
I'm hoping it's a key.
It could be a trick.
Trick or not, it's a way out,
and I'm all for it.
- Are you with us?
- I'm with you, buddy.
Who's out there?
It's the prisoner
in the cell next door.
I'd come to think
he was an illusion.
Give me the key.
We're
going to get you out of here.
No! I can never
leave this place.
And if I can't leave,
neither can you!
Guards!
Guards!
The prisoners are escaping!
Next time I do a good
deed, kick me.
Count on it!
How are we going to slide?
We don't have the timer.
Music to my ears, Q-Ball.
Now we got to find an exit.
Dead end!
We have got to find
a way out of here!
Hey, this way.
Whoa, whoa,
wait a minute!
- Wait one minute.
- Quinn!
What's he doing?
Incoming!
I took care of some sliding
equipment I spotted through the door.
I guarantee they won't
be using it for a while.
Well done, my boy.
You must hurry!
My masters are hunting you now.
They'll be here in seconds.
Listen, we can access
our gate in 83 minutes,
but not from here.
It has to be in
the world where the Kromaggs found us.
It's all right.
I programmed the portal
to send you back to the
last world you came from.
With your timer, you should
be able to slide from there.
Please, go!
The Kromaggs taught me
more than they ever realized.
I guess they never dreamed
I'd do something like this.
Come on, we've got
to get you to your feet.
You're dreaming, Quinn.
I'm dying
and we both know it.
The gate is fully formed.
You must go
now.
Your freedom
makes me happier
than you will ever know.
Go, Quinn.
Go for me.
Mary, the Kromaggs were wrong.
You are beautiful.
You always will be.
Oh!
Take a guess.
The Professor landed
on the guy with the bike.
Right in front of him.
Croissants flew everywhere.
Ah, pardon, monsieur.
All right,
I'll change my mind.
After Kromagg Prison World,
New France is bearable.
Wait a minute.
Where's Mary?
She didn't make it.
Multiple time units
spent probing
the minds of the subjects
revealed that they did not
know the location
of their home Earth.
Their sliding patterns
were erratic
and totally random.
The successful
implantation
of a homing device
in one of the subjects
will allow us to track
their journeys,
in hopes that they will
eventually return to their Earth.
And we will be waiting-
and watching,
ready to attack
when the time is right.
You have done well, Mary.
You may have an hour
of freedom in the garden
before you go
back to your cage.
Thank you, master.