Lamar and Orvis arrive at the Kipp dock to take a rental boat out to fish. As Tressa prepares to take them out, Lamar cuts off the tip of his finger while cutting bait and Tressa screams in shock. Lamar removes his hat to reveal circuitry in his head, and says that he's sorry she had to see what happened.
The two men--cyborgs--take Tressa out to drown her and make it look like a swimming accident. Swamp Thing arrives and knocks Orvis away, then manages to rip off Lamar's arm. The creature then carries the stunned Tressa away.
That night at the compound, Arcane questions Lamar's severed head and points out that they weren't supposed to draw attention. Arcane tells Graham to get the cyborgs repaired and back out into the field. He then reviews the footage of Woodrue's ship exploding, and Graham points out that Sutherland isn't happy with them for letting the baby escape so he's cut off the footage to their initial project. Arcane insists that the baby has no scientific value, but Sutherland wants all evidence of Woodrue's experiments destroyed. He tells Lamar to find mature specimens that survived the experiment, and Lamar says that they were on to something interesting. Arcane shows him a laser gram tattoo and tells the cyborg that it's to find a mature specimen with the tattoo on their leg.
Abigail tends to Tressa, and Hollister says that the police have said they'll find out what's happening. Tressa doesn't remember anything that happened after she saw Lamar cut off his finger, and Will drops the laundry as he takes it to the laundromat. Abigail joins him and notices that he has a birthday card from Tressa to her goddaughter. The teenager says that she's never had a birthday because she's a test tube baby, and as Hollister comes out Will tells him that he was thinking of having a birthday party for Abigail. They figure that it will brighten up Tressa's day, and Abigail feels a sudden chill.
Lamar and Orvis walk down the road and Officer Donnelly spots them and pulls over. He asks for ID, and they kill him with a liquid=draining stiletto siphon, leaving his corpse a desiccated husk.
Tressa and Will make food for the party, and Abigail complains that they're having all of the fun. She feels another chill as someone knocks at the door. Will answers it and finds Lamar and Orvis outside. Abigail tells him not to let them in, and Will slams the door shut. Lamar punches through it and Abigail tells Will that the cyborgs are like the watchers that the government had but she thought they were all destroyed in the explosion.
Abigail runs up to lock the window in Tressa's room, and Tressa remembers that the cyborgs are the "men" who attacked her. Meanwhile, Orvis breaks in upstairs and she manages to slip by him. As she runs downstairs, Lamar smashes through the stairs and grabs her ankle. Will kicks her free and runs upstairs, and Orvis throws him out the window. Tressa hits Lamar in the head with a frying pan, and Abbigail runs out to Will and says that they're after her.
Lamar and Orvis walk out of the house and Abigail tells Will that she has to go. She runs to the dock and takes the boat out. The cyborgs walk into the water and along the bottom after her.
At the compound, Arcane tells Graham that his workers are not doing anything. Graham points out that was the project that Sutherland suspended funding for, and shows him the telemetry reading that indicate the cyborgs have locked onto an experiment.
Abigail goes ashore and runs through the swamp. She comes to Swamp Thing, who tells her from the shadows not to be afraid. He says that he's Will's friend and tells her to go into the pond so he can take her through the dark into the light. Abigail does so and is pulled under. She emerges into an underground grotto, and talks about how she wants to get back to her friends for her birthday party.
Lamar and Orvis arrive in the grotto and Orvis knocks her into the water. Swamp Thing steps out and they attack him with their stilettos.
Abigail emerges into the pond outside and Will finds her and helps her to shore.
Swamp Thing holds the stilettos in his body and tells the cyborgs that he's feeding acid into their siphons... and into them. They're soon destroyed.
Later, Arcane examines what's left of his cyborgs. The transponder apparently recorded a confirmed kill, and Sutherland is satisfied. The Lamar cyborg head spits liquid in Arcane's face.
Abigail celebrates her birthday with Tressa, Will, and Hollister. She makes another wish that her new friend finds his birthday someday.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 21, 2017