Martin's dad accidentally releases and is swallowed by a prehistoric worm, which Martin caught. What's worse, if Martin does not stop the worm soon, his father's and the worm's DNA will become merged forever.
- The Assimilator: Diana eventually discovers that if they don't rescue Gerard from the worm in time, eventually the worm will fuse with Gerard permanently and completely take over Gerard's body.
- Assimilation Backfire: How Martin defeats the worm, making it swallow a large rock, which turns it into stone and freeing Martin's father.
- Chekhov's Gun: During his initial study session with Gerard, Martin reminisces about a time Gerard taught him to subdue a lynx by pulling on its ears. Later on, Martin is able to force the worm to spit out Gerard by pulling on its mouth flaps until it vomits Gerard out.
- Covered in Gunge: Happens to Martin, Diana and Java when they go look for the worm. Java enjoys it like a slide.
- Internal Reveal: At the end of the episode Gerard is finally told about the Center and the adventures of his children.
- Lightning Can Do Anything: Diana theorizes that a jolt of electricity from the campus' new warp-speed internet cables revived the prehistoric worm.
- Parental Favoritism: Gerard tries, but it always comes off as him liking Diana more than Martin, though he's arguably a science person, compared to Martin's enthusiasm with the paranormal (and tendency not to do well at school), which actually matches perfectly with Diana's rational views, and high marks. But he's not above accepting the paranormal with sufficient proof, since before he finds out about The Center, he's practically hit in the face by it twice, each time Martin saves him, earning his father's respect.
- Sand Worm: The Torrington Worm which can dig through the ground effortlessly.
- Science vs. Magic: Gerard is firmly on the science side, until he finds out about the Center.
- Taken for Granite: Martin uses the worm's assimilation ability to turn it into stone, stopping it for good.
- The Easy Way or the Hard Way: Gerald comes to Torrington when he hears that Martin's grades are dropping and tells him to improve them or else he will send Martin to the military academy, which scares Martin into studying.
- Tunnel King: The worm makes a whole net of tunnels underneath Torrington in a very short time.
- You Are Who You Eat: The worm has the ability to fuse with whatever it eats, with it taking Gerard's form twice after it devours him. Martin eventually deals with it after saving his dad by forcing it to swallow a rock, causing it to petrify as a result of fusing with the rock's molecular structure.
