It was "Chimera", in the 7th season. Laas was definitely one of Odo's species, as they linked. He wasn't a Founder, though, just one of the 100 baby changelings sent out to explore the galaxy like Odo.Darth Wong wrote:Is this "Laas" shapeshifter one of Odo's species? Why don't the rest of them pull these kinds of tricks? I never saw this episode.
As to why the rest don't pull these tricks, well... the story-external explanation is that they hadn't been thought of yet. A possible story-internal explanation is that the Founders were infected with the changeling plague since "Broken Link" in the end of the 4th season and had their powers hampered.
Laas was. Anything that can turn into fire, a cloud of vapor or go warp under its own power should fit under "near god-like". Of course other changelings didn't use these powers onscreen, and Odo is particularly bad at shape-shifting. Nevertheless, he should be able to easily overpower Data. False Ambassador Krajensky, when discovered, rippled outward and knocked over everyone on the bridge of the Defiant, then lept through an exit in the ceiling at superhuman speed. Near-human Data won't have a chance.And to think a bunch of Klingons easily killed the shapeshifter that was posing as General Martok. To hear you talk, a shapeshifter is near-godlike