Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit the Complete Season 2

Episode 8: Sewer or Later

Featured Cryptid: Bishopville lizard man

Our episode opens up with a flashback to Blake's childhood where we see an 8-year-old Blake Leeds and his mother Helena Leeds watch as Blake's father walks out the door never to return, Blake's narration explaining that his father abandoned him and his mother after learning about the Leeds family's dark secret (that being their connection to the Jersey devil and the occult). Blake's father eventually fell in love with another woman, an Australian girl named Amelia Kerr and they had a son named Bill, which is why Blake felt resentment towards his half-brother Bill. we then cut to present day where we see Blake wake up on a lab table. Blake looks around where he is shocked to discover that he is able to see again. Blake then looks down at his body to see that his arms and legs have been replaced with cybernetic limbs. Doctor Uno then enters the room to tell Blake that he's glad to see him awake. Blake then hops off the table and falls flat on his face. Blake then struggles to use his new legs however he manages to get back up and re-learn how to walk again, albeit with a wobbly gait at first. however Blake manages to get a hold of his cybernetic limbs and walks toward Uno who congratulates Blake on mastering the cybernetic enhancements that he gave him. however Blake snaps and grabs Uno by the neck and lifts him into the air, asking why he did this after what he did, sabotaging the Honey Island project and killing his daughter. Uno then tells Blake that he felt sorry for what he did so he decided to make it up to him by putting him back together again. Blake then starts choking Uno, telling him that he shouldn't be alive and that he should have died after being mauled by the Jersey Devil. Uno then tells Blake that he should be grateful, telling him that he gave him back his vision and his body. Domino then enters the room, telling cyborg Blake to let Uno go and that he belongs to the Black Dot now. Blake then tells Domino that he belongs to no one, however Domino tells Blake that what was given can be taken away and whips out a remote before pressing a button that de-activates cyborg Blake's robotic eyes causing him to go blind again and drop Doctor Uno. Blake starts having another panic attack from his blindness, screaming "no! no! not again!" before Domino presses the button again which re-activates Blake's robotic eyes, Blake relieved from being able to see again. Domino then blackmails Blake into joining the Black Dot by threatening to remove his newly-regained eyesight for good if he doesn't comply. Blake reluctantly agrees and Domino tells him that he has a mission for him: to track down and kill the man known as Doctor Alex Rylander. we then cut to Animal X HQ where we see Tony wearing the Atlantean crystal shard Daniel gave him as a necklace while tinkering with the X-Jeep. Daniel asks Tony what he's doing, and Tony tells Daniel that he made some modifications to the X-Jeep's battle mode, however the upgrades are still a work in progress so in other words they've got to use it wisely. Tony then turns his head to see his mother looking at the old family photo, longing for the days when she and Blake were together. Tony then places his hand on his mother's shoulder, telling her that he understands how she feels about dad and Nina. Helena tells her son that she misses them and the she wouldn't know what she would do if she lost him too. Natalie then walks into the emotional mother-son moment between Helena and Tony, Natalie secretly showing resentment towards their parental bond due to her being an orphan. Rodney recognizes that Natalie is sad and the little skyfish nuzzles up against her to make her feel better. Daniel then asks Natalie if she's okay, and Natalie tells Daniel that she kinda envies Tony a bit, saying that it's not fair that he gets to grow up with a living parent but she doesn't. Daniel then tells Natalie that they've lost family members just like she did, both Blake and Nina meaning that they have something in common. Natalie then looks at her locket before looking back at Tony and Helena. Bill then butts in-between Daniel and Natalie to tell them that he has a mission for them. Bill then shows Daniel and Natalie a photo of a shadowy figure in the sewers, Bill telling them that this photo was given to him by their old friend Dr. Alex Rylander who has recently been studying these "lizard men" in Bishopville, South Carolina. the mention of Lizard men causes Daniel to have flashbacks to the ancestry chart he saw at Chastelle manor in "Monster or murderer?" and open up the Cryptozoologicon to the page on the Lizard man and reads an excerpt saying that the Reptilians or Lizard men were one of the seven descendants of the Firstborn who are neither man nor reptile, but something in-between and that there are several different subspecies of reptilian all over the work including the Sobek of Egypt, the Gorgon of Greece, the Tlaloc of Mexico and the Naga of India but the name "Lizard man" is mostly associated with the North American subspecies known as the Bishopville lizard man that is native to the wetlands of the southeastern United States. Bill then tells Daniel and Natalie that these sightings of lizard men in sewers are quite unsettling, as having a cryptid venture this close into human settlement is not only dangerous for the people of Bishopville, but for the cryptid as well since it would expose its existence to the public which could lead to the lizard man being exploited and hunted to extinction because mankind can't help itself, which is why it is paramount that they find this lizard man and relocate it back to its natural habitat in Scape Ore swamp where it belongs and will hopefully be unbothered by people. Helena then tells Daniel and Natalie that she'll be going with them before we cut to Daniel, Natalie, and Rodney entering the vehicle hangar where Helena demonstrates the upgrades she and Tony added to the X-Jeep, pressing a button on a remote that transforms the X-jeep into battle mode. she then presses another button that activates a force field around the mech. Daniel and Natalie both applaud while Rodney zips around the room in excitement only for the little skyfish to ram into the forcefield and bounce directly off of it. Helena explains that this force field will help protect the X-jeep from bullets and angry cryptids. the X-jeep then reverts back into jeep mode and our heroes all hop in followed by the X-jeep transforming into flight mode and blasting off. we then cut to the X-Jeep landing in Scape Ore Swamp in Bishopville, South Carolina and driving through a nearby sewer entrance all the while they are watched by the lizard man who shapeshifts into Tony and puts on a toothy smile. we then cut to the X-Jeep driving through the sewers, Helena in the drivers seat telling Daniel and Natalie that she's detecting an energy signature nearby meaning that the lizard man couldn't have gone far. Natalie then notices Daniel pondering and asks what he's thinking about, all the while little Rodney nuzzles up against Daniel to get his attention. Daniel then shoos the little skyfish away and tells Natalie that he's been thinking about what Bill said, that Mankind can't help itself. Natalie then puts her hand on Daniel's shoulder and tells him that there is a long list of species that have gone extinct due to man's greed and that for years Animal X has been trying to keep the existence of Cryptids a secret to prevent them from being added to that list. Daniel then tells Natalie that he gets that but he's wondering how long they can keep this charade up until eventually people start catching on, asking what they would do if the secret were to get out. Natalie then tells Daniel that if the existence of Cryptids were to be revealed to the public, then Animal X would no longer have a reason to exist. Daniel then tells Natalie that he wishes there was a way for humans and cryptids to co-exist, and that maybe he was given these gifts because he was destined to be the one to unite the two worlds. however their conversation is interrupted when Helena suddenly stops the vehicle upon seeing what looks like Tony standing there staring into the headlights. our heroes then exit the X-jeep and Helena asks "Tony" what he's doing here while Rodney nuzzles up against Tony happy to see him again. Helena then notices that Tony's crystal pendant is missing and asks her son what happened to it, followed by Daniel closing his eyes using his telepathy and senses that "Tony" is not human before warning Helena that's not the real Tony. Helena and Rodney both back away as the fake Tony starts licking his eyeballs followed by a row of spines emerging from the imposter's back while sharp claws emerge from its hands. poor little Rodney scared for his life hides inside Daniel's pocket and the impostor reverts back into its true form revealing itself to be none other than the Lizard man who roars at our heroes. Natalie and Daniel both whip out their weapons and try to fight off the lizard man, Daniel tying up the beast with his grappling hook while Natalie electrocutes the reptilian humanoid with her electric bo staff. however the lizard man shakes it off and breaks free of its restraints mopping the floor with our heroes. Helena then hops back into the X-jeep and transforms the X-jeep into battle mode. we then get a one-on-one fight between the lizard man and Helena in the mech-suit, all the while Cyborg Blake watches the fight from the shadows. the Lizard man then tries to bite the mecha but is deflected by Helena's new force field upgrade causing the beast to collapse. Daniel and Natalie thank Helena for the quick save all the while the Lizard man struggles to get back up. we then see a female reptilian and her child arrive on the scene, the female reptilian begging for them to stop the fighting followed by the reptilian child telling Helena not to hurt his daddy. the Mech suit then stops, our heroes asking what the heck is going on. the Lizard man then hugs his mate and rubs snouts with her, apologizing for lashing out saying that as soon as he heard that Humans have ventured into their turf he was scared that they were going to hurt her and their son. Rodney then pops out from Daniel's pocket and starts zipping around the lizard family, getting the attention of the lizard man who recognizes Daniel and Natalie, saying that he remembers them. Natalie then asks the creature how he knows who they are, followed by Helena stepping out of the vehicle shocked to see that the lizard man has a family. the Lizard man then recognizes Helena, telling her that it's been a while mentioning that the last time he saw her was when she and those two agents of her saved him from Blake and the Jersey Devil. Helena then puts two and two together and says "Rylander?". the lizard man then shapeshifts into Doctor Rylander, our heroes shocked at this revelation. Rylander then tells our heroes that he didn't want them to know about his real self this soon saying he wanted to wait a long while before telling them the truth, but since they're all here and they know his secret they might as well meet his family, introducing our heroes to his mate Repta and their son Herpy. meanwhile Cyborg Blake is still watching from the shadows, shocked to learn that Rylander was secretly one of those filthy reptilians this whole time. Cyborg Blake then radios Domino to inform him of this discovery, Domino telling Cyborg Blake that the reptilian's scales have unique properties that allow them the ability to shapeshift and that they would be a lucrative item if sold on the Black Market. we then cut to our heroes following the lizard family through the dark sewers with Daniel and Natalie's flashlights lighting the way, Helena asking Rylander why he never told them he was an 8-foot tall bipedal lizard, and Rylander explains his backstory: his real name is Allander and that he was the first non-human to join the Animal X natural mystery unit under the alias of Alex Rylander, going on to say that he joined to be an ambassador for his people as they were being hunted relentlessly by the black dot. Helena then asks Rylander if anyone else within Animal X knows his secret, and Rylander tells her that Bill is the only one who knows and agreed to keep his true identity a secret from the rest of the Animal X natural mystery unit in order to keep his family safe. Natalie then notices Daniel reading the Cryptozoologicon and asks Daniel what he's doing, and Daniel tells Natalie that he's reading up on their new lizard friends, Daniel reading an excerpt that says reptilians/lizardmen are masters of disguise, capable of changing shape due to a special property in their scaly skin that allows them to rearrange their molecules to take any form they choose, along with vocal chords that allows them to mimic the voices of their target and that these abilities led to many conspiracy theories about the governments of the world being infiltrated by lizard people. Allander then tells our heroes that his shapeshifting skills are a little rusty outside of the Doctor Rylander disguise (which just so happens to be his favorite form). Repta then tells her mate that she thinks his shapeshifting is wonderful. Allander rolls his eyes, telling Repta that she's obviously the better shapeshifter than him. Repta then shapeshifts into Natalie and starts mocking her saying "look at me i'm Natalie and i fight bad guys in a totally impractical-for-combat miniskirt!", Natalie crossing her arms and rolling her eyes at Repta's pale imitation of her and mockery of her wardrobe of choice all the while Daniel, Rodney, and even Herpy start laughing at her. Helena then tells Natalie to ignore the boys followed by Repta shapeshifting into Helena and asking her why she's such a smarty-pants followed by Allander telling Repta to cut it out. Repta then tells him that she was just having fun. Rodney notices Cyborg Blake watching our heroes from the shadows and hides in Daniel's pocket yet again, Daniel asking Rodney what's spooked him this time. our heroes then hear the voice "Hello Rylander" and Cyborg Blake steps out of the shadows to reveal himself to our heroes. Helena is shocked to see Blake alive, asking how it's possible as she saw him get mauled by the Jersey Devil with her own eyes. Cyborg Blake then explains to her that it was the Black Dot and Doctor Uno who put him back together again, saying that Uno was an expert on Cybernetic reconstruction. Natalie then notices the crystal on Cyborg Blake's forehead and realizes that it's an Atlantean power crystal, and Cyborg Blake tells her that she's right explaining that the Atlantean crystal is what powers his cybernetic enhancements. Helena tells her ex-husband that serving the Black Dot is a new low for him, however Cyborg Blake tells her that he still can't forgive the Animal X Natural mystery unit for Nina's death before transforming his hand into a plasma cannon and taking aim at Allander before Natalie deflects the blast with her electric bo-staff and swings her weapon at Cyborg Blake. however Cyborg Blake transforms his hand into a blade that cuts her weapon in half before knocking her aside. Daniel then fires his grappling hook at Cyborg Blake who catches the cable with his superhuman reflexes before tossing Daniel into Natalie. Allander tells Repta to cover their son's eyes. Cyborg Blake then transforms his hand back into a plasma cannon and fires at Allander repeatedly, however he dodges each of his blasts and rips off Cyborg Blake's arm with his powerful lizard jaws forcing Cyborg Blake to retreat, all the while our heroes are shocked to see how savage a lizard man can be when you mess with his family. we then cut to Cyborg Blake limping through the sewers before contacting Domino to inform him that he found an entire family of Lizard people meaning there could be many more hiding in the sewers. Domino then assures him that he'll be sending reinforcements right away followed by Cyborg Blake re-attaching his severed arm back onto his body. we then cut to our heroes arriving at Allander's sewer lair, Allander telling our heroes that this is his home where he and his family have been living. Allander then lets out a massive roar causing several lizard people to come out of hiding. Rodney then zips around in excitement greeting all the reptilian children while Daniel, Natalie, and Helena are in amazement of being surrounded by so many lizard people. Allander then explains to our heroes that his people were driven out of their wetland home of Scape Ore Swamp by the Black Dot and were forced to live underground in the South Carolina sewers to hide from those monsters. he then goes on to say that he wanted them to come here so they could help him fight off the Black Dot and liberate his people. Daniel then looks at the families of Lizard people before looking at his hands, having flashbacks to his childhood when his father injected him with the ESPer gene. Daniel then comes to the conclusion that he was given these powers for a reason, vowing to use his gifts as an Animal X agent to help create a brighter future for both humans and cryptids alike. the lizard people all applaud Daniel, all the while Natalie is moved by Daniel's speech. however this moment is interrupted by a platoon of Black Dot grunts arrive at the sewer lair and point their guns at the lizard people who cower in fear along with Rodney who hides behind Daniel's back followed by Cyborg Blake arriving on the scene to tell our heroes that they're nothing but a bunch of filthy reptilian sympathizers. Allander begs Cyborg Blake to let his people go, telling him that they're innocent. Helena tells Blake to listen to the lizard man, telling him that Nina's gone and that the suffering of an entire species can't change that. Allander then shapeshifts into his Rylander form and tells Blake to Listen to her, telling him that Joining the Black Dot is a mistake, reminding him that the Honey Island Project was meant to help cryptids, not doom them to extinction. Allander them shapeshifts into Bill, telling Blake that his thirst for revenge has put loved ones directly in the face of danger, including his own brother. Allander then shapeshifts into the Jersey Devil, telling Blake that revenge has driven him to kill innocents, such as all those scientists who he once considered friends that he murdered in cold blood. Allander then finally shapeshifts into Nina, telling Blake that none of this violence will ever bring Nina back. Cyborg Blake is angry that Allander had the nerve to take the form of his dearly-departed daughter and transforms his arm into a blade and stabs Allander in the heart causing him to revert back to his lizard man form and collapse on the ground, our heroes watching in horror while Herpy screams "DADDY!!!!!!", the reptilian child rushing to his father's aid. Allander in his dying breath tells his son to save himself and to not worry about him as his time has come. Allander then dies followed by little Herpy crying over his father's dead body, all the while Helena asks Blake how he could be so cruel. Cyborg Blake then grabs Herpy by the neck and lifts him up, telling his ex-wife that she doesn't understand that he can't allow these insidious reptiles to live, or else Domino will take his eyesight away and he doesn't want to go blind again. Helena then looks at Cyborg Blake's eyes and realizes that they're robotic eyes which explains how he's able to see. however before Cyborg Blake can finish off Herpy Repta lunges at Cyborg Blake and bites his arm off saving her son. Repta then tells Blake that he'll pay for the death of her beloved Allander followed by Cyborg Blake transforming his arm into a plasma cannon and taking aim at Repta, however Rodney comes to the rescue and starts zipping around Cyborg Blake's head causing his blast to miss while Daniel, Natalie, and Tony cheer on Rodney. Repta then bites Cyborg Blake's other arm off leaving him armless and defenseless. Cyborg Blake then orders the Black Dot grunts to execute them all before retreating. the Black Dot grunts the open fire on the lizard people however they are saved when Helena calls the X-Jeep which transforms into battle mode and deflects their bullets with its force field while Daniel and Natalie fight off the grunts, Natalie electrocuting them with her electric batons followed by Daniel rounding them up with his grappling hook. Helena then hops in the mech-suit and transforms the mech's hand into a flail that knocks over the remaining Black Dot grunts like bowling pins forcing them all to retreat. the Lizard people then start cheering now that the Black Dot are gone, all the while Daniel and Natalie smile at each other before we cut to Blake running through the sewers until we see Domino flip the switch causing poor Blake to go blind allowing himself to get captured by Animal X personnel who arrive on the scene to arrest him. we then cut to the X-Jeep exiting the sewer and into Scape Ore Swamp where our heroes step out of the vehicle to see the Lizard people finally leave the sewer and return to their ancestral wetland home. Repta then shakes her hand with Helena, thanking our heroes for saving them from the Black Dot all the while Rodney gives Herpy a goodbye nuzzle. the lizard people then walk off into the swampland and our heroes then hop into the X-Jeep and Blast Off. we then cut back to Animal X HQ where we see Bill visiting an imprisoned Blake, telling him "hello, brother" as a callback to "the devil's curse". Blake asks Bill what he wants with him, and Bill asks Blake why he decided to join the Black Dot and kill Rylander. Blake then tells his brother that Doctor Uno blackmailed him into joining the Black Dot in exchange for keeping his newly-regained eyesight eyesight he gave him, only for him to make a horrifying discovery. our episode then ends with Blake revealing to Bill that it was Doctor Uno who sabotaged the Honey Island Project and killed Nina ending our episode on a cliffhanger.