Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit the Complete Season 2

Episode 12: Brother's Keeper

Featured Cryptid: Jackalope

Our episode opens up with Marcus trekking through the red desert of Wyoming, still seeking redemption. Marcus is blinded by the violent sandstorm, forcing him to return to his makeshift shelter in the middle of nowhere. Marcus then slices a cactus with his katana and drinks the water inside the cactus to rehydrate himself. Marcus then sees a family of Jackalopes come out of their burrow to investigate the strange human, and Marcus holds his hand out to the horned bunnies however they are terrified of him and run away. Marcus sighs, looking at his hands having flashbacks to being forced to behead a yeti as a child, a permanent mental scar from his abuse at the hands of his foster father Domino. Marcus reflects on his traumatic childhood feeling a deep guilt for his contribution to the Black Dot's continued exploitation and slaughter of cryptids. Marcus wishes there was a way for him to forgive himself for all the deaths of innocent animals he was responsible for, showing his immense regret for his past actions. Marcus then notices a group of Black Dot grunts capturing the Jackalope family from earlier and putting them in cages before loading them into an armored truck and driving off. Marcus then takes off his armor as a sign of him cutting ties with the Black Dot for good now wearing nothing but his black bodysuit he had underneath before putting on a pair of sunglasses and scarf to hide his identity from anyone who still doesn't believe he's a changed man. No longer is he Agent M of the black dot, he has now carved a new identity for himself as the wildlife warrior, protector of innocent animal life. After that, we cut to Natalie giving a bunch of kids a tour of the Cryptozoology museum, the kids ogling at the various exotic specimens on display. one kid raises his hand and asks Natalie what that rabbit with the horns is, and Natalie explains to the children that it is a Cervolagus Wyomingensis, otherwise known as the Jackalope. the kid rolls his eyes, telling her "yeah right, that thing's totally fake. you just glued a pair of deer antlers to a stuffed jackrabbit and called it a day!" only for Daniel to step in and lecture the children how this world is full of mysterious creatures yet to be discovered, to quote former renowned cryptozooligst Bill Kerr, "there are stranger things in heaven and earth". the kids then roll their eyes and walk off calling the museum lame which ticks off Daniel only for Natalie to calm him down telling him to take it easy, saying that they're just kids and that it's best that nobody thinks the stuff in the museum is real, as Animal X's whole mission is to keep the existence of cryptids a secret from the public after all. The two then ride the elevator back down to Animal X HQ where they are greeted by Rodney who nuzzles up to both Daniel and Natalie happy to see his human friends again. the two of them are then greeted by Helena. Natalie asks Helena where Tony is, saying that she hasn't seen him in a while which is making her worried. Helena tells Natalie that Tony has been spending the past couple days reconciling with his father before informing the two that Bill has a mission for them. we then cut to Tony visiting his dad in prison, telling him that he has an Atlantean power crystal just like him, like father, like son. Blake tells Tony to go away and let him rot in his cell in peace, and Tony tells his dad that he's trying to make up for lost time by doing some father-son bonding, however Blake tells Tony that he's not in the mood. Tony then leaves the room before we cut to Daniel and Natalie sitting in Bill's office where we see Bill explain to our heroes that there has been Black Dot activity in the red desert of Wyoming and that they've been capturing and trafficking the Jackalopes, however a mysterious masked vigilante has been taking out their operations one by one, he calls himself the "Wildlife Warrior". Bill shows Natalie and Daniel surveillance footage caught on an Animal X surveillance drone of the Wildlife Warrior slashing his way through hordes of Black Dot grunts with his katana and freeing a family of Jackalopes from a cage. Natalie recognizes the Wildlife Warrior as her brother Marcus. Daniel asks Natalie how she was able to recognize him, and Natalie tells Daniel "he's just wearing a scarf and a pair of sunglasses over his suit, it's not that hard to figure out 'ya doofus" followed by Bill telling the two that they must get to the bottom of this. Daniel, Natalie, and Rodney all hop into the X-Jeep and blast off before we cut to Domino's airship where we see Doctor Uno show Domino the footage of the one known as the wildlife warrior, Domino recognizing the mysterious vigilante as his former adopted son Marcus. Domino then orders the twins to go and take him down. after that, we cut to the X-jeep landing in the red desert of Wyoming where the two come across a Black Dot campsite to find several Black Dot grunts lying on the floor unconscious. the two then turn their heads to see the Wildlife Warrior katana in hand freeing the family of Jackalopes from their cage. Natalie then approaches the Wildlife Warrior, telling him that she knows who he really is. the Marcus then takes off his shades to look Natalie in the eyes and tells her "hello, sister". Natalie tells him "hello, brother" while showing him her locket, telling him that she kept it safe for him just as promised. Marcus pulls out his keychain and inserts it into Natalie's locket opening it up followed by the two siblings having a happy reunion while Daniel looks at Marcus with distrust. Marcus reaches his hand out to Rodney, telling the little Skyfish hi. however Rodney is terrified of Marcus, hiding behind Daniel for protection. Marcus asks why Rodney is so skittish, and Daniel tells him "oh I don't know, maybe it's because of all those times you tried to kill us?" followed by Natalie telling Daniel to be nice to Marcus, saying that he's changed reminding Daniel how he helped them in the fight against Domino in the Congo. Daniel tells Natalie that's different, saying that they were in a desperate situation so alliances had to be formed. now not so much, Daniel reminding Natalie that he's slaughtered SEVERAL innocent cryptids on daddy Domino's behalf, including a baby bigfoot which makes Marcus hang his head in shame and clench his fist. tears run down from Daniel's eyes as he asks Marcus "so how did it feel, hearing that baby bigfoot's cry for help as you struck it down in cold blood leaving behind a grieving mother, huh?" followed by Marcus punching Daniel in the gut knocking him over. Marcus tells Daniel NEVER to bring that up, saying that he's done things in the past he wasn't proud of. but these are dire circumstances, saying that as we speak the Black Dot are rounding up Jackalopes as we speak and they must be stopped before the rare horned lagomorphs are all captured and sold on the black market. Natalie helps Daniel back up while Rodney nuzzles against Daniel to make him feel better, followed by Marcus telling the two that they must get a move on if they are to catch up to the black dot before opening the back of the X-Jeep to find a motorcycle stored in the back, asking where they got their hands on this sweet ride. Natalie tells her brother that it's a prototype all-terrain combat bike that Doctor Helena was developing called the X-cycle. Marcus then tells his sister "tell the doc thanks for me, sis" before hopping on the motorcycle and putting his helmet on before taking off with it. Daniel rolls his eyes, telling Natalie "dude stole our bike! I TOLD YOU he couldn't be trusted! you said it yourself, he IS the son of Domino. and it appears the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree" before Natalie tells Daniel "for one he's not Domino's son, he's my brother. two, you just need to accept that people have the capacity for change. you're not the same person you were when I first met you!" followed by Daniel telling Natalie she may be right but if he betrays them he deserves the bragging rights before the two hop in the X-Jeep and drive off. Daniel then opens up the Cryptozoologicon and reads up on the Jackalopes, reading an excerpt saying that the Jackalopes (Cervolagus Wyomingensis) is a close relative of the Jackrabbit that has developed a pair of small horns on its forehead resembling that of a pronghorn antelope, hence the name "Jackalope". no one knows how these cryptic bunnies got their horns, but horned rodents have appeared in Earth's history before such as the horned gopher Ceratogaulus from the Miocene. after that, we cut to a family of Jackalopes being uprooted from their burrow by a bunch of Black Dot grunts with shovels. Cloak and Dagger arrive on the scene, with Dagger grabbing one of the little horned bunnies by the leg and holding one of her knives right up to the poor creature's heart, saying that she's in the mood for some delicious "wabbit stew" followed by Cloak telling her sister to knock it off, saying that Domino's orders were to capture the Jackalopes alive and sell them on the market in the illegal exotic pet trade, saying that these rabbits and their extravagant antlers would make them a high seller. Marcus then arrives on the scene on the X-cycle and demands the twins to let the Jackalopes go, taking his helmet off and unsheathing his katana. Dagger taunts Marcus, telling him "no can do" before firing a barrage of knives out of her cybernetic arm which Marcus deflects with his katana. Cloak then uses her telekinesis to fling a rock at Marcus who dodges out of the way. Marcus tells the two "you forget, I was also trained by your boss Domino, so I know all of your dirty tricks". Cloak then orders a platoon of Black Dot grunts to attack, and Marcus is surrounded. Marcus rolls his eyes, taunting the twins by telling them that they got to do better than that before Daniel and Natalie arrive on the scene, the two hopping out of the X-jeep with Natalie knocking down waves of Black Dot grunts with her electric bo staff while Daniel ties them up with his grappling hook. Rodney rams his way through more grunts with his super-speed while Marcus tells the two that he almost had 'em. Natalie tells Marcus that teamwork is a thing that he's gonna have to get used to when he's traveling with them. the Black Dot grunts then load the Jackalope family into the back of an armored truck containing several caged Jackalopes followed by the twins escaping, Marcus telling the two that they need to stop that truck before it escapes. Daniel and Natalie hop in the X-Jeep while Marcus hops on the X-cycle to give chase. Cloak notices the X-Jeep and X-cycle following them and climbs onto the top of the armored truck to use her telekinesis to knock the two vehicles over before they escape into the desert. Daniel then gets out of the upturned vehicle and takes his anger out on Marcus, telling him that if it wasn't for him their vehicle wouldn't be stuck in the sand now, going as far to say that trusting Marcus was a mistake. Natalie then breaks up the fight between the two, telling them to behave while she tries to fix the X-jeep. Natalie then bends over to climb into the upturned X-jeep while Daniel stares at her skirted butt, however Marcus holds his katana up to Daniel's neck, telling him "objectify my sister and I will gladly relieve you of your head". Daniel asks Marcus what he's talking about, saying that him and Natalie's relationship is totally platonic and professional, however Marcus stares at Daniel angrily telling him "don't play dumb with me, kid. I know you have secret romantic feelings for Natalie. the way you look at her, the way you act around her, the writing is on your face". Daniel in a fit of anger punches Marcus in the face knocking him into the sand, telling him "I know that Natalie has a soft spot for you because you're her brother, but to me you're still the son of Domino" followed by Marcus telling Daniel that he's tried his hardest to make others like him, but he's got too much blood on his hands to change his reputation. Marcus then tells Daniel the story of how the first cryptid he killed was a yeti and how he was forced to slay the beast at the age of eight by Domino and how traumatized he was by the experience. Daniel begins to feel sorry for Marcus, saying he had no idea that Domino treated him so horribly. the two then shake hands on it, with Natalie telling the two boys that she's happy to see them finally getting along while Rodney nuzzles against Marcus. Natalie then tells the boys that she's done fixing the X-jeep. Daniel, Natalie, and Rodney hop in the X-jeep while Marcus hops on the X-cycle before driving off. after that, we cut to the Black Dot's armored truck stopping in front of Domino standing in the middle of the desert with his cape flapping in the wind. the twins then kneel before Domino to inform them that they have successfully brought back the precious cargo. Domino is intrigued, telling the twins to show him. the twins then open the back of the armored truck to see several jackalopes in cages who all cower in fear of Domino who congratulates the twins on a job well done, saying that these little bunnies are gonna make him millions on the black market. Domino goes on to say that he remembers the time he and bill observed the jackalopes in the red desert during their cryptozoologist days, reminiscing on how fun it was watching the adorable creatures frolic and play in the desert sand. however his train of thought is interrupted when Marcus shows up on the X-cycle. Domino then turns his head to tell his now-disowned adopted son "well, well, well, the infamous wildlife warrior finally shows his face". Marcus then tells Domino that this time he's not alone, followed by Daniel and Natalie arriving on the scene in the X-jeep. Natalie whips out her electric batons and demands Domino to let the Jackalopes go, however Domino tells them no-can-do and orders the twins to attack. Daniel and Natalie fight the twins while Marcus confronts Domino who unsheaths his sword from his cane, telling his son that leaving the black dot was a mistake. Marcus readies his katana, telling Domino not to call him his son. the two then have an epic swordfight before we cut to Cloak freezing Daniel with her telekinesis, telling him that he has nowhere to run now. however Rodney knocks the twins over with his super-speed freeing Daniel and Daniel's eyes suddenly glow an icy blue causing the jackalopes to break out of their cages and attack Domino with their antlers allowing Marcus to gain the upper hand and best his former adopted father. the twins then rush to Domino's aid forcing the Black Dot to retreat followed by Marcus thanking Daniel for the save. Daniel then tells Marcus "don't thank me, thank the bunnies with deer antlers". Marcus then kneels down to hold his hand out to the family of jackalopes, however this time the jackalope hops into Marcus's lap and allows Marcus to pet him, followed by Marcus telling Daniel that he sure dies have a way with animals. Marcus picks up the jackalope to look at the adorable creature in the eyes, saying that at first these creatures were afraid of him, but now they seem to have accepted him. Daniel tells Marcus that it's because he helped save them, saying that in order to gain an animal's trust, you have to earn it first. Marcus then places the jackalope back on the desert ground allowing the horned rabbits to return to their burrows. Natalie then places her hand on Marcus's shoulder, telling him "welcome to the Animal X natural mystery unit, brother". After that, we cut to Animal X HQ where we see Marcus wearing an Animal X uniform being inducted into the organization with open arms by the other agents who salute him. Bill then hugs Marcus, telling him "I'm so glad to finally have you back where you belong, with your sister as an Animal X agent. your parents would be proud... And I'd be happy to call you my son" followed by both Daniel and Rodney shedding a tear at this emotional moment. After that, we cut to Tony visiting Blake in his cell where we see Blake tell tony to promise him not to let his mother hear about this. Tony promises, and Blake tells Tony that during an expedition in the Congo he and his team discovered strange temporal anomalies located in the underground lost world, gateways through time and space. Tony then tells his dad thanks for the information before walking out of the room ending our episode on a cliffhanger.