Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit the Complete Season 2

Episode 3: Genetic Warfare

Featured Cryptid: Almas

Our episode opens up in the remote mountains of Russia where we see a pair of travelers come across a tribe of hairy wildmen living in the snow-covered forests who growls at the travelers and start throwing rocks at them forcing the travelers to run away. the travelers then bump into a long-haired russian man in an Animal X uniform who asks them what they saw, and the two said they saw the "Almas", telling him that they heard stories of wildmen in the mountains but they thought it was just a folktale. the long-haired Russian man then tells the two that's all he needed to hear before memory-wiping them. the long-haired Russian man contacts Bill and reveals his name to be Anton Vandakov, member of Animal X's Russian division who informs Bill that he just got word of sightings of the Almas in the Ural Mountains. Bill then assures Anton that he'll be sending Daniel and Natalie to his location to help him with his investigation. Anton tells Bill that's great and that he hopes that his brother doesn't find out. after that, we cut to Domino's airship where we see Domino having a Hologram meeting with Anton's brother Ivan Vandakov, leader of the Black Dot's Russian division where Domino asks Ivan how the Black Dot's operations have been going in his homeland. Ivan tells Domino not good as his goody two-shoes little brother Anton has been taking down several members of the Black Dot's cryptid trafficking ring left and right, explaining that the Black Dot's Russian division is hard at work trying to round up the feral Russian hominids known as the Almas, but Anton keeps freeing the darn monkeys and taking them to a section of the Ural Mountains that Animal X has turned into a protected sanctuary for them. Domino then tells Ivan that he'll be willing to loan the twins over to him to help him deal with his Animal X problem. after that, we cut to the X-jeep hovering over the Ural mountains of Russia, Daniel joking about how he forgot to pack his winter clothes while little Rodney starts shivering. Natalie then tells Daniel not to be such a big baby and the X-Jeep lands in Animal X's Siberian outpost where they are greeted by Anton Vandakov of Animal X's Russian division who shakes hands with Natalie who introduces herself along with Daniel and Rodney. Natalie then asks Anton why he has requested their assistance, and Anton explains that this Outpost happens to be a reserve for the race of primitive hominids known as the Almas. Daniel rolls his eyes and tells Anton that he and Natalie have dealt with large hairy ape-men before such as the Bigfoot and Yeti. Anton then explains to the two that the Almas aren't like your Bigfoot or Yeti as they are far more intelligent which makes them more dangerous and unpredictable, followed by Anton explaining that earlier today the reserve has been discovered by civilians that he luckily managed to memory-wipe, but he fears that the Black Dot might eventually discover its location which could spell doom for the Almas population. Natalie then assures Anton that they've dealt with the Black Dot and that they'll make sure the Almas are safe and protected. Anton then tells Natalie that it won't be so easy, as his older brother Ivan is the one who runs the Russian arm of the Black Dot and he's very ruthless and will stop at nothing to get what he wants. after that, we cut to Cloak and Dagger entering the Black Dot's Russian HQ where they are greeted by Ivan who welcomes the twins into his fortress. the two then enter the facility where they see a pair of Almas in cages, the twins taunting the poor creatures by jiggling keys in their faces. Ivan then tells the two to quit playing with the poor creatures explaining to the twins that Domino put him in charge of the two of them and as long as they're in Russian soil they listen to him before asking the twins to show him what they've got. Dagger then throws her knives at the wall with precise accuracy while Cloak removes them from the wall with her telekinesis. Ivan is impressed by the two, showing the two a vial of green liquid explaining his plan to use the Almas's primitive blood to create a retro-evolution formula that would sell for a reasonable price on the black market before asking them if they're ready to go round up some of those filthy monkeys. we then cut to Daniel, Natalie, and Anton in their winter gear riding snowmobiles through the Ural mountain ranges, Rodney riding in Daniel's pocket to keep himself warm. the two then stop upon spotting a troop of Almas trekking through the snow-covered forest, Daniel opening up the Cryptozoologicon to the page talking about the Almas. he reads an excerpt from the book explaining that the Almas scientific name Paranthropus Almasty is a distant relative of mankind (albeit a primitive one that closely resembles our ape ancestors) that dwells in the mountains of Russia and that they are usually reclusive usually avoiding contact with humans but when they're confronted they can get very territorial. the Almas then start throwing rocks at our heroes who dodge the rocks left and right, followed by our heroes being surrounded by Almas wielding long sticks who proceed to beat Natalie and Anton repeatedly which scares poor Rodney. Daniel however saves the two by holding his hand out to the Alpha of the troop, Daniel closing his eyes while touching hands with the Alpha Almas. Ivan asks Natalie what the heck he's doing, and Natalie explains to Ivan that Daniel can communicate with animals telepathically. the Alpha then calls off the rest of the troop who stop beating Daniel and Anton with their sticks, followed by Daniel telling Natalie and Ivan that he told the Almas that they're not a threat. Anton tells Daniel that's amazing before asking him where he learned such abilities from. Daniel tells Anton that he doesn't know himself, followed by the Almas running away, Natalie wondering what they're running from. we then see an armored truck with the black dot logo painted on the side arrive on the scene and out step none other than Cloak and Dagger, Natalie un-enthusiastic to see the two of them again followed by Ivan Vandakov stepping out of the vehicle followed by Anton telling his brother that he is not welcome here. Ivan then tells his brother too bad as he doesn't plan on leaving without getting what he wants which is the Almas and whips out his signature weapons a hammer and sickle (get it because RUSSIA) while Anton whips out a pair of electric brass knuckles telling Daniel and Natalie to protect the Almas while he deals with his brother. the two brothers clash before we cut to the twins cornering the troop of Almas, Dagger whipping out her knives with a sadistic grin on her face, however Cloak tells her sister that Ivan wanted them alive much to Dagger's disappointment. Cloak then uses her telekinesis to freeze the Almas family in place followed by a platoon of Black Dot grunts arriving on the scene to capture and cage the Almas. Daniel and Natalie then arrive on the scene to confront the twins telling them to let the Almas go, followed by Dagger throwing her knives at our heroes to distract them (tho Daniel and Natalie managed to successfully dodge them) followed by the land armored arriving on the scene for the Black Dot grunts to load the caged Almas into the back of the vehicle while Cloak uses her Telekinesis to make a tree fall over to make their escape (tho Daniel and Natalie ALSO manage to dodge the falling tree as well). we then cut back to the fight between Anton and Ivan where Ivan tells Anton that he is too late as the Black Dot have already captured the Almas, followed by Anton noticing the truck full of caged Almas drive off before Ivan makes his escape. Daniel and Natalie arrive on the scene to inform Anton that the Black Dot got away and they've captured the Almas, and Anton tells the two that he knows and that they need to storm the Black Dot's Russian outpost in order to free the Almas followed by our heroes hopping back in the X-jeep and driving off before arriving at Ivan's fortress Natalie knocking the two grunts guarding the door with her electric batons followed by Daniel, Natalie, Anton, and Rodney sneaking into the base through the ventilation shaft. after that, we cut to Ivan and the twins returning to Black Dot Russian HQ where we see Black Dot grunts forcibly hook one Almas up to a machine that proceeds to drain the poor creature of its blood reducing the poor Russian wildman to a lifeless husk, our heroes watching in horror from inside the ventilation shaft. the blood then passes through tubes into canisters that Black Dot grunts place into another machine that converts the blood into retro-evolution formula turning the fluid from red to green. Ivan then congratulates the twins on a Job well done, saying that Domino would be proud. Natalie is disgusted by how that Ivan guy could do such a cruel thing to those poor cryptids, followed by Anton saying that he's not surprised since his brother has been obsessed with finishing what their grandfather started. Daniel asks Anton what he means by that, and Anton explains that his and Ivan's grandfather was a scientist who conducted experiments for the soviet union during the cold war, mainly research into human evolution by spending time with the Almas deep in the mountains believing them to be the missing link between mankind and our ape ancestors along with what could potentially be the key to re-awakening dormant genes within humanity that harken back to our australopithecine roots, a way to restore what was lost to millions of years of evolution which led him to develop a formula for a retro-evolution serum using the Almas blood that could do just that, but he passed away before he could finish it. Natalie then tells Anton that a bioweapon like that could be extremely dangerous if it were to fall into the wrong hands, followed by Anton telling her that he believes that the Black Dot plans on selling the serum to the highest bidder, which could lead to all-out genetic warfare if they don't put a stop to their plan. while Ivan and the twins are distracted Rodney pokes his head out of Daniel's pocket and flies out of the ventilation shaft and starts zipping around the villain's heads to distract them while Daniel, Natalie, and Ivan sneak their way out of the ventilation shaft. Rodney then unlocks the cages freeing all the Almas who proceed to run out the door and escape while Rodney sticks his tongue out before zipping off. Cloak then tells her sister and Ivan that those pesky Animal X agents have snuck into the base followed by Ivan ordering the twins to go after them. we then cut to Daniel, Natalie, and Anton rushing through the hallways until they are cornered by the twins, Daniel jokingly telling the two that their daddy dearest must be truly desperate to lend them over to that Ivan guy. Cloak then gets angry and start using her telekinesis to toss him around like a ragdoll. Natalie whips out her electric batons while Anton whips out his electric brass knuckles, however they are stopped in their tracks by Dagger who starts throwing her knives at the two, Natalie combining her electric batons to form a bo staff in order to deflect the blades while Anton punches Dagger with his electric brass knuckles electrocuting her causing her to get knocked out unconscious while Cloak rushes to her sister's aid asking if she's okay and Dagger assures her sister that she'll be fine. Daniel then thanks the two for saving his skin before Cloak uses her telekinesis to drag him towards her followed by Cloak putting him in a headlock. Cloak then tells the two that they're gonna pay for hurting her sister and that she's gonna make one of their own suffer. she then whips out a syringe gun loaded with retro-evolution formula, telling him that she's gonna enjoy turning him into a brainless monkey. Natalie and Anton try to stop her but Cloak uses her telekinesis to freeze the two in place. Cloak then injects Daniel with the retro-evolution formula followed by Cloak letting Daniel go along with Natalie and Anton and the two sisters escape after ordering a platoon of Black Dot grunts to "take care of them". Daniel then gets back up followed by Natalie and Anton arriving on the scene to ask if he's okay. Daniel tells the two that he's fine before Natalie grabs Daniel's arm and notices that his arm is suddenly getting hairier. Daniel freaks out at the sight of his hairy arm wondering what the heck is going on with himself, followed by Anton telling Daniel that Cloak must have injected him with the now-perfected Retro-evolution serum, meaning he's slowly turning into an ape. this worries Daniel, as he doesn't want to be a monkey. Natalie then asks Anton if there's a cure for it, however before he can answer a platoon of Black Dot grunts then surround our heroes and point their guns at them, followed by Daniel's eyes glowing a bright blue summoning the family of Almas to come to the rescue and throw rocks at the Black Dot grunts forcing them to retreat thus allowing our heroes to escape. Anton asks what the heck that was, followed by Natalie telling Anton that's what Daniel does whenever he gets angry or stressed, explaining that it's some kind of trance-like state that allows him to take control of any creatures that are near him. our heroes then hide in a nearby room followed by Daniel's eyes returning to normal. Daniel then asks where the heck they are, followed by Anton coming across an old photo of his grandfather on a table and realizes that this place used to be his Grandfather's old research facility, before his brother converted it into a Russian outpost for the Black Dot. Natalie tells Anton that there must be an antidote of some kind around here, opening up a freezer only for her to find several vials of retro-evolution serum inside. Daniel then looks around to see several cages with mutated animals inside them including a cage containing a chicken with Velociraptor-like features including claws, teeth, and a tail, a terrarium containing a python with small Tetrapodophis-like legs, and a tank holding a dolphin with Ambulocetus-like webbed limbs in place of flippers. Daniel then places his hairy hand on the tank wall, closing his eyes reading the mutated dolphin's mind realizing that these animals were all experimented on and were exposed to the retro-evolution serum just like him, looking at his hairy arm realizing that soon he'll end up just like them. Daniel then feels a sharp pain coursing through his veins and realizes that the serum is taking its toll on him followed by Daniel's body getting hairier and hairier. Natalie and Anton then turn their heads to see Daniel fully transformed into an Australopithecus and realize that it's too late, Rodney nuzzling against Daniel trying to get Daniel to recognize him however Daniel's primitive primate brain doesn't recognize Rodney and swats him away. Natalie tells Anton that they've got to do something, and Anton gets an idea telling Natalie that they should try hooking up to that machine the Black Dot used to drain the Almas of their blood suggesting that it could possibly drain the retro-evolution serum out of Daniel's bloodstream and return him to normal. Natalie asks Anton if he's crazy, reminding Anton that they both saw what that thing did to that poor Almas back there and that it could kill him, however Anton reminds Natalie that they don't have much of a choice. however our heroes are confronted by Ivan who tells them that they may have managed to escape the twins but they're not going to get away on his watch, whipping out his hammer and sickle. Anton then tells Natalie to get Daniel to safety while he deals with his brother to buy them time. Natalie agrees and grabs monkey-Daniel by the hand and escapes with him to safety while Anton and Ivan clash. we then cut to Natalie and monkey-Daniel arriving at the room where the machine is, however Natalie is confronted by the twins who tell Natalie that she's not going anywhere, Cloak using her telekinesis to lift Natalie in the air and force-choke her, however monkey-Daniel seeing that Natalie is in trouble suddenly regains some of his memories and leaps on top of Cloak and starts punching her in the face repeatedly causing her to drop Natalie followed by Dagger telling her sister to hold still throwing her knives at monkey-Daniel who leaps off Cloak to dodge Dagger's knives. Cloak then stops Dagger's knives with her telekinesis and tells her sister to watch where she's aiming those things as she almost got stabbed followed by Dagger apologizing to her sister. Monkey-daniel hides behind Natalie who tells the two that she'll take them both on. we then cut back to the Anton vs. Ivan fight where Anton punches his brother with his electric brass knuckles. Ivan then shakes off the electric shock before smacking Anton with his hammer knocking him down. Ivan then places his boot on the downed Anton's chest and tells him that he has proven himself as the superior Vandakov brother. we then cut to Natalie's fight with the twins, the twins managing to lay the smackdown on Natalie until she combines her electric batons to form a bo staff and electrocutes both twins at the same time. Natalie notices Dagger throw one of her knives at monkey-Daniel and leaps in to deflect the knife with her electric batons to protect him followed by the twins retreating. Natalie then hooks up monkey-Daniel up to the machine and closes her eyes hoping this works before flipping the switch activating the machine and draining all the serum from Daniel's bloodstream causing him to revert back to being human. however he doesn't wake up which makes Natalie cry and repeatedly slap him in the face trying to wake him up but to no avail. Natalie then realizes what she has to do and sighs before she closes her eyes and kisses Daniel on the lips. Daniel then wakes up and asks Natalie what happened followed by Rodney nuzzling against Daniel happy to have him back before Natalie tells him that it doesn't matter and that she's just glad to have him back. we then cut to Ivan kicking the downed Anton demanding him to admit that Animal X has lost and the Black Dot has won, followed by Anton telling his brother never. however Daniel arrives on the scene whipping out his grappling gun and wrapping the cable around Ivan telling him that the Black Dot has lost yet again and that there's someone who would like to have a word with him followed by the troop of Almas showing up to repeatedly beat up poor Ivan with their sticks while our heroes leave. after that, we cut to the X-Jeep returning to the Animal X outpost in the Ural Mountains where Daniel, Natalie, and Anton watch as the Almas are rescued by Animal X Personnel and returned to their natural habitat while Ivan is arrested. Bill then arrives on the scene in the X-copter to congratulate Daniel and Natalie for helping out Anton on a successful mission before Natalie informs Bill that the twins got away and are nowhere to be found which Bill says is unfortunate. Daniel then assures Natalie that they'll get them next time followed by Anton thanking our heroes for their help while Rodney nuzzles against Anton. our episode then ends with Daniel and Natalie thanking Anton for their help before blasting off in the X-Jeep.