Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit Season 3 part 1

Episode 2: Big cats in Britain

Featured Cryptid: Exmoor beast

Our episode opens up with the X-Van arriving at Exmoor National Park, England where we see Cindy kiss her mom and dad goodbye, James telling her to stay out of trouble. Natalie looks at James and tells him "Don't worry Mr. Johnson, your daughter will be safe with me". he then tells her "since you're Daniel's friend, I trust you". Tony begins to feel worried, saying that Daniel hasn't contacted them yet and that he hopes nothing bad happened to him. Cindy slaps Tony, telling him "Don't jinx it!" as the three exit the vehicle, Natalie tells the two "Alright kids, stick by my side at all times to stay safe" before watching the X-Van activate flight mode and take off. Natalie then whips out her twin electric batons, Cindy saying "woah! when do we get one of those?" followed by Natalie telling her "when you're older" much to Cindy's disappointment, Tony telling her "It's okay, I don't got a weapon yet either". Cindy offers to give Tony his Atlantean crystal necklace back, however Tony tells her to keep it saying that he's got a new one, showing her his new crystal necklace. Cindy asks him where he got it, and Tony tells her that this crystal used to be in the forehead of his psycho cyborg father who died saving his life, it's all he has to remember him by. the two then put their crystals together, the two reacting by glowing much to the surprise of Tony and Cindy. Cindy then senses the presence of an animal here, followed by a large black cat lunging out of the bushes at the two kids, Cindy pushing Tony out of the way. the cat turns its head to growl at our heroes, its eyes piercing yellow. Natalie recognizes the creature as the Exmoor beast, telling the kids to hide and find someplace safe before combining her twin electric batons to for her electric bo-staff. however she hears a voice shouting "THE BEAST IS MINE!" and out steps Ivan hammer and sickle in hand as he swings his weapons at Natalie who blocks them with her staff, Natalie telling him "you're not laying a finger on that cryptid" with Ivan telling her "I must have the creature's head, Lady Domina demands it" only for Cindy to use her ESPer powers to take control of the Exmoor beast and attack Ivan forcing him to retreat. we then see the Exmoor Beast walk up to Cindy and lick her in the face, Natalie thanking Cindy for saving her life. We then see a black-haired woman bearing a strong resemblance to Natalie run up to the Exmoor beast shouting "Sasha!" and hugs the big cat, telling her "I'm so glad your safe!" with the Exmoor beast purring as the woman scratches behind its ears. Cindy asks Tony "who is that woman?" and Tony says "She's wearing an Animal X uniform, so she's obviously an agent" with Cindy saying "she looks a lot like Natalie". Natalie looks at the woman and asks her "Excuse me, but who might you be?" She then introduces herself as Dana Schmidt, member of Animal X's British division. Natalie is taken aback, saying that she shares the last name as her. upon hearing this, Dana hugs Natalie, telling her "Natalie! I thought you were dead!" making Natalie feel uncomfortable, asking her "Do I know you?" Dana tells Natalie "We have SO much catching up to do, cousin" much to the shock of Natalie along with both Tony and Cindy. After that, we cut to Ivan being approached by Agent N who promises to help him get rid of those meddling Animal X agents. Ivan asks who she is, and Agent N responds by saying "A friend" before whipping out an electric whip and cracking it. We then cut back to our heroes arriving at Animal X's Exmoor outpost, with Dana telling our heroes that this is where she spends her days watching over the local Exmoor beast population, to make sure nobody harms such majestic creatures, followed by Sasha entering the building the large panther sleeping by Dana's feet. Natalie looks at Dana and tells her "Bill never told me I had any extended family, then again there's a lot of stuff that he never told me". Dana then tells her "My mom's name is Hazel Schmitt, she was your mom's older sister. she lives all the way in Cornwall". Cindy then starts petting Sasha the exmoor beast, saying "You and this cat have a connection, I can tell she really trusts you". Dana then tells Cindy "I raised Sasha from when she was a little cub, orphaned after her mother was killed by the Black Dot. those monsters wanted to make bloody coats out of the beast's black fur. to me I'm like her mommy". meanwhile Tony tells Dana he read an excerpt from the Cryptozoologicon saying that the Exmooor Beast is a member of the genus Xenopanthera, otherwise known as the Alien Big cat. this family of cats get their name from the fact that their range extends to places where Big Cats usually aren't found in, such as Europe. the Exmoor Beast are usually shy and solitary animals, prowling the moors for prey such as deer and horses. Dana compliments Tony for knowing his stuff, followed by Dana telling Natalie "There's something I've been meaning to ask you... are these two your kids?" followed by Natalie comically falling on the floor. meanwhile Agent N is standing atop the roof of the Exmoor outpost, pressing a button on her wrist deploying an attack drone that flies through the window and points its little guns at our heroes, Sasha getting up and growling at the little robot. Natalie whips out her electric batons and combines them to form an electric bo-staff while Dana whips out a pair of arm-mounted energy claw weapons, followed by Agent N and Ivan bursting through the wall, Agent N grabbing Sasha by the neck with her energy whip causing the cat to scream in pain. Cindy then tells the two Black Dot goons "You two let her go!" with Dana saying "What is it you two want?" followed by Agent N saying "All I want is revenge for the good doctor's death" followed by Agent N removing her mask revealing herself to be a clone of Nina, Tony shocked to see the face of his dead sister looking at him straight in the eye. Tony takes a step back followed by Agent N summoning a swarm of drones that point their weapons out at our heroes while the two escape with the captured big cat. Natalie and Dana destroy the drones one by one while trying to protect the kids only for them to find out that the Black Dot got away with the cat, Dana shedding a tear as she worries for Sasha's life, however Natalie assures her cousin that they'll get Sasha back. Natalie turns to tell Tony and Cindy "You two kids stay here, we'll be right back" After that, we cut to Ivan and Agent N driving through the moor in their getaway truck with the captured Sasha kept in a cage in the back, the beast scratching at the walls of her cage desperately trying to get out. Ivan contacts Domina informing her that he and Agent N have successfully captured the cryptid. Domina tells Ivan "Good job you two, I expect you to bring me the head of the beast at once". once the transmission ends, Ivan tells her "I can't believe that woman, she expects us to bring her that cat's head yet we have nothing to gain from killing it. I'm starting to think she's one of those watch-world-burn types". Agent N looks at him, asking "are you planning on staging a coup?" followed by Ivan telling her "Me, Adewale, El Toro, and Mayu are already are planning one, as we all agree she has got to go. the only reason we follow her orders are to avoid suspicion". we then cut back to the airship where we see Cloak meditating only for her to overhear Ivan's conversation. Dagger asks Cloak what she heard, and Cloak tells her that it appears the Black Dot International leaders aren't as loyal as once thought. we then cut back to England where we see Natalie and Dana on bikes, Sasha seeing Dana from the bars of her cage and roaring at her. Dana then shouts "Don't worry Sasha, mommy's here to rescue you!" before whipping out her energy claws using them to scale the side of the getaway truck, cutting a hole in the side with one claw before entering the cage leading to a reunion between Dana and Sasha. meanwhile Natalie leaps on top the Black Dot vehicle only for Ivan to tell Agent N to take the wheel before confronting Natalie atop the vehicle, Ivan telling her "Too bad your boyfriend isn't here to protect you, girl" only for Natalie to shout "KEEP DANIEL'S NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!" Smacking Ivan with her electric bo-staff knocking him off the truck before we cut to Dana clawing a hole behind the driver's seat much to the surprise to Agent N, grabbing her by the neck and threatening to sick the cat on her if she doesn't stop the truck, followed by Sasha growling at Agent N who stops the truck fearing for her life, hopping out of the vehicle. Natalie and Dana both hop off the getaway truck along with Sasha who growls at the two, Dana saying "Sasha, get them" followed by Sasha chasing the two off forcing them to retreat. after that, we cut back to the Exmoor outpost where Cindy asks Tony why he's looking so bummed out. Tony tells Cindy "I can't believe my sister's alive, after all these years she's back from the dead". Cindy tells Tony "but she's not your sister, she's obviously a clone!" Tony then tells her "In the lost world, there was a time portal... And I saw her, Nina, on the other side. What if she escaped through the portal before it closed without anyone noticing?" However their conversation is interrupted when Natalie and Dana return to the Exmoor Outpost, Natalie telling the two kids to pack their things, telling them that the X-van will be coming to pick them up at any moment. Dana thanks her cousin for coming to visit, telling her to come back to England whenever she has the chance. The Johnsons then arrive on the scene to pick up Natalie and the kids, Cindy giving Sasha the panther a goodbye hug before boarding the X-van and our episode ends with the X-Van transforming into flight mode before taking off.