Animal X: Natural Mystery Unit Season 4 (The Final Season)

Episode 9: Monster in Maryland

Featured Cryptid: Goatman

Our episode opens up on an Animal X outpost in Beltsville, Maryland where we see a team of scientists overseeing a sleeping creature in a cryo-pod resembling a human/goat hybrid, however the equipment suddenly goes haywire allowing the Goatman to wake up from cryo-sleep and break out of his pod, forcing the scientists to flee as the beast go on a rampage as it escapes the laboratory. the Goatman then retreats to its lair underneath a bridge and retrieves his old axe, picking it out before declaring revenge on those who imprisoned him for 50 years. we then cut to Marcus and Kira on their hoverbikes, Marcus getting a message from Natalie informing him that an Animal X outpost was recently attacked, the assailant was a dangerous cryptid that was captured 50 years ago but then recently escaped: the Goatman, Natalie showing her brother a holographic image. the two then arrive at the ruins of the Beltsville Animal X outpost, finding all the faculty and staff dead in addition to finding giant scratch marks on the wall. Marcus then finds a framed photo on the desk of Bill shaking hands with an unnamed scientist, Marcus having a flashback to Domino/Dominion killing Bill. Kira looks at the photo in Marcus's hand, asking him just who that other guy is and what is his connection to Bill. Marcus says "I don't know, but he may be our lead to finding the Goatman" the two hop on their bikes and drive off, where they are being watched from the nearby woods from the Goatman brandishing his axe. we then cut back to Animal X HQ where Natalie is looking down at the holographic image of the earth, more specifically at the red dot pointing to the Bermuda triangle from last episode. Natalie turns her head to Professor Chastelle and asks him "are you sure that this is the location of the mouth?" Professor Chastelle tells her "I didn't do anything, it just appeared on the map" Natalie tells him "it better be correct, because this could be our one chance to stop the awakening"  Professor Chastelle asks her "but what if it isn't correct?" Natalie tells him "even if it isn't, we still have to take that chance lest we doom humanity to extinction. when Daniel and the others get back, we must tell them immediately" only for Natalie and Philippe Chastelle to get a call from Marcus who sends Natalie the photo of Bill and the mysterious scientist, asking who the heck he is. Natalie looks at the photo on the computer monitor and doesn't recognize him, but he'll run a facial scan and update them later before we cut back to Marcus and Kira driving over a bridge on their hoverbikes only for the two to get knocked off their vehicles by an incoming axe causing them to fall into the woodlands below. Kira then turns her head to see the Goatman walking towards her catching the axe in his hand. Marcus gets up and is shocked to see Kira in trouble, rushing to her rescue blocking the Goatman's axe with his katana. Marcus exclaiming "what the heck is your deal, goat-freak?" the Goatman snarls at Marcus and says "simple, you're animal X, the very organization that put me on ice and forced me to relive every single horrifying memory to this day. just ask your leader, Bill Kerr!" the Goatman parrying with his axe knocking Marcus into Kira. the two agents then get up, Kira asking "did he just say Bill? but Bill's dead" Marcus tells her "I don't think he's aware of that fact, he's been on ice for 50 years after all. I wonder what this creature's beef is though" the Goatman exclaims "don't call me a creature!" charging at both of them, Marcus and Kira attacking from both sides with their katanas which the Goatman blocks with his axe. the Goatman roars at the two exclaiming "out of my way you two, my business is with Bill!" as he has flashbacks to a young Bill watching as Animal X personnel drag the captured Goatman into the laboratory to be put into suspended animation. meanwhile back in the present day Natalie does a facial scan of the photo of the mysterious scientist pictured with Bill and a name comes up in some encrypted files that Professor Chastelle takes a look at. the scientist in the photo is revealed to be a man named Dr. Charles Capricorn, who was one of the scientists behind the Honey Island project thought to have perished in the lab explosion. it turns out that he might have not died after all, but secretly survived being disfigured and mutated into a Goatman by the lab explosion before retreating to the Maryland Wilderness where he went on a murder spree that birthed the urban legend and was ultimately hunted down and captured by Bill and the rest of Animal X who put him in suspended animation. Marcus and Kira both hear this as the leap backwards out of the way of the Goatman's attack with Kira exclaiming "that thing was once a person?" followed by Marcus exclaiming "that explains why it hated being called a creature, and why it hates Bill so much" Goatman then screams "SHOW YOURSELF BILL! FACE ME!" only for Marcus to tell the Goatman "I don't know how to tell you this pal, but Bill's dead. you've been sleeping for 50 years" the Goatman sheds a tear and breaks down "no, that can't be! it can't be possible!" as he drops his axe and gets down on his knees. Kira sheathes her katana and tells him "If there's anyone you should be mad at, it should be Don Amino, he's the one who killed Bill while you were still sleeping" the Goatman turns his back on Marcus and Kira, telling them "I'd like to be left alone, this is too much to take in" before retreating back into the woods. Marcus and Kira look at each other in confusion before returning to their hoverbikes and riding off into the sunset while the Goatman watches them from the wilderness. we then cut to the Airship where we see El Toro, Ivan, and Mayu turning their heads to see Nile returning to the throne room in battle-damaged armor before collapsing on the ground. Ivan asks Nile what happened, and Nile explains that Dominion has been possessed by the Primordial Lifeform. Mayu exclaims "Impossible! the Atlantean Crystal should have prevented the beast from rooting in his head any further!" meanwhile El Toro silently walks away removing his lucha mask as we cut to the Amazon rainforest where we see the possessed Dominion (still in monster form with glowing blue eyes) riding a Mapinguari that he is controlling ending our episode on a cliffhanger.