As the crowd near the ice cream parlor began to flee, Gabriella stood her ground, guarding the terrified Lilith, who recognized Bumpa all too well.
Max casually stepped out of the broken window with his hands in his pockets, sizing up his new enemy. He was mighty weirded out by Bumpa's orange skin and bizarre body proportions.
"Okay, WHO or WHAT is that supposed to be? A life-sized gummy bear?" Max quipped.
Gabriella, serious, replied, "It's Bumpa. He's the youngest of the Boston brothers."
"He's not an immortal," Max noted.
"No, but that doesn't mean he's not dangerous," Gabriella warned.
"I'll lead him away. Get the girl out of here," Max instructed.
"Make it quick. You shouldn't be fighting out in broad daylight," Gabriella advised.
Max scoffed. "Tell HIM that."
Max leaped over the rail, tossing his keys to Gabriella, and made a run for it with Bumpa in hot pursuit, shouting his name.
"MACLEOD!" Bumpa roared, furious.
With the coast clear, Gabriella grabbed Lilith, and they ran towards Max's car. After getting in, Gabriella put the car in reverse. As she looked back, she spotted Max's katana in the backseat.
"SHIT, his left his sword!" Gabriella exclaimed.
Meanwhile…
Max, agitated, muttered to himself, "SHIT forgot my sword!"
Trying to regain focus, Max ran around the town mall, doing his best to avoid people and obstacles. He made a left turn, heading to the back of the buildings, and leaped onto a dumpster, parkouring his way up to the rooftop of a two-story building with inhuman agility.
Feeling proud of himself, Max looked down on his enemy, taunting him with a "What now?" gesture. His confidence was soon cut short when Bumpa effortlessly took a huge leap into the air, preparing to dive his fist down on Max. Max managed to evade the attack just in time.
SMASH!
Bumpa created a large soccer ball-sized hole in the roof with his bionic fist. He slowly stood up and glared at Max, taunting him back with a "What now?" gesture.
"Dude, you're cheating!" Max protested.
Bumpa, confused, asked, "Huh? How?"
"You're too damn big to be that light on your feet! Not even immortals can jump that high," Max argued.
"Can't help what I've been cursed with. It's a blessing in disguise," Bumpa replied.
"Which begs the question: what kind of 'curse' turned you into this?" Max inquired.
"Long story… but if you must know, I used to be a weapon for the hunters to track your kind down," Bumpa revealed.
"The hunters?" Max echoed.
"That's all you need to know. Now bring it!" Bumpa challenged.
Bumpa charged at Max, swinging wildly. Max evaded each blow and retaliated with karate, specifically Shotokan. Despite landing some hits, they had little effect on Bumpa, who chuckled and charged again. Max had an idea. He evaded Bumpa once more and put all his weight into a spinning back-kick, hitting Bumpa in the back of the skull.
Finally receiving damage, the stunned Bumpa lost his beret and nearly fell off the roof, stopping himself just before the edge. Seeking to finish the fight, Max ran in and prepared to kick Bumpa again, this time with a flying side-kick. But Bumpa quickly turned around, catching Max in the air, firmly grasping his ankle, and slamming him against the floor.
Happy to finally have Max where he wanted him, Bumpa flung him away, sending the immortal flying straight into a commercial rooftop vent. Max hit it back first, leaving a huge dent as he lay nearly unconscious. Bumpa picked up his beret and put it back on, slowly walking over to Max.
"I should be ripping your head off, but it would be a waste for my brother not to have some fresh Highlander Quickening," Bumpa said, grabbing the barely conscious Max, who was bleeding from the back of his head. "Let's go for a ride."
SLICE!
Suddenly, Bumpa's bionic hand was sliced in half. He backed away and dropped to one knee, yelling in pain. As Max dropped to the floor, he slowly began to heal and looked up at his rescuer. It was Lilith!
Lilith stood her ground, her large battle axe gleaming under the sun's rays shining bright. The weapon was nearly as big as she was, yet she wielded it with ease, her stance radiating power and determination. Max, watching in shock, could hardly believe his eyes.
"THAT was for Watson, you ugly son of a BITCH!" Lilith's voice was a fierce roar, her anger palpable.
With fight still left in him, Max attempts to stand, but glances down at Bumpa's bionic hand.
Bumpa, realizing the odds were now against him, decided to flee. He threw a hand grenade, an M67, and leapt off the roof. The grenade arced through the air, its deadly promise clear. Before Max could react, Lilith turned swiftly, scooping him up onto her shoulders. With a powerful leap, she propelled them both away from the impending explosion.
The grenade detonated with a deafening boom, the shockwave rippling through the air. Lilith's leap carried them to the edge of another rooftop, but her landing was too forceful. They tumbled over the edge, crashing into a closed dumpster below. The impact was brutal, and they bounced off, hitting the ground hard.
"Ow..." Lilith groaned weakly, the pain evident in her voice.
Max, despite being in more pain, was the first to try and stand. He managed to get up but quickly fell back down, wincing as pain shot through his ankle.
"Are you alright?" Lilith asked, concern lacing her words.
"He broke my ankle," Max replied, his voice strained with pain.
Lilith, gritting her teeth, snapped her dislocated shoulder back into place. She stood up, walking towards her axe. Max watched her warily, his mind racing as he realized she was an immortal. Sensing his fear, Lilith folded her custom-made axe, the blades retracting smoothly. She tucked it into her jumpsuit, a gesture meant to reassure him.
"Liliandra Galloway of House Galloway," she introduced herself, extending a hand to help him up.
Max hesitated but then took her hand. She pulled him to his feet, supporting him by putting his arm around her neck as they began to walk.
"Max Macleod of the clan Macleod," he said, his voice filled with pride.
Lilith's eyes widened in surprise. She was both impressed and honored to be in the presence of a Macleod, but doubt quickly crept in.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked, her tone skeptical.
"Of course, I wouldn't lie about that," Max replied, offended by her doubt.
"Well I mean... no disrespect to the clan, it's just that it's PRETTY unheard of for one to make rookie mistakes like forgetting their sword," Lilith pointed out.
"Hey, immortals mess up too. We're still people... PLUS, I wasn't expecting to fight out in public, much less with some... whatever the hell that was," Max defended himself.
Lilith shrugged, accepting his explanation. "Fair enough."
Suddenly, the sound of a car engine broke the tension. Gabriella pulled up in Max's car, rolling down the window.
"Hurry, the cops are right around the corner," she urged.
Elsewhere…
Back at Bumpa and Brick's cabin, Brick was lounging on the couch until he received a call from Bumpa.
"What? Did you get rushed to the E.R.? Because I'm not picking you up," Brick smirked.
His playful attitude dropped to serious as he frowned, listening to Bumpa's account of the events.
"You FUCKING IDIOT! Hang on, I'll be right there. Don't you do anything else!" Brick snapped.
The sun hung low in the sky, casting a warm golden hue over the serene neighborhood nestled within the confines of a gated community. Gabriella navigated the winding streets with a sense of purpose, her sleek car gliding smoothly along the pavement. In the front seat beside her sat Lilith, still trying to make sense of what has transpired today, while in the back, Max lay sprawled out. Despite having healed from his recent ordeal, he felt the lingering aches of battle, as if his body were a testament to the centuries he had endured.
As they approached a charming brick house adorned with a small garden that flourished beneath the balcony, Gabriella slowed the car and pulled into the driveway. The tranquility of the neighborhood was palpable, yet an undercurrent of tension simmered just beneath the surface.
Breaking the silence that had settled in the vehicle, Lilith turned to Gabriella, her voice laced with curiosity and a hint of skepticism. "Okay, before you guys start inviting me to dinner or whatever it is you're gonna do, who the hell are you?"
Gabriella unbuckled her seatbelt, her expression shifting to one of earnestness. "I have a friend inside who can explain it better than I can." She paused, glancing at Lilith with a hint of mischief. "Now, Lili—can I call you Lili?"
Lilith shrugged, a nonchalant gesture that belied the tension in her posture. "Sure."
Gabriella continued, her tone softening. "If you don't want to be a part of this, it's perfectly understandable. I can take you back to your car after I drop off my comatose partner here."
From the backseat, Max's voice cut through the air, deadpan and slightly amused. "Still awake."
Lilith scoffed, her bravado returning. "I mean, after all that crazy shit from earlier involving one of my masters, I can't just back out now."
Gabriella nodded, her eyes glinting with understanding. "Oh, and just so you know, we're not actually journalists."
Lilith raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips. "Yeah, I knew that from the start. Next time, use better fake IDs. I was around when that first became a thing." With that, she swung open the car door and stepped out, her presence commanding even in the quiet of the driveway.
Gabriella chuckled softly as she turned the keys in the ignition, her gaze drifting back to Max. "You good?"
Max shifted, pushing himself up to a sitting position. "I can walk… So did you let him know we were coming?"
Gabriella's demeanor shifted, a seriousness settling over her. "Yeah, I texted him before I grabbed you guys, so stick with the other name. I like her, but we can't fully trust her just yet."
As the trio made their way toward the house, the inviting aroma of something delicious wafted from the kitchen, momentarily distracting Lilith from her thoughts. However, her smile faded abruptly as an instinctual awareness prickled at the back of her mind. Both she and Max sensed the unmistakable presence of another immortal nearby, and a surge of alarm coursed through her veins. In a swift motion, she reached for her axe, the weapon a familiar weight in her hands.
"Wait!" Gabriella's voice rang out, a note of urgency cutting through the tension.
They entered the kitchen, and there, standing with an air of casual confidence, was a young man in his late twenties to early thirties. He wore a crisp white shirt and greyish jeans, his dark hair framing a face that was both familiar and unsettling. As he turned to face them, his eyes locked onto Lilith's, and a flicker of recognition ignited between them.
Lilith's grip on her axe faltered, her eyes widening in shock as she lowered her weapon.
Max stepped closer, his hand resting gently on the back of her blade, urging her to relax. "It's okay, he's on our side. This is Adam Pi—"
"Methos…" Lilith said, nearly speechless.
"Hello, Liliandra… still barbaric as ever, I see." Methos smirked, his voice smooth and teasing.
To Be Continued…
Known Aliases: Lilandra Galloway, Lili, Lilith Galloway, Miley Montana, Hannah Cyrus, Little Miss Gemini, the Dreaded Redhead.
Born: 1723
First Death: 1744; killed during a violent riot in her town.
First Teacher: Ceirdwyn
Cultural Affiliation: Scottish
Recent Base of Operations: Atlanta, GA, USA
Occupation: Engineer
Roster Status: Alive
Watcher: George Anthony
Where do I even begin? I have two spirited daughters who remind me a lot of her, and wouldn't you know it—they're both Geminis, just like Lilith. Let's just say I have a complicated relationship with Geminis.
But I can't deny that she's a tough and hardworking individual, still on her quest to carve out her place in the world, and I respect that immensely. Rumor has it she was trained by one of the oldest Immortals from the AD period, which means any mortal born centuries later would be wise to think twice before challenging her.
It's also quite rare to see an Immortal wielding an ax—something I haven't witnessed since Duncan Macleod faced one back in '92. Lilith is definitely a force to be reckoned with.