Mighty Max - Episode 35

FLY BY NIGHT

This is episode 35 (22nd of the 2nd series.) A foggy night in London and a man is busking on the streets. A large bat flies past him and he brushes it away, moaning about the amount of bats in the city. A large shadow falls upon him and he looks up to see a mysterious shrouded figure standing before him. The man is lifted up off the ground by the figure. The next time we see him he is laying on the ground, dazed, with blood on his neck.

Episode Captures (Click to enlarge)

Max is sitting in his science class as the teacher drones on about amoebas. As Max peers into a microscope on his desk he sees the single-celled creatures moving about on the glass slide. As they move they come together to form - words! A message for Max from Virgil!

Virgil and Norman stand inLondon, watching the changing of the guard as they wait for Max, and they do not have to wait too long; Max appears in a flash of yellow portal light, knocking two palace guards off their feet. As Max and friends rush off into the sinister fog, Virgil tells him that London is in the grip of vampires. Max looks at Virgil with suspicion and tells him that he hopes it is not Dracula they have to face. "No, not at all, Mighty One!" says Virgil. "I think it's one of his relatives!"

Elsewhere in the city another victim falls prey to the shrouded figure.

Virgil hands Norman and Max several items each; a mirror, a whistle and a bunch of garlic cloves. As they prepare themselves they hear a whistle blast sounding nearby. Virgil tells them that it sounds like a policeman's whistle, and Normal draws his sword and rushes to the rescue, with Virgil and Max close behind. They soon stumble upon another victim. Once they have tended to him they search once more for the vampire, but Max becomes separated and lost in the fog. He sees a hooded figure up ahead and realising that he is on his own he decides to take on the creature by himself. He sneaks up behind it, and it turns around to face him. It's an old woman who gives Max a piece of her mind! "Sorry!" says Max as he runs away.

Further up the street max bumps into another hooded figure, but this one is a young woman. Max apologises and tells her he is looking for a vampire. "Let me help you, darling!" She says as she removes her hood, to reveal glowing red eyes and fangs. She grabs Max and lifts him up but his T-shirt tears and he falls out of her grasp and runs away. He does not get far before she catches up with him and lifts him up to her fangs. A voice and a movement catch her attention, and Norman rushes at her, knocking her away from Max. She immediately gets up and launches into the air, spitting acidic green stuff at them, narrowly missing Max! Norman grabs a manhole cover and throws it at her. It hits! and she falls out of the air into the River Thames, one of her wings severed. The three peer into the water, and see no sign of her.

Next stop: Transylvania!

Max, Norman and Virgil find themselves in Dracula's ancestry castle, but their search for the vampire doesn't seem to be going to well.

Asking around in the local town, they find out that the Countess (the vampire) lives in a large house nearby, and off they go in search of it. It is easy to find and once inside they quickly find a secret door under another coffin. Treading carefully they follow a passageway where they find the Countess amongst a swarm of vampire larvae. Max is puzzled; these are fly larvae. The Countess laughs at him and explains that the legends of the vampire have been wrong all these years. It is not bats that vampires become, it is giant blood sucking flies. On cue she changes into a huge fly and attacks Norman who yells at Max and Virgil to run for help.

As Norman fights the vampire fly, Max and Virgil desperately try to convince the local townsfolk that there is a vampire in their town and that they should all bear arms and hunt her down. They are not convinced, but something one man says gives Max an idea. He runs into a local hardware store where he finds insect repellent and fire torches. He fills a torch with insect repellent, lights it, and runs back to the Countess's house, where Norman is still battling her, and a swarm of vampire flies. Max runs into the house and manages to chase the flies off with the torch, but the Countess, still in the form of a large fly, attacks Max, knocking the torch out of his hand. It hits the floor, breaks open and spills it contents everywhere, causing a raging fire. Norman sees his chance and hits the giant vampire fly right into the fire. The Countess is destroyed.