Meanwhile, inside the cottage—
Two tattooed goons with dragon ink snaking up their scalps were cornering a girl, their cackles sounding like rusty hinges.
"Jackpot!"
"Score! Who knew this stubborn holdout'd be such a looker? Our lucky day, bro!"
"Let me go! Please!" Lila begged, her voice cracking.
Her delicate cheek was swollen red, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. She thrashed with all her might, but it was like trying to budge a brick wall—utterly useless. No matter how she twisted, their grubby hands kept yanking at her clothes.
"Quit squirming! Make us happy, and we'll let ya go!"
"Don't worry, sweet thing—we'll treat ya real nice… heh heh heh…"
The two bald brutes snickered as they pinned her down. Tears streamed down Lila's face, glistening like broken glass. She knew she was trapped.
A chill seeped into her bones. Memories flooded in—years of skimping on new clothes, giving up college because she couldn't afford tuition, counting pennies just to put food on the table. While others feasted on New Year's Eve with family and a table full of meat, she'd huddle alone in this cottage, praying the cold night would end.
Finally, the house was going to be demolished! She'd thought it was a fresh start—until the demolition company lowballed her on compensation. When she refused, these monsters showed up. What had she done to deserve this? She'd tried so hard to survive… why wouldn't the world cut her a break?
Maybe she should've followed Mom and Dad when they died eight years ago. At least then, it wouldn't hurt so much.
The thought drained her strength. Despair pulled her under, and her eyes fluttered shut.
The goons laughed louder when they saw her faint. But just then—
BOOM!
The cottage door exploded inward, kicked off its hinges. Kyle blurred into the room like a lightning bolt with a bad attitude.
When he saw the scene, his eyes bugged out. It felt like his heart was doing backflips into a meat grinder.
"YOU BASTARDS!" he howled, swinging a fist through the air.
SPLAT!
Before the goons could blink, they were reduced to a fine red mist.
"Lila!" Kyle scooped his unconscious sister into his arms, sniffling like a congested walrus. He'd imagined a thousand homecomings… but this?
Her clothes were torn, her cheek bruised. His chest hurt so bad, he half-expected to cough up a lung.
After a while, he pulled himself together. He found her a clean shirt, scrubbed the gore off the floor (turns out, immortality training includes industrial-strength stain removal), and sat beside her, staring like she was a rare Pokémon.
Ten years gone, and she'd grown up. From pigtails to… well, this. Wow.
Lila's eyes fluttered open. When she saw Kyle, she scrambled back, looking like she'd just spotted a tax collector. "Who are you? Where'd those guys go?"
"I… uh… booted 'em," Kyle said, carefully omitting the part where they'd become wall art. No need to scar the kid with details.
But Lila just squinted at him. "You booted them?"
"Yep. Real good. Sent 'em packing." He tried a smile. It probably looked like a grimace.
"Thanks," she mumbled, inching toward the door like he might spontaneously combust.
Kyle's heart sank. She didn't recognize him. Duh, he realized. He'd left a baby-faced teen and returned a man with more emotional baggage than a airport carousel. Plus, the whole "living in a mountain for a decade" glow-up (or breakdown) had done wonders for his "stranger danger" vibe.
"Lila… don't you know me?" he asked, voice wobbly.
"Should I?" She tilted her head. His face was weirdly familiar—like a song you can't name. But mostly, he looked like trouble.
"It's me! Your brother!" He leaned in, grinning like an idiot.
"Brother?" Her eyes widened. The fuzzy memory clicked into place. The face in her old photo album overlapped with this… guy. Her lip trembled.
Kyle's heart soared. He reached out to ruffle her hair, just like old times.
But she smacked his hand away. "You've got the wrong person. I don't have a brother."
"Wait, what—"
"Don't call me Lila!" Her voice cracked. "You weren't here when Mom and Dad died. You showed up now, just as the house is getting demolished? I don't wanna think the worst, but… really? Now?"
Kyle froze. "Mom and Dad? They were fine when I left!"
"Yeah, and then you vanished!" She shouted, tears spilling over. "They spent every penny looking for you. Then a truck hit their car. They died. Two years after you left."
Kyle's brain short-circuited. "I… I didn't know. I was—"
"Partying? Ditching us for some girl? Don't act like you care now!" She laughed, bitter. "Ten years. You look like you've been living in a dumpster. Did what's-her-name finally dump you? Come crawling back for the demolition money?"
"Lila, it's not like that! I was—" He grabbed her arm. "I was training! To be… y'know… immortal!"
"Let go!" She wrenched free. "Save the superhero crap! I don't care!"
"I'm not lying! The mountain, the old guy—"
"Stop! Just stop!" She pushed him toward the door. "You wanna kill me too? Is that it? Finish the job?"
"I'd never—"
"I'll never forgive you. Never." Her voice shook. "When Mom and Dad died, I became an orphan. You don't get to fix that by showing up with a 'woe is me' story."
She planted her hands on his chest and shoved. Hard. "You saved me? Great. Now get out."
SLAM!
The door hit him in the face. Literally.
Kyle stood there, nursing his nose. Outside, crickets chirped like they were laughing.
Well, he thought. Homecoming: 1. Kyle: 0. And he was pretty sure his nose was broken. Again.
Maybe the mountain hadn't been so bad after all. At least there, the only thing hitting him was the old man's cane.