Name: Maxine Stephanie Thomasson
AGE: 25
DOB: 14 August 1973
Origin:
Maxine Thomasson is the daughter of Brian and Charlotte Thomasson, born in Newark, New Jersey in 1973. When she was five, the Thomasson family moved to the Bronx, where Maxine’s parents live to this day.
Growing up in the Bronx, Maxine was always a precocious child. She seemed to get into trouble a lot, but in the way that kids usually get into trouble when they want to try something new. It wasn’t that Maxine was a bad kid; she was just fun loving, and that trait sometimes got her into trouble with her parents (not to mention other adults). She seemed to settle down a bit after entering high school, but the young woman was still popular, not in the way that cheerleaders and athletes are popular, but in the way that a cheerful, life-of-the-party person will be popular. Maxine rarely let this attitude interfere with her common sense or her schoolwork, as she carried a GPA of over 3.0 for all four of her years in school.
After graduation, Maxine enrolled in at New York University on an academic scholarship, majoring in Ancient History with the eventual intention of working as a teacher. Her priorities began to shift from teaching to archaeology when she took several courses in ancient languages. While her parents were surprised by her change of career plans, they took it in stride; Maxine was one who always wanted to find the fun in things and enjoy life to its fullest, so if traveling around the world digging up old ruins was what she wanted to do, then that’s what she’d do, no buts about it.
Upon getting her Bachelor’s Degree, Maxine took the option of staying at school to work on a Master’s Degree. But, since doing so would mean more schooling, Maxine would have to find a way to pay for the extra education, since her parents couldn’t afford to pay for it.
Not wanting to force her parents to go into debt, Maxine decided to look for a job. She looked around the city, looking for a job that would allow her to take advantage of her education, while still allowing her to remain in school.
After two weeks of looking, and beginning to grow impatient, Maxine walked into MacLeod’s Antiques.
The owner, a Scotsman named Connor MacLeod, seemed strangely interested in Maxine’s story. She explained everything to him, telling him of how she needed the money to continue her schooling and let her parents off any proverbial hook. When Mr. MacLeod said that he couldn’t hire someone just because of a money situation, Maxine promptly began cursing the Highlander for being a cold-hearted asshole. His response to her language was simple, direct, and to the point.
"Now THAT, young lady," he told her in his accented voice, "is the type of person I want working for me."
He hired her on the spot, on the following conditions; he would pay her enough to pay for her Master’s studies, as well as to find her own place, so long as she added courses that allowed her to run a business. This would allow Connor to take full advantage of her History skills, combined with business classes and the natural savvy he saw in her, to help increase his profits. At least, that was what he told her. Rightfully suspicious, she asked what his game was.
He told her that he wanted someone who could help him run his store, and that she needed all the skills to do it, because he didn’t hire short-term employees; he hired people on a permanent basis. And she was the best candidate he’d seen in a long time. Her last remark was that she hoped he knew what HE was getting into. The two shared a laugh at that, and the contest of wills was underway.
For two and half years, Maxine worked on her Master’s Degree while working for Connor. The two iron-willed people were well matched for and against each other. Eventually, Connor came to Maxine with surprising news in June of 1998; he had to go to Paris for a month, to meet with his cousin Duncan, often referred to as "the Boogeyman" by Connor, and to meet an old friend. In that time, Maxine was going to be in charge of the store. After reluctantly accepting the responsibilities, and snapping at Connor that he better not be doing something illegal that would get HER busted, Maxine began to run the shop.
Two weeks later, Maxine was heading to work when she was hit by a car traveling well over the speed limit. She rolled over the top of the car, landing on her head and snapping her neck. She died instantly. In the rush of panic that followed, paramedics were called and arrived on the scene. Maxine was quickly bundled into an ambulance and taken to the nearest hospital, the paramedics working to try to use defibrillators to bring the young woman to life. To their surprise, it worked. Maxine woke up in the ambulance and began to thrash around. The young New Yorker was sedated to keep her from ripping the paramedics apart, and woke up six hours later in a bed in the hospital, her parents at her side.
When her parents expressed their relief that she had been brought back from the dead, Maxine snorted that she could care less. She was more embarrassed that she was probably the only person who ever got run over in New York who hadn’t been hit by a cab. Seeing that their daughter was obviously fine, Brian and Charlotte headed home after an hour of crying over their daughter’s miraculous resurrection.
Once they left, Maxine placed an immediate call to Paris (collect, of course, since Connor was rich, he could pay for it), and told Connor what had happened, as well as what she’d been told. Connor seemed a great deal more concerned than he should have been (after all she was fine), and told her he’d be home as soon as time permitted (as mentioned in Born To Raise Hellmouth). Maxine hung up the phone and snapped something about how she hated having to spend the Fourth of July half-naked in a hospital bed.
Two days later, Maxine was just catching up on the receipts when a massive headache struck her. She fell over and slowly stood up, fighting the pain and cursing fluently in Brooklynese. She was very surprised to see Connor standing there, nodding solemnly at her reaction. He quickly closed the store and told her, "We need to talk."
He explained that he was an Immortal, born over 400 years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. He told her his life’s story, including the fact that Duncan, who he so often made fun of, was also Immortal, born about 75 years after Connor.
Maxine’s original response was to ask Connor to get some of whatever stuff it was he’d been smoking in Paris.
Muttering something about how it always came down to this, Connor promptly pulled a priceless Masamune katana from under his coat and stabbed himself in the heart. Maxine quickly pulled the sword out and watched as Connor suddenly came back to life. When he asked her what she thought, she told him she’d wanted to do that plenty of times over the last two years.
Asking what this had to do with her, Connor explained that the headache she felt when he came near her was the way that Immortals detected each other. Maxine quickly put two and two together, and started cussing again.
Connor said that there were thousands of Immortals walking around Earth, and she said that it was just her stupid luck that she’d never get to tell some great "died in a great battle or blaze of glory" story like he and Duncan did. "Face it," she said, "when people find out how I bit the big one, at least the first time, I’ll never hear the end of it."
Connor asked her to take it seriously, launching into the explanation of the Game and how a scroll had indicated that it had been a millennia-long ruse. After that, he told her part of the reason she’d been hired in the first place was because he’d sensed she was destined to become Immortal. "And here you said it was my personality," she muttered. Connor said, "That too."
When she finally boiled it down, and asked him if all it meant was that she’d live forever, Connor said yes. Her response was somewhat more subdued than most who find out they’re Immortal.
"Whoopty do."
After having to leave immediately once again, this time for Los Angeles ( in Calling Out The Clan), Connor then began training Maxine in the martial arts, teaching her the ways that Immortals survived, and the intervening months went smoothly in Maxine’s life, as she figured that becoming Immortal meant two things for her; one, she loved to enjoy life and Immortality simply meant she’d enjoy it longer; and two, shit happens.
In November, Connor’s previous student was being manipulated by Ares, the Greek God of War (in Hunter In Dark), and fled to New York to seek refuge with Connor. Maxine met the infamous Steve St. Wolf for the first time, and quickly volunteered for the meeting Shaw had arranged with Connor in Central Park. In a furious battle, Connor and Shaw Hunter had to fight a demon known to literature as the Headless Horseman. Connor was temporarily killed during the fight, which Maxine missed out on since she was busy talking to somebody else; Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Hunt, who was providing limited aid to the Slayerettes, who had chased the elven woman to the Big Apple. Meeting a legendary Goddess from Greece proved to be somewhat less than overwhelming for the jaded New Yorker, who figured this fell under the "you meet everybody in New York" category. Not impressed with the Goddess as far as her identity went, Maxine ran off to find her teacher and his friends. Artemis, on the other hand, was very impressed with the irreverent young woman.
After the Ares situation was resolved only hours later, Maxine remarked to Connor that her "initiation" into the Twilight Zone of Section Seven was less than she expected. Connor just rolled his eyes at her attitude, but secretly grinned at how well his student had handled her first trial by fire.
A few days later, Connor was given reason to regret how well she’d handled it.
Maxine was in her apartment when she received a visitor; Artemis, who said that She wanted to talk to the young Immortal. After telling Artemis to knock next time, she asked the Goddess to shoot the shit, and tell her what She wanted. Artemis made her an offer that Maxine took all of twenty seconds to consider before accepting.
Maxine Thomasson became the newest sister in the modern incarnation of the Amazons.
It took only one training session for Maxine’s new status to become apparent to Connor, who was severely bruised for several hours before his Immortal healing abilities caught up and completely mended him. It was at this point that Maxine confessed, "The Boss Lady made me an offer I couldn’t refuse."
Less than a month later (in Be Careful What You Wish For), Maxine got to earn her keep as an Amazon when Artemis herself called upon Connor and Maxine to help Section Seven by going to an alternate reality to eliminate a large army of vampires. Maxine quickly agreed to the mission, telling Connor that he could finally curse St. Wolf face to face over her becoming an Amazon, as well as mess with former students Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
In the fight in the so-called Wishverse, Maxine held her own with the more experienced warriors of the Slayerettes, Bureau 13, Elfhame Fairgrove, and members of groups native to that universe. At the end of the fight, Maxine muttered to Willow and Cordelia that she was disappointed; not a single one of the vampires they’d fought looked anything like George Hamilton or Frank Langella. The two Slayerettes silently wondered exactly what Artemis had gotten Herself into by making an Amazon out of someone who could stand up to Connor MacLeod.
After the fight, and the subsequent return to the Wandererverse, Maxine returned to New York with Connor, where she continues to train under the tutelage of the Highlander, but enjoys making his life as hard as possible in both hand-to-hand combat and in the store.
Race: Human.
Description:
Maxine stands five feet, seven inches tall, weighing in at a well-toned one hundred and twenty pounds. Maxine has always been in good physical condition, her primary activities being biking and aerobics. The New Yorker keeps her ice blonde hair cut short, almost in a military-style crew cut (thus leading to certain nicknames listed below, which she just laughs along with). Her ice blues eyes, when combined with her hair color, betray what many consider the "classic" Nordic look, but Maxine denies Viking bloodlines, telling people she’s pure New Yorker and proud of it.
Maxine doesn’t have any known distinguishing physical characteristics, and with her personality being enough to let people know exactly who she is, she hardly needs them.
Abilities (uncommon): Maxine has the normal abilities associated with Immortals; accelerated healing, immunity to disease, and the ability to return from the dead unless she is decapitated. In addition, Maxine has the abilities possessed by all Amazons; enhanced strength, agility, stamina, and fighting skills. Another ability that is currently unconfirmed (though Maxine has made this claim to more than ten people) is her so-called ability to hail a cab and understand the cab driver no matter what time of day it is or which native language the driver speaks. Finally, an ability that has been confirmed (through Steve St. Wolf and other Slayerettes) is that Maxine can piss off one Connor MacLeod better than anyone else.
Abilities (learned): Maxine possesses a four-year degree in Ancient History, so she can discuss almost any ancient culture with a reasonable amount of expertise and knowledge in that subject. As part of her studies, as well as being from New York, Maxine can speak and/or read a surprising mix of languages (she can speak English, Spanish, some German, and she claims to be fluent in "Bronx" and "Brooklynese." She can also read pictographs and hieroglyphics from the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Maya, Aztecs, and a few Native American tribes from the Northeastern United States). Currently, Maxine is learning the intricacies of running an antiques business in addition to her combat training from Connor MacLeod.
Current Status: (include here if the person is immortal or not): Employee at MacLeod’s Antiques in New York City, New York; Bachelor’s degree in Ancient History at New York University, currently a graduate student working on her Master’s degree in Ancient History with a minor in Business Administration; Citizen of the United States with a criminal record (shoplifting at age 13, despite the item being on sale); Maxine is an Immortal, and has been Immortal for just under six months as of January 1999.
Proficient weapons: Darn dao (sword of Chinese origin), karate, tae kwan do, judo, tai chi, aikido, kenjitsu, and Maxine has told Connor that she wields a really mean Louisville Slugger (somewhere is a burglar who can confirm this story).
Current beliefs:
As of current time (January 1999), Maxine’s life is little changed from what it was just six months ago. The fact that she’s Immortal hasn’t greatly affected her, other than to make her part of the group of fighters known as Section Seven. Maxine says she doesn’t care about some "great battle of good versus evil," hinting that she’s in the fight to kick monster ass and have a little fun in the process. It’s not the complete truth, as Maxine does care about helping others, but she doesn’t make it her whole existence.
She has told her parents that she did indeed die on that day in July, but merely credits the paramedics with bringing her back. She has made jokes about seeing St. Peter and telling him to kiss off, and her parents are just happy that their daughter hasn’t let the incident change her happy-go-lucky New Yorker attitude.
"Yeah, right," Maxine says to that with a smirk. "If anything, I’ve gotten worse."
At present, Maxine continues her training with Connor, but has begun to talk with him over what happens in less than two years, when she gets her Master’s Degree. Connor has told her he’d like her to continue with him, if not at his student (her Amazon abilities have drastically shortened the time of training she’ll need), then as his employee. Maxine’s holding out for minority partner (jokingly), and their talks continue.
On the Amazon front, Maxine quite obviously isn’t the most reverent Amazon warrior, but it’s highly unlikely that Artemis would have extended the offer if Maxine hadn’t shown her mettle and unflappability when they first met. While the Amazons in Sunnydale seem to be more on the dutiful side, having been given their gifts to fight the Darkness, Maxine seems to emphasize the emotional side of being an Amazon. She’ll use her abilities to fight vampires and demons, sure. But that doesn’t mean she’s not going to have as much fun as she can along the way. Which seems to be exactly what the Goddess of the Hunt wants her to do.
What is the one most important thing you can say about the character?
In a way, you could call Maxine the "Anti-Shaw Hunter"; whereas Shaw has had tragedies in her life that leave her cold and neutral towards new acquaintances, Maxine is your typical, everyday New Yorker with a "life happens, deal with it" attitude. Shaw has problems opening up to people, Maxine lets you know who and what she is up front, and if you have a problem with it, well… tough shit, buster. In other words, in Maxine we have someone who hasn’t had the all-too-common "tragedy in his or her life that leads him or her to become a crusader for justice or revenge" background. Shaw has always fought evil and has never had what "we" call a normal life. A defender of humanity is who Shaw is. Maxine, on the other hand, has a normal life, with extras; Immortality, Amazon, and monster hunter. In Maxine’s opinion, being part of the Section is something she does (or maybe in her way of thinking, a better term would be extracurricular activities), not who she is. She’s got too much to do at school and on the job to care about being Miss Van Helsing all the time.
If not for her Immortality and being an Amazon, Maxine would be living a normal life. As it is now, she’s living a normal life with the occasional ass whooping of monsters thrown in every so often. While we’ve only seen Maxine in a couple of stories thus far, I plan on (and hope to) having her role expand if things happen outside of Sunnydale-based or world-threatening battles (or combinations thereof). You would think that New York is big enough to have threats of its own, and with the numerous characters we know to be in the Big Apple (Connor, Blade, Spawn, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, the Gargoyles, David Xanatos, the Extreme Ghostbusters, and Mike Hammer off the top of my head), it should only be a matter of time before these diverse elements come together for their own story (Yes, it’s a blatant hint for the Grand High Poobah of the Wandererverse for when he reads this bio, he he. But back to Maxine).
Another thing about Maxine is that she isn’t someone like other characters that pretend to be happy and well adjusted on the outside, but tragically messed up on the inside, an emotional time bomb. Max is exactly who and what she appears to be. While that may cause a certain samurai sword swinging Scotsmen problems, it’s all the more fun for us to have a character that is in the fight because it’s something to do, not because she’s been dragged into it kicking and screaming. She’s enjoying life like she always has, and simply has more ways to do it, much to Connor’s occasional pain and displeasure.
At the same time, there is a part of Maxine that does seem hidden; not only can she discuss ancient cultures covering several continents, ancient relics and languages, and the modern antiques business (or a combination of all three), she can easily switch to her normal (and real) tough Bronx-raised persona and begin cussing out people like any true New Yorker can do. If you want a woman who’s multi-faceted, Maxine definitely qualifies. Let’s just hope we get to see those facets quite soon.
Favorite quote: "Yeah, life’s a bitch. She learned it from me." (Maxine says this with a sarcastic grin on her face while popping her trademark chewing gum)
Nicknames: Max, Susan Powter, Private Benjamin, and other, less polite things Connor mutters under his breath since she became an Amazon (though most who know her haven’t noticed any change in her personality at all).