Authors Notes: If you haven't read my fanfic 'The Key' you won't get this so read it first. Also be aware this is after season 4
Official Disclaimer: I don't own Max Steel or anything else from it. Mattel does!
Reckless
Chapter 1
Basics
Jim sat back in his plastic fold up chair. Fishing pole in hand, and a sandwich in the other. His son was waste deep in the lake holding on to Nears hand as she reach out with the other. Beyond them was a beach ball and honestly to Jim it would have been better if Max had went for the ball. But Near insisted since she was trying to get rid of her fear of deep water. It was three months since the incident. Three months since Dredd took her and Max got stuck under all that rock under water for nearly an hour. She became afraid of the water after that. Baths were fine, that wasn't deep water. Tek watched from her vantage point on the shore trying to tell them not to make the water ripple to much or the ball would simply float away. Which it was doing anyways.
"Why doesn't Steel just hover over and get the ball?" Molly asked as she sipped her coffee.
"Something about them needing to solve their own problems without the hover feature. Or Near could probably hover over to it too." Jim said and sighed and nearly chocked on his own coffee when Near slipped and nearly climbed up Max like a tree. Both Tek and Steel were in stitches laughing at the two.
"Near sweetheart the water is only three feet deep. Why don't you just walk over and pick it up." Molly yelled. Near looked up at Molly and pointed at the ball. "Yes dear the ball." The only person that could make her do anything she didn't want to do it was Molly. She was scared to death of the woman, she finally got to see Molly angry at Forge not to long ago, and Jim wasn't to sure why. He walked in on it. But everyone in the room was either pretending nothing was going on or cowering in a corner. Near had hid under her seat covering her head. She told Jim when he picked her up that she thought Molly was going to explode.
"Gotcha!" Near yelled and walked back toward land.
"Alright Jim...lets see if we can't catch dinner for tonight." At least for them Neither Near nor Tek ate human food. Mostly just drank water and had turbo power cells much like their father Steel. Father meaning they were engineered using his technology. He had taken the idea of being a father very seriously and was caught teaching Tek how to swim not to long ago. Tek loved the water, and everything about it. It fasinated her very much. The idea that less then half of it had been explored amazes her so very much. A lot of her possessions in her room were found on a beach. Some rocks that look like certain shapes, sea shells, and bits of drift wood. At one point and honestly the cutest thing Molly ever seen was last night. Near had found a heart shaped rock by the shore and brought it over to Tek and gave it to her. Tek looked it over, played with it in her hands for a moment before smiling. Her smiling like this was rare. The only time she ever saw Tek smile like that was well...never. Yeah she would laugh, and smile that big toothy smile of hers...but not something soft and warm like that. A smile mostly reserved for Near alone.
Steel watched his family as they ran around the beach. It was quiet time, and they were on vacation on a local island not to far off shore from copper Canyon just in case they were needed, but for now they were happy, and his daughters were too. Max threw the ball to Steel who bunted it toward Near who hit it back to Tek. Tek went to hit it and faltered before landing on her backside. If there was one thing weird about Tek it was the way she actually walked. She didn't walk flat footed like humans did. She walked as if she were forever stuck in a position for wearing high heels. Near on the other hand had fingers like humans but could only move two individually. The pinky, ring, and middle finger moved together as if they were stuck together. So her thumb and first fingers were the only ones that moved individually. They both had their quarks, and pet peeves.
"Don't! help me." Tek hated people to help her. She saw it as a weakness and didn't take Max's hand when it was offered to her.
"Just trying to help my sister out. Thats all." He said shrugging his shoulders.
"Tek its alright to let others help you." Near said trying to justify Max's actions. She however didn't see it that way. She swatted her sisters hand away and got up on her own.
"Whatever." Tek sighed picking up the ball throwing it to Max. "I'm just saying I'm a big link and can take care of myself."
"I'm sorry." Near was by far the gentlest of the two. They were considered twins since they almost looked exactly alike save for a few minor details like the hand and foot thing. Ones hair was thicker and shinier while the others was thinner and matte. Ones eyes would glow uncontrollably so they had special glasses made to hide the glow from the outside world. It just looked like she needed to wear reading glasses.
Max on the other hand had just turned 19 hence them going on vacation. Jim had missed out on a lot of these birthdays and tried to think of special ways to make up for it.
Tek ran into the ocean to catch the ball and nearly screamed as she saw fish floating up from the sea.
"Dad?" Tek called out. The worry in her voice caused Steel flutter over to take a look. He looked around at Jim who was standing up. He didn't look pleased. But he wasn't looking at the fish it was looking at the horizon. Off the coast where they were was a tanker dumping something into the water.
"What are they doing to the water?" Near asked
"Some people just want to kill things...not caring." Max said. "Don't worry though. We'll stop them." Max said motioning to Steel to follow.
With a blast of blue energy they were off.
"Tek? I have a bad feeling." Tek looked up at her gentle sister and nodded.
"As much as I'd want to deny it. So do I."