A/N: Just a random idea I thought of one day and simply went with it. Hope you all like it.


Out of options and time, Max hastily looked around at the Elementors destroying Copper Cannon's buildings, sewers, air and homes, making a decision he hoped he would not later regret. In a voice filled with urgency and fear, the young agent spoke, "Kirby, Sydney, follow me. There's something I have to show you."

Able to sense the boy's thoughts, but not exactly read them Steel worriedly asked, "Max you can't seriously be doing what I think you're doing," both all too aware of the people following behind them, eager to discover what their supposed friend of the last two years had been hiding.

Not pausing in his run, Max solemnly answered, "No choice Steel. You saw how DREDD was controlling those Elementors. The only way to beat them is by telling Sydney and Kirby the truth and hoping they accept it enough to help fight. If not….well I'm sure you get the idea."

Unaware that both people had just heard his conversation and now thought that he was crazy….well crazier, Max rounded the corner that led to the entrance and threw just a bit of his turbo energy at the correct alley wall, ignoring his friends' freaked out reactions when it disappeared and was replaced by a small car meant for one person.

"Sydney you get in first and Berto will be on the other side to meet you. I promise everything will be explained once we are all there," the young man urgently explained with a warm smile. "Just be warned though, the ride will take your breath away."

The young woman didn't even get a chance to ask what he meant before the vehicle started speeding her along the track so fast she couldn't tell which way was up or down. While Steel was typically needed to power the vehicle, Berto had temporarily commanded it to work on external power provided by N-Tek's generators in order to get both civilians to base without causing a massive, detectible spike in Max's turbo energy due to the separation, no matter how short. Currently they had enough problems on their hands, the last thing they'd need was DREDD finding him and joining in the fight.

Now left in silence until the car got back, Max stood with his arms crossed over his chest, watching and hearing the city-his city-erupt in flames and people desperately crying out for help. Until a plan was formed, there was sadly nothing he could do. There was a phrase he heard many times from his Uncle Farris during training sessions, "Diving in head first is diving in brains last," essentially meaning if he ever went into a situation without a plan (and/or a good reason to do so), he was sure to either die or find himself in a situation he could not escape. Unwilling to end up in that situation, Max struggled to ignore the cries of the innocent people and control the urge to get out there and fight. The only reason he was able to do so now was due to those many training sessions.

"So….who were you talking to before?" Kirby awkwardly began, trying to distract himself from the unimaginable violence that was taking place all around him. Unlike his pal Max, Kirby did not have any training to fall back in this sort of situation, so the struggle to do so was immense. Even though to most he appeared as a laid back skater/surfer kid that did not let much bother him, Sydney and Max were among the few who knew the true, sensitive soul that he was. This day would likely end up haunting him for years to come.

Not really paying attention to the question, Max confusedly turned around and rubbed the back of his neck replying, "Huh? Oh, uh sorry Kirby. I was just thinking about yours and Sydney's possible reaction to my secret along with worrying about the city. The funny thing is, even though I always imagined that this day would come in some form, it's hard to believe that it's actually here now."

Easily shrugging off the mistake, the young man fought to ignore the sound of glass shattering and buildings likely filled with many law abiding citizens, being destroyed as he shakily shot back, "Eh, I underst-stand, it's no p-problem. I just asked w-who it was you were talking to b-before." Of course before he could receive an answer, the passageway opened up again, revealing the waiting car.

Without wasting much time, Max again hastily looked around for any potential dangers while pushing his friend into it and urgently telling him, "I promise you'll find out when I get there next. Just please be sure to tell Berto that C.Y.T.R.O. needs to be up and running yesterday, as we need all the help we can get out here. He'll know what you mean, trust me." That said, the brunette haired young man shut the top and sent Kirby on his way, hoping both people took the news well.

Officially alone, Steel emerged from Max's backpack and hovered in front of him, crossing his "arms" and semi-seriously asked, "Ok one, are you sure you want to do this? Two, does Farris know what you are doing, and three ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! You have no idea how those two will react to learning a secret this big!"

"Ok in order Steel," Max quickly began, crossing his arms over his carefully toned chest while looking at the machine, "Kind of too late to back out now, sort of and no. We both know that this was the only way to get at least a little more help without going public, which I would do if Uncle Farris wouldn't serve my head on a platter for doing so. You have to agree that our secret, and that of N-Tek itself, is not worth the city."

Speechless, the normally talkative cybertron could do nothing more than hover in front of the young brunette haired agent as they both silently waited from the transport to come back for them. Truth be told, even if Farris did know exactly what Max was doing, he would probably agree, no matter how tentative that agreement was. By now, it was well known throughout the Copper Canyon base that they needed all the help they could get, even if it did mean telling a select few civilians the truth. Aside from Max, Berto, Kat, Molly, Jefferson, and Farris himself were also bringing in a select few of their own civilian friends. In everyone's mind, the more people they had, the better their chances of winning, even though it did mean sacrificing their secret.


A little sick from the intense ride, Sydney struggled to hold back her natural urge to empty her stomach as Berto carefully helped her out of the car and into a nearby chair he had rolled over for just such an event. Locking the wheels in place to ensure she did not go anywhere, Berto quickly grabbed a nearby trashcan and shoved it into her weak arms before rushing to send the car back for Kirby as fast as he could. At this point, speed and efficiency were two critical factors in saving their city. The faster everyone could get here for the planning session, the quicker they could get back out there to fight and win the city back.

With the car on its return trip to the two boys still waiting, Berto grabbed the cold bottle of lemonade he had been about to drink when he got the call from Max, and ran back over to ensure Sydney was alright as he kneeled down in front of her and proceeded to calm her down as best he could. Truth be told, Max was better at the whole emotions and comforting thing than he was. Sure he could do it on occasions like this when he had to, but it was completely awkward for this boy whose life revolved around computers and numbers.

"Hey Sydney, look at me," the Hispanic young scientist carefully began, "Just breath through your nose and sip on this," he continued, gently taking back the trashcan and setting it by her side (just in case), as he replaced it with the small plastic container.

Too tired to argue, the young woman robotically raised the bottle to her lips and took a brief experimental sip, afraid her body might reject the slightly bitter liquid. Contrary to what she had thought, her body actually began to accept the cool refreshing drink as she slowly began to drink more, still not completely over her bout of nausea. Before Berto could do anything more to help the young woman, the sound of escaping air pressure filled the room for a few seconds as the car carrying Kirby came to a sudden gentle stop.

Ever the helper, Berto swung back into action, rushing over to see if he needed any help as well. While not as green as Sydney first was, Kirby still looked a bit out of it himself. After helping him into another chair that he had previously pulled over and giving him his own trashcan just in case, Berto went back one last time to send the transport for Max who by now was likely fighting with Steel about the desire to be out there fighting instead of in some underground headquarters.


A/N: If you read this far, thank you for doing so and please feel free to leave a review so I can improve.