The N-Tek complex was deserted when Max Steel and Kat Ryan returned from their assignment. It was passed midnight and the corridors were eerily quiet, the energy-saving flourescent lights flickering to life as their sensors detected human presence.
Max grimaced with each of the minuscule steps he took and Kat winced as she jarred her arm, each of them exchanging exasperated glances as they stumbled towards the agents' locker room.
"I swear, next time I see that Psycho I'm gonna pull each of those teeth from that shiny metal head of his!" Kat exclaimed as they passed through the swinging doors and into the large wet-room that always smelled of mildew and stale Lynx.
Max could only grunt a reply as his team mate collapsed on the long, wide plank of wood that served as a bench between the uniformed rows of lockers. His legs were so sore from that furious battle with Psycho and his henchmen that he couldn't contemplate sitting. Instead, he leant against the lockers and watched as Kat massaged the feeling back into her arm.
"How did that happen?" he asked when she let out an agonised yelp.
"When you were taking a linoleum nap," she barked with her usual abrasiveness, "I tried to subdue him but he smacked me away like a rag doll. That metal arm of his packs quite a wallop."
Max managed a grin and swept his brown fringe out of his eyes. He'd had plenty of experience regarding Psycho's robotic limb and tonight had been no exception.
"Anyway," Kat continued, "you're in worse shape than me."
He shrugged and stumbled over to the bench, sitting down heavily and aggravating his torn muscles and strained ligaments. Psycho was a master at hand-to-hand and it always left him yelping the following morning, "I'm made of tough stuff," he replied with a careless grunt, "these nanoprobes buzzing around inside me have their uses."
Kat rolled her eyes, "but nothing beats a human nursemaid," she said with only a hint of reluctance. She got shakily to her feet, fighting to bring herself up to her full height, and walked cautiously over to Max, "sit forward," she commanded abruptly, "not even my skinny ass could fit behind that hunk of lard!"
"Hey!" Max exclaimed but did as he was told. Being Kat Ryan's N-Tek partner for three years had taught him that life had made her hard and the best way was to accept her sometimes harsh remarks without comment. If he was honest with himself, it was the one feature that he liked the most about her.
She planted her knees solidly on the bench behind him, her slender shins pushed against the small of his back for balance. His blue suit was ripped and shredded in places, blood oozing steadily from the many flesh wounds that Psycho had given out with relish. She pulled the suit down over his shoulders and rested her warm hands over the ugly purple bruises and thick welts, feeling his wince before it came.
"Does that hurt?" she asked in a softer, more sensitive tone.
Beneath her fingers, she could feel his muscles tense as the extra pressure hurt but he didn't respond. Carefully she began to massage the soreness out of him, her nimble fingers working in small circles as they began to unknit the uptight fibres.
Max heaved a sigh of contentment, squeezing his eyes shut as he forced himself to sit back and think of his country, but it was difficult when Kat's face kept slipping into his mind, tongue squeezed between her teeth like it always did when she was concentrating. He tried to force the image out but she just looked so adorable painted against the blank canvas of his mind that he didn't have the heart to follow through with conviction. Instead, he let her rest in his imagination, his thoughts punctuated only by the feeling of her legs against his back, the athletic thighs hard and stoic, and her breasts brushing against his back. He could feel her swaying backwards and forwards as she massaged him with greater effort, her thumbs channelling through to his deep set muscles.
His mental image of her suddenly changed as he felt her body pressed behind him. In that instant, her hard, impassive face softened, the immovable eyes glittering with new-found life and a passion that she kept very well hidden. A seductive smile played across her face as her mouth hung slightly open as if caught in a sensual moment. He knew that his imagination was leading him into unfamiliar territory, but found himself actually enjoying what it was concocting.
"How's that feel?" she asked, the sensitivity he imagined managing to work its way into her voice.
"Really good," he murmured breathlessly as she wriggled his suit a little lower so that it was riding against his lower torso, the rubbery fabric rumpled in just the right place.
"God, Psycho really did a number on you," Kat said with genuine shock, her fingers delicately tracing the various regions of his back that were covered in injuries, "you look like a joint of beef in a butcher's window!"
Max couldn't help but smile, "so, what does the doctor prescribe?"
Oh, how glad he was to have asked. He expected his partner to resume her sensitive massage, but instead he felt a warm wetness brush against a jagged cut below his right shoulder, her hands gripping his arms tightly.
"That feel good?" she asked, a husky sensuality gripping her voice.
"That feels really good," he said and felt her delicate lips kiss another injury.
Suddenly it was like all the pain had been stripped from him in one glorious moment. He had never dared admit to anyone that his feelings towards Kat had changed the more he had gotten to know her. When they'd first met, she was a boyish creature with cropped black hair and a blue fringe. She'd had a harsh tongue, and one that he'd often felt the brunt of on many occasions, but she was always there to provide some timely backup when many a mission turned dicey. It was a few months ago when he'd noticed a sudden change in his feelings towards her, that tickling sensation in his stomach giving him the first hint. Then he'd noticed how his eyes always strayed to her ass, hugged perfectly by tight black, leather trousers and how her skin-tight N-Tek sleeveless shirt exaggerated her more-than-generous breasts.
Since then, their usual banter had always been laced with innuendo and whatever words tumbled from her mouth in the heat of the moment were read completely wrong. Everything had a dirty undertone and now he was beginning to realise that maybe it wasn't him hearing things that weren't there. Maybe Kat had been consciously trying to show him that she was interested?
"You're a tough guy to get through to, Steel," she murmured, his voice muffled as she continued to shower his back with kisses that were making his heart race and his breath come in loud gasps as he let his head loll backwards, "How many times does a girl have to batt her eyelashes and laugh at lame jokes to get a little attention?"
It took Max a moment to steady his voice as her hands began to caress the rippling muscles of his shoulders and upper back. Her breath was hot and sticky against his tenderised skin and he could feel her tongue briefly touch the flesh with each kiss,
"And to think, I've been trying to get through to you," he muttered breathlessly, "it looks like we're both stupid."
Kat let out a low, sexy laugh, resting her forehead against his solid form, "I guess so."
"So what now?" Max dared to ask, forgetting his pain and turning to look over his shoulder at her.
"Use your imagination," she replied with a filthy grin, pulling her black T-shirt over her head in a single, definitive movement, her seductive, willing eyes never breaking contact with Max's baby blues. There wasn't a single inch of his muscled physique that escaped her attention, from his bulging biceps to his washboard abdominals. His pecs were something to write home about and his flawless face added just the right touch of teenage boy charm to the mix.
"How could Rachel Leeds have kept her hands to herself?" Kat marvelled with a laugh, remembering the many tales she had heard regarding newly-appointed Division Chief Rachel's not-so-secret crush on Max.
"We did kiss that one time," Max confirmed.
"Nothing else? Lucky me," Kat purred and stood up, peeling down the leather trousers that had gotten her partner hot under the rubber for months, revealing a black lace thong that was surprisingly feminine compared to her tomboy exterior. She took his hand and pulled him to his feet, leaning in for a feather-light kiss as she tugged his N-Tek suit further down his body, her arms brushing against the hardness in his Calvin Kleins underneath.
"It's been saved for you for months," Max whispered as he stepped out of the trousers and kicked the all-in-one away, grabbing Kat roughly around the waist and pulling her towards him.
"Steady there, Steel," she goaded him naughtily, "we aren't all superhuman you know?"
"Just shut up," he barked and pulled her face towards him, their lips colliding with a great crack of electricity, their hands tangled as they tried to caress one another through their blindness.
Through the dizzying haze of flesh, Max felt through her bra, her breasts hard and pert beneath the sensual material, scorching his flesh as she brushed against him. She tugged at great handfuls of his hair as they searched within themselves, tongues doing all the exploring as they investigated the hidden crevices of one other's passion.
It took Max all his effort to contain himself long enough to lead her to the showers, his hands shaking with anticipation as he turned the water jets on and pushed her underneath. Their bodies glistening and their clothes soaked, they proceeded to investigate the unfathomable depths of their passion as the hot water cascaded down their entwined forms, neither of them caring how their enemies could use the intelligence of it to their advantage. For now it was just the two of them, united in their lust. Tomorrow would bring untold adventures, which they would deal with tomorrow.