With my hands on my hips, or at least Berto's right now, I glared at Max who continued to laugh and after a few seconds Berto sighed.
"Max this isn't a joke. There was an accident and now we're trapped." Berto told him and when Max finally stopped laughing I let out a sigh, feeling really strange about all this. "Anyway I have to find a way around this and..." He said as he set his hands down on the keyboard and my eyes went wide as the computer began to spark.
"Berto! Turbo touch!" I yelled, quickly diving for cover and he stared back at me for a moment before his eyes went wide in shock. Leaping clear as both Shock and Steel watched on the computer exploded, sending debris in all directions. Thankfully it missed everyone just leaving us a little surprised as we stumbled to our feet.
"A little warning would have been nice." Shock commented and I sighed, dusting off my knees. "Well that's going to be a problem."
"So how do I figure out a way to switch us back if I can't use technology without it blowing up in my face?" Berto asked and I shrugged, making him frown at me. "You're not helping."
"That's not the only problem." Steel said as he hovered between me and Berto, crossing his arms. "Jessie, you can't go to school now."
"Huh why can't I...oh." I blushed when it clicked that I was stuck as Berto, at least for the time being and at first that sounded great until I realized that I also couldn't leave N-Tek. "Wait a second...so I'm stuck here?" I asked, unable to stop a pout from appearing on my face.
"Hmm...didn't think of that. I guess I'm going to Copper Canyon high in place of you, Jess." Berto said and I rolled my eyes at him, shocked that I actually wanted to go to school. "Jessie I know you're upset but..."
"This is all your fault!" I yelled, still feeling a little weirded out when I heard Berto's voice instead of my own and as I spun around I felt a sudden impact. "Owww!" I yelped as Shock shook himself and as I stared at him he sighed.
"Sorry I forgot that I can't link with you when you're Berto." He apologized as I stood there and when that finally hit me I suddenly sniffed. "Jess don't cry." He whispered and I hurriedly wiped my eyes, ashamed that even trapped in Berto's body I couldn't help still being emotional.
"Guys I don't know what I'm doing. This feels strange being someone else and I just..." I sniffed again and when I felt a pair of arms wrap around me I went to bury my head. Only to remember who was hugging me and I stopped, my face going bright red. "Umm...oops."
"Heh yeah this is a little weird for me too. But don't worry I will figure out how to change us back...somehow." Berto answered and I raised an eyebrow at him. "Maybe." He added and I finally managed a smile.
"Okay since school starts on Monday we have a day and a half to practice. Berto needs to learn about how to use your Turbo powers and to stay linked at least every six hours. Jessie, you need to hang out here so maybe you can help teach him too. What do you say?" Shock told us and as Berto released me I tried not to show them how much it hurt to be pushed to the sidelines. But I put on a brave face and gave them a nod, though I'm pretty sure they both knew I was still pretty upset.
Which became obvious a couple of hours later as we stood inside a training simulation. Trying to stand back and watch, I couldn't help being a little put out as Shock linked with Berto.
"Okay now repeat after me; Let's rock, Strength Mode!" Shock called out and Berto grinned before he repeated the phrase. As I watched the Turbo energy caused him to glow green before Base Mode became one of my earliest modes. To see someone else in my body was bad enough and I'd been trying not to get angry but as I watched Berto transform I couldn't stop myself from growling. "Soemthing wrong, Jess?" My best friend asked and I turned my head, crossing my arms against my chest.
"Obviously. You get to do everything; go to school, hang out, fight bad guys and what do I get? Stuck here doing absolutely zero." I grumbled and as I watched Shock detached from Berto and rolled his eye at me. "Don't give me that look."
"But we can't do anything to fix this right now." Shock told me and I gritted my teeth, making Berto actually giggle.
Without speaking I whirled around and stormed out, not wanting anyone especially not my best friend and my boyfriend. By the time I stumbled into the corridor I could feel hot tears running down my face, which just made me feel even more ashamed about losing control and lashing out at them. What am I doing, I thought as I headed for my dorm, I'm taking out my anger on the two people that mean the most to me. It wasn't until I bumped into someone that I looked up and found Forge staring at me.
"Berto...sorry Jessie wants going on?" He asked and seconds later he looked a little confused as I buried my face in his chest, unable to hold back my tears of frustration anymore. After listening to my whimpers for a few seconds I heard Forge sigh. "Come with me." He said and a few minutes later I found myself standing in his office, rubbing at my eyes as he sat behind his desk. "Now what's upset you?" He asked and I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to explain.
"Its just...Berto's me and he can leave whenever he wants. I'm stuck here and since I have no idea about how to switch us back..." I trailed off with a sniff and Forge gave me a nod.
"I see what the problem is. You're used to being outside where all the action is and being suddenly pushed to the sidelines feels...strange?" Forge told me and I gve him a nod, glad at least someone understood. "Look I know its a lot to get used to but at the very least you won't be in danger. Anyway maybe we can find something to take your mind off things until we find a cure for...whatever this is."
"Yeah I guess I could give it a shot. Thanks, Commander Forge." I replied and he gave me a slight smile. Of course finding something else for me to do while I was Berto proved a little more difficult then he thought. Eventually though I did find that while I couldn't fight, at least right now, I could offer my fighting skills and battle experience as a way of keeping my boyfriend and best friend safe.