General disclaimer: The TV show Max Steel is not mine, though I really wish it was. It belongs to a number of companies whose names escape my memory at the moment, but my name wasn't on that list, if I recall. Kelly McGrath/Maxy Steel, Xam Steel are my characters, and Turbo is the creation of me and my friend, and I will set my corgi-beagle on you if you use their names or their characters without my permission. Enough of that, on with the story!
BY:
Maxy Steel
Timeline: About two months after "Meet My Clone."
Team Steel had just gotten word that they had the day off, and Maxy, of course, was especially thrilled. Rachel, Berto, and Jake had already left.
"I don't know about you two, but I'm heading for the beach," Maxy informed her brother and his clone as she transformed back into Kelly. Max shrugged in indifference, and Xam nodded.
"I promised Laura I'd meet her at Cafe Cafe," Max replied, also transforming. Xam grinned.
"Can I come?" he asked, an innocently pleading look on his face. Josh looked thoughful for a moment.
"Only if you don't flirt with Laura. She's mine," he jokingly told his look-alike. Kelly laughed at Xam, who nodded by way of promising. Only she could see him cross his fingers as he did. Josh, however, only had to look at his brother to know.
"Sure you won't," the teenager grinned. Kelly moved ahead of the boys.
"I'll leave you to negotiate. I'm gone," the blond female announced, turning to her car. She turned waved at her brothers before hopping into the driver's seat. She revved the engine, and was gone. Xam grabbed the handles of his motorcycle, and sped off. The third member of the trio figured he would show up at Cafe Cafe later.
Kelly made one quick stop off to change into a swim suit, with shorts and a knotted white tee over it, and to grab her surf board. Ten minutes later, she was picking out a place on the relatively empty beach.
"It's such a nice place. Wonder where everyone is," the teenager commented as she entered the water. And was nearly run down by a water jet a mere five yards from shore.
"Hey!" Kelly screamed at the departing water mobile, spitting water from her mouth. The guy whipped back around, and shot back at her. Kelly tensed, ready to dive. Instead, the guy pulled to a stop next to her, angling carefully to not splash her again.
"Hey, what's a babe like you doing all alone?" the man leered at her. Kelly studied him. Broad build, dyed dark red hair, leery grin. Weight lifter who won't take "no" for an answer. She knew the type, and remembered dating one in college. Good for heavy lifting, but not much else.
"My boyfriend works. I just got out of college," she replied easily, pulling herself up on her board, sitting with her legs still in the water from the knee down. The guy thought for a moment, then held out his hand to her.
"Come on, I'll take you for a ride," he offered. Kelly smiled at him, and shook her head.
"Thanks, but no. My guy's kinda protective," the teenager replied.
"He doesn't have to know," the guy pressed. The blonde shook her head again, and repeated her response. He grabbed her hand, her left hand. Kelly struggled, more out of surprise than anything, and partial panic. She couldn't go turbo with his large hand covering her watch, and a guy with muscles like his could easily overpower her in normal mode.
"Let go of me!" she shouted, bringing her right hand down in a karate chop move on his grip. He grinned at her, attempting to pull her onto his water jet.
"You're stronger than I thought. But, I like ones who fight," he smirked.
"And just what do you think you're trying to do with my sister?" a voice called angrily.
Kelly and her captor looked over. Josh was standing on the shore, his board in one hand.
"This is your sister?" the weight lifter asked, holding Kelly up by her trapped arm.
"Put her down," Josh snapped, setting his board down. The man contemplated the situation. Then he leaned forward, looped his arm around Kelly's shoulders, and jerked her onto the jet, taking off as soon as she was caught.
"Josh, I need some help!" Kelly shouted over her shoulder.
"All he's got is a surf board. He'll never catch up. You're mine," the guy laughed. Kelly jammed her elbow into his chest, causing a slight wince.
"Take that, loser," Kelly snapped. He twisted her wrist. In spite of herself, the N-tek agent cried out.
"Take that, girl," he replied, a touch of malice in his voice.
"Excuse me," a familiar voice said, accompanied by a tap on the shoulder to the water ski driver.
"What the--" the guy growled, turning. Josh, on his jet powered surf board, was riding right next to them.
"I hate hitting a guy from behind," the young man explained, drawing back and slugging his sister's captor in the jaw. In surprise and pain, the guy loosened his grip somewhat on Kelly. In a fluid motion, Josh slammed his palm into the man's chin, grabbed Kelly by the arm, and pulled her from the craft. She landed on the slick surface, slipped, and fell to her knees on the board. Josh steadied her with one hand while they took off, leaving the man holding his jaw, and shouting at them. Josh guided the surfboard up near Kelly's, who jumped off his and onto hers, and they brought them in, dropping the gear on the sand.
"Well, that's one way to spend the afternoon," Kelly commented, standing.
"You want me to go back and punch his face in? Might stop him from pulling that stunt on some other girl," Josh offered, visibly angry. The female twin rolled her eyes. I'm a big girl, he doesn't have to be my guardian angel, she thought, a touch of irritability in her thoughts.
"Oh, Josh. You're so protective," she laughed aloud.
"No, I'm worried. What if I hadn't shown up?" the male blonde replied.
"I would have been able to handle it. He couldn't have held onto me forever," his sister assured, sounding indignant.
"Sorry, but you're my sister. And I'm not about to let anything happen to you," the young man sighed, shaking water from his hair.
"I can take care of myself. But I appreciate the thought. By the way, weren't you supposed to be meeting Laura at Cafe Cafe?" Kelly asked.
"Her mom had a surprise appointment. Laura had to watch her little brother. She called me and said we'd have to reschedule," Josh stated sadly.
"Oh boy. However many hours with Kyle. That's gonna be tough, especially with her just getting out of the hospital," Kelly said sympathetically. She cringed mentally at the memory of her one shot baby-sitting attempt with Laura's 10 year old brother, Kyle. It hadn't been fun. The result of spending 99% of his waking hours playing video games was the kid mentally living in a virtual reality, and being under the impression that he was a Dragon Slayer, and so carried a broom as his "sword." She had spent the evening hiding under the table, twisting to avoid repeated stabs with the broom as Kyle tried to slay the "monster," who, in his video game wired mind, was his baby-sitter.
"I remember," Josh grinned. He had also suffered at the hands of the computerized child.
"Well, there's no reason we cant go surfing, is there?" Kelly decided after a moment, collecting her board. Josh rolled his eyes, but grabbed his board. He followed his sister out into the water.
"Whoo-ha!" Kelly squealed, shifting her body to balance on the wave.
"Hey, Kel! What does 'whoo-ha' mean?" Josh shouted.
"What does 'whoo-hoo' mean?" Kelly shot back.
"Point taken," Josh called back, struggling to regain his balance as his foot slipped on the slick board. Kelly laughed at his clumsiness until she slipped up herself, and fell in the water.
"Yiii!" she squealed, in surprise, as her head vanished beneath the waves.
"Kelly!" Josh shouted, diving off his board. He surfaced seconds later, tightly holding his twin sister, who was choking on water and laughing at the same.
"Geez, I was fine! I can take care of myself," the teenager cried indignantly once she had calmed down, wiping damp strands of hair from her face. Josh rolled his eyes and pushed Kelly's board at her.
"I'll take your word for it," he said calmly. Kelly snorted, and eased up onto her board. She balanced on her knees for a moment, then looked at the shore.
"Check it out, a dog!" she cried excitedly, pointing at the sand-coated shoreline. She leaned forward too far, predictingly slipped, and fell back into the water with a loud splash. Josh sighed, banged his head on his board, then ducked into the water and fished his twin out. She sputtered as her head broke the surface.
"Clumsy," Josh scolded, though a smile spread across his face. The girl sent him an innocent smile, and paddled to the shore. She set her board in the sand, and walked up to the animal, who seemed to be searching frantically for something.
"Hey there, pretty puppy," the teenager crooned, stopping several feet away from the dog. It whirled around at her voice, and regarded her with caution. Kelly held out her hand.
"Easy there, baby. I won't hurt you," she soothed gently. The dog appeared unsure of herself, then trotted a few steps closer. Kelly advanced with great caution, and the dog's pink tongue flicked out, gave the girl a quick lick, and retreated back into the animal's mouth.
"Hey, you're friendly. Pretty baby," she murmured relaxingly. She edged her hand forward to stroke the animal's ear. To her surprise, the dog moved forward quickly and pressed it's head against her hand. She chuckled, and rubbed the other ear.
"You like that?" she asked sweetly, getting an agreeable whimper from her new friend. Kelly knelt down, and the dog eagerly moved into her arms. Josh came up behind them, and tapped Kelly's shoulder.
"So, does it have a name?" he asked. His sister moved to feel for a collar, and found none.
"I guess not. Oh, well, we can think of one later," she replied, moving to pick up the dog. Her brother stopped her.
"Wait. A. Minute...we're not taking this thing back to the house," he informed her firmly.
"And why not? We'll put up found posters in case the owner shows, but until then, I wanna keep the dog," Kelly snapped, defiantly challenging her brother to deny her wishes, knowign he couldn't. He sighed in defeat, and she picked up the dog.
They got home, and the dog scampered past Kelly and began to inspect the house. The girl caught it by the hind leg, and pushed the animal into the bathroom.
"You can give her a bath," she said absently to her brother. He shot her an annoyed look.
"Why me? She's your dog," he complained. Kelly gave her brother a smirky smile.
"Because you cant cook," was all she said, then entered the kitchen. Josh muttered something about taking a culinary class, and went into the bathroom. Only to find his sister's new pet had already knocked over several combs, brushes, and a bottle of eye drops.
"Okay, let's just get this over with," the boy sighed, and reached for the canine. She backed up against the door, flattening her ears back but making no warning noises.
Half an hour later, Kelly was in the process of making hamburgers. She'd just flipped the third burger off the frying pan, and the doorbell rang. She turned off the stove, and walked over. A very sheepish-looking Xam was on the other side.
"Forgot my key," he explained. His twin smiled sweetly, and hugged him.
"You're just in time. Josh is trying to give the dog I found a bath. Maybe you could go give him a hand," she told the teenager. He shot her a curious look, then sighed and went to help his original. As she passed by the door, Kelly heard Josh still trying to coax the dog into trusting him enough to even get the tense animal near the water. After a second, Xam's voice joined his brother's. She smiled when she heard the water running, followed by some splashing.
"Amazing. Sounds like they got her settled," she chuckled. That hope was dashed minutes later, by a series of panicked shouts, a few yelps, and finally, a thudding splash. Fearing the worst, Kelly dashed down to the room, and got the door open. A shocked Xam was standing in the middle of the room, tightly clutching a dog-shaped blob of foam, which was squirming wildly. Josh was sitting in the bathtub, completely soaked. The girl let out a sigh of relief.
"It was his fault," the male twins said at the same time, pointing at one another. The sister just rolled her eyes.
"I think you two have had enough fun for one day. Xam, give me the dog. There's burgers in the kitchen, I'll clean up here," she said authoritatively. Xam obediently handed off the creature, and turned to pull his twin from the water. Kelly waited until the boys had left, then set the dog down in the tub. She kept up a steady stream of soothing murmurs as she rinsed the soap from the soft coat. Now that it wasn't coated in dirt and grime, she could see the pretty black, brown, and white coat, and how pitifully thin the creature was. It had been hard to tell, the canine was so fluffy, but now it was clear. The tail hung limply, soaked through. The blonde imagined it was a thick plume when it was dry.
"Boys have no idea how to do anything but eat and fight," she chuckled softly, pouring the last cup of water over the animal's head. She rubbed gently to make sure all the suds were out, then grabbed a towel, using it to shield herself while her new pet shook herself dry.
"Well, we've got think of a name for you, baby," Kelly said, briskly rubbing the coat free of remaining water. The dog eagerly jumped about, playfully licking the girl's face.
"Hey, I know! How about...Going Turbo?" she asked laughingly. The dog gave her a pleading look She chuckled a little, and patted it's head.
"I'm close. What about...Turbo?" she suggested, and was bowled over by an enthusiastic slurp. Laughing, she got the dog a little drier, and tossed the towel into the clothes basket. She looked down at her front. The black shirt she was wearing was soaked though.
"You go make friends with Xam and Josh. I'll get cleaned up," she told her new pet, opening the door. While Turbo made a noisy racket to attract the twins' attention, Kelly slipped into her room unnoticed. Outside, she could hear some of the children in the neighborhood laughing joyfully. She unbuttoned the black shirt and let it fall to the floor, leaving her in a tight white tank top. Curiosity getting the better of her, she rapidly pulled on a denim T-shirt, and looked out the open window. A baseball zoomed through the window, barely missing her left ear. A collection of frantic apologies sounded.
"It's okay. Here," she called, throwing the ball back out the window. A young boy caught it, and ran back to his cohorts.
"Kelly, come get the mutt!" she heard one of the boys yell. An indignant bark sounded. She dashed out to the living room, and found Xam in a standoff around the couch with Turbo.
"Turbo!" she called happily, holding out her arms. The dog whined eagerly, bounced over the couch, and into the girl's embrace. Josh sighed and shook his head. Xam imitated his twin.
Turbo spent a week at the house, getting used to living with people again. Not like she was skittish or anything. She and Kelly were instant friends, but Turbo and the boys...that was just a combination that was never meant to be. She and Josh were a borderline thing, but Turbo and Xam, just not possible. And the animal had yet to meet any of the team's partners. Kelly was confident that Berto would immediately like the dog, but Rachel didn't seem like the animal lover type, especially not a canine version of one of the Steel trio.
"Tee, I've got a special surprise for you, honey! You get to meet Berto and Rachel, yes you do!" the now brunette teenager sang, clipping on the dog's leash. Surprisingly, it hadn't taken the dog very long to figure out that Maxy and Kelly were the same, as with Josh and Max. Xam appeared in his sister's doorway.
"Kel, you sure you want to do this?" he asked hesitantly. Turbo barked indignantly at him.
"Xam, relax. The worst she'd do is set off an alarm," Maxy assured calmly, brushing by him.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Xam groaned, following them. Turbo danced around Maxy's ankles, then jumped on Xam. With a loud yell of disgust, the teenage boy shoved her off, and sighed. With an insulted yap, Turbo play bit his boot, leaving a set of slight depressions.
"Well, if your boots vanish suddenly, we can assume Turbo has developed a taste for N-tek plastic," Max quipped from the hallway. The dog dove for his ankles next, missed, and bit into the couch side.
"Hey, keep the teeth in the mouth," Xam scolded, swatting at the dog's rear end. She yelped and skittered behind Max, seeking sympathy.
"You boys done bonding with her? Cause we need to get going," Maxy prompted brightly. Both boys quickly insisted that they weren't bonding with Turbo, but followed their sister out the door.
Berto didn't even have a chance to try and shield himself from the dog. She snuck in, and tackled him into the console before he knew it. By the time Max and the others arrived, Turbo had staked her claim in the control room...Berto's main console.
"Get. Off. Of. That. Now," Maxy heard Berto order. Then Turbo whined pitifully, and changed to a growl of "you cant make me."
"Wonderful to see you getting along with her," Maxy greeted Berto, putting an arm around his shoulders. He was having a glaring contest with Turbo, who was sprawled out lengthwise on the buttons. She rolled over, and her elbow hit the bio-link feedback. All three Steel triplets yelped and grabbed his heads. Berto rushed to shut it off.
"I think she had that one planned," Xam grumbled, rubbing his ear. Maxy chuckled, and rubbed her pet behind the ears.
"Don't be silly, biggie bro. Turbo's just a nice doggie, she did it on accident," she admonished her brother's clone, though by now he really felt more like a brother. Right then, Rachel arrived.
"Hmm, who's this?" she asked in a more "chipper" tone than usual, reaching out to pat Turbo.
"That would be the mutt Kel found at the beach," Xam muttered under his breath. Turbo laid her ears back at him, then tackled Rachel, giving her a welcoming slurp upside the face.
"Huh. Never pegged you as an animal lover, Rachel," Max observed as Turbo let his partner up. She patted the dog on the head.
"Until she does something she isn't supposed to, I'll tolerate her," the young woman promised. Turbo gave her a "I'd never do anything bad!" look, then hid behind Maxy.
Turbo had barely been at N-tek for three hours before her first real accident, if you want to call it that. It started as innocently as Maxy taking her to meet Dr. Yevshenko. The doctor wasn't very thrilled with the animal, concerned that she would "contaminate the area."
"Just try to keep her away from this area. The medical lab is supposed to be a clean room, and a dog isn't the cleanest thing on earth," Yevshenko was warning Maxy. Turbo found her way into the back, where a young agent who had been injured on a mission was recovering.
"Okay, we'll stay away from here then, won't be Turbo? Tee, where'd ya go?" Maxy said, looking around. She turned a little pale when she saw the recovery room door partially open. Yevshenko sighed and went in the back.
"Hey, get off that bed!" the doctor was heard seconds later. A confused and panicked yelp emitted from the back, and was quick followed by a loud crash. With a useless prayer that nothing important had been broken, Maxy shot into the back. Turbo was cowering under one of the beds, Yevshenko was seeing red, the patient looked highly amused, and an unused monitor was laying on the floor, trashed.
"Get that animal out of here before she destroys something else!" Yevshenko snapped at the young woman. Maxy meekly squeaked an apology, and dragged her pet out from under the bed.
"Great show," the young male patient approved. Maxy shot him a quick smile, then all but ran out of the room with Turbo on her heels. The teenager leaned against the wall outside the medical area. Turbo mimicked her, resting her head against the girl's knee.
"Maybe we shoulder leave her alone for a few days, or weeks, or months," Maxy suggested finally. Turbo nodded in approval, and then Xam came down the hall.
"Is it just me, or is there an air of guilty tension surrounding you two?" he asked revealingly, giving his sister a hard look. Maxy scuffed the floor with her boot. Turbo looked down and pawed at the metal plating.
"It was nothing, really. We've got a hundred monitors, don't we?" Maxy blurted in her sweetest voice. Xam sighed, and crossed his arms, waiting for the rest.
"What did you do this time?" he pressed when she failed to answer.
"Wasn't me! Turbo knocked it over!" the female Steel was quick to point out. Turbo growled at her mistress and got onto her hind legs to give her a small push.
"Knocked what over? Or do I want to know?" Xam questioned calmly, leaning against the wall beside them. Maxy and Turbo exchanged looks, then sighed simultaneously.
"Turbo went into the recovery room, and tipped over a monitor. It wasn't on, I swear! And Yevshenko wasn't too mad..." the girl trailed off.
"Which means that she was steaming mad and that you should try to hide from her for the next week or so," Max finished, appearing out of nowhere. Maxy and Turbo nodded sullenly. Max smiled, and shrugged.
"Don't worry about it. I've done that more times than you have," he assured. Maxy shot him a "thank you so much, that didn't make me feel any better" look, and Turbo whined.
Over the following week, Turbo managed to make herself completely and utterly annoying to Berto, Rachel was making a point of avoiding the dog after Turbo had knocked her to the ground not once, but four times.
"Tell me again, why does she have to stay in here when you're out on missions?" Berto complained, glaring at Turbo, who was stretched innocently across his console. His partner laughed and put her arm around his shoulders.
"Aw, come on, Berto. You know you love her," she chided playfully, scratching Turbo behind the ears. The animal whined in contentment, and drooled all over a fortunately unneeded printout. Berto looked sick, while Maxy chuckled.
"Yeah, like a mouse loves a snake," Xam quipped from the doorway. Both teenagers turned to look at him. Turbo hopped off the console, rushed the teen, and tackled him to the floor, eagerly slobbering all over his face. He freaked, to put it mildly.
"Augh! Get it off! Get it off!" he shouted desperately, just as Turbo decided his face was clean enough, and left him alone. She trotted up to Maxy, who smiled and crooned something at her.
"It tried to kill me!" the scarred agent accused, getting up. Turbo barked sharply, and bounded out the door.
"Berto, that was why I wanted her to stay in here. Well, time to see how fast that thing can go. Going turbo!" she said in one breath, then bolted out the door in a green glow. Both Berto and Xam got up to look out the door, hearing a crash. A cart that had been in the hall was laying on it's side. Amazingly, nothing was on it, so no damage.
"Ever notice that she never hits a cart with stuff on it?" Xam asked casually. Berto nodded, and went to pick up the cart.
"Turbo, get back here!" Maxy shouted, chasing her pet into a sparring room. Rachel and Max looked up as they came tearing in. Turbo streaked around the room, until a well-aimed flying tackle from Maxy slammed both of them into a rolled up mat.
"Nice entrance," Max said teasingly, clapping slowly. Maxy powered down and stood, holding Turbo. The animal squirmed wildly, looking for a way of escape. She tried to enlist Rachel's assistance, giving the blonde agent a pleading look and adding a sad whimper to it.
"You know me," Maxy replied with a smile, and marched out the door, the fidgety animal voicing complaint with loud squeals of resentment. Max and Rachel waited a moment to see if they'd come back, then started their sparring again.
Maxy entered the TSO room, scolding Turbo. Both Berto and Xam listened with interest as she spoke to the animal.
"Turbo, you know better than to run off like that around here. What if you get into more trouble, like with Dr. Yevshenko?" she chided. The animal stiffened and shook herself, hearing the doctor's name. The three teenagers chuckled. Xam patted his sister on the shoulder.
"I think maybe Yevshenko has become Turbo's Smiley," he observed. Maxy shook her head.
"She hasn't even met Smiley yet. She'll have to meet him first," the girl chuckled. Her dog decided to run around the room as fast as she possibly could.
"Wow, she's just like her owner. When she cant think of anything else to do, she runs in circles," Xam joked. Maxy and Max both clipped him in the head. Whining something about being nice, he covered his head from the blows. Turbo screeched to a stop right in front of him, and stuck her nose under his arms towards his face.
"You wouldn't dare..." he challenged slowly. A disgusted yelp emitted from the teenager, and he threw his head back, wiping doggie slobber off his cheek.
"She would dare, gladly," Maxy quipped, giggling into her hand. Turbo jumped to hide behind her mistress, and peered worriedly out at Xam.
The next few days passed strangely similar to the first. Turbo got into more trouble with several people, and made a couple new enemies. However, her sweet face and cheery disposition made many others instantly smile, offering the dog a small collection of "safe people" to go to when she got on the bad side of one of the ones who didn't like her. Maxy was obviously her first choice, but Jake was next, and Berto if she was absolutely desperate. On the other end, she had to avoid a certain three people at all costs. Mairot, Yevshenko, and Jefferson. None of them warmed to her especially well. Xam acted as if he liked her the least, but she loved him.
"Come on, Xam, you know you love her," Maxy teased often, grabbing Turbo's head, and tilting the animal's head to look up right into Xam's eyes. He'd fold his arms across his chest, and look away.
"I do not!" was the constant reply. This, of course, induced even more teasing, as Turbo would then jump on him, and slurp his face.
It had been almost three weeks since that fateful day when the female Steel triplet had found the lovable mutt at the beach, and Turbo had become a familiar face around N-tek.
"I think we should make Turbo a member of Team Steel. Like, so she can go out on missions, with us," Maxy announced, at a point when both of her brothers, along with her boyfriend, were in the room. The three boys exchanged "oh, just great" looks. Turbo whined hopefully, and gave them her best doggie smile, tongue hanging out of her mouth.
"Kelly, how do we put it in terms you can understand...?" Xam began, then made a couple of monkey noises, pointing at Turbo. Maxy and Turbo rolled their eyes.
"What the monkey was trying to say is 'N-O.' Kel, the last thing we need is having to remember a leash in addition to everything else we usually carry," Max interjected, shoving Xam off the console he'd been sitting on. He yelped in surprise as he hit the floor.
"Josh, that wasn't very nice," Maxy scolded. Turbo got bored, and slipped out of the room without anyone noticing. She yawned, shook herself, and trotted down the hall. She saw Dr. Yevshenko, and ducked behind a wheeled cart until the female doctor passed. The cowering animal spotted the open door the woman had come through. Thinking that she wouldn't be back for a while, the canine ducked into the room. Almost instantly, the doors shut, and a laser grid appeared, two inches above the dog's head. Turbo raised her nose, and sniffed the energy beams, nose quivering slightly. She shook her head, and trotted towards a table. Miraculously, she stood up right between two lasers, easily missing each one by several inches. There was a rack with four vials on the table. The mixed-breed dog's nose quivered, and she accidentally shoved the rack over. Greenish fluid slipped over the table. Bored and thirsty, the animal was quick to lap up the liquid. Almost instantly, she yelp, and threw herself back, tripping several of the lasers. Alarms went off, scaring the poor, already in pain animal further. In a wild panic, Turbo lunged for the door, just as it opened, thanks to Dr. Yevshenko. Turbo was a blur as she darted past the doctor, and ran down the hallways, yelping her head off.
"What is the matter with that animal?" Yevshenko muttered under her breath, then sighed, seeing the spilled tubes.
Maxy glanced up from the clipboard of medical printouts of her brother's brain pulses, hearing the loud, pained cries of what sounded like her pet. In a flash, the papers were being crushed under the plywood board on the floor as the teenager bolted from the room.
"Turbo?!" she called, pausing outside the door. Loud barks answered her, and she took off, crashing into Xam as she blindly rounded a corner. Both were thrown back to land on their butts. Xam shot his twin an irritated look, and got up, haughtily brushing himself off, smiling to show he wasn't nearly as mad as he was acting. She shook her head. He didn't need to. She knew him well enough. He offered his hand to her.
"I knew there was a sale at the mall, lil' sis,' but I didn't know you wanted to get there so bad," he teased, pulling her ponytail. Maxy rolled her eyes at his joking.
"No, I heard Turbo," she explained, dashing past him. He watched her go, a little confused.
"She probably just got on Yevshenko's bad side again," he mumbled to himself, heading for the training room beyond the TSO room.
"Turbo, stay in one place, will ya?!" Maxy shouted, pausing for breath. N-tek was huge, and with her hearing, that mutt could be anywhere. She listened carefully, then bolted down the hall on her left, her boots clicking down the empty path. Turbo's cries were getting louder, she must be getting closer. Now, she could hear the clack of nails.
"Whoa! Hey, Steel, turn off the turbo!" a black-haired male agent yelled at her, after the half-machine teenager blew past him, nearly knocking the folder out of his hands. Maxy ignored him, and snapped down another turn. After nearly running over another agent, she came to another fork. Soft whimpering came from the center path. The girl tore off again, getting the strangest feeling that she was going deeper underground. Suddenly, the click of nails became very clear. She spotted a furry rump just ahead of her. It was her dog, Turbo. She was about to call for the animal to heel, when Turbo abruptly collapsed on her side, sliding a few feet across the floor, and laying motionless.
"Turbo!" Maxy screamed, dropping to her knees near her pet. She slid, twisted her body, and ended up kneeling on her pet's right side. Turbo was breathing heavily, in small, quivering gasps, the pink tongue lolling from her mouth. Her eyes were tightly closed, as if in pain. The canine's entire body shook with pain, or something the girl couldn't figure out in her state.
"Tee...baby, what happened?!" Maxy gasped, shaking her pet's shoulder. Turbo responded with a huge sigh, and went limp. Maxy panicked, plain and simple. She had no idea what had happened to her pet. The only thing she could see was that the dog was still breathing, if not a little shallowly. Also, her heart was beating as well. The brunette picked up her dog, and raced off, back tracking her route up to the medical room. Fortunately, Berto was the only one there.
"Maxy, what's wrong?" Berto questioned, looking up. The girl thrust the dog out.
"Something's wrong with Turbo!" she exclaimed in a panicky tone. Berto looked from girl to canine, several times.
"Then...shouldn't you take her to a vet?" he asked hesitantly. Maxy shook her head.
"A couple minutes ago...she was acting...like I did...after I was infused with the Max-probes..." the teenager stuttered, looking hopefully at the Spanish teenager. He sighed, and took Turbo's body from his girlfriend. Laying the dog on an examination table, he hooked several monitors up to the animal.
"You're right. Turbo's been infused. Well, there's only one chance," he said finally, looking back at his partner. She nodded, biting her lip, and laid a hand on Turbo's right paw.
Minutes later, both of the teenagers were standing in the viewing room, looking down into the chamber. Turbo was curled in the chair, the discs started to spin, the energy collecting in them. The beam fired down, striking the dog head-on. Maxy clapped her hands together.
"Think she'll be okay?" she asked softly, worriedly. Berto shook his head, eyes glued to the monitor in front of him. The dog's vitals were getting stronger.
"We won't know until she wakes up," he said in reply. The greenish glow in the chamber stopped. Turbo was still unconscious. Maxy was already in the chamber, lifting her pet from the chair. She knelt on the floor near the chair, cuddling her dog close, hands tightly gripping the fur on Turbo's shoulders. The canine's head raised weakly, and delivered a passing lick to the girl's cheek. Berto watched them affectionately through the window for a moment, then went down to get both of them. It was time to find out how well the nano-tech max worked on animals. He paused near his girlfriend, kneeling down on one knee near her. Tears of gratitude were brimming in her eyes as she cradled her dog close. She started when he wiped the tears from her right eye, the one closest to him, then turned to look at him. She let go of Turbo, who stood firmly on her own two feet, and launched herself at Berto, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. He embraced her in return. Turbo looked at them, and sighed.
"Thank you," Maxy whispered finally. Berto detached her arms, and pulled her to her feet.
"You're welcome. Come on, I suppose we have to see about getting Turbo some hardware," he replied, taking her hand. She nodded, then wrapped her arms around him again, kissed him deeply on the lips, and then bounced off, Turbo close behind. Berto followed them as if in a trance. Obviously, he wasn't expecting the reaction.
While the others weren't especially thrilled with Turbo's upgrade, Xam and Max in particular, they had to agree with Maxy; the mutt could now be used as a great distraction. Because Turbo would constantly chew on a wrist band, not to mention she really lacked the motor skills to hit buttons on the thing, Turbo's bio-link was attached around her neck. Then, for one step up, the functions could only be voice-activated by a member of Team Steel. She was just like a member of the team. Turbo now came to meetings, often could go on missions, if a decoy was possibly needed. Then Turbo's favorite part, and Berto's least. On missions where she wasn't needed, Turbo had to stay in the control room.
"What's with her and shedding all over my console?" Berto was often heard complaining. Turbo was definitely the most thrilled about her new features. Now she could outrun Xam even easier than ever!
Well, that's Turbo for you. The newest member of the team, and by far the fastest. Up next in line is "Demons." Catch ya there!
-Maxy Steel
