Brief Explanation.

I was not going to bring this specific project to the attention of my fans. However, after much inward debate, I have relinquished my secrecy. I have decided to rewrite and edit "The Untold Story of Max Steeler." The beginning chapters do not vary much from the original version of this story. The only differences evolve from improved writing and perhaps an addition paragraph or two. As the story progresses, however, much will change. I am rewriting this story to fit into the completed animated series, including the last season. Slight changes have been made to both plot line and characters (both biographical and personality) changes in order to accomplish this.

Unedited summary

Slade. A criminal mastermind obsessed with the Titan's destruction. He is possessor of both machinery and weaponry. Who designed his weapons? His drones? The apprentice suits? The mechanical worms?

Three choices, two girls, and one secret. Meet Max Steeler. Learn her story. And prepare to rethink everything you thought you knew about the Teen Titans.

Disclaimer

I do not own Teen Titans or the Teen Titan characters. However, Max Steeler is a character of my own creation. Please do not steal.

Chapter Four: New Arrival

With trembling hands she placed the pen on the cold steel table. She carefully folded the paper. She tucked the letter safely into her cargo pants, patting the pocket for reassurance. The door burst open without warning, revealing both Slade and a teenage girl. Unsurprised, Max turned her chair to face them.

Time hiccupped as the girls' eyes connected, then continued as if nothing happened. Slade shoved the blonde forward and closed the door, locking it behind him. The girls continued staring at one another, not knowing how to react to the other's presence.

Max sighed, forcing her eyes downward, breaking the spell. She returned to her work. Two wires lay beneath her hands. She reached for them, twisting the ends together. Her eyes flashed blue as the wires fused together, metals melting into each other.

"Hey," the girl said suddenly.

Max's eyes melted from blue to grey. She looked up at the girl but remained silent.

"Well this is different," the girl continued. "I mean the Titan's seemed a lot friendlier. My name's Terra by the way."

The girl stuck out her hand. Max ignored the gesture.

"Why'd you leave? If everything was so great, why throw it away?"

"I guess I'm so used to running, I can't stop." She dropped her hand. "When the slightest thing goes wrong, I run. I guess," she paused. "I guess I'm just scared."

"You don't know fear," Max said gruffly, returning to the wires.

Stunned to silence, Terra listened as Max continued her thought.

"True fear is when no solution exists, when no escape is possible or answer plausible. That's not the case here, because you're here. You managed to find an escape. You'll know, trust me, you'll know when real fear creeps up and you have nowhere left to run." Max shook her head, setting the wires on the table. "So what are you looking for? What do you want so badly that you would go to the Titan's arch enemy to find it?"

"Control," she replied softly.

Max almost snickered. Almost. She stood and walked over till they both stood, five feet apart, face to face.

"I guess that's where I come in," Max shrugged. "How do I know you're not going to run again? Learning to control your powers isn't easy. It's challenging. It's difficult. How do I know you're not going to run at the first wrong turn?"

Terra locked eyes with Max.

"I'm through running," she stated firmly. "I'm tired of hurting people."

"This is probably the only time you should run." Max shrugged. "Whatever. Let's get started."

"Now?"

"You have something better to do?"

Confusion washed over Terra's face.

"Did I miss something here?" Terra exclaimed, exasperated. "What did I do to make you hate me so much?"

Max's eyes fell to the ground. Releasing a sigh of frustration, she raised her head and stepped closer to Terra. "Look," she said brusquely, eyes flashing blue, "just because you're Slade's new apprentice, doesn't mean I have to like you. Yeah, I'm going to train you, but only because I have to. I don't have a choice."

Terra disguised her shock, neither smiling nor frowning in reply. She nodded. "I guess I understand." Her words failed to mask the confusion in her voice.

Max started walking away, motioning for Terra to follow. Max stopped at her work desk, uncovering her metal disc. Quickly tucking it beneath her arm, she proceeded to the back wall. A key pad lay embedded inside the rock. Max's fingers glided across the keys. As she keyed in the access code, a hidden door slid open in reply.

The door was crafted from a metal of Max's design. By combining steel, iron and a few other metalloids, and heating the mixture to extreme temperatures, Max had created a metal with a weightless appearance but unimaginable strength.

The door opened to a massive but perfectly burrowed tunnel, travelling for miles and fading into pitch dark. Terra stepped in, bewildered. Her hand trembled involuntarily.

"Mechanical worms," Max explained. "Almost completely indestructible. They can burrow tunnels, like this, in mere seconds. In fact, they're a part of the plan to return you to the tower."

"What did you mean?" Terra asked suddenly.

"What?"

"Back there. You called me Slade's apprentice. What did you mean by that?"

She doesn't even know, Max thought. She probably doesn't even want to be his apprentice.

"Nothing," Max forced a smile. "I meant nothing. I was upset, that's all."

Max tossed her disc on the ground and leapt on top of it. The round disc hovered above the ground."

"Hop on."

"Can it hold two people?"

"Wasn't built for two, but it can," Max remarked defensively.

Terra cautiously stepped on behind Max, holding onto Max's shoulders for balance. As soon as Terra grabbed Max's shoulders, Max shot off covering distance at surprising speed. Max's eyes appeared to glow in the pitch black that engulfed them.

Silence. Max felt strangely comforted. She could feel the tension in Terra's grip, but she didn't understand it. What troubled her? The darkness? The silence? Everyday things. Ignoring the thought, she concentrated on the task ahead.

Eventually, the tunnel curved upward, leading to a small opening. The girls gradually came to a stop directly beneath the opening. Max groped in the darkness, searching for something. Grasping metal, Max turned the handle downward and pushed upward. Rusted latches yielded to the sudden pressure, releasing the cover they held. Sunlight trickled inside, producing a steady beam which pierced the darkness. Max shielded her eyes as they slipped through the opening and onto the surface.

A vast prairie greeted them, void of anything spectacular. Only a mountain-like cliff broke the patterned flatness. The rocks formed a natural crevasse, leading deeper into a hidden tavern. Max guided the disc through the air, stopping beside the chasm. The pair bounded off the disc and onto the rock ledge. Max stepped through the narrow passage, Terra followed.

"This is our home for the next few weeks," Max announced. Two sleeping bags along with a small stash of supplies lay inside. "So you'd better get used to it."

Heading back outside, Max looked over her shoulder, calling into the cavern.

"We better get a few hours of training in, before daylight disappears. Come on!"

"Alright!" Terra laughed, "I'm coming."

There it was again. Her laugh. Her smile. What made her so happy? Jealousy swept over her as they stepped closer to the ledge. Max turned to Terra.

"We're going to stare with an exercise called 'save yourself,'" Max said subtly.

"What?"

"You know," Max replied impishly. "Save yourself!"

With that Max shoved Terra abruptly, sending her flying over the ledge. Terra's eyes bulged with fear.

"Max!" She cried.

As she fell, her eyes filled with tears. Terra's screams fell on deaf ears. Max had disappeared.

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