Chapter 6

"Crud, crud, crud!" Max screamed. "What do we do?!"

"Uh... working on it," Steel said. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm calling N-Tek."

Max, despite her situation, looked around in confusion. "I thought your memory core was damaged. How do you know about N-Tek?"

"Well, it is, but that doesn't mean I wasn't able to read one of the logos."

"Oh, yeah." She had forgotten for a moment that there were logos around her when she was in the building. She wondered what Steel was thinking, calling N-Tek. Wouldn't she just be put back in that Turbo chamber? And what about Steel? What was Forge going to do to him? She looked around. She was calmer than she thought she would be, even though she could feel the fear rising in her chest.

But as the ground neared she felt her throat close up. And as soon as she was a few inches away from her going splat on the ground, something held her back. Was it N-Tek? She hardly had time to look at what had caught her before she was sucked back into the air and onto an airship.

She looked at it and immediately knew who it was. "Uncle Ferrus," she guessed. She was relieved, that was no joke. Steel disconnected and went ahead. Max decided to follow him. The door opened before them and revealed Forge at the front, driving the airship. She took a deep breath in hopes of calming her racing heart.

"Are you two okay?" Forge asked as Max and Steel sat down in the seat next to Forge.

"I guess you could say that," Max told him cautiously. "Just a quick question. What the heck was that thing?!"

"Giant fire monster," he said casually. Max stared at him. He just answered it. Just like that.

"Okay... Now if you consider being attacked by a giant fire monster, getting slammed against the canyon walls, and nearly getting killed by the fall okay, then I guess I am."

Forge sighed. "I know this may be confusing for you kid, but I'm sure I can explain to you what is happening. What I want to know is how on Earth you are still alive?" Max turned to Steel, since it was his turn to answer a question.

"Well, you could say that it is partly because of Maxine, here," Steel said, gesturing to Max. She stared at him strangely. He took a small glance at her. "She is the one who reactivated me."

"What were you thinking back there? Stealing N-Tek gear? Knocking down agents?"

"We were escaping, obviously."

"Escaping? You weren't a prisoner."

Steel's emoticon changed from his optic to an exclamation point. "I wasn't? Oh. My apologies."

Forge sighed and shook his head. "I just can't believe you're back, Steel. It's good to see you again."

Max wrinkled her eyebrows together in confusion. "Hold up," she said, bending over the capsule to look at her uncle. "I thought you said that Steel was my dad's science project. You never mentioned anything about Steel being your long lost buddy."

"That's beside the point," Forge countered. "I need you two to do something. First, Steel, I need you to suppress Max's energy signature."

"Suppress my... what?" she asked.

"That's how the Fire Elementaur tracked her, isn't it?" Steel asked.

"Yep," Forge answered. "And I need you to get rid of it so they can't track her."

"No problem." Steel went into his formation and slowly backed into Max''s chest as not to scare her worse than she already was. Max held as still as she could, thinking that she could mess something up if she moved. There was a moment of silence before Steel's voice rang in her head. "Signature suppressed."

"Next, neither of you are to mention this to your mom," Forge ordered.

"She'll kill us if she finds out," Max and Forge said in unison because they both knew it was true. They flew on in silence as Max tried to understand everything that was happening. Steel had disconnected and was watching Max carefully, not exactly sure what to say. She held her head in her hands. Just when she thought things were going to go back to normal, this happened. She started generating Turbo energy and a robot started controlling it. She got stuck with a weird outfit, she couldn't tell her mom what was happening and a bunch of monsters just had to start attacking her.

"When did this all get so messed up?" Max asked herself. Steel, however, heard her and floated a little closer to her. He was at loss for words, as was Forge. He had never seen his niece like this. Sure he'd seen her in her worse moments, but she hardly ever showed the terrified side of her. Hardly any people saw that side. He briefly took his hand away from the controls to give Max a comforting pat on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid," he said in the calmest voice he could, considering how worried he was. "We'll get through this. Steel and I will be here to help you out. You're not alone." He brought his hand back to the controls and focused his stare ahead. Max peered at him through her hands. She knew he was just trying to help, though despite his best efforts, Max still felt like gunk. The Turbo energy within her wasn't hurting but she could still feel it. She really couldn't understand how she was going to tolerate this during school. And having Steel's voice in her head? She couldn't talk to him with her thoughts. She would have to people would think she was crazy.

She looked around through the window. They were coming to a landing when Forge gave Max a quick briefing. "Remember. No one can know that you have Turbo energy in you or that you're UltraLinked with Steel. You have to keep this a secret. Keep a low profile."

"Low profile," she repeated. "Got it." She and Steel exited the airship and towards the direction to Max's house. They avoided as many people as possible, thankful it was near nightfall. When they came up at the door, Max opened it as quietly as she could. She held a finger to her lips to ensure Steel wouldn't make a sound. Of course, Max being Max, she managed to trip on one of the boxes and made a huge ruckus.

"Max? Is that you, hon?" Molly called as one of the doors opened. Max quickly stood up and looked around frantically.

"Oh man!" she said. "Busted!" She shoved Steel into a room next to her and looked down to see some winter clothes sprawled out on the ground. She quickly threw them on, making sure they obscured the sight of her suit. She finished just in time as her mom came out and in front of Max.

She gave Max a strange look. "What are you wearing?"

"What? Oh, this!" Max said nervously. "Is it a bit nippy in here or is it just me?"

"Are you feeling okay? Are you coming down with something?" Molly put a hand to her daughter's forehead to check her temperature.

Max flinched a bit. "No! I mean, maybe. That would explain the coat!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Steel come out of the room and swung around Max's mom. He put a hand to the bottom of his hull, his optic wide and curious. Max couldn't help but take a glance at Steel. Molly noticed and looked at where Max had glanced. Steel had made a swift movement to the other side of her. Max, not wanting either of them to be caught, started forward and swiped Steel out from the spot he was in. She held him under her arm, out of sight from her mom. Molly turned around.

"Well, you know, I should get to bed," Max said, slowly backing towards her room. "So goodnight." She quickly opened and shut the door. She put her back against it as Steel made his way out of Max's grip. She rubbed a hand down her face, sighing as she did so. She and Steel could have been caught. She looked Steel dead in the eye. He seemed to understand her distress.

"Yeah, I know," he said, letting his arms dang limply by his sides. Max nodded and walked over to her bed. She crashed on it. She was way too exhausted, considering the events of the day. She didn't even bother to question the reason why Steel was going into her closet. As soon as she closed her eyes, she was out like a light.