It went as badly as Steel had suspected and it was even worse than what he had thought it would be like. The T.U.R.B.O. dampeners were off, Max's energy was rising constantly with no one regulating it, and all his host wanted to do was to wait.
And see.
And feel the first flickers when the eight hour limit was approaching fast.
Blue sizzled over his skin, lit up his eyes, coursed through his system as his body accumulated more and more of the Takonian energy. The blue eyes were now an unearthly, bright color, lightning in their depths, and they were no longer human. They were anything but human.
Max started to wince again and again, lips a thin blue line in the dark blue features.
"Max…" Steel started, but his host stopped him with narrowed eyes.
Eyes that were leaking energy in winding wisps that dissipated into thin air.
It was like watching an open flame in a weird, out of this world fireplace. It was creepy, but not too much. Steel had seen it often enough, even when Max was just at the beginning of an overload, when the faint surges enveloped his hands and shone in his eyes.
They had chosen a remote location for this, far away from N-Tek's prying eyes. Or so Steel hoped.
Because if Forge got wind of this little stunt… well, experiment, he would tear them a new one. Not to mention Molly of Jim.
Oh, he didn't really want to think of anyone in that family finding out what he had condoned, what he was currently watching and letting happen.
His own batteries were still within safety levels, but just about. He would have to link up within the next thirty minutes so he wouldn't offline and then slip away; thirty long minutes he knew his host didn't have. Max couldn't take what his body was doing for much longer. He was pushing himself into this, digging into his core to raise the energy level faster than it normally would.
A groan of pain left the young man's lips and Steel instinctively moved closer, reaching for him, but stopped himself again.
This was hard.
This was torture! Absolute torture!
Steel felt his own circuits cramp in shared agony, his anxiety rising, and he heard something like a pained keening. It turned out to be himself making that sound.
By now the pale human skin had started to lose the solid look, turning into the energy state Steel had seen way too often before for his liking. Max's still humanoid form was filled with darkness that wasn't black but bluish, lighter blue cores deep within, growing more pronounced. There was a shiver of electricity in the air around him, expanding, surrounding the shaking form with curving blue and silvery lines in an almost perfect orb. It was beautiful and eerily scary in one to behold. There were hexagonal particles floating at the surface of that bubble.
Yes, Steel had seen that often enough.
He knew how dangerous it was.
How painful.
With a soft cry Max suddenly went to his knees, curling into himself, and Steel whined in shared pain.
"Max…"
::No:: was the breathy reply over the connection. ::I can still hold it. I can, Steel…::
But there was pain. A lot of it. And Max was fighting his faulty genes, trying to contain the Takion energy, but he was quickly reaching the point of no return.
::You're not Takonian! You can't do this, Max! You just can't! You have no control, you moron! Don't you understand?!::
There was a weak whimper, a denial without words, and then a low, burning cry. Max wasn't someone to give up easily. He was persistent and resilient, he was stubborn and tenacious when it came to solving a problem.
But there was no solution, Steel knew, trying to push it across their connection.
This was growing to be much worse than Makino's torture.
Much, much worse.
Because there was no evil bad guy doing this; it was Max himself.
"Max, please!" Steel begged, so close to the shaking form he could just reach out and touch the fluctuating mass of highly volatile energy. "Stop this! Let me help!"
Violent bursts zapped everywhere. It was biting, sharp, arcing away from the writhing Takonian hybrid in the middle.
::I can do it…:: Max breathed, despair mixing with despondency. ::I can… do…::
The words were cut off by another choking cry.
Steel twitched hard, the memories of such agony too bright in his mind, forced to watch as Makino hurt his host, making Max scream.
::You can't, idiot!:: he cried. ::That's the point of this whole mess we have been in for so long! You can't train it! You can't learn any techniques!::
Those inhuman eyes looked at him, the excessive energy running wild in their depths. It was bright white now, the blue almost gone, the intensity incredible.
And Steel could see the anguish in there, Max shaking with the strain he was under. The power was immense, building and building, growing too much for the young man to contain much longer. But there was also this dogged determination that would be their downfall if Steel didn't do something soon.
He had to.
Maybe because he was the only sane one in this partnership.
::Max… please:: he begged again, holding out his hands. ::Please, please, please! You need me. You need my help and I want to help! It's what we are!::
He couldn't watch this! He couldn't stand by and watch his host suffer, feeling echoes of the pain over the tightly guarded link. Steel had sworn to protect Max McGrath, his best friend, and his protective instincts were screeching at him.
::I'm your symbiont!::
The cry tearing from Max's lip was the last little push he needed, had him close the distance, taking the initiative.
There was no resistance.
Max embraced him, mentally and physically, and the moment Steel clicked into place, the SteelSuit enveloped him, the T.U.R.B.O. energy contained from one second to the next. Steel felt his own batteries charge completely within a fraction of a second, and he breathed a shuddering sigh of relief.
His host uncurled and leaned back against a boulder. There were tremors running through the slender frame for a whole second, an echo of how violent, how harsh, this had been.
"That didn't go as planned," Max mumbled dejectedly, a sliver of anger in his voice.
The pain was gone, though.
There was never any recuperation period. They didn't need it. The moment the dampeners were back on, the moment the conduit was in place, Max McGrath was absolutely fine again; no lingering effects.
Aside from the little burst of annoyance mixed with anger Steel could feel over the link.
"And it won't work like that," he told his host, repeating his earlier words.
Max blew out a sharp breath, shaking his head almost like in denial.
"It won't ever work like that," Steel continued, voice intense. "You can't train it, Max. If it was at all possible, we would have seen some kind of change in your reactions, in the way you handle the outpour, in the past already. You lack something and it's genetic, not just training. You're only half Takonian and nothing you can do will ever change that!"
Max groaned and buried his head in his hands, fingers clenching into his disheveled hair, digging into his scalp. ::It's just so… frustrating!::
::Tell me about it:: Steel remarked wryly, using the link as well. ::You think I want to shut down after eight hours of no contact? My fellow Ultralinks don't have that problem. My matrix was compromised::
::But I have something at my disposal that is an incredible weapon, Steel! Ven-Ghan said so! If I could use an overload in a controlled outburst…::
::If being the most important word here::
Max gnashed his teeth.
Steel slid closer through the connection and Max let himself meet him in the mind-space. The cyber-render was neutral this time. He gently touched his host, tilting the head up a little to meet the expressive blue eyes.
"Max, you can't. You can't extend the time you have before going critical. You can't use the energy to take out an opponent and bleed off what is killing you."
It got him a sharp exhalation of breath.
"We're not invincible. It's your Kryptonite," the symbiont added, briefly letting amusement bleed into the words. "No one is infallible or invincible anyway."
"All I can do is uncontrolled bursts…"
"Uh, yeah. Or pour it all out, but without going spectacularly kaboom yourself." Steel shrugged a little. "And I think Ven-Ghan meant the two of us training together as a unit, with me helping regulate those bursts. He wasn't suggesting this whole mess…" He gestured widely. "I think, with a little adjustment, we might get a grip on the energy bursts. You can already channel T.U.R.B.O. energy through me, right? With some tweaks we might get a new Mode out of that one. And you can already charge me and use me like a boomerang. We never fine-tuned that one, always going for the heavy-hitter Modes. We can figure this out, Max. The rest… no. I'm not doing that again!"
Max gave him a wan smile. "Yeah. Neither will I. Voluntarily."
There was nothing they could do, not even with Jim's help.
"We have enough Modes to kick a lot of ass," Steel added with a smirk audible. "And we might find a few more in my programming. Your Dad's been helping me remember a little more, so maybe we come up with something."
"As long as you're there."
Steel looked into his host's eyes, seeing the emotional turmoil in there. "I'll always be there, Max McGrath," he said earnestly. "We're one. Nothing can or will ever change that. Not gonna leave."
Max's smiled tentatively. "I know."
::And I wouldn't even if I didn't need you as my recharger:: Steel added softly.
The tentative smile turned warm. ::Same here, buddy::
xXxXxX
They stayed in the cyber-render for a while, then Max finally decided it was time to head back. He switched to Flight and they set a course for N-Tek. Steel dreaded the moment Ferrus would confront them about this little stunt. He had no doubt about it that the Commander had monitored the sudden burst of Takion energy. Or Berto had picked it up on one of the surveillance satellites. Or with the sensors of one of the Network's stations.
Strangely enough, Forge just gave them a nod when they touched down.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
It wasn't until they ran into him a few hours later that Forge wordlessly gestured at Max to follow.
And he did, dread pooling in is stomach.
"Did you get it out of your system?" the Commander asked when they were in what could probably be called Forge's office. It was one of those bare, functional and rather impersonal affairs. There wasn't even a picture anywhere.
"Uh, what?" Max asked, trying for confusion.
"Nice try, kiddo, but Berto registered a massive build-up of Takion energy. Since your dad's not in the vicinity and not prone to overloading, you came t mind." The sharp eyes flicked to Steel. "What happened?"
Steel glanced at his host, hands folded, trying to look small and inconspicuous. He was failing, he knew. Badly.
"I… we… tried something," Max stammered.
"Uh-huh."
"It… was perfectly safe" he rushed to add.
::Uh-huh:: Max sent, a perfect imitation of Forge.
Forge's eyebrows lowered, the glint in his eyes far from reassuring. The silence was heavy between them, and Max fidgeted a little.
"Uncle Forge…" he finally cracked, a pleading tone to the words. "I… we…"
Forge pinched the bridge of his nose with a world-weary sigh. It stopped Max immediately.
"I expected that to happen a lot sooner, so when you two didn't start experimenting with the dampening effects, I thought I was clear. Well, late-bloomers and all. What triggered it? The attack?"
Max's shoulders sagged a little and he evaded the knowing, dark eyes. "Kinda. And training."
The thick eyebrows shot up. "Training? With Ven-Ghan? How in the world would you…?" He groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. "Only you two."
"I had nothing to do with it!" Steel quickly intervened. "Nothing at all! If anything, I was the voice of reason!"
"You." And could he sound any more wry?
Steel bristled. "Yes. Me. I told him it was a bad idea and we shouldn't do this. That it wouldn't ever work."
Ferrus nodded. "Only too true."
"Steel's telling the truth, Uncle Ferrus. I wanted to try it."
"I hope once was enough. You can't train this, kid. Ever. Or your father would already have started a schedule. And he's the expert when it comes to generating T.U.R.B.O. energy."
"Yeah."
Forge approached them and Max looked up. His uncle looked drawn between pissed and understanding.
"It won't happen again," he promised solemnly.
"I'm pretty sure it won't." Those hard eyes were now on Steel, who moved back a little, his own eye widening. "Right?"
"Uh, sir, yes, sir!"
"Then we have an understanding. Also, your mother has no idea. Nor does your father."
Max stared at his uncle.
"She would kill me if she knew," Forge added. "And then you two."
The unspoken 'keep your mouths shut about this little stunt' was understood.
xXxXxX
Jim stepped out of the adjoining conference room, eyes meeting Forge's, and the Commander just sank onto his chair, running a hand over his face.
"Your son," he grunted.
Jim chuckled, though there was hardly any humor in his expression. "Your nephew. You raised him in my stead for the past sixteen years."
Forge snorted. "I didn't teach him that particular stunt. He's as headstrong as his mother, though."
"Runs in the maternal side of the family."
It got Jim a narrow-eyed look.
"But I suspected something like that would happen one day," he continued as he sat in the visitor's chair.
"I'm not going to tell Molly."
Jim raised his eyebrows. "Neither am I. I just returned to life; I'm not near suicidal enough to confront her with what our son has been up to right now."
"Good." Forge dug out a flask from the depth of his drawer, and two glasses. He poured the golden liquid and handed one to Jim, who took it with a half-smile. "Cheers."
Jim sipped at the liquid, surprised to find it wasn't alcohol.
"You think I'd be drinking on the job?" Forge teased. "This is something Berto came up with. Tastes good and looks like the real thing. Doesn't have the same effects in the end."
McGrath nursed his drink. "My compliments."
"You think he'll try again?"
"No."
Forge gave him a 'go on, explain the one-worded answer so I can follow' look.
"Steel," Jim added.
"Ah." Forge nodded.
Because Jim knew his former partner and he had seen how intensely protective he was of his current and only future host. Steel had stood by and let Max do this once, but he wouldn't do it again. Jim had never suffered an overload, but he had been catching up on everything that had happened since he had been gone, specifically the two years after his son and the Ultralink had partnered up to become Max Steel. He had talked to Steel, who had rather reluctantly given him the details of some encounters they had had with Makino, and Jim knew.
He knew it had been a one-time event.
Thankfully.
Forge topped up his drink again and the two men shared the silent office, comfortable with the silence, not needing too many words.
tbc...