Chapter 8

Mary got up from her seat on her couch, where she was watching television. She had assumed that the knock that came from the door was Sydney and Randessa, and she was right. She welcomed them with a smile, and they greeted her back. They walked in, sending Juliana a wave, for she hadn't moved from her spot on the couch. She greeted them, then immediately turned her attention back to the cartoon.

"You guys want to grab a snack before we go?" Mary asked as she opened the fridge door.

"No, thanks. I'm good," Randessa replied as she sat down.

"The same goes for me," Sydney answered as she sat down next to the purple-haired teen. Mary shrugged.

"All right. Guess we should go. Hey, Juliana, tell Mom we left, okay?" Mary asked her sister, earning a grunt in response. They headed out the door and towards the mall.

When they got there, it was a usual Saturday crowd. Not too crowded, yet there were a lot of people. The trio walked around, going into any store that had something of interest to them. Randessa opened up a little and told them a little bit about herself. Max had told Randessa about Mary, and she also knew he told Mary about her real identity. That didn't change anything, though. If anything, they got along better than before.

Mary was looking at a necklace with a purple jewel in the shape of a tear when screaming and crashing noises could be heard outside of the store. She looked up, only to see the Dark Max, causing panic and anger to bubble inside her. Mary heard an older couple nearby talk nervously:

"Isn't that Max Steel?"

"It sure looks like it, but his suit is different colors."

"Why would Max Steel attack us? Was he just acting the whole time?"

"I don't know, dear, but we have to get out of here!"

The couple ran out into the crowd of people, making their way towards the exit. Mary frowned as her mind processed what they had said. That was Dark Max's plan. To turn the city against him. Then, he wouldn't be able to show his face, causing chaos to spread. The blond turned to Randessa, who gave a nod in response.

"Sydney! We have to get out of her! Come on!" Mary exclaimed as she dragged Sydney towards the crowd.

"Don't worry! I'm right behind you!" the blond said as she let Sydney see her run with the crowd a little bit. Sydney nodded and followed the crowd, giving Mary a break. She ran back to her friend and comrade.

"All right! What's this bozo think he's doing?" Randessa said cockily. She cracked her knuckles as Mary looked around to make sure no one was watching. Randessa and she hid behind a counter as they transformed into their suits, stepping out in their armor, Mary now Marcy. She noted that Randessa's mood changed rather quickly, as if she was acting nice the whole time, when she was really more of a tomboy that she had showed.

They immediately got into fighting positions as Dark Max looked their way.

"Well, well, looks like someone decided to stay," he said, the smirk evident in his tone. It sent shivers down Marcy's spine, telling her she needed to be extra careful. She looked towards Randessa, getting a nod in response.

"Go Turbo/Phoenix: flight!" they yelled in unison. They charged towards the evil clone, watching his every move. He grabbed Marcy's leg as she kicked at him, throwing her into Randessa. They crashed through a store's window, banging their heads on a counter.

"This isn't going to work. We need to distract him," Randessa grumbled as she stood up. She helped Marcy up, who gave her a nod.

"I have an idea…" she said, before she whispered it to her partner. Just as she finished, Dark Max flew in, pinning Marcy on a wall.

"Let. Me. GO!" she yelled, squirming to get out of his grasp. The plan was definitely not going to work now.

"Tch, that ain't gonna work, sugarplum," he said in a low tone. Randessa kicked his side, causing him to fall onto the ground. She quickly pinned him to the ground, making sure he couldn't attack her.

"Leave and don't come back, otherwise you'll be in a world full of pain," she said coolly. She gave him a punch in the face before getting off of him and flew into the sky with Marcy trailing behind.

"You ok?" she asked after a little bit.

"Yeah, it was just unexpected," Marcy replied, her mind slowly drifting off.

"How are you guys going to explain to Sydney where you went?" Liz piped up.

"I have no idea," Marcy moaned, causing Randessa to laugh a little. They continued to fly into the sky, making sure Dark Max was nowhere to be seen.