A/N: Written before I knew there was a movie. Is there a movie? Can't find it anywhere, so as far as this story is concerned, it doesn't exist.

Disclaimer: I don't own Max Steel


Adjustments

He was loath to admit it, but Steel was infinitely grateful that he linked with Max. They had a connection, a brotherhood. He couldn't imagine life without Max McGrath, which might be why interacting with Jim was awkward, to say the least.

Steel's memory of their partnership was still blank, though the older McGrath seemed to have no problem recollecting their many exploits together.

He knew because every once in a while, when Max slept in on a Saturday morning, his father would tell Steel stories about their time together. The Ultralink knew Jim was only trying to be helpful by filling in the blanks in his memories, but Steel couldn't help but to feel a bit…guilty? Yes, that was it.

It was one such morning when Steel finally hit his breaking point. Max was snoring away in his bed, and Steel retreated to the less noisy living room. Jim McGrath was already awake, as usual. "Morning, Steel," he greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning," Steel returned drowsily; he was not a morning person, despite the cheerful chatter of the birds that nested on the windowsill. The man's eyebrows knitted together in slight concern, "You don't seem well rested."

Steel shrugged, "Max makes chainsaws sound quiet, if ya get my drift." Jim chuckled good-naturedly, "Your sense of humor has certainly improved over the years." A question mark flashed over Steel's optic screen, "You mean I wasn't always this charming?" Jim grinned, "I didn't say that. You were just more serious when I knew you."

Steel pointed at him accusingly, "You mean I was uptight!" Jim shrugged playfully, "Well, if the shoe fits…" The Ultralink crossed his arms, "I don't even wear shoes." A few moments of silence passed between them before Steel turned his gaze back to Jim, the expression on his screen appearing a bit sad. "Uh, Jim?" "Hm?"

"Am I really that different?" he asked. Jim seemed confused, "Different?" Steel waved his arms expressively, "Different than you remember." The man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose so. You were always so focused when we worked together. When Max was born, you tolerated him, but you didn't want much to do with him. I never would've imagined you two getting along so well."

Jim smiled, "Serious wasn't a bad thing, though. We saw eye to eye on a lot of things, and I wasn't much of a jokester myself. Despite the current situation, I still consider you one of my closest friends."

Steel fidgeted a bit under Jim's gaze, "Does it feel like you lost your best friend? I mean, I don't really remember anything about you, aside from what you've told me, and what I found through snooping. Doesn't that bother you?" The man smirked a bit, "Yeah, a little. I'm mostly happy for you, though." Another question mark flashed on Steel's screen.

Jim seemed to be sorting out his words and choosing carefully. Finally, he continued, "You were carrying a lot of baggage back in the day, and your military background kept you rigid and cold. Now that all of that has been erased, you're free to be yourself."

Jim smiled widely, "You're happy now, and that's what matters to me." Steel simply stared back at him wordlessly. "You're also a great friend to my son, so I'm grateful for that too," Jim added with a grin.

As if on cue, a disgruntled yell resounded from down the hall. "Steel!" Max rushed into the room, hurriedly scrubbing his teeth with his toothbrush. "Why didn't you wake me up?" he demanded irately. Steel turned to him questioningly, "What?" Max gaped at him, "My date with Sydney! I'm gonna be late!"

The Ultralink rolled his eye, "You're always late." "I know," Max whined. "That's why I didn't want to be late this time!" Steel rested his arm on Max's shoulder, "If you ask me, she should expect it by now."

Max crossed his arms, "I didn't ask you." "Well you should. I'm obviously the brains of this operation." "Steel, hurry up!" the teenager moaned, pointing to his chest.

Steel turned to Jim, who looked extremely amused. "Y'know, sometimes I feel like a high-tech babysitter," he complained. The man chuckled lightly, "Sometimes you look like one." "Heh heh. Wait. A babysitter or a baby?" Steel asked suspiciously.

Jim shook his head stubbornly, "Not clarifying." "Oh come on!" Steel shouted, and flew over to cling to the man's shirt. "I need to know!" he yelled, shaking Jim back and forth for good measure.

Max quickly pulled him away, holding him firmly by the arms, "You're the baby." Steel moved to retaliate, but the teenager promptly cut him off. "Now let's Go Turbo: Speed!" Blue light flashed as the Steel Suit reconfigured into the streamlined design of Turbo Speed Mode. With that, they were off, leaving Jim to pick up the newspaper they unknowingly blew off the counter. He smiled and shook his head.

If there was one thing he missed more than anything else, it was how small the Max in his memories was. He wasn't a child anymore, and Jim couldn't help but to feel that he'd missed all the crucial moments of his son's life. Max was a man now, and a darn good one. He'd had almost nothing to do with it, and it was a bittersweet situation.

Molly hadn't realized it would be so difficult getting used to two men living in the house. She thought Jim's return would be effortless, but after fourteen years living without him, it was hard to adjust to the small things.

Like having to make sure the toilet seat was down first thing in the morning, which led to many impromptu showers on her part. As the acting CEO of TransHuman Industries, it was a little bit embarrassing to show up late to work when she'd never been late before.

Jim was more damaged from his time powering Makino's ship than he let on. Molly saw the flashes of blue T.U.R.B.O energy under the door when he thought no one was looking. After years of having such large amounts of his energy siphoned away without his consent, he had trouble dampening it now.

He felt like a leaky faucet. He'd built several T.U.R.B.O. storage containers that would hold his excess energy, but they were filling up fast, and it wouldn't be long before he slipped up and Myles Dredd located him.

As he sat at the table eating breakfast with his wife, he sighed sadly. "Molly?" "Hm?" she answered, glancing up with a smile. "I'm sure you've noticed by now, but…I'm having trouble controlling my T.U.R.B.O. energy."

Her expression became serious, "I know. You've been storing it in containers. Any luck finding a fix?" Jim laughed nervously and raked his hands through his hair, "Other than dropping them off at Dredd's doorstep? No."

The woman frowned disapprovingly, but otherwise ignored his ill-conceived joke. "Have you spoken to Forge? Berto might be able to work with you on a solution," she stated confidently. Jim nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "No. I…I was too embarrassed."

Molly's face scrunched up, somehow managing to look both outraged and sympathetic. "Ja'em. What happened to you wasn't your fault," she murmured, placing her hand over his.

"I can't even control my own body anymore, Molly. Makino took everything from me. He took my freedom, Max's childhood…you. I just wish he'd left something untouched." Molly cradled his face in her hands gently, "He did."

She poked him in the middle of his chest, "This. He left this untouched."