"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." I said as I stood next the skateboard, looking down at it warily.
"Just step onto the board. It's not going to bite you." Max said and I glared at him. Berto sighed and tried to help me.
"You just have to step onto the board and find your balance." Berto said as I carefully placed one foot onto the skateboard. I instantly slipped and Berto grabbed my arm to steady me, explaining that I should put both feet on the board at the same time. With a quick glance at Max in case he made some joke at my expense, I did as Berto asked and placed both feet down onto the board. When I was steady I sighed with relief, grateful I hadn't fallen on my rear.
"Now you just need to put your foot on the ground and push off. Slowly." He added as I did as he suggested. The skateboard started to roll forward and I put my hands out to my sides to keep myself steady. As I rolled across the corridor, I couldn't help but laugh.
"This is awesome!" I shouted and Berto laughed. Sadly the fun didn't last long when I realized I had no idea how to stop. Trying to keep my balance and not panic, I called out to Berto. "How do you stop?"
"Oops?" I heard him say out loud. For a moment I thought maybe I could just wait and hope the skateboard would eventually slow down and I could jump down. It was then I discovered two things: the board was speeding up, not down and I was rapidly approaching the end of the corridor. As I was trying to think of a solution that didn't involve falling off or slamming into a wall, Berto shot past me on what I assumed was Max's board. Before I had time to register what he was doing, he jumped off the skateboard and stood directly in my path, his arms stretched out. Just as I was about to collide with him, Berto grabbed me and the green skateboard went rolling into the far wall. Maybe Berto misjudged the speed I was traveling at or it could have been that I was now off balance but somehow we both ended up on the floor, Berto landing on his back and me ending up on top of him. A little shocked at this new development I lifted my head and realized we had locked eyes. Probably a little winded from me falling on top of his chest, Berto didn't try to push me off or even ask if I would move. Staring down at him, I couldn't help but noticed his eyes were a dark chocolate color, just like my own. It was then I realized that Steel was hovering just above us. That's when I heard someone cough and remembered that Max was probably wondering just what we were doing. I'm sure my whole face had gone bright pink as I hurriedly stood and helped Berto up off the floor. Retrieving his board, Berto told us that he had to get back to his lab and quickly walked away. As Max went to retrieve his board, Steel asked me why my face was that interesting shade of pink.
"Um from falling." I said as Max joined us. Holding his board, Max pointed out that wasn't the reason and I glared at him. "You can't leave it alone, can you?" I replied, my face in my hands at this point.
"Admit it. You have a crush on Berto. It's not that big a deal." He said and I eventually looked up.
"Okay, fine. I admit it. I'm sure you've done the same thing with a girl you like." I said and he shook his head.
"Make a fool of myself? Nope, never done that." Max replied and that's when Steel spoke up, his metal arms folded across his 'chest'.
"What about the date you went on with Sydney Gardner? You keep trying to think of something to say to her." Steel told me and Max groaned.
"You just had to bring that up, didn't you?" Max said and I laughed. Now that I was over my embarrassment, I wanted to know just what had happened.
"So you do have a crush on someone. What's she like and where did you two meet? Was it love at first sight?" I teased as he rubbed the bridge of his nose looking a little annoyed at me.
"Okay fine. I'll tell you. Besides you told me who you like so I guess it's only fair. I meet Sydney on my first day at Copper Canyon high school. I was walking past the lockers when a guy tripped me and I fell over, knocking Sydney over as well. I helped her pick up her books and we went to pick up a book at the exact same time. That's how we first met. We even went on a date once and, well…" He stopped and I noticed that he was blushing.
"Did you kiss her?" I asked, and if it was possible Max blushed even more. I nudged him in the side, wanting to know. "Yes or no?"
"Almost. We leaned in and just as we were about to, I heard a commotion outside. The fire and earth Elementors had shown up, looking for me. So I cut the date short and send Sydney to safety in a taxi." Max explained.
"Bummer. Those Elementors are mood killers. What a second, earth and fire Elementors? There are more of those things?" I said, worried that I had only faced one so far.
"Actually the ultimate Elementor is the only one, since all four were somehow fused together." Max explained and I sighed with relief.
"That we know of anyway. He's formed from the fire, earth, water and air Elementors that we faced before. We had all of them locked away here at N-Tek when somehow they escaped and ended up fused together." Steel explained. "Then they escaped and that's why they look the way they do."
"Well at least there's only one so I guess it could be worse. Of course merged together it's still a pain in the rear. "I said and he shrugged.
"You don't know the half of it. So changing the subject, what did you think of your skateboarding lesson?" Max asked me and I smiled.
"Wonderful." I replied and Max rolled his eyes.
"Figured you say that." He said and I giggled. "Okay well I've got to go and meet Sydney and Kirby for lunch anyway so I'll see you later." He told me as he started to walk away.
"Say hi to your girlfriend for me." I called out and he just shook his head as he and Steel left. Laughing to myself I wondered where I should go next. The decision was soon made for me when Kat called out to me. Looking around I saw her waving me over from the doorway of the Com room. When I got there, she told me that Forge wanted to speak to me. While we waited for Forge to join us, she asked how I was.
"Pretty good. My head feels a lot better and I'm not dizzy or anything." I answered and she nodded.
"That's a relief to hear. You were unconscious for so long that we were kind of worried. You did get hit twice in a few days so I'm impressed that you recovered so fast. Now that I think about it, Max was the same when we first met." Kat said.
"What happened to him?" I asked her, being a bit nosey I have to admit.
"The first time Max came to N-Tek his Turbo energy had overloaded. He was conscious for a while and when he woke up Forge explained that he could now generate a powerful energy force." She said.
"Is that Turbo energy? I keep hearing people, and Steel, talking about it but no one will tell me what it is?" I replied as I crossed my arms against my chest in frustration.
"Okay quick science lesson then. Tachyon Unlimited Radiant Bio-Optimized Energy, or Turbo Energy, is the most powerful energy source on Earth. So far the only one who can generate it is Max." Kat told me.
"Okay that I understand. But where does Steel fit into all this?" I asked.
"Steel is an alien/robot Ultralink. He helps Max regulate his energy so it doesn't overload and Steel absorbs the energy to keep him alive. Now that they're Ultralinked the bond is permanent and if they're separated for more than eight hours, Max explodes from too much Turbo energy and Steel shuts down forever from not having enough. The other thing I forgot to mention is that with Steel's help Max can change modes. That's why he can fly and has the different armor suits you've seen so far. Steel attaches to Max's chest and this allows Max to switch modes as well." Kat went on.
As she spoke I realized I could understand everything she said, which kind of surprised me. I wasn't always the best at Science but this I got.
"What about the clothes I see Max wearing sometimes, like the blue jacket with the cool logo on the front?" I asked.
"That's a hologram. He always wears what we call his 'base suit'. It can't be taken off or his power would go out of control." Kat told me." Steel also generates that so no one knows he's Max Steel except for N-Tek."
"Max Steel. Now I get it. I can't believe I didn't figure it out before." I said and Kat smiled.
"That's actually a good thing. He needs to keep a low profile while he's not fighting so no one else will know." She said.
"Though too many people already know now." I heard Forge say as he walked in.
"One more person won't hurt, will it? I promise not to tell." I said and he nodded.
"I'll keep you to your word. Anyway I called you here because I wanted to know if you remember anything from just before you ended up in Copper Canyon." Forge asked me and I tried to come up with an explanation. After a few minutes all I had was a pain in my temple.
"Sorry but it's a total blank. All I remember was waking up on the ground. Before that it's a total blur. Frankly I wish I knew how I got there too." I answered and Forge frowned, scratching his chin. From the expression on his face I could tell he didn't believe me. "I can tell you don't believe me. Berto did the same thing not long after I met him too." I told them.
"It's not that we don't believe you it's just..." Kat began and Forge finished for her.
"It just sounds a little strange. Turning up out of the blue like that." He said and I frowned at him.
"Geeze call me a liar why don't you? I really don't need this after all I've been through so far. If the interrogations of me are done I'm out of here." I said with a growl. When no one tried to stop me I left the room. I had a feeling that he didn't trust me, not completely anyway, so I knew he would ask me again at some point. Hopefully when that time came I would know something myself.