The moment N-Tek lost contact with Jessie and Shock, Forge called an emergency meeting in the Com Room. In attendance were Max, Steel, Kat and Jefferson. After returning to N-Tek, Berto returned to his lab and refused to come out.
"Has there been any news of Jessie and Shock?" Forge asked, still hopeful, but everyone shook their heads and he frowned.
"We lost her signal the moment the bomb she was carrying detonated. We've tried repeatedly to call her but we've had no luck." Kat explained.
"You don't think…" Jefferson started and Forge held up his hand.
"There's a very strong possibility of that being the case but we have to keep searching. Kat and Jefferson, I want you two to search Copper Canyon. Hopefully you can spot Jessie and Shock from the air. Good luck." Forge said and with a nod towards their Commander they raced out. Turning to Max and Steel he asked them where Berto had disappeared to.
"He's in his lab. I tried to talk to him but he won't come out." Max said as he hung his head." I think he blames us." He added and Forge raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"We weren't there when Jessie and Shock took on Toxzon. I know he thinks if we'd been there…this wouldn't have happened." Steel explained. Sighing Forge placed a hand on Max's shoulder and he looked up.
"We can't keep blaming each other. Right now the best thing to do is find Jessie and Shock. "Forge said and Max nodded.
"Then let's find Jessie and Shock. Go Turbo! Flight!" Max shouted as he and Steel linked. Now in Flight mode they raced for the hangar. Now alone, Forge wondered what he should do about Berto.
Just after the explosion, Shock had been desperately trying to wake Jessie up. Getting no response and still falling rapidly towards Earth he soon realized there was only one option: to take complete control of her body like he did just after they first met.
"I'm going to take over now. Unless you have any objections?" Shock asked and when he was greeted by complete silence he sighed and took control.
Coming to a complete halt in midair, he wondered what he should do. "Getting back to N-Tek to get help is a smart move but it'll take too long to travel back to the entrance in Copper Canyon. Wait, what about the one in the alley?" He said out aloud and started for the entrance in the city. A short time later Shock landed on the concrete and detached from Jessie, who sprawled to the ground. Heaving a sigh he carefully pushed her into a sitting position against the wall and attempted to call N-Tek. For some reason he couldn't get through so he went with the second option; firing a blast of Turbo energy at the brick wall in front of him. The entrance opened and the car arrived seconds later. That's when Shock realized he had no idea how he was going to get Jessie into the car's seat. After a few minutes he managed to half carry (and half drag) her unconscious body into the car. As soon as he got her into the seat he attached himself to the front of the car and it sped into N-Tek.
When Forge saw the car arrive, he immediately called Berto, who was all set to ignore the call until Forge said two words: "Jessie's here." In shock Berto hurried from his lab to the entrance to find his friend slumped unmoving in the car. Rushing over he knelt beside her and tried to wake her up.
"Hang on." Shock said as he linked with her and changed her back to her Base suit, also removing her helmet. Detaching again, he hovered nearby as her two friends watched on.
"Jessie, can you hear me?" Berto asked, placing a hand on her neck. Under his hand he could feel a weak pulse. "She's alive." He said, relieved but then he frowned. Forge joined him and asked what was wrong.
"Why isn't she opening her eyes? What's wrong with her?" Berto asked as he stepped aside to let Forge past. Kneeling down he checked her head and neck, eventually finding a massive bruise that started from the back of her head down to the base of her neck.
"She must have been struck when the bomb exploded." He said and, with Berto's help, they carried Jessie to the Medical bay as Shock flew beside them. Once there, Forge called Kat and Jefferson back. As soon as Max and Steel heard the news they rushed back as fast as possible. Now in the Medical Bay everyone watched on in silence as Kat knelt and examined Jessie, who was now lying on a table.
"How is she?" Berto asked as Kat checked Jessie's pulse and heart rate. After examining the bruise on her head, Kat stood up and turned to her friends.
"Her heart rates very low and her pulse are erratic. The blast and what struck her have caused her unconscious state. I'm not sure how long it will be until she wakes up or what state her mind will be in." Kat explained and Berto stepped forward.
"Her mind?" He asked, confused and Kat sighed.
"The shock from the bomb going off coupled with the blow to her head….there's no way of knowing what damage it might have caused to her until she regains consciousness. I'm sorry." She said and Berto rubbed the bridge of his nose, worried. "Call me if there's any change." She said. Knowing there was nothing that could be done by standing around, everyone except Berto and Shock left the room. Flying over to Jessie, he looked from her to Berto.
"I wish there was something we could do." Shock said and Berto nodded in agreement. Moving away for a moment he returned with a desk chair and set it down beside the table
"I know. I wish I'd disarmed the bomb. Maybe this wouldn't have happened to her if…" Berto whispered as he watched his friend. "This is all my fault." Hearing that, Shock hovering in front of the young scientist and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Stop blaming yourself. I saw that bomb and you were right; trying to disarm it would have set it off. Besides Jessie wouldn't let anyone get hurt. Have you tried to talk her out of doing something?" Shock replied and Berto managed a smile.
"No. I know how stubborn she is." Berto answered as he brushed Jessie's fringe out of her face. Sighing he stood up. "Sitting around isn't doing us, or her, any good. Let's find Toxzon and make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else." He said and walked out.
"I don't like the way he said that. You don't think he'd go after Toxzon by himself, do you?" Shock asked, soon noting that no one had heard him. Not completely sure he hurried after Berto in case he was right.
By the time he caught up with Berto, the small robot found the scientist fixing C.Y.T.R.O. Relieved, Shock hovered closer and that's when he discovered that his hunch was correct.
"What's going on?" He asked, startling Berto who almost dropped his wielding torch. Catching it just in time, he saw the robot and sighed.
"I'm upgrading C.Y.T.R.O." He told Shock who crossed his arms against his chest.
"I know you're going after Toxzon. " Shock said and after a moment Berto gave him a nod.
"He hurt my friend and he almost leveled THI, putting everyone there in danger. I can't forgive him." Berto responded and went back to fixing his robot. Uncrossing his arm, Shock got closer.
"I know what he did. He could have killed my partner and dozens of innocent people. That doesn't mean I want to go after him now. My head's all over the place and so is yours. We should stay here and work out a plan. One that involves trapping Toxzon and putting him behind bars." Shock said and after a minute Berto put down his torch and rubbed his eyes.
"You're right. How'd you know what I was going to do?" Berto asked and Shock shrugged.
"I've been hanging around Jessie long enough to pick up on a person's feelings. Plus I want to put Toxzon away as badly as you but I know revenge isn't the answer." Shock told him and Berto actually laughed.
"You sound like Jessie. So what's the plan?" Berto asked and Shock shrugged again.
"I have no clue. Should we go and check on Jessie again?" He suggested and with a nod from Berto, they ran off.