"Afternoon." He said as I walked over to him, noting that he was again wearing his grey hoodie and red shirt from our last date.
"Hey. So what do you have planned?" I asked him and he held up two skateboards with a grin, the green one he owned plus one I'd never seen before.
"I thought maybe you'd like another go at skateboarding" He suggested, handing the green and silver one to me. Noticing the doubtful expression on my face he smiled. "Relax you'll be fine."
"May I remind you that I didn't know how to stop last time?" I replied.
"How could I forget? You fell on top of me and knocked the wind out of me." Berto answered and I raised an eyebrow. "Estoy bromeando, I'm kidding. Don't worry we'll be in the park this time so if you fall on your butt, it won't hurt so much."
"Ha ha." I said as we walked to Copper Canyon park. Along the way I mentioned that Sydney and Kirby knew that I had a boyfriend. That stopped Berto is his tracks for a moment and he stared at me.
"Max's the one who told them. Then they kept pestering me to know who you are and I caved." I told him and he raised an eyebrow at me. "I probably shouldn't have said anything."
"That's okay. I'm actually kind of curious though." He said and I was the one that looked surprised. "What did you say about me?"
"That you were smart and funny." I answered and he grinned. "What did you think I'd say?" as we started for the park again.
"Pretty much what you said." He answered as he walked beside me. "We're here."
"I hope nothing happens this time. Our last date didn't end so well." I said and Berto laughed at that, patting me on the shoulder with his one good hand.
"I highly doubt that'll happen again." Shock said. "I mean the Ultimate Elementor's locked away back at N-Tek. Maybe another villain?"
"You just had to bring that up." I grumbled and Berto asked what Shock said. After I filled him in, he smiled.
"Let's just have fun today and forget about villains and N-Tek for a couple of hours." He said, setting his board down. Doing the same I watched on as he explained the basics of skateboard. Climbing onto the board I took my time and after a while I stopped falling and began to have fun. All too soon it started to get dark and we sat down on a park bench.
"That was really cool. Thanks for suggesting it." I said to Berto who seemed pretty happy.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. It was a good idea. Plus we didn't have anyone drop in on us." Berto replied as Shock flew outside my bag. Seeing as the park was pretty quiet and there weren't many people around I decided that it was safe enough for the Ultralink.
"Now that you mention it, it is pretty quiet around here." Shock said and I rolled my eyes in disbelief.
"Quiet's perfect." I answered, setting my bag down near my feet and stretching my legs. Focused on what Shock had said, I didn't notice Berto move closer until he put his arm around my shoulders. When I looked up I finally noticed and couldn't help blushing. "Um hello."
"Hi." He said, grinning and I'm pretty sure I had a stupid grin plastered across my face at this point.
"I'm going to go see if the coast is clear." Shock said and flew away from us.
"Yeah you do that." I muttered, completely oblivious. Sitting there we didn't notice anything except each other. Even when my phone rang I didn't hear it. In moments we were leaning forward and as I went to close my eyes I suddenly heard a roar. Thinking quickly I pushed Berto backwards off the seat and leapt backwards myself as something black, furry and spiky leapt up and over the bench, barely missing us.
"Sorry coming through!" I heard as Max Steel leapt over the bench and raced after the creature.
"Oh come one! Can't I have one date that doesn't end in an attack?" I yelled as Shock returned. Hurrying over to Berto, I helped him to his feet. "Sorry Berto." I sighed as he dusted himself off.
"No hay problema. Quick thinking by the way." He said and I nodded.
"Let me guess, that's another villain I haven't faced yet." I said as Shock returned to us.
"That would be Troy Winter. Or Extroyer as he's now known. He ended up with a Ultralink imbedded in his chest." Berto explained as Shock linked with me.
"That explains the freaky looking purple spikes. Anything else I should know about him?" I asked and Berto told me that Extroyer could scan or extroy any animal he wanted and take their form. Rubbing my forehead I stared after Max Steel and Extroyer, who were fighting nearby. As I watched Extroyer changed forms and Max Steel was suddenly fighting a giant snake. "My life just gets better and better."
"Maybe we should move a safe distance away." Shock suggested and we took his advice. Moving out of range of their battle, I watched as Berto called C.Y.T.R.O via his wrist computer. As we waited for his robot to show up, I noticed Max Steel (now in Strength mode) grab Extroyer's snake tail and slam him into a nearby tree.
"Ohh that looked painful." I winced as the snake lay on the ground, looking dazed. Before it could get back up Max Steel spun it around and threw it into the distance. Changing modes, he flew after it and they disappeared.
"Hmm maybe they don't need any help." Berto commented just as C.Y.T.R.O arrived. Of course that's when Max Steel slammed into the ground as Extroyer returned now as a Gorilla.
"I'm gonna go ahead and say 'yes they do'." Shock commented as Max Steel climbed to his feet, changed to Strength mode again and ran at Extroyer. With a nod Berto sent C.Y.T.R.O after the ape. I wanted to join the battle but something was holding me back and I wasn't sure what. "Is something the matter, Jessie?" He asked me as I clenched and unclenched my hands.
"I really don't know. I want to help out but it feels like something's holding me back." I told him as C.Y.T.R.O smashed his fist into Extroyer. "I can't explain the feeling."
Soon I realized that Max Steel and C.Y.T.R.O were having some problems. Steeling myself I asked Shock to change us into Strength mode. Without hesitating I rushed into the fight the moment we changed modes.
"Another one!" Extroyer growled and I guessed he meant 'Turbo user' as he threw a punch at me. Instead of dodging it, I froze and his fist collided with me. Sending me into the air, I collided with a nearby tree and found myself back in Base mode. Dazed I lay there as Extroyer returned his attention to Max Steel and C.Y.T.R.O. Alternating between controlling his robot and helping me, Berto managed to help me to my feet and move me out of harm's way.
"Why did you freeze up?" He asked his attention now on helping Max Steel. Now with the upper hand, Extroyer changed forms again. Now in spider form, he suddenly sent a web at Max Steel. Pinned to the ground Max couldn't move as Extroyer made good his escape. Sending another web towards a light, he swung up and out of sight as Steel detached and shot most of the web away. Now free, Max walked over to us as I removed my helmet.
"That didn't go like I planned. Hey what happened back there?" Max asked, changing back to Base mode. When I didn't answer he stood in front of me. "We could have had him if you hadn't frozen like that." He added and I cringed, looking at my feet. In a flash Shock detached and flew into Max's face.
"Hey don't pick on my partner." He said and Max's helmet vanished.
"I wasn't. Sorry Jess, I didn't mean to get mad at you." He apologized and I nodded, still feeling bad that I let Extroyer get away.
"It's okay. Maybe I should just go home." I said and that's when Berto stepped forward.
"It might be better if you come with me back to N-Tek instead." He suggested. Thinking it over for a moment, I nodded and we went our separate ways; Max and Steel back to their apartment and me, Berto, Shock and C.Y.T.R.O to N-Tek. The second we got back to N-Tek Berto sent C.Y.T.R.O back to his lab and then lead Shock and I to the Medical Bay. Once there he called Kat and Forge.
"Why am I here?" I asked Berto as we waited.
"It's because I'm worried about you." He answered and I tilted my head at him. "I know why you froze up before. You're scared."
Hearing that I felt a flash of irritation at my friend, and possibly boyfriend, until I realized he was right and I looked down at the floor. With a sigh, Berto stroked my hair.
"Don't worry so much, okay? Give it time and you'll be fine." He said and I gave a slight nod, still a little upset. Once Kat and Forge showed up, they took one look at the defeated look on my face and knew something had happened.
"The battle against Extroyer didn't go so well, huh?" Kat asked as she motioned for me to take a sit. Slumping onto the couch I exhaled as Forge asked what went wrong.
"I froze up, simple as that." I told them and they seemed surprised by that answer.
"Jessie means that she couldn't do anything to help Max Steel against Extroyer. Now she feels bad." Berto told them and I snorted.
"Bad doesn't even begin to explain how I feel right now. It's like the last battle. I messed up and someone got hurt. I had a feeling that it was going to happen again and it did. I'm just lucky that no one got hurt this time." I explained and everyone exchanged a look. "And everything was going so well today."
"Maybe you should stay here tonight." Berto suggested and I nodded as I wondered what else could go wrong for me. Leaving the three of us, Forge was wondering the same thing himself.
"Do you think she'll be alright?" Kat asked Forge, who shook his head.
"I really don't know. Right now I think the best plan would be for Jessie take a break from fighting for a while. Going to school and staying out of harms way's the best idea for the time being. Maybe she can use the training room to practice until she's confident in herself again." Forge told Kat, who gave the commander a nod in agreement.
Back in the Medical Bay Berto was doing the best he could to figure out how to cheer his friend up.
"It's like yesterday when you were upset about my hand being broken." He commented and I looked up at him, confused. "You wandered into my lab and when I came looking for you, you were sitting against the wall. After I spoke to you about my hand not being your fault and that you shouldn't give up being J-Shock, you burst into tears." He told me and I frowned, instantly remembering last night. Suddenly self-conscious I turned my head away. "Hey don't be embarrassed." He added as he sat down beside me.
"What are you…?" I started to ask when he closed the distance between us. Not sure what was happening I waited for him to explain himself.
"I was thinking that maybe we could pick up where we left off. You know, before Extroyer intruded on our date." He said and I smiled. This time when we leaned forward nothing interrupted us and as I felt Berto's lips on mine I couldn't help thinking: Best. Date. Ever.