Walking around N-Tek alone gave me some time to think. I wonder why Shock left like that and for what reason I thought as I searched for my Ultralink. Lost in thought I almost bumped into Kat who had just walked into the corridor.
"Whoa! Sorry Kat I wasn't looking where I was going." I apologized and she smiled.
"No problem. Are you looking for something?" Kat asked me.
"Someone actually. You haven't seen Shock around, have you?" I replied and she shook her head. "I wish I knew where he went."
"Did something happen?" Kat asked and I explained that he'd left after telling me that he wanted to know something. "That's all he told me."
"Hmm that doesn't really narrow it down. The best plan would be to find him and ask." Kat suggested and I nodded. Thanking her I continued looking for Shock. I finally found him less than fifteen minutes later when I noticed a door I'd walked past countless times since joining N-Tek. When I walked in I found my friend floating in front of a keyboard. Before I called out I watched him for a moment as he typed something. Curiosity soon got the best of me and I wandered over. For some reason when Shock looked up he didn't seem surprised to see me, instead he asked me what kept me.
"Well it wasn't like I knew where you were. Where are we exactly?" I asked him as he went back to his typing. As I watched a screen popped up on the computer and Shock placed a hand under his chin or the Ultralink equivalent of a chin anyway.
"I'm not really sure myself. I went looking for a computer and I stumbled across this room. From what I can tell it looks abandoned so no one would think to find me here. So it's perfect for what I need." Shock explained.
"And what do you need? You haven't been very forthcoming on that front." I replied as he started typing again. To my surprise an image popped up onscreen and my eyes went wide. "Is that...me?" I asked and Shock turned to me for a moment.
"I haven't actually found enough information to be completely positive. Though the resemblance is uncanny." Shock told me as I stared at the image. Then I frowned and looked back at Shock.
"No it's not me. The woman in the picture looks almost like me except she's older." I said and Shock studied the picture again.
"Hey you're right. She looks like an older version of you though." Shock said and that's when I realized something.
"It's my mom." I whispered. "That means…I must live in Copper Canyon. Where is her address?" I asked and Shock started typing again. Then he sighed and I knew something was wrong. "Bad news?"
"I don't know how to tell you this but she's…" Before he could finish I backed away from the keyboard.
"She's dead...isn't she?" I asked and after hesitating he nodded slowly. "When?"
"The same day N-Tek found you in Copper Canyon. I'm so sorry Jessie." Shock answered as I stood there. Flying over to me the Ultralink hovered near my shoulder. When I went quiet he tried to place a hand on my shoulder but I brushed him off. Before he could try again I turned and ran away, leaving him to race after me. Somehow tapping into Speed mode I raced through the corridor. Eventually I was out of breath and I leant against the wall, breathing hard. It was then that someone called out to me and I ignored whoever it was.
"Jessie what's going on?" Berto asked as he knelt beside me. "Hey what's wrong?" He added as he reached out and took my arm. Helping me up he stared at me until I looked up.
"She's dead." I mumbled and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I have to go."
"Who are you talking about? You're not making any sense." Berto said. When he saw the pain in my eyes he stared at me.
"My mom. She died the day you and N-Tek found me." I answered. As I tried to walk away Berto grabbed my arm and I growled at him. "Let go of me." When he shook his head green light started to emerge from my hands and his eyes went wide. Angry I threw a punch, not at him but at the wall opposite. Letting go of me Berto looked at the wall and the dent I'd made in it. While he was distracted I ran, heading for the alleyway entrance before he had time to stop me. The moment I found myself in the alley I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. Leaning against the nearest wall I slowly slid down and buried my face in my hands, sobbing. Back at N-Tek Berto went looking for Shock, only to collide with the Ultralink who wasn't looking where he was going.
"Shock! What happened?" He asked as he climbed to his feet.
"I used the computer I found and discovered something. I just found the true identity of Jessie's mom. It wasn't what I hoped to find." Shock told him. "She died the day you found Jessie. And she used to be an N-Tek agent."
"We have to find her." Berto said and Shock nodded. When he rushed to the alleyway entrance he found Forge standing there.
"Why were you hacking into confidential files?" He asked Shock and that's when Berto spoke up.
"Why did you keep secrets from Jessie? Did you know what happened to her mother?" Berto said glaring at the Commander.
"I wasn't keeping secrets from her." Forge explained as he rubbed at his eyes. "I only just found out that she was Jessie's mother. And that she was a member of N-Tek."
"So what happened to her?" Shock asked and Forge sighed.
"She was testing out a new experiment and something went wrong. She vanished into thin air. We looked all over Copper Canyon but...we never found her." Forge told them.
"So there's a chance that she might still be alive." Berto asked suddenly hopeful until Forge shook head.
"When we went looking for her" Forge said as he handed something to Berto "this is all we found."
In Berto's hand was a phone, purple in color, which looked like it had been caught in an explosion.
"It's Claire's. She's the only one who carried that phone. I remember she once said that she had it custom-made so there's no mistaking it. For the life of me I can't work out how Jessie ended up in Copper Canyon. She might have gone looking for her mother when she didn't come home and someone attacked her. That would explain her memory loss." Forge explained.
"We have to find Jessie." Berto said and Forge gave him a nod.
"I'll get Max and Steel to help. Don't worry we'll find her." Forge said. As soon as he was gone Berto rushed away to change clothes and grab Jessie's bag before he and Shock went looking for their friend. By the time they reached the alley Jessie was long gone. After making sure no one was around Shock flew out of the bag and called out telepathically to his partner. When she didn't respond he tried again.
"Any luck Shock?" Berto asked and when his friend sighed he frowned. "What now?"
"We have to find her. She's probably lost and alone now. I wish I'd never used that computer. If I hadn't she wouldn't have run away." Shock said and Berto shook his head.
"It's not your fault." He said and Shock smiled. "Let's just find Jessie and bring her back." Once Shock was back in the bag Berto slipped it on his back and started searching for his girlfriend. Racking his brain he tried to figure out where she would have run away to.
The park or maybe the arcade he thought to himself. No in her state of mind she would want to be alone so the park it is then, Berto thought and took off at a sprint. When he reached the park he found it almost deserted. Once he let Shock out they both searched high and low for their friend. After almost an hour of searching they found no trace of Jessie. Sitting down on a park bench Berto was feeling pretty down.
"Where are you?" Berto whispered as Shock hovered nearby. Just then the Ultralink spotted something on the ground and called Berto over. When he got closer he saw something bright green sitting in among some bushes. Reaching down Berto discovered that it was Jessie's phone. "Its hers. Then that means she was here. "
"Maybe I can pick up her energy signature from here." Shock said and started to move around the spot where the phone was. Within minutes Berto heard a beeping noise. "She's pretty close." Quickly diving back into the bag he waited for Berto to move. "Come on, I'll give you directions." He added and Berto quickly nodded. The second he took off at a sprint he heard Shock speak. "Turn left at the next crossing and go towards the building to the right. It's the building near THI." When Berto reached the building he stopped to catch his breath.
"Why...would she…go here?" Berto panted and Shock shrugged from inside the bag. Walking over to the front door he found it ajar and wandered inside. Finding no one inside, Shock flew outside and hovered in front of Berto.
"There's a set of stairs here. Come on." He said and flew towards them, leaving the scientist to catch up. They had only reached the second floor when they heard a noise. Straining his ears Berto soon realized that it was the sounds of sobbing. Instantly he knew who was here and he called out. "Jessie?"
"Go away." He heard a moment later and he smiled to himself. Racing ahead of the Ultralink he soon found Jessie sitting in the corner of the room. When he got closer she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Leave me alone." I repeated, hoping that they would listen. Of course they didn't and soon Berto was kneeling beside me. "Please just…go." I whispered, burying my face from view.
"Nope not going to happen." Berto said and Shock gave a nod in agreement. Soon I lifted my head and glared at them.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" I asked and Berto gave me a grin, moving closer.
"Because we're your friends. Well I'm your boyfriend" Berto started and looked at Shock.
"And I'm your Ultralink." He finished and I sighed. "So we're not going anywhere."
"So I'm stuck with the pair of you? Figures." I muttered and tried to laugh. But instead of laughing I felt hot tears running down my face again and I sniffled. "I can't believe…I'll never see her again." I coughed.
"Hey it's okay." Berto said laying a hand on my shoulder. Not sure how best to comfort her Berto just sat there until Jessie suddenly spun around and buried her head in his chest. Wrapping his arms around her he held her as she sobbed. Hovering overhead Shock vowed he would do whatever he could to help his friend.
Hours later I woke up, confused at how I had ended up on the concrete floor of a seemingly deserted building. When I attempted to move I discovered that someone had their arms wrapped around my middle and when I glanced up I discovered it was Berto. His head against his chest and still fast asleep, he didn't respond when I prodded his arm. Torn between wanting to move but not wanting to disturb him, I instead stayed where I was. Warm and feeling pretty safe I leant my head against his chest and closed my eyes. Seconds later I fell asleep, still wrapped up in his arms. It wasn't until sometime later that I heard voices and that woke me with a start. Instantly alert I moved slightly and that woke Berto, who blinked and rubbed at his eyes.
"Huh…what's…the matter?" He yawned and he soon heard what I did. Climbing to my feet I moved in front of him and started for the stairs. And that's when I discovered that Max and Steel were on their way up.
"You guys scared me." I commented as I stepped back and let them onto the floor.
"Scared you? We've been looking for you three for hours." Max commented as he raised an eyebrow at me. "Anyway let's get back to N-Tek before Forge calls out a search party." As they started for the stairs I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to go back and that's when both Berto and Shock joined me at the landing.
"We'll be right behind you." Berto said and Shock tapped me on the shoulder. Taking a breath I followed my friends down the stairs and towards the front entrance. Once we were outside I found a helicopter waiting in the street.
I guess this is our ride I thought to myself and walked inside closely followed by Berto and Shock. Inside were Kat, who was apparently the pilot as well as Max and Steel. Noticing the hollow look on my face Kat keep silent and flew us back to N-Tek. Sitting down on the floor I sighed to myself. As I sat there Berto and Shock joined me. Reaching over Berto put an arm around my shoulders. When I didn't respond, staring at the far wall instead, Berto and Shock glanced at one another, worried. By the time we arrived back I had completely withdrawn from everyone and everything around me. Taking me by the arm Berto led me back to the Com Room with Shock flew overhead. As we walked he tried to talk to me but I remained silent and he started to worry about me. Once we were inside the room I noticed Forge and Jefferson were already there waiting. Letting go of my arm Berto remained beside me.
"What were you three thinking? Running off like that without telling us where you were?" Forge said, trying to keep calm. "Anything could have happened. If Max and Steel hadn't found you...well I don't want to know what could have happened." To everyone's disbelief I glared at Forge.
"What were we thinking? What about you keeping my mom's death from me? I've struggled to remember everything I can about myself and you knew who I was this entire time." I answered trying not to lash out again. "And you tried to make me think that I was making everything up, that I was a liar."
"I didn't know who you were until two days ago and then I didn't know how to tell you. Please believe me when I say that." Forge answered, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't even know that Claire was an N-Tek agent until now." When I went quiet and looked down at the floor, Berto took my hand.
"Is there anything we can do?" Jefferson asked and I shook my head.
"So what happens now? Do we know what Claire was working on when the accident happened?" Forge asked Berto who sighed and reluctantly let go of my hand. Walking over to the computer in the center of the room he touched the keyboard.
"It looks like some sort of weapon. Though I'm not sure what because it heavily encrypted. I'll need time to decode it." Berto said, not looking up and Forge nodded.
"Take all the time you need." He said and as he and Jefferson left he glanced up at me again.
"I'll help you." Shock said as he flew over to the keyboard. Together they started decoding as fast as they could, leaving me to my thoughts.
My mom died because of some stupid accident. Now I'm all alone and they're more interested in a weapon, I thought to myself. Angry and hurting I was sorely tempted to use my Turbo touch on the computer but then what would that do? It wouldn't bring her back. Quietly I left the room and left Berto and Shock to work. Focused on what they were working on Berto and Shock didn't hear me leave. It wasn't until sometime later, when they had finished decoding the file that they looked up and realized that I was gone.
"Oh no where's Jessie?" Shock asked and Berto rubbed his eyes. Running into the hallway they went looking for me. It didn't take them long when Berto heard a noise coming from his lab and immediately rushed inside, finding me sitting on a desk chair. Walking over Berto placed a hand on my shoulder and when I didn't respond he spoke.
"Are you okay?" He asked and I just shook my head slightly. "Oh Jessie."
"Do I really think I'd be okay after…what I found out?" I asked as I looked up at him and he cringed when he saw how red my eyes were. Then I surprised both by climbing to my feet with a furious glare in my eyes. "First I wake up in Copper Canyon with almost no memories except for my name. Then I get attacked and wind up here. Oh yeah and then I find I have Turbo powers and Forge locks me up because I'm a danger to myself and everyone else. After that countless villains have come after me, wanting my Turbo powers or to destroy me. Plus I almost died twice. Have I left anything out?" I growled as I watched Berto and Shock exchange a look of pity. "I don't need anyone's pity." I added and tried to leave, only for Berto to step in front of me. Glaring at him I told him to move. When he shook his head I began to get angry, only to see the concern in his eyes. And that's when I hung my head ashamed.
"I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to..." I began before I felt Berto pull me into a hug. For a moment there was silence then I broke down, sobbing and burying my head in Berto's chest.
"Ssh it's okay." Berto whispered as he held me, gently rubbing my back. I don't know how long I stayed there wrapped in his arms but I must have eventually fallen asleep because I woke to find myself curled up on top of a blanket. Sitting up and rubbing at my eyes I heard footsteps and soon discovered at Berto was in the room. When he saw I was awake he smiled and walked over, kneeling beside me.
"Good morning." He said and I tilted my head to one side, puzzled. "It's Saturday. Heh you've been asleep for a while now." He told me.
"Whoa…how long was I out?" I asked yawning. It must have been at least a couple of hours because as I went to stand I almost toppled over and Berto had to catch me. "Darn pins and needles." I commented and he laughed, helping me to my feet.
"About eight hours. I'm not really surprised though after everything that happened." Berto replied and instantly cringed when he remembered why. "Lo siento Jessie." He added and was taken aback when I managed a smile.
"Not your fault. Anyway it's not something I can change and dwelling on it doesn't really help me. So I was wondering if you found anything on that weapon my mom was working on." I replied and Berto smiled back at me, relieved and a little impressed.
"Sure. I copied the info to my computer once Shock and I decoded it. I was actually waiting for you to wake up so I could show you what we uncovered." Berto explained as he showed me the computer screen. I stared at the screen for a few minutes and finally realized I had no clue what I was looking at.
"Okay pretend I have no idea what I'm looking at." I said and Berto grinned at me. "Could you explain it for me?"
"No problem. From what I could decipher these are plans for a missile. Though what's it's for...well I still haven't figured that out." Berto told me and I nodded. "Hopefully when Shock gets back he might be able to shed some light on this."
While we waited for Shock, I asked Berto how he was and he raised an eyebrow at me. Rolling my eyes I pointed out that he'd been running around looking for me.
"Oh I'm pretty good." Berto told me and as I continued to stare at him, he finally sighed. "Alright I am a little tired but that's probably because I've been working on deciphering this file."
"You keep telling me to take it easy and you don't. Maybe you should take your own advice." I said and he stared at me. "Just a suggestion." I added and he chuckled.
"Fine after this I'll take a break." Berto replied and I smiled at him, happy.
"I'll hold you to your promise, you know that don't you?" I added and he put a hand on his face, pretending he was annoyed though I could see a grin on his face. Even if he tried to hide it from me. Once Shock got back from wherever he went he was happy to see I was awake.
"Hey Jessie." He said flying over to me. "Good to see you're alright." Grinning at the Ultralink I held out my fist and he grinned, bumping his hand against mine. Then I turned to Berto and held my fist out to him. With a laugh he bumped his fist against mine then, before I had time to react, pulled me into a hug. Rolling his eye Shock asked if he should leave the room. Giggling I shook my head at him and Berto gave me a grin.
"Are you sure about that Jessie?" Berto asked and I burst out laughing.