It had been several months since the first advanced ship had attacked Earth, only to be driven off by a combination of N-Tek, Max Steel and yours truly. And as the city went about repairing the damage caused by the ships and Ultralinks Shock and I spent our time either training at N-Tek, attending school or hanging out with our friends. One Saturday morning I had shown up earlier than usual at N-Tek and that surprised Shock.
"Why are we here so early?" He asked me and I shrugged as we headed for the Training room.
"I just decided to get some practice in." I told him and he studied me for a moment before he figured it out.
"Huh you just want to hang out with your boyfriend." He replied. "Admit it."
"I wanted to train more in case Makino shows up and" I began and as Shock stared at me I caved "…oh alright! Fine then. I wanted to hang out with Berto." I grumbled and he crossed his arms against his chest. "So sue me." I added and he laughed as we walked. When we did arrive at the Training Room I found Max and Steel already in the middle of a simulation. As I watched on I noticed that they were fighting what looked like an invading force and even though it had been months ago I still felt a chill when I remembered the battle that we had fought in. Standing by the keyboard I saw Berto and noticing he wasn't looking in my direction, I grinned and started to sneak towards him. Curious Shock watched on in silence as I stepped behind my boyfriend and when he didn't turn around I stifled a laugh as I reached across. When he felt a pair of arms encircle his waist he yelped. The moment he turned his head and realized it was me he laughed, turning around.
"Hey." He said as he hugged and I giggled. To my left I heard Shock making a gagging noise and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Months later and that's still not funny Shock." I said, still wrapped in my boyfriend's arms. Of course Max and Steel had to interrupt by beating the simulation. After Berto let go of me to walk into the central room I sighed as I followed him, a little disappointed.
"Now that was a piece of cake. We stopped the invasion." Max commented and I heard Berto point out that it was on the easiest setting.
"And the round goes to Berto." I said and Berto grinned at me as Max stared at me.
"Why are you being a smart-aleck?" Max asked as I joined them.
"That's because you interrupted her alone time with Berto." Shock answered before I did and I glared at him. Even Berto stopped looking at his computer for a moment to raise an eyebrow at the Ultralink. "Hey it's true."
"Not sure I want to know. " Steel said and I rolled my eyes. Before an argument could break out I heard someone call out.
"Not this again." It was Commander Forge, who walked in carrying a clipboard in his right arm while he flexed the fist on his cybernetic arm. Even after all this time I was still amazed by the skill it must have taken to design and build it. Knowing it was my boyfriend who designed it made me respect the creator even more. Motioning all five of us to follow him, we followed Forge through N-Tek and as I watched on I saw Forge's cyber arm suddenly slap him and I suppressed a giggle, putting a hand over my mouth. Hovering beside me I saw Shock roll his eye at me, apparently not finding that very funny. Walking to his left I saw Berto apologize for not having all the 'bugs' worked out yet and I had to clamp both hands over my mouth to keep from laughing out loud. I did manage to stop myself from cracking up but the expression on both Berto and Forge's face was hysterical.
"So what did you need us for, Commander?" I asked as I walked next to Berto and Max.
"I need you and Max to take your training more seriously." Forge told us and I blinked up at him, puzzled.
"Huh? But I've been using the training rooms more lately and I've practiced using my Turbo modes." I protested and he sighed.
"The problem is that Makino is someone you've never faced before and frankly I'm not sure that you're ready to face him." Forge explained and I stared at him. "Makino doesn't just take over worlds, he consumes them. We bought ourselves some time but we don't know when he'll strike so we have to be ready for anything." Hearing that put me on edge and I chose to go back to the training room. Apparently sensing something was wrong Berto and Shock exchanged a look and followed me.
"What's wrong Jessie?" Shock asked me as I stood near the keyboard and when I didn't answer he flew over to me. "Jessie?" He repeated and I jumped.
"Are you alright? You look a little pale." Berto as he joined us and I sighed. "If you're worried about Makino…" He started to say and that's when Shock interrupted.
"You should be. I've found out what I can about him from Kat and Jefferson and he's dangerous." He told me and I cringed, making Berto frown at him. "Hey it is the truth."
"Well this just perfect. I still have a lot of questions about my missing memories and now I have to face an alien who wants to eat our planet." I replied. "I don't even know why I have Turbo powers and my memories of my mom are still fuzzy."
"I may not be able to help you with why you gained Turbo powers but I might be able to shed some light on your missing memories of your mom." Berto said. "Follow me. There's something I should have shown you months ago." Surprised both Shock and I followed him to his lab and when we got there I saw something sitting on the table.
"What is that?" I asked pointing to the object and as I got closer I discovered it was a phone. Picking it up Berto looked at me for a few seconds before he handed the phone to me.
"I should have given it to you ages ago." Berto told me as I examined the phone and slowly it dawned on me. When I looked up at him he winced when he saw the pained expression on my face.
"Is this my mom's?" I asked him and when he nodded I glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Before you get mad at me it took weeks to fix the phone after what happened to it." Berto told me and as I continued to stare at him, he sighed and told me to check the screen. Doing so I found a video file and after hesitating I tapped my thumb on the icon. The moment it started my mom's face appeared.
"Jessie if you're hearing this then I'm sorry but I won't be coming back. I realize that I haven't been completely truthful about my work and what it is I really do so I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you. First I work for the secret organization called N-Tek who, on the surface, fight global warming and search for alternative fuel sources but really they protect the Earth from the threat of an alien invasion. An alien called Makino who wants to conquer our planet with his army of evil Ultralinks and absorb it as he has most likely done to countless other worlds. To prevent this we fight with everything we have and that's why I'm working on a Tachyon missile that may hold the key to destroying the threat once and for all. If my plan doesn't work and I don't come home then I am so sorry for leaving you all alone. All I can hope for is that N-Tek will look after you and maybe one day you can learn to forgive me. The one regret I have is that I never told you the truth about your father since you were only small when he passed but I could never bring myself to tell you. I mean you probably wouldn't have believed me anyway. I just hope you never have to face Makino and his fleet of ships. That's all I can hope for. Goodbye and never forget that I'm proud of you no matter what you do."
Then the video clip ended and I stood there in disbelief as Berto and Shock looked at me and each other.
"The truth about my father? What did she mean?" I whispered staring at the phone. Then before their eyes Berto and Shock saw my shoulders begin to shake. As Berto stepped towards me I lifted my head and to his surprise he saw anger in my eyes as well as tears welling. "How could she keep secrets from me and then leave me behind like this? I thought she cared about me." Sighing Berto tried to give me a hug and I backed away.
"Jessie?" Shock said and as he watched on I dropped the phone. Then I whirled around and started for the door. "Hey where are you going?" He called out but I ignored him and kept going. Retrieving the phone Berto set it down on the table and raced after his girlfriend with Shock in hot pursuit. I had only run a short distance when my vision became blurry and I stopped, trying to wipe my eyes.
"How could she do this to me?" I sobbed leaning against a wall just as Berto and Shock caught up with me. Trying again to comfort me Berto was shocked when I pushed him away from me. "And you! You had that phone and you never even told me! I thought you cared about me. After everything I've been through, after the battle with Makino and everything else you kept this from me? What kind of person keeps the last words of someone's mom from them?" I shouted at him and when he didn't answer I growled and turned to Shock. "I want to go home." I told him and he gave Berto a quick glance before he linked with me. Wordlessly we changed to Flight mode.
"Hey don't go rushing off." Berto said but I paid no attention to him and left N-Tek. Having heard the commotion Max and Steel came running and found Berto looking lost in the corridor.
"Okay what was that about?" Max asked and when the scientist didn't answer he asked where Jessie went. "Hello?"
"I messed up bad." Berto said looking down at his hand and the black and silver ring that was lying in the middle of it. Without another word he walked away leaving Max and Steel confused.
"Well that was odd." Steel said and Max nodded. "Maybe they had a fight." As they decided to go after Berto and ask him what had happened, I was on my way back to my apartment. Still crying I was unable to see where I was going and eventually Shock took control so we didn't slam into something. By the time we landed on the roof I was still reeling from the phone message and it was only when Shock detached and spoke to me, asking if I was alright, that I shook my head.
"No." Was the only answer I gave him and when I didn't say another word he sighed. After I was back in Camouflage mode I climbed in through the window, holding it open for my friend before I locked it. The moment I was inside I wandered over to my bedroom door. As I reached for the doorknob Shock asked me something but I ignored him and opened the door. Once inside I slid down so I was sitting on the bedroom floor and leaned my back against the door. Confused Shock entered the room and found me quietly sobbing. Hovering over to me he placed an arm on my shoulder and tried to think of something to make me feel better.
"I'm sorry about your mom, Jessie." He finally said and I looked up at him, sniffing. Without warning I pulled him into my arms and hugged him. A little annoyed at being held he immediately softened seeing how upset I was and ended up hugging me back as I sobbed. After a while my tears dried up and I let go of Shock who shook himself and watched on as I stood and slumped onto my bed. "Do you need anything?" He asked me and I shook my head. Even though it was the middle of the day I suddenly felt like staying inside and I lay back.
"What do I do now?" I said and Shock looked at me. "Two people I thought I could trust have kept secrets from me. Now I don't know what to believe." Depressed I watched Shock cross his arms for a few moments before he spoke.
"I know your mom loved you and she was trying to keep you safe by destroying Makino. That I know is the truth. I also know that I'm your partner and friend and I'll always fight alongside you. That's never going to change." I managed a smile when he said that. "Maybe we can find out who your dad was together." He suggested and I nodded. "Oh and before I forget…maybe you shouldn't give up on Berto. He made a mistake and he knows it."
"I don't know if I can forgive him." I muttered as I turned over so I was facing the wall. "Maybe I shouldn't." I added and Shock flew over to hover directly above me. He stared at me until I grabbed my pillow and held it over my face.
"You know that's very mature." Shock commented and I uncovered my face to glare at him. "Look just think about it…okay?" He asked. Knowing he wasn't going to let it go I mumbled something. "Pardon?"
"Alright! I'll think about it. Geeze you're stubborn." I replied and he smiled.
"Where do you think I learned it from?" Shock answered and I actually laughed. "What do you wanna do now?" He asked as I stretched on the bed and put the pillow behind my head. For some reason I was really tired and in less than a minute I fell asleep. "Or you could do that." Shock said. While I slept Shock decided to access my computer again and as he did he went through the file he found on Agent Claire. It wasn't until several hours passed before I moved, mumbling something and Shock stopped what he was doing to stare at me. "Did you say something?" After I didn't answer he shrugged and went back to using the computer and I turned over. The next time Shock heard me mumble he paused and looked over. As I turned over again I whimpered and that's when he frowned, leaving the computer to check on me. The moment he did I shivered and Shock reached over to nudge my shoulder. Not getting a reaction he tried again and this time he heard me gasp. Concerned he called out to me and I finally woke. For a few seconds I stared at him, confused, until I realized that it was Shock.
"What…happened?" I yawned as I sat up. "Okay why are you looking at me like that?" I asked as he hovered in front of me, his arms crossed as he eyed me. "Seriously what's going on?"
"You wouldn't wake up and I was worried." Shock told me as I rubbed my eyes with one hand.
"I…have no idea what to tell you. Maybe I just had a bad dream." I replied and he stared at me for a few more seconds before he shrugged.
"Before I forget I found something on that computer file I downloaded. Come and have a look." Shock told me and I stood, wandering over to the computer. Sitting in the chair I watched as Shock used the mouse to bring up the file and when the image of my mom appeared I frowned.
"This is the same file that you showed me before." I pointed out but then something caught my eye and before I could ask Shock clicked on a file that I hadn't noticed before. "That's new."
"It was hidden in this file." He told me and as I stared at the computer an image of a young man appeared and for a full minute I continued to stare at the image until Shock spoke. "He looks like you." He said to me and I nodded as I tried to work out who he was.
"Could that be…my dad?" I asked as I took hold of the mouse and clicked on the picture. "But it doesn't say who he is. Why doesn't it?" I said turning and looking at Shock and a question mark appeared on his face.
"I already checked but apart from the image of him, there isn't anything else that could tell us who he is. All his details, even his name's been erased for some reason. At least on this file." Shock explained and just then we both got the same idea.
"Hey if we use the computers at N-Tek maybe we can find out who he is. It's our best bet." I suggested until I realized that it would mean going back and maybe having to see my boyfriend. "I can't go back there." I grumbled and stood before slumping on the bed. Rolling his eye Shock flew over and told me that the only way to find out the identity of our mystery man was to go back to N-Tek and I growled something. Not sure what I had just said he asked me and I crossed my arms against my chest as I repeated that N-Tek was not somewhere that I wanted to be now. Shock was about to argue but when he saw that I was still upset he decided to ask when I felt better. "You've been doing pretty well on the training simulations lately." He told me, changing the subject and that made me grin.
"You and me both. Thank you though. After that advanced ship attacked it took everything we had to stop it and that made me realize that I needed to be ready for anything. So I decided to spend some of my spare time training." I explained. "It's a little strange that we haven't heard anything from Makino since the first attack though. I wonder why."
"That concerns me too. Still at least it's been pretty peaceful." Shock answered and I nodded. As I sat there thinking about my next move I heard my phone ringing. Taking it from my pocket I glanced at the number and frowned, making Shock hover over my shoulder. "Aren't you going to answer it?" He asked me and when I hesitated he knew who was calling me. "Give the guy a chance to explain." He said and after a long moment I sighed and answered it.
"Hello Berto." I said into the phone and there was a long pause before he finally spoke.
"Will you come back to N-Tek?" He asked me and as I had a mental debate with myself he waited patiently on the other end. Eventually I decided to go return to N-Tek and let him explain himself. After telling him I'd be there in the next hour I hung up.
"I think that's pretty nice of you to give Berto another chance." Shock told me as I sat on the edge of the bed.
"I just hope I don't regret it. Come on, let's go back." I replied before I stood. Deciding to walk to the alleyway entrance and maybe clear my head at the same time I told Shock my plan. Once he was linked with me I left my apartment and walked the short distance to the secret entrance, only to find Max there.
"Where'd you go before?" He asked me and I just said that I'd gone home. Before he could ask anything more Steel asked if we were going inside or playing a game of twenty questions and he shrugged. "Ladies first." He said with a grin and I managed a smile before sitting in the chair. Once all four of us were inside Max and Steel headed for the Training Room while Shock and I went looking for Berto. We didn't get far when he walked out of his lab and almost bumped into me.
"Oh geeze sorry Jessie." He apologized and I put a hand up. "I was just looking for you." He added and when he motioned me to follow him I did and soon we found ourselves inside the Medical Bay. Not completely sure why we were here of all places I just stood inside the door. "In case you're wondering it's because it's the quietest place now. " He explained and with a shrug I sat on one of the beds. Then Shock surprised me when he told us that he was going to watch Max and Steel's training.
"And I want you two to settle this argument between yourselves." He told me before he left us.
"Okay. Well where do I begin?" Berto said as he began to pace the room and I sighed. Tapping the bed with my hand I asked if he wanted to sit and explain himself. Confused he raised an eyebrow at me until I pointed out that he was making me dizzy. Chuckling he sat next to me on the bed and took a deep breath before he spoke. "The first thing I want to say is I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to keep secrets from you but I didn't know how to tell you about this recording. After seeing how happy you were this morning I didn't want to ruin your good mood by showing this to you and making you upset." He began quickly glancing at me. When I motioned for him to continue talking he did so. "I really, really care about you and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. I promise I won't do something that again and I'll make it up to you somehow." He told me and I stared at him.
"I'm not totally convinced. It'll take a bit more than words to make me forgive you." I answered and turned so my back was facing him. For a long minute he didn't speak and I thought he'd given up, that we were officially broken up when he suddenly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close. Puzzled I sat there in silence until he kissed my neck and I almost giggled until I remembered that I was mad at him and stopped myself. "Still not convinced." I muttered. Then Berto started nibbling my neck and ears and I fought the urge to forgive him right there and then. "It's a pretty convincing argument but I'll need some more persuasion." I told him as I sat there and he tightened his grip on my waist. And as I sat there he began licking my earlobe and I couldn't help a groan. "Okay you've convinced me. I forgive you." I managed to say but he didn't stop and frankly I was enjoying myself too much anyway. As he continued licking my ear I leant back until my head was resting against his shoulder as I sighed, feeling a lot better I have to admit. With my head resting against his shoulder I set my hand down on the bed and he placed his hand over mine as he kissed my neck again. Then he lifted his head and leaned over to kiss me. Lifting my head I looked him in the eyes for a moment before I leaned over and we started to kiss. Unfortunately the kiss didn't last long enough as far as I was concerned when Berto's phone beeped and we broke apart.
"Is it wrong to want to break it?" I said indicating his phone and he chuckled. Sighing I watched as he answered it and before my eyes his chocolate-brown eyes went wide. "What is it?" I asked suddenly alert and he quickly told me one name.
"Makino."