"What?" I almost shouted, jumping off the bed. "He's here?"
"Calmese. Not Makino yet but several of his Ultralinks were sighted in the middle of downtown Copper Canyon." He explained as I followed him out the door and towards his lab. "Max and Steel are already on their way and I'm sending C.Y.T.R.O to aid."
"Then I'll go and backup the backup." I commented and he laughed at that. "Once I find Shock of course." I added but he'd already heard the news and had gone looking for me. The second he did we linked and I found myself in Base Mode. "So what's the plan?" I asked Berto who quickly brought up an image of the battle and I stared when I saw three new Ultralink monsters currently attacking everyone and everything in sight. "Three Ultralinks huh? Oh well someone new to beat up. Let's go Shock." I said until Berto took me aside for a moment. "What's up? If it's about before I already said I forgave you. I mean I couldn't exactly say no to that level of persuasion." I added giggling when he blushed.
"Actually I have something to return to you." Berto explained and he reached into his pocket and produced something very familiar.
"My ring." I said as he handed it to me. To my surprise he'd added a chain to it and as I stood there he offered to fasten it around my neck. As he did I felt more than a little guilty about leaving it behind. "Thanks."
"De nada. This way you can't lose it." He told me and I raised an eyebrow. "Heh just kidding. Good luck out there." He told me and I grinned before I rushed out. Only to run back inside, remove my helmet and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before I raced away. Leaving him blushing for the second time. Meanwhile in Copper Canyon Max Steel was fighting off three new Ultralinks; Blast Link, Chomp Link and Prism Link who had been unleashed by Dredd. As soon as we appeared the three Ultralinks stared at us and I overheard a conversation between the three.
"I thought Earth only had Max Steel. Dredd lied to us." Prism Link said as Chomp and Blast glanced at us.
"Grrr…it must be an N-Tek trick." Blast growled and I started to get annoyed that they were talking about me behind my back.
"It looks different from their fighter though." Chomp commented and they all looked back at me only to realize I wasn't there anymore. "Huh where did it go?" He asked just as I slammed into all three using Strength Mode. As they lay on the ground I glared down at them, my hands on my hips.
"One; I'm J-Shock. Two; I'm Copper Canyon's second defender and a woman so of course I look different from Max Steel. And three; it's rude to talk about someone behind their back and call someone an 'it'." I told them as they climbed to their feet. A short distance away Max Steel laughed while C.Y.T.R.O watched on.
"They do realize we're supposed to be fighting the Ultralinks and not having an argument with them." Berto said as he watched his girlfriend grab Chomp Link and use him to knock the other two around. "Never mind." He replied. Having so much fun I didn't notice that Blast Link had managed to stand and was aiming his gun at me. Before Max Steel had time to call out a warning a blast from his weapon struck me, making me change back to Base Mode and smashing me into a brick wall. Not giving me time to stand Chomp sent several vines at me, wrapping around my leg and pulling me into the air. Hanging upside down he dangled me in front of his face and let out a roar.
"Hey say it don't spray it!" I shouted. "Let's rock, Strength Mode!" The second the changed Modes I broke free and grabbed the vines. Apparently knowing what was coming Chomp stared at me.
"Uh oh." He muttered and I grinned before I spun him around and then let go just as Prism and Blast were exchanging fire with C.Y.T.R.O and sending them flying.
"Nice shot!" Shock commented and I bowed before hurrying after Max Steel. As I ran past I saw him holding a new weapon and I had to admit that it was pretty cool.
"Wonder what that weapon is?" I asked as we went after the three Ultralinks, only to stop suddenly when we heard a very familiar laugh. "Tell me that isn't who I think it is." I groaned as I whirled around to find myself face to face with Miles Dredd.
"Then I won't Jessie." Shock said as I stared at the villain. When two Jump Jets showed up at the same time I knew that Kat and Jefferson had arrived as back up.
"Dredd?" Max said and I could understand why he sounded so surprised. The last time he'd faced Dredd the villain had fallen to his death.
"For a supposed dead guy he looks pretty healthy to me." I commented as he walked towards us.
"Very impressive Max Steel and J-Shock. You've managed to hold your own against three of Makino's Ultralinks but that ends now." He said as he attacked us suddenly. Unleashing a bolt of energy at me I managed to dodge by rolling and ducked behind a car. Watching on I saw him come after Max next and before my eyes he grabbed my friend and started syphoning his energy before throwing him into a car. Then he sent another blast of energy at Max who seemed to have been instantly destroyed and I called out.
"Max!' I yelled and I heard Dredd laugh before he turned his attention to me and I had to change modes as I ran. Using Speed Mode I dodged as he tried to do the same to me. In the meantime I wondered what had happened to Max and Steel. What I didn't know is that Max Steel had been saved by an unlikely source but I wouldn't know that until hours later. In the meantime I continued to dodge Dredd's attacks as Shock and I thought up a counterattack. Thankfully Jefferson and Kat began firing at Dredd and the three Ultralinks who now chose to retreat and not stay and fight. Confused I went after them but they managed to escape. Frustrated I turned my attention back to finding Max and Steel. Helping C.Y.T.R.O we soon found them gone without a trace and that worried everyone. By the time Berto received a distress call from Steel and followed it Max was on his own and that's when I found out that Steel had been captured by someone named Ven Ghan. Once back at N-Tek I asked who Ven Ghan was and Max explained that he was some of hunter who wanted Steel so he could be 'brought to justice'. Now seriously confused I waited for him to explain further but that was all he knew.
"We have to get Steel back." Max said and I understood. Not just because of the eight-hour limit but also because they were friends.
"I'm with Max. We need to go after this Ven Ghan and get Steel back." I replied and Max gave me a nod.
"How about this? Berto and Max can track down Ven Ghan and Steel. Jessie and Shock, you two go after Dredd and Naught. With us as backup of course." Forge told us and after Max and C.Y.T.R.O left I turned to the Commander scratching my head.
"How can we find Dredd?" I asked him and that's when I saw the Ultralink. "Hey when did you get that?" As I moved closer I noticed it was still inactive but that didn't stop me from being a bit creeped out by it.
"While you and Shock were fighting those three Ultralinks this one was lying on the ground. So we brought it here and once we linked it with our network we found out where Dredd's base is." Berto explained as he brought up a map. "So that's where you're heading."
"Okay then I'm all set." Shock said as I eyed the Ultralink sitting silently there. "Are you alright Jessie?"
"Uh sure." I said and he gave me a look for a second. "That thing creeps me out, okay? It all seems a bit too easy catching an Ultralink like that." With a shrug we linked and changed to Flight Mode. Staying behind Berto monitored our progress as well as providing backup for Max who was stuck in Flight Mode. As we reached Dredd's hideout I still couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't completely right. At the same time Max and C.Y.T.R.O had managed to track down Ven Ghan but Steel wasn't with him and as they searched Max's Turbo powers started to overload as he got closer and closer to his eight-hour limit. This also meant that Steel was running dangerously low on energy as well. If Berto hadn't managed to find Steel in time and bring him back to Max…well I'm just glad that they're safe and that they caught up in time to help us stop Dredd.
"It's over Dredd. We're here and you're going down." I said as Max Steel broke through his front door and when Dredd began to laugh I discovered that my earlier fears were justified.
"Oh you have no idea what I've set in motion." He said and that's when it clicked. Before anyone could stop me I quickly took off and flew at top speed back to N-Tek. The second I got there I changed to Base Mode and ran down the corridor looking for Berto, only to find him hiding behind a desk in the Com Room.
"Thank goodness you're alright!" I said as he climbed to his feet. "Oh no…where's the Ultralink?" I muttered as I discovered that it was gone.
"It linked with our whole network and took off a few minutes ago." Berto explained as he hurried over to the computer and contacted Forge. "Commander we have a problem. The Ultralink's gone."
"Dredd had this all planned. Does this mean he has full control now?" I asked him and he gave me a nod looking really worried. "I'd better get back out there. Will you be alright?" I asked him and he quickly nodded as he resumed controlling C.Y.T.R.O. Back in Flight Mode I went racing after Dredd and soon found that all their vehicles, including their Jump Jets were now in Dredd's control as the Ultralink returned to him. Having shown up the best possible time I fought alongside my friends while Steel and Max spilt up to take down the Ultralink and Dredd. But for some reason Ven Ghan showed up and stopped Dredd for us as well as taking the Ultralink hostage, returning complete control back to N-Tek once again. And Max then prevented Ven Ghan from capturing Steel as well before we went after Dredd. Sadly we didn't manage to bring him to justice when he, Naught and the three Ultralinks escaped in three alien ships that made us retreat for now anyway.
After the events of the past day I was looking forward to taking a break but no such luck as I had school so I got as much rest as I could and showed up early to class on the Monday. And for the next few days life was pretty eventful. Ven Ghan showed up again and tried, once again to capture Steel only for the Ultimate Elementor to capture him at the same time. He did manage to get Steel back and escape with the help of Ven Ghan who decided that Steel was an ally and stopped trying to capture him. While this happened I was stuck at school trying not to fall asleep after sending hours practicing my battle skills against the three Ultralinks I'd faced in the flesh, so to speak. Of course I was only using the training room but the constant fighting took its toll and I almost got caught sleeping in class. Thankfully the bell rang before Mr Thornhill noticed and that instantly woke me up so I quickly hurried away. As I left Sydney and Kirby joined me in the hallway as I let out a yawn.
"Yeah Mr Thornhill's class makes me want to fall asleep too." Kirby said and I nodded.
"It was lucky you didn't get caught though. Maybe you should head home." Sydney told me and I grinned telling them that that's what I was planning to do anyway. Waving goodbye I yawned again.
I was all set to head home when I got a call from Berto who asked if I could come to N-Tek.
"I'll be right there." I told him. After hanging up I fought off the urge to yawn once again and Shock spoke into my head.
"You sure you don't want to head home first? You look like you're about to keel over." He suggested but I told him I gave Berto my word that I'd be there. "Your word? Huh whatever you say Jessie." He replied and I was so tired I missed the sarcasm in his voice. Shrugging I went looking for a place to change to Flight Mode. The second I did I shot into the air and started for N-Tek. As we flew I found myself falling asleep again and as I did I started to drop out of the sky. "Hey!" Shock yelled and I snapped awake before I crashed into a building. Blinking beneath my helmet I started again for N-Tek. By the time I got there I somehow managed to land in the hangar and change back to Base Mode before I headed for the Com Room. Once inside I found Forge and Berto going over something and so I leaned against the wall. Detaching from me Shock flew over and asked what we were needed for as my eyes began to close again. When everyone heard a thud they looked over to find me now fast asleep on the floor.
A while later I stirred and when I opened my eyes I saw Berto looking down at me, an amused smile on his face.
"Good evening." He said as I rubbed at my eyes.
"Why am I sitting on the floor?" I asked as he helped me up and I stretched. "And where is everyone?"
"They were here hours ago. We were installing our new network and needing to protect it against Dredd and Makino." He told me and I raised an eyebrow at that. "You slept right through the entire battle."
"Really? I don't remember anything other than you calling me after school and getting back here." I answered and he chuckled. "So I slept through all that? Wow."
"It might have been a bad idea to expect you to fight after all the training you and Shock have done. Plus school as well now that I think of it." Berto said and I sighed. "Don't worry about."
"Alright. So other than the battle what else have I missed?" I asked him just as something barreled into me, knocking me onto my rear. "Ow! Hey!" I yelped and that's when I found a small robot dog sitting on my lap. Wagging its tail it barked at me and started licking my face. Giggling I picked it up. "Where did you come from?" I asked it as I set it down on the floor and stood up. Barking it ran circles around me and I laughed.
"Furbo!" I heard Steel call out and the dog's ears pricked up before it ran after the Ultralink. After it disappeared I looked at Berto.
"Okay how long have I been asleep?" I asked him and he chuckled.
"A couple of hours. Long story short Steel really wanted a pet so I built Furbo for him." Berto explained as we headed for his lab. "He's kind of a handful isn't he?"
"I love animals so its fine. Plus Furbo is pretty cute for a cybernetic dog." I told him as we walked through the hallway. Racing along Furbo soon found Steel who threw a wrench for him to fetch. When we did get back to his lab I found Max waiting there and as soon as he saw me he grinned.
"It's about time." He said looking directly at me and I frowned. "We couldn't wake you up and everyone had to step over you because you fell asleep in the doorway."
"Is that really true?" I asked Berto who gave me a nod and I face palmed. "Man that's humiliating." I added my voice muffled by my palm. Trying not to laugh at me Berto put his hand on my shoulder.
"It was actually kind of cute. At least you don't snore." Berto told me and I brightened only for Max to point out that I do sometimes talk in my sleep and I wanted to disappear right there and then. "Max!" Berto growled and Max held his hands up.
"What? It was funny." He replied and I shook my head, refusing to look up and Berto glared at Max who just laughed before going to find Steel. Once he left I finally looked up.
"Where's Shock?" I asked and Berto explained that he was playing with Furbo as well.
"Since it was so quiet around here I thought they could use a break." Berto finished and I smiled happy that everything was peaceful. For the time being anyway.
"At least it's peaceful around here." I commented as we headed for his lab. "That's a relief." For the next hour Berto told me that after upgrading N-Tek's network they hadn't heard anything from Makino or Dredd but they did run into a new Ultralink called Metal Elementor. "That's not good." I muttered and he shrugged as we entered his lab.
"Well it can't be all good news. Still at least everything's…"He started to say before we got an urgent call from Forge.
"And now it starts." I grumbled as Berto hurried to his computer and Forge's face appeared on screen.
"What's going on?" Berto asked and Forge told me that Metal Elementor had shown up in Copper Canyon probably looking for Max Steel. "Not him again. Then I guess they'll have to stop him."
"I'll go as well." I said and he looked at me for a moment. "I never got to battle this new Elementor so now's my chance." I added and Forge told me to go with Max and Steel. With a nod I went looking for them and Shock. Leaving Furbo at N-Tek we hurried for downtown Copper Canyon. But just as we found Metal Elementor something teleported me away and Max Steel could only look on as I vanished with a yell.
"Whoa!" I yelled as I suddenly slammed into a bunch of wooden boxes. "Okay that hurt." I grumbled as I climbed to my feet only to find myself face to face with Ven Ghan. Climbing to my feet I stared at him and when he didn't speak I fixed him with a glare. "What do you want?" I asked and he surprised me when he pointed a finger at Shock who detached from me.
"Why do you want me?" Shock asked as Ven Ghan stepped forward and Shock hid behind my shoulder. Not that I could blame him.
"I want your Ultralink." Ven Ghan told me and I growled at him. "He needs to be brought to justice for helping Makino." Angry that this person was trying to take Shock away from me, I stepped forward until I was almost nose to nose with the hunter.
"No way are you taking my friend. He stays with me and that's final." I growled and Ven Ghan seemed to consider this. Thinking maybe he'd leave us alone I made the mistake of turning my back on him. In an instant he was in front of me. Shocked that he could move so fast I didn't react when he aimed some sort of high tech gun at Shock and fired. In the split second before the shot could hit Shock I shoved him out of the way and that left me wide open. "Argghh!" I screamed as I was thrown backwards, pain ripping through my body from the blast and I smashed into the wall behind. Worried about me Shock flew over and tried to help me up as I lay groaning.
"That is your only warning. Stand in my way again and you will regret it." Ven Ghan said as he started for me and Shock. Determined not to lose Shock I struggled to my feet and again stood in front of the hunter. Without speaking he aimed his gun at me this time and told me to move. But I shook my head and he fired. Already in pain from the first shot I screamed a second time and fell to one knee gasping. "You were warned." Ven Ghan said as he looked down at me.
"There's…no way…you're…taking Shock from me." I gasped. "He's …the only…family I have…left. And…I'm not…losing him…too. So…back off!" I shouted at him and the hunter paused.
"He's family?" He asked me and even Shock seemed surprised by my words. Somehow climbing to my feet I swayed in front of him. "But he isn't human. How can he be your family?"
"Because he saved me and he's my best friend. It doesn't matter if he's exactly like me or not, he's still family and I'll protect him no matter what. Even if it costs me my life." I told him before I fell to my knees again. Standing in front of me Ven Ghan watched on as Shock flew over to me and grabbed my arm, trying to help me to my feet.
"So family is important to you?" Ven Ghan asked and I nodded still unable to stand up. Then he started walking towards me again. "I don't believe you."
"Stay behind me Shock." I said as I put myself between my friend and my enemy. But before he could attack me a third time Max Steel finally showed up.
"Where did you guys go? We could really use your help with…um what's going on?" Max asked as he finally noticed that Ven Ghan had his sword out and just touching my chin.
"Max he's trying to take Shock from me." I shouted and Max sighed before walking over.
"That's J-Shock. She's one of Copper Canyon's heroes and my friend so could you take your sword away from her head?" Max asked and even when Ven Ghan complied he still continued to watch me and Shock. "Shock's on our side too." He added.
"Nice…timing." I groaned as I stood. "Could have been better." I added feeling more than a little dizzy.
"You can vouch for these two? What about the Ultralink? Isn't he one of Makino's soldier's?" Ven Ghan asked and Max quickly explained that he'd never once served the alien.
"He's actually been inactive until J-Shock needed his help so she didn't explode. He saved her life." Max finished explaining and Ven Ghan nodded.
"My apologizes." He said to me and I glared at him again before I had to sit down. After he left I have to say I was pretty relieved as I didn't think I could stand up anymore, let alone fight him.
"Need a hand?" Max asked me and I gave a slight nod. Reaching down he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. Letting go off me he told me he was going after the Metal Elementor and I followed him out of the warehouse. After returning to the battle I changed to Strength Mode and ran after the new villain who was a little surprised to see another Turbo user.
"The other traitor." He yelled and Shock detached for a moment confused.
"What is he talking about?" He asked me and I shrugged, still woozy from the last fight I was in. Linking again we went after Metal Elementor who threw a huge spiked ball at us, knocking me backwards.
"That…was painful." I groaned as I stood. I was about to attack again but before I could Metal Elementor slammed into me and I hit a lamppost, bending it in half and sending me into the pavement where I lay groaning and back in Base Mode from the impact. Seeing stars I saw the spiked ball shoot towards me and I shut my eyes. Thankfully Max Steel grabbed it in Strength Mode and threw it, sending the Metal Elementor with it. Enjoying the fight he didn't notice me still sitting there, unable to stand. Detaching Shock asked if I was okay as he hovered near my face. "Where'd…the stars…come from?" I mumbled and he shook his head. Even dizzy I saw out the corner of my eye the spiked metal ball coming towards us. Realizing it was about to hit Shock I shoved him to the side and it instead collided with me.
"That was rude. A little warning would have been nice." Shock said shaking himself and glaring at me. "Jessie?" When I didn't answer he flew over to me. "Hey! Jessie!" He yelled in my face but I didn't respond and he called for help.