Almost an hour later Berto and Shock had worked out what to ask the Ultralinks. The only flaw in their plan was that they had in sneak into the Stasis Chambers and back before anyone noticed. Thinking that it was impossible Berto was all set to give up when Shock had an idea.
"Stealth mode." He said and Berto thought about this for a moment before he nodded.
"Yeah. But wait I don't really want to ask Max and Steel since we decided to only involve the three of us." Berto replied and Shock stared at him for a second. "I totally forgot about Jessie's Stealth Mode. But are you sure she's well enough to help?"
"All she needs to do is sneak in and out. And that's pretty much it." Shock explained and when Berto finally nodded the Ultralink went back to the Medical Bay for his partner, returning a few minutes later with Jessie who appeared still half asleep.
"Are you alright?" Berto asked as his friend swayed on her feet. Not getting an answer he tried again and she finally blinked at him. "She doesn't look well. Maybe we should attempt this another day."
"I'm…okay." I mumbled rubbing at my eyes. "What do you…need me to do?" Still not totally convinced Berto took my arm and told me the plan. "Stealth Mode? Okay." I answered and Shock linked with me. "Let's rock…Stealth." I muttered and once we changed Modes I just stood there. Leading me towards the Stasis Chambers Berto told me to sneak towards the doors and get Shock to unlock them. With a nod that I forgot he couldn't see we moved towards each door and as Shock unlocked the doors I leaned against the wall, fighting the urge to sit and fall asleep. Once it was done we went back to Berto and changed to Base Mode again. Now with my face covered by a helmet we all walked towards the Ultralinks. When we showed up they were a little puzzled but soon became annoyed at us for being locked up.
"What do you three want?" Blast asked as Prism and Chomp looked in. "If it's about Makino we're not telling you anything."
"Yeah. You're the last people we'd tell our plans to." Prism agreed and then Chomp spoke.
"Oh you mean about taking over Earth? We're not telling you anything about our fleets or the millions of Ultralinks that are gonna invade your planet." He said and the other two glared at him. "What?"
"So there are millions of Ultralinks huh? Interesting but that's not what we wanted to know. Where does Turbo energy come from?" Berto said and all three Ultralinks exchanged a look before Blast stepped forward.
"Why do you want to know that?" He asked and that's when I stepped forward.
"Because I can generate it and its obviously not from Earth. So where did it come from?" I asked as I stood face to face with him. "And why did Ultimate Elementor attack Agent Claire?" I added and Berto gave me a look of surprise.
"Who's Agent Claire? Oh yeah that N-Tek stooge that got taken out by Ultimate Elementor. Well Mega Elementor now after his failed assignment." Prism answered this time and underneath my helmet I glared at them. "She was trying to prevent the invasion from Lord Makino so she needed to be…dealt with."
Noticing my increased heart rate Shock told me to calm down and he spoke instead.
"Interesting. So Ultralinks are from outer space and apparently so is Turbo energy. But what planet did it originate from?" Shock asked and that's when Chomp accidently let slip the answer.
"Wasn't it from that planet we invaded years ago? Tachyon?" He said and Prism and Blast groaned as I grinned beneath my helmet.
"Okay so it's from Tachyon. Now the other question I want to know is…" Berto began to ask before they all heard alarms. Quickly they hurried out of the chamber leaving the three Ultralinks scratching their heads in confusion.
"What was that about?" Chomp asked the moment they left. As we raced back to Berto's lab I began feeling woozy again and I stopped mid-step, removing my helmet. Leaning against a wall I felt my head throbbing again and I rubbed at my eyes. Realizing that I wasn't with him Berto stopped and turned around before he went back for me. Unfortunately we didn't make it back before Forge caught us. Within a short space of time we were standing in his office as he paced back and forth.
"What were you three doing in a restricted area? Wait you were questioning the Ultralinks we captured weren't you?" He asked and Berto and I exchanged a look. "I thought so. Do have any idea what could have happened if they got out?"
"But they didn't." I spoke, exhausted but trying not to show it. "I take full responsibility for what happened back there. Berto and Shock were dragged into this by me because I wanted to know where my powers came from. And who my dad was." By the time I finished talking I felt really tired and Berto ended up holding onto my arm.
"Turbo energy?" Forge asked and I nodded. "Fine it's not from Earth."
"I already know that. It's from a planet called Tachyon right?" I asked and when he frowned I knew the Ultralinks were telling the truth. "I thought so. So was my dad from that planet? Is that why I have these powers? Did he have them too?" I asked getting more and more worked up by the second.
"Your dad? So you're mother never told you? Alright you do have a right to know. You see your father was…" He began to tell me but before he had time to finish my vision started going blurry.
"Not…again." I mumbled before my legs gave out and I fainted. I would have hit the floor had Berto not been holding onto me at the time. Gently lowering me to the ground he started trying to wake me but I was out cold before I had even touched the floor. Now once again in the Medical Bay Berto was sitting in a chair beside my bed as I lay unconscious. After all attempts at waking me had failed everyone decided that the best idea would be to let me get some rest. Know that my school would probably wonder why I had been absent Forge left to make some calls and that left Shock and Berto to watch over me.
"We shouldn't have asked for her help. She's still hasn't healed and now we've made things worse." Berto said as he reached across and stroked her forehead.
"Look all three of us wanted answers. Especially Jessie. And at least she knows something more now than she did months ago." Shock pointed out and Berto finally nodded.
"You're right. Turbo energy comes from Tachyon and her father is from that planet. Or was anyway." Berto said as he looked down at Jessie's sleeping face. "Now that we've found that much out maybe she'll be happier. We just need to find out the identity of her father. "As he finished speaking Jessie groaned in her sleep and moved her head. "I wonder what she's dreaming about."
"So you won't be back until late?" I asked as my mom, Claire, picked up her phone.
"I know but its really important work." She told me and when I pouted she laughed. Walking over she gave me a quick kiss on my head. "But you're even more important. Look I'll make it up to you. If you want to call me I'll keep my phone on. See you later." Mom said and I waved goodbye, not knowing that it would be the last time I'd see her again. Late that night I tried calling her for the fifth time but all I got was some weird buzzing noise so, my mind made up, I decided to go looking for her. Even though she couldn't really tell me everything she worked on, N-Tek being a secret organization and all, she did tell me that her work would 'save the planet'. That made me laugh but if it was important to her than its fine. Remembering that she said she'd be working in Copper Canyon I rode my bike there and soon reached the outskirts of town. As I climbed off my bike I wandered around, wishing I'd brought a flashlight because it was almost pitch black. Then I thought I saw something on the ground and I hurried towards it. As I did I heard a noise and I spun around, finding myself alone.
"You're being paranoid." I said out aloud and continued towards what I soon discovered was a huge scorch mark in the ground. "Did something explode?" I said and that's when I heard it again and straining my ears I heard what sounded like a growl. "Who's out there?" I yelled and instantly regretted it when something came charging out of the darkness. Even in the fading light it was huge and it suddenly spoke to me.
"What are you doing here?" It asked and instead of answering I decided to run away. Thinking it would chase me I ran as fast as I could but it didn't. Thinking I was safe I made the mistake of stopping and that's when something struck me. I don't know what it was but I felt something heavy strike me in the temple and I fell to the canyon floor. I must have blacked for a moment because the next thing I knew the monster, or whatever it was, was towering over me. Fighting the urge to scream I leapt instead to my feet and ran for my life, ignoring the flaring pain in my head and something warm dripping down my forehead possibly blood. Eventually I managed to give whatever it was the slip and I started walking only to suddenly feel woozy and before I could stop myself I passed out. When I came to I had no idea where I was, how I'd gotten there or anything. Except for my name.
"Is she okay?" Shock asked suddenly and that's when they noticed that she was gasping, her head moving from side to side. Suddenly she sat up, covered in sweat and Berto reached out an arm to steady her. As he did I moved back suddenly, confused, and he locked eyes with me.
"Shhh its okay." Berto whispered and I calmed down a little when I realized that it was only him and Shock. "Did you have a nightmare?" He asked me and I nodded shaking like a leaf. Walking over to me he sat beside me on the bed and put an arm around my shoulders. "What was it about?" He said as I leant my head against his shoulder. Feeling a little better I took a deep breath before I told them about my nightmare. Before I had even finished telling them about searching for my missing mom I could feel tears threatening. Probably sensing how I was feeling Berto held me tighter and for that I was grateful. Sitting there I managed to finish my story and as I did I couldn't hold back my tears any longer. As the floodgates opened I started to sob and that's when Berto pulled me into a hug. Burying my face in his chest I sobbed as he held me. "It's okay. We're right here." He whispered as he stroked my hair trying his best to comfort me as I cried. Eventually my tears dried up and I sat back rubbing at my eyes as Berto and Shock looked on.
"Dumb question I know but are you going to be okay?" Shock asked and when I nodded he and Berto both looked shocked. "You're not just saying that?"
"Maybe not fine but at least I remember how I ended up in Copper Canyon in the first place. And if I hadn't I wouldn't have met Berto. Plus if my father wasn't from Earth then that means he's from outer space. At least it explains why I have Turbo powers and if I didn't I wouldn't have met you Shock and made a new friend. At least that's what I think." I told them and they grinned when I did. "And now I remember my mom again." I added unable to hold back a smile. "Hey I just realized that my dad's an alien. I wonder what he looked like." For the next few minutes I tried to work out what my dad may or may not have looked like. "You know I do remember he had brown eyes like mine. Plus I do have his Turbo powers." As I said that I made my hand glow green for a brief moment. "I wonder what else?" As I thought hard about this I found myself beginning to nod off. Spotting this Berto put his arm around my shoulder.
"Maybe you should sleep for a while. You look beat." He said as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. He was right and he knew it as I yawned. As I lay back and got comfortable he leaned over and stroked my hair. Even shaken up I managed to give him a smile, grateful that he would be so comforting.
"I appreciate you and Shock looking after me." I told them and he smiled down at me. "Thank you both." I added as I felt my eyes close though I did stay awake long enough to hear something.
"Do you think we should question the Ultralinks again about her dad?" Shock asked and Berto placed his hand under his chin as he considered this. After a few long minutes he shook his head and that puzzled Shock who asked why not. "Because we'd need Stealth Mode to sneak in again and I don't want to put Jessie through that. Besides would you want to explain to Forge what we were doing?"
"Yeah good point on both fronts there. Okay then we'll just have to hack into the computer's restricted files and find out what we can." Shock told him and Berto gave him a confused look. "Hey if we can't ask for information we'll have to get it somehow."
"Yeah you're right. Then let's go. I should've known that it wouldn't be easy." Berto replied as they walked into the corridor. "So where to first?" The first place they tried was Claire's old workstation but it didn't take more than half an hour of searching to find absolutely nothing useful.
"Well that was a bust. I wonder where else N-Tek might keep classified files." Shock said as Berto sat staring at the computer.
"Maybe Forge's office but that's not really an option." Berto replied and when he saw Shock apparently considering that option he stood up suddenly. "Oh no. There's no way we're hacking into Forge's computer." Berto told him, waving his hands in front of himself.
"I have a plan to let you gain entry into Forge's computer and not get caught. It involves me creating a diversion that makes it look like I tried to speak to the Ultralinks again. While N-Tek's distracted they won't notice you going through Forge's computer." Shock explained and Berto had to admit that it sounded possible. "We just need to time this right and we can be in and out of the files in, say, half an hour."
"It's possible. Alright let's give this a shot. I just hope it works." Berto said as they headed for his lab. During the next hour they went over the plan and even though it sounded like an easy job Berto wasn't so sure that it would be as simple as Shock had made it seem. But he reminded himself that they were going through with this to help a friend and to find answers so it was worth doing. Or that's what Berto told himself as he waited for Shock to sneak into the Stasis Chambers to 'question' the Ultralinks. As he saw Shock disengage the first two locks and move closer to where the Ultralinks were being held Berto made his move. Quickly walking by Forge's office he glanced inside the room and found that Forge wasn't present for the time being, which would make his part of the plan a little easier. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching he hurried inside and stopped just in front of the computer. Then on queue he heard an alarm sound in the hallway and he took a deep breath before he hunched over the keyboard. His fingers flying over the keyboard he hacked into one encrypted file after another as he searched for the information he needed. Soon Berto noticed that his half hour was almost up and as he went to log out his eyes noticed something out of the ordinary, a file that had been marked 'Classified'
"That might be it." He whispered as he reached inside his lab coat and pulled out a USB. Inserting it into the computer he hurriedly made a copy of everything in the file. Quickly glancing up at the door he worried that Forge would walk in and catch him red handed but his fears were put to rest when the computer finished making the copy and he carefully dropped the USB into his pocket before logging out without leaving a trace. Rushing into the corridor he almost collided with Shock who went flying past and as he stared at the Ultralink he heard Forge yelling. "Glad I'm not Shock right now." He said to himself as he checked that he hadn't dropped the USB. Deciding to go back to the lab he then collided with Max and Steel.
"Whoa where's the fire?" Max asked as Berto dusted himself off. As Steel eyed the scientist he noticed something lying on the ground and before Berto could stop him he picked up the USB. Holding it in his arms Steel stared at it for a few seconds. "Hey what's that for?" Max asked at he looked at it and then Berto.
"It's Jessie's and I was returning it to her. She lost it the other day so could you give me that back?" Berto asked and Ma x crossed his arms against his chest.
"I can tell when you're lying. What's on it?" Steel asked and Berto fiddled with his wrist computer, not sure what to tell them. "We can keep a secret." With a sigh Berto asked them to follow him to his lab. Once they were inside he told them the truth.
"It has a copy of a classified file on it that might hold the key to figuring out who Jessie's father was. And you can't tell anyone else about this." Berto told them and Max raised an eyebrow at his friend.
"Did you get this from Forge's computer?" Steel asked and Berto nodded. "How?"
"Shock created a diversion and I hacked into Forge's computer and made a copy of what I hope is the information we need." Berto said and Max seemed impressed by this.
"We'll keep it a secret. On one condition; you have to let us in on whatever you found." Max said and Berto raised both eyebrows at that in surprise.
"It might help our search too. Besides Jessie's our friend too. But you can ask her first if that makes you feel better." Steel added and he agreed. "Okay then you'd better rescue Shock from Forge." He added and Berto laughed. When he finally found Shock the Ultralink had retreated to the Medical Bay and was currently hiding in a medical cupboard. Fighting the urge to laugh Berto opened the door slightly and told him that the coast was clear.
"Did the plan work?" Shock asked as he careful flew out of the cupboard and Berto held up the USB with a smile.
"Mission accomplished." He replied.