Chapter 13: Extroyer Unleashed
2 security guards were working the night shift at Paragon Labs. "Hey, Lou, who do you like Tuesday?" One of the guards asked. "Well, my money's on the Hawks to go all the way." The second guard, Lou, said as he ate a cheeseburger. "You kidding? No way, they'd make the playoffs. Not with Russell at center." The first guard said. "You gotta admit, the kid's got some pepper in his step, huh?" Lou said, taking another bite. "And cotton between his ears." The first guard said. Suddenly, there was a loud noise coming from one of the labs, thus, startling the guards. "Probably those sewer rats again. There almost as messy as you." The first guard said as he went to investigate.
He walked into one of the labs, noticed that the lights were out and brought out his torch. "If only the boss would pony up for an exterminator." Just then, he noticed that a vault in the room was torn open. "I don't wanna see the rat that did that!" He panicked as he noticed some huge claw marks. Just then, a growl was heard from the inside. The guard backed away, gulping with fear before walking back into the vault. Suddenly, something leapt by him. He shined the light towards it and saw a black tiger with purple glowing eyes, crystal shards sticking out of its body and tail, crystalized teeth and claws. He screamed and backed away, but tripped over a high chair, dropping the torch. The black tiger walked towards him. "If you value your puny life…RUN!" It roared. The man screamed, got back up and ran out of the room as the black tiger started wrecking it, setting it on fire. "I am vengeance. I am destruction. I am…EXTROYER!" The tiger roared. This black tiger was Troy Winter aka Extroyer.
(Intro)
Later, N-Tek arrived at Paragon Labs to investigate. "Its eyes. I'll never forget…those…eyes! Like a demon's." The security guard said in trauma as the Fujikawa Twins led him away. "Tell me again how some rinka-dink break-in is any of N-Tek's business." Jefferson said as he joined Kat and Max's team in the security room. "When the break-in's prime suspect looks like this." Kat said as she pulled up the security footage on Extroyer's black tiger form. "What is that thing?" Steel asked. "I don't know. But that is one freaky-looking kitty cat." Yeager said.
Later, they entered the room Extroyer tore up. "Man, what a mess." Yeager said. "It's like our shared room that one time we forgot to clean up. But minus the smelly gym socks." Max said. "Ew! Let's not start that again." Wandella said, cringing from that memory. Just then, Max and Steel came across some claw marks on the floor. "What is it, guys?" Xena asked. "We don't know. It's not human. But not animal either." Steel said as he scanned the marks. "We can't match it to any living specimen in the data files." Max said. "Whatever it was, it was trying to get in here." Jefferson said, gesturing to the trashed vault. "And completely clean it out." Kat said as Steel went in and scanned the place. "Not completely." Steel said, spotting a strange computer chip on the ground.
Later, the team brought the chip back to N-Tek for examination. "Sweet. It's a Next Gen Micro-Processor. This bad boy was in development at THI back when Dread was running the place. But it was never put into production." Berto explained as he and Al examined the chip. "So, how did it end up in a vault across town?" Forge asked. "We can answer that." Molly said as she and Amelia called. Al put their call screen up so they could talk to everyone. "Turns out that Dread set up a bunch of shelf corporations to hide THI's assets. This lab, Paragon Research, was one of these shelves." Amelia explained. "We're sending you a list of the others we found so far." Molly said, sending the team a list of Dread's shelf locations. "But what was Dread building in these labs?" Vandana asked. "That part's not so clear, sweetie." Amelia said. "Whoa! Check it out. Most of these places have been hit in the past few weeks." Berto said, discovering that most of the shelf locations were raided. "Probably by the same thing that raided Paragon Labs." Max guessed. "Let me just hack into the police digi-files." Berto said, hacking into the files and pulling up security footage of Extroyer's black tiger form raiding the places. "And how." "So, someone's coordinating these break-ins against Dread." Forge said. "Whatever Dread was developing, he went through a lot of trouble to keep it secret." Amelia said. "Which means it's bad news. It could be even worse news if it winds up in the wrong hands." Forge said. "Then I suggest we stake out the remaining labs and watch for whatever this beast thing is." Max said. "Exactly what I was thinking, Max. But how'd you know?" Forge asked. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Uncle Ferrus." Max said as he and his team walked out of the room. Forge stared after them in suspicion.
Later, as Max, Steel and their team were laying low in a van while staking out one of the remaining labs, Max continued doing research on Makino and his Ultralink army. "Max, any new information on Makino yet?" Xena asked. "It's a lot of information. This Makino guy and his Ultralink army are a very dangerous threat to everything and everyone in this known universe." Max said. "But why am I connected to them? And why can't I remember since my memory core is damaged?" Steel asked. "I think I have a theory for that. You were probably there before the accident caused by Dread and killed my dad. That's probably what caused the damage to your memory core." Max explained. "But why would our own father keep secrets from us?" Yeager asked. "Because Forge is suffering from a trauma from the accident. That's why he never told us any of this. He fears that he'll lose us the same way he lost my dad. I understand his fear, but he can't hide his secrets forever." Max explained before he continued digging through the information. The team understood this.
Just then, Steel heard a noise. "Guys, I heard something." He said, alerting the team. As they got out of the van, Steel linked up with Max and outfitted him in the Steel Suit while Alex, Rayne and the Ferrus Quintuplets readied their hero suits. They hid behind the walls on both sides of the alley as they saw Extroyer climbing up the fire escape. "Is that our guy?" Xena asked. "It's certainly not the creature from the security footage." Steel said as Extroyer started hitting the glass on the building, cracking it. "Maybe. But still. Hey! You!" Max called, getting Extroyer's attention. Extroyer dropped down and revealed himself to the team. "You! I would advise not to interfere with me." He warned. "Have we met? Because you seem familiar to me." Max said. Just then, Extroyer started to glow and groan in pain. "Whoa! What the heck is he doing?!" Rayne asked in shock. Just then, Extroyer transformed into the black tiger. "Whoa! That is our man. And I use the word man quite loosely." Steel said. "Yet another reason to always neuter your pets." Wandella said.
Extroyer roared and charged towards them. "I got this guy." Alex said as an image of a red tiger appeared and disappeared into his body. He charged towards Extroyer, but he got pounced onto his back. "Whoa! Someone skipped lunch!" He exclaimed as Extroyer tried to bite him. Wandella charged in and whacked Extroyer off Alex with a mana hammer. "Alex, could you save the wisecracks before we get cracked?" She asked. "Sure. Sorry." Alex said. Just then, Extroyer leapt at them again. But Wandella blocked him with her mana shield. "Shall we?" Max asked. "Thought you'd never ask." Steel said. "Go Turbo Strength!" Max called as Steel linked up with him, morphing into Strength Mode. Extroyer managed to break through the mana shield and pounced Max hard, knocking him down. Extroyer prepared to pounce again. "Oh no, you don't!" Xena exclaimed, blasting Extroyer into the side of a building. As Max went to grab him, Extroyer kicked him with his hind feet. But Max grabbed him and punched him into the street. The team ran out to the street and prepared to take Extroyer.
Max threw the first punch, but Extroyer dodged it. Zad prepared to swing his mana katana, but Extroyer pushed him hard, sending him flying into Vandana and Wandella, knocking them down. Rayne flew up and threw a couple of thunderbolts at Extroyer. But he dodged the bolts and leapt hard at Rayne, knocking her down. Alex pounced on Extroyer, but during the tumble, Extroyer threw him off and sent him crashing into a wall. Yeager snagged Extroyer's hind legs with a couple mana whips. But Extroyer lifted his hind legs, pulling Yeager towards him, and swatted him with his paws, knocking him out. Max punched Extroyer, but he got punched back and sent flying onto the van. Extroyer tore off a window and went into the lab.
Steel de-linked from Max as he transformed back and checked on the team. "You guys alright?" He asked. "Sure. No big deal." Vandana said. "Not the first time we've been thrown around like trash." Rayne said. Just then, an explosion went off. The team all looked up to see the roof set afire as Extroyer came out. "Who the heck is this guy?" Zad asked. Steel scanned Extroyer as he transformed back, trying to match him with any possible identity matches in his database until he found the perfect match and shared it with Max. "Troy Winter?" Max asked in shock. "And the Ultralink!" Steel exclaimed, spotting the Ultralink embedded in Extroyer's chest. The team was shocked at this. Extroyer leapt off the roof of the building before it blew up. "He's getting away!" Wandella exclaimed. "Go Turbo Flight!" Max called as Steel linked up with him and morphed into Flight Mode. "MAX! LOOK OUT!" Xena cried. Too late. The building exploded and blew Max down before he could take off. The team rushed to his side to check on him.
Meanwhile, Extroyer returned to his compound, placing the items he stole on the table in his secret room. "Dread's a hard guy to get a beat on. But his tech sure isn't. Since I can't find him, I'll just wait until he comes looking for me. Then make him pay for what he did." He said before breaking one of his monitor screens. Just then, he received a call from Lou, the security guard from the Paragon Labs. "You got another tip for me?" Extroyer asked. "Yeah, another one of Dread's labs. On Canal St. He's gonna be taking delivery on some fancy new tech stuff at midnight tonight." Lou reported. "I'll be there." Extroyer said, ending the call.
Just then, Naught entered Lou's office. "I hope whatever Mr. Winter paid you to turn on us was worth it. But then again, is anything worth your life?" He asked, holding up a blaster. "No!" Lou screamed as Naught used the blaster and encased him in red crystal. "No need to answer now. You'll have a long, long time to think it over." Naught said.
Later, Max and his team returned to N-Tek and told Forge about what they encountered. "So, you're all saying that Troy Winter has been behind all these break-ins?" Forge asked. "That's right. But not the Troy Winter we've come to know and love." Max said. "A brand-new, gnarled up version of him." Wandella added. "He had what looked to be an Ultralink embedded in his body." Steel said. "The same device he stole from you apparently." Wandella said. "But all that surveillance footage we saw?" Jefferson asked. "Right. That creature." Kat said. "Yeah. Apparently, the new Troy Winter has a way with animals. A completely different way than my own." Alex said. "A way to become an animal, to harness their strength and savagery." Rayne added. "But how is he doing it?" Forge asked. "We're not sure yet. We wouldn't have believed it ourselves if we hadn't seen it." Max said. "That, and felt it." Zad groaned with an icepack on his head. "Well, um, the important thing is you kids are all okay." Forge said. "Thanks, Uncle Ferrus. But we still need to find this guy and find out what he's up to." Max said. "You kids have had a long day." Molly said as Forge walked out with Jefferson, Kat and the Martinez Twins. "You're all shaken up. Why don't you all get some rest?" Amelia suggested as she and Molly followed them.
Meanwhile, back in the office, Naught called Dread on the device. "We know where he's going next, Mr. Dread." He said. "Excellent. And this time, we'll be ready." Dread said.
Meanwhile, Max and his team continued looking through the information on Makino and his Ultralink army. "Anything new, Max?" Rayne asked. "The information says a lot of things. Apparently, Makino's been around for thousands of years." Max said. "Does it say anything about any weaknesses?" Xena asked. "I'm afraid not." Max said. "Maybe if we can get Winter's Ultralink, we might be able to find some more answers." Steel suggested. "Good idea, Steel. And I think I know where to start." Max said. He flew out of the base in Flight Mode with the team following. "Where are we going, Max?" Wandella asked. "Winter's compound. There might be something we missed there from last time." Max said.
Meanwhile, Extroyer, in his black tiger form, arrived at the warehouse Lou told him about and broke in through the window, but found it had a lack of security. "You'd think Dread would have better security." He said as he walked through the building. "Been waiting for you, Winter." Granius said as he appeared with a yell, ready to fight him. "The name is Extroyer. I'd remember it if I were you." Extroyer warned. Granius slammed his fists into the ground, causing an earthquake. But Extroyer leapt across the giant cracks. Granius geokinetically lifted a bunch of boulders and threw them. But Extroyer dodged the boulders and pounced on Granius. As Granius tried to shake him loose, Extroyer was about to slash him. But Granius grabbed him and geokinetically raised himself, slamming Extroyer into the roof, and then back into the ground. "You're nothing, but an overgrown pussy cat!" He said as he prepared to pound Extroyer. But Extroyer dodged the incoming punch and roared. As they charged towards each other, Extroyer slipped through Granius' legs, dodged an incoming punch and smacked him in the core with his spikey tail. Granius groaned in pain as he held his core. "Work for Dread, pay the price." Extroyer said. He unsheathed his claws, leapt at Granius and slashed his core, knocking him out.
Just then, there was heavy applauding. Extroyer turned to see Dread clapping his armored hands. "Most impressive." Dread said. "Dread. I was hoping to get your attention. You thought blasting that Ultralink would destroy me, but you were wrong. It only made me more powerful. And now, I'm gonna use that power to make you suffer!" Extroyer exclaimed. Dread just laughed. "You know nothing of true power, Mr. Winter. But allow my other associate to give you a taste." He said. Just then, Extroyer was hit by an ice blast, freezing him against a steel column. Frozen Killer appeared from the shadows as Extroyer transformed back into his mutated human form. "We could destroy you as easily as we could swat a fly. But I have bigger plans for you, Mr. Winter." Dread said as he leapt down to the lower level and walked up to Extroyer. "Plans that will fetch me Max Steel and his friends!"
Meanwhile, Max and his team were almost at Extroyer's compound. "Okay, we're here, team." Max called. "How do you know Winter's still been hiding here?" Yeager asked. "We stuck a tracking bug on him during our early encounter." Steel said. "Always gotta be prepared." Max said. As the team entered the compound, they looked around the place. "I don't get it, Max. N-Tek already looked over this place the last time we were here." Xena said. "Maybe. But we didn't find everything." Max said as he walked over to the secret wall, put his hand on it and shorted out the lock with his Turbo Touch, opening the secret door. The team was surprised by this. They entered the bunker and looked around. "This must be Troy Winter's secret bunker." Steel said. "And this must be where he was hiding when we were here with N-Tek." Max said as he added. "You guys think we can find more answers about Makino here?" Alex asked. "We hope so. Besides, we already scanned the property when we got here. Troy's not here." Max said. But little did they know, they were being watched by a tiny camera, hidden inside from a big African mask.
As they searched, they discovered a table full of tech. "Look at all this stuff. Gyro stabilizer, industrial diamonds, sub-zero insulators. This must be the stuff Winter stole from Dread." Max said. "But what's it all for?" Zad asked. "The components could make up the inner workings of a missile." Max deduced. "Hey, what's this?" Alex asked, poking a device and setting it off. "It's a transponder. Part of a telemetric navigation system. You just activated the whole system." Max said. "Okay, I'm not hearing good words here." Vandana said. "Steel, if we can tune into the sub frequency, we might be able to find where it's located." Max said. "Already on it." Steel said as he tuned into the frequency. "I got it!" He exclaimed, finding the location. "Then let's fly." Max said.
Suddenly, there was a low growl. "What was that?" Xena asked worriedly. Just then, Max sensed something. "Look out!" He exclaimed. The team ducked down as Extroyer's white tiger leapt out of nowhere and tried to attack them. "A white tiger?! Why does this guy have a white tiger?!" Zad exclaimed. The white tiger growled menacingly at the team as they prepared to fight. "No! She'll think you're trying to hurt her." Max said. "Well, what're we supposed to do?" Rayne asked. "Mana Quints, lock her and me in a mana dome." Max said. "What?! No way!" Wandella exclaimed. "We're not just gonna lock you in one of our domes with that beast!" Yeager exclaimed. "Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Do it." Max said. The Mana Quints looked at each other hesitantly before doing what their cousin said, locking him and the white tiger in a mana dome. The white tiger growled as she prepared to attack Max. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." Max assured. But the white tiger didn't listen and leapt at him. Max dodged to the left and the white tiger hit her head on the dome. "It's okay. No harm's gonna come to you." He said. The white tiger recovered as she turned around with a growl. "Just be calm. I'm not a threat." Max said as he gently placed his hand on the white tiger's snout and caressed it counter-clockwise. Suddenly, the white tiger started purring and nuzzled into Max's hand. Steel and the team were amazed at how Max was befriending a white tiger. Max nodded to the Mana Quints and they dropped the dome. "It's okay, guys. She's calm now." Max said. The others walked up and petted the white tiger as she nuzzled them. "How did you do that?" Rayne asked. "Most animals attack when they either feel provoked or threatened. Once I showed her that I wasn't a threat, she accepted me as a friend." Max explained. "Wow. That's so cool." Alex said.
"Alright, guys, that's enough friend making. We still gotta go find Winter." Max said. "We're ready to go, Max." Xena said as the team stood up. Max gave the white tiger one last pet. "It's okay. We'll be back for you." He promised. The white tiger purred at that. "Go Turbo Flight!" Max called as Steel linked up with him, morphed into Flight Mode and flew out of the compound with the team following.
They flew out into the desert and found a test site, where Extroyer looked like he was preparing something. "What the heck is this place?" Alex asked. "It looks like a test site." Max deduced. "And Troy Winter's running the test." Steel said, spotting Extroyer typing something on a computer. "Stop right there, Winter!" Max exclaimed, getting Extroyer's attention before punching him into the wall. "Whatever you're doing, it ends now." Vandana said. "Max Steel. You and your friends have an annoying habit of interfering with my plans." Extroyer said. "Being annoying is our specialty." Max said. "Go Turbo Strength!" He morphed into Strength Mode. The Mana Quints readied their powers. An image of a red bear appeared over Alex before disappearing into his body. Rayne rubbed her hands together, generating electricity, and formed a couple lightning bolts. "Mr. Winter, we have unfinished business." Steel said. "So, let's finish it." Extroyer said, transforming into his black tiger form and pouncing on Max. "Ew! Bad breath!" Max exclaimed as Extroyer started to smack him with his paws. "Get off him!" Alex exclaimed as he punched Extroyer, knocking him off Max. Zad shouted as he leapt up and readied his mana katana to stab Extroyer. But Extroyer leapt over him, dodging the blade. Extroyer charged back towards him. "Look out, Samurai!" Xena cried as she got in front of Zad and conjured her mana shield. But Extroyer swatted the shield hard, sending Xena and Zad crashing into the wall. "Oh, now you're in trouble!" Rayne exclaimed. She charged towards Extroyer with a big thunderbolt ready in her hand. But as she threw it, Extroyer leapt over her and dodged it. As Rayne turned around, Extroyer swatted her with his paw, sending her flying towards Vandana and Yeager, knocking them down.
As the team recovered, Extroyer leapt onto the wall started running around on it. "Max, how many lives does a cat have?" Steel asked. "9. And we're gonna have to try and take them all. Right now." Max said. "How? He's too fast." Xena said. "Like this. Go Turbo Flight!" Max called, morphing into Flight Mode and taking off into the sky. As Steel de-linked from his chest, Max grabbed him and started blasting at Extroyer, knocking him off the wall. As they circled around, Extroyer noticed a spider crawling near him. "And along came a spider." He said as his eyes glowed purple, connecting with the spider. "Uh, Max? Winter's doing something weird with that spider." Yeager called. Max and Steel looked on, catching on to what Extroyer was doing. "So, that's how he does it. He's extracting the spider's abilities." Max said. "Yes. And then adding the properties to his arsenal." Steel said as Extroyer transformed into a giant spider. "In essence, extroying it." Max said. "Did they just create a verb?" Alex asked.
"Look out!" Steel exclaimed. Extroyer started firing web blasts from his butt. But the team dodged each one. But they finally got hit, getting web on their faces. Steel tried blasting him, but Extroyer webbed him too, swished him around and slammed him hard into the ground. "Steel? Guys? Where are you? Are you okay?" Max called, not being able to see with the webs covering his helmet. "What do you think? We can't see!" Vandana exclaimed, trying to pull the web off her face. "Max! I'm over here!" Steel called. Just then, Extroyer crawled to the top and pounced on Max. "Guys! I could use some help over here!" Max called as he held Extroyer back. "Hang on, Max! I'm coming! This stuff is tougher than it looks!" Steel exclaimed as he blasted his way out of the webs. "You look like you could use some extra muscle, partner." "Go Turbo Strength!" Max called, kicking Extroyer away before Steel linked up with him, morphing into Strength Mode. The others finally managed to pull the webs from their faces and joined Max in attacking Extroyer. Max punched him, Vandana hit him with a mana blast, Wandella used her mana punch, Xena scorched him with mana fire, Yeager whacked him with his mana hammer, Zad slashed him with his mana katana, Alex slammed him with his gorilla strength, and Rayne zapped him with her lightning bolts. Just then, as Extroyer leapt at them, Max charged his right fist with Turbo Energy. "Turbo Punch!" He exclaimed as he punched Extroyer hard. As Extroyer recovered, Max leapt over him, morphing back to normal and de-linking Steel. "Let's he if he can extroy this!" He exclaimed as he charged Steel up with Turbo Energy and taking aim at Extroyer as he climbed onto a turbine on the wall. They fired their Turbo Blast, but Extroyer leapt out of the way and the blast hit the turbine, which also appeared to be powering up the entire place. "Bull's eye!" Extroyer cheered. "Not good." Max said, getting a bad feeling.
Just then, everyone received a holographic call from Dread. "That's right. I needed a jolt of Turbo Energy to power my little project. And why waste my limited reserves when you have so much to give?" He explained. "You didn't really think you found me by accident? I activated that transponder just as soon as I saw you lot break into my compound." Extroyer explained. "But you were stealing from Dread." Alex said with a bit of confusion. "That's before I understood the bigger picture." Extroyer said. "What's he talking about?" Rayne asked. "And what about your Ultralink?" Steel asked. "And why does his breath smell so bad?" Zad asked, holding his nose. "So many questions." Dread said. Just then, the ground started opening up, revealing to be a hatch. "I need to find out just how powerful this Turbo Nuclear Missile Head is." Dread said as a giant missile launched into the sky. "We gotta stop that missile! Go Turbo Flight!" Max called as Steel linked up with him and morphed back to Flight Mode. The team followed Max as they flew after the missile. "Don't just stand there! Get them!" Dread ordered. "With pleasure." Extroyer said as he fired a web at the missile, pulling himself onto it.
"How do we stop this thing?!" Xena asked as the team grabbed onto the rocket. "This missile's gotta have a guidance system! If we can access it, we can stop it!" Max exclaimed as he ripped open the panel to the guidance system. "Uh-oh! Looks like we got a tagalong!" Steel exclaimed. The team turned and saw Extroyer. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Extroyer warned as he crawled towards them. "Look out, team!" Max exclaimed. Extroyer fired his webs, sticking the team to the rocket. "Come into my den, said the spider to the fly." He said, mockingly. "Oh no, you don't." Steel said as he de-linked from Max and fired his lasers at Extroyer, knocking him off the missile. But he latched his web back on and pulled himself back up. As he landed back on the missile, he fired another web, sticking Steel to the rocket. "Steel!" Xena cried. As Extroyer crawled up to Max, he managed to pull his arm free, roll onto his front and blow him back with his thrusters. "Time to wrap this up!" Extroyer exclaimed. He fired more webs at Max, sticking him up good. Steel started blasting his way out of the web as Extroyer crawled up to Max. "This should put a stop to your squirming!" Extroyer exclaimed, preparing to stab Max with one of his legs. "MAX!" The Mana Quints cried. "Not if I stop you first!" Steel exclaimed, who finally freed himself from the web. He fired a powerful Turbo Blast, blasting Extroyer off the missile and sending him into the ocean.
"I know spiders are arachnids and all, but that guy was really starting to bug me." Max said as Steel blasted him and the team free from their webs. "Yeah, us too." Zad said. "Now let's stop this missile and get out of here!" Max exclaimed. As the missile was nearing Copper Canyon, he leapt for the guidance system and ripped out a bunch of cords. "Primitive, but very effective." Steel commented. "Now, everyone, underneath!" Max called. The team flew under the missile and grabbed it. "Now push!" Max exclaimed. Everyone pushed on the missile, redirecting it away from the city and into the atmosphere. Just then, the missile exploded, giving off a massive blast of Turbo Energy. Max and his team survived the blast as the Mana Quints shielded everyone with a large mana shield.
Meanwhile, Dread, Naught and Frozen Killer watched the whole thing. "Seems it's back to the drawing board." Naught said nervously. "No, we've learned the megaton force of the Turbo Explosion. It will serve its purpose well. Build the rest of them." Dread ordered. "What about Troy Winter, the so-called Extroyer?" Naught asked. "Not as useful as I hoped. Oh, well. Good riddance to bad rubbish." Dread said.
Later, after picking up their new tiger friend, who Max named Whitney, from Extroyer's compound, Max and his team reported back to Forge at N-Tek. And he was not happy. "What were you all thinking?! Going after Winter alone without backup?! Things could've ended up much differently, kids! You put all of Copper Canyon in jeopardy! We're supposed to be a team! We're supposed to trust each other!" He exclaimed as he scolded the team. "Yes, we are! And that's why we went after him! To get answers! Since you don't trust us enough with any information at all!" Max exclaimed. "It's…complicated." Forge said, caught off guard by Max's outburst. "We know that there are other Ultralinks like Steel out there, Uncle Ferrus! Just exactly how many are there?! Hundreds?! Thousands?!" Max demanded. "Billions." Forge said, taking his leave. "Then this is worse than we originally thought, team. If Makino has billions of Ultralinks at his command, we're gonna have to be fully prepared for any possible upcoming Ultralink invasion." Max said. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. Even Whitney nodded, wanting to help.
Meanwhile, in the ocean, after returning back to his mutated human form, Extroyer sank to the bottom. Just then, his gaze caught a passing shark. His Ultralink glowed as he extroyed the shark. "I…live." He said.
Whoa! Things just got crazy. Extroyer started attacking secret labs owned by Dread. As Max and his team investigate Extroyer's heists, they also learn more about Makino and his Ultralink army. But as they investigated Extroyer's compound, which led them to a testing site, Extroyer tricked Max into powering a missile with his Turbo Energy. But the team managed to send the missile away from Copper Canyon just in time. But after they sent Extroyer plummeting into the ocean, he survived by extroying DNA from a shark. But what more will Max, Steel and their team learn about Makino? Will the missiles Dread made be a bigger threat than Makino? Leave a review if you'd like.