Chapter 10: Hard Water

"Step right up, step right up! Beat the game, win a prize! You sir! Win a prize for your lady!" A game instructor called. Max, Sydney, Kirby, Alex, Rayne and the Ferrus Quintuplets were visiting the pier carnival today. The instructor handed Max a ball to toss at a stack of milk bottles. "Turbo dampeners down, power reverted to throwing arm." Steel said through his partner's head. 'I got this.' Max thought. He threw the ball and knocked down all the bottles in one shot. "Yes!" Max cheered. "Nice shot, Max." Xena said. "You got quite the shot." Alex said. "Your prize, sir." The instructor said with a groan, handing Max a large purple teddy bear. "For you, Syd." Max said, handing the bear to Sydney. "Thanks, Max. Though you didn't have to do that for me." Sydney said as she took the bear. "Yeah. Especially when the games are rigged." Rayne said. "Rigged?!" Steel asked in shock. "Well, I just kept noticing the bear looking at Syd. I think he likes her." Max said. "Well, I like him too." Sydney said, hugging the bear as they walked away.

"I'll never understand humans. Fixed games, strange courting rituals." Steel said. 'I know. We're a pretty weird bunch.' Max thought. "So, what're you guys up for next?" Sydney asked. "Graphical simulations of intergalactic warfare?" Steel asked, eyeing the arcade games in the corner. "How about Space Invaders?" Max suggested. "Sure. I love that game." Sydney said. "Just try to beat my high score." Alex said. As they ran over towards the arcade games, they ran into Kirby, who was also holding a large purple teddy bear. "Hey, Kirby. How'd you win that?" Max asked. "That's what I'd like to know." Steel said, feeling suspicious. "I had to throw the dart at the balloon booth. Only cost me $37." Kirby said. Max, Sydney, Alex, Rayne and the quintuplets were shocked to hear that. "Oh, which reminds me. Could I borrow some money for a corndog?" Kirby asked. "Oh, Kirby." Xena said, face palming herself. "Would you believe I won this for you, Xena?" Kirby said. "Really? Well, thanks, Kirby. But next time, don't spend so much money to win me a prize." Xena said, taking the bear.

Suddenly, people started screaming by the docks. A carrier ship was being pulled into a giant whirlpool. "Alex, Rayne, distract Syd and Kirby." Max whispered. "Right. You guys go on." Rayne whispered. "So, what kind of fish do you guys reckon are out there?" Alex asked, distracting Sydney and Kirby as Max and the quintuplets ran off to suit up. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Steel asked. "Yep. Time to save the day." Max said. "Again." Yeager said. They ran and hid behind the arcade game tent. "Time to Go Turbo!" Max exclaimed as he and the quintuplets changed into their hero suits. They ran out to the dock and leapt over the railing. "Go Turbo Flight!" Max called, switching to Flight Mode. They flew over to the carrier as the whirlpool caught its rear anchor. They each grabbed the 2 front anchors and flew them to the shore. "Go Turbo Strength!" Max called, switching to Strength Mode. "Mana whips ready!" Vandana exclaimed. Max grabbed one of the anchors while the Mana Quints snagged the other with their mana whips. Together, they managed to pull the carrier away from the whirlpool. "Nice work, Popeye." Steel said as the crowd started cheering. "Thank you. Thank you very much." Max said. "Just doing our job." Wandella said. Suddenly, another whirlpool appeared and started pulling the carrier again. "Guys, the chains!" Steel exclaimed. Max and the Mana Quints grabbed the chains and pulled as hard as they could. But the chains snapped off and the carrier disappeared into the water.

(Intro)

After returning to N-Tek, the team reported the incident to Forge. "Doesn't make any sense. There's no sign of the missing tanker or any of its crew." Forge said as they watched the replay. "And this wasn't the first one. There have been other reports of several others in the past week." Max said. "I also detected an anomaly in the water. It's been hyper hydrogenated at a subatomic level." Steel said. "We're not sure what it was though, but it's our only lead." Max said. "I already sent Kat and Jefferson to investigate." Forge said before contacting Kat and Jefferson. "Status update." "Still nothing, chief." Jefferson said. "But we'll keep working on the search pattern." Kat said. After ending the call, Forge started walking away. "Uh, Daddy, is there something we missed?" Vandana asked. "Yeah, why weren't we sent to help?" Yeager asked. "Because I need you lot for something else. Something even more important." Forge said. "I'm almost scared to ask knowing you, Uncle Forge." Max said as they followed.

Forge led them into the training room. "Now since we keep running up against the Elementors, we need to update and refine our firepower." He explained, showing diagrams of Fire Elementor and Earth Elementor as he walked away. "So, why us?" Steel asked. "Yeah, can't anyone pull the trigger, Commander?" Rayne asked. "Oh, you kids won't be pulling any triggers. But don't worry. Everything's been programmed to operate within safe parameters." Forge explained as he exited the training room. "Safe parameters?" Max asked in concern. "So, what's the target then?" Steel asked. Just then, a couple of drones floated down in front of them and one of them prepared a fireball. "I think we are." Zad said with worry. The drone fired the fireball, but they ducked down and the fireball hit the door. "Turbo time?" Max asked. "Yes, please." Steel said. "Go Turbo!" Max called. Steel linked up with him and changed into the Steel Suit, without the helmet. The quintuplets changed into their Mana Quint suits, without the masks. Alex cracked his knuckles as a red image of a spider-monkey appeared from his body and disappeared. Rayne's hands sizzled with electricity.

The drones started firing more fireballs at the team. "I can't believe Uncle Ferrus still thinks we haven't earned our stripes." Max said as they dodged the fireballs. "He's right. We all might be new here, but we've shown that we can handle the heat." Wandella said as she and Alex made the drones shot at each other. "Mostly at times." Steel said as he de-linked from Max. As the 2 drones floated back into the ceiling, 2 more came down and started firing earth balls. "But seriously, what more do we have to prove to our own father?" Zad said as he sliced up the earth balls with his mana katana. But the drones kept firing more earth balls. "Yeah, we saved Copper Canyon dozens of times, taken out dozens of bad guys from Dread to Toxzon and the Dark Black, and this is how he repays us, locking us in the training room to hit us with fire and rocks!" Vandana exclaimed. Just then, the drones recalled themselves and another with a garden hose came down. "And now water, apparently." Steel said. "Seriously? A water hose? We're not preschoolers." Alex said. Just then, the drone fired a powerful jet of water at Alex, pushing him into the wall. "That must've been some preschool you went to, Alex." Steel said. "Yep. Only Uncle Ferrus would have a squirt gun that's dangerous." Max said.

The drone started shooting at them again. The team dodged the attacks, but almost got knocked off their feet. "Fire, earth, water. Isn't there supposed to be wind?" Steel said. "Yeah. Dad did say there were 4 Elementors." Wandella said. "We've already encountered Fire and Earth. I'm guessing Water might be coming next." Yeager said. "Okay. Enough is enough." Max said. He dodged the water attack, tossed an earth ball at the drone and clogged the hose with a little rock. The drone overloaded itself and crashed itself into the wall. "Woah! Max, what'd you do?" Alex asked. "It's quite simple, actually. While the clay contents in the rock not only clogged up the pipe, but also hardened inside the drone, causing its overload." Max explained. "Common knowledge really." Steel said. "Well, hooray, everybody. We defeated a garden hose." Rayne said sarcastically. "Yeah, this test is over. We're going home." Max said as he and the others started to leave. "Yeah, we need a goodnight sleep before school tomorrow." Zad said. "Okay, I know that you guys are Grade A students and all, but what makes tomorrow any special?" Steel asked. "Well, there's something we've been looking forward to tomorrow." Vandana said.

After they returned home, everyone went to sleep. But Max, he started stirring in his sleep as he started having a dream.

[Dream]

Max found himself in the same void from the dream he had the night before. "What? I'm back here again?" He asked. Just then, he heard something that sounded like fighting. He turned around and saw someone using powers of the 4 elements, water, earth, fire and air, to fight strange creatures. "Wow. This guy's pretty good. I wonder who he is." He said. Just then, the person turned around and revealed his face. To Max's shock, the person looked exactly like him, except with an arrow marking on his forehead. "But…that's impossible." He said in shock. "The impossible are only those that aren't understood." A woman's voice said. "I know that voice. You're that woman from my last dream." Max said, recognizing the woman's voice. A strange sky blue human-shaped light appeared before him. "I am Queen Anesidora. And I must warn you. The ocean is in danger. You and your friends must be ready for what lies ahead." She said as she unleashed a bright light.

[Dream End]

Max jolted up with a gasp as he woke up. The gasp woke up Steel, Yeager and Zad. "Max, are you okay?" Yeager asked. "You're drenched in sweat." Steel said. "I'm fine. I had another dream." Max said. "What was it about?" Zad asked. "I was in the same void I was in my last dream. I…saw myself. But I looked like some kind of elemental master, using the power of all 4 elements. Then this weird light with the voice of the woman from my last dream appeared before me. She told me that the ocean was in danger and that we have to be ready." Max explained. Steel, Yeager and Zad looked at each other.

The next day, at school, their science teacher, Mr. Thornhill, was making an announcement in class today. "Who's excited for the big fieldtrip?" He asked. The students cheered. "I can't hear you." Mr. Thornhill said. The students, including Sydney and Kirby, cheered louder. "A trip to some field? That's the big event you were talking about yesterday? I think I preferred being a bullseye." Steel said. 'That's not what fieldtrip means, Steel. It means we get to leave school for the day. In this case, a shuttle launch being hosted by my mom and Aunt Amelia.' Max thought. "This so beats watching Space Trek reruns in slow-mo." Kirby said. "For real. I mean, what kind of science class gets to go to a shuttle launch for a class trip?" Sydney said. "One that's got a few ins with the shuttle company's CEOs." Max said.

Later, as the class arrived at the THI shuttle testing sight, Molly and Amelia were preparing to launch their new shuttle, the Orbiter. "Gantry arm is clear. Commence primary fuel mixing." Molly ordered. The employees prepared the Orbiter as it counted down to liftoff in 3 minutes. Everyone watched with anticipation, but Max and Steel's thoughts were elsewhere. "Still thinking about your dream, huh?" Steel asked. 'Just like you're still thinking about the tanker and all those ships that disappeared.' Max thought. "Yeah. I keep wondering where could they have gone? And what did your dream have to do with it?" Steel asked. 'I don't know, dude. We'll have to think about it later. It's 2 minutes to liftoff time.' Max thought.

Just then, Kirby spotted something out the window. "Hey, what's that?" He asked. Max and the others looked out the window and saw that the water levels were suddenly rising and heading towards the Orbiter. "What in the…" Molly tried to say. "It sorta looks like a…TSUNAMI!" One of the employees exclaimed. "Stop the countdown! Amelia, get everyone to higher ground!" Molly exclaimed as she rushed out. The employee stopped the countdown. "Everyone, please make your way to the higher floors immediately." Amelia said. The students started making their way to the stairway. "Alright, everyone, let's remain calm." Mr. Thornhill said. "Hey! I said make your way to the higher floors!" Amelia exclaimed. "This is my class! I give them the orders! Not you!" Mr. Thornhill exclaimed. "Really? You wanna have this argument before you end up drowning?" Amelia asked, gesturing to the tsunami. Mr. Thornhill turned around and saw the tsunami as it got even higher and closer. "Uh, I'm good." He said, scampering off. As everyone was leaving, Sydney noticed that Max and the Ferrus Quintuplets were missing. "Wait. Where're Max and the quintuplets?" She asked.

Max and the quintuplets changed into their hero suits and flew off towards the wave. "Uh, exactly how are we supposed to stop a giant wave?" Xena asked. "I'm sure Max and Steel will figure it out." Yeager said. "Well, yeah. They're Max Steel. We're just the help." Zad said. Molly pulled up to the Orbiter in her SUV and gathered the crew into it. "What do we do, Max? It's getting bigger by the second." Vandana said. "Wait. Waves transfer energy with no permanent displacement of particles." Max said. "So, if we disturb that inertia, we can alter its course." Steel said. "English, please?" Wandella asked. "We can slow it down by slicing its crest." Max said. "Well then, in that case, surfs up." Zad said. The Mana Quints all conjured mana swords and followed Max, slicing into the wave's crest. Suddenly, Steel detected an anomaly. "Guys, I'm detecting hyper hydronated water again!" He exclaimed. "I sense it too! Just like last time!" Max exclaimed. "And we don't seem to be cutting this wave down to size!" Xena exclaimed.

They followed the wave back towards the launch. And just in time. Molly's SUV was driving away. "All right! Mom got the crew out." Max cheered. Suddenly, the wave turned itself towards Molly's SUV, surprising the team. "Uh, am I crazy or did that wave just turn itself towards Aunt Molly?" Xena asked. As the wave was about to swallow up Molly and the crew, Max flew down and picked up the SUV. Suddenly, the wave grew some kind of appendage and swatted Max aside. The Mana Quints were shocked by that. "I heard of catching waves, but not ones that catch you!" Vandana exclaimed. The wave swallowed up Max, Molly, the crew, the SUV and the Orbiter. "MAX!" The Mana Quints cried.

Max sunk down deeper and deeper into the ocean. Max couldn't activate his flight jets due to the water. But then, Jefferson and Kat appeared underneath him in their sub and hauled him up to the surface. "Max!" Vandana cried in relief as she and her siblings flew down to the sub and embraced their cousin. "You kids okay?" Jefferson asked. "Never mind us. What about my mom? The crew?" Max asked. They all looked at what was left of the launch pad. Everything was gone.

Back in N-Tek, everyone watched the replays of what happened, trying to find a connection. Max cringed at the replay of Molly being swallowed up by the wave. Kat put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "At least we know she's alive, Max. The shuttle crew was all wearing gear that tracked their vitals. They were all okay. That is before we lost the signal." She explained. "We'll find her, kids." Jefferson assured. "No. We'll find her. Me, Steel, the quints, Alex, Rayne and C.Y.T.R.O. too." Max said. The team nodded in agreement. "So, what do we know so far?" Rayne asked. "And what's our next move?" Alex asked. "Take it easy, kids." Forge said, stopping them. "Excuse me? Take it easy?" Zad asked. "What do you mean? My mom's gone." Max said. "And N-Tek is on it." Forge assured. "I thought we were a part of N-Tek too. Seriously, Uncle Ferrus. Sometimes it feels like you don't believe in us." Max accused. "I know you kids think you're all ready to take on whatever comes your way, but you're not. You all still have much to learn. Now stay here and leave this to the adults. That's an order." Forge said, walking away.

Kat and Jefferson walked over to the kids. "We know that you kids aren't just gonna stick around." Jefferson whispered. "Take this tracker. You can follow our sub's signal with it." Kat whispered, handing Max a tracking device. "Thanks, guys." Max said. Jefferson and Kat smiled as they walked away to prepare for the mission. When they were gone, Max accessed the video feed of the launch pad. "N-Tek's all over the THI launch pad. But I don't think this goes just around there." He said. "Then I say we return to the original scene of the crime." Steel said. "Good call. Jefferson and Kat's sub will be heading out that way anyway." Max said. "Let's grab C.Y.T.R.O. and head out." Rayne said.

After the team grabbed C.Y.T.R.O. and left N-Tek, they rented a boat and followed the sub's signal to the middle of the ocean. C.Y.T.R.O. was flying right behind them since he was too big to fit in the boat. "Well, this is where the signal ends. They must be around here somewhere." Max said. "So, what do we do now?" Alex said. "Steel, that hyper hydrogenated water we picked up earlier. Think we can track it?" Max asked. "I think so. I can try." Steel said. "Uh, Max? Exactly what are we doing?" Zad asked. "Our best option to find my mom, Jefferson, Kat, the crew and everything else that disappeared is to dive into the ocean and search for any traces of the hyper hydrogenated water." Max said. Suddenly, Zad felt himself freeze up in fear. "Uh, Zad? Are you okay?" Rayne asked in concern. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Zad said, nervously. "No, you're not, Zad." Yeager said, knowing his brother's phobia. "What's wrong?" Alex asked. "Zad has thalassophobia, a fear of deep waters." Max said. "It happened when we were 6-years-old. We were hanging out at the beach with our friends Eli and Harley Shane, and Vert and Olivia Wheeler, and our parents." Vandana said. "Zad was swimming out in the water, but then the currents became strong and dragged him out." Wandella said. "He screamed loud enough to get our attention before he was dragged down into the depths." Xena said. "Our dad tied a rope to himself, dove in and rescued Zad, but he wasn't breathing." Yeager said. "Dad gave him CPR and saved him, but he had to fully recover in the hospital. He's had thalassophobia ever since." Vandana said. "Whoa. I had no idea." Rayne said, feeling bad for Zad. "It's okay, Zad. You don't have to go down there with us." Max said. "No, Max. Aunt Molly's life is at stake. And I'm willing to face my fears to help my family." Zad said.

"Alright then. C.Y.T.R.O., did you bring the suits?" Max asked. "Affirmative. N-Tek dive suits ready for diving." C.Y.T.R.O. said, revealing 6 special N-Tek dive suits. "Uh, there's only 6 suits there." Alex said. "Yeah. You and I won't require dive suits." Max said. "Why don't we require…oh, right. My Z-Gene power." Alex said. "And what about you, Max?" Wandella asked. "Well, me and Steel discovered a new Turbo Mode just for the occasion." Max said. "And what better chance to try it out than now." Steel said. "Go Turbo Scuba!" Max called as Steel linked up with him as he leapt into the water. His Steel Suit transformed into a new Scuba Mode. The team was in awe at this new mode. "When you get that new mode?" Rayne asked. "Our incident back at the shuttle launch that prompted me to scan for this mode." Steel said. "Alright. Let's get swimming." Alex said as a red shark image appeared and disappeared into his body before leaping into the water. The others outfitted themselves into their dive suits and dove right in. C.Y.T.R.O., having been water-proofed during his upgrade, dove in after.

As they swam down to the ocean floor, they saw no sign of the tanker or any other ships. "Looks like Kat and Jefferson were right. There's no sign of that tanker or any other ship anywhere." Yeager said. "But I am detecting particles of hyper hydrogenated water." Steel said. "He's right. The water's chemical makeup's somehow been manipulated so the water itself could be manipulated." Max said. "You mean like the water was alive?" Rayne asked. "That explains how that wave redirected itself at the shuttle launch." Vandana said. "And that vortex created by that animated water seems to have left a trail on the ocean floor." Steel said. "Then we just follow the trail." Zad said.

"Hold up. My scanner's detecting a large lifeform coming our way." Max said. "It's probably just a shark." Xena said. "No. Unless this shark's the size of an airplane." Steel said. Suddenly, a haunting singing started echoing through the water. Max found this song incredibly familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before. "What's that sound?" Wandella asked. "Observation. It sounds like a very haunting song." C.Y.T.R.O. deduced. "And whatever's singing it is coming straight for us." Max said. "And we just obtained visual." Steel said. The creature coming towards them appeared to be a giant silvery dragon with big wings and tiny blue fins on its back. "Prepare for hostility." Vandana said. Everyone quickly prepared to defend themselves. "Wait. I don't think it's dangerous." Max said. As the creature swam up to him, Max reached out his hand and touched its snout. "I feel like I know this creature." He said. "Just like that land beast we met before?" Steel asked. "Yeah. But I don't know where I met both of them." Max said. Just then, the creature turned and swam down the same way the particle trail led. "It's going down the same way our particle trail is going." Steel said. "I think it wants us to follow it." Alex said. "Well, since that's where our trail leads, guess we have no choice." Max said.

They followed the creature as the trail took them into an underwater sea cave. "It looks like the hyper hydrogenated water readings are getting stronger." Steel said. "And the vibe a lot creepier." Max said. As they finally reached the end, they swam to the surface and found themselves in an air-filled cave. "Where are we?" Rayne asked. "It's an air-filled underwater cave." Max said. "Look! The tanker, the Orbiter, Aunt Molly's SUV and all the ships that went missing." Xena said, spotting all of the missing craft in the cave. "It's all here." Zad said as they swam to shore and started to investigate. "And more." Steel said. "There's the Submersible Kat and Jefferson were using." Wandella said, spotting Kat and Jefferson's sub. "Looks like whatever grabbed all this stuff grabbed them too." Rayne said. "So much for N-Tek being able to handle this." Steel said. "But where are all the people?" Zad asked.

"Look! Mom! Kat! Jefferson!" Max exclaimed. Molly, Kat, Jefferson, the Orbiter crew and the sailors from the tanker were all trapped in strange pods. "Max?" Molly said as she woke up. Max and the others started run over to the pods. "Kids! Behind you!" Molly exclaimed when she saw something from behind. As the team turned around, the same water appendage came out and grabbed them. "Looks like we found those chemically manipulated water particles!" Max exclaimed as they struggled in the water's grip. The water swung them around and threw them to the ground. "What the heck was that?" Alex asked. Suddenly, the water started to bubble behind them. "We're about to find out." Max said. Just then, something leapt out of the water and landed in front of them. It was another Elementor, completely made of water. The new Elementor roared at the trespassing heroes.

"Another Elementor!" Xena exclaimed in shock. "You were unwise to seek me out." Water Elementor said as he stomped towards the team and prepared to throw a watery punch. But the team managed to dodge the attack. "Now you shall perish!" Water Elementor exclaimed. He summoned 3 jets of water and fired them at the team. But the team split up and dodged the attack. "We weren't seeking you out. We were looking for the people you snatched." Max said. "So, we'll give you one chance. Release the people or we'll put you on ice." Rayne said. But the Water Elementor just fired several water blasts at the team, forcing them to take cover. "These humans are mine! You lot and your traitorous Ultralink will not take them back!" He exclaimed. Max switched to Flight Mode and took off into the air. The quintuplets ditched their dive suits and changed into their Mana Quint suits. "Steel, do you know this Elementor?" Max asked. "Nope. Pretty sure I would've remembered a 20 ft. water monster." Steel said as the team continued dodging the water attacks. "Fool! I am no monster. I'm an Ultralink just like you." The Water Elementor revealed. "An Ultralink?!" Steel said in shock. Water Elementor summoned a giant wave and knocked Max down with it. The Mana Quints, Alex, Rayne and C.Y.T.R.O. ran to his aid. "You've already met 2 of my brothers. Fire and Earth." Water Elementor said. "We thought so. But we're gonna kick your butt the same way we kicked theirs." Max said.

"First strike's mine, cous." Wandella said. She ran up to the Elementor and prepared a mana-powered punch. But as she threw it, she just passed through the Elementor's watery body, much to everyone's shock. "Is that so?" Water Elementor asked mockingly. Xena and C.Y.T.R.O. started blasting him, but the blasts didn't even phase his watery body. Water Elementor started firing more water blasts at the team. "That's how he's able to control the water. He's an Ultralink. Like me." Steel said, eyeing the Elementor's red core. "And it's the same with Fire and Earth." Zad said. "But even if he has the same weak spot as Fire and Earth, we can't even touch him." Wandella said. "So, how are we gonna beat him if we can't touch him?" Alex asked. Max looked over at the pods. "I'm gonna try and distract him. You guys work on freeing the prisoners." He said. Are you sure, Max?" Vandana asked, unsure. "I'm sure." Max said. He jetted towards the Water Elementor as he continued trying to hit him with jets of water. But one jet finally hit him. "Go Turbo Scuba!" Max called, switching to Scuba Mode and diving into the water. Water Elementor dove in after him. "Alright. Let's get Aunt Molly and the others out of those pods." Yeager said as he and the team ran towards the pods.

Under the water, Water Elementor chased after Max, trying to grab him. But as that failed, Water Elementor started throwing rocks at Max. Just then, as the rock throwing was getting intense, the creature reappeared and attacked Water Elementor. "What?!" Water Elementor exclaimed. The creature blasted him with a powerful water attack. "Amazing. That creature's protecting you like that other one did." Steel said. "Yeah. Pretty cool." Max said. "Wait. We gotta help your mother and the others." Steel said. "Right." Max said as he started swimming back to the cave. But the Water Elementor broke free from the creature's attack, grabbed a large boulder and tossed it at Max, knocking him down as he broke through the surface. "Max!" Xena cried as she and the others turned around and saw him. The boulder shattered as it hit a bunch of stalactites. One of the stalactites fell and opened Jefferson's pod, freeing him. "Yes!" He cheered.

Water Elementor leapt out of the water and walked towards Max. "Hey, water weenie!" Jefferson exclaimed as he ran towards the Elementor. But as he started punching, the punches just passed through the Water Elementor's watery body. "Oh no." He said with worry. Water Elementor swatted him, knocking him back into his pod and locking him up again. "Jefferson!" Zad cried. As Max started to recover, Water Elementor swatted him with his tail, knocking him into his team and into something metal. "Kids!" Molly cried. "Did we win?" Alex asked dizzily as everyone was piled on top of him. As they recovered, they saw what they were knocked into. "Whoa. What's this?" Steel asked. "It looks like some kind of spaceship." Max said. Suddenly, Water Elementor grabbed them and threw them aside, knocking most of them out. "And soon, it will be operational! Soon, I'll be home." He said. As he activated a panel, the pods started glowing from inside. "I repaired this ship with parts from all the other craft you see before you." He explained. As Max started to recover, Water Elementor grabbed him. "But your planet hasn't the fuel to power my craft. So, I came up with a…workaround." The pods started sucking the life out of their prisoners. "It turns out you humans are good for something after all."

"NO!" Max shouted, awakening something inside of him. He started to glow, forcing Steel to de-link from him. Just then, Max's eyes started glowing in pure white. As the others started to recover, they looked on in shock at what was happening. Max's body became covered in fire, hot enough to evaporate Water Elementor's hand. Water Elementor roared in pain as he retracted his hand. Max charged towards the Elementor, leaping on air. Water Elementor started firing more water blasts, but Max motioned his hand and hyrdokinetically caught the blasts in midair. The team watched on in shock as Max merged the blasts into a giant water ball and threw it at Water Elementor, knocking him down. "Whoa. When did Max learn to do that?" Alex asked. "I have no idea." Vandana said. Just then, Max geokinetically started pulling boulders out from the cave walls. "What is he doing?" Zad asked as he and the others watched Max fire the boulders at Water Elementor. The limestone and clay started mixing in his watery body, slowing him down. "No! What are you doing?! I…can't…move!" He exclaimed, feeling his body stiffen up. That's when Steel realized what his partner was doing. "Of course! Max is fusing the limestone and clay into Water Elementor's body. Mixing them with water creates cement!" He exclaimed. Max finished the Water Elementor as he unleashed a powerful combination of fire and air, hardening the cement and trapping him in place.

"Max, the ship!" Vandana exclaimed. The ship was almost finished draining the prisoners and fueling itself. Max unleashed a powerful energy beam combined of all 4 elements and destroyed the panel. The pods shut down and opened up, freeing the prisoners. The Mana Quints, Alex, Rayne and C.Y.T.R.O. helped out Molly, Kat, Jefferson and the others. But then, Max started feeling lightheaded and collapsed to the ground. "Max!" Vandana cried as everyone rushed over to him. As everyone checked on Max, Steel turned his attention to Water Elementor, thinking about what he said. "An Ultralink." He said, eyeing the core.

Later, as Max started to wake up, he found himself back in N-Tek. He was laying on a bed in the medical bay. Everyone was looking over him. "Max, are you okay?" Molly asked with concern. "I think so. What happened?" Max asked as he started to sit up with Alex and Jefferson's help. "Well, you brought a serious smack down on that Water Elementor using some kind of elemental power." Xena said. "Really? But I don't remember anything." Max said, rubbing his forehead. "Here. I took the liberty of recording what happened." Steel said. He played a holographic movie of Max's fight with Water Elementor. Everyone was still shocked to see this. Especially Max and Forge. "I did all that? But I don't remember any of this. The last thing was watching Water Elementor sucking the life out of his hostages." Max said. "Well, after you passed out, that weird sea creature reappeared and helped us get you back to the beach." Zad said. "That actually reminds me, how are you guys feeling?" Max asked, turning to Molly, Kat and Jefferson. "We're just fine, Max." Molly said. "The tanker crew, the shuttle astronauts, they're all safe and accounted for. You kids really saved the day." Kat said. "Not to mention our butts." Jefferson said. "Hey, we do what we can for our friends." Max said. Everyone smiled at that.

"Well, I guess we didn't have much to learn as you thought. Huh, Dad?" Wandella asked. "Yes. Even though Max doesn't remember, great work with the makeshift cement. Where'd you suppose you came up with that?" Forge asked. The team slowly realized. "Wait a minute. That wasn't just a weapons test, was it?" Max asked. "Like I said, you have a lot to learn. My job is to put you kids into positions where you can do just that." Forge explained. "Still, you didn't think we were ready to take on this challenge. But we kinda were." Steel said. "This time. But I won't apologize for holding you kids back. In fact, you kids went against direct orders and-" Forge tried to say. "Whoa. Easy, Uncle Ferrus. We don't want an apology. We just want you to have more faith in us." Max said. The others nodded in agreement. Forge smiled at the kids and nodded in agreement.

"Hey, guys. My nephew just posted something on his blog." Kat said. "Your nephew?" Rayne asked in surprise. "Yes. I have twin nephews, Sherman and Spinner Cortez. Spinner has a blog that helps me keep in touch with them." Kat explained. She showed them the blog on her tablet. There was a picture of a local sheriff exclaiming about hot coffee spilled on his groin. Another picture showed 11 teenagers in strange suits. "Hey, that's my niece, Agura!" Jefferson said, pointing to the African girl in the green suit. "Oy, and that's Stanford!" Berto said, pointing to the boy in the purple suit. "But it can't be. He looks…happy." Rayne said in surprise. "Wait. Isn't that…" Xena started to say, eyeing the young man in a red suit and the young woman in an amaranth purple suit. "Vert and Olivia Wheeler?" Max said in shock. "Your childhood friends? You kids haven't seen those 2 in years." Forge said. That made Max and the Ferrus Quintuplets wonder about what Vert and Olivia were doing these days.

Meanwhile, in an ancient temple far away, a crystal ball started glowing and showed the fight when Max activated his strange power. 20 hooded people watched from the shadows as Max used his new powers to defeat Water Elementor. "Our Avatar has returned. We must bring him to our secret temple to train him at once. Only then, will his destiny to protect our worlds awaken." One of the hoods said. The hoods all started chanting something as the crystal ball's light died out.

Wow! Wasn't that amazing? Ships have gone missing in the ocean outside Copper Canyon. And now Molly, Kat and Jefferson disappeared. Max and his team go to investigate and discover another Elementor made of water. But as the new Elementor charges his hidden ship with human life energy, Max awakens some hidden elemental power and uses it to defeat the Elementor and destroy the energy suction. But what other hidden powers does Max have? Will Max and the Ferrus Quintuplets get a chance to see their childhood friends again? Will Steel go through drastic measures to learn the truth of his past? And who are these weird hooded guys? Leave a review if you'd like.