Disclaimer: Max Steel and other characters belong to Mattel, Sony, KidsWB, and others. I'll tell you when and who any of my characters are.
The begining of a new Max Steel series: Team Steel: Extreme!
Laura Chen's "Welcome Home" party was well underway at Josh McGrath's beach house. Berto --Dr. Reberto Martinez-- was there, along with Josh's adoptive father, Jefferson Smith. In fact, Laura noted, there was only one person that was not present at the party.
I wonder were Max is... she thought. Probibly on some mission or another.
"What's wrong, Laura?" Josh asked.
"Oh," she answered, sighing, "just a little disappointed that Max isn't here." At the look he gave her, she added, "Strictly as a friend, of course."
"Of course," Josh tried to smile.
"Don't be jealous," Laura smiled. "Max is sweet, but I love you." This time, the young man's smile came more easily.
"He's probibly out saving the world --again," Josh commented.
"Probibly," she agreed. Laura put her arms around Josh's neck and pressed her lips to his.
Josh relaxed into the kiss. In the back of his mind, he wondered just what Laura would say if she knew that he --Josh McGrath-- was also the super agent, Max Steel.
It was hours later before the party was over. Josh and Laura said goodbye to their guests before turning to the task of cleaning up. Between the two of them, the work was done within a couple of hours. Then, the couple went into the living room and sat together on the sofa.
"Laura," Josh began.
"Hmm...?" Laura snuggled close to him.
"Why don't you move in with me? I've got plenty of room, if you don't want to share a bedroom."
Laura looked at her boyfriend quizingly. He had never made such a suggestion before. Why now?
"Think about it, at least," he whispered in her ear.
"Max! He's getting away!" Berto warned in Max Steel's ear. The young super-agent chased the would-be terriorist over the rooftops of the city of Del Oro Bay. Max and his partner, Cat, had easily busted up the man's effort to hold the city for ransom, so the villian had taken a small child as his hostage and was now trying to escape with her. Max pursued him over the roofs, while Cat tracked from the street.
"I know, bro!" Max replied. "But he's got a hostage! I gotta do this nice and easy!"
"Why not just hit 'Stealth Mode' and do it 'The Max Steel Way'?" Berto retorted.
"Might as well try it," Max shot back. He hit a small button on his Bio-Link. Instantly, he seemed to disappear.
The terriorist turned back, and was surprised to see that his pursuer had vanished. Had the agent given up?
"Quiet!" he growled to the crying child in his arms. "Or I'll drop you off this roof!"
No sooner were the words out of his mouth, then the terriorist felt a punch to his face. The villian fell to the tarred roof, unconscious. Strong hands had caught the girl before she even hit the surface of the building's top. A press of a button and Max reappeared.
"I don't like people who threaten kids!" Max glared at his fallen foe. Then, he turned his attention to crying girl.
"It's okay, honey," he whispered gently, trying to sooth her tears. He held her close and let her cry on his shoulder.
Poor kid, he thought. When her class went to visit the musuem today, she didn't expect to be kidnapped and threatened by some terriorist with a huge grudge against Del Oro Bay.
Cat climbed up on the roof from the fire escape. She looked from Max and the little girl, then at the felled villian, then back at Max.
"I don't know how you did it; I don't wanna know how you did it..." she shook her head and knelt down to tie the criminal's hands and feet. Max grinned as Cat hefted the terriorist onto her shoulders.
"You take care of her," Cat nodded toward the girl. "I'll see that the police takes care of him". This time, she nodded at the man over her shoulder.
"Right," Max smiled. He lifted the little girl in his arms and carried her into the building.
"Come on, sweetie," Max smiled at the child. "Let's get you to your mommy and daddy."
Max and Cat emerged from the building with their burdens. Carefully, gently, Max handed the little girl over to her mother, and turned to shake the father's hand. Cat dumped her prisoner on the asphalt in front of the police. The officers quickly placed him in the squad car and drove off. Then both agents made a hasty retreat before the reporters arrived.
"You make the report on this one," Max said, when they were far enough away. They ducked into a nearby alley, where Max transformed into Josh. "Josh has a date with Laura."
"Okay," Cat replied. "See ya later." She walked off into the shadows.
Josh walked to where his car was parked and lept into the driver's seat. Flipping a switch, the blue Shadow --Max's car-- changed into Josh's red car. He drove away to pick up Laura for their date.
"That was wonderful, Josh," Laura lifted her arms and put them around her boyfriend's neck.
"I thought you would like that Chinese place," Josh smiled.
"Because I'm..." she began, looking suspiciously into his eyes.
"No. Because they have great food," he smiled back. They had just arrived at Josh's beach house, and were about to go in.
Laura pulled him close and kissed him firmly on the lips. Then, she hugged him and held him close. It was such a beautiful evening. And the dinner was wonderful, although she wondered about the fortune that was in her fortune cookie:
A great secret you will soon learn. Be patiant, and understanding, and, most of all, forgiving.
What "great secret"? she wondered. Something to do with Josh?
"Come on," Josh smiled, disengaging her from his neck. "Let's go inside." Together, the young collage student and his girlfriend entered the house.
Fifteen minutes later, Josh and Laura were curled up on the sofa together, just plain old making out. Laura's hand moved down his left arm. Before her hand got to the wrist, it found the band he wore. In the heat of the moment, Laura didn't notice when she pressed a button and it expanded into a wide band with buttons. Then, her fingers found a certain button on the band...
Laura pulled away and stared in amazement as blond-haired Josh McGrath transformed into brown-haired Max Steel right before her eyes.
"J...J...Josh!" she gasped, still stunned. "Y...y...your...Max?"
Max whirled his head to look in a nearby mirror. His eyes went wide as understanding of what this meant sunk into his mind.
Laura had just witnessed Josh turning into Max, and there was no way for him to deny it.
"Well, Laura," Max began. "It's like this...