a little spaced out

———

“I generate the power, Steel has the alien tech to control it!”

———

The entire premise of this AU hinges on the base suit having enough of Steel’s work in it for Toxzon to extrapolate how Turbo modes work.

Like, I cannot get it off the ground if Steel cannot be removed from the process. Max’s unique biology isn’t even an issue in comparison.

Toxzon is canonically a fucking genius, though. And he’s not working with just the base suit, he’s working with camo mode. The mode whose very fucking existence being discovered would reveal that Max Steel’s transformations have a lot more room for creative liberties than previously believed.

Like, say, a Turbo mode designed to poison the user’s body and mind? Oh, the thought of doing to Max what Max Steel did to him is too poetic to pass up!

That will take time to develop, though. And his test subject is getting a little… volatile after a few hours without his counterpart. A pity.

Fortunately, it’s a much more viable short-term solution to simply alter the virus he’d originally planned to use to turn Max against his mom into something subtler. Something that will pull him under when exposed to certain stimuli rather than completely overtake his consciousness after incubating.

Toxzon has to alter it anyway because his first attempt didn’t work and he ended up having to kidnap this kid to find out why. It paid off massively, though, so Toxzon can’t be too upset about not getting it first try. One can’t account for outliers that are this extreme, after all.

So he modifies the virus to only seek someone like Max as a host, tests its effects on Max, and sends him right on home with maybe an hour to spare before an overload.

Max gets home feeling a little under the weather and very confused about why everyone’s so worried about him taking a walk, but he eats dinner with his mom and goes to bed that night before curfew like nothing’s wrong.

The very next morning another bouquet of roses arrives from his mom’s “secret admirer.” Steel teases him about it, but Max can’t bring himself to stress about it anymore. It’s fine. His mom’s an adult, she can make her own decisions.

And besides, the flowers smell really nice! Can we keep leaving them out, Mom? I like them. They make me wanna go outside, maybe take a walk.

Don’t wait up, Steel! I’ll be back before you know it. Promise.

——

Damn. I’m not usually one for body horror but the shit Max would hear Toxzon planning on doing to him when he’s not entranced in that lab absolutely counts. He’s gonna be in for it.

Too bad he’s usually too out of it when he goes off to meet Toxzon to properly appreciate the horror of it. It’s almost a waste that half of Max Steel won’t even know what hit him. Bah, no matter. His partner and mother will be appalled enough for the three of them!

——

There’s a lot of potential in Toxzon acting fatherly towards Hazard, especially while he’s still working on permanently corrupting him. This shit is gonna take weeks, after all. It’d be hard not to get attached to your pet project, especially when being affectionate gets better results.

———

I have. So many questions. Possibly more than I started with.

Does Max ever actually remove the helmet or does it just look like he does? Actually no nvm we see him eat things—

Are the tactile warping algorithms just meant to change the texture of Max’s “clothes” for other people or does it affect the way they feel to him? If someone touches what looks like bare skin does Max feel a difference in tactile input? Is it actually bare skin??

If it’s not in camo mode does Max have the same sense of touch as if it is? Or is it different? I keep staring at the blue palms of his suit’s gloves and wondering if that’s highlighted for aesthetic purposes or functional ones.

(I also have logistics questions that kinda don’t matter if I just choose to ignore them. Which I will be doing because I don’t think it really matters how showering works with this. I have more important questions.)

Like, can Steel dye Max’s hair??? I’d need to look into how temporary hair dye works (and regular dyes, for that matter) but they’re working with light refraction here so I don’t think pigments would come into play at all. Failing that, wig??

…

God the mental image of Distress!Max and his Steel arguing in a one-person gas station bathroom about what hairstyle he should have.

Steel wants to go with something sooo edgy because they’re rebels, Max! Nobody understands them or their mission! It’s them against the world! They gotta go black and red stripes!! Spiky! No wait, bangs so long they—

Max, who is on his second gas station coffee this hour, grips the sink and says that if Steel makes him look as ridiculous as he did last week he’s going to cause a blackout so massive that NTek will be able to look in this general direction and know they’re here.

Steel just kinda floats there for a second. Then pitches, “platinum with black tips?”

“…that would look cool.”

these are my "serious" ones based on how it seems to work in the show

the suit (and therefore camo's influence) stops at max's neck (perhaps bc since steel stopped himself from suppressing max). as a result, steel can't control anything related to max's mind/face

this incomplete link is why steel can speak in max's mind but max can't return the favor.

steel can 'listen' through the suit while in range

the helmet is something either of them can toggle in base mode (and ig stealth mode too), and is just a preprogrammed command to reconfigure some of the hexes into the helmet. (like you pointed out, the helmet is being properly summoned/dismissed)

while max doesn't feel the weight of the suit, how much tactile feedback he receives depends on the mode/section. ie, in camo mode, its basically what you'd expect based on what you're seeing (skin is skin, clothes feel like clothes to max, and affect his sense of touch accordingly). in base mode, the vents (especially those on the hands) feel like touching something normally, the black lining is slightly dulled, and the silver armor is very dulled. other modes are probably similar with a similar pattern but different calibrations.

and now, my more "self indulgent" hcs (aka hcs that i use in my writing that have no evidence from the show)

I need you to know I read these and felt most of them just kinda slot into my head like CDs onto one of those CDs towers. Like yeah, mhm, yes. These make hella sense.

You have cooked!!! You are so cool!!!

I love the backpack so much, genuinely. I’m a big fan of Having Space To Put My Things and I would’ve stapled that to Max as a hc if it wasn’t already so prevalent.

I’m good with denying him good pockets, though. They could even get away with just making them overtly look like the fashion pockets that are evil and fake. Nobody’s gonna notice or care so they probably won’t, but they could!

I did consider the Distress duo putting pockets on Turbo Stealth so that Steel can have an easier time with the shoplifting. Then I realized Steel can just kinda disguise them camo-style with a motorcycle helmet on or something and steal more boldly if they need a lot more food. Or rob a bank about it.

(There’s a reason they freak the fuck out when Turbo Stealth’s usefulness gets compromised by Berto. It’s how they were getting most of their supplies, one way or another.)

Edit: I start to ramble imma hit a read more.

No YOURE COOKING and YOURE SO COOL!!!

Then I realized Steel can just kinda disguise them camo-style with a motorcycle helmet on or something and steal more boldly if they need a lot more food. Or rob a bank about it.

Mannnn, would hate to be Max if he got confronted during a bolder robbery.

Turbo Warp.

Honestly this mode sounds really cool! Can others follow them through or is it just them? If it's just them, it sounds perfect for quick escapes

Portal size depends on energy input, so they unfortunately still can’t bring the Alphalink through.

Oh no, I know what Distressed!Max and Steel would do if they found Jim's spaceship

PHANTOM CONTACT!!! PHANTOM CONTACT RULES!!!

YES YOU GET IT!!! NOT ONLY IS IT GREAT IN A FIGHT IT IS ALSO FANTASTIC FOR COMFORT!!!

I wonder if Max and Steel ever fuck around to see how complex of an outfit Steel can render. Like those videos of people putting on twenty shirts at once.

oh they totally did. or at least steel did to max's chagrin.

Can Steel affect the temperature of the outfit? Make clothes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer?

CONSIDER IT CONSIDERED!! I've mostly left it at "the suit is thermoregulated" BUT YOURE RIGHT HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE PARTS OF IT COOLER AND WARMER

Please consider this. It has possessed me. All I’m thinking about now is these two nursing each other’s hurts after getting sent home from a battle.

you cannot comprehend the amount of horrors i have put these guys through. it is a passion of mine. (i'm just shy about sharing them--which i'm working on!)

i love your proposals for specifically steel pain! i'm noticing on reflection that i rarely do solo physical pain for steel. in general i'm biased towards emotional/mental anguish over physical pain (ie yea i'll mention the physical pain of jim and max having a turbo detonation when jim puts his hand on max's shoulder, but i'm way more interested in the emotional devastation of max going to give his dad a hug only for jim to pull back bc he's not adequately discharged). if i do do physical hurt/comfort, the hurt's prolly coming from a fight, in which case both max and steel are prollu getting hurt.

but this is a failing on my part. i must tear this ultralink apart. put him in a ven-ghan capsule and shake it around 'til something interesting falls out.

(btw i like making steel a bit clingy after a proper near-death experience. like staying on max's chest during school and managing processes that he usually does automatically. self-soothing by leaning into your instincts or w/e)

EDIT BC I FORGOT STH!!

The hc about Max trying to put the helmet on when he’s flustered or worse is giving major “SecUnit wishing for armor” vibes

i did have that thought as i was typing up these hcs. funnily enough though, i came up w that before reading tmbd. iirr i thiiink i was inspired by this quote from tony weinstock on when to have the helmet on/off in promo materials:

"It's become a guiding principle that when Steel is attached to the suit, he's in superhero mode with the helmet on, but when Steel is floating separately next to him, the helmet is off and he's not in facing danger."

I like to imagine Distress!Max and his Steel are getting each other into messes so often that there’s this unspoken promise of “you started it, we finish it.” It’s meant to help push the blame game off until they’re not getting shot at, but also a reassurance that no matter how fucked things get they’ll always help each other out in the end. How sweet. And codependent as fuck of them—

Others can, in fact, follow those portals through at their own risk. Because as long as Max Steel is in Turbo Warp mode, they can close those things at will! Those portals have trashed many a Cytro.

Thankfully they take a couple days to deliberate on the question of whether it’s more worth it to use the Turbo Chamber now to bring the Alphalink closer sooner or later to ensure they’ll be able to kick Makino’s ass. They ultimately decide that potentially wasting their only guaranteed stockpile of Turbo energy to shoot a portal larger than their planet to roughly where Makino’s fleet is without a way to get more accurate about it is just stupid. Having a guarantee that Makino’s fleet will be here in a couple months will have to do.

They do start getting more serious about having Max contribute to the stockpile in their downtime, though. They know better than to ever have him empty his tank into it all at once, but every little bit squirreled away will help. Eventually.

They need so much more comfort. Like, so much more. In every universe.

Knowing Steel doesn’t need Max’s input or permission to alter camo mode’s look haunts me in a silly way. At any time he can just give Max a funny hat when no one’s looking and take it away before anyone sees. A classic.

Steel said like one or two lines about keeping the suit nice and cool during a fire or whatever and it never left me. Steel, Steel have you just been letting him be cold in the snow or is heating the suit truly beyond you? Steel, answer me!! If you don’t I’m gonna make you capable of it. Take that!!!

Thank you very much for sharing!! I appreciate getting to torment the little guys in the sandbox with you in fun and interesting ways. You are, indeed, really fucking good at it. The passion shows.

*eats the offered slice* Oh that’s so fucking tasty. Little bite-sized angst <3 Trade you!!

——

If the very first thing Jim McGrath ever fucking does to Distress!Max and Distress!Steel is flinch away?

Oh. Ohoho no.

Max probably knew this was a thing before they even met, but it still hurts him so much he cracks the ground with how tightly he grips it to keep from reaching out to his dad again. To keep from feeling this rejection again. He doesn’t know what to do. Steel’s trying to up their dampeners in case that will help and his dad’s trying to explain it’s not Max’s fault but- but—

Then Makino appears. What a lovely way to drain his Turbo energy reserves and lash out about this justifiably in one fell swoop!! Steel pulls up their entire roster of modes, including a few they cooked up solely to bring Makino pain. They get to work.

What an impression Max must be making on his father, he can’t help but think. It’s fine. It’s fine. They’re so close. They just have to finish it!! Then- then they can explain and someone will believe them. Everyone will have to believe them now!

…and having Jim step up to help them finish off Makino feels like validation. Like a real victory, after so so long. Seeing his father look at them afterwards with wonder, with relief, with pride!

It’s everything they wanted, for real. And it’s theirs!

And no one is going to take it from them ever again.

——

(Or, in other words, Jim unknowingly making them a lot better and a lot worse right off the bat. I like to spin about how the reunion must go when Max Steel pulls up to the busted Daedalus Platform with Jim McGrath in his arms. Vindicated and deeply insecure all at once.)

I feel like a part of it is also that we never see Steel retain physical injury. Like, we hear him scream or groan, but it’s difficult to map what that’s doing to him. We know what Max’s hurt must look like even if they never show us blood or bruises. We have a point of comparison.

The best we got for Steel is those flashes of his code from his pov or Berto’s screens and his glitchy ramblings. We can do better. We can do more. I believe in us!!!

Steel probably being a lot chattier while he’s clinging too. We’ve seen him backseat drive in conversations so often it’d feel strange to not have him cut in as much if he’s feeling out of sorts.

…unless that’s the point. Unless he is inclined to do that and clamps down on the impulse when he doesn’t want Max to know he’s still hurting. Thus becoming way too quiet. But, well, he’d say something if he needed anything, right? Steel knows he can count on Max. It’s probably fine.

And codependent as fuck of them—

Your honor, they’re codependent in every universe. But I love that they figured out to postpone the blame game until after the disaster resolves. The world is a lot more dangerous when you have no backup.

(Though that makes me wonder—would Max and Steel agree to a spontaneous team-up with N-Tek or Molly to tackle a threat, only to have to run for the hills when the fighting wraps up? Yknow, before those weapons turn onto them? Or, worse, before they try persuading them to come back?)

Others can, in fact, follow those portals through at their own risk. Because as long as Max Steel is in Turbo Warp mode, they can close those things at will! Those portals have trashed many a Cytro.

Yikes, that can get ugly real fast if, lets say, Forge himself tries hopping through those portals.

They need so much more comfort. Like, so much more. In every universe.

They dooo. Even canon loves hitting the cast with 'hurt/minimal comfort', especially in season two. (I say 'the cast' cuz yea there's a lot of this with Max and Steel, but goddamn, when I was watching the show the first time I was not expecting Toxzon to become severely depressed following Fishy's death.)

Steel have you just been letting him be cold in the snow or is heating the suit truly beyond you

i assume he can heat the suit as well since max never complains about the cold, even when they go to antarctica.

I feel like a part of it is also that we never see Steel retain physical injury.

Not only that, but he's often the first to recover between the two. Like there's quite a few scenes where Max is really struggling for consciousness and Steel's like "cmon bro now's not the time." it paints him as a lot more physically resilient... at least until you start fucking with his code. (Or he gets thrown like a boomerang.)

...Now I'm thinking about the one time we see Steel pass out in a fight before Max (or at least the one I remember): end of episode 1, the fight versus Fire. Makes me wonder if Steel turned down the amount of physical feedback he gets from the suit after that (can he even do that???).

(If you want steel hurt btw, while the s4 movies aren't good and in fact lose the core of the show in an attempt to cash in on the 'hero team' trend, steel loses an arm in the second one (which is a zombie flick) and max has to put him back together)

(also the "s4 movies" introduce berto's younger sister, rayne martinez, who is so much fun as a character. her existence is the only thing i keep as canon from that duology (if you see them you'll understand why))

Steel probably being a lot chattier while he’s clinging too. We’ve seen him backseat drive in conversations so often it’d feel strange to not have him cut in as much if he’s feeling out of sorts. …unless that’s the point. Unless he is inclined to do that and clamps down on the impulse when he doesn’t want Max to know he’s still hurting.

i spin around in little dizzy circles thinking about this. i feel like if he's enough out of sorts he just doesn't have the energy or focus to be a chatterbox.

aside from though i can kinda see him doing either depending on the specific circumstances? on the one hand, if he's focusing on their surroundings, him being chattier makes sense, either cuz he's understimulated (story of steel's life tbh), or he's trying to put on a brave face/act like things are normal (for either his own or max's benefit). but i can also see him finding a project to work on, causing him to be quiet just cuz he's not paying enough attention to backseat drive. (ie, between s2e13 and s2e14, i hc him as trying to figure out if he can 'see through max's eyes', bc being blinded by the virus really freaked him out. it doesn't go well, but that's his 'project')

Until Max outright claims that something came to him in a dream and the thing he lowkey feared happens: he gets dismissed about it. They start worrying about if he’s getting enough rest. Is everything okay at school? Maybe he should go home early today.

Just Molly asking all these questions about his health and wellbeing that she kind of wasn’t before. And it grates on Max. Because he is fine and he asked a question.

Suddenly, he’s got an attitude. Suddenly, being tired isn’t an excuse to be short with people! It’s “Max you can talk to us” one moment and “that’s not up for discussion” the next! Do you really want to know what’s wrong or do you just want him to stop being a problem?? Because it feels like nobody’s even listening to what he’s saying.

And then the dreams that hurt start. Max shuts everyone except Steel out as they try to figure out what the fuck he’s seeing. There’s a week where Max just doesn’t go on patrol and blows off NTek training and starts cutting class to spend more time alone at home. To spend as much time linked-sleeping as he can so they can search for clues as to where the fuck his dad was.

Where his dad is.

And isn’t that a bombshell? Isn’t that a miracle and a tragedy and a other fragile million things. Max and Steel spend the better part of an afternoon just kind of laying on his rug about it. Processing. Then—

Max: I can’t tell Mom.

Steel: What? Why not? This is huge! We just found out your dad is alive and being used to fuel a world-eater! We need to shout this from the rooftops!

Max: …and then what?

Steel: Then we gear up and kick some- uh… Hm.

Max: I wanna tell her. Believe me, I want everyone to know. Whether they help or not I just- I want it to be real! Is that awful of me? To wish Dad’s alive even if t means he’s in pain somewhere?

Steel: No, no, I get what you mean. I thought getting to know him again through these dreams you’ve been having was enough. Getting another chance to keep his memory alive, do work he’d be proud of. But knowing he’s out there? That we can save him? It changes everything!

Max: Can we save him? I mean, isn’t that thing big enough to eat planets? God, why’s the first bit of hope we get gotta feel so impossible? It feels like I’m actually crazy for thinking we could do it!!

Steel: Then let’s be crazy! Max, all I’ve wanted since the day I met you again is to understand who I am. To feel like myself again and know what that even means. Thanks to these dreams, I finally got some answers. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t feel as complete as I do! So if you wanna do something nuts like fight Makino, then I’m right there with ya, Turbro! One hundred percent.

Max: Steel…

Steel: Just say the word, Max.

Max: I think- I think I wanna try telling Mom about this. Just in case… I mean, it’s about Dad! She deserves to hear it even if she doesn’t believe me.

Steel: Then that’s what we’ll do. But, Max, what if she doesn’t believe you?

Max: …then we do this on our own. Dad can’t wait for us to convince them, if we even can. We’ll find a way with or without them.

And then they tell his mom and it goes… well? It goes really well, actually. Better than expected! The start got a little rocky but by the end of it his mom was on the same page as them. She asked questions and was more patient with them than she’s been in… Max can’t even remember how long. It’s such a relief that Max hugs her afterwards and thanks her for finally listening. They’ll figure out a way to help Dad, he promises.

That brief moment of trust is what makes it all the more painful to learn later that Molly immediately turned around and told Forge about this. That something is seriously wrong. Max is losing touch with reality, more so than ever before. They need to act now before they lose him.

It’s coming from a place of concern, but it’s also how she ends up losing them. Both of them.

After that first failed capture, Max and Steel never take an offer of support or mercy or forgiveness from NTek seriously ever again. They know better now.

Anyway, slice aside, NTek does know that Max Steel’s ultimate goal is to bring a dead man home alive. It doesn’t change much about how they handle the situation. Not up until these boys succeed and everyone has to choke on what that means.

If NTek and Jim aren’t careful during that reunion it might pivot into a kidnapping real fast. Or a much more concerning missing person’s case as everyone tries to look for a Max that’s more distraught than he’s ever been and a Steel who’s pissed at just another betrayal. Including his villain contacts who might catch wind of NTek’s mad scramble to find them. What an opportunity.

But only if Jim and NTek fuck it up. They’ve got a chance to end it all here. Maybe not fix it, but reign in a couple stressed boys before they’re well and truly beyond help. Beyond accepting help.

But yeah Toxzon losing Fishy got me fucked up. It felt wrong to watch. A great tragedy, that way.

When we see Max and Steel go to Antarctica to get the Turbo Star I remember Max shivering comically. I could be wrong. But he’s not shivering when the island freezes over so I wonder if it matters.

I’ll look for the season 4 movies when I feel like sitting down to pick something over for scraps then. o7

YAAAAY!!! Spins you!!

goddamn, molly, that has to be the worst fumble. i can’t fully blame her bc she is concerned, but its accurate (and disappointing) to see her jump to her own conclusions while ignoring max’s experience. cuz like, if she had a normal human son, hearing that her son is having visions of his dead dad is a prolly a sign that he needs therapy. but she doesnt have a human son, she has a half-human son thats linked with an ultralink, something that they dont know the consequences of. i mean max prolly needs therapy anyway, but its wild to not like. run a sleep experiment comparing their normal sleep to these so-called ‘visions’.

okay its actually super believable based on how mule-headed molly and forge can be when they’ve made up their minds, but like. berto. you have sway. youre friends with both of these guys. you’re the chief science guy. berto do something. (unless hes also being kept out of the loop <.<)

When we see Max and Steel go to Antarctica to get the Turbo Star I remember Max shivering comically.

That’s also why it had to start small. They’d already been forming their own conclusions about how Max was finding out any of what he thought he knew. Sneaking around, hacking, eavesdropping, those sorts of things. Things we know Max and Steel to be capable of. Things they probably actually were doing too.

And now Max comes out with probably the wildest claim of all. Imagine being Molly and being told the husband you saw implode before your very eyes is actually still alive. And he’s suffering.

Denial runs in the family, clearly.

Forge refusing to believe that Steel hasn’t regressed to his core programming and gone evil because the alternative is more damning. The alternative is that he chose to believe the worst of an old friend and it’s cost him his nephew. That it could kill his nephew and it’d be his fault for keeping them both at arm’s length.

Molly unwilling to let go of Jim’s death or the idea she has in her head of who her son is, because doing so would mean she made the wrong call. That he son came to her for help and she wasn’t helping by bringing this up the chain of command. That her son really did turn out this way when she wasn’t looking and she has no idea how to fix it.

Max clinging to this goal with all he is because if they fail to save his dad then what was it all for? They have to be able to do this, saving his dad has to be worth it. Anything less and he’ll never recover.

(Honorable mention to Steel who isn’t blood related to these people but is doubling and tripling down on what he thinks needs to be done. Max’s heart is in the right place and Steel appreciates the optimism when Max has the energy for it, really he does, but it won’t help them. It wont protect them. It won’t feed Max. Crime will. Steel will.)

——

Also shoutout to Berto who probably did suggest a sleep study or something similar to Forge to see if there was anything substantial here and got forbidden from indulging Max’s “delusion.”

I did spin last night about a potential meeting in civvies between Berto and the boys. Maybe set shortly after they run away. Before anything too drastic starts happening.

They probably shook off NTek’s initial pursuit and flew to the apartment to pack a bag. They didn’t have one ready because they didn’t think they’d need one. For all their worrying and frustrations, getting betrayed like this never felt like it’s actually happen. So they just kind of panic-packed Max’s backpack and bounced.

It’s been maybe a week since then and Berto’s been burning both ends of the candle trying to find these two. In the hopes of swerving away from burnout for just a little longer, he goes to pick up takeout for everyone. Jefferson would’ve done it but he’s with Kat doing sweeps of the canyons.

Imagine Berto’s surprise when on his break from looking for Max he ends up finding him standing off to the side of a corner store.

And, like, Max looks rough.

The new hood on his jacket is up and he’s got a death grip on a backpack strap. Max looks every bit like he’s expecting Dredd himself to step around the corner any second.

The poor guy is shaking, though whether it’s from exhaustion or nerves Berto can’t really tell. He seems like he’s arguing with himself, though from the sounds of it he’s trying to talk Steel down from—

“We’re not desperate yet.” Max hisses under his breath. “I’ve still got this month’s allowance. That’s probably enough for- what? No, I know I can get away with once a day. It’s fine, you don’t have to- gah!”

His posture changes so abruptly that if Berto had blinked he might’ve missed it. Max stands taller, more alert, and walks up to the store’s automatic doors.

Without even thinking, Berto calls out, “Hey, Max! ¿Que paso?”

Max, no, Steel falters mid-step. He hurriedly moves away from the store entrance and sprints into the adjacent alley.

Berto follows in time to see Max and Steel change into Turbo Flight mode. “No! Can you hold on a sec? I’m not here to catch you!”

“Like we’d really believe that!” Steel says. The suit’s wings shift and start to glow like they’re bracing for takeoff. Oh boy. He blew it. “What else would you be here for?”

The only correct answer to that is to raise the bags in his hand a little higher. “Lunch.”

The light of the Flight suit’s wings dims considerably. After a moment’s pause, their posture goes slack like they’ve been cut loose from hidden strings. They shift their weight, wary and willing to flee, but not yet. Their helmet tilts just so, curious.

It’s Max that asks him, “…what’d you get?”

“For myself? I got some chicken lo mein.” Berto shakes the bags a little. Their wings do this little twitch that might not have been voluntary. That’s interesting. And a reminder to Berto they can just leave at any moment if he botches this. “But if I came back from my lunch break empty-handed you know I’d never hear the end of it, so I got the usual.”

Garlic shrimp, potstickers, pork egg foo young, vegetable fried rice, and an absurd amount of spring rolls. The works.

“Berto…” Max sighs and puts a hand on the back of his neck. “Look, man, I know Forge would probably tell you to starve us out—“

Steel interjects. “Don’t give him ideas!”

“—but you know us!” Max pleads. He spreads his arms out. “You know we’re not gonna do anything crazy. So can’t NTek just chill out? The patrols are getting ridiculous!”

Berto hates that his first thought was that Steel wasn’t far from doing something crazy not two minutes ago. Obviously he doesn’t say that, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

“Believe me, I think it’s overkill too. Commander Forge is being way too hard on you guys for this.” To Berto’s knowledge they’ve only done some breaking and entering into restricted NTek and THI sectors. Which they do sometimes anyway. That’s hardly enough to warrant all this. “How have you been holding up?”

Clearly not well, but anything they can tell him is better than just assuming the worst.

“We’ve- we’re hanging in there.” Max says. It sounds like he wants to believe it.

“We’re doing terribly and I blame Forge for it.” Steel corrects. Then he pops off of Max’s chest and points at the bags. “Hey, here’s an idea! You should give us Forge’s lunch! It’s not like he’ll miss it.”

Berto pulls the bag with the veggie fried rice and some of the spring rolls apart from the others. “Well—“

“Steel!”

Those two bicker until Berto just sets all of the takeout bags on the ground. “¡Ay no! Looks like I dropped them.”

They stare at him. He stares at them. He takes a few big steps back for good measure.”

“Guess I’ll have to—“ There’s a loud whir-whoosh noise as Max Steel tears out of the alley. It ruffles Berto’s jacket hard enough that he has to pull it closed with one hand.

When he looks down, the bags are gone.

At least they didn’t rob the corner store.

——

Berto who knows he’s doing the wrong thing but also if he pulls his punches too much Forge will notice and he’ll be out next. Which helps no one.

What can you do besides buy lunch twice a couple times a week? At least until Max and Steel stop trusting handouts. That was heartbreaking. If he had a time machine he’d tell himself to leave Turbo Stealth alone. But hindsight and all that. All he can really do is be more careful going forward.

Somebody has to.

——

Forge will notice and he’ll be out next. Which helps no one.

Godddd this line. I love it, the frustration at management, the guilt at following Forge's orders, but the hope that this will be worth it because maybe you can cause enough good from the inside to outweigh it.

Anyways shoots the writers how dare you be inconsistent with the suit’s temperature regulation for a laugh?? Have you no integrity?? For shame!!!

The point of this AU has always been to answer the question of not if these two would ever knowingly commit crimes, but how and why?

The shortest and simplest answer is I’m holding Jim McGrath hostage. The slightly longer answer is that in order to get both Steel and Max to bend on their morals, no one else can be allowed to.

There can be no genuine points of give or compromise from Molly and Forge in the early days of it, for example, or Max will crumple and fold and never leave his assigned box. Max can still care about what they think, he can want their good opinions, but if he is in a position to directly seek their approval then he’s harder to compromise. He needs a reason to leave. There has to be a “greater good” to chase out the door that’s compelling enough to keep him from backtracking.

Hence, Jim McGrath in tangible, perceivable peril. Right after deepening Max’s connection to him enough that Max cares about him so much more than even in canon. Enough to risk everything, with enough other pressures.

What are those other pressures?

Semi-unwilling isolation, perceived betrayals, chronic self-imposed sleep-deprivation, peer pressure, sunk cost, the homelessness, and some good old “ends justify the means” flavor of denial for good measure.

Okay, how do we maintain that pressure for long enough to get this thing off the ground?

Well. Jefferson and Kat and Berto have to stay within their places or it risks Molly and Forge bending. Those two are stubborn as shit but if enough other people started backing Max and Steel on this they’d have to consider it or risk total mutiny. It’d be impractical, at that point, and even if I make Forge be irrational in the name of maintaining control the way he sometimes is it wouldn’t be enough. So no support from friends or family allowed.

Okay. Well, in that case, Max can’t sound like he’s in the right to his loved ones. They have to be willing to stand in his way or act directly in opposition to him for some reason. The most obvious one is that they think it’s for his benefit. That he’s not taking care of himself or that he’s gonna get himself hurt or that he doesn’t know what’s good for him. That sort of thing.

Steel being seen as a bad influence is initially just him catching strays. That’s before he starts making Max an accessory to crimes that are for his benefit first and foremost. So, self-fulfilling prophecies and all that. The only thing needed for Steel to break the law has kinda always been a good risk-reward ratio.

And Max not objecting, but we can bend that here. A little friction between them won’t break things down because they love each other and they need each other and they don’t really have anyone else. Codependency saves the day!!

So Jim McGrath is a damsel, Max sounds crazy, no one Max loves is allowed to truly support him in any way that matters to his feelings even if they want to, and Steel’s willing to cross any massive gaps in morality that are needed even if it upsets him too.

…damn.

Somehow, trying to write a villain au without mind control at the center of it has ended up with everyone miserable! Gosh, I wonder how that happened. (/silly)

——

Not to say that anything I write where I’m allowed to make Max heavily compromised is gonna be fluff central. *Looks through my concepts bin.* Oh, not in the fucking slightest.

I got one I’ve yet to spin where instead of making Molly into Toxiana, Toxzon’s plan was to kidnap Molly McGrath’s son to turn him against her. It just so happens that Maxwell McGrath is someone of interest to Toxzon all on his own. How lucky! This will require a bit more experimentation to see through, but that’s their favorite part! Isn’t that right, Fishy?

Hello, Hazard.

——

Turn into a Swordman

me: Are you fucking kidding me Larius I told you to do that outside, now it's gonna smell like ass in here all day

my elf roommate: *puffs a perfect ring of smoke* What Is A Day In A Life That Lasts Centuries?

me: not everybody lives as long as you dude. put that thing away

my elf roommate: That Is Not What Thy Mother Said

me: hilarious

———

I have. So many questions. Possibly more than I started with.

Does Max ever actually remove the helmet or does it just look like he does? Actually no nvm we see him eat things—

Are the tactile warping algorithms just meant to change the texture of Max’s “clothes” for other people or does it affect the way they feel to him? If someone touches what looks like bare skin does Max feel a difference in tactile input? Is it actually bare skin??

If it’s not in camo mode does Max have the same sense of touch as if it is? Or is it different? I keep staring at the blue palms of his suit’s gloves and wondering if that’s highlighted for aesthetic purposes or functional ones.

(I also have logistics questions that kinda don’t matter if I just choose to ignore them. Which I will be doing because I don’t think it really matters how showering works with this. I have more important questions.)

Like, can Steel dye Max’s hair??? I’d need to look into how temporary hair dye works (and regular dyes, for that matter) but they’re working with light refraction here so I don’t think pigments would come into play at all. Failing that, wig??

…

God the mental image of Distress!Max and his Steel arguing in a one-person gas station bathroom about what hairstyle he should have.

Steel wants to go with something sooo edgy because they’re rebels, Max! Nobody understands them or their mission! It’s them against the world! They gotta go black and red stripes!! Spiky! No wait, bangs so long they—

Max, who is on his second gas station coffee this hour, grips the sink and says that if Steel makes him look as ridiculous as he did last week he’s going to cause a blackout so massive that NTek will be able to look in this general direction and know they’re here.

Steel just kinda floats there for a second. Then pitches, “platinum with black tips?”

“…that would look cool.”

these are my "serious" ones based on how it seems to work in the show

the suit (and therefore camo's influence) stops at max's neck (perhaps bc since steel stopped himself from suppressing max). as a result, steel can't control anything related to max's mind/face

this incomplete link is why steel can speak in max's mind but max can't return the favor.

steel can 'listen' through the suit while in range

the helmet is something either of them can toggle in base mode (and ig stealth mode too), and is just a preprogrammed command to reconfigure some of the hexes into the helmet. (like you pointed out, the helmet is being properly summoned/dismissed)

while max doesn't feel the weight of the suit, how much tactile feedback he receives depends on the mode/section. ie, in camo mode, its basically what you'd expect based on what you're seeing (skin is skin, clothes feel like clothes to max, and affect his sense of touch accordingly). in base mode, the vents (especially those on the hands) feel like touching something normally, the black lining is slightly dulled, and the silver armor is very dulled. other modes are probably similar with a similar pattern but different calibrations.

and now, my more "self indulgent" hcs (aka hcs that i use in my writing that have no evidence from the show)

I need you to know I read these and felt most of them just kinda slot into my head like CDs onto one of those CDs towers. Like yeah, mhm, yes. These make hella sense.

You have cooked!!! You are so cool!!!

I love the backpack so much, genuinely. I’m a big fan of Having Space To Put My Things and I would’ve stapled that to Max as a hc if it wasn’t already so prevalent.

I’m good with denying him good pockets, though. They could even get away with just making them overtly look like the fashion pockets that are evil and fake. Nobody’s gonna notice or care so they probably won’t, but they could!

I did consider the Distress duo putting pockets on Turbo Stealth so that Steel can have an easier time with the shoplifting. Then I realized Steel can just kinda disguise them camo-style with a motorcycle helmet on or something and steal more boldly if they need a lot more food. Or rob a bank about it.

(There’s a reason they freak the fuck out when Turbo Stealth’s usefulness gets compromised by Berto. It’s how they were getting most of their supplies, one way or another.)

Edit: I start to ramble imma hit a read more.

No YOURE COOKING and YOURE SO COOL!!!

Then I realized Steel can just kinda disguise them camo-style with a motorcycle helmet on or something and steal more boldly if they need a lot more food. Or rob a bank about it.

Mannnn, would hate to be Max if he got confronted during a bolder robbery.

Turbo Warp.

Honestly this mode sounds really cool! Can others follow them through or is it just them? If it's just them, it sounds perfect for quick escapes

Portal size depends on energy input, so they unfortunately still can’t bring the Alphalink through.

Oh no, I know what Distressed!Max and Steel would do if they found Jim's spaceship

PHANTOM CONTACT!!! PHANTOM CONTACT RULES!!!

YES YOU GET IT!!! NOT ONLY IS IT GREAT IN A FIGHT IT IS ALSO FANTASTIC FOR COMFORT!!!

I wonder if Max and Steel ever fuck around to see how complex of an outfit Steel can render. Like those videos of people putting on twenty shirts at once.

oh they totally did. or at least steel did to max's chagrin.

Can Steel affect the temperature of the outfit? Make clothes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer?

CONSIDER IT CONSIDERED!! I've mostly left it at "the suit is thermoregulated" BUT YOURE RIGHT HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE PARTS OF IT COOLER AND WARMER

Please consider this. It has possessed me. All I’m thinking about now is these two nursing each other’s hurts after getting sent home from a battle.

you cannot comprehend the amount of horrors i have put these guys through. it is a passion of mine. (i'm just shy about sharing them--which i'm working on!)

i love your proposals for specifically steel pain! i'm noticing on reflection that i rarely do solo physical pain for steel. in general i'm biased towards emotional/mental anguish over physical pain (ie yea i'll mention the physical pain of jim and max having a turbo detonation when jim puts his hand on max's shoulder, but i'm way more interested in the emotional devastation of max going to give his dad a hug only for jim to pull back bc he's not adequately discharged). if i do do physical hurt/comfort, the hurt's prolly coming from a fight, in which case both max and steel are prollu getting hurt.

but this is a failing on my part. i must tear this ultralink apart. put him in a ven-ghan capsule and shake it around 'til something interesting falls out.

(btw i like making steel a bit clingy after a proper near-death experience. like staying on max's chest during school and managing processes that he usually does automatically. self-soothing by leaning into your instincts or w/e)

EDIT BC I FORGOT STH!!

The hc about Max trying to put the helmet on when he’s flustered or worse is giving major “SecUnit wishing for armor” vibes

i did have that thought as i was typing up these hcs. funnily enough though, i came up w that before reading tmbd. iirr i thiiink i was inspired by this quote from tony weinstock on when to have the helmet on/off in promo materials:

"It's become a guiding principle that when Steel is attached to the suit, he's in superhero mode with the helmet on, but when Steel is floating separately next to him, the helmet is off and he's not in facing danger."

I like to imagine Distress!Max and his Steel are getting each other into messes so often that there’s this unspoken promise of “you started it, we finish it.” It’s meant to help push the blame game off until they’re not getting shot at, but also a reassurance that no matter how fucked things get they’ll always help each other out in the end. How sweet. And codependent as fuck of them—

Others can, in fact, follow those portals through at their own risk. Because as long as Max Steel is in Turbo Warp mode, they can close those things at will! Those portals have trashed many a Cytro.

Thankfully they take a couple days to deliberate on the question of whether it’s more worth it to use the Turbo Chamber now to bring the Alphalink closer sooner or later to ensure they’ll be able to kick Makino’s ass. They ultimately decide that potentially wasting their only guaranteed stockpile of Turbo energy to shoot a portal larger than their planet to roughly where Makino’s fleet is without a way to get more accurate about it is just stupid. Having a guarantee that Makino’s fleet will be here in a couple months will have to do.

They do start getting more serious about having Max contribute to the stockpile in their downtime, though. They know better than to ever have him empty his tank into it all at once, but every little bit squirreled away will help. Eventually.

They need so much more comfort. Like, so much more. In every universe.

Knowing Steel doesn’t need Max’s input or permission to alter camo mode’s look haunts me in a silly way. At any time he can just give Max a funny hat when no one’s looking and take it away before anyone sees. A classic.

Steel said like one or two lines about keeping the suit nice and cool during a fire or whatever and it never left me. Steel, Steel have you just been letting him be cold in the snow or is heating the suit truly beyond you? Steel, answer me!! If you don’t I’m gonna make you capable of it. Take that!!!

Thank you very much for sharing!! I appreciate getting to torment the little guys in the sandbox with you in fun and interesting ways. You are, indeed, really fucking good at it. The passion shows.

*eats the offered slice* Oh that’s so fucking tasty. Little bite-sized angst <3 Trade you!!

——

If the very first thing Jim McGrath ever fucking does to Distress!Max and Distress!Steel is flinch away?

Oh. Ohoho no.

Max probably knew this was a thing before they even met, but it still hurts him so much he cracks the ground with how tightly he grips it to keep from reaching out to his dad again. To keep from feeling this rejection again. He doesn’t know what to do. Steel’s trying to up their dampeners in case that will help and his dad’s trying to explain it’s not Max’s fault but- but—

Then Makino appears. What a lovely way to drain his Turbo energy reserves and lash out about this justifiably in one fell swoop!! Steel pulls up their entire roster of modes, including a few they cooked up solely to bring Makino pain. They get to work.

What an impression Max must be making on his father, he can’t help but think. It’s fine. It’s fine. They’re so close. They just have to finish it!! Then- then they can explain and someone will believe them. Everyone will have to believe them now!

…and having Jim step up to help them finish off Makino feels like validation. Like a real victory, after so so long. Seeing his father look at them afterwards with wonder, with relief, with pride!

It’s everything they wanted, for real. And it’s theirs!

And no one is going to take it from them ever again.

——

(Or, in other words, Jim unknowingly making them a lot better and a lot worse right off the bat. I like to spin about how the reunion must go when Max Steel pulls up to the busted Daedalus Platform with Jim McGrath in his arms. Vindicated and deeply insecure all at once.)

I feel like a part of it is also that we never see Steel retain physical injury. Like, we hear him scream or groan, but it’s difficult to map what that’s doing to him. We know what Max’s hurt must look like even if they never show us blood or bruises. We have a point of comparison.

The best we got for Steel is those flashes of his code from his pov or Berto’s screens and his glitchy ramblings. We can do better. We can do more. I believe in us!!!

Steel probably being a lot chattier while he’s clinging too. We’ve seen him backseat drive in conversations so often it’d feel strange to not have him cut in as much if he’s feeling out of sorts.

…unless that’s the point. Unless he is inclined to do that and clamps down on the impulse when he doesn’t want Max to know he’s still hurting. Thus becoming way too quiet. But, well, he’d say something if he needed anything, right? Steel knows he can count on Max. It’s probably fine.

And codependent as fuck of them—

Your honor, they’re codependent in every universe. But I love that they figured out to postpone the blame game until after the disaster resolves. The world is a lot more dangerous when you have no backup.

(Though that makes me wonder—would Max and Steel agree to a spontaneous team-up with N-Tek or Molly to tackle a threat, only to have to run for the hills when the fighting wraps up? Yknow, before those weapons turn onto them? Or, worse, before they try persuading them to come back?)

Others can, in fact, follow those portals through at their own risk. Because as long as Max Steel is in Turbo Warp mode, they can close those things at will! Those portals have trashed many a Cytro.

Yikes, that can get ugly real fast if, lets say, Forge himself tries hopping through those portals.

They need so much more comfort. Like, so much more. In every universe.

They dooo. Even canon loves hitting the cast with 'hurt/minimal comfort', especially in season two. (I say 'the cast' cuz yea there's a lot of this with Max and Steel, but goddamn, when I was watching the show the first time I was not expecting Toxzon to become severely depressed following Fishy's death.)

Steel have you just been letting him be cold in the snow or is heating the suit truly beyond you

i assume he can heat the suit as well since max never complains about the cold, even when they go to antarctica.

I feel like a part of it is also that we never see Steel retain physical injury.

Not only that, but he's often the first to recover between the two. Like there's quite a few scenes where Max is really struggling for consciousness and Steel's like "cmon bro now's not the time." it paints him as a lot more physically resilient... at least until you start fucking with his code. (Or he gets thrown like a boomerang.)

...Now I'm thinking about the one time we see Steel pass out in a fight before Max (or at least the one I remember): end of episode 1, the fight versus Fire. Makes me wonder if Steel turned down the amount of physical feedback he gets from the suit after that (can he even do that???).

(If you want steel hurt btw, while the s4 movies aren't good and in fact lose the core of the show in an attempt to cash in on the 'hero team' trend, steel loses an arm in the second one (which is a zombie flick) and max has to put him back together)

(also the "s4 movies" introduce berto's younger sister, rayne martinez, who is so much fun as a character. her existence is the only thing i keep as canon from that duology (if you see them you'll understand why))

Steel probably being a lot chattier while he’s clinging too. We’ve seen him backseat drive in conversations so often it’d feel strange to not have him cut in as much if he’s feeling out of sorts. …unless that’s the point. Unless he is inclined to do that and clamps down on the impulse when he doesn’t want Max to know he’s still hurting.

i spin around in little dizzy circles thinking about this. i feel like if he's enough out of sorts he just doesn't have the energy or focus to be a chatterbox.

aside from though i can kinda see him doing either depending on the specific circumstances? on the one hand, if he's focusing on their surroundings, him being chattier makes sense, either cuz he's understimulated (story of steel's life tbh), or he's trying to put on a brave face/act like things are normal (for either his own or max's benefit). but i can also see him finding a project to work on, causing him to be quiet just cuz he's not paying enough attention to backseat drive. (ie, between s2e13 and s2e14, i hc him as trying to figure out if he can 'see through max's eyes', bc being blinded by the virus really freaked him out. it doesn't go well, but that's his 'project')

Until Max outright claims that something came to him in a dream and the thing he lowkey feared happens: he gets dismissed about it. They start worrying about if he’s getting enough rest. Is everything okay at school? Maybe he should go home early today.

Just Molly asking all these questions about his health and wellbeing that she kind of wasn’t before. And it grates on Max. Because he is fine and he asked a question.

Suddenly, he’s got an attitude. Suddenly, being tired isn’t an excuse to be short with people! It’s “Max you can talk to us” one moment and “that’s not up for discussion” the next! Do you really want to know what’s wrong or do you just want him to stop being a problem?? Because it feels like nobody’s even listening to what he’s saying.

And then the dreams that hurt start. Max shuts everyone except Steel out as they try to figure out what the fuck he’s seeing. There’s a week where Max just doesn’t go on patrol and blows off NTek training and starts cutting class to spend more time alone at home. To spend as much time linked-sleeping as he can so they can search for clues as to where the fuck his dad was.

Where his dad is.

And isn’t that a bombshell? Isn’t that a miracle and a tragedy and a other fragile million things. Max and Steel spend the better part of an afternoon just kind of laying on his rug about it. Processing. Then—

Max: I can’t tell Mom.

Steel: What? Why not? This is huge! We just found out your dad is alive and being used to fuel a world-eater! We need to shout this from the rooftops!

Max: …and then what?

Steel: Then we gear up and kick some- uh… Hm.

Max: I wanna tell her. Believe me, I want everyone to know. Whether they help or not I just- I want it to be real! Is that awful of me? To wish Dad’s alive even if t means he’s in pain somewhere?

Steel: No, no, I get what you mean. I thought getting to know him again through these dreams you’ve been having was enough. Getting another chance to keep his memory alive, do work he’d be proud of. But knowing he’s out there? That we can save him? It changes everything!

Max: Can we save him? I mean, isn’t that thing big enough to eat planets? God, why’s the first bit of hope we get gotta feel so impossible? It feels like I’m actually crazy for thinking we could do it!!

Steel: Then let’s be crazy! Max, all I’ve wanted since the day I met you again is to understand who I am. To feel like myself again and know what that even means. Thanks to these dreams, I finally got some answers. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t feel as complete as I do! So if you wanna do something nuts like fight Makino, then I’m right there with ya, Turbro! One hundred percent.

Max: Steel…

Steel: Just say the word, Max.

Max: I think- I think I wanna try telling Mom about this. Just in case… I mean, it’s about Dad! She deserves to hear it even if she doesn’t believe me.

Steel: Then that’s what we’ll do. But, Max, what if she doesn’t believe you?

Max: …then we do this on our own. Dad can’t wait for us to convince them, if we even can. We’ll find a way with or without them.

And then they tell his mom and it goes… well? It goes really well, actually. Better than expected! The start got a little rocky but by the end of it his mom was on the same page as them. She asked questions and was more patient with them than she’s been in… Max can’t even remember how long. It’s such a relief that Max hugs her afterwards and thanks her for finally listening. They’ll figure out a way to help Dad, he promises.

That brief moment of trust is what makes it all the more painful to learn later that Molly immediately turned around and told Forge about this. That something is seriously wrong. Max is losing touch with reality, more so than ever before. They need to act now before they lose him.

It’s coming from a place of concern, but it’s also how she ends up losing them. Both of them.

After that first failed capture, Max and Steel never take an offer of support or mercy or forgiveness from NTek seriously ever again. They know better now.

Anyway, slice aside, NTek does know that Max Steel’s ultimate goal is to bring a dead man home alive. It doesn’t change much about how they handle the situation. Not up until these boys succeed and everyone has to choke on what that means.

If NTek and Jim aren’t careful during that reunion it might pivot into a kidnapping real fast. Or a much more concerning missing person’s case as everyone tries to look for a Max that’s more distraught than he’s ever been and a Steel who’s pissed at just another betrayal. Including his villain contacts who might catch wind of NTek’s mad scramble to find them. What an opportunity.

But only if Jim and NTek fuck it up. They’ve got a chance to end it all here. Maybe not fix it, but reign in a couple stressed boys before they’re well and truly beyond help. Beyond accepting help.

But yeah Toxzon losing Fishy got me fucked up. It felt wrong to watch. A great tragedy, that way.

When we see Max and Steel go to Antarctica to get the Turbo Star I remember Max shivering comically. I could be wrong. But he’s not shivering when the island freezes over so I wonder if it matters.

I’ll look for the season 4 movies when I feel like sitting down to pick something over for scraps then. o7

YAAAAY!!! Spins you!!

goddamn, molly, that has to be the worst fumble. i can’t fully blame her bc she is concerned, but its accurate (and disappointing) to see her jump to her own conclusions while ignoring max’s experience. cuz like, if she had a normal human son, hearing that her son is having visions of his dead dad is a prolly a sign that he needs therapy. but she doesnt have a human son, she has a half-human son thats linked with an ultralink, something that they dont know the consequences of. i mean max prolly needs therapy anyway, but its wild to not like. run a sleep experiment comparing their normal sleep to these so-called ‘visions’.

okay its actually super believable based on how mule-headed molly and forge can be when they’ve made up their minds, but like. berto. you have sway. youre friends with both of these guys. you’re the chief science guy. berto do something. (unless hes also being kept out of the loop <.<)

When we see Max and Steel go to Antarctica to get the Turbo Star I remember Max shivering comically.

That’s also why it had to start small. They’d already been forming their own conclusions about how Max was finding out any of what he thought he knew. Sneaking around, hacking, eavesdropping, those sorts of things. Things we know Max and Steel to be capable of. Things they probably actually were doing too.

And now Max comes out with probably the wildest claim of all. Imagine being Molly and being told the husband you saw implode before your very eyes is actually still alive. And he’s suffering.

Denial runs in the family, clearly.

Forge refusing to believe that Steel hasn’t regressed to his core programming and gone evil because the alternative is more damning. The alternative is that he chose to believe the worst of an old friend and it’s cost him his nephew. That it could kill his nephew and it’d be his fault for keeping them both at arm’s length.

Molly unwilling to let go of Jim’s death or the idea she has in her head of who her son is, because doing so would mean she made the wrong call. That he son came to her for help and she wasn’t helping by bringing this up the chain of command. That her son really did turn out this way when she wasn’t looking and she has no idea how to fix it.

Max clinging to this goal with all he is because if they fail to save his dad then what was it all for? They have to be able to do this, saving his dad has to be worth it. Anything less and he’ll never recover.

(Honorable mention to Steel who isn’t blood related to these people but is doubling and tripling down on what he thinks needs to be done. Max’s heart is in the right place and Steel appreciates the optimism when Max has the energy for it, really he does, but it won’t help them. It wont protect them. It won’t feed Max. Crime will. Steel will.)

——

Also shoutout to Berto who probably did suggest a sleep study or something similar to Forge to see if there was anything substantial here and got forbidden from indulging Max’s “delusion.”

I did spin last night about a potential meeting in civvies between Berto and the boys. Maybe set shortly after they run away. Before anything too drastic starts happening.

They probably shook off NTek’s initial pursuit and flew to the apartment to pack a bag. They didn’t have one ready because they didn’t think they’d need one. For all their worrying and frustrations, getting betrayed like this never felt like it’s actually happen. So they just kind of panic-packed Max’s backpack and bounced.

It’s been maybe a week since then and Berto’s been burning both ends of the candle trying to find these two. In the hopes of swerving away from burnout for just a little longer, he goes to pick up takeout for everyone. Jefferson would’ve done it but he’s with Kat doing sweeps of the canyons.

Imagine Berto’s surprise when on his break from looking for Max he ends up finding him standing off to the side of a corner store.

And, like, Max looks rough.

The new hood on his jacket is up and he’s got a death grip on a backpack strap. Max looks every bit like he’s expecting Dredd himself to step around the corner any second.

The poor guy is shaking, though whether it’s from exhaustion or nerves Berto can’t really tell. He seems like he’s arguing with himself, though from the sounds of it he’s trying to talk Steel down from—

“We’re not desperate yet.” Max hisses under his breath. “I’ve still got this month’s allowance. That’s probably enough for- what? No, I know I can get away with once a day. It’s fine, you don’t have to- gah!”

His posture changes so abruptly that if Berto had blinked he might’ve missed it. Max stands taller, more alert, and walks up to the store’s automatic doors.

Without even thinking, Berto calls out, “Hey, Max! ¿Que paso?”

Max, no, Steel falters mid-step. He hurriedly moves away from the store entrance and sprints into the adjacent alley.

Berto follows in time to see Max and Steel change into Turbo Flight mode. “No! Can you hold on a sec? I’m not here to catch you!”

“Like we’d really believe that!” Steel says. The suit’s wings shift and start to glow like they’re bracing for takeoff. Oh boy. He blew it. “What else would you be here for?”

The only correct answer to that is to raise the bags in his hand a little higher. “Lunch.”

The light of the Flight suit’s wings dims considerably. After a moment’s pause, their posture goes slack like they’ve been cut loose from hidden strings. They shift their weight, wary and willing to flee, but not yet. Their helmet tilts just so, curious.

It’s Max that asks him, “…what’d you get?”

“For myself? I got some chicken lo mein.” Berto shakes the bags a little. Their wings do this little twitch that might not have been voluntary. That’s interesting. And a reminder to Berto they can just leave at any moment if he botches this. “But if I came back from my lunch break empty-handed you know I’d never hear the end of it, so I got the usual.”

Garlic shrimp, potstickers, pork egg foo young, vegetable fried rice, and an absurd amount of spring rolls. The works.

“Berto…” Max sighs and puts a hand on the back of his neck. “Look, man, I know Forge would probably tell you to starve us out—“

Steel interjects. “Don’t give him ideas!”

“—but you know us!” Max pleads. He spreads his arms out. “You know we’re not gonna do anything crazy. So can’t NTek just chill out? The patrols are getting ridiculous!”

Berto hates that his first thought was that Steel wasn’t far from doing something crazy not two minutes ago. Obviously he doesn’t say that, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

“Believe me, I think it’s overkill too. Commander Forge is being way too hard on you guys for this.” To Berto’s knowledge they’ve only done some breaking and entering into restricted NTek and THI sectors. Which they do sometimes anyway. That’s hardly enough to warrant all this. “How have you been holding up?”

Clearly not well, but anything they can tell him is better than just assuming the worst.

“We’ve- we’re hanging in there.” Max says. It sounds like he wants to believe it.

“We’re doing terribly and I blame Forge for it.” Steel corrects. Then he pops off of Max’s chest and points at the bags. “Hey, here’s an idea! You should give us Forge’s lunch! It’s not like he’ll miss it.”

Berto pulls the bag with the veggie fried rice and some of the spring rolls apart from the others. “Well—“

“Steel!”

Those two bicker until Berto just sets all of the takeout bags on the ground. “¡Ay no! Looks like I dropped them.”

They stare at him. He stares at them. He takes a few big steps back for good measure.”

“Guess I’ll have to—“ There’s a loud whir-whoosh noise as Max Steel tears out of the alley. It ruffles Berto’s jacket hard enough that he has to pull it closed with one hand.

When he looks down, the bags are gone.

At least they didn’t rob the corner store.

——

Berto who knows he’s doing the wrong thing but also if he pulls his punches too much Forge will notice and he’ll be out next. Which helps no one.

What can you do besides buy lunch twice a couple times a week? At least until Max and Steel stop trusting handouts. That was heartbreaking. If he had a time machine he’d tell himself to leave Turbo Stealth alone. But hindsight and all that. All he can really do is be more careful going forward.

Somebody has to.

——

Forge will notice and he’ll be out next. Which helps no one.

Godddd this line. I love it, the frustration at management, the guilt at following Forge's orders, but the hope that this will be worth it because maybe you can cause enough good from the inside to outweigh it.

Anyways shoots the writers how dare you be inconsistent with the suit’s temperature regulation for a laugh?? Have you no integrity?? For shame!!!

I had to turn this off, but it's something that allows Windows and anyone using your device to generate text/images.

The Prince's Nautical Journal

the coolest transformation is spike mode, hands-down. look at this bad boy:

that is one sleek design, and it’s awesome to see in action. such a shame it got introduced so late into the show, wouldve loved to see more of it.

as for coolest villain?

fire elementor. love me a pyromancer. especially one who’s so casual about it. (hes the only elementor we see ‘play’ w their element. the others only control theirs for practical purposes.)

he’s also at the core of the elementors feeling like siblings, which imo is p critical given that the elementors end up valuing their loyalty to each other over their loyalty to makino (or at least his chain of command). he and earth work together well, but they also get into petty fights. he’s joining water in teasing earth, and then later giving him shit for suggesting they go surfing on a frozen island. when air’s running his mouth too much in front of metallak, fire takes over and apologizes on air’s behalf. and air later returns the favor when fire’s frustrated at them being given an impossible assignment. (fire apologizing for air is honestly one of the moments that endeared me to him specifically out of the elementors. he’s just as upset as air, but is willing to swallow his pride to protect the group from being annexed.)