Two months had passed since Makino's destruction and I was now studying for an English and Math test that I had at the end of the week. Normally I would have asked my boyfriend Berto if he could help me, for the second time since we'd been dating, with the Math one but since Sydney and Kirby had asked about studying with them I decided to hang out with my friends.

I knew that as soon as I had finished school for the day I could change to Flight Mode and hang out with Berto any time I wanted. Plus he had mentioned something about testing a new Mode and I was also looking forward to checking it out too. Even Shock, my Ultralink family and best friend in one, was pretty psyched to find out what our new Turbo mode did.

"What do you think it does? Maybe it makes us stronger? Or maybe we can fly into Space like we did when THI almost blew up. Oops…sorry Jess. I shouldn't have mentioned that." Shock said as I cringed, remembering the day that almost cost me my life. Then I sighed before returning a book to my locker.

"Don't worry about it, Shock. It happened ages ago and besides I've almost died on more than one occasion since then so it's not like that's new to me. Hmm not really something worth repeating." I commented ignoring the weird looks two girls were giving me. "Anyway I'd better get to class before I get yelled at by Mr Thornhill." I added as I grabbed my English book. Walking to class I met up with Sydney and Kirby on the way. As I joined them I noticed Kirby was struggling to open his locker and so I asked if he needed a hand.

"Yeah it's kinda stuck." Kirby said as he stepped away and I grabbed the handle before giving the door a slight tug. Unfortunately I almost ripped the door off its hinges and both of my friends just stared at me, eyes wide. "Whoa! How did you do that?" He asked me and I blushed slightly. Quickly, Shock gave me an answer.

"Um I've been going to the gym a lot. That's probably it." I answered and thankfully my friends bought it. Relieved we walked to class as I resolved to make sure never to do that again. When class ended I heard my phone ring and the second I looked at the number I smiled which made Sydney grin and Kirby cracked up laughing. "Huh what's so funny?" I asked.

"You have the strangest smile on your face right now. I'm guessing its Berto?" Sydney and I nodded. "Go on don't keep your boyfriend waiting." She added and I walked away, trying not to blush. As soon as I was out of earshot I answered my phone.

"Hey Jessie. Are you free this afternoon?" Berto asked and I grinned before I told him. "Great then do you want to…" There was a sudden static blast on the other end and I yelped almost dropping the phone.

"Berto, are you there?" I asked but the static remained for a few more seconds then the call cut out. "Okay that was really weird. I never got to hear the rest of his question." I complained as I put my phone away.

"Maybe you can meet him at N-Tek after school? It's probably about that new mode." Shock said and I nodded. Returning to my friends I sat with them and as soon as I let out a sigh they exchanged a look.

"What's wrong?" Sydney asked and I told them that Berto had called to ask me something and some weird static interrupted the call before it cut out. "What do you mean by 'weird static'?" She asked me.

"I've heard static before but this sounded…odd. Heh I know that doesn't make any sense." I replied but I didn't get to explain further when I heard the bell ring. Eventually I decided to do what Shock suggested though I didn't get the chance to when I got a call from Max and Steel who needed my help.

Curious I decided to skip class pretending to have food poisoning and my teacher hurriedly let me go, probably worried I'd throw up on her before I made it to the bathroom. As soon as I was out of eyeshot I changed to Flight Mode and took to the sky. Within a few minutes I found Max Steel in central Copper Canyon and I flew over to join him.

"What's going on?" Shock asked before I had a chance to and when he told me the bad news I paled beneath my helmet.

"Berto's missing." Max said and I swallowed before I could speak.

"How? Where is he?" I asked and Shock told me to calm down. "He's my boyfriend and I'm worried about him."

"Yeah I know that but getting worked up doesn't help him. " Shock said and I finally took a deep breath. "So when was the last anyone saw him?" He asked Max.

"Back at N-Tek he said he was going to meet up with you after school and he left about half an hour ago. After that no one's heard from him." Max told me and I nodded. "Did he try to call you?"

"Yeah at lunchtime. But as we were talking some strange static made my phone go funny and then the call cut out." I explained and Max thought about this leaving me to worry about Berto.

"Let's split up and look for him. He's probably not far from here." Steel said and after we split off to look for my boyfriend I couldn't help thinking something bad was going to happen. And how right I was when after several hours of searching Berto was still missing and Forge called us back to N-Tek. The moment we arrived back I changed to Base Mode and removing my helmet I raced into the Com Room, angry that Forge had interrupted my search for Berto.

"Before you say anything we needed to get you here because we might have a lead on Berto." He told me and my eyes went wide. Confused I just stood there leaving Shock to ask what I wanted to.

"Where is he now?" The Ultralink asked and Kat brought up an map of Copper Canyon. As I watched I saw a small green dot appear somewhere near an underground pipeline.

"From what we can tell he's in the sewers underneath the city. Why he's down there is anyones guess." Forge told us and I frowned instantly figuring it out.

"Toxzon. But why go after Berto?" Shock asked and I spoke up, stepping forward as I did.

"Because of me. After I attacked him for hurting Berto after he deliberately poisoned him. So this is payback. We have to find him." I said and I felt Max put a hand on my shoulder.

"We will. Don't worry Jessie." He told me and I nodded trying not to panic. "Should we go into the sewers to look for him?" He asked his uncle and Forge nodded.

"Just be very careful. This could be a trap to get to you two." He told us and we gave him a nod before racing away. As we raced through the skies of Copper Canyon I couldn't help being afraid for Berto.

Why would that psycho Toxzon capture the most harmless person possible, I thought to myself as we made our way to the park. When we touched down I immediately raced for the sewer entrance only for Max to stop me.

"Come on we have to save Berto!" I practically shouted and that's when Steel detached and hovered in front of me.

"You need to calm down and think clearly. If you go rushing into the sewers without a plan you'll end up getting hurt." He told me and after a moment I sighed, knowing he was right.

"Okay. What should we do?" I asked and eventually we came up with a plan. Max Steel would go first and I'd follow in case it was a trap. As we carefully made our way into the sewers I thought I saw something move but when I looked again it was gone.

Thinking I was seeing things I kept walking behind Max and soon we came to a split path. "Which way now?" I asked and after a moment Shock suggested we go left. With a shrug we took his advice and after a few minutes of walking we came to a dead-end.

"Oops. Maybe we should go right instead." He said and I somehow managed not to roll my eyes as we turned around and walked back the other way. Taking the right path this time I soon heard a familiar voice and I frowned before I charged forward.

"I thought we agreed…oh never mind. Go Turbo, Strength!" He called out as he switched modes before rushing after me. As he went after me I had just found the source of the voice as I came face to face with Toxzon. Standing in front of me he laughed and that's when I noticed that he was standing on some sort of tank.

Once I saw who he had trapped inside my eyes widened and as I looked on Berto's eyes went wide as he saw me standing there. Quickly he banged his fist into the wall and I was all set to help him when Toxzon stepped in front of me. Before I knew what was happening he pressed some sort of switch on the side of the tank causing a purple gas to seep into the tank.

I saw Berto hold his breath as the gas began to flow around his face and I charged forward only for Toxzon to attack me. I managed to dodge his attacks but it meant I was getting further and further away from my boyfriend who now couldn't hold his breath any longer. The second he took a breath he began to cough and as I watched on he fell to his knees and ended up slumping to the floor of the tank.

Furious and afraid for my friend I raced forward and that's when Toxzon managed to slam me into the wall behind me. Dazed I watched on as he raised his claws. But he didn't get a chance to strike when Max Steel came rushing forward and slammed him into the tank, instantly shattering the tank.

The second the tank shattered Berto fell out, slumping to the ground unconscious. As Max Steel was preoccupied with fighting Toxzon I ran over and picked Berto up in my arms before carrying him away from the battle. As I did Shock quickly detached and checked him over.

"He breathed in a fair amount of that gas. We'd better get him back to N-Tek right away. Oh but what about Max Steel?" Shock said and that's when I saw Max running over to me.

"Let's get going." He said and I shrugged before we rushed away as fast as we could. Once outside we took to the air and I flew as fast as possible back as I held a limp Berto in my arms. Giving our friends a call we arrived back to find Kat waiting for us and after rushing Berto to the Medical Bay I waited anxiously as he was checked over.

After a tense few minutes Kat walked into the hall and told me some good news.

"He's still unconscious but he doesn't seem to be hurt." Kat told me and I stared at her in confusion. "The gas doesn't seem to have left any lasting effects though we should still watch him just in case."

"Is it okay if I see him?" I asked and as soon as Kat nodded I hurried inside, leaving Shock to roll his eye at my retreating back. Once inside I hurried over to Berto who was lying out cold on a bed and as I watched him I was relieved to see that he seemed to be alright.

"How did he manage to kidnap you? Wait you probably went to meet me after school and that's when you vanished. I am so sorry. You got hurt because of me." I whispered as I reached over and stroked his forehead. When he didn't react I sighed and after a few minutes I was joined by Shock.

"He's going to be fine. Besides you have a test to study for remember?" He told me and I frowned at him. "Don't look at me like that. You know it's true. Anyway he'll be well looked after here at N-Tek."

After a moment I nodded and before I left I asked Kat to call me when Berto woke up. Once she agreed I left for my apartment and the second I walked inside I couldn't help feeling pretty awful about my boyfriend getting attacked by Toxzon. Probably sensing how upset I was Shock asked if there was anything he could do for me and with a sad smile I asked if he could take the test instead.

"No can do, Jessie. Though I can help you study for it. Will that work?" He asked with a laugh and I reluctantly agreed. When I finally went to bed some hours later my last thoughts before I drifted off to sleep were about how Berto was doing.

The next morning I was all set to travel to N-Tek and check on Berto until Shock reminded me, once again, that I had an English test during my first class and I stared out him.

"Hey you need to pass this test so don't pout. Besides we can go to N-Tek after class today." Shock said and I sighed before I got ready to leave for school. Thankfully the day flew by as I easier finished my English and then my Math test.

When class finally let out for the day I couldn't wait until I could find out how Berto was doing. Little did I know that something bad was going to happen when I got back to N-Tek that same afternoon.