Chapter 1
Summary:
Jim and baby Max. (AKA Jim is head over heals for his little bitty baby son)
Chapter Text
Jim gently picked up the nine-month-old from his position in his crib and slipped out of the room. He needed to be at N-Tech in ten minutes, but he couldn't just leave for fifteen hours of work and not say goodbye to his baby boy.
He kissed the small forehead and the bundle of blankets sifted as the child woke up. "Shhh, it's just me." The blue eyes sparkled and two little arms reached up, trying to pull the man closer. Jim bent his head and nuzzled his nose. The Takion/Human baby giggled. "Do you know Mama said that in a couple of months she'll let you come visit me a work?"
"Jim you need to be at N-Tech in five min-you're not bringing your progeny." Steel's voice echoed in his head.
"No. Not yet," Jim muttered. "Dada, Mama." Jim looked down and grinned "Dada's talking to Steel, can you say Steel."
"Jim put the infant down and get over here."
"Seel" Max cried in delight. Jim laughed "Close, STeel"
"James McGrath, why are you purposely waking up a nine-month-old at five o'clock in the morning?" Molly had awakened and was giving her husband a dirty look. "I didn't mean to. Besides, he'll fall right back asleep won't you Max." The baby cooed up at him and Molly. Jim handed him to his wife and kissed her. "See you two night"
"Finally, I was worried you'd skip. The T.R.U.B.O Star isn't going to build itself.
Jim chuckled as he pulled on his jacket. Life was good, so much better than he had ever anticipated.
Notes:
In Dredd Ascendant we see baby Max for the first time. I think Max was about 14-16 months because her was walking and talking, so this happens about 6 months before Jim 'died'. I love the idea that Jim was head over heals for his baby boy. I mean I you seen what that man does for Max.
My FF.net is Relila and my Tumblr is im-a-ramblr
Chapter 2
Summary:
Steel and Jim's progeny (AKA Steel dislike the newest addition to his family begins.)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The UltraLink hovered over the small thing. He studied the babe and decided that as long as it stayed like this; asleep, wrapped up in blankets, and still- He could tolerate Jim's and Molly's offspring. But it would be easier if it would stop whimpering. Just them Jim walked in and smiled at his curious partner.
"Steel met Max. Maxwell Joshua McGrath." The former general moved next to the cradle and carefully unwrapped the outer layer of blankets.
Molly followed her husband in minutes later and gave the three males a smile. She then gave Jim an expatiated look. "Jim are you sure that he shouldn't be swallowed, the doctors said-"
"I know what the doctors said. But I also know that Takion had smaller frames than humans as children." He pulled the blanket out from under Max and the whimpering stopped. "He'll be the same size as other teens, probably a bit bigger." Molly leaned against her husband and sighed.
"You're probably right." Steel hovered closer to Jim's progeny, noticing the slight sweat glistening on his forehead. He was about to point it out to Molly to back up Jim with evidence when the tiny child grabbed him. He held him like a teddy bear and curled around him as much as the blankets would let him. Steel twitch slightly. Jim had told him time and time again that if anything upset the boy he would cry. (It was just one of the many facts the baby happy man had told him. He really hoped it was just a phase because others wise this would be the most spoiled child in the galaxy.) "Jim, please get me out of here," Jim responded by pulling out his phone and taking a picture. Steel pulled away slightly and the small human whimpered. "Jim NOW"
"We need something to him to replace you," Jim said pulling a small toy from a box. It took five minutes to switch them out. Molly smiled as Jim took another picture of Max, this time with the teddy.
Steel had the dreadful feeling that Jim wasn't going to come down from his baby high anytime soon.
(He wasn't exactly right, Jim came down little by little but it never went away completely, Max was still one of the brightest light in the world to him.)
Notes:
Yes I made his middle name a reference to the original. I always will. deal with it. also I love BB! Max.
Chapter Text
Max slammed his head onto the bar, "Mmmggg" His head looked up from his paper, concerned for his son. "Max, what's the matter?"
"Homework." Was the short answer, but Jim had the feeling it was much more. Standing, he made his way over to the sulking teen. He took one look at the paper and frowned. It was from May. Next to it was one that said it was due this week, neither was done. "It looks like you're a little behind." Another groan.
"It's hard to be a superhero, and keep up with school." Jim nodded. He recalled when he'd attempted to keep the fact that he was Ja'em Mk'rah from Molly and Forge, not fun. Max turned his head so he could look at his dad. "Disappointed?" That caught him off guard. "What?"
"Are you disappointed in me?"
"Why would I be disappointed?" Max gave him a very indignant look. Jim knew what he was implying, but he refused to acknowledge it. "Because I'm failing all my classes? Because I've gone from A/B honor roll to F, C if I'm lucky."
"And what caused that drop?" Jim put a hand on his shoulder and was glad that he didn't overload with Energy. "Take a guess." Jim sighed, and pulling the boy up, guided him to the couch. Max didn't fight, he needed a break.
"I love you, do you know that? I love you, and I am so proud of you. For everything, you've done. And I can not think of a single thing that would make me disappointed, or that could make me stop loving you." Max rested his head against the armrest.
"It's just so hard, and I don't know if I can keep doing it, being Max Steel and Max McGrath" Jim hugged him, racking his brain for something that would make his, not so, little boy smile. "I could take on a hero job for you if you needed it."
"No!" Max spring to his feet, terror in his eyes. Well, that certainly didn't work Jim thought, somewhat amused. "Or I could pull you out of school, and we could try homeschooling." Max tilted his head. "Really?"
"Of course, well actually we'd need to get your mom on board first. But after that, nothing's stopping us." Jim wasn't expecting the hug he got, but he enjoyed it. "Thank you."
He kissed the top of his head, making a note to ask Forge to get permission to homeschooling Max form the state. As Max pulled away, Steel burst out of Max's bedroom. "You will not believe the dream I had! I was fighting a zombie, fire breathing, Lightsaber robot! It was awesome! But then it was suddenly a classroom, and we were partners for a math project!"
Both men lost it, Steel's eye turning into a question mark as the pair's laughter filled the apartment.
Chapter 4
Summary:
I really wanted to write overprotective dad!Jim, but I couldn't think of any. If you can think of a prompt for overprotective dad!Jim let me know in the reviews.
Chapter Text
Ja'em Mk'rah was not a judgmental person. But watching his son talk to the three teenagers he couldn't help but study them.
Sydney was a kind, but strong-willed, girl. She has been the first-person Max had met in Copper Canyon. Max sometimes got flustered, despite the fact that she and Max had been a couple for a while. Jim wasn't quite sure what to make of her Max Steel fascination. Max had told him that no one outside N-Tech, besides Dredd, knew his identity. He was sure that most boys would not have taken their girlfriends' taking to Max Steel that way Sydney had. But his son was Max Steel, and that complicated the situation. Besides that, she could defend herself and was smart. She had expressed an interest in spade once, and Jim could relate. Jim got along with her fine, even though they didn't know much about each other.
Kirby was a bit of a goofball, who made a lot of jokes and was a little ridiculous at times. Max had told him that Kirby was very loyal, but Jim had yet to see it. That was probably a good thing, it meant that the four friends hadn't ever been in a place where they're friendship was put in danger. Kirby seemed to believe any, and everything. James wasn't sure how to feel about that. There were times he was sure it was funny, but then there were times that it got him, and Max, in Max. But Max was able to talk to him about geeky shows and jokes that no one else could understand, so James liked him well enough.
Bartholomew, or Butch, he was the in-between of Sydney and Kirby. Strong-willed, loyal to Max, but a little bit clueless at times. He didn't have the best family life, and Jim pitied him. He reminded him of that Ultralink hunter, Ven-Ghan, in a way. A boy that had thought was an easy target to get what they wanted and had become Max's friend. A friendship that didn't seem like it would last but did. James didn't hold the past against him, he had to cope as best he could. He was the muscle of the friendship and kept other form messing with the other three. Ja'em liked him and was willing to give him a chance, just like Max's had. The guests stood, and Max followed. His son walked them to the door and after saying goodbye poked his head into the kitchen. "Why were you pretending to cut Onions for an hour?" "Was I? I didn't notice." Jim said Max rolled his eyes. "You were judging them, weren't you?" "We've been over this Max," Steel unlinked himself from Max's suit, appearing in front of the men. "When anyone is judging of your friends what we are actually doing is making sure that you can hang out with them, and still be safe. "Exactly!" Jim said, smiling at his son. Max rolled his eyes but smiled back.
"So, Mr. McGrath;" Butch started, "Did either of you feel like he was planning how to kill us if we looked at Max wrong?" "Yes and no, I did feel like he was judging us, but I felt like he approved," Kirby answered. Sydney shrugged. "I guess. But I don't really feel like it was judging. I feel like it was observing. He's been away from Max for the last 16 years. He's trying to figure out who his son is, and what he likes. Who people hang out with is a good indication of that. "I still feel like he could kill us."
Chapter Text
I deiced to do a short that was inspired by a scene in the movie, but could be in either world. (It's the scene where Molly said, 'Your father went a little overboard with the stars to which Max replies 'That's funny, I was just thinking he didn't put enough.' (hint it's when Max is unpacking his room)
Max looked at the sheet in front of him, it was covered in glow in the dark stars. He really hoped this worked. Steel, sensing his nervousness hovered closer. "Calm down, it'll be fine."
"Steel what if I blow up?"
"You won't, I'm right here. And if you blow up the stars we can always just buy more." He nodded, still nervous. Peeling a star off he sent a small change of T.R.U.B.O Energy to it. It little up, but instead of glowing it's normal yellow-green, it glowed an almost transparent blue-green.
"I did it!" Max said excitedly. The start glowed brighter. "Crap."
The start blew up.
Both boys sighed. "Take two," Max said, peeling off another, bigger, star. Gently Max Sent a tiny amount of energy into it. It too glowed, but much fainter than before. Steel poked Max, who sent a little more. It glowed a little brighter.
Another poke.
A brighter glow.
Again, a poke.
Max ignored his friend, and instead stuck the star on his bedside table. He took another one-off.
"This is going to take forever." Steel commented, resting on Max's bed. Max turned, thinking.
"I have an idea, and it could save us a lot of time… but it might also blow up my room."
Steel shrugged, "Let's do it."
Molly McGrath knocked on her son's door, and not waiting for an answer opened it. "Why did the woman at Dollar General say you had bought 50 sheets of glow in the dark stars."
The twin snickering made her nervous.
Steel pushed the door closed, while Max closed the blinds. Then laying on his bed Max waved his arm, releasing bubbles of T.R.U.B.O Energy that flowed to the many glow in the dark stars that the duo had stuck around the room. They began to glow.
Molly took a breath, partly because it was a stunning sight, to see so many stars glowing. And artily because, the boys had covered the room with glow in the dark stars. The whole room. The walls, the bedside tabled, the bed frame, heck even the blinds were covered. She glanced up and realized that the stars Jim had decorated the ceiling with hadn't been covered.
In fact, despite the slightly overwhelming number of stars around the room, not even one had been put near Jim's. Now there was a rim around the top of the wall, but it seemed more like a broader than the other glow in the dark stars weren't allowed to pass. Like Jim's stars were like revered heroes.
She smiled, "Your father would have loved this."
Hoped you liked it
Meggieh867 on Chapter 1 Fri 23 Oct 2020 12:11AM UTC
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RelilaRamblr on Chapter 1 Fri 23 Oct 2020 12:20AM UTC
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Meggieh867 on Chapter 1 Fri 23 Oct 2020 01:05AM UTC
Last Edited Fri 23 Oct 2020 01:18AM UTC
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RelilaRamblr on Chapter 1 Fri 23 Oct 2020 01:50AM UTC
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Meggieh867 on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 04:39AM UTC
Last Edited Wed 18 Nov 2020 04:51AM UTC
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RelilaRamblr on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 05:22AM UTC
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Meggieh867 on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 06:04AM UTC
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RelilaRamblr on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 01:41PM UTC
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Meggieh867 on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 07:37AM UTC
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RelilaRamblr on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 01:47PM UTC
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Meggieh867 on Chapter 4 Wed 18 Nov 2020 07:26PM UTC
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TheTheatreone on Chapter 4 Thu 10 Jul 2025 07:17PM UTC
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TheNerdyCupcake on Chapter 5 Mon 15 Mar 2021 02:45AM UTC
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