Martians and Mars

by Kelral Orlyana

An exploration of Mars and Martians, but also an exploration of the bros and who they might be beyond what was portrayed in the series. & A bro's exploration of Humanity and Earth.

1. Chapter 1

Charley's Study of Martians and Mars

By

Kelral Orlyana

Disclaimer: I do not own the Biker Mice, but my ideas on their biology and their 'kin' are my own imaginings.

Author Note: This story is more experimental then anything. I wanted to make the boys seem more alien, although I haven't changed much I did want them to be a little different, because in the series they are very human and have no obvious qualities to mark them as different, other than appearance. I approached this story from a factual angle, looking at potential religious beliefs as well as potentially different biology. I did a lot of research to understand Mars, I learned for example that Mars was cooler than Earth and that it took 686 days to complete a yearly cycle around the sun, the equivalent of two years on Earth. Since the moons names are Greek, I've used some Greek Gods for their religious beliefs simply because it seemed fitting, [Greek moons + Greek Gods= Perfect Match]. I must make it very clear that this fanfiction does not target anyone, it is not a story meant to insult anyone. I am an Athiest and I firmly believe that the religious texts should be used to give hope and not cause wars as humans so often use them for but I do not judge anyone or any religion as I write this. I ask that you read this story with an open mind.

I hope you enjoy this story and I hope it helps to inspire you, my fellow writers.

Warning: For some mature language, which is why this fic is marked K.

Charley's Study of Martians and Mars

Charley had been unaware of how different the bros actually were from her. She knew they were alien, they were giant Mice after all but they weren't like Earth Mice at all, in fact their biology couldn't be further from humans or Earth Mice. It wasn't until Throttle was seriously injured that she learned the truth. Throttle had pushed Vinnie out of danger as a driver of a massive four by four lost control, the car had knocked Throttle from his bike, normally Throttle would survive this but he'd been thrown straight into a busy highway and had suffered from several impacts. His body was littered with bruises, cuts and he appeared to have several fractured bones as well as a potentially damaged tail. To help heal Throttle who was worryingly unconscious, they had to conduct several x-rays, what those scans revealed was nothing short of astonishing.

The first notable thing was the thickness of his fur, because of his size his fur seemed only an inch or so long but this scan showed that it was actually four to five inches long. His muscles were equally as massive, giving him about three inches protection around his organs and skeletons. His organs were easily twice the size of a humans and there were organs that didn't belong in a human and as far as Charley knew there were several strange organs that no doctor would recognise. One particular organ deep in the stomach was clearly heavy and full of liquid, when this was pointed out Modo was unconcerned and merely continued to analyse the 'primitive' scan which meant this liquid laden organ was normal. The skeletal structure was massive; his bones were large on all sides, thick, long and astonishingly flexible. The tail was pure muscle with a fine line of powerful bone at its centre. But Charley was more surprised that the bones weren't fractured at all, in fact other than a few visible scar lines there was no injury to note. The injury that had both Vinnie and Modo roaring with anger was at Throttle's head. His antenna were made of muscle just as his tail was but this muscle was thinner and there was no bone at its centre, instead there was a fine network of nerves, and those nerves were damaged.

Martian healing was superb, Vinnie had once broken a bone but was back on his feet within two weeks whereas a human would be bed-laden and in agonising pain for six months or more. But Throttle wasn't healing fast with this wound, his antenna were his most vulnerable part and they had been badly damaged, Charley would have thought the helmet would have helped but apparently if the impact was hard enough it could still do minor harm. Charley didn't view this injury as minor but from what Modo explained Throttle could have easily have lost his antenna had he not been wearing his helmet and for a telepathic race that was a really horrific fate. Throttle was unconscious for almost three weeks, his healing slow and leaving the normally intimidating Martian leader vulnerable. Vinnie and Modo refused to leave his side and Limburger was thankfully silent.

Then there were the weeks Throttle spent unable to keep his balance and unable to sense the approach of his bros. His awareness was almost gone and only his basic senses kept him from being vulnerable. He could hear, smell and touch but his sight and his sixth sense were practically gone. His bionic eyes needed his mind to be in sync to work the shades for him to see and his mind was anything but in sync since the injury, his antenna were a key part of his mind and biology without them he was not whole. To combat this the bros began touching Throttle more often. Touch was an intimate thing for the Mice, it was between friends, family and lovers so the fact that Charley was allowed to witness Vinnie and Modo gently caressing and reassuring their leader was a great honour. They mostly touched their tails with his but quite often Charley would find Throttle situated on Modo's lap with Vinnie's head in his, there was nothing sensual about the touch, it was simply genuine affection, friendship and companionship.

There was a silent language, a sign language they used with their tails. When first approaching Throttle they would tap the end of his tail with their own, if Throttle accepted the touch he would wrap his tail with his bro's accepting their companionship. When the bro was seeking affection or reassurance they would touch higher up on the tail, a gentle caress to bring Throttle's attention to them and Throttle always accepted, sliding closer to his bro or bros to share affection as their tails twinned intricately behind them. Charley noticed that they would also use their tails whilst speaking, if a bro was nervous or afraid the tip of his tail would tap and shake against another to indicate they weren't happy or content. If the bros were agreeing with a plan or a decision there was a gentle caress followed by a small ''handshake' like move that indicated agreement. Most amusing of all was when the bros were feeling playful, this normally happened when they were settled in a brotherly pile of limbs and fur, their tails would be twinned beneath or beside them but one bro, normally Vinnie would free his to play a 'tickling' game where he tormented the other two with the tip of his tail. This mock battle always ended up with all three on the floor with one of the bros, normally Vinnie, being pinned to the ground by the other two. But one noticeable fact was that they never once touch the tail near their bro's backsides, at no point did a tail wander to high which made Charley suspect that such an act was taboo and was the equivalent of a human grabbing a man's penis or sticking their fingers into a woman's vagina.

Learning these little facts was absolutely fascinating and she convinced Modo to teach her more Martian biology so she could be more useful to them. Modo had insisted she was not just useful, she was invaluable but had agreed to let her learn and what he showed her was amazing. Because Mars gravitational pull was less than Earth their bodies had evolved to be heavy, to combat this their muscles were engineered by nature to store energy and like Earth cats their muscles had a lot of 'cords' that were designed to act like springs, it meant a Martian could not only move quickly and lightly, it also meant they could leap to great heights. A fit healthy male Mouse could leap up to twelve metres high and had a punch that could seriously dent metal and rock, in other words these Martians were super-human. Their organs were also very different, because Mars had little to no nutrients or water their bodies had evolved to store water and nutrients in special pouches, the body rationed this source ensuring that a Martian could survive almost ten months without food or water. Of course this method was endangered thanks to Plutarkian greed and so whilst the bros were full and healthy the Martians on Mars were running low and unable to replenish the nutrients and water their bodies so desperately needed. Another surprising revelation was that the Martians defied human understanding of nature. Their huge lungs meant they could survive long periods without air, although Charley did not know how long she suspected it could be at least an hour if not two, their bodies meant they could survive serious temperatures, cold and warm but they fared much better in cooler temperatures as Mars was actually surprisingly cold, especially in the evenings. But their most surprising adaption was their ability to go long periods without sleep, a few days without sleep for a human could be fatal but all three had confessed to having stayed awake for weeks on different occasions.

But that was just the tip of the iceberg because Modo had records on something far more fascinating. Once upon a time there had been as many as six Martian species but now there were only three. The rarest and the most dangerous were a species known as Sand-raiders, ancient stone carvings suggested these also had a rodent like appearance but they had not been seen for centuries and the only sign of their continued survival was mysterious murders of scouts, sightings of humanoid figures in the mountains and strange carvings in mountain caverns. Their culture was primitive and they were believed to be solitary creatures that killed anyone who crossed their paths. There was no evidence of a complicated social structure and no proof that they really existed as all attempts to find them on machines and by eye had failed.

The second species was a species that looked exactly like an Earth Rat, there was more documentation on this species but it wasn't good. Rats were highly aggressive towards Mice and to each other. They chose to dwell in tribal communities instead of great underground cities like the Mice. It was believed they had a primitive social structure and a primeval religion that required sacrificial victims, but this was only assumed by the amount of Mice who would be kidnapped and never seen again. Rats were as technologically advanced as the Mice and through skilled machines and agents they could disguise themselves as Mice, infiltrate a group of Mice or even a city and spy on the Mice or even kidnap or kill the citizens. As a result the Mice had been at war with the Rats for centuries but that war had gone quiet since the Plutarkians had arrived forcing both species to turn their attention to a new and much larger threat.

The two species were virtually identical; sharing a rodent like appearance and internal organs but their size was a huge difference. Charley thought the Mice were tall, Modo easily reached at least seven foot tall but the Rats were massive, most were eight to ten foot tall and they were built like walking tanks, thick fur, massive bones and impressive muscle. Only the small Rats could become spies, and small Rats were rare and looked down upon by the Rat culture, it was speculated that before the Rats considered using them as spies most runts were killed at birth. The Mice couldn't specify the size of the Sand-Raiders but researchers suggest that they were also quite large but the carvings suggested they stood at medium height, seven foot to eight foot. Charley would accept these speculations as she had no desire to meet with the two species that made even Throttle flinch with fear.

Lil Hoss, Modo's beautiful purple bike had given her much more than factual info, she had also given Charley something even more precious, an image of the Mice as young boys. Modo was big even then, in fact he would look exactly the same had it not been for his bionic arm. Vinnie was a clearly squirming in his father's arms and was nearly invisible since his fur matched his father's white coat, Vinnie was a small thing there without the defined muscle he sported now. Throttle was stood before a dark grey mouse, clearly Modo's father, he too was unlike the man he was now, slim, lanky but worryingly shorter than Vinnie, because Vinnie was younger yet Throttle looked tiny compared to Vinnie. Throttle's eyes were blue and he was the only one in the photo that had blue eyes, a rare mutation in Martian culture but Charley was more concerned by the look of loss on Throttle's face, it looked as if he was confused and as if he couldn't believe what was happening around him. A second photo and by far her favourite were the three bros, clearly teenagers, wrestling on the floor in a Martian equivalent of a living room. Throttle was pinned beneath them both but he clearly had the upper hand as he had a tail wrapped around Vinnie's midsection and when the photo was taken it caught the exact moment that he was lifting Vinnie to send the mouse flying. Charley could see that once Vinnie was off Throttle the caramel coloured Mouse could roll out of range and to freedom.

Martian Mice culture was intriguing, mostly because they were religious, something that was not obvious when she considered the boys. Neither male had mentioned their Gods to her or even invoked their names and yet there were four. There was the God Helios, the sun God, then there was Erebus, the God of Darkness and then there were the two lesser Gods, Phobos the God of Horror and Deimos the Bringer of Terror. Helios was worshipped because he bought the warmth of the sun. Erebus was respected and feared because he bought with him ice cold temperatures and darkness. Deimos the more merciful of the Gods bought a mass feast of sabre-tooth squid as the creatures rose from the deep sands to breed once a year unfortunately that also bought death and terror as Sabretooth squid were unstoppable and no metal could stop a charging sabretooth squid, many Martians died during this seasons and so whilst it was a celebrated occasion it was also an occasion of great sorrow. The last God Phobos was by far the most feared and considered the God of Death for when he passed he would cause sand-storms, stranded mice would often be blinded of gravely injured by rushing winds and torrents of sand or they would be stranded far from home with no idea where home was. Surprisingly their religion and culture was a modest one. Whilst the Gods dictated their seasons and lives they did not allow their culture to become stagnated by lack of change and acceptance, in fact Mice were very open minded and willing to learn everything. The Martian Mice believed in equality and so when they would visit an alien culture they would not enforce their beliefs onto others. Out of respect for other cultures they worshipped their Gods in private and never spoke their native tongue on a world or in a city not their own. It was their belief that one should respect and blend in with the culture, this is not to say that they forsook their beliefs but rather that they did not constantly boast about it or claim superiority because their Gods were 'better'. Charley had never respected the boys more when she learned this, they and their people were respectful and open minded and she was proud to call them friends.

By the end of her research she had learned just how much the boys did for her. They consciously kept tight reins on their physical strength and telepathic abilities so they never harmed her, entered her mind unwillingly or damaged her property. They accepted her opinions and never challenged her beliefs because she had a right to make up her own mind without them dictating what she believed in and they actually kept their skills a secret from her because they believed she'd be intimidated, which granted she was at first, she couldn't believe that their tails could kill more than one man with one great strike but it made sense considering the muscle and power required to move it, nor could she believe that Modo could carry both Vinnie and Throttle without any strain and Throttle could support Vinnie's weight with just his tail. But without losing her line of thinking she focused on the more important thought circling her head. They had done so much for her, much more than she had ever done for them, before today had she ever asked about their beliefs or their culture. The answer was no, she had been more interested in them and their bikes and ignored that they were brothers-in-arms, far from home, alone and on an alien world. She should have offered solace and comfort and tried to do more to make them comfortable.

She would correct her mistake, starting with their Gods and their language. They may believe in respecting her and her culture but there was nothing stopping them worshiping their Gods in their own home and her home was theirs. On top of this she would gladly learn their language and whilst they did not speak it in public out of respect they could surely speak it in their home. Fortunately the bikes were a blessing, they gave her everything she need, the symbols of their Gods, where they needed to be placed and basic Martian words like please, thank you, hello, good-bye and help. Because the Gods were not merciful and sometimes dark, if not evil, their shrines would never be in the bedroom or well used living space, instead they'd be placed in special rooms, dark rooms lit only by candles or the light coming through a small window. Prayers were simple as the Martians did not believe in begging for mercy or pleading for aid, instead the Martians thanked the Gods for each precious day they survived. Each shrine had a precious token, something that meant a lot to each Martian, by taking care of these objects each day and keeping them by the shrines the Martian's believed they were satisfying the Gods, keeping the Great beings content with their continual cleaning and care of the shrine and offerings. Charley had a spare room with a small window that she didn't use because it lacked light, so with carefully planning and stealth she collected the items needed and left them in a box for the boys to find and arrange as they saw fit.

Because they're world took the equivalent of two Earth years to complete a single cycle around the sun their New Years were random compared to her own. There was no schedule as far as she knew but all three Mice knew when New Year had come, they had recently shared their New Years with her and it consisted of a single prayer that they spoke in English before they drank. Charley remembered being pleased to be included but now she realised it was a sad memory, the boys missed home and they couldn't celebrate New Year's as they normally would. The Martians would feast on Sabre-tooth squid and drink for their fallen kin. This time Charley planned to make New Year's special, the two years had passed and this time Martian New Year coincided with Winter, Charley had stocked fish and squid. The room she was to give them with all the equipment needed to build the shrines was their New Year's gift and this time she was determined that they would celebrate as they would on Mars.

Of course the boys didn't understand why she was so determined to have them with her this year but they didn't mind so much because they enjoyed her company. Their New Year was at five in the evening on Christmas day, although they made no sign of acknowledging it as they offered her gifts for Christmas. She had of course given them gifts of their own, mostly things they would find useful like daggers, improved computer chips, gloves and boots. As soldiers they were more interested in weapons and things that helped better survival, Charley's own father was a war veteran and he favoured such gifts over all else, the only thing he had loved more were her little drawings she made in school.

As five o'clock approached she knew it was time to reveal her surprise. They boys were settled on the couch watching a James Bomb movie but they focused on her when they sensed she wanted to speak. They always surprised her when they did that, she knew it was their natural telepathy allowing them to sense her moods but it still surprised her greatly when they would focus on her so quickly, she was used to the boys being trouble-makers, not this attentive version of themselves. Still she was not too put off and cautiously began to broach the subject. "Modo, I may not have been completely honest about my research." Modo did not look offended or surprised but did shoot his girl a suspicious look, the bike bleeped cheekily and Modo smiled fondly before returning his attention to Charley. "I learned more about your culture and your beliefs and I was amazed." Pride flittered through their expression and Charley chuckled, the Mice may be open minded but they had pride in who they were and liked being complimented and praised just as any human would. "I have no end of respect for you. You've done so much for me that I think it's time I return the favour."

"Charley-girl…" Vinnie went to protest only to fall quiet as she raised a hand.

"No. I wanted to do this. You've been here long enough that I considered you close enough to be family and I hope you think of this place as a home away from home so I left you a surprise in the room down the hall."

"What?" Throttle asked curiously.

"Go and find out. It is the third door on the left." She told them and they obeyed, she could see curiosity written in their very posture but no fear, they trusted her just like they trusted each other. She wandered into the kitchen and nervously fiddled with her food preparations as she listened out for their reaction. Vinnie's surprised cry was obvious but Throttle and Modo were silent but when they did not immediately return she relaxed and hoped they were choosing to use the offered room as a room of worship. When she caught a whiff of incense she knew that they had accepted her offer and were praying or at least preparing the shrines for worship.

She left the food prepared on the table as she went to finish up a few jobs in the garage. She was only gone for five, maybe ten minutes but the moment she entered the building she was embraced in strong arms and there was a mental caress before the mouse entered her mind and there was so much thank you, thank you, thank you being sent into her mind that she feared she'd get a headache but the mouse, Throttle let her go only for Modo and Vinnie to embrace her in turn, their gratitude hurt her heart for they had nothing to be thankful for, she should have done this long ago, they sacrificed so much to be accepted by her and her people and she should have given something back so long ago.

There was a marked change in their friendship, it wasn't gradual it was immediate because from that moment on they spoke words of their native tongue and were more open about their culture. What was even more surprising was that they started interacting with her as they would another Martian. Because she had no tail, theirs would curl around her wrists or ankles and encourage her to touch and join in. Never before had she been able to touch their tails, before today she had never even tried, but after a full meal and prayers for Mars and Earth the four had ended up curled up on the sofa and she was safely nestled between their powerful bodies and strong tails and never before had she felt so safe. She'd been alone for so long that she forgotten what home had felt like. Home wasn't just a place, it was the people she surrounded herself with and for too long she and the boys had been without home but together they had found it.

Charley had observed much but she had learned one important thing. No matter what species, colour, orientation or beliefs one thing remained the same, if one had enough heart they would always find peace and in turn, home. They had shown Charley that all races were equal and that all could get along if only all races practiced acceptance instead of trying to dominate each other. The boys had sacrificed much and had lost nothing because they respected her and so she respected them, in return she sacrificed her own life, her time and love to ensure their safety and lost nothing because together they were stronger. In the end nothing mattered, not religion, nor opinion, the only thing that mattered was that they cared for each other and continued to live each day, alive, well, free and together. The Plutarkians, Rats and even humanity had a lot to learn from the Mice and Charley was ready to learn all they would teach her and they would learn from her. Perhaps she would teach them about the seas and plants and help them work out a way to restock their reservoirs and wildlife just as they had taught her about Mars, self-defence and technology. They had made her life better and in return she wanted to aid them and their people.

One thing was for sure, the future looked bright and curled up now between the boys she knew without a doubt that Mars and Earth would be safe because these three unselfish, kind men would watch over them all and in return she would watch over them.