When the three showed up in Motorcity and were discovered by the Burners, Mike was honestly surprised it took them all so long to notice. There was something different, something subtly off about them that you didn't notice so much as feel. They didn't look special; the girl was short and almost as thin as Julie, but in a softer way. Her blonde hair was swooped up in an impossible angle and a few golden freckles rested on each pale cheek. She was all colors and grins. One of the boys was boxy and wide. Fat's not the right word, but it's the closest to it. He spoke in a monotone voice and rarely showed emotion, but what was expressed seemed heartfelt. And the other boy was tall, thin and lean, with long black hair that almost brushed his shoulders and partially obscured one eye when he looked down. He never smiled except occasionally at a challenge, and his eyes burned with having seen things that he was too young to handle. Come to think of it, so did the girl's. Despite all this, there was nothing special about them, and it took a week for word to make it back to Mike that three newcomers had arrived. This was surprising because usually the Burners had to go and rescue those that wanted to leave. So he was excited to meet the three that had escaped on their own.

He was surprised to find that they hadn't escaped; at least, not from Deluxe. They were tight-lipped about why they were here and where they'd come from; the question's made the girl's eyes dart nervously about, which prompted the dark-haired boy to get weirdly protective. But Mike didn't push. He knew some people didn't like to share their pasts. Julie was like that, Chuck to some extent. Hell, he himself had only told the story of his leaving KaneCo to his closest friends, so he didn't push them.

When he stopped asking, they relaxed and seemed eager to help. The girl said simply that they knew what it was like, being forced from your home.

"I'm Mike Chilton," he introduced himself, practically as an afterthought, as he led them back to their 'HQ.'

"Lance."

"I'm Ilana."

"Newton."

Mike smiled, waving at his friends as he approached Jacob's, who waved back, eyeing the newcomers curiously.

"Glad to meet all of you."

They were all three impressive drivers.

Lance and Newton has taken the biggest risks with the cars they'd provided. Lance seemed to be a complete adrenaline junkie, in fact. Ilana tended to play it safer but could pull a fancy move or two when it really counted. Still, they didn't use them much. Don't get me wrong, they were well-liked. Even Claire had liked them, and she'd spent hours trying to figure out how Ilana's hair worked the way it did and how she could emulate it. Unfortunately for her, even Ilana didn't know. Despite their popularity, they weren't trained for this and The Burners didn't really want to risk hurting innocent people. Mike was really, really, really curious about where they'd learned to fight like they did. Lance was pure power, Newton was all brains, and Ilana had enough to heart to fuel the strength behind punches that were too hard for someone her size to have any right to give. He found that out sparring with her one day, and had suffered a black eye for it. She'd apologized for hours. They didn't teach those kinds of skills up in Deluxe, and he didn't press them.

After they'd lived there for three weeks, Ilana had told them that her father was probably dead and she'd abandoned him and it was her fault.

Julie had hugged her around the waist and let her bury her face in her hair while Lance and Newton watched, expressions tight. When Ilana left, Lance followed, and they saw him take her hand a mere moment before they disappeared out of sight. Newton's expression turned sad, and when Mike asked later, he merely muttered that he'd used to have a hand to hold, too.

Lance wasn't as forthcoming, but Ilana told him one night while they watched the neon lights that Lance found it hard to trust because he trust was broken often. He didn't have a father.

Mike nodded solemnly. Neither did her.

It was two months later when the attack came. Sure, they'd help fend off other attacks, yes, but nothing of this magnitude. There were so many bots, so many, and they were nigh indestructible and had terrible lasers and even shot blades, for the love of God. Texas's arm hung useless at his side, Dutch was unconscious, Julie's face was a mess of bruised and blood, Chuck's lip was spilt and he limped, and Mike looked worse of all, covered in cuts and bruises and gashes. His gang (those still conscious, that was) watched with anxious eyes as he searched desperately for a way to escape.

"We'll distract them," he gasped to Lance, Ilana, and Newton. "You guys run."

"We won't leave you!" Ilana shouted. "I won't leave anyone else behind!"

"This isn't your fight!"

"It is!" Lance shot back.

"Go!" Julie yelled, readying her boomerang.

The three exchanged nervous glanced. Lance was the first to nod.

"We won't leave you," Newton muttered.

And then there was light, and Ilana and Lance and Newton were gone, replaced with glorious, ancient-looking machines that made quick work of the bots that had almost killed their new friends.

Mike and the others watched with wide-eyed shock. The golden robot was the first to return to its true form, and Ilana smiled sheepishly as her friends removed their armor as well. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you. We weren't going to. But we couldn't…"

"We couldn't let you die," Lance finished. "Which you would have, without our help. You're welcome."

Mike sputtered some unintelligible noises. It took him a moment to get it together. Julie actually had to gall to laugh at him.

"I…uh…thanks," he offered lamely. "Uh…where are you guys from, exactly?"

The three looked at each other, shook their heads, and broke into laughter.

"WHO ARE THEY?!"

"Uh, I dunno…"

"Tooley, get out of here!" Kane was yelling, and Tooley flinched. "Send him back in."

Tooley nodded, looking dejected, and left the room. It took a beat longer than it should have for him to come in, but that wasn't surprising. He was always late.

"You've failed me twice," Kane spat. "See if you can make it up to me."

"What do you want me to do?"

Kane turned back to the screen, pausing the video a second before the three transformed, glaring at their hard, determined expression. "Get them. Capture at least one. On second thought, two." He looked at the screen. "You can kill the other. But I want at least one to get information out of. And if they won't talk, their friend will…suffer for it."

Behind his mask, Red smiled psychotically. "Yes, sir."