Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned the Biker Mice from Mars. Such pain from this knowledge...

THANK YOU to silverphyrbyrd for the input on this chapter. Thanks for helping me out, I really appritiated it! Gave me a couple of idea's too.

Hello again to Ryn...yeah, I just couldn't resist getting Manuelo in there somehow. Personally I think he should have been a reoccurring minor character in the show, but hey, I didn't write the thing. And maybe he was, I never got to see all of the shows in the second and third seasons.

Greetings to you imcristiel. Umm...this is going to sound like a completely ignorant question, but, how exactly do I do that? Computer's and I are still working on our relationship you see. It took me forever to finally figure out how to post things here. Would you have the time to give me a few pointers? Is it anything like posting to fanfiction?

Yes, go ahead, tease the girl who can't seem to grasp the machines the rest of her generation figured out years ago. :)

Well, without further ado, here you go everyone. Enjoy!


Crouched under a torn and lice-ridden blanket, the Ti'lan hunter Ranor shifted his weight from side to side, balancing on his tail and trying to give the cramped muscles of his legs a bit of relief. Those of his race were famous for their endurance, but this job was beginning to test his reserves. The mistake was his for choosing such an uncomfortable position in which to wait for his target, but on the other hand, the options had been limited.

He had to get close to her, which meant he had to find a way into this crowd of humans. Humans who he was sure would not react well to a walking, talking, red scaled Ti'lan who resembled some of the monsters from their old horror movies. He had done the research, he knew what their first thought would be, and it would not be to form a welcoming party.

So here he was. Squatting, irritated, and if the bounty was not so high, ready to give his target a few blows for taking her damn precious time getting to him. However, the bounty was high, and the reward he would receive for bringing her in would insure that he would be able to live a more than comfortable life almost anywhere he liked. He was looking forward to purchasing a few slaves and living luxury for a change.

With that last thought running through his head like a mantra, he shifted once more and pulled the blanket a little tighter against his head and broad shoulders. He watched as his target walked by a small booth and then stopped as a small elderly human motioned her over. She turned and walked over, her ever-present helmeted companion following her like a shadow.

Damn.

He waited, trying to keep his anger from manifesting itself into an audible growl. She would make it past him eventually. And while he was not allowed to hurt her, he sure as hell was going to find a way to get a few blows in on her friend.


On the whole, Rimfire generally considered himself to be a tolerant individual. If you wanted to get by in the galaxy you just had to be flexible and admit you didn't understand the universe as much as you would like to. There were things you couldn't explain, and there were things you just didn't know. He could accept this.

What he couldn't accept at the moment was that the old man trying to sell to him and Raye a bottle of foul smelling swamp water along with a set of four 'magnetically and spiritually enhanced' bracelet's, had the power cure to cancer. And arthritis. Oh, wait, he had just thrown in the common cold as an added bonus.

He leaned over Raye's shoulder. "Come on, let's go."

She smiled politely as the man in front of her continued to ramble. "Not just yet." she whispered.

"The guy's a quack!" he hissed.

"But he's an excited quack. Look how happy he is."

"That's because he's insane."

"Just give him one more minute. I think he's ran out of things to cure. Then I'll go, I promise."

Rimfire sighed and tugged at the small ponytail at the base of his helmet in frustration. So much for being the guard in charge. Of course, if you hung out with Creed your entire life...

"But Miss, how could you say no to such an amazing product?" The small man at the booth looked genuinely disappointed as Raye turned to leave. She turned and gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, but my brother is sensitive to strong odors. Besides, he's a doctor, it would put us out of business to have such an incredible medicine along. We'd never have patients again and then..." she leaned in close, "we'd both starve to death."

Rimfire gave her a perplexed look as her voice jumped up a couple of notch's, almost as if she were upset. He was about to say something when he caught the small twitch at the corner of her mouth.

"Well, I think that's a little bit extreme but..." the old man said hesitantly.

"I don't do well without food. Have a sense of compassion please, don't make me take that back to him!" she squeaked, hiding her head in her hands. Rimfire rolled his eyes. The shopkeeper, not knowing what to do with a potentially hysterical girl backed off.

"Of...of course. I'm sorry, you go ahead, I wouldn't want you to miss the rest of the market. It's the last one you know." he said, giving her an tentative pat on the back. She shook her head and gave him a brave smile.

"Go on now." he said, practically pushing her towards Rimfire. She waved goodbye as Rimfire took her hand and started weaving through the crowd again.

"You need acting classes." he commented, once they were out of earshot.

She grinned, but said nothing.

"Still, don't you think that was a bit much?" he asked when his ribbing failed to provoke the response he had been expecting. Mainly, a slug to the shoulder.

Pausing, she looked back at the shopkeeper, who was already attempting to gather in some more potential buyers. "You think so?"

"You did encourage the guy. And now he thinks he has a one-up on doctors. He'll never let that drop."

She stopped to look at a display of handmade pottery and ran her fingers over the rim of one of the clay bowls thoughtfully.

"I suppose..." she turned to look back at the old man. "but look at him. He's so enthusiastic. He actually thinks he's doing something to make the world a better place." She looked down at the bowl again. "I don't want to be the person to take that away."

Rimfire glanced back at the animated shopkeeper speculatively. "But he's living a delusion."

"But what harm is it doing?"

"Still a lie."

"It's the truth to him."

Rimfire frowned. He wasn't sure he could agree with her train of thought. But he couldn't refute it at the moment either.

"I hope your not always this trusting. It could get you into a lot of trouble you know." he said instead, picking up the bowl she had just abandoned, turning it over in his hands carelessly, much to anxiety of the woman running the stand.

Raye smiled ruefully. "Well, I'd say it already has..."

He thought back to one of the very few so-called conversations he and Creed had had on the trip to Earth. "Alston?" he ventured.

She studied the pottery for a few moments, and then instead of answering, she turned and took the bowl from him, setting it down on the table and taking his hand again.

"I'm hungry, let's go find where all those smells are coming from." she said cheerfully. She pulled him into the street once more as he plowed along behind, trying to understand both the conversation and her sudden need for food.


Ranor ground his sharp teeth in frustration as the girl moved not closer to him, but further away, weaving through the crowd towards the booths selling hot food at the other end of the street. His target was not cooperating with his plans, and he was all too aware that he was not the only hunter out for her. This day was probably his best, if not only, chance to get a hold of her.

He eyed a dilapidated warehouse towering behind the booths advertising various forms of human cuisine and frowned. Not as close as he would like, but inside the building he could at least shed this pathetic disguise and work more freely. The warehouse ran the entire length of the block and would provide him with a better cover. Slowly he raised himself enough to shuffle into the alley behind him. Once out of the crowd he shed the blanket and utilized the strong muscles of his aching legs to sprint through the alley, running behind the tall apartment buildings to the warehouse.


Stoker shifted suddenly on his bike as the dingy figure shrank back into the shadow of the alley below.

"Rimfire, keep your eyes open kid, our man just put a move on." he said, quickly scanning the neighboring buildings for any kind of movement between them.

Down below, waiting for Raye to purchase food from a vendor, Rimfire tensed.

"You found one? Where?" he asked quietly.

"Behind you, about two blocks. Don't have a tag on him now though." Throttle answered, zeroing in with his helmet to the apartment buildings the figure had disappeared behind.

"Do you at least have an ID on him?" Rimfire asked, scanning the crowd nervously. Unconsciously, he had taken a step closer to Raye, now standing almost directly behind her.

"Negative." Stoker said. "I could tell you to look for a guy wrapped in a blanket, but the odds are against him using it again and I couldn't get a look at his face."

Rimfire took a deep breath.

"Okay, We'll start moving out of here."

"Stay where you are." Stoker said suddenly. Throttle and the others looked over in surprise as Rimfire froze in place.

"Say again coach?"

"Don't make any sudden moves kid. Do that and our hunter will react, and I don't think he'll care who gets in the way down there. Stay put and act clueless for a while. We're coming to you."

"But..."

"That's an order."


Pawnn jumped from his perch moments before the Martians moved from their own, moving quickly and quietly from building to building, keeping out of sight. It seemed the Ti'lan was becoming impatient. He peered down the crumbling side of the building he had just come to and caught a flash of red tail disappear inside. Moving to the opposite side of the roof, he looked down to see a row of steaming and smoking food stands stretching the length of the building.

Below, holding two steaming bowls of vegetables, stood the girl. He frowned and began to search the roof for a way in.


Inside the warehouse, Ranon moved to the dingy windows, clearing one enough with his hand to peer outside. He was studying the crowd outside when he heard a slight shuffle to his right and looked down to discover one of the homeless people he had been trying to imitate earlier. The ragged human lifted himself out of his blankets and peered up at the red scaled Ti'lan in a drunken haze that soon turned dead-sober.

Ranor watched as the man's grizzled face shifted from confusion to outright terror and he tensed. If the man were to scream it would almost certainly be heard through the thin and broken panes of glass of the building, drawing attention he couldn't afford. He quickly raised his fist and slammed it into the man's head before he could utter a sound, a blow that wrenched his neck well past it's acceptable range of motion. He heard the sharp snap of breaking bone as the drunk fell against the cement wall, head lolling.

Dead. He studied the crumpled figure at his feet for a moment. Not what he had intended, but at least it would insure no interference for the task ahead. He turned his attention back to the windows, searching.

A few seconds passed before he broke into a grotesque grin. There they were.


Raye paid and thanked the woman and turned to hand Rimfire his food.

"Here you go." she said, pushing the bowl towards him. He took it distractedly, neither looking at it or moving to take the two small sticks that served as eating utensils. He was still, but behind the shield of his helmet his eyes were rapidly dashing from side to side, searching the crowd.

Raye watched him for a moment before an internal alarm went off. She forgot about her lunch.

"What is it?" she asked quietly. When he didn't respond even more alarms went off, all of them communicating the same message: Something is wrong.

Without warning he took her hand in an almost crushing grip and pulled her forward, hard enough for her to lose her stability for a moment and bump against his side. The plastic bowl in her hand toppled over, spilling it's contents to the ground in front of the booth as the vendor scowled and began scolding them in broken English. Raye hastily apologized and began to stoop down to clean the mess up when Rimfire wrapped his tail around her waist, his arm around her shoulders and forcibly steered her away from the irate woman.

"Rimfire, what is..." she began, but stopped as he shoved his bowl of vegetables into her hands.

"Eat this and act normal." he said quietly, as his tail unwound itself from her waist. His arm however, stayed put as he guided them both along the row of vendors.

"Kid, what do you think your doing? Stay where you ar..." he heard Stoker growl before he turned the intercom in his helmet off.

Something was very wrong. Raye felt as though her pulse was trying to fly out of her skin, but she attempted to eat all the same, knowing from past experience when someone gave you an order in the way Rimfire had, the best you could do was shut up and follow along until you got the information you needed.

"I think a bounty hunter has found you." He said eventually, purposely keeping his voice low and his pace even, trying to keep himself from grabbing Raye and running for the nearest cover, which was what all of his battle experience was screaming for him to do at the moment.

Raye's eye's widened behind her sunglasses as her grip on her bowl tightened. Hunters. Flashbacks of Alston began rampaging through her head. Memories she didn't know she had. A musty room, a smothering hand, stinging in her neck, the defeated face of a familiar old woman looking down at her. Darkness.

"Where?" she forced the word out, keeping her eyes glued to the bowl but unable to eat. She fought hard against becoming immobile.

"I don't know. But I don't care what the coach says at the moment, we're getting out of here."

She nodded and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to ignore the unexpected panic that coursed through her like a heat wave. Darkness, needles, the white lab coats, the nakedness, the fear...no! She attempted to focus on something else but the suppressed memories came flooding back, pushing her more off balance with each passing second.

Rimfire felt her waver and wrapped his tail around her waist again, supporting her with it, trying to keep her upright. If she passed out it was going to make this ten times harder.

"Keep moving, were almost out of this." he said, his eyes moving from one passerby to another, his left hand toying with the laser pistol inside his jacket. Damn, this block was too long.


Stoker swore repeatedly under his breath as he and Throttle moved at an almost painfully slow rate through the crowds, having left their bikes behind to avoid suspicion from the hunter who could be anywhere by this point. Little by little they came closer to the end of the block, where Rimfire and Raye were supposed to be waiting.

They weren't there, and Rimfire was still off the airways.

Damn kid.


Walking slowly down the warehouse floor, Ranon let out small chuckle. If they only knew he was walking practically beside them on the other side of the wall, keeping an even pace as they made their way down the block in front of his building.

Casually, he unclipped a small but powerful smoke grenade from his belt as he came closer to a crumbling section of wall a few feet ahead, a hole large enough for him to slip his bulk through. From the other side of his belt he unclipped a specially fitted face mask, sliding it on before lobbing the grenade out into the street.


The screams began piercing the air the second the explosion sounded and the smoke filled the market. Mass chaos hit. People pushed and pulled, barreling into Rimfire and Raye, nearly knocking them down in their confusion and attempts to find safety.

Rimfire planted his feet and tightened his grip on Raye, but it did him little good as the red flash of a huge fist came out of no where, hitting his arm with the force of a pile driver. Another slammed into his left arm and sent the laser pistol flying into crowd. He crumpled to the ground with a dislocated left shoulder as Raye attempted to shout out his name, only to be stopped by a coughing fit brought on by the thick smoke in the air.

Another crushing blow came to his ribs, leaving him gasping for air. He turned his head painfully, trying, without success, to identify his attacker. The smoke was too dense. A rough hand grabbed his jacket and threw him over a massive shoulder. He was soon joined by a struggling Raye, who looked over at him from their captors' opposite shoulder with wide golden eyes, the sunglasses that had served to hide them crushed somewhere on the street. He had the presence of mind to reach up with his good arm and push the small button that re-connected him to the guys before passing out.


Creed had practically thrown the children from him the moment the screaming in the streets began, grabbing his helmet and running with Charley from Manuelo's. He hoped he hadn't injured them in his haste, but the only thing he could think about was a certain petite teenager, caught out there among the screams. Charley was knocked hard against him as they exited the store, and as he caught her he moved them against the storefront window to avoid the people barreling down the street.

Charley regained her balance quickly and was listening to the guys via her right earring, the crease in her forehead becoming deeper the longer she listened. Creed remembered why he had grabbed his helmet in the first place and slammed it painfully over his head.

Stoker's voice blared in his ears.

"Damn kid! Throttle, you got anything?"

"Negative. Too many people. Modo, Vinnie, what are you guys seeing from up there?"

"I'll tell you what I see, smoke, and lots of it. I can't...Damn! Throttle watch out, human boulder rollin' your way!" Vinnie shouted.

There came the painful sound of air rushing from deflated lungs, and then coughing.

"Kid, you okay?"

"Fine." Throttle wheezed. "I need my bike. Get down here girl, your man is taking a beating without you."

"That goes for you too!" Stoker shouted to his own bike.

Creed watched as two motorcycles tore out of a nearby alleyway, barely missing fleeing civilians as they attempted to make it down the narrow street to their owners. Knowing no better way to get to where he needed to be, he made a desperate dash out into the street, ignoring Charley's calls to wait, pushing his way across and jumping onto Stoker's ride as it crossed his path. It gave an annoyed beep and tried to shake him off, but Creed clung to the handle bars. He kicked it's side with his foot.

"I'm a doctor, can you think of someone better to assist them?" he shouted in frustration. The bike seemed unable to answer the question and stopped fighting.

"Stoker, where's Raye?" he shouted as the bikes weaved precariously through the crowd.

There was a long pause. Creed ground his teeth. He should have listened to his instincts. He should have never left her in their hands.

"Stoker!"

"We're looking junior! Believe me, we're looking!" Stoker finally answered.

Creed could hear the frustration in his voice and tightened his grip on the handlebars until his hands ached. They had no idea. Which meant he had no information to go on whatsoever.

"I'm coming to you. Find her!" he shouted before Stoker's bike lurched beneath him, jumping a series of broken vendor booths. Creed clamped his legs on the bike as tightly as he could and prayed to the god he didn't believe existed for Raye to be safe.

Reviews most welcome :)