A.N.

Happy New Year everyone!

So very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very very sorry I haven't been heard from for an eternity and a half.

I've been so caught up in all the stuff that's been going on around me that I haven't had time to even think about any of my stories.

I've been a bad fanfic parent, I know.

Anyhow here's the next chapter.

Enjoy!

Ch. 24

(Burner Practice Track)

Everyone crowded around Mike as he came closer, but stopped short when they saw the condition he was in. His face was covered in bruises, the bottom lip was cut, and it looked like someone tried their hardest to break his nose. Topped off with the minor limp, the way he hissed through his teeth when he moved even a finger, and how many of the bandages there were left covering his face he looked quite the sight.

Chuck, his oldest friend, came over to him and gently placed his hands on Mike's shoulders to stir him clear of everyone.

"C'mon Buddy," the blonde said, "let's get you sat down and fixed up."

"Thanks," Mike replied. As they passed the Terras he asked, "What're they doing here?"

Chuck looked hesitant, wondering what he should tell his friend concerning this whole ordeal, then answered, "They're here to help."

"What?" the brunette asked, confused.

"Yeah, w-we were surprised too," his friend replied with a shaky laugh.

"Chuckles," Mike normally said that nickname with a small laugh of his own, but this time he was quite serious.

"I'll tell you in a little bit," he promised before setting Mike at one of the few tables that was not covered in tools or blueprints. "Right now you better sit down. I'll get the first aid kit."

A small rumble came none too quietly from Mike's stomach when Chuck added with a grin, "And maybe a sandwich. If I can find some stuff that's actually edible in this place."

Mike smirked at little as he sat down and tried to collect his thoughts. He knew he would have to answer his friends'- and at the moment, frenemies'- questions before long.

But the time was snatched away from him sooner than he would have liked as Claire came over to him looking frazzled and puffy-eyed, completely out of character for the usually calm and over-cool girl.

"Have you seen Julie? Where is she? Didn't she come with you?" she fired off as she looked around and behind him like they were playing a game of Hide-and-Seek.

Mike swallowed, took a deep breath, and replied, "I saw her before we, Dutch's family and I, got here. She managed to help get me out of my cell, and I would've brought her with me, but she didn't really give me a choice."

"What do you mean?" Claire asked in a throaty voice.

"She," he hesitated, "she- she kind of- threw me out of her Pod and into the Gordy's so we could escape. She stayed behind so Kane wouldn't come down with more of his men to find her."

Claire blinked, "So... She got left behind?"

Mike nodded sadly and opened his mouth to say more when

SMACK! SMACK!

Claire palmed and backhanded Mike so hard on both sides of his already bruised face that he fell out of chair with a crash, the back of his head banging against a nearby tabletop.

Naturally everyone stopped their work again and all became quiet to watch the scene unfold.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Claire asked at the top of her lungs. "JULIE HAS DONE NOTHING BUT RISK HERSELF FOR YOU THE VERY MOMENT SHE CAME DOWN HERE AND YOU GO AND LEAVE HER BEHIND?!"

"I didn't want t-" Mike tried to argue feebly as the upset woman towered over him, an angry aura surrounding her so thick nobody dared interferred.

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE HER BEHIND! I DIDN'T EITHER! BUT AT LEAST YOU COULD'VE DONE SOMETHING! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE HERO!"

At that Mike took on an angry expression, jumped up from his position on the floor and replied none too gently, "AND THAT MADE JULIE WHAT? THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS, LIKE YOU?!"

Claire gasped and backed away slightly, "I- I never meant..."

Before Mike could say anything more Chuck came around with a tray full of first aid and food supplies and hurriedly made his way to the scene.

"Uh, h-here Claire," he said as he passed her the tray, "set this down on the table over... there." He pointed to one a the other end of the dining area.

Nodding her head bleakly Claire did as she was told while Chuck turned to Mike.

"Look Mike," the blonde began in an uncharacteristically firm voice, "I know you're upset about what's happened to Julie. We all are, Claire most of all, but we won't be able to do anything if we start tearing into each other."

He picked up a fallen tool and made his way back to the others, but not before saying one more thing.

"Kane's been tearing us apart for years. Don't make it easier for him."

With that he walked away and Jacob called everyone back to work.

"Alright people! Let's get back to it!" And almost instantly everyone present grabbed a tool or piece of machinery.

Dutch looked to his family and said, "If you guys would rather rest or something-"

"Nice try Son," his father interrupted, "but you're not getting rid of us that easy."

With a smile Derek turned to Egon and said, "Hand me that polyfiber fusion torch, would you?"

"Care to help with the plasma discharger Tennie?" Alison asked the young girl.

As this was going on Mike looked down at the mess that was around him and would have picked it up had he not seen something that made his heart wretch.

At the other side of the diner, in the secluded corner where Chuck sent her, Claire was trying her best to put the supplies in a neat pattern but stopped every few seconds to wipe a tear from her eyes.

Mike rubbed the back of his head and thought to himself, "Nice Chilton. You lost your girlfriend, had your hosts' home destroyed, got into a shouting match with said girlfriend's best friend, and got a talking to by your best friend all in the same day. What're you going to do next?"

Yet somehow, even while he was thinking these things, his feet seemed to know what he had to do next before him. Because no sooner had his train of thought ended then he was right next to the crying woman.

"H-hey," he said uncertainly.

Claire looked at him and replied, "Hi", before wiping another tear away.

"Um, look Claire," Mike stated. "I'm sorry about what I said I was just-"

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," she interrupted. "I shouldn't have said what I did, or hit you. I knew you wouldn't have left Julie behind if you had the choice.

"It's just so hard it's come to this. I mean, I've always known that her dad was a creep, but I thought it was because he was still grieving over Rebecca dying."

"Rebecca?" he asked.

"Yeah. She was Kane's wife and a great racer," she replied. Then she smiled as she took the picture from her pocket, "This is her actually."

She handed it to him and Mike looked at the picture.

It was an old digital print-out picture from he could tell by the date at the bottom right corner: 8/14/2100. Nearly twelve years before the Great Storm and before the collapse that preceded it.

The setting appeared to be a racetrack that was in prime condition. A holo-Jumbotron with the words WINNER: B. "WILDCAT" JAMES! was projected in bright gold letters; stands that nearly hid the clear blue sky overhead, and a shower of confetti and other colored paper lightly obstructing the proud-looking racer and her vehicle. The car looked like an older version of 9 Lives but had no police lights on top, and there was a decal of a fierce wildcat gracing the hood.

But what really drew Mike's attention was the racer herself.

She looked exactly like Julie except for a few differences. One was that her hair was so brown it looked black. Second was that her eyes were amber yellow and were framed with black-rimmed glasses. Third, she was dressed in a full-body racing suit, yellow with black stripes like a tiger and her boots were black with yellow stripes like her racing gloves. Lastly, and most surprising, was that this smiling woman was holding her trophey in her lap as she waved to the camera in an open, hovering wheelchair that was decked out like her racecar.

Claire looked at Mike's expression and giggled.

"Never knew she had a famous mother huh?" she asked as she gently took the picture back.

"It's not that," he answered. "I mean, yeah, it kinda is. Julie said that her mom was a famous racer, but she just never mentioned she was... well..."

"Parapolygic?" she finished for him. She giggled again, "Not a lot of people did until this picture was taken. She would always lean out of her window, wave, and leave to receive her trophey in private."

"What changed?" Mike asked in regard to the photo.

Claire shrugged, "Not sure. I guess she got tired of hiding and decided to let everyone see the real her. Let everybody know that she had flaws and limitations just like everyone else. And I guess to remind them that she was human."

"Wise woman," he commented. "Nice to see where Julie got her character from."

"Yeah."

They slipped into silence for a moment before whatever the group was working on started and a small backfire sound echoed through the grounds.

"Heads up!" Jacob called and everyone ducked as a large puff of exhaust shot out with a few sparks.

When it did a windburst came through and blew Rebecca's picture out of Claire's hands again. Mike got up and followed it as it wound its way toward a lamp, the picture facing down, and landed right on it.

He got there in time and took it away from the lamp before it could heat up. But as he did something faint appeared at the back of the picture.

"What?" he whispered in thought.

Cautiously he placed the picture back toward the light at a safe distance and his eyes widened as he saw something at the back appear more clearly.

"Hey guys!" Mike called out.

Jacob, Chuck, Dutch and Claire came toward him while Texas, the Gordys and the Cablers stayed with the Terras.

"What is it Mikey?" Chuck asked as he neared his friend.

Mike showed them the back of the picture and Jacob's face broke into a huge smile as a bark of laughter left his lips.

"Becky! You clever little genius!"

Everyone backed up from him a few steps, wondering if their old friend had finally gone nuts.

A.N. (Again)

I hope you all enjoyed this and that it was worth the wait.

Also please don't be too mad at Claire. She was reacting to the fact her best friend was still in danger, and who would not act like that? (I also wanted to capture a little bit of the underlining jealousy that she had towards Mike like she did in the episode "Julie and the Amazons".)

Up next:

How's Julie doing since her last tussle with Red and what exactly did he do to her?

Read, review, and remind me to come back soon if I stray for more than a week or two please.