Planet: Mars
Location: Quiet Grove
XXX
Charley watched the terrain pass by them, grateful that her helmet kept the worst of the dust out of her face. She couldn't help but feel sorrow for Mars. She knew that the landscape should have been vastly different, but now, because of the Plutarkians, barely a husk of the old Mars remained.
"You ok back there, Charley girl?" Vinnie asked. Charley shook her head and sighed.
"Yeah, I'm just wondering what this place would have looked like before the Plutarkians showed up." She added sadly. She heard Vincent sigh.
"I think you would have loved it, Charley- girl. This place was called Quiet Grove." Charley snorted, looking down pointedly at the bike she was on.
"It's not really that quiet now." She said teasingly. Sweetheart beeped in return, and Vinnie chuckled.
"Yeah, no. But, before the Plutarkians, this place was one of the most peaceful on Mars. It….it was also a cemetery." He paused for a moment. "Throttle's father was buried here. The day the Plutarkians destroyed it was the day we joined the Freedom Fighters."
Charley felt her heart sink as she glanced at the tan leader. To anyone else, he would have seemed fine, but Charley could see how stiff his posture was. She bit her lip, cursing the Plutarkians. Those heartless bastards were gonna pay for what they had done. She looked back up as they turned right, towards an area that appeared to be a very rocky. The bros parked their bikes close to the hill, and Charley noticed for the first time a doorway was hidden in the rock, rather cleverly. Vinnie got off the bike and held out his hand to Charley to help her off. Charley was shocked at the thoughtfulness the normally chauvinistic mouse displayed. But as she grabbed his hand and climbed off the bike, she noticed the smile he gave her. It wasn't the flirtatious one she was used to. It was warm. The way the bros would smile at each other when they were messing around, and just for a moment, the weight of the world left their shoulders and they were just a bunch of bros having fun.
She smiled back as she removed her helmet, the bros following suit. Throttle lead the way into the cave, but not before holding a finger up to his mouth, telling them to be silent. As they entered, Charley was surprised at the interior of the cave. The entryway lead to a living room with a couch, two sofa chairs and a coffee table in the middle. In one of the chairs sat an elderly female Martian. Her light tan fur showed signs of greying, and her long hair was in a braid hanging down her shoulder. She wore a dark gray dress with short sleeves and a white apron on. She was reading a book, humming to herself as she did so. Throttle's face lit up in a smile as he moved forward silently. He snuck behind her, then lifted his arms as if he was going to scare her.
"Don't even think about it." She said smugly. Throttle visibly deflated and slumped over the back of the chair with a sigh.
"Darn it, I thought I had you this time." The woman chuckled and put the book on her lap, lifting her hands and pulling at his ears.
"I'm your mother, I know you like the back of my hand." Throttle chuckled then moved down and kissed her cheek.
"Hi Mom." He said gently, and pulled her into a hug. She returned it fiercely. When they pulled back, they briefly touched antennae together, making them glow for a second. The woman then turned to them, smiling at Modo and Vinnie.
"Hello again boys. You are looking spiffier every time I see you." She then looked past them, and spotted Charley. Her eyes widened in shock. "An Earther?" Charley waved nervously as Modo and Vinnie stepped aside, allowing Throttle's mom full view anymore. Throttle smiled at her, beckoning to her to step forward. She hesitated before doing so. Throttle's mom got up, holding the book to her chest she did.
"Charley, this is my mom, Amelia. Mom, this is Charlene Davidson. She's the newest Freedom Fighter recruit, and our new team mate. She's also one of the best bike jockeys around." Vinnie laughed behind them.
"Yeah, she's nearly as good as Harley." Amelia looked Charley directly in the eye, as if she were studying her. Charley fidgeted, before gather her courage and clearing her throat.
"It's…it's nice to meet you, Amelia…uh…ma'am." Her voice raised a pitch at the end, and she winced. Amelia raised an eyebrow at her, before giggling.
"Oh, no need to be so nervous dear." She smiled brightly and held out a hand to Charley, who took it in a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you dear." Charley breathed a sigh of relief.
"Likewise, ma'am." Charley said returning the smile. Amelia then turned back to her son.
"So, why the sudden visit? I thought you all were busy with Freedom Fighter business." At this, all four of the young Freedom Fighters winced.
"Um...well...You see mom, we….may have pissed Stoker off a little…" Throttle started. Amelia, blinked before turning and looking towards Vinnie with a raised eyebrow.
"What did you do this time, Vincent?" The white mouse jumped.
"Why are you asking me?" Vinnie asked indignantly. Amelia rolled her eyes.
"Because normally, you are the cause of whatever trouble you boys got yourselves into." Charley barely hid a snort with a cough.
"Um, actually ma'am, this time, it was my fault." She admitted. Amelia looked at her with wide eyes, before sighing and walking towards the kitchen. Throttle watched his mom leave.
"Uh, mom?" He asked. She glanced back at him.
"Why don't you boys get settled? Modo, Vincent, you know where your rooms are. Throttle, please show Charley to one of the guest rooms. I'm going to put the kettle on and fix us some lunch. I have a feeling your story is going to take a while." Once she left, the bros all looked at each other, shrugged then moved to do the mouse's bidding. Throttle gestured to Charley to follow him as he moved deeper into the cave. Charley did so, and soon Throttle lead her to a room which held a bed and a dressing table. There was a window in the wall, and Charley could see Earth far in the horizon.
"There's a bathroom through that door. You can freshen up if you'd like." Throttle said with a smile before heading off, probably to his own bedroom. Charley quickly headed to the bathroom, finding what looked like a shower, along with a toilet and a sink. Remembering that Mars had little to no water left after the Plutarkians, she decided against a shower, and just used the sink to splash a tiny amount of water on her face to get rid of the dust. After drying her face off with a towel, she wondered back into the room to the dressing table. Rummaging in the drawers, she managed to find a brush. It looked like it was more suited for the thick fur of a mouse, but it was doable. Undoing her ponytail, she brushed out all of the tangles in her hair, deciding to leave it loose for the time being. She noticed, with a shock that her hair had grown about half an inch since she got here. Maybe she would ask one of the guys to trim it for her…no bad idea. Best to wait and ask Harley, once they got back to headquarters. There was a knock at her door, and she looked up to see Throttle come in, holding a bundle in his arms. He wasn't wearing his freedom fighter attire anymore, having switched them out for a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans, his feet now only covered in socks.
"These are from my mom, she figured you might not have anything else to wear." He said with a smile as he put the clothes on the bed. "I already took care of the 'tail problem'." He added. Charley raised an eyebrow.
"You can sew?" Throttle smiled.
"Hey, my mom taught me a few things. Besides, have you seen the way Vinnie drives? The only reason his clothes are even holding together is cause of me and Modo." With that, he left again closing the door behind him. Charley made her way over to the pile of clothes. The material felt almost similar to cotton, but it felt slightly rougher. It consisted of a shirt with quarter sleeves, and a pair of long pants. There was also a hoodie. Quickly changing out of her Freedom Fighter clothes, she decided to follow Throttle's example and took off her shoes, leaving her socks on. Folding the clothes up neatly she left the room and headed back towards the living room when something on the wall caught her eye.
Photographs, hanging on the wall. The first was photo of a young tan mouse, probably around 12 or 13. Charley smiled as she realized this must be Throttle. She glanced at the next one, seeing a younger Amelia pushing Throttle on a swing. He was probably around 6 in this photo. The final one had another mouse in it. He was a darker brown, and his hairstyle was almost exactly like Throttle. Actually, he was the spitting image of Throttle…or rather Throttle was the spitting image of him. He held a little baby mouse in his arms, as the little bundle fell asleep in his arms. His face held a gentle smile, one Charley recognized as Throttle's own.
A hand on her shoulder drew her attention, and she turned to Throttle as he looked at the photo with a sad smile.
"That's my father, Colt. He died when I was 4, so it's just been me and my mom since then." Charley looked at the photo with interest, before closing her eyes.
"My mom died when I was 6." She opened her eyes to see Throttle looking at her in shock. "I never knew my father, but from what my uncle told me about him, I'm glad I didn't." She had a sad smile. "Uncle Jacob was the one that taught me how to fix a bike. When I was ten, he bought me this book called Danny The Champion of the World by Roald Dahl. In the book, the kid's dad, who's a mechanic, teaches him how to take apart a small engine and put it back together again by the time he's seven." She giggled. "My uncle told me: 'Well, Cyclone, you're a bit behind, but I think I can teach you to be as good as Danny.' It's my favorite book to this day." She heard a snort from Throttle, and turned to look at him. He was biting his lip to hold back a smile as he looked at her.
"'Cyclone'?" He asked with a chuckle. She blushed and giggled.
"His nickname for me. I was a bit of an energetic child, and I got into a bit of trouble as a kid." She finished. Throttle smiled, holding his chin.
"Mmm, Charley 'Cyclone' Davidson. That's actually not a bad Freedom Fighter name. It's got a nice ring to it." Charley laughed and punched his shoulder. He laughed and pulled her into a headlock, giving her a noogie. Charley growled and fought against him. Then remembering a weak spot of Throttle's she reached around and tickled him in his side. He yelped and leaped back, but Charley followed him, continuing her attack on his sides. He started laughing hard, begging her to stop. His specs fell off at some point, and she could see how tears started to form in his eyes from laughing too hard. Footsteps came closer and before she knew it, Modo and Vinnie had joined the pile. Modo seemed to have taken her side in the wrestle, while Vinnie joined Throttle's side. Modo tried to hold Throttle down, while Vinnie tried to take her down by wrapping his tail around her waist and lifting her up. She laughed, and reached out to poke his neck, which cause him to drop her with a startled laugh. She immediately launched herself at him, tackling him till they ended up in a roll on the ground. In the end, they ended up in a massive dog pile, with Modo at the bottom, Throttle and herself on top of him, and Vinnie laying over them. They were all laughing hysterically, and when Charley opened her eyes, she spotted Amelia watching them from the kitchen doorway. She was smiling widely at them, and her eyes were alight with joy. Finally, she shook her head and laughed.
"Alright kids, calm down! Lunch is ready, so dust yourselves off and come and join me at the table. Then you can tell me how an Earther ended up on Mars." She finished with a smile before retreating back into the kitchen. They all took a few moments to calm down, before Vinnie got up and pulled both her and Throttle to their feet, while Modo got up by himself, still chuckling.
"Man, the last time we had a good wrestle like that was back before we joined the Fighters." He said, while dusting off his arms and chest. He had also changed, now wearing a white tank top with a pair of dark grey jeans, and also wearing no boots but having his socks on. Vinnie was sporting a deep green t-shirt, and a black pair of pants, and a pair of tan socks. Throttle chuckled as he retrieved his specs cleaning them using the hem of his shirt before hanging it from his collar.
"Yeah. It feels pretty good." He sounded wistful. As he and the bros moved toward the kitchen, Charley held back. It had felt good. Almost as if she were back home again. But she wasn't. And the longer she stayed here, the more she thought she didn't want to leave. Here, the guys were still carefree and young, without the weight of a war of two worlds laying on their shoulders…and if she could keep it that way, she would.
"You comin', Charley?" Modo asked as he paused in the doorway looking back at her with a smile. She looked up at him and returned the smile.
"Right behind you, Big Guy."
XXX
Planet: Mars
Location: Karbunkle's Laboratory
XXX
"You ignominious imbeciles! This is delicate equipment, how did you not notice it had been tampered with?" The wheezy voice of one Dr. Benjamin Boris Zachary Karbunkle sounded out as he inspected the damaged control panel of the Tug-Transformer. Well, damaged was the wrong word. He could easily repair it within a week, but it still brought a sense of annoyance. Someone had gone to great lengths to tamper with the wiring of the control panel. If it were not for his thorough practice of checking his equipment down to their core, no one would have noticed it. The Plutarkian grunts that had transported the parts gulped.
"Well, we didn't see anything wrong with it, so we thought they hadn't messed with it." Karbunkle turned to them, ready to shout at them again when a voice called.
"Doctor, what appears to be the problem?" he turned to see his employer, Stilton enter the room, with his lackey Limburger following behind. He sighed.
"Just a tiny setback in the construction of the Tug-Transporter, your most royal herringness." He pointed towards the soldiers in the room, who were shaking a little. "These moronic fish-heads let some of those infuriating Freedom Fighters sneak into their camp while they were transporting the parts. And I fear that the control panel has been tampered with. I will be able to repair it within a week's time." He concluded. Stilton growled at the soldiers.
"Well, I'll be sure to let the High-Chairman know about their incompetence. Do what you can to repair the parts, dear Doctor. Limburger, come." And with that, he turned and marched out of the room, Limburger following behind.
"Yes, my lord Stilton." He mumbled. Karbunkle rolled his eyes. What a pathetic excuse for a Plutarkian. But he was nothing compared to those Freedom Fighters. He smiled wickedly. No matter. Once he repaired the control panel, he could focus on his latest invention. It was sure to turn the tide for them. He had already thought of a name for it. The Mind Bender Beam.
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