Author : Wild-Melody

Disclaimer : You want my car, then sue me…that's about the only thing you would get and you can have the payments for it. But I will fight you for it! I have absolutely no money, so if that's what you're after, tough luck.

Summary : The Rocket Power Gang as teenagers, other than that, I have no clue at the moment.

A/N : This fic takes place in the future, Reggie is 17, Otto and Sammy 16 and Twister will be turning 16 in a few days, oh and Lars is 19.

I WANT IT THAT WAY

Chapter 2

Otto watched as the guy stepped out of the truck, gently shutting the truck door behind him. The guy turned to face the three friends and Otto felt his breath catch in his throat. The guy's hair was brown with a shade of red highlights mixed in, and came to just below his ears. His eyes were brown, and Otto noticed, watching Twister closely. The gap that had been between his teeth was there no longer, instead his teeth were straight and perfectly white. His skin was tanned and smooth, not a single blemish scarred it.

Otto gasped. No way, it just can't be, Otto thought to himself.

"Hey guys, shouldn't you be in school? Or is it out already?" The guy asked as he walked up to them.

"Lars?!" Otto asked, completely in disbelief.

"Who else do you think I would be?" Lars asked and laughed. Actually laughed, not the usual laughter heard after he had finished tormenting his little brother and his little friends. It was actual, real laughter!

Otto just looked at him, completely speechless. He raised his eyebrows as he turned to look at Twister and Sammy, unsure of how to deal with or take this new side of Lars.

Lars' brown eyes glanced around, to look at Twister and Sam too. "Hey little bro, how was school this year?" he asked Twister, then looked over at Sammy. "Hi Sam…or is it still Squid?"

"Um…Sam's fine, unless you want to call me Squid, that is." Sam answered weakly.

Lars laughed, "Sam it is then," then he looked over at Otto. "Looks like your missing one of your group."

"Yeah, well…looks like your missing all of yours." Otto shot back. "Besides, Reg will be here in no time."

Lars held his hands up in front of him, "Harsh Otto-man, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just saying that Reggie isn't with you guys, that's all."

"She'll be here soon enough," Otto said. "She had to work."

"Reggie has a job?" Lars inquired.

"Yeah, what of it?" Otto snapped.

"Nothing, just asking." Lars said.

Otto eyed Lars suspiciously. "What's your deal man?" He asked.

"My deal?"

Otto stood up so that he was face to face with Lars and belatedly realized that Lars was a full head taller than he was. He got in his face anyhow. "Yeah, your deal. This isn't the Lars I know. He would have whomped either Twister or I by now…you haven't. Who are you and where's the real Lars at and just what in the hell are you doing back?!"

"Chill Otto, just calm down for a sec, would ya?" Lars said. "I'm still me…I've just changed, that's all and as for why-" Otto cut him off.

"Yeah, well, that remains to be seen!" Otto fairly snarled.

"No more whompings?" Twister suddenly asked, sounding just a bit excited.

Lars turned his attention from Otto and looked down at his little brother. "Nope, no more whompings," He said as he placed a hand on Twister's striped cap.

There was a sudden squealing of tires that drew the group's attention as a bright purple car shot around the turn and slid into the driveway. The Grand Am didn't have enough time to stop so its front end collided with the back end of Lars' truck. There was the sharp sound of metal crinkling and a loud crunch. "What the hell?!" Lars swore as he started toward the two vehicles.

"This should be interesting," Otto whispered to Twister and Sammy.

"Yelling match?" Sam inquired.

"Yelling match hell," Otto said softly, just starting to head toward the car and truck, "Lars is going to kill Reggie." Poor Reggie, Otto thought to himself.

"I think Lars is going to whomp Reggie," Twister said softly.

"He said he changed though, remember?" Sammy asked.

"Like I believe that," Otto said.

"Who parked this piece of shit here?" Reggie yelled as she got out of her car and slammed the door shut. She walked around to the front to look at the damage, surveying the mildly crinkled and dented hood. "Great! Dad's going to kill me for sure!" She yelled. She bent down and inspected the damage a little closer, then looked over the gray and black thunderstorm painted on the front of the hood and the sides of the front end, then she moved on down the car, looking over the lightning bolt that streaked out of the storm and traveled down both sides of the car. Getting back up, she walked down to the truck and glanced at the damage done to its backend.

"Who's piece of…shit…is…this…" she trailed off as she turned around to look at her friends and spotted Lars for the first time. "Oh shit," she said softly beneath her breath. "I'm going to get it for sure now." When did he get back? She asked herself.

"It's my piece of shit," Lars answered once he had stopped in front of her, "they call it a truck." He stood there in front of her doing nothing while her mouth was opened wide in astonishment.

"Well duh!" Reggie finally shot back, regaining her composure. "I know that."

"They actually trust you to drive?"

"Yeah, well…look who's talking!" Reggie growled.

"I didn't just run into a parked truck," Lars said.

"Not the first thing she's ran into," Otto commented under his breath.

"Otto," Reggie warned, her eyes narrowed.

"Or the last," he added softly, intending not to be heard.

Lars heard him though and smiled at Reggie, "Had a few accidents already?"

Reggie blushed a deep crimson red and decided to change the subject. She glanced back down at the vehicles, "Well, Lars, the damage isn't actually that bad, seems to just be mostly cosmetic-"

"Cosmetic? Not really a word one would expect to hear out of you," Lars interrupted.

"I was talking about the cosmetical damage done to the vehicles, not make-up!"

"I knew that," Lars said in all seriousness. "And since when did you pick up a thing or two about car mechanics?"

Reggie just looked at him, "What?"

Lars pointed down to the two vehicles, "Cosmetic damage?" He simply asked.

"Because of all the things she's ran into," Otto laughed. Reggie just glared at him.

"But you're the one who managed to back up into a telephone pole while looking at it," Sammy interrupted quietly.

"That's only been one thing," Otto shot back, "Reggie's hit a deer, a parked car and managed to put one of her car's in the Stimplton's pool!"

Lars looked at her, just slightly speechless. "You put your car in the Stimplton's pool?"

"I had it parked oddly and somehow it got out of park and into neutral and coasted into their pool," Reggie explained all the while glaring at Otto.

"I had nothing to do with that!" Otto said.

"Yeah, whatever Otto, but what I was trying to say," Reggie continued, looking back at Lars, "is since the damage is pretty much minimal, the insurance companies don't really need to be notified." Reggie said.

Lars was still looking at her curiously, "I want to hear more about your car going in the pool."

"Ugh!" She sighed and glared at Otto once more, "You just had to bring that up, didn't you?"

Otto just shrugged his shoulders.

"So, how did it get in the pool?" Lars asked.

"We don't know. I came home, parked it like usual, went in the house and when I came out it wasn't there. Then I heard Mr. Stimplton yelling and we found the car."

"In the pool," Twister added. "It was pretty cool. I never saw Mr. Stimplton become that shade of red before!"

"It went through the shrubs?" Lars asked.

"Yes!" Reggie shouted. "It went right through the shrubs and right into their pool! You're beginning to sound like Twister!"

"Hey!" Both Lars and Twister said at the same time.

"Can we get back to the cars in the present, please!" Reggie asked.

"It was totaled too," Twister thought to add in.

"Twister, would you shut up about that car already!? It's in the past, over and done with, ok!" Reggie yelled. "I need to find out what your brother wants to do about his truck and my car!"

Lars bent down to examine her car more closely, gently running a hand over the dented parts. "Actually Reggie, there's more than cosmetical damage done to your car." He looked up at her, "Why don't you want to report it, don't you have insurance or something?" He saw her turn a pretty shade of pink suddenly.

"Oh, she has insurance all right," Otto began.

"Otto!" Reggie growled.

Otto ignored her and continued on. "Only thing is, if she has another at-fault accident, the insurance company said they're going to drop her insurance. That's why she doesn't want to report it. I'd report it." Otto said, and smirked over at Reggie.

"Then you'd be walking to school Rocket Boy," Reggie said sweetly to him.

"That means I'd be walking too," Twister groaned.

"I'm staying out of this," Sammy said.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that Raymundo said he'd take her car if she lost the insurance." Otto said, glaring at Reggie. "Oh, besides, school's out, remember?"

"You can walk to school, next year, Otto," Reggie said coolly.

"I have no problem with not telling the insurance companies, if you're sure that's what you want to do," Lars said to Reggie. "But how are you going to hide the damage from Ray?"

"I…um…" Reggie didn't have an answer for that, it hadn't even occurred to her yet.

"You are so busted!" Otto crowed. "Looks like you'll have to walk with us."

"I'll just leave it sit here, that's what." Reggie finally said. "And you're still walking to school Otto." She glared over at her brother.

"And you don't think Raymundo is going to wonder why your car is sitting over here and not at the house?" Otto laughed.

"Well, um…it broke down?"

"You really think he'll believe that? Especially if he sees you driving it to work?" Otto asked.

Since when had Otto become the voice of reason? Reggie wondered.

"I can fix it," Lars finally spoke up.

Is this a trick, or has Lars actually changed? And just how does he know how to fix cars anyhow? To find out, you had better review or I won't post any more chapters and I have up to chapter 5 completed so far! Later…much. Be sure to review! I live on reviews after all…LOL.