The mood was somber on the spaceship ride to mars. Vinnie's normally sunny disposition turned stormy upon learning of Harley's grim medical diagnosis. He isolated himself in the back of the spaceship, refusing to speak to anyone.
The Biker Mice, Charley, Carbine, Torque, and the medic left earth almost immediately after the Biker Mice returned to the Last Chance garage and were told that Harley was expected to die soon. The fact that their journey to mars would be extremely dangerous given the presence of the numerous criminals and bounty hunters on the planet did not deter the group from visiting what could be their friend's deathbed.
"Harley worked in the electronic landfill on Plutopia for a long time," Torque explained to Modo sadly as they sat together on the ship. "That was where the Plutarkians sent all of their e-trash, old computers, cell phones, vidcoms, you name it. Of course, the electronics all have heavy metals in them that leach into the ground, contaminating it. For years, lead, mercury, cadmium, and who knows what others were washed into the ground by the acid rain on Plutopia.
Torque continued to tell Modo about the immense pollution found on Plutopia and the adverse effects it had on the health of those forced to live there until she started to drift off to sleep. She leaned over to rest her head on Modo's shoulder, forgetting the fact that his right arm is now metal. She quickly realizes her error and sits up.
"Do you ever miss your arm?" Torque asked softly as she touched Modo's bionic arm.
"Not as much as I missed you," Modo said as he brushed some of Torque's cinnamon colored hair out of her face.
The two smiled at each other. Torque then moved to the other side of Modo, where she rested her head on his "good" shoulder, the one that was still flesh. She fell asleep.
Her sleep was not peaceful. She dreamed about when she first came to Plutopia after being captured by the rats and sold into slavery. She dreamed about the mass graves that she was forced to help dig to bury those Martians who did not survive life on Plutopia. Witnessing emaciated children die from starvation and diseases caused by the lack of sanitation on Plutopia.
Modo, who had started to doze off himself, awoke to Torque's screaming. "Torque, Torque," he said soothingly as he tried to wake her. "It's okay, you're safe now."
Torque woke up and placed her hand over her heart. She looked at Modo and hugged him.
"What's going on back here," Throttle said as he emerged from the front of the ship where he had been piloting with Carbine.
"I just had a bad dream," Torque answered. "About Plutopia. I…"
Torque was interrupted by the ship landing, rather roughly, on the ground. Carbine had landed the ship on an asteroid a short distance away from Black Rock asteroid, which was now deserted. The freedom fighters had alerted Jupitus that the Biker Mice and their allies would be shortly en route to mars. The group left the Martian spaceship on the asteroid while they rode with Jupitus in his spaceship the rest of the way to mars. Jupitus would return to mars to get some freedom fighters to pick up the ship once the coast was clear. Jupitus' newest spaceship was equipped with an invisible mode that made it undetectable to even the most sophisticated technology. He flew the spaceship past the bounty hunters and criminals directly to the headquarters of the freedom fighters. He entered a secret underground tunnel where he left the group, who were greeted by Rimfire, Primer, and Stoker.
"We have some bad news," Rimfire said somberly. "Mace has been spotted on mars. Apparently he's looking to cash in on the bounty on Harley and Aunt Torque's head too."
"Why am I not surprised?" Torque asked sarcastically. "Oh, I know because Mace is a slime ball who would sell his own mother out if it meant getting his blood-stained hands on some money."
It was true. Mace's lavish lifestyle on Plutopia II did not come cheap. Mace was in debt up to his forehead. His high interest credit cards were maxed out. His mansion was in danger of foreclosure because he could barely afford to pay for the mortgage and the mansion's upkeep. His luxury cars were gas guzzlers. His wardrobe came from only the finest clothing designers and cost him far too many Plutarkian gold bars. He desperately needed some money to avoid going bankrupt. That and he wanted to capture the two Martian females to satisfy his own personal vendetta against the Biker Mice. He became almost giddy when he thought about ways of enacting revenge against the Biker Mice and two of the most important figures in their lives.
"What about Harley?" Charley asked. "How is she doing?"
"She's in a lot of pain," Rimfire said, speaking because Stoker balled up his fists in anger when her name was mentioned. Apparently, he was too upset to talk about Harley's medical condition. "The medics are trying to keep her as comfortable as possible. They say that at this point, that's all they can do for her." Rimfire lowered his head in grief.
"Well, where is she," Vinnie asked, his face stricken with fear. "We'll get Mace later but right now all I care about is Harley. I want to see her before…before it's too late." Vinnie said as he choked on his words. Charley, who was standing beside him, placed her hand on his shoulder.
The Biker Mice, with Carbine riding with Throttle, Torque riding with Modo, and Charley riding with Vinnie, followed Rimfire, Primer, and Stoker through a series of tunnels located underground. The tunnels had been used by the freedom fighters during the Plutarkian war to transport supplies and troops in secret.
After riding through what seemed to be a maze, they finally to an elevator built into the side of a rock wall. At one point in time, there had been a security code on the elevator but apparently it had been destroyed when sand raiders had come to raid Karbunkle's old lab after the Plutarkian war had ended. The sand raiders had been freaked out by the vivisected body parts, vials of unknown chemicals, and grotesque displays of remains in Karbunkle's lab and left it as it was. The lab had only been discovered when the freedom fighters had sought to extend their network of tunnels to evade rats and sand raiders.
The group was greeted by armed guards when they reached the lab. The guards stood down when they recognized Rimfire, Primer, and Stoker. The group walked down a long hallway until they reached a lab that looked far too much like the one where Karbunkle had experimented with the Biker Mice. The mice grimaced as they remembered what happened to them in a lab similar to the one they were now in.
Their unpleasant memories came to an end when they reached the area of the lab where Harley was located. Everyone was taken aback by Harley's appearance. She had deteriorated rapidly since leaving Plutopia. She was completely emaciated. Her limbs had begun to atrophy. She was very weak and could not even hold her head up.
"Vinnie," Harley called out weakly. "Vinnie, are you here?"
Vinnie rushed over to her side. "What is it sweetheart?" he asked as kneeled by her bedside and held her hand.
A tear appeared in the corner of Harley's eye and fell down the side of her face. "I'm sorry that I didn't fight Mace that day when he grabbed me. If I had fought back, this would have never happened."
"It wasn't your fault Harley, it was all Mace's fault," Vinnie said firmly. "We're going to make him pay for what he did to you. I promise you Harley, I will not rest until he is rotting in intergalactic prison or worse…"
Harley tried to reach up to touch Vinnie's face but it was too painful for her. She winced in pain.
"Revenge won't do any good. It's already too late for me," Harley said in defeat.
Torque rushed over to Harley's bedside.
"No Harley, it is never too late!" Torque emphasized as she grabbed Harley's other hand. "We survived too long on that miserable moon for you to concede defeat when we have finally got our freedom. You've got to fight this Harley. I know you can survive."
You can't give up now."
Tears appeared in Torque's eyes. "You just can't," she told Harley fiercely.