CHAPTER 1
Chicago, we have a problem
Charley had just finished typing the email and sent it off to her sister. She felt extremely guilty for not sharing what giant changes had happened in her life over the last five years, but how could she explain it? Rocket was the biggest science fiction and comic book nut she knew. How would she tell her that actual Martians not only existed, but were anthropomorphic mice that loved hot dogs and root beer? The biker part would be the easiest to sell. Then there was Vinnie. How do you tell your only sibling that the love of your life was, well, an alien?
The six foot nine inch Martian mouse in question walked into the garage's office, planting a kiss on her cheek and a hot cup of coffee next to the keyboard. "Good morning Doll," he said, grinning. Charley smiled up at him. "Morning Vinnie." The early September morning sun was streaming through the garage windows, making his white fur shine and the flex-plate metal half mask glint. His tail caught the battered wooden chair against the wall and dragged it over so he could sit next to her. "Whatcha doing out here?" he asked, gently tucking a few strands of auburn hair behind her ear. "Sending an e-mail to my sister to apologize for hanging up on her yesterday. I was on the phone with her when you and the other two macho mice decided to crash into one of my tool cabinets.", she said, ending with a smirk.
"Heh. Yeah, sorry about that Babe," Vinnie said, looking sheepish.
"You guys cleaned the mess. No harm, no foul. I just wanted to let her know that everything is okay. I really haven't gotten many chances to talk or see her since you three crash landed into my life."
"When are we going to meet this sister of yours anyway? Afraid she might try and steal me away?" Vinnie said teasingly and with a wiggle of eyebrows.
Charley let out a small giggle and shook her head. "Rocket is not a big fan of surprises, and you three would be a ground shaking surprise. Let's just say that it could be a very tense meeting."
"Whatever you say, Beautiful. So, what do you want to do today?"Vinnie asked, changing the subject. It was Sunday, and the garage was closed. Nothing had to be done right that minute, and the house was relatively clean so if Limburger kept his stinking hands idle and no other disasters happened, it could be one of those perfect lazy Sundays. Those kind of days were few and far between and Charley planned to take advantage of this one. "As long as I'm with you," she said, raising her hand to caress his left ear, "I don't care what we do."
"Aw, Sweetheart, I love you," he murmured, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch. "I love you too Vin," she whispered, moving to kiss him.
They broke the tender kiss at the sound of Martian bike engines. The left bay door went up and in rolled Throttle and Modo.
They must be hoping for a lazy day too, Charley thought. While Throttle had his ever present blaster in its holster, and his nuke knuks glove on, he seemed a little more relaxed. Modo hadn't worn his chest armor either; but, instead sported a black t-shirt with a Harley Davidson logo across the chest. The brisk autumn air came in with the motorcycles.
"Maybe you should put on some clothes, or at least some pants Vinnie." Charley smirked at his current attire, a pair of Mighty Mouse boxer shorts.
"Good idea, Babe." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and waved at his bros as he went through the door leading to the apartment. Charley stood in the office doorway, taking her first sip of coffee. She walked out into the garage bay to greet her two best friends. "Morning, guys."
"Morning there, Charley-girl.", Throttle said, dismounting his bike.
"Good morning, Charley Ma'am.", Modo said giving here his bright smile.
"Coffee is made and breakfast is on its way," She told them as she walked into the apartment. As much as those three he-mice could get on her nerves, she enjoyed taking care of them. Somebody had too.
After breakfast was eaten and the plates were in the dishwasher, the guys and Charley sat in the living room talking and drinking coffee. As Charley sat, safely tucked under one of Vinnie's arms, she couldn't help but think that it was shaping up to be a pretty good day. And it was only two minutes past ten.
The discussion had turned to the possibility of a ride out in the country with a picnic lunch. Maybe even stopping to say hello to that sweet, old hippie couple whose farm they had saved from one of Limburger's schemes last year.
Then came the sound of a Harley engine stopping in the front of the garage. Everyone's head lifted up and Charley sighed. "Let's hope they see the closed sign and find someone else open."
The engine cut off and one of the garage bay doors started to roll open, not by force, but by remote. Charley had a quick moment of panic as she knew only five people on this planet had the remote that could open those doors, and four of them were sitting there. The fifth was in Austin.
A look of fear spread over Charley's face. "Oh no.", she said, untangling herself from Vinnie. "Oh no, no, no."
"What's wrong Lover?" He asked worry creasing his brow.
"Just stay here guys. Hopefully no one gets shot," she said opening and shutting the door leading from the living room into the garage. The bros were left sitting there, giving each other a questioning look when they heard Charley shout from the garage.
"Holy shit!" Charley exclaimed as the Harley rider pulled off her helmet. "Hey little sister, what's shaking?" Rocket greeted her with a smile, unzipping her leather jacket and pulling out her pony tail from underneath. She had dismounted her bike and was in the middle of pulling off her gloves when she stopped. The grin she had been wearing disappeared and all color drained from her face.
Charley closed her eyes for a moment and sighed heavily. She knew that her shout had brought the mice from the living room in spite of her telling them to stay put. Vinnie's hands settled on her shoulders and he cautiously asked, "Sweetheart, everything okay?"
Charley nodded and said," Guys, meet my big sister, Rocket."
"What the ever loving fu..." Rocket's voice trailed off as she stepped back. The biggest guy she had ever seen was stepping out of the doorway, then a dude who had to be at least six foot eleven stepped out behind him. Rocket blinked, gave her head a shake, and then she knew she was seeing what she thought she was seeing. The ears, the antenna, the muzzles, tails and fur. There were, for lack of all logic, what looked like to be three giant mice standing in her sister's garage.
The one standing with his paws on her sister's shoulders was white as snow with crimson antenna and eyes the brightest scarlet she had ever seen outside of a paint tube. A metal mask covered the left half of face leaving the eye exposed. Two gold studs shone from his right ear. The one who came out of the door second was a slate grey, his right eye was covered by a patch. The remaining eye was again, a startling shade of red. He regarded her with a soft concern. His left arm looked to be made of metal. The last one had tawny fur and long hair on his head the same golden shade. A pair of black framed sun glasses with green lenses hid his eyes, but she could clearly see the occupied gun holster strapped to his right side.
"Uh, Charley…" Rocket began, but couldn't find the words.
Charley patted one of Vinnie's hands then approached her sister. "It's a bit of a shock, I know, but these guys are my friends. I told you about them."
At that Rocket looked at Charley. "You said you had a few guys that were hanging around giving you a hand, not whatever the hell this is!" Rocket snapped.
"Okay, I might have left out a few details." Charley admitted.
"A few details!? Seriously?" Rocket snapped.
"Okay, a lot of details. But these guys are my best friends. Without these mice, I would be in deep ditch water," Charley defended.
"Mice? Where the hell did they come from, Charley?" Rocket looked at the mice again.
"Well, Mars. These are the Biker Mice from Mars.", Charley said sweeping her arm out to indicate the bros.
"Wait. What? Mars?" Rocket repeated, having a hard time swallowing this on top of everything else.
"Yep, Mars," her sister confirmed.
"Mars?" she asked again.
"Here we go again," the big one sighed.
"Charley-girl, is this a family trait or something?" the white one quipped.
"Can it Vinnie." Charley shot him a glare.
"Mars. Martian mice. Wait, 'Biker Mice'?" Rocket had always thought that she was pretty quick on the uptake, but this was taking a minute to process. Charley pointed to the second bay where three bikes were parked. At first glance, they looked like any motorcycles that had custom work done, but as Rocket actually looked at them, they had features that put them a bit out of place. What looked like a Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe was a little too wide in places, and the tires had an 'off' look to them, extra exhaust pipes that shouldn't be there, and an engine that she couldn't begin to identify, completed the black and chrome beauty. The red racer was way too wide and long, same tires with extra pipes that made little sense on the machine and caused it to resemble something out of an anime. The Harley Fatboy wasn't a fatboy. Same as the others, the purple and chrome machine had extra pipes, was wider than it should be and had another unidentifiable engine.
Rocket looked back to her sister after giving an appreciative whistle over the bikes, she asked slowly, "Biker Mice from Mars?"
"Yeah, let me show ya," the tan one said as he quickly walked the distance across the garage floor. In a second, Rocket had drawn her nine millimeter Ruger from its shoulder rig and had it aimed straight at the mouse's head. Her finger was on the trigger and the disbelieving shocked expression was gone, replaced by one of cold determination. Rocket did not do well with shock, confusion, or fast moving giant alien rodents she didn't know. Charley stepped in closer and spoke in an even tone. "Jessica, it's okay. These guys are my friends. Throttle is not going to hurt us. I swear. Please put the gun down." Charley stepped in front of Rocket, and she immediately lowered and holstered the hand gun. Both sisters let out a breath.
"Now, can I make the introductions without you pulling a gun?"
"I'm good," Rocket said. Looking past Charley at the mouse who she had in her pistol sight less than a minute ago."Sorry about that. I guess I'm lousy at first contact protocols," she said with a nervous chuckle.
"We've had worse reactions," he said letting her move closer before extending his hand to meet hers. "Hi Rocket. I'm Throttle. Charley-girl has told us a lot about you, and we're all big fans of your bikes," he said in a soft smoke and whiskey voice that would make any girl swoon. "That's Vinnie with the mask." He gestured at the white mouse, and she stepped closer to shake his hand as well. "Thanks for not blasting our fearless leader over there, Sweetheart," he quipped.
"Yeah de nada, nice to meet ya Vinnie," Rocket responded with a slight grin. She knew of other bikers that would be far less forgiving. "And the big fella there is Modo." Throttle said. Rocket walked over to him and offered her hand. She looked up into his face as he said, "Pleased to meet you Rocket-Ma'am. We've heard a lot of good things about you from Charley-Ma'am. And I'm awfully sorry if we scared ya." The giant shook her hand. His voice was a rich bass tone wrapped in a slight southern drawl, smothered in honey. "Nice to meet you too, but Modo?"
"Yes Ma'am?"
"Don't call me Ma'am. I'm not that old," She said grinning up at him.
"Sorry, but my grey furred Momma raised me to be polite and respectful to ladies, Rocket-Ma'am.", Modo said returning her grin with his own. Rocket gave her head a slight shake and turned to her sister. "I need coffee, and an explanation Charlene. But this really made it worth the eighteen hour ride."
As a fresh pot of coffee brewed, they sat around the dining table adjacent to the living room. Charley and the bros told Rocket about the crash landing in the scoreboard of Quigley Field, finding her sister being threatened by Greasepit, and was just getting to Limburger when Rocket poured herself a cup. After sitting back down, the mice continued with Limburger, Karbunkle, and a brief rundown of the war on Mars that was now becoming, a so far, silent war here on Earth.
"So these Plutarkians are using the same tactics here as they did on Mars. Bribing Earth's governments to dig up all of the natural resources. Humph. Sounds about right, but we we're kinda already doing that. Greed is universal I guess." Rocket glanced down into her almost empty coffee cup. Before she could ask for a refill, Charley was already rising to do so, returning the cup to her once it was again filled. "It sure is, but Earth won't know it's in trouble until it's too late," Charley said with a sigh.
"How long have they been here?" Rocket asked as she fished an Altoids tin from the inner pocket of her jacket.
"About six years. Limburger has anyway," Charley answered. Rocket nodded, popped a mint in her mouth, and then pressed the tin to her forehead, screwing her eyes shut for a moment. She put the tin down on the table and looked squarely at Charley and Vinnie; her bright blue eyes making the mouse squirm a bit. "Okay, but let me just get this bit straight. You two," she pointed a finger first at Charley then at Vinnie, "are dating and you never told me?"
"Well, if I had, you would have been on the first plane here and wanting to meet him. And I hadn't really worked out how to explain these guys to you yet without you pointing a gun at them.", Charley said defensively.
"Hey, I said I was sorry already." Rocket then leaned on the table, pinning Vinnie with her eyes, a very scary grin spreading over her face. "Hurt my sister, and I hurt you in ways you can't possibly imagine. You read me?" her voice was low and threatening.
"Loud and clear." Vinnie gulped.
"Really Rocket?" Charley sighed, with a liberal eye roll.
"Hey, you wouldn't let me tell Jackie boy, so I thought I would just get this one out of the way." Rocket grinned, leaning back in her chair. "You two make a cute couple and I've seen a lot stranger at Comic-con."
Charley stuck her tongue out and said, "Thanks a lot, Stinky."
"Anytime, Short Round.", Rocket said, looking very pleased with herself. She started to lightly tap the tin of mints on the table, and all three mice smirked at the exchange between the two. "So, can I ask a few questions without any one getting offended?" she asked.
The mice all agreed with nods and murmurs of consent. Rocket took a breath and then asked the first question that was at the top of her growing mental list. "The antennae are those for real, and can I touch them?"
"Geez Rocket! Blunt much?" Charley was only mildly shocked at her sister's boldness. She should have expected this actually. Rocket's obsession with science fiction and astronomy was matched only by the biggest geeks in nerdom.
"I'm just asking." Rocket defended.
Modo answered her question. "Yes Ma'am. They're real and attached."
Rocket's grin got a little wider. "What do they do for you? I mean, there's got to be some reason you have them," she said as she looked up to the top of furry head.
"They help us share thoughts, memories and emotions," Throttle answered.
"Like telepathy?"She asked.
"Yeah, but we call it 'Mindwalking'".
Rocket glanced at Throttle. "And all Martians can do this Mindwalk thing?"
"On Mars, only mice have antenna, Rocket- Ma'am." Modo answered.
"So there's more than one race on Mars? More than one sentient race, then?"
Charley, feeling a bit left out at this point, answered, "Two more. The Rats and Sand Raiders. The rats look like, well, rats. The sand raiders look almost dog-like but walk upright and they stink." She wrinkled her nose at the last.
Rocket ripped her eyes from Modo and looked at her sister, her mouth hanging open in shock. "Wait. You've been to Mars?"
"Yeah a few times." Charley said as casually as she could.
"First human, first woman on Mars. Congratulations little sister," Rocket said, sounding as awestruck as she felt. "So you guys aren't stuck here, huh?"
"We kinda are. Ships and fuel are scarce on Mars, but we get a visit and can do a supply run back home every once in a while, Ma'am." Modo said.
That brought Rocket's attention back to him. He called her 'Ma'am' again, but she was willing to let it slide. She'd dealt with enough guys raised by mommas who taught them manners and would have kicked their asses if they didn't use them. She took a minute to study his face, taking in the details of his red eye with a black mark across the iris, giving the illusion of a split pupil. There where lines of scar tissue that were just visible at the edges of his eye patch. He's kind of good looking, She thought. Hell, he's downright adorable with the uneven buck teeth. She could tell the shorter tooth had been broken, and knew there was a story there. The fur on top of his head looked thicker, but looked like it was cut short.
Modo was a bit uncomfortable with the scrutiny this woman was putting him under, but he had to honestly say that she wasn't hard on the eye. Her hair was a brighter red than Charley's and her eyes were a bright blue with flecks and streaks of darker blue throughout the irises. A small smattering of light freckles dusted her nose and the top of her cheeks. Rocket tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her right ear and he noticed the scar that started in the middle of her forehead, ran up into the hairline and down along temple past the ear. It continued running along her jaw to dip under her chin and apparently ended there.
Rocket's voice brought him out of his study. "So, can I touch the antenna Big Fella?"
"Yes Ma'am. I suppose it won't do any harm," he said leaning his head down toward her. Rocket reached up and gently touched one of his antenna with her thumb and first two fingers. The fleshy appendage felt like it was covered in velvet, and was quite warm.
"Can you move them?" she asked, completely lost in her fascination. She moved her hand away and Modo waved both antennas slightly. Rocket's grin broadened and Modo couldn't help but smile back.
"Is it done by touch, or can you do it over a long distance?"
Throttle volunteered that answer, "By touch. But when you have a really strong bond with someone we can feel strong emotions over a short distance."
"To quote a certain Doctor, 'Brilliant'!" Rocket quipped. "And the tails, how do those work? I mean, are they all muscle, or what?"
"Our tails are like an extra arm.", Vinnie piped up. "We can do a lot with 'em, pick stuff or people up."
"How strong are they? How much can you lift?" Rocket asked as she leaned over to check out Modo's tail that draped along the floor.
Before Vinnie could, Charley cut him off. "I've seen them lift about three hundred pounds or so, but Throttle once caught his bike from falling and she's at least six hundred pounds."
Rocket sat back up with wide eyes and gaped at her sister. "Whoa." She breathed.
"I can show ya Rocket Ma'am, if you like." Modo offered.
Rocket glanced at her sister with a raised eyebrow.
"He's a perfect gentleman, er, mouse." Charley assured with a slight smirk.
Rocket took the hand that Modo offered and stood. The grey mouse stepped closer and she saw movement from the corner of her eye. Feeling something wrapping around her waist, Rocket looked down to see Modo's tail coiling around her middle. Then she was lifted up off her feet.
"Oh shit!" she yelped as she squeezed the hand she forgot she was holding. She was at least four feet off of the floor, her boots touching nothing but air as she was brought eye to eye with the grinning mouse. "Okay, you can put me down now Cowboy," Rocket said with a shaky laugh.
As Modo slowly brought her down, Rocket's hand settled on his right shoulder and slid down his cybernetic arm. He was surprised that she didn't yank her hand away. He had seen that reaction in everyone, even his own Momma, after he had first been saddled with it. "That is brilliant." Rocket said, taking a step back and letting go of his hand. She shrugged off her jacket, then the shoulder holster, hanging both on the back of her chair. She sat down, and turned to Charley, "And you didn't introduce me sooner?" Charley let out a bark of laughter at that.
Rocket pulled the sleeves of her henley shirt up to her elbows, her eyes roving over the three mice. She still had the sideways grin on her face. "Biker Mice from Mars. Damn, Charley. I have to admit, this is seriously awesome." She reached for the tin of mints and popped one in her mouth.
"What's with the mints? Bad breath or something?" Vinnie asked. That earned him a smack on the shoulder from Charley, as Throttle groaned and Modo shot him a glare.
"Oh yeah. He's a real charmer," Rocket quipped.
"It's a habit she's had since she was twelve," Charley told him.
"Yeah, keeps me from saying stupid shit like you just did," Rocket retorted. Throttle and Modo fell into hysterical laughter, Charley did her best not to join them, and Vinnie pouted.
Modo had let his head fall to the table to lie on his cybernetic arm as his shoulders shook with the laughter.
"Him," Rocket hitched a thumb at Modo. "I like, he gets my jokes. Breathe, Hoss, breathe." She patted his shoulder and let her grin become a full smile as she watched the two mice laugh themselves sick. They eventually recovered, and as Throttle took off his shades to wipe away the tears from underneath his crimson eyes, he said, Well, Charley-girl did say you were funny."
"Not that funny," Vinnie huffed.
"Oh come on Vin. You have to admit she scored a good one," Modo chuckled.
Rocket looked at the pouting white mouse. She wasn't completely sure that she hadn't seriously wounded his ego. She offered the proverbial olive branch. "I can come on a little strong, and I've been told that I'm a bit of a smartass. To top it all off, I hadn't had much sleep, sorry Vinnie. Truce?" She was seriously wondering what kind of ego hound her sister was hooking up with. He hardly seemed her type, despite the alien thing.
"Sure Sweetheart," he conceded.
"I can see that a sense of humor is a strong family trait. Sisters, huh? How did you wind up on opposite sides of the country?" Throttle asked.
"Long story I'd rather not tell." Rocket said in a tone that firmly said she would not be elaborating.
Rocket then let out a yawn and stretched her arms above her head. "When did you leave Austin?" Charley asked.
"About an hour or so after you hung up on me."
"I'm sorry about that, but that's still no reason to drive across country just to check up on me," Charley scolded.
"You're right. I haven't seen you but a handful of times in four years, phone calls have gotten shorter, and a lot rarer, I might add. E-mails and letters the same. I don't hear about how the garage is doing unless it's from the accountant. But you are completely right. I shouldn't be worried at all and totally overreacted," Rocket finished sarcastically leveling the playing field.
"You rode straight through, didn't you?" Charley sighed, already knowing the answer.
"Damn straight I did, she answered, fixing her sister with a glare. "Martian biker mice, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Daleks, or freaking Bobba Fett, you could have told me something Charley."
The sisters had a moment of staring each other down before they both started laughing. This left the mice slightly bewildered.
"Okay, now that we've got the fussing at each other out of the way, I need a nap," Rocket announced.
"Are you staying at the loft?" Charley asked.
"That's the plan, but I was hoping to grab a few hours of shut eye here today and maybe stay tonight before grabbing some provisions and heading there. Besides," Rocket nodded at Vinnie, "it looks like I might be underfoot here."
Charley blushed a bit at that. Rocket just shook her head and asked, "Is our room still open?"
"It is," Charley said as Rocket stood, fishing the keys to her bike from her worn leather jacket.
She headed out into the garage to her bike and unlocked the side compartments. Pulling out a laptop bag, then a worn military canvas backpack, she turned back to see Modo standing in the doorway. "I'll help you with your bags Ma'am."
"I've got 'em. And what did I say about you calling me 'Ma'am'?"
"My Momma always-" he began.
"Yeah, I know, you said that already. So I'm asking again, don't call me 'Ma'am'," she said it with a slight grin, hoping she didn't hurt his feelings too.
"Sorry," He said with a sheepish look.
"Don't sweat it." She shouldered her bags and stepped around him back into the apartment.
Rocket climbed the stairs and opened the second bedroom door to find Charley and Vinnie changing the bedding. Before she could say anything, Throttle was there behind her with extra blankets in his hands. "You guys don't have to go to the trouble. I could've done this." Stepping into the room, allowing Throttle to put the blankets on the trunk at the end of the bed, she laid her bags next to the nightstand. After helping Vinnie to straighten the bedspread, she turned to sit on the freshly made bed."Thanks guys."
The mice said their goodbyes as she pulled out her cell phone and charger from her backpack. Rocket plugged the charger into the wall socket and connected her phone, then stood, returning her sister's gaze.
"What?"
"You're taking this a lot better than I had hoped you would," Charley answered.
"Well, it's not every day you find out your sister is dating an alien." Rocket quipped.
"Don't call them 'aliens'. They prefer Martians or mice. And I meant the whole meeting Martian bikers thing."
"There are more things in the heavens and on Earth, than I have ever dreamt of in my philosophy," Rocket sighed. "To paraphrase The Bard."
Charley opened her arms and hugged Rocket. "I love you Short Round," Rocket said, hugging her tightly.
"I love you too Stinky."
Charley pulled the bedroom door shut as Rocket kicked off her boots. She pulled off her jeans and slipped under the covers and was asleep a second after her head hit the pillow.