For the next three weeks, Charley fell into a routine. Every day, she woke up, had breakfast with the Freedom Fighters, and went to work fixing up the bikes or any of the equipment that had been damaged in battle. Normally the work would keep her busy all day (there seemed to be no end to the repairs, she wasn't sure who was to blame for that), but if she managed to finish early, she would help out Harley with caring for the wounded. Most of the time, it was only scratches and scrapes (something she was eternally grateful for), but now and then there was an injury that required two pairs of steady hands. Harley never said anything, but Charley could sense she was grateful for the assist.

The only thing that bothered her during this time was the bros. They didn't seem to interact with her, beyond patching up their bikes. It hurt, but she couldn't blame them. They were fighting a war against an alien race, and now they had an alien amongst them. She tried to put on a brave face and keep going, but at night, when she was alone, she let a few tears fall. She often wondered what her bros were up to, back in her time. She wondered if she would ever see them again.

It was during the fourth week that something changed. She was checking over the comms with Harley when the Freedom Fighters returned. They had gone out to the Asimov crater after there was a call for help from one of the small towns there. Charley looked up to see the bros approach, but her blood ran cold when she saw a gash on Modo's arm, blood seeping from it.

"Modo, what happened?" she called in alarm, making the bros jump as they turned to look at her. Modo's eyes were wide as he took off his helmet.

"I-it's just a scratch, Miss Davidson." He mumbled, looking startled. Charley tried not to wince at the title. She was used to being called Charley ma'am by the gentle giant, it just reminded her that he wasn't 'her' Modo.

"Like hell it is! Get over here." She ordered. Modo practically jumped off his bike to obey, his eyes wide. Charley ran over to the canteen, grabbed a clean rag and a bowl of water then set it down on the table, indicating to Modo that he should sit while she grabbed the first aid kit. He did so with no hesitation. Once she had the kit in hand, she started by taking the rag and washing the blood off his fur surrounding the wound. Modo watched her work for a while.

"It's really not that serious, Miss Davidson." He said sheepishly. Vinnie, who had moved closer with Throttle, nodded.

"Yeah, we've walked away from fights with much worse than that." Throttle nodded in agreement.

"We can handled scratches like that ourselves Miss Davidson." All three bros were shocked when she turned to them, ice in her glare.

"Let me tell you boys something. The moment you stop caring about scratches, you get cocky. When you get cocky, you get reckless. And when you're reckless, you endanger not only yourselves, but those around you. In a fight like this, you can't afford that. I don't care if you have a splinter, or if you've got a broken arm. If any of you are injured, no matter how serious you think it is, you come to me. Understood?" She finished her rant by glaring at each of them in turn, starting with Vinnie.

"Yup." He said with a fast nod.

"Yes ma'am." Throttle quickly followed up. She turned her gaze to Modo, who was suddenly looking at her with a strange twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, Miss Davidson." He answered. She smirked.

"Good. Now, please stop with the Miss. It makes me feel old." She added with a smile as she turned and grabbed some gauze out of the box, adding some antiseptic to a bundle of bandages and placing it over the wound before wrapping it around his arm.

"Got it, Charley ma'am." Modo said. Charley nearly froze at the name, and she blinked hard to stop the tears from falling.

"Ok, you're lucky this didn't need stitches. But come to me tomorrow so I can redo the dressing." She said as she packed the medical supplies away. "Now, what exactly happened out there today?" The boys all beamed at her.

"Ah, the Plutarkians hired a new villain. He was tearing up the territory with some weird guitar." Throttle said nonchalantly. Charley froze. Could it be…?

"Yeah, the creep called himself Hard Rock. But man, does he have one bad attitude." Modo added a glare marring his features. Charley couldn't believe it. It had to be him. She remembered when Limburger had brought him to Earth in order to steal the gold off a transport train, and how in the end, he had helped the bros to derail the stink-faces plans because Limburger had threatened his lady, Darla. She wondered how they were doing back in her time.

"Yeah, and what's worse, he was playing heavy metal! Way to put me off my favorite genre of music." Vinnie added with a frown. Charley rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Well, at least you guys gave him hell, right?" she turned back when she heard a sigh.

"Nah, not today. We had to focus on getting the innocent folks away." She frowned at the sad look in the boys eyes. "This one kid was standing with his folks. He had seen Hard Rock blow up his home. I gave him a new teddy bear before we left." Throttle added, looking down at the ground. Charley walked up to him and lifted his chin with her fingers.

"Well, at least now that kid knows that he's got the Freedom Fighters looking out for him." She gave Throttle a small smile, feeling her heart lighten when he returned it. She stepped back and turned to check on the bikes. "Now, do you guys need help with your bikes, or did they manage to survive better than y-" she was cut off when she slammed into someone, causing her to lose her balance. She would have fallen if a gloved hand hadn't reached out and grabbed her.

"Woah! That could have been a nasty tumble." Charley regained a balance and looked down at the black gloved had that was holding her wrist. She followed the arm up, and saw the light green long sleeved shirt, under the dark green vest. When she reached his face, she felt a stone sink into her gut. His fur was a dark tan, and the fur at his chin seemed a bit longer, as if he had a goatee. His hair was the same color as his fur, and his bangs hung down into his eyes, and he had three hopped earrings in his left ear. All in all, he looked like a normal Martian Mouse.

But his eyes, his eyes made her blood run cold. They were blue, but not the warm blue like Throttle's. They were cold, and calculated…and above all, cruel. Suddenly, she became aware of the fact that the hand was still holding her wrist, and she wanted it gone.

"Wait a second, you're not a mouse…" He trailed off, and his hand seemed to tighten. Charley hid a wince.

"Mace! When did you get back from your recon mission?" Throttle's voice sounded cheerful, but it only served to strengthen her growing panic.

This was Mace…the Rat traitor that cost her bros so much. This was the rodent that would betray the Freedom Fighters to the Plutarkians, and kidnap Harley. This….was a monster.

"Just now actually. Man, I tell you, those month long recon's are no joke." He added, jokingly, before he turned those cold eyes back to her. "Now, who is this?"

"Oh, this is Charley Davidson. She's our newest recruit." Vinnie offered. Mace raised an eyebrow, never taking his eyes off her.

"And how does an Earther end up on Mars?" he asked with a smile, but Charley couldn't return it.

"The Plutarkians kidnapped her, she managed to escape them about three weeks ago. Stoker found her and brought her here." Modo answered, placing a hand on her shoulder. The contact gave her a zing of strength, and she straightened as she pulled her arm from Mace's grasp.

"Really? Well, you certainly are lucky to have landed with us." He said with a smile that sent chills down her spine. Then he stepped back. "If you'll excuse me, Rookies, I need to go speak with our fearless leader. Be seeing you around, Miss Davidson." And with a look that made her feel sick sent her way, he turned and left. Charley glared at his back as he did.

"Charley ma'am, are you alright?" Modo's concerned voice drew her attention. "You've gone all tense." She shook herself and schooled her features into a smile.

"Oh, I'm fine Modo, no need to worry. Now, about those bikes of yours…"

XXX

Charley tried to avoid Mace from that moment on. She had a feeling that if he got chance, he would corner her for information. And she was not willing to give that rat even the slightest chance.

She dearly wished that she could go to the bros, even to Stoker, and warn them about the spy, but the problem was she didn't think they would believe her. She was an alien after all, and as far as they knew, he was a mouse like them. They had every right to believe his words over hers. Besides, Mace had been here for far longer than her. At this point trying to throw accusations around, no matter how true they were, would not end well for her.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she lost her grip on the tyre lever and it slipped, cutting into her hand.

"Ouch!" She cried as she grasped at her hand. The two inch cut lay across her palm, blood starting to peel from it. She sucked in a breath through her teeth as she clenched her wrist with her other hand. "Damn it!"

"Miss Davidson, you ok?" She jumped and lost her balance falling backwards from her position on her knees. She would have fallen further if the hands that fell on her back hadn't been there. "Woah there!" Charley stared straight up and saw the upside down view of Stoker's face.

"Oh, sorry Stoker. Guess I wasn't paying attention." She said sheepishly as she started to push herself up, then cried out as her cut stung.

"Hey, are you ok?" He asked, quickly kneeling down next to her. That was when he spotted her hand. "You're hurt." He stated. Charley shook her head.

"It's just a scratch. I'm fine." She tried to hide her hand, but Stoker grasped it, gently, and pulled it towards him.

"I thought when you stopped caring about scratches, you got cocky." Charley's eyes widened and she looked up at Stoker, who was smirking as he examined her hand, before he stood abruptly and turned towards the table where she had left her first aid kit.

"You-you heard that?" she asked, biting her lip. Stoker chuckled.

"Yep. Though I should thank you. I've been trying to get those three to understand that this war could get really ugly, and that they should treat it seriously. I think, after that speech of yours, they are finally starting to get that." He came back holding a bottle of antiseptic and some bandages. Kneeling next to her, he held out his hand. Charley gingerly placed her hand in his, and he dabbed some of the antiseptic on her wound. She hissed at the sting it cause. "I have to ask though…" Stoker started, and Charley turned her attention to him to try and take her mind off the pain. "You seem to know the bros pretty well, but from what I could see, they barely spoke to you before you treated Modo's wound." Charley could hear the underlying suspicion in his voice. She knew Stoker was smart. He wouldn't fall for any lie she could cook up. So…

"They remind of these three guys I used to know on Earth." Stoker paused, looking up at her.

"Were you close?" he asked, genuinely curious. Charley gave a sad smile.

"They were the best friends I've ever had. Before I met them, I was pretty much alone." Stoker started bandaging her hand, but stayed silent as he waited for her to continue. "My uncle raised me. Mom died when I was little and Dad…well, dad was never in the picture. The garage was Uncle Jacob's. When he died he passed it on to me. I was 20." She paused here, making sure she had her dates correct before continuing. "I ran that shop by myself for the next 3 years. That was when the trouble started. Some bigshot thought he could bully me into selling the garage, and he was prepared to send some unsavory characters my way to convince. One night, one of his goons cornered me in the garage. That was when the guys showed up. They swooped in, like the crazy macho guys they were, and got rid of the goon. The next three years were the best years my life." She finished just as he tied of the bandages.

"I'm guessing that's when the Plutarkians nabbed you?" Stoker growled. She closed her eyes and nodded, feeling her eyes stinging with unshed tears. Her eyes snapped open when she felt fingers under her chin gently turn her face upward. Stoker eyes were gentle as he stared at her. "You're a truly brave woman Miss Davidson." Charley cleared her throat.

"Charley, please. Miss Davidson makes me feel old." Stoker smiled.

"Charley." There was a long silence as they stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Stoker was the first to break the spell, clearing his throat and standing quickly. "Uh, anyway… I was actually looking for you." He held his hand out to her, and after a moment she took it, allowing him to pull her up. "Your trail period was a success. Your first field mission will take place next week. You'll be heading out with the bros on a recon mission to the Galle crater for two weeks. So make sure you got everything you need." Charley eyes were wide as she watched him.

"Are you serious?" she asked, and when Stoker nodded she whooped, she wasn't gonna tell him, but she had been going stir-crazy staying at base all this time. "Alright!" Before she knew what she was doing, she launched herself at Stoker, hugging him tightly. "Oh thank you!" Stoker froze, shell-shocked.

"Uh…y-you're welcome…" he stuttered. Charley realized what she was doing and jumped back, blushing.

"Uh-um, I'll just…go and …check the bikes…" She mumbled as she walked away. What the heck possessed her to do that? Good lord, what was wrong with her? Maybe the week away would do her good.

XXX

Stoker watched her leave, not quite sure what was causing his stomach to feel like it had a bunch of fluttering Squirrel-bats in it. He wasn't quite sure how to respond when she hugged him, but it had felt…good.

He shook his head roughly.

Woah there. None of that! He was the leader of a resistance. He couldn't go around falling for alien woman. Besides, he had no idea if they really could trust the woman yet.

…Even if said woman was a knockout…

Gah, stop!

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