Here we have Part 2 of the series! Enjoy!

Start Again, Bros

It's been 7 years...

Throttle is still dealing with the loss of his sister. He was not expecting to meet her again today.

It hurts that she doesn't know him...

Location: Solar System

Time: 7 years since the Battle of Tharsis Rise

The Cycledrone Thunderpipe slid effortlessly through the endless expanse of space. It's three pilots sat in the cockpit. The grey-furred mouse was preoccupied as he filed the tips of his metal fingers, getting rid of the small patches of rust that would form every so often. To his far right, his white-furred companion sat back watching the screen above in excitement.

"Hey Throttle! Watch me blow past that Snork from Saturn." He pointed up at the screen which displayed a motorcycle race. It showed the white-furred mouse indeed overtaking the lead and winning the race at the last second. The mouse cheered at his own success. "Oh I can't wait to show that to Harley! I'm the baddest Mama-jama in the universe!" He shouted, hitting his tan-furred companion on his back… evidently a little too hard as he grunted and fell forward. Vinnie winced and jumped up, pulling his bro upright. "Shoot! Sorry 'bout that bro." he added sheepishly. Throttle let out a chuckled and patted Vinnie on the arm once he was seated again.

"No problem, Vinnie. I take it you're excited to see your girl again?" Throttle smiled a Vinnie blushed and toyed with the custom earring in his left ear. It was silver, like his other two studs, and shaped like a wing.

"Yeah. I can't believe it's been 2 years already." Modo and Throttle shared a happy glance at their bro's blissful tone. It had come as a huge surprise to all that Vinnie had been the one to tie the knot first out of all of them. He and Harley had been going strong for 4 years when Vinnie had popped the question. His bros had stood by his side as he and Harley exchanged vows a year later. It had been a happy day for all of them, if a little bittersweet. Vinnie's smile faded as a thought hit him. "I… I wish she could have been there…" Throttle tensed and returned his focus to the windshield, smile fading as his hand played with the necklace around his neck. Modo and Vinnie shared a worried glance over the bro's back.

They had never been able to retrieve her body. The running theory was that her body had fallen deeper into the ravine, where there was aggressive quicksand at the bottom. He hadn't even been able to say goodbye. Throttle had been a wreck after that day. If they thought his state after his mother's death had been bad, losing Charley had nearly killed him. The only reason he hadn't was because of Stoker literally dragging him out of his slump. Stoker himself had been inconsolable to weeks, but the two of them had been each other's rock following the loss. Almost every year since, the two of them would spend the anniversary drinking together, heedless of the hangovers they would inevitably nurse the following day. Stoker had even offered to adopt Throttle into the Van Rotten clan, but Throttle had refused. He wanted to honor his sister's efforts to keep the Threemane clan name alive.

Comet had vanished, along with Charley's helmet. They were unsure of where the bike had disappeared to.

Carbine had stayed with him through his slump. Even after all these years, Throttle wasn't ready for the next step in their relationship, but she had made it clear she was not leaving him for anything. He was truly lucky to have a girl like her.

Modo cleared his throat as he leaned down, grabbing a soda pop and handing it to Throttle, who took it after a moment.

"You alright, bro?" he asked, lowly.

"It….it still hurts." He muttered, holding the can in his hands. Modo placed a comforting hand on his bro's shoulder, and Throttle turned to him.

"She'd be proud of you, you know?" he muttered, Throttle tilted his head in thanks to his bro. He was about to add something when a blast shook their ship and jolted them from their seats. They landed in a pile on the floor, and Throttle groaned.

"Oh, now what?" He pulled himself up and rushed to the window, Vinnie and Modo following behind. Looking up at the endless sky behind them, Throttle snarled as he spotted the Plutarkian Destroyer behind them. Another blast from them shook the ship, and they all shifted their weight to stand their ground. "Somebody out there doesn't like us." He stated sarcastically.

"Yeah, those somebody's look a lot like Plutarkians. I can almost smell 'em from here." Modo snarled. Vinnie sneered as he reached for his rifle.

"Allow me, bros." He growled, he opened door and fired five rounds. Three hit the Plutarkian ship before one shot knocked the gun out of his hands and into space. Vinnie yelped and pulled back from the door, cradling his hand as another shot hit their engines. Modo slammed the button to shut the door and Throttle glanced back from his seat at the helm once more.

"You in one piece Vinnie?" He asked as he bros joined him at the helm once more. Vinnie hissed and checked out his hand, which was now slightly burnt.

"Argh, yeah. Harley always says timing is everything." He shook his head out a little and grabbed the handlebars.

"So, what do we do?" Modo asked. They braced themselves as the ship shuddered violently and Throttle grunted.

"That's easy. We're going down." He ground his teeth and tried to keep the ship as steady as possible as it veered off course. Heading directly for… Oh gods…

The blue planet of Earth was approaching fast, and he froze at the sight. He heard her laughter, saw her smile, her eyes. Her necklace felt like lead around his neck.

"—ttle! Throttle!" He jumped as Vinnie shook his shoulder. Sound returned suddenly and he suddenly became aware of the alarms blaring. The white-furred mouse pulled him from the seat and guided him towards the garage. "C'mon bro, Modo's got the bikes ready to eject!" He nodded gratefully to his bro and grabbed his helmet. They raced to their bikes, revving the engines and waiting for the right moment. It came when they passed over a green field and they launched themselves out of the downed ship, right before it crashed into a large scoreboard, creating quite an impressive lightshow. They slid to a stop in the middle of the field, to the surprised cheers of the crowd.

"Hey, not a bad reception." Vinnie waved cheerfully, and Throttle shook his head.

"Rope it in, Vinnie." He muttered. "We didn't mean to cause any trouble, citizens!" He called out to the stands. He glanced at the bros and they each popped wheelies and made their way out of the stands. They split off into the stairs of the stands. His and Modo's paths led them to the roof.

"You see any way offa here?" His bro asked.

"The usual." He responded with a shrug, "Let's roll!" The launched themselves off the top of the roof, meeting with Vinnie on the ground, who had somehow acquired a hotdog. He broke the sandwich into three pieces, tossing one to him and Modo. Throttle sniffed it before taking a bite. The sweetness of the bun paired with the rich saltiness of the 'dog' was actually quite pleasant, and whatever the sauce was that Vinnie had added was more tart than spicy. Together, the three of them left the parking lot.

After a while, Throttle could no longer ignore the sounds coming from Lady's engine.

"Hold 'em up." He held a hand up, and he and his bros came to a halt. He revved Lady's engine three times, listening for the rather alarming popping noise. He groaned. "I knew it, busted gyro."

"No sweat, bro." Vinnie said confidently. "We find us a cycle parts shop and I'll have it fixed pronto."

"I don't know. We've been on these streets for miles, and I haven't seen a repair pit yet." Modo pointed out.

"Keep looking Modo." He sighed as he surveyed the landscape. "If I didn't know Plutarkians were already here, I'd say this place looks strangely familiar." He pointed to the crumbling building and deep craters surrounding them. He didn't notice Vinnie glance off to his left and freeze.

"Uh…bros…" Vinnie's unusually soft tone made both mice turn. Throttle froze at the site.

There, nested between two crumbling buildings, stood a lone garage. The walls were still intact, though some spots looked like it could use a fresh layer of paint. Above the garage doors was a depiction of a red motorcycle in profile with gold wings on either side. It's yellow and red sign, battered with age, was lit up by four overhead lamps. A faint memory from a drunken conversation with Stoker resurfaced.

"She…she said her garage was called…The Last Chance." Stoker was smiling, but the tears silently rolled down his face. "Who gives a garage a such a cheesy name?"

Throttle's trembling fingers found the necklace again.

"Hey, you alright, bro?" Modo leaned over, placing his metal hand on his bro's shoulder. Throttle turned to his bro, breath shaky.

"I…I knew the chances of meeting her again would be high but…I'm not sure I can do it. She won't know us. Know me. I don't… I don't think I can face her." Throttle turned to his bro. Vinnie switched off Sweetheart's engine and stood up, smiling reassuringly at his bro.

"Hang back a sec then, bro. Take all the time you need. I'll scope it out." And with that, Vinnie took the first steps towards the Last Chance.

To be frank, Vinnie's stomach felt like it was twisting up in knots. He'd put on a brave face for his bro, but really, he wasn't sure he was ready for this either. Charley had been such a dear friend to him. She had help him court Harley (which he was sure he would have screwed up if he'd done it by himself) and after…that day… both he and Harley suspected that they owed her a life debt.

Harley had been the one to bring it up, a few months after Charley's 'death'. He hated referring to it as such. They never found a body. Screw that quicksand theory some of the Fighters came up with to explain it all. Why were they able to recover Mace's corpse, but not the body of their friend? He suspected foul play. At least, until Harley voiced her theories. And the more he listened to his girl, the more he felt hope bloom in his chest.

He hadn't shared his theories with his bros or Stoker though. He wasn't sure they were ready to hear it. But maybe now was as good a time as any.

As he crept closer to the open garage door, an irate voice made his freeze briefly in his tracks.

"Tell your slimy boss that I don't care how much money he has. The Last Chance Garage is mine, and it's not for sale!"

His breathe caught. Her voice sounded exactly the same.

Of course, it does, ya loon. It's still her.

He shook the thought aside and peeked into the garage. At first, his nose twitched at the overwhelming scent of grease and all he could see was the burly figure dressed in overalls and a red cap with his back turned to him. The figure seemed to be leaking grease from everywhere. Then he spotted her.

Charlene Davidson looked younger than he remembered. If he had to guess, he would say she was the same age as him now. Ironic, meeting the person you saw as an older sibling being the same age as you, several years later. He kinda felt like the Time Traveler's wife in a way. Her auburn hair was shorter (she had grown it out on Mars) and her green eyes were as piercing as he remembered.

Dressed in a blue mechanic shirt and dark jeans, she looked the spitting imagine of the woman Stoker had brought back from the Argyre Basin all those years ago. He held back a chuckle at the sight of her brown cowboy boots. She had been devastated losing them after the Berlock Root incident and had complained for days.

Her trusty green utility belt was around her waist, and Vinnie knew firsthand of the magic she could pull on machines with that in hand. Speaking off, she was currently wielding a wrench in hand, pointing it furiously at the goon before her, who barely flinched as she poked him in the chest with the tool. A dollop of grease splashed onto her shirt at the action, and she pulled a face, grabbing a rag from her belt and wiping off both herself and her tool as the goon replied. "You is not being wise lady. Mista' Limburger wants this land. And what Lawrence Limburger wants, Lawrence Limburger gets!"

Vinnie tensed as the goon approached her, but Charley was a step ahead and jumped over the car lift, placing it between her and the man. Vinnie couldn't help but smirk. Clever girl.

"Listen, you overgrown grease-monkey! You got ten seconds to vacate this place, or I'm gonna vacate your face!" She shouted. Vinnie chortled, pride at the girl's bravado shining through, along with amusement at her wit.

"Brrrr! Oh, I'm shaking lady! You see me shaking?" The goon merely laughed as he faked shivering in fear, causing grease to splash all over the place. Charley dropped the wrench (a move Vinnie really wanted to reprimand her for. Who drops their weapon?) and ducked away from the flying grease.

"Ugh, why don't you just ooze off and tell your slimy boss that he can just…shove it!" she suddenly pulled a lever on the console behind her, and the lift shot up, pinning the goon to the ceiling. Both Vinnie and Charley stared for a second before Charley placed her hands on her hips. "What the heck? My lift needed a grease job anyway." She added as she kicked a bucket closer to the lift to catch the falling grease. Vinnie covered his mouth to hold in his laughter. Future or past, she was still their Charley. The pinned goon was not impressed though.

"You's starting to annoy me. Big time!" he strained against the ceiling, cracking and bending the lift back down, before tearing off two of the platforms. Charley dodged the first one thrown at her but slipped in a puddle of grease and fell to the ground. Vinnie glared as the goon approached her fallen form, holding a pen and a greasy deed in his hands. "Maybe now you'll see Mista' Limburger's generous offer in a new light?"

Vinnie couldn't take it anymore. He stepped into the garage.

"Hey!" both of the occupants of the garage turned at his call, but he kept his eyes on his (he hoped) soon to be friend. But he remembered how strong-willed Charley had been on Mars. Harley had informed him that, while rescues were sometimes appreciated, a woman would sometimes prefer to handle something on her own. He was almost certain this was not one of those situations, but he wasn't about to make assumptions. He respected Charley too much to do that. "Is everything alright here, Ma'am?"

He could see the genuine relief in her eyes at no longer being alone, but before she could answer, the goon stepped in front of her. "We's just having a conversation. So buzz off, wrench-face."

Vinnie glanced back at Charley before grabbing one of the flares out of his holster and lighting it. Tossing it at the overhanging ropes, the flare sliced through on and the line fell towards him. Taking in his surroundings, he smirked and swung forward. He saw the goon prepare for a blow, one that would never come as he instead let go of the rope, sliding on the grease and pulling Charley along with him. He came to a stop close to the wall and set Charley down, before spinning around to face the goon again, pistol in hand. "I'll only say this one, pal. Leave the lady alone."

"Ya thinks I'm scared of one itty bitty biker? C'mon and fight me, ya loser!" the goon stepped closer, and Vinnie settled into a stance, holding his free arm out to keep Charley behind him. "What are ya, a man or a mouse?"

The window to their left shattered as Modo and Throttle busted their way in, removing their helmets as the goon gasped in shock.

"Mouse." Modo answered in a growling tone that meant business. Vinnie heard Charley gasp behind him, and he was grateful he still had his helmet on so it hid his wince. He really hoped their first meeting with Charley (at least, the Charley they knew) hadn't been this abrupt.

"You got a problem with that?" Throttle snapped at the goon, who stepped back and turned to Charley.

"This is one crummy place ya got here. It's crawling with rats!"

Oh boy. He's dead.

"RAT?" Modo's eye began glowing red, a side effect they had first noted years ago during a confrontation with some Rats. Modo had hated it at first, especially when Rimfire pointed out that it made him look ten times more intimidating. It was Primer's reassurance that it didn't matter to them what his eye looked like, he was still the uncle they knew and loved. "My momma didn't raise no stinkin' rat! Understand?"

"It's tail whipping time!" Throttle called out, tail slicing the air behind him.

"Let's take this wrench-head down!" Modo growled and aimed his arm, ready to fire. Throttle spun and wrapped his tail around the goon's legs, keeping him in place. Modo fired above his head, knocking the tires off the rack above him. They slid conveniently onto the greasy goon, trapping him. Throttle whipped his tail hard, sending the goon spinning and careening to the ground. Vinnie braced himself on the wall as the goon rolled to his feet, and he placed a boot on the tires.

"Time to roll, sweetheart!" he called out, and kicked as hard as he could.

"Mista' Limburger aint gonna like this!" the goon warbled out as he rolled out the door, a resounding crash indicating his final destination. Modo whistled for their bikes and hit a button, causing the door to close behind them. Vinnie grimaced at the grease on his shoe, and hopped over to grab a rag on a table nearby, leaning against the wall as he wiped his foot down.

"Talk about your slippery customers." He murmured to Modo as he approached him.

"Yeah." His bro chuckled. "They could call him the Duke of Oil." Vinnie chuckled as his bro stood behind him.

"Duke, duke, duke, duke of oil, oil, oil!" they chanted in unison, playfully ignoring Throttle as he covered his ears to their obnoxious tunes.

"Guys! You're off key!" he shouted over their din. Modo and Vinnie shared a look before carrying on.

"What would you do if we sang a bad tune?" they burst out laughing as Throttle finally cracked a smile at their antics, face palming.

"I give up." He muttered, before turning around to face Charley. Vinnie noticed she had gotten hold of a wrench again, and was currently backed into a corner glaring at them. Throttle stepped forward, arms raised hesitantly. "Hey, are you—" he yelped and ducked away from a swing.

"Don't you come any closer you, you—"

"Whoa, hey, hey, hey, don't break a nail! We just…came in to get my bike fixed." Throttle finished lamely, stepping back and looking to his bros for help. Vinnie winced at the look of despair on his bro's face.

Oh man… this is gonna be harder than I thought.

"Yeah, we're the good guys." Modo added. Vinnie shook his head as he removed his helmet.

"Talk about no appreciation." He said sarcastically, shrugging at the glares his bros gave him. Charley shook her head in denial.

"I don't believe this. I've just been saved by a bunch of giant… gerbils?" she said, scratching her head. Vinnie could barely contain his laughter at that, Harley having shared the tale of her first conversation with Charley back on Mars. His bros looked at him like he was insane before shaking their heads in defeat.

"Mice, ma'am. We're mice." Throttle answered in a deadpan.

"Mice?" Charley asked, stupefied.

"You were expecting… turtles, maybe?" Modo responded, and Vinnie elbowed his bro lightly. Seriously, out of all of them, he expected himself to be the one to mess up their introduction (though there was still time to do so, if he was being honest here). Throttle looked panicked when Charley suddenly put the wrench down and approached him. He practically bolted out of her way. Thankfully, she didn't seem to notice his odd behavior as she instead approached Vinnie.

"Mice? With antennas?" Vinnie winced as she reached up and poked at his antennae. She probably didn't realize how sensitive they were yet. "And biker clothes, and motorcycles, and—" he had to cut her off, she was gonna be hysterical if she continued.

"Don't forget your basic stud-ly bod." He mentally apologized to Harley. He remembered how Charley would always rise to tease him if he flirted with her, he figured this was the quickest way to snap her out of it. And it worked.

"I've seen better." She scoffed. Vinnie smiled, thinking back to the looks she and Stoker shared.

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that." He murmured.

"Where on Earth did you guys come from?" Charley turned to look at Throttle, who had collected himself from his earlier panic and was now leaning against a table.

"Mars." Modo answered non-chalantly.

"Mars?" Charley asked softly.

"Mars." Throttle reaffirmed with a shrug.

"Mars?" this time, it was a bit louder.

"Is there an echo in here?" Vinnie questioned.

"I don't think she likes our answers." Modo shook his head.

"Mars. Right…" her tone indicated she definitely didn't believe them. "I don't believe this." Case in point. "I think you guys better explain yourselves."

"Okay look, it's a long story." Throttle sighed. "You see our planet was invaded by a race of smelly stink faces called Plutarkians. Here let m—" He flinched back suddenly, having subconsciously leaned closer to her in order to make the mental connection. Vinnie watched as Throttle schooled his features to an apathetic look as he gestured to Modo, clearing his throat. "Modo will show you."

"I will?" the grey furred mouse squeaked. "I mean, sure." The grey-furred mouse leaned closer, along his antennae to brush gently against Charley's forehead as they glowed. Charley's eyes fell shut as Throttle continued.

"Now the Plutarkians wanted out land, right? Seems they wasted all their own natural resources so they go around strip mining the cosmos."

"So they blew up your planet?" Charley asked. Vinnie was genuinely impressed that she was still able to follow along with the conversation despite the massive information input she was currently receiving.

"Nah, they bought up our planet." Modo answered this time. "Tore the place apart and dug up the land to ship back to Plutark."

"Right. The Mice population fought back, but most of us were wiped out." Throttle continued as Modo pulled back again, ending the connection. "Modo gave his arm to the cause, and Vinnie got half his face taken off. Its why he wears the mask." Vinnie was puzzled as he stepped forward.

"Don't forget about yourself, Throttle. Those stink faces replaced his eyes with bionic ones that don't even work right, so he wears the spec to see. Besides, my wife's never complained about my look." He added at the end, crossing his arms.

"You're married?" Charley's incredulous tone made him turn to her.

"Why do you sound so shocked, Sweetheart? What you see before you is definitely grade A mouse material." He added, striking a pose. His heart lightened as she giggled.

"In your dreams, pal." She paused thoughtfully before turning away and pressing a button that opened a garage door. "You know, the way you guys describe what these uh… Plutarkians did to your planet, I think you oughta check something out." The garage door rolled open to reveal the familiar sight of Plutarkians exgavators digging up the ground close to the Garage. Vinnie's heart twisted at the sight. "From the looks of things, I'd say…They're here…"

And the bros meet Charley once again. Throttle is gonna be dealing with a lot of trauma this time around.

As you can probably guess, this part of the series will follow the events of season 1, which will be slightly different this time around, thanks to Charley's influence in the past.

I hope you all enjoy reading, and please let me know what you think.