Somewhere I Belong

by Vlaatjee

"Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It was never supposed to happen, but it did. After all, we can't control who we love. We crave what we can't have. There's a certain charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable. And so we love anyway. Unconditionally and irrevocably." Vinnie-X-Charley.

6. Aliens Made Me Do It

Hey there, my friends.

So, for starters, thank you very much for your kind reviews.
Really, I felt really humbled by your kind words and it's such a joy to know that there are people out there, all over the world, that read my story and like to be in this world that I created.
With a lot of help from the original series, of course :)
I mean, without it, we wouldn't even be talking here.
Thankfully, someone's fantasy was big enough to invent the whole Biker Mice concept, hehe.
Seriously, how does a brain come up with that, right?
Love it.
That they managed to turn it into a successful show is even more mindblowing, I guess.

Anyway, enough with the chit-chat.
Next chapter.
Finally, a quick update -whoop whoop-, and again, it's a long one.
I just can't write without being very thorough, hehe.
Besides, cutting it in half will subtract the content.
Ah well.
Hope you guys like it!
Enjoy ^^

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Chapter 6

With her green eyes wide open, Charley peeked over her hero's shoulder in the direction of the voice.
Even though his big ears were partially blocking her vision, she was still able to see a silhouette standing at the entrance of the alley.
"Shit", she cursed under her breath when she recognized the intruder as detective O'Neill.
"It's that detective again."

Because her savior was still holding her, she felt how his entire body froze as the hand around her throat slightly tightened by hearing the word 'detective'.
"What detective?", he hissed compellingly and her eyes darted back to eventually lock with fuming red ones.
"The one that visited me in the hospital", she whispered back.
"And he has a gun."
Thanks, captain obvious.

She had to say, his response surprised her.
At first, his frown deepened but soon thereafter, a shadow flickered across his face, making his eyes a few tints darker.
"O'Neill", he growled softly but oh so threatening with slightly trembling lips and the pressure on her neck increased as he looked at her with eyes burning.
"What did you tell him?"
But Charley was already shaking her head before the last word had left his mouth.
"Nothing. I told him nothing. Only that I got attacked by a man and that I couldn't remember the rest. That's it."

He narrowed his eyes as he gave her another 'intense slash soul searching' look, but then she felt his fingers loosen their grip, which could only mean that he was about to let her go and turn around.
God knew what would happen if he did and so, she laid her hand on his chest to stop him while she took another quick glance over his shoulder again, only to see that O'Neill hadn't moved, much to her relief.
There was still time.
Not much, but every second counted now.
"Wait. I think he hasn't seen us yet. It's too dark", she told him and a smile curled her lips, she just couldn't help herself.
"He didn't bring a flashlight. How stupid."
You're one to talk.

"No surprise there. He ain't exactly the brightest bulb", her white-furred alien hero grumbled as he too glanced over his shoulder.
Thanks, man.
"He must have heard something that alarmed him while he was snooping around... Either way, we can't just stand here and do nothing. He may not be smart, but he's annoyingly persistent, so it won't take long before he finds us and when he does… Fuck, what is he doing here anyway?"

"I repeat: Chicago PD! I know you're there, hiding in the shadows! Show yourself!"

The loud voice only made the Martian more riled up than he already was, Charley could tell.
They clearly had a little history going on, but now wasn't the time to ask questions, for his hand slipped off her throat.
His fingertips almost caressed her skin while he did and, despite the gravity of the situation, Charley felt a strange yet pleasant tingle in her lower body.
But she somehow knew that she had to keep her head in the game, otherwise things could get real ugly here in this alley.
Or steaming hot.

Strangely enough, she succeeded and her right hand grabbed his black sweater right before he turned around.
"Wait. Let me handle this", she suggested slightly compelling, but now it was him who already shook his head.
"So you can run away? No dice, sweetheart", he snorted grimly, clearly not happy with the whole situation.

Truth be told, she couldn't really blame him for that, especially not now she knew that their secret identity was of paramount importance for his leader.
Things weren't going very well for her white-furred savior in this respect and she felt kind of sorry for him.
Maybe even guilty for causing him so much trouble.
On the other hand, she never chose to be dragged into this shit either.
But she was and now all she could do was make the best of it.
He needed to know that she was on his side, but right when she was about to tell him that, a soft click was heard and she froze for a moment.

Slowly, her eyes wandered down and her heartbeat increased again when she saw the source of the sudden sound.
Even though it was still dark, she was now close enough to see that he was holding a gun in his right hand, a gun he probably just pulled out of the leg holster that was suddenly visible as well now her brain wasn't busy with being intoxicated and all.
It was a type of gun she had never seen before, then again, she wasn't really an expert when it came to weapons, let alone interplanetary ones.
It didn't really matter, actually.
A gun was a gun.
Deadly, in any form.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down here for a second, mister 'Itchy Trigger Finger'. What happened to the whole 'I can erase memories' thingy?", she protested urgently but with her voice still in whisper mode.
"Too risky."
When she stared at him a bit baffled, simply because she didn't understand why erasing a memory was now suddenly 'too risky', he sighed a bit frustrated.
"You can't be any more surprised than I already am, babe. Believe it or not, usually I'm all about taking risks."

Despite the fact that he wasn't making any sense right now, Charley shook her head in denial, knowing that the unfortunate man didn't have to die.
At least, not tonight.
More importantly — not in her presence.
"No. There's another way. One that doesn't involve blood…", she said softly as she laid her hand on the one that was holding the gun, surprised by her own courage and troubled about this insatiable need to help him.
"I won't run away. I promise. I just wanna help you."
Like you helped me.
He gave her another piercing look, probably to find out what her true intentions were but then O'Neill decided to push his luck, even though he wasn't aware that he was.

"I'm starting to lose my patience here! Come out, now!"

You and me both.
The white-furred Martian clenched his teeth in annoyance and Charley knew that time was about to be in a real short supply and not only because O'Neill was about to give them his last warning.
Taking a deep but shaky breath, she pulled on his sweater to get his attention and when she did, she looked him straight in the eye, all to get through to him that she wasn't the enemy here.
"We're running out of time here, mister. Let me help you. I owe you that much. Please…", she whispered intently as she raised both hands and gently pulled the hoodie back over his head.
"... trust me. I can do this."

"Final warning! Don't make me come find you, for I have permission to shoot!"

Still holding the hoodie, Charley gave her new friend an almost pleading look, but just when she thought he wouldn't agree, he let out his breath and nodded.
"Okay, fine."
As soon as the last word left his mouth, Charley looked over his shoulder again.
"Okay, okay! I'm coming!", she called down to detective Buzzkill to make sure he wouldn't open fire before she looked back at the white-furred Martian, who gently but firmly took her chin between his furry fingers.
"I'm going out on a limb here. Please don't make me regret it", he said softly yet with a note of caution before he stepped aside to let her through with that smile curling his lips again.
"Go get them, tiger."

Charley adjusted her clothes and gave him an almost seductive wink, surprised that she even had it in her.
"Who's the cheerleader now, huh?", she teased him, but her face darkened when she realized what she was doing.
Jesus.
What the hell was wrong with her?
There was some serious shit going on here and here she was, flirting with an alien.
Holy shit, she was even farther gone than she thought.
Truly beyond saving.

Shaking off this unpleasant realization, she cleared her throat a bit uncomfortable as she shot him a sort of warning look.
"Ahem. You uh... you try to keep a low profile, alright? As long as you stay in this corner, he won't be able to see you."
And after putting her chin in the air, she marched towards the light while she climbed into the role of ignorant and helpless young lady.
Ready or not...
"Here I come! Please don't shoot me!"

"Hands where I can see them, lady!"

Charley did what she was told and raised her hands right before she stepped into the light.
O'Neill was still standing in the exact same position at the exact same place, holding his gun in both hands that was now aimed at her head.
The look on his face gave her the chills, actually, for there wasn't an ounce of emotion visible.
It was just blank as a death mask and truth be told, he scared her way more than an alien biker from outer space, which was actually quite an achievement on his behalf.
But when the light touched her face, he narrowed his eyes and confusion banished the so-called mask, making him look a bit more human again.
"Miss Davidson?", he called out surprised and he lowered his gun.

The fact that he reminded her name was actually kind of shocking, considering his rude and careless attitude when he came to question her at the hospital.
Not that she was going to say that out loud, although it was very tempting.
But she didn't.
She had a game to play.
This was starting to become a habit.
At least those acting classes her parents had forced upon her when she was young finally started to pay off.
"Detective O'Neill?", she asked just as surprised as she held one hand up against the light and a big smile appeared on her face.
"What a pleasant surprise!"
Not.

"You can say that again", he agreed with her and he put his gun back into the holster that was hidden under his jacket, keeping a close eye on her while he was at it.
"What are you… you can lower them, ma'am", and he pointed at her hands, which she gratefully did.
"What are you doing here, Miss Davidson?"
"I came here in an attempt to refresh my memory, sir. You know, about what happened. The doctor told me that going back to the place where it all happened might be a trigger to remember", Charley explained with a slightly trembling voice, all to make it sound as if she was on the verge of tears.

"I can already hear you think; 'Why would you even want to remember such a traumatizing experience in the first place?' but you have no idea how scary it is to have a hole in your memory. I had to try."
"And?", was all he asked, proving once again that he wasn't cut out to work with people and yet here he was, standing in the public eye in all his glory.
Sickening, really.

"So far nothing happened", she shrugged as she gave him some sort of apologetic look, one that told this cold-hearted baboon that she really did the best she could.
To not slap him on the face, yes.
"As I've already told you, all I know is that a man pulled me into this alley and… and he…"
Turning away her head, Charley held up one hand as she used the other to cover her mouth.
"I'm… I'm sorry, it's just… it's really hard to talk about this…", she sniffed with a voice thick of emotion.
"Take your time", O'Neill said shortly, impatience clearly audible in his voice.
My God, he really had the attention span of a toddler.
She almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.

After taking a few irregular breaths, Charley nodded as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, as if she was ashamed of her tears.
"Okay. Okay, I think I'm better now… so uhm, yeah… he dragged me into the alley, pushed me up against the wall with brutal force and my head… well, that's where it all gets dark. The next thing I know, I wake up in the hospital."
O'Neill nodded as his eyes flew into every direction, giving her the impression that he was bored or something, which didn't exactly improve her image of him.
"Did you come alone?", he asked without even trying to sympathize while he looked over her shoulder and Charley quickly suppressed the sudden and quite convincing urge to step aside and block his view.
"I did."

"So tell me, miss Davidson — are you always this brave? Or are you just a stranger to this world?"
His tone of voice was now downright patronizing, he didn't even try to conceal it, but she managed to play along, though it asked a great deal of her self-control.
"What do you mean by that, detective?"
"I guess I'm wondering why in the world you would go back to a dangerous place like this one and not bring someone with you for support. Especially considering what happened to you."
Because she had lost her mind, that's why.

After heaving a sigh, Charley lowered her gaze and watched her foot kicking some dirt on the curb.
"I didn't tell anyone. You know, about what happened."
That took his attention, but she couldn't really figure out if that was a good or a bad sign.
"Why not? I mean, if I have to believe all those campaigns about sexual assault, you're a victim. 'There's nothing to be ashamed of'. Ain't that what they always tell you? So why keep it all to yourself, huh?"
Wow, this man, honestly.
Shameless.
Completely shameless.

There was probably a very good reason why he worked for Homicide instead of Vice and it might have something to do with him having the same capacity to empathize as a dead body.
Staying in her role became increasingly difficult, but it wasn't like she had a choice and so she told him the first thing she came up with, regardless if it was true.
"My family is very religious. They wouldn't understand."
"What about friends?"
"I don't have any friends."
"Everyone has friends."
Even you?
"I don't."

The crude detective narrowed his eyes as he gave her another investigative look, but she ignored it, knowing it was time to turn the tables before he would come too close.
"So why are you here, detective? Are there any new leads?", she asked him to initiate 'Mission Distraction', hoping he would take the bait.
Miraculously, he did.
"I came here to take another look at the crime scene", he told her, taking off his hat to scratch his scalp.
"You know, to see if I might have missed something."
If he used the words 'crime scene' in order to get her attention, she could only say that it worked.
Not that she showed it to him and he soon continued, mentioning his hand toward the right side of the alley.
"You see that green dumpster over there?"

Charley followed his hand, all to play along, for she already knew that there was a dumpster in that alley, along with something else.
Something very interesting.
But that was her little secret.
"I think I see it, yes", she said, a bit hesitant.
"That's where we found him yesterday after an anonymous call."
Charley now turned her head back to him, confusion written upon her face.
"Found who?"
"The man that assaulted you, I take it", O'Neill told her, keeping a close eye on her while he placed that stupid hat back on his bald head.

Judging the slightly challenging glance in his brown eyes, he was only sharing this information to see how she would respond.
In other words — he was interrogating her.
Okay.
If that's the way it is.
Lucky for her -and her furry friend for that matter-, she always had been quite stress-resistant, or well, as long as there wasn't an outer-space lifeform standing in front of her, that is.
Talking with this sucker should be like a walk in the park compared to that.
"What a strange place to hide."
"He wasn't hiding."
"Then why was he in the dumpster?"

Oh, how much she loved to play this role.
The sky was the limit for this gullible, dim-witted woman and it was somehow refreshing.
O'Neill fell silent for a moment as he shot her another suspicious look, clearly contemplating if she was messing with him or that she was being serious.
All she did was look back at him with her green eyes wide open and her head a bit tilted to the side, the paragon of genuine interest.
"Someone put him there", the detective eventually broke the awkward silence.
"Or maybe I should say his body."

Charley gasped in both shock and surprise, her eyes now almost popping out of her sockets as her right hand covered her mouth.
"He's dead?"
O'Neill heaved a sigh in frustration, probably feeling sorry for himself for being stuck here with someone this dumb.
Hehe.
You're welcome.
"Don't you read the news, woman?"
"Actually, I don't. It makes me feel sad and depressed", she answered a bit absent-minded, pretending that she was still processing the news he just told her.
Or maybe it wasn't entirely pretended.

Of course, she already suspected that the man was dead, even before Pux had pointed out the facts.
His bike that was like a bomb on wheels and the gun he carried around only confirmed that her new white-furred friend wasn't exactly an innocent player in the field.
Still, to get it officially corroborated was a tough pill to swallow.
But that didn't concern O'Neill in the least.

"Someone killed him", the bald detective continued imperturbably, telling her he was building up the pressure.
Pressure which poor, fragile miss Davidson couldn't handle.
"I'm not sure if I even wanna know…", Charley started with a weak voice, but O'Neill just bulldozed right over her.
No surprise there.
"His neck was broken."
"Oh my…"
"And then someone dumped him."
"Awful."
"Don't you think he deserved it? I mean, after what he did to you?"

A silence.
One Charley used to give him a shocked look, as if she couldn't believe that someone would actually think that, much less ask her.
"Of course not. He was a very bad man, troubled and trapped in the clutches of alcohol addiction, yes, but that doesn't mean he deserved to die. There's a system for a reason and all he deserved was a fair trial."
*Gag*

O'Neill seemed to be on the same page for the first time since they met because he rolled his eyes as stealthy as possible, thinking she wouldn't see it, but she did.
She said nothing though and he soon continued.
"So you don't encourage people to take matters into their own hands?"
"Of course not. Do you?", she retorted with a raised brow.
"I'm a police officer, ma'am. I don't encourage them, I put them behind bars because that's what I do. The system doesn't always work, but that's no excuse for breaking the law", he told her, already patronizing again and the look on his face almost made her tell him that he clearly needed to find himself another job because he really sucked at this one.
The three vigilantes ruling the town for almost a year now without getting caught was the biggest clue.

But, of course, she didn't.
No, all she did was nodding in agreement, hoping that his boredom would force him to move on, but he still wasn't done with her.
"What took you so long?"
Huh?
"Sorry, what's that?", she asked, this time genuinely confused, for this kind of came out of the blue.
A smile curled his lips, as if he noticed that she fell out of character there for a moment and she stopped herself from shuddering, mentally yelling at herself that she needed to keep her head in the game.

"The alley. I had to call you, like, four times. So what took you so long?"
"You scared me", she immediately answered, knowing speed was the key for credibility and so was confidence.
"I came here to relive a trauma. I was on edge and therefore I completely froze. It took me a while to snap out of it."
"I see…"
Man, she would give anything to wipe that insufferable smug smile off his face.
Quite the character, this man, and not in a good way.

"So tell me, detective — are you always this unprofessional?", Charley asked him instead with a furrowed brow, allegedly confused although her lips were curled into a sweet and innocent smile.
Detective 'Redneck' O'Neill gave her a somewhat surprised look by this bold question, but then he narrowed his eyes as a frown appeared on his face.
"What do you mean, unprofessional?"
"I guess I'm wondering why in the world you would go back to a dangerous place like this one and not bring a flashlight with you. Especially considering what happened here."
"A flashlight?"

"Yeah, a flashlight. You know, a portable light source? One that is, as far as I know, part of the standard equipment of a cop. One that would've prevented you from screaming your head off while waving your gun at the front of the alley in the hope that the bad guys just come walking to you, singing loudly like the Seven Dwarfs. That flashlight", she told him sweetly with arms folded.
"Or didn't they teach you that at the academy?"
Whoo!
That felt good.
Maybe she took a bit too far, but who could blame her?
This man went beyond the definition of toe-curling.

O'Neill blinked a few times as he stared at her, by the looks entirely flabbergasted by this sudden and quite vicious attack, but all Charley did was look back at him with fluttering lashes, little miss Innocence herself.
After a relatively long silence, the callous detective cleared his throat.
"I'm just gonna pretend you never asked me that. I think that's for the best in both of our interests."

Of course he didn't have the balls to admit he had made a mistake by not bringing a flashlight, but Charley knew better.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, detective. It happens to the best", she smiled as she gently patted him on the arm, in the meantime racking her brain how to get him out of here.
But perhaps destiny was really pulling the strings here because, by some miracle, O'Neill's cellular phone started ringing.

Frowning, he took the blunt device out of his pocket and his frown got even deeper when he looked at the small screen.
Without looking at her, he held his finger in the air to tell her she needed to wait as he already turned around to pick up after pulling the long antenna out with his teeth.
Knowing she had no other choice but to wait, Charley pricked her ears in an attempt to overhear the conversation.
Unfortunately, he wasn't really that much of a talker on the phone because all she heard was him humming in confirmation.

Wiping off her sweaty hands, she fought the urge to look over her shoulder, wondering if her beloved white-furred hero was still there, hiding in the shadows behind her.
He probably was, for this wasn't just her mess and he had given her the impression that disobeying a direct order from his leader wasn't really an option.
Still.
The thought alone that he wouldn't be standing in the dark corner where she had left him made her feel restless, actually.
Sad, even.
Which was crazy, considering he just told her only minutes ago that he came back here to erase her memory and then there was the whole 'armed to the teeth alien' thingy.

She should be running the other way screaming her head off and yet, here she was, helping him to keep his identity a secret, risking everything she had in the process.
Why in the world was she doing this?
This went beyond 'just curious'.
If the cops found out that she was helping someone who was nothing but a criminal in their eyes, she would lose everything and that included the garage.
Her father's legacy.
Her entire life.
And don't forget that stupid pocket knife collection of his.

But that wasn't even the worst part of it all, although it would be completely devastating if all of that became reality.
No, the worst part was that, once she got rid of this annoying pain-in-the-ass detective, she was just going to walk back into those shadows like a goddamn lamb to slaughter.
Wiping her memory.
Maybe it sounded innocent in the first place, but apparently, it wasn't.
Too risky.
What did that even mean?

And that was just one of the thousand questions that were racing through her head right now, creating chaos, panic and disaster.
But that particular realization suddenly became an answer in itself.
She wanted answers.
That was the whole reason why she came here.
And she was only going to get them if she would turn around and walk back into those shadows where this almost addictive tension ruled.

The thought alone was enough to turn her blood into lava again, making her entire body smoldering as her thoughts wandered back to that moment, right before O'Neill showed up to spoil the fun.
What would've happened if he hadn't?
Showed up?
Well...

"Can't you send someone else? I'm kind of in the middle of someth… Okay. Fine. Bye."
O'Neill's voice broke her out of her thoughts, which was probably a good thing, before she would turn into a puddle of drool or something.
As the lawman who shouldn't be a lawman turned around and walked back to her, he pushed the long antenna back in and put his phone back into his pocket with a face like thunder.

"I need to go. Do you need a ride? I can call a cab or something", he asked her flatly, his eyes as cold as ice, which was the complete opposite of what he was trying to give to her.
Safety.
How surprisingly thoughtful of him.
Yeah, right.
He probably only offered this to cover his own ass.
The headline 'Assault victim murdered after being left behind by cop at former crime scene' wouldn't be exactly a nice addition to his resume.

Still.
Maybe she should take it, despite what his intentions were.
For her own safety…
"No, thanks", she already heard herself answering his question, not giving herself any time to think it over.
"That's my…-"
'- bike', she wanted to say while pointing at her beloved means of transportation, but O'Neill already pushed his card into her other hand with his eyes lowered.
"Call me if you remember anything. And stay close, miss Davidson. We might need you for the investigation", and before she could even blink, he was already gone.
Okay…

For a moment, Charley just stood there, staring at the card in her hand and wondering how in the world it was possible for this man to be a cop.
Aside from that, she wasn't entirely sure what to do next.
Yes, she wanted answers.
But then there was that annoying little voice, the voice of reason, whispering in her ear.
He is dangerous.
He is a killer.
You should leave while you still can.
He's…
...not here to hurt you.

The image of his ruby-red eyes flashed before hers.
That spark of rebellion…
Somehow, she felt a bit rebellious herself, tonight.
Maybe even… recalcitrant.
She had always been a decent person.
Always doing things by the book.
She was all her father ever wanted her to be, maybe even more.

But meeting him had awoken a part of herself she never knew she had it in her.
A part that didn't like doing things by the book.
A part that needed the rush this whole thing gave her.
Or maybe it was just his unexplainable gravitational pull that made her crumple up the card without any form of regret, her heart already fluttering in her chest again.
When she turned around, the piece of paper slipped through her fingers and fell on the dirty pavement.
Call him, my ass.

After taking a few steps in the direction of the shadows, a soft glitter in the moonlight on her right caught her attention and when she turned her head to see what it was, her heart made another backflip.
Well, what do you know — miracles do happen, after all.
For there, close to one of the green dumpsters, lay a flashlight.
A flashlight.
The object of the hour.
After this night, she would never doubt destiny, ever again, nor the importance of an object so simple and underrated.

Bending over, her fingers soon enclosed the hard plastic and when she got back upright -slowly because concussion, remember?- her index finger already pushed the small button.
A small beam of light shined down on her feet and a smile appeared on her face, knowing this was more than enough.
After turning it off again, she held in her right hand as she determinedly continued her way.
Somehow, finding this thing gave her just the boost of confidence she needed.
Almost as if all of this was meant to be.

Ha.
Before all this, if someone talked about stuff like 'meant to be', she just laughed in that person's face, but not anymore.
Well, time to find out if it was.
Meant to be.

There was still this slightly nagging fear that he wouldn't be there when she stepped back into the shadows and she scratched with her nail over the relief of the flashlight as a distraction to not let this particular fear take over control.
But again, luck seemed to be on her side, almost as if it had some serious catching up to do.
Well, she couldn't deny that was true.
Luck wasn't something that thrived in her life, but it did now.
Because he was still here.

Again, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his chest.
One corner of his mouth went up when he saw her, giving him, despite the hoodie, a bit of a mischievous impression.
The picture of vice.
It gave her goosebumps all over her body but she chose to ignore it and a grin appeared on her face when she slowly came to a halt in front of him.
"Mission accomplished, sir", and she saluted as finishing touch.
"The threat is over."

"Thanks… I guess...", he said a bit hesitant, but the tone of his voice was already back to the amused one, the raw edge of malice nowhere to be found.
"That was quite the performance, little miss Ignorant. Not my usual style, but hey, it worked. Guess that's all that matters…"
Charley flashed him a sweet and innocent smile before she raised her hand and when it was near her ear, she turned the flashlight on, including the whole narrowed-eye-chin-up movie thing.
"At least less striking than a dead cop."
This felt even better than anticipated.

"Low profile. Throttle would like you", her Martian friend snickered while he raised his hand against the sudden light.
"Can you please get that thing out of my face?"
"Who's Throttle?", Charley asked him, ignoring his request while her green eyes wandered over his face, now finally able to see it without shadows.
It was strange.
Strange how handsome he was, despite being a whole other species.

Big ears.
White fur.
A silver mask.
Red eyes.

"My bro", he answered, now turning his head with his eyes narrowed to protect them against the bright light.
"And leader… Seriously, babe, you're blinding me and I ain't talking about your breathtaking beauty here."
Charley playfully rolled her eyes at this comment, but she still didn't lower the flashlight, nor did she let him distract her.
"How do you know O'Neill?"

A small sparkle close to his face caught her attention and she moved the beam a bit more to the right, curious about what it was.
The hoodie prevented her from seeing his entire ear, but thanks to the flashlight she was able to see a row of silver piercings decorating his left ear, but there was one that stood out in particular.
A small red diamond.
Same color as his eyes.
It also came very close to the red paint of his bike.
Well, at least she could now skip the question of what his favorite color was.

Soon after the question had left her mouth, her white-furred hero shrugged one shoulder.
"The guy's obsessed ever since we set foot on this planet. I guess it's safe to say that he ain't liking the whole 'vigilante concept' much either. Can't say I blame him, though."
"Judging his cheerful character, he doesn't really like anything at all for that matter", Charley muttered under her breath, still a bit shocked by the man's rude behavior.

"Don't take it personally, sweetheart. He's just hellbent on putting us behind bars. You're nothing but a pawn in his little game of cat and mouse", her knight in shiny fur told her with a small smile.
Mouse.
Hm.
"We're just lucky that we're as good as we are, especially moi," and he pointed a thumb at himself with a smile to strengthen his words.
"Next to that, his police skills don't even come close to his will to catch us, so here we are, still riding free. Still. He's a major pain in the ass for hunting our tail."

Hunting our tail…
...tail…
"Then why don't you just kill him? I mean, if he's that big of a problem...", Charley continued her third-degree, ignoring this whisper in her head that only tried to distract her as well.
"In case you haven't noticed, we're the good guys here, doll. We don't kill for sports or because things happen to be a bit complicated. We can handle complicated. We only kill if we really have to", he explained to her as he now pulled his hoodie further over his head to escape from the light, clearly highly uncomfortable but he was only halfway when Charley opened her mouth again.
"Tell that to the guy you killed and dumped in the dumpster."

He froze when he heard her say these words and thanks to the light, she could see how a blush appeared under his white fur, which transformed him from total badass to super cute in just the blink of an eye.
At least he had the decency to blush.
"Yeah, about that…", he chuckled a bit nervously as he let go of his hoodie to put his hands in his pockets, eyes lowered now.
"I kind of uh… lost it for a moment, I guess…"

"When I lose it, I usually don't kill people", Charley retorted, hoping she wasn't crossing a line here, for she didn't want him to stop talking.
Not now he was finally on a roll.
And maybe, just maybe, she was trying to buy herself some time.
"Yeah, well. Whatever floats your boat."

His voice sounded calm, perhaps even a bit indifferent, but the look on his face told something different entirely and her mouth became dry by seeing the somewhat impending shadow on his face.
All of a sudden, something wrapped around her flashlight, something that looked a lot like a white-furred tail that now snatched the object out of her hand.
What the...
Well, it at least explained the whole tail part.

"Showtime's over, sweetheart. I know I'm a sight to behold, but my eyes are almost burning out of my skull and since I'm kind of attached to them..."
Without warning, the Martian threw the thing against the wall and she flinched when it shattered into a million pieces with a dull thud.
"That felt extremely satisfying", he snickered with that smug smile again, that smile that made her almost burst into flames.
But she managed to keep herself under control.
There were so many things she wanted to know and she decided to just keep going as long as he let her, although she felt this almost childish disappointment for him taking away her flashlight.
"Okay, so you can't kill him, or well, not really. Then why not erase his memory?"
"Like I said — too risky."
"And yet here you are because your leader wants you to wipe my memory clean. So what, you just conveniently forgot to mention the risky part?"

"Are you always this inquisitive?", the Martian asked her tiredly as he rubbed his probably still sore eyes.
"You have no idea", Charley smiled allegedly innocent and he slowly lowered his hands by hearing her tone of voice, which might have been a bit… flirty, yes.
Oops.
Sparkling red eyes locked with hers and again, the tension was already rising.
"We're not sure if it works. You know, with humans. We never tried it before", he eventually answered her question, much to her surprise, for he somehow gave her the impression that he was close to being tired of this stream of questions she fired at him like bullets.
But then her brain digested his words, words that, unfortunately, didn't ease her worries whatsoever.
"Oh. So that makes me, what — your lab experiment?", she huffed, folding her arms with her green eyes narrowed, not even close to being amused.

Her white-furred hero was, though.
Amused.
He had that look on his face again.
You know, the one that gave the impression as if he was about to burst into laughter.
"Do I look like some lab-nerd to you, sweetheart? I mean, look at me. This body is grade-A Martian material. You don't get that in a lab", he told her without batting an eye before he flashed her another one of those arrogant smirks.

My, my.
There lurked quite the ego inside of her charming savior.
"I've seen better", she snorted, trying to make it sound like she truly meant it, which she didn't.
In all honesty, even though she only saw a glimpse of his body because of the poorly lit environment, it was already ten times better than every man she had met in her entire life.
How… worrying.

"Maybe. But not with this much charm", her personal alien hero retorted imperturbably with wiggling eyebrows, now exposing his sparkling set of perfectly white teeth with a big smile and Charley couldn't stop the chuckle that now escaped her lips.
"You're a real piece of work, maestro", and she slightly shook her head in amusement.
His carefree attitude felt somewhat refreshing, actually.
"Hey, pretty lady — what took you so long to notice?"
As he was talking, his tone of voice switched to that lower one, the one that was able to make her feel almost dizzy and Charley swallowed with difficulty as her hands already turned sweaty again.

For a moment, they looked each other deep in the eye as the tension already grew bigger and bigger again, but right before she couldn't hold it any longer, her Martian friend let out a sigh and thereby broke the spell.
"Look, the only reason why Throttle ordered me to erase your memory instead of killing you is that you're an innocent citizen that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fact that you're a lady counts for a lot as well and no, not in the chauvinistic kind of way. We ain't no savages, ya know and let's face it — you're not really that much of a hazard to our cause in case this whole thing blows. A cop on the other hand… A cop can make things even beyond complicated if he suddenly remembers things he shouldn't remember and voila — too big of a risk. If we get caught, Earth is lost and..."

He suddenly trailed off as his face darkened, the sides of his mouth now pointing downward.
"And now I suddenly sound like Throttle. Great. Just great. Where did that happen?", he muttered under his breath, wrinkling his nose as he scratched the back of his head through the hoodie.
"What do you mean, Earth is lost?", Charley asked as an ominous feeling came over her, not liking his choice of words but her new friend already shook his head.
"I shouldn't have said that."
"But you did."
"Yeah, well. I'm irresponsible and I've got a big mouth. This happens like, all the time. A classic case of 'story of my life'."

But Charley just didn't know when to stop.
It wasn't because she missed the signs, for she didn't, but she always had been a bit too curious for her own good.
Which was the whole reason why she was here, in this dark alley, talking to an alien as if she was enjoying a drink on the terrace of her favorite cafe.
Talk about your classic 'story of my life'.
"What is it exactly why you and your… bro's are here on Earth?", she asked slowly, perhaps even a bit cautiously.

But it didn't matter.
Her interplanetary hero slash interlocutor was tired of playing this Q&A game, she could tell.
All ready to cut it off.
Show's over.
But not without giving her his final encore.

"Well, let's just say…-", he started while he relocated his weight back to his feet, using one hand to shove himself away from the wall.
Within two steps, he was already standing in front of her, looking down at her with a smile so cheeky, it simply took her breath away and just like that, the electric field was back.

"-...that the knuckleheads you humans call the police…-"
It, or actually he, now forced her to take a few steps backward without even touching her, and it didn't take long before her back made contact with the cold stone of the wall behind her.

"-...are the least of our problems…", her savior finished his sentence as he gradually placed both hands next to her head, closing her in.
The message was loud and clear.
They were done talking.
Oh, they were done, alright.
Was it just her or was it getting warmer here?

His red eyes wandered over her face while his white shining teeth buried themselves in his lower lip, making it look as if he was trying very hard not to lose control.
That and the slightly quivering arms next to her head made Charley conclude that she wasn't the only one in this alley who was caught in this sexually loaded web.
Now he was being so close to her again, his dizzying scent made her almost squint of desire, a feeling she was familiar with, just not in this severity.
No.
Not even close.
The heavy tingle in her lower body was back, too.
The one that turned her legs into jelly but she somehow managed to remain on her feet.
Holy shit times ten.
This was completely and utterly insane.

"Now, then… where were we?", the white-furred Martian whispered and the rough edge on his voice almost caressed her eardrums.
"I ah… I think you were about to tell me your name", Charley breathed, resting her head against the cold stone in some sort of feeble attempt to keep her head on straight.
She had no idea what he was planning to do with her and it made her beyond nervous, especially now she was almost intoxicated by this overwhelming nebula of desire, making her lose contact with her voice of reason.
In other words — she had no control whatsoever and she hated it.
Liar.

A soft chuckle.
"Oh really, huh? And here I thought I was standing on the verge of erasing your memory…"
God, he needed to stop doing this.
Talking to her like this.
Looking at her like this.
Smelling like this.
Being here.
Existing.
He wasn't even really touching her and she almost swooned like a girl in high school, including the giant puddle of drool at her feet.
It was pathetic, really.
And she wasn't sure how much longer she could take this.
All this.

"Then do it", she panted as she closed her eyes for a moment, to escape his burning gaze, if only for a few seconds.
But, of course, even with eyes closed, he was there, lurking in the shadows.
Looking at her.
Red eyes, burning.
Glowing red in the dark...
"So tell me, miss Davidson — are you always this brave?"
Even though she had only just met him, she already knew that only he could make a whisper sound so… promising and her eyes flew open again.
Such a cheeky little rascal, this one.

Much to her surprise, the red glow she just had seen in her head was real, only it didn't come from his eyes.
It came from under his hoodie and her breathing decided to move up a gear, instinctively knowing that this was it.
It had to be, for he didn't really strike her as the kind of guy that liked to walk around like a Christmas ornament.
Next to that, it wasn't even December.

And no, this didn't make any sense, but the time of lucidity was over from the moment he had closed her in again.
It was strange, though.
Strange, how the red light reflected in his eyes, making them even more bright.
As if the red irises just caught fire.
So far for X-ray vision.

But it not only did something to his eyes.
No, the light illuminated the darkness around them, turning the cold and scary alley into a warm and cozy place, which made this whole thing even more dangerous.
Less scary.
More… alluring.
It was casting a light shadow over his face as well, giving him a slightly mystical yet ominous look.
But the smile was still there.
As were his teeth biting his lower lip.

As he slightly bent his muscular arms, her white-furred hero leaned forward to close the gap between them and her heart now decided to go dance the tango, including the whole 'rose-in-mouth' thingy, appropriate to the electric tension that pulled them closer to each other like magnets.
"You never told me your name…", Charley whispered right before his nose touched hers and he stopped, his slightly narrowed red eyes focussed on her lips.
Feeling his breathing on her blazing lips made her shiver, but she forced herself not to give in to this weird feeling that was a combination of dread and exhilaration.

One corner of his mouth went up as he raised his eyes again, but he said nothing.
His silence caused a pang of dismay, for it was now clear to her that he wasn't planning on giving her his name.
Maybe he was scared that she would remember it if this whole memory experiment went south.
Ah well.
At least she tried.
After one more intense look into those mesmerizing rebellious red eyes, almost trying to burn it into her brain in the hope she would be able to remember it after all this, Charley let out her breath and closed her eyes.

If only she could say that it was a sigh in resignation, but it wasn't.
She simply tried to prepare herself, but let's face it.
No one could really prepare themself for the unknown and to be entirely honest, she was scared shitless.
But what could she do?
Aside from telling him her name?
Nothing.
"Charley. My name is Charley."
Famous last words.

For a moment, there was only silence.
Silence and two individuals that were attracted to each other, despite their differences.
And that tension.
That almost suffocating yet thrilling tension.
The very one that made every nerve ending in Charley's body tingle, as if a thousand needles were poking her skin and she shifted her weight, highly uncomfortable by all this.

But that wasn't even the worst part.
No, that medal went to having no idea what to expect.
It was simply impossible to explain what that did to her.
To just stand there without any handle to hold on to, trying so hard not to panic while at the same time, she couldn't get enough of this interesting feeling her new friend gave her.
But, shit, she was scared.
Completely petrified.

Every muscle in her body tight as a drum.
Eyes shut tight.
Shoulders pulled up with so much strength that it hurt.
Fingernails clawing at the cold stone of the wall, trying to have some sort of grip on the situation.
To have a sense of control, even though it was a delusional one.
Her breathing, rapid and shallow, but her heart…
Jesus, it almost jumped out of her body and she squeezed her eyes with even more force, knowing now that she had never been this scared.
Not even when that man pulled her into this very same alley.

It was unbearable, really, as if she was waiting to be stabbed or something, expecting a sharp blade to penetrate her skin any moment now, but then, suddenly…
...like an angel falling from the sky…
Warm hands.
Soft and delicate fingers, weaving into her braided hair.
Cautiously.
Fondly.
"Breathe, sweetheart. You won't feel a thing, I promise you…"

His voice sounded different.
Regretful.
But melodious.
His warm breath close to her ear caressed the million teeny-tiny hairs on her skin, making her heart now run a marathon at maximum speed, although he did manage to calm her down a bit at the same time.
His hands resting on both sides of her head gave her a strange feeling of security, but it wasn't enough.
The warmth she felt by her ear now moved to her cheek, to eventually end up somewhere near her still searing lips.

Again, he seemed to hesitate.
She could feel it without even looking at him.
Goddammit.
Didn't he understand that this was practically unbearable?
A groan escaped her lips, but just when she wanted to tell him that he needed to get it over with, he let out his breath.
"Ugh, fuck this", and before she knew it, he kissed her.

That sounded awfully simple, but it was anything but that.
Truth be told, it felt as if she was struck by lightning and no, that was no exaggeration.
Not even close.
As if the electric field exploded, sending pins and needles all over her body.

It was a gentle kiss, though.
Careful.
Maybe even hesitant, which was probably his way of giving her space to stop him.
Or maybe they both needed some time to get used to kissing someone from an entirely different species, which was, indeed, a bit of a challenge with the whole teeth thing and all.
Unfortunately, he didn't give them both much time to practice, for he already broke off the kiss again.

Charley opened her eyes, breathing heavily and feeling a sharp yet pleasant tingle in her lower abdomen when she saw that his usual bright red eyes were now almost black, twinkling in arousal and vice.
"Very nice to meet you, Charley", he smiled mischievously as his eyes wandered over her face to eventually lock with hers.
"The name's Vinnie."

"The pleasure is all mine", Charley breathed, still entirely overwhelmed by everything that happened in her body right now.
She did realize that she was still herself, though.
Or maybe more to the point — her memory was still intact.
Not just that, he just told her his name.
Introduced himself to her.
The red light was gone as well.
It was almost as if he wanted to start over.

"So tell me, Vinnie — are you always this extravagant on your first dates?", she asked him defiantly, her voice hoarse.
Again, that wry smile appeared on his face, although his eyes seemed to turn even a few tints darker.
"Well, I aim to please."
After raising her right hand, Charley grabbed him by the chin and looked him straight in the eye.
"Then please me."

His smile grew bigger right before he kissed her again, and this time, it wasn't a careful one.
Oh no, this one was something entirely different.
There was a certain hunger hidden in his kiss, one she felt as well and she kissed him back eagerly, maybe even compellingly, her spirit powered by the sparkling electricity that ran through her veins.
That was enough for him to let go of the reins and he deepened the kiss as both of his hands slid down to her neck, his thumbs now resting on her jawline.

His fingers brushing her skin only fueled the electric sparks and another groan bubbled up, but this time it got stuck in her throat.
The muffled sound only heated things even more and before she knew it, her hands were already pulling on his hoodie, her entire body and soul only wanting one thing.
Him.

Again, she felt him smile against her lips, but just when his right hand slowly but targeted slid down her side, Charley heard a soft beep penetrating their cloud of passion, soon followed by a click.
It was quite the miracle that she was able to hear it, for it didn't feel as if she was actually here, on Earth.
No, she was floating somewhere halfway space, completely dazed by everything that defined him.
But the tinny voice that now suddenly came out of nowhere wasn't really that hard to miss, as much as she wanted to.

"Vincent, what's your 20?"

This felt awfully much like a thing called deja-vu.
Charley stiffened, and so did Vinnie before he broke off the kiss while letting out a stream of words in a language she hadn't heard before.
Hearing the unknown tones spoken by that maddening raw voice of his was exhilarating, to say the least, and her green eyes flew open in an attempt to return to reality.
To step off her cloud.
Great idea.
It felt more as if she stumbled halfway and just fell down like a rock, which fitted perfectly with her clumsiness and the landing was everything but soft.
For she looked straight into a pair of fuming ones, the dark shadow of lust in his irises already chased away by the bright flames again.

It was somehow good to know that she wasn't the only one who wasn't happily entertained here.
But that wasn't what made disappointment spread through her body like cold water, washing away the electric field without mercy.
No, it was him giving her an apologetic look, telling her that this wasn't something he could ignore, which made her, in turn, conclude that the tinny voice coming out of the speakers of his amazing bike belonged to his leader.
A conclusion that got confirmed when her white-furred hero slowly untangled himself with a mix of anger and regret written upon his face.
"Sorry, babe, duty calls", he sighed regretfully and after he let his fingers brush her cheek, he turned around and walked to his bike, leaving only a burning desire behind.

Still with a face like thunder, Vinnie mounted his bike before he pushed a small button on the impressive-looking dashboard.
"What do you think is my 20? I'm cleaning up the mess, just like you wanted me to", he grumbled as he folded his arms, the tip of his tail twitching in annoyance.

"'Cause you're such a paragon of good behavior, huh?"

There was a slightly teasing tone audible in the tinny voice that sounded a bit husky at the same time and it somehow eased Charley's fears a bit.
He didn't really sound that bad, you know, for a leader who had ordered to erase her memory.
Although Vinnie clearly didn't agree with her right now.
As it turned out, mister Tease didn't like to be teased himself.
How surprising.
It must have something to do with that ego of his.

"Hardee har har. Very funny. Anything else?", the white-furred Martian snarled as he grinded his teeth, obviously wanting to end this conversation rather sooner than later.

"That depends. Is it done?"

Oh.
That really was the million-dollar question, now wasn't it?
The perfect so-called icing on the cake of an evening full of difficult questions of life.
Again, the tension rose, but this time it was different.
More… gloomy.

Looking at the Martian sitting on his perfect bike with the hoodie still covering his big ears, Charley suddenly felt a somewhat sad feeling washing over her when she realized how empty life would be without him.
Even though they just met, she already knew that she didn't want to forget about him.
All she wanted was to get to know him.
As in — really know him.
Regardless of whether it was right or wrong, he already had found himself a place in her heart, if not taken her whole heart already.

As the question of his leader still lingered in the air between them, Vinnie now turned his head and their eyes locked.
Staring into his sparkling eyes, she suddenly felt this insatiable craving for him, making her entire body glow and she knew, she just knew...
She even might be able to love him one day.
It was a feeling she never had before and it completely swept her off her feet.
Goddammit.
He couldn't take this away.
Not now she finally had it.

With a frown on his handsome face, Vinnie bit his lower lip, clearly caught up in an inner battle of his own, but right before she couldn't take this oppressive fear that came with the idea of losing him, he heaved a sigh and looked back at his bike with regret written upon his face, along with a small hint of rebellion.

"Yeah. It's done."

---

Oh my.
Did we just catch our beloved white-furred adrenaline junkie in a lie?
I think we did.
Will Throttle buy it, smart as he is?
And what about Modo?
He's a sensitive fella, after all.
I somehow have the feeling that lying isn't really Vinnie's cup of root beer, so how long is he going to keep this up before his big mouth throws a spanner in the works like it always does?
So many questions.
So few answers.
;)

Well, I can only hope you guys liked this chapter.
There will be more action soon :)
Feel free to leave a review, always very much appreciated, as you know by now, hehe.

Stay safe out there, people.
Spread love, not hate and till next time!

Later!