Well, I had had this in mind for the competition, but I liked the idea too much to limit what it could become. I think it is definitely going to become longer than five chaps, and more than 3 OCs will be in it. I tried to clean it up as best I could, but please forgive me any little errors. Just point them out and I will fix them, promise.

Chapter 1: Garand

It was a peaceful day in Chicago. Birds were chirping, children were playing, Limburger's tower had been reduced to a large crater with a fat, crying Plutarkian in a badly torn suit sobbing about how life wasn't fair. Yep, things were going pretty swell.

Garand watched, interested, from atop a close building at the fat fish crying. Honestly this had been the fist time she'd seen any part of Earth, and something about watching the Plutarkian in such a sad state was imminently satisfying. She watched him with a frown on her face, telling herself that she had better things to do, yet did nothing to tear her gaze away.

The wind blew gently and her short brown hair blew softly across her face.

She had heard so much about Earth, though due to war had never gotten around to see it. She had never thought a place like this could have been so peaceful. It was beyond measure when it came to beauty, and her heart ached lightly when she realized she had never been able to experience sensations like this.

Soft winds, blue sky, clouds, those weren't the kind of things that people saw on Mars. She loved her red planet, the soft dessert sands, the secure caves that offered protection, the whole population that had always made her feel secure in her life, even as the entire universe seems to want to tear their home apart.

But she understood why Earth was considered the Blue Jewel of the Galaxy. This place was much more than her home planet could ever be.

She stood and slipped her binoculars into a side pouch attached to her belt. She had work to do, and couldn't afford to waste any time.

She opened a small device that had been previously attached to her belt. Looking much like a large cell phone, she flipped it open. Nothing but static. Dammit.

Pressing a few buttons did little, but she heard a faint voice over the broken fuzz of the communicator.

"Stepper," she tried in a loud voice. "Stepper, are you there?"

"Ye… can barely…you. Wha…p…tion?"

"I'm in front of Limburger's Tower. I think I made it."

"Gre…"

"Stepper I can barely hear you," she said. "Can't you make the transmission clearer?"

"One….ment."

A few minutes later Garand saw the face she'd been hoping to see. A gray furred female mouse with long black hair tied into a tick braid was smiling at her, glasses resting on her nose.

"This is taking a lot of power," she said as she pushed the glasses up to her face. "I hope you plan to make this call fast, because we only have a little bit left."

"Fine," Garand said. "I'm here, though I'm not sure where our target is. The tower's down, so they have to be close."

"Might I suggest the garage?" Stepper supplied.

"I thought of that," she said. "But I'm not sure I want to just go and announce myself. This has to be handled delicately."
"Which is exactly why we sent you," Stepper said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'm telling you my invention is perfect. This won't be a problem at all."

"So how long do I have?" she asked.

"I would say about one-hundred, twenty six hours, thirty-seven minutes, and sixteen seconds… if I would have to guess. In short, about five days."

"I'll be sure to set my alarm," Garand muttered.

"That would be an imperative idea," Stepper agreed with a nod. "We can only maintain the jump for about five minutes, then who knows how long it'll be before you can get back. If anything happens, we'll try to send someone to come get you, but the power level we have right now, even I couldn't say it's a high possibility. IF you get stuck there, we may not be able to rescue for a long time."

"Don't worry," she said with a small smile. "I'm not about to let the entire population of Mars down."

"Good luck," Stepper said. "We won't talk again until you get home, so take care."

"I will."

The screen went black suddenly and Garand sighed. The odds weren't on her side, so she was going to have to act quickly, but at the same time she was worried about how she was going to go about this. If she just rushed off too fast then she was going to have a whole lot of waiting time on her hands. The more time they knew about her the longer they had to catch her, and she had no desire to test her skills when it was three against one, especially when it was those three.

"Still," she muttered as she glanced back down at the remains of the tower, "I don't think I'll have to worry about them if I did this properly. They'd never even know I was here."

It wasn't a bargain she wanted to make, not with everything ridding on her actions, but she was more than use to it. There was always some crisis to take care of, and it had just seemed to become routine after so long. She supposed a being growing up with constant warfare was the kind of person who either didn't care, or became to racked with nerves that they could never get anything done anyway. She'd much rather be the first.

She slipped her helmet over her head, but left the visor open. Putting her fingers to her lips, she let out a shrill whistle.

Within seconds a low rumble reached her ears and with a sharp screech, a sleek Silverwing style motorcycle was by her side. Gleaming in the light, she ran a hand over the seat lovingly.

"Ready to go?" she asked as she swung one leg over and climbed on. She revved the engine a few times before riding right off the thirty-story building and landing with a small thump on the road.

First things first, she needed to find some place she'd be able to hide out while working. She was sure she'd find a abandoned warehouse or apartment building that she could use, and with that slimy Plutarkian wallowing in his own misery and rubble, it wasn't likely that he was about to disturb whatever place she found for his so called mining.

A small pang of remorse settled in the pit of her stomach. She sort of wanted to go and explain the situation, but as it stood, she couldn't see it as a very good idea. She had no idea how this all was going to work out, and she didn't want to go around tempting fate. Besides, she knew a certain tan mouse that she definitely didn't want to see.

"As if he'd feel any different about it then I do," she muttered. "Whatever happens, I'm not traveling down that road unless I have no choice."

She had to admit, Chicago certainly did have its share of places she could use. Broken windows, spray paint scrawled on brick walls, rusty fir escapes that looked like they'd been around far too long for them to be up to code, it all screamed unused. It reminded her of what her home was, what it had become. It certainly was not as pretty as it had been from afar.

She eventually stopped at an old building, its large sign overhead brown and red with rust, making it illegible and impossible to tell what the building had been for. It seemed potential enough as she parked her bike in an empty alleyway and slipped inside a broken window. There were a few large machines, empty boxes, and some conveyer belts, but aside from that, mostly empty. It was spacious, and far enough on the edge of town she wouldn't attract unwanted attention. It would work.

Now all she needed were the materials. And she knew exactly who to get it from.

---------

"Those blasted, bothersome, vexatious VERMIN!"

Flecks of spit and worms fell upon the floor, desk, and a trembling Greasepit as Limburger shouted up a storm. His tower rebuilt, his pride still broken, and now a oncoming headache caused by the call from Head Chairman not ten minutes ago about his increasing levels of failure, had put the Plutarkian in an explosive mood. It was bad enough that his tower had needed rebuilding (even if it did only take a day to rebuild thanks to Karbunkle) but now he was being demanded to come up with record of his recent spending to explain the rising costs his botched plans were bringing upon Plutark.

"How could this day get any worse?" he grumbled as he plopped down on his chair with a sigh.

"Duh, well gee Boss, a girl mouse could break into the Tower," Greasepit replied slowly.

"And why do you say that, boy?" Limburger asked tiredly.

"Well, cus that's what's happenin'."

"WHAT?!" Limburger shouted and looked to the security screen that his minion was pointing to. He saw in one of Karbunkle's labs a mouse with light brown fur skulking about, tossing parts and bits around.

"What are you waiting for?" the fish screamed. "Capture her!"

---------

"I know they're here somewhere," Garand muttered to herself as she looked quickly though the large piles of junk. That freak Karbunkle never threw anything away, and spare parts for to the transporters he always built needed to be around somewhere in this place.

She looked out on the setting sun, already marking the end of her second day here. There were only had three left. She needed to grab the stuff and get out of here as soon as possible.

"Come on," she muttered before opening a steel cabinet and grinning before grabbing the generator battery about the size of a basketball. Yes, this thing would more than provide what she needed. The rest of the materials she could get elsewhere. She'd been here long enough. Much more time and she'd be caught.

"Well, well, well. Look' it what we got ourselves here boys." Garand whirled around to see a large human male dripping in black liquid which her noise identified as some kind of oil, along with four other men in sunglasses, leather vests, and torn clothing. "A little Missy Mouse… or is that Miney?"

"Get out of my way!" she shouted, tucking the generator under her arm and firing at the goons. They gave a cry of surprise and scattered, letting her slip her way past and out of the room.

"Great, just what I needed," she muttered as she ran, skidding down the hallway as laser blast shot past her. Turning a corner sharply, she waited for the first one to come around the corner after her and slugged him in the face, causing him to fall and make the others trip over him. They ended up in a pathetic pile on the floor.

"Bye," she snorted before turning around to make a quick get away and slammed into Greasepit. Her eyes widening in surprise, he grabbed her around her face, cutting off her yell and lifted her easily off the floor. The generator clattered loudly to the floor.

"Looks like I got me a little rat after all," he sneered as she tried to wrench his large palm from her face in order to breathe. She squirmed underneath him, though not doing much good.

"Mr. Limburger gots a special interest in mice. I'm sure he'd like ta know what yer… What's that?"

A loud rumbling sounded, getting increasingly louder as Greasepit looked around in a confused manner. A sudden screech filled the air and before the man knew what was happening, a motorcycle had slammed into him, sending him flying on top of his goons and dropping a coughing Garand.

"Good girl," she wheezed softly to her bike, grabbing the generator and strapping it to the bike quickly. Climbing on as the bad guys struggled to get up, she slipped her helmet on top of her head and kicked up the brake, driving off with a loud howl of her engine.

A few blasts from her bike and a broken wall later, she burst out of the tower, riding away Scott-free.

"Could have gone better," she muttered to herself as she made her way down the street. She needed to get off the main roads before Limburger could collect his goons enough to follow her. "But at least I got this little baby."

A large blast suddenly hit the road, maybe inches away from her bike. Swerving sharply to try to get it back in control, she looked over her shoulder and saw several buggies coming after her.

"Dammit," she cursed. This definitely could have gone better.

---------

"Guys! Guys!"

Throttle, Modo and Vinnie looked up from the cleaning of their bikes to see Charley running into the scoreboard of Quigley Field, looking frantic.

"Charley ma'am, what's wrong?" Modo asked as he stood.

"Take a look at this," Charley said as she flicked the T.V. on and switched over to the news. The three mice saw several explosions and cement as a street was blown apart by Limburger's goons.

"What that fish up to now?" Throttle asked as he watched the screen with interest. A reporter filtered on the screen, speaking something an odd chase happening, the one in the lead appearing to be a person on a motorcycle.

"Ah, friend of ours?" Vinnie asked as he saw a silver motorcycle zoom by in front of the camera. "What a minute, that's a mouse!"

"One of the Freedom Fighters?" Charley asked.

"Don't know," Throttle said. "But if he's getting chased by Limburger, he definitely needs our help. Come on bros, we got get to him before that slimy fish does."

The four hopped on the bike, already waiting and eager to go, before riding out of the scoreboard at full speed.

"Wish those boys would learn how to use doors," the janitor sighed as he began to sweep up the rubble they'd left behind. He sighed, knowing he'd have the hole patched up before they got back, even if it would only encourage them.

---------

Garand was beginning to like the openness of Mars a lot more than this city. Seriously, who built an alley, just to put a wall up halfway? Looking behind her, she saw several of Limburger's men approaching with guns and chains out.

'Now what?' she thought as she looked around. There were too many to fight through, and she didn't want to risk the generator too much by blasting through another wall. It looked banged up already, and she'd needed it in prime condition.

"End of the line little mouse," a goon in the front snarled as she brought up her gun, not nearly ready to give up yet.

Several shots flew at the group and caused them to cry out in confusion, but not from her gun. Her eyes widened as she looked up and saw the three mice she did NOT want to see up on top of the buildings, weapons poised and ready at the goons threatening her.

"You guys want to pick on someone, why don't we even out the number a little," Throttle stated. "Or you can back off now and avoid getting you butts handed to you."

The goons were dumb, but not dumb enough to not remember all the times they'd gotten the snot beaten out of them. Limburger could scream at them if he wanted, but without Greasepit around to order and force them to fight, they all decided they would rather leave. The noise of screeching tires drifting in the distance was the only sign that they'd been there at all.

With a few thumps, Throttle and his bros bikes landed in the alley next to the mysterious bike rider. His eyes narrowed as he saw red tints seeping though the mouse's shirtsleeve.

"You okay?" he asked as he removed his helmet and extended his hand but the mouse only flinched away from it. "Hey, don't worry. I know you're scared but- HEY! Come back!"

Garand urged her bike to go faster, her mind whirling in hasty and panicked thoughts. This was not how this was supposed to go. She hadn't them to see her!

"I'll go after him," Throttle said quickly. "Modo, Vinnie, try to circle around and cut him off."

"Her," Vinnie said.

"What?"

"It was a girl bro," he reiterated as he waved vaguely to his own chest. "What, you didn't notice?"

Charley flicked his ear behind him.

"Only you'd notice that right now," she snipped.

"Ow, sweetheart, no need for jealousy," he muttered as he and Modo drove off, leaving Throttle to the pursuit from behind.

Throttle kicked his engine to life, roaring out of the alleyway and making his way after her. Who was this girl, and how had she gotten to Earth? Had she perhaps been kidnapped by Limburger somehow and escaped, or had she crashed here on a ship somewhere? He knew one thing for sure. He wasn't going to find anything out until he caught up to her.

"HEY!" he called out to her, his bike trying keeping pace with hers. "Slow down. We just want to help you! I know you may be confused, but I know how you feel."

Garand growled as Throttle kept up with her, despite her attempts to shake him. No matter how many turns she took, or how fast she drove, he was easily proving to be one of the best riders from Mars. She gasped when she saw the other two ahead of her and waiting. Turning sharply, she tried to U-turn around Throttle and head the other way.

"Hey, she's good," Vinnie said in awe as he watched the girl drive around his leader.

"Come on," Modo said and they headed back out after her. "You think this is a little odd? She must know we don't want to hurt her."

"She must be panicking," Charley said. "Maybe she thinks we want to hurt her?"

Garand saw the signs flashing past her, the road flying underneath her as she ran from the others. Seeing a nearby parking garage, she drove onto the ramp and inside. Swerving around the parked cars, she went up the stairs for a few stories before ending up on the top floor. Pulling out her gun, she quickly took out the lights, making them pop out with each blast before the large room was encased in darkness.

Slipping off her bike, she patted the seat.

"Get back to the factory, quickly," she said to it. It beeped at her in several short and angry sounding bleeps. "Don't forget what we came here to do. I'll catch up, I promise. You need to get out of here with the generator!"

The bike rumbled softly to show that it understood and rode off to the elevator that she had opened up for it.

"I'll see you later," she promised as the doors slid shut and she sulked through the darkness, waiting. She swallowed and pulled out her gun, and stood behind a car. Her ears soon picked up the sound of rumbling bikes and she saw the outline of them coming up after here.

"Hey, what's going on?" she heard Vinnie ask. "What happened to all the lights?"

Swallowing, she ducked down and behind the car, hearing them climb off their bike and their footsteps as they began to search for her. Slipping to the front of the car she tried to squeeze in the small spot as best she could, hoping to circle around them and get away with them being none the wiser.

"I don't understand," Modo said. "Why's she hiding? Doesn't she know we just want to help?"

"Hey sweetheart," Vinnie called out. "There's no need to be scared. We know you're probably confused. We were too when we got here, but it's okay. We're here for you. Just come out!"

"There she is!"

Garand looked up from where she'd almost made it to the stairs, seeing Charley point at her. Swallowing and hoping to the gods she would miss, she fired above their heads at the ceiling and descended down the stairs quickly.

"Look out!" Vinnie cried as he grabbed Charley and got them out of the way. "She fired at us. Can you believe that? She fired at us!"

"I saw Vincent," Throttle growled as he ran after the female. He wasn't getting the feeling anymore that she was at all confused about where she was or what she was doing.

Making his way after her down the stairs, he finally caught her on the second floor. Tackling her to the ground.

"Who are you?" he demanded as he grabbed at her helmet and wrenched it off of her. He saw a light brown mouse underneath him, hair splayed out underneath her as she glared at him. "Look, I don't want to hurt you."

"The feeling is mutual," she admitted to him before kneeing him between the legs. He gave a strangled sort of gasp as she rolled him on his back and scrambled up quickly. "You leave me alone, or else!"

After her hissed warning was giving from above him, she grabbed her helmet and ran down what was left of the stairs and slipped out of the parking garage, running as fast as her legs could carry her to the abandoned factory. Satisfied no one was following her any longer, she made her way back and didn't stop to rest until she'd made it inside.

Her bike was waiting for her, beeping worriedly as she made her way up to it.

"It's okay," she said softly. "It's all going to be okay, I promise. I know that was hard, but we'll lie low for the rest of the day. They won't find us again."

End Chapter 1

Hee. I hope that was interesting enough to wet everybody's tongues. Tried to make it enticing with a little flair of mystery of 'What's going on and who is this chick?' All will be revealed! And Whipblade, I know I told you, but no spoiling it for anyone or I'll sick Jade on yer butt. lol Just kidding you girl.