Thank you to everyone that commented or reviewed! You all are so awesome, I love you all.

And hey, shout out to someone I just read, and enjoyed immensely! I've always asked why no one in the show ever brought up the Martian's antennae or psychic abilities. Or heck, how that would even matter in Martian culture! But this author took the challenge and ran with it, bringing new ideas and a lot of culture shock in a way I really, really enjoyed. (The fact that this story is AllThreeBros/Charley in a completely believable way is icing on the cake!) If you haven't read it, stop now, check it out and send this author some love! ...then come back to mine, okay? Lol.

Recommended Reading; 'An Open Mind' by Ashes2, rated M.

Now, on to my newest chapter!

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The First (Martian) Impression

Her face was flat. Like oddly flat, almost sunken in with what should have been her muzzle tucked almost into her neck. It was called a mouth, and it looked positively strange. It was somewhat normal on the inside, with a tongue a bit like their's, just smaller. No buck teeth at all, (which meant some very important sounds of their language would be impossible for her), though she had a few more teeth in her 'mouth' than they did. Mice had 26 teeth, she had 32. And don't get anybody started on how weird those 'lip'-things looked.

Her snout was all by itself on her face, sticking out like a trianglular jutt. Or maybe a bone spur. And the Biker Mice had confirmed that she was almost 78% scent-blind. Can you imagine?! So much of the world lost to you, it would be like only having one eye! Speaking of, at least her eyes were shaped relatively normal, for their very odd color. Martains only had red or somewhat pink eyes, the very rare black, rusty brown, or extremely rare green the few exceptions; but her's were the colors of blue, aqua, or green mixed together. It was pretty, but also very disconcerting. Her vision didn't seem to suffer for it anyway.

How could see hear anything with those tiny ears? They were shaped strangely too, with ridges and a swirl inside them. Maybe the better to funnel whatever sounds she could hear with them? And it was proven that she couldn't hear the subvocal range of the Mice language, or she would have punched a few of the more randy teenage boys that had been flitting around her. (So about 1/7th of their language was lost to her.)

And look at her skin. It was just...weird...seeing someone with no fur like that. Her body shape and type was much like a regular Mouse, barring the lack of a tail (and how in the world could she walk without one to help her balance?), so it was jarring to see so much skin. And it was perplexing that the skin was so...peach? Pink? Yelllow, orange, reddish pink? With spots of brown dotted liberally over her shoulders, arms, legs, and much smaller, finer specks across parts of her face. But seeing her bruise, after an accidental fall from a scaffold...more than one Mouse had asked if it was fatal. The colors her bruises turned! Morbid, and somewhat disgusting.

The most disturbing thing of all was the lack of antennae. That Throttle had been able to mind-walk her at all was a miracle, and a testament to his skill as a mind-walker. But for the human to never have any mental exchange-most were torn between pity and disgust. To be sealed away, silently in your own head with no other understanding but your own! How awful! How frightening...how terribly, terribly lonely it must be to never have a parent's loving, gentle presence, a sibling's casual caring thought, a friend's utter trust. To never have that emotional understanding clearly demonstrated to you in your entire life; to never fully believe in emotion; to only every have words, lying, slippery, easily-misunderstood verbal words as your only comfort...! How was any of those poor humans even sane? That truly did explain a lot about their societies, didn't it?

Considering all of that, she was shockingly, and very surprisingly, compassionate and empathic. She adored their children, told them stories with gentle smiles, helped in the infirmaries with their doctors whenever she had the spare time. It was almost a paradox to the Mice to try and figure out how she could still be sympathetic, empathic, or caring to anyone without experiancing true emotional sharing that only their antennae could do. The few empaths, mind-healers, and professional mind-walkers were all scratching their heads over that one.

But her mind. Oh, dear Merciful Mother, her mind! A treasure, a wonder! A planet so odd as hers had produced a mind so brilliant, it had gone toe-to-tail with the monster himself, Karbunkle, and been victorious. There were engineers, programmers, tacticians, designers, teachers from every walk of schooling that were clamoring for a chance to consult with her. Not just for the imput she might have, but the unique perspective of an alien ally.

Of course, she was still an alien. Still untried on this Red Planet they called home. But they were willing to wait and see what she could do, who she really was. She would certainly be watched for many years to come, this Charlene Davidson.

! #$%^&*(

According to the show's writers, Martians have been watching Earth tv for decades, long enough to develop some appreciation for the human form. The fact that our body types are so similar to theirs would surely help that along. But no fur, and different faces? That would take some getting used to, lol. Please let me know what you think!