"Vinnie!!!!! STOP... PLEASE STOP!!!!" came a breathless scream from the Last Change Garage.

"Not until you say it!"

"NEVER... I'll never say it!"

Stoker opened the door to the Last Chance Garage, almost afraid to see what was going on. Vinnie had Charlie on the floor, tickling her with both hands and his tail. Throttle and Modo were just watching, waiting to see who would give in first.

"I'll... I'll never surrender!!!" Charlie gasped.

"Well, this is… a interesting scene." Stoker said.

Using Stoker’s sudden appearance as a distraction, Charlie rolled away from Vinnie and to freedom. She quickly fled to Stoker for protection as she tried to regain her breath.

"Stoker! I almost had it!!!" Vinnie growled at Stoker as Throttle and Modo tried unsuccessfully to hide their laughter

"What?" a confused Stoker asked.

"Vinnie wants Charlie to say that he was the 'baddest mamajamma in universe and that she will follow him anywhere and worship at his feet.'" Modo said, with a big grin on his face.

"No! It was that 'Vinnie Van Wham was the baddest mamajamma in universe and all women lust after him.'

"And there was no way was I going to say that and feed his overblown ego!" Charlie snarled from behind Stoker. Then Charlie stuck her tongue out at Vinnie smugly.

"So Stoker, what brings you done to Earth?" Throttle asked, as he tried to hide his smirk.

"Ummmm. Well… I got some news for Vinnie. It’s about his family." Stoker mumbled awkwardly as he looked at the floor.

"What is it? Did they find them?" Vinnie asked anxiously, as he leaned against the wall for support.

"Yeah, they found them. And they're alive. All of them, even Tanya."

"Congratulations, bro!!!"

"FUCK!!!!! Why couldn't they stay dead!!!!!" Vinnie said violently as he punched a hole in the wall.

Everyone but Stoker looked at Vinnie in shock. They had never seen Vinnie so angry.

"I swear if I ever see them again, I’LL KILL THEM!!!!" Vinnie declared, deadly calm.

"Vinnie, how can you say such a thing?!? How could you wish them dead… they’re your family!" Modo said, as his eye began to glow furiously.

"I can because they’re monsters… every single one of them!!!"

"Have to agree with the punk on this one, bros. Hell, it was nearly impossible for me not to blow them away myself. Especially knowing what I do." Stoker couldn’t meet anyone’s gaze as he said this.

"Hold on, I think some of us ain’t getting the whole picture. Vinnie, I thought that you parents were killed in accident and that’s why you moved to your Aunt Anita" Throttle says.

"I lied." Vinnie said simply, as he flopped down onto the couch.

"WHY?!?!" Throttle and Modo asked together.

"Because he was under orders. It was the only way to keep him alive." Stoker admitted as he sat down. "If we hadn’t hidden Vinnie, we were afraid the Plutarkians would kill him."

"Hold on now!! The Plutarkians didn’t invade Mars until 3 years after Vinnie moved into town." Throttle said questionally

"Hate to disappoint you, bro, but the war been going on a lot longer than you think." Vinnie said, with a downcast look on this face.

"How much longer?" Charlie asked quietly, with a wary look in her eyes.

"About 8 years longer than most people know. We tried to keep the civilian population out of it as long as possible. Trying to defeat them before they took over. We succeeded… partly." Stoker said, with deepest regret in his voice.

"OK, now I think you two better start at the beginning!!!! And don’t leave anything out." Charlie said sternly, as she eyed Vinnie and Stoker warily. "Start with why you hate your family, Vinnie. And who’s this Tanya? Your sister?"

"No, Charlie-girl." Vinnie said, as he squirmed in his seat. "Tanya is… my wife."