Disclaimer: I own none of the original characters or settings

Disclaimer: I own none of the original characters or settings. But everything else is Mine! MINE!!! Do hear?! Mwa ha ha ha! Sorry, I'm done.

Setting A week or two after the last chapter.

Author's Notes: Once again I'm begging on bended knee, PLEEEEEESE REVIEW! (Big sad puppy eyes) How could you say no to a face like this? Lemme know what ya all think at wlnessman@home.com

Rated: R

The Blade and Angel Saga: Chapter Four

By Jcdracon

Copyright Jcdracon 2001 All Rights Reserved

Limburger Tower:

"WHAT?!!!" The fearsome bellow of the building's owner seemed to shake its very foundations.

Two floors below him a blond secretary winced in sympathy for whatever poor schnook it was who had found himself in the boss' bad graces. She'd only ever met him twice but both times she came away feeling kinda… slimy. And then there was that weird smell.

Oh well, it really didn't matter, after all she was only working here until she finished school. She smiled slightly; then she could start new exiting career as a journalist. She sighed and looked around at the drab beige office, it would be a welcome change from this place. Nothing interesting ever happened around here.

Meanwhile Upstairs:

"Let me see if I understand you correctly you simpering simpleton," Lawrence Limburger said with a sneer, "you managed, not only to allow those blasted bikers to make fools of you all once again. But you also managed to lose all of the oil we had collected for shipment AND destroy equipment that cost me an incredible amount of money, ONCE AGAIN!!!"

The large slimy man cowering in the corner timidly tried to explain "B…but mister Limburger sir it wasn't our fault. Ya see…"

"SILENCE!!! I've no patience for your pathetic excuses! LEAVE ME! I must see if I can discover a plan capable of destroying those vile vermin that even you can't bungle."

The purple clad businessman turned on his intercom, ignoring Greasepitt's not so quiet attempt to sneak out of the office.

"Karbuncle."

The floor in the center of the office opened as the platform from the lab carrying the demented doctor rose.

"Yhesss your Dairy Freshnesss?"

"I'm in need of a plan to destroy those hellish heroes."

"I suspected as much, in fact I think I have just the thing." He pulled out a large, complex looking remote and pointed it at the wall where a large TV screen appeared. After punching a series of buttons the screen came to life.

"You see how he leads them?" Karbunkle asked pointing as Throttle shouted instructions to Vinnie and Angel. "If we were to get rid of him, the rest would be that much easier to destroy."

"Yes," Limburger said thoughtfully, "Take down the head and the body will follow. But how?"

"Why, quiet easily, with this." the small man placed a large canister on his employer's desk.

Limburger eyed the metal cylinder skeptically, "What is it?"

"Do you remember the virus we tested on the subjects we took from mars a few years ago?"

"Yes of course, but it took too long to work."

"Well this is an improved version, it takes effect much more quickly and is extremely… unpleasant."

Limburger pause to think for a moment then began to laugh. Everyone within hearing distance couldn't help an instinctive shudder at the maniacal sound.

Three Days Later:

The Chicago streets were a war zone as Limburger's goons sped down the road, dodging shots from the mice's weapons as they went.

Blade couldn't help thinking something was wrong, The goon squad had only put up a minimum effort to fight before turning tail and running. Further more they had passed several turns leading into back roads they could have lost them on. No something was definitely up.

From the corner of her eye she saw something, the glint of moon light on metal coming from an alleyway. She turned in time to see Greasepitt taking aim with a large deadly looking weapon as Throttle moved into his sights.

Swerving sharply she shoved him as hard as her genetically engineered muscles would allow her. Causing him and his bike to go flying out of the way, just as Greasepitt's shot hit, sending her sprawling and a large cloud of reddish gas to fill the air around her.

The other mice screeched to a halt as they rushed to their fallen comrades. Throttle was already staggering to his feet while Blade was on her knees coughing as the cloud dispersed.

"Are you all right?" Angel asked, helping Blade to her feet.

"I'm fine," She choked out as she moved to mount her bike. "Let's get out of here okay." She speeded of towards the garage, leaving the others behind.

They all followed, but Throttle couldn't help but think that in spite of all the times Blade had been cold and down right rude to him, acting as though she hated him on some occasions, she had just taken a shot meant for him.

Back at the garage Blade wasn't feeling well. Her head was killing her, her throat felt like it had been sand blasted and her vision kept blurring, somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this should remind her of something, she just couldn't remember what.

Finally, she rose and headed for the stairs, intending to go to bed.

"Hey, B where ya going?" Angel asked.

"To bed."

"Why? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, just tired that's all." She said before her knees gave out and she grabbed the banister for support. She was suddenly wracked with wet, hacking coughs, and a tiny stream of blood trickled out of her mouth. Her grip on the banister loosened and her unconscious form would have fallen if Throttle who had stood up when he first noticed her distress hadn't moved in time to catch her.

He carefully scooped her up into his arms and moved her to the couch. He noticed she was hot, incredibly hot and had started to sweat. At the same time he noticed she was light, much lighter than he would have expected from someone of her height, muscle tone and ferocity on the battlefield.

"What happened to her?" Charley asked.

"It must have something to do with whatever Oil Breath sprayed her with." Throttle muttered.

Meanwhile Angel had gone deathly pale and started shaking and chanting "Oh Gods, Oh Gods, Oh Gods Oh Gods, Oh Gods."

"Hey sweetheart, are you okay?" Vinnie asked with unusual seriousness.

"We have to call Robin! We have to call Robin NOW!" She raced to the phone and rapidly punched in numbers.

"Hello, Robin! It's Angel, we've got a problem. You remember how we told you Karbuncle had tested that virus on Blitz a few years back? Well I think he infected Blade with it!… She has all the same symptoms… It hit her really fast… Yeah, okay I can do that… Okay, Goodbye."

She hung up the phone and turned back towards the guys and Charley.

"We have to get a sample of her blood down to Robin right away. The way this thing is progressing, it won't take long for the disease to run its course."

"What happens then?" Throttle asked looking down at her.

"She dies." Angel said tersely, already going upstairs to get the equipment Robin had given them before they'd left her home.

Blood sample in hand Angel, Charley, Throttle and Modo prepared to leave with Vinnie griping about being left behind.

"Aw Man! Why do I get stuck here?!"

Angel walked over to him a put a hand on his arm. "Because I know you'll take care of her."

Before he could respond to that surprising comment she was gone, with the others not far behind her.

Robin was waiting outside the lab she was now employed at when they arrived. Without wasting time she quickly took the sample, unlocked the door and began testing it. Comparing it to a sample previously taken from Blade.

This gave those of them who had never met her a chance to study her. She was older than they, about 35, with sleek short brown hair were, and sharp, intelligent hazel eyes partially hidden behind the lenses of her glasses. Dressed simply in a light pink sweater and blue jeans, she seemed perfectly confident and at home in the lab.

She let out a low whistle and turned towards them. "This is some of Karbunckle's best work, between the uniqueness of the virus itself and the abnormalities in Blade's blood it could take a while. I'll do my best but it may not be enough."

Angel sucked in a sharp breath and abruptly left the room. Modo motioned for them all to stay there before turning and following her.

He found her crying on the steps outside. Silently he sat down beside her and gently rubbed her shoulder, waiting as her sobs quieted into shaking gasps and sniffling and finally stopped all together.

"You gonna be okay now?" He asked her gently.

"She's got to be okay, she just has to."

"You two are real tight aren't you?"

"She's the closest thing to a real family I've ever had. I don't know what I'd do without her."

"Whatever happens, we'll all be there for you, one hundred percent."

She turned slightly and looked up at him, she'd always felt more comfortable with him than the others and lately she'd began to have…feelings for him. Those feelings were probably the first secret she'd ever kept from Blade.

Looking down into Angel's soft blue eyes Modo felt the tightness around his heart increase, he'd been fighting his attraction to her for weeks, he wasn't sure how Blade would take it and he didn't want to strain her and Angel's relationship. But Dang, she was so pretty and sweet and right now she was hurting so bad, he couldn't stop his head from lowering and then they were kissing.

Part of his brain was shocked, this went against everything his gray furred Mama had taught him, but the larger part of his brain told it to shut the hells up because she was kissing him back!

Eventually the kiss broke and settling against him with a sigh Angel then started to pray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the garage Vinnie paced around Blade's small room where they'd moved her to. He couldn't help but marvel at how clean the place was not a speck of dust anywhere. Not that she had much of anything to mess up.

His attention was drawn to the bed, where Blade had started mumbling, only her voice sounded different, kinda like a little kid.

"Mommy, please stop Mommy. I'll be good. Be quiet. Please stop."

Her antennae began to glow, like she was going to path with someone, and then they pulsed once, twice, and then Vinnie wasn't in her room anymore.

The first thing that stuck him was the feeling of total helplessness, then the pain, his eye was starting to swell shut from where Mommy had hit him, and then he noticed the kid in front of him. Gun, Gun was trying to protect him, Gun loved him.

Then things shifted, Mommy wasn't hurting them anymore. No, now she was entertaining one of her clients on the mattress by the furnace while he and Gun hid in the closet and tried to block out the noises.

And then they were walking into the home they were hardly ever at anymore and finding her dead. Stoned dead. Stone cold dead.

Then later, years later, when he was young and tough and strong and the bad stuff had been pushed into a dark little corner only Gun and he knew about. No one knew who their mother was.

Especially not Torque, He was so funny and smart, and he liked him. So what if Gun didn't like him didn't trust him, he was probably just jealous Because he'd made other friends.

Then in the alley he learned just what friendship meant to Torque. He felt the pain, the rage, the total helplessness as he was violated in every way possible. Finally lying in his own blood, he felt his fingers brush the cold steel of the blade where Torque had dropped it a single coin dropped and bounced near his hand and he heard the words he would remember forever, "Like mother like daughter, Hey Sweetheart?" Then pain fading to darkness.

Months passed he healed, on the outside any way, when he took a short cut through an alley and found those sons of rats and that poor kid. The rage welled up and spilled over, and if the kid hadn't been there he might have killed them. But instead he just put them in a world of hurt.

And he gained his Angel.

And then the labs, the dark, the cold, the pain of seeing the kids who had depended on him to protect them die, one after the other until only the two of them were left.

And release, no longer in a cage but free, free at last. But not for long, soon he was in another cage, this time he was bound by his fear, his hurt, wanting to reach out but scared to, so scared.

And the feelings for Throttle, they wouldn't go away. And he shriveled up a little inside every time he had to be cruel, or he saw the pain in his face after a fight with Carbine, and the knowing that Throttle would never want to be with him especially if he knew the real him.

And he was tired, so tired, just wanted to rest. Then maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad.

Vinnie came to and slowly pulled himself up into a chair. Then, Vincent van Wham, the Baddest Mammajamma in the Universe put his head in his hands and cried.

Later, much later he became aware of footsteps pounding up the stairs and looked up in time to see Angel tear into the room and inject Blade with a clear, blue tinged liquid.

Within fifteen minutes the darker mouse's heat beat was returning to normal, instead of its previous shallow, fluttering.

In spite of that it took her three more day's to regain consciousness and she was incredibly weak. If anyone noticed that Vinnie was more subdued that normal no one mentioned it.

It was on the fifth day of her recovery that Modo decided to talk to her. Ever the gentleman he knocked quietly on the door and waited for her invitation before entering.

"Blade Ma'am," He asked "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She propped herself up on her pillows and nodding motioned him over to the bed. "What about?"

Modo feeling incredibly uncomfortable blurted "I'm in love with Angel." And waited for the explosion.

Surprisingly, none came, she just closed her eyes and said in a subdued voice, "I'm screwed up Modo, I've been screwed up for a long time. It might take a while for me to figure this shit out but in the mean time I'm asking you to take care of Ange for me."

He stood there stunned for a few moments, then nodded and seeing her exhaustion turned to leave.

"Oh, Modo," She mentioned, he looked back at her inquiringly, "Hurt her, and I'll kill you." She said softly.

It took Vinnie another two days to aproach her, he found her sitting on the floor, leaning against the coach.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Look um, I've kinda got something to tell ya."

She looked up at his face and patted the spot beside her.

"Look, I know about what happened to you before, all of it."

"I figured you might."

"How?"

"Let's just say I know stuff about you now and leave it at that."

"Okay."

They sat it silence for a few minutes until she said "So, you won't tell anyone, right?"

"Not until you're ready for them to know."