Hey you guys.

Thanks for the reviews, they always make me so happy!
Wolftattoo; I wanna congratulate you on writing from what I believe is the longest review I ever had! XD
Really, I think it's super cool that you take the time to think and write down your thoughts about my story.
Know that I read them all, I just can't discuss the specifics because I don't wanna give spoilers or something.
I hope you understand :)
Also a shoutout to my more quiet readers.
Mucho love to you all.

So, on with the story.
Feel free to leave a review and till next time, dudes!

Ride free!

Chapter 16

'Crazy is the Word of the Day.'

"Man, if I don't see some action soon I'm gonna fade away…", Vinnie sighed as he threw another knife.
It ended up in the middle of the wooden board that hung close to the entrance of their tent.
Shortly after Max his funeral, Charley had given them their weapons back, much to Vinnie's joy.
With the bikes fixed, his leg almost healed and he himself armed to the teeth again, he was more than ready to whip some major tail.
There was only one thing missing.
The enemy.
It made the white-furred mouse more than restless. He really needed to blow off some steam, but how was he able to do that if there was nothing to blow up?
"Yeah, it's quiet here on Earth. A little too quiet, maybe…", Modo agreed with his young bro, lying on the bed with his hands folded under his head.
Not because he wanted or needed a fight as much as his beloved white-furred bro did, although he couldn't ignore the fact that he too enjoyed a good fight from time to time, but because the pressing silence made him anxious.
As if it was a calm before the storm.
It was based on nothing, though.
Charley had told them that the Plutarkians didn't attack the camp that often, probably because they were stationed in the outskirts of the city.
Or perhaps they didn't see them as a threat.
Or maybe they had more important things to do.
Either way, whatever the reason may be, it was quiet.
And that was something all three mice simply weren't used to because on Mars, things had been different.
On Mars, there had been more busy days than quiet ones.
And usually, quiet meant trouble.
It seemed that here on Earth, things were the other way around.
Like the world was turned upside down.
Again.

Vinnie looked over his shoulder to their leader, who was busy with cleaning his favorite gun.
"Can't we just, I dunno, go out and bust up a few fish? Maybe even one? Please?"
Throttle looked up from his work and whistled between his teeth when he saw the pleading look on Vinnie's face before he glanced at Modo with a smile on his face.
"He's saying please."
"Yep. He's in a bad shape", Modo chuckled.
"Guys, come on… We're heroes! It's our duty to save the world, not to just hang around!", Vinnie protested, already annoyed because his bro's reaction made clear that they weren't going to give him what he wanted, namely; a good fight.
"Chill, adrenaline mouse. We just got here", Throttle said soothingly as he focussed his attention back on his work.
"Yeah, and we already prevented a Plutarkian invasion and killed a human, so I say we do more than just hanging around", Modo added, already staring at the ceiling again.
Vinnie's fur bristled and his long tail lashed through the air with a zooming sound.
"But this is boring!", and he threw his last knife away with all his strength.

Right before it hit the board, the flap of the tent opened.
Charley appeared in the opening just when the knife landed in the wood with a loud thump and she looked at her right, startled by the sudden sound so close to her head.
After staring at the knife -that was still slightly vibrating from impact- with her green eyes wide open, she narrowed them as she looked back at the mice.
"Okay, whose genius idea was it to hang that board so close to the entrance?", she asked with a low voice, clearly not amused.
"That would be Vinnie", Modo answered with a clear conscience, which yielded him a glare of the young white-furred mouse.
"Why am I not surprised?", Charley sighed with shaking head as she walked further inside.
"Well, lucky for you, I never miss", Vinnie mentioned with an arrogant smile as he winked at the human female, who rolled her eyes in return.
"Lucky me."

The white-furred mouse then turned back to Modo, who was still lying on the bed.
His arrogance switched to innocence, but of course, his words were far from harmless.
"You do know that the other word for snitch is rat, right?"
Modo jerked upright, his eye already glowing red.
"Who do you call a rat?"
Throttle quickly jumped at his feet and lined himself up between his two bro's.
Who were bickering like two children ever since that moment they came back from the infirmary.
That was now two days ago and since Throttle had noticed the tension between them -which wasn't really that hard to miss- shortly thereafter, he'd asked what was going on the moment they had been alone.
But both his bro's had skirted the question with a certain smoothness that didn't reassure the tan-furred mouse at all.
No, it had made him only more suspicious.
Still, he'd decided to just wait and see, for now, that is.
Maybe it would pass, it usually always did.
There was a time for talk and there was a time for observation.
Although a little warning from time to time never hurt anyone.

"Okay, that's enough", he warned both of them, his voice low.
When it was clear that they wouldn't tear out each other's whiskers, he looked at Charley and he felt how his face softened, how his lips curled into a loving smile.
That always seemed to happen when he saw her.
"Sorry. We'll replace the board."
Charley nodded as she gave him a little smile back.
"Good idea. So, what I wanted to ask you before I almost got killed by simply walking in, is if you guys wanna come with me on a recon? Ben needs…", but before she could talk further, Vinnie suddenly grabbed her head with both hands and gave her a rough kiss on the mouth before he let her go again.
"You have no idea how much I love you right now, you truly are a lifesaver, sweetheart! Let's go, guys!", and he almost bounced out of the tent, pulling his knives out of the board on the way.
All this happened in like two seconds, giving the others no time to react and they all stayed behind a bit baffled.

Charley looked at Throttle with confusion in her eyes, but also a hint of amusement.
It was small, but it was there.
"I uh… Should I take that as a yes?"
Throttle shared her confusion, but then again, Vinnie tended to react a little impulsive from time to time, especially when he was on edge.
And he was on edge, alright.
So, his action could be completely innocent, simply because it happened to be Charley who gave him, after a few days of peace and quietness, the thing he needed the most right now.
A way out.
Because peace and quietness was something his young bro didn't handle very well.
Sad, but true.
So yeah, it all made perfect sense.
Then why was he feeling instead of amusement like Charley did, a pang of anger?
More to the point; the sickening feeling of... jealousy?
Why did the childish thought that it was Vinnie who now had kissed her first popped up in his head, completely out of nowhere?
It was barely even a kiss.
It probably meant nothing.
Nothing more than exaggerated but sincere gratitude.
The young mouse probably wasn't even aware of his actions, being hyper as he was now.
Still.
This whole thing gave him a nagging feeling of nausea, a feeling from which he knew it was intrinsically linked with jealousy.
He never knew he was a jealous type of guy.
But like he had noticed before, when it came to Charley, all bets were off.

He suddenly realized that Charley was still waiting for an answer, looking at him with a hopeful glance in those marvelous green eyes of hers and he shook off the unpleasant feeling Vinnie's action gave him.
"I'm in. What about you, big fella?", the tan-furred mouse asked as he looked at his bro, who was now standing next to him.
"I can use a little ride to clear the head. So yeah, Modo Maverick is at your service, ma'am", the grey-furred giant answered as he saluted with the hint of a smile on his face.
"You sure your arm is up to it too?", Charley asked a bit worried as she pointed at the bandage around Modo's flesh arm.
The latter flexed his muscles in response.
"There's hardly any more pain, Charley ma'am. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Yo, guys, are you coming, or what? I'm almost dying of boredom here, so if you guys don't hurry, you'll be responsible for me dying the most uncool death ever and lemme tell ya this; I'll come back to haunt your asses till your final breath!", they heard Vinnie yell at them from outside.
Throttle and Modo shared a look.
"Ya know, the funny thing is that I actually believe him. So we better go, the last thing I want is Vinnie haunting me for the rest of my life", Modo pointed out.
"Isn't he already?", Throttle chuckled, but then he nodded.
"Let's go, before he does something stupid."

…

"How long does it take to get ready? Ugh, this is taking like… forever!", Vinnie whined.
The mice were sitting on their bikes close by the gate, waiting for Charley.
She had told Throttle she needed a few minutes to get ready and only five minutes had passed since she did.
But of course, five minutes were like five years in Vinnie's book.
"She'll be here soon, Vincent, just try to…", but Throttle trailed off when he heard the sound of a soft purring engine and he looked over his shoulder.
When he saw the source of the sound, his mouth dropped, so did his heart and suddenly, everything around him was forgotten.
Charley drove up to them, but instead of being dressed in her usual attire, she now wore a black leather, close-fitting pants.
Her blouse was changed with a red leather jacket that was tight enough to reveal her curves and she had some lovely curves, Throttle now saw.
His body temperature rose a few degrees when she came closer.
He had never seen a body like hers, for even though Martian Mice had some similarities with humans, this was something different.
He couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly that made it so perfectly shaped in his opinion, but the fact remained it did.
And all he could do was stare at her as he felt pins and needles all over, his mind completely blank now.

Modo saw his bro's reaction and he too looked over his shoulder.
And his mouth also dropped.
But not because of Charley.
No, it was the bike she rode on that made his heart beat faster.
He didn't recognize the model, which wasn't really strange given the fact that they were the aliens now, but it was in one word beautiful.
It looked a lot like his bike actually, the model and shaping of the chrome parts.
Perhaps that was the reason why he liked it so much.
For there was nothing in the entire universe that he loved so much as his bike.
However, it was smaller than his and the paint wasn't purple but black with hints of red.
Still, it was one fine bike she had there.
Kudos for the Earthlings for designing something that beautiful, that's for sure.

Vinnie was too hyped up to notice how quiet his bro's suddenly were, but when he heard the soft sound of shrieking brakes next to him, he turned his head.
He saw a black biker boot touching the ground next to him and his eyes followed up the strong leg that was attached to it.
The lines of the muscles were clearly visible because of the skin-tight black leather and his heart started to beat even faster.
When his gaze landed on the well-shaped body, that was covered in red leather, his mouth became dry and he suddenly noticed he'd stopped breathing.
Well, if he had to guess, he'd already stopped breathing from the moment he saw the boot making contact with the ground.
"Whoa… light my fire…", he panted as he let out his breath, but Charley didn't hear it.
She was, by the looks of things, completely oblivious to the way her appearance triggered the mice.
"I'm ready if you are", she said as she adjusted the holster that was tight around her right leg.
"Great timing", Throttle managed to bring out.
"Great bike", Modo squeaked.
"Great… outfit... ", Vinnie breathed, pulling his bandana.

"Thanks, guys. So, the plan is to take a look at a pharmacy, that's hopefully still standing, on the other side of town. Ben needs new supplies and my guess is we can find it there. We haven't been to that side of town before, so it's important to keep our eyes open and be prepared for anything", Charley informed them, still completely unaware of the three shook up males who were now trying to grab themselves together.
Modo was the first one to recover, after all, no matter how beautiful the bike was, it didn't rattle him the way Charley did to both his bro's.
"Is it just the four of us, Charley ma'am?", he asked politely when he noticed no one beside Charley joined them.
"Yeah, everybody is still very upset because of Max, so I figured they needed some time…", she answered and her face expression switched from determined to sad.

Hearing her say Max's name for the first time since the funeral snapped Throttle back to reality.
Even though he had seen that from the moment the sand had touched the body bag in the grave a certain weight was lifted off of her shoulders, she was still struggling with her grief.
A logical response, of course, despite the circumstances.
But the tan-furred mouse had promised he would be there for her, and how could he do that if he was just standing there, staring at her like some sort of creep, close to drooling?
Honestly, she was so much more than just a perfectly shaped body.
After giving himself a firm mental shake, he drove up next to her and gently laid a hand on her arm.
"Maybe you all need some time", he said softly, but meaningful.
Charley stared at her bike for a moment, but then she shook her head.
"No. I'm responsible for my people and resigning from my role as leader would feel like I let them down. Like failure. And I will never fail on my people. So, I'm doing this."
Throttle could only admire her strength and he nodded.
"Whatever you want, babe. We've got your back. Just lead the way."
The human female glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and flashed him a grateful smile.
And after turning her radio to the same frequency as the mice, she whistled to the guards and signed them to open the gate.

It was then that Vinnie finally snapped out of his trance and he when he was fully aware of his surroundings again, his blood pressure went through the roof.
He had already been so close to losing his shit before all this and since he couldn't do anything with this physical reaction his body had after seeing Charley in such a… hot outfit, he now almost exploded out of his fur.
He needed some serious discharge and his hands tightened around his handlebars, his muscles vibrating under his skin as his ruby-red eyes followed the guards every movement.
Why on Mars were they so slow?
Couldn't they speed up a little?
As in, swift up to a higher gear?
He needed to get into movement and fast, otherwise, the camp would be too small.
But then, just when he thought he couldn't hold it much longer, he suddenly had this wonderful redemptive epiphany.
Seriously, what was he doing?
They were the Biker Mice From Mars, for fuck sake.
And they didn't use doors.

His lips curled into a maniacal smile as he revved his bike.
The engine roared back loudly, as if it just woke up from a deep slumber, all ready for some action too and the sound was enough to make him reach his limit.
Enough was just enough.
And before someone could stop him -or at least try to stop him-, Vinnie hit the accelerator and his bike sped away with dangerous speed, leaving his unfortunate team members behind in a cloud of dust.
"What is he doing?", Charley coughed as she quickly closed her visor.
"What he always does", Throttle replied dryly.
"Being Vinnie", Modo added.
"He's not gonna crash through our gate, now is he?", Charley asked compellingly when she saw how the white-furred mouse drove straight to the fence without slowing down.
"Nah. Even he ain't that stupid", Modo reassured her.
"But how…", she started, but she soon trailed off again.

Because Vinnie had now reached the fence, but instead of going straight through it -or stopping this wild ride-, his front wheel came loose from the ground and with flames coming out of the back, the bike flew straight up.
"AAAAOOOWWW! Vinnie, the velocity atrocity, grabbing some altitude! Oh YEAH!", the white-furred mouse howled happily, glad to finally feel some adrenaline rushing through his veins.
But it wasn't enough.
It was never enough.
So, when he found himself in horizontal flight right above the fence, he slammed his foot on the brake pedal, pulled back his handlebars and opened the throttle a bit further.
His bike roared in response and the front wheel came up again as the cherry-red racer started to turn in the air.
Using his weight, the white-furred mouse made a few perfectly smooth somersaults before he started his descent.
"Bwahaha, see you on the other side, bro's!"
Charley stared at the point where Vinnie had just disappeared out of sight behind the perimeter, her face completely blank.
"You were saying?"
Modo laughed his heavy rumbling laugh when he saw her face.
"Hey, I said stupid, not crazy."
"Trust me, we're all wondering how he managed to live this long. Crazy kid", Throttle chuckled, but then he too revved his bike, for the gate was now open.
"Let's ride, bro and ma'am."

…

Charley had some serious bike skills, Throttle noticed when they made their way through the damaged city of Chicago.
She drove the impressive machine with a certain calmness and ease, telling the tan-furred mouse she was definitely not a beginner.
It somehow gave him a reassuring feeling and he now used the time to look around him.
There wasn't really a way to describe what he was seeing, but if he had to guess, the words 'completely destroyed' were able to cover some of the load and he suddenly felt a little homesick.
It was as sad as much as it was crazy, but seeing the destruction reminded him of Mars, although it weren't all happy memories.
Still, between the rubble and debris, he could see that Chicago once used to be a beautiful city.
Kind of like Brimstone on Mars.
Which was nothing more but a crater now, too.
"It's kinda sad, huh?"
Charley's voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked at his right, straight into her green eyes.
Her pain was clearly visible and once again, he knew exactly how she felt.
He knew how it felt to see your home like this, after all.
It was devastating.
But it also produced a healthy portion of determination.
It gave strength.
To destroy the ones who had destroyed everything that was once important.
To fight evil till the final breath.
Since he couldn't find the words, he only nodded in answer to Charley's question.
She seemed to understand that certain things went beyond words, for she only gave him a small nod back and they both focussed their attention back on the road.

"Gotta say, man, this asphalt thingy is amazing!", Vinnie exclaimed as he used his weight to swirl around the rusting cars that were spread across the road, probably abandoned by their owner the moment the Plutarkian set foot on this planet.
Or, at least, that applied for the majority, Vinnie found out when he looked inside a big truck he passed.
It seemed that not everyone had been able to get away in time, sadly enough.
Either way, since there was only sand on Mars, riding this road made of… rocks?... was something else. Charley had told them it was called asphalt and that most of the roads on Earth were made of this hard material.
It was the same material Throttle had seen shortly after they crashed on this mysterious planet, and it also had been the first sign telling him they weren't alone.
Oh, and look how right he was.
Thinking back at that awful moment, he never imagined some of the company on this planet would be this… pleasant.
What a crazy life.
What a crazy world.
"Yeah, now I can finally ride with open visor without choking in your dust", Modo sighed happily, loving every minute of the trip. He had yearned for a ride ever since that moment he was patching up his beloved Little Hoss and now he finally felt the wind going through his fur as the sound of a purring engine caressed his eardrums, he felt so much calmer.
Yeah.
The mass destruction excluded, this was living.

...

They made it to their goal without too much trouble.
The biggest challenge had been the road, that was either blocked by rubble or other things or even completely gone at some places.
But the mice weren't the mice if they didn't make it work and now, Charley pointed at a few buildings closeby.
"There it is. I can't believe my eyes, it's still standing. Maybe luck is finally on our side for once."
They all parked their bikes closeby and pulled off their helmets.
Modo looked at the building, that was indeed still standing, but it was heavily damaged.
It looked kind of spooky, if he was a mouse to frighten easily, that is.
However, he wasn't.
Still, there was a certain tension palpable in the air, one he couldn't give a name.
"Are you sure this is the right place?", he asked as he took in the surrounding.
Charley pointed at the blue sign with a white cross above the entrance.
"I'm positive."
"Cool. Let's scope it out."
Of course, Vinnie had no trouble at all with the grimly environment and already set course to the building as he took his gun out of his leg holster.
The rest followed him, his two bro's making sure that Charley was walking safely between them.
They both walked backwards to make sure no one could jump on them by surprise.
But it seemed to be unnecessary for the streets were completely deserted.

Vinnie had now reached the door and he pressed himself against the wall of the building beside it.
He tightened his grip around his gun and peeked through the glass door.
"It's too dark, I can't see nothing."
"You need a flashlight?", Charley asked and she already reached for the one that was attached to her belt, but Vinnie shook his head, almost insulted.
"Ugh, no. Where's the fun in that?"
Flexing his muscles to brace himself, he checked the door, but it was locked.
"We need to play this smooth and subtle, bro's, I don't like the looks of this place, it's too…", Throttle instructed them, but before he could finish his sentence, Vinnie aimed his gun at the door and pulled the trigger without the slightest form of doubt.
The glass shattered into a million pieces with loud clinking and the sound of the shot echoed through the empty streets.
"...quiet…", the tan-furred mouse sighed as he shook his head.
"That is not what I consider as smooth and subtle, Vincent."
The latter shrugged, as usual, unaware of any wrongdoing.
"Hey, I could also have used my bazooka, ya know. Well, if it wasn't blown into space by that sewer breath, that is", he grumbled as he stepped inside, still upset by the thought that he had lost his new favorite toy during their also not so cool getaway.
"Well, if you put it that way…", Charley said in an attempt to be optimistic.
"Yeah, after all; who can fight logic like that, huh?", the leader of the three groaned a bit tiredly.

"All clear!", they heard Vinnie yelling at them and Throttle squeezed the bridge of his nose.
"Stay alert, bro's. Something is telling me that we have lost our element of surprise just now."
"Really? What makes you think that? Was it the gunshot, the shattering glass or Vinnie screaming his head off?", Modo asked dryly as he too stepped inside the building.
Charley followed him, but Throttle hesitated and glanced over his shoulder one last time.
The streets were still empty.
By the looks of things, Vinnie's not so smooth and subtle entrance hadn't alerted the enemy.
Yet…
He couldn't stop himself from feeling a bit… anxious.
The quietness didn't reassure him, it made him only more jittery.
His instinct was telling him, no, screaming at him that this was way too easy.
He wasn't really worried about himself, nor he was worried about his bro's for they were well-trained Freedom Fighters and they had been in tougher scrapes than this.
But he had this strong, but not quite unexpected need to protect Charley.
He was more than terrified that something would happen to her.
More to the point, that something would happen to her under his watch.
He felt responsible for her.
But what could he do?
Apart from being on his guard, nothing.
So, he followed the rest inside, every sense on high alert.

Vinnie wandered through the store, searching for anything interesting to see, perhaps even looking for trouble since he was still as hyper as a Martian Squirrel Bat having a sugar rush after eating too many seeds of the Martian Pink Seed Plant.
But the pressing silence told him there was nothing here and the nagging feeling of boredom fed his restlessness even more.
"Man, what is this, a ghost town? Where are the guns?"
"Yeah, we were ready for anything, but we weren't ready for nothing…", Modo mumbled as he looked around him, but the store was indeed deserted.
So was their surrounding, he saw after glancing outside.
"It's too easy… No fish, no fighting…"
"No fun", Vinnie added a bit annoyed.
"Maybe because there's nothing here. It's all gone", Charley said disappointed as she wandered along the empty cases, opening drawers on the way.
She then looked at the mice, a bit confused.
"Somebody beat us to it."
Throttle rubbed his chin.
This somehow didn't make any sense.
"Why would the Plutarkians steal medical supplies? As far as I know, they have many deficits, but medical supplies isn't one of them."
"Who cares? Ugh, what a bogus afternoon", Vinnie grumbled, but then his sensitive ears picked something up.
It was a high tone in the distance, although it seemed to be coming closer, and fast too.
He slowly walked to the big window that was in front of the store, contemplating why the sound sounded so familiar.

As he looked outside, rubbing his chin, he suddenly realized what it was and he swirled around.
"Get down. Now!", he yelled at his bro's as he threw himself on Charley, who was standing close to him and by the looks of things, completely unaware of the incoming threat.
Right when Charley fell on her back with the white-furred mouse on top of her, the glass of the window shattered and soon after that, a deafening explosion followed.
Vinnie made himself as flat as possible, knowing his weight could be too much for the fragile human, but his options were rather limited right now.
Besides, being crushed to death by his perfect body seemed to be a better way to go than being blown to the seventh galaxy.
But that was just his humble opinion.
The flames of the explosion licked his clothes and he gritted his teeth as he tried to shield Charley from both the heat as the flying debris as good as possible.
Dust now already lingered in the air, forcing him to close his eyes to protect them and the penetrating smell of burned powder tickled his sensitive nostrils.
And while he was lying there, he realized something.
Not that the was very close to being killed by an explosion like a normal person would do, but that he didn't recognize the smell.
Well, he recognized it as the typical scent one could smell after an explosion, but it was different from the ones he was used to.
And as he was trying to figure out what it was that made it so different, big chunks of rocks flew all over the place, but it seemed that he had a little guardian angel on his shoulders because they all missed him.
The smaller pieces, however, didn't.
But that he could handle.
As long as it wasn't big enough to make his head explode like a Martian Mellon Mellon, he was good.
And then, as soon as it started, it was over again and silence dawned upon them, the soft sound of the last falling rocks fading away.

A high beep in his ears prevented him from hearing his bro's heartbeat or anything else that could tell him that they were okay, but he suddenly felt movement under him and he opened his eyes.
His nose was just inches away from Charley's, who still had her eyes firmly shut, just like her mouth.
Since she was close enough, he was perfectly able to hear her heart racing in her chest, in fact, he even felt it fluttering against his torso.
She wasn't breathing, though.
Probably because he was still lying on top of her.
The white-furred mouse placed his hands next to her head and pushed himself up.
But his lower body was still in contact with hers and because of the adrenaline that had spread through his body like wildfire from the moment he'd realized the familiar sound was a missile coming their way, Vinnie was more than just aware of every nerve ending in his entire body.
Feeling her underneath him, how parts of their bodies were pressed against each other made him suddenly shiver in desire.
Her scent now joined the mix of dust and burned powder, making him even more aroused and his fur bristled.
He knew he had to move, to create some distance, but he couldn't overcome himself to do it.
Oh boy...

Charley moaned softly and opened her eyes.
After blinking a few times, she seemed to come back to reality and her eyes locked with his.
"You okay, sweetheart?", Vinnie asked softly.
He didn't like the tone of his voice.
It was too raw.
Too low.
Too… dirty.
Apparently, she noticed it too, in fact, it even seemed to do something to her, because her heartbeat increased further, so was her breathing.
Vinnie's arms started to tremble, and not because they were carrying almost his entire weight and he bit his lower lip, using the pain to stay on point, for he was balancing on the edge of a cliff now.
Under no circumstances could he allow himself to fall down, not now.
Probably not ever.
Focus.
"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine, I guess…", Charley eventually answered his question.
When the young mouse caught the low tone in her voice, one that usually wasn't there, he grinded his teeth and his tail twitched.
He needed to get off of her.
As in, right now.
Because he wasn't sure how much longer he was able to control himself.

Luckily for him, the beep in his ears decreased and he now heard some muffled sounds that told him his two best friends were at least very much alive.
That was enough to snap him out of this almost overwhelming and burning desire.
And reality slapped him the face.
They were just bombed for fuck sake, and here he was, close to ripping off the clothes of a woman who only lay under him because he had to protect her from the explosion.
Holy shit.
That was just downright corny and cheap, even for him.
Yeah, well.
He couldn't help it that explosions and hot biker babes were kind of a turn on.
Add these two things together and the outcome just made him even more… eager.

Still, this tension, this sexual tension, needed to be diffused, rather sooner than later.
And not in the way he wanted it to diffuse.
So, after scraping together every piece of self-control he owned -which wasn't much, but it was enough for now-, he flashed her his most charming smile.
"If this is a taste of being your bodyguard, where do I sign?", and he wiggled his eyebrows.
Charley rolled her eyes, but he could see that she tried very hard not to smile.
But before she could say something back, Vinnie felt a hand grabbing his hoodie and he got pulled away from the human.
And even before he heard Modo's hissing voice in his ear, he already knew it was him.
Of course it was.
The guy was watching him like a Martian Hawky Hawk over the past few days.
"You need to control your hormones, Vincent, you're playing with fire here."
And the grey-furred giant pushed his young bro away, a bit harder than he intended.
Vinnie stumbled a few passes but managed to stay on his feet.
And although he knew perfectly well where Modo was getting at, he still felt a bit annoyed.
He just saved the girl's life, risking his own life in the process and this was his thanks?
Ugh.
Besides, he didn't ask for this.
It just happened.
"Man. The story of my life. No appreciation", he grumbled as he folded his arms.

Modo ignored him and offered Charley a hand.
"Are you okay, Charley ma'am?"
The human female took his hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Jesus. What the hell happened?"
"Somebody out there doesn't like us", Throttle's husky voice now joined them and the tan-furred mouse popped up next to Vinnie, who stood close by the crater that was made by the explosion.
"We're lucky that this building is still standing."
His face was devoid of any expression, telling Modo that he was the only one who had seen the small… moment their youngest bro had with Charley.
Of course, he didn't miss it since he was keeping a close eye on the so-called Romeo of their small, but successful group after their little chat in Ben's lab.
Nevertheless, it seemed they had bigger problems now.

"Well, that somebody ain't Plutarkian, bro's", Vinnie pointed out as he pulled something out the pile of rubble.
After blowing off the dust, he showed it to his bro's.
"It's a piece of the warhead they used and surprise, surprise… it's not made of Plutarkian steel. And I just happen to know that all Plutarkian missiles usually are."
"Maybe they used a different material? Ya know, changing their game plan for once?", Modo suggested, not entirely convinced and a bit lost where his young bro was going with this.
But Vinnie shook his head.
"Come on, we all know the fish ain't that smart. Besides, I didn't recognize the scent of the gunpowder they used. So, and I'm sorry if it disappoints ya to hear I'm right, big fella, but this…-", and he held up the small piece.
"This is definitely not made on Plutark."
"What are you saying here?", Charley asked confused.
"I'm saying that apparently, the fish ain't the only threat out there."
"We need to get out of here. Now", Throttle ordered, not liking the way this was going.
No, he was not liking this at all.
He knew Vinnie was right, given the boy's obsession with everything that could blow something -or someone- up he knew damn well where he was talking about, after all.
It also proved that his instinct was right all along.
Of course it was.
It always was.
Something was wrong here.
And it smelled a lot like a trap.

"Uhm, bro's? We've got company…", Modo confirmed his thought, standing by the broken window.
The wind blew softly through his fur, but he hardly noticed.
His gaze was fixed on the four trucks that were standing a few feet away with running engines, the headlights pointed in their direction.
That wasn't exactly a matter of serious concern.
The heavy machine guns on top, however, were.
And so were the humans who manned them.
They looked different than the humans he had met so far.
Well, of course, they looked the same, but their vibe wasn't.
It lacked the kindness the people from Camp Hope had in abundance.
These people were obviously up to no good.
"You know these guys, sweetheart?", Vinnie asked as he turned his gaze from the threat outside to Charley, who shook her head a bit flabbergasted.
"No. I've never seen them before… I didn't even know that there were more of us out there…"

"Well, whoever they are, they got us surrounded", Throttle pointed out as he quickly scanned their surrounding with his bionic eyes.
"And they're packing some serious heat."
Things weren't looking good.
But, of course, there was at least one of them who had no problem with this sudden turn of events.
When Vinnie took in the dire position they were in, he fanned fresh air to himself, pretending to be close to fainting.
"Be still my heart, I'm hardly breathing...", he almost sung dramatically as he grabbed his chest.
"Trapped like mice, with no way out, gosh… Talk about your major impending catastrophe…"
For a moment, it looked like he was genuinely worried about their plight, but then a huge smile almost split his face in half, his ruby-red eyes sparkling from excitement.
"I love it!"
Charley stared at him for a moment before she turned her attention back to Throttle and Modo.
"So now what?"
"Hmmm. Well. Only one thing to do", the tan-furred mouse answered calmly with a small smile.
"Yep. Doing what we do best", Modo agreed, putting his arms around his bro's neck to pull them closer.
Charley clearly wasn't following them and she shifted her weight in impatience.
"And that is?"
"Whip some tail!", the three mice howled in unison and they pumped their fist in the air.
The human female rolled her eyes, probably because of the sudden amount of testosterone in the air.
"Honestly…"

"Man, this is gonna be one rockin' party!", Vinnie cheered, hardly able to restrain himself any longer.
Finally.
Finally, he was gonna get his fight.
"Yeah, but if we're gonna dance, we're gonna need our partners!", and Modo brought his fingers to his mouth to whistle for their bikes.
The heavy machines immediately started their engines, except for Charley's bike -of course- and soon, the mice were back in the saddle.
"Hey, what about me?", Charley demanded, probably knowing she couldn't run out to get her bike.
Vinnie looked over his shoulder.
"Sorry, Charley-girl, but it's time for the big boys to play!"
The human female folded her arms, clearly not impressed nor amused by the high machismo rating.
"Oh yeah? Well, let me know if you see any."
"Ouch, harsh, babe", the white-furred mouse breathed, but in reality not even slightly hurt by her retort.
"You stay here and hide, Charley. We'll handle this", Throttle told her, still feeling that strong need to protect her.
The fact that she had managed to stay alive in this world for six years already all by herself conveniently forgotten.

Charley opened her mouth, probably to protest, but the humans outside were, apparently, done waiting and opened fire.
Why it had taken them so long to attack was a puzzle to all of them, although it probably had something to do with the mice, for they were something one didn't see every day.
Not even in an alien apocalypse.
Charley quickly dove out of the fireline, straight into the crater.
After a few head rollers, she landed on her feet and grabbed her gun.
"I've got your back. Now go!"
"The lady has a real way with words, I mean, why are we still standing here?", Vinnie snickered and he looked at his two best friends.
Modo pushed a button on his bike and his cannons popped out.
"Good question."
Knowing that this was the safest place to be for Charley right now, Throttle closed his visor with a steady hand and an amused look on his face.
Despite his worries for Charley, he too now felt the lovely effect of adrenaline rushing through his veins.
That tended to happen when the bullets started to fly.
It made him more than ready.
"I hear you, bro's. I think it's time to tell these bozos that shooting at mice comes with a price. Politely of course", and he popped a wheelie, so did his comrades.
"Let's rock..."
"...and ride!"