You guys...

Thank you so much for the reviews.
Your continued support means the world.

Fun fact: I started writing in December 2017 and after a quick calculation, I can proudly tell you that I've uploaded 950.365 words on this site ever since, this chapter excluded.
Crazy huh?
Well, trust me, I couldn't have done it without you.
So that number shows how important your support is to me.

I'm sorry it took me this long to update this story, I had a huge writer's block, but I'll get back to that in a bit.
Next to that, I was also busy with writing my other story, Lost In The Echo.
Writing two stories takes a lot of time and they both deserve my full attention, so... yeah, it sometimes takes a bit longer before I'm able to update.
I'm sorry.

Wolftattoo; Whoa, it's amazing how many ideas you have for this story.
Know that I read them all.
I'm not sure if I'm gonna use one of them, for I already have the entire storyline mapped out in my head and I'm gonna stick with that, for now.
But please, don't let that stop you from giving your ideas and opinion. It's always very much appreciated and perhaps there is something I can use in the future, who knows, huh?
And I love it to hear that you're gonna write your own story!
Good luck, my friend, and I can't wait to read it once it's ready.

Margarite987re; Perhaps it's a bit late to say this, for it's almost a month ago now, but I'm sorry to hear that you had a day of anxiety and panic.
I know how this can control your life.
I hope you're doing a bit better now.
I wanna use this moment to thank you for your support, it means the world.

The same goes for SpaceFlora, one of my most loyal reviewers.
You have no idea how your support helps me to keep going, really, there are times when I just wanna throw my laptop out of the window and give up, but then I think of your kind words and that is enough for me to stop myself from doing something stupid like throwing a laptop out of the window and to keep doing what I love, namely; writing about these three furry heroes.
So thank you.

As for the rest, know that I'm grateful for every review, like, follow or view.
THANK YOU!

Important note below!
So, about that writer's block...
I'm sorry if I'm talking too much, but it's important for me to explain this before you're going to read this chapter.

Sometimes, I have an idea that sounds so wonderful in my head, until I put it into writing.
Because then, it suddenly becomes painfully clear that this particular idea sucks as soon as it leaves my head.
That isn't always a problem, for I just come up with something else and rewrite the chapter until I'm satisfied enough to put it online.
Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that I already revealed the tip of the iceberg in the previous chapter, that is -of course- already online, which gives me limited space to change course.

Well, that happened with this supposedly master-plan of Charley.
As soon as I started to work out the details, I couldn't stop laughing about the stupidity of this plan.
Really, it's beyond dumb.
This is also the reason why it took me so long to update, for I was trying super hard to come up with something else.
That failed.
Obviously.

So, since I was sick and tired of being stuck at this point in the story, I've decided to just leave it this way.
But I really wanna say this; please don't take the first part of this chapter too seriously.
It's silly and unrealistic, even for a story that's about aliens and other unnatural shit, hehe.

Ah well.
That's all folks.
Enjoy this chapter, despite the first part (XD), and feel free to leave a review once you're done.
But no pressure, of course.

Till next time, my loyal readers!
Later!

Chapter 26

Vinnie parked the front tire of his bike on the side of the roof and looked down.
Even though it was just a small town, it had now had the hustle and bustle of a big city and the white-furred mouse shook his head in disbelief.
This was crazy, even for his standard.
The things people did for money…
Clearly, it didn't matter what planet you came from.
It was the same everywhere.

However, the atmosphere was grim, almost sinister.
Some of them were yelling at each other, with a few it even nearly came to blows and the white-furred youngster couldn't help himself but conclude that Charley was right.
There were simply too many players on the field and oh boy, they were far from amused.
Still, this whole plan of hers didn't come even near to how he would handle things, but okay…
That's beside the point now.
He had his orders.
And he had to follow them.
Ugh.
Sometimes this life was just no fun.

As he watched them, he quickly noticed that no one had the presence of mind to look up, even though they were all searching the buildings and abandoned homes with a determination that even he admired, whether he liked it or not.
They really had no idea who they were up against, huh?
Otherwise, they would've looked up.
But they didn't.
Amateurs.

Ah well.
Time to stir things up a little bit.
After heaving a sigh, he inhaled and whistled between his teeth to make his presence known.
"Hey, suckers! Looking for something? Like… trouble maybe?"
Everyone within a circle of approximately 500 yards immediately stopped with what they were doing.
Some of them even looked up.
Wow.
Shocking.

But not everyone was on point, because the majority of the people were looking around them a bit bewildered, clearly having no idea where that 'magical' voice came from.
Vinnie even caught one raising his arms, looking at his armpits, as if it was perfectly logical for the voice to come from there and the young mouse rolled his eyes as he leaned forward on his bike, resting his helmeted head in his right hand.
"Honestly… Up here, numbnuts…"
That worked and they all looked up a bit dazed, the guy who had searched under his arms now with a head as red as a fully grown Martian Tommy Tomato.
With good reason.
Holy shit, the guy was dumb, alright.
Shame on him.

Either way, when he finally had everyone's attention, Vinnie waved at them as he gave them a nod to welcome them one by one.
"Hi, hey there, hi, hello, hi, good to see ya…"
As if he was hosting a party and was about to give a speech.
Would that it were, dammit.
What on Mars was he doing anyway?
Good question.
He cleared his throat and quickly lowered his hand, cursing himself for being this distracted.
Again.
Sometimes it was just so tiring to be him.
Excuuuuse me?!
Ugh, come on!
Focus!
For once in you're goddamned life, just... focus.
He had a job to do.
Pronto.
The sooner this was over, the better.

As he closed his visor, he quickly glanced at the building in the distance, only to see that the mysterious biker hadn't moved yet.
Good.
Very good indeed.
He looked back at the people on the street, who were starting to get a bit anxious.
Well, they weren't the only ones.
After revving his bike, he popped a wheelie.
"Well, fella's, I believe the phrase is; catch me if you can."
And he fired his jets and jumped off the building.
When his tires hit the ground, he expected the so-called bounty hunters to attack and he almost sped away, but right before he opened the gas, he noticed that no one moved.
Hm.

He let go of his handlebars and opened his visor to take a good look around him.
Everyone was staring back at him with their jaws dropped and Vinnie frowned in confusion.
Why on Mars were they looking at him like that?
Of course, it wasn't the first time that his stunning and breathtaking appearance left people speechless.
But somehow, the timing was off.
Weren't they supposed to hunt him down and catch him to get rich?
Wasn't that the only thing that mattered to them?
Well, here he was, in his full and handsome glory.
Then why didn't they do something?

But when his two-colored eyes darted over the crowd, he suddenly realized what was going on here, for some of them weren't staring at him but at his bike.
Ah.
Jumping off buildings with a bike probably wasn't exactly common on this planet called Earth.
So boring.
These people clearly had no idea how to have some fun.

Since he needed them to come into movement first to make this plan work, Vinnie decided to wait until they were done with looking like fools.
But damn, they took their time.
As he scratched his side, he suppressed a big yawn that bubbled up out of nowhere.
The lack of sleep was starting to take its toll, obviously.
The few hours sleep he had last night hadn't been enough to replenish his energy level back to normal.
Not even while the steaming hot sex had chased away his restlessness for at least a few hours.

Man, if he wasn't going to see some action soon, he would fall asleep, right here, right now.
It was as if the guy on his left could read his mind, because he was the first to recover from whatever it was that had turned him into a state of shock and now started his way towards Vinnie with determination written upon his face.
He was probably already thinking about all the things he could do with the money.
Poor fool.
He had no idea where he was getting himself into.

As the guy came closer, the young mouse suppressed another big yawn right on time and he gave himself an inner scolding.
Come on, macho mouse.
This whole freakshow was supposed to be credible, remember?
Right…
At first, Vinnie had planned on driving away to play a little cat and mouse game before he would let them catch him, but given the stupidity of these humans, he now changed his plan.
After all, even if he would drive away in first gear he would probably still be too fast for them to catch him.

So, he only pretended to drive away, but his right index finger pushed a small button hidden behind the handlebar and the engine of his beloved bike shut down, including a few splutters to make the whole thing -yes *sigh*- credible.
"Oh, no… stalled", the young mouse called out flatly, grabbing his helmeted head in played panic, but before he could say more, the guy had reached him and dragged him off his bike.
"Got ya, moussie", a raw voice breathed close to his head and Vinnie wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
Oh man, his hands were itching to just punch the man out cold, but he managed to control himself.
That's a first…

He did try to escape, though.
At half power, that is.
If he would use all his strength, the guy would probably be dead by now.
And oh boy, Throttle would kill him.
Soon, the man managed to turn his hands behind his back and he let out a triumphant laugh as he tied them with a rope.
"You're gonna make me rich, pancake ears. Very rich."
Suddenly, a familiar scent filled his nostrils and Vinnie glanced at the man from under his lashes, the left corner of his mouth curled up into a smug smile.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, dumbass."
The man looked at him with question marks in his blue eyes, but before he could react, a tan-furred tail wrapped around his ankle and pulled his right foot out from under him.
With a loud bang, the human fell face forward on the ground, slamming his head against the pavement and Vinnie pulled a face.
"Ouch! That's gotta hurt, man."

Throttle walked over to the man and kneeled next to him.
"Geez, buddy, are you okay?", he asked supposedly worried and he helped the man back on his feet, brushing off his shoulders.
"That guy right there just tackled you…", and he pointed at a young guy that was standing close to them, who now did a few steps backward with his hands in front of his body, eyes as big as saucers.
"What?! No, I didn't!"
"He did. Looks to me like he wanted to steal your prisoner…", Throttle whispered the last part with his hand next to his mouth and a conspiring look on his face.
The man wiped the blood off his nose as he looked at the younger guy with fuming eyes, making the latter only more nervous.
"Now just wait a minute, I…", but before he could finish his sentence, the man already punched him in the face.
"No one steals my prisoners!"

Vinnie was watching the scene with both amusement and disbelief.
Honestly…
Charley had pegged them right.
These people had a brain the size of a Martian Wally Walnut.
As he was still amazing himself that this whole plan of hers seemed to work after all, he suddenly felt a pair of hands grabbing his arms.
He looked over his shoulder, straight into the face of the poor soul who tried to take advantage of this situation and now thought he was going to leave this town as a winner.

But out of nowhere, a bionic fist hit him on the right side of his head and the human stumbled a few passes before he looked behind him, rubbing his jaw.
"It was him", Modo told him as he pointed at a random dude standing next to him.
The man looked at Vinnie, who nodded violently.
"Yep. Totally."
Clenching his teeth, the man rolled up his sleeves as he glared at his fellow human being.
"Stealing my bounty, huh? No way. He's mine!", and he launched himself at the poor guy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Soon, another man joined the small fight.
"What are you talking about! He's mine!"
"No, he's mine!", a third guy called out as he too joined in.
And then a fourth man stepped in.
And a fifth.
And a sixth.
And so it went on and soon, all hell broke loose.
Vinnie, still with his hands tied behind his back, stepped aside to avoid a human landing on top of him and he shook his head with a smile.
Humans.
They were almost intriguing because of their stupidity.

Suddenly, he felt another hand on his shoulder, but this time it was his beloved bro and leader.
"Nice performance, bro", Throttle smiled as he cut the rope around Vinnie's hands.
"Hey, did you doubt? I mean, remember what they used to call me back on Mars?", the white-furred mouse asked with one of his trademark arrogant smiles on his face, rubbing his wrists.
But before Throttle could answer the question, Modo beat him to it as he popped up next to them with a bionic finger in the air, leaning with his other arm on Throttle's shoulder.
"Class Goof Off."
Vinnie frowned and blinked a few times in confusion, but Throttle already continued.
"Motor Mouth…"
"...Cheese for Brain…"
"...Vinnie the Ninny…"

"No, no, not those!", the white-furred youngster cut them off a bit insulted and he raised both hands.
"I mean; Mister Make-Belief", he whispered theatrically, moving his hands in the air as if he drew a rainbow, a solemn look on his face.
Modo and Throttle stared at him for a moment before they shared a look.
"I don't remember that. You remember that?", the grey-furred giant asked his tan-furred bro out of the corner of his mouth.
The latter rubbed his chin, but then shrugged
"Nah, never heard of it, the boy's delusional."
Vinnie, who was still standing with his hands in the air, now folded his arms as he glared at his two bro's.
"Well, they did."

A sudden movement caught Modo's eye and when he saw what it was, he quickly stepped forward and pushed his young bro aside.
But of course, as usual, he used too much force and Vinnie stumbled a few passes before he tripped over his tail and landed on the pavement with a loud thump.
"Modo!", he called out outraged, but then a man landed on the place where he had been standing just seconds ago and he blinked a few times in surprise.
"Whoops, sorry, little bro, but it's raining men…", Modo quickly apologized, pointing at the unconscious human on the ground before offering his young bro a hand.
"Hallelujah…", Vinnie sighed tiredly as he took it.
When he was back on his feet, Throttle snapped his fingers as he quickly did a step backward to avoid another human that flew through the air.
"Let's bail, bro's, before we're gonna get absolutely soaking wet."
"Amen to that."

"Ya know, I don't know why, but this somehow sounds so catchy. They should definitely make a song out of it", Vinnie smiled as they tiptoed to their bikes, for once as quiet as mice.
But the people around them were so caught up in defending their price that they didn't even notice that the same price was now getting away and the white-furred mouse shook his head, still with a smile plastered on his face.
Suckers.

…

Charley was waiting for them at the border of the town and when the three mice joined her, she started her bike.
"I guess it all worked out like it was supposed to, huh?", she asked with a smile when they drove away.
"Even better. I still can't believe that just worked", Throttle chuckled before he looked her straight in the eye.
"That was good thinking, babe."
Too late he noticed that his voice was a bit too hoarse, perhaps.
That his gaze was a bit too intense, despite the glasses.
Charley seemed to notice it as well, because her cheeks turned red as she turned her gaze the other way.
"It was nothing."
Hm.
Her reaction made things even more confusing than they already were and he wondered...
What on Mars was going on inside that complicated head of hers?

"Come on, sweetheart, now you're just being modest. Your plan rocked, big time", Vinnie told her happily as he popped a wheelie, obviously forgotten that he at first had hated this plan with everything he had in him.
Nothing new.
"So you do know the meaning of the word modest", Modo called out supposedly surprised before he gave Charley a warm and friendly smile, thereby giving his white-furred bro no time to react.
"But yeah, good strategy, Charley ma'am."

"Oh, you guys… We were just lucky that these people ain't exactly the brightest lights in the universe", Charley waved it away, but Throttle could tell that their compliments did her good.
Good.
She deserved it.
"Ha! That's what I like to call an understatement", Vinnie chuckled, but then an arrogant glance flickered across his face.
"But let's face it, lady and gentlemice, without my outstanding performance, it wouldn't have worked out as well as it did."

Throttle leaned on his handlebars as he rolled his eyes, but then a soft zooming sound caught his attention and he looked over his shoulder.
When he saw what was coming, he turned the wheel without thinking and used his bike to force Charley to the left side of the road.
"Throttle, what…", she started, but her front tire slipped off the road and she needed all her focus to stop herself from falling.
In the meantime, the tan-furred leader swirled back to the right and opened his mouth to warn his bro's, but he was too late, for all of this happened in just a fraction of a second.

Something heavy knocked them off their bikes and pinned them down to the ground, along with their beloved rides.
"Ah man, not again!", Vinnie called out as soon as he realized what was happening and his hands clawed the net that was holding them down.
"Guess not everyone fell for your 'outstanding performance', bro", Modo grumbled as he tried to get up, but not even he was strong enough to get the net into movement.
Not this time.
"Everyone's a critic", Vinnie muttered under his breath, the tip of his tail twitching in dismay when he realized that he, again, was caught by that obnoxiously annoying biker.
"And they say that a Memphant never gets caught twice in the same snare… What about Martian Mice, huh? Dammit."

"Guys, guys, are you okay?"
Throttle's body relaxed a bit when he heard Charley's voice and he turned his head to the right as well as possible, to see the human girl rushing towards them with her helmet still on.
"We're just chilling, sweetheart. Wanna join?", Vinnie added with a low voice and even from this highly uncomfortable position, Throttle was perfectly able to see the blush on her face.
It made him even more confused and therefore cranky than he already was and he did another attempt to get rid of this damned net, but a sharp pain made him pull back his hands as if the net was on fire and he looked at his thumb.
A deep cut looked back, blood already dripping out and with a little effort, he put his thumb in his mouth to suck out the blood before it would drip all over him.

Meanwhile, Charley was already pulling on the side of the net, but she soon seemed to realize that it was a waste of energy and she dropped down on the asphalt, breathing heavily after this major effort.
Throttle felt a certain restlessness entering his body, telling him that he didn't like the way she was sitting there, all in the open.
It made her an easy target and the thought alone that someone would hurt her while he was lying helplessly on the ground made him almost explode out of his fur.
"Charley, go find a place to hide. This mysterious biker clown isn't a joke and I don't want you near here once he decides to show his face again."

But instead of standing up and do as he said, her green eyes grew big and she violently shook her head.
"Not without you guys, I'm not. Maybe you can use the bikes to get out?", she suggested as she pointed at the impressive machines on wheels lying near them under the net.
"No can do. They're dead again", Modo answered that question, anger clearly hearable in his voice.
Right after the net had pinned him down to the ground, he had seen his bike flashing her headlight before the engine died.
"I think the AI blocker is now processed in the net. In fact, the whole net seems to be improved. This person obviously learns from his mistakes. For now, we're sitting ducks, so are you, Charley ma'am. Throttle is right, you need to find a place to hide."

Throttle kept a close eye on Charley and he saw her opening her mouth to protest when suddenly his ears caught the one sound he so didn't want to hear right now.
An approaching vehicle.
Charley clearly heard it as well, for she looked up with narrowed eyes and the tan-furred mouse knew her well enough to know she was up to something.
"Charley, get yourself to safety, now", he ordered without thinking as his breathing already accelerated again.
"But I can't just leave you here! You heard Modo, you're sitting ducks here", Charley protested, but Throttle wasn't in the mood for contradiction.
"We'll figure something out. Now, go!"

The sharp tone in his voice seemed to do the trick, because she scrambled back on her feet.
But right before she disappeared out of his line of vision, he saw a glance in her eyes that could only mean trouble and he clenched his teeth, cursing himself for being surrounded by people who were just too stubborn for their own good.
"So, now what, fearless leader? I suggest you come with a plan, because I can't be killed. There are still races to be won, girls who haven't met me…", Vinnie told his bro's, who both heaved a sigh at the same time.

"More to the point, mister 'Make-Belief', our friends are depending on us", Modo pointed out the obvious, needing to raise his already heavy voice to make himself hearable over the sound of the engine that became louder and louder as the mysterious biker came closer to them.
"Oh yeah, that too", the white-furred mouse nodded in agreement, as if he hadn't thought about that at all.
Well, knowing him, he probably hadn't.
Throttle always told him to get his priorities straight, but since when did that loudmouth actually listen to him, huh?

Either way, they had bigger problems than Vinnie's messed-up definition of priorities, because the sound of shrieking brakes now sounded close to them and Throttle lifted his head as far as the net let him to see the mysterious biker stopping at their feet, only inches away from the net.
Vinnie was right about one thing though.
He needed to come up with a plan, and fast too.
But the thing was, he had no idea what to do.
The bikes were dead, the net was made of Plutarkian Fiber Steel, meaning it was practically indestructible and then there was the minor detail that they were still pinned down with hardly any room for manoeuvre.
There was only one thing to do, for it was plain to see that fighting their way out was a total no go.
Talk.
He needed to talk to buy them some time, in the hope his brain would come up with something useful while he was at it.

"So we meet again", Throttle therefore opened the conversation, racking his brain to come up with the million-dollar plan to get them out of this precarious situation at the same time.
Well, he could simply ask him to let them go.
Politely of course.
"Why don't you let us go so we can talk about this like civilized people, huh?"
The biker tilted his head in return, clearly surprised by this question.
Throttle couldn't blame him though.
When being on another planet, never call yourself 'civilized people'.
Not when it's painfully obvious that it is you who is the alien.
Stupid.

But then there was Vinnie, who was always able to make things even worse.
Really, it was a talent.
"Fuck talking. Fuck civilized people. Let me go and I promise ya, I'll kick the shit out of ya!", the young mouse growled, already pulling on the net again.
He was obviously not amused by the fact that this biker had managed to catch him twice in two days and for once, Throttle could understand where he was coming from.
Still, they weren't exactly in the position to make threats.

He was convinced that Modo knew that as well, but like mentioned before, when it came to his bike, all bets were off.
"You messed with my bike. And when someone messes with my bike, they mess with me. So when I'm getting out of here, and I will, you better run. Run and hide…"
His already heavy voice sounded a few octaves lower, making the message very, very clear.

But the biker didn't seem to be impressed, neither did he take the bait.
He slowly stepped off his bike and pulled
something out of his leg holster, something that looked a lot like a stun gun.
Strangely enough, that was the first good news they had in days, for it told Throttle that the biker needed them alive.
Unconscious, yes, but alive nevertheless.
But unfortunately, where there was good news, there was also bad news.
To keep the balance.
And the bad news was that if this bounty hunter managed to knock them out, the consequences would be incalculable.
Charley would be alone in this world where danger was lurking around every corner.
Their friends would be lost and so was Earth.
Enough reason to get the hell out of here, but his brain just didn't cooperate and to his utter shock, he saw the biker now aiming the taser at Modo.

Hm.
This wasn't going very well.
They weren't exactly in control of the situation, a thing Throttle hated to the core.
But right before the biker pulled the trigger, a voice coming from their right made him look up.
Well, it made them all look up, actually.
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size, huh?"
Charley.
Throttle's heart skipped a beat when he saw the human woman standing there with a bazooka casually resting on her shoulder, her green eyes almost burning with determination.
That couldn't be good.
And where the hell did that bazooka come from anyway?

Oh, come on.
Ask a stupid question.
There was only one person in this company that carried enough weapons around to blow up this whole planet.
Someone with a slightly disturbing obsession with everything that created a big boom.
Vinnie.
Yep.
If they were lucky enough to make it out of this alive, he was going to kill his white-furred bro for giving Charley a weapon this deadly.
Unfortunately, for now, all he could do was lying here and throw up a Hail Mary that the human female would soon realize that this was beyond her capabilities and that hiding wasn't such a bad idea after all.

But Charley clearly had other plans.
Of course.
She was even more stubborn than their beloved white-furred adrenaline junkie, a thing he had never thought possible.
But here she was.
"Or maybe even better said, somebody that isn't tied up. I mean, seriously, where's your honor?", the human female continued sweetly as she put her right foot on one of the poles that kept the net in its place.
She did have a point though.
There was no honor in shooting somebody that was tied up whatsoever.
Not even with a taser.

But Throttle wished that she would just walk away before things were going to get ugly.
And looking at the biker, that wasn't going to take long, even though he just stood there, completely motionless.
It was that particular fact that made the tan-furred mouse even more nervous, for they already had the not so pleasant pleasure to experience that this man was a whole other level than the knuckleheads they had left behind in the small town and Throttle wasn't sure if Charley knew where she was getting herself into.
Well, actually, he was for about ninety-nine percent sure that she was absolutely clueless.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be standing there, provoking this mysterious and dangerous man who wore black clothes and drove a black bike.

And suddenly, he couldn't hold himself back any longer.
"Charley, why don't you…", he started, but at the same time, the biker aimed the stun gun at her and this time, there was no hesitation.
No time to think.
No, he just squeezed the trigger in one smooth movement and Throttle's eyes grew big as his heart skipped a few beats when he saw the electric threads glisten in the sun as they made their way towards the human female who had captured his heart from the moment he had laid eyes on her.
But it soon became painfully clear that he was underestimating this human creature with her marvelous green eyes, because she leaped to her right with an elegance which a Martian Gally Gazelle would be jealous of.

The electric threads missed her by a hair, but one of the ends still managed to make contact with the bazooka which she was still holding in her hands.
The moment the electricity spread via the metal of the deadly weapon, she threw it away as if it was on fire and it landed in a couple of bushes at the side of the road.
Slowly, she got back upright, her green eyes close to spitting fire as she looked at the biker with her mouth in a tight line.
Okay.
Note to myself; wherever you are, whatever you do… never take her bazooka.
It was obvious that she didn't like that.
Oh no, she didn't like that at all.

But the biker was, again, not impressed and he reached out to the lower pockets of his black biker pants.
Throttle kept a close eye on him, trying to predict his movements so he could warn Charley if necessary and when he saw another glint, his stomach made about ten backflips.
Knives.
"Charley, get the hell out of here, now!", he yelled at her, already struggling to get free again, his blood boiling by only seeing someone who wanted to hurt the person that had managed to rock his usually steady foundation.
But much to his annoyance, she ignored him, her gaze still fixated on the biker.
Despite her clothes, he could see every tensed muscle in her body, as if she braced herself for what was to come.
Perhaps she did.
Why though?
Why didn't she just walk away?

It was then that the biker decided to attack and he ran towards Charley, holding a hunting knife in each hand and Throttle felt the sudden urge to close his eyes, for he wasn't sure if he was able to watch this without getting a heart attack.
But he didn't.
And soon, he was glad he didn't.
Because again, he underestimated her.
And this time, she really managed to surprise him.
Because when the biker reached her and lashed out with his right hand, she quickly ducked and used her right leg to tackle him.
With a loud thump, the man landed on his back on the dusty asphalt and he really should consider himself lucky for wearing a helmet, because his head slammed on the hard surface as well.

But he wasn't going to give up that easily and he already jumped back on his feet again.
Charley pulled off her helmet and threw it away, her green eyes burning with anger and fortitude as she took in a basic fighting position.
"Bring it on, helmet head."
A shiver went down Throttle's spine when he heard her low voice, when he heard the threat that was clearly hearable and he couldn't stop himself from feeling a bit… turned on.
He quickly gave himself a huge inner scolding, for it was nothing like him to react this way to a situation where lives were at risk.
It startled him a bit, to be honest.
But he just wasn't himself when he was around her, a thing that had already been painfully obvious.
And she was just so… breathtakingly beautiful.
Still.
This was highly inappropriate.
Even beyond that.

Either way, the biker didn't need to be asked twice and as soon as the last word left Charley's mouth, he attacked again, this time even faster.
But Charley blocked every move he made with the speed of light and Throttle blinked a few times in both shock and admiration by seeing her smooth and powerful moves, now slowly understanding why she was able to survive out here for this long.
By the looks of things, she was right.
She was right all along.
She didn't need them to protect her.
She was perfectly capable to protect herself.
Great Moons of Mars, she was like a ninja.
And it made her even more interesting, a thing he never thought possible.
What a woman…

Charley was, of course, completely unaware of what was going through Throttle's head right now, a thing he was grateful for.
It would probably distract her and she needed all her focus to stop herself from getting stabbed.
She was still blocking the biker's moves, but the latter was persistent.
Beyond that.
Even Carbine paled in comparison to him and she was like the definition of persistence.
And even though Charley was able to ward off his steady and forceful attacks, she wasn't exactly in control of the fight.
Being in control was a key ingredient to winning, Throttle knew that all too well, but he bit his lower lip to stop himself from interfering.
She deserved his trust.
This was her fight and hers alone.
She obviously knew what she was doing.
All he had to do now was give her the chance to prove him right.

And so she did, for she suddenly changed her tactics and grabbed the right hand of the biker by the wrist.
When he lashed out his left hand, she managed again to wrap her fingers around the wrist before the knife could hurt her.
After placing her thumbs on the inner wrists, she tightened her grip, her teeth clenched.
After a few seconds, the biker had no other choice than to let go of the knives and they landed on the asphalt with loud clattering.
Eventually, the biker managed to yank himself free and he tried to grab Charley, but she now placed her right foot on his chest and pushed him away to create some distance.
Without slowing down, she jumped in the air and with a twist, she kicked the mysterious man in the head.

Helmet or not, he wasn't up against the power that was hidden underneath this move and he went down like a house of cards again.
But this time, he didn't get up.
Charley landed back on her feet, breathing heavily and still on high alert as she kept a close eye on the biker, holding her hands in front of her with clenched fists.
For a moment, all Throttle could do was stare at her, still wrapping his mind around the fact that she was, apparently, an expert in martial arts.
Why she never told them was a mystery to him, but truth be told, this unexpected little demonstration wasn't exactly an unpleasant way to find out about her skills.
On the contrary.

It was Vinnie who eventually broke the slightly awkward silence.
No surprise there.
"Holy shit, Charley-girl, that was… that was just so wicked hot!"
Next to the fact that this comment made him a bit annoyed, for it made her sound like she was nothing more than a sex object, Throttle caught himself agreeing with his overly enthusiastic bro, but he at least kept it to himself.
In fact, he was completely speechless.
That didn't happen that often.
But it wasn't exactly a surprise that it was Charley who managed to pull it off.

Modo cleared his throat a bit uncomfortable.
"Yeah, he's right, that was…", he started and Throttle glanced at him out of the corner of his eye with a frown, a bit surprised that the most chivalrous out of the three of them agreed with the least tactical one of their small but successful group.
That was a highly rare thing to happen.
But the grey-furred giant quickly seemed to realize what he was saying and his one eye grew big.
"I mean, uh… What I mean is… Well… Ahum… I ah… That… That was one hell of a fight, Charley… ma'am", he stuttered as a blush spread under his grey fur.
Throttle smiled as he listened to his rambling, knowing now that it was just the shock that had made him agree with Vinnie, for the big and loving mouse would never see a woman as only an object of desire.
That just wasn't who he was.
Unlike some of them…

Charley slowly came back to her senses when it was clear that the biker wasn't going to get up anytime soon and she lowered her hands as her body relaxed.
She then looked at the mice with a little smile on her face.
"I'm not sure why you guys are so surprised. I already told you that I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."
"Yeah, well, let's be honest, sweetheart. Every woman with a healthy dose of pride would say that. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's true", Vinnie pointed out.
Charley shifted her weight to her right foot and rested her hand on her hip as she rolled her green eyes.
"Typical men. They never listen."
"Hm, I always thought it was the other way around", the white-furred mouse mused and Charley glared at him.
"You still want me to free you? Because if you do, you better stop talking, right here, right now."

Throttle's right corner of his mouth curled up by hearing her sharp tone and when he glanced at his left, Vinnie's stunned face made him even more amused.
And what do you know, he even listened to her.
"That's what I thought", the human female mumbled as she made her way over to the black bike of the still unconscious man.
"If I'm right, the net is powered by the bike. Now lemme see if I can turn it off…"
"Sure, take your time, it's not that we…", Vinnie started, but he then seemed to remember what Charley had said to him only seconds ago and he quickly ate the rest of the words.
"You never heard that. I'm still as quiet as a mouse. Yep. Definitely quiet.

"You mice have such a strange definition of being quiet, honestly…", Charley muttered under her breath, shaking her head as she pushed a few buttons on the dashboard of the bike.
Soon thereafter, a few clicks were heard and the net loosened, giving the mice enough room to get upright.
Modo turned around on his knees and pulled the net off of them.
As soon as the indestructible material came loose from the bikes, they all three beeped loudly before starting their engine with flashing headlights.
Modo was right.
The AI blocker had been processed into the net.
Smart, Throttle had to give the biker that.
And another reason not to underestimate this mysterious person.

"How do you spell relief?", Vinnie sighed happily as he rubbed his chest, finally able to breathe properly again.
"Well, that ain't hard, right? R-E-L-I-E-F", Modo spelled out loud with a frown, clearly not understanding why his white-furred bro would ask such a, in his eye, simple question.
The young mouse hit his head with the palm of his hand in return.
"It was a rhetorical question, big guy…"
"Oh right… I knew that", Modo chuckled a bit sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah, right. Seriously, who writes your lines?", Vinnie snickered, shaking his head.

Throttle chuckled as his gaze landed on Charley, who was still sitting on the black bike, looking at it with awe.
"Where did you learn how to fight like that?", he asked curiously and she looked up at him, her green eyes sad all of a sudden.
Oh.
"Remember when I told you that my father was a man who liked to be prepared? Well, he taught me how to defend myself ever since I could walk. I guess I'm grateful that he did."
"Well, I sure am", Vinnie meddled in their conversation as he made his way over to the still motionless biker.
"I wouldn't have wanted to miss that show for a thing."
When he passed Charley, he glanced at her from under his lashes and gave her one of his trademark smiles as he winked at her.
Charley, in turn, bit her lower lip as she quickly turned her gaze away, a faint blush on her cheeks and Throttle suddenly got overwhelmed with that out of proportion and maddening anger again.

His tail lashed through the air as he already did a step into Vinnie's direction but a heavy hand landed on his shoulder before he could continue his warpath.
He looked behind him, straight into the narrowed eye of his grey-furred bro.
The warning look that was written upon his face was enough for him to snap back to reality and the anger vanished as quickly as it came.
Shame took its place.
"You promised, remember? No more fighting", Modo whispered softly and after a soft squeeze in his shoulder, he let the tan-furred mouse go.

Throttle pulled off his helmet before he ran a trembling hand through his hair, taking a few deep breaths to calm down again.
Modo was right.
He had patched things up with Vinnie.
He had chosen Carbine.
There was absolutely no reason to get into a fight with his youngest bro.
Wasn't there?
The image of what he had seen on the roof last night flashed before his eyes and he clenched his teeth, but before the anger had a real chance to come back again, it was now Vinnie who snapped him out of it, strangely enough.

That was simply because the white-furred mouse had now reached the unconscious biker and he kneeled next to him.
"Welly well well, not so tough now, are ya?", and he reached out to the helmet.
The rest also came closer, just as curious as him about who this person was.
This person, who had given them nothing but trouble.
"Now what do you have to hide behind that tinted visor of yours..."
Vinnie's black fingerless gloved hand dislodged the small safety band under the biker's chin before he pulled off the helmet.
Shortly thereafter, the helmet slipped out of his hands and fell on the asphalt with a loud thump, but no one really noticed.
They were all staring at the biker with their jaws pretty much dropped on their knees.

Braided black hair.
A thin face.
An olive-colored and soft looking skin.
A beauty mark right above the lip.
Full lips.
Ears full of piercings.
And most importantly...

"So no woman has ever succeeded in taking you down, huh? Isn't that what you said?", Charley broke the silence, being the first one to recover from the shock.
Throttle felt his cheeks turn red in embarrassment, no, in fact, his whole body just caught fire as he stared at the mysterious biker, who was, obviously, a young woman.
"Oh, momma... here we go…", Modo sighed in defeat.
You said it, big fella.
You said it.