Chapter one

She sat on the ground, still staring at the burning krater. She wasn't flying anymore. She somehow got back on the ground. She got a aching head, with echo's and buzzing noises. Her hands were shaking. And she couldn't stop stare at the place where she was, just minutes ago. The explosion had alerted other people and she could hear sirens in the distance. A big group of people were standing on a safe distance, talking heatedly with each other. Some of them were taking pictures with their camera, others were just staring in shock. Just like her.
Slowly, she rose at her feet. She turned around and walked away, still dazed. Without thinking, she walked into 'her' park. She called it her park, because it was almost always deserted. She came here a lot, when she needed to escape her prison of loneliness, when the walls came too close and threatened to crush her. She slowly sat down at 'her' bench and stared at her feet. She suddenly heard the sound of motorcycles coming closer. Anger slowly made his way up. Why in the world would somebody come to this park? Why now, when she needed to be alone more than ever?
Her head jerked up, her blue eyes fuming. She saw three bikers standing close to her. She narrowed her eyes and looked at them. They were obviously looking back. But she couldn't see their faces, since the visor from their helmet was closed. Talking about the helmets, they had a very odd shape. She hadn't seen helmets like this before, but then again; she wasn't really into the biker world. Her eyes lowered and she saw the bikers were in good shape. But they were wearing really strange clothes. One in white, one in grey and one in brown.

The white one was the smallest of the three and had some kind of bandoliers crossed over his chest. He wore a black jeans with scraped biker boots. A purple bandana tight around his neck and black, fingerless gloves.
The grey one was huge. Even though he was sitting on his bike, he still made a threatening impression. Her eyes flew over his body and stopped to look at his right arm. Was that metal? Weird… He wore some kind of chest plate and the same jeans as his white companion. But his boots were different. Black with purple. His left hand was also covered in a fingerless glove, but a purple one and there was a bracelet with studs around his wrist.
The brown one only wore a leather, sleeveless jacket. He had a red bandana tight around his neck and around his right wrist. Around his left hand, another fingerless glove, but made from brown leather. On his right wrist the same bracelet as the grey giant. He wore the same jeans and boots as the smallest one from the group. She saw a tattoo on his right shoulder.
They were obviously very proud of their muscled body. Well, that was the only reason she could think of to wear clothes like that.
Their bikes were impressive. The white one on a red, racing bike. The grey one on some kind of purple Fat Boy and the tan one on a Harley Davidson kinda bike. At least, that's what she thought. She had no knowledge of bikes whatsoever.
She was still sitting on her bench, they were still watching her. She realised she needed to be scared. But she wasn't. What could they do? Kill her? They would do her a favor by that. So, she didn't move and waited till they were gonna drive away. But they didn't. They suddenly stepped of their bikes and walked over to her. The tan one took the word.
"Are you okay, ma'am?", he asked. His voice was husky and calm. She lifted one eyebrow up.
"Yeah, why shouldn't I? Look, why don't you just leave me alone?" and she slowly stood up.
They were huge. Especially the grey one. The white one was indeed the smallest, but now he was standing close to her, he was still two heads bigger than her.
"Because you gave us the expression earlier you are everything but okay."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Why don't you mind your own business, mister. I'm fine."
"Thanks to us. Talk about no appreciation…", the white one said. His voice was higher than the tan one and sounded offended.
She suddenly understood something. These three strange bikers had saved her from that flying fireball. She clenched her fists.
"I never asked to be saved. Now, leave me alone."

The tan one sighed and slowly took off his helmet. She stared at him. What the fuck? She stumbled back and tripped over the bench. She fell on the ground, but didn't stop stare at his face. Holy shit. She had thought before she wasn't scared of anything. But looking at a huge rat, mouse, gerbil, whatever… That was kinda scary. He wore glasses and his ears were twitching. She saw a stud and a earring in his left ear. She now realized why they had different colours. They had a fur. Hair. And a tail, she saw now. The other two also pulled off their helmets. She couldn't stop stare at them.
The white one was wearing a mask on the right side of his face and had two studs in his left ear. He had ruby red eyes, which where looking back at her suspiciously. The grey one wore a eyepatch over his left eye and she saw he was missing a piece in his right ear. His left ear were decorated with two earrings. His buck teeth was also missing a piece. And they all three had two red antennas on their heads. This was ridiculous. Weird. Beyond weird.
The tan one raised his hands.
"No need to be scared of us, we are the good guys", but when he came closer to her, she jumped up and pointed a finger at him.
"You stay away from me, you… you…"
"Hey, don't break a nail. We just came to check if you were okay. And to ask if maybe you can help us...", the tan furred creature said.
"So, I've just been saved by a bunch of… gerbils?", she asked, still kinda processing what was happening right now.
"Mice, ma'am. We're mice", the tan one said.
"You were expecting turtles, maybe?", the grey one rumbled. He had a low voice, but it sounded very friendly.
She stared at them.
"Mice? With biker clothes? And antennes? And motorcycles?", she snarled, crossing her arms before her chest.
"Don't forget your basic studly bod", the white one said, smiling arrogant at her. She snorted.
"I've seen better."
"Maybe. But not with this much charm."
She stared at him. Wauw, this guy was cocky, alright. She looked at the tan one.
"Right. Mice. Where on Earth do you guys come from?"
"Mars." It was the grey one who answered.
She thought she maybe heard it wrong.
"Mars?"
"Mars", the tan one said.
"Mars?!", she asked again, thinking she was losing her mind. Maybe that meteor carried some kind of chemical weapon. That would give hallucinations… Oh stop it, you. That fireball wasn't a meteor. It was their spaceship. This was getting weirder by the minute.
The white one chuckled and put a hand behind his big ear.
"Is there an echo in here?"
The grey one laughed too.
"I don't think she likes our answers."
She gave them a dirty look. Like this was funny. The tan one saw her looking.
"Look, it's a long story. I can show you, if you want?"
She looked at him, confused.
"Show me? What the fuck are you talking about?", she snapped at him. The white one rolled his eyes.
"Someone is cranky today…", he said, looking up with a innocent look on his face. The grey one smacked him against the back of his head.
"Shut up. The last thing we need right now is your smart mouth."
The white one glared at the huge, grey furred giant with a outraged look on his face.
"HEY! Innocence! I'm just telling it like it is…", he said, but when the tan furred mouse gave him a warning look, he crossed his arms before his chest and shut his mouth. He must be the leader. The tan furred one looked back at her.
"Don't mind him, his mouth always works before his brains. Anyway, close your eyes", he said and his antennas starting to glow red. She stared at it, but decided to trust him for now. She closed her eyes and she could feel him coming closer. She could smell his scent, and she had to admit; it was not bad. A combination from leather with a hint of hay. Suddenly, she started to see images before her eyes. She realized she was looking at the planet Mars. Wide, red sanded deserts, green and water. But the images soon changed. She heard his husky voice in her head.
"You see, our planet was invaded by a race of smelly stinkfaces, called Plutarkians. The Plutarkians wanted our land, right. Seemed they wasted all of their own natural resources, so they go around stripmining the cosmos. They bought up our planet. Tore the place apart and dug up the land to ship it back to Plutark."
She saw images from weird, walking fishes who were digging and destroying the beautiful desert.
"Well, the mice population fought back, but most of us were wiped out."
Images of war, mice fighting back, explosions… Suddenly it stopped. She opened her eyes.
The tan furred mouse pointed to the grey furred giant.
"Modo here gave his arm to the cause." She looked at him and he looked back friendly. Then the tan furred mouse pointed at the white one.
"Vinnie got half his face taken off, that's why he wears the mask."
Vinnie smiled arrogant.
"Yeah, but that's okay, because what's left is definitely grade-A mouse material."
She rolled her eyes and looked back at the tan one.
"And what about you?", she asked.
"I lost my eyes. They replaced it with bionic eyes. That's why I have the glasses, without them I'm blind like a cave rat. I'm Throttle", he said friendly and he offered her his hand. She hesitated, but then shook it.
"I'm Kiwi. Nice to meet you… I guess…", she said slowly. She still didn't know what to think about this.
"I know this is a lot to take in. But we are crashed here. And our spaceship is toasted. So, we were wondering… Maybe you can help us to find a place where we can crash till we find a way to get back?", Throttle asked.
Kiwi thought about it. But the only thing she could think of, was the guesthouse in her yard. It was big enough. The house had a garage for the bikes. And maybe it wouldn't be so silent anymore… She shook her head to stop that irritating voice in her head that was there everyday, every hour, every minute.
"You can stay at my place…", she blurted out. Her cheeks turned red. What in the world what she doing? Well, she was inviting three alien mice from Mars into her house. Perfectly normal, right?
"Are you sure about that, Kiwi ma'am? We don't want to be in your way…", Modo asked, his head a little crooked. Kiwi stared at him. Ma'am?
"I eh… Yeah, I'm sure. And you can stay at the guesthouse, so you won't be in the way."
"Cool. Show us the way, sweetheart", Vinnie cheered and jumped on his bike. Kiwi narrowed her eyes.
"Don't call me sweetheart!", she said angry. Vinnie looked back with a arrogant smile and winked at her.
"Sure… sweetheart…" and he laughed out loud. Kiwi glared at him. Throttle quickly intervened.
"Vincent, can you please shut your mouth for like five minutes?", he demanded and he turned his attention back on Kiwi.
"Can I offer you a ride?", he asked politely. Kiwi looked at the bike and her hands turned sweaty. She could feel her heartbeat rise and quickly shook her head.
"NO! Eh, no, thanks. I walk."
The mice looked at her questionably. She decided she didn't need to explain herself to them, so she put her hands in her pockets and started walking towards her house. The mice followed her on a distance on their bikes.

"Are you sure about this, Throttle?", Modo asked, his voice soft so Kiwi wouldn't hear them.
Not that she was paying attention to them. She walked with a firm step and by the looks of things, her thoughts miles away.
"Yeah, there is something really wrong with her", Vinnie added. Throttle sighed.
"Bro's, what choice do we have? We are crashed on a unknown planet. She is the only one who can help us right now. She seems reliable…"
"You mean, suicidal maybe?", Vinnie asked, his tail lashing. Modo punched him on the arm.
"Just like you, right? So, I don't see your problem."
"Hey! I'm not suicidal. I love myself too much and I'm way too pretty to die. I just like… challenges…", the white furred mouse said, punching Modo back.
"Okay, bro's, knock it off. Let's give her a chance, okay? She the only one we have right now", Throttle ordered and his bro's grew silent again.

Kiwi wasn't aware of the discussion behind her. The only thing she could think of, was that she invited three alien mice, riding on a bike, coming from the planet Mars, into her house. She shook her head. She really lost it this time. But she couldn't ignore the feeling that she needed them. It was a weird feeling, because why in the world would she need three big, walking and talking mice? She didn't have the answer. But she decided to give them a chance. They were stranded after all, on a planet they weren't familiar with. They were kinda lucky they ran into her, instead of somebody who would had alerted the government. Maybe Area 51 did exist…
She suddenly realized she was standing in front of her house. She looked behind her and the mice joined her. They looked at the huge building, the big lawn and the fence that surrounded the whole thing.
Kiwi knew they hadn't expect this at all. But what could she say? Her parents were rich. She opened the gate and they followed her to the garage. The doors slid open automatically and she braced herself for their reactions.
The mice stared into the big garage and looked at all the bikes that were standing there. It was also a workplace, with a bridge and enough tools to build a whole new bike from scratch.
"Sweetheart, this is biker heaven!", Vinnie cheered and jumped off his bike to take a closer look. But when he wanted to touch a the bike that was standing close to him, Kiwi suddenly stood next to him and slapped his hand away.
"You don't touch anything, do you hear me? You can park the bikes here, but that's it. And what did I say about you calling me sweetheart?"
Her voice was sharp, but shaky. Vinnie looked at her and smiled.
"Gosh, you are cute when you're bossy. No sweat, sweetheart. I won't touch anything…" and he turned around and whistled.
Kiwi was still standing on the same spot, her whole body shaking with anger. That mouse… but she forgot what she wanted to say when she saw the red racing bike drove into the garage without anyone sitting on it. Her mouth fell open. What in the…?
Modo was suddenly standing next to her.
"Our bikes aren't normal bikes, Kiwi ma'am. They have special technology, called AI."
Kiwi smiled, she just couldn't help it. And the people on Earth thought they were far with technology. Seems on Mars, they had it all already. But her smile quickly vanished.
"Okay, come on. I will show you your place", she said shortly and the mice pulled off their helmets and followed her inside. Vinnie whistled between his teeth.
"Nice place you have here, sweetheart", he said, looking around him. Kiwi clenched her fists, but ignored him. She walked outside through the back door and guided them to the guest house. It was a cute looking house in the back of the huge yard and had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a big living room and a kitchen. She quickly showed them around.
"So, you can stay as long as you need. Feel yourself at home. If you need anything, you can use this phone to call to the house. Okay?", she hastily said, pointing at the vidcom that was hanging on the wall in the kitchen. She desperately needed a long bath to calm her nerves. The mice nodded and she turned around and quickly walked back to the house before they could say anything back. What a fucked up day. What a strange world.

This was heaven. Kiwi sighed and felt her muscles relax in the warm water. She was lying in her huge whirlpool and closed her eyes. She needed this.
*BANG*
She jerked upright, the water lapped over the edge on the floor because of her sudden movement. Now what? It sounded like it came out of the garage. She quickly climbed out of the bath and pulled on a bathrobe, without even bothering to dry herself. She ran downstairs, to the garage. When she came in, she froze. There was a giant hole in the garage door and the bikes from the mice were gone. She cursed and popped her head out of the hole to look outside and looked straight into the face of Vinnie.
"Hey sweetheart! I eh…", he trailed off when he saw the murderous look on her face. Throttle and Modo were standing next to him.
"What in the world is the meaning of this?", she asked, her voice shaky and raw. The mice looked at her sheepishly.
"What are you talking about, sweetheart?", Vinnie asked, mister innocence himself. Kiwi climbed through the hole and pointed at her garage door.
"Well, maybe you want to explain why there is a giant hole in my garage door?" Her eyes were fuming. Vinnie's eyes grew big when he saw she was only wearing a bathrobe.
"Wow, sweetheart, going for a new look?", he smiled appreciatively. Kiwi was about to say something very mean, when Modo interfered.
"Sorry, Kiwi ma'am. We wanted to take a drive through the city, and out of habit, we whistled for our bikes. But we kinda forgot that you people on this planet use doors…", he said, ashamed. Kiwi stared at him.
"Eh yeah… Well, that's kinda the meaning with doors, you know? When you want to leave, you open them. After that, you close them...", she finally said.
Vinnie stared at her.
"Are you kidding? Where is the fun in that?", he asked with disbelief.
"You guys don't have doors on Mars?", Kiwi asked tiredly.
"Well, we have them, but…", Throttle started.
"We are the Bikermice! And we don't use doors", Vinnie finished proudly.
Kiwi felt a pounding headache. Oh gosh. These mice clearly had other habits on their planet.
"Well, here on planet Earth, we do use doors. So, I would appreciate it if you guys USE them. I will let this one fix, but after that; no more holes in my garage doors. Or any door, for fuck sake. Am I clear?"
The mice nodded, smiling sheepishly. Vinnie recovered himself quickly.
"Well, I like your new look, sweetheart. Turn around, let me see the back!", he said with a arrogant smile on his face. Kiwi gritted her teeth. Modo and Throttle saw it.
"Come on, Vinnie. Let's ride", Throttle ordered and jumped on his bike. Modo and Vinnie followed his example, but Vinnie turned around. He opened his mouth, but this time, Kiwi was faster.
"If I were you, I would just drive away now. For your own good", she threatened. Vinnie smiled and turned around.
"She likes me. Let's ride, bro's", and he revved his bike. They popped a wheelie and drove away. The fence, Kiwi suddenly realized. She ran after them, screaming that they needed to spare her precious fence, but she stopped death in her tracks when she saw they just jumped over it. With their bikes. She stared at them they they were out of sight. This was getting more interesting by the minute.

"She is crazy about me. I can tell", Vinnie said, while they were driving through the streets. Modo and Throttle rolled their eyes.
"I think you are confused. By the looks of how she reacts on you, you are driving her crazy. That's just not the same, you know...", Throttle chuckled.
Vinnie shook his head.
"Are you crazy? Maybe I'm just too cool, too handsome and… stuff. Makes her nervous."
Throttle laughed.
"Yeah. Or maybe it's just your incredible humility."
"Hmmm… Could be, you know. Could be."
"Pfew. Boy's got a ego bigger then Mars", Modo sighed.
They drove to the other side of town. That was a complete other sight to see. The neighborhood where Kiwi lived, was in good shape. But here, the buildings were partly destroyed. The road had many holes in it and some parts were completely gone. Throttle raised his hand.
"Hold it, bro's. You know, there is something strangely familiar about this place. And it's not exactly a happy memorie. I mean, check it out. Nothing but miles with deep craters and crumbling buildings.."
The mice looked around them. Throttle was right. It did look familiar. It reminded them of Mars.
"You don't mean…?", Vinnie started.
"That's exactly what I mean. Plutarkians", Throttle finished.
"Oh momma. They are doing the same thing they did on Mars. We can't let that happen, bro's", Modo breathed.
"No way. Nobody is gonna destroy this planet just like they did to Mars. It's tail whippin time, bro's!", Vinnie cheered, revving his bike. Throttle stopped him.
"I'm with ya, bro. But we need to find out who is doing this. Maybe Kiwi can tell us more about this."
"Well, what are we waiting for?", Vinnie asked impatiently. Throttle chuckled.
"Let's rock…"
"...AND RIDE!"

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