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Chapter five
"GREASEPIT! Be careful, you mistriant!", Karbunkle yelled at the big lummox, who was trying to hold an iron box. But since his hands were slippery because of his oil leaking problem, he had a hard time doing what him was told. And of course, he failed. The box flew out of his hands and landed on Karbunkles foot. The weird doctor almost screamed in pain.
"Oops…", Greasepit said sheepishly.
Karbunkle exploded and scolded him with every word he knew. Greasepit held up his hands.
"Heyz! Yous the one whos the inventor, I didn't forgot the handle…"
"This is a BOMB, not luggage, you barrel of oil spit!", Karbunkle yelled, while grabbing Greasepit by his dungarees.
"Well, if it ain't the degenerate duo…"
"Sleeze brain and sludge…"
Karbunkle and Greasepit looked behind them and saw the Biker Mice with that irritating woman.
"You boys looking for something?", Kiwi asked, enjoying to sound this badass.
"Like trouble, maybe?", Throttle added.
He didn't liked the fact Kiwi was with them, but this time it wasn't her fault. They were just on the way to grab some hot dogs and Kiwi had joined them. But that's when they found these two hanging in an alley. And that could only mean trouble.
Karbunkle waved with his hands.
"Ehm… no! No, we were just on our way to eh… to t-the repair shop!" He pointed a black gloved finger in the air. "That's it, yes! This idiot got us lost!" and he pointed his finger at Greasepit.
"Now, Greasepit, bring along that eh… toaster oven…" and they both turned around to walk away. But Vinnie grabbed Greasepit.
"Hold it! You ain't going anywhere…" as he turned around Greasepit. But the big lummox laughed.
"Oh yes I is… but you ain't!" and he slammed the box against Vinnie's chest. Vinnie was forced with his back against the wall and four ties slammed into the stone, making sure the white furred mouse wasn't going anywhere. Vinnie stared at the box and smiled when he saw the red numbers counting down.
"Wooooow! The top sixty countdown!", he cheered.
Throttle and Modo came into action.
"Grab him!"
But Greasepit and Karbunkle were faster this time. They were already on the trike from Greasepit and they drove away with dangerous speed and shrieking tires.
"Hey! The bad guys are booking!", Modo said, watching them drive away.
"Hey bro's! I've got something kinda explosive I like to get off my chest!"
His bro's turned around when they heard Vinnie's voice. Kiwi was pulling on the box, but it didn't move. She looked at the numbers and then to Throttle.
"We've got less than a minute to get this off him!"
"Or Vinnie get a one way ticket back to Mars…" Throttle rubbed his chin and grabbed Modo.
"We need the bikes. Come on. Kiwi, try to stop that thing."
Kiwi stared at him in shock.
"What? But… how?", she stuttered.
"You'll figure something out. Just do it!" and the two mice ran away.
Kiwi looked closely at the box and saw screws. Right. What will they do in a movie? Screw this thing open and cut wires. Right. She grabbed her keys and used the key from her diary to open the box. Her hands were shaking. Dammit, she was gonna lose it.
"I really have no idea what I'm doing, Vinnie…', she said, panicking. Vinnie looked in the box, as far as that was possible in his position.
"You got something to cut the wires?", he asked. He sounded way too calm.
Kiwi almost blacked out from panic, but thankfully, she suddenly remembered she had her nail scissors with her. She looked at the wires. Two of them. Red or blue.
"Just you and me, babe. In about a billion pieces…", Vinnie said with a low voice, smiling at her. Kiwi couldn't believe her ears.
"Would you stop that? I'm trying to save you, but I need your help!"
"Just trying to be romantic", Vinnie winked. Kiwi almost exploded.
"Now is not the time, Romeo!", she yelled and grabbed the wires.
"Favorite colour?"
"Bleu! Like your eyes…"
Kiwi rolled her, indeed, blue eyes and cut the blue wire. They both looked at the screen and Kiwi breathed in sharply when she saw the countdown was only going faster.
"Whoops…", Vinnie smiled.
Why was he smiling?
"Whoops is right!"
Fifteen seconds to destruction
"Papadapa papadapapaaaa, cavalry!" she suddenly heard Modo's voice. Thank god. She jumped out of the way when he and Throttle flew around the corner on their bikes. They flew past them and Modo's bike shot a rope with a hook. The hook clamped around one of the ties and they drove further. Vinnie looked at the timer and back to Modo.
"This is such a rush!", he cheered.
Kiwi stared at him. A rush? Yeah, it was but… never mind. His way of dealing with being close to death, she guessed.
Seven seconds till destruction
Vinnie gritted his teeth, staring at the screen. And at that point, the rope tightened and because of the force of the bikes, the bomb flew away. Vinnie stretched his muscles, a big grin on his face.
"That… was awesome!", he laughed and he pumped his fist into the air.
Kiwi just stared at him. Yep. He was crazy.
"Thanks bro's", Vinnie said when Modo and Throttle stopped next to him.
"No problem. It would be way too quiet around here without your loudmouth", Modo smiled, punching him on the arm.
Kiwi was sitting on the ground, because her legs had became weak.
"Need a ride home, sweetheart?", Vinnie asked, offering his hand. Kiwi jerked up and slammed his hand away.
"No thanks. I will use my car. See you guys at home, okay?" and she walked away.
The bro's stared at her and were loss at words, but then Modo's stomach broke the silence.
"Hotdogs?", Modo suggested, smiling sheepishly.
"Hell yeah!"
Kiwi had planned to go to her car, but she needed to walk. She needed to calm her nerves. Dammit. Everytime she thought she could handle all this, something happened and the panic was back in full force. She wasn't scared of dying. That was the weirdest thing. But being completely useless, that was making her anxious. Thankfully, Modo and Throttle were there right on time to save Vinnie. Otherwise he would be dead now. Because of her. Because she was useless. A nothing. A nobody… She felt tears in her eyes and wiped them away. Dammit. Was she ever gonna be the same again? She used to be a strong, happy and self assured girl. But since… Stop it. Everything was changed. Why her? Why was she still alive and her parents not?
"STOP IT!"
She realized she had screamed the words out loud. People who were walking past her stared at her and quickly walked further, their heads down. No surprise there. If you were different than others, you were being avoided. When you lose someone, everybody is there to help you. Well, at the beginning, that is. When time goes by, people are going back to their own lifes. If you run into them while doing your groceries, they ask how you are doing. And they expect you to say that you're fine. Because when you tell them you're not, they don't know what to say anymore. Since 'get over it' is too harsh. And when you don't have the strength to get over it, you end up alone. Kiwi knew that. She had learned it the hard way. And here she was. Walking through the city, screaming at herself. Maybe she was crazy. But deep down, she knew she wasn't. She was lonely. She was carrying a great burden, on her own. She just needed people to care. And the mice did. But talking about what happened to her, was too much. She just couldn't. Being vulnerable was hard, especially for her. She felt weak. Because she didn't used to be like this. To be so… weak.
The mice were sitting on their bikes, eating hot dogs. But suddenly, Vinnie sniffed.
"Ugh… what is that…"
Modo sniffed too.
"I don't know bro, but it stinks…"
They heard engines approach and saw two buggies driving straight towards them. People who were close, ran away because of the god awful smell. They now saw that two big and fat Plutarkians sat behind the wheel. They stopped right before the mice.
"Biker Mice! We are Hakka…", the biggest one said.
"... and Honka…", the smaller one continued.
"The Looooooogie Brothers!" they both cheered.
"And we want to tear you up!", Hakka said.
"We are the scum of the universe", Honka cheered.
"Yeah, for three years running!", Hakka smiled, holding up a trophee.
"Swell… You can keep the title, boys…", Throttle said.
"But nobody messes with our city…", Modo rumbled.
"Especially Plutarkian stinkfish like you", and Vinnie pointed at them.
The Loogie Brothers popped a wheelie and drove away.
"Time to rumble, bro's. Deep space mode", Throttle ordered, closing his visor.
"Yeaahh… Pfew… Keep the stink out", Vinnie said smiling, closing his visor too.
"Let's ROCK…"
"... and RIDE!"
And they started the chase. The Loogi Brothers were flying through the streets, followed by the mice. Suddenly, they split up and that was exactly what the mice needed. Vinnie went after Hakka and Modo and Throttle after Honka. But they chased them to the same point and suddenly, the two brothers saw each other and hit the brakes. The back tires of their buggies flew in the air, but they avoided a crash.
"That was a close one", Hakka said.
"This is closer", and Throttle pointed his gun at them. His bro's did the same.
"Give it up, skunk boys…", Vinnie said, his voice low.
Suddenly, Kiwi came into view.
"What the hell happened, guys?", she said confused. Hakka grabbed this opportunity and grabbed Kiwi while driving.
"We happened!"
"Yah, and you are a hostage…"
"Hey!", Kiwi yelled angry.
"Hold back, bro's. They got Kiwi. Dammit, this girl doesn't know how to stay out of trouble", Throttle sighed.
The Loogie Brothers fired their jets and flew into the air.
"Let's follow them, bro's!", Throttle ordered.
"Yeah, they gotta come down somewhere…" and Vinnie revved his engine.
They followed the Brothers, but suddenly, they let Kiwi go. They could hear her scream when she was falling down.
"Kiwi is doing the asphalt dive!", Modo yelled urgent.
"Vinnie! Fire off!", Throttle ordered.
"BANG! I'm gone…" and Vinnie pulled back his handlebars and fired his jets. A huge flame came out of the back of his bike and he flew into the air. He looked at the radar and saw she was out of range. He wasn't gonna be fast enough, unless...
"Wow. Change of plans. This better works, or Kiwi is streetpizza", he said and he jumped off his bike when he was close enough. He stretched his arms and grabbed Kiwi.
"Gotcha!"
Kiwi opened her eyes and clung on to him. She looked down and saw they were still falling down.
"Great! But who's got you?", she yelled.
"Don't sweat it, babe. This is standard hero work" and he whistled at his bike.
"Yo bike! Throw us a line!"
The bike shot a rope and Vinnie grabbed it. But that's when Kiwi understood the plan. The bike. She needed to get on the bike.
No… no, no, no… NO! She started to struggle, her legs kicking.
"NO! NO, NO, NO!", she yelled. She kicked against Vinnie's legs and tried to climb over his head. Vinnie gritted his teeth.
"Sweetheart, calm down…" but she didn't hear him. She kept screaming and struggling. Vinnie had his hands full with holding onto the rope and avoiding Kiwi was gonna fall out of his arms. Her elbow hit him in his neck, her knee full in his stomach. Jesus, what the hell was wrong with her?
"Sweetheart, stop!", he yelled, his voice urgent now.
He was always in for a challenge, the more danger the better, but they were running out of time. And he hadn't planned on dying. Not today. And no way he was gonna be responsible for Kiwi's death. But then, Kiwi's knee hit him straight between his legs. He squeezed his eyes in pain and he let out a growl. Even it was a short moment, his arms gave enough space for the struggling Kiwi to get loose and she pushed him away, her eyes wide open...
"NO!", Vinnie yelled and his tail lashed through the air. He wrapped it around her waist, but the girl was still panicking. But Vinnie wasn't one that gave up that easily. He lifted her up and grabbed her again. Her nails scratched his back and he felt a stinging pain. Okay. That's it. Enough is just enough.
"KIWI!", he roared in anger. Kiwi stopped struggling and stared at him. This was the first time he said her name. Her real name. No sweetheart. No babe. No doll…
"You are gonna stop with whatever you are doing and let me do the work. Maybe you have a deathwish, but don't you dare to drag me with you! Because you know I will! One more move, and I'll knock you out, UNDERSTAND?!"
She finally kept her mouth shut, so Vinnie whistled again and his bike flew under him. Right in time. When his tires hit the ground, he immediately hit the brakes and before his bike even stood still, he threw Kiwi off. She fell on the ground, gasping for air. Vinnie pulled off his helmet, his eyes fuming. Throttle and Modo joined them. Modo jumped off his bike and ran over to Kiwi. Throttle lay a hand on Vinnie's shoulder. He noticed the scratches on his back and arms, but said nothing about it.
"You okay?", he asked softly. Vinnie gave a small nod, but his eyes were fixed on Kiwi. Modo held her, trying to calm her down.
"It's okay, Kiwi ma'am. You're safe now. Easy…"
Slowly, Kiwi calmed down a little. Meaning, she could breathe again. Vinnie stepped off his bike and walked over to her. He pointed at her.
"Do you think this is some kind of game?", he asked, his voice low. His tail was lashing through the air, his fur bristled. Kiwi looked up at him, her eyes wide open. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"I asked you a question. You almost got us both killed. So again, is this some kind of game to you?!"
Kiwi finally found her tongue back.
"N-no… No, I… Jesus, I'm sorry, okay?", she whispered, her voice shaky.
"You're sorry? Right. What I wanna know is; what the fuck is wrong with you?" Vinnie was clearly upset.
Throttle stared at him. It was a rare thing for Vinnie to get this mad. And why was he mad about the fact he almost died? Normally, he didn't care that much. But then it hit him. He cared. He cared about Kiwi. And she almost died too. And in Vinnie's eyes, that was failure. Throttle lay a hand on his younger bro's shoulder.
"Easy, Vin. Let's talk about this later…" but Vinnie yanked himself free.
"No. I think I deserve an explanation after what just happened. Because if this is gonna happen on regular bases, I wanna know why I'm risking my life to save your ass while maybe you don't even want to be safed!"
Kiwi stared at him. His words hurt her. She was still on edge. She wasn't thinking clear. Why was he forcing her to explain something she didn't want to? She felt anger took over. She jumped at her feet.
"I don't need to explain anything! I didn't asked to be saved all the time, you know that, right? And you are always on the front row to help. Geez, I wonder why!? So you can brag about it? So you can get into my pants? Well?"
She didn't want to say these things. But she just couldn't stop herself. She was upset, very upset because of falling out of the sky from such height and then the bike… That goddamn bike… Why didn't they had planes or something?
Vinnie shook his head in anger, his ears flattened against his head.
"So what is that you want? Tell me! Next time, we just let you die? Are you really that stupid? You never thought about someone else, instead of yourself? For example; what it will do to us when we let you die, because of a war that you have nothing to do with? Talk about being selfish…"
"Vincent… stop…", Throttle whispered. Vinnie was pushing the girl too far. But it was too late.
Kiwi cracked. She marched to Vinnie and planted her finger on his chest.
"You wanna know why I wanna die? FINE! I lost both of my parents because of an accident. A accident with BIKES! I was thrown off the bike and my parents took the full hit. I saw my father's head flying off his body and my mother crushed against a truck. You know what that does to a person? To see your loved ones die in the most gruesome way, right in front of you? Watching, completely helpless I… I…" but she couldn't talk further.
She couldn't breathe and felt her legs became weak. But before she collapsed, Vinnie caught her. He wrapped his arms around her and just held her. She cried like she hadn't cried in a long time. She buried her face into his soft fur and clung on to him. But it was too much. Telling them had opened the wound again. The wound that wasn't healed, only hidden. Her body had enough. The adrenaline wore off and she felt the world became black.
A pounding headache. A dry mouth. Sore muscles. Kiwi slowly opened her eyes. Burning eyes. She noticed she was lying in her bed, but she didn't knew how she came there. She blinked a few times and suddenly, everything came back. Her grief and sorrow hit her full in the again. She jerked upright.
"Easy, Kiwi."
Throttle's voice. His husky, calm voice. Somehow, it made her feel calmer. Less alone. She saw him sitting in the chair that was standing in the corner of her room.
"Throttle… I…"
"Sssshh… It's okay…" and he walked closer and sat down on her bed. She looked at him, her eyes wide. Shit. She told them. She told them about their parents. She yelled at Vinnie, which was completely unfair. He saved her life. And what did she do? Yelling at him. But it was because of the panic. She knew that. But still…
"H-how did I get here?", she asked, her voice shaky.
"We brought you home. With your car. Vinnie insisted to drive you home in your car, in case you would wake up."
"Oh. That's unusual sweet of him…" Throttle saw her confused look.
"He cares about you, Kiwi. We all do. You helped us when we had no place to go. You gave us a place to call home again. We will be forever in your debts."
Kiwi felt a warm feeling inside of her. They do care. See? She wasn't alone anymore. Tears filled her eyes, but this time because of gratitude. After months of suffering, she finally wasn't alone anymore.
"You hungry?", he asked, smiling because he heard her stomach growl. She smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah… I will make us some… diner? Breakfast? What time is it anyway?"
"It's 6pm."
"Jezus, how long was I out?"
"A full night and day…"
"Well, diner it is then…" and she got out of her bed.
She quickly grabbed a bathrobe and pulled it closely around her. Throttle took the lead and they walked downstairs, to the kitchen. Modo and Vinnie were sitting at the table, playing a card game. But the moment Kiwi came in, the game was forgotten. Modo jumped at his feet and pulled her in a tight hug.
"Kiwi ma'am, are you okay?", he asked with a worried look on his face. Kiwi wrapped her arms around his big waist.
"No, I'm not. But I will be… one day."
Finally, she could be honest. It felt somehow… liberating. Modo let her go and gave her a smile. Kiwi smiled back and then looked at Vinnie. The white furred mouse was still sitting at the table, obviously having no clue what to do. His bravado was nowhere to be found. But Kiwi took the word.
"Listen, Vin… I'm sorry… you know… for... ", she trailed off when she saw the scratch marks on his arms. Her cheeks turned red. Jesus, did she do that? Dammit, no wonder he was mad. Vinnie looked back at her.
"I eh… I-it's okay, sweetheart. I uhm… yeah… hehe..."
Throttle shook his head. They both sucked at showing their feelings and putting them into words, big time.
"It's okay, Vin. I know."
Vinnie nodded, clearly happy he didn't need to say anything further. His arrogance immediately came back and he wiggled his eyebrows.
"Like your look, sweetheart."
Kiwi sighed and rolled her eyes, but with a little smile on her lips. She blew him a kiss hand.
"I almost forgot. Thanks for saving my life…"
His reaction surprised her. Again, Vinnie's arrogance melted away like snow in the sun. He blushed and pulled on his bandana. He gave her a shy smile, but said nothing. Kiwi shook her head. This was too cute. Modo and Throttle laughed and whooped at Vinnie, who was still blushing. And Kiwi finally knew; even Vinnie, with all his arrogance and bravado, was a sweet, caring guy. A big mouth, but a small heart. He did save her life twice now. First, she had thought that was because he wanted to be in the spotlights, to brag how good he was. But she now knew. He cared. They all cared. And that gave her such good feeling.
"So, hot dogs and rootbeer?", she asked, breaking the silence. The mice cheered.
"Hell yeah!"
After diner, Throttle took a deep breath.
"Kiwi? I'm sorry for your loss… It must have been real hard to lose your parents like that…"
Kiwi looked at him. She didn't know what to say. Tears filled her eyes again. The mice were looking hopeless at each other, not sure what to say. It was then when Vinnie surprised them all, even his bro's.
"I eh… I lost my parents too. My mom died in my arms and my father… Well, I eh… I-I just want you to know that I understand how it feels to see your parents die in front of you like that."
They all stared at him. Throttle and Modo shared quick looks. Their white furred bro never spoke about his past. Vinnie glanced at them from the corner of his eyes and gave his bro's a small nodd. Ah. Throttle now understood. Sharing stories would made Kiwi feel less alone. And then she would know they really understood. He cleared his throat.
"Yeah, ehm… My mom and dad got caught in a explosion… Never had the chance to say goodbye to them. Or to thank them…"
Modo stared at his hands.
"My old grey furred mom died because of a heart attack, shortly after I've got this", he held up his metal arm. "My dad was never in the picture, but I assume he is also gone... "
Kiwi stared at them, her lower lip trembling. Tears were streaming over her face. Here she was, sitting with three alien macho mouse, sharing stories. If someone had told her this months ago, she would have declared that person crazy. But then it hit her. They had the same experience as she had. They actually knew how it felt to lose your loved ones like that. They understood. They cared. They knew… That's why she had the feeling she needed them, right after she met them. She saw everything crystal clear now. She had a family again. A family, who was just as damaged as her, but who fought back. Who didn't gave up. Like she had done.
"Guys…", she sobbed.
"We are here for you, Kiwi ma'am. Always."
Kiwi stared at the metal hand over her own hand. She smiled, despite the tears.
"Thank you…", she whispered. But then she gasped.
"Hey! What happened with the Loogie Brothers?"
"Oh, don't worry about them, sweetheart…", Vinnie snickered.
"We got rid of them while you were sleeping. And Limburger has some rebuilding to do… again", Modo smiled.
Kiwi laughed, despite her sadness. That were her guys.
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