Thanks for the reviews, very much appreciated!
I know what you want, Youkai55 ;) Who knows what's gonna happen? But like I said, can't promise you anything.

This chapter is a little sad, just rolled out of my brain. That happens sometimes. And when I'm sad myself, the things that roll out of my brain are sad too.

Chapter eleven

She couldn't breathe because of the speed she was falling by. Her vision was blurry because of the tears in her eyes. Her heart was pounding so fast, she even now could feel it in her chest. The ground came closer and closer. She squeezed her eyes, at first to paralized to scream. She could only cry. She didn't want to die. Not anymore. Not now the mice were in her life. But by the looks of things, it was time. Her time. It was just so unfair. She finally had something to live for. A scream escaped her mouth. A scream in pain. Why? Oh god, why?

Five minutes earlier in Karbunkle's lab...

A flash of light. The monsters were gone. Transported back to whatever rathole they crawled out of. Limburger was nowhere to be found. Probably hiding.
"That takes care of them…", Throttle said, sitting back on his bike again.
"Too bad Limburger had to come back, though…", Modo sighed.
"Yeah… Heyhey, wanna trash this place before we leave?", Vinnie smiled eagerly, swinging a arm around Modo's neck.
Modo was about to answer, but Throttle was faster.
"Nahhh, forget it, bro's."
Vinnie glared at him and pulled back his arm.
"Ah man, you're a buzzkill!" and he rested his head in his hands, clearly not happy with this decision.
"Well, I just figured Limburger had enough for one day… And Kiwi is waiting for us, so let's ride, bro's!" and they jumped outside. But the building was heavily damaged because of the monsters and suddenly, they heard a lot of noise behind them. They stopped and looked behind them.
"HA! It's still going down!", Vinnie cheered, clapping his hands like a child getting a lollipop. They turned their bikes around. No matter how many times they had seen it, it still was a beautiful sight. So, they opened their visor and looked how the building slowly crumbled. It was then when they heard a scream. Throttle narrowed his eyes.
"Hey… Just wait a minute… is that…", he started.
"KIWI!", Vinnie suddenly yelled and he revved his bike.
"Vincent, wait, it's too dangerous!", Throttle yelled, but Vinnie was already gone.
"Shit, Modo. He is not gonna be on time!", Throttle breathed, while looking at the black dot that was Kiwi.
Stones were falling down everywhere and Kiwi was a long way down already…

Vinnie pushed his bike to the limits, zigzagging to avoid the stones that fell out of the air. He grabbed his handlebars tightly and fired his jets. His bike beeped that he was going too fast, but he ignored her. He gritted his teeth and gained even more speed. His eyes were locked on Kiwi. Why did she fall so fast, and why was he so slow? It felt like his bike didn't cooperate. But that was ridiculous. She would always cooperate. He saw Kiwi coming closer to the ground and he screamed in frustration.
"Come on, sweetheart. COME ON!"
His bike beeped back angrily, but suddenly it felt like whatever was slowing him down, was gone. His bike sped forward, and Vinnie needed to use all his skills to avoid the falling rocks, to zigzag at this speed. But he had no choice. He wasn't gonna let Kiwi die. Never.
It was like time stood still. He was finally close enough to see Kiwi's face and his heart stopped. He had never seen her this scared. Shit, she needed him. He saw a big rock following her down. And he still wasn't close enough. SHIT. Instinct took over. He let go of his handlebars and climbed on the seat. He yelled at his bike to hit the brakes and at the same time, he jumped forward. He spread his arms and finally, he had her. He felt her head slamming against his chest and he quickly pushed her against him. He wrapped his arms around her head, his tail around her legs… BAM.
They slammed against the ground, Vinnie gritted his teeth and used all his strength to keep his arms around her. To keep her safe. They slid a few meters and slowly came to an halt. Vinnie let out his breath, but before he could say anything, or even look at Kiwi to see if she was okay, a big part of the roof landed just inches away from them with a loud bang. Dust flew into the air and he heard Kiwi coughing. Good. She was still alive. He quickly scrambled on his feet and whistled. His bike jumped out of the cloud of dust and he jumped on her seat, with Kiwi still in his arms. His bike took over control and drove out of the danger zone without too much troubles. Once they were safe, Vinnie slammed his foot on the brake pedal and his bike stopped with shrieking brakes.
For a moment, there was only silence. Vinnie heard his own breathing in his helmet, his heart pounding in his head… He looked down at Kiwi, who was holding him tightly. Her fingers were holding his fur with so much strength, he was surprised he wasn't bald already. She was pressing her head against his chest, her eyes squeezed tightly. Her breathing was shallow. Vinnie slowly made one arm loose and pulled off his helmet. He threw it on the ground and he stepped off his bike. He sank on the floor, with Kiwi on his lap.
"Sweetheart… Jesus, sweetheart, are you okay?", he asked with a shaky voice.
Kiwi didn't respond. She was still holding him tightly, her eyes still closed. Vinnie slowly let her go and gently took her hands. One by one, he unfolded her fingers, so she let go off his fur. Her hands fell down on his lap. He gently lay a finger under her chin and lifted her head. She still hadn't open her eyes.
"Sweetheart… Kiwi… Open your eyes. You're safe…", he whispered.
Kiwi suddenly gasped and her eyes flew open. Her whole body tensed and she opened her mouth, but Vinnie grabbed her head and forced her to look at him.
"Easy. You're safe. You're with me. Nothing's gonna harm you… Not while I'm around…"
His voice. Kiwi looked at him, her eyes wide open, her breathing still shallow. But when she heard his voice, she slowly relaxed a little. And suddenly, it dawned on her. She was safe. He had saved her life, again. He risked his own life, to safe hers. Why would he do that? It was a close one, this one. But he did it. And here she was. Sitting on his lap. His hands cupped around her head. His tail softly wrapped around her waist. And when she heard his voice, that low voice that meant so much to her, she finally calmed down.
"That's it, sweetheart… That's it…"
He slowly let go of her head. She looked at him, she couldn't stop stare at him. She stared in his eyes. His beautiful ruby red eyes. And she saw the same look she had seen on the baby picture. And that was the final touch. Tears filled her eyes and she started crying. Vinnie pulled her in his arms again, stroking her back. And that is how Throttle and Modo found them.
Their younger bro, his fur black of dirt and dust. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, with Kiwi on his lap. He held her in his arms and Kiwi… Poor Kiwi. She was crying so hard. Vinnie looked up with a pleading look on his face. Throttle and Modo kneeled down next to him and Throttle lay a hand on Kiwi's back.
"Hey, babe… It's okay now. You're safe…", he said softly.
Kiwi slowly lifted her head and saw Throttle and Modo. The worry on their faces. It made her even cry harder.
"Let's take her home", Throttle said softly in Vinnie's ear. Vinnie nodded and slowly climbed on his feet. He tried to untangle himself from Kiwi, but she wouldn't let him. She clung unto him, crying so hard she almost couldn't breathe.
"Kiwi… What is it that you need? How can I help you to calm down?", Vinnie whispered, stroking her hair.
It made her even cry harder, as far as that was possible. Vinnie sighed and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, still holding him so tightly, he almost couldn't move. Under any other circumstance, he would have made a joke about how she was holding him. But this wasn't the right time. Even he knew that. He climbed on his bike, holding Kiwi with one arm and his other hand grabbed the handlebar.
"Let's ride, bro's", he said and they slowly drove back home.

When they arrived home, Kiwi was still crying. Vinnie was worried about her. Why was she so upset? This happened before, and sure, it scared her… But this was different. He carried her to her bed and gently lay her down. She finally let go off him and turned around. She buried her face in the pillow, her hand groped to the her nightstand. Vinnie opened the drawer for her and she blindly found her bottle of pills. She opened it and tried to grab a pill, but her hands were too shaky. She started to cry even harder. Vinnie quickly snatched the bottle out of her hand with a sigh and gave her a pill. She stuffed it in her mouth and held up her hand again. Vinnie hesitated, but gave her another one. She would know, right? She took the second pill and turned her back to him. Vinnie lay back the pills and closed the drawer. He didn't know what to do. But soon, her crying became softer. Her breathing became calmer. And after a few minutes, she was fast asleep. And Vinnie slowly left her room, closing the door softly behind him. He walked downstairs and grabbed a rootbeer. He dropped on the couch, next to his bro's.
"Is she okay?", Modo asked worried.
"Eh… She's asleep", Vinnie answered shortly, and stared at the can rootbeer in his hand. He was obviously upset too. Throttle sighed.
"You did a good job, Vin. This isn't your fault."
Vinnie only nodded. He suddenly saw that his normally snow white fur was now grey. He sighed and jumped on his feet.
"I'm gonna take a shower", and he left his bro's with shocked looks on their faces in the living room.
"Say what?", Modo breathed, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Are my ears broken? Did we just hear Vinnie saying he was gonna take a shower? All by himself? Never thought I'd see the day…", Throttle agreed.
Their bro was more upset than he showed, that's for sure. The tan furred mouse fighted to stay on his seat. He wanted to help Vinnie, talk to him. But he knew better than that. Talking about his feelings was something Vinnie never did. Well, not the deeper feelings. He could whine all day, he could cheer all day, but going deeper… No, Throttle had learned the hard way that wasn't gonna happen. So, he remained where was, giving his bro time to pick himself up again. And tomorrow… tomorrow he was gonna be fine again.

Kiwi was falling again. She saw how Vinnie tried to grab her, but he missed. He also fell down and a huge fragment of Limburgers building crashed against him. She opened her mouth, she wanted to scream, but she could only stare in horror when the fragment reached the ground. A loud bang, blood...so much blood…
"NOOOOOO!"
She woke up with a startle, sweat was dripping off her body. She jerked upright, breathing heavily. Her scream was still echoing against the walls. Shit. It was just a dream. She was safe. Vinnie was safe. Her hair was sticking to her face, soaked with sweat. She looked at the clock. 8am.
She slowly slid out of bed and stumbled to the shower. She didn't even took off her clothes and stepped under the warm beam. With a heavy sigh, she slid down with her back against the wall until she reached the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. She just stared at a point in front of her, the water streaming over her back. She didn't know how long she was sitting there. But all of a sudden…
"Sweetheart, why are you sitting here with your clothes on?"
Kiwi looked up and saw Vinnie standing next to her with a worried look on his face.
"Is this your way to get me out of my clothes?", she asked without thinking.
Vinnie's eyes grew big, a blush clearly visible under his fur.
"I sure hope not, because it ain't working, mister", she said and slowly climbed on her feet.
Vinnie was still loss at words. She turned off the shower and stepped out.
"You do know that's not my intention at all, right?", Vinnie suddenly asked.
Ah, he had found his voice again. She turned around to face him.
"Isn't it?", she asked, provoking him. Vinnie narrowed his eyes.
"No." He sounded offended. She sighed.
"Look, Vinnie, sorry. I don't mean to sound so… mean. But I'm trying to understand you. But that is not easy. You do things for me… You risk your own life for me. Why would you do that? What could possible be your intention to do such thing?"
Vinnie looked at her like she had slapped him in the face.
"Really? You really believe I save your life so after, I can get into your pants?"
His voice was dangerously low. He clenched his fists.
She looked back at him. She had hurt him, she could see it in his eyes. Shit. She suddenly realized what she was saying. What was she thinking? Why was she reacting like this? It must be the shock. Because of what happened yesterday. Really, had she lost her mind?
"No… no, I don't think that. I'm sorry. Never mind, okay?", she blurted out, feeling very embarrassed all of a sudden.
Vinnie opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He was struggling to find the words, but he couldn't find them. He took a deep breath and turned around.
"Okay. You coming down? Throttle got us some breakfast."
Kiwi stared at his back, screaming from the inside that he must turn around, that he needed to talk to her. But she also couldn't find the words. She was just as bad as him in talking about emotions and stuff.
"Okay, I will be down in a few minutes."
"Cool." And he left the bathroom. Kiwi let out her breath. Wauw, Kiwi. Way to go. Dammit.

She quickly changed into other clothes. When she was brushing her hair, Throttle knocked and walked inside.
"Hey you… You okay?"
Kiwi took a deep breath.
"Yeah… Yeah, I'm feeling much better, thanks… God, I don't know what was wrong with me yesterday, Throttle. I'm sorry if I made you guys worried. I will be fine. Yesterday just wasn't a good day…"
He looked at her and slowly took the brush out of her hand. She looked at him questionably, but he pushed her gently in the seat that was standing in front of her mirror.
He took her hair and started combing it. He was surprisingly good at it. She could feel her body relax, enjoying this rare moment of peace.
"I know it's not very badass and macho, but I used to brush my sister's hair, when she was young. She loved it. It made her feel calm. Peaceful", he explained.
Kiwi closed her eyes and felt the tension leaving her body.
"You're good at it", she mumbled, almost purring like a cat.
There was a long silence, but it wasn't awkward. She felt completely relaxed in Throttle's presence. It was different than with Vinnie. When she was with Vinnie, there was always that weird tension in her body. She couldn't explain it. But Throttle… he felt like the brother she never had.
"He does care, you know", the tan furred mouse suddenly said, breaking the silence.
Kiwi's eyes flew open and she looked at Throttle through the mirror.
"Vinnie", Throttle explained when he saw her confused look. She could feel her cheeks turn red. She suddenly remembered what she had said to him. Oh my god, talk about no appreciation. He had saved her life, and what did she do? First, she went completely loco and the day after she accused him of being a hopeless Romeo.
"I eh… I can't believe I said the things I've said to him…", she stuttered. Throttle smiled. She realised he had heard their conversation. Oh man...
"I can't blame ya. But it isn't like that. Not with you. Trust me on this one, okay? He cares."
He said it with so much determination, she immediately believed him. But she still had so many questions.
"But… why would he do that? Risk his life for mine? I mean…"
"That's who he is. That's who we are. And that's what we do. Look, it maybe sound completely ridiculous and maybe it's not that common on Earth, but we are willing do everything for the people we care about. For the people we love. And Kiwi, we care about you. But you seem to have a lot of trouble with believing that."
He was so calm. He didn't judge. He just said it like it was. He was right. She just couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that someone would give his life for her.
"I'm… I'm just not used to it. I never felt very special. I'm just a regular girl. Why in the world would someone give his life for me?"
"Love", he simply answered.
"You mean Vinnie loves me?", she asked, almost falling out of her chair.
"Yeah. There are different types of love, you know that, right? I've gotta admit, I'm not sure what is going on between you guys. But one thing is very clear to me. And that is that Vinnie cares about you. Deeply."
"I care about him, too…", she whispered.
"I know, babe."
"And I also care about you and Modo. My life was over, you know? When my parents died, something inside of me also died. I got depressed, heavily depressed. I tried to take my own life, but I failed. After that, I tried to go on. You know, for my parents. Apparently, it wasn't my time yet. But it was so hard. And it all felt so pointless. And I was alone... I never felt so lonely. And then you guys showed up and… life suddenly seemed not that bad anymore. But I obviously have still a lot of issues to deal with…", she trailed off. It was the first time she completely opened up about how she felt. About what had happened to her. But she trusted Throttle. The latter lay down the brush and gently grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked at him through the mirror and he looked back (not that she could see his eyes, but she felt it).
"Kiwi, you're not just some regular girl. You're the strongest person I ever met. You're a fighter. You're special. And you are worth it. You know, you deserve people who care about you. So, stop fighting it. Accept it. We care about you. And that's because you are such a good person. You helped us when we didn't had a place to go, you are eager to help us in a war that isn't yours, you are here for us... You take care of us. That really is something special, babe. We're family now. And family takes care of each other. Okay?"
Tears filled her eyes. He was right. She had a family again. She lay one hand on his and squeezed it.
"Thank you, Throttle", she whispered.
"Any time, babe. Come on, let's go eat that breakfast."

A few weeks past by in peace. Limburger was busy with rebuilding, the mice and Kiwi were recovering from all the emotions from that one day. Kiwi and Vinnie never talked about what happened in that bathroom the other day. And where things first were kinda awkward between them, after a few days, it all felt normal again. But Kiwi still felt bad about it. She just didn't know how to say it to him. So, she let it be. And by the looks of things, Vinnie was fine with that.
Unfortunately, after a few weeks of peace and quietness, the mice needed to get back to work. Kiwi had found out that Limburger was after the steel in Chicago. And that he had planned to rob the steel factory just outside town. Of course, the mice weren't gonna let that happen. So, they made sure they were also in the building that night. And that was a good thing. Because Kiwi was right.

"We are ready to steel the steal!", Karbunkle cackled, throwing his wrench into the transport machine.
"Then let's pour it on!", Greasepit answered, pulling a handle. A big kettle, that was hanging on the ceiling, came into motion. It was filled with melted steel and the plan was to pour it straight into the transporter. But of course, when the kettle slowly turned…
"Better just pour yourself a cold one, greasedump."
"Because if you think things are hot now…"
"...we're gonna really light your fire!"
The mice were sitting on their bikes wich were parked on the kettle. Modo fired his armcannon and hit the handle with laser. It clicked back and the kettle stopped moving.
"Heeeyy! Hey goons, obliteratesm them!", Greasepit yelled angry. "NOW!"
Goons in buggies flew inside the factory, firing their laser at the mice. The mice revved their engines.
"Let's ROCK…"
"...and RIDE!" and they jumped of the kettle.
Throttle grabbed a long, metal pole and held it above his head. Vinnie and Modo joined him and also grabbed the pole.
"Dumb and jump manoeuvre number three!", Throttle ordered.
They drove straight towards the goons and on Throttle's signal, they threw away the pole. They quickly fired their jets and jumped into the air, right before the goons crashed against the pole. The buggies flew into the air and landed upside down. A few buggies flew into the kettle and the whole thing exploded with a loud bang.
"AAAOOWW! Mucho mamma jammers madness!", Vinnie cheered. They stopped their bikes, but saw too late they were standing on the wrong place. Two metal cages came from both sides and trapped the mice, along with their bikes.
"Hey!", Throttle called out.
"Not so fast, Biker Mice! You look a little… tired…", Karbunkle chuckled, while pulling a handle. The cage came into movement and stopped right under another big kettle filled with melted steel.
"Yeah! We think yous need a little… iron in your diet!", Greasepit laughed and kicked against another handle. Slowly, the kettle started to turn.
The mice looked up.
"Uh oh… another cliffhanger", Throttle said, wiggling to get loose.
"Definitely a tense moment", Vinnie agreed, but still with a smile on his face.
"Yeah… If this was a James Bomb movie, the cool titles would start… NOW!" Modo smiled.

But of course, that didn't happen. Since they weren't living in a movie. No, this was real life.
Greasepit was still laughing.
"Say bye bye, biker babies!"
"Vinnie, Modo! Manoeuvre number twenty two!", Throttle ordered. He expected immediate action, but of course…
"No, twenty one, man, twenty one!", Vinnie protested loudly.
Throttle sighed.
"No. Twenty two!", he said with a low voice.
"Ah man…", Vinnie pouted, but did what him was told. He grabbed a flair, lit it and threw it to the kettle. It burned down two cables and the kettle stopped moving.
Modo raised his arm cannon and shot one of the bars that was holding the kettle. The whole thing came into movement and slid down the one rail he was still hanging on. It crashed against the control centre and the cage opened.
They quickly drove a little further and turned around their bikes.
"Aaaooww, how do you spell relief?", Vinnie cheered.
"I'll tell you how I spell it", Throttle said with his finger pointed in the air, a smile on his face. "Whip tail…"
Vinnie started laughing. "Yeah! Music to my ears!"
"Let's do it..", Throttle said and closed his visor.
Greasepit flew inside on his trike, determined to stop the mice for once. Karbunkle was sitting next to him. They stopped and aimed a huge rocket at the mice.
"Hehehehe, it's blow up mousies time!", Greasepit chuckled and he fired the big rocket.
But of course, he missed the mice. The rocket exploded against the same kettle with melted steel that was crashed against the controls and the 'lava' streamed on the floor.
Throttle looked behind him and saw the 'lava' coming closer.
"Uh oh… steel yourself for action, bro's! 'Cause surfs up!"
Greasepit quickly turned his trike and drove outside. Limburgers purple limousine was waiting outside, but when they saw the big wave of 'lava', the limousine also turned tail.
The mice broke out of the building by crashing through the wall and followed Limburger. The 'lava' slowly came to an halt, luckily before more damage was done.
Throttle catched up with two buggies and drove in the middle of them. He let go of his handlebars and punched both goons right in the face. They flew out of the buggie.
"Yeaaahhh, can we shred or can we shred?", Vinnie laughed.
"Quick, bro's! Manoeuvre number seven!", Throttle ordered. And again…
"Number six, number six!", Vinnie protested.
Throttle sighed again, but decided to give him his way.
"Okay, number six."
"Hahaaaaaa, dig it!", Vinnie cheered and cannons came out of his bike.
"Number six, just coming right up!", Modo smiled, also aiming his cannons.
"Okay, heads up, bro's! Let's see if we can cook their tails for keep this time…"
"Time to grill us a biiiiig cheese sandwich!", Vinnie yelled happily.
"Now, aim for the tires…", Throttle ordered. "On three…"
"One…", Modo begun.
"Two…", Vinnie continued.
But then, they approached a crossline and the street light jumped on red.
"Wow, wow, wow, wow!", Throttle warned and he quickly hit the brakes, cutting off Vinnie and Modo, who also immediately hit the brakes to avoid they were gonna crash against their leader.
"What are you doing, they're getting away!", Vinnie yelled agitated.
"Yeah, we had that wrenchheads cold!", Modo joined his younger bro.
But Throttle shook his head and pointed up.
"Red light, bro's…"
"Ah man!", Vinnie sighed.
"We always obey the law, Vincent…"

That night, Modo walked out of the shop with a huge pile of boxes filled with root beer in his arms. He set them at the back of his bike and sighed.
"Problem with having a mechanical wing is that I always get stuck with having the rootbeer runs…"
He looked at his right arm.
"Besides… this old arm is getting a little rusty and dented… And I gotta admit… It's kinda ugly too…"
He sighed again and saw a poster from James Bomb hanging on the wall in front of him.
"James Bomb would never have a creaky mechanical arm like this..."
He suddenly felt sad. That stupid arm… He took a deep breath to recover himself, but he just wished he didn't.
"Man! Something sure stinks around here… Smells almost like… " and he looked under his shoe. But nothing to be seen. "...almost like…"
A car stopped next to him.
"Greetings, dear friend…"
Modo looked next to him and saw the window from the car slowly go down.
"Limburger!", he growled and aimed his arm cannon at the stinking fish. What was that reeking fish face doing here anyway? And why was he looking so… happy?
"Oh, do be a good chap and put that away. I've not come here to battle, I've come here to bargain…"
Modo gritted his teeth and pointed a finger at Limburger.
"I don't bargain with stinking slime fish scum! Whatever you want, the answer is no!" and he turned his back at Limburger, his tail lashing through the air.
Limburger laughed, still with that satisfied smile on his face.
"Oh really?" and he snapped in his fingers. "Dr. Karbunkle. Show my perspective new employee his signing on bonus…"
Karbunkle stepped out of the car and walked over to Modo with a black suitcase. He opened it and showed Modo what's inside. "A new arm!"
Modo walked closer, he just couldn't stop himself. He knew he needed to step on his bike and drive away, but he just had to look. The arm in the suitcase was silver, shiny and looked… awesome.
"Wow…"

Kiwi was on her way to get a bath, when she suddenly heard a lot of commotion coming from the guesthouse. She quickly ran downstairs.
"The nerve of that stinking cheesebreath!", she heard Modo yelling. She never had heard him this angry. And by the sound of it, her furniture had something to suffer too. The cracks of breaking wood were loudly heard. When she ran inside, she saw one of her chairs lying in pieces on the floor.
"Hey! Easy on the furniture, guys… Even if I have enough money, I sure can think of a thousand things I would like to spend it on, and furniture ain't one of it…", she said, grabbing a book that was also lying on the floor. She looked at the title and smiled. James Bomb. Modo was crazy about him. It was cute, really.
"Sorry, Kiwi ma'am", Modo said and she looked at him. He looked like shit. What was going on?
"Modo is a little hot under the helmet", Vinnie said, but a little smile on his lips.
"Yeah, he had a run in with Limburger", Throttle explained.
"Oh no, Modo… Are you alright? Did he hurt you?", Kiwi quickly asked, her hands flying over his body to find wounds or anything. Modo slowly sat down.
"No, worse… He offered me a job…"
Kiwi froze, just like Vinnie and Throttle.
"Say what?! No way!", Kiwi yelled.
"Way. But don't worry, I'm not gonna take it!"
Kiwi looked at him. Something was up. He looked so sad all of a sudden.
"Modo… What's wrong?", she asked, gently grabbing his hand.
"He eh… he had this pretty new arm… All smooth and shiny and stuff… Not old and creaky like this one…" and he pulled back his hand. He sighed and rested his head in his hands. Kiwi felt sorry for him. Poor Modo.
"Hmmm. Poor guy. This just isn't like him…", she heard Throttle saying. She looked at him, not knowing what to do.
"Yeah, we've gotta cheer him up somehow…", Vinnie agreed, rubbing his chin. Then, his face lit up and he pointed a finger in the air. "I could sing him a song?!"
Kiwi sighed and suppressed a smile.
"Vinnie. Aren't things bad enough?", she asked, shaking her head.
Vinnie was about to retort, but she suddenly felt her phone buzzing. With one hand, she closed Vinnie's mouth and with the other hands, she grabbed her phone. It was a news alert. She quickly read it.
"WHAT? Guys, listen up! Limburger took over the power plant and rebuilt it. And the weirdest thing ever; he is gonna give every citizen in Chicago free power in return…"
"WHAT?", the mice yelled in unison.
"Ah man, what is that stinkfish up to now…", Throttle sighed.
"Wait, that's not all! He offered the power plant to the city in exchange for the sewer system… The mayor has promised to give him a answer by tomorrow…"
Vinnie scratched on his head, looking confused.
"Man, that is the weirdest thing I ever heard…"
"Yeah… What does he want with a entire sewer system?", Modo asked and then a little sad smile appeared on his face. "Doesn't he stink bad enough already?"
Throttle laughed.
"Yeah, it could gag a maggot… But still… I find it very hard to believe that Plutark needs a sewer… No, there's more to it…"
Vinnie flexed his muscles, looking all hyped up already.
"Hero time! We've gotta find out what that catfish bait is up to!"
Kiwi rolled her eyes. Always so eager to fight, but coming up with a plan… Nope, that just didn't exist in his world.
"Great idea, smartass. Any suggestions how?", she snapped at him. She just couldn't help it. Sometimes that mouse worked on her nerves.
He saw her look and immediately roped in. He gave her his most charming smile and shrugged.
"No…"
"Well, I think I have an idea, bro's", Throttle said and he grabbed the James Bomb book. He walked over to Modo and gently pushed it in his hands.
"What we need is a secret agent", and he smiled friendly at his bro.
Modo's eyes grew big, just like Vinnie's.
"No way! I do all the cool stunts around here! Why him and not me?", he protested loudly.
Kiwi walked over to him and gently took his hand.
"Listen, Vin? I don't know how to say this to you, so I'm just gonna say it…" She remained silent for a moment, to build up the tension.
Vinnie looked at her with narrowed eyes, suspicion clearly visible in his eyes.
"You are way too loud, too arrogant and too hard to control to do such a job…" She tried to stay serious, but the look on his face made her burst out into laughter. Vinnie crossed his arms and snorted.
"Geez, thanks. Story of my life, no appreciation."
She punched him on the arm.
"I'm just messing with ya. But really, Modo is the right one for the job. Besides, it was him after all who got a job offered by Limburger."
Throttle and Modo were laughing too. Kiwi was the right person to suppress that huge ego of their younger bro sometimes.
Vinnie pouted, but said nothing.
Kiwi turned around and winked at Modo.

"Let's get you ready, big guy."

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