Hey you guys!
Thanks again for the reviews! :)

Let's find out what is up with Throttle! Enjoy!

Chapter twenty three

The next morning during breakfast, the tension was clearly hanging in the air. Nobody said something and they were eating their pancakes in a deadly silence. Kiwi looked at Vinnie, but he stared at his plate. Then she looked at Throttle, but he also avoided her look. When she looked in the face of the gray furred giant next to her, she saw a little but uncomfortable smile. She focussed her attention back on her plate. Dammit.
Last night was… amazing. But Vinnie had quickly left her room after Throttle did and Kiwi was left alone with her thoughts. She still didn't quite understand what was going on here. And she couldn't hold it any longer. The suspense was killing her. She took a deep breath and shove her plate away.
"Okay, this is ridiculous. What is going on here?", she demanded, her eyes fuming.
She just wasn't good in this kinda situations and there was only that much she could take. So, as always, she got angry. She looked at the mice, but only Throttle and Modo looked back. Vinnie was looking at Throttle. But there was still that almost suffocating silence.
"You guys better start talking, because you ain't leave this room till the air is cleared."
Kiwi crossed her arms before her chest and leaned back in her chair, still looking at the mice.
Vinnie also crossed his arms.
"Yeah, Throttle. Do tell", he added, the tip of his tail twitching.
Throttle heard the patronizing tone in the voice of his white furred bro and his tail also started to twitch.
"I think I could say the same thing to you, Vincent!", he snapped at Vinnie.
"Why me? It's you who's giving us all the silent treatment since last night. Come on, spill it. Bro", Vinnie snarled back, saying the last word sarcastic.
Kiwi rolled her eyes. Oh god, here we go again. It was Modo who intervened.
"Bro's, come on. We ain't kids anymore. We can talk 'bout this like adults", he said, looking at Throttle and Vinnie.
Throttle sighed. But Vinnie, of course, didn't know when to stop.
"Yeah, the big fella has a point, you know. We ain't kids anymore. So, I can have sex with whoever I want. Whenever I want and how many times I want."
Kiwi breathed in sharply. Modo buried his face in his hands and Throttle… well, he almost lost control. He slammed his fist on the table and pointed his finger at his white furred bro.
"You better watch your big mouth, Vincent. You promised me something, remember?"
"I promised I wouldn't hurt her. And I didn't. So, I don't see the problem here!", Vinnie snapped back, his fur bristled.
"Oh right, I forgot. You don't think before you act, so you just jumped on her. Well, then I guess I should be one to tell you, like I always do, what the consequences will be… NO, shut up!", he growled when Vinnie wanted to protest. "Have you even thought about the future? She's a human, Vincent. You're a Martian Mouse. What will happen when we're gonna go back home? Because you know that's gonna happen!"

There was a deadly silence. Kiwi took a deep breath.
"Can I say something here?", but Throttle shook his head. He studied Vinnie's face, who suddenly looked defeated. Of course, mister Prince Charming hadn't thought about this at all. He was, like always, living in the moment.
"I still wanna say something, Throttle. And I think I have a good right to speak up, even if you're talking about me like I'm not in the same room. Vinnie didn't jump on me, I actually kinda jumped on him…", Kiwi explained with a blush. Dammit. This was humiliating.
Throttle stared at her.
"Really, he wanted to take things slow, but I didn't gave him the chance. So, what happened last night is on me. And about the future… Well, I do know one thing. If you guys are heading back to Mars, I'm coming with ya…"
Another deadly silence. Vinnie narrowed his eyes, studying her face. Would she really do that for him?
But Throttle shook his head.
"No dice, Kiwi. You belong here. Mars isn't your home, Earth is. Mars is a warzone. It's not safe. Today is the prove of that!"
It felt like he slapped her in the face.
"So what was all that 'we're family' blablabla about then? You're just gonna leave me behind, after everything we've been through?"
Throttle's face softened.
"We are family, Kiwi. That's no lie. And I care about you as my sister. But loving someone sometimes requires to let them go. For their own safety. For protection."
Kiwi sighed. Somehow, she wasn't that surprised, actually. She could understand where he was coming from. But it still was painful.
"But I can't live without you anymore…", she whispered, tears in her eyes.
Now it was Throttle's turn to sigh and he looked at Vinnie.
"This is exactly what I mean, Vinnie…", but Kiwi interrupted him.
"Not just Vinnie, all three of you. Don't you see? I love you all, in different ways maybe, but I do!"
Modo opened his mouth for the first time.
"By the looks of things, we're gonna be here for while. So, why don't we just let this all sink in and talk about it later?", he suggested.
"I still don't understand what's wrong with you, Throttle. Why are you acting like this?", Kiwi asked. She just couldn't stop herself. This wasn't how she knew the tan furred mouse. He normally was always so understanding.
Vinnie finally opened his mouth again.
"It was you who told me I deserved a shot of happiness…", he said softly, looking at his leader.
No matter how stubborn he was, no matter how many times he wished he just could do whatever the hell he wanted, Throttle was his best friend, bro and leader. And he somehow needed his permission. Weird, but true. That's just how things were.
"I know, I know. And you do, bro. You do…", Throttle answered, laying a hand on Vinnie's shoulder.
Vinnie looked at him, also a little lost why his friend was acting like this. But he had a nagging feeling why. He just hoped he wouldn't bring it up.

Kiwi sighed.
"I'm gonna ask you this one more time, Throttle. Is this really about the future? Because I somehow have a hard time believing that…"
Vinnie looked pleading at Throttle, but the tan furred mouse ignored him. He looked at Kiwi, but before he could say something, Vinnie quickly opened his mouth.
"Oh, it's nothing. Our fearless leader just has a hard time with letting things go sometimes. No biggie."
Kiwi narrowed her eyes. Vinnie smiled his most charming smile, but his eyes told her he was getting anxious. And she wondered why. But she was sick and tired of the secrets.
"Maybe you have something to tell me, Vinnie?", she asked, her voice a little shaky.
Vinnie's ears drooped a little and he looked at Throttle. Throttle looked at Modo and Modo looked at Kiwi. Vinnie let out his breath, knowing he just lost. He jumped at his feet and left the kitchen. Kiwi saw him walking to the guest house but she didn't follow him.
It was time Throttle was gonna speak up. Throttle knew that too, so he cleared his throat.
"Listen, I already told you there was someone, a long time ago. Her name was Harley. She was a mechanic and a nurse at the Freedom Fighters. Vinnie was crazy about her and she obviously felt the same way. When things finally started to work out between them, she was kidnapped by a rat, called Mace. He was a traitor who had infiltrated the Freedom Fighters, pretending to be a mouse. We just won a big battle and we were celebrating, when he grabbed Harley and vanished into thin air. Vinnie tried to grab her, but he was too late. He just left her outta his sight for one minute, and wham, she was gone…"
"She was the one who gave him the mask, right? And who treated his wounds after… you know…", Kiwi asked.
"Yeah. He took her loss very hard. He felt responsible, in his eyes he'd failed to protect her. We tried to told him that it wasn't his fault, but he… well, you know how he is. He searched for months. We all did, but Vinnie was gone every day. He got close a couple of times, but he somehow was never on time. It was nerve wracking, really…"
"It took us a whole lotta convincing to make Vinnie clear he needed to let go…", Modo added.
"Yeah. But we had no choice. She was already gone for months, the chance she's still alive was getting smaller every minute. And Vinnie… it was obvious he couldn't take it much longer. So, we told him to move on. For his own sake. And he did… But he just wasn't himself for a period. I think he was desperately searching for someone to take in Harley's place. But of course, no girl could give him the same feeling. So, he broke a lot of hearts. Some would say he just played them, but I know there was more to it. But still…"
"It just ain't right to treat women like he did…", Modo sighed.
"One of the girls turned out to be Carbine's niece. So, Carbine gave him a whole lot of trouble. After that, he got himself back on track. Sorta. It's Vinnie were talking about. But Carbine's niece was having a real hard time with it. It caused a lot of tension at the base."
Kiwi was playing with her spoon.
"And now you're scared he's doing the same to me?", she asked softly.
"I guess…"
Kiwi lifted her head and looked at Throttle with a determined look on her face.
"Don't be. You told me yourself, he cares."
"I know. But I promised Carbine to… to make sure he never would hurt someone again like he had hurt her niece… She wanted him gone. I didn't. So, I promised her to keep him in line."
The puzzle was complete. Seeing Carbine had reminded him at this promise. That's why he was acting like this all of a sudden. And it also explained why Vinnie didn't like the light gray furred female General.
"Never a boring day with that white furred loudmouth, ain't it?", she smiled.
Throttle smiled back, he could see in her eyes she understood.
"I know, right?", he chuckled. But then his face grew serious again.
"I'm sorry, Kiwi. It wasn't my place to… well, you know…"
"It's okay, Throttle. I understand. Really, I do."
Throttle looked unusual sad all of a sudden. He sighed and stared at his plate.
"I still can't believe she really thought, really believed that we worked for Limburger…", he said softly.
Tears filled Kiwi's eyes by hearing the sad tone in his voice. Poor Throttle. Always trying so hard to keep things under control. To do the right thing. She could only imagine how this betrayal had broken his heart. And he had forgiven her immediately. He was such a sweet guy. She gently reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Throttle, I know it hurts. But you told me yourself, war changes you. But she loves you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Remember I'm good at reading people? Mice included", and she winked. "I saw it in her eyes. She just needed a little… wake up call. I just know, one day, you guys will be together again."
Throttle squeezed her hand.
"Thanks, Kiwi."
"No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me for a minute, I need to talk to something white, arrogant and stubborn."
And she walked to the guesthouse, hearing Modo and Throttle chuckling.

She found Vinnie on the couch, staring at the ceiling. He looked up when he saw her, somehow scared that she was gonna be mad at him. But she marched straight towards him, jumped on top of him and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.
"You should've told me", she whispered against his lips.
"I know… I'm sorry."
"No more secrets, okay?"
"No more secrets, sweetheart."
Kiwi knew why Throttle had his concerns. She understood. But the past was the past. And Kiwi wasn't stupid. She knew Vinnie cared about her. This wasn't just about the sex. This was more. She wasn't mad at him. How could she be mad? She hardly could blame him for his behaviour after such a devastating loss. And it wasn't his first loss. And then there was Jester… And all the other things he had seen and experienced. Things she still wasn't aware of.
So, how could she be mad at him? She only loved him even more.

"What's this?", Modo asked when they drove through the city and he saw a big poster hanging on the wall. A couple of weeks had passed and everybody was recovered from the events that had happened on Mars and after. Both Throttle and Vinnie were acting normal to each other again.
Throttle looked at the poster.
"Motocross Championship at Quickly Field", he read out loud, his nose wrinkled.
Vinnie almost fell off his bike.
"Motocross? Did someone really say motocross in my presence?", he asked, a arrogant look on his face.
"It seems that the winner will get a crown of Motocross Champ of the Galaxy and… oh man… A year supply of free chili dogs!"
Modo rolled his eyes.
"Free dogs? Smells like bait to me…" and he crossed his arms.
Vinnie was obviously not amused.
"Hey! I already am a disputed Motocross Champ of the galaxy… Who put my title up for grabs anyway?!", he yelled outraged.
Throttle swung an arm around his neck.
"Hey, chill, bro. It's all a Limburger trap to us anyway…"
"Yeah…", Modo said, patting Vinnie's arm. "After all, who else but us would enter a Motocross race with nothing but chilidogs as the price?"

Kiwi walked into the garage and noticed the mice were busy with tuning their bikes. Well, Throttle and Modo were. Vinnie was sulking on a chair. Hmm… She saw a flyer lying on the desk.
"What's this, guys?", and she looked at it. Hmmm…
"A contest for Motocross Champ of the Galaxy? Ugh, what is that stinkfish up to now?"
"Trying to cut my title, that's what!", Vinnie growled and stared angrily at the floor again.
Kiwi patted him on the shoulders.
"Come on, guys. It's obviously a trap…"
"Sure it is", Throttle agreed.
"We whipped that butterball before. We'll just do it again", Modo added.
"Yeah. Don't worry, sweetheart. Those chili dogs are as good as ours for sure", Vinnie winked at her.
"Oh, why didn't you say so? Now it makes perfectly sense why you're risking your life!", Kiwi answered sarcastic, squeezing his shoulders..
"A year of free dogs! Who wouldn't? Duh…", Vinnie chuckled, like he was stating the obvious.
Kiwi sighed and looked at Throttle.
"Come on, Throttle. You're the responsible here. You guys aren't gonna do this, right?"
"Why not? We can handle them. And knowing Limburger, he's up to something. So, we need to stop him."
Kiwi rubbed her chin. She had a real bad feeling about this.
She suddenly sniffed.
"You guys smell that?", she asked.
The mice sniffed too and Vinnie wrinkled his nose.
"Ugh… what is that?"
Modo walked to the window.
"Something in the wind, bro's. Oh, and Kiwi ma'am. Something they call bad news. Look who's making a nice comeback?", and he pointed outside.
"The Loogie Brothers…", they all said in unison.
Vinnie jumped on his bike.
"Let's grab them. Sweetheart, you stay here. We all know what happened last time when we ran into these clowns. And I'm not sure if my balls are gonna survive another battle with your knee", he winked at her.
Kiwi's head almost exploded and she punched him on the arm.
Vinnie laughed and quickly kissed her on the cheek before he drove out. Throttle and Modo were already outside.

When they reached the Loogie Brothers, they stopped.
"Hey! Didn't you stinkfish learn anything last time?", Vinnie asked, a mischievous smile on his face.
"Yeah. Like the good guys always win!", Modo added, also smiling.
"You Biker Mice are not scaring us", Hakka said.
"Yeah! We came prepared!", Honka agreed and pointed at something behind the mice. "Look!"
The mice looked over their shoulder, but that was a stupid move. Honka grabbed his gun and shot at Throttle, who flew off his bike and landed in the gutter. His head slammed against the edge.
"Oh man… I don't know what hurts worse… my best side or the fact that I fell for a moldy old trick like that one…", he moaned when he tried to stand up, but the pain made him sit down again.
The Loogie Brothers were cheering, but Modo and Vinnie weren't.
"You just made a big mistake, garbage breath!", Vinnie growled.
"Yeah… nobody blasts our bro!", Modo agreed and they drove towards the two fish.
But again, they were prepared.
When the mice were close, the Loogies quickly jumped outta the way and pulled on a rope. A big, wooden plank came up and Vinnie and Modo crashed against it, also flew off their bikes and landed right on top of Throttle, who just had succeeded to get back on his feet again.
"You sissy rodents are not so much!", Hakka said, looking at the mice from his buggy.
"Yeah, and when we're done with you there'll be even less", Honka added and grabbed a weird looking gun. He pulled the trigger and a green smoke surrounded the mice. They coughed because the smell was almost suffocating them, but luckily, it soon was gone again. But so were the Loogie Brothers.
Vinnie looked at his bro's.
"Ah man… defending my motocross title might be a little trickier than I thought…"

Back home, they quickly took a shower and started to patch up their bikes.
Kiwi was watching them and sighed.
"Well, I just hope you guys have learned your lesson…", she said, looking at the damaged bikes.
"What lesson, sweetheart?", Vinnie asked, looking at her over his bike.
"That this motocross competition and you mice obviously don't mix!"
Throttle was just taking a sip out his can of rootbeer, but almost choked in it when he heard Kiwi's words.
"Are you kidding?", he managed to squeeze out.
"No way! Look what they did to our rides!", Modo yelled outraged, pointing at his beloved bike.
"Not to mention my pride! We've gotta pay the Loogies and Limburger back, BIG TIME!", Vinnie agreed, his voice raw.
"Okay… But I'm coming with ya…", Kiwi said, pointing at them.
"Sorry sweetheart. But this is strictly herostuff…", Vinnie winked at her.
"Besides, it's way up to the dangerous skill, babe. No stadium tickets are sold as a special safety precaution", Throttle added.
"But that's making it even more suspicious, right?", Kiwi asked. "He obviously planning to destroy both you and the stadium…"
"Leave the subtile to us. We just have to destroy him first."
Kiwi sighed. Gosh, sometimes they were so overprotecting. And stubborn. And typical manly. Good thing she didn't take orders from them.

Raceday.
The stadium was transformed into a real circuit, with sand as underground. Hills, dangerously looking holes, ramps… It was all there.
The mice were standing at the start, next to them; the Loogie Brothers, Evil Eye with his sidekicks and some goons from Limburger. Vinnie chuckled. This was gonna be awesome. Throttle and Modo looked a little bit more concerned. The white furred mouse had only one thing on his mind, and that was defending his title. However, his bro's couldn't care less about the title. No, they were worried about what Limburger was up to now…
Greasepit was standing in front of them, with two flags in his hands.
"Why do I always get the has no fun? I'm tired of always getting orders around… Wave the flag, start the race, don't pick yous nose…"
He sighed and lowered his arms in self pity. But he forgot he was still holding the flags and now they were down, he gave the start signal without even knowing it.
Everybody sped away and Greasepit made a hasty retreat.
Vinnie quickly took the lead, but suddenly one of the sidekicks of Evil Eye drove next to him. The little man in his tiny buggy raised a cannon that was almost as big as himself, but Vinnie put his foot in it when the little guy wanted to fire. The whole cannon exploded, along with the buggie. Vinnie drove further, a big smile on his face.
"Alright! Kicking up the toe jam!", he cheered. His bro's joined him.
"Let's show them how things in Chitown are done, Vinman!", Throttle called out and they drove further.
Vinnie hit the accelerator and left his bro's behind in a cloud of dust. The Loogie Brothers suddenly popped up behind him, shooting at him. He used his weight to whirl his bike, avoiding the shots without losing too much speed. With a big smile on his face, he drove up the ramp in front of him and pulled back his handlebars. His bike flew into the air and he made few somersaults before he landed.
"Yeaaahhh! Still better than the best!", he cheered, but the Loogies catched up.
"You are good, mouse", Hakka said from his left.
"But we are bad!", Honka added from his right.
"And bad is better!", Hakka agreed.
They both came closer and closer, obviously trying to crush Vinnie between them. But the white furred mouse wasn't gonna let that happen. He fired his jets and jumped into the air. The Loogies followed him, still on both sides.
"Now you eat our stink, mouse!", Hakka yelled and Vinnie saw that they aimed the same guns at him like last time.
Oh hell no.
"Not this time, finheads", and he jumped off his bike at the same time the Loogies pulled the trigger.
Vinnie made two somersaults and landed on his bike again, looking over his shoulder. The Loogies had shot each other and were falling down, screaming loud.
"Aaaoow!", Vinnie laughed, shaking his head.
Throttle and Modo were looking up with each a grenade in their hands.
"Here comes the toilet boys twins", Throttle smiled, pulling the pin out of his grenade.
"Let's flush 'em", Modo smiled, also pulling out the pin. They left the grenades on the ground and quickly drove away. The Loogies landed on them and because of the explosion, they flew out of the stadium.

Vinnie was back on the ground again and his bro's drove behind him. They were followed by Evil Eye and the goons.
Vinnie looked over his shoulder, a very smugly look on his face.
"Almost over, bro's. And surprise, surprise… Guess who's in the lead? Mwahahaa!"
And he gained speed. But Evil Eye wasn't gonna give up. He suddenly was next to Vinnie, his eye already glowing red to use his hostility ray on the white furred mouse.
"It ain't over till the fat lady sings… ohh yeahhh", he sang, but suddenly…
BAM!
He crashed against one of the poles that were carrying the stadium lights. The goons crashed against him. Throttle looked behind him.
"Man… That freak needs a lesson in traffic school…", he chuckled. But Modo wasn't amused.
"Yeah well, speaking of school…", and he pointed at Vinnie, who was almost at the finish. "We're about to get a lesson in humility…"
The gray furred giant was right. Vinnie was already too far away from them. No way they could catch up.
Vinnie took the last ramp, landed and flew over the finish with his hands in the air.
His foot slammed on the brake pedal and his bike stopped with shrieking brakes.
"AAAAAAOOOWWWW! Erect a statue! Declare a holiday! Give me a girl to kiss!", Vinnie cheered.
Throttle and Modo stopped behind him.
"He won…", Modo said, looking at Throttle with a tormented look on his face.
Throttle leaned on his handlebars and sighed heavily.
"Yeah…"
Then, he sat up straight again.
"Ah well, at least we know what the main topic of conversation is gonna be for the next six months", he chuckled, trying to make the best of it.
Modo shook his head, his arms crossed before his chest. Vinnie joined them with a big smile.
"HA! Won the race, got my title back and did it with style… van Wham style!"
"Yeah, yeah. But we still have one fish to fry", Throttle said quickly.
"Let's go find him!", Modo added and they revved their bikes.
Vinnie followed them, still euphoric and babbling about the stunts he'd done during the race. Throttle and Modo rolled their eyes and ignored him. Not that that stopped Vinnie. Oh no. And with their teeth clenched, they drove out the stadium. But what they saw there, made them stop death in their tracks. It even shut Vinnie up.

"KIWI!", Throttle called out after a short silence.
The human girl was smiling sheepishly at them.
"Hi guys…"
Vinnie jumped off his bike and walked over to her.
"What the hell are you doing here, sweetheart?"
Kiwi pointed at the purple limousine behind her.
"Well, I was right about Limburger wanting to destroy both you and the stadium. But I put the explosives in the trunk of his car. Now, all we need to do is wait till…"
She suddenly heard a noise.
"Quick, drive up to that building! We can watch from there!" and she jumped at Vinnie's bike.
The mice decided to do what she told them. Maybe they didn't like it if she was putting herself in danger, she wasn't stupid and they trusted her.
When they were on top of the building, they looked down. They saw Limburger running to his car, followed by Karbunkle.
"HA! Just like I thought. That cheeseball is predictable, alright. I just knew that after you guys win the race, he was gonna run back to his tower…"
Limburger climbed in his car and indeed, drove back to his tower with dangerous speed.
Kiwi looked at her watch and smiled.
"And punctual as always…"
Throttle looked at her and wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but then…
BOOM!
The whole tower exploded into a million pieces.
"AAAAOOWW! Kiwi, sweetheart, you're the best!", Vinnie cheered, high fiving her.
"Yeah, that was pretty smart thinking and perfect timing, Kiwi ma'am!", Modo agreed.
Throttle just smiled.
"You're one heck of a girl, babe!"
Kiwi laughed.
"Ah, it was nothing", she said, but her eyes were twinkling. She just loved it when they acknowledged her place in the team.
"Well, bro's. Chilidog time! My treat!", and Vinnie held up his price.
"Man, good thing you scored the price instead of the Loogies", Throttle smiled.
"Yeah, you know what eating chilidogs does to them…", Modo chuckled.
"Guys, guys, come on! As if they even had a chance... ", and Vinnie flexed his muscles.
"Oh momma, here we go again…", Modo sighed.
Throttle raised his fist into the air.
"Let's ROCK…"
"...and RIDE!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, a woman closed the file she was reading with a loud bang. She knew everything she needed to know. Her gaze landed on the journals that were lying crisscross on the floor. It had taken her months to read them, to decode the almost unreadable handwrite from her greatgreatgreat etcetera grandfather. But she wasn't one that gave up easily. And now… it was time. Time to pack her stuff and go to Chicago. Time to end this, once and for all. Time to collect the jackpot...

Oh oh, poor Throttle and Modo. Vinnie sure is good in testing their patience.

And what is it about this woman?
Friend... or enemy?
Hmmm...

Please review! :)