Thanks again for the reviews, very much appreciated!

Just a little warning, shit is about to get real.
Hope you guys are not gonna hate me for it ;)
Enjoy! ^^

Chapter forty two

"Glad to see you make it back home in one piece, babe", Throttle smiled at the screen. "You had a good trip?"
"Yeah, it was fine, no major problems."
"And how are the Squirrel Bats doing?"
"Amira fed them and used the leftover seeds to grow the plant on the base. To make sure it's not gonna be destroyed in a battlefield. When Mars is free again, she'll plant them outside."
"Good."
There was a silence for a moment.
"How is Kiwi doing?", Carbine suddenly asked, a little hesitant.
Throttle's head jerked up in surprise.
"She's fine, why you ask?"
"Well, she got almost crushed by that robot and I… well, I just wanna make sure she's fine."
"She is, babe. Thanks to you."
"Yeah well… Couldn't just let her get hurt, right? She's a good kid."
"Glad you two made things right, babe. Means the world to me."
"And ehm… Vinnie?"
"What about him?"
"Well, is he… still mad?"
"Oh babe, you know how he is. But he's very grateful you saved his girl. Smart move, General", and Throttle gave her a teasing smile.
But then his face grew serious again, thinking back at the conversation Kiwi and Vinnie had in the garage when they came back from the mission.
"He's gonna need some time, but I think things will work out just fine. But since when do you care?"
Carbine's face darkened and she put her chin in the air.
"I don't."
Throttle suppressed his smile. She obviously did care. But as usual, too stubborn to admit it out loud.
"I still don't like him."
"I know, babe. I'm pretty sure he also still feels the same way about you. So, no worries", the tan furred mouse teased.
Carbine rolled her eyes, but her lips curled into a little smile.
"Would you believe me when I say that Amira wouldn't shut up about Modo? The whole trip back to Mars she kept asking things about him. I think she likes him."
Throttle shrugged.
"I'm not that surprised. He's a good guy."
"Yeah, I never said he wasn't. But I thought she was into Vinnie. But she made herself very clear she isn't."
"Girltalk, babe…", Throttle yawned, not really that interested in Amira's love life.
"Whoops, you're right. But I thought you should know, in case Modo was gonna ask anything about her…"
"So I can play Cupido? No dice, Carbine. Let them figure this out by themselves. I already have my hands full with Vinnie, the big fella can take care of himself, thank the mothers of Mars.. And I don't think he's gonna rush into the next relationship after Ruby's sudden leave."
Carbine raised her hands in her defence.
"Okay, okay. I just…", but Throttle gave her a warning look.
Carbine burst out into laughter.
"Just messing with ya. Message received, loud and clear. Anyway, gorgeous, I need to go. There are a lot of things that need my attention."
"Stay safe, Carbine. Talk to you later."
"You too, Throttle. Carbine out."
The screen went black and Throttle rubbed his face while shaking his head.
Women… Honestly.
Carbine really needed to find herself a BFF.

Kiwi was staring at Vinnie, who was standing in front of her in only his sweatpants in the yard.
"What? No!", and she shook her head.
"Come on, sweetheart, you don't need to be scared that you're actually gonna hurt me…", Vinnie chuckled. "It's not that I can't handle you."
But Kiwi crossed her arms before her chest.
"I'm not gonna hit you with all my strength, and that's final."
"Ugh, babe, come on. You wanted to be part of the team, right? You need to learn how to fight. I thought you really wanted this, but first the whole thing with the bike, now this… You're not gonna tell me you're scared now, are ya?"
Kiwi started to feel annoyed. Why was he being so mean?
"Really? You're doubting my devotion?", she asked, her fists clenched.
Vinnie gave her a arrogant smile.
"Yep. I am. I also think you're a pussy."
Kiwi breathed in sharply, her cheeks became red.
"What did you just say, mister van Wham?", she growled.
But Vinnie didn't burdge. His smile only became bigger, making Kiwi even more angry.
"You heard me, sweetheart. I called you a pussy."
Kiwi stared at him, her heart racing in her chest.
This mouse… He could be the sweetest guy on Earth, but the way he was acting now gave her the urge to kill him.
Vinnie saw she was about to explode and gave her the final push.
"What? Did I hurt little Kiwi's feelings?", he asked with a patronizing tone in his voice, but still with that arrogant expression on his face.
"That's it!", and Kiwi launched herself towards the white furred mouse, who easily avoided it. He grabbed her arm and twisted it on her back.
"First lesson: never attack in blind rage. It makes your moves predictable, next to the fact that people who are angry make mistakes easily…", he explained with a withheld chuckle. He let her go and did a few steps back.
Kiwi turned around and glared at him.
Vinnie smiled, he just couldn't help it. She looked so cute when she was angry. And hot. He winked at her, giving her his most charming smile. His heart started to beat faster, he could feel lust taking over his body only looking at her.
Kiwi wasn't aware of this. She took a deep breath and attacked again, this time more restraint. She tried to trick him and pretended she came at his left, but at the last moment she turned to the right and tried to hit him.
But of course, Vinnie saw it coming from miles away and dodged it easily. His tail lashed through the air and whirled around her ankles. He pulled and Kiwi landed on her back in the soft grass.
"Whoops… Sorry, babe… My bad."
Kiwi clenched her teeth. In one movement, she jumped at her feet again and raised her foot to kick him between his legs, but again, Vinnie stepped back on time. It made Kiwi even more angry, and that smugly smile…
"Argh! Come here, you!"
She took a run and jumped at him, but he spread his arms and catched her. She struggled to get loose, still angry at him, but he held her tightly.
"Lemme go! I will kick your ass!", Kiwi yelled, still struggling.
"Oooohh, so that's what you were trying to do… You failed, pretty lady. Big time", Vinnie teased her.
She looked up at him, her eyes fuming.
Vinnie looked back, his breathing became heavier while seeing her burning eyes. And he felt he lost control. Like a rubber band that snapped. His eyes suddenly became darker and he kissed her roughly. At first, Kiwi tried to push him away, but he just held her and soon, she kissed him back eagerly, both completely caught in the moment. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he lay her down on the grass, his hand already under her shirt.
Kiwi's anger fired her passion like never before and she practically ripped off his sweatpants with her feet. He did the same with her pants and he roughly pushed her legs up. Kiwi spread her legs and looked at him, a faint blush on her cheeks but her eyes were sparkling. He bit on his lower lip and his nose wrinkled a little when he made his way inside of her.
That they were in the middle of the yard, in the open, with Modo and Throttle in the guesthouse, well, that small detail seemed what I just called it.
Small. So small, they absolutely forgot about it.
The sex was rough. Downright dirty. But Kiwi loved it. Especially since her passion was mixed with anger towards the white furred mouse. And he knew exactly how to use that. How to play her feelings. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she suddenly realized he probably did all that on purpose, making her angry so she would attack him… Clever mouse…
When she reached her peak, she set her nails in his back.
Hard.
That pushed him over the edge too and his whole body tensed, his eyes squeezed and teeth clenched.
Kiwi looked at him. Hot damn, he was so unashamedly sexy. His muscles that were clearly visible under his soft fur, his perfect built body, his beautiful eyes…
Which were looking back at her right now. And his lips curled into that lazy, arrogant smile. The one she loved so much. Not that smugly smile he had before all this. No, this was the smile that had made her fall in love with him. I mean, who wouldn't after seeing that smile? It made him even more sexy. But he was hers. Thank god, he was hers.
"Good work, sweetheart", he whispered, still leaning on his hands, still inside of her.
"I should've known you did that on purpose…", she sighed, but her eyes were twinkling. "I can't believe I fell for that trick…"
"Don't sweat it, babe. Getting on someone's nerves is one of my many talents. You never had a chance."
"Okay okay, macho mouse, enough with the bragging, alright."
"Hey! At least now you know you can't hurt me while practising. You're just way too slow and…", but Kiwi tensed the muscles in her lower body, making him stop talking immediately.
"Sweetheart, that's just low…", he groaned and quickly pulled back.
Kiwi laughed and adjusted her clothes while Vinnie put back on his sweatpants.

"How are things going here?", they suddenly heard Throttle's voice.
They both turned around so quickly, they crashed into each other. Vinnie hastily grabbed Kiwi to avoid she was gonna end face forward in the grass and gave Throttle a innocent smile at the same time.
"Throttle, bro! Hey!", he called out, his voice a few tones higher.
He gave himself a inner scolding, because come on, can you be more obvious? But the words just left his mouth without thinking.
Throttle looked at him suspiciously and Vinnie blushed.
Kiwi quickly intervened.
"Things are going… great! Yeah, great!"
Wauw. Great save, Kiwi. Honestly...
Vinnie bit on his lower lip to held back his laugh, and avoided Kiwi's look . Kiwi did the same while looking at Throttle, trying to be serious.
Throttle raised one eyebrow and set his hands in his side. He sometimes felt like teacher while talking to these two.
"You two do know this isn't a game, right? This is serious, guys… Maybe I should take over training for now…"
Vinnie sighed annoyed, knowing the tan furred mouse was right. He was too emotionally involved. To easily distracted by Kiwi's beauty.
"Ugh, fine..."
Kiwi also set her hands in her side, now looking at Vinnie.
"Now just wait a minute, don't I have something to say about this?"
The white furred mouse sighed.
"Listen, sweetheart. Throttle is right, this is serious. Clearly, I ain't the right person to teach ya this. But don't worry, you bike lessons will be with me."
Kiwi let out her breath, knowing she wasn't gonna win this argument.
"Fine."
"And ehm… babe? Try to be easy on him, he's just not that good as me, okay?", and he winked at her.
Throttle rolled his eyes behind his glasses and pushed Vinnie away.
"Okay, get outta here, before I decide to use you as a example boxball…"
Vinnie saluted, but before he walked away, he leaned forward.
"We really should do that more often, sweetheart. I love that little wild side of yours.. such a turn on..." he whispered in Kiwi's ear and he set his teeth in her earlobe.
Kiwi's head became redder than a fully grown tomato and Vinnie quickly left, laughing loud.
Throttle shook his head and focussed on Kiwi again.
"Okay, let's begin."

The next few weeks, Kiwi's training slowly progressed. Modo and Throttle trained her fighting skills while Vinnie tried to make her feel comfortable with riding a bike. But that wasn't easy. Ther trauma ran deep, he could tell. But step by step, she was getting more confident. Limburger had been silent since the last time they trashed his building, but they knew it was now only a matter of time before he was gonna try something again. The mice did some extra patrols next to Kiwi's training. But so far, there were no problems.
No.
Not until today. At first, it just looked like a normal day. Another scheme, nothing major. But they had no idea what kinda shitstorm was about to come down on them. Because if they knew, they would've done things differently. You just can't look into the future. But this was one of these days you wish you could.

"Ah man, I'm just tired of itching along!", Vinnie called out annoyed, holding himself back from firing his jets and just jump over the roofs of the long line of cars that was ahead of them. They were an another patrol, but traffic was slow. The whole town seemed to be on the road and the mice got stuck into a huge traffic jam because of the upcoming intersection.
"I need some movement… and fast!", the white furred mouse whined.
Throttle was about to react, when they suddenly heard the loud noise of crashing cars and screaming people. The cars in front of them suddenly flew forward and crashed against the other cars in the line. Streetlights were ripped outta the ground. Metal trash cans flew through the air.
"What the…", Vinnie started, but his bike suddenly sped forward, straight towards the other cars. Throttle and Modo followed him, not that they had a choice.
"Wow, something got control over all the vehicles!", Throttle squeezed out between clenched teeth, using all his strength to take back control over his bike.
"You call this control?", Modo growled, also having a hard time with his bike.
"Anker down, bro's!", Throttle ordered and all three of them fired a rope outta the back of their bikes.
The ropes whirled around the one streetlight that was still standing. The whole thing bend, but luckily for the mice, it remained on its place. Right before the intersection, the bikes came to a halt. Good thing too, because cars came outta every direction, crashing against each other. You don't wanna get between that when you're on a bike. Not even when you were a macho Martian Mouse.
"We gotta turn this into a controlled drive, bro's. It seems that the bikes are being pulled that way", Throttle pointed at the road ahead of them. "On my mark, cut loose and fire jets."
Modo and Vinnie nodded, grabbing the handlebars of their bikes tightly.
"NOW!"
The engines of the bikes roared and they jumped over the pile of cars that was in the middle of the intersection. When they landed, they hit the accelerator.
"Yush, it worked!", Vinnie cheered, feeling a little bit more in control now. Even if there was only one way to go, he finally could gain some speed.
"Now, let's find out what the hell is going on here", Throttle said.
"I got me a feeling what is… Limburger…", Modo growled, his eye glowing red.

Suddenly, four tow trucks drove towards them, with Greasepit behind the wheel of tone he middle ones.
"Battle mode, bro's. It's that oil leaking buffoon", Throttle ordered, his husky voice even lower.
He was clearly not amused. But hey, no surprise there. They were here to keep the town safe, after all. And look at the chaos it was now. He didn't even wanna think about how many people got hurt today, let alone how many of them died.
The mice opened fire.
"Why can they drive the other way with that lousy vehicle of theirs?", Modo wondered out loud.
"I dunno and I don't care. As long as that gives me a chance to blow something up, I ain't complaining!", Vinnie answered, aiming his lasers at the tires of one of the trucks. He fired and the tires exploded with a loud bang, making the truck outta control and crashing against a building next to the road.
"AAAOOWW!", Vinnie cheered.
But his victory was short. The trucks stopped all of a sudden and the mice were still pulled towards them. It seemed that whatever was controlling them, became even stronger. Suddenly, the bikes crashed against some kinda invisible wall and the mice flew off, feeling some kind of strange pressure pulling them away from the bikes. Vinnie and Throttle landed on the pile of cars at the intersection. Vinnie tried to move, but he couldn't. It felt the same way when Lectromac had held them against the wall.
"Ah man, don't you just hate getting stuck in traffic", he growled annoyed.
But if he thought he was having a hard time, than Modo was in deep trouble. The gray furred giant was lying on the ground and his metal arm seemed to be glued to the road. He couldn't get loose, even if he used all of his strength.
"Oh momma… You always told me not to play in traffic…", he groaned, still pulling on his arm. He suddenly heard a loud honk behind him and he looked over his shoulder. His one eye grew big. A huge truck, that was also outta control, was driving towards him.
"I knew I should've listened!", Modo yelled, redoubling his effort to get loose. But it was no use.
"Time to divide… and conquer!"
His flesh hand found the little switch that was hidden under his shoulder path and his metal arm came loose from his body. He quickly jumped outta the way. Right in time. The truck past by, crushing his metal arm under its tires.

Meanwhile, the remaining three tow trucks came into movement again and drove towards Vinnie and Throttle.
Vinnie whistled between his teeth.
"Yo bikes!"
"Bumper shoot manoeuvre number four!", Throttle ordered.
The bikes fired their lasers and the beams hit a mailbox that was standing next to the road. It bounced back, straight towards the tow trucks. It hit the rear-view mirror from the middle truck, and the beam split, one going left, one going right. The two trucks that were driving next to the middle one, got hit and outta control. They eventually crashed against a small van that was standing close by and suddenly, the mice could move again.
Vinnie and Throttle were still trying to get free, and because the invisible pressure was gone all of a sudden, they fell on the floor. Greasepit came straight towards them. But right before the truck hit them, the two mice jumped outta the way. Vinnie finally saw a chance to get rid of all this adrenaline and in one movement, he jumped at the back of the car. He climbed into the small crane that was at the back and grabbed the chain that normally was used to tow vehicles. He whirled it above his head like a lasso. Who said cowboy's were boring?
"AAAAOOWW, yippi taya hooaaaoowww!", he howled happily and threw the lasso at one of the streetlights. He braced himself for a sudden stop, but Greasepit had no idea. So, when the car suddenly stopped, Greasepit's head smashed against the windshield.
Vinnie chuckled and pulled down the handle that was attached at the crane. The chain got rolled up, making the car hanging upside down at the streetlight. The white furred mouse jumped off, smiling at Greasepit, who wasn't amused.
But Vinnie couldn't care less. He quickly ran towards his bro's. Modo was sitting on his knees.
"Bro, bro! You make it in one piece?", the white furred mouse asked worried, bending over.
"Yeah, yeah… Basically…", Modo answered and got on his feet.
When he turned around, they could see the damage that was done at his metal arm, which was now attached at Modo's body again.
"But I dunno about my arm…"
Vinnie felt a pang of sadness when he saw the sad look on his bro's face.
Oh man… This was bad…

Kiwi was staring at the messed up arm and looked back at Modo. The poor guy looked so sad, with his ears and antennas drooped, his hanging shoulders…
"I ehm… I'm sorry, Modo, but I can't fix this. I'm afraid you're gonna need a new arm…", she said hesitantly, not sure how he was gonna take this news. His ears drooped even further.
"Where did you get this one anyway?", Kiwi asked curious.
Modo turned around in his seat.
"You tell her", he mumbled.
Throttle, who was sitting next to Kiwi, nodded.
"Okay, bro. Well, it was back on Mars. Man, it was the biggest battle against the Plutarkians. I told you before, we were captured after being caught into a big explosion. We woke up in the Plutarkian research labs. These slimy stink fishes had a low life plan to turn captured Martians into a army of bionic slaves. Modo's arm was one of their early experiments. But I guess it worked a little too well, since he could use the arm to shoot us to freedom. It worked better than those guill faces ever expected, especially that Plutarkians lab dog who made the arm… Karbunkle…"
Kiwi's eyes grew big and she stared at Modo's back.
"You mean Karbunkle made Modo's arm?", she called out surprised.
Vinnie, who was sitting on her other side and had been silent the whole time, elbowed her.
"Sssshhhh! Careful sweetheart! He's kinda touchy about that fact…", he hissed at her.
Modo jumped at his feet and looked at his bro's, holding his damaged arm and his eye glowing red.
"I say we blast our way in into Karbunkle's lab and force him to…", he started, but Throttle interrupted him.
"Wow, wow, wow, wow, chill, bro. Old rubbergloves will probably just boobytrap it… No, no… we need something… smoother…" and the tan furred mouse rubbed his chin, while Kiwi tied a sling around Modo's neck.
"Hey, no prob!", Vinnie suddenly cheered and they all looked at him in surprise.
I mean, when Throttle said 'smooth', you wouldn't really expect Vinnie to come up with something.
"I've got me one of those sure firing plans that guarantees my bro of getting a new arm. I mean, a real piece of cake, so smooth, I mean… soooo smooth... you won't be able to stand it…" and he smiled arrogant.
"If he's gonna say 'trust me', I'm outta here", Kiwi whispered outta the corner of her mouth against Throttle, who chuckled. Then, he grew serious again.
"So, care to share that brilliant plan of yours, Vincent?"
"I just let myself getting captured and make Karbunkle built a new arm. Easy peasy."
There was a silence for a moment. Modo and Throttle shared a quick look.
"Okay… That could work, actually…", Modo started.
"Yeah… But how are you gonna make sure Karbunkle will listen to ya?", Throttle mused.
"No sweat, sweetheart. I always had a good way with words. I just let him think that it's his own idea, a way to take us out... Voila! No more boobytraps. That arm is as good as yours, big fella", Vinnie smiled confident.
Kiwi shook her head.
"No way, this is too dangerous. Who knows what Karbunkle is gonna do to ya when he finally has one of you guys in his filthy hands?"
But Vinnie waved it away.
"I'll just blow my way outta there, no biggie."
"And what about your ehm… PTSS?"
She hated to bring it up, but she felt she needed to.
But Vinnie shook his head, a annoyed look on his face. He clearly wasn't amused she treated him as if he was vulnerable.
But the thing is, he was. He just didn't want to admit it.
Throttle nodded.
"Yeah, she's right, maybe…", but Vinnie interrupted him.
"Ugh, I don't wanna hear it, fearless leader. I'm the right one for the job and you know it."
Throttle let out his breath.
"Okay, I'll let you do this on one condition; you have 5 hours, after that, we're coming to get ya."
"Sure thing." Vinnie studied his nails.
Modo nodded, a grateful look on his face.
"Thanks, bro. That you wanna do this."
"Why not? Being grabbed by the bad guys, getting beaten up, forcing Karbunkle to make the arm, smash my way outta there… AAAOOOWW, life as I love it!"
Everybody in the room rolled their eyes. That's Vinnie for ya…

The mice stopped their bikes on top of the roof where they saw Greasepit and his goons stopping too.
"That's the main power supply", Greasepit said to his goons, pointing at a small cabin on top of the building. "We're supposed to hook in this machine and then tomorrows, we got ourselves a real pretty little train wreck…"
He started to unload the machine off his trike, laughing evily.
"Train wreck? Why that lousy, no good…", Modo started, but Throttle stopped him.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey. One thing at the time, big guy. First, we score ya a new wing…"
"...and then we do the hero thing", Vinnie finished. "Yoohoo! Ey, slime face! It's your worst nightmare", he then yelled at Greasepit, waving at the ugly guy.
"Ugh, it's those nosy mousies! Goons, attack!", Greasepit yelled.
The goons jumped in their buggies.
"Okay, initiate operation 'snag me' and look like ya mean it!", the white furred mouse smiled arrogant and sped away.
Modo followed him but Throttle stayed behind, pretending his bike wouldn't start.
"Oh darn… stalled…", the tan furred mouse sighed, trying the kick start, but of course, his bike wouldn't start.
After all, it was Throttle who'd told her not to.
Modo was driving towards Greasepit and the goons, firing his laser gun with his left arm.
"Shoot! Not used to firing with my left hand…", the big guy rumbled, missing Greasepit and the goons over and over again.
Vinnie drove up next to Modo, a smugly smile on his face.
"Time to kick it into overdrive!" and he pushed a button on his bike. The wrong button, that is.
His bike roared and suddenly started driving backwards. Vinnie grabbed his windshield to avoid he was gonna fly off.
"Noooo, not reveeeeeerse!", he cried, pretending he lost control. His bike crashed into a few trash cans and Vinnie fell on the ground. His bike flew over the edge of the building, but landed safely on her tires and stopped next to Kiwi, who was waiting under the building. She patted the red racing bike on the side, smiling.
"Good job, sweetheart."

Meanwhile, on top of the building, Vinnie was lying on his back between the trash cans. He kept his eyes closed, so called unconscious. He felt a rope whirling around his body.
"Hehehe… Gotcha…", he heard Greasepit chuckling. Vinnie suppressed his smile. Of course the guy fell for his act. But hey, who wouldn't? He was the best.
Modo stopped next to Throttle.
"Man, this faking is harder than the real thing!"
"Yeah well, then let's put the caper on this act", the tan furred mouse smiled. "Okay, Vinnie, you got 5 hours, remember? We will wait here, in case Greasepit and his low life army will come back", he said into the radio.
"Copy that, fearless leader."
They drove towards the edge of the building, followed by the goons who were firing at them. The pretended to be suddenly outta control and jumped over the edge. They landed smoothly on the ground and high fived.
"Great performance, big fella. Now, it's up to Vinnie."

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I won! I WON! I never wins, but this time, I won!", Greasepit cheered. "And mom said I should've finished thoird grade… She's gonna be sooo proud of me…"
Vinnie felt two pairs of hands grabbing him and he smiled.
"Suckers…"
The goons carried him down and threw him in the back of a van that was standing on the road below. But before they closed the door, they pulled off Vinnie's helmet and blindfolded him. Vinnie heard the doors closing and the van started to drive. Vinnie smiled in the dark.
Phase one of the plan; check.

When they finally pulled off his blindfold, Vinnie was sitting tied up in a chair. He blinked a few times and looked around him. His heart stopped. He was in the lab. Karbunkle's lab, to be precise. Dammit. He'd hoped they would bring him to a cell. He took a few deep breaths. Calm down, macho mouse. This isn't Jester lab. More to the point; Jester wasn't even on this planet. Things would be okay. As long as he kept a clear head. No need to panic.
Limburger walked in, along with Karbunkle. The fat fish had a very smugly smile on his face. Vinnie rolled his eyes, but then got back into his role of helpless mouse.
"Please don't touch me! I'm not good with pain! Puhleeaaaseee…", he cried, his eyes wide open in so called fear. "Please don't make me to tell ya the secret Biker Mice weapon…"
Then, he leaned forward as far as his bounds let him.
"My bro's would never forgive me…", he whispered, a conspiratorial look on his face.
When he saw on Limburger's face he got his interest, he leaned back in his chair and squeezed his eyes.
"Ooohh, gosh…"
"Ooh… my, my… Secret weapon, 'ey?", the fat fish smiled at the white furred mouse, who looked back, fear written on his face.
Karbunkle held something in his hand and when he pushed the button, a sharp looking instrument came out. Vinnie's heart started to beat faster, feeling a hint of panic. He used it to make his performance even more genuine.
"Well, yeah, Modo's bionic arm!", he blurted out. "If you would make robot arms like that for your goons, I think they can wipe the floor with us…"
He fell silent for a moment, but then his eyes grew big again.
"Oops! Oohhh, gosh… Now I've said too much…"
"Hmmmm… Robot arms… interesting…", Limburger said, rubbing his chin.
Vinnie decided they needed the final push.
"Of course, maybe Karbunkle's getting too old and feeble minded to built anything that cool nowadays… "
"Why you simple minded little sewer rat, I'll…", Karbunkle started angry, but Limburger stopped him.
"I believe our overbiting friend here provided a excellent idea…"
Vinnie let his ears droop and he looked down.
"Oh… I just hate myself…"
"In fact, why stop at nearly a robot arm…", Limburger continued. "Why not built a entire robot mouse?"
Vinnie's head jerked up.
"What? A whole mouse? Oh, no, no, no, no… I didn't mean that... ", he stuttered. Ah man. His plan clearly needed a little more work…

After a few hours, there was standing a complete robot mouse in the lab. Karbunkle worked fast, Vinnie had to give him that. But it still had taken a few hours and that was a lot of time when you were sitting tied up on a chair. He wasn't sure what to think about all this. He'd thought he'd a good plan. But by the looks of things, it was gonna backfire on him. And what was Karbunkle gonna do with him when he was done with the robot? He'd no idea, but he'd the nagging feeling he wasn't gonna like the answer. And that for the first time in his life, his impulsivity was gonna cost him something. He just hoped it wasn't gonna be his life. He was just way too cool to die.
Limburger walked back into the lab and Karbunkle turned around.
"Behold! The Verminator… This should really give that furred faced Freedom Fighters a fight if they should attempt to derail our magneto disruptor!"
"Excellent, my dear doctor!", Limburger smiled satisfied.
"I don't think it's that cool", Vinnie snarled.
"Now… We just need one more tiny little ingredient…", Limburger said, while turning around and grabbing Vinnie by the chin.
Vinnie tried to get outta his grip, but the fish was strong, alright.
"You."
Vinnie stopped struggling and looked at Limburger.
"Huh?"
"Oooooh, didn't I mention? How thoughtless of me… The plan is that you will have the honor of supplying the Verminator's brain power. You see, the Verminator will have your skills, your brazyness, your memories and even your… ugh… personality…", and Limburger poked his finger in Vinnie's chest. "It will be everything you are and more, but filtered through Karbunkle's evil accelerator and totally under my control."
Vinnie shook his head in anger.
"That will never happen, never! You'll never have me!"
"Oh but my dear mouse… It's not that you really have a choice… Karbunkle, make him ready. Maybe Jester can help you with this one. Ciao, mousie!"
Limburger walked away, but Vinnie sat frozen on his seat.
Did Limburger just say... Jester?
Karbunkle pushed a button on his desk.
"Jester, get your moronic ass over to the lab, now!"
No. Fucking. Way.
Jester was here?
Vinnie's heart started to beat so fast, he was scared it was gonna explode. His hands turned sweaty and his muscles started to vibrate under his skin. How was this even possible? God, if he had knew this… But there was no way he could've known.
Maybe he heard it wrong. Yeah, that's probably it. Relieve flooded through his body. Yeah. There was no way that Jester was here, no fucking w…
A humming sound filled the lab. Vinnie froze. He would recognize that sound everywhere. It made his fur stand straight up. He slowly turned his head in the way of the sound. And there he was. The person that was still haunting his worst nightmares. One he'd hoped he would never see again.
But here he was, tied up. And Jester was here.
"Mousie, meet Jester, my intern…", Karbunkle cackled.
Jester walked closer, still humming and Vinnie could only stare at him, completely paralyzed by fear.
The small fish stopped next to Vinnie and smiled. Vinnie suddenly felt the weird urge to cry when he saw that insane smile.
God, why?
His breathing became heavier and heavier, he almost started to hyperventilate. He knew he needed to keep his calm, but his body just took over. Fear took over.
"You two know each other?", Karbunkle asked, looking at the white furred mouse his reaction with suspicion written on his face.
Vinnie said nothing. Jester studied the white mouse and suddenly, his smile became even bigger.
"Ah! It's you! The mouse with the messed up face! I performed surgery on you. And you wanted to be friends with me…"
It was as if he slapped Vinnie in the face. The white furred mouse's face darkened and he finally found his voice again.
"Ugh, come on! I would never be friends with you. I fucking hate your guts. And you're the worst doctor I ever met…"
"Oh you, silly you. I remember your fighting spirit. This one is the right one for the job, Dr. Karbunkle. Trust me."
Vinnie took a deep breath, but his voice was still shaky.
"What are you gonna do with me?"
He had no idea why he just asked that, since he didn't even wanna know the answer. But the words had left his mouth before he could stop them.
Jester smiled that insane smile of his.
"We… are gonna have some fun! In order to have your brain control the robot, I need to place electrodes in your brain."
Vinnie's heart skipped a beat.
"It's the first time for me to perform such surgery. But I'm sure Dr. Karbunkle will help me to have steady hands… Don't worry, mousie. You're in good hands…"
Vinnie could only stare at him, pure fear taking over his body.
No.
Not again.
He couldn't do this all over again.
He'd survived once, but could he survive again?
No.
"Please… just kill me…", he whispered.

"I don't feel good about this, guys… It's taking too long…", Kiwi said while pacing through the small parking attended cottage that was standing on the roof of the building. Throttle and Modo were looking outside, keeping a close watch on their surrounding. They weren't that worried about Vinnie yet, they knew their younger bro could take care of himself. Well, most of the time, that is.
"It's only been a few hours, Kiwi ma'am. I'm sure he's doing fine", Modo said without looking back.
"How in the world could we let him do this? I mean, this plan, it's crazy!", Kiwi spit out.
She had no idea why, but just a few minutes ago, she'd felt a fear going through her body, it just wasn't normal. Before that, she'd been quit relaxed. But now… Her heart was racing. Her whole body was sweating. She had a hard time to control her breathing. She'd never felt this scared. And she had no idea why. Something was wrong.
"I just feel… Something is wrong, guys, I just…", she stuttered, not knowing how to tell them this without sounding like a complete freak.
"Easy now, Kiwi. Let's give him some more time. That's the plan, after all", Throttle said calm.
But Kiwi whirled around.
"Throttle, you don't understand! I feel this fear… this anxiety… it's not normal. I don't know where it's coming from, but I just know something is wrong with Vinnie. Very wrong. Look at my hands", and she stretched her arms, showing them her shaking hands.
Throttle finally looked over his shoulder and studied her face. She was right. She looked like shit all of a sudden. That's weird…
He turned around and walked closer to her. He could see her hair was already getting wet from sweat. Gently, he grabbed her hand and felt her pulse. Her heart was racing.
"What's wrong with me, Throttle?", Kiwi pleaded, somehow scared of having no control over her body. The fear she was feeling made her wanna hide somewhere and never come out.
Throttle rubbed his chin and looked at Modo for a second. The gray furred giant shrugged, clearly having no idea what was wrong.
"I wonder…", the tan furred mouse suddenly said, studying Kiwi.
"What?", she almost yelled, her voice high of panic.
"Maybe you're connected to Vinnie. I mean, it's not a rare thing under Martian Mice. You remember we told you about the Mind Walkers?"
Kiwi shook her head in confusion.
"You're not making any sense, Throttle. First, I'm not a Martian Mouse, obviously, and second, I don't even have that part in my brain nor I have antennas. This is bullshit."
But Modo rubbed his chin.
"You could be right, bro… I mean, look at her…"
Throttle nodded.
"Kiwi, listen to me. I know how weird this may sound, but I do think you guys are connected. It's a Martian Mouse thing, yeah, but you're not just a human. You're special. Sometimes it even feels as if your life goal is to meet us… And as far as I know, you're the first human who's in a relation with a Martian Mouse. How could we possibly know what is right or wrong?"
Kiwi looked at him, her eyes big in fear.
"What are you saying? That I'm capable of feeling what Vinnie is feeling? How is that even logical? I never felt it before, only that one time, but that was on purpose, I mean… I never felt this before!"
"Hmmm… Maybe you can only feel his emotions when they are very strong, I dunno, but…", he trailed off.
Kiwi quickly catched up.
"If this fear is the same fear that Vinnie is feeling right now, then he's in trouble. BIG trouble!"

Vinnie was breathing so fast, he almost fainted. He was tied down on a metal table, completely helpless.
Talk about a deja vu.
Jester was humming that awful song, preparing for whatever they were planning to do. They were gonna mess with his brains. God dammit, how could he be so stupid? He'd thought this was gonna be simple. In and out. How was it fucking possible that Jester was here? His fur was soaked with sweat, his heart was racing in his chest.
God dammit, he didn't like to admit it, not even to himself, but he was scared. He'd never been so scared in his whole life. Back then on Mars, in Jester's lab, he'd been scared, sure. But back then, he had no idea what was coming. How sick that little fish was. He knew now. And the fear had completely paralyzed him. After he'd begged them to kill him, they had only laughed and strapped him down at the table. He didn't even had the strength to struggle. He, Vinnie van Wham, had let it happen as if he was a lamb that walked into the slaughterhouse in free will.
FUCK.
He needed to get outta here. He suddenly could move his body again, fed by panic. He started to pull on the strains with all his strength, but again, it was no use. He struggled as hard as he could, but the leather belts around his wrists and ankles were too strong.
"Let me go! LET ME GO!", he screamed, his eyes squeezed.
Nobody reacted. Karbunkle was busy with some kinda machine and Jester was grabbing the instruments he was gonna need. The fish started to hum even louder. Vinnie let out a raw scream in frustration.
"God dammit, you fucking freak, I said; LET ME GO! NOW!"
The leather belts cut into his flesh, he could feel his fur and skin shave off, but somehow, the pain was a welcome feeling. It somehow gave him a feeling of reality in this cloud of panic.
Jester finally turned around and walked towards him, a plate with instruments in his hands. Vinnie was breathing heavily, his muscles were shaking uncontrollably. Jesus, was this a nightmare? How could this even be real? It was Mars all over again. But it was real. He knew too damn well it was real.
Jester sat the plate down on the table next to Vinnie and lay a hand on the white furred mouse his shoulder. It probably was a attempt to calm him down, but Vinnie went ballistic.
"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH ME! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
"Easy mousie, what's wrong with you? There's nothing to be scared of! Silly you, silly you. I helped you so well the last time. You know you can trust me, right?"
Vinnie let out a humorless laugh and locked eyes with the small fish, his whole face twisted in anger and panic.
"Helped me? HELPED ME? You FUCKING broke me, that's what you did! LOOK AT ME! You turned me into this freak, this… this fucking freak who doesn't even know who he was before I met ya!"
Tears were streaming outta his eyes, not that he was really crying, but he was so upset. The hatred he felt when he saw that insane smile of that fucking stinkfish, along with the panic and fear, it was too much. He couldn't keep his cool. He just acted without thinking.
Jester held up his hands, somehow a sad expression on his face.
"But I fixed you…", he pouted.
Vinnie shook his head with so much strength, his ears flapped against the table. The studs in his left ear made a loud ticking noise against the metal surface.
"You didn't fix me!", he spit out in pure fury. "You only made things worse, you fucking mutant. But if that helps you sleep at night..."
Jester shuffled with his feet, a dejected look on his face.
Vinnie narrowed his eyes. By the looks of things, Jester didn't like it to hear he fucked up.
Hmm…
"You wanna make it up to me?", he asked, his voice shaky and soft. He hardly could look at the fish who'd destroyed him. But he needed to get outta here.
Jester looked at him, a little curious.
"Let me go. Just untie me and let me go. Then I promise you I won't kill ya", Vinnie breathed, but he crossed his fingers of the hand that wasn't in Jester eyesight.
The fish looked at Karbunkle and then back at Vinnie.
For one small moment Vinnie thought he was gonna agree.
But then, Jester shook his head.
"No, no, no, no", he mumbled and put his hands over his ears. "Stop talking, you, stupid you. I need to focus. You don't want me to have shaking hands when I'm pouring in your brain, now do you?"
Vinnie wanted to say something, when he suddenly felt something sting in his left arm. His head jerked to his side and he saw Karbunkle standing with a evil smile on his face.
"What did you gave me?", Vinnie demanded, staring at his arm.
"A little something to make sure you won't move during the procedure, mouse. The good thing is you won't be able to speak either. Because you talk way too much."
Vinnie let out a scream and pulled with so much strength on the left belt, it suddenly broke.
Karbunkle's face expression switched from evil to scared so fast, it would be funny if Vinnie wasn't so scared himself.
He clenched his fist and hit Karbunkle straight into the face, making the doktor fly away. The white furred mouse quickly made the other belts loose and jumped off the table. He needed to get outta here, right now. But when he wanted to run away, he suddenly felt his legs became weak.
"No…", he breathed. "You've gotta be kidding me…"
He tried to continue his flee, but his legs became more heavy by the second. He stumbled to the door, but suddenly, Jester popped up in front of him.
"Where are you going, mousie? We still need you. We need your brain for the robot. Why so scared? It was you who gave us the idea after all…"
Vinnie shook his head while falling on his knees.
"No.. I can't .. do.. this.. again..", but his voice started to fail on him.
Actually, every muscle in his body started to fail in him. He bend over and leaned on his hands. He saw drool dripping outta his mouth on the floor, not able to hold it inside anymore. But the scariest thing was, it was only his body that was shutting down. He was still seeing everything crystal clear. He was still feeling the pain in his wrists and ankles from the belts.
Fuck. This wasn't good.
He slowly sank on the ground on his belly.
He lay his head down in defeat.
No escaping now. He had his chance, but he failed.
He closed his eyes and let out his breath.
And he did the one thing he'd never done before.
He gave up. Just like that.

Before he even could process it, he was lying on the table again. Karbunkle, who had a bleeding nose, strapped the belts tight around his wrists and ankles again. Not that it was necessary. The white furred mouse was lying motionless on the table.
"Let's begin. We need to remove his mask first."
Vinnie's heart seemed to drop when he heard these words. But there was nothing he could do. He felt how one finger slid under his mask and suddenly, he felt air on the right side of his face. That's weird… He was wearing this mask for years now. And he felt so naked, so vulnerable now it was gone. He felt a hand by his pocket, putting something in it, but he had no idea what it was. He wanted to close his eyes, but he couldn't. His whole body was paralyzed.
"Your face is healed pretty good, mousie. I did a good job", he heard Jester proudly saying.
Yeah, right. He'd only seen his face once, the day that Harley had gave him the mask. And no way he would describe that as a good job. Ugh.
Vinnie felt they shaved small spots on his head. He saw in the corner of his eyes that Jester grabbed a scalpel. One single tear escaped his left eye. He was trapped inside his own body. He could see and feel everything, but he couldn't move. Another tear slid down. He felt the sharp knife on his skin, the pain when Jester made small cuts.
It wasn't that bad, actually. It was nothing compared to the pain in his heart, in his soul. He felt so alone. So humiliated. So helpless. Weak.
A loud buzzing sound filled his ears. A drill. Ugh, come on… He felt the pressure on his skull when small holes were made. It felt weird. His whole head vibrated from the inside. It almost tickled. But the pain was unbearable. But all he could do was lie there. Tears were streaming down his face, it seemed the only way for his body to react on the pain.
"Now, let's place those electrodes", Karbunkle said.
Vinnie felt something pricking in his brains, it was the weirdest feeling ever. Suddenly, the fingers on his left hand started to twitch and a huge headache came up outta nowhere. He wanted to scream. To fight his way outta here. But he couldn't.
Another sting. Now, his other hand started to twitch and the headache became even worse.
Another sting. His jaw tensed. His teeth grinding. But he had absolutely no control over it.
Man. This was even more scary than when that fish was cutting in his face.
Another sting. And the headache became too much. He saw light flashes before his eyes and a black hole slowly came closer. It consumed him. He felt everything was fading away. And he had peace with it. He just hoped he would never wake up again. Because his already broken soul was now shattered into a million pieces. He was beyond fixing now. And with the humming from Jester in his ear, Vinnie lost consciousness.

"We need to go, NOW! I can't take this any longer!", Kiwi yelled, sweat dripping off her forehead.
After they'd found out about the connection, Kiwi's panic only grew and grew. This wasn't good. Her breathing was going so fast, she started to hyperventilate. Her legs became weak and she dropped on the floor, her eyes wide in panic.
"Kiwi, easy girl…", Throttle said softly, kneeling down next to her.
Kiwi grabbed his arm in an iron grip, her eyes wide open when she looked up at him.
"Throttle, I.. I can't… breathe… What.. are they doing.. to him..?", she managed to get out.
The tan furred mouse cupped her head in his hands.
"Kiwi, I know it feels impossible, but try to calm down. This isn't your panic, but Vinnie's. Try to take over control…", but he knew, when looking into her eyes, there was no way she was gonna be able to control it.
And that realisation made a shiver run through his spine. Kiwi had asked the right question. What were they doing to their younger bro?
Modo was standing close by, a little helpless. Throttle shared a look with him, not knowing what to do for a moment. They needed to get Vinnie out, but they couldn't leave Kiwi behind like this. And taking her with them was obviously outta the question. Modo shrugged, a hint of panic on his face. But suddenly…
"Throttle!"
The tan furred mouse looked back at Kiwi, his eyes wide open.
"I can't feel him anymore!"
Throttle breathed in sharply and locked eyes with Kiwi.
He saw the fear in her eyes and for the first time since a long time, he felt scared too.
"Throttle… The fear is gone, the panic is gone, everything is gone… He's gone… No, no, no, no… Vinnie…"

Oops! Another cliffhanger!

Damn, this was again one of those chapters that was hard to write in another language, especially that part with the cars and stuff. Anywayz, hope you guys understand what I'm trying to say. Otherwise you should check out "The Verminator" on Youtube, hehehe.
So, it sure was a tense chapter. Jester is in Chicago! From the moment I introduced Jester in the story, I always wanted to give him a comeback. And this episode gave me the chance to do so. But poor Vinnie, right? Let's just hope he's gonna make it, and if he does… well, what will be his mental state?

Please, feel free to review, very much appreciated.
Till next time, and sorry for this horrible cliffhanger ;)

Ciao!