Disclaimer: Dudes, two stories later and I still don't own the mice. Damn my luck...

Throttle, Modo, Vincent, Charlene Davidson, Rimfire, Chef Andy Steinhaur, One-Eyed Jack Monterrey are all characters from the original show. Silva (Modo's Momma) and Auri (Modo's lost wife/mate) are my characters, along with any others that pop up. Thanks!

Okay, about the military rankings you'll see in this chapter. I based the Martian rankings off American Army rankings, its the only kind I'm familiar with. This is also what I suspect our heros' actual ranks would be, to command the way they do on Mars and the sheer amount of insanity they get away with. Not to mention, they tended to answer to the highest ranking Mice in the Freedom Fighters, being best friends with Carbine and Stoker not withstanding.

More shameless plugging to 'Vagabonds' by Sewer Slider!! It rocks, go read!!

Chapter 5

Auri covered her mouth in horror and Chloe gasped in shock. Modo's eye glowed a livid red as his jaw dropped. "He made them for--for...that?!"

Rev's ears drooped so low they were pressed against the sides of his head. "She would never tell me. My gold jewel, she would never say a word about it. I tried to find them, take them away from all that and I failed." He pulled his legs up and hid his face behind his knees. "I failed them."

Vinnie hesitantly touched his brother's shoulder in an attempt at comfort, a grim set to his mouth as he spoke. "We'll get him. We'll burn Monterrey's Tower to the ground for them and drag that Karbunkle back to Mars for trial."

"Sounds good to me," Rimfire growled.

"Or we can just 'port them in over the Pit of Everlasting Doom directly and be done with it," Link snarled. Thrash nodded in agreement, pounding a fist against his open hand.

Silva closed her eyes in sadness. "Those poor girls." She looked over to Rev. "They had no names?"

"Gold jewel, silver jewel, white jewel," he said. "I couldn't see their numbers through the glass-steel."

She studied him a moment and gave him a small, knowing smile. "You were in love with one of them. The gold jewel?" He pressed his face further into his knees as he nodded. The older mouse reached over and touched his hand. "I don't think she would like to see you like this."

He slowly looked up at her. "Huh?"

"She would want you to be happy with your freedom, wouldn't' she?" Silva said, stroking the back of Bend's head. The child had cried himself to sleep. Rev found a very small smile. "Yeah, she would."

Modo nodded. "Then you do what you think would make her smile, so that when you see her again, she'll be proud." The grey mouse inclined his head toward Vincent. "Your brother told me that."

Several eyebrows lifted at that. Vinnie looked almost embarrassed until he shrugged it off with his usual bluster. "What, a stud mouse can't be a wise guy too?"

Throttle chuckled, "Believe me, Vinnie, we all know what a wise guy you are."

The sudden loud roar of motorcycle engines and the sound of panicked swearing in Japanese tore through the air. It was quickly followed by panicked swearing in English and rapid gun fire. Everyone rushed for the window, Silva wrapping protective arms around Bend. Chloe stared in complete shock at the sight before her. Tsu was holding a screaming Bic, riding Rimfire's bike. They had just jumped the high fence, along with two other bikes that she belatedly recognized as Thrash and Link's, and they were currently being chased by seven giant rock people.

Nine feet tall, four feet wide, and at least three feet thick giant rock people. Completely made of grey and red stone, no faces or eyes, but large mouths that roared around jagged pointed teeth. They had torn through the heavy iron gate and were lumbering at a quick pace after the mechanic and his son, crushing everything they touched with large tree-trunk size limbs. The two fastest made constant swipes at the faster bikes. The other five were being distracted by the security guards gunfire. Several guards were firing M 60's, doing some small damage to each one.

"Rock people?" Chloe said in faint disbelief.

"Rock people," Rimfire nodded matter-of-factly. "Or someone's animating the rocks."

"Looks like another super-villain," Throttle said. "Rev, stick with the girls, Andy, same deal. Bros, mount up! Let's Rock and Ride!"

"Finally, some action!" Vinnie crowed. "I was gettin' bored!" He sprinted out of the room to his bike. The rest of the mice weren't far behind, whistling loudly to call their rides. Bend startled awake at their whoops and yells, coming over to the window with Silva to see what was going on.

"I think I should be insulted," Andy muttered. He changed his mind as one of the rock things demolished several statues by turning around. "On second thought, I'll be fine holding the fort."

"Speak for yourself," Rev said, fidgeting. Silva put a calming hand on him, motioning toward Bend, who was wide eyed at all the excitement. He was also clinging to her shirt with a death-grip. The white mouse moved over and took the boy's hand, pulling him up on his hip. Bend wrapped his arms around his brother, never looking away from the rock people and the mice he called friends. "Are they gonna be okay?"

"Oh, don't worry," Silva said cheerfully, backed by Auri's large grin and Andy's thumbs up. "They'll be just fine."

A thin older black man dressed like a gardener on an old American Army bike rode out in the middle of the battle, barking orders to the guards. They obeyed and began concentrating their fire on the rock monsters' legs, groups of three guards working on two of the monsters. The gardener proved he was much stronger than he looked as he pulled out a .50 caliber machine gun with one arm and began to dish out extreme prejudice to give decent cover as the mice reached their revving motorcycles.

"Mr. Williams!" Chloe called in shock.

"Addie?!" Chef Andy said in surprised recognition.

"Addie?" Rev asked.

"Sergeant First Class Ronald Williams, nicknamed Addie. He couldn't stand the name Ronnie," Andy said. "Only guy I know who could life one of those babies with one arm. Served with me in Vietnam. Let me guess," he turned to Chloe, "your chief of security." She nodded, her stunned gaze never leaving the chaos in her front yard.

Throttle, Vinnie, and Modo whistled for their bikes over the noise, the three AI charging to their riders. The three had their blasters out and began firing, barely carving into the rock the things were made from. Link and Thrash had their pistols out as their bikes pulled up, beeping and clicking at their riders. "I've missed you too, baby!" Link called happily. "Who's a pretty baby? Who's my pretty baby?"

And I thought Uncle Modo was obsessed with his bike."Leave the mush for later, bro, we got rockers to roll!" Rimfire snapped. The young leader shouted for his bike, helping Tsu and Bic from his ride. "You two okay?"

"Shaken up, but good," Tsu said, Bic clutched tightly in his arms.

"These guys are no light-weights, bros. Modo, bring out the heavy artillery! Vinnie, dazzle 'em!" Throttle called as he switched over to his bike's cannons. Modo let loose with Lil' Hoss's blasters, chunks of rock blowing away with each hit. Vinnie darted in and out of the rock peoples' legs, confusing their enemies with his speed. Two almost crashed into each other.

Rimfire unconsciously nodded in agreement with the tan mouse, and issued orders of his own. "Tsu, head inside, take the right hall all the way down, Miss Hong'll take care of you. Get moving!" the mouse called as the mechanic ran for the doors. "Link, help where you can. Thrash, circle around, use your tow line and go fishing!"

Thrash blinked at him in surprise and grinned hugely. "I like how you think!" The shorthair revved his bike off across the yard. Link eagerly mounted up on his roadster, the large cannons popping out and hammering away at the nearest monster. Thrash moved out to the perimeter and met up with Vinnie, calling out a plan. The white mouse grinned, and both bikes shot out into the fray, drawing one of the monsters out of the pack. They circled it in opposite directions, making it dizzy as it spun trying to follow them. Both mice shot out their grappling lines, digging them into the legs and wrapping the thick ropes around it. It fell to the ground with a roar, shattering to pieces.

"That's right, Humpty goes down!" Vinnie laughed. The two mice high-fived and went off to corral another one.

Addie pulled up beside Throttle, firing several rounds at the nearest creature and forcing it back. "You boys put new meaning to 'friendly fire!' You must be the reinforcements Corporal Rimfire was waiting on."

Throttle raised an eyebrow at the title. "That'd be Buck Sergeant Rimfire, if we had the proper ranking."

"Aw, the boy's a modest one," Addie laughed, as he and the tan mouse brought down their beastie. "And yourself?"

Throttle rolled his eyes. Dating Carbine had taught him the structure of the Martian Army, as much as it embarrassed him to admit it. "Command Sergeant Major Throttle, serving with Buck Sergeants Modo and Vincent."

"Well, sir, good to meet you!" The man said jovially. "Sergeant First Class Ronald Williams, call me Addie." The man pulled out two grenades from his bike's pack, tossing them at another monster.

"More like addle-brained," one of the guards said from his position. "Jeez, boss-man, you gotta toss those things so close?"

"More fun that way. And shut up, Jenkins, or I'll have to toss you for insubordination," the man said cheerfully. Jenkins nodded meekly and started shooting his M 16.

Another monster was brought down by Vinnie and Thrash with a very satisfying crunch as they smashed it into the main wall. "Alright!! Can we rock their world or what?!"

Thrash stared at the white mouse in horror at the ghastly pun. "Could have been worse. You could have said 'that's how you really rock and roll,' or 'one less brick in the wall.'"

"Aw, man, that line would have been so cool!" Vinnie said excitedly.

The last giant finally fell, hitting the ground with a huge crash of breaking rock. The mice cheered with the security guards, slapping each other on the back. Addie shook Throttle's hand. "It seems you all know how to throw a party."

"You're not so bad yourself," the mouse acknowledged.

"I love the smell of busted baddies in the evening!" Modo said happily as he rode up with Rimfire and Link. He suddenly gave an almighty sneeze as bits of dirt from the monsters settled to the ground. "Even if they are dusty."

"Doesn't this call for a party?" Vinnie asked as he rode up with Thrash. "Celebrating the baddest mamajamas in the universe saving the day again!" Several guards laughed as Addie grinned. "Sounds good to me, boys." As they all headed up the steps, he gave a look to Rimfire. "Buck Sergeant Rimfire, eh?"

The young mouse looked away. "Just got promoted, sir."

"No shame on forgetting it, boy, but you best not forget that you earn rank. Be proud of it." The guards went for the kitchen and its many loaded coolers of food. The mice and Addie headed back to the living room to find out what happened, the man hollering for the maids to bring the best stuff in the house. Tsu was being patched up by Chloe and Auri for a black eye and split lip, his ribs taped and a nasty bruise on his shoulder. Bic was sleeping in Silva arms, Rev sitting beside her with Bend in his lap. Addie blinked in surprise at the older man that came forward. "Stienhaur?"

"Williams," Andy said warmly as they shook hands. The two went off to the side to catch up on events, letting the mice talk with Tsu. The man looked up at the Martians. "Pardon my English, but what the hell were those things?!"

"The latest super-villain's henchmen," Rimfire said. "Probably hired by Monterrey."

"I'll say this, Suzie, you know interesting people," Vinnie said.

"Link," Tsu said. The black mouse looked over to the mechanic. "Yeah?"

"Would you? You're closest."

Link smiled, using his tail and smacking Vincent on the back of the head. "OWWWW!!"

"Thanks," the Asian said. "Those rock things, they just smashed through the garage. No warning, nothing. I heard Charley shouting downstairs and by the time I got down there with Bic they had torn the garage apart."

Throttle stood in front of the mechanic, his voice unnaturally calm. "Tsu, where's Charley?"

"They took her," he said sadly. "One of those things carried her off. The bikes were all that saved us. Charley shouted something at the bikes and they started shooting at the rocks and the red one nearly knocked me over to get me and Bic out of there. The rest you know."

Throttle took a deep breath and stepped back from the man to get his control back. He knew it would happen; knew some thug would get their hands on her because she helped them fight. But that didn't make it any easier to deal with.

Vinnie frowned. "What did she say?"

Tsu glanced at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"The exact words, what did she say?"

"I'm not sure; it was no language I've ever heard before. It sounded like," he shut his eyes to concentrate, "'Matchfri. Strata. Ip rook strati Rimfire.'"

Vinnie's jaw dropped. "She used the mechanics override?! I didn't even know she could speak Martian!"

"She can't," Throttle said in surprise. "At least, not that I know of."

"What did she say in Martian?" Chloe asked.

"Matchfri is the word used as the mechanic's override on several models of AI bikes," Vinnie explained. "Its the name of the original designer. Say that word, and the bike will obey every command given to them in the next fifteen seconds. It's used whenever the rider isn't around to test out the bike's response to commands and stuff. The rest of it was her telling the bikes to get to Rimfire."

"If they've got her, than they've taken her to the tower," Rev said.

"Which means we get to go raiding," Modo said grimly.

"I can show you the way down to the labs," Rev said. "We go in, rescue your girl"-

"Play soccer with Karbunkle's head," Vinnie said eagerly.

"Fry us a fish for touching Charley," Throttle growled.

"And this time we bring the Tower down," Rimfire said. "Lock"-

"Stock"-Link added.

"And barrel," Thrash said. "I never did like leaving a job unfinished."

"Destruction, demolition, and general mayhem. I love this job," Vinnie said with his cocky grin. Rev found himself echoing the grin, eager to dish out some pain on those that had caused him and his little bro so much hurt.

Chloe and Tsu stared at them in something like disbelief. "Who are these guys?" Tsu asked in awe.

Silva grinned. "Why, they're Biker Mice from Mars. This sort of thing is right up their alley."

"You boys mind two old war dogs riding along?" Addie asked as he walked up to them with Andy beside him. "Steinhaur says he has quite the beauty of a tank he'd like to try out on these rock boys."

Rimfire glanced at Throttle, who nodded. "Those things are nasty, which means their boss is nastier. Sounds like a great excuse to test out those cannons." Addie and Andy lit up like it was Christmas come early. "Silva, you and Auri stay here with Tsu and the kids"-

"Hey!" Chloe said indignantly.

"And Miss Chloe," he said with a wince at her volume.

"I can fight," Bend protested. "I'm little, but I'm fast. And I can shoot."

Rev shook his head. "You are not going out to get shot at."

"But I can fight!"

Throttle stepped up and lifted Bends chin with his hand. "We don't have the weapons to spare for you. Your brother would be worrying the whole time about where you were, and it could get him hurt," he said, not unkindly. "We need someone to stay here and take care of Miss Silva. She was treated real bad by the stink-fish where me and my bros are from, and she's not supposed to be rough-housin' just yet. You make sure she takes it easy, okay?"

Bend nodded. "Alright, but you better take care of our brothers."

Throttle found a smile for the small mouse-child. "I will. Bros, lets Rock and Ride!"