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!
Chapter 6
Rev had never ridden a motorcycle before, whether as a beginner or with a professional. And now he was on a bike with Vincent Van Wham. Buildings flashed by in a blur of speed, the roar of the bike's engine drowning out all sounds. The poor mouse was holding on for dear life, terrified and excited all at once. He now completely understood why his brother drove so fast!! "Vincent?! Er, Vinnie?!"
"Yeah, bro?"
"This is the greatest thing that's ever happened to me!" He said with an ecstatic grin.
Vinnie laughed outright. "Yep, you're one of my clan, no doubt about it!" He suddenly frowned in thought. "Aw, man, we need to get you a girl, bro."
They were riding in a loose V-formation, Throttle, Vincent, and Modo on the street below. Rimfire was cruising over the rooftops on his flier, while Link and Thrash rode on the sides of the buildings. Andy and Addie brought up the rear with the Mothership. Addie had laughed as they rode down the very public Strip and got barely a second look from the tourists and locals. "Gotta love Vegas," he said with a chortle. "What happens here, stays here!"
Rev sobered quickly as they followed the trail of destruction the rocks had left that headed into downtown Las Vegas. "Hey, I don't mean to sound rude or something, but what's up with Throttle?"
"Huh?"
"That girl you were talking about, Charley, right? She's his girl?"
"Yeah, so?"
"But--She was kidnapped by Monterrey and he's so calm."
"Calm?!" Vinnie glanced over at his new brother in shock. "You think he's calm?! I've never seen him look so pissed! Oh, yeah, you don't know him yet," he said to himself. "Look, Throttle's not what he seems. Lot of people look at him and think he doesn't get mad, with him playin' it cool all the time. And it does take a lot to tick him off. But if someone is stupid enough to make him genuinely angry, you normally never see that person in one piece again.
"That's kinda the reason he keeps so calm. He has to. He almost killed a guy once because the jerk insulted his old girlfriend. See his tail thrashing? That's a bad sign. I give him ten minutes with whoever our new villain is before Throttle lets loose."
"Oh," Rev said quietly. "He's got a bad temper?"
"Only if you really, really try," Vinnie answered. "He's normally pretty cool. But kidnapping Charley-girl is right there at the top of the list of 'Things That Really Piss Throttle Off.' He'll keep it together until we get Charley safe. After that, do yourself a favor and get out of his way."
"Advice noted," Rev said. He glanced at the tan mouse riding a bit ahead of them and winced at the tail that writhed and coiled in agitation. "Is Bend safe with him?"
Vinnie almost slammed on the brakes. "He'd never lay a finger on a kid!"
"Just asking!" Rev said, a touch of anger in his voice. It faded as he spoke, "Besides, I've seen some of that in Bend, too. One time Karbunkle messed with the silver jewel in front of him and I thought he was going berserk. He almost really hurt himself."
Vinnie snorted. "We'll work with the kid. He'll be alright, especially if Throttle has any say in it."
"Look sharp, bros, rumbling ruckus at twelve o'clock!" Rimfire called. Further down the strip were several rock men. The moment they spotted the mice, they began a lumbering charge toward them, several cars being smashed and exploding in the process.
"Fireworks already! Now this is my kind of party!!" Vincent crowed in delight, firing away with his cannons.
"Not for me!" Rev shouted. He pulled out a few of the supplies Addie's troops had given him and lobbed the three frag grenades. They exploded, the pieces of shrapnel sparking against the thick stone and biting deep into the limbs. The monsters roared in fury as the few people still on the street ran for cover. "I like mine with better music," the clone said as Vinnie slid across the ground to get around them. To Vinnie's shock, the bike was dangerously close to flipping.
He frowned as he realized the problem was having too much weight. He didn't mind the near wreck, but he did mind nearly taking his brother into it. "Rev, jump off!"
The younger mouse's eyes went huge, "What?!"
"Modo! Take Rev and get to Monterrey! He's got the firepower to get in, right?!" He called his plan over to Throttle. The tan mouse nodded as he charged up his Nuke Nuks, the powerful blow cracking the leg out from one of the rocks and knocking it to the ground. Throttle called over to Modo to pick up the white mouse, "Get moving, bro! Head for the Tower and check it out! Look for Charley and bust her out of there!"
"You got it!" Modo answered, using his tail to pull the young mouse off his brother's motorcycle. Rev shook his head as he landed in the seat. "I can't believe you guys do this everyday."
"Greatest. Job. Ever," Modo said cheerfully as they raced off into the night, the sound of Link, Thrash, and Rimfire shouting war cries ringing through the air. The Mothership's cannons popped out of the roof of the trailer and began to fire.
&
One-Eyed Jack Monterrey scowled as he looked down from the roof of his Tower. The city of Las Vegas was a Plutarkian's paradise. Greed ruled this city, from the lowest slums of poverty to the high-class VIP rooms of excess. Money was what ran this city, and everyone knew it. The making of money was the only concern of this entire metropolis's culture.
The prices were high, the rewards even more so. A fish could get rich in this city if they played their cards right, and Monterrey was a wily fish indeed. He was at home here as he was on Plutark. He had even thought of raising a few of his hatchlings here. But now there was a problem, a real wrench that threatened all the gears of his lovely conquering machines.
Biker Mice from Mars. Not the famous trio that plagued Limburger, thank currency, but three well trained warriors that threatened to be just as bothersome. They had already made a mockery of his best personnel, and had obliterated four floors of his beloved building. And somehow, he knew they were responsible for the theft of two of his most promising clones. That little project promised such incredible profits, especially since his last showcase of the female clones had garnered such...favorable reactions.
"Karbunkle," he called.
"Yes, your greatness," the stooped scientist replied from his side. He bore a startling resemblance to his younger brother, only his bald skull gleaming in the florescent lights told of his older age. And whereas Boris Karbunkle wore a white lab coat, Julian's was jet black. The better to hide the bloodstains from prying eyes, he'd once explained to his employer.
"How are our latest investments doing?"
"They have been returned to their cages, sir," the man hissed. "They were shivering in fright, wouldn't let go of each other." The two males shared a hearty laugh. "Oh, it was so amusing to hear the little white one raging at us, wasn't it?"
"Certainly," the Plutarkian said with a small smile. "To think the beast thought to try and fight against the highest ranking of the Empire. Martian stubbornness seems to be a genetic trait."
"Now tha' ain't no joke," came another voice. The latest villain hired by Monterrey, Stonewall, stepped further to the edge of the roof. He was seven feet tall, made of a living red stone and built thick. He wore no weapons or armor; his only clothing was a loincloth and WWII Army helmet. "Them thar pig-headed lil' rodents are the most gee-jawed stubborn things in this 're solar system."
"Indeed," Monterrey said. Inwardly, he never ceased to be amazed at how the dumbest, most incompetent sounding morons somehow managed to gather powers that made them valuable mercenaries. And Stonewall had an impressive record. He could barely be hurt by normal means. He was impervious to fire, lasers bounced off his rare stone skin, projectiles barely scratched him. And despite the low IQ, he had taken care of several of the fish's more bothersome opponents. "Be sure you keep those Mice away from my Tower, Stonewall. I want no more repair bills."
"You got it, boss-man," the living stone said. He raised a hand and several more rock monsters tore themselves from the stone buildings and statues around them. They charged off to where the laser fire could be seen from five blocks away. A stone horse from a nearby hotel tore itself from the doors it guarded and stood by the building, and Stonewall jumped from the roof. He fell the one hundred and seventeen floors, shattering on the ground below. Swiftly, the pieces rejoined, forming the red stone general. The creature picked itself up, dusted off its helmet and walked over to the statue. He jumped on the horse's back and dug his heels into its sides, making it scream as it carried them off to the battle.
As the Plutarkian walked back to the door that would take him to the lower levels, he glanced over to his resident mad scientist. "And what of our lady guest? That Charlene Davidson that seems to give Limburger so much trouble. Surely you have some sort of plan for her?"
Julian Karbunkle smiled.
&
Modo weaved through the heavy downtown traffic, easily passing the tourists as their cameras flashed. Neon lights blurred together as they went faster and faster, Rev shouting directions as they went. And when they came to a gridlocked section, the grey mouse used Lil' Hoss's thrusters and launched them along the walls of a nearby building. Rev almost screamed at the drastic shift in gravity, his mad grin of excitement echoing Vinnie's perfectly.
"So how're the defenses? Lots of turret cannons? A big goon squad armed with lasers? Ninja chicken androids?" Modo asked casually.
"Yes to the first two, no to the third," Rev said without thinking before doing a double take. "Have you really fought against ninja chicken androids?!"
"Not yet, but sometime or another, we probably will," Modo said cheerfully. "Its one of the few things we haven't checked off the list of stuff we've had to fight."
Rev looked at him oddly. "What else has been checked off the list?"
The grey mouse laughed outright at that. "How much time do you have?"
The appearance of Monterrey's Tower loomed like a heavy shower, cutting their banter short as they rode closer. Rev never took his angry glare away from it as he spoke, "There are two labs that Karbunkle uses. The one near the top floor is where he keeps his computers and non-biological experiments. The lower one is in the basement, three floors filled with cages."
"Which one do you think they'd put Charley-girl in?" Modo asked, worry clear in his voice.
"Vinnie said she's a genius, so I'd think they'd put her in the top lab," Rev replied. "But if she's the bad MF Vinnie says she is, I wouldn't want to take chances. I'd have her locked up tight in the lower cells. Honestly, I'm not sure how they'd do it; I don't know Karbunkle or Monterrey well enough to say."
Modo frowned. "Not good. Oh well, as my grey-furred Momma would always say, 'When in doubt, start from the top.'" Just as he finished speaking, the cannons of the Tower began to open fire. Dark red lasers carved deep gouges in the pavement as they chased the purple bike.
Rev growled deep in his throat as he suddenly jumped up, wrapping his tail around the metal pipe-back and standing up in the seat. "You like to pick on mice?!" He shouted. "Then try this out!" He pulled out five frag grenades, eagerly pulling out the pins and both arms throwing them up to the cannons in a criss-cross pattern. They exploded with concussive force, the shrapnel pieces biting into the cannon bases and barrels. Three of the Tower's eight cannons fell from their mounts.
"Yeah!!" Modo whooped as the molten cannons crashed to the ground below. "Brining down the house! You're gonna fit right in, Rev!"
Rev smiled grimly as they weaved around the laser fire of the other turrets.