I know its short, but inspiration finally struck, so I have to post while the postin's good.

Chapter 15

Hours later, several groggy mice and one human had recovered enough to come downstairs for something to eat. Chloe, Thrash, Link were kept busy getting food and drinks for everyone, as most of them acted like they were starving. But that was to be expected. Severe mental fatigue would often manifest as a physical hunger, the better to get proper nutrients and sugars into the body to refuel the brain.

It was mostly quiet around the table, with the occasional word of thanks or please as the food got passed around. Everyone was still feeling out the new bonds, still finding their place in their new families. Looks of mild sympathy and pity, however, were sent to Charley and Throttle. Both of them were taking medicine for pounding headaches, proof of their metal sensitivity. The strain took a greater toll on them than the others.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Rev spoke. "Vinnie? Bro?"

"Yeah, Rev?"

The young white mouse took a deep breath. "Foale and I talked it over, and we want to stay in Las Vegas."

Ears perked up all over the table, and everyone but Foale, Zodia, and Voxanne looked surprised. Vinnie stared at his brother. "What? Why?"

"Someone has to stay and help defend the city from Monterrey," he said firmly. "He knows we're out in the city, and chances are that he'll send his men out to find us. And with that footage from the Sutterfeild Tournament," here Rimfire and his crew blushed, "he knows other Martian Mice are here. He'll bring out some superpowered villians soon, and without a force to counter it, Vegas would be doomed. Someone has to fight him!"

"But why you?" Vinnie said, a thread of fear in his voice. He'd just found his family, and now they wanted to go out and fight?! "Mr. Williams and his boys are here, they know the score. they can take care of Monterrey just fine!"

"But they're on record as U.S. soldiers," Rev pointed out. "Any sort of military action they take will get them thrown in prison for firing in a civilian zone! But Foale and me, we aren't in any database the government has. Miss Chloe gave us the perfect cover already!"

"I did?" She asked in surprise.

"Sure!" Foale answered. "With us as part of the Project M Stunt crew! That can be our cover for anything that happens in the city. Everyone will think its just part of the show!"

"But what about the damages to the city?" Charley asked in concern.

"Bill them to Monterrey," Foale said, her face the picture of innocence. "After all, he's the silent partner in the show. All damages are to be billed to him, per agreement on the contract."

Chloe stared for a minute in awe, then smiled deviously. "You know what? I think that might work. If we hack into the city permit office's records, we can make a false contract and lisence. He'll be so tied up in court trying to the deny the claims that he'll barely have time to hire villians! After that, you guys can blast bad guys to your hearts' content and no one can say anything!"

"That's not a bad idea. And stranger things have happened," Chef Andy said in agreement. "After all, no one even blinks when the monsters and villians show up in Chicago anymore."

"Well then, kids, you best be ready to have your tails handed to you," Mr. Williams said as he stepped into the room. "We won't go easy on you because you're Mice."

Rev smiled. "We wouldn't want it any other way."

"Are you sure?" Vinnie asked, worry clear in his voice now. "Me and my bros live in Chi-town, Rev. the only other back-up you'd have is five states and 40-odd hours away."

"We can't leave innocent people to face Monterrey," Foale said to her brother. "We can't, bro, you know that."

Vinnie lowered his eyes and nodded. "But you're gonna need better stuff. Laser pistols, proper bikes, all that sort of stuff."

"Don't worry, Vin," Charley said with a hand on his shoulder. "I can make a decent set of rides for them as soon as we get home."

"Speaking of home," Voxanne said with a glance at Throttle, "I want to stay here with Rev and Foale."

Throttle frowned at his sister, "Voxanne"--

"I know the risks, and I know that you know that I won't just leave them to face Monterrey alone," she said firmly. "I'm staying with them."

"Me too," said Bend. He went over to Throttle and hugged his big brother. "I love you, bro, but I don't want to leave them. We're a team."

"You're too young to fight," Throttle said sternly. "And what about school? You have to get an education."

"Actually," the young mouse said, "Karbunkle had me subliminally taught while I was still in the growing tank. I'm up to the college sophomore level."

"You are?!" Link said in shock.

"Yep! I probably would have been a senior, but he pulled me out early. Said he didn't want too high of a mental development in case of subsequent escape attempts," Bend said casually. He shifted a bit under everyone's incredulous stares. "What?"

"Uh, nothing," Throttle said quickly. "But that still doesn't mean that you can fight."

"He won't be," Rev said firmly. "He'll be on the sidelines the whole time."

Bend spun to look at Rev. "You mean you don't mind?! You want me to stay?!"

"I would have preferred you ask first," he said with a mild glare, "but sure. We'll need someone who can be trained in hacking. You already proved to me that you know how to hack the codes in Monterrey's Tower, so you can probably hack his database given enough time and resources." He shrugged at the looks he was getting, "What? How did you think I got him out of the cells in the first place?"

"I..." Everyone turned to look at the shy grey mouse that had spoken. "I-I want to stay, too. I can't leave my sisters. And," she gave a half-smile, "someone has to watch out for Rev. He keeps getting shot at, you know."

"All of you are more than welcome to stay here," Chloe said.

"No way!" Rimfire said in almost panic. "They can't stay here!"

She frowned at him, "And just why not?"

"Every time they came back from a battle, they'd lead Monterrey straight to you! Or even try and bomb the house to get rid of you! I'm not saying not to help them, but they can't stay in the house with you," Rimfire said. Several others nodded at that logic.

"Good plan, soldier," Mr. Williams said. "I think I know just the place. Don't worry, kids. We'll have you set up in no time."

Throttle hrmphed, "Then I guess you are staying here." He went over and embraced his siblings, smiling slightly as they hugged him back. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course," Voxanne said with a small smile as Bend nodded. "After all, I have to be there for when you marry Charley, right?"

Throttle's face turned instantly red. "Th-that's...I...But we--its..completely...you-"--

Everyone laughed at his sputtering, diffusing the tension around the table. Zodia couldn't help her chuckle as she added, "And besides, we have to stay in Vegas for another reason. We have one more Mouse to rescue. I know Karbunkle must have made another clone, a boy, for myself and Modo. We have to find him, if he still lives."

*&*&*&

At that very moment, in a lab buried out in the Nevada desert, a large grey mouse was strapped to a table. He'd lived in this laboratory his whole life; given drugs to increase his muscle mass, bone density, and mental development. He would have been the ultimate soldier, if he'd ever received training. But that wasn't what Karbunkle wanted him for, and the poor mouse knew it. Manacles now bound his wrists to his sides, across his chest, and even his neck and the sides of his head. His red eyes were wide in terror as the evil scientist and a robotic assistant came forward, the robot carrying a sterile tray loaded with instruments of torture.

"Now, hold still, Y-1127. This will only hurt till it kills you," Karbunkle said in a hiss as he held up a large-bit drill.

Terrible screams rang out as the drill started to drill through bone and flesh, a tail jerking and thrashing, and then an awful silence and stillness fell across the room. Julian Karbunkle ran a quick scan on the remains, and then gave the robot its instructions. It reached out and pushed his ear out of the way, revealing a metal plate with a small numerical pad embedded in Karbunkle's skull. It tapped in a series of numbers, waited a minute, and then popped the plate off and reached into the now bleeding hole. With a wet squelch, it pulled out a long metal cylinder, and Karbunkle dropped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The robot ignored the body and moved forward, inserting the cylinder into the grey mouse's head. Wires sprung from the tube, burying themselves deep into the brain tissue.

The tail twitched as the robot covered the gory hole with another metal plate. A quick administration of ten thousand volts of electricity restarted cardiac efforts, and helped the acclimation process along. A few minutes later, the mouse's chest rose and fell in a regular rhythm. Red eyes opened, now eerily calm and blank. The restraints were slipped off by the robot, and the mouse rose up from the table, absently wiping the blood from its eyes and face.

The robot approached again, this time carrying a long black lab coat that almost didn't fit across the broad shoulders of the mouse. It fell down to the sides of his calves, and he dusted off a spot from his khaki-cargo pants. Black military boots thunked as he walked around the table, tesing out his balance and reflexes. A cruel smile twisted his once handsome face, and a deep voice was now tainted with hissing as it spoke, "At last, a body worthy of this magnificent brain. Some good can finally come from this wasted experiment."

He toed his older body out of the way, striding for the door. "Clean that mess up, robot. Hmm. You know, I almost feel sorry for those wretched mice," Karbunkle said in his new form. "They might recognize the body, but they still won't know what hit them. Like a bullet, I'd imagine, for the shock of it. Ah. Like a bullet. A bullet of very high caliber. Hahaha! Caliber! I like it! Caliber! Dr. Caliber Karbunkle! HahahaHAHAHAHAHA!"

*&*&*&*&&

....ug. nearly made myself sick with that one.