The Best Laid Plans-Chapter 4
Vinnie pressed a button on his helmet. It activated an infra-red scanner on his visor.
"Ha! Knew it." He exclaimed, stopping to examine something on the ground.
"What is it!" Harley asked.
"Footprints! Charley's and those rotten slavers! And what's this?" He snatched, a blue piece of denim cloth near a small rock.
"A piece of Charley's shirt." He said, "They went this way.
The two bikers made it the tent of the Sand Raiders. Vinnie and Harley hid out of sight. Vinnie saw Charley tied to one of the large boulder with a thick rope. Her mouth was tied with a gag. But even with that, the white furred mouse could plainly see her top lip had dried blood on it. He knew she had been struck.
"That rotten Sand Raider's gonna pay. Big time!" He told himself.
The younger Sand Raider emerged from the tent. He hung over Charley.
"For your sake, those Martian Mice friends of yours better get here otherwise I'd hate to see a hot chick like you go to waste!" He murmured, ogling her body.
Suddenly, a laser blast shot in front of him making him jump back.
"Get away from her!" Vinnie cried out, aiming his blaster at the Sand Raider, "And keep away!"
He didn't notice the older Sand Raider sneaking up on him from behind with a knife but Harley saw him. Quick as a flash, she karate-kicked the knife out of his hand and punched him in the jaw knocking him to the ground.
"Sweetheart, that was amazing. Where'd you learn that?" Vinnie asked, excitedly.
"My secret. I'll free Charley." Harley replied, with a smile.
She then ran behind Charley untying her.
"Not so fast, moppet mouse!" The younger Sand Raider said attempting to strike her.
"Need a light?" Vinnie fired one of his flares knocking the guy into the air and into a boulder.
"Hold on. I'll have you free soon." She said.
Charley's eyes flooded with relief at first at seeing Vinnie then widened. She quickly removed her gag with her freed hands.
"Get out of here! Carbunkle's set a trap!" She cried out.
Before the they could do anything, they were knocked to the ground.
"Welcome to your demise, miserable rodents!" Carbunkle said.
The deranged doc was dressed in a powerful cybernetic metal suit. He wore a crystal clear helmet. Jet propelled boosters protruded from the back. He now had laser cannons and proton blasters aimed at the three figures.
"Oh, man. This is a total bummer!" Vinnie groaned.
"Bye-bye!" Carbunkle grinned, maliciously.
Within minutes, a laser blast shot the chest of the cyber suit. It fell along with Carbunkle to the ground. Vinnie, Charley, and Harley looked to see Modo standing a few feet from Carbunkle aiming a smoking laser cannon attached to his cybernetic arm.
"Didn't your mama ever teach you not to play with dangerous weapons?" He chuckled.
The younger Sand Raider woke up and picked up a knife attempting to hurl it at Modo when Throttle kicked it out of his hand.
'Uh-uh-uh. Not happening, Dog Breath." He said.
The Sand Raider unbeknownst to Throttle had grabbed some dirt attempting to throw it into his eyes. He felt a foot stomp his hand. Finn had stepped on it.
"Not very sporting, are you?" He asked him.
"Much obliged." Throttle said, grinning at Finn.
"Anytime." Finn grinned back.
...
"You sure about this?" Vinnie asked.
"Positive." Stoker said.
At Martian Command, the Biker Mice and their friends met in the control room.
Stoker had just put an odd looking collar around Vinnie's neck.
"C'mon, Vin. Press the button. " Stoker told him.
Vinnie pressed a red button on the side of the collar and transformed into a young, Plutarkian officer.
"Did it work?" He asked.
"See for yourself." Stoker replied, directing him to a large mirror.
'Ugh! This isn't permanent, I hope."
"I don't know. I always thought the way you guzzle down root beers says you drink like a fish." Charley teased.
"Harde har har." Vinnie replied, rolling his eyes.
"It lasts no more than two hours. Then you revert back to normal. My holograph collars can make you look like anyone." Stoker explained, "Just hit the red button to activate it."
Throttle put on a collar and so did Modo. The two mice hit the red button on the collars transforming them into Plutarkian soldiers.
"More than enough time to go to Plutark, snag the Regenerator, and get back to Mars." Throttle said.
"We're gonna need someone to hack into their computers and turn off their forcefield." Carbine said.
"I can do that. I know the computer systems password."Zephrine said.
"You know we can't just fly there unannounced. We have to have a reason for being there." Modo said.
"We do. The capture of Plutark's Most Wanted." Throttle said, laying a hand on Finn's shoulder.
"Now, wait a minute. You can't take him back to Plutark. The High Chairman will kill him!" Zephrine cried out.
"She's right. He's been declared an enemy of our planet as we have. We can't go back. None of us can." Gil told them.
"But if our people saw the Regenerator in action, they'd rebel against the High Council." Puffer said, "If we can convince the Higher Ups that Finn had agreed to surrender, they'll let down their guard and we can steal the Regenerator from under their gills."
"But I'm not going to surrender." Finn said.
"Not for real."
"He's right. It's the only opening we've got." Throttle said.
...
Harley had slipped away and went outside Martian Command. She hopped on her bike and took off.
Charley just happened to look out the window.
"I wonder where she's going?" Charley wondered, "Only one way to find out."
Charley got away from the group and went outside. She got on her bike and took off.
...
Harley rode to Olympus Mounds. It was a trio of extinct volcanoes that existed for hundreds of years.
Harley got off her bike and pulled off her helmet. She whistled an owl-like sound. She did it twice. Someone whistled back. This person then stepped out of the shadows. He was a black Martian Rat. His fur was jet black and shimmering in the Martian moonlight.
"What do you have to report?" He asked Harley.
"The Regenerator is on Plutark. The Martian Mice are planning to get it and bring it back to Mars." She replied.
"Then once they have it, we can take it from them." He replied.
Charley had rode a good distance from Harley. The young mechanic had taken care to follow her without being seen. She now crept behind a rock and saw Harley talking with the Martian Rat.
"I don't like it, Shadow." Harley was saying. She was walking away from the tall Rat with her back to him. He walked behind her. Charley saw him place his hands on her shoulders.
"You're not having second thoughts, are you, my dear?" He asked, gently.
"I feel like I'm betraying them." She replied.
"As to "them," you really mean your ex-boyfriend." He said.
"Vinnie? He was...special to me." She looked away.
A deep aching resurfaced in her heart. Harley had loved Vinnie. She thought he felt the same way. She knew he had a reputation for being a lady killer. He shamelessly flirted with any cute girl he saw that had a pulse. She knew about countless girlfriends the young mouse had in the past. But it didn't matter to her. I mean the guy was seriously cute and incredibly sexy! What girl wouldn't find him appealing?
"He never cared about you. The rotten cad! He abandoned you just like the rest." Shadow spat out. He didn't like Vinnie at all. He felt like he was nothing but a worthless scoundrel that used women for his own pleasure.
Tears formed in Harley's eyes. The Rat stopped fussing when he saw how upset she was. He took her in his arms and turned her around till she was facing him.
"I'm sorry, Harley. I never should have said that."
His red eyes gazed on the beige mouse tenderly.
"I just want you to be happy." He said.
"He loves her." Charley thought, observing the way Shadow watched Harley with longing.
"Shadow, I never forgot your kindness to a poor mouse like me. If not for you and your brothers, I might have died that day Mace left me for dead." She told him.
"If our people had the Regenerator in our possession, this world would bow to us, including the Martian Mice."
"I know. The Nomad Rats are my people now. And I will do whatever I can to insure our survival." She said.