Back On Mars-Chapter Twenty-Five
Mars...desert planet...
A large landscape of yellow sand dunes spread out before our heroes.
"We're...home." Vinnie said, quietly.
"Sweet home." Modo smiled.
"Sure is." Throttle said, looking around, "Uh-oh. Don't look now, bros and sister. But we got company!"
Within minutes, a group of dune buggies came down over a sandy hill.
"Sand Raiders!" Modo cried out.
"Those rotten slavers!" Vinnie frowned.
Laser fire blasted the sandy ground. Carbine took out her blaster. Throttle and the mice went into battle mode.
"Looks like they decided to roll out the welcome mat." Throttle commented.
"Well, let's send them a thank you note!" Modo said, aiming his laser cannon at the group of Sand Raiders.
He fired blasting the Sand Raiders off their buggies into the air while their buggies exploded.
"Ha Ha!" The gray giant mouse laughed, as he blew the buggies a kiss.
"Music to my ears!" Throttle chuckled, activating the Nuke Knuckles on his hand.
"And mine!" Carbine said, socking a Sand Raider in the face.
Throttle's glowing fist smashed the faces of several Sand Raiders. Vinnie pressed a button on the computer console of his red Sportsbike. A missile came out of his bike blasting the dune buggy of one Sand Raider. The buggy flipped over colliding with another dune buggy.
"Awoooo! Just like old times, bros!" Vinnie crowed, fist in the air.
"Rockin' and a rollin'!" Modo grinned.
Soon, motorcycles began racing down the hill after the Sand Raiders. The fearsome warriors started to retreat as the cyclists got closer.
"Bros, you see what I see?" Throttle asked.
"Freedom Fighters! From the Martian Command Center." Carbine replied.
The bikers now rode up to the four mice. Commander Stoker now pulled off his helmet. Carbine saluted him.
"At ease, niece. Well, rookies, you made it." Stoker said.
"Cut the chit chat, coach. Where's Harley?" Vinnie asked, looking around.
"I'm right here."
The mice looked up to see a brown-haired Martian mouse now approach them. She wore the same clothes she had on when Mace kidnapped her, but she looked at them like they were strangers.
"Harley!" Throttle said.
"You're alive!" Modo exclaimed.
"Sweetheart...I... I'm so glad you're okay." Vinnie said, running up to her.
"Who are you?" She asked, backing away from him, "Do...I... know you?"
"Harley, it's me. Vinnie. Your Vinnie." He replied.
The lady mouse looked at him with a confused look.
"V... Vin...Uh..."
The girl began fainting. Everyone gasped. Fear reached the eyes of the white mouse. He quickly caught her as she fainted.
"Quick! We have to get her back to Martian Command."
"What's wrong with her?" Carbine asked.
"We don't know. She's been having these dizzy spells. "
"Maybe a result of what happened with Mace, you think?" Carbine thought, hand cupped under her chin as she thought aloud.
"Harley, no matter what me and my bros will do everything to help you." Vinnie said, staring intently at the unconscious girl in his arms.
...
Soon, Mace and Ondine were on the surface of Mars. Mace pressed a button on a ship, and it transformed into a hovercraft.
"Ingenius." Ondine said.
"Thank you. Harley should've arrived at Martian Command by now. If that's so, we can put phase two of my plan to work." Mace replied.
"Is she the old friend they will look up?"
"Of course. But as I said. She's on my side. She'll do what I tell her."
"And why would she betray her people? Her friends?" Ondine asked.
"Because while she was my prisoner, I had a simple microchip implanted in her brain. Actually, Dr. Carbunkle performed the operation. I had captured him and threatened to sell him to the Sand Raiders if he didn't help me."
"A microchip?"
"A subliminal chip. A device capable of making anyone loyal and subservient to Plutark as well as to the Rat population. The Martian Mouse Resistance has in their possession a device capable of turning any natural mineral into water. My people have been trying to steal it from them for years. We don't know where it is, but we know it's heavily guarded."
"Why is that so important?"
"Hello? Look at this planet. There isn't one drop of water for miles. With that device, I could produce as much water as this planet needs. I can save Mars! I can be the hero of Mars! I just need the location of the device."
"And this Harley will get it for us?"
"Yes. I've already implanted instructions for her to find out the location and then bring the device here."
...
Meanwhile, back on Earth...
Charley, Hecuba, and Vivica waited with bated breath for the guys to get back. They sat in Charley's kitchen at a small table with cups of coffee near them.
"Don't worry, cuz. He'll be okay. They all will." Vivica told her two friends.
"Am I that transparent?" Charley asked her cousin with an embarrassed look.
"Like glass."
"Modo will look after Vinnie and Throttle will look after them both." Hecuba said.
"I know Vinnie's a freedom fighter but sometimes his impulsiveness can get him in trouble." Charley replied.
"True. He's got a lot of mouth for a little mouse." Vivica said.
"But his heart is in the right place." Charley reflected.
He was going back to Mars to save it from evil alien Rats. No biggie for her muscle-bound hero. All in a day's work for them all. So why was she so worried?
Simple. This wasn't just a simple visit to Mars. He was going back to a place to be reunited with someone he once loved. Or does he still love her? Charley knew that Harley had been his ex-girlfriend. She was already kicking herself for allowing Vinnie to go back.
"Well, I know one thing, Carbine will be there to be the voice of reason for those three glory hounds." Charley chuckled.
"Oh, her. The ice princess." Vivica groaned.
"Her and Throttle are trying to repair their relationship. He chose her." Charley said, "There's nothing you can do about it."
"So you say."
Charley let out a yawn.
"Why don't you two girls take a nap? I'll continue to keep a watch in case Limburger tries to attack the garage." Vivica said.
"'Shouldn't you check on the baby?"
"I already looked in on him. He's still asleep." Vivica said.
"I'm quite tired." Hecuba said.
"Me, too."
The two women got up and went to sleep. When they left, Vivica sat at the table for a while. She waited a good twenty minutes. Then she got up and walked over to the tele transporter.
"Good thing I watched Cousin Charley carefully to see what keys she pressed to send the mice back to Mars." She thought.
She pressed a few keys and went inside the transportation device. Within minutes, she was gone.