"Okay," Uno resumed. "I'm here. I can't believe we're the last ones left."

Quatro tersely responded, "I can. Now prepare, I lost Sweet Tooth and he's headed your way."

"I can see him. I'm ready."

"I have a problem of my own to deal with over here. I'll finish it as soon as I can and come to help you. Quatro out."

"If I need it. Melanie out," Uno said, maintaining her false identity.

Okay Mr. Crunch. You have my full undivided attention.

The hover bike hummed to life and elevated to about two feet off the ground and took after the street bike. He followed it into a drainage canal that went underneath a bridge. The canal continued through the city like a very long, sunken-in alleyway. Quatro was right behind the fleeing Stunt Devils and was closing in. He pressed a button which slid back the bulletproof dome of the convertible hoverbike and allowed him to expand from his contracted driving position and extend his lower set of arms.

He kept the hands of the lower set firmly grasping the steering wheel. His upper right hand cycled through the hover bike's weapon inventory while he was leaned as far out of the vehicle as possible with his upper left, as though reaching out to grab his target. Held in this hand was one of the four, standard issue laser pistols he received when he was first put into service.

Crunch laid forward on the bike, hugging it as he steered it to the left and right to avoid the the laser pistol blasts. His wildly laughing brunette passenger held on to him as she shot at Quatro's exposed head. The clip of her Uzi soon clicked dry, so she leaned closer to Crunch and grabbed one of the spare clips strapped to the front of his vest. Quatro held his finger on the trigger of his laser pistol to 'charge' his next shot.

He released the trigger. There was a grotesque splash of red and the passenger fell backward off the bike, her entire body missing from the waist up. Quatro hovered over and past her legs as he armed and fired another sticky detonator.

Crunch had finally found a shortcut out of the drainage canal and away from the constable droid. The semtex projectile stuck to the side of the street bike right as it made a sharp left turn, drove up the side of the canal and over a low chain-link fence. Quatro slowed the hover bike to a stop and paused for a moment, allowing Crunch to relish in a fool's victory. He retracted his arms and folded himself back down into the driver's compartment and pressed the same button as before to bring the bulletproof dome back over his head. He then turned around and headed back up the canal to the dirt plain. En route, Uno contacted him.

"Quatro, how are things looking on your end?"

Quatro clicked the detonator and said, "All clear here."

The announcer backed his claim, "Palerider destroyed. One opponent left."

Invitation to Twisted Metal (2023)

Mime