Gargoyles
&
Biker Mice from Mars
"Business Partners"
Chp 7
"So, what's the gameplay now?" Modo shouted out over the late night traffic, almost early morning yet still busy Manhattan Streets. "You mean besides getting another helmet for Throttle before he gets a ticket for riding without one!?" Vinnie chuckled.
"I think getting a ticket would be the least of our problems!" Throttle shouted back to be heard, his fur and antenna blowing in the strong winds. "Hey, that's one of the great things about the Big Apple, that wonderful mindset of "not my problem!" Lex replied, still amazed at how the humans of New York City tended to be able to ignore certain things...
"Seeing as how we've already passed two cop cars, and neither of them has made any attempt to come after us, I think it's a pretty safe bet they aren't going to!" Broadway laughed! "Take one look at us, and do you blame them!?" Brooklynn gruffly remarked. "Even by New York standards, we do make an unusual sight!
It was a strange sight indeed. The three powerful motorcycles with matching sidecars race along the motorway on the outer edge of the island. Not to mention the 3 fuzzy bikers with long tails, and the 4 large scaly-looking passengers in the sidecars.
The Mice effortlessly weaved in, out, and around the Manhattan Traffic. Treating it like it was a game. Almost. Their powerful bikes have no problems outperforming the mundane by comparison to earth vehicles. They left the insult hurling to the Gargoyles, being more up to speed with the more Colorful Aspects of the Manhattan Dialect.
Broadway riding beside Vinnie, with Charley in her normal spot behind him. Lex was seated behind Throttle with Brooklynn in his sidecar. Hudson was paired with Modo, doing his best to keep the blatant uncomfortable look of fear off his old face. He wasn't used to moving at these speeds, especially this close to the ground.
"You doing OK Mr. Hudson sir?" Modo asked, checking on his gargoyle passenger. "Oh, uh ah, aye lad, I'm, I'm doing just fine, but I am starting to see the Wisdom of wearing a helmet while partaking of this activity! "Oh, and I'm sorry about the paint Lad!" Hudson apologized, doing his best to keep his claws from doing any more damage where he was Firmly grasping the sidecar's railing.
"Oh, that aint no prob sir, a few scratches just adds more character, and I don't put out the sidecar enough it will get noticed, and I know Lil Hoss don't mind do ya, boy!?" Modo smiled while chuckling, patting Lil' Hoss, his bike behind its headlight. The Bike gave out a few happy beeping noises.
"Well, we did promise them a ride they wouldn't forget!" Vinnie laughed, gunning his engine while doing a small wheelie. "They also need to survive it to remember it." Charley pointed out by bopping the back of his helmeted head. "Oh, this aint the ride we promised that they'd never forget sweetheart!"
"Wow! Really!?" Broadway smiled in eager anticipation! "Oh, it'll blow yer wings off I guarantee!" Vinnie smiled back while putting a paw out, and Broadway eagerly performed the expected knuckle bump! "Just let me know when, so I can be sure to skip out on that one!" Charley groaned. She'd been on enough rides she Wished she could forget!
"As much fun as that is to look forward to, it really is important that we get home before sunrise." Brooklynn pointed out, inadvertently putting a bit of a downer on the mood. One of the perks of being a leader He gloomily thought to himself as he looked at the still-dark for now eastern horizon.
"Hey, don't fret it, just point out to us where Limburger is keeping his machines, and we'll make sure you guys get home before that can happen." Throttle reassured him. "Yeah, as My Dear Old Gray Furred Mama always says, never overlook the importance of getting a good night, or day's Rest!" Modo added cheerfully.
"Ugh, I hate bedtimes, I prefer to Party Hard All Night & Rock & Ride All Day!" Vinnie joked while revving his motor to a certain old tune. "Oh, yeah right, until the Root Beer Sugar Buzz wears off and you get all cranky when you don't get your Afternoon nap!" Charley pointed out. "HEY, I Do Not Take Naps!" Vinnie huffed.
"It might not hurt if you did, I mean you do tend to get a bit cranky when late afternoon rolls around." Modo added. "Yeah, you could get a nice warm bottle of root beer and just curl up and just think of it as recharging your battery instead of a Nap."
"Save a lot of wear and tear on the furniture too." Throttle called out. "Oh, Ha, ha, real funny! I just LOVE it when we get to the Make Fun of Vinnie segment of the night!" He snapped. "What do you mean Segment? Seems to me it rolls around a lot more than once!" Throttle said tossing in one more jab at his friend's ego.
"At least I won't have to put up with your nagging in my ear during the battles now, oh Mister No-Helmet!" Vinnie snapped, tossing out the first comeback he thought of, instantly regretting it due to it sounding a bit lame. Everyone laughing again didn't help.
"I'm really sorry about losing it back there." Lex apologized again, still feeling the guilt for the loss. "Hey, no fault on your end little guy, that stuff just happens during a fight, so don't fret over it, besides I'm sure I'll get it back." Throttle reassured him. "That and it was My idea to throw it." Lex smiled at the comforting reply but still couldn't help feeling a little guilty at it being left behind on The Castle's tower.
"Now that we've gotten the comedy and drama taken care of, what is the game plan, I ask out of sheer curiosity." Brooklynn asked to get the conversation back on track, as much as to just change the subject. "Simple, you just point out where Limburger is keeping his stuff and we take it from there, all taken care of, simple as that, your guy's part in all of this is done for." Throttle laid out his simple battle strategy.
"You're sure you don't need our help, I mean we'll be happy to tag along, you know, just in case you do need any help!?" Broadway eagerly suggested, almost keeping the sound of more than obvious disappointment out of his voice, clearly not looking forward to being left out of any of the action.
'Nah, we got this, it'll be easy, it's just our old pal stink-face, we'll probably have this all taken care of in 5, 10 minutes tops. I mean Old Lard Butt didn't even think to bring any of his Goons with him." Vinnie pointed out, brimming with his usual level of confidence.
"Yeah, we got this down pat at this point, destroying all of Limburger's plans and stuff is practically our hobby by now!" Modo chuckled revving himself up for the expected easy fight coming up. "Be smooth as root beer!"
"Oh, yeah, sure it will, it isn't like Limburger has ever tripped, tricked or just straight up pulled the rug out from under you guys before, never!" Charley scoffed, again feeling surprised and disbelief at their overconfidence, and seemingly never learning past, hard lessons.
"We've got Limburger on the run this time, Charley." Throttle told her. "We've beaten Him so many times at this point, He's had to tuck his tail between his legs and run out here to New York. Those last three epic thrashings we handed out to him, he aint got nothing left at this point."
"Have you guys ever heard the saying about Famous Last Words?" Charley grumbled. "Nope. Nuh-uh. Maybe if you hummed it." All 3 Martians joked teasingly. "Oh, why do I even bother at this point!?" She groaned.
"Ya aint got nothing to fret about Charley Girl, we'll just hand Old Lard Butt another pounding, and we'll have you back in Chi-Town before you know it. "Modo said doing his best to reassure her everything would work out.
"Yeah, well we aint going back to Chicago until after I've gotten a genuine 100% can't be duplicated New York Coney Dog!" Vinnie adamantly stated. "Ohl the best ones to get are the ones from the Vendor Cars on the west side of Coney Island, the ones in the park itself are all overpriced and have gone downhill." Broadway informed him.
"Wow, really, that kind of sucks, it just kind of spoils the magic of going to the NYC Boardwalk for the first time, but It won't stop me, I will Get That Dog!" He declared. Broadway smiled, it was always fun to meet a fellow junk food lover and aficionado.
Yes, Vinnie, those Bucket List Priorities are pretty important, never let them get in the way of the really trivial stuff, like saving the city and planet." Modo teased his white-furred brother in arms. "Let it never be said that I didn't know the importance of keeping the truly significant in the correct perspective." Vinnie mockingly huffed.
"A Good Coney is a thing to be savored, so never pass up the moment to partake in its splendor." Broadway pointed out. "Well, it's very obvious You've never passed one up either." Lex smirked. "Ha, ha not funny!" Broadway huffed, crossing arms over his belly.
"How about we start by shelving the New York Coney Culinary Planning Tour Talks until After we make sure the city doesn't get turned into an empty crater?" Brooklynn abruptly said cutting the tomfoolery off. "We're almost there, take the next offramp and it will go straight to the industrial warehouses next to the docks. That's where Xanatos is storing your Fish Guy's machines and equipment."
"How can we tell which is which?" Modo asked as they entered the Dock's Warehouse area. "Easy. Xanatos's are the biggest ones, and they have his name plastered all over them." He pointed out ahead, and sure enough. The Xanatos's Warehouses were already plainly in view.
"Man, the Egos on these guys can be something else." Vinnie sighed. "What?" He asked realizing almost 7 sets of eyes were blankly looking directly at him. "Oh, Nothing." 7 responses rapidly shot out. A few seconds went by. 'Oh, Ha, ha, Real Funny! "Everybody just had to laugh again.
Slowing on the last turn they spotted the entry gates to Xanatos's area. "Ok, I think we can handle it from here, so your guys' part in this is done, can't say how much we appreciate all the help you've given us!" Throttle called out turning to Brooklynn.
"No problem, it's been a night I don't think any of us will forget anytime soon." The Brown Gargoyle replied. "I hate to ask, but there is One More thing You can do for us." Throttle said while nodding as discreetly as he could.
Confused Brooklynn stared at him for a few seconds, turned, and looked at the area he was indicating at. Modo and Vinnie making similar gestures. Tilting heads and jerking eyes. He finally got it. "Oh, oh, sure yeah, I think we can do that, yeah we got it." He turned to the other gargoyles and gave them some of their own signals.
"What are you guys…what are you up to?" Charley asked, starting to get an all too familiar feeling. "No! No, don't you do it, don't you guys' Dare do it!" She threatened. Lex gave her a sad smile that didn't carry over to his eyes. "Sorry, Charley, but it looks like we get to hang out for a little while longer! Hudson rolled his eyes. He was starting to look forward to the day's stone sleep. He had a feeling he was really going to need it.
Brooklynn and Broadway leaned towards her and carefully but firmly took ahold of her arms. "Hang On, Charley, we're going for a little trip." Brooklynn said and all the Gargoyles let their wings full out. The Mice speed up, and all four of the creatures with a now very angry human female securely in claw whooshed up into the night sky.
"You're dead, all 3 of you! I'm gonna skin you alive and make throw rugs out of your hides! Then I'm going to cut your tails off and hang 'em over my garage door, and then I'm gonna…!" Curses and threats floated down to them even after they all disappeared into the dark Manhattan night sky!
"Toodles Charley!" Modo waved goodbye. Glad to be out of earshot of the kind of talk his Mama would most definitely not approve of. "Ooh Hoo, I Love it when she talks all spicey & spunky like that, such a turn-on!" Vinnie leered, enjoying it more than he should.
"I just hope the night air helps cool her temper off because I for one would prefer to keep my tail and hide firmly where they're at." Throttle sighed, grateful for not having the audio enhancements of his helmet right now.
"So, to reiterate, how we playing this?" Modo asked again. "This aint Limburger's personal property, we go in hard or soft?" Gray and White Martian looked at their Tan Leader, waiting for his answer, as all 3 mice retracted the sidecars back into their bikes.
"Normally, I would say soft, we don't want to destroy some innocent or duped human who's helping the Big Stink-cheese not knowing what he is.' He replied. Modo & Vinnie looked at each other, their shoulders slightly slumping.
"…But." Throttle said, Modo & Vinnie's shoulders perked up. "This guy aint so innocent, so We Rock the Walls of the Joint!" Vinnie & Modo's smiles showed their approval of His call on their preferred way to play. "But, with restraint." He finished.
"Restraint, what the cheese is that supposed to mean?" Vinnie blurted out, not happy with what he just heard. Restraint was not a thing he had any real experience with. "It means we don't bring the buildings down, but if some windows get broke, or the paint and carpet gets mussed up, well, that's just too bad." Throttle smiled while clarifying.
"Sounds like we might make a few new enemies with the cleaning lady union." Modo joked. "So, we wipe our tires before we wreck the place." Vinnies playfully smirked. "I'm sure they won't mind the overtime, and rich guys like this got good insurance, so it'll all be fine." Throttle pointed out, attempting to assuage any guilt.
"Speaking of insurance, aren't you forgetting Freedom Fighter Rule #3, which is as I seem to recall about Not going into battle without the proper accouterment?" Vinnie smirked while pointing at his head, reminding Throttle of his being kind of underdressed.
"Ah, but you're forgetting Stoker's Special Addendum to all rules." Throttle pointed out. Vinnie's blank stare pretty much answered that he didn't remember it. "What's that?" Modo guffawed and answered him. "Rules are Made to be Broken!"
"Oh, yeah, I Love that Addendum!" Vinnie enthusiastically hooted. "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll let you and Modo go first, that way you two can take the brunt of all the explosions and shoot back." Throttle offered.
"Oh, Gosh Gee Willikers, yer so good to us Boss Mouse!" Modo smirked rolling his one eye. "Sounds like we get to earn some overtime, so I'm all for it!" Vinnie happily added. "Well, I do my best to keep my two underlings happy." Throttle smirked.
"Well, I know one thing that always makes me feel happy!" Modo said, obviously setting up for a punchline. "And what would that be?" Vinnie willingly asked. "Why Vincent it's to WHIP TAIL!" He hollered. Vinnie & Throttle agreed & gunned their engines as well.
"…and then I'm gonna switch em to sugar-free root beer and veggie hot dogs, and, uh, make them wear only Pink Tutu's for a Month!" Charley snapped out with her last breath. Her anger-fueled rant finally started to lose steam and peter out.
The Gargoyles exchanged uncomfortable glances while hoping they were soaring high enough in the sky that no one on the ground could hear them, because if they could, well if what they overhead didn't shock them, the sight would.
"So, um do you get pushed off onto the sidelines often?" Lex carefully queried, hoping to possibly defuse the tension. It almost worked, kind of. At least at lowering the volume if not exactly the vitriol. They'd learned pretty quickly to proceed with extra caution when getting into one of these "Human Discussions"
"All the freaking time!" Charley snapped her familiar frustration with the situation on full display. "Those Macho Mop Heads are always doing this, claiming it's for my own protection!" Taking a deep breath, she managed to gain some control over her boiling temper.
"Sorry, I don't mean to unload my baggage on you guys, I just find it irritating how sexism seems to be a universal constant." The Gargoyles exchanged uncomfortable glances again, not sure how to respond to all this. Humans were such a hard species to understand, much less relate to sometimes.
"I don't suppose you could cheer me up and tell me that gargoyles are better than that?" she smiled half-jokingly. The Trio all quickly looked to Hudson, affirming that it was up to him to answer her. The Elder Gargoyle just wearily rolled his eyes and did an amazing job of refraining from making a disparaging comment about the younger generations!
"Well, our culture is indeed quite different from that of humans, it is something akin to that of small closely knit groups that form a Clan of sorts, and we tend to breed far slower than you humans so there have always been far fewer of us than humans."
Charley nodded, engrossed in Hudson's retelling of history, so much that she almost forgot that she was several hundred feet in the air being held by securely by a very non-human creature. "We hatch from eggs, and once the young reach a certain age, they are brought into the clans proper and trained to be hunters and warriors, both the males and females."
"That's why were all such great warriors!" Broadway boasted, making sure to show off his muscular arms and shoulders, empathizing with his size compared to his smaller and leaner clan mates. "Yeah, sure whatever you say Blowhard the Barbarian." Lex smirked. This got another indignant Snort from Broadway.
"So, you do allow the females to fight alongside the guys, no discriminations or other silly beliefs like say Humans and some Mice seem to hold?" Again, the Gargoyles looked at each other, considering how best to answer Charley's questions.
"Well, I guess not, but we seem to be more equal in size and strength than humans do." Brooklynn replied, "Barring some exceptions like our leader Goliath, he's larger and stronger than any other gargoyle I've ever heard of. "What about Thailog?" Broadway asked. "He doesn't count!" Broadway snapped.
"That, and not to sound insulting, or degrading Charley, but when compared to us, you humans really aren't as strong or durable." Lex said to her, as he glided up closer. "Yeah, you're just so soft and squishy…What?!" Broadway asked as the groans rolled out of his 3 clan members at his somewhat insensitive comment.
Charley rolled her eyes but still laughed at the somewhat familiar goofy antics. "Uh, it isn't like I don't think humans can't be tough, or uh, that is they can't fight, I mean you seem like you could handle yourself pretty well, kind of like Elisa!" The Big Green Gargoyle gushed, trying to cover and make up for his comments.
"No insult taken big guy, so yeah, I get it. It's not the first time I've had such differences pointed out to me." Charley said quickly defusing the situation and hopefully levitating any embarrassment Broadway might be feeling, and changing the subject. "So, whose Elisa? I've heard you mention her before."
"Oh, she's our human friend!" Lex said, "She helps us get acclimatized to the Modern Human Culture since we, um first came to New York a couple of years ago." Broadway jumped in next. "She knows all about New York and she helped us find a place to stay during the daytime and she even got us a TV too!"
"Pretty good in a fight, huh? So, you guys don't stop her from going into fights and stuff?
Charley asked. "Well, yeah sure, I mean she gets kind of upset when we used to try and stop her from doing it." Broadway replied to her hesitantly, as if he was afraid of saying the wrong thing now.
"Oh? Why's that?" Her intrigue peaking. It wasn't often Charley got to have a calm and smooth conversation like this. "It's because She's a Cop, and she gets offended when we get in the way of doing her duty. "Brooklynn bluntly told her, having both seen and experienced the mistake of doing said interference.
She had to admit, that was pretty good reasoning. It still stung when the Mice got all protective but chose to hide it behind their usual masks of machismo. It was a mix of being endearing and exasperating at the same time.
"One of the main prerogatives of Gargoyle Culture is to be Protectors, of the clan, our territories, and those very few that choose to become our friends or allies." Hudson added to the conversation. "It used to be said that A Gargoyle can No More Stop Breathing than to stop protecting The Castle." The Old Gargoyle sadly smiled, as hard-learned lessons flickered across his memory.
"Having spent far too much of my life on the battlefield, losing those that you trust, care, or worse of all love is truly the most horrible of experiences, especially when you are there to witness it, so no, watching those want to rush into battle is not something anyone should ever take lightly."
The Gargoyles didn't seem all that different from the Bros, at least not the few that She had met. Well, barring a few personality differences that is. Granted the Gargoyles seemed to be a bit more stoic and open about it.
She smiled. They chose to hide it behind big walls of bluster, guff, and extreme levels of macho-fueled bravado. The flip side of the same coin. This was backed up, that even at the height they were gliding, the roaring of the Mice's bike motors could be heard and getting louder.
The Large-eared Gargoyles didn't miss this either. "Just to ask for our benefit, what kind of action can we expect to see play out here?" Brooklynn asked, always willing to learn new tactics and things, because being a warrior of course.
"Lemme ask this, how do you guys prefer to fight? The Trio exchanged looks, they had to think about it for a few seconds. Hudson looked at them too, like a teacher waiting to see the Answer his students were about to reply with.
"Putting it as simply as possible, we try to use a combination of stealth and fear," Lex said. "Being a strictly nocturnal species, we use the darkness and how it affects the local area to the best advantage we can." The almost imperceptible nod from Hudson confirmed that Lex gave the right answer.
"Yeah, using the whole Creature of the Night to the best advantage." Broadway said, and to demonstrate bared his fangs, and claws. He also did that trick with his eyes to reflect what light there was, making them appear to literally glow.
Charley had to admit. Seeing that coming at you from out of the dark, she could see it being a very effective tactic. Hudson again silently agreed and approved. "To ask you, what kind of strategy do your friends like to use?" Brookly said, tossing the ball back to her.
"Well, let's put it this way. You guys like to use stealth, while the Mice on the other hand, you can hear them coming from miles away, and the best response to that is, have you ever heard the expression Run Like Hell?" All 4 of the Gargoyle's eyes popped open. The even louder roar from the 3 bikes gave them a hint of what was about to happen.
"Aw, man this is so cool, can't believe I got another Security Guard Job, and this one is a super sweet deal too!" Vinnie Grigori cheerfully said talking to himself. "All I gotta do is ride all around Mr. Xanatos's Warehouses and docks all night, and I get to use this cool security cart!" He couldn't keep the pleased expression off his face.
"Mr. X seems like a pretty cool guy too, for a Billionaire anyway. Nowhere near as strict or stuck up like that Grumpy Old Mr. Renard, or the uptight assistant Vogel! It's not as creepy as Dr. Servarius either. Sure, Mr. Burnett is kind of a square but still not a complete jerk like Mr. Vogle, wonder if they're related?"
"No sir. I aint gonna let anyone mess this gig up. No weirdness or flying freaks this time. Nope. Looks like my run of Bad Luck is Finally over!" Smiling again he steered the security cart around the corner of a warehouse and moved out along a section of perimeter fence. "WHAT THE…!?"
No sooner had He cleared the corner than he and the cart were bathed in a glaring white light! Everything started shaking when the wall of sound hit him! Powerful Engines and ear shatteringly loud Heavy Metal Music all but knocked him and the cart over! The shaking ground almost had him wondering if he was in California, and not New York!
"YIKES!" Vinnie G gasped and slammed his foot down on the Security Cart's gas pedal! The not-very-strong engine got the cart to jump forward, just managing to get out of the way as the path of the, well whatever it was!
At the last instant the 3 machines launched into the air on thundering jets of flame, just clearing the top of the 15-foot-tall barbwire topped fence! "Woah, Nice Bikes!" Vinnie Grigori gasped catching a look at the super machines passing over his head.
"Thanks, Citizen!" Vinnie called from his bike and gave a jaunty little wave! The Mice thumped on the pavement and rocketed away down the docks. Vinnie G watched them go almost mesmerized by the sight when he should've kept his mind on other things. Like, say steering his Security Cart!
BASH! CRUNCH! "UGH!" Slamming into the base of a Light Pole, Vinnie G tumbled out of the Security cart. He shook his head clearing it and slowly looked at the cart. "Oh, man, this aint good!" He moaned at the sight of the crumpled, and dented vehicle.
"I just know I'm gonna get fired for this. Maybe my bad luck run aint over yet. I guess it could've been worse." He sighed. A nasty creaking and cracking noise sounded. The Light Pole base was damaged in the crash, and it was starting to bend and break!
CREAK, CRUNCH, GRIND, SNAP! The Pole tumbled downward, crashing into a large metal dumpster next to a wall. BASH! The large industrial lights shattered into the container, sparks, and static discharging all over!
KA-BOOM, FWOOSH! Something very flammable that had been improperly disposed of in the dumpster ignited and sent it hurtling up on a fireball. CRASH! It came down right on top of the Security Cart, which instantly burst into flames as well. "Aww geez and I can't even blame this on those Big Freaky Monsters!" Vinnie Grigori groaned.
"OK Bros, let's do this fast and not so neat, strike fast, get out fast!" Throttle shouted to be heard over the fast-moving motorcycles, his voice almost being lost in the high-speed wind. "We trash all of Limburger's toys and vacate the area before Dock Security gets involved."
"Uh, I don't think that's gonna be a problem." Vinnie muttered, looking in his rearview at the burning security cart and its confused guard. "What was that Vin?" Throttle called out, missing what Vinnie said, who just gave a quick Nothing for a reply.
"So, we play this like a typical Vinnie date, in and done before they know what hit em." Modo smirked, Vinnie's loud HEY only made it bigger. "How bout Wham Bam Thank Ya Ma'am # 7?" Throttle grinned too. "Good Call Big Bro, let's do it!" Vinnie agreed by laughing like a mad mouse!
"Looks like we got an extra special audience so, let's be sure to put on a real good show!" Modo chuckled spotting Charley and the Gargoyles landing on the Warehouse roof. "Oh, I Always work better with one of those!" Vinnie grinned, ever the showoff! And with that, the 3 Martians increased their speed! "Let's do Chi-Town proud, Bros!" Throttle joined in with a chuckle. "So, let's do it right and ROCK & RIDE!" Revving their engines they charged towards the warehouse's big doors!
The Trio scurried across the slightly slanting metal roof to the seemingly mandatorily required large rooftop skylight window that every New York building seems to have. "Hey, look out! Watch what you're doing! Move over I can't see!" They bickered while jostling to get the best view they could at the window ledge.
Charley couldn't help but smile as she took off her helmet and attached its strap to her belt loop. They reminded her of 3 little kids fighting for control over the TV to decide which Saturday Morning Cartoon to watch.
"Not going to watch the fight, Hudson?" Charley asked, noticing the Elder Gargoyle not joining the others, but keeping back, keeping a seasoned sentinel around for trouble. "What, oh, nay lass. I've seen far too much fighting over my long life to find watching it an enjoyable pastime." He told her while still maintaining his vigilance.
He also seemed very concerned with keeping a close eye on the eastern sea, but all Charley could see was the big empty Manhattan Bay. Shrugging, she went to join the trio looking down into the dark warehouse. The large area was pitch black and dead silent to her, but for the Trio, it was a different matter.
"Oh, Boy! We get to see the Mice and their bikes in battle, this is gonna be so cool!" Broadway chuckled, eagerly anticipating the next few minutes. "I want to see just what the technology of their bikes can do!" Lex added just as excited, claiming it was mostly his scientific curiosity.
"I want to see just what these guys are like in battle, so we can get a real idea of just what they are capable of and how they fight. Brooklynn grumbled staring intently into the darkness through the window. Lex and Broadway wisely kept silent at their Fill-In-Clan Leader's obvious lingering mistrust.
"You guys are going to need to take hold of something." Charley said as she knelt next to them and took a firm grip on the windowsill. "Why's that?" Broadway asked with a confused look, while still doing as she advised. "Because these Mice don't play Nice." Charley replied deadpan. The Trio glanced at each other, but they got the answer quickly.
BAM! "Huh!? Hey!? Whoa!?" The whole warehouse shuddered under them as the Mice crashed through the large metal doors! The Trio's gripped the windowsill, cracking and bending the metal. Hudson almost fell off the roof, only saved by extending his wings out to get his balance! Charley couldn't help but smile.
"Hey, Stinkfish, Guess WHO!" Vinnie yelled out. "We come to welcome you to the Big Apple, by sending you Packing!" Modo barked, eye glowing red, ready to do just that. The only reply was the rumble of their bike motors. "Uh…Hello, anybody home!?"
"Did we get the wrong address?" Vinnie asked. "Nope, this is the right place, those confirm it." Throttle pointed at the Large Alien Machines of the Weird Plutarkians in front of them, highlighted by their bike headlights. "Plus, you can't mistake the Aroma De Limburger!" Throttle snorted, waving a paw in front of his nose, really missing the air filters on his helmet right now.
"Well, it just ruins the whole surprise party when the Pest of Honor don't show up for it." Vinnie jokingly huffed. "Too bad, we'll just have to Party without him!" Modo said. "He'll miss us Breaking All His Toys too, poor guy."
"Like the song goes, it's our Party, and We can TRASH it if we Want To!" Throttle said, revving his motor and activating his bike's weapons. "Now that's a song I can dance to!" Modo chuckled doing the same. "Woohoo sounds like this lame event is about to turn into a real BASH!" Vinnie laughed joining in. Somewhere a phone rang in the warehouse.
Blasters, and Missiles ready to blow the Machines into scrap, their weapons locked onto their targets, they rocketed forward! Motors and Metal Music Roaring, all three of the Mice almost missed the series of clicking noises in the dark corners of the warehouse.
The Gloom vanished when the Plutarkian Machines erupted into a blazing light show! Just as their fingers pulled their weapon triggers, the machines Vanished, to be replaced with a room now filled with regular-looking boxes and crates, all with Xanatos's logo on them!
It all exploded in balls of flame and burning chunks of wood and metal! Flaming debris fell on and around the Mice, big chunks of something, Throttle again really missing his helmet. "Uh…oops?!" Modo muttered perplexed. "What the Cheese was That!?" Vinnie shouted as they all looked around in befuddlement as their targets blinked out of existence.
"I don't know but, we've been snookered bros!" Throttle growled, struggling to figure out what had just happened, rubbing his sore head, and not happy about it. "So, what did we just blast?" Vinnie asked, he hated it when he missed. Modo leaned over and picked up some of the smoldering remains.
"Uh, VCRS, and ooh, some of those new DVD players!" Modo said. "Looks like we just ruined somebody's movie night." Vinnie lamely joked. "I say it's time we edited ourselves out of this scene before MPA comes after us." Throttle called out, already turning his bike towards the hole they made in the doors.
"It aint the MPA you need to worry about, because if anyone Slashes you Freaks from this production it's gonna be us, they just destroyed the merchandise, and my new weapons smuggling scheme, Waste em Boys!" Tony Dracon furiously shouted out from a shadowy catwalk above them. Several weapon safeties could be heard switching off.
Crimson Energy Bolts rained down on them and from over a dozen spots all around them. Dracon's Thugs firing from behind crates, metal supports, and the catwalks above them! "All Right, this is more like it, let's Whip Some Tail!" Vinnie excitedly called out. Nothing got his green blood pumping like a firefight! "Yeah!" Modo smiled, single eye glowing red, always ready for a good rumble himself!
"NO, We Turn Tail!" Throttle shouted, interrupting The White Martians Battle Rush!
What, Why Not!? Yeah?!" Modo and Vinnie asked while dodging lasers. "Because this aint our fight anymore. What we came here for isn't here anymore, and these jerks aren't Limburger's Goons, so we leave NOW!" Throttle ordered and turned to go out the hole in the doors. "Man, this Sucks! "Vinnie snorted but reluctantly followed.
CRASH! "Whoa, Mama!? Hey, what the…!? Woohoo!?" The Mice cried out in unison, nearly being thrown from their bikes. Throttle looked up and spotted the cause of it. The big hole they'd made in the warehouse doors was now blocked! Blocked by those super large metal shipping containers they put on freighters.
He also realized two other things. They didn't have enough room now to build up the speed they would need to bash their way through them. The 2nd thing was that the thugs didn't appear to know who or what dropped the containers either, hence them picking themselves off the floor. Their leader didn't fail to notice this either.
"They're trapped, lay on the firepower boys!" Tony Dracon shouted, and his thugs happily obeyed! The number of lasers raining down at the Biker Mice would've made Heavy Metal Rock Star Pyrotechnic Displays look tame!
Frantically swerving and spinning to avoid getting blasted, Throttle addressed his Bros. "Ok, change of plans. We stay here and fight it out!" he said in a jokingly calm manner, parting his antenna to keep from getting shot off his head. "Man, that Sucks!" Vinnie complained in a mocking tone, sharing a smile with Modo.
Up on the roof, The Gargoyles were also picking themselves up, nearly being knocked off the top of the warehouse by the impact of the containers in front of the doors. Having claws on both hands and feet saved them from falling, Charley lacking them was saved by Hudson catching her with a wing!
"Thu, thanks!' Charley gasped gratefully at Hudson, who simply smiled and nodded, helping her back upright. "What the heck was that!?" Lex questioned, looking around for the cause of the unexpected Earthquake. "Don't look at me!" Broadway lamely gasped. Brooklynn ignored them both and jumped back over to the skylight.
"We can figure that out later, that's Tony Dracon and his gang! "He growled spotting the local crime boss. "Let's get in there and…" BOOM! he started to shoutout but was cut off by another tremor rattling the rooftop, slightly smaller this time. Only this time the cause of it made Itself Apparent.
"GREASEPIT!?" Charley gasped! "Greasepit, what's a Greasepit?" Lex asked. "That's the Biggest and Ugliest Human I've ever seen. "Broadway added. "Ruuhhhgh!?" Greasepit grunted. "He works for Limburger!" Charley told them. "Nice to know, Broadway, you handle him, Hudson, watch Charley, and Lex with me!" Brooklyn shouted, turning to smash the skylight and enter the battle below.
"No problem." Broadway confidently replied while cracking his knuckles, moving to intercept this new adversary. "No, Be careful, He's tougher than he…!" Charley started to call out. "RUUUUGH!" POW! "OOF!" "…looks." She finished. Moving faster than he seemed to be capable of, a large grimy knuckle slammed into Broadway's chin!
"What in the name of…!?" Hudson growled, pulling his sword and holding Charley as Broadway went tumbling past them, having been punched off his feet by Greasepit's huge fist! "Ok, new plan, Lex Go High!" Brooklynn called out, taking the low route!
Wings fully out, Lex wrapped his arms, and tail around the almost non-existent neck of the monster-man, blinding him while attempting a sleeper move he saw on the old PACK TV show, or at least that's what he Tried to do!
"Ahh, how'd you get a grip on this guy!?" Lex cried out, claws slipping and sliding as they and the rest of him got covered in the disgusting ooze-like grease covering the monster's thick hide! He did manage to blind it with his wings over its face!
"Ruuuuaaaahhhh!?" Greasepit bellowed, huge arms flailing about blindly, getting even more grease over Lex, and everything else in the area! "Hold on, I'm coming!" Brooklynn shouted out, as he charged to the lopsided battle! Lex could only glare at him!
Flattening out, and digging his talons into the metal roof, using all his strength and leverage, he snapped his long tail whiplike at Greasepit's tree-trunk-like legs! CRACK! His eyes almost popped out of their sockets! "OW!" Brooklynn grabbed at his broken-feeling tail!
"DO SOMETHING!" Lex yelled, losing his battle to keep his hold on the big head! "Ugh!?" Greasepit confusedly struggled against the small pest! "Raaah!" Brooklynn gave his best battle cry, and shot up with an uppercut straight to the big mishappen chin!
KAPOW! "OW, what's this guy made of!?" Shaking his now equally broken feeling hand, as he stumbled backward. "THIS GUY'S AS STRONG AS GOLIATH, HELP ME!" Lex yelled, just as two big hands gripped his head and started to squeeze!
Everything suddenly started shaking! "HEY, WHY DON'T YOU PICK ON SOMEBODY MY SIZE!" Big Feet hammering Broadway bellowed as he charged, eyes aglow! Recovered and am now ready for a rematch! POOM! Brooklynn just dodging as The Green Gargoyle tackled Greasepit head-on!
BOOM! "GRUUHH!? GRR! WHOA!? HEY, WATCH IT!" The impact sounded like thunder, causing the roof to shake! Broadway pushing Greasepit back a few feet, Brooklynn and Lex being carried along, with somehow not getting thrown off or crushed underfoot!
Charly stood there feeling helpless that she could only watch the frantic battle going on in front of her. Hudson obviously felt the same! The 4 fighters were so close to each other that there was no room for him to help, especially not with his sword on the narrow rooftop walkway!
Plus, his preoccupation with the ocean seemed to be getting worse by the second. "Lads, Best put a Push on this, we're running out of TIME!" She kept looking at him, the fight, and the eastern horizon. "Working on it, ouch!" Brooklynn growled before a big fist bashed him in the side of his head!
"Sounds like there's a party going on upstairs!" Modo called out while ducking some blaster fire just missing his helmeted noggin. "Gotta be more fun than this lame snooze fest!" Vinnie grumbled zooming past, doing the same as his Big Gray Bro. "These boys sure don't play as reckless or as get in your face as Limburger's Chicago Goons, that's for sure!" Modo pointed out, swerving around a pile of demolished electronics. "Yeah, I'm actually starting to almost miss those murderous meatheads!" Vinnie half-jokingly smirked.
"You're right there, these New York Gangsters play a different game than their Chi-Town Counterparts." Throttle commented. Tony Dracon and his Crew weren't shy about shooting at the guys, but unlike the Goons, they did it from behind cover and seemed to take care with their aim. The Goons never practiced any such tactics.
Plus, the warehouse wasn't the best battlefield for the Mice's preferred type of fighting style. There was too much clutter and trash on the floor for them to pull any fast-paced and high-risk stunts. Vinnie's grumbling verified that fact. That and the large amount of toxic and flammable chemicals kept them from using their more destructive weapons!
Zap! Boom! Bonk! "Ouch!" Throttle gasped as a near-miss laser bolt between his red antenna hit a pile of wreckage behind him, sending a broken VCR on top of his unprotected head. Rubbing the sore spot he snarled.
"OK, I've had enough, Time we turn this game of Hide & Seek into a game of Specter in the Scrapyard!" Vinnie and Modo smiled big! "Oh, yes!" Vinnie's grin almost grew too big for his helmet. "Yeah, that's a good one." Modo added. All 3 turned their engines off!
"LIGHTS OUT!" Throttle yelled! Blasters and Arm Cannon pointed up and quickly took out every light in the warehouse, sending it into a deep impenetrable darkness! The Gangsters caught by surprise by this stopped firing, unable to see their targets. The only sound was the tinkling of broken lightbulbs falling to the floor.
"Hey, what's going on, what are those freaks up to? Glasses and the rest of the crew called out sounding almost like they could panic. "I don't know, but I bet it aint good." Tony muttered, not being able to see his hand in front of his face. He rapidly blinked his eyes, trying to adjust to the darkness. The only light was what could pathetically get through the dirty windows up along the warehouse's slanted roof.
If it wasn't for the loud thumping noises coming from above, the inside of the now pitch-black warehouse would be dead silent. It didn't last! "Ready Or Not, Here We Come!" 3 voices yelled out! This was followed by 3 more just as distinct Voices!
ROOAAARRR, RUMMMMBLE, GRRROOOWWWLL! Super Powerful Bike Engines Revving at Full Strength, literally making everything rattle and shake! Adding to the confusion, the Mice didn't turn on their headlights!
POW! "Ow!' PUNCH "OOPH! CRACK "AAAGGHH!" Fighting and Cries of Pain rang out all around Tony Dracon, who could only look around blindly. "What's going on, where are they?" He yelled out, but the only answer he got was more of the same!
"Open Fire you idiots!" He yelled, throwing caution to the wind, Tony recklessly opened fire with his new blaster in every direction. The bright red lasers briefly lit up the area, but it was like watching a fight scene under a red strobe light!
High Speed Flickering images of the mice dashing around, punching, kicking, and throwing Tony's gang around like rag dolls! If it wasn't that, the bikes speed around riderless, drowning out all other sounds and piling the gangsters into a messy pile in one corner of the warehouse!
"Lookout Low Bridge!' Modo bellowed and blasted out the support struts of the metal catwalk above them! The sound of tearing metal and yelling gangsters joined the chaos as the catwalk collapsed on one end, sending the gangsters falling to the floor! "Does anybody know the words to that song about it Raining Men!?" Vinnie hooted as he spun like a red-tinted fur tornado in the laser light, adding more guys to the pile!
Vinnie's bike rocketed over to him! Jumping on his trusty ride, Vinnie rode it up the fallen catwalk like it was a stunt jump ramp! "When it Rains it Pours, Huh Guys!" He cackled insanely, sending the thugs over the railing as they either jumped out of his way or got sent over by the red rocket thumping into them!
"I can't believe this!" Tony almost screamed, rage and frustration getting the better of him! "These guys are just as bad as those winged weirdos!" He backed towards the wall, hoping to sneak out unnoticed. "Thanks for the compliment." Throttle said.
"Huh, what the…!?" Tony gasped jerking around to see the grinning Martian behind him. "Not that this hasn't been a ball, but time to end the brawl." Sunglasses perched on top of his head, Throttle smiled, and delivered a straight right punch to Tony's chin, sending him to join the groaning pile of his gang, catching the dropped gang leader's blaster out of the air.
"Never let it be said that you don't know how to Bring Down the House, Modo!" Vinnie joked strutting over to join the others. "I just like to Get Down." Modo said back. "Well, Fred & Ginger, you've made such a mess of the dance floor, it looks like you just finished the best Ballroom Blitz." Throttle chuckled.
"Good thing Charley installed these nifty new night vision settings to our visors, made that almost too easy." Vinnie said tapping the side of his helmet. "Yeah, good thing Hard Luck showed her how to do it." Modo replied. "That's why I left all the fun to you two, didn't want to step on your tails and screw up your fancy dance moves." Throttle smirked, once again missing his helmet.
Their bikes rolled over turning their headlights on, eliminating the darkness. Modo & Vinnie deactivated their helmet visors, Throttle letting his field glasses fall back down over his extra sensitive eyes. The sudden brightness stung them, but the same sensitivity did give him good night vision, allowing him to sneak up on Tony Dracon.
"Now that this party is over, let's get out of here before the NYPD shows, and go check on Charley and the Gargoyles." Modo nodded agreeing with his tan-furred leader, while Vinnie looked around at the destruction they caused. "Or worse, they hand us a bill to clean up this mess. "
CRASH! "Hey, what the...!?" The Mice cried out as shards of glass fell on them, shattering around their feet, followed by Brooklynn, Broadway, and Hudson, falling with it, out of control! "Get Under them quick, break their fall!" Throttle ordered, Vinnie and Modo doing so, and bracing to catch them! THUD! "Ooohh, ugh, ouch!' All six painfully moaned, adding another pile of bodies to the cluttered warehouse floor.
**Seconds earlier up on the roof**
"HIT HIM HARDER!" Brooklynn yelled, slashing wildly at Greasepit's right leg. "I am, I AM!" Broadway hollered back, punching just as frantically at The Greasy Monster's stomach. "Both of you HIT HIM HARDER!" Lex cried out, wrapped around Greasepit's noggin!
"RRAAAUUUUGGHHH!" Bellowing like a beast, Greasepit reached up, grabbed Lex by his head, pulled him off his back, and threw him across the rooftop! "Ahh!" Lex yelled, crashing on his shoulder, and rolling out of control! LEX!" Charley gasped, jumping forward and grabbing the small gargoyle before he slid down and off the roof!
"ROAR!" Eyes glowing wings out. Hudson leaped over her and charged, sword out to help his younger clan mates! BAM! Hudson slammed into Him and the two gargoyles! "GUUUGHH!" Greasepit bellowed, being pushed back, the sizeable pool of grease under his big, booted feet not allowing any of them to gain any kind of foothold!
Bringing his large arms down, he wrapped them around the Gargoyles, unintentionally going into a spin! The Gargoyles cried out as they lost all control of the situation! Doing a half-dozen rotations before centrifugal force sent them flying off Greasepit and crashing through to the nearby large skylight!
"Lex, wake up, you really need to wake up Right NOW!" Charley yelled, shaking his small shoulders to both wake him up and keep him from falling off the roof. "Uh Oh!" She gulped. Greasepit stopped himself and spotted them!
"Uh? UHHHH!" He clumsily turned and started stomping towards them! "LEX WAKE UP!" She yelled again, shaking him even harder! Suddenly the dawn broke on the eastern horizon! Reddish Light flowed across the rooftop, momentarily blinding her!
Lex abruptly got heavier! "Huh, what the…LEX?!" She cried out! The Small Gargoyle's body stiffened, becoming as hard and heavy as stone! Literally!" "LEX!? LEX!" WHAT'S GOING ON!? LEX!" She yelled, scared and confused!
The light abruptly went away! Charley looked up as Greasepit's large shadow covered her like a blanket! "UUUUUUGGGGHHHH!" He roared as His Two Large Grease-Stained Hands reached out for them! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"" Charley screamed!
To Be Continued…