Gargoyles
Biker Mice from Mars
"Business Partners"
Chp 10.
"Oh, I must say Davey Boy, this is indeed my favorite part of your little, how do they say, Château au-dessus des nuages?" Limburger chuckled as he admired the small but well-built dungeon of Castle Wyvern.
"Why thank you, Larry, I did try to preserve as much of the old classical charm of the place as I could." Xanatos dryly replied as he stomped unwillingly into one of the dungeon's small stone cells.
Still clad in his red and black battle armor, it refused to obey him despite anything he tried. It turned him around to look at his fiendishly smiling former partner. "Granted, now I'm starting to regret putting as much effort into it as I did." The modern steel bars of the door clanged ominously closed.
"It does somewhat lack the more Captivatingly callous charm of its old world, such as the cold oppressive dampness, and the clinging mold on the walls but alas I suppose some sacrifices had to be made. Such as having to replace the flaming torches with florescent bulbs." He said while indicating the overhead lighting fixtures
"Even I couldn't get that one passed the zoning board, this is New York. "Xanatos joked. "Yes, those bothersome safety regulations can be such a bother. "If only you'd kept the torture chamber." Limburger purred menacingly.
"Well, I kind of did, I turned into a personal gym." Xanatos smiled. "Heh, funny. I'' must remember that one." Limburger chuckled again while checking his wristwatch. "Sadly, it is time to put a temporary cessation to the jocularity, but as you are more than cognizant of the ever-constant demands of business, I'm sure you'll pardon my departure."
Limburger made his way towards the dungeon's single door, stopping and stepping aside. "Oh, do pardon me." He sneered as more of the Steel Legion stomped into the room, carrying two more unconscious insensible prisoners. The Robots took each one to their separate cell, while Throttle was chained to the wall next to the immobile Xanatos.
"Do be sure to make double sure they are most efficiently, and excruciatingly secured in their manacles, or should that be mouse-acles?" Limburger viciously snickered at his little joke. Xanatos winced at the sound of the chains painfully snapping onto his wrists.
*We Shall Endeavor To Carry Out Your Desires To The Fullest of Our Meager Mechanical Abilities Your Great and Grandiose Commander of the Cheddar-osity* The Robot rattled off in the deep voice of the creature it resembled.
Xanatos's eyebrows shot up. "Well, that is new." Limburger just rolled his eyes and turned to the Dungeon door. "Really Karbunkle?" The demented doctor's bulbous head popped out from behind the door jamb with a twisted smile.
"Eeeh, heh, heh. Sorry, they are just so Primitive I couldn't stop myself from improving them just a little." He held up his thin twisted fingers held apart by a hair's width Another big eye roll from Limburger. "Scientists." He groaned.
"4 of you are to remain in here at all times with weapons fixed on the vermin at all times, and shoot to maim if they attempt ANYTHING!" He growled at the machines. The Lead one turned to him again.
*By Your Command Oh-Omnisciently-Odious-One!" It roared. Limburger pulled the small control from his pocket. "Please tell me you put a Mute Button on this thing." He grumbled following Karbunkle out of the dungeon.
Xanatos could only watch as they left. Totally immobilized in his armor. He even still had Throttle's helmet under his arm. Looking at his out-cold cellmate, dangling agonizingly from his wrists, it was now obvious that he wasn't wearing some kind of costume.
His Gray and White cohorts were in similar conditions. The Steel Legion, weapon arms raised and stable as steel aimed at each of them. The only movement came from the robots at the opposite ends of the walkway, metal heads scanning back and forth, and the hum of the lights above them.
Xanatos mind raced as he took all this in. It seemed like as hopeless a situation he'd ever encountered. Plus, the added occurrence of how well Limburger had played him for the fool this entire time. He couldn't stop the smile growing on his face. This is getting exciting. "Now if only my nose wasn't starting to itch."
"So, are all your adventures as exciting as this?"
"Oh, you've no idea, this is just the tip of the iceberg of excitement I encounter almost every day. *Ahchoo! *
"Bless you. "Lex said to Charley, as he effortlessly pushed the metal grille off the air vent they were crawling in, his long thin arm grasping it before it could fall to the floor. He slid out easily and gracefully landed on his feet, then turned to reach up and help Charley.
"Cough, ack, hack, uh I hate how dusty it gets in those things. Cough!" Head, shoulders popping out of the vent, arms waving, a futile effort to clear the dust away from her dirty face. "I hate crawling in these things, how did you move through it so easy, with wings!?"
Lex couldn't help but smile as he helped her down, her legs awkwardly sliding out of the vent. "When a gargoyle hatches, we live in caves for the first few years, until our wings start to fully come in, so we spend a lot of time crawling around in the tunnels and things, plus I have a slight advantage of being smaller than most."
"I can relate to that after the last hour or so." She grumbled attempting to dust herself off. "Where are we anyway?" They looked around the hallway, but it was a typical office hall. Nothing in it makes it discernible from countless others.
"I Think we're in the Eyrie Building." Lex replied, not exactly sounding sure.
"You think?"
"Well I've never been in the building itself below the castle, but from what that freaky doc said, it must be the Eyrie Building, but as for which part, it has over a hundred and Fifty floors."
"Well, then I guess that leaves us with only two options. We either go up or down." She said while pointing in each direction. Lex's head turned quickly down the long quiet hallway. "Or we go with a 3rd option!" He swiftly responded.
"What 3rd option?" She asked in a whisper, mimicking the tenseness that suddenly overtook the small gargoyle. "We Hide!" He said and grabbed a doorknob on the nearest door, he effortlessly snapped the lock and pushed it open. He jumped through it, yanking a surprised Charley in after him!
The instant the door closed; Charley could hear the approaching group. They were in a small, nondescript office. Desk with the computer, and chair with a filing case next to it. It at least had a small window that looked out over the city.
Everything rattled and shook as heavy footsteps stomped down the outside hallway. A mix of dense boots and smashing metal. The horde stopped right outside the office door. They both froze, trying to be as quiet as mice, or stone statues.
"Duh, but Mister Limbboiger, I am still very confused, I keep waking up in different places I wasn't in before!" Greasepit whined. "Like I was at the dig site and I was trying to get one of dose little Danish with Cream cheese and a Pretzel with that spicey brown mustard that I can't pronounce that everyone always gets mad at me when I try, and I hear this buzz and next thing I know is I am standing over that Wild White Mousey wit da big mouth and that big fat green monster and dey was knocked all out and I wuz holding a big tree!?"
"SHUT UP, You Unctuous Dullard!" Limburger boomed, cutting off the blabbering lug. "You did have the building emptied as I instructed Karbunkle?" The Diabolical Doctor inhaled with a sickening wheeze.
"But of course, my dairy extracted excellence, or to be more precise I delegated that to your new procured partner." Charley and Lex looked at each other in surprise at the next voice they heard. "I sent out a building-wide announcement that all employees and tenants are to vacate the building until further notice, owing to certain renovations that will be carried out immediately, and the cause being to do with strengthening the supports of the castle."
"Very good, erm, David. "Limburger chuckled. "Now go back up to the castle and make sure our verminous visitors remain securely constricted until I can devise some plan for having them eviscerated in an extremely entertaining way."
"Of course, Lawrence, I exist to serve." You could hear the smirk in the voice as its smug source turned and walked away. "Mr. Limboiger, I still aint sure what's been going on with me since we got to New Yoik, maybe I had a bad knish or something?" Greasepit, rubbing his head and stomach, cut in again.
"I think you'll find that your cognitive center is much lower and on the opposite side." "Huh?" Greasepit replied. "Just get your vacant cranium and abdomen back to the demo site and make sure the machines are all ready to go for the Big Event!"
"Ooh, come all the way to the Big Apple and I still have to work and do all the dirty stuff and can't go visit none of the sights like the Eiffel of Liberty or the Grand Central Subway or even that little diner where Jerry and George hang out." He grumbled stomping away.
A ding chimed, signaling the arrival of an elevator at the end of the hallway. A vile smile appeared on Limburger's wide face. "Ah, my next appointment, I do so cherish promptness. "The Elevator doors slip open and out stepped Tony Dracon, the ever-present Glasses, and Pal Joey. The Gangsters made their way to him.
"Ah, Anthony, I cannot begin to express my admiration and appreciation to you for delivering that most apprehensible irritant to me." Limburger placatingly oozed. Tony wasn't in the mood for it. "You can save the admiration and show your appreciation by replacing those hi-tech sedans that Freak destroyed. "Tony snapped.
Limburger had been expecting this reaction. Had been looking forward to it actually. "Oh, dear, dear me. If you will recall I did try to impress upon you just how dangerous they could be, and you did insist on retaliating after that little debacle at the dock." Limburger chided like a disapproving parent. The frown on Tony's face let him know what he thought of that.
"Yeah, well that little irritant of yours had help from those flying monsters I told you about, and between them, they wrecked all my stuff, and I want more because I've got more Retaliation planned for them too. "All the faux parental thoughtfulness quickly faded from Limburger's face as his smile took on a far more predatory appearance.
"Tony, Tony, Tony, sadly such things do not come cheap, and to use an expression that I know you are quite familiar with, the First Ones Free." Glasses and Pal Joey exchanged looks and braced themselves, but Tony just sneered. "Can't say I wasn't expecting this, so just how much is this gonna cost me?"
"Tut, tut dear boy, remove such minuscule concepts as monetary recompensation from that amusing little mind of yours, I have a far more, shall we say, down to earth for you to repay me, as of this moment just consider yourself to my Business Partner, in a manner of speaking that is, and I've got very big plans for this city, and I can assure you, that you will want to be in on it at the ground level."
Tony raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Big Plans huh, I've heard that kind of talk before, why should I put any stock into you versus any other or even my own 'Big Plans'?" Tony had grown up on the mean hard streets of New York. He worked with and against some of the cruelest and nasty of people in his misspent life, but the predacious smile on Limburger's face literally chilled his dark soul.
"Ah, dear young Anthony, let me be quite translucent, you will assuredly find it to be more equitable in both the short and long term being on my side than opposed to it." He empathized with this by jabbing Tony in the chest, it was even more unsettling by what felt like a sharp claw tip under the white glove.
Now, let's not begin our new enterprise on an acrid note, all I am requiring of you is that you and your associates provide some surreptitiousness security for the little event I've got in store for the city, after all even with the, erm biker freaks taken care of, their monstrous allies are still out there and could interfere."
Tony started to interject, but Limburger cut him off with a wave of his gloved hand. "Now, don't fret dear boy, I've already got some new and improved vehicles for you. Armed to the teeth, and I've added a few little extras, that I'll just add to your bill. "He chuckled. Tony forced a smile onto his face.
"I'll even toss in a few of these at no charge at all." He snapped his fingers. A metal stomping made the hallway shake. Around the corner, 6 Steel Clan stomped. "The Monsters!" Tony yelled while He, Glasses, and Pal Joy tried to pull guns from their hidden holsters.
"Calm yourselves!' Limburger cried! "They're merely mechanical facsimiles, not the real thing!" The Gangsters nervously looked from Limburger to the Metal Monsters a few times before slowly putting their weapons away.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Limburger turned to the Robots and went into a sales pitch like a used car salesman. "As you can see this model is based off of the fearsome leader of the creatures you've had the misfortune to encounter, but unlike the real thing, this one is a state-of-the-art armored and highly armed killing machine."
On Cue, the lead Robot raised both arms and twin arm blasters extended from hidden ports on its forearms. Tony shot a nasty look at Pal Joey when he started clapping. Limburger continued. "They are capable of responding to voice commands and reacting and adapting to battlefield scenarios in real-time."
*Greetings, esteemed audience. I am Alpha-X, a state-of-the-art robotic entity designed with advanced artificial intelligence and formidable battle capabilities. Allow me to share with you the remarkable features that set me apart in the realm of robotics warfare. * The Lead Robot all but bellowed. *
"Yes, yes that will be Just Fine!' Limburger stopped it before it could continue, which it was the robot was quite capable of, and doing so at great length. "Ahem, yes as you can see, it is also capable of responding verbally as well, which I am seriously considering making an Optional Extra on the next model." He growled, "Stupid transistorized talking toaster"
"It should come with a mute button at least." Tony sneered; Limburger rolled his eyes. "Oh, I couldn't agree more my dear boy, now I shall escort you to your new vehicles and fully elucidate to you my plans to you for The Big Show!" Limburger chuckled and led Tony and his Crew with the Steel Clan back towards the elevator doors.
The instant the closing chime sounded; the office door snapped open. Charley & Lex jumped out into the vacant hallway. "This bad, very bad!' Charley said, worry all over her face. "Just what could he be planning to do?" Lex asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.
"With Limburger, who can tell but Big Plans usually equal Big Destruction!" Lex gulped and asked the next question. "How big are you talking? The look Charley gave him didn't do a thing to his growing anxiety.
"He could destroy all of Manhattan if not the entire City of New York, if he wants to." She said grimly. "How could he get away with that?" Lex asked. "He almost turned the entire city of Chicago into a spaceship and nearly flew it into space without anyone noticing once." Lex felt like he had jalapeno-powered butterflies in his stomach now.
"We've got to tell the others!" They said in unison. This broke the tension for a couple of seconds as they laughed at each other. "What should we do!?" Again, in almost perfectly timed unison. "Ok, time out, we need a game plan here." Charley cut in, making the familiar hand signal.
"I am open to any ideas." Lex said, not quite ready to be the one to take charge. It was obvious that Charley felt the same. "Well, unless you want to flip a coin to decide what we do, I'm willing to let you make the call, this is your home turf, not mine. "
"I was afraid you'd say that." Lex sighed. "Ok, it's like you said, we only have two choices: we either go Up or Down." Charley nodded, remembering her own words. "Trying to apply some logic to this, we try to save your friends, or we go try to find mine."
Charley nodded. "The downside to this is, if we go up, we're going to be up against the Steel Legion, the Big Gargoyle Robots, and whatever else Limburger and that deranged psycho he has working for him has cooked up, and on the other side of the coin, I have No Idea where my friends are, and it could take us hours if not all night to find them."
"So, what your saying is?" Charley said, allowing him to take the full lead on things. Lex did that. "We Go Up. "He replied simply. "I can make a pretty good guess where Your friends are being held, and there is a chance I know a way to sneak in, and I'm betting you guys are better at fighting Limburger than I could be."
She smiled at the little Gargoyle. "That was some fine deductive logical thinking Mr. Data." He returned the smile. "Thanks, Counselor Troi." They both smiled again. "A fellow TNG fan, nice!" Charley smiled and they bumped.
"Yeah, love the show, it got really good when it got to season 3, and Brent Spiner is my fav." He spoke. "Oh, I like Jonathan Frakes, especially when he grew the beard." She added. Lex frowned. "I dunno, I can't quite put my talon on it, but there is just something about that guy that just rubs me the wrong way. "
"Cagney could lead this clan better than I can." Brooklynn groaned, fighting a losing battle against the self-pity trying to overwhelm him. Still at the Demolition Site, He sat atop the pile of scrapped metal that was once one of the Alien Construction Machines.
How Goliath thought I could do this…" He looked up at the enormous Eyrie Skyscraper that rose above the city like an eternal monument to his incompetence. "Be better off if I'd never woken up from that Stone Sleep Spell…. hey, what the…!?"
So lost in his little self-pity party he almost didn't notice the earthquake beneath the scrap pile he was sitting on. The pile rattled and shook, pieces clattering and clanking and falling off to the ground, with Brooklynn almost joining them but jumping off and gliding down.
BASH! The side of the exploded as the black motorcycle burst out! "Whoa, watch out!" Brooklynn called out, just getting his wing up to shield himself from the flying shards of metal. The Bike scanned the area, its headlight locking onto the startled Gargoyle, and all but jumped over to him.
Beep, blip, bleep, blip, bleep, Boop! "Hey, calm down, calm down!" Brooklynn shouted. The Bike's little circular console's lights flashed and made electronic noises while it pushed up against him like an overexcited puppy!
"No, your owner, I mean Throttle isn't here, He, um. Sigh. Ok. Look, He got taken to the big building. He's a prisoner now, and it's all my fault…gah can't believe I'm apologizing to a bike!" Brooklynn shook his head.
The Black Bike went quiet as if it seemed to take in what he'd said. BEEP! It jumped forward, almost knocking him off his feet. "Hey, be careful, down boy, down!" He pushed it back to keep it from crushing his wing or foot.
"Ack, you're heavy, no He isn't Here! I can't help you, at least, not by myself, I Can't Help You!" He snapped at it. The Black Bike fell silent, its headlight tilted to one side and then gave off a strong feeling of incomprehension and dejection.
"Oh, oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like, that is I mean that, oh, sheesh." The guilt almost knocked him off his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I don't know what I can do." He reached down and patted the bike's handlebar.
They both sat there morosely. The silence was almost oppressive, Brooklynn nearly fell on his tail with a string of beeps coming from the bike's little circular console. "Don't scare me like…" He started to say but was cut off by loud scratchy static from its radio.
"…Calm Down you blasted contraption, I'm awake, though how anyone could get any sleep with an agitated rattletrap like you around!" Brooklynn jumped, grabbing the bike's handlebars!
"HUDSON? Hudson is that you!?"
"Huh, what…Brooklynn, is that you lad, where are…oh you're on the, what's it called, the radio?" Brooklynn smiled at the sound of that reassuring grumpy voice. "Yeah, it's me, are you all right, what happened, is Modo with you!?"
"Ach, no. Last I saw of the Wee Lad was when he was blasted by Tony Dracon, and his thugs, but I got put through a wall and blacked out, at least until his blue doodad riled me up." Brooklynn cut in. "Wait, did you say Tony Dracon? What does that jerk have to do with any of this?"
"I've no idea but I'd say it's a safe bet that he's teamed up with Xanatos and his new business partner somehow." Brooklynn growled at this new information. "Ok, we need to get together and figure out some kind of plan, but first we need to find Vinnie and Broadway."
"I'M RIGHT HERE, I'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THIS THE WHOLE TIME, AAAAAHHH LOOK OUT FOR THAT TRUCK!" BEEP! HONK! ZOOM!
"BROADWAY!?" Brooklynn and Hudson gaped. "Broadway, where are you, what's going on, is Vinnie with you!?" It took a few seconds before they got an answer. All they could hear was static and high-moving winds.
"AAAHH PRETTY CLOSE TO THE CITY, NOT EXACTLY SURE! MY EYES'VE BEEN CLOSED FOR THE PAST 10 MINUTES OR SO! AH STOP SIGN, THAT WAS A STOP SIGN!" BEEP! Brooklynn blinked for a few seconds trying to comprehend this.
"Broadway, What Is Going On, and Why Are You YELLING!?" Brooklynn yelled, instantly feeling foolish. "AHHH SUH SORRY, I'VE NEVER GONE THIS FAST BEFORE! I'M ON ROCKET, UH VINNIE'S BIKE, CAN BARELY HEAR YOU OVER THE WIND!'
"I take it you're alone Lad?" Hudson cut in over the bike's 3-way radio link, it took a few seconds for Broadway to reply. "UH, YEAH, WE RAN INTO THAT BIG GOO GUY WE FOUGHT ON THE WAREHOUSE ROOF, HE CLOBBERED US WITH A TREE, AND WHEN I CAME TOO VINNIE AND HIM WERE GONE!"
"Great, just…. Ok, get back to the city as fast as you can, and then meet up with me and Hudson on the rooftop where we all first met up, and we can try to figure out how to deal with this mess."
"Aye Lad, see you there, you hear that you blue-tinned monstrosity, let's get going, and no shenanigans." Lil Hoss rumbled his engine and cut the connection.
"FAST HE SAYS, THAT'S FUNN…AAAAAHHH COP THAT WAS A COP, THERE ARE SPEED LIMITS FOR A REASSAAAAAHHHHHHHHH, JALAPENOOOOOOHHHHH!' Hudson yelled!
"Ugh, Goliath is going to be jealous he missed out on all this fun." Brooklynn grumbled looking down at the black bike, looking up at him, "Ok, we need to regroup and try to figure out what we should do next, let's meet up at the rooftop where all this first started, so get back as fast as you can." Brooklynn ordered.
"Aye lad, see you there, come on you metal monster, time to go!' Hudson said to the blue motorcycle. Lil Hoss gave a happy beep and cut the link. "FAST HE SAYS YEAH THAT" S SO FUNNIIEEEEAAAAHHH!" Broadway yelled as Rocket increased his speed even more. "Ugh, I can't thank you Enough for making me your second in command Goliath, thanks so much." He huffed. "Well, I guess that just leaves you and me." Brooklynn said to the black bike.
It looked up at him. He wasn't sure but he got the impression it was smiling at him. He couldn't stop from doing the same. "Let's go meet the others." He made to leave but was stopped by a nudge against his leg.
"Huh, what is it?" The Black Bike nudged again and rolled up next to him. "You want me to get on?" A cheerful rumble was its reply. "Well, if you're sure, I guess." Brooklynn shrugged and sat on the bike seat.
A smile broke out on his long-beaked face. "Oh, I really miss having a bike" He gripped the handlebars in his clawed hands and looked at the array of buttons and switches on the two handlebars and small control console.
"Grr, don't touch buttons when you don't know what they do, where's Lex when I need him?" He had to fight the temptation to touch them. Lady, the bike vibrated, she gave off a low thudding growl. This pulled Brooklynn's attention back to reality.
A large gate on the far side of the area noisily clanked open, Tony Dracon with a dozen of his crew entered with almost as many big black sedans following, and with them was the big ugly brute from the Warehouse Roof, who spotted him instantly.
"HEY! It's da bike of dat Smart Mousey, and one of dem Night Chicken Things is riding on it!" He bellowed excitedly, grabbing for a large odd-looking gun attached to the big barrel on his greasy back. Tony's crew did the same, reaching for their own weapons.
"NIGHT CHICKEN!?" Brooklynn snarled, gripping the grips on the handlebars so tight they squeaked. Lady didn't like it either. Insults to her master or her rider. They both growled. "Sounds like we agree, so let's go teach them some manners!"
"WHOA!" He gasped as over a dozen crimson blaster bolts sizzled through the spot, they'd just been parked in. "Okay, maybe we should save that lesson for later." Lady rattled; she didn't seem to like that sentiment.
They dodged another barrage of nasty energy bolts! They splattered in fiery explosions on the pile of metal from the previous battle. "Change of plan, we get out of here and meet the others, go an idea on how we do that? "Brooklynn said looking at Lady.
A beeping noise came from Lady's small console. A light blinked above a small button. Brooklynn pushed it. With a loud whir, weapons popped out! A Big Cannon flipped out from on top from behind the headlight, with twin missiles by the struts and out from under the rear tire fender.
"I like the way you think!' He smiled and patted the bike's curved handlebar. Lady gave a happy rev of her engine. He took the accelerator in his hand and twisted it, hard! The Thugs running toward them stopped, as the pile of twisted metal rattled and shook as the powerful revving engine increased!
The Thugs yelled and screamed as they either jumped or tumbled away as the big pile exploded! Shrapnel and Flames going everywhere and out of the center of it roared Brooklynn and Lady! The Gargoyle couldn't stop himself from laughing!
Brooklynn squeezed the trigger, sending a barrage of blaster fire of his own at the gate, causing at least one of the black sedans up into the air on a big fireball! Tony ran to find a safe hiding spot, a big bumbling oozing shape right behind him.
"Ooh, I Hate it when dey do dat!" Greasepit blubbered. "GET OUT THERE, AND TAKE THEM OUT, YOU BIG FREAK, URK?!" Tony shrieked, suddenly finding his feet dangling in the air as he got lifted effortlessly into the smoky air.
"Now, there aint no cause to be rude, and my name is Greasepit, and I would very much appreciate it if you'd remember dat." Tony gulped trying to keep breathing as the oily giant fist wrapped around his throat felt like it could snap it easier than if it was a toothpick.
"Ack, cough, uh okay. Would You Please Get Out there, and take them out, Greasepit, you big freak?" Tony spluttered reworking his previous declaration. Greasepit smiled and sat him down. "Now see, wasn't dat easy, it always pays to be polite."
"You're welcome." Tony groaned rubbing his neck while trying to wipe the greasy mess off his expensive clothes. Greasepit stomped out from behind their hiding spot. "Ok, you big chicken, get ready to grease fried extra crispy." He chuckled.
Greasepit fired a barrage of high-powered grease from his odd-looking weapon, the dark gunk splattered off the wrecked machines and ground around him and the bike! Looking over his shoulder. "That the best you can do you big ugly mutant?" Brooklynn taunted.
"Duh, as a matter of fact, no." Greasepit said, twisted his gun's handle, and opened fire again. CRACK, CRACK, CRACK! The Highly Pressurized Grease hit just behind Brooklynn, but unlike last time, it punched holes in the metal or blasted things into flying metal shards!
"JALAPENO!" Brooklynn yelled and gunned the accelerator to keep from getting turned into Gargoyle Guacamole! "STOP STANDING THERE AND START SHOOTING YOU IDIOTS!" Tony screamed at his crew who were just watching in awe.
Red Blaster Bolts exploded all around and off everything! Brooklynn was sure some of his scales had gotten scorched off! He jerked the handlebars rapidly, but the piles of junk and clustered wreckage were making dodging and weaving extremely difficult, only complicated by his inexperience with the alien motorcycle!
ZAP! ZOW! KA-POW! KA-BLAM! "Gaah!?" Brooklynn ducked, that last bolt literally going in between his horns! "Ok, I think it's time to go!' Lady gave off a confirming beep. The Crew's aim was closing in on him. "Right now, would be good!"
Letting the motorcycle take control, he just tightened his grip and held on dear life! She revved her engine to the max, slammed her front brakes, and went into a wild spin! Brooklynn was glad for his strong Gargoyle Grip!
The world went into a wild spinning blur, Lady's powerful rear tire digging into the mud and dirt, kicking up a big and spreading cloud of dust and grit into a blinding cloud, forcing all the guys in Tony's Crew and Greasepit to shield their eyes from it.
"KEEP FIRING YOU MORONS!" Tony ordered from behind a sedan, GET OUT HERE YOU BUNCH OF TIN-PLATED MONSTERS AND GET THAT THING!" The large side door on a big black van slid open, and a squad of the Steel Legion climbed out.
The Steel Legion lined up, arm canons popping out from their forearms, they all aimed the Mobile Gargoyle. *AS YOU COMMAND THUS SHALL WE DO, CURRENT CHOSEN COMMANDER AS DECREED BY THE ALL POWERFUL, AND GREAT LIMBURGER! * The one nearest to Tony bellowed. The Mob Boss just rolled his eyes.
Blaster Fire bracketed the cloud, and when a loud ROAR caused a brief halt, Brooklynn and The Martian Motorcycle burst out from one side and sailed over the rim and down into the dark crater! Greasepit, the Crew ran over to the edge ready to keep firing.
BOOM! Just as they reached the ledge, they all got knocked over as the bike roared up into the night sky on twin jets of flame! "See ya later guys!" Brooklynn called out, giving a wave goodbye! Greasepit sat up and attempted to wipe some of the dirt off his face. "I hate it when dey do dat too."
The Steel Legion's fire tracked the Gargoyle and Motorcycle as they dashed up and across the dark city night sky. Their Lasers getting closer by the second, vectoring in on the target, electronic crosshairs zeroing in on both beast and bike, locking on when they suddenly disappeared over the Work Site Fence!
VROOM, CRUNCH, SCREECH! Bike and Beast came down onto the street outside the site's fence, sparks flying as the heavy machine crunched onto the pavement before bouncing up and roaring away, tail light and exhaust echoing off the buildings and street!
"Ha, ha, ha, OK, that was kinda fun, but I think we left just at the right time." Brooklynn said. "I needed that, thanks." Brooklynn smiled and gave the bike's console a thankful pat. Lady gave a happy beep in reply. "I am so going to make Lex build me another bike, but it couldn't ever be as cool as you." He said with another smile.
*ZAP*
"Ouch!"
"Ah, good, you're awake. I was starting to wonder if you were out for the duration." Xanatos chuckled watching as the possum playing Throttle whipped his smoking tail tip away from the electrified lock he'd just attempted to pick.
"Guh, yeah, that little jolt helped, granted I'm shocked I'd managed to stay out as long as I did with a certain someone raving like a maniac for the last half hour." Throttle snarled as he looked at the singed fur on his tail.
"Half an hour? More like 2 hours. Your white associate has quite a lot of stamina and the lung power to match." Xanatos informed him. "Yeah, can't argue with that. "He looked over at the cells across the dungeon. arms chained up above his head, legs dangling down with chains attached to his boot ankles and the floor, and his long tail snapping around like a snake on a hot skillet, Vinnie thrashed and wailed like a caged beast.
"I WANT OUF OF HERE, I WANT A REMATCH WHEN I GET MY MITS ON THAT BIG BRAIN-DEAD GREASY-GOOBER, I'M GONNA PUNCH HIS BLOCK OFF, POUND HIM EVEN MORE SENSLESS, KICK HIM INTO ORBIT, AND THEN I'M GONNA GET VIOLENT!"
"Vinnie, muffle it, that racket really isn't helping my headache." Throttle snapped while shaking his aching head. The High-Strung Martian bit his non-existent lip and just managed to do so. "How you doing Big Guy?"
"Other than being all tied up, I'm doing just fine." Modo growled. Like the others. His legs were chained to the stone floor, but he only had one arm, his fur and the flesh one, which was attached to the wall. His cyborg leg was held next to his side, held there by several chains wrapped all around his chest and midsection.
"Old Stink Fish aint taking no chances this time, made sure I can't get my arm canon free, not without blasting myself, and as you found out, he electrified the locks." Throttle just smirked. "Guess I aint the only one with a toasted tail."
"Nah, saw em plug it when I came to, side I can feel the current running through in the metal chains." The Tan Martian's head dropped. "Man, New York is not my town." He sighed. "Just look at it like you're just having a really Hot Time in the Big Apple!" Vinnie joked.
Xanatos could only watch as all 3 of his fellow Cellmates laughed. He was starting to admire their stay positive attitude, even in a situation as grim as the one they are in now. "I don't mean to interrupt, but there is just something I have to ask."
Throttle looked over at him for a couple of seconds then shrugged. "Eh, sure. Guess it can't hurt to ask. Whatchay got?"
"You guys aren't wearing costumes, are you?" Xanatos asked.
"That sounded more like a statement than a question. "Vinnie pointed out.
"Gets right to the point. I can admire that." Modo added.
"No. Unlike your new Business Partner, we're not wearing costumes." Throttle told him.
"Gosh, I wonder what gave us away." Vinnie gawked.
"I dunno, and we were being so careful too." Modo chuckled, while both He and Vinnie waved, and wiggled their long tails, rubbery antennae, and big ears.
"Yeesh, just what two comedians like you admire most, a Captive Audience." Throttle moaned sarcastically.
"Well, I thought I'd spotted a zipper once, but I just figured I'd take the chance and toss it out there." Xanatos replied just as sarcastically.
"Zipper? We don't even have those on our pants!" Modo huffed, and they all started to laugh again. "Ok, look, we might have started off this fiasco on the wrong boot, so let's try and make amends on that, and I' start by introducing ourselves. The Gray Giant is Modo. (Sup, he replied) and the Maniac with the Mouth is Vinnie (Nice ta meetchya) and I'm Throttle."
"I'd shake hands but I'm a little stiff now, but David Xanatos" He replied while nodding, indicating his locked-up battle armor." And nice to meet you right back, albeit I wish we could have done this in a nicer part of the castle. "He replied with his most charming smile.
"Actually, this is one of the nicer places we've ever been locked up in." Vinnie said looking around the Dungeon. Modo and Throttle agreed. "Thanks, I really strived to make sure that the place retained that old-world style and charm."
After a few seconds that bordered on becoming uncomfortable, Xanatos broke the ice. "So, I'm just going to be direct and ask, since those aren't costumes, I am going to make the guess that you're also, and I don't mean to sound insulting, but You're not Human."
"Not to sound insulting but Thank the Cosmos for that!" Vinnie snapped.
"Also going with you not being Robots, despite some outward appearances, because they don't complain of headaches or get cuts and bruises, despite some of my attempts."
"Guys perceptive gotta give him that." Modo chuckled while squirming in his chains. His cyborg arm scraped noisily against them.
"You also don't look like Mutates, Mutants, or Clones of anything, at least not any of the kind that Dr. Sevarius's work, so going down the list of elimination that just leaves…?" He started but trailed off.
"Aliens." Throttle said simply.
"Aliens…from outer space." Xanatos said slowly, coming to terms with this.
"That is where they tend to come from." Vinnie joked.
"Outer Space, that is just, wow. So, are you from any place I've heard of?"
"Mars." Modo told him.
"Mars?"
"Mars." Throttle repeated.
"So, that makes you three the…"
"BIKER MICE FROM MARS!" All 3 Mice happily proclaimed.
"Catchy." Xanatos said.
SLAM! The Dungeon door crashed open!
"Yes, it is, could probably make a good cartoon or even comic book out of the concept, but sadly isn't likely to happen."
In through the door walked Coyote, followed by another squad of The Steel Legion. "Twin Brother?" Throttle questioned, looking at Xanatos's double striding down the center walkway. Xanatos just sighed. "Not Exactly." Coyote just smiled. "Oh, come now, can't we just look at it like a Father and Wayward Son type of Relationship."
"Well, Son let's just say that you turned out a bit of a disappointment then. I guess I can just blame the poor-quality transistors." Coyote walked over to the bars of the cell and smiled at his creator.
"Careful Dad, I'm still programmed for revenge and it's comments like that that could trigger my responses, and I'm sure neither of us want that happening, do we?" Xanatos went silent, thinking that one over.
"Sadly, I don't have time to continue this little familial discussion, my new Master Mr. Limburger sent me here on a mission. Reaching into his black coat pocket he took out a small device and pushed a button on it.
"AAAAHH!" All 3 Mice cried out as electricity arced over their metal chains. Smoking and sparks rose off them, as their heads all fell forward, falling into unconsciousness. Without speaking a word, the Steel Legion moved forward and opened the doors, removed the mice, and carried them out of the dungeon.
"May I enquire as to where you're taking them?" Xanatos asked helplessly watching. Trapped in his armor, unable to even move a finger. "You may. "Coyote smirked, acting like he wasn't going to answer him, stopping at the door just before walking out.
"Mr. Limburger has devised a plan for removing the Mice from the gameboard, and I must say it's a really nasty one too!" And with that he stepped out, pulling the thick wooden door closed behind him with an ominous thud.
Xanatos could only stand there like a statue. Ideally wondering if this is what it's like for the Gargoyles during the day. Now that it was quiet again, the silence was almost deafening. For Mice they sure weren't the quiet kind.
"Well, at least I managed to forget about my nose itching for a while"
To Be Continued…