Biker Mice from Mars - Mountain Drift

Chapter 18: The Other Three

Throttle woke up. He couldn't tell where he was. All he could tell was that he was on his knees, hanging from a cold wall. He could hear chains clink when he moved. Cuffs and irons were on his wrists and ankles. His specs were gone. It hurt to move, it even hurt to breathe. His body surged with pain at the slightest twitch. What happened? He wondered.

"Enjoy your slumber, rodent?" A familiar voice asked. Throttle instantly knew it was Limburger.

"You..." Throttle rasped, baring his teeth.

"Yes, me. Of course..." Limburger said sarcastically. Throttle felt a gloved hand lift his chin. "You really think I'd be bested so easily? Well, I'm afraid you've lost this battle. Here I have one of the greatest warriors from the Martian Freedom Fighters. Completely at my mercy."

"Why did you take me prisoner?" Throttle asked. "Why not just kill me? You know I'll never do anything for you. I'll never tell you anything that could threaten Mars or Earth. I'd rather die..."

"Oh, I'm afraid it's not up to me, dear boy," Limburger said. "That's up to my new... business partners, and they wanted you alive."

The gloved hand then dropped his chin, and he heard footsteps exiting the room. He then heard heavy footsteps enter the room. The next moment, he heard growling. But not like a dog. It was more like a... Oh no, Throttle thought as he felt a clawed hand grab him by his forehead.

"Forgotten all about me, already?" A gruff voice said. It was Cataclysm!

The next thing Throttle knew, his head went right smack against the wall, and he could feel the Catatonian's breath on his face as he spoke:

"Listen to me carefully, rodent. You don't have a lot of time, and I don't have a lot of patience. So, I'm going to ask you one question, and I expect you to answer truthfully. Where is Stoker?"

Meanwhile, at the Throttle works...

Robby D was getting ready to close shop when a semi pulled up. He then saw Manuel get out of the passenger seat of the cab.

"Manuel? What are you doing here?" Robby D asked.

He then saw Charley, Vinnie, and Modo get out of the cab behind him.

"Boss, I can explain..." Manuel said.

But Robby D held up his hand. He looked at Modo and Vinnie for a moment, then sighed.

"I guess you're looking for Stoker, Carbine, and Rimfire?" Robby D said.

Vinnie and Modo both exchanged glances. Manuel remembered Throttle talking about Stoker. The former leader of the Martian Freedom Fighters, his second in command, Carbine, and Modo's nephew, Rimfire.

"...They're here?" Manuel asked.

That's when Stoker stepped out of the shadows of the doorway to the shop. He was limping, using a cane. His leg was in a cast. Rimfire and Carbine were right behind him. Rimfire's arms were bandaged up. Carbine also had a few injuries, with some bandages on her face.

"Stoker? Rimfire? Carbine?" Vinnie asked, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Stoker said. "We got your distress call and came here in a cruiser when we were shot down by some sort of defense satellite. Where's Throttle?"

Vinnie looked down at the ground, ashamed.

"...He's been captured." Vinnie said.

Carbine instantly flew into a fury. "What?! How?! I told you to look after him! After each other! I thought you were one of the best..."

"That's my fault, Ma'am, not his!" Manuel spoke up. "...Throttle crash-landed up at Bogus Basin, and I was helping him recover. It was my fault he got caught. I left him alone..."

Carbine paused and gave Manuel a leer. Manuel started right back into her eyes as if he had nothing to lose.

"You let him get caught?" Carbine now looked angry, getting right in Manuel's face.

"I'm going to get him back," Manuel said.

"How?"

Manuel then got out a tape recorder and played back Limburger's message about the Speed Master Competition. She gave Manuel a skeptical look.

"Just how are you going to win this 'Speed Master' Competition?" She asked.

Manuel then opened the back of the Semi and explained what he planned to do with his Focus. "We'll need to use the shop. That's why I came here. Robby D is my boss. If we can use a section of the shop during off hours, we can get the car's mods complete in the two months' time span before the competition."

Robby D put a hand on Manuel's shoulder. "I'll section off an area for your friends to use to finish the build. We'll get this done."