FicWad

Author's notes: Just a couple of things to clarify this next bit: one, I started to clarify the normal course of bike training - normally, a freedom fighter would get their first non-AI bike at 13 and replace it with an AI training bike at 16. The training bikes are the ones which can't be sold for one reason or another - mostly personality problems (what, these are AI bikes, of course they have personalities) so they're used for training. At 18 the trainee would switch this bike for the one which is then called their own. Vinnie was a fast learner - he was after all in a specialist class with three other students all older than him - and he gradutated to AI bikes a year early. Two, I don't know what an ice cake is. I just needed some sort of Martian confectionery - every civilization has something to indulge the sugar intake. I had in mind French fancies, coconut ice and several kinds of /barfi/, but you should use your own imagination.

CHAPTER TWO

Two months later:
Throttle reached across the breakfast table and poked his foster sibling with his spoon.
'Hey, bro - why the long face?'
'Nuthin',' said Vinnie, distractedly.
'You're not eatin' anything.' Vinnie glared at him and pointedly continued eating his breakfast. Throttle considered for a moment, then continued. 'I think you're hacked off 'cause Blue's startin' battle bike classes today and you'll be left behind. That it?'
'No.'
Throttle grinned. 'I think it is! C'mon, she's not so bad these days, is she?'
'Still calls me Whiteass,' grumbled Vinnie.
Throttle shrugged. 'So? She calls me Crazyface but it don't mean nuthin'. Look, bro, I'll tell you a secret - don't tell Stoke I told you this 'cause he'll hang me from my tail off the cave roof if he hears, but he said that the way you're going you're gonna be starting battle bike trainin' a year early.'
Vinnie's face lit up at the news. 'What? No /way/!'
'Yes way - c'mon, now, would I lie to you?'
'I dunno, there was that time-'
'That wasn't a lie, that was a trick, it doesn't count. Anyway - eat up, we're gonna be late. Birthday classes, y'know...'
Blue came into class so excited she could barely sit down, but calmed down pretty quickly when all four of the others hugged her at once.
'Wow,' she said, rubbing her bruised ribs. 'I think next time I might not tell you when my birthday is...'
'Too late, I already know,' said Stoker. 'Sixteen, huh? Bluebird's growin' up.'
'Yeah,' said Throttle. 'AI trials today! You join the battle ranks!'
'I know,' Blue bit her lip in girlish glee. 'I can't wait!'
''Fraid you gotta,' said Modo. 'We're waitin'-' At that moment the roll-up door at the end of the training yard opened and Flash came in on one of the AI training bikes.
'Sorry I'm late,' he said breezily. 'Were you waiting for me?'
'Yeah,' said Stoker. 'But the birthday girl hasn't exploded yet so I guess you're here on time.'
'Great.' Flash's eyes settled on Blue and his face lit up. 'Hey, and there's the blue-skied birthday babe! Come get a load of this, I brought you the sweetest ride I could find!' He hugged her suddenly, knocking all the air out of her, and turned to the bike, which was purring gently. The training bikes were the ones which, for some reason or other, couldn't be used in battle - sometimes you got one which wouldn't shoot at living creatures or which was jumpy or unstable or had some other undesirable personality trait. As a result, after training, most young mice found their first battle bike a walkover by comparison. This one was slightly smaller than most, but it didn't look fearful or wary at all. This could be thought of as ominous in a training bike.
'So,' said Stoker over Blue's shoulder. 'What's the catch with this one?'
'No catch,' said Flash, smiling innocently.
'There's always a catch,' said Throttle. 'Mine's over-protective and Modo's is twitchy - if there wasn't a catch it'd be a full-scale battle bike.'
'No personality problems at all,' said Flash. 'None that matter, anyway.'
'Ah,' said Vinnie. 'Knew we'd get there eventually. C'mon - spill.'
'It's... too enthusiastic. I thought it'd work well with Blue here 'cause she might be able to keep it in line - it used to belong to a guy called Shrapnel and it wouldn't stay in formation.'
'Yeah, I heard about that,' said Stoker. 'I wouldn't call that a problem that doesn't matter. Still, this is just the training stage. What do you say, Bluebird? Gonna try it?'
Blue walked up to the bike and knelt down beside it. Nobody heard what she said to it, but it revved suddenly, as if startled, and she stood up. 'We'll give it a go,' she said. 'I don't think there'll be any problems.'
The trial started simply and got faster and more arduous as the hours passed - calling, commanding, racing, jumping, doing stunts and manouvers and excercises in memory, obedience, agility and ability. True to Flash's word, the bike tended to get carried away and over-excited, but Blue simply barked a command at it and it slowed instantly.
The final trial finished with Blue running along an obstacle course with the bike keeping pace beside her, then catching her as she jumped before stopping at the finish line. It was done perfectly, and as it screeched to a halt in front of her watchers, Blue was panting heavily but her smile almost threatened to take the top off her head.
'Amazing,' said Flash.
'Eighty-three per cent,' said Stoker. 'Very well done, that girl.'
Blue punched the air, threw an arm around Modo's neck and hi-fived Vinnie. 'I did it, I did it!'
'Yeah,' said Flash. 'Except - what did you say to the bike?'
'Told it I'd fill its tank with hydrochloric if it didn't behave.'
Flash winced. 'Ooh, nasty mind you got there, girl. Not sure I'm comfortable leaving one of my bikes with you.'
'Don't worry about it. It's going to be a good bike now, aren't you, sweetie?' She patted its handlebars and it beeped hastily. 'And for that I'll take the very best care of it you could wish for.'
'Well... OK, then. You just make sure I don't feel bad about giving you a real bike in two years. Listen, guys, I gotta go. Happy birthday, Blue.'
'Thanks, Flash - bye!'
The door rolled down behind the head mechanic and Vinnie shook his head. ''Course, we're all used to you sayin' stuff like that. We know you'd never do it.'
'No you don't, you just know I haven't needed to yet,' said Blue calmly. 'Whew, that was hard work. I need a drink.'
'Good idea,' said Stoker. 'Come on, I'll buy - birthday treat. Let's show the guys in the bar that bike of yours.'

'OK, battle class this morning,' said Stoker. 'Sorry, Punk, you're going for extra bike maitinence with Flash.'
'But-'
'But me one more time and I'll whup your tail so hard you won't be able to sit for a week.'
Vinnie subsided. Stoker made warnings like this on a fairly regular basis, and though he had made good on his threat on only a couple of occasions, and under extreme provocation at that, it wasn't an experience either Vinnie or Throttle wanted to repeat.
'Don't worry about it,' said Throttle. 'Hey, you'll get to be the greatest mechanic in the base at this rate.' Vinnie grumbled something intelligible.
'You're tryin' my patience, Punk,' said Stoker. 'Get outa here, maybe you'll get more sympathy from Flash or that pretty little apprentice of his.'
Vinnie slouched out, resentment radiating from every pore. Flash and Harley were waiting for him at the bike shed when he got there, and Harley's face broke into a big bright beam when she saw him. The smile vanished when she saw his expression.
'Hey, Vinnie, what's up? You sick or somethin'?'
'Yeah,' said Flash with a grin. 'Bad case of green-eye. Too bad, Vin, this sort of thing happens when you're the youngest. Come on in, we can at least stop you getting bored.'
'I doubt it,' said Vinnie.
'Well, come in anyway. Stoke gave us ice cakes for break time, and he says to tell you if you don't stay in line, you don't get any. How's that sound?'
'Ice cakes? The yellow ones or the pink ones?'
Harley laughed. 'Both. You gonna be good?'
'Hell, yeah - what've I gotta do?'
'I always said nine tenths of teenage persuasion was bribery,' said Flash amiably. 'We're changing the shocks on this Excelsior Goldbird. Turns out it's the limited edition 600X model so it doesn't take the usual type. Know what to do?'
Vinnie looked at the bike on the stand in the middle of the floor. It was fresh in, making little worried noises and turning its wheels backwards and forwards.
'First of all it needs AI inhibitors... type 7B?'
'Good one. Go get 'em, then - Harley, you prep the neurorods.'
xx
By the time Flash called break, the Goldbird had its shocks replaced, a Trailblazer Marsrover had been given a new exhaust and a vintage Phobos Whiplash 50 had been brought in, examined and sadly declared no use to anyone except as spare parts. Vinnie's bad mood had vanished and he, Harley and Flash were all filthy to the ears and very ready for their break.
Flash passed him a root beer and opened the box on the table. 'You put in a good morning, Vinnie. Oo, lookie here, we got the kind with the little silver sprinkles...' He waved the box of ice cakes in Vinnie's direction.
'Oh, man - Stoker, I forgive you...' said Vinnie, taking one. Harley's hand snaked round from behind him and sneaked a cake out of the box.
'Pink ice cake, happy happy happy!'
'Easy there, Harley, we got two each,' said Flash. 'So Vin, I guess we're gonna be seeing more of you now Blue's got her battle bike?'
'Yeah, I guess so. Unless Stoke decides I gotta fill in on medic and com classes and all the rest too.'
'And if he does, you'll be able to justify that ego of yours. More to life than AI bikes, though it pains me to say it.'
Vinnie was in a much better mood when he got home that night. It didn't last long, though - the others got back half an hour later in a noisy swirl of activity and mutual praise, Throttle, Blue and Modo arm in arm and singing 'Bat Out of Hell' at the tops of their voices and in wildly different keys. As they came through the door Throttle and Modo hoisted Blue up onto their shoulders and Throttle cried, 'OK, Little Sis, solo time!'
'Aaaaaand like a sinner befooooore the gates of heaven, I'll come rollin' on back toooo /yoooouuuuuu/!' howled Blue, waving her arms in the air and trying to compensate for the unstability of her perch. She jumped down, all three laughing hysterically, and they stood aside to let Stoker in.
'You three stopped singing?' he said. 'Thank the gods for that. I definitely deserve the first shower for putting up with that rigmarole all day.' He vanished into the bathroom.
'Take it you had a good day, then,' said Vinnie shortly.
'What, and you didn't?' said Blue. 'C'mon, don't give me that, Stoke said you got ice cakes. We didn't.'
'Hmph.'
'Hey, bro, come on, it can't have been that bad,' said Modo.
'Yeah,' said Throttle. 'I mean, you were hanging out with Flash and Harley, they're not exactly the worst company on the planet.'
'I'm supposed to be in this class,' said Vinnie.
'You are,' said Throttle.
'Oh, I've had enough of this,' said Blue impatiently. 'You think you've been sent down? You think you're not good enough? Bullcacky. You're as good a stunt rider as me and when you get to be my age you'll be much better - hell, you'd be much better already if you could only get your head out of your ass. So quit raining on our parade, OK?'
'Oh, it's all about you is it?' said Vinnie. 'Want me to shut up and sit down while you have a good time? Fuck /that/.'
'It has never been all about me, you self-important prick! I have at least been trying to get along with you guys, and well, it's just like you to ignore every nice thing I say, so fuck you.'
'Yeah? And your dad.' Even Throttle had to admit Vinnie asked for the punch, loaded with all Blue's rage, strength and weight. There was a crack and his nose started streaming blood.
'You dare say one thing about my dad-!' screamed Blue. Vinnie brought his hand away from his face bloody.
'You bwoke it, you /bitsh/!' he said, and jumped at her. They rolled over and over, throwing punches and kicks in an unsophisticated display of rage and frustration, leaving a trail of blood across the floor.
'We better stop this,' said Throttle.
'Right,' said Modo. Throttle waded in, grabbed Vinnie by the back of his neck and hauled him off Blue, who jumped to her feet.
'Great, just hold him for me-' she said, but Modo caught her from behind, wrapping his arms around her. She struggled a little, then froze. 'Bastards.'
'Just helpin' out,' said Modo. 'Bro, you better get my momma to look at Vinnie's nose, Ah'm not sure Ah can let this one loose yet.'
'Let me go, Modo. I'll be good.'
'Biker's honour?'
'Biker's honour.' Modo released her. She stepped away and brushed herself down, examining herself for possible future bruises. She had blood from Vinnie's nose on her clothes, but apart from a busted lip and what would become an impressive black eye, she was largely uninjured.
That was when Stoker came back into the room. When he saw the blood he stopped wringing the water out of his hair and sighed heavily. 'I leave you lot alone for five minutes... OK, what happened? Throttle?'
'Vinnie and Blue were arguing and then he said something about her dad so she broke his nose and then-'
'Yeah, I can see the "and then". Anyone called Flare yet?'
'We were just about to.'
'Then get to it. Phobos and Deimos, just when I think the problem's sorted out. OK, I hoped I wouldn't have to say this.' Stoker turned to Vinnie and Blue. 'You two - Biker brawls are one thing but if I ever catch you treating each other like rats again, then you're out of this class. For good. I mean it. Say "yes, Stoker".'
'Yes, Stoker.'
'Yesh, Shtoker.'
'I guess that'll do...'
xx
Vinnie came home from the medibay with his muzzle wired and strict instructions not to get in any more fights for the moment, so he was relegated to Flash's class for the duration of his convalescence anyway. When Flash heard Vinnie's version, and then Throttle's less biased version, he just said 'Serves you right.' But it didn't take that much begging to make him promise not to tell Harley.
Harley knew anyway. She'd got a less edited story from Blue, having asked her about the origin of the prize shiner she was sporting.
'So... you broke his nose and he gave you that? What did he say?'
Blue shrugged. 'Something about my dad. Forget it, it's not important.' Seeing as Vinnie didn't seem to want to talk about it either and Harley was an obliging soul, the subject was dropped.
When Vinnie got the wires removed and permission to come back to Stoker's class, his dealings with Blue were... tentative. Occasionally one of them would raise their voice to the other or a sharp word would pass between them, then Modo or Throttle would mutter 'Rats...' and both would stop, the hackles would go back down and the voices quieten. Gradually the tension started to ease off, and they started joking again, and the play fighting started to return, and even - to the chagrin of any observers - the dreadful singing. Soon it was almost back to normal again.
xx
Vinnie woke up on Modo's seventeenth birthday feeling as though he could conquer the world. He bounded into the kitchen and found Blue already there, talking to Throttle and Stoker.
'Good morning Mars!' he yelled.
'Morning, Whiteass,' said Blue noncholantly. 'Feeling good?'
'You betcha, sister - oh, man, what a morning! I'd forgotten we got mornings like this! Why don't we ever get 'em on my birthday? And where the hell's Modo?'
Stoker laughed. 'Cool it, Punk, Modo's got a family to entertain before he comes here. I think Flare's plannin' something for him. You get somethin' to eat - you can't power all that hoppin' around on fresh air.'
Vinnie got breakfast in a whirl of activity, leaving a trail of cereal and milk behind him. Stoker rolled his eyes. 'Teenagers - hope you can spare enough of that energy to clean that up, kid.'
'Sure,' said Vinnie with his mouth full. Just then the door opened and Modo came in, to be instantly sprayed with milk as Vinnie shouted 'Happy birthday!' to him without swallowing his cereal.
'Yeah,' said Modo, wiping his face. 'Thanks, bro.'
Stoker rolled his eyes. 'Look, Punk, go finish that over there and don't say anything till you're done. Go, now!' Vinnie grinned and scuttled off to the corner of the kitchen. Stoker lowered his pointing finger and turned back to Modo. 'Where were we? Oh, yeah - happy birthday! Aren't you supposed to be home till after lunch?'
'Momma said she'd bring it here if that's OK,' replied Modo.
'Gee, let me think...' said Stoker with exaggerated caution. 'Don't be stupid, of course it's OK. Siddown. Hey, Rookie, did you drink the last root beer?'
'Don't think so,' said Throttle, thumping Modo on the back. 'I'll go see. Careful, Blue, you want to kill him?'
'I can see it now - cause of death, suffocation due to extended hugging,' said Stoker dryly. Blue, who had engulfed Modo the second he'd sat down with a cry of 'Birthday huggies!' sat back.
'So, what time's your mom coming over?' she said.
''Bout noon,' said Modo. 'Says she's bringing Silver and the twins too. Y'all sure this is OK? It's gonna be quite a gatherin'.'
'More the merrier,' said Stoker dismissively.
It did turn out to be quite merry. Silver arrived first, with the twins in tow, and you could hear her noisy pre-teen entourage arguing from several hundred yards away. When the door was opened the argument practically fell into the room.
'-If you ever did anything interesting you might have more friends, but-'
'I got loads of friends, you... you /fish/!'
'/What/? Hey, Momma, didja hear what he called me? Fire, you horrible, boring, goody-goody-'
'OK/!' Silver's voice dropped into the conversation like a steel bar on a traintrack. 'That's /enough/! We're in someone else's house an' you will be /good/, the both of you! Is that /quite clear?' There was silence, and both twins nodded. Silver looked over their heads at the surprised occupants of the room beyond and beamed. 'Sorry 'bout that, y'all. Rimfire, Primer, go say hello.' The twins obeyed, and Stoker got up, hugged them tightly and stepped past to Silver.
'Hey, Silver.'
'Hi, Stoke.'
'Nice stop. I normally have to threaten mine with GBH.'
Silver laughed. 'Yours're both boys, and they're older,' she said. 'Also... no.' She stopped, as though deciding against saying what was on her mind.
'What?'
'Well... they're not yours, really. You got 'em aged five an' six, someone else got 'em for the forming years.' She smiled. 'It's probably a good thing. Ah can't see you with a baby, Stoke.'
He smiled softly, watching Vinnie, Blue and Primer arguing about the merits of charged contact weapons versus projectiles at the tops of their voices.
'No,' he said. 'Well, that was a long time ago. You want a drink?'
Flare arrived soon after, bearing a large box, which she placed in the middle of the table and carefully dismantled to reveal the biggest ice cake any of them had ever seen.
'Oooo,' said Primer.
'Wow,' said Stoker. 'Now I know why you wanted me to keep Modo here all yesterday. How'd you manage to get it done before he got in?'
'It was close,' said Flare, pleased. 'You like it, Modo?'
'Like it?' said Modo. 'Oh, /Momma/...' Lost for words, he hugged her till she begged for air.
'Can't breathe!' she gasped, but she looked happy as she held out the knife. 'Gonna cut it, son? Like my dear old white-furred daddy always said, eat it while it's fresh.'
The ice cake vanished like frost on a desert morning, but the noise and activity only seemed to increase with the sugar intake. Blue wasn't used to so many people at close quarters all at the same time, so after a while she slipped away.
Outside, the street was deathly quiet by comparison - there were people everywhere but not all of them yelling at each other within ten yards of her. She sauntered round to the bike bay, where there were no people at all. Her bike greeted her enthusiastically and she smiled, picked up a rag and started to polish it.
'Hey, Blue.' She jumped, turned around. Modo was leaning on the wall, watching her.
'Modo!'
'You ran off.'
'Um... yeah. It all got a bit much, you know? Nothing personal, just...'
'Too much of someone else's family?' said Modo. Blue nodded. 'Yeah, 's OK.'
'They're all very nice. You're very lucky.'
Modo smiled. 'Don't Ah know it.' There was a pause, then Modo appeared to reach a desicion. 'Hey, Blue - why don't you ever talk 'bout your dad?'
She didn't look at him, just concentrated on cleaning the bike. 'Dunno. Because he's not here, I suppose. Nobody ever really asks, do they?'
'He might still be alive.'
'Modo - don't. If he's alive he's either forgotten all about me or he wishes he was dead. So it's easier that I think he's dead. So... seventeen, huh?'
Modo could take a hint if it was delivered with the force of a twelve-pound lump hammer. He changed the subject. 'Yeah, seventeen. Gettin' mah own battle bike next year. Can't say Ah'm not gonna miss this one, though.' He patted his bike on its seat.
'Oh, really?' Bue grinned at him. 'If I recall correctly, Modo, less than a week ago you said you'd give anything for a bike that, what was it, "didn't jump the god-damned gun" - yes?'
'Ah guess, but you get attached, don't you? An' anyway, we came to an understandin'.'
'The kind that involves welding torches in sensitive places?'
'That kind of understandin', yeah.'
Blue rolled her eyes. Modo would never do anything to hurt a bike in a million years - it must have taken quite a lot even to threaten one. Still, if it worked... 'Whatever turns your wheels, big guy. Speaking of which, I gotta change a tyre, could you give me a hand here?'
Modo went over and lifted the back of the bike so she could prop it off the ground, and they worked and talked together in busy contentment for the next half hour before going back to the noisy house and the remains of the ice cake.