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SHADOWS

I do not own the Biker Mice from Mars, as you probably could have guessed by now. I do not make any profit from this story, and it is written purely for my enjoyment and others. Please note that this story may contain some bad language, graphic violence, and a few implied adult situations.

The masked horror crept slowly into the bathroom where the young woman, totally unaware of the impending danger that was upon her, stood in the shower. He raised the butcher knife high above his head as he stood just inches away from the shower and then…

" BOOO!" Vinnie cried suddenly, grabbing Charlie by the shoulders and yanking her back against the couch. She let out a blood-curdling scream and threw the blow of popcorn she’d been eating over her head, slamming it down on the white mouse’s head. Throttle and Modo came skidding into the room then, hold their weapons ready, "What’s the matter? What’s wrong?" Throttle asked, looking around the room. " You okay, Charlie ma’am?" Modo asked. Charlie clutched her chest and sat up, glaring at Vinnie. " Yeah, I’m fine guys. Macho-mouth over here just scared me." She said, glaring at him. Vinnie snickered uncontrollably. " You should have seen the look on your face!" he giggled. Throttle sighed irritably and shoved his lazor back into its place, " Man, Vinnie, why don’t you grow up?" he asked. " Awe, come on bro, can’t you guys take a joke?" Vinnie asked. " Yeah, Vin’. Just ‘cause it’s Halloween don’t mean you got the right to scare the pants off Charlie-girl. It just ain’t poliet." Modo scolded. " Ah, you bros are just sticks in the mud." Vinnie said waving a hand at them. All the sudden a light on the police scanner started to blink. " Hmm, looks like we got a report coming in." Charlie said getting up and flicking the machine on.

" Hmmm, sound like old lard lumps is up to his old tricks again." Modo sighed. "Yep, and you know that means." Throttle sighed. " Oh yeah, baby! It’s—"

"TAIL WHIPPIN’ TIME!" they all shouted. Charlie giggled and shook her head, "Well, just don’t get your tails in too much trouble. After all that candy I ate I really don’t feel like pulling them out of the fire." She said, smiling at them. " Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart. You know us, safety first. " Vinnie assured her, blowing her a kiss. " Yeah, Charlie, don’t sweat it. We’ll be fine." Throttle added. " Yeah, I mean, what could possible go wrong?" Modo asked, shrugging.

**

Meanwhile, at Limburger Tower, the Big Cheese was cooking up some of his own Halloween treats, however they weren’t the kind you’d wanna give your children…

" How’s the experimentation going, Doctor?" Limburger asked casually, glancing out the window at the clear black sky and full harvest moon. " Oh, quite well, you’re dairy goodness, I expect the Biker Mice will find it most unpleasant." He cackled, putting the last few finishing touches on their ingenious little trap. " Excellent, my dear, doctor, excellent." He glanced at the watch on his wall, quickly. " They should be arriving shortly. And then it will be time for a little trick and a treat." He chuckled to himself, darkly, evil glinting in his eyes, and at that moment there was a rumbling as our three heroes burst through the stone walls.

" Trick or Treat!" Vinnie called, smiling smugly. " Well, well, well, good evening fish face. Nice mask." Throttle said, leaning lazily on his handlebars, gazing at Limburger’s strangely uncovered face, showing clearly that he was Plutarkian. As if you couldn’t tell by the smell.

" Yeah, I think you look better the other way. Although it’s a close tie." Modo added, grinning.

Limburger looked at them calmly, not moving an inch, which was kinda odd, seeing as how none of his goons suddenly pounced on them. But there was something else a bit different about the Plutarkian tycoon. He was no longer wearing his usual tacky purple suit, but instead was wearing very dark, very gothic looking clothing, and around his neck hung the missing ruby from the museum.

Throttle raised and eyebrow and looked at him over the ridge of his glasses. "Going for a new look?" he asked, almost with out sarcasm. " So good of you to notice, Mr. Mouse." Limburger said in a low dark voice that was unusual for even him. Modo leaned over to Vinnie, " Is it just me, or did he just get a whole hell of a lot scarier?" he whispered. Vinnie shook his head. This wasn’t going to be the usual shoot em’ up-kick cheese face’s gills-and then head home. This time there was something more menacing about him. Something that gave them chills.

" Look, Limburger. It’s kinda late and we’d like to get home and finish passing out candy, so how about we get this over with quickly, eh?" Vinnie asked, admiring his reflection in his rear view mirror, careful not to show his sudden anxiousness. " Oh, I quite agree." Limburger said. He lifted the ruby from where it hung on a gold chain around his neck and dangled it in front of the Biker Mice’s eyes. " Do you know what this is, my dear rodents?" he asked casually. " This is the legendary Black Ruby. It holds untold dark magic and secretes of the acients. Though, wiether they were from this world or another is not certain." The mice exchanged glances with each other. This was just too weird. " What would you want with magic, fish face?" Modo asked, eyeing him carefully. " Oh, the question is not what I want with it, my dear mice, but what you want with it." He said. The Biker Mice were all taken aback by this. " What are you up to, Limburger?" Throttle asked, stepping off his bike and looking at him hard in the face. Limburger smiled menacingly and held the ruby out for Throttle to take. " Well, go on." He coaxed. Throttle cast a worried glance back at his friends and then stepped up to Limburger. " Well, go on." He coaxed again. " Unless you’re afraid." He added lowly. Throttle glared at him, and then lifted his hand, which was trembling slightly and reached for the dangling medallion. He swallowed hard and then took the precious gem in his hand.

Nothing happened.

He looked at Limburger, a bit confused and then looked back at the ruby in his hand. It was then he caught his reflection in its deep red color, only it was not him who was looking back at him. He saw his own face, covered with blood, his eyes sunken into his head, blood, blood red in color, his mouth open in a snarl, gleaming white fangs shinning with blood dripping from them. (blood, blood, everywhere!)

Suddenly a burning hot white flame consumed Throttle’s hand, turning it bright red, glowing almost as it shot up his arm. He let out a loud sharp gasp and let the gem fall from his hand, shattering on the ground, holding his hand in pain.

Limburger began to chuckle then in a low hollow voice, a voice that was so cold, so hollow, so completely evil that the Biker Mice felt their bones chilled to the marrow. " I have a poem for you, Biker Mice…" He looked up at them with dark eyes that were not his own, and began in that same hollow voice began this incantation;

" Cold be hand and heart and bone,

and cold be sleep under stone:

never more to wake from stony bed,

never, till Sun fails and Moon is dead.

In the black wind the stars shall die,

And still on gold here let thee lie

Till dark lord lifts his hand

Over dead sea and withered land.

Thus is the curse I lay upon thy head

That though shall suffer till all is dead

Damned forever in autumn’s sleep

For thou shall never find reprieve

And all shall be left to grieve

And from dark dreams you shall never wake

As you stand in your own wake

Forever warrior of darkest night

Never again to see daylight."

Throttle felt a sudden horrible cold surge through every fiber of his body, and his head seemed to have been severed from his body, for within a moment he lost all feeling in every limb. His world spun into a haunting darkness of bitter cold, and the last thing he remembered was the horrible image he’d seen in the ruby.

**

The world was a cold, dark spinning void.

The mind of Throttle Cassander McCloud huddled shiveringly against the walls of a dark tunnel. It seemed an eternity measured in seconds before the light at the tunnel’s end finally flickered in to view…

" Where am I?" He asked in a groggy choked voice. He looked around him at a surreal landscape that was surrounding him. It was then he realized he was levitating or floating in a strange multi-colored void. " Hmm…so this must be how Alice felt when she fell down that rabbit hole." He murmured to himself. Suddenly there was a sound, like shallow, hollow breathing echoing around him. Throttle felt his heart jump in his chest. "Who-who’s there?" he asked, his voice trembling uncontrollably. A dark, faceless creature appeared before him. Throttle stared at him, his eyes wide. The man, or whatever he was, was literally a shadow, a dark figure with no real dimension. "There’s no need to fear me, Throttle." A hollow voice said slowly. " Who are you? And how is it you know my name?" the revered leader of the Biker Mice from Mars asked. " Heh. You and I are soul mates. We, by an odd twist of fate, have come to share the same fate." The shadow man replied. Throttle blinked and gazed at him, not understanding. " You’re confusion was expected. Fear not, all will be revealed in due time." The voice replied. "But… I don’t understand…who are you and what am I doing here? I’m dreaming right?" he asked, frantically. For some unknown reason he was beginning to feel panic rise up in him. "Oh, this is no dream, Throttle. This is real. Very, very real." The faceless creature gazed at him, " You really don’t know what’s happened to you, do you?" he asked, sounding a little tired. " No, afraid I don’t." Throttle snapped back, feeling irritable. The shadow sighed. " Hmmm, how do I put this delicately?" he pondered, chin in hand, "You’re dead."

Throttle’s jaw went slack and his eyes grew even wider. " I’m…WHAT?" he gasped. "Well, not ‘dead’ exactly. To be precise you’re ‘undead’." He explained. Throttle stared at him for a moment in silence and then began to laugh hysterically, " I’m…I’m dead? I don’t believe it! I’ve been murdered!" he screamed in hysterics. The specter gazed at him, and then threw up a hand, silencing the hysterical Martian. "Please, I really don’t have time for your pathetic hysterics… you are a Shadow Warrior." Throttle stared at him, still. " What’s that supposed to mean?" he asked. " It means you have been chosen by the Black Ruby to take my place. However, because of the means used to bring you here, you are trapped between the world of the living and the dead, leaving you in my domain. You’re a rare case to say the least, and the most alive one I’ve had yet. Oh, you picked a terrible night to come visit my friend. I usual expect…well…others…not of your kind on this night." He said. " So…you mean…I’m trapped here?" he asked, sounding more like his serious self again. " For the moment. You’ll be sent back to your own world in a short time, but first there are some things you must know." Throttle rubbed his arms for the numb coldness that had filled his body. He felt dead, and yet somehow still alive. He tired to piece together what had happened, trying to make sense out of the illogical. The shadow man, this strange being from beyond seemed to know his feelings and turned once more to him. " Fear not, my newly immortal friend. You will return to those whom you love, but afraid your life will never be as it once was." He said in his hollow voice. " A curse has been brought upon you by dark forces, condemning you to the fate I have suffered these many centuries. You will never again be able to enter the day light world without the help of magical forces, nor will you any longer be mortal. You must live by night, living from dusk until dawn, much like the mythical vampire or gargoyle. During the hours of light your soul and consciousness must return to this world, where it will be safe from the daylight. You’re body may stay in the mortal world, however you will be in a comatose like sleep during that period. Don’t be surprised if you wake some evening to find you’ve been buried." The shadow man chuckled a bit, but when he saw the ashen, terrified look on the young Martian male’s face, he ceased. " There’s nothing to fear, Throttle. As I said, you can not die. Your blood is immortal now. There’s nothing on this Earth that can destroy you…" he voice trailed off, as he paused deep in thought, then he looked back up at Throttle. "But…there will be those who will try." He said in a very dark, very sad voice. " What do you mean? I thought you couldn’t kill an immortal?" Throttle asked. " I said nothing on this Earth. But things not of the earth…other immortal things could. You must be careful." He said. Throttle sighed, frustrated and frightened, " I still don’t understand! What is all this Shadow Warrior business and who are these ‘others’?" he asked. The shadow man seemed to smile at him. Perhaps if he’d had a mouth, he would have. "So, glad you asked. You see, Shadow Warriors are those who have become immortal through means of dark magic, those put under curses or spells, like yourself. These warriors descend into the mortal and living world during the night to protect it from evil and wrong as Shadow Warriors." He said. " Hmm, I think I’ve had a little experience in that line of work." Throttle said. " But…what are these ‘other’s’ then?" he added then. The shadow man sighed deeply, " Slayers." He said gravely. Throttle gazed at him, confused. " A Slayer is someone you do not wish to encounter my friend. These are the souls of the condemned who can not find rest in this shadow world, and seek revenge on those who have imprisoned them here. Poor, misguided souls who often turn to the darkness of the underworld, bringing about your proverbable vampires, demons, and ghost." Throttle took in all the news slowly, trying to understand it. This was indeed a strange night. Just then he felt a hot wave of heat wash over his torso and he gasped and threw his head back, clenching his teeth in pain. " What?" the shadow man gasped, staring at him. " So soon?" He looked up far above him at the endless void and saw a light begin to appear. " What’s happening?" Throttle gasped. " It is time." Said the hollow voice of the dark figure as it faded into the scenery around him. "But…wait…I…ughhhh!" The heat grew more and more intense until Throttle screamed in agony, feeling as though he’d just been sucked down into the fiery pits of Hell itself, then all returned to it’s original state…a merciful black darkness.

**

Vinnie and Modo paced back and forth nervously around the Scoreboard. This wasn’t right, this simply wasn’t natural. Something was desperately wrong with their friend and there was nothing they could do to help but watch and wait. When Throttle had first fallen to the floor in Karbuncle’s lab, he’d been deathly cold and so still that death could not compare with his motionlessness. They had been enraged and yet frightened beyond their imagination, to the point they’d thought they’d wail in fear, but the courage that lay deep within them, that was the soul of their being, allowed them not, and after a brief, furious battle, which left Limburger and Limburger Tower in shambles, they escaped with their inert friend’s body in their arms. In the few hours that had passed between the accident and now Throttle had come a step up from being dead as a door nail. Now he was just a dead weight and looked as though he were in a very deep sleep. His flesh was cold, not icy, but still a few degrees below its normal state, and he was breathing, faintly and shallow, but breathing. Not to mention how deathly pale he was under his fur. They had tired to wake him many times, but he never stirred, and now they thought it best to let him sleep.

Modo sat at his friend’s side, rubbing his hands, looking at him hopelessly. " Oh mama…you told me there’d be days like this." He sighed, quietly. Vinnie stood near the window, clenching his hands over and over, not knowing wiether to cry or be angry. He couldn’t do any more for his bro than what he had already done. He was helpless, and that made him angry. He hated feeling useless. Now he knew how Stoker must have felt. "Man…" he breathed out his frustrations and banged his fist on the wall. At that moment a low soft sound came from their motionless friend. Modo and Vinnie both looked up, surprised and shocked. Modo practically fell off the chair he’d been sitting on when he heard his friend groan and saw him stir. Waves of relief washed over them and they went to his side and coaxed him awake. Throttle’s eyes fluttered open slowly and looked up at his friends hazily. When Modo and Vinnie saw this they threw their arms around their friend and hugged him lovingly. " Oh mama, bro, you sure had us scared." Modo sighed. "Yeah, we were worried about you…in a macho sorta way, that is." Vinnie said, not wanting to admit the full extent of the relief he felt. " How ya feel?" he added then. Throttle gazed at him unclearly, and then slowly sat up, not saying a word, and stared down at his own body as though he’d never seen it before. The other two Biker Mice exchanged glances and then looked back at Throttle, " Bro…do you know where you are?" Modo asked. Throttle blinked, and rubbed his head. " Yes…I know where I should be." He said slowly. " I’m home, right?" he asked. " Well, in a matter of speaking." Vinnie replied. He laid a hand on his bro’s shoulder and looked at him worriedly, " Hey, you okay, Throttle? What happened to you?" he asked. "I….I’m not sure." The tan mouse whispered, softly, rubbing his arms. " You cold?" Modo asked him. Throttle nodded, " I feel numb and cold all over." He said. Modo draped the blankets over him and squeezed his hand. " What did Limburger do to you?" he asked, softly. " I…."

The Biker Mice found themselves being thrown violently about the toppling and blazing scoreboard. " WHAT THE HELL?!" Vinnie gasped, looking for something to grasp before he was thrown through a window. Modo went sailing over the bunk beds and smacked hard against the farthest wall, then slumped to the ground, unmoving. Throttle was thrown from the bed, and sent tumbling onto the floor, and right out a window! He grabbed hold of the shattered ledge, the broken glass driving deep into the palm of his hand. He yelped, but did not let go, lest he should make and ugly little fury smear on the streets below him. The Scoreboard was literally being blown over! But by who? Suddenly the tan mouse felt a burning pain run threw his head. He screamed and slammed his eyes shut, feeling them hemorrhage. Then, slowly, he opened them. They had turned a deep red color, the color of blood. He looked up then, staring straight through the walls of Scoreboard, seeing both his bros laying upon the floor, unconscious and then beyond that, to the baseball field, to see Limburger and bunch of his goons sending very high tech missiles at them. In the recesses of his brain he felt something come alive, a power that he’d never known he possessed was burning into overdrive deep inside him. He snapped.

He flung up his free hand, and looked at the suddenly darkened sky. " MASUME!!!" (ma-su-may) He screamed. All at once, an unbelievably long, slender blade of a sword of digitized in Throttle’s palm. He took it as though it were his own. He gazed at the shinning silver metal for a moment, and then nodded, understanding. With cat-like grace and leader of the Biker Mice flung himself back up into the Scoreboard, and quickly surveyed the damage. He dropped down beside each of his fallen friends and checked their pulses. They had suffered minor injuries, and were very much alive, much to their leader’s relief. But now more important things lay at hand. Throttle ran passed them with amazing speed, then flipped threw the nearest window, leaping towards his objective. Limburger.

The Plutarkian businessman’s senses perked up suddenly and he looked up just in time to see his adversary seemingly glide towards him, landing with grace and ease upon the ground before him. The goons and Karbuncle took a step backwards in shock and amazement. "This can’t be!" Karbuncle gasped, seemingly speaking what Limburger was thinking. Throttle stood looking at them without moving even an inch, his new weapon at his side. He turned his head ever so slightly towards the thugs and pointed Masume at them slightly, "Leave." He commanded his voice dark. The goons immediately dropped their weapons and ran away yelping. Throttle turned his attention back to the Doctor and Limburger. " Well, what are waiting for you fool? Don’t just stand there! Kill him!" Limburger shrieked at Karbuncle, sounding more like his old self again. Karbuncle shakily lifted a gun and shot Throttle square in the chest. The tan mouse staggered backwards, but did not fall. Karbuncle fired another shot, this time striking him in the kidney. Again he fell back, but stayed on his feet. " This can’t be!" Limburger gasped in horror. Throttle looked down at the holes in his body. They did not even shed a drop of blood. He looked back at them slowly, and then began to walk towards them. Karbuncle fired off round after round furiously, each bullet hitting it’s mark, but none of them slowed the Biker Mouse’s pace even by a step. Finally he was standing right in front of the frantic doctor. He grabbed hold of the pistol and twisted it out of Karbuncle’s hand, turning it into a ball of scrape within a few seconds, then tossed it over his shoulder. " I-Incredible!" the mad scientist gasped. Throttle picked him up by his neck and held him above him. " You’re not worth it." He hissed, then tossed the doctor over his shoulder as well.

Now he was standing face to face with Limburger. " This can’t be! I sent your soul to the underworld! You should be dead!" Limburger screeched. " You’ve condemned my soul to an ever lasting night, Limburger, you didn’t destroy it. But I will destroy you." He said darkly, raising the tip of Masume to Limburger’s fat throat. " No! Please!" the Plutarkian gasped. At that moment he reached under his suit and drew a dagger, shoving it deeply into Throttle’s gut, twisting it. Throttle’s red eyes widened and he gasped loudly, throwing his head back. " DIE!" Limburger screamed, stabbing him repeatedly. Slowly the Martian male looked back at him, and grabbed Limburger’s fat wrist with an iron grip, twisting it and making him drop the dagger. "Nice try." He growled. " H-how did you…?" he murmured. Throttle threw him to the ground and lifted Masume over his head. " Your days of plundering this planet are over." He said in a low, dark voice that made Limburger’s blood run cold. " Who…who are you?" he whispered weakly.

" I am vengeance. I am the angel of justice on black wings. I am Shadow Warrior." He closed his eyes and drove Masume down with lightning speed until he heard Limburger scream in agony and then became silent as his sword shifted in his dead body. Throttle kept his head tilted slightly back, his eyes closed, as tears slowly slipped down his cheeks. " Forever warrior of darkest night. Never again to see daylight…"