22. Chapter 22 (1/2)

a/n: whew! this took a while to write up, but i finally finished the chapter. i hope it's to everyone's liking. i'm gonna warn you, this chapter is an emotional roller coaster. ::pause:: well, moreso than my other chapters have been heh. so make sure you have some tissues on hand.blah blah blah, i do not own biker mice. blah blah blah, danny is mine. ask before borrowing. blah blah blah, jet is being used with permission. "ouch!" modo winced as charley pulled a piece of glass out of his cheek with tweezers. "please tell me that was the last of it?"

charley released her grip on the tweezers, dropping the bloodied piece onto the pile that had formed on the table. miraculously, the glass of his visor hadn't hit any vital parts on his face when he was punched right through, or hit any veins. unfortunately, it didn't stop the small pieces from becoming embedded under his fur, which were the most difficult to remove. the large ones charley was able to use her hands to pull out (albeit with gloves to prevent getting cut). but the smaller pieces required a more delicate approach, hence the tweezers. charley would have to angle the tweezers to get the glass shards between the metal prongs before she could remove them. while the pain was

ief, it was still unpleasant because there were so many pieces to pull out. and if that weren't enough, he had jet behind him, dabbing his open cuts with alcohol-soaked cotton balls.

he gripped the bottom of his chair as tight as he could, biting down on his lower lip to try not to cry out again as both women tended his scrapes and cuts. being treated by two women for injuries…this was something so many guys would fantasize about. but after being in the middle of it, he could honestly say…it was not an experience he would want to go through again.

"i think so." charley set the tweezers down and dipped a q-tip in a glass filled with rubbing alcohol. "there was a lot of glass stuck in there. lucky for you they didn't hit your eye or get lodged in elsewhere." she cupped his chin and had him turn his face side to side, looking him over. "it's also lucky those cuts weren't so deep. i don't think the glass'll leave any scars.""what's more amazing is that these scrapes on your back aren't deep either." jet set down the tweezers after picking out the bits of concrete on his back and reached for the rubbing alcohol and cotton balls."i can do it."

the threesome blinked and looked back at danny, standing to his right. now that the adrenaline rush had passed, her face and body showed the toll the past two days had finally caught up to her. her arms were wrapped around herself, her hands moving up and down her arms as she looked at them, her fingers pressed deeply against her skin. her eye

ows were burrowed, her

own eyes glassy as she looked at them apprehensively.

"i can put the bandages on," danny said.

"it's okay kiddo." jet placed a cotton ball on top of the alcohol bottle and dipped it over. "i got it covered. these are the type of cuts that can't be treated by just anyone.""but i wanna help."

modo felt his heart sink when danny spoke up. it wasn't her words that got to him, but the tone. she sounded so…weary and unsure, while trying to keep herself collected. he recognized that all too well: the need to keep distracted to avoid

eaking down from all-surrounding insanity. he wanted to leap out of his chair and hold her tight, reassure her. the only thing keeping him from doing it was jet keeping him confined to the chair as she treated and bandaged his wounds.

he turned his gaze up to charley, who had removed the alcohol-soaked cotton q-tip from his cut. she was looking down as well, her gaze not focused on anything-just lost in thought, as if trying to think of something for the kid to do. she looked back at danny, then at the q-tip in her hand, then back at her.

"throttle and vinnie got banged up too. i should make sure they get patched up, and look over their bikes. vinnie's not known for being patient, and even throttle can only wait for so long. think you can finish cleaning modo's cuts?"

"seems easy enough."

"how about i do the front and danny takes the back?" jet dropped a bloodied cotton ball in the trash and approached charley. "the cuts are small, but there's a lot of them and they require a steady hand. especially by someone who knows what she's doing."

"but i-"

modo was about to open his mouth to talk, but jet grabbed danny's wrist and held it up. it was faint, but her hand and fingers were trembling. danny yanked her arm back as fast as she could and cradled her arm close to her chest, staring at jet incredulously. in turn, jet looked back at danny, her expression flat.

"what the hell you crazy bitch!"

"case in point," jet gestured to the arm danny was cradling. "you're still shook up from earlier. you could end up sending the swab right where it shouldn't be, like the eye or mouth. probably worse."

"i'm cleaning cuts. not doing open heart surgery or defusing a bomb, lady."

modo widened his eye. of all times for danny to be talking back. and what was worse, she was talking back to someone who was able to take down several goons larger and stronger than her with nothing more than her hands and feet. he knew that people don't make smart decisions when they're emotional or overwhelmed (and sometimes they didn't even have that excuse), but that was madness. he looked back at jet, who stayed where she stood. the only reaction he got from her was a faint twitch in her left eye. if she decided to fight back, he wasn't sure he would be able to react fast enough to defend danny…or have the energy to stop a fight. not with his injuries and the strain in his legs. even heroes had limits.

"little lady, you need to-"

"i got this mighty mouse." jet smiled gently at modo, then looked back at danny. the smile was gone, the frown returning. "do what i say and take care of the back. when you're ready to wrap the cuts tell me."

danny opened her mouth to respond, but her

own eyes looked back at modo. he looked back at her with a hard look-the same one he would give primer and rimfire (moreso primer) when they would mouth off or act sassy. danny looked at modo for a moment, and her expression slowly softened. she slumped forward and sighed.

"…fine."

modo smiled and

eathed a small sigh of relief as the dark haired teenager made her way behind him. she dipped a cotton ball in the alcohol filled glass and started dabbing at his cuts…and modo winced in return. no matter how many times it happened, or how gentle someone was, rubbing alcohol always hurt.

"you sure you can handle-" charley began, but stopped when jet held out a hand to silence her."this ain't my first rodeo, hun." jet smiled. "go take care of the other fuzzballs before the white one throws a tantrum. we got this one."

charley grabbed the first aid kit off the table and set off to throttle and vinnie, who were sitting nearby. modo bit down on his lower lip as jet gently ran the alcohol coated swab along his cuts as danny dabbed the balls along his scrapes. the sharp pain searing through his body had turned into a dull and more tolerable ache. he didn't dare to voice any complaints-his momma raised him to not complain when someone offered a favor without asking for anything in return. even if it wasn't, he was too drained-physically and mentally-to fight back in any way.

as jet continued to treat his wounds, modo felt the cotton ball on his back moving at a slower pace. eventually, it stopped moving all together-or rather, continued being dabbed at the same place over and over. as jet turned his head to the side to treat the other scrapes, he was able to get a better look at danny. her head was down as she kept blotting at the same area over and over. he couldn't tell if he was looking at his injuries or at the ground. but he didn't need to see her face to know her mind was elsewhere. he reached forward with his bionic arm (his flesh arm was too sore to move), grabbed her hand and squeezed it. she stopped the blotting, but nothing else. she didn't squeeze back, and she didn't look up at him.

"hey…little lady?"

danny slowly lifted her head to look at him, her glassy

own eyes locked in with his own. she was trying to hard not to

eak down crying. he smiled at her, trying not to let it show how much his own heart

oke to see her like that, keeping a firm grip on her hand. she didn't return the gesture.

"what that man said, you know it's not true right?" he looked back at jet, who had set down the q-tips and had picked up what looked like ointment. "can we put the rest of treatment on hold for just moment, jet-ma'am?"

jet rolled her eyes, but set down the ointment. "damn you're a hard one to say no to. don't use that power for evil."

"awww, you saw right through me." he gave jet a playful smile. "i was gonna ask for free hot dogs and root beer-i just remembered none of us had dinner."

jet snorted through her nose, rolled her eyes and smiled at him. he paused when he heard a giggle. he looked back at danny who was smiling, but it quickly disappeared as soon as he looked at her, and she looked away again. he released his grip on her hand and turned to look at her. this time, he cupped her chin and slowly lifted her head up to meet his gaze. she tried to avert her eyes from his own, but he could see how much they glistened as she struggled not to cry. even after all that happened in the last two days, she still refused to let her walls come down.

"danielle, look at me." he watched danny slowly turn her head to look at him. her eyes watered as she fought to keep from crying in front of him. "i want you to listen, and listen good. you need to stop with that sulking. first, what that man said, he couldn't be further from the truth. you are not a 'nothing', and you are definitely not a street rat. he only said those things because he wanted to have one final blow before he went out."

"but—but what about-"

"you mean these?" he gestured to his cuts, smiling. "these are nothing. i've gotten bigger scratches from bigger baddies." he stopped smiling and gave her a somber look. "what happened to me-to us- is not your fault. in fact, if we hadn't met ya, then-"

"stop shielding her,

o."

modo looked up and danny leaned to her left to peek through his side. vinnie looked back, narrowing his eyes at the teenager. danny took two steps backwards, slowly, but any further movement was thwarted when modo swung his metal arm back and her back bumped into it. the large mouse narrowed his eye at his smaller companion. surprisingly, that did not cause vinnie to flinch or back away, but continue narrowing his eyes at danny. he was afraid this was going to happen; it was surprising that he managed to have kept his mouth shut down a bit longer until everything could settle down.

then again, it wouldn't be vinnie if he didn't have a foot in mouth moment at the worst possible moment.

"vinnie, this is not the time or place."

"and just when is the right time and place? tomorrow? next week? next year?" vinnie stood up. "she needs to hear this and she needs to hear it now."

"vincent-"

throttle made a grab for vinnie's bandoleers to pull the younger mouse back. but he was a second too late, and he grabbed only air. vinnie stormed over to where modo and danny were. modo scooted danny behind his larger body when vinnie stood before the two. jet stood where she was, her eyes darting back and forth between the two mice. the white mouse glared at danny. while it was rare for vinnie to get mad, when charley was involved or endangered, all bets were off. while it was always hard to control vinnie, modo was sure no one could stop him in this case.

"playing super hero is one thing, pipsqueak. but this isn't some video game or comic book or one of those stupid cartoons where the heroes drag kids in the middle of something they shouldn't be part of. this is a real war. the real deal."

"vinnie, that's enou-" modo was cut off when vinnie held up his hand."

o, i said stop defending her. she needs to hear this." he looked back at danny. "you almost got us killed. you almost got yourself killed. but the worst thing is, you almost got charley killed!" he gestured behind him towards their mechanic friend. "all because you're some selfish

at who wanted to live out some stupid fantasy and can't be bothered to do as you're told."

he leaned forward, his nose a mere inch from danny's own face, his red eyes locked with her

own ones, his teeth clenched. for her credit, danny did not balk or hide or give any hint of being afraid. if anything, she glared back at the white mouse, as if daring him to attack. he doubted that would help her in this case.

"we don't need a loose cannon on this team. especially a loose cannon that doesn't know when to pack it in." he spoke through his teeth as he continued to stare down danny. "and we sure has hell don't need a liability who can't go five seconds without mouthing off and causing trouble!"

danny looked down at the floor. she balled her hands, her fists shaking. modo looked back at vinnie and glared. lecturing someone was one thing, but what the white furred mouse did went beyond that. he stood up and towered over his smaller

o.

"vinnie, what did i tell you about flapping your big mo-"

"you're one to talk about loose cannons, two face."

vinnie paused and looked at danny, whose head was still hanging low. his left eye twitched as he looked at her. "…what did you just call me,

at?"

she slowly lifted her head up and glared at vinnie, her fists still shaking. modo expected nothing less from the dark haired teenager. but what came next he was not expecting. tears were running down her eyes, straining her cheeks. she continued to glare at the white furred mouse as tears continued to run down her cheeks. did she not notice them, or was she too upset to care?

"you both deaf and stupid? two. face." danny emphasized the last two words as she continued glaring at vinnie. "you're the one who's always doing stupid stunts on your bike, blowing up everything you touch, flapping your mouth when you should be keeping it shut. if i'm a loose cannon, then you're the loose cannon master."

"danny, calm down," modo spoke in a soothing voice. "don't be saying stuff you're gonna regr-"

"and another thing!" danny continued on as if modo hadn't said anything. "if it weren't for me, you wouldn't have found out limburger's scheme. if it weren't for me, the super crack would have made it to plantar or whatever the hell name of that stupid fish planet was. and if it weren't for me, you would have been killed by zombie soldiers! you should be thanking me for what i did and make me part of the damn team! make me an official biker mouse!"

modo just sighed and slumped forward, hanging his head down. so much for keeping the peace.

"thank you!?" vinnie scoffed. "you expect me to thank you after what you-"

charley, who had appeared behind vinnie, reached in front and grabbed his snout. the white mouse instantly shut up.

"vinnie, you said enough for one night." she turned his face to have him look at her. "i know you're upset about what almost happened to me, but my being captured and put in the line of fire wasn't danny's fault. even if she wasn't involved in some way, i would have been captured one way or another. it wouldn't be the first time limburger used me as bait."

charley let go of vinnie's snout. for the white mouse's credit, he kept it shut as he adjusted his bandoleers. however, he continued to glare at danny, his arms crossed in front of his chest. in return, danny continued glaring at vinnie. at that moment, modo felt like everyone could use something strong to drink-stronger than root beer. beer was sounding really good at that moment…

throttle stood up-finally-and approached vinnie. "vincent, go stand in the corner and cool off. we'll handle the kid."

"but she started it! and she called me two face!"

"and you're not in a place to finish it." throttle stared at vinnie. "stand down. we'll handle the kid and we'll get her to apologize for the two face remark."

"and that's another thing!" danny interrupted. "stop talking about me like i'm some damn bug ya gotta get rid of! i'm a hero-not a piece of trash you toss away just because you don't see me as anything worth your damn time! so stop talking about me like i'm some fucking nobody and start treating me right!"

modo, who had returned to his normal posture, looked at the other two mice. throttle ran a hand through his hair while letting out a loud sigh, no doubt struggling to maintain his composure. vinnie, on the other hand, was not even trying, glaring at danny while clenching his fists again. he was sure the white mouse was tempted to slap the kid, or do something similar.

impulsive, confrontational, couldn't stop mouthing off and always landing herself in trouble. more and more he was convinced she was primer's human counterpart.

"i had enough of your-" vinnie was cut off before he could say another word.

"vincent. corner." throttle pointed to his left.

"but she-""now."

vinnie looked at throttle for a moment, then stormed to the corner, grumbling loudly and his fists shaking as he stomped to the nearest corner and stood there. vinnie never was one to take a punishment lying down, and avoid making a scene. still, all things considered, he took it better than modo thought he would.

throttle looked back at danny, his face stern. "danny, that name was uncalled for. vinnie's sensitive about why he wears the mask. you need to apologize to him."

"apologi-but he-that-he-that jerk deserved worse!" danny jerked an index finger at vinnie. "he's the one who said i'm useless! did you all get amnesia and forget the last half of the day? i helped save the damn day! and even after all that, you still act like i don't belong with you!?""little lady-"

"i'm not gonna stand here and let you all treat me like i'm the damn villain!" by then, the tears started coming down fast, a sob escape her mouth. "i didn't ask for this you know. i didn't ask to be born. i didn't ask to be a drug runner. and i sure as hell didn't ask to be treated like crap my whole god damn life just because i exist!"

danny clutched her shirt covering the left side of her chest,

eathing short and heavily like she was struggling to swallow. before anyone could say or do say anything, she fell to her knees, her right hand keeping her from falling completely on the cold ground. she hung her head down, sobbing loudly, tear droplets dotting the ground below her. still looking down, she wiped her eyes vigorously on the sleeve covering her right forearm. she still continued to sob, continued looking at the ground below.

"everyone always wants to get rid of me if they can't use me. my dad, my grandparents, my sister…now you." when she finally looked up, her cheeks were stained with tear marks. her eyes were still glossy as more tears threatened to come down. "you're supposed to be better than them. now you're gonna be like everyone else-get what you need and pretend i don't fucking exist?"

danny gulped, then

oke into another sob as she hung her head down, the tears falling again. modo hastily kneeled down beside the girl and held her close to him as she continued crying, stroking the back of her head. he waited for her to fight back, to push him away while trying to deny what she was doing. instead, she buried her face in chest, gripping his shoulders while continuing to sob hysterically. while he cradled her close to his body, he looked up at the others. everyone looked at danny, then at each other, their eyes wide. vinnie, who apparently forgot he was on time out and was back in the group, was rubbing his bicep as his gaze looked back to throttle, who was biting his lower lip while looking at the two. charley, who was rubbing her eyes on her sleeved arm, also looked back at throttle, then at vinnie. all of them were at a loss on how to respond.

"let it out, little lady…let it out." he continued to hold her close, ignoring the tears and mucus covering his chest as she cried on him. "you don't need to hold it in anymore…"

"why…why does everyone want to hurt me or get rid of me?" she sobbed softly, her voice muffled against his chest. "why doesn't anyone want me around?"

modo reached across to grab some tissues, but felt a hand

ush his when touched the table. he looked and saw jet kneel down, offering the wad of tissues to her. she looked up at her for a moment, and quickly grabbed the wad, looking away while trying to destroy the evidence of her

eakdown. still trying to hide the obvious, no matter what.

"we want you around, hun." she looked up at throttle, eyeing the mouse. "don't we?"

throttle looked at her for a moment, and looked at charley. "charley-girl, can you take danny out of here for a moment? there's a lot we need to sort out here."

"no." danny looked up at everyone, her eyes red from crying, sniffling. "i'm done with everyone talking about me, deciding how they're gonna handle a 'problem kid'-" she used her fingers to make air quotes as she spoke those words. "-like me, and sending me away while they make decisions about me. if you're gonna decide what to do with me i wanna be here when you do it." she sniffed again, and narrowed her glassy eyes at throttle as she stood up. "i want you to look me in the eye when you tell me i'm not welcomed here and throw me out like yesterday's trash, while you go on with your life, still thinking you're heroes. especially after you told joe-at his death bed-that i was under your protection."

modo looked at danny for a moment, then looked back at throttle. the two continued to stare at each other, their gazes never wavering. he rubbed his left forearm with his metal hand as he watched the two, feeling the tension in the room rising. he had to give throttle credit: despite the kid's outburst, he managed to keep calm and avoid a response that both would regret. what was even more miraculous was that vinnie avoided opening his mouth and something inappropriate at all. but that didn't do anything to lessen the tension, or resolve the situation at all.

throttle sighed, and looked back at danny. "of course you're under our care, kid. that hasn't changed at all. and no one is getting rid of you. if we ditched everyone who gave us grief, we would've gotten rid of vinnie a long time ago." he jerked his thumb at vinnie, who in turn glared at him. "but it's not as simple as that."