Good Boy, Mike

Disclaimer: Own nothing. The Terras are hard to write in a serious kind of situation because their methods are so comic-book-y.

"Yes! Texas is going to pound your face!"

"For the record," Dutch retorted, "You're only winning 'cause Mike and Chuck aren't playing yet."

Game night was going over beautifully. An idle week was usually a harbinger of doom for the Burners; Dutch had said as much. Texas mishearing it as "harbinger of DOOM" and breaking out the controllers was probably the best thing to happen to them all week. After cleaning and tuning the cars, organizing the tool closet, and emptying the fridge, the Burners were all on edge.

That was the lie Mike told himself, anyway. It was pretty obvious the only one on edge was him. He'd been through this process before, and he knew quiet days were a chance to breathe and rest and just hang with the gang and relax and he should just enjoy them for what they were. He could tell himself that all he wanted, but his body didn't listen. It wanted to move. He wanted action. He was ready to find a problem and grapple it, wrestle it to the floor, and break it.

Julie kind of snapped into relevance as she spoke. She and Chuck had been playing bridge against Jacob and Roth, safe in the little table on Mike's right, and he'd just taken for granted that she wasn't watching him. "Watch out for Mike, guys. He's getting twitchy."

He twitched when every head turned to look at him. "No I'm not."

Julie smirked. "It's okay to admit that you have a problem, Mike."

"It's your problem!" Texas turned back to the game. "One of you needs to give Tiny something to do until it's his turn."

Mike almost argued. His mouth was open to tell Texas off, right about to get out the first sound, before he thought a little on it. "... okay you know what? You're right."

Texas's shoulders shimmied in self-satisfaction. "You know it."

"I think Antonio's offer of free pizza is still good," said Chuck. Mike had nearly forgotten about it; they'd broken up a fight a few weeks ago without thinking, was all. "Can you pick it up if we call it in?"

"An excuse to drive fast and come home with free food?" Mike hopped to his feet. "I'm all over it."

A little group cheer went up around the room. He didn't contribute to the tussle over toppings or the debate over whether to pick up sides. Mike drank up their little "thank you"s and the broad smiles spreading across their faces. It soothed the itch in his spine. A firm pat against his back as he passed Jacob's seat reset him back into Happy Mike Mode. Just what he needed, like he was thinking earlier: a problem to solve and friends to make proud of him.

"I'll call it in when you leave," said Chuck. "It should be ready by the time you get there."

"Don't rush," said Mike. "I'm gonna take the long way there and enjoy the drive. Promise to book it straight home, though."

Chuck's shoulders rose and fell in a happy sigh. "Hot and fresh... you're the best, Mikey."

Texas worked the joystick of his controller with his chin specifically to wave back to Mike. "You're our hero, Tiny!"

"Appreciate it, man," said Dutch. "Can't wait to get you back on the couch so I can finally have a real challenge!"

"Enjoy your drive," said Julie. "And have fun. You deserve it."

"You're a good kid, son," Jacob called out as he grabbed Mutt's keys.

Their praise stuck to his heart all the way to Mutt. They roared in his mind right along with Mutt's engine, running loving paths through his thoughts. Praise from anyone affected him maybe more than he liked to let on. He'd seen Chuck blush and Texas preen after a compliment or two, but he seriously wondered if they felt as invigorated afterwards as he did. He felt like it showed on days like today. He wasn't just driving right now. He was spinning victory loops and taking hairpin turns at dizzying speeds, revving the engine and popping wheelies on the high roads, and all of it while on a mission. He was going to make his friends happy and Jacob proud, and nothing in the world was better.

It took him about an hour, but he made it to Antonio's. The parking lot was packed. He had to circle the building and park in the side lot by the alley. He got out of Mutt and got immediately bitten by an alley fly. The line went out the door and he had to stand and chat with some of Foxy's gang to kill time, which equated to about 20 minutes of wait. Getting to Antonio, he could out it would be another 20 minutes on his pizza, since Chuck had stuck to his promise and called it in late. None of it was enough to kill his smile. He stepped back outside to get out of the din of voices with a little giggle at the back of his throat. Tonight was just amazing! Even with the lights burning a little bright and fuzzy on the edges of his vision, and the noise hitting his ears a little harder than normal, he felt great. He felt really good, especially when he hopped up on Mutt's hood to recline against the windshield and rest.

He felt good even while his heart fluttered and stuck his breathes in his chest. He was thinking maybe he needed to call someone to pick him up. He couldn't stop giggling.

"Mike?"

Someone was calling him, from over his shoulder. Down the alley. He couldn't see them when he looked.

"Mike." They called him. "Come here, Mike."

Cool! Just when he was thinking about people. He slipped off the hood and into the alley. He wasn't thinking about walking. Moving from the hot lights of the parking lot and into the cool, shaded alley just felt right, and he breathed a sigh of relief that turned into a reflexive giggle.

"Mike." That voice was familiar. Raspy, but familiar. He could see so well in the dark now that he was out of the bright lights. It was Kaia and a pack of Terras, all waiting in the back of the alley, sitting on boxes, watching him. Kaia waved a hand to him. "Mike. Come sit down with us. Rest."

She patted a spot next to her, clean and dry, with a sheet of cardboard down for him. It was so thoughtful! Mike sat right down with them and crossed his legs. Kaia, under the gas mask, was smiling at him. He could tell from the creases under her eyes. It gripped at his heart and squeezed it, flooding his body with joy.

Her hand went out and stroked through the thick sweep of his bangs. "Very good, Mike. Good boy."

Her nails were pinprick sharp where they ran along his scalp. It sent shockwaves through his skin, pulses down his spine and back up again to his head. He moaned. The other Terras flinched away from him while Kaia reached down and hooked his chin into her hand. Her finger ran along the soft skin at the top of his throat. It made him shudder, but it relaxed him. He let the weight of his head drop into her palm, and she held him up. It was a good feeling.

"You take to this so well," she said. "Give me your right hand."

He lifted his arm, putting his hand directly into her open palm. She ran the pad of her thumb along his knuckles and set his skin alight. She chuckled behind her mask. "Good boy. You're very good at this, Mike."

This affected him more than it should. He could tell, but he couldn't care. Trying to think about it through the happy pink fog in his head only made him laugh and laugh. Kaia cradled his cheek in her hand and petted the thought away, and she was so wonderful. She was doing such nice things to him, not making trouble at all, just being good, telling him he was being good. He was good. He was a good boy.

"An excellent call," Kaia said, but not to him. Her eyes were on one her tribesmen. "If I may say so. Alert the others; we're moving the plan up to tomorrow morning."

"Do we have enough time?" asked one of them.

"Ideally? No." Kaia's hands rolled against his cheeks, keeping his skin tingling and his mind hazy. "But we didn't have Mike Chilton before, either. We'll need to act fast. All of you back to the village. Be back here with deer, enough to tow the cars."

They stood and saluted. "Yes, Kaia." They disappeared into the dark, around the blind corners and twisting pipes of the alley.

"Mike? Put your hands on the ground, wrists together."

He did. He couldn't stop giggling. He was starting to feel short of breath. Kaia swept her fingernails through his hair again and scratched at his scalp. He just wanted to do this forever. This felt better than everything. Touching himself didn't feel this good. Nobody's kind words ever affected him like hers were. Not even Kane's compliments measured up to how she talked to him at this moment.

Something was wrong, and it was so funny that he laughed, and smiled, and laughed.

"You want to keep feeling like this?" said Kaia. "Do you want to be a good boy?"

"I wanna be good," said Mike automatically. "I wanna be a good boy."

"You want to be my good boy?"

He didn't, but he did. The idea of disappointing her was so scary, because disappointing people hurt. He didn't want to hurt. He remembered what hurt felt like, far back in his mind, away from the happy. He wanted to stay good and be happy like this forever. "Yes."

"Then you are a good boy." Kaia purred, and he felt so good. Everything was pink and fuzzy. Everything was warm. His vision went fuzzy. He was sweating, and laughing, and smiling. "All we need is a little training."

Going on three hours without pizza or Mike, meanwhile, was putting the Burners on edge. An hour for a drive had been a given. Two hours of wait for the pizza was odd, but they were deep in a game and hadn't thought about the time that much. Three hours, and about four calls where Mike didn't pick up, bordered on terrifying.

Chuck threw his hands into the air after the fifth call. "Guys, I'm not getting him! He isn't picking up, period! Antonio picked up and said he talked to him, but Mike isn't answering!"

Jacob paid attention, but he didn't stop pacing at the door. "Where is he?"

Dutch pointed out his tracking signal on the big screen. It was technically a tracker in Mutt, not really on Mike, but it was normally about the same thing. "Still at Antonio's! Says he's been at Antonio's for two hours! Not moving!"

Julie stood. "Okay, we have to go get him. Something bad might've happened."

"Burner rescue squad go!" Texas didn't stay still to pose or gloat. He ran straight to Stronghorn. Things were serious. Chuck dove into 9Lives with Julie while Dutch and Texas peeled out at full speed. Antonio's was in their sight within 10 minutes, and Mutt was easy to find in the dimly lit side lot. Mike was nowhere around her. He wasn't inside, which confused Antonio and the now-cold pizza he'd made for them. No one had seen him leave with anyone. They regrouped at the door.

"All right, four of us. North, south, east, west," said Julie. "Comms stay open, don't be afraid to scream if you see anything weird."

"WAY ahead of you!" wailed Chuck.

"You guys just get ready to carry Tiny out of danger!" Texas cracked his knuckles and popped his necks. "While I deliver a double dose of punch stick to whoever messed with him!"

"Meet up back at Mutt if we can't find him?" Dutch waited until everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay, good luck."

They split off in their separate directions, using Mutt as their grounding point. Chuck took off from the trunk and went that-a-way, checking behind Antonio's and around the dumpsters, along the back fence, between and under cars. Nothing yet, he thought to himself as he dipped into an alley. Nothing in the trash cans or between them, or up on the fire escapes. This was both okay and terrible, because at least Mike wasn't dead in this particular stretch of dirty street. There was just the potential to find him in another one, maybe right around the corner, maybe in the bottom of a canyon somewhere miles away, or maybe both-

Dutch's avatar popped up by his head, and he nearly shrieked. "Chuck, is that 'I found Mike' whimpering, or just your normal whimpering?"

Chuck's skin burned in a full-body blush, and he wailed, "Is this really the time for quips?!"

Dutch only quipped back, "Well breathe a little deeper, okay? You're spamming the comms."

Julie's face cut in. "Dutch, don't-"

Chuck, equally mortified and offended, just turned his comm off. He grunted out his angry noises now that he knew he couldn't be heard. Trying to look for a missing friend and Dutch has to make a remark about his nervous tics. He couldn't help it, they should know this by now! He'd just turn it back on later when he found Mike. Or, he supposed, if they regrouped, which he wouldn't know if they did because they couldn't call him, because his comms were off, just like Mike's were. Probably. Chuck sighed and hugged himself. He didn't ask to be a crybaby, he was just made that way.

A shadow blocked the light coming in from the alley. Chuck nearly jumped out of his skin, but upon turning he took in that angled silhouette, the colors around the edges where the light poured over, and the cowlick sticking up from the back of his head. He heaved another sigh, this one loose and relieved. "THERE you are! Good lord, Mikey, we were worried about you."

Mike chuckled, and Chuck bit back whatever he was going to say next. What was he laughing at? And why did his laugh sound weird? Like he wasn't breathing right, or... or maybe Chuck was wrong. Mike's shoulders were shaking, yes, but the noise was soft and irregular. Was he crying? Chuck was glad the comm was off now; maybe Mike needed some time alone. "Hey, are you not feeling good? We just came to check on you, but if you're not up for talking right now, me and the guys can head back."

Another shape stepped out behind Mike. "Mike. Go get him, like I told you."

Mike lurched forward, and the only thing Chuck could get out was a scream. His friend slammed into him like a truck and pinned him chest-down against the wall. Something fibrous and pulsing immediately trapped his wrists behind his back and crept up to his elbows to trap them together. A thick vine filled his mouth; Mike tied it snug around the back of his head, gagging him. Chuck was up and over his shoulder in nearly the blink of an eye, and as he was carried out of the alley, Kaia fell into step behind them. Her eyes creased in a wicked smile, making Chuck's stomach clench.

"Good boy, Mike."

Mike shuddered and moaned, and Chuck wailed behind the gag.

Back in the parking lot, Julie whipped around a corner and caught sight of Dutch and Texas hauling ass toward Chuck's scream. She raced to them, boomerang at the ready in her hand. "Spamming the comms, you said! Just had to make a remark!"

Dutch answered, unconvinced but arguing, "Maybe it was a panic scream! Maybe he got spooked by a cat and we're all overreacting!"

Julie nearly growled. She liked her friends, she liked being a Burner, she didn't want to think of them as "eugh the stupid boys", but on days like today... Now they had to find Mike and Chuck, all because Dutch couldn't bite his tongue on one little comment, even if Chuck's whimpers in the comm feed were a little annoying. You didn't just say that to people-

"There he is!" Texas whipped his gunchucks into his hands. "Over there, with Chuck and Kaia!"

"With who?!" Julie's attention popped back into sharp focus just in time to see Mike land his staff handle hard on Texas's fingers, snapping the gunchucks to the ground. Stunned by the pain, Texas flinched and didn't resist when Mike jammed a leg between his knees and twisted him to the ground with his elbow. Dutch went down in a single sweep of Mike's heel. Julie only managed to skid to a stop before one of Kaia's tangling darts slammed into her gut and enveloped her in vines.

"Mike?!" Julie shouted. The vines were squeezing too hard to breathe in. She tried searching Mike's eyes for a clue, but he looked like a mess. His hair was rumpled, eyes blown out, tear-streaked and laughing. It made her a little ill looking at him, and she couldn't pinpoint why. "What are you doing?!"

"Oh, Mike," Kaia purred. She casually dropped creeper vine spores onto Texas and Dutch to bind them up. Her hand came up to lace through Mike's hair and scratch behind his ears. "Look at you. That was utterly effortless. You did beautifully. Very good job."

Mike dropped his head back into her hand and nearly collapsed onto her, Chuck still casually over his shoulder like he was nothing more than a duffle bag. He never stopped smiling that wild grin.

Julie growled, "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing he doesn't appreciate, Julie." Kaia pushed Julie to her feet and tied her mouth with the same gagging vine that silenced the rest of her gang. White shapes moved on the edges of her vision, most likely the Terras mutant deer. "Don't worry. You'll be getting the same, in time." Kaia's eyes stayed on her as she gave orders to her tribesmen. "Load them up. Mike, you stay close to me. Give Chuck to Ral."

Ral lifted Julie with one hand and threw her over the back of a mutant deer. Mike laughed, and fresh tears rolled down his face. Julie, gagged and bound and loaded, only watched as Mike's fingers clamped and quivered against Chuck's back.

"Mike." Kaia's voice went firm. "Put Chuck down now."

He swallowed like he was trying to get a toad down his throat, and his hand and shoulders twitched, but Mike obeyed. He set Chuck down gently on the ground, where Ral picked him up and tossed him onto the back of the deer beside Julie.

"A little willful, ain't he?" said Ral.

"I need more time with him before we make our shot at Deluxe." Kaia stroked Mike's hair. "But you have your orders and the cars. We need to get back, and quickly."