It is just another run-of-the-mill day in Mouseville. It is also summer vacation. The trees are full of emerald green leaves, the sun shines in all it’s glory, pushing the temperature up into the lower nineties. Fortunately, it’s a dry heat.

Just the same, a teen-aged male mouse with a shock of fiery read hair wipes the sweat from his brow. Then again, he’s engaged in mowing a lawn. With a push mower. He goes by the name Scrappy.

I must be insane… he thought.

So involved is he in his labor, he neglects to notice another mouse leaning against a large oak tree watching him intently.

The black-furred mouse is a tad short, as Mouseville mice go. But he’s very stocky, well muscled, and he wears an interesting costume in canary yellow and cadmium red – complete with a cape, no less. He cuts a pretty impressive figure. It’s Mighty Mouse.

"Having fun, Scrappy?" asked Mighty Mouse with a slightly sarcastic smile.

Scrappy’s head shoots up, startled. When he sees who it is, he relaxes.

"I hope that’s a rhetorical question," Scrappy responds.

Mighty Mouse just shrugs his shoulders.

"How come you aren’t sweating? Isn’t this heat bothering you in the least?" asks a slightly annoyed Scrappy. Off of Mighty Mouse’s smile… "Never mind. I should know better than to ask a question I’m sure will end in ‘no’… Instead of standing there, how about you go rip the water tower off its legs and turn it into a swimming pool for me."

Mighty Mouse laughs. "Unless you’re a building or a forest on fire, the city greatly frowns on property damage for trivial causes."

"Darn."

"Besides…" Mighty Mouse continues, "you’re almost done. Don’t worry, I can wait for you."

Scrappy rolls his eyes. "Oh, thank you – you’re too good to me."

Instantly, Mighty Mouse tilts his head a bit. His face shows the sign of intensely listening to something Scrappy, or any normal mouse for that matter, cannot hear.

Mighty Mouse tells Scrappy, "I’ve got to run. A bit of cat-caused trouble in Old Town Mouseville. I’ll be back in time for the concert."

"No problem," answers Scrappy. It’s obvious he’s used to Mighty Mouse’s abrupt exits. "Pound ‘em a couple of times upside the head for me while you’re at it, too."

Mighty Mouse smiles and nods. He gets ready to take off.

"Oh! And Mike," says Scrappy, "this time try not to send any of the moshers to the hospital."

Mighty Mouse chuckles and shakes his head as he flies off.

Sometimes the job can be very rewarding. And as he might smile most of the time while doing his superhuman feats, that didn’t mean he enjoyed it all the time. The smile is one more of confidence – confidence that he can clean the clock of anybody.

It doesn’t take Mighty Mouse long to locate the ruckus. Two cats have a family of mice cornered in an alley.

Mighty Mouse sings his signature:

The two cats whip their heads around and gape in horror.

"Angus dias!" yells the first cat. "Run! It’s Mighty Mouse!!"

They take off. The family of mice, relief and excitement on their faces, cheer Mighty Mouse on.

The cats are sprinting as fast as their legs will push them, but it’s not fast enough. Mighty Mouse drops down in front of them at their head levels. There’s a SCREECH! as the cats hit the brakes. With a smile on his face, Mighty Mouse pulls back both fists, and then launches them in high-powered punches. His fists collide with their intended targets with a thunderous WHAM!

Mighty Mouse sends the two cats flying back into downtown Cat Town.

His attention turns to the family of mice. They’re a-okay. They say their thanks, and then make their way down the street.

Mighty Mouse looks at his watch.

"Scrappy should be done with that lawn by now," he says to himself. "And, knowing how a growing young man needs nourishment, he should be plenty hungry as well."

Mighty Mouse takes off.

Mighty Mouse flies down to an alleyway next to Mouseville’s Fa-mouse Pizza, where Scrappy is waiting for him. Mighty walks out of the alley as Mike Mouse.

"Waiting long?" asks Mike, surprising Scrappy from behind.

Scrappy jumps almost out of his shoes. "You know, I’ve really got to get you a bell," says Scrappy as he collects himself.

Mike just smiles. "So, ready to eat?" asks Mike.

"If it’s pizza, I’m ALWAYS ready," Scrappy says as he walks into the pizza parlour.

The two of them find a booth close to a jukebox. "I’ll be right back," says Scrappy as he makes his way to the jukebox.

He pops in a quarter and presses C-3. As he walks back to the booth an eerie type of music starts to play. It is Heart Shaped Box, by NIRVANA.

"That’s an interesting song," says Mike as Scrappy sits down.

"Well, better get used to it. It’s the type of music that we are gonna hear tonight at the concert," says Scrappy as he starts to bang his head to the beat of the loud part of the song.

Scrappy notices some young mousettes walk in and sit down in a booth near them. They are giggling and pointing in the direction of where he is sitting. He smiles back, but he then realises that Mike was sitting right across from him, and the sleeves of his shirt are rolled up revealing his massive forearms. Scrappy lowers his head and sighs.

"Don’t worry Scrappy," says Mike as he notices that Scrappy is bummed. "Real girls, you know the good ones, notice and like you for who you are on the inside."

"I know," said Scrappy, "however, it would be nice to have a nice outside too."

"Well, if you’d like I could get you down to a gym a few times a week and give you some pointers on lifting weights."

"I’m there!" said Scrappy. "So Mike, before Pearl, was there any other mousette that you were interested in?" asks Scrappy.

"A bit personal don’t you think?" Mike responded.

Just then a waitress arrives. "What’ll it be boys?" she asked.

"Um, a large cheese pizza, extra cheese, and two large milks," says Mike as he hands her the menus.

"Milk?" asks Scrappy.

"Hey, you want to grow don’t you?" Mike responds.

"OK, a large, extra cheese pie and two large milks coming right up." The waitress smiles at Mike as she walks away. Mike’s hearing picks up on her saying, "Milk sure does a body good for him."

"So", asks Scrappy getting back to his question, "Was there anyone that you had feelings for before Pearl. You told me a few years ago to ask you again when I was older, I’m older now aren’t I?"

"Yes, and I am a mouse of my word so… okay," responds Mike.

Just then the waitress comes back with the pizza and milk. "Here ya go, enjoy," said the waitress. She gave Mike another smile, Scrappy just shakes his head.

"Well, a lot of mousettes caught my eye before Pearl," said Mike as he gives a slice of pizza to Scrappy and takes one for himself. "But, all of them were just interested in my powers and build." Scrappy nods as he chows down on his second slice. "However," Mike continues, "there was one -- in high school, her name was Sarah. I liked her, didn’t quite know if she liked me, but we were good friends. Those were some pretty rough days for me and I’m better off forgetting them, but not her. Anyhow, we went our separate ways after high school… I wish that the Internet was around then."

"Does Pearl know about her?" asks Scrappy, now on his fourth slice.

"I told her about Sarah once a while ago," responds Mike, grabbing his glass of milk. "Sarah and I never had a relationship like Pearl and I do, we were just friends."

"I see," says Scrappy, as he notices the last slice of pizza sitting on the large plate in front of them. "You gonna eat that slice?" asks Scrappy.

"All yours. You know, you do have a special ability after all… you can inhale pizza better than anyone in Mouseville," laughs Mike.

After they eat, Mike and Scrappy make their way to the new club around the corner where the concert was about to begin. There are two bouncers at the door, and they tell Mike and Scrappy that they are too late, and no one else is allowed in.

"But, according to my watch, we’re a minute early," responds Mike.

"Not according to my watch you are," snaps one of the bouncers. "Now BEAT IT!"

Mike looks at Scrappy and winks at him. Scrappy just smiles and shakes his head. Before the eye can see, Mike grabs the Bouncer’s neck, and starts to lift him into the air. The other bouncer just watches, dumb-founded. "Now, I suggest that you check your watch again," says Mike as he holds the bouncer high into the air with one arm.

"W..W..What do you k...k..know", said the shaking bouncer. "M..M..My c..c..c..clocks w...w..wrong, y..y..you can go r..r..right in s..s...sir, your f..f..friend too."

"I thought so," Mike responds as he drops the bouncer down with a THUD.

Scrappy and Mike walk in as they start to hear the music of the music group "MOUSE," who came to Mouseville from Philadelphia.

Scrappy loves the music. Mike enjoys it, too. "Mouse" is five male mice, about Scrappy’s age, doing different songs from other music groups such as "NIRVANA," "Alice In Chains," "Sound Garden," etc. Scrappy thinks that it is cool the way that the lead singer of the music group is jumping up and down on an old mattress. They have some weird looking dancing skeletons, too.

After the concert, Mike gets permission from that same bouncer that he met at the door, to have him and Scrappy go backstage and meet the group.

They walk backstage where there is a door with "MOUSE" written on it. Mike knocks on the door, and the lead singer answers it, and lets them in.

On a surprising note, Mike gets to sleep-in a bit later. No emergencies, no work. The joys of a weekend morning.

Mike makes his way to his mailbox, retrieving his mail. He sifts through it on the way back to his front door. He stops at one envelope. He opens it – reads it. A beat, then… Mike runs back into his home, slamming the door closed on the way back in.

Mike runs up the stairs to a second floor hall closet. He opens the door and stands on tip-toes to reach a dusty box high over his head, buried in the top-most shelf. After unsuccessfully trying, Mike remembers something and chuckles to himself.

Oh, yea… hehe, he thinks.

Using his power of flight, he floats up to where he can easily reach the box, and brings it down.

After closing the closet door, Mike sits himself down at his kitchen table – but not before helping himself to a large bowl of cereal. He rereads the piece of mail that got him into such a tizzy earlier:

Mike chuckles. My, how time flies when you’re aging. He continues reading:

"Yeah, right," comments Mike. "Sorry, but high school days were NOT the best days of my life. Why would I want to go back?"

He thinks a moment. Then allows himself a small smile. Finally opening the dusty box, he fishes out a hard-cover book – his high school yearbook from 1983. He flips through the pages, obviously knowing what he’s looking for. He stops at a section filled with color head-shots of the Class of 1983. He finds his own picture and studies it. Mike’s face hasn’t aged at all. He turns a few more pages and finds the photo he’s looking for… The female mouse has light brown hair and brown eyes, and a very soft and caring air about her. Mike smiles warmly when he gazes on her photo.

"I guess I DO have a reason to go back after all…"

Just then, Mike’s reverie is cut short by the shrill tone of the telephone ringing. He walks over to the counter by his kitchen door and answers.

"Hello?"

A cold, but somehow familiar voice comes through the ear-piece. "You’re coming to the Reunion, right Mike?"

Mike is taken off guard. "Um, who is this?"

A chuckle. "Don’t tell me you’re chicken… Apparently you’re one bird that never changes its feathers. It’ll be just like old times."

Mikes eyes flash red. He knows who it is. "Well, Toby. You haven’t lost any of your charm. Your timing is amazing. I was just going through the mail and came across the Reunion invitation before you called. Why do I have a hunch that’s not coincidence."

Again with the cold chuckle. "Ah, you’re just as smart as ever. But, you’re right. I knew this Reunion was coming up a LONG time ago. And, well, gosh darn it, I just HAD to make sure you were coming. So, I’ve had some of my boys hunt ya’ down. Mouseville? I didn’t know you had it in you."

Mike racks his brain trying to remember if he’d spotted anything odd during the past week. For the life if him, he can’t think of anything. There’s lots of other things you don’t know I have in me, Toby, thinks Mike. He smiles to himself.

"Are you having me stalked, Toby?" asks Mike in a patronizing voice.

"Stalked?" Toby sounds surprised. "STALKED?! Oh, please. You insult me. I’m just a master of timing. I tried to teach you that years ago. Freshmen year… remember?"

Mike keeps his voice under control as he clenches his teeth. His eyes flash red once more and muscles of his upper torso ripple and start to grow as he answers. "How could I forget."

Toby is pleased. He knows he’s gotten to Mike. He just isn’t aware of what a dangerous position in which he’s placed himself. "Well then, I guess I’ll be seeing you around Forest Town High School, hehe."

The shirt Mike wears now looks like it’s been painted on, his muscles swelled and well-defined. It’s obvious how much control he has over his powers, and no mistaking who he is. Mike gives a Cheshire-cat grin with his answer. "I wouldn’t miss it for the world."

Toby hangs up first. Another sign (in his mind) of dominance.

Mike holds the phone in his hand. Without warning, his rage comes through. The phone EXPLODES into shrapnel, the portion of the phone directly in his hands turning to dust. Mike dusts off his hands of the debris and takes a deep breath. He clenches his fists once, twice –

Mike makes his way to his gymnasium in the back yard. He HAS to burn some energy off. He picks through various weights, but nothing comes anywhere near the beginnings of a challenge for his massive strength.

Sometimes, I don’t know why I even HAVE a gym… Mike thinks to himself.

Mike moves and stands before his posing mirror. He sees the reflection of the harder-than-steel muscle encasing his body, bulging with superhuman strength, and smiles. To the not-present Toby he says, "Oh yes, I guarantee I’ll be there."

Mike glances at the clock. Holy cow! He was supposed to meet Scrappy for a charity football game for the orphanage!

"I guess the ruminations of the Reunion will have to wait until this weekend," comments Mike to no one in particular.

Mighty Mouse flies to Mouseville Memorial Field just in time. Scrappy and a bunch of the mice from the orphanage are waiting for him, along with Pearl, who is there with a WPRL News crew to do a report on the game. When Mighty sees Pearl, he forgets about Sarah and Toby.

Mighty flies down and lands right next to Pearl. "Miss anything?" Mighty asks her with a smile.

"No," responds Pearl, "You’re just in time, as always. However, there is a problem: some of the kids got sick and could not make it to the game, the teams are uneven."

"No problem," responded Mighty. "I’ve got an idea, how about Scrappy and I verse the rest of them?"

"Me and you?" asks a puzzled Scrappy, who overheard the conversation. "Wouldn’t that be unfair, I mean with your powers and all?"

"Oh, I won’t use them - at least, I’ll try not to," responds Mighty. "Besides," he continues, "the game is for charity, just for fun."

"Okay," says Scrappy, as they put on their helmets and walk on the field.

"Hey," said one of the other kids, "The teams are unfair."

"See who I have as a team mate," says Scrappy with a smile. The other mice gulp hard. "Okay," Scrappy tells Mighty. "We’ve got the ball first. How about you be the quarter back, just try to throw the ball easy. Okay?"

"Okay, I’ll try," responds Mighty with a wink. "Oh, and Scrappy, go long."

Scrappy lines up on the 20 yard line, as Mighty holds the ball.

"Down...! Set...! Hike!" Mighty yells.

Scrappy takes off. He has his man beat good to as Mighty throws the ball to him. However, not knowingly, Mighty puts a little too much on the pass. Scrappy ducks just in time to save his head, as the ball whizzes passed him and flies right through the back wall of the field.

"Sorry about that", says an embarrassed Mighty. "Sometimes I just forget my own strength."

The next play, Scrappy once again runs a perfect pattern, and this time Mighty hits him perfectly on the numbers. Scrappy runs it in for the first touchdown of the game. MM and Scrappy are up 7-0. On defense, Mighty steals the show. Three mice try to block him from sacking their quarterback, but it is not nearly enough. Mighty easily plows right through them, and gently brings the quarterback to the ground.

However, it is still a close game. The other kids have good defense, too, and hold Mighty and Scrappy to twenty-one points going into the fourth quarter. The other mice have caught up as well, and in the middle of the fourth quarter they tie the game at twenty-one. That’s how the game stays until the "two-minute warning."

Mighty and Scrappy have the ball on their own thirty-yard line. As they huddle: "Okay Mighty," says Scrappy. "Trick play: pitch me the ball, then I will pitch it back to you, then you take off, got it?"

"Yup," responds Mighty.

Mighty does what Scrappy tells him. He pitches the ball to Scrappy, then Scrappy pitches it back. Mighty takes off.

The other mice try to tackle him, however it is like trying to stop a runaway train. Mighty is running with all five mice grabbing onto him. He is almost to the end zone, but he knows it is not fair. He is much stronger than anyone, and it would be too easy to score the touchdown - so he just drops down on the ten-yard line.

"Why did you do that?" asks Scrappy. "You could have scored easy!"

"Because I wanted to give you a chance to score the winning touchdown. I remember when you told me, once, how you dreamed of scoring the winning touch down in the Super Bowl. Well, this isn’t exactly the Super Bowl, but it will have to do." Mighty responds.

"Okay," says Scrappy with a smile. "Just remember, easy on the pass."

Mighty gets into a "shotgun" position. He looks at Scrappy, then looks at the game clock: 00:05 to go. "Down...! Set...! Hike!" Mighty shouts as he slaps the ball. Scrappy takes off. He runs straight to the end zone, fakes left, then heads right into the middle of the field. Mighty throws the ball just before the defense gets to him. Scrappy catches the ball, but he is still a few yards shy of the end zone, and the time has run out. But, he isn’t brought down yet. A defender races for him. Scrappy dives for the end zone… TOUCH DOWN!!!!! Scrappy and Mighty win the game!!

After the game Pearl presents, on behalf of the Mayor of Mouseville, a check for ten-thousand dollars for the orphanage.

"Great game, Scrappy," says Mighty as he takes off his helmet.

Just then a younger mouse walks over to Mighty. "’Scuse me, Mr. Mighty Mouse, sir?" asks the youngster. "May I have your autograph?"

Mighty bends down. "You sure can," he responds.

The young mouse pulls out a picture of Mighty, and a pen from one of his pockets.

"Now, who should I make this out to?" asks Mighty as he takes the picture and pen.

"Toby," responds the young mouse. "Toby Mouse."

Mighty breathes hard.

"Is everything okay, MM?" asks Scrappy.

"Huh? Oh yes Scrappy, everything’s fine. Now for that autograph…" responds Mighty as he signs the picture and gives it back to the youngster.

"Thanks again for coming and for letting me score the game winner, Mighty," says Scrappy.

"Sure thing, Scapster," Mighty responds. "Don’t miss your bus back to the orphanage."

"Okay, Mighty. See you around." Mighty watches Scrappy as he runs, and gets onto the bus with the other mice.

"You sure you’re okay, Mighty?" asks Pearl. "You seem to be down about something."

"Oh, I’m fine, Pearl," responds Mighty.

"I’ve got to go back to WPRL and write up the final draft of my report," Pearl continues. "See you tonight."

"Tonight?" asks Mighty.

"Don’t tell me you forgot our date for dinner tonight!" responds Pearl.

"Oh, no! I was just kidding. I’ll be there around eight," responds Mighty with a smile. The two kiss, and then Pearl rides off in the WPRL News van.

Mighty sits down on one of the benches. He holds his football helmet in his hands. He looks at it, and starts to think about Toby’s call earlier that day. He starts to get angry… His biceps bulge as he crushes the helmet. He then looks at the almost flat helmet.

"Toby won’t be that lucky," he thinks to himself.

Mike decides to visit his adopted parents on the way to the Reunion. They now live in a lovely aged oak tree that graces a farmer’s field south of La Porte City in rural Iowa. They moved there after the food supply ran out at their old tree home in Kansas.

Mike actually enjoys going to visit. Most of the mice in La Porte City are field mice, quintessential farmers to the core. They’re laid back folk who love their watermelon in the sweltering summers, and home-made hot chocolate in the harsh winters. La Porte is a friendly town, too. It’s a place where you know everybody, and everybody knows you.

Mike doesn’t spend too much time with Ma and Pa Squirrel, as he left a tad later than usual from Mouseville. As usually happens, an emergency came up and he had to deal with it.

Mike arrives at the Reunion just as it’s gotten underway. Music plays back from the era in which he graduated: There’s some Toto, Chicago, Michael Jackson, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, and Aerosmith to name a few. There is a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, lazily spinning, throwing reflected spots of light all over the gymnasium. Multi-colored streamers flow throughout the ceiling’s girders, balloons float in bunches along the walls and on tables, and a huge banner that says "WELCOME BACK, CLASS OF 1983!" is above the gymnasium stage. Everything screams 1980s.

Mike starts to mingle among his fellow graduates, when a high-pitched, snooty voice calls his name.

"Mike? Mike, is that you?"

Mike turns to see who called him. He is genuinely surprised to find the voice is owned by the girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day back in high school: Holly Brackette. She’s blonde hair, blue-eyed, big busted, big ego.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaims. "It really is you!"

Mike gives her his best smile. He tries to be friendly. "Holly, nice to see you."

Holly gives Mike the once over. She’s interested. She’s very interested. "Wow. You sure have changed. For the better, I mean. You actually look good enough to pass as one of my dates. If you’re interested…"

Mike holds his tongue and politely excuses himself. She’s just as stuck up now as she was back then. "Ah, well, I want to go find the other folks I haven’t seen in awhile. I’ll see you around."

Not, Mike says under his breath. He’s about to head for the punch table when a finger taps him on the shoulder. He turns slowly to see…

"Sarah?!" Mike exclaims.

Sarah Colby smiles warmly at Mike. She’s as tall as Mike, but very petite. She has a soft heart, but a very competitive spirit. Mike loves those qualities about her.

They hug each other. Mike is so pleased to see Sarah, he hugs a little too tightly.

Sarah grunts. "Ah! Careful there, Mike. I’m glad to see you, too!"

They separate, and Mike blushes in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he stutters. "Sometimes I don’t know my own strength."

Mike doesn’t know why, but he feels very safe in telling her that. His hunch is confirmed when she doesn’t press the issue.

"I’ll bet," Sarah responds. "So, do tell! What have you been up to since the day we received our license to leave the school?"

"Well," began Mike. "I moved to Mouseville. I thought there would be more opportunities there than in a smaller town. I have a job in a factory, but I guess you could say I moonlight in law enforcement."

Mike gives her a sly smile and crosses his arms over his chest as he finishes speaking. He’s trying to hint to what he really does in Mouseville (or all over the world, for that matter) without blatantly "letting the cat out of the bag," as it were.

Sarah catches his smile and reads his body language right on. She raises an eyebrow and smirks back. "Well, you must do a real bang up job. Do a lot of heavy lifting, or is it primarily cat and mouse games?"

Mike laughs. He can’t help it. Sarah knows exactly what he’s telling her. And she’s being discreet about it.

Mike continues, "Okay, your turn. Give me the news."

Sarah chuckles. "Well, it’s nothing so interesting as yours, but, I’ve stayed here in town. I have my own business. I design Web pages. I also do some computer consulting."

Mike is interested. "Mainframes?"

Sarah nods, pleased that Mike knows a bit about computers. "Yup. Mainframes, desktops, laptops, servers, hardware and software."

Mike smiles. "Cool. Remind me to ask you later about setting up a Web page for a fan club in Mouseville."

Sarah gives a mischievous smile. "Okay – ask me later about setting up a Web page for a fan club in Mouseville."

They both laugh at the joke. As they laugh, they are rudely interrupted by a harsh voice. They both start.

"Well, well, well! Who do we have here?"

Mike’s expression turns sour. It’s Toby McCaib.

Toby continues his ribbing. "I didn’t think you’d have the guts to come, but here you are! I’m proud a you, Mike. You got a backbone after all."

Toby is taller than Mike, but built just as big. At appearances, they’re equal in muscle, but in strength – that’s another story.

Toby moves and puts an arm around Sarah’s shoulders.

He gives her a lusty look. "Hey, baby. How’re you doin’?"

Sarah shoves his arm off her. "Get away from me, creep."

Toby chuckles and tries to put his arm around her again.

Mike’s eyes flash red. He knocks Toby’s arm down and stands protectively between Sarah and Toby. "She said back off!"

Sarah puts her hand on Mike’s shoulder. She’s surprised to see it start to grow in size. She doesn’t understand what’s happening, but she does know that this is not the time or place for a brawl.

"Mike," she whispers in his ear. "Not now! Save it for later!"

Toby wants a fight, and Mike really wants to fight back, but he bows to discretion. Toby sees he won’t get what he wants. Not tonight, anyway.

"I’ll see you later, Mike. It’ll be just like old times. I figure I got about fifteen years of catch-up." Toby sneers at Mike and leaves.

Sarah is unimpressed with Toby’s bravado. "What a dork. He missed the maturity bus a LONG time ago."

She turns to continue their conversation, but Mike has excused himself. "Where did he go?" Sarah asks no one in particular.

Mike sits on the high school’s hallway floor against some lockers. He holds his head in his hands. His body is under control, his memories, however, batter him fiercely. He remembers it like it was yesterday…

Mike looks down at his hand. He looks at his wrist and sees a thin bracelet made out of cloth. It is yellow and red with black initials, S.C. stitched in the middle.

"Ah yes," he says, "I remember that day very clearly…"

* * *

It is the week before graduation, Mike is walking Sarah home from another long day of school. They had managed to avoid Toby for the first time all year. Of course, with all of the hustle and bustle of the graduation the next week, it wasn’t very hard to do so.

"So Mike," Sarah asks. "What are your plans after you graduate?"

"Well," replies Mike, "I looked at a brochure that came to me in the mail the other day. It was a brochure for a place called ‘Mouseville, NY.’ It’s a suburb of New York City. I plan on moving there and finding a job in the big city."

"Mouseville?" asks a surprised Sarah. "Man, I heard that place is a real dump, full of crime… For a place called Mouseville, it’s no place for mice, it’s full of cats. You’d have to be some mouse to live there, or even to think about living there. Besides, your parents won’t even let you play sports, you think they are gonna let you move to Mouseville??"

"They already did," responds Mike. "I asked them yesterday. They said that I’m old enough to make my own decisions, and if that’s my goal in life, then that’s what I have to do."

"Well, I still think that you are letting those muscles of yours go to your head. It’s a death trap there," responds Sarah. "Besides, if it’s Toby your worried about, I found out that he’s gonna be working at his father’s cheese packaging plant in Wisconsin."

"What? When did you hear that?" asks a puzzled Mike.

"Today. I was getting a drink at the water fountain and I overheard Toby brag about it to his friends. I guess his father was the only person that would hire him. Pretty pathetic actually, but you know the old saying, ‘like father, like son’."

"Well, that’s good to know," responds Mike. "But no, that’s not the reason, not all of it at least. I just want to move on, get out, try living on my own, make a life for myself. You know, when I was little, I used to dream about being able to fly and go anywhere. I used to dream about flying to the moon and living there. When I got older and ran into Toby, I wished that I could do that - you know, fly to the moon and get away from all of the Tobys in this world."

Sarah sees that Mike is getting upset. She puts her hand on his and says, "But then you would also be getting away from all of the Sarah’s as well."

She smiles at him. He smiles back.

"You know, you always have a way to make me feel better," he says.

"I know," she responds. "Must be a gift or something."

"So how about you?" Mike asks. "What are you gonna do after you graduate?"

"Well," Sarah responds, "I might go off to college and take some art classes. Maybe even try to learn more about that new craze, you know, those computer things. They say that they are the wave of the future. Then, I’ll try to get a good job, and have a good life. I don’t know if I’ll leave Forest Town or not, but that’s something that I’ll have to think about when I get a little older."

"That’s a nice goal for your future, Sarah," Mike responds. "I wish you all the luck with it. I hope you can understand why I made my choice."

"I can understand," responds Sarah. "You just want to move on. I just wish that you would make a better, safer choice of where you want to go."

"I know," responds Mike. "However, I feel like Mouseville is where I belong. I don’t know why, I just do."

"I guess I can understand that, in some weird sort of way," Sarah responds.

By this time they are at Sarah’s doorstep. Sarah turns to Mike and smiles.

"You know, Mike," she starts, "I made something for you. I thought that I would give it to you when we graduate. However, with what you just told me, I think that this is the right time to give it to you."

She reaches in her pocket and pulls out two fabric bracelets. They are both yellow and red; one has M.M. stitched in black, the other has S.C. stitched in black on it. She gives Mike the one with S.C. stitched on it.

"They are friendship bracelets," she says. "You know, to wear to remember our friendship no matter where we are, and no matter what the future brings for us. Our initials are on them. I have yours, you have mine. I made them myself, in my spare time. The colors, red and yellow, represent three things. One: yellow is for our favorite food, cheese. Two: red is for the fiery spirit that we both posses. Three: both colors together represent autumn, the time of year that we first became friends. It was November, if I remember correctly."

"Yes it was," responds Mike as he takes his bracelet. Yellow and red are two of his favorite colors as well. "It’s a wonderful gift, I’ll wear it all of the time, forever, thanks."

"Your welcome," Sarah responds. "Now, I know you grow at, well, an incredible rate… I just hope that it fits you for a while."

"I’m sure it will," says Mike as he ties it on his wrist. "So far, so good."

* * *

Suddenly Mike Is awakened from his day-dream by a loud banging noise. He looks up and sees a male mouse trying to open a locker. The mouse is tall, as far as mice go, athletic looking, with dark black hair. He is wearing a NIRVANA shirt, sweat pants, and a Philadelphia Flyers hat on his head.

"There, got it," says the mouse as he opens the locker.

"Who are you, and what are you doing?" asks a puzzled Mike.

"Who am I?" responds the mouse. "I know who I am, do you know who you are?"

This frustrates an already ticked of Mike. He quickly grabbed the mouse by the shirt, and pins him against some lockers, muscles bulging.

"Look," he snaps, "I’m already in a bad mood. It’s NOT a very wise, or healthy decision to get smart with me when I’m ticked off! Now, WHO ARE YOU?"

"Alright, man," responds the scared mouse. "My... my name is Nick, Nick Terry, and... wait a minute... M-M-Mike...? Mike Mouse, is that you?"

"Yes it is. What’s it to you?" responds Mike, still pinning Nick to the lockers.

"I used to go here," responds Nick. " I was here for a year, then I moved to Philadelphia, where I still live today. Well, not today, but you know what I mean. I remember you… you where much thinner back then. Man, what did you do, go nuts on some sort of Mouseiod or something? If I remember correctly, you were a favorite target of Toby’s, when he wasn’t picking on me that is. That’s one of the reasons that I left… Well, that… and a mouse can only eat so much corn."

Mike releases his grip on Nick.

"Oh yeah," Mike says. "I remember you, too, kind of. You are the one that sat by himself at lunch everyday aren’t you?"

"That’s me," Nick responds.

Mike nods his head. "So, what are you doing here? I mean if you only went for a year, you didn’t graduate here…"

"No," Nick responds, "I didn’t. I was invited to come by Sarah Colby."

"Sarah invited you? How does she know you?" asks Mike.

"Well," Nick answers, "About a year ago, she saw my Web page on the Net, remembered my name, and wrote me an E-mail. I wrote back and we’ve been corresponding ever since. She’s quite the artist and computer whiz, but she tends to go on about Jim Colby a lot. She brings up you a lot as well. Anyhow, she knew that I was getting bored just sitting at home all of the time, so she invited me to come and go with her to the reunion, so here I am."

"I see," responds Mike. "So what are you doing?"

"Well," responds Nick, "I think that some of that ‘80s music should have left with the ‘80s, so I brought some of my own collection: NIRVANA, Metallica, Alice In Chains, Sound Garden, Pearl Jam..."

"Pearl Jam," responds Mike. "Pearl... Pearl...! OH MY! I almost forgot! I promised her that I would give her a call tonight! I hope that I’m not too late. It was nice to see you Nick. Have fun tonight."

Yeah, just the same as when I knew him back in high school, thought Nick. He never could stay in one place for a while.

Nick tucks his CDs in his hands as he watches Mike zoom down the hall to the pay phone.

She wrestles with it all night. Every now and then, Sarah will think about what her life would have been like would she have pursued Mike on a deeper level. She was first drawn to him on almost a motherly level. But as time progressed, it became the strong bond of friendship. Now though, she wrestled with feelings a bit more complicated than what she had anticipated.

Mike returned later on into the Reunion, apologizing for running out. He invited her out for dinner to make up for the incident. Sarah got a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and said yes. How could she refuse a sweet offer like that?

Sarah primps herself in her vanity mirror. She applies a touch of makeup, to make sure she at least looks alive, puts on a nice dress, and makes sure the friendship bracelet is in place. There’s a knock at the door. She looks over at her dresser clock: 6:30pm.

"Wow. Right on the button," Sarah comments to nobody in particular.

She answers the door. It’s Mike. He’s dressed in a very nice casual suit – the kind that young actors wear in Hollywood.

"You looks great!" Mike comments sincerely. "Ready to go?"

Sarah nods. "Yup."

They turn to leave when Mike remembers something. "Oh! You may want to bring a coat. It gets kind of chilly at about 5,000 feet."

Sarah grabs her coat, and they head out.

Mike and Sarah enter the restaurant. Sarah is flushed with excitement.

"Man!" she exclaims. "That is the ONLY way to travel! Glad I was conscious this time to enjoy it."

Mike is brushing off a few feathers. "I’m glad you liked it so well. It’s not often I get to take folks up for ‘joy rides’ like that. Although, I do apologize about the bird…"

Sarah laughs as the host arrives.

"Good evening. Do you have reservations?" asks the host.

Mike and Sarah nod. "Yes. Mike Mouse for two at seven o’clock," answers Mike.

The host checks his book, then smiles. "Very good, sir. Right this way, please."

They are led to there table, a smaller, secluded type under a very nice window.

"This is wonderful, Mike." Sarah is really enjoying herself.

Mike smiles at her.

Sarah decides now is as good a time as any to tell Mike what she’s feeling. If she doesn’t she’ll drive herself nuts.

"Um, Mike," she hesitates. She sees she has his undivided attention. She plunges into it. "I… you know, I don’t know how to say this… ah…" She takes a deep breath. "Mike, I’ve always liked you. From the moment we first met in high school there was just something there. Well… that like has changed into something… more…"

An awkward pause – timely interrupted by the waiter. Thankful to change the subject, they order. The conversation turns to the situation between Toby and Mike.

"So, have you decided what you’re going to do?" asks Sarah.

Their dinner arrives.

Mike nods. "Yup. I’m going to fight him."

Sarah is kind of rocked by that. "What?!." A pause as she tries to figure out what Mike’s referring to, then the light goes on. "Oh! Don’t you think it’s kind of wrong to stoop to their level? I mean," she leans in and whispers, "you’re Mighty Mouse."

Mike sighs. "I’m going to fight him. As in Mike Mouse. So what if I’ll have an advantage. I think I’ve taken enough punishment. Besides, he’s not just bullying me; you said yourself he bullies other folks in Forrest Town. I defend and protect the innocent – and in my book, this qualifies. It’ll be okay, Sarah."

She nods, not so sure. But, she’s trusted him before, so why not now?

"How about we talk about something else?" asks Sarah, trying to change the subject.

Mike shrugs. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

Sarah smiles. "How about a game of twenty questions."

He smiles and nods. "Why not."

"Okay. First question. Why on earth do you find Mouseville so appealing?" she asks.

"Well," answers Mike, "it offers more opportunities than our lovely little rural Forest Town. And, I admit, I’m a bit of a people watcher; and lord knows there’s plenty of folks to watch in Mouseville."

Sarah smiles. "How do you control your stength?"

Mike takes a drink of water. "Practice. Lots and lots of practice."

"Do you ever get tired of being Mighty Mouse?" she asks.

He thinks a minute. "Well, sometimes it can be draining. Sometimes folks depend on me for the smallest little things – stuff they can do on their own. That’s when it gets to be kind of a bother. Other than that, I have to say that it is kind of fun: flying around, being invincible, having superior strength. You know, I never did like those comics where the super-powered super heroes are so serious about it. They can’t admit that they enjoy their abilities. They either curse them, or see it as a calling to be a god or savior or some such other nonsense. They need to get a life."

Sarah laughs.

They finish their dinner, and then some dessert. Mike flies Sarah home. They stand outside her door saying their goodbyes.

"I had a wonderful time tonight," says Sarah.

"So did I," Mike responds. "The zucchini was really good." A beat. "I gotta be heading out.." He turns to leave.

"Don’t I get a goodnight kiss?" Sarah asks suddenly.

Mike turns. He breaks into a smile, and gives her a kiss on the cheek. He starts to back away, then hesitates. Then, they both come together and kiss passionately.

Mike and Sarah break, and she heads into her home.

Sarah is totally confused. She told him, he took it better than she had hoped. But now, after the kiss, it didn’t make any sense. According to the Book of Love, she’s to feel enamoured with Mike, in love, etc. etc. etc. But, she doesn’t feel that way at all. In fact it points to the opposite.

She leans against the door post and sighs. Why can’t it ever be easy?

Mike is just as confused as Sarah – if not more so. Isn’t he supposed to be in love with Pearl? Then what made him kiss Sarah? He liked her a lot, but after what just happened, he’s not so sure.

He shakes his head in frustration. "Maybe all I need is a good night’s sleep," he says to himself.

Mike is about to fly off when he hears someone coming up behind him quickly. He turns around to see that it’s Nick Terry carrying a basketball.

"Oh!" Mike is relieved. "Hi there, Nick. How’s it goin’?"

Nick looks all around him, as if trying to find something in the shadows.

"Ah, pretty good." He hesitates. "You, ah, wanna go play a quick round of b-ball with me at the park?"

Mike isn’t sure. "Well, Nick, isn’t it a little late?"

Nick hurries on with his answer. "Nah. They light up the courts. Folks around here like playing in the evening when it’s cooler."

Mike agrees and they head to the courts.

Nick and Mike are in the middle of a one-on-one game. Nick is sweating like a hog, while Mike is as dry as a bone. He tosses the ball to Nick, who checks it at half court. They engage in some light conversation.

"So," starts Mike. "Exactly why are we here? I kind of think it’s not just to play a quick pick-up game."

"Not really," Nick huffs. "Even though I do need the exercise – that, and I want bragging rights that I got my butt kicked by Mighty Mouse in a basketball game."

Mike is shocked that Nick knows. He stands up straight as Nick charges. Nick hits him and goes sprawling.

"Wait a second!" exclaims Mike. "How do YOU know who I am?"

Nick picks himself up from the pavement. "Hey, I’m not that unobservant. Besides, Sarah told me."

Mike is even more shocked. "What? Sarah?! Why?!!"

"Like I said, I’m not that unobservant," replies Nick. "I asked her." Off Mike’s look, "Don’t worry, Mike. I can keep a secret."

Mike frowns.

"I thought you wanted to know why we’re here," says Nick.

Mike is still frowning. He’s a tad upset. Nick sees he’d better talk fast.

"Okay. Okay," he starts off. "I’ve got a message for you. Toby cornered me in the hallways after the Reunion. He knew I was hanging with Sarah, and so could get in touch with you. He said that if you’re not a chicken, you’ll meet him on Main Street tomorrow morning, four o’clock, for a little rumble. He’s got a score to settle with you."

Mike sighs. Of course he’s not a chicken. He rubs his eyes, totally fed up with the whole thing. He knows that if he doesn’t take care of business tomorrow, it’ll never be taken care of at all.

"Alright, Nick." says Mike. "Thanks for telling me. I’d better run then, and get a couple winks before tomorrow morning."

Nick nods, resigned. "Okay… thanks for the game, Mike." he turns to leave.

Mike pauses, then asks, "Hey, Nick? How about we go for a bite of breakfast after the Toby thing? We can have a decent conversation over a nice plate of pancakes or something.

Nick breaks into a beaming smile. "Sure! That’d be great!"

Mike gives an awkward smile. "Okay. See you tomorrow morning."

As Mike leaves, Nick turns and heads off in the opposite direction. Nick thinks to himself, Now that is one cool guy….

It’s early mourning as Mighty Mouse flies down to a local gym, to get in a workout before his fight with Toby. Since it’s early, there is nobody in the gym… or so he thinks. As he puts his gym bag in a locker, he hears another locker door slam shut. He looks up and sees Nick walk by.

"Hey, Nick?" asks Mike. "What are you doing here?"

This startles Nick, and he jumps, almost falling to the floor.

"Mike," says Nick as he realizes who called his name. "For a second there I thought you were Toby or one of his friends. I remembered this 24 hour gym when I lived here, and thought I might get in a little work-out before the place started getting packed. I find it easier and more comfortable for me to work-out without everyone watching me. Of course, you probably don’t mind – in fact you probably get a kick out of working out in front of other mice."

"Actually, I find it easier to work-out alone as well," responds Mike.

Mike is wearing his gray, I’m built to last, sleeveless muscle shirt and red sweat pants, his muscles bulging as usual. Nick is wearing a sleeveless muscle shirt, too, although his is red with, It’s not how much you can lift, it’s how much you can say that you can lift that counts written on it and black sweat pants.

Mike gets a kick out of Nick’s shirt. "Sometimes I lift more than I say that I can," he says with a laugh.

Nick isn’t as bulky as Mike (then again most mice aren’t), but he was solid. Mike can tell that Nick is no stranger to the gym, as Nick has an athletic build to him. He has good muscle tone to his arms, they don’t bulge out, but they were solid. He is also broad shouldered, and has a solidly built chest. Of course, standing next to Mike he is considerably smaller, but Mike could tell Nick is just happy being himself.

The two of them head to the weight room. Mike does some stretches, then he starts stacking some weight on a bar so he can do some bench presses. Mike starts slow, then picks up the pace. Nick watches wide-eyed as Mike bench presses over eight- hundred pounds without even breaking a sweat. Then Nick remembered who Mike really is. Nick starts to do some arm curls using twenty-five-pound dumbbells.

Mike is still pressing as he looks at the clock on the wall. It is 7:00 a.m. sharp.

"Now for the main event," he says as he slams the bar back on the rack. "I’ll see you at breakfast Nick, have a good workout."

"OK", responds Nick. "Hey! Give Toby a black eye for me, okay?."

Mike just nods, and heads back to the locker room.

Mike lands in the middle of downtown Forrest Town. It’s not a large main activity center, either: a few shops, a bar, a restaurant, and one set of traffic lights at the main four-way intersection. He looks around and sees that at this early in the morning, it’s pretty much deserted, just the way he likes it.

His sharp hearing picks up the sound of approaching footfalls behind him. He turns around to see Toby. Toby is cocky, self-assured that he’ll pound Mike like he’s always done. Mike smiles at him in return.

"Well, well, well… You did show up after all," taunted Toby.

Mike smiles and responds, "Oh, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Shall we get started? I have to join someone for breakfast."

Toby sneers, "The only way you’ll be eating breakfast is through an IV in the ICU."

And the fight is on!

Toby throws the first punch, a solid left across Mike’s jaw. Mike goes reeling, but recovers quickly. He retaliates with a combination. He doesn’t hit Toby too hard just yet – he doesn’t think he has to. Toby throws a hard left at Mike’s chest. Mike grabs Toby’s fist before it hits him, and squeezes - hard. Toby winces in pain.

Mike lets go. Toby moves back, surprised that Mike can fire off such solid punches. He decides to apply some of the wrestling moves he learned back in high school on Mike.

Toby runs at Mike, hitting him full force in the abdomen, toppling him to the street. Mike grunts as he hits the pavement. Toby wraps him up in a painful wrestling lock. Mike struggles to free himself, and succeeds.

Toby locks Mike up again, but this time strains with all the strength he can muster to keep him trapped. He is unsuccessful as Mike powers his way free, getting stronger every passing minute. Toby is shocked by how strong and fast Mike is. He aims a well-placed side kick into Mike’s chest, but Mike takes the blow in stride, catches Toby’s ankle, and then tosses him across the street into the city park against a large oak tree.

Mike methodically makes his way towards his tormentor. He may not be dressed in his costume, but he’s still Mighty Mouse. He reaches Toby and decides that the fight ends now. Play time is over. Mike draws back his fist to launch one final punch, one fueled by his superhuman strength that will knock Toby into the realm of the unconscious.

Toby ducks just in time to escape getting hit. Like a battering ram, Mike’s fist smashes into the tree, destroying enough of its trunk to send it on its way down. He looks up in time to catch the tree before it hits the ground. Toby uses this opportunity to roll out of firing range, but takes the time to sweep Mike off his feet. The tree that weighs a little over a ton comes crashing down onto Mike’s chest as he loses his balance, pinning him to the ground.

At first Toby thinks he’s got Mike right where he wants him; but his eyes widen as Mike presses the tree off his chest, then gets to his feet and holds the tree above his hand with one hand. He then gently sets the tree back down onto the ground.

At this time Toby realizes that his hunch is correct: Mike Mouse was in reality the one and only Mighty Mouse.

"Okay Mighty Mouse," says Toby, "I give. You win. It’s over."

"Not yet," responds Mike. "So, you know, huh? Figured as much."

"Yeah," responds Toby. "I saw you lift Sarah’s car out of the water on the week of graduation back in ‘83. I just can’t understand why you always got hurt when I pounded on you back then."

Mike gives Toby a big grin. He’s relishing the moment. "I never said that you EVER hurt me, " responds Mike with a wink.

Toby is taking a gamble. He didn’t usually trust anybody. This is the first time he’s relied on outside sources so heavily. For the life of him and his reputation, they’d better be right.

Mike is relishing every exchange with Toby. Toby hits hard, even getting through his tough hide, but he shakes the hits off. He’s Mighty Mouse, known for his speed, his resiliency, and even more so, his strength. And his one desire is being fulfilled. He’s beating Toby at his own game.

Toby throws a punch across Mike’s jaw. WHACK! Mike’s head whip’s back. He chuckles.

"Nice shot, Toby." He’s taunting him. "Not many get to hit me that cleanly."

Before Toby has time to react, Mike fires off a punch of his own. WHAM! Toby goes flying across the street into some trashcans.

Mike smiles in satisfaction. "And when they do, they forget I hit back."

He strides after Toby.

For Toby, it’s like being hit by a Mac truck. He can taste the blood in his mouth. He sees Mike coming for him – cocky. He quickly digs into an inner pocket and finds the package he’s looking for – the one given to him by his contacts. It’s a silver colored bag, holding the one thing – supposedly – that can take out Mighty Mouse.

Mike stands in front of Toby, arms crossed over his chest. "Are we having fun yet?" he asks, continuing his taunting.

Toby gives him a sly smile and holds up the small parcel to Mike. "Actually," he responds, "we’re just getting started."

Mike grabs Toby by the shirt, lifts him into the air, and pins him against a brick wall of a building. He pulls his fist back slowly. He is going to enjoy every second of this.

Just before he is going to slam his fist into Toby’s face, Toby reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a small, yellow, glowing rock.

"Limbergerite!" Mike yells as he drops Toby, and starts to back away.

"Yes, my source is right! It is your weakness!" says Toby, as he moved towards Mike holding the piece of Limbergerite in his hands.

Mike’s face goes pale. He feels the effects immediately, dropping Toby.

Toby gets to his feet. Mike starts to back away.

"W-where did you get that?" Mike stutters.

Toby sneers. His contacts came through! "Friends in Mouseville. I put it all together. You thought nobody saw you back in May of our senior year, but I did. I’m not as stupid as folks think I am. It finally fit as we started our little rumble. But now, I’m gonna make sure I put you in your place like I did back in the old days. And your ‘super powers’ ain’t gonna save you, either."

Sarah sits in her bedroom at her desk, looking back through her high school yearbooks – all four of them. She reminisces.

Sarah always had the highest form of respect a person can have for Mike. Mike earned it with integrity that does not break, a spirit that does not die, a heart’s strength that eclipses even the greatest of his physical power.

She remembers first meeting him – a scrawny freshmen in high school, a target for every jibe and jab. Yet he never retaliated, and she never understood why. Mike never helped his situation, either. He was always on time for class, and always attentive. He excelled in his studies and was friendly with the teachers – the quintessential nerd. But as bad as he suffered, he was always willing to help out his tormentors should they need tutoring, and she never understood why…

A young, wiry Mike, looking far different than his heroic self of present time. He is shoved from behind onto his face. His books fly every direction.

Toby laughs heartily at him.

"Hey, guys!" he chortles. "Spill thrill!"

The gangs of jocks accompanying Toby laugh. They head for their next classes, stepping on Mike’s books.

Mike sighs and shakes his head. Same old, same old. Except, now, there’s a pair of girl’s feet in front of his face. A girl’s hand reaches down and picks up the notebook in front of his nose. Mike looks up slowly and sees:

Sarah Colby. Her long, brown hair is tied up and back in a pony tail. She smiles at Mike and helps him to his feet.

"Hi," Sarah begins. "Looks like you could use some help."

Mike sees Sarah is sincere. He smiles awkwardly at her. "Uh, yeah, I guess I could."

They both pick up Mike’s books. Sarah hands over the books she retrieved to Mike.

Sarah looks after the departing bullies. "Those guys are such neanderthals."

No argument from Mike.

"You know," she continues. "I sit in a couple of classes with you. You seem to really know your stuff."

He smiles at her shyly. She smiles back.

As time marches on over the next few years, Mike and Sarah become close friends, sharing secrets and concerns with each other. They truly are the best of friends.

It is not lost to Sarah how much Mike starts changing. She never sees him over the summer between their freshman and sophomore years. When they return, she is completely blown away.

Sarah looks for Mike through the throngs of students flowing through the main hallway of the school. She feels a tap on her shoulder, and turns around.

"Oh my god, Mike!" Sarah cries.

The summer has treated Mike well. He’s still short, but now has the body proportions of a varsity wrestler in his senior year.

"What happened to you?" Sarah asks.

Mike gives her a smile. "Well, I can’t really explain it. I guess it just happened."

Like clockwork, Toby and his boys come up behind Mike and shove his to the ground. They get a look at him.

"Hey," says Toby. "Looks like Mike decided to get with the program and put some padding on that body of his."

Sarah rises to his defense. "Back off freak-of-nature."

Toby sees Sarah. "Baby, you really gotta get in the groove and lose this loser." To Mike, "Later doorknob." He kicks Mike in the side as he leaves.

Sarah helps Mike to his feet. They both look after Toby’s gang.

Sarah leads Mike to class by the shoulder. "C’mon. Let’s go."

Sarah smiles. Mike always took the torture like a mouse well past his actual years. Out of survival, she and he became closer and closer – almost like brother and sister. Maybe it was because they both were the only children in their families, maybe it was just because.

Sarah turns to the Senior pictures section of her final high school yearbook. She smiles again when her eyes fall on Mike’s head shot. She still remembers the day her and Mike’s lives changed forever like it happened yesterday.

The end of their tenure in high school is coming to a close. Mike and Sarah are probably the folks happiest to be leaving. Sarah has matured into a lovely young mousette, the object of affections for many Senior male mice. Mike, too, has matured. He looks like he does years later in Mouseville. He’s still kind of short, but big. Really big. Muscled.

He and Sarah walk through the hallways together, side-by-side. Various classmates have asked to be their dates for Senior Prom, but they kindly decline. For all their years together as friends, they will stay together until they toss their caps over their heads after the graduation ceremony.

They are stopped by the high school’s football coach.

"Hi, Coach Gouda." Mike greets him in a friendly manner. He already knows what he’s going to say.

The coach speaks. "Mike, I know you stayed away from football like the plague, but I could really use you in training during this summer – as a conditioning coach." He motions to Mike’s larger that average arms. "I mean, you obviously have got something that’s working for you."

Mike shakes his head. "Sorry. No can do. I’m going to honor my parents’ wishes until otherwise told. No sports."

The coach sighs and shakes his head. He walks away down the hall. As Mike and Sarah continue their way in the opposite direction, Mike hears the coach call him a "panywaste momma’s-boy" with supersensitive hearing.

Mike abruptly stops. He leans sadly against the lockers and sighs.

Sarah is concerned. "What’s wrong Mike? Are you okay?"

Mike nods. "Nothing that a diploma won’t fix."

They start their way down the hallway again. They reach the stairs when Mike’s hearing picks up the familiar footfalls of Toby’s mob coming up behind them. Sarah doesn’t notice Mike’s expression turn to one of resolve. He’s not going down this time.

Toby shoves him from the back, but this time Mike’s just steps forward. Toby isn’t ready for this. He stops in his tracks with his confused tag-alongs behind him.

"Uh," Toby searches for something smart to say, but can’t think of anything. "Hi, Mike." He thinks of something. "Losers stay on the right!"

They laugh, confident again, and pass Sarah and Mike by, hitting Mike in the shoulder as they move.

Sarah is a bit off-guard as well. She jovially states, "Hey, they must be letting you off since it’s the end of your Senior year."

She then sees something that makes her change her mind: Mike’s eyes are full of rage. His shirt strains against now bulging muscle. She’s never seen Mike like this.

"Or…. maybe not," she unassurredly says. "Ah, let’s get to class."

Sarah leaves early later on. She has a doctor’s appointment. Nothing serious, just her annual check up.

Sarah is driving home, listening to the radio. All is well, until…

The bridge over the local river that she’s driving across collapses. Its wood is rotted away, and cannot take the weight of her car. She plunges into the water front first, and hits her head against the steering wheel, momentarily blacking out.

She recovers and tries to open the door to escape, but the water pressure makes it impossible. She can’t open her windows for risk of the water surging in and drowning her. It’s already slowly flowing in through the cracks and vents in her car. She is effectively trapped.

Sarah panics. She’s going to die. She SCREAMS.

Mike is leaving school for the day. No one bids him goodbye except the teachers. No one usually does. He’s the only student that doesn’t have a ride home. He walks, but for some odd reason, he really doesn’t mind.

A bit later on down the road, Mike’s head whips up, startled.

"Sarah?" he asks. He’s heard her scream. He hears it again. "SARAH!"

Mike drops his books to the ground and starts running, then abruptly stops. He starts talking to himself.

"Wait a second. I wonder if I can… but, how did I do it again…?" He thinks for a moment. The look of an epiphany crosses his face. Mike looks heavenward, then raises his hands above his head.

Mike leaps into the air, and keeps on going! He’s flying!

Sarah is in dire straights. The water is up to her chest now. She’s frantically trying to shove open her door, but she’s not nearly strong enough. She screams again. "HELP ME! SOMEBODY! PLEASE!"

Mike is jetting through the sky. He’s zeroed in on Sarah’s screams, and finally spots her submerged car with eagle-eye vision. He lands on the side of the riverbank.

Sarah sees Mike. She pounds on her window, yelling at him. "Mike! Get some help! Hurry!"

But Mike doesn’t leave. Instead, he looks around him, searching for something. Satisfied at finding nothing, he looks back at Sarah’s car. He looks down at himself, biting on his lower lip. He experimentally flexes his muscles, not so sure. He concentrates. His muscles start to ripple, and the buttons at the top of his shirt pop off as his chest expands. He is genuinely surprised. He looks back up at the car, and resolutely sets his course. Mike walks into the river. Already his strength starts to show as the current of the river has no effect on his stride.

Sarah sees him coming. She’s mortified.

"Mike!" she screams at him. "What are you doing?! Go get some help!"

Mike isn’t listening to her. He dives under the water and swims to the ailing car. He gets his hands underneath the car’s body. Mike’s muscles bulge as he LIFTS the car out of the water. His biceps rip through the sleeves of his shirt. The strength that he commands is unbelievable. He stands in the middle of the river, the car held high over his head. Mighty Mouse has arrived.

Mike is triumphantly euphoric. "What a rush! I did it!" he exclaims. "I can’t believe how easy it is!" He flexes his superhumanly strengthened muscles. He can’t deny it. He enjoys it.

Mike carries the car back to the riverbank. He sets it down, coming eye-to-eye with Sarah. The water is up to her chin. She wears an expression of nothing less that complete and utter shock.

He motions for her to sit back against the passenger side door. She does, and Mike easily yanks the driver-side door from the car’s body. He doesn’t budge as the torrent of water flows from the car’s interior, and around his legs.

He smiles at a very soggy Sarah. "Hi. It looked like you could use some help."

Sarah is still recovering. "Uh, yeah. I did…. How did you DO that?!"

Mike gives her a sly smile. He breaks into a rather good Popeye impression.

"Wit me muskles!" Mike adds an impressive flexing pose to illustrate.

Sarah is pretty impressed. All of a sudden, Sarah gets dizzy and falls. Mike moves with blinding speed and catches her before she hits the ground. He sees a bruise on her forehead.

He talks to her softly. "It looks like you have a small concussion. I’ll carry your car to your farm, and then carry you to the doctor."

Sarah is confused. "How are you going to carry my car? It’s a car! It’s heavy!"

Mike is concerned. The head injury is showing itself. "The same way I got it out of the river, Sarah."

He leans down and picks up her car, hoisting it over his head with ONE hand. He bends down and picks up Sarah, carrying her in his other arm. Sarah really can’t believe Mike’s impossible strength.

"Now I see why your parents wouldn’t let you play sports. It would have been kind of unfair." surmised Sarah.

Mike leaps into the air and flies off. Sarah is initially frightened.

Mike explains, "Not really. I didn’t know how to control my strength. I would have done more harm than good." Off her look. "That’s also why I never fought back against Toby and his gang. But, I know that someday I’ll get my opportunity."

The conversation trails off as Mike flies off with Sarah and her car in his arms.

Sarah closes her yearbook. She speaks to Mike who is not there. "Well, Mike, you certainly showed everyone. If they only had an inkling as to what you would become. Maybe they wouldn’t have been so mean to you. Then again, maybe it wouldn’t have made any difference at all."

She looks at her clock. It’s almost time. The fight that Mike has been longing for ever since that first day of high school.

Sarah chuckles. "This shouldn’t take too long."

Sarah gets to the fight location well after it’s started. She sees Mike and Toby against a building wall. Toby has something in his hand, yellow and glowing. Mike is backing away from him. He’s terrified. Sarah hasn’t seen him this scared since high school.

"Oh no…" whispers Sarah to herself. She runs over to Toby and Mike.

Toby lunges and grabs Mike by the front of his shirt. He shoves the Limburgerite in his face, Mike’s strength is going fast. Toby hits Mike across the head viciously. Mike goes flying, and hits the street sliding. He weakly tries to struggle to his feet. He’s hurt: scrapped up, bleeding from his lip, dizzy.

Toby jauntily prances over to Mike. He kicks Mike, causing Mike to fall down. It is obvious that Mike is weakened by the Limbergerite. Toby kicks Mike once again as Mike lays on his side. Then he leans down and places the Limbergerite next to a trembling Mike. The Limburgerite has a necklace type of chain around it. Mike looks up at him. Toby begins to place it around Mike’s neck.

Mike pleads with him. "P-please… Don’t do this…"

Sarah comes running up. "Oh my god!" she shouts as she sees Mike on the ground. "Toby! No! You’ll kill him! Stop!!!"

Toby turns and sees Sarah coming for him. "That’s the idea babe," Toby responds. He waits for her to get closer, then gives her a backhand, knocking her off her feet.

Mike is enraged. "No!" He lunges for Toby, but he is much too weak.

Toby laughs at him and shoves him to the ground, locking his arms behind him. He tightens the necklace chain, making it cut into Mike’s flesh. He takes the chain belt from around his waist, and hog-ties Mike’s arms and legs behind him. To finalize his win, he stomps on Mike’s head. He struts away and stands against a car to watch the demise of Mike.

Sarah crawls over to an almost totally unconscious Mike. She shakes his arm. It’s oddly fevered.

"Mike? Mike? C’mon, wake up, please…" Sarah pleads with him.

She continues shaking him, trying to rouse him. His eyes flicker open. They’re glowing fiery red.

Sarah is taken aback by his eyes, but she’s more worried for his welfare.

"It looks like we need some help," she says helplessly.

Mike gives her a weak, but sly smile. "Indeed, we do." he answers enigmatically.

Sarah is confused. "What?!"

"I learned a new trick. One that Toby doesn’t know, or count on. And not all the Limburgerite in creation is gonna help him." Mike answers.

Sarah’s eyes widen as Mike begins his transformation. The muscle covering his body starts to grow, and the injuries he’s received immediately heal. The muscles in Mike’s neck expand, snapping off the necklace. The chain wrapped around his limbs starts to protest.

Sarah is stupefied. "Oh my god…"

Mike’s body has nearly finished its change. There’s an audible RRRIP! as his muscle rips through his clothing, revealing his fiery costume underneath. He locks eyes with Toby and gives him a predatory smile.

Mike decides to free himself. It doesn’t take much. A quick flex of his now massive muscles sends the offending chain exploding into pieces in all directions. He gets to his feet, and then helps Sarah to hers.

"Are you okay?" he asks her. His voice is lower now, much more powerful. He checks her over, gently wiping the small bit of blood from her mouth. He frowns. "You weren’t supposed to be hurt."

Mike looks over at Toby, who is now frozen in place out of fear. He walks by Sarah and starts toward Toby.

Toby is scared senseless. This is NOT how things are supposed to go! He looks left and right, but has nowhere to go. Mike stops just in front of him. He’s looking down at him now.

Mike yanks Toby off his feet and brings him eye-to-eye, chest-to-chest.

He talks dangerously low to Toby. "Why did you hit her? She has done nothing to you! No one does anything to you! Yet you insist on throwing your weight around." He leans in. "Folks like you are the reason I got into the business of protecting the innocent."

Toby doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have the words.

Mike shakes his head in disgust. He drops Toby on his rear end.

Toby jumps to his feet, and runs and retrieves the Limburgerite. He gives a sharp whistle. Various members of his gang peek out from around buildings, man-holes, etc. Mike looks around him – they’re all carrying pieces of Limbergurite. Intrigued, but far from nervous, he raises an eyebrow. The game is afoot!

Mike feels the power flowing through his body. He’s more than ready for the last round to commence.

Sarah sees Mike is standing there, relaxed and confident. She makes her decision then tries to head Toby off at the pass.

"Toby!" She tries to get his attention. "Toby, don’t do it! For god’s sake don’t do it! You don’t have a chance in Hell of winning!" She’s pleading with him "You’ll only get yourself and your gang hurt." She looks at Mike. He’s daring them to attack. "Maybe even killed."

Toby is indignant. "You’re just trying to save Mike. We’re the ones with the Limburgerite."

Mike fakes fear. "Oooo…. I’m scared."

Toby gets red in the face. "GET HIM!!!"

The gang screams and runs at Mike, Limburgerite held out.

Mike grins. "And now, a scene from Twister!" he announces.

He starts to spin himself like a top, faster, and faster. The gang stupidly runs into Mike’s dead-on impersonation of one of nature’s most powerful forces. Mice go flying everywhere. They won’t be getting back up anytime soon.

Mike stops his spinning, and ends up standing right next to a flabbergasted Toby, holding ALL of the Limburgerite in his hands. It’s obvious it has no effect on him whatsoever. Holding the Limburgerite by Toby’s face, he crushes the Limburgerite to slag. He winks at Toby, giving him a sly smile. Then, Mike throws the Limburgerite into the stratosphere.

Mike turns his attention to Toby while dusting his hands off. He’s very satisfied.

"Now," Mike says. "Where were we?"

Toby looks like he’s about to wet his pants. "S-stay away from me, y-you freak!"

Mike once again picks Toby up, holding him in the air so he is face to face. Toby glances fearfully into Mike’s red eyes.

"Before I make you part of the pavement, I want to know why."

"W-why what?" stammers Toby.

Mikes eyes narrow. He is angry. "Why did you pick on me so much in high school?" he asks.

"Simple," responds Toby. "Jealousy. I was very jealous of you. The teachers liked you, you got good grades, and your muscles seemed to grow overnight. Plus you were quite friendly with Sarah. I kind of had a thing for her, but she wouldn’t even give me the time of day."

"It was because you were a real creep!" Sarah interrupts. "Besides, you treated me like crap. Mike was always friendly towards me… and he got good grades because he worked hard to get them! Perhaps if you stayed awake in class, you would have had good grades, too."

Toby glares at Sarah. "Nobody asked you!"

Mike’s muscles ripple. "Toby," he warns.

Toby gives his attention back to Mike – he’s on thin ice.

"Um, ah, anyway," Toby carefully continues. "After graduation, when I thought that I wouldn’t have to see you, or hear your name ever again, boom! There you are: in the news, on the radio, in comic books. You’re even on boxer shorts! And just when I thought I could beat you using your own weakness, that doesn’t work either. It’s hopeless…"

"You know Toby," says Mike. "You’re really pathetic. You just picked on me because you thought that you could get away with it. But, I do have to thank you. Dealing with you all of those years made me more determined to do what I do now." He pauses. "And now, for your final lesson ." Mike returned to his "usual" self, still holding Toby in the air. "I call this the Oil Can Drop, named after someone that reminds me a lot of you," says Mike, as he turns Toby so his back is facing Mike. Mike then drops Toby, and boots him with his right foot. In other words, he punts him like a football. Toby flies right into a nearby trash bin.

Mike isn’t quite done yet. He walks over to the trash bin, and grabs Toby by the shirt once again so he is face to face with him.

"Now listen to me very carefully Toby," warns Mike. "You will NOT mess with anyone again, or I’ll find you - and trust me, you CAN’T hide from me. You won’t get off so easily, trust me." Mike flashes his eyes red to prove his point.

"S...S...Sure thing, M..M...Mike. I..I...I mean, M..M...Mighty M..M..Mouse. I m...m...mean, M..M..Mike. I...I..I mean…" Toby stutters.

"Toby," Mike responds, rolling his eyes. "Shut up."

Mike is about to let go of Toby but hesitates. Suddenly, he jabs Toby in the face, knocking him out.

"That’s for Sarah. Have a nice nap," he says.

He walks up to Sarah, and helps her off the ground. She is so amazed at what just took place that she is still sitting on the ground.

"You know," states Mike. "All of this fighting’s made me hungry. How about some breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me," responds Sarah, as the two of them walked down the street leaving an unconscious Toby in the trash bin.

Mike and Sarah walk down to the diner, where they are going to meet Nick for breakfast. It is around 8:00 a.m., Mighty had already changed back into another pair of his Mike Mouse clothes, and they are still chuckling about the look on Toby’s face after he saw MM as "Ultra" MM for the first time. As one can guess, Mike is very up-beat about beating the fur off of Toby.

When they get to the diner, they see Nick sitting at a booth by a window over looking Main Street.

"Hey Mike, Sarah, over here," Nick says as he waves them over to him.

Mike gets some glances from some of the waitresses. Even though he is in his Mike clothes, it is hard for him to hide his physique. He just smiles back and heads towards Nick.

As soon as Mike and Sarah sit down, Nick is asking questions. "So, how bad did you beat up the creep? Was he hurt bad? How many stitches does he need?" Nick asks.

"All right, all right," says a smiling Mike, "It’s nice to see you, too. As to your questions, well, I didn’t hurt him "too" bad, didn’t even need to hit him that hard, just got my message across.

Just then, an ambulance, lights flashing, siren blasting, sped past the dinner. Mike used his x-ray vision to see if Toby was in it, sure enough he was. "There goes our friend now", Mike said with a smile. "If that’s what happens to someone when you use your light punches", responded Nick, "I’d hate to see someone after you hit them hard." The three of them just laughed. "Don’t be so modest MM", said Sarah, "You got in a few good ones, Toby became quite familiar with the trashcans and the trash bin." "Just a few", responded Mike, "Toby might act tough, but, when push comes to shove, he’s a real cupcake." "Of course", responded Nick with a wink, "When anyone goes up against the strongest mouse in the universe, they seem like a cupcake, but they look more like a pancake after your done with them. Speaking of pancakes, I’m starved let’s eat."

Nick ordered everyone some pancakes, toast, sliced fruit, orange juice and of course Milk. "So Sarah", asked Nick, "How does it feel to know that you used to be friends with, well, you know who?" "Well, I didn’t exactly know that I was", responded Sarah. She looked at Mike, he was sitting next to her, Nick was across from the two of them. Nick was wide-eyed, and excited, she could also tell that he was nervous because his right leg was shaking.

Mike saw that too, "Relax Nick", he said Mike with an assuring smile. Nick kind of reminded Mike of Scrappy when he first met him. "I know", Nick responded, "It’s just that I just can’t believe that I am sitting right across from you, my hero. I look up to you a lot, I even collect your merchandise, and I have a web page devoted to you on the Net." "Really?", asked Mike. "He sure does", responded Sarah, "That’s how Nick and I became friends, I saw it once, dropped him an E-mail, and we’ve been friends ever since." "Cool", responded Mike, "You’ll have to give me the address sometime, I’d love to see it." "Sure", responded Nick.

Just then the food arrived. Mike took some pancakes, a piece of toast, some fruit and a tall glass of milk. As usual, after a work out, he had a good appetite. "So Nick, "Mike asked as they dug in, "What do you do?" "Well", said Nick as he grabbed some maple syrup, "I live in a residential area just outside of Philadelphia. I work at the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, Mouse Division, as a lab assistant. I’ve been working there for about a year. I like it, it’s a good job with some neat benefits, however since I only work part-time, I have to wait a few years to get them. But, all in all, it’s a good job, I like the people who work there and they like me, and the work there can be very interesting, such as using different acids to clean some different equipment that they need. "Isn’t that dangerous?", asked Mike as he sipped some milk. "It can be, but if you know what you are doing and where the right equipment, you’ll be fine", responded Nick, "Besides, you should know, if anyone has a dangerous job, it’s you, but you know exactly what you are doing, and, well, your muscles are all of the protective equipment you need." Mike laughed, "Got me there", he said.

"Well that sounds like a very interesting job, Nick", Mike said as they started to eat their fruit. "Thanks", responded Nick "You know Mike, I hope that you know that you can trust me, "I’d never tell anyone that I know who you are." "Well Nick, if I didn’t I would have hung you from the basketball net once you told me last night that you knew who I really was.", responded Mike with a wink. Nick gulped hard. "Don’t worry Nick, I have the feeling that you are a trust worthy person", said Mike, once again he gave Nick an assuring smile. Nick felt more comfortable after that.

They were just finishing up with breakfast when Mike glanced out the window. A cab pulled up in front of the diner, and a familiar mousette got out of it. "Pearl?", asked Mike aloud to himself. "Pearl, who’s Pearl??", Sarah asked Mike. "Well", responded Mike, "It seems like you are going to find out, it seems that she picked the same diner to have breakfast in", Mike responded as he watched Pearl walk in.

Nick is very interested in what is going to happen next. Mike looks pretty calm about the whole thing. Sarah on the other hand… Sarah isn’t so sure.

Sarah sees the way Mike watches Pearl as she walks into the café. She sees from his body language that Pearl and he are more than just good friends. She tries to figure out a way to leave without causing a scene. Before she gets an idea, Pearl has spotted Mike and is making her way over.

Mike smiles warmly at Pearl as she approaches the table. "Hey! Pearl!" he greets. "What are you doing here?"

Pearl takes a quick inventory of the members in Mike’s breakfast party. The three of them are seated in chairs around a stand-alone table. There’s one seat open.

Pearl shrugs. "Oh, I got some time off and thought I’d drop by for a visit. See where Mike went to school and all." She sees Sarah. "You must be Sarah. Mike’s told me a bit about you."

Sarah’s strongest defense mechanism has always been to hide behind and hit with humor. She takes that tact now. "All good things, I hope."

Pearl chuckles. "Oh yeah. The drug running… the terrorism… you know."

They all laugh. The ice is broken, and Sarah relaxes.

Nick decides to jump in on the conversation. He proffers his hand to Pearl. "Hi! The name’s Nick Terry. I’m another friend of Mike’s," he states proudly.

"Nice to meet you, Nick," smiles Pearl. They shake hands.

Mike is very pleased. This is going MUCH better than he had hoped – so far.

Nick decides that Sarah and Pearl will probably want some time alone. He’s a very astute guy.

"Hey, Mike?" he asks.

Mike gives his attention to Nick. "Yeah?"

"Can you accompany me back to the gym?" Nick turns red with embarrassment. "I, um, didn’t get to my workout, and I need a guy who knows how to spot right. I kinda got caught up in watching the thing with Toby this morning…"

Mike chuckles and nods, "Understandable." He pauses. Then, "If it’s okay with Pearl and Sarah…"

Pearl answers, "It’ll be fine. That’ll give Sarah and me a chance to get to know each other better. Swap stories…"

Mike rolls his eyes. "Oh geeze… I don’t like the sound of that."

Mike and Nick arrive back in the gym. The joint is jumping. The clanking of weights, the whirring of stationary bikes, and the sound of rock music fill the air. There’s even a couple sound proof rooms where classes in aerobics and kick-boxing are in progress.

Nick changes back into his workout clothes. Mike just stays in his normal clothes – he’s already had his workout for the day. He leads Nick to an open bench press.

They are just about ready to begin when a mouse almost as big as Mike comes strolling up. "You’re on my press," he says.

Nick sits up. He exchanges a look with Mike.

"I don’t see your name on it," responds Mike.

Nick’s eyes go wide. "Mike!" he exclaims. It seems forgotten under pressure that Mike can more than easily handle the situation.

Mike looks at Nick and winks.

But Nick is still opposed. He steps between Mike and the other imposing mouse.

"Hey, ah, Bobby," Nick says. "Sorry about that, man. We didn’t see anyone here."

Bobby looks at Mike with daggers. He speaks to Nick, never taking his eyes off Mike. "Yeah, well, don’t let it happen again."

He shoulders his way past the two, puts on the maximum amount of weight on that press (about 350 pounds), and starts to work.

Nick starts walking dejectedly to the locker room. Mike catches up to him and blocks his way.

"Why did you give in? You know I can take him!" Mike asked flabbergasted.

Nick sighs. "Are you kidding? He’s top dog here. Even Toby gives him wide berth." Nick continues, explaining, "If you take him on, you’d face all the other muscle-heads in this gym. You’d have to use your strength to win. You’d give yourself away. You told me to keep it secret. So I did."

Mike looks back at Bobby. He frowns. "Does he do this to everybody else?"

Nick reluctantly nods.

"Then I’ll take that risk." He starts walking back to the press.

"Mike!" Nick grabs Mike’s arm to try to stop him. It’s like grabbing onto living steel. Nick is almost dragged along, as Mike doesn’t slow down. Nick realizes Mike has already tapped into his strength, and has to let go.

Nick is a tad miffed. "Sarah isn’t the only one who’s goal-oriented," he mumbles to himself.

Bobby is too busy to noticed Mike stand in the spotter’s place. He notices when Mike yanks the barbell out of his hands and puts it back on the mounting rack.

"What the heck?!" exclaims a surprised Bobby.

"Hi," greets a deceptively good-natured Mike.

Bobby frowns. "Man, I told you and your little friend that this is my press. Buzz off."

Mike wraps his hands around the barbell bar. There’s a small "squeak" sound as the bar immediately starts to give way to Mike’s strength. He leans down near Bobby’s head.

"Earn it," he challenges.

"Name it," Bobby challenges right back.

Mike grins. Time for a little fun. "I hold the bar down. You have to press against me and the weight of the bar. Then, I have to do the same with you – and two of your friends - holding down the bar. First one to be unable to lift the bar loses gym rights."

"You’re on!" Bobby says as he thinks he’s got the win hands down. Bobby grips the bar. By now, quite a show is there for the gym occupants to watch. Bobby takes a deep breath and pushes with all his strength, muscles bulging. He groans with the effort. But, Mike’s strength is unequalled, and that bar goes nowhere. Bobby has to stop.

Bobby rolls off the bench and to his feet. He looks like he could spit fire at Mike. Two other muscle-bound mice join Bobby. Mike lays down as Bobby stays in the spotter’s place, and the two others take each end of the barbell.

Mike grins. He sees the trio pushing down with all their strength. Immediately he shoves the bar off the rack and sends them flying. No contest.

Mike gets off the bench and stands in front of Bobby as he gets to his feet. Mike is easily twice as big as Bobby now, and totally ripped as his strength is taking up an obvious residence.

"Looks like you lose your right to boss folks around," states Mike matter-of-factly. He tosses the fully loaded barbell up and down in his hand.

Nick is in the back of the gym laughing. The day couldn’t get any better.

While Mike and Nick were working out, Sarah and Pearl were swapping stories about Mighty Mouse in the ladies restroom at the diner. "So", asked Pearl, "Your the Sarah that Mike told me about." Sarah nodded, "Yes I am, and your the Pearl that he told me about." Sarah gave Pearl the once over, "and I can see why he had so many good things that he said about you." Pearl smiled, "Ditto", she replied. The two of the laughed, they were really hitting it off.

"So Sarah", Pearl asked, "What was Mike like during his high school days?" "Well, he was shy, but smart, he aced all of his tests, off coarse his smarts still show today, I mean the way he saves the day and all. When I first saw him, he was very scrawny, I mean we’re talking skin and bone." "I know, he showed me the pictures", Pearl remarked. "But man", Sarah continued, "Did he bulk up, and quick, he went, from one year, being all bone, and the next......" "All muscle", replied Pearl. "Right, and I noticed an air about him, he was like more confident, more assure of himself. But no matter how big he got he was always kind and caring towards others, yet another quality we see in him today", Sarah said as she leaned against the sink.

"Well, I’m glad that he had a good friend like you", Pearl replied as, she too, leaned against the sink. "Thanks", Sarah responded, "But, you know, he was always looking out for me, I mean if anyone so much as looked the wrong way at me, he would have clobbered them, luckily it never happened." "Well", said Pearl, "I know exactly what you mean by that. One summer a few years back, we were at the beach. I was sun bathing, as Mike went for a swim. Well you know how some guys can be and two of them walked past me, and gave me some winks and hoots. However, what they didn’t realize was that Mike was right behind them." "OOooohhhh, not good for them", replied Sarah. "Your not kidding", replied Pearl, "and worst of all, they had no idea that he was there. Well, he grabbed them by the back of their necks and held them up in the air, turned them around and said: "You just eyeballed my girl, do it again and you eyeball my fists." They were shaking so hard they nearly wet their swim trunks, I mean, you know MM’s build, he was twice the size of both of them put together. He than dropped them hard on the sand, and they probably ran faster than they ever did before." They both laughed. "So yes", Pearl concluded, "He is protective, but than again, if he wasn’t all mice, including us, would be in a world of trouble."

They laughed some more. "Listen Pearl", said Sarah, "I kind of figured that you didn’t just come here to take in the sights, you wanted to check up on him." "Well", said Pearl, "I must admit, I was a bit nervous when he told me that he was coming here to visit you, however I do trust him. I also wanted to see this Sarah person that he told me so much about and now that I did, I know that I had nothing to worry about, I mean you are a true friend to him, and a nice person in general. I’m glad to have met you." "Thanks Pearl", Sarah said as she got down from the sink, that means a lot to me, I’m glad to have met you as well, I mean you are the famous Pearl Pureheart." The two of them laughed some more.

By this time, the two of them were talking in the ladies room for over an hour. "So, Sarah", asked Pearl, "Who was that Nick guy?? A boyfriend of yours??" "Oh, Nick, no, we’re just friends", Sarah started to chuckle, "We’ve been friends now for about a year, he used to live here, then he moved to Philadelphia. We talk to each other over the phone and E-mail each other on the Net. I invited him here for the reunion" "That’s nice", replied Pearl, "He seems like a nice enough guy, really excited to be around MM I noticed." "Oh yes, MM is his hero, he even has a Web page devoted to MM, that’s how we became friends", replied Sarah. "Really, a Web page devoted to Mighty Mouse huh? Well, I’ll have to check it out sometime, see if he mentions me" Pearl said with a smile. "I’ll give you the URL sometime", replied Sarah.

"So Pearl", asked Sarah, "I know this sounds personal, but have the two of you ever......." "Oh no", replied a blushing Pearl, "no, no, no we both agreed that type of thing is for after we are married." "So, has he ever popped the big one?", asked Sarah. "Well, once, but he was pressured into it, and I could tell he wasn’t ready for that type of commitment, so we both agreed to wait until we were both ready for it", replied Pearl.

Just then, they heard Mike and Nick call for them and they made their way out of the ladies room. "So, it seems like you two ladies had a good conversation", Mike said with a smile. "How do you know that?", asked Sarah. "Because the two of you were in the ladies room", responded Nick with a smirk. "Funny", replied Sarah, "Well, yes we did." Pearl walked over to Mike and the two of them locked eyes and kissed. Nick looked at this, then he looked at Sarah who looked back. "Don’t even think about it", snapped Sarah. "Think about what?," asked a puzzled Nick, "I was just going to ask you if you wanted to do something, you know hang out?" "Oh, that would be nice, sure I would", responded Sarah.

"Well", said Mike, "Nick and I were wondering if the two of you would like to go out to dinner tonight, you know the four of us." Pearl and Sarah nodded, "Sure, that would be great", Sarah responded, "Sounds good to me", replied Pearl. "Ok, let’s say around 9:00 we’ll meet at Sarah’s, we’ll decide were to go from there." Sarah and Pearl agreed and the four of them made their way out of the diner.

It had been a while since Mike had been on a large family picnic. He was used to the private little ones with Pearl. He recalled that Scrappy had actually never been on a large picnic before, never having to battle the pesky ants that loved crashing a party. Thank goodness for RAID.

Neil himself thought the entire thing was, if you’ll pardon the expression, "the cat’s pajamas." Sarah’s parents were nice and all, but the big kahuna, Mighty Mouse, was technically also in the party. Neil just wished he could tell her parents, but he also knew that, one: it wasn’t his right, as Sarah gets first crack at it; and two: Mike trusted him with the secret, so he’d better follow up on his promise.

Sarah was having a great time with Pearl. She hit it off beautifully with the street-wise mousette. Mike had chosen his significant other wisely. She could obviously take care of herself. Sarah felt all jealous underpinnings melt away into friendship. Heck, she even offered to fix Pearl’s computer should it ever go south.

Sarah’s parents were a couple of the sweetest people on Earth. They possessed a great sense of humor, and lived so much younger than their ages. And they loved get-togethers. They were the only people in the party that didn’t know Mike’s secret.

The picnickers spread out the blanket, and set out the munchies: nachos and cheese; grilled cheese sandwiches; macaroni and cheese; the works. As they ate, Sarah’s sires started in with general conversation.

"So, Mike. We haven’t seen you in so long!" began Sarah’s mother. "What are you doing in Mouseville nowadays?"

Mike smiled. "I work with Pearl here in a factory. She’s my boss."

"I’ve always wanted to go to Mouseville," Neil piped up.

"Me too," said Sarah.

Pearl had an idea. "How about after we’ve spent our time here, we can go back to Mouseville: Mike, myself, Sarah and Neil."

Sarah asked, "It’ll be a long drive, though."

Mike grinned. "I think I can arrange a round trip flight instead."

Neil thought that was hilarious and started giggling while he was working on a soda. Mike shot him a funny look, and elbowed him in the chest. Neil sprayed soda everywhere.

"Anyway," continued Sarah. "Going to Mouseville would give a us great opportunity to experience big city life. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find a job there."

And so, everyone in the picnic party agreed that going to Mouseville was just the ticket for Sarah and Neil.

A bit later, Mike excused himself for a short nap under an old Weeping Willow tree, while the others played a round of volleyball. He was just falling asleep, and therefore not on guard for the large hawk that was circling in the sky.

The hawk is a magnificent specimen of a predatory bird. Sharp beak and talons, and even sharper eye-site, he spots his prey resting against a large tree. He dives for it…

The hawk’s talons are bared, and he just about grasps Mike, when Mike grabs one in his hand, then swings the bird around and knocks him out of flight.

One of Mike’s eyes opens, and a sly smile breaks across his face. "Uh, uh, uh. I don’t think I’m going to let you eat me today. Or anybody else for that matter."

The hawk, still dizzy from Mike’s counter-move, just flew off into sky. Mike was satisfied all were safe, and returned to the activities in progress before flying back to Mouseville.

A flight from Iowa to Mouseville usually takes over three hours. However, when you are flying "Mighty Mouse Airlines", three hours becomes a little less than three minutes. You know what they say, "It’s the only way to fly."

It was an interesting sight, Mighty Mouse was flying while caring Pearl and Sarah, one in each arm, and Nick on his back (Scrappy does the same when MM gives him a flight) and the luggage strapped to his feet. Yes, he has that much control over his flying abilities, what a mouse.

Nick loved every bit of it. Sarah was also enjoying it, but for Nick it was his first flight on "Mighty Mouse Airlines". He, at times, lifted his head and let the wind blow against his face. He looked behind him and saw the trade mark flashy red contrail form a smooth line behind MM as he soared high above any airplane, for safety reasons. However, Nick never looked down as he had a terrible fear of heights. "This is too cool", Nick thought. Pearl of course was a veteran passenger.

Suddenly, but smoothly, Mighty dropped lower and headed threw the clouds. When the clouds cleared Mouseville’s skyline emerged in the distance. "Well, there it is", Mighty said as he slowed down a bit to let Nick and Sarah get a good look at the skyline, "Mouseville, dead ahead." "Did you have to say "dead"?", Nick asked, still a bit nervous of the height. "Relax Nick", Mighty assured him, "I’ve never lost a passenger."

Sarah was blown away. She heard about the size of Mouseville, but seeing it up close and in person was completely different. Nick, on the other hand, was used to seeing big cities, as he lived close to Philadelphia, however he was still impressed by Mouseville. He also saw that Sarah was really into the building structures.

"Look Sarah, see those tall buildings? They call them sky scrapers, Iowa should get some", Nick joked. "I know what they are Nick. See this, it’s called a fist and it can give you broken nose." Sarah laughed back. Ever since Nick moved from Iowa near Philly, he joked around with Sarah about how, living in Iowa, she dose not know much about cities and city life. However she does, she does a lot of research on them, Mouseville in particular because that’s where Mike moved to. She took it all in fun and always joked back on how Nick might have forgotten what country life is like. They are two good friends for sure.

Nick laughed back, however Mike’s little poke to the chest earlier still smarted and he coughed a bit. "Say Mike", coughed Nick, "Did you have to elbow me that hard earlier?" "Sorry Nick", answered Mike, "Sometimes I forget my own strength, besides I didn’t want you to hint anything to Sarah’s parents. Plus I didn’t know that you where drinking anything at the time." "I wasn’t going to say anything Mike," responded Nick, "you’ve got to trust me, you’re my hero, I would never do anything to loose your trust in me." "I know Nick, and I do have trust in you. As I said before, if I didn’t you’d probably be still hanging on that basketball rim", Mike responded, giving Nick a wink.

"Don’t worry Nick", said Pearl, "I remember once, as I was having dinner with Mike, I choked on a piece of cheese. Mike, of course being who he is, leaped over the table and presided to perform the "Heimlich" maneuver on me. He was successful, however I thought that my skeleton would come out of my throat along with the piece of cheese." "As I said, I guess I sometimes forget my own strength", responded Mike.

As Mighty passed by the Mouseville Expressway they noticed a huge sign that read, "Welcome to Mouseville, home of the "Champion of Justice", MIGHTY MOUSE", in big neon letters. Sarah laughed, "Man could they make your name any bigger?" "I know, I know, it’s a bit much, but what can I say, when you save the city about a zillion times, they print your name, on a sign, so that airplanes, or myself, could read it. It’s quite flattering actually", Mike responded with a laugh.

They flew past the various buildings and bridges that formed Mouseville. It was a beautiful city indeed. Mouseville was about a half-hour away from another well-known city, New York City. However it was a much smaller city and much less congested. Rush hour traffic is bad, but not nearly as bad as it is in it’s larger neighbor. Mouseville was filled with statues of famous mice, Mighty included. There was a very nice one of Mighty’s outside of City Hall. It was of him accepting the key to the city, which he was presented with on that same spot about thirty years ago.

Suddenly Mike’s ear’s perked up as though he heard something. Indeed he did. In an ally way some blocks away a rat was robbing a mousette of her pocket book. "HEEEELP", she yelled as the rat made off with it. A few seconds later, Mighty landed, with his passengers, next to the mousette. "You guys wait here, this will only take a second", said Mighty as he sped off in a flash of yellow and red.

The rat thought that he had gotten away with the grab cleanly. He could not have been more wrong as just then, he was eye to eye with the one and only Mighty Mouse. Any evil doer that confronts the mouse of might goes threw three emotions: first comes shock, then anger (actually believing that they can best Mighty Mouse, this is also known as "mistake number one") finally there is fear (after all attempts to destroy MM fails they realize they just made him more angry, also realizing that this means it’s "ICU time", than off to jail).

This rat goes threw them all, first shock, "Where did he come from?", thought the rat. Next anger, "Alright Mighty Mouse, let’s see what your made of", the rat said as he threw a punch at MM. He hit him right on the chest, not bright, of coarse hitting MM at all is not a bright thing as his body, head to toe, is harder then steel. The rat winced in pain. Mighty just stood there shaking his head, "When will they learn?", thought MM as he went into action.

Mighty grabbed the rat by the lapels of his jacket, lifted him in the air and flew him back to where the mousette, Nick, Sarah and Pearl were waiting. "I believe you have something that belongs to her", said MM, to the rat, motioning to the mousette. At this time the rat is in the "fear stage" as he can’t even speak, he just gives the purse back to the mousette. And he is still being held in the air by MM as well. After the purse was returned, Mighty held the rat up higher and turned him upside down. Mighty then started to shake the rat like a peppershaker. "Let’s see what else we can find", said Mighty as he shook the rat. Instantly wallets fell from the rats pockets, none of them belonging to him. "Well, well, looks like we have an old fashioned pick pocket", said Mighty as he noticed the wallets.

Mighty knew that he had to take the rat to jail and give the wallets to the right authorities so as they can be returned to their rightful owners. So he could not continue on with the tour of Mouseville for the time being. He asked Pearl to take Nick and Sarah to her apartment. She agreed, but Nick wanted to go with Mighty. However, Mighty knew that the rat was dangerous and it was not worth the risk to take Nick along. He told Nick this and Nick understood, however Mighty knew that Nick was also disappointed, so he promised Nick that he would take him to meet Scrappy.

"Don’t worry Nick", said Sarah, with a wink, as they headed for Pearl’s, "You have to be there when I tell Pearl all about you." "Oh no", responded Nick, "Not more girl talk."

Later the next day, Mighty, as Mike Mouse, took Sarah and Nick out to show them around Mouseville. It was a nice day, not a cloud in the sky. Sarah and Nick were taking it all in, they found it a bit humorous that Mike, a.k.a, Mighty Mouse, was being the tour guide, but he was doing a good job.

Mike showed them around Mouseville’s famous Cheese Market, which sold various cheeses from around the country and world. Sarah got some to bring back to her family in Iowa and for herself. Nick got some as well. Then it was off to a café for some imported coffee. Sarah was fond of the coffee, Nick on the other hand was not much of a coffee drinker.

Sarah had told Mike earlier that Nick was into hard and loud music, like NIRVANA, Alice IN Chains, Metallica, etc. Mike also remembered Nick bringing some of his music, from those groups, to the reunion dance in Iowa. So, Mike decided to take them to Mouseville’s Hard Rock Café.

It was a nice place, filled with rock and roll memorabilia and, oh yes, the sound of Metallica filled the room. Nick loved it. "Now this is more like it", Nick said banging his head to the music. Sarah just rolled her eyes, she was more into dance music, she was also a very good ballroom dancer and attended many ballroom dances back in Iowa. "I feel sorry for you Mike", she whispered to Mike,

"Your "Mighty" hearing must be going berserk." "Nah", responded Mike, "I kind of like it, it has a good beat to it."

Nick was looking around at all the stuff on the walls. "Whoa, check it out", Nick said pointing to one of the pictures on the wall. The picture had Mighty Mouse standing with Metallica and it looked as if he was jamming away on one of their guitars. It was also signed by Mighty and the group. "You, I mean he, knows Metallica?" Nick asked Mike. "Yes I, I mean he, does", Mike responded. "He went to a concert of theirs in Philadelphia once with Scrappy. Someone had to fly him there", he said with a wink. "They met the group after the show, it turned out that they were fans of Mighty Mouse, well they both share M’s in their names and all. That’s when the picture was taken, they let Mighty Mouse hold one of their guitars, but they would not let him play it. I guess they were worried that he might break it, it happens."

"Well, that’s just too cool", responded Nick "Come to think of it, I remember that concert, I couldn’t go to it unfortunately." "Hey Mike, Mighty Mouse wouldn’t know Jim Carrey would he?" asked Sarah. "I’m afraid he dose not, sorry." Sarah snapped her finger, "Well, I had to ask." "You and Jim again", Nick responded with a laugh. Sarah gave him an interesting glance, "Careful Nick", she responded.

The tour continued with Mike showing them downtown Mouseville. They then went to the "Mouseville Museum of Art".

Sarah had requested to go there. However, just before they were going to go inside the museum, Mike’s ears perked up as if he heard something. Indeed he did as only he could, a call for help.

"Sorry you two, I gotta fly, someone needs me", Mike said looking for a place to strip down to his MM uniform. "I tell you what, you two go in the museum and I’ll meet you inside later. You can catch up on old times while looking at the art work or something." "Got you MM", Nick said, "Have fun", replied Sarah. "You know I will", responded Mike he said as he zoomed off.

Sarah and Nick walked into the museum. "Man, this place is huge", Sarah said as she headed in. "It might take us all day to see it all." "All day, oh boy, you don’t say", Nick responded. "Come on Nick, I’ll give you a little lesson on the finer points of art", Sarah responded as she grabbed Nick by the arm after he jokingly tried to go back outside. "This is going to be a looooong day", Nick said as the two of them headed on.

Career Day at Scrappy’s school was a bittersweet moment in his life. He didn’t have any parents to bring to class to have them discuss what they did for work. But, he did have a very close, even best friend he could call on in this time of need. All he had to do now was beg him to do it.

They met at a pizza parlor. Nick was along for the ride, as he was getting to know Scrappy. The two hit it off beautifully. Nick was invited to join Scrappy for a day at school. Thankfully, it’s a Friday, so the weekend was just around the corner. Freedom!

Nick and Scrappy were in the middle of a discussion when Mike came in. Mike quickly found where they were sitting and came over to join them.

"Yeah!" said Scrappy to Nick. "He carries me with one hand through the sky so I can pretend that I’m the Bronze Boarder. It’s so cool!"

"That’s really cool," responded Nick. "He flew me, Sarah and Pearl here from my town. That red contrail is a neat effect."

"I’ve always wondered how he does that," said Scrappy.

Mike decided to join in the conversation.

"Talking about Mighty Mouse again, are we?" he asked.

"As always!" responded Nick. They all laugh.

As the pizza arrived, Scrappy decided to ask his very important question.

"Um, Mike," he began, "can Mighty Mouse come to career day at my school? I mean, I’m the only kid there without any parents who could come. Nick here is coming, and I know he’d enjoy seeing Mighty Mouse again."

Mike thought it over for a moment, then, "I suppose Mighty Mouse could make an appearance. What does he need to talk about?"

Scrappy answered, "Basically, just what he does. You know, take care of cats, keep Mouseville free of crime, stuff like that."

Mike nodded. "Okay, he’ll come."

Both Scrappy and Nick looked at each other with big grins on their faces, gave each other a high-five, and said in tandem, "Yes!"

The next day Scrappy’s school room was full of students and their parents. Each parent sat next to his child. Next to Scrappy sat Nick and Mighty Mouse. Everyone there was star-struck with Mighty Mouse being there. Scrappy was so proud he was glowing.

The teacher stood up at the front of the room. She motioned for everyone to be quiet.

"Alright, everyone," began the teacher. "We have a very special guest with us here today. Due to his busy schedule, we’ll let him go first. Scrappy, would you introduce your guest?"

Scrappy stood up at his desk. "Okay, folks. My career day guest is the one and only Mighty Mouse."

"Yeah, right," snickered the class bully at the back of the room.

Mighty Mouse ignored him as he stood up and walked to the front of the room.

"Well," started Mighty Mouse, "I guess the best way to do this is just to field your questions."

Hands from students flew up all over the room. Mighty Mouse started with a young girl mouseling. He pointed to her.

"How strong are you?" she asked.

Mighty Mouse chuckled. "So far I haven’t had any limits on my strength. So I guess you could say I’m as strong as I need to be as the situation warrants."

He pointed to a boy mouseling in the middle of the room.

The boy was a tad shy, but he managed to get his question out. "What has been your most difficult challenge?"

Mighty Mouse’s eyebrows raised at the question and nodded. "Good question!" he exclaimed. "I would have to say overcoming Oil Can Harry’s restructuring of my DNA. Anyone want to see the improvements?"

Everyone in the room shouted out their answer: YES!

Mighty Mouse gave everyone a sly look. Immediately his eyes turned red, then he grunted. He grew to three times his size, his uniform changed design, and his muscles grew to giant proportions. His voice deepened.

"Anyone care to challenge me now?" teased Mighty Mouse. He looked right at the class bully, his eyes flashing red and muscles rippling.

The bully just turned pale and slunk down into his desk chair.

Suddenly, Mighty Mouse’s ears perked up. "I’m sorry to have to leave so early," apologized Mighty Mouse, "but I need to run. Somebody needs my help.

Mighty Mouse returned to normal size. The classroom gave him a standing ovation. Scrappy couldn’t have been prouder. Mighty Mouse flew out the window on to his task.

Sarah opened the door to her hotel room at the Mouseville Hilton. Mike stood in the doorway. He looked concerned.

"I need to talk to you," he stated.

"Um, okay," said a confused Sarah.

"About the other night," started Mike.

"About what night?" asked Sarah.

"The night we kissed," said Mike matter-of-factly.

"Oh."

"I’m in quite a quandary. I mean, that kiss was special, but I’m in love with Pearl. So now what am I to do?" asked Mike.

"I wish I could help you out on that one. I’ve been asking myself the same questions. What did that kiss really mean?" thought Sarah out loud.

Mike paced around the room like a caged tiger.

"And I’ve been thinking about being Mighty Mouse. Should I really care? Does it really matter? I have these powers. Are they a blessing or a curse?"

Sarah sat down on the edge of her bed.

"All I can tell you," said Sarah, "is that Mighty Mouse is a God-send for mice. Without Mighty Mouse, Mouseville would be the armpit of America. A literal hell on earth for mice."

Mike grunted in frustration. "I’ve got to go away for awhile. I’ve got to figure some things out."

"Where will you go?" asked Sarah.

"To my parents’ house," answered Mike. "Let me leave you their phone number just in case you need to get in touch with me."

Mike grabbed one of the free pens and a pad of paper that the hotel supplies their guests with. He jotted down the number, then set it down on the nightstand by Sarah’s bed.

"I’m going to run," said Mike.

"Play nice," joked Sarah, trying to lighten the mood.

"You know me," winked Mike.

Sarah opened the door for Mike, then closed it behind him as he left.

"I hope you find the answers you’re looking for," said Sarah to no one in particular.

Scrappy and Nick are walking along a rougher section of Mouseville, secure in the fact that Mighty Mouse was only a call away. Unfortunately, what they didn’t know was that their pal had taken a leave of absence.

"Wasn’t it awesome!" Scrappy exclaimed to Nick.

"Totally intense," agreed Nick.

"Mighty Mouse in my class, scaring the crap out of the class bully. Betcha he thinks twice before trying anything again," laughed Scrappy.

Scrappy and Nick were so deep into their conversation that they didn’t notice the local gang come from their places of lounging and surround them.

One very rough mouse stopped Scrappy and Nick in their tracks.

"Where do you think you’re going?" the gang member challenged.

Scrappy and Nick looked at each other and snickered. "Just move it, pal," said Scrappy, "if you know what’s good for you."

"Yeah buddy, we are close friends with someone whose biceps are bigger than your head, so you better step off," responded Nick.

"Ooo. I’m really scared," said the gang member.

About that time, the leader of the gang appeared. "Well, well, well. What have we here. A couple of Kindergarteners on our turf."

The gang leader clapped his hands twice. From every nook and cranny appeared various gang members – armed with bats, chains, etc.

Scrappy and Nick went back-to-back.

"I think we’re gonna need some help," Scrappy said to Nick.

"Good idea," agreed Nick.

"MIGHTY MOUSE!" yelled Scrappy and Nick together. They both waited in anticipation for that familiar tenor singing voice to cut through the air. But, nothing came. The gang closed in.

Scrappy’s complexion went white. "I think we’re in big trouble."

The gang closed in a tight circle around the two young mice and started using their weapons. Scrappy and Nick’s cries were lost amidst the laughter and jeering of the gang members.

The next thing Scrappy remembered was waking up in the ICU ward of the Mouseville hospital with an I.V. in his arm and an oxygen mask on his mouth. He turned his head and saw Nick in the next bed in the same predicament, only still unconscious.

One of the attending nurses saw Scrappy awaken and she walked over.

"Welcome back," she said. "You took quite a beating. At one time we thought we’d lost you, but you have a fighting spirit."

Scrappy tried to talk through the mask. "How’s Nick?"

The nurse looked over at Nick.

She shook her head. "He’s still in a light coma, but the doctors are optimistic."

Nick moved his head, then his arm with the I.V. in it.

"Well! Speak of the devil!" exclaimed the nurse. She walked over to Nick’s bed.

"How are you doing young man?" she asked Nick. Nick just groaned.

A shrill buzz sounds at the nurse’s station. The nurse walks over and pushes a red button. The door to the ICU opens.

Pearl and Sarah walk in. It’s evident they’ve both been crying.

"Scrappy!" exclaims Pearl.

"Nick!" exclaims Sarah.

They both go to the respective beds.

Both Sarah and Pearl ask at the same time, "How are you feeling?"

Scrappy answers, "Like a cat after crossing Mighty Mouse."

"Do you remember who attacked you?" asked Pearl.

Scrappy nodded. "Yeah, it was the main mouse gang of Mouseville. Why wasn’t Mighty around?"

Sarah stepped in. "He had to take care of some problems back at his parents’ house. I’m going to call him from here."

The nurse came over. "I’m sorry, ladies, but I need to ask you to leave now. Visiting hours are over and my patients need their rest."

Mike roamed the countryside thinking deep thoughts. Why was he here? Why did he have the special abilities he possessed? And what is this thing with Sarah and Pearl? He was horribly frustrated.

Mike came upon a large, dead oak tree. He gazed at its knarled branches. He looked at his hands. Then his arms. If he wasn’t careful, could he end up like that tree?

I think I’ll start a fire… The tree would be perfect kindling…he thought to himself.

Mike squared his shoulders, then wrapped his arms around the tree’s trunk. He pulled upwards. Slowly but surely he gently uprooted the tree. Placing it on the ground, his eyes flashed red. He yelled out in frustration and sent a high-powered punch straight into the main trunk of the tree. It shattered into pieces. Mike sighed and shook himself down. That made him feel better. He focused his heat vision on the kindling and started a nice sized fire. He smiled as the warmth flooded his body, sitting down beside it.

Just as he was starting to get comfortable, his hearing picked up his mother calling to him. He used his mighty breath to blow out the fire, then leaped into the air and flew home.

When he got there, his mother’s expression looked to be somber. She handed the phone to Mike.

"Hello?" he said.

A pause that could have lasted an eternity. Mike’s demeanor changed from contentment to shock to anger. His eyes flared red and his muscles rippled.

"Thanks for letting me know, Sarah," said Mike. He hung up the phone.

"What’s wrong, honey?" asked Mike’s mother.

Mike talked through gritted teeth. "Two very close friends of mine are in the I.C.U. Attacked by gang members back in Mouseville. I should never have left…"

"You’d better go," stated his mother.

"Yeah. I need to see how badly Scrappy and Nick are hurt, then I’ve got to put the hurt on the gang that did the deed," said Mike.

With that Mike changed into his Mighty Mouse uniform and flew off back to Mouseville.

On the way back, Mighty Mouse noticed a problem at a chemical plant. A large fire had broken out. With his vision he saw that some mice were trapped on the roof. He landed in the midst of the fire trucks. He grabbed the fireman in charge.

"Hey! What can I do to help?" he asked the fireman.

The fireman was shocked to see Mighty Mouse, but recovered and said, "We can’t get to the trapped mice. Could you get them out of there some how?"

Mighty Mouse looked at the trapped mice. "No problem."

Mighty Mouse took off. He reached the trapped mice. There were five of them. They were scared senseless. And it was as hot as an inferno. He looked around and spotted a satellite dish. Perfect.

He flew over to the dish and easily ripped it off its foundation. He then flew the dish over to the trapped mice.

"Get in the dish!" he instructed. All of the mice obeyed. Mighty Mouse picked up the dish carefully and flew the mice down to the safety of the fire trucks.

He then grabbed two fire hoses, one in each hand, and turned them on to their highest setting. Working his way around the chemical plant, he gradually put out the fire. All the mice in attendance cheered.

Not wanting to stick around, Mighty Mouse flew off for Mouseville.

Mighty Mouse was on the hunt. He knew Mouseville inside and out, and he used that knowledge to his advantage. It took a bit of looking, but he found what, or more accurately WHO he was looking for. He landed hard in front of the gang member.

Mighty Mouse grabbed the front of the gang member’s shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"Where is he?" demanded Mighty Mouse.

The gang member put up a false front and didn’t give a straight answer. "Where’s who?" he asked cockily.

Mighty Mouse got into the gang member’s face. "You know who I want. You’re just a little fish in the sea to me. I don’t even know why I’m bothering with you…"

Suddenly, the gang member drew a wicked looking knife from a hidden pocket. He slashed Mighty Mouse’s costume at the arm.

Mighty Mouse looked at the tear. He looked back at the gang member with fire in his eyes.

"You must want an involuntary dirt nap," he stated flatly.

Mighty Mouse slammed the gang member up against a brick wall. With his free hand he sent a super powered punch through the brick wall right next to the gang member’s head.

"You tell me where your leader is or your head’s the next thing to go," said Mighty Mouse with menace.

The gang member was scared to death. "Okay! Okay! He’s at our place at the corner of Colby and Jack."

"Thank you. You’re too good to me," said Mighty Mouse snidely. "Night night."

He send a light punch into the gang member’s face and knocked him out cold. He looked at his torn sleeve again and shook his head. He tore his sleeve off. Just another great day… he thought to himself.

Mighty approached the gang’s hangout. He was VERY angry, fists clenched, muscles rippling. He came to a barbed wire fence. He came the fence entrance, locked of course with a chain and pad lock. Mighty just snickered as he ripped the chain apart from the fence, then he ripped the fence gate doors of their hinges and flung them aside. "I’ll write out a check for that later," he snickered.

He then came to a large iron door which lead inside the building. He used his x-Ray vision to peek inside. There were a bunch of gang mice hanging around. "Perfect," he thought to himself as he made his move. Mighty grabbed the door and started to pull. A loud squeal was heard as he ripped the door from its hinges. He then ripped the door in half. "Knock, knock," Mighty said with a grin.

The gang mice started at MM from all directions. Mighty just stood his ground ready to attack. One gang member lunged at MM with a baseball bat. He swung at MM’s chest. Once the bat hit, it splintered with a WHACK! Mighty didn’t even flinch. Mighty grabbed the mouse by the shirt and tossed him across the room. Two more gang mice charged at MM from behind. MM’s Mighty hearing picked up the footsteps and he quickly turned around. Just as the mice were in range, he grabbed them by there necks and held them in the air. He then flung them into some other on-coming mice, knocking them unconscious. Mighty saw another gang member heading for him. This one took a swing at MM. Mighty grabbed the mouse’s arm in full swing and swung him onto a wall. Mighty was face to face with him. Mighty growled and his eyes flashed red. "Now I’m only going to ask this once," started Mighty, ‘Where’s your leader?" The petrified mouse pointed to a large iron door. "He’s in there man," he said, "Now please…..go easy man."

Mighty dropped the mouse on the ground and headed for the door. Inside the gang leader was aware of what was going on outside and was crouched down under his desk. The room started shaking, boxes rattling and the gang leader nearly wetting his pants. He knew MM was now after him and that he was VERY ticked off. All of a sudden the large iron door exploded open and through the cloud of dust stood MM, arms crossed. Mighty slowly made his way in the room, the ground shock with each step. "Alright," Mighty started, "IT’S PAY BACK TIME!!, COME OUT AND SHOW YOURSELF!!"

The leader popped his head out from behind the desk. "So there you are," said Mighty. The leader got up from behind the desk and before he could speak a word MM was right in his face. Mighty grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and lifted him in the air with his exposed arm, muscles bulging. "Now," Mighty started, "You hurt my friends, I hurt you." Mighty went to work quickly, he punched the leader, knocking him into some boxes. Mighty was in a rage, he tore of his other sleeve to match the already torn of one. He was so frustrated with all that was going on that he flexed his arms and let out a loud scream that shook the building. He then grabbed the leader once more. "This is for Scrappy," said Mighty as he pulled back a fist and slammed it into the leader’s face. "This is for Nick", he said as he pulled his fist back and let out another punch. He kept on punching harder and harder, he seemed to be out of control. Suddenly he stopped, he observed white gloves. They were red with the leader’s blood. He had done some real damage. The leader was practically knocked unconscious. "What am I doing?," remarked a scared MM, "This is not how I behave. I’d better get to the hospital to see Scrappy and Nick, and I’ll take this guy with me as he needs some medical attention.

With that MM picked up the gang leader, flew through the roof and headed for the hospital.

Mighty Mouse flew to the hospital, gang leader in tow. When he got there, he was greeted by a squad of police. Mighty Mouse landed. The police chief approached our hero.

"Excuse me, uh, Mighty Mouse?" said the chief.

"That’s my name – don’t wear it out," responded Mighty Mouse.

"I’m sorry, but you’re under arrest."

Mighty Mouse had a confused look cross his face. "Why?"

The chief got out some handcuffs. "Vigilante activity."

Mighty Mouse walked up to him. "I don’t think I’m going to let you arrest me today. I’ve had a no good very bad day."

To accentuate his point, Mighty Mouse shoved a finger into the chief’s chest and sent him sprawling onto his rear end. He turned and looked at the other police mice. They looked at each other then got out of Mighty Mouse’s way.

Mighty Mouse made his way into the hospital. An ER nurse met him at the doors.

"I need a gurney for this guy here," said Mighty Mouse.

Another nurse went and got a gurney. Mighty Mouse laid the gang leader on the gurney. The attending nurses and doctors took over. Mighty Mouse made his way to the I.C.U. wing of the hospital.

Scrappy was never so glad to see Mighty Mouse as he was now.

"Mighty Mouse!" he exclaimed.

Mighty Mouse let out a sigh of relief. Scrappy was already doing better. "Scrapster!" he exclaimed.

Nick turned his head. "Hey! Mighty Mouse!"

"Nick! You look like something the cat dragged in," teased Mighty Mouse. They all laughed.

Mighty Mouse turned somber. "I am so sorry I wasn’t here. I should have been. Because of me you guys are here…"

Scrappy waved him off. "Hey, MM, it wasn’t your fault. I mean, Nick and I should have known better than to go gallivanting in the wrong place, thinking we were invincible. We need to learn to listen to that little voice inside that says don’t go swimming in the shark tank at Sea World. Common sense, man."

Just then the attending nurse came over.

"Sorry to interrupt, folks, but visiting hours are over," she said.

"Don’t worry about us, MM," assured Scrappy. "They’re going to upgrade our condition to the regular hospital rooms, and then we should be out of here in a few days more."

(NB)

Mighty made his way to the hospital exit. Just then a nurse called out, "Mighty Mouse! There is a phone call for you at the reception desk!"

Mighty went and picked up the phone. Sarah was on the other end.

"Mike," she started, "Toby’s in town and he’s looking for me. Get here quick!"

"I’m on my way," replied Mighty.

He then flew out the hospital door and headed for the Mouseville Hilton. However, he was too late. When he got there, Sarah was gone.

"Man, this has turned into a really bad day," said a frustrated MM.

He looked around the room and spotted a piece of tissue paper on the ground. It was a note from Sarah that read "OCH Train – South." Mighty knew where to go and headed for the sky.

It wasn’t too long before he noticed the train speeding down the tracks. Mighty got in front of it and got a good grip. He then started to push hard. His biceps bulged with strength as the train started to slow down then come to a complete stop. A frustrated MM then picked up the front of the engine and slammed it on the ground next to the tracks.

"Stay!" exclaimed MM as he made his way to the engine’s door.

He busted through the door to find no one in the engine. The train was driving itself automatically.

MM made his way through the train as automatic weapons shot at him. However, the bullets just bounced off him. Even though none of them hurt MM, it did make him more mad. He ripped some of the guns off the walls and bent them in half. As he continued to move through the train cars, razor sharp blades shot out of the ceiling at him. Mighty just kept moving as the blades hit him and broke into pieces.

Mighty powered his way through the final door leading to the last car. In it, towards the back, was Sarah being held by Toby.

"Let her go, Toby," said Mighty, "or we’ll have a sequel to what happened to you earlier in the week."

Mighty Mouse made his way towards Toby and was ready to strike when a familiar voice was heard.

"Well, well. I see that you are on my train, Mighty Mouse; and without a ticket."

It was Oil Can Harry.

"Boy Harry, did you pick the wrong day," responded MM.

Before Oil Can could make his move, Mighty was all over him. Mighty came down with a series of punches, but did not notice Toby leave with Sarah out the back. Mighty landed one more crushing blow and Harry was out.

"Now for you, Toby…" Toby wasn’t there. "Toby…?" said a puzzled MM.

He then looked out the window and saw Toby trying to make a break for it on foot.

Why must they always try to run? asked MM to himself.

(BCD)

Toby was trying to pull Sarah down a nearby hill. But Sarah was a feisty one, and she wouldn’t go without a fight. She kicked and screamed. She bit and scratched. Toby had his hands full. Toby slugged Sarah across the jaw and knocked her out.

Faster than thought, Mighty Mouse attacked Toby. He is furious that Toby hit Sarah. It doesn’t take long for him to take out Toby.

Sarah is lying unconscious on the ground. Mighty Mouse turns her over so that she’s on her back. Mighty Mouse sizes up the situation.

Mighty Mouse raises his hands and waves his fingers. Light pink electricity shoots out from the fingers and surrounds Sarah’s face. Her face glows pink. In a few moments, she regains consciousness. Mighty Mouse smiles, satisfied.

"What happened?" asked a groggy Sarah.

"Toby and Oil Can Harry won’t be bothering others for a while. Wait here while I take them to prison. I’ll only be a few moments." Said MM.

"No problem," responded Sarah.

The factory was closed for the weekend, but just the same, Pearl thought her office would be a good place for Sarah, Mike and her to talk. You could see the only light on in the place was Pearl’s office.

"So?" said Pearl. "You two kissed. From what I understand, it’s only a natural course of the way things go. I’m not mad."

Mike and Sarah looked at each other and gave a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Pearl," said Sarah, "you have a great guy there. He loves you and you love him, with a deep, true love. I’ve discovered I love Mike like a close friend, but nothing more. You two, however, go beyond friendship. You two are very lucky to have found each other."

Sarah gave an impish look. "I expect you to keep a close eye on Mike, Pearl. Keep him under rein."

"I’ll always value our friendship, Sarah," said Mike.

"And I hope we get to become closer friends," said Pearl to Sarah.

Sarah glanced down at her watch. "I have to run. I have to get my things from the hotel and catch an early flight home."

Pearl gave Sarah a hug. Mike did the same. As Sarah left the factory, she yelled, "Venes, vides, vices!" and waved goodbye.

Pearl turned to Mike with a puzzled look on her face as Mike started to laugh.

"What did she say?" asked a confused Pearl.

"She said to us both, ‘You came, you saw, you conquered’," explained Mike.

Pearl got even more confused. "Huh?"

Mike just laughed more. "Never mind."

Pearl thought to herself a moment, then smiled. She turned to Mike. "And have you?" she asked Mike.

Mike paused, then answered, "I think I have. I realize I have gifts; and sometimes a great gift comes with a responsibility. But, just the same, I am Mighty Mouse not because I have to be, but now because I want to be."

"Mighty Mouse the conqueror… watch out world!" joked Pearl.

Mike and Pearl leave the factory arm in arm.

It was a beautiful day for a hospital release. Both Scrappy and Nick were released the same day, and boy, were they glad to be free!

Pearl had arranged a welcome home party just for them, complete with an attendance by Mighty Mouse. Cake, punch and ice cream were in abundance, as were the flowers, balloons and other gifts Scrappy and Nick had received while in the hospital’s care.

"I hope you didn’t give the nurses too much trouble," said Mighty Mouse.

"Who? Us?" winked Scrappy.

The party went on for hours as the guests danced the day away…

A few days later, Scrappy, Nick and Mike were chowing away at a nice sized cheese pizza and the local pizza parlor.

Suddenly, Mike’s ears perk up.

Scrappy and Nick look at each other knowingly.

"Sorry, guys, but I have to run," apologized Mike.

"No problem, Mike," responded Scrappy.

"Go get ‘em, Mike," added Nick.

Mike ran out the door and disappeared. Almost immediately all the pizza parlor patrons heard Mighty Mouse’s trademark catchphrase: "Here I come to save the day!"

Scrappy and Nick smiled at each other, then continued to eat their pizza.