Mouse: The Enigma

Name: Mouse

Appearance: Flaming red/orange hair, reddish eyes, blue lips with fangs, lilac skin with ornamental tattoos (perhaps, Yakuza related) around eyes and forehead; white shirt and black pants, battle armour when appropriate, black armbands

Age: Apparently, similar to Bob, mid-20s to early thirties

Format: Sprite, but unclear what type; see Web Virus' theories here

Function: Hacker and Mercenary

Weapon: Katana sword, along with wits and skill

Transport: Ship (that's her ship's name)

When we examine the main characters of the show, we immediately discover that none of them are totally ordinary by our standards, except perhaps for Enzo as a child. This is clearly the case when we deal with Mouse, who clearly is an enigma, since we know as little about her background (for one thing, why can't she Reboot without artifically changing her icon? and what's with the fangs?) as we do Phong (two great candidates for fanfic). Overall, we do not see that much of her, though she is the star of "The Great Brain Robbery," (as well as having an episode, "Mousetrap," named for her, unlike the other good guys) and has some big moments. She also has some of her own collectables, including a trading card (more than you can say for AndrAIa!), a few postcards, a playset, as well as an undistributed[?] doll. Nonetheless, she is an interesting and fun character, of whom many admire greatly. Thus, this page.

Mouse's trading card has this to say about her: "Mouse is an adventurous inter-modal anti-hero for hire. Programmed for stealth, she can cut herself out of seemingly incapable situations, undetected and undeterred, leaving only her signature [symbol of a mouse] behind to taunt her captors." This is a good start, especially once we realize that "inter-modal" means the ability to use various modes or types of movement, such as air, water, and ground transport through systems of the net. Mouse is a hacker, a renegade of sorts in the world of computers, who is willing to contract out her services to whomever pays, be it a virus (Megabyte) or a guardian (Turbo), while having a healthy distrust of all of them. She is very good at her job, as shown by the fact that she is the only one able to escape from Captain Capacitor's brig and is able to hack into and quickly get out of the Principal Office of Mainframe. She revels in her chosen profession and has the confidence of someone who knows she is good at what she does.

Mouse is also one of the few ties to Bob's past that we learn about in that he knows her from when he stopped her from hacking into the supercomputer. Nonetheless, he trusts her, admiring her skill as well as having faith in her fairness and integrity. The feeling is mutual, which is not surprising in that Mouse's computer and fighting skills fits well with the similar skills that Bob uses to be a good guardian, as well as both doing well working alone. The two are clearly long time friends, though how deep the relationship goes is unclear. Some suggest Mouse has some kind of romantic feelings for Bob, which makes Dot's jealousy of her more understandable, though Bob does seem to see her more as a friend. Bob is a bit taken aback when Mouse gets a bit too flirtatous and/or greets him with one of her killer kisses, but then Mouse is a tad bit much to handle, isn't she?

Mouse has a southern (american) accent ('sugah'), though her southern roots does not stop at her voice. The South has traditionally been known for some of the things she is known for: fighting ability and honor. Her katana sword and tattooes (perhaps of Japanese origins) suggests an oriental influence, which also is very concerned with fighting and honor (not to speak of computers!). Though we do not see it in "The Great Train Robbery," Mouse's sword is clearly evident when she is in "battle mode." She also a clear code of ethics, very important for a lone operative like herself, and one of her most appealing qualities. Mouse is unwilling to endanger Enzo's life and sticks around to help defend Mainframe when it is under attack. If you double cross her (or make her mad), watch out!

As noted, we know little about Mouse, but she does ultimately play an important role on the show. She starts out as but a symbol of Bob's past, as well as guest star in "The Great Brain Robbery," setting off Dot's jealousy meter in the process. Nonetheless, it was her return to Mainframe on a secret mission to find the Web Creature (and unwittedly bring a bomb in) that helped start the Web Wars. Mouse's hacking ability was of great help, especially once Bob was gone and Megabyte began attacking Mainframe, not the least by cutting off access to it. She was also supportive of Dot and Enzo, giving them confidence when they needed a lot of it, as well as showing sympathy for other threatened residents of Mainframe. It was not in her nature to stay in one place and work as part of a team like that for so long, but as she told Ray Tracer (whose wandering and adventurous spirit appealed to her, while she was the only companion able to handle the dangers of his travels), she grew to like it there. After restart she probably is off to continue her old life, but her time in Mainframe (not just because of her connection to Bob) clearly would continue to be a big influence on her.

Though her role is a bit underwritten for my tastes, Mouse is still around to help fight off Daemon. She helps with the defenses, gave Turbo a 'thorough search' when he was a prisoner, and again gave Dot advice when she needed it. On the other hand, she also went on a risky mission with Matrix to save their mates (Ray Tracer and AndrAIa now under Daemon's power) that resulted in her being quickly overpowered as well (Daemon does compliment her on her encryption codes). Her message to Dot was to follow her heart when choosing what Bob to marry, though she didn't seem much concerned if Guardian Bob was thrown aside. Mouse's past relationship with Bob really was not addressed either, apparently her mind was on Ray, who had no part in the action. We did get to see her in a bridesmaid's dress, sans katena! Planning to go after Daemon and apparently Megabyte was defeated (with an open invite to serve as a bridesmaid again, she was trapped with the rest by the actually free Megabyte as the episode ended.

If Bob and Mouse are compatible in many ways, Mouse and Dot have a more complicated relationship. Dot saw Mouse as a threat to her relationship with Bob, a state of affairs not helped by Mouse's saucy nature (Dot uncomfortably asks what she can do to help while fighting the web creature in "Gigabyte," and Mouse asks her for an energy shake). Nonetheless, Mouse does gain more respect once Dot saves her life. Mouse was very supportive of Dot when Bob left, both helping her deal with his absence and helping her realize her responsibilites (and snap out of moments of indecision and despair) as leader of the battle against Megabyte. It would be interesting to know how Mouse handled his absence when she was alone with her thoughts, though it is clear she had confidence he would survive. Mouse's sense of verve and carefree nature is a nice contrast to Dot's more reserved style, but ultimately they made a good team, both ultimately sharing a sense of what is right and having the means of making it so. Mouse may have started out as an "anti-hero," but her honor and ultimate integrity clearly makes her a hero in the end, even if she feared she was going a bit "soft."

"Megabyte honeh? What's this ah hear about a powuh surge, and toastin' some lil kid? You know, ah don't do toast."

"Love to, sugah."

"Why Phong, you'll turn a young sprite's head with talk like that."

"Then Megabyte`s won! He`s beaten the defender of this system... with words! I`m only glad Bob can`t see this!"

""Megabyte honeh? Rule number 1-don't EVER try to double-cross the Mouse."

Credits: The picture on this page came from a now defunct (and missed) website and originally came from a postcard. Thanks to Mouse's namesake (and brother) for some info/musings on the character, including the exact wording of some of the quotes and pointing out some good links, as well as the authors of the websites linked here. Oh, and to Louise Vallance for the 'voice!'