Lolo's Big Adventure-chapter 1
Lolo sat on the roof of the small house she shared with her mom. She was happily sketching trees and nearby houses in her sketch pad. It was the only thing she could enjoy after her father left her mother for another woman. Her dad had been working and bringing money home. When he left so did the family's income. Her mom took it pretty hard and began drinking.
She often had to hide money from her mom to keep her from spending it on alcohol. Lolo had earned some money from a part time job as a waitress. She used part of the money to buy pencils and a sketch pad. She spent many happy hours drawing.
She was so absorbed in what she was doing she didn't see or hear anything. Suddenly she felt something grab her ankle and pulled her into the house. And then..slap!
"Lazy good for nothing girl! I've been calling you and calling you for the past twenty minutes!" Her mother said.
Lolo got up after putting her hand to her face. She stared at her mother. She'd been drinking again.
"I'm sorry, mom. I lost track of time. I was..."
"Drawing again! Daydreaming! Reading comics! The dishes need washing and the trash hasn't been taken out. And here I find you goofing off!"
"But I..."
"Shut up. Where's the money, you worm?"
Lolo looked closely at her mom. She was dressed to the nines. She was going somewhere. Probably to the bar.
"What money?"
"Don't give me that! I know you got money. You worked yesterday. Now hand over the money!"
"Mom, don't do this!"Lolo pleaded.
Her mother pulled back her fist to strike her when Lolo handed her thirty dollars.
"Here." she said.
Her mom stopped and took the money.
"I'm going to the club. When I get back, this place better be spotless or you're in big trouble!"
After her mom left, Lolo fell across the couch and cried.
"I hate it here! I wish I could get away!" Lolo thought,sadly, " I know, I'll watch a little tv. It'll be hours before mom gets home." She said.
She flicked the tv on. The news was on.
"Today is the 200th anniversary of Haley's comet. Astronomers predict it should fly over the earth so tonight be sure to look through your telescope."
"Ah." Lolo groaned as she changed the channel then smiled as the picture came on. Her favorite show was on. It was Biker Mice From Mars. She picked up her sketch pad and pencil and began sketching the mice and Charley Davidson. She watched and laughed with the mice as they knocked down Limburger's tower.
"I wish I could go there." She told herself.
As the credits rolled onto the screen, Lolo felt her eyes closing. Then she heard a horn from a big truck honking. Her eyes popped open as she found herself in the street as the truck was coming towards her. Its headlights blinded her. She was like a frightened deer.
"What's going on?" she asked.
For a moment it looked like it was curtains for her.
When suddenly three bikers rode up in front of Lolo . Lolo couldn't see their faces because they wore helmets.
"Don't worry, miss. We'll help you." One of them said, addressing Lolo, in a soft, gentle voice.
"Better get to safety, ma'am. This could get dangerous." The largest of them told her as well as helping her up.
"Thank you." Lolo said.
"You're welcome." He replied, then rode off.
"Danger is my middle name!" The third one said, riding off to join the others.
The three riders rode towards the guy in the truck. He stuck his head out. Lolo gasped.
It was Greasepit!
"No way." She told herself,"If that's Greasepit, then those guys are...
"You're going down, Oil Slick, 'cause the Biker Mice are back in town!" Throttle told Greasepit.
The mice headed for a junkyard filled with cars. Lolo followed and hid behind one of the cars.
"Ha! Ha! I got youse rats now!" Greasepit shouted out.
"RATS! Now you're talking trash!" Modo screamed, eye glowing red as a flame.
"Yeah, nobody calls the Biker Mice rats! It's tail-whippin' time!" The soft-spoken biker cried out.
"Yeah! You're playin' my song!" The third biker said.
"Time to take out this turkey!" The large biker said, aiming a metallic bionic arm at Greasepit. He fired. Greasepit ran from the truck as it blew into pieces. Lolo dived into the trunk of one of the cars as a piece of the truck flew past her. Unfortunately, this car was in the car crusher. One of the pieces hit the lever activating it. Lolo's saw the sides of the car crunch up. The top of the trunk had slammed shut. She was trapped. Panic and fear set in as she pounded her fists on the door.
"Help! Somebody! Help me! Help! HELP!" She screamed. Was this how it was going to end? What had she done with her life? She imagined her mom coming to the morgue to identify her body. Her mom.
"Humph! She'd probably be glad. One less mouth to feed." Lolo thought, gloomily.
Lolo saw the edges getting closer. She shut her eyes. Then suddenly felt heat. She opened her eyes. She saw sun and clouds.
"Need a light, sweetheart?" The young biker asked. In one of his hands was a lit flare. He had used it to open the trunk door.
"You okay, ma'am?" The large biker asked. They had shut off the car cruncher. He and the softspoken biker helped her out of the trunk.
"Yes, thanks to you. I'm Lolo. Who are you guys?" Lolo asked, though she already knew.
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Lolo ma'am. I'm Modo. These are my bros. The soft spoken guy is Throttle and the other one here is Vinnie."
Lolo was overjoyed. She was actually in the company of the Biker Mice! It was a dream come true. She knew they'd go away once they were done so she had a plan to have more of their company. She pretended to fall out.
"Hey, you okay?" Modo asked.
"That little bout with that driver kinda scared me." Lolo replied, holding her hand to her head.
"Hey, guys, what's...hey, who's your friend?" A lady called out. She was wearing a helmet and rode up on a motorcycle.
"We just saved her from becoming a car cruncher pizza, Charley-girl." Vinnie explained.
"You okay?" Charley asked.
"A little shaken up but fine thanks to these three brave knights in shining armor." Lolo replied, smiling at the mice who blushed at her comment.
"Sweetheart, got any root beer? We ran out at the Scoreboard." Vinnie asked Charley.
"Sorry, Vin. I've had a busy day. I wasn't able to get to the store today." She replied.
The mice looked dejected. No root beer! That was worse than no music.
"I can get it for you." Lolo replied. The mice looked at her.
"You would?" Throttle asked.
"Sure, I'd be glad to do it for you. It's the least I can do." Lolo replied.
"Thanks."
"Hop on my bike, Miss Lolo." Modo replied, holding out his hand and helping her up on his bike.
Lolo got on Modo's bike. He handed her a helmet then the four bikers rode away.
Greasepit watched them made his way to Limburger Plaza. Lawrence Limburger was in the lab of the evil Dr. Karbunkle. He had just implanted the brain of a dead pig into the head of Fred the Mutant. He was now stapling his head.
"Oink! Oink! Not bad, huh, doc?" Fred muttered happily.
"Oh, shut up!" The doctor said, stomping on him with his shoe.
"Ahhh...that felt good!" Fred sighed, contented.
"Hey, boss. Doc." Greasepit said.
"Greasepit, my moronic flunkie, where is the gasoline I sent you to steal from that oil rig?" Limburger asked.
"Well, ya see, boss. I was bringing it to ya when this dame fell in the street then dem meeces showed up and blew up the truck." Greasepit replied, nervously.
"The Biker Mice again? Is there no getting away from those meddlesome moles?" Limburger raged.
"Ah, but in order to get rid of mice, you build a better mousetrap." Karbunkle said, pressing a button on a lever. There before them was a giant mousetrap.
"Now for the bait." Karbunkle chuckled.
At the Last Chance Garage, Lolo sat with the mice and Charley drinking root beers. She looked around in amazement as she sipped her root beer. Even though she had seen this place on tv lots of times, it was still fascinating to see it up close. Smells of motor oil and grease permeated the air.
"It's even better than on tv." She thought.
"Feeling better?" Modo asked her.
"Oh, yes, thank you." She replied turning quickly to him.
"I'm glad." The gray furred mouse replied, smiling warmly.
"Thanks for the root beer, sweetheart." Vinnie said, grinning and then gulping down his can of root beer.
"You're welcome."
Lolo smiled then glanced over at a mirror on the wall. She got up and went to it. She couldn't believe it. She looked like a cartoon! She touched her face to see if it was real. She then looked at the mice and Charley who were also cartoons.
"Somethin' wrong?" Vinnie asked.
"Nothing.
"Now that we've got the drinks handled, time for dinner." Throttle said.
"What's it gonna be tonight?" Charley asked, " Hot dogs?"
"What else?" The three mice exclaimed.
"Oh, let me make dinner." Lolo said.
"You cook?" Throttle asked.
"I do pretty good." Lolo said, "Please let me."
The mice glanced at each other and Charley glanced at them. They then all nodded at each other and smiled at Lolo.
" I'll show you around the kitchen." Charley said taking her by the hand.
Within an hour the table was set. Lolo soon had the dinner cooking on the stove.
"Now that you have everything you need, I'm gonna go check on the guys. They get pretty restless. Especially if there's nothing good on tv." Charley told Lolo.
Charley left the room and went into the living room. Lolo snuck out a side door and followed her. She hid behind a row of tires and peeked into the living room. She could see and hear them all. The mice had removed their helmets to reveal three human-sized mice dressed like bikers with two red antennas protruding out of their heads. They were sitting on the couch. One was tan-colored and wore sunglasses. Another was a large gray mouse. The last one was a small white mouse who was in front of the tv channel surfing.
"How's everything, Charley-girl?" Throttle asked.
"Great. Lolo's got the dinner going. We should be able to eat soon."
"Whatever it is, it sure smells good." Modo said, sniffing with his nose.
"I'm glad we can take off our helmets. It was getting stuffy." Vinnie said.
Lolo bubbled over with joy. It was really them! They looked much bigger in person than on tv. She was backing up when she bumped into a small shelf behind her knocking down little metal boxes of ball bearings.
"Who's there?" Charley cried.
The mice tensed up. Modo aimed his bionic arm in the direction of the shelf. Throttle took out his blaster. Vinnie activated his flares.
"Steady, bros." Throttle said, then at the tires, "C'mon, out."
Lolo crawled out.
"Don't shoot. I..." She muttered.
"Lolo?" Throttle asked, surprised,"What are you doing?"
"You're...mice." She managed.
She had seen them on tv but it didn't change the fact what they were. Up close, they looked and smelled like real mice. Mice terrified her. She began drawing up and folding her arms to her body.
"It's okay, Miss Lolo." Modo said, gently, trying to calm her.
"We're the good guys, sweetheart." Vinnie said.
"I can explain all this." Charley began.
"I got this, Charley-girl." Throttle said, then to Lolo,"There's nothing to afraid of, Lolo. My bros and I are not from around here."
"Where did you come from?" She asked, keeping up with the charade.
"Mars." Vinnie told her.
"As in the planet Mars?" Lolo asked.
"That's right. You see, our planet got attacked by another alien species called Plutorkians. Here, I'll show you." Throttle said, as he leaned his head as glowing antennas touched her temple.
"Throttle is mind melding with me just like he did with Charley in the first episode." Lolo thought, excitedly.
The images she saw were hazy at first then they got clearer. A red planet with populated cities. Then giant metal digging machines strip mining Mars to a desert. Hordes of Martian Mice armed with weapons shooting at the machines. Some of them shot or knocked down. Then Lolo saw Throttle, Modo, and Vinnie on their bikes shooting at their enemies. Then a runaway missile knocking them off their bikes. Lolo remembered it from the show.
But the next images she saw were more graphic: Throttle lying on the ground,unconscious. Vinnie lying on the ground next to him with his face covered by blood. Lolo gasped. Half of his face was blown off! Fur and flesh hung down. She saw part of his skull exposed. Vinnie leaped up putting his hands to his face to stop the pain then collapsed. Modo laid next to him not moving. The flesh and fur from his arm melted and disintegrated. Raw bone and blood exposed. It was nothing like the show. Lolo saw what the show hid: Their pain, the anger, and the depression they faced behind closed doors. What they hid from others. How they tried to mask it away. Lolo pulled away.
"NO! Lolo ran from them, real tears streaming down her face. She sprinted towards the kitchen.
"Lolo!" Charley cried out, running after her.
Throttle looked down. The tan-furred mouse asked himself: Was it too much for her to take?
They all knew how hard it was for them. They could only imagine what that poor girl was going through.
Vinnie looked away, shuddering at her frightened face. Modo looked sad. He didn't like to see anyone he liked upset. None of them did.
"Will she be okay?" Modo asked.
"I hope so." Throttle asked, as he and his bros glanced silently at the kitchen door.
Lolo ran back into the kitchen. She backed up against the door. Slid down and sobbed. The horrible images playing over and over in her head. Those poor mice! How they suffered!
"Lolo? Hey, it'll be okay." Charley said, sitting down and putting her arm around her shoulders.
"It's not."Lolo sobbed,"You don't know what I saw on Mars. The mice hurt to the point of death."
"Throttle showed me the same thing. It was hard for me to take, too." Charley told her.
"How do you deal with it? I mean...What happened to them..."
"I'm still dealing with it. Everyday. I always worry about losing them. But those guys are fighters. No matter what life throws at them, they always smile. It always amazes me how they still laugh and joke after everything they've been through. I just laugh and smile with them. That's how I deal with it."
Lolo thought about it. It was true. They had a sunny optimism that didn't quit. They didn't dwell on the past. They lived in the here and now. They also looked to the future. Their main goal was to save Earth and rebuild Mars back.
"There's something I have to do." Lolo told her, getting up.
She went out to see the mice standing outside the door.
"Sorry, Miss Lolo, but we tried to stop genius here from listening at the door." Modo explained, pointing at Vinnie who was embarrassed.b
Lolo straightened up and went towards Vinnie and Modo. Vinnie drew back expecting her to punch him in the nose.
"Sweetheart, I..."
Modo looked a little nervous. Instead she embraced both of them. A faint blush shown on both their faces as well as surprise.
"I don't understand everything that happened but I promise you I will try my hardest to be a good friend to you." Lolo said.
Both mice smiled and hugged her back.
"So when's dinner?" Vinnie asked, when she pulled away.
Soon, everyone sat down and Lolo set a warm covered dish before them all. Lolo uncovered it.
"It's an old family recipe. Hungarian goulash."
The mice glanced at the noodles, meat, and vegetables inside of a rich reddish brown sauce that Lolo dished out onto their plates. Lolo then dished Charley some then herself and sat down.
"This is delicious!" Charley exclaimed, sampling a forkful of the goulash.
"Really good!" Throttle said.
"Not bad." Vinnie muttered.
"Sure beats dogs." Modo said.
"Thank you." Lolo replied, smiling and drinking in their praise like a flower soaking in rain and sun.