Biker Mice from Mars

Hard Luck & Dently

Episode 2

It's Always Sunni in Kansas

The Earth trembled! The ground rocked and rolled as large vehicles rumbled across it. Powerful engines roared and growled as the air was filled with thick clouds of choking dust and near-deafening noises! A very normal situation for a typical midwestern truck stop.

Semi-trucks with cargo trailers, along with cars and motorcycles moved in and around the small fueling station settled alongside a small country highway surrounded by fields of wheat that stretched from horizon to horizon. Mom & Pop's Fuel Stop, A nice place to get gas! This is how the store's big sign reads!

Out of one of the kicked-up dust clouds rolled a dust-coated Hard Luck and Dently. Both of them were so coated in road grit neither of their colors was tellable. Hard Luck's bright blue was quite dulled to say nothing of Dently's kaleidoscope of different greens, and splotches of rust.

They coasted past a gang of bikers congregated around the set-aside walk-your-pet area. Their attention was attracted by Dently's normal clamor of engine rattles and clanks of loose parts and mistimed blaring growls and roars.

Of course, being fellow road rebels, the gang didn't fail to notice a type of bike they'd never seen before going past them. "Wow, look at that, what kind of ride is that where'd he get that, man, that is the definition of Rat Bike if I have ever seen one!" Came the chorus of comments from them. Also, a barrage of a variety of dogs all barking at the racket Dently was producing.

Hard Luck gave them a nonchalant wave and was grateful that he had his battered green helmet on with the visor activated. He pointed Dently towards the Convenience Store part of the Gas Station and quickly headed and away from the Bikers.

He in no way wanted to attract any attention. They had stuck to the lonely backroads and barely used country highways since leaving Detroit and the Debacle that Misadventure had been. Getting involved with the Deranged and Diminutive Plutarkian Napoleon Brie and almost aiding him in starting Earth's 3rd Word War! So, drawing attention to themselves was definitely high on the list of priorities of things NOT To DO!

They rolled up to the Parking area in front of the store. Pulling into an empty slot next to a long line of the other biker's motorcycles and one very stand-out little scooter. It was a bright pink with a rainbow and flowers painted on it. it. Hard Luck dismounted giving the out-of-place little moped a look, he turned to his vehicular best friend.

"OK, I'm gonna get something, you want anything?" An eager rattle and rasping was the reply. "Got it, I'll be right back." Hard Luck started for the Store's doors. He looked at his reflection in the big plate glass windows. He figured he was coated in enough dust that his helmet would be enough of a disguise to hide his Martian-ness without having to put on his coat too. He did curl his bandage-wrapped tail around his cyber-leg just to play it safe.

Taking one last glance around to be sure no one was taking any actual interest in him or Dently, who was trying to start up a conversation with the little pink scooter parked next to him. Hard Luck just smiled and wished him luck and went inside.

DING! The Bell above the doors chimed out so loudly, that Hard Luck almost ducked. "Howdy, welcome to Mom & Pop's, take your time Sugar!" The Attendant behind the counter called out in pure midwestern old-school charm. She gave a big wave before turning back to continue a conversation with the patron standing at the counter. "Hi Mister, I really like your sweater, it's very pretty!" The next to the Attendant all but yelled out in a very happy voice!

"My sweater? Oh, uh, Thanks!" Hard Luck wondered what she was talking about when he looked at his furry blue chest and arms. He embarrassedly returned the gesture and quickly ducked down one of the small store's aisles. Not getting noticed was already going off the rails, so situation normal. Looking over the top of the shelf he was trying to make it not look like he wasn't hiding behind it. He did a quick sitrep. Not counting himself. There were 4 sentient beings in the store as far as he could tell.

The Store Attendant was an older woman, she reminded him of Davidson, only quite a few years older and slightly heavier. Her gray hair was up in a bun. Using the Zoom In function on his helmet, her name badge said Mom. So, She was the Mom of Mom and Pop apparently.

The Patron was also a human female. What was that description Davidson had used when she tried to fill him in on the peoples of this galactic backwater again? It had been hard to pay attention, what with Modo and uh… Winston(?) chimed in at the same time adding very wrong bits of information. Throttle laughing and making fun of their attempts hadn't helped either.

She was dressed in denim jeans, sneakers, and a bright pink t-shirt with a smiling Sun on it. It was almost as bright and cheerful as the expression on her own face. She had a small helmet in her arms, that was the same color as the scooter outside. So that solved one of the minor mysteries of the day.

Her dark skin was an indicator of a lineage typical of people from a planet's Sun Baked equatorial regions, that weren't smart enough to evolve something more sensible than skin like fur or scales. Although He had to admit she was kinda cute for a non-furred, and tailless biped. What did Davidson say that was again? American African? Something like that.

"Ugh, Mind back on mission dummy." Hard Luck mumbled to himself. Those kinds of thoughts were not the kind He needed to let cloud his judgment. A lesson he always had trouble learning.

The other two in the store were hanging out by the magazine rack. They looked like Bikers, but the type of Bikers His foster Mama instructed him to not hang around with. Nothing like the other group outside. That group had taken some obvious pride in their appearance and their bikes.

These two were the complete opposite of them. One Big and Fat, the other small and wiry. They gave off a vibe he could only describe as the Sand Raider Type, and not the Fun Kind. More the Mean and Dirty type. Very Mean and Dirty!

He was glad they hadn't spotted him at least, and he meant to keep it that way. For once luck appeared to be on his side. One of the things He was after was right on the shelf in front of him! Grabbing a bottle of motor oil from the store's little Automotive Section and making sure he was still more or less being ignored, he started to sneak his way toward the soda and snacks.

Sliding up to the Drinks Cooler, Hard Luck looked thru the glass for what he wanted. "Ah, sweet!" He pulled the door open and yanked out a Jumbo-Sized bottle of Grape Soda! Turning around he grabbed a big bag of chocolate doughnuts off the shelf. They were that cheap waxy kind you can only find in a roadside convenience store, but dang it, He loved em.

He could already hear Dently chiding him, but he didn't care right now but wanting to keep the motorcycle from getting too upset with him, but he was sick of apples! he looked around to be sure the coast was clear, and he stepped over to the Soda Fountain. Taking the bottle of oil, he unscrewed the cap and held the bottle under the soda fountain.

Pushing the button, several bursts of strawberry flavoring shot into the oil. Putting the cap back on, he shook it up to mix the two together. "There, that should make him happy, now just to pay for this and get outta here." He juggled it all into the hook of one arm and shoved his free paw into a pants pocket and pulled out the cash.

"Cheese, I hope this is enough." He looked at the crumpled-up wad of the few remaining bills, and the small jumble of coins he had left from the money that Davidson had given them. This Earth Currency system really didn't make any sense to him. Especially the pictures of those little green dudes. The looks on their faces creeped him out.

Looking towards the front of the store, Mom and The Smiler were still having a by all the signs a very pleasant conversation. The two roughs were still at the magazine rack. "Ok, just walk up there, dump everything on the counter, pay for it and get out, couldn't be simpler, nothing can go wrong." Hard Luck mumbled positively to himself and quickly strode towards the two Females.

"EVERYBODY FREEZE, THIS IS A STICK-UP!" An Angry Voice Bellowed out from right behind him followed by the sounds of weapons being cocked. "Oh, Fondue Me!" Hard Luck moaned. The Big Fat Thug slammed into Hard Luck's shoulder, nearly knocking him off his feet, and almost dropping his stuff!

"Put your hands above your head, do what I tell you, and I Might Not Hurt Anybody!" Fat Thug growled. "Yeah, Might Not! Heh, heh!" Thin Thug chuckled nastily from behind Hard Luck. "I just wanted some snacks." He sighed.

"I SAID HANDS UP, That Means You too MOM!" Fat Thug re-empathized menacingly while waving his sawed-off weapon around recklessly! Thin Thug giggled insanely and tapped the barrel of his weapon against the back of Hard Luck's helmet. "Hand up, Hands Up Sweater Boy!" He raised the paw holding his money up but the arm with the snacks and oil awkwardly balanced by his chest.

"Having trouble holding stuff? Here let me help." Fat Thug chuckled and pointing his sawed-off shotgun directly into Hard Luck's helmeted face, he reached up and snatched the money out of his paw. "Aw, cheese." He groaned. Thin Thug just let out another reedy chuckle while reminding Hard Luck he still had a shotgun to the back of his helmet.

Now with a freed paw, Hard Luck was allowed to put the Large Bottle of Grape Soda in his free paw and hold it above his head next to the paw holding the Oil Container and Bag of Doughnuts. Fat Thug pocketed the cash and turned and pointed his gun at Mom.

"Your turn, all the cash out of the register, Now!" Fat Thug growled while swinging his shotgun around to point at Mom! "No. I won't give in to a lousy thief like you!" Mom snarled at him full of Hard-Working Midwesterners. Anger flashed across Fat Thugs' face for a second before it was replaced with a nasty and very ugly grin.
"Oh, really?" He replied while slowly moving the gun to point directly at the Young Customer. Her eyes opened wide staring at the large weapon now right in her face! "You dirty piece of…" Mom growled under her breath while opening the cash register to remove the money from its drawer.

"Gosh Mister, you shouldn't do this, it isn't right, and I can tell you got some anger inside of yourself, but this really isn't the way to resolve it, you and your friend should try to get some help, I can try to do that for you if you want!?" The Smiling Girl offered, with a very sincere look on her open and positive face.

Everyone there could only Stare at her! Hard Luck and the 2 thugs with looks of disbelief, Mom only with a proud smile. "Aw gee, may, maybe we should listen to…" Thin Thug started to whimper before Fat Thug cut him off. "SHADDAP you little wimp, we aint listening to this, we're here for the money and that's it!" He snarled before once more covering the girl with his big shotgun!

"Fondue me!" Hard Luck whispered to himself. Things were reaching that point where it looked like He would have to do something…Heroic, and that Never goes well! Mom was slamming the money down onto the countertop, and Fat Thug was grabbing it and shoving it into his pockets. Thin Thug looked past His shoulder at this with Greed in his eyes!

While Thin Thug's attention was focused on the transfer of funds, Hard Luck stealthily uncoiled his tail from around his cybernetic leg. Thin Thug was all but salivating at this point, he didn't even have a clue that Hard Luck's tail was wrapping around his ankles.

With an audible Snap, the deceptively strong Martian Tail pulled tight and yanked Thin Thug completely off his feet! "Ahh-Ouch!" He yowled out as he fell flat on his back, clonking his head against the hard tiled floor!

KA-BLAM! The Shotgun in Thin Thug's hand erupted as his finger pulled its trigger! KA-SPLOOSH! The Bottles of Grape Soda, Motor Oil, and the Bag of Doughnuts Burst as the buckshot destroyed all three and its contents rained down all over Hard Luck!

"ACK!" Hard Luck cried out as he found himself doused in a concoction of a mix of sugary artificially flavored Petro-chemicals, silently thankful his helmet kept it out of his eyes! "What the…" Fat Thug Shouted as his big head spun around to see what was going on, but his shotgun stayed aimed at the girl!

"NO!" Hare Luck called out as he tried to jump forward to stop something horrible from happening, but the girl, with eyes as big as saucer plates, let out a loud "HAI!" Moving like a bolt of lightning her hand bolted out and her fingers poking, jabbed the Fat Thug in a couple of nerve points on his side!

"AAARRGGHH!" Fat Thug Bellowed as his side felt like it was being hit by a taser! His back went ridged and his arm with the shotgun in it snapped straight up, just as Hard Luck slammed into him in a tumbling tackle! CRASH! They collided with a candy display next to the counter!

Candy Bars and Metal Shelves crashed and clattered under them and onto the floor! They rolled across the counter, destroying and sending more debris to cluster around their feet, only adding to their clumsy struggle! Each fighting to get control of the shotgun!
"Gimme, Let go, it's mine!" They both shouted at each other!

"Oh Cheese!" Hard Luck cursed as the clutter bunched up under his mismatched feet, causing him to almost lose his balance! Fat Thug took instant advantage of this and used his bulk to slam Hard Luck back against the counter, right into the Hot Dog Roller Cooker!

"Ow, Ouch, Oh Curds!" Hard Luck gasped as his back and spine started to feel the heat from the cooker! Worse still his tail had gotten caught in the rollers and was being pulled into them while starting to smoke and sizzle at the same time!

"Burn You Blue Sweater Freak, Burn!" Fat Thug growled menacingly as he pushed down harder! Hard Luck's oil and soda-soaked fur started to singe and put off an odd smell with his tail getting more painfully wrapped up in the scalding rollers, he fought to get any kind of leverage to push his assailant off him!

He shoved up on the shotgun in their hands and against the trigger! A Loud BOOM thundered thru the small store! The Overhead Florescent Lightbulbs Exploded into Sparking Fragments that cascaded down onto Fat Thug's back! "Yowch!" He cried out! "Look Out! EEK!" Mom shouted out as she and the Smiling Girl took what cover they could as the rest of the overhead lights shattered in a rolling wave of iridescent chaos!

"Ow, Hot, Ouch!" Fat Thug continued to howl as his own hair and back started to smoke and burn from the hot glass on his head and inside of his jacket and shirt! Hard Luck took as much advantage of this distraction as he could and using his cyborg leg against the counter's cabinet doors pushed with all its mechanically enhanced might!

The Metal Foot propelled Hard Luck and Fat Thug across the store while destroying the Hot Dog Roller Cabinet in the process! Thin Thug just managed to get back up onto his own unsteady feet just in time to get flung off them as the other two crashed into him!

"Oof, Ouch, Augh!" The Three of them all cried out as they rolled and bounced across the floor before one final thump sent them crashing thru a large Storefront Window in a Glass Shattering Cascade out into the parking lot!

"HONK!?" Dently blurted out as the 2 Part Earthling, 1 Part Martian Wrecking Ball slammed into the ground between Him and the Little Pink Scooter he was somewhat unsuccessfully flirting with.

The Martian Human Ball rolled across the rocky dirt parking lot while making rather rude and painfilled exclamations! Hard Luck detached first and lay face down in the dirt. "Oh, yowch, did anybody get the number of that battle cruiser that hit us?" He mumbled while trying to shake some of the aches and agony out of his battered body.

The Thugs also came to a halt stopping a pile of twisted limbs a few meters away. Fat Thug pushed himself up and wobbled about, looking for the source of this embarrassing situation. "Whu, where is he, where's is that miserable…?" He growled while waiting for the earth to settle back in a non-spinning set of three, while also looking for his gun!

"Ow, I don't wanna get up and break rocks today, Warden!" Thin Thug whined from where he lay having been all but crushed by Fat Thug! "Shut up and gimme your gun!" Fat Thug grumbled and peeled his accomplice off the ground. He pulled Thin Thug's gun from his fingers and tried to take aim at the still-prone Hard Luck!

Not waiting for his vision to stop swirling, he opened fire in Hard Luck's general direction! BLAM BANG BOOM SPRANG The Gun Roared! "HONK!" Dently blurted as the last shot splattered off his rear tail fender assembly, shattering his rear taillight! KA-POW KA-BLAM! The Little Pink Scooter got hit twice and fell onto its side, its little chassis shattered and smoked!

"DENTLY, GET EM!' Hard Luck shouted out with his snout pushed into the ground with his arms over his head! Dently took a quick look at the little scooter and angrily bounced around and faced the attackers of his romantic interests! A blaster snapped out from Dently's side and opened fire at the Thugs!

KER-ZAP, ZAP, ZAP, ZAP! The ground around the Thug's feet erupted in laser-blasted chunks! "Ouch, Ow, Hey, OH!" They shouted out as they danced around trying to keep their feet from suffering the same fate! POW! Dently fired a grapple and hook attached to a long rope! It curled around the two Thugs, entangling them together!

"VROOOM!" Dently wrathfully roared! He spun around, yanking on the rope, flinging the Two Thugs across the Parking Lot! "AAAHHH!" They both shrieked! WHAM! They hit a Tall Light Post! Dently shot out the rest of his line and it wrapped up the Thugs, tying them securely to the Post!

The would-be robbers groaned and grumbled from their perch. Now that they were taken care of, Dently turned on his furry friend! "VRUM, RUMBLE, RASP, POW!" He madly rattled off, pointing out the wrecked Pink Scooter and his wounded taillight!

"Hey, calm down, I'm sorry about your, uh, friend, but don't try to pin this mess on me, they started it!" Hard Luck quickly spat out trying to calm Dently down while being sure to place the blame on the Two Thugs!

"Vrum rumble vroom?" Dently rattled questioningly. "Where's your oil?" Hard Luck rasped! "Uh, yeah uh, that didn't quite work out." Dently stared back quietly for a couple of seconds before the inevitable barrage of noises. "What do you think this stuff all over me is, Truck Stop Cologne!?"

The Potential Argument was interrupted when the Station Doors flew open, and Mom and the Patron came rushing out toward them! "Quick, Play dumb!" Hard Luck whispered to Dently who reluctantly started acting like a regular earth motorcycle. He hated it. He's a Sociable Mechanism after all!

"Oh, Mister, mister, mister are you OK!?" The Girl came running up, concern and excitement on full display in her Eyes! Mom came after but not moving quite as fast. "Huh, what?" Hard Luck took a step back! He never knew how to handle situations like this.

"That was Incredible, the fighting and guns going off and being threatened like that and everything getting knocked over and the big mess and then you and the bad guys crashing thru the window and more guns and the yelling and screaming, it was all just so NEAT!" She hopped up and down excitedly recapping the events! Clearly thrilled by all the excitement.

"Neat?" Hard Luck repeated, not sure that is the way he would have described the last few minutes. "Whew, I think I gotta agree with you mister, it was exciting, but neat, yeah I don't think so." Mom gasped short of breath but with a smile on her face.

"Oh, Cheese lady I, I'm sorry about your store, I didn't mean to wreck the place!" Hard Luck stuttered guiltily waving his arms at the broken window and the disaster inside the store! "What, oh no, you got no need to apologize for anything, why if you hadn't been here, who knows what could have happened!" Mom replied with a thankful smile.

"It aint no real bother, we were planning on remodeling the store soon anyway. I'll get Pop on the Job, and He'll have this all fixed up in no time flat. Pop just loves to fix and fiddle with things." The Smile on her face did a pretty good job of convincing Him that He was off the hook, at least for this one anyway.

"Oh, Gosh, and Golly Mister, your bleeding on your pretty blue sweater!" The Girl exhaled concernedly as she leaned in to take a closer look at the cuts and contusions spread out over Hard Luck's chest and arms, even with some small pieces of glass still stuck in them, blood still slowly trickling out.

"Blue Sweater, Oh, uh, No, I'm fine really!" Hard Luck stammered hoping to change the subject. "Gosh, your blood looks kind of green." She all but whispered to herself as she leaned in to get a closer look. "Nuh, no I'm fine, it's fine this is, uh, soda, OUCH!" He cried out as she pulled a sliver of glass out of his arm.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to do that, Oh your bleeding more now, here I got a First Aid Kit, I'll get it and fix you right up!" She said as she quickly stepped past him. "Ugh, No, ouch, I said it's Ok, really ouch!?" He snapped as he clamped a paw over the wound while trying to not give her a mean glare.

"No Mister you just relax and let her look after you, she is really good at patching people up, now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go call the Sheriff to come to pick those two bozos up!" Mom pointed at the Thugs as she went inside to phone the authorities.

"Sheriff?" Hard Luck gulped. "Yuh, You don't need to do that!" The Station Doors closed with the bell ringing, making sure Mom didn't hear him. "Fromage, that's all I need." He and Law Enforcement just didn't mix.

"EEEEEK, NO SALLY!" A High-Pitched Shriek rang out from behind him, nearly causing him to fall over! "What, What is it, What!?" He yelled while jerking his head around to see what new disaster was happening!

"Oh, Sally my poor Sally. "The Girl sighed thru tear-filled eyes as she sat kneeling over the little pink scooter. The remains of the pink scooter. The little vehicle had fallen on its side. Its tires are now flat and its frame is full of holes. Fuel and oil leaked out all over the ground around the Girl's knees.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble!" Dently rattled concernedly, he couldn't stand to see grown sentients emotionally vulnerable. "Shut Up!" Hard Luck whispered at him with a kick from his mechanical leg. Clang! 'Vroom!" Dently angrily rattled at the assault!

"Sniff, excuse me?" The Girl asked looking up at him thru red eyes and a runny nose. "Oh Cheese." He groaned looking down at the sad figure. "Uh, um I, uh I said I'm sorry about your scooter." He stumblingly replied while reaching down to give her a helping paw, or hand to stand back up, while also making sure his helmet was still disguising his non-human features.

"Sally, sniff." She said while wiping her nose with her hand. "Huh, what?" She smiled sadly and turned and pointed down. "Sally, is, was my scooter, I've had her since I was a kid, she was a gift from my grandparents." Was the answer given to the His confused look on his helmeted face?

A tear started to roll down her face when another engine rumble came from behind Hard Luck and a mechanical appendage popped up next to him holding a hanky. "Yeesh!" Hard Luck gasped, snatched it out of Dently's claw, pushed it behind him, and quickly offered the hanky to the upset human. CLANG! He kicked Dently again. "Vroom!" was the angry reply.

"Thank you." She took the hanky and messily blew her nose; she started handing it back to him but got a quick reply of "keep it." An awkward silence almost began to happen, but it was interrupted by a series of rude-sounding eruptions from Dently's exhaust pipes! Each pow and bang was followed by Dently forcibly bumping into the back of Hard Luck's legs, almost knocking him off them!

"Gee Mister, is your bike, ok?" She asked concernedly, while Hard Luck shot Dently an irritated glance. "What, oh, uh its nothing, his, uh, I mean, IT'S exhaust system gets Plugged Up and that makes him, uh, IT, it makes IT testy." He growled at his Testy Machine. Dently popped a couple more times, ensuring Hard Luck didn't miss his little signals.

"Uh, I, I'm really sorry for what happened to your scoot…" He started to apologize but was interrupted when the Girl reminded him of the beloved scooter's name. "Sally, Her name is Sally!" the name came with another sniffle.

"Yeah, Sally." He leaned down slightly to take a closer look. "She aint looking that bad to me really, a little bit of TLC, some new tires, those holes can be patched up, some paint, replace a few parts, and she'd be back on the road again good as new!"

The change was almost instantaneous! One little Spark of Hope quickly became a Blinding Flare! Her eyes opened up like headlights on high beams and her smile grew ear to ear! "Wow, Gosh, You think so, really Mister, oh that's Great!" Hard Luck gave her his most encouraging nod.

"Oh, Thank You, Mister, Thank You, Thank You, Thank YOU!" She gushed and before he could react, she engulfed him in a miniature bear hug! "Yeerk!?" Hard Luck froze up at the sudden and very unexpected show of uncomfortable gratitude!

"Oops, sorry, I've been told I can be a bit overly friendly!" She chuckled with a blush as she disengaged and stepped away from him. "No, really? I never would have guessed." He replied sarcastically. "No, really, it's true!" He could only roll his eyes at her when she said that!

Dently let out a snide-sounding rumble with some sneaky undertones that got him a dirty glare from Hard Luck, and almost another kick, but he was spared by another unexpected emotional display! "Oh, you're still bleeding on your pretty sweater mister, we really need to get you taken care off too!"

He started to protest to this, but she wasn't having it. "No, it's the Least I can do after all that you've done, I mean you saved both me and Mom, so I insist that taking care of you is the Least I can do to repay you, and I insist on it, really!"

He wanted to argue but the look on her face, it would be like trying to argue with an adamant puppy. He just couldn't do it. "Now I will go call my Granddad to come and pick me up with his truck so I can get Sally Home, and once you get done talking to the Sheriff, we can get you all patched up!'

"Yeah, sure that will be…The SHERIFF!?" He had forgotten about the imminent arrival of local Law Enforcement! He stopped and with his big ears, he could actually hear the sirens of said Law Enforcement approaching and at high speed too!

"Uh, Oh, Ouch, Ow, Oh I think these cuts are worse than I thought, Oh, We'd better take care of these right Now, I mean we should do that first, so what say I just give you and un, Sally a ride home, RIGHT NOW, I mean, I'll just take you on Dent, uh, my bike, get you home lickity split, and then I can come back and talk to the fuzz, I mean the Sheriff!"

He rattled that off at her as fast as he could shoot the words out and before she could respond he lunged down, and seemingly effortlessly yanked Sally the Scooter up off the ground and heaved it onto Dently's own messed up rear fender, who let out a grunt at the sudden weight getting dropped on him!

He pulled a rope from Dently's rear compartments and started lashing the scooter down and pulled a pink helmet from the scooter's handlebars and handed it to her. "Better Put, this on, Safety First, can't ride without a helmet, don't want nothing happening to the old cranium now do we!?"

She had only just gotten the strap on her own helmet nearly secured before he all but picked her up, half escorted and helped onto Dently's rear seat that he put in place. "Don't forget your seatbelt!" He pointed out, to which she gawked at it. She had never seen a motorcycle with a seatbelt before.

Hard Luck dropped down onto the front seat and did his seat belt up too. "Ok, everything ready, we should be good to go, so let's go!" He grabbed the handlebars. Nothing happened. "I said Let's GO!". Again, nothing happened. "Oh, come on, don't do this to me, not Now!"

"Is something wrong?" The Girl asked from over his shoulder. "What? Uh No. He's just, um I mean IT'S just being Stubborn!" He growled and shook Dently's handlebars again. A couple more seconds of silence went by when Dently's engine roared to life!

VROOM, ROAR, RATTLE BANG, POP, FZZT!" It died again with a puff of black smoke erupting up from the engine directly into Hard Luck's face. "Ack, Cough, Oh you smart aleck little…!" He groused.

"Is it broken?" She asked, looking at him and at the smoke rising up from Dently. "What, No, it just means I'm gonna have to drive." She gave him another odd look. "Huh?" He quickly looked back down at Dently and muttered under his breath. 'Uh Nothing, I'll get it started in a second." He flipped a couple of switches and gave Dently another kick with his metal foot! CLUNK!

With a Loud and Reluctant Crunch, Dently's engine started up again. "Ha, got it, Ok Here we go!" Hard Luck triumphantly called out and put Dently into gear and twisted his accelerator! VROOM! They flew backward out of control! "AAAH!" Hard Luck gasped! "EEEK!" The Girl cried out! "HONK!?" Dently Honked just as surprised as them!

They shot across the parking lot until…CRASH! They slammed into the row of motorcycles parked in front of the store! The Motorcycles, like big metal dominos, all fell over in a clattering racket of breaking glass and crunching metal!

"Oh, Fromage." Hard Luck cursed as he looked at the row of wrecked vehicles. "Hey, our BIKES!" A chorus of loud and very angry voices yelled out from the walk your pet zone! The Bikers all shouting, and cursing started to run toward them.

"They Look Mad!" The Girl Gulped. "Oh, DOUBLE FROMAGE!" Dently decided to stop messing around, fired up his motor and peeled rubber, and took off in a cloud of dust with both his riders holding on for dear life!

They zoomed past the Irate Cyclists, who were all shaking fists in the air, hurling insults and curses at them while calling for them to stop, with their little dogs all barking and hopping around just as excited as their owners!

The Escaping Trio flew towards the highway, just narrowly avoiding the Sheriff's Car with its Lights and Sirens sounding, almost causing it to spin out of control, which sent the biker gang all diving for cover! The Sheriff and the Biker gang all now shouting and hollering at them now!

Hard Luck not daring to look back just kept his eyes locked forward and tightened his grip on Dently's handlebars! He nearly fainted when the girl tapped him on his shoulder! "We haven't really been introduced yet, my name is Sunni, Sunni Daigh." She held her hand out for a few seconds before Hard Luck took it in his paw. "Why am I not surprised, Hi Sunni, Everybody just calls me Hard Luck." He sighed. "Nice to meet You Hard Luck." She said with a bright smile. "Right back at ya Sunni." He sighed, but with a smile too.

They raced down the highway, none of them noticing a large brown armored-looking truck appearing out of the dust. In the truck's cab were two very mean and ugly-looking Goons. "Don't Lose them." One of them growled. The Brown Truck with a logo of LP on the side took chase after them.

TO BE CONTINUED…