Biker Mice from Mars
Hard Luck Trilogy Pt 4
What's His Frequency Karbunkle?
Chapter 5
Modo never realized just how Noisy a town Chicago was! Voices, animals, and machines of all types, and sizes making all kinds of noises, bouncing off the concrete walls and streets into a chaotic echoing rhapsody!
Voices in many languages were all around him. Talking, yelling, singing, laughing, and crying! Music too! Soft, smooth, slow, fast, and heavy! And the Smells! Almost even more overpowering than the sounds! Food, People, animals, vehicles, plants, trash!
Even with his now-dead helmet on, his two remaining senses were kicking into overdrive and filling his head with all kinds of sensory information! His big ears and nose were working overtime!
Even his Antenna seemed to be picking up on the Vibrations of the city! He could feel the air pressure changing around him, as they went from enclosed areas to more wide-open ones. He could feel it as they moved past the Citizens, and the vehicles moving around!
It was an awesome experience, that he was almost kinda sad he didn't have the time to just sit back and take it in, seeing as how he was really kind of busy keeping a death grip on Throttle's tail while they ran like crazy across Chicago while being chased by the police!
"Faster Big Guy, and Jump!" Throttle shouted out behind him at His Fellow Freedom Fighter as he leaped over a bunch of piled trash cans and boxes in the alley they were running thru! Modo took a literal Blind Jump and just managed to clear the unseen obstacle!
Throttle landed agilely, but Modo stumbled slightly and almost fell over! "Ung!" He grunted as his tail went taught and pulled on his sore backside as the Massive Mouse behind him nearly pulled him off his feet!
Modo wasn't exactly the most acrobatic of the Mice, but he was even more hampered now, both being blind and off-balance due to his deactivated cybernetic eye and arm.
His metal arm was being held up loosely next to his chest in a makeshift sling made from both of Throttle's two red kerchiefs, the one from around his neck and the other from the wrist of his right paw, plus a few strips of blue cloth from Throttles near shredded pants!
"Sorry Bro, sorry!" Gasped Modo as he fought to regain his balance. "Don't apologize, just RUN!" Throttle shouted back at him! The sounds of the Police Car's Sirens behind them!
They had been running almost nonstop for an hour now as the Chicago PD chased them across the massive city! They had literally been on their tails since everything went Fubar at the Warehouse!
Limburger has obviously been expecting them and made his plans accordingly and pretty much whipped their tails and whipped them hard! Throttle really hated it when He managed to do that.
They had lost their bikes, he dreaded telling Vinnie that part when if they ever get back to the Scoreboard Hideout. Then somehow Modo's arm and eye no longer worked. He didn't know what was going thru the Big Guy's head right now but could guess it was not pleasant.
Then Throttle had lost his cool and ripped into Hard Luck, Modo's little Foster Brother. He had all but blamed everything on the unlucky Blue Furred Martian. The Last he had seen of him was Hard Luck running off into a shadow-filled alley.
And the big topper of it all was Limburger had practically made them Public Enemies # 1 thru 3 and they were being chased by what appeared to be every Cop in Chicago. That and He had ripped the seat of his pants off on the fence. Yeah, none of this would be going into his Greatest High Lights Reel, as Vinnie would put it!
His butt really hurt too, and Modo tugging on his Tail was not helping any. "Hard Left Modo!" He yelled out and slid around the side of a building with Modo very sloppily doing the same thing!
Throttle was shouting out instructions as they ran, jumped, and dodged around the alleys and streets! They at one point jumped over a fast-moving line of cars on a busy street to lose the Police. As per the norm, all their luck was BAD!
The Police were on their A-Game tonight! No matter which way they went, the Police were barely a corner behind them. It was almost like they had a Mouse Detector! Throttle took a second to wonder if Karbunkle had built one for them.
"Fence Modo, Big Jump!" Throttle yelled and jumped up to the top of a 10-foot-tall Chain Link Fence, landing on the top, balancing precariously on his boot heels, He started to turn to catch Modo and help him over, but Modo was already right behind him and moving fast!
"MODO LOOK OU…!" Throttle started to yell but was interrupted when Modo cannoned into him! "Huh, Wha?" Modo gasped! WHAM, CRASH! They collided and fell to the ground in a heap!
"OUCH, OOF, UGH, AAGH!" They yelped as they hit the hard street, especially Throttle because he landed on his sore backside, and Modo crashing down on top of him! On the bottom again. He was glad Vinnie wasn't here to see this.
"You have got to cut back on the Root Beer Modo." Throttle groaned as he tried to push the Gray Furred Giant off him. Modo rolled over and lay on the concrete and let out a long rolling belly laugh!
Throttle tenderly got to his feet and looked down at the hooting with laughter Modo. "What's so Funny?" Throttle asked almost wanting to break out laughing himself. Managing to catch his breath, Modo managed to choke out a response! "You!"
"Me, what did I do?" He asked. "Haw, haw, LOOKOUT!?" Modo said all but crying with laughter! Throttle had to chuckle at that. "Yeah, yeah, sorry poor choice of words!" He sighed while smiling. "Now get up you big palooka, we gotta go!" The ever-constant police sirens could be heard getting closer already.
Modo got up but he was on a roll and didn't feel like stopping now. "Oh, you got me laughing so hard I can't SEE Straight!" He snickered. Throttle bit back a snide remark and shoved the end of his tail into Modo's big left paw.
"Come on!" He lightheartedly growled. "The Cops are almost on us, and I for one really don't wanna get arrested!" He said and started to steer Modo down the alley they were in. "I dunno bro, a nice quiet cell right now, I could use a nap." He said tiredly.
"Well, I for one don't feel like spending the night in a cell with the back of my pants gone!" Throttle replied. "I can also do without an Indecent Exposure Charge on my Rap Sheet!" They dodged around a big dumpster and around a No Entry Sign.
"Don't worry Bro, at your trial I will honestly testify that I didn't see a thing!" Modo Joked badly! "Oh, Har-Dee-Har-Har!" Throttle groaned. Modo chuckled. He did love to crack the Bad Gags. 2 cop cars appeared in front of them, blocking off the exit of the alley!
"Not this way!" Throttle yelled out and spun around! Modo just froze until the tail in his hand whipped him in a different direction! "Good thing I am blind or moves like that would get me all dizzy!"
"Argh Modo, Stop it!" Throttle cried out! He didn't need to get a laughter fit right now! Sadly, the humor in him dried up when nearly a dozen Cops ran into the alley in front of them! "NOPE!" Throttle cried out and once more did a quick about-face! "Shoulder Ride Time Modo!" He yelled out and bent and all but tackled the Big Mouse!
"WHOOP!" Modo cried out as he suddenly found his stomach riding uncomfortably on Throttle's Shoulder! They shot down the opposite way like a linebacker with the world's biggest football! "Way too much Root Beer!" Throttle Gasped!
"Holds it right ther-ahhh!" One of the Cops in front of them cried out before the stampeding Biker rammed into them and sent the cops flying into the piles of trash in the alley! Throttle then jumped into the air and came down hard and heavy onto the hoods of the cop cars blocking the alley exit!
CRASH-CRUNCH went the Cars as Throttle jumped off the cars, leaving two big boot-shaped dents in the car hoods! He kept going right across the street, dodging traffic and past some confused citizens who were standing around watching the show going on!
Throttle then carried Modo up a flight of stairs on the other side of the street that went up to Chicago's Elevated Train System. He then jumped a turn-style, ignoring the shocked look of the Ticket Handler sitting in her booth while looking at the sight of the oddest-looking pay dodgers she had ever seen!
"Outta the Way, Coming Thru!' Throttle cried out at the small crowd of citizens standing on the platform, just getting ready to board the train in front of them! They all dodged out of the way as the two Biker Mice suddenly went flying up into the air to land on the roof of the train as it started to pull away from the platform!
They landed with a crunching clang as they crashed down onto the curved metal roof of the moving train car! They rolled almost out of control for a few seconds, when Modo came to a stop flat on his back, Throttle continued and started to slide off the car on the seat of his ripped-up pants!
"Not Good!" He cried out! "Gak!" He then gasped as Modo grabbed him by the scruff of his neck with his big left paw and pulled him back up onto the train roof. Throttle got on to his knees and elbows and gave Modo a grateful look.
"Nice save Mega Mouse, thanks Modo." He said while reaching over and grabbing his left paw in his and squeezing hard. Modo smiled back at him. "No prob, Leader-o-mine, I just couldn't Stand to See you go out that way." He smirked.
Throttle dropped his head onto the roof, and nearly fell off again trying to not laugh himself sick. "Please Modo, stop with the Gags, I can't take much more!" He chuckled sadly. Modo just returned the sad smile. "Hey, if I aint laughing I would be crying, and No One wants to see a Grown Mouse Cry!"
"Oh, I give up. "Throttle gasped and fell flat on his chest. "I am just gonna lay here and enjoy the ride and the cool breeze." He sighed. They laid there in silence for a minute and caught their breaths as the train chugged along its track.
After a while, Modo broke the calm silence between them. "Do you think Hard Luck is ok?" He asked. The concern sounding heavy on his voice. "I sure hope so Big Guy, I really do." Throttle sighed. The concern and guilt on his voice vying for top spot.
"Modo, I, I am sorry for what I said to him, I didn't mean any of it, honest." Throttle whispered. "Yeah, I know, the heat of the moment and all that. "I know, what with the history between you two, I can understand it. "Modo whispered back with a slight growl in his deep voice.
"Hey, if there is one thing your little brother is good at, it's avoiding the authorities." Throttle joked weakly. Modo just snorted bemusedly. "Yeah, that is sadly true." He said with a sad sigh. They both fell silent as the train rumbled along. Getting lost in their thoughts as the lights of the City blinked on and off around them.
Out across the way, the lights of Quigley Stadium were still shining brightly, for now! "Hold still Dently, I just want to take a look at you!" Charley said as she tried to inspect the odd motorcycle's engine and parts!
Dently let out a clatter of noises and he bounced away from her like a playful puppy. "No, I will not tickle you, now hold still!" She said huffily yet with a smile on her face. "I think you two have been spending too much time together Sweetheart." Vinnie said as he walked up behind her and offered her a sip of his root beer as he munched away on a cold hot dog.
She waved the offered root beer away. "No thank you, and what makes you say that and who gave you permission to leave your corner?" She said while looking up at him while playfully cocking an eyebrow at him.
"I'll be good, I promise." He sighed while he stuffed the last of the hot dog into his mouth and messily chewed away at it. Charley just rolled her eyes and made an ugh noise. She then gave the mischievous motorcycle her best Mom Look and it obediently rolled over in front of her. If only that look worked as well on some Mischievous Mice.
"I mean you are acting like you can tell what that bike is saying to you!" He said with a snarky smirk. She gave him a look. "Even if it's true, how is that any different when you talk to your bike?" She asked him while almost daring him to try and explain it.
"Oh, that's easy it, uh, because I, er, that is I mean, uh…" He stammered as he tried to put his explanation into words but started having trouble right off the mark. He noticed the smile on her face, and He started to blush.
"The Guys have been gone way too long; they should have been back by now!" He shot out and turned and quickly walked over to the big open bay door to look out at the city. Charley smiled as she watched him walk off. Dently made a few rattling noises. "Yeah, I didn't think he could do it either." She said smiling at him, then stopped as her eyes grew big.
Maybe Vinnie had a point, but she shrugged. So, what if she were starting to understand Dently, but she wouldn't let the Ego Master know he was right. "Now hold still, I want to see how you are put together." She said to Dently again, and this time he performed a small miracle and managed to mostly sit still.
After staring at the machine for a couple of minutes, she let out a loud "Wow!" Hearing this Vinnie walked back over and knelt beside her. "What is it Sweetheart, you catch my reflection on something?" he asked while bumping his hip against hers.
She made a grimace and simply said "No." Even after all this time, she could still not believe the ego of the White Martian. It could be classified as its own moon. She turned back and looked at Dently. "This engine, I mean it's just, Wow!" Was all she could say.
"What's so great about it?" Vinnie questioned and leaned in to get a closer look himself. "I admit, it took me a little while to get where I really understood how you and the guy's bikes really worked, being from another planet and all, but Dently's is just…WOW!" She said again.
Vinnie gave her a glance and looked at the motor again. His eyes opened wide too after he took a closer look. "What the Heck is that?" He let out with a huff. "That doesn't go there, how can that go there, and that makes no sense at all!" He said while pointing bewilderedly at things!
"I know right!" Charley said with an exasperated puff! "Whoever put this together was either a genius, insane, or both!" She then pointed up at the compartment behind Dently's handlebars. "Then there is this, it looks like a Gas Tank, but it aint a gas tank, he doesn't have one!" She declared.
They both stared at the motorcycle with unbelieving looks on their face. "You're right Charley, I have seen a few alien machines on other planets, but I aint seen nothing like this!" He all but shouted. Charley was witness to another rare occurrence. Vinnie being Impressed by something other than himself!
Dently stared at them with his camera eye and purred his odd engine while again wagging his tail fender. He liked being the center of attention occasionally. Vinnie stood up. "I need another root beer. "He said and made his way to the fridge. "Me too. "Charley said and joined him.
They walked together back over to the bay door and looked out at the blinking lights of the city. The Lights of the city blinked on and off in a chaotic pattern all over Chicago. It reminded Charley of a Super-Sized Christmas Tree. "That could almost be pretty if I didn't know there was something horrible behind it." She sighed.
Vinnie just growled. "Where are the guys at, I just know they are out there having fun without me, they have been gone too long for them to not be having fun at this point!"
Charley just sipped her root beer and smiled. She knew exactly what kind of FUN Vinnie was thinking about. His idea of 'Fun' was the Life-Threatening kind! How he survived for so long, she could not tell, but she was starting to agree with him. The guys had been gone an awfully long time.
They both almost jumped out the big open door when the radio behind them suddenly sprang into life! Loud static burst out from the speakers for a few seconds before a barely recognizable voice came out! It was Throttle's, and he sounded all most frantic!
Running over to the radio, Vinnie grabbed the mic! "Throttle, is that you, its Vinnie, where are you, are you in danger, please tell me you need me to come save your tails!" He shouted into it. Charley angrily grabbed the mic out of his paws. "Give me that you moron!" She yelled at him!
"Throttle, you are breaking up, repeat what you said, over!" She said into the mic in a far more calm and controlled fashion. Vinnie was literally hopping up and down. He so wanted to run off and get into a fight, that and get his bike back! If asked right now, he wasn't sure which he wanted more. Oh yeah, and make sure his bros are ok. That is important too!
Charley repeated her message and adjusted the dials on the radio, trying to clear the static from it. The static was unrelenting and screeched from the speaker. She was starting to think she lost the call when Throttle's voice came out again but extremely broke up and scratchy!
"Char**y, Vin**e, it's Me T***ttle, Me and **do are in bi* ****ble, we ne** yo** **lp, bu* you two ne** to get out of *** Hide**t!" The voice came out, but it was breaking up so bad they were only getting parts of it and only about every other word!
Charley cried into the mic for him to repeat the message, and she kept trying to get the static to stop breaking up the signal, but no matter what she tried, nothing seemed to help! Throttle's voice once more broke the tension again but was still no clearer!
"Lim****er kno*s you are ** th* ***dium somewhere, and ** is *ending both *** Cops a** **e Feds to arrest you *** out now!" Came the rushed and garbled voice from the speaker!
"What was he saying, I can't make out any of it, could you understand it?" Vinnie all but hollered as his anxiety and frustration at the poor quality of the audio pushed on his nerves! His worry starting to get the better of him!
Charley shushed him, and spoke loudly, but controlled into the mice all but begging for Throttle to try again. A few seconds passed and then he did, but it was just as garbled as before, but she managed to get a few more words of it this time!
"Well, did you understand it any better this time?" Vinnie asked excitedly!
"You are the one with the big ears, you should be able to hear it better than me, but yeah I think I got the point of it." She said not sounding too happy about it. "Well?" He asked agitatedly! She glared at him but did her best to repeat it for him.
"It sounded like he said that Limburger was sending the police and Federal Agents here to arrest us and that we need to get out now!" The weight of what she just said suddenly weighing in on her.
Vinnie just gawked at her. "Wow, Really!?" He asked. He couldn't decide if that was Horrible or Awesome!? The Look on Charley's face told him he should probably go with Horrible! Dently suddenly started making all kinds of exciting noises and bouncing up and down where he was over by the open bay doors!
They ran over and looked out, just in time to see a long line of Police, and unmarked black cars enter the stadium parking lot and head towards the main and side entrances of the Stadium. They moved out to surround the area!
All the color drained out of Charley's face; she went almost as white as Vinnie! "Oh, this is not good, so not good!" She did not like getting arrested. She was flashbacking to the time Limburger tried to frame her for his murder! Only this time the Government was involved!
Vinnie was looking like he was verging on thinking this was Awesome again! Suddenly something occurred to him and he went back to it being horrible again! "My Bike!" He yelled out; Charley almost fell out the doorway at the outburst! She was saved by Dently quickly shooting his seat belt out to wrap around her waist!
"VINNIE!" Charley yelled at him, her heart almost bursting out of her chest! "What is your problem!?" She snarled at him while trying to bring her blood pressure back under control! "My Bike, it aint here, how are we supposed to handle this without my bike?" He grumbled like a teenager whose parent's took his keys away!
"We can just take…" She started to say but the overly excited Martian interrupted again. "Hey, we could take your bike, sure it's slow and got no weapons, but that could prove to be kinda fun!" He said with his imagination firing into hyper-activity!
"it's back at the shop." She told him. His ears twitched as this hit him, and she could see him start to rapidly think again. She wished they had more time because it was kind of fun to see Vinnie try to do something he doesn't have much experience with.
"Vinnie, we haven't got time for…" She started again but once more. "Your Truck is your truck here!?" She shook her head back and forth. "Hard Luck Wrecked it, remember!?" The memory of that still kind of stung. Her poor truck
got wrecked during the slime mold invasion and Hard Luck had smashed it up, accidentally of course, and he had said he couldn't promise not to.
The memory of that still hurt. Her poor truck sat idyll while she tried to scrape up the money to get the parts to fix it. Why couldn't life just cut her a break every once in a while? Oh well if wishes were fishes as the old saying.
"So, we got no ride, just great!" He growled. Charley rolled her eyes again. She did that a lot around Vinnie. She tried to point out the obvious to him, but Vinnie and Obvious didn't always run along the same path.
"Looks like we will have to fight our way thru them to get out and Go Save My Bros!" He said excitedly! She could tell by the insane smile growing on his face that he was starting to warm up to that idea. Time to burst that bubble now!
"VINNIE!" She Shouted to try and get his attention! "Huh, what!?" He gasped as she broke thru his imagination and at least for the moment, dragged him back into the here and now. "We have a ride, and he is sitting right there!" She said and pointed to the quiet Dently sitting right behind them.
"Huh, what!?" He spat out and looked at her like she was crazy. "I can't ride on that…I mean you can't expect me to…" He stuttered as he tried to put his thoughts into words, that would not get him punched in the snout.
Charley glared at him and was getting tempted to punch him in his snout. She walked over to Dently and put a hand on his Camera Eye. "Just what are you trying to say exactly?" She said accusingly at him. Dently gently leaned over against her leg like a cat rubbing against an ankle.
"I, uh, I, I mean, I got a Reputation to think about!" He said lamely. "I can't be seen riding around on a machine of that kind of…. quality!" Yeah, he knew he just shot himself in the tail with this line of reasoning, but he didn't have the sense to back out of it now.
Charley almost jumped into a barrage of insults to his ego when she got an idea. She would employ a little reverse psychology against the egotistical doofus. "Oh, well gee, if you don't think you can HANDLE a machine like Dently, well then I guess…" She said slowly, letting every word hit him like a punch to his well-chiseled abs.
"Can't Handle…!" He gasped in shock! The Look on his face was priceless. "I will have you know I can handle any machine this side of a Betelgeuse Baboon Battle Tank!" He growled at her! She smiled back and reeled him in hook line and sinker. "Really?" She said with a sly smile.
"Yeah, Really!" He said back quickly. "And I will show you!" He added and then jumped, and pulled a spinning twist aiming to land on Dently's seat. He crashed to the floor on his backside with a painful sounding thump as Dently quickly backed out from under him! "Ow, hey what gives!?" Vinnie growled as he rubbed his sore tail section.
Charley laughed, walked over to a table, and grabbed both of their helmets up.
"Looks like somebody else made the choice of driver already." She said as she tossed his helmet to him and got onto Dently's seat that he willingly offered to her.
Vinnie just looked on almost appalled. "Yep, looks like you are riding…pillion." She said with a smile and a look that said this was her being polite. She leaned back and patted the area behind Dently's seat. "Coming?" She asked. "Or do I have to save the day all by myself?" She chuckled.
Vinnie made a few disgusted faces as he put his helmet on and walked over and very reluctantly got on the bike behind her. "Oh, this is so humiliating!" He griped. Charley laughed and looked back at him. "Hold on tight sweetie, I wouldn't want you to fall off!" Another Glare from Vinnie. "Oh, Ha Ha, real funny sweetheart!"
Out in the hallway leading up to the door of the Hideout, several booted feet could be heard running up towards them. Shouts of instructions of look for intruders and be ready for anything carried into them. Then came the sounds of weapons being made ready.
Vinnie and Charley looked at each other. "Time to Go!" They said in unison. Dently needed no more prompting than that. His engine roared into life, and his two mismatched wings flopped down on his sides and his rear and front jets burst into life!
The 3 of them went flying out the open door and spinning up into the dust-filled night sky on a trail of fire! "HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, AWESOME!" Vinnie laughed and cheered! Charley just did her best to remind herself to go back and get her stomach at some point!
To Be Continued.
