Chapter 3 Club Style

Iggy watched Roy leave. He grit his teeth and scrunched up his brow as he sat back down. He adjusted his glasses just as Bowser cleared his throat. Iggy let out a groan.

"Yes?" asked Iggy as he turned toward the Koopa King.

Bowser's forehead creased up, forming a compilation of ridges on his forehead. "Iggy, that was inappropriate."

"What; trying to help my brother get back on his feet? Come on, Bowser, you know as well as I do that he cannot stay locked up in his room for the rest of the month."

"Why not?" asked Larry with a snicker. "You spend just as much if not more time locked up in your lab."

Iggy stared at Larry before clearing his throat. "I have done so for scientific purposes." He smiled. "For example, I have come to appreciate the biology of a certain species of crocodiles. Apparently, the gender they are at birth is determined via the temperature of their egg right before hatching…."

Lemmy's head went clunk right down on the table. Iggy scrunched up his brow as the shortest Koopaling yawned and rubbed his eyes. He wished that his siblings would not be so undeniably rude whenever it came to his interests; not only was it insulting, but it was also getting old.

"Lemonade," he said. "Are my ventures into the world of scientific pursuits perhaps too complex for your inferior intellect to comprehend?"

"What? No! I just...I…"

"You what; believe that my work is boring? I would expect no less from someone who runs on caffeine and sugar just to get through the day."

"That's enough!" Bowser said as he banged his fist down on the table, causing the dishes to shudder. "If you can't say anything nice, young man, then I think it would be better for everyone if you just kept your pie hole shut! Got it?"

Iggy stared at Bowser, who stared back with heat in his fiery red eyes. He lifted an eyebrow, challenging his adopted son to question his authority. Iggy just cleared his throat and sat back down.

"Thank you," said Bowser. "Now, back to the original topic. Iggy, Roy needs time to let his wounds heal."

"Yes, I am not denying that. But I personally believe that the wounds would heal much faster if he did not coddle them every minute of the day. He needs fresh air! He needs sunshine! He needs to interact with people."

Wendy put the cap back on her lipstick and nodded. "Iggy's right, Bowser. Besides, you aren't exactly the best person to turn to about this stuff, considering you kidnap Princess Peach every other weekend."

Bowser's face flushed. He chuckled. "That's...that's…" he looked at his children, who all faced him with raised eyebrows, and let out a sigh. "Oh, alright. Iggy, what would you say would be a good way to get Roy out of the room?"

Iggy grinned as he pulled out seven tickets from his hammerspace. "I've already thought of that."

…

The music beat down on Roy's ears as he and his siblings entered the night club. He recognized the track as the theme music for Electrodrome, a race course in Mario Kart 8. People bobbed up and down and danced along to the funky tune.

"Woohoo!" Larry exclaimed, his voice just barely audible over the loud music. "This is going to be awesome!"

"Oh, I know!" said Lemmy with twinkling eyes. "I wonder if any of these people would like my tricks?"

The other Koopalings filtered in after Roy. Morton glanced around the club with his expression glazed over. He did tap his finger against the side of his leg in time to the music, which did help to differentiate him from a robot. Wendy came in after him. She had a long, pink feather scarf wrapped around her neck. She kept checking her reflection in her compact mirror, almost as if she was afraid her face would melt off. Ludwig's eyes lit up as he wore one of his rare smiles. Roy was just close enough to him to hear that he was humming along with the Electrodrome theme.

Finally, in came Iggy. The spectacled Koopaling grinned like the joker and rubbed his hands together, garnering confusion from Roy. He went over to Iggy, who looked ecstatic to see him.

"Surely, this is a place that you will find enjoyment out of. Am I not correct in my assumption?" Iggy asked.

Roy looked back at the crowd. A glittering disco ball hung over them, sending beautiful lights smoothly sailing around the room. On the left hand side of the room was an alcohol bar, and on the right, a snack one. The crowd itself was nowhere close to stopping with its dancing.

Roy took a step forward. "It does look cool. I really like nightclubs." He sighed. "Judy liked nightclubs too."

Iggy's brow scrunched up. "Oh no. You will not think about Judy tonight. Expel all of those thoughts from your mind." He grabbed hold of his brother's hand. "What do you say about us venturing to the snack bar?"

Before he could answer, Iggy took Roy over. Morton was already there, and he was chowing down on a plate of cheese-covered nachos. Iggy grinned at their dark skinned brother.

"What quality would you assign to this food, dear younger brother?" he asked.

Morton licked his lips to get rid of the cheese. "These are good." He picked up a chip. "I think I detected a hint of cayenne in the cheese." He put the chip in his mouth and crunched down on it. "It gives it a nice little kick."

"Awesome," Iggy said. He bought the same thing for him and Roy. He handed Roy his bowl with a smile.

"See?" he said as he picked up a chip. "Is this not delightful?"

Roy stared down at the nacho bowl as Iggy bit down on his chip. "Judy always liked nachos."

Iggy choked on his chip, nearly dropping the bowl in the process. He looked over at Roy with a glare. "Okay, perhaps snacks were not the best idea. We should probably head over to the dance floor next."

With that, Iggy grabbed hold of Roy's hand and brought him over to the dance floor. Larry was there, doing the moonwalk while wearing a tie wrapped around his forehead.

Iggy laughed. "Okay, that is positively ludicrous. You cannot tell me that you do not find that behavior to be humorous."

Roy looked at Larry and sniffed. "I tried to do the moonwalk once. I ran right into Judy, causing her to yell at me." His face fell into gloom. "I miss her."

Iggy's face fell as he let out a groan. "Seriously? Roy, can you not think of Judy for two minutes?"

Roy bit his lip and turned toward Iggy with a glare. He gripped his hand into a fist and grit his teeth. "For your information, she just so happened to be an awesome girl. She was…" Roy sniffled…."perfect."

Iggy shook his head. "Well, clearly that is a false accusation, if she was willing to break up with you like that." He looked around. "Why don't you go ask another girl for their number?"

Roy shook his head. "I can't. I don't have a phone. Besides, my head is already full of Judy's number. If I ask for another number, I would forget hers."

Iggy grunted, pressing his lips together in a fine line. "So? You are not likely to call her anytime soon."

"You don't know that!" Roy objected. "I love Judy!"

"But Roy," Iggy said sternly. "She didn't love you."

"SHE DID TOO!" Right as Roy yelled that out, the music stopped, causing every eye in the club to turn his way. Roy's stomach churned in embarrassment just as "Jump Up Superstar" began to play. "I uh...I need to get some air."

With that, he stepped out of the building.