Chapter 10 A Hero's Fight

The wind whipped through his blue mohawk. The sun shone directly onto him, and he stood up straight and tall because of it. Larry looked down at Amber, directly beneath him as he stood on the roof of one of the buildings. He smiled as he did so, thinking about all the exciting possibilities. Maybe someone would get the idea of robbing a bank? Maybe a poor unsuspecting soul would fall victim to a mugging? Ooh, or maybe there would be a shootout! Countless scenarios could play out in this crime-ridden town.

And Larry was prepared for every single one of them.

While scanning the town with one of his new vision modes, Larry smoothed out the front of his costume. Like his mohawk, the wind blew through his cape, making him look so much cooler and more threatening as a consequence. Seriously, who wouldn't be intimidated by him while wearing this outfit? He had been overjoyed when he had tried on the costume, and now, while touching it, letting the cape flow behind him, and appreciating how it would make him saving the day look unbelievably awesome, Larry's joy continued to rise. His official debut as Captain Metal was going to rock everybody's world.

Battery at sixty-seven percent.

Larry did a double-take when he heard that voice. He looked over his shoulder but saw no one. He stood still for a second, hoping that he would be able to hear the voice again and hopefully pinpoint where it came from. When it didn't come back, he shrugged. It probably wasn't a big deal. Maybe he had heard it from somewhere down in Amber's streets. There was no reason to worry.

As if to prove his own point, Larry delved right back into scanning the town. For the most part, Amber seemed to be pretty peaceful despite the robbery from earlier. Maybe that was just because of what part of the town Larry happened to be in? Yeah, that might have something to do with it. He was in uptown, and everyone knew that the downtown portion of any town was much shadier. At least, that's what Larry had heard… from Roy, who had a wealth of information…

Oh well, he still thought heading to another part of town was a good idea. So, he activated the new rocket boosters in his feet and flew toward downtown Amber. While he did this, he appreciated his new flying power. Sure, it had shifted every paradigm imaginable when he used it earlier with his siblings, and that was an experience that he never would forget. But there was something about this time too. Something that made Larry feel unbelievably happy, immeasurably content.

It was even better that some people down on the ground noticed him. They gasped, pointing up at him with dropped jaws. When they recovered from that initial shock, they cheered and waved at him. Oh man, did that make Larry feel good! He couldn't help but wave back, feeling his heart swell as the number of cheers and praises increased. Like, he hadn't even saved the day yet, and already he was being celebrated! Having a robotic superhero around brought out the best in everyone really.

With the cheers from down below still loud as ever, Larry landed on another rooftop. He ran his hand through his hair and readjusted his cape as he looked back down at the town. He frowned, activating his alternate vision mode as he did. There was almost no crime at all here as well. It was eerie, especially considering that this was Amber! Amber, the town where forty-two percent of Koopa Kingdom killings took place in? Amber, the town where very few people felt safe going outside? Amber, the town that the big brainiac Iggy said was the most dangerous in the kingdom by far?

Larry snickered when he had that last thought. Maybe that was the problem; he had put too much trust in Iggy. Iggy was one of the last people that anybody should listen to. He could run his mouth for hours without having anything interesting or meaningful to say. Wow, Larry couldn't believe he had actually taken the words of his older brother seriously because Amber wasn't overrun with crime. Heck, maybe the robbery from earlier had just been a one-time thing, an event that he and Roy had just been lucky enough to witness and stop.

Sighing, Larry sat down. He allowed his legs to dangle off the roof as he swung them back and forth. He popped his lips, all while considering where to go from here. Maybe he should try another town? Stonebrim had a high crime rate too, at least after sunset. Yeah, he'd probably have better lucky…

BOOM!

"HOLY SHIT!" Larry exclaimed. He bolted to his feet, trembling at the sound of gunfire. Where did that come from? Who was responsible for it? Looking down below, he saw what appeared to be some gang members. One, a pink-haired dragon koopa, had a gun and held it with such confidence and bravado. Another one, a brunette human, held an ice flower, which they activated while wearing a nasty grin. Other delinquents surrounded them, consisting of a variety of different species like goombas and Toads (huh, Larry never would've expected to see that last one). People ran in every direction possible as the gang stared at them, their joy from seeing Larry flying completely done. This, unfortunately, didn't grant them the way of escape that they were looking for, as the thug with the ice flower froze them in place. Once this was done, the member with the gun immediately shot the frozen people, killing them right where they stood.

Larry had never smiled so hard. This was it! This was his chance to be the hero that everyone wanted him to be! Sure, the fact that the gang had already murdered some citizens was bad, but Larry knew that he would easily save the others. He stood up to his full height, placing his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. His cape flew behind him again as he yelled down to the people in the street.

"NEVER FEAR, AMBER! CAPTAIN METAL IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"

With that, Larry descended. He made a little crater in the ground when he touched down, which in turn caused the street to quake. Some people stared at him in surprise before cheering and letting out laughs of relief. Larry's heart welled again when hearing this; how could it not?

"What the fuck?" the gang member with the ice flower said. Every other gang member gathered around him, staring at Larry with the most confused expressions in the history of the world. This was just funny to him, and it made the inevitability of him knocking them senseless that much more satisfying to think about.

Larry cleared his throat and looked at the thugs. "It's the end of the line, nimrods." He gripped his hands into fists, chuckling in a way that he hoped was dark and menacing. "Your days of shooting people are about to end right here, for I… am Captain Metal, the best superhero in the entire world."

This sentence broke the gang members out of their confusion. Unfortunately, much to Larry's annoyance, they didn't cower in fear or look at him in terror. No, they did what was possibly the most demeaning thing they could possibly do.

They laughed at him.

"What in the world is this?" one of them said. "This kid has got to be in middle school!"

Larry felt a pang. "Um, actually, I'm fourteen, so I'm technically in my freshman year of high school…"

That statement/correction didn't stop the gang members from laughing their tails off. Larry's own tail curled into a knot as he listened to them having the time of their lives. This has got to be the most humiliating superhero debut ever.

"What's up with the costume?" the gang member with the gun said in between giggles. "Did you steal from your baby brother's Halloween closet?"

Larry's tail curled into a tighter knot. He almost said that he was the youngest of his family, but stopped himself. That would just be TMI.

"You look so DUMB!" Another gang member laughed, the sound loud enough to make the ice encasing the townsfolk quiver. "You think just because you have a pathetic mask and a grungy cape you can be the hero?"

The person with the gun shook his head while smiling. He then pointed at the gun right at the youngest Koopaling, an action that caused adrenaline (or whatever the robot equivalent was) to jolt through Larry. "Time for Beddy Bye, little boy."

He took the shot before Larry even had a chance to run. He shrieked, tears following from his eyes as he held them tightly closed. Oh man! Oh Mama Mia, they just shot him! They just… shot… him…

Wait. If they shot him, how was he still alive?

"What the hell?" Larry opened his eyes and looked down at his chest. There was no blood. There wasn't even a hole. Just where exactly was the bullet…

Oh. There it was, on the ground right by Larry's feet. He stared down at it, feeling the strangest case of surprise. Did… did the bullet just…

"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!" one of the thugs yelled. They turned toward the shooter, who gawked at Larry. "Larson, did you see that? The bullet just…"

"It bounced off of him!" The shooter looked down at the gun, doing double-take after double-take. He even slapped himself. "What in the everlasting fuck…?"

The reality of the situation hit Larry. No way. I'm immune to bullets now? Pure happiness filled him. That. Was so. COOL! Larry didn't even think Titanium Man had that power! How sick was that?

"Larson," the thug with the ice flower said. They trembled now, staring at Larson for answers (even though Larry knew for a fact he didn't have any). "Wha…what do we do?"

Larson continued staring down at the gun. He looked back at Larry, who decided to stick his tongue out at him. Rage filled his face, and he tossed the gun to the side with the strength of a baseball pitcher. The way his teeth were barred made him look more like an animal than a dragon koopa.

"Surround him. We're gonna wipe that grin right off that brat's face."

The others nodded and immediately surrounded Larry. Larry watched them as they did this, all his previous embarrassment and humiliation from earlier completely gone. Instead, he gave the thugs the most confident look in the world. Why wouldn't he; with his new powers, they were simply ants to him! With his new powers, he didn't have to worry one bit about any damage they could cause him. If anything, them trying to fight Larry would cause more damage to them than him.

It was this thought that made Larry start chuckling. "Okay, guys!" He gestured toward himself, standing in a way that looked like he was leaving himself wide open. Which he was (like a total badass). "Do your worst!"

The thugs charged at him. Larry fully expected them to not even make a dent in his robotic skin, so we was profoundly disappointed when one came up and punched him so hard that he went flying right into a wall. He groaned as some bricks fell right into his lap. He pushed them off, grunting as he pulled himself up. He didn't hurt obviously, but this still wasn't cool.

"So they can't shoot me, but they can still push me back." He shook his head. "I'm sensing a slight discrepancy here."

Unfortunately, Larry didn't have a lot of time to dwell on that bizarre reality, as the gang now charged him. Each and every one of them yelled at the top of their voice, sounding so confident in the possibility of defeating Larry. And really, who could blame them? To them, Larry looked like nothing more than a kid in cosplay.

But Larry was so much more than that.

So, he stood his ground. He was going to defeat these guys, but this time, he was going to be smart about it. He was going to actually put up a fight, and it was going to be a million times more interesting than the times when he fought Mario. He got into a starting position. He took a deep breath, telling himself in his head that he needed to activate his rocket boosters once again.

He inhaled as he felt the rockets charging up. I can do this, he thought to himself. I defeated some crooks before. I can definitely do it again. He readjusted his position. Getting himself ready. The thugs were almost there, just a few footsteps away from being too close to Larry. He exhaled…

And shot forward! The speed at which he zipped made the bullet Larson had shot earlier look slow. The thugs screamed like little girls as he blasted towards them. Some even tried to run away, but of course, there wasn't really any way to do that successfully right now. Larry rammed right into them, pushing them back. When he let go of them, they went flying away, probably going splat when they eventually touched the ground again.

After a little bit, Larry came to a stop. He floated in midair, looking at the opponents that were still standing. Larson was there, as was the ice flower guy. And really, that was all there really was aside from a few stragglers. Larry laughed out loud; this was just too much fun!

"You guys are putting up a good fight… for five-year-olds!" Larry zipped towards them, preparing himself for a final blow with his sonic cannon. He had just gotten it out when a cold sensation hit him. He almost shrieked, but couldn't because of the ice that surrounded him. All the momentum he had built up, all the hype he had generated for himself… it all vanished as he fell to the ground while encased in an ice block.

The remaining gang members laughed. Larson practically sauntered over to him, looking like a wolf who was ready to eat Larry for breakfast. The guy who had thrown the ice ball, ironically, looked at him with heat in his eyes. Both of these sights made Larry panic; he needed to get out of here! He tried pushing against the icy walls, but being frozen in place, he had no chance of doing that.

Larson stopped right in front of him. "Well." He placed his hand on the top of Larry's ice block, and there was so much hate in his eyes as he looked down at the Koopaling. "I'm thinking we got back to our hideout and hang your frozen ass on the wall as a trophy. What do you say to that, you twerp?"

Larry tried screaming. He tried with all his might to get out of the ice block, but he couldn't. He just couldn't! He may as well have been pushing up against an immovable object (and Lord knows that Larry ain't no unstoppable force).

"Splendid," Larson said as if Larry had voiced his agreement. He hoisted Larry onto his shoulders, looking back at his remaining gang. "Come on guys. Let's get going."

The others nodded. The human with the ice flower spoke to Larson with so much enthusiasm, which was perfectly mirrored in the expression of the troopas and Toads that followed him. This sight, as well as these horrible, intolerably satisfied sounds, made Larry want to cringe. This was his first mission as Captain Metal, and yet, it hadn't gone in the direction he had hoped for. Heck, compared to the victory he got when he got the Donut Shop coins back, this was a total embarrassment. Larry wanted to hang his head, and he would've if he wasn't frozen.

Drat, he thought to himself. Drat drat drat. I was supposed to be something special. But… I'm nothing more than a joke. A complete and total…

The exterior is experiencing freezing temperatures. Activating internal heating system.

Larry blinked. What in the world… what was that? What exactly did that mean? Why was Larry hearing that voice again… oh! Oh wait, the ice was melting! The ice melted as a warmth spread throughout Larry's body from a place deep within him. Larry couldn't help but smile at this, even as Larson realized he was covered in water and looked up at him.

"What the hell is happening…?"

Before he had a chance to finish that thought, the ice blocks encasing Larry burst off of him. He grinned, flying up into the air before floating back toward the ground. The grin only grew more triumphant and exhilirated when the gang members gawked at him.

"LARSON!" The ice flower guy screamed. "WHAT'S GOING ON?"

"I don't know!" Larson said. "I don't know, okay?"

Larry giggled, in a way that probably would be considered highs-strung under normal circumstances. "You guys thought you shoved me down, but I keep coming back up!" He pointed at them with his left hand and said Activate sonic cannon in his head. When it activated, the thugs' eyes practically popped out of their skulls. They backed away from Larry, even Larson.

"Now," Larry said, his voice serious. "Here's the deal guys. You've already made enough of a mess in this town already. So, if you don't want me to blast you into smithereens, you will do as I say." He stepped closer, causing the thugs to whimper. "You will come with me to the police station. You won't object, you won't protest. Understand?" The gang members nodded, fear present in every single one of their features. This made Larry lower his arm, but not put his sonic cannon away. "Splendid."

…

The walk back to the police station hadn't been long in the slightest, but it was still fun for Larry due to the different people he encountered. When they saw the thugs, being pushed along by Larry while they had their tails between their legs, many people cheered. Many people thanked Larry, with some even coming up to him to ask for his autograph. It was nice. It made Larry smile so much and made his heart feel so light.

And when he finally did get to the station, the cops were beyond impressed. "Holy crap, it's the Scarlet Thugs!" the police officer (who just so happened to be the same police officer Larry met at the Donut Shop) said as they stood up from their desk. "We've been trying to capture them for years!" When they saw Larry, they laughed. "And it was you who did it! Geez kid, you are certainly making a name for yourself!"

Larry filled with pride. "Yeah, I guess I am."

The officer beamed as she put the thugs in cuffs. "You guys have a long sentence to serve." Larson growled at her, but that was the only sound any of them made. The officer began leading them away, but not before turning back to Larry and saying, "Thank you, Captain Metal."

"No problem." Larry waved at her before exiting the station. He had just taken a deep breath in when he was surrounded by all sorts of people, all clamoring for his attention.

"You're awesome, kid!"

"You have no idea the good you've done! We can walk the streets safely again!"

"You're a hero!"

Larry actually sniffled when he heard that last one. It seemed that all of his dreams were coming true on this day. Thank you so much, Fortune's Comet.