Chapter 8 Hero Time

The town that Larry and Roy found themselves in was called Amber. Amber wasn't a town the Koopalings often went to, but there were definitely things to note about it. For much of the kingdom's history, it had mainly been a factory town, with a whole assortment of different products being made and sent out from it. While not nearly as busy or as productive as it was back then, Amber still had many people working in and around its factories. As a consequence, the sky above the town usually wasn't polluted by volcanic smog, but rather, smoke rising from the factory chimneys. What's more; there weren't houses in Amber so much as there were apartment buildings, constructed out of red brick and packed together like sardines in a can. There was hardly any space between them, which meant most people had to run around in the open. Only those who were of the shadiest type of people ducked in the alleyways.

When the two Koopalings got to the town, Roy's eyes scanned over the numerous buildings (when he wasn't busy looking at Larry in the most uncomfortable way possible). His expression didn't rise or fall, just looked as blank as a sheet of paper. This proved to be the case until the two of them got to the heart of the town. When they did, Roy looked right at his younger brother. There was a real sense of confusion paired with the unease.

"So, uh… why exactly are we here?" He hesitated. "What's so important about Amber?"

Larry giggled. "Well, it's simple really. You see, Iggy had given me a lecture about the different towns and cities in this Kingdom. It was really boring and most of it fell out of my head, but I do remember one thing he told me about Amber." He giggled again, the sound high and spritely. "According to the All High and Mighty Ignatius, Amber has the highest crime rate in the entire Koopa Kingdom!"

Roy did a double take, possibly blinking too (it was impossible to tell while his shades were on). "Uhh…" he struggled to speak, looking at Larry like he was a crazy lunatic. "Uh… okay. What… why would we come here if that's the case…?"

"Oh, you'll see." Larry looked around until he saw a donut shop right beside the road, one complete with outdoor seating. He gestured for Roy to follow him, and together they took some seats at the tables. "All we have to do now is wait."

The confusion on Roy's face doubled, but Larry did his best to not think about it too much. He mostly sat very still, scanning over the town of Amber with his new vision. He saw the inside of multiple buildings with his new X-ray vision, and he also learned that he could take a snapshot of images, similar to how one did when they were using a computer. That made sense to him, as Larry had more or less been turned into the most advanced and awesome computer of all time, but still. It was another part of his new body that he had discovered, and therefore was willing to celebrate.

The two Koopalings sat outside the donut shop for about an hour. The sun reached its peak in the sky, sending midday sun rays down on the town. Larry scanned over the town a second time. This was weird; surely, a crime should've been committed at this point, right? When Iggy said this was the most crime-ridden part of the Kingdom, he said it like he meant it. Why hadn't it happened yet? Were the criminals in Amber taking the day off?

"How do you feel?"

Larry did a double take. He reset his vision back to normal and looked at his brother. He had a furrowed brow, and Larry guessed that if he were to move closer to him, Roy would scurry away.

"What was that?"

"H…" Roy hesitated again, tapping his fingers against the surface of the table. "How do you feel? I mean, going from regular Larry to robot Larry is probably a big change…"

Larry snickered. "It is. Believe me, it definitely is. But… but I like it. Like, really like it." He chuckled. "When you've spent your entire life not having power, just coasting by as the most basic bitch boy in the entire world, suddenly having abilities that make you the exact opposite is… refreshing." He beamed. "I feel like an entire world has opened up to me, one that has been right under my nose this entire time. I… I like it."

Roy nodded. While he didn't say anything, his expression gave away every thought running around in his head. This caused Larry's spirits to sink.

"But I imagine you don't."

Roy froze. "Um… well, I am happy that you're happy, I guess." He traced a circle on the table with his pointer finger. "But… um…" he wiped his brow, making Larry's spirits sink even lower as he took off his glasses and looked him right in the eye. "It's so different. So… strange."

Larry leaned back a little bit. "Well… yeah, I guess I can see what you mean. Something different and strange usually does require some getting used to."

Roy nodded, biting his lip as he did. This made Larry tense up a little bit. He was about to ask Roy what his deal was when he sighed and looked him right in the eye again.

"I guess… my biggest worry is that this will turn into something you don't like." It felt as though he was staring into Larry's soul. "What if you end up regretting it?"

Larry snickered, almost full on laughing. "Why would I end up regretting this?"

"Because you won't be able to turn back into you," Roy said. He seemed to squirm in his seat. "Remember what Iggy said, that Fortune's Comet only passes over us every hundred years? That means your wish is irreversible." Roy bit his lip extra hard this time. "That's part of the reason why I decided to wish for a basketball only; I didn't want to make a big change to my life that I would end up despising later. Just the possibility kind of creeps me out, so…" He sighed. "I have no problem with you making big wishes, Larry. I just want you to be absolutely sure that it's what you want." He looked him right in the eye. "Is this what you want?"

Larry blinked. A chortle came out of his mouth. Before he could stop himself, he was chuckling, and soon, he full-on laughed. He held onto his sides, all while Roy continued staring at him like an overprotective parent. On some level, this just made the question he raised that much more comedic to the youngest Koopaling.

After he got himself back under control, he gave Roy the biggest, happiest smile that he could ever make. "Of course, this is what I want! In fact, one could argue that this is even better than what I originally wanted!" He chuckled, looking Roy right in the eye. "Everything's just fine with me, big guy."

Roy stared at Larry before nodding. "Okay." He put his shades back on. "I believe you."

Larry nodded. All the while, he couldn't help but think about what Roy said over and over because… well, it was just so funny! The idea that Larry would end up regretting such an amazing wish was just so… weird! Under what circumstances would Larry regret it? Seriously? Larry had gotten pretty much everything that he could possibly want through making this wish. He would never in a million years end up regretting it!

"HEY!"

Larry and Roy both jumped in their seats. The door to the donut shop burst open, and a blue Shy Guy rushed out. He paused to check both sides of the road, and when he did, Larry saw that he was holding one of the biggest mountains of coins one could possibly keep. This made Larry's heart pump. He took a snapshot of the Shy Guy before the koopa troopa store employee came out of the store, prompting the thief to run away.

"GET BACK HERE!"

Larry did his best to hide his giddiness. He noticed Roy, staring with a dropped jaw as the Shy Guy bolted away. He slowly turned back to Larry, shaking as he did.

"Dude, the store just got robbed!"

"Yep!" Larry giggled. "Oh, this is perfect! This is exactly what I wanted!"

Roy did a double take, his jaw dropping even lower. "Wha… why in the world would you want this?"

Larry gave Roy another smile, one that he would readily admit was dangerously close to a smirk. "Let's wait until the cops come. You'll figure out what's up then."

Roy's jaw dropped. Even still, he nodded at Larry, looking at him like he almost trusted him. All the while, Larry's glee continued to rise. Seriously, this was too perfect!

And it only got more perfect when the cops showed up five minutes later. As they poured out of their cars, going over to the troopa so they could ask him some questions, Larry was all smiles and giggles. He gestured for Roy to stand up and follow him, which the burly Koopaling did after another second of hesitating. Together, they walked up to the cops, who were doing their best to console the employee as they asked him questions.

"It's okay, sir," said the officer, a female dragon koopa with a maroon shell. "Just take deep breaths and try to tell us what happened."

The koopa troopa took multiple deep breaths as Larry did his best to not let his excitement bubble over. "Um… there was this blue Shy Guy… they… they had a bullet bill blaster, and they asked me to give them all the money I had in the cash register, a medium hot, extra extra coffee, and a box full of muffins." He shivered. "It… I almost passed out! It was horrifying!"

The cop nodded and got out a notepad. "Ah, yep. The classic eat-and-run. This happens a lot." She wrote some things down. "Did you happen to see where they went?" The troopa shook their head, causing the officer to frown. "Well, don't worry. With all of Amber's finest cops working together, we'll be able to track down that thief and bring him to justice."

It was at this point that Larry decided to speak up. "Um, actually ma'am, I was thinking me and my brother could go after the thief?"

Everyone present did a double take. The cop gave Larry a raised eyebrow while the troopa looked absolutely taken aback. Meanwhile, Roy looked shocked enough to provide electricity to an entire city.

"Dude!" Roy whispered. "What are you doing?"

Larry ignored him and stepped closer to the cop. "I saw exactly where he went. I can track him down and get those coins back for you?"

With their eyebrow still raised, the cop examined Larry from head to toe. "Um… no offense kid, but you don't look capable of handling such a tough job. Why don't you leave this to the professionals?"

Larry just chuckled. "I may not look like much, but I can tell you that I sure do pack a punch!" He beamed at the cop. "Trust me officer; I can take on any criminal that I happen to come across."

The cop stared into his eyes before snickering. "Yeah, okay." She opened her mouth, ready to say more. Before she could, however, Larry interrupted.

"Great!" He turned to Roy. "Come on ole boy; let's go bust some baddies!"

The cops jaw dropped, but Larry ignored that as he and Roy began walking away. Once they were a good distance away, Larry leaned in close to his brother.

"Just out of curiosity, you have your bill blaster in your hammerspace, right bro?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

"Uh… yeah, I do…" he shook his head. "But Larry, we can't do this! This is insane! The cop was right; this is something that we need to leave to the professionals."

Larry frowned. "Roy, it'll be fine. I know it will; I have powers now."

"Yeah, but you've had them for less than a day! I highly doubt that you know how to work them yet!" Roy began to sweat. "Come on Larry; let's just go back home."

Larry stopped walking. He sighed and looked up at his brother. "Look, if you want to go home, then that's fine. I'm not going to stop you. But I still want to do this." He stood up straight. "People with powers are supposed to use them to fight for good. That's why there are so many superheroes. Titanium Man is a superhero, and I wished to be like him. So, that's exactly what I'm going to do." He turned and took four steps forward. He was fully prepared for Roy to bail out, to head back to the Castle and leave Larry to do this job all by himself. Fortunately, much to Larry's relief, Roy relented with a sigh.

"Okay, okay, I'll come with you." He followed his little brother. "But I'm only doing it because I don't want you to get your ass handed to you."

Larry grinned. "Thanks, man. I appreciate it." Larry tapped the side of his head, activating his thermal heat vision before looking back down at the ground. "Okay, I see the Shy Guy's heat signature. Let's follow that."

Roy nodded, and together, they did just that. The path led throughout Amber, past multiple factories and down hundreds of paved roads. At one point in their journey, Roy expressed doubt that they were following the right trail. Larry just assured him that they were and continued along the path. It took about forty-five minutes, but they soon found the Shy Guy's destination. It was an old, decrepit, decaying factory, falling apart at the seams while simultaneously sporting some of the most tasteless graffiti drawings that Larry had ever seen in his life. The youngest Koopaling tapped on his head again to see inside of the building. When he did, he frowned.

"Huh. The Shy Guy is there." He squinted. "However, there is a sledge brother and a human with him. And it looks like the human has some fire flowers stocked in his pocket." He reset his vision back to normal and turned back to Roy. "So, we may or might not have our work cut out for us."

"I… yeah." Roy reached into his hammerspace and pulled out his bullet bill blaster. "Still, we can probably take them out if we stick together."

Larry nodded while wearing the most confident look in the world. "Oh, I know we can."

With that, they entered the building. The inside was just as gunky and as pitiful as the outside; Larry had a feeling that if he were to step in the wrong way or lean against the wrong wall, the whole building would collapse in on itself. There was also something very eerie about the building. Maybe it was because it was being used as a hideout for some shady criminals, but it felt as though Larry and Roy shouldn't be here. It was like there were some invisible eyes tucked in the walls, consistently staring at them and assessing their every move. Larry even whimpered at one point, despite his confidence. It was a good thing Roy was there, as he patted Larry's shoulder in one of the most comforting ways ever. This gave Larry the strength he needed to continue.

When they got deeper into the building, the voices of the criminals could be heard. Larry stopped to listen to what their dirty, disgusting mouths were talking about.

"Man, you outdid yourself Bill!" said one (Larry was guessing it was the sledge brother because of how deep it was).

"Why thank you!" This voice undoubtedly belonged to the Blue Shy Guy, as it was muffled to Hell and back. "It was almost too easy. I really think my skills are improving!"

Laughter rang out, which probably belonged to the human. "That's great! We'll be able to make names for ourselves soon enough boys; just you wait!"

Larry actually grinned when he heard this. Oh no boys; I think your legacy of crime is about to end now. He looked back at Roy, gripping tightly onto his bullet bill blaster. They tiptoed together until they came to the door leading to the main part of the hideout.

Larry put his hand on the knob. "You ready for this, Roy?"

Roy adjusted his bill blaster and nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Larry smiled. Taking in a deep breath, he turned the knob. He slammed the door open, jumping into the room and surprising the criminals in the most unorthodox way possible.

"What the…?" the humans asked.

"IT'S THE END OF THE LINE, BUCKOS!" Larry yelled. "HAND OVER THE MONEY, OR YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"

The criminals remained shocked for a second before chuckling. "It's just two kids!" The Shy Guy said. He turned to his comrades. "Gary, Andy, take them out!"

"With pleasure," the human said. They reached into their pocket and pulled out a fire flower. The sledge brother got out their hammer just as they activated the power-up.

"Eat fireballs, you little shits!"

The human began spamming the fireballs. Roy and Larry shrieked and jumped out of the way. Gritting his teeth, Roy brandished his bill blaster and shot it toward the human. He used homing bills, which were the one of the most dangerous bills available to shoot from a blaster. Larry expected those to be the trick to knocking the human down a peg, but they simply jumped on the bills and continued spamming fireballs. The only thing that prevented Roy from being scorched was the bill blaster, which acted as a shield.

Even still, this sight pissed Larry off to no end. "YOU LEAVE MY BROTHER ALONE, YOU SCUM!" He rushed forward and bounced on the human's head, causing the power-up deactivation noise to ring through the room. The human groaned as Larry stood on top of him, much to the Koopaling's delight. Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to celebrate, as the sledge brother picked him up by the hair and threw him across the room. Because of his new robot immunity, it didn't hurt. However, it did cause some bricks to rain down from the ceiling, trapping Larry. He tried to push them off as the human ate another fire flower.

"You brats really should be home in bed," the human said as he aimed a flaming fist at Roy. "But since you aren't, we'll happily send you to bed ourselves."

With that, they aimed more fireballs. Larry couldn't see him from the bottom of the pile, but he did hear his brother grunting and sucking some air through his teeth. Larry tried his best to lift the blocks off of him, but the sledge brother ground pounded right as he did. This not only caused more bricks to rain down, but from what Larry could hear, it also stunned Roy in place. His heart pumping, Larry tried once again to free himself.

THWACK! "AWW!"

Larry heard Roy making contact with the wall due to the sledge brother's punch. He groaned, and the criminals rushed toward him. To Larry's horror, he heard multiple fists come in contact with Roy's body. Every time they made a direct hit, the Koopaling would let out the most pained grunts and shouts imaginable. It broke Larry's heart.

"You…" the human punched Roy. "Are…" they punched him again, making Roy shriek. "Absolutely…" one more punch. "ANNOYING!" He threw a boatload of fireballs. The screaming from Roy, coupled with the smoky smell, made Larry enter a mode of panic that he never experienced before.

No! He pushed against the bricks. You can't hurt my brother! He grunted, exerting all the strength he had at his disposal to get rid of the bricks. NO ONE HURTS MY BROTHER! NOT ON MY WATCH! With an effort-filled yell that shook the building's very foundation, Larry pushed the bricks off of him. The criminals stopped beating up Roy and turned to Larry with dropped jaws. Seething, Larry stared all of them down. He was like a predator. And they were just about to learn that they were the prey.

"End of the line, bozos." He pointed his arm at them, shouting Laser cannon in his head. The criminals watched, dumbfounded and shocked, as Larry's arm morphed into the weapon that was going to spell their demise. "End. Of. The. Line."

With that, Larry shot sonic blasts at them. The criminals shrieked little girls, running away from Roy's bruised and burnt body like it never held their interest in the first place. The more sonic blasts Larry fired, the more frenzied and afraid they became.

"GUYS!" shouted the sledge brother. "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"

The two others nodded and bolted toward the exit. Unfortunately, before they could bolt out the door, Larry shot another sonic blast at the ceiling. Debris and brick came down, raining on top of all of them. The three shrieked, putting their hands to their heads. Before they even had a chance to make an escape, the bricks fell on top of them, burying them all. Their muffled screams fell on Larry's ears, but he felt no sympathy towards them. All he felt was glee and satisfaction that he was able to stop them. Those feelings only continued to grow, and for a second, the world melted away. All his troubles, all his doubts, all his worries went away as the truth sank in.

He stopped some criminals.

He couldn't believe this! Really, he couldn't! Yesterday, if someone told him that he was going to stop three criminals with this much ease, he would've laughed them off and called them crazy. It… it was almost too good to be true! Seriously, was there a more amazing or exhilarating feeling in the world? Larry felt as though he had accomplished a task worthy of fifty Koopble Prizes. It… he really couldn't believe this was happening!

Regardless, he didn't have a lot of time to celebrate. After letting out a breath, he made his way over to Roy. He cringed when he saw all the wounds his brother had received.

"Dude, are you alright?"

Roy grunted. "Yeah. It's… it's just a scratch…" he tried to stand up, but winced and collapsed back to the ground when he did.

Larry felt a pang. "Don't worry bro, I got you." He hoisted Roy over his shoulder. The day before, he never would've been able to do that, as Roy was too big and Larry was too weak. But this time, he did it with ease. Keeping a firm grip on his brother, he made his way across the room, grabbed the coins the Shy Guy stole, and put them away in his hammerspace. It was only then that he began making his way toward the exit.

"Larry," Roy groaned as Larry stepped over the pile the criminals were under.

"I know bro, I know." Larry's lip quivered. "I'm really sorry that you got hurt. If I had known that you would…"

"Oh dude, that's no big deal!" Even with the hurt in his voice, Roy still sounded excited. "You… you stopped them Larry! You're a hero!"

Larry came to a stop when he heard that. "A… a hero?" He thought about that, becoming more and more giddy as he did. "I… I guess so."

"Yeah!" Roy said. "You did a really good job!"

"Thanks," Larry said, his insides feeling fluttery. He almost wanted to do a victory dance, like he did so often when he beat his siblings in Mario Kart. However, after a second, he decided against it, cleared his throat, and faced forward again. "But let's not dwell on that. We need to return the coins and get you some medical attention."

"Sounds good."