Chapter 10 At Your Door

Knock knock knock.

Standing outside of a house in Generica, Larry put his hands behind his back and started whistling. The tune he whistled carried every which way, even causing some people walking by to look at him. It was at this moment that Larry was extremely grateful he hadn't put on his Captain Metal costume before he had made his way here.

Knock knock knock.

If time felt as if it was dragging after the first round of knocks, it now dragged even more after the second. Larry made a popping sound with his lips, feeling as though precious seconds were slipping away. He tried not to let this frustrate him, he really did. But… gah, this was proving to be too much even for him.

Knock knock knock.

"Coming!" A familiar voice called out from within the house. Larry smiled, his confusion melting away like snow in the sun. Now, as he waited for the door to open, he imagined the things that would happen afterward. The possibilities excited him, making him giggle in a manner that wasn't too dissimilar to Lemmy when he delivered a pun.

After a few more minutes passed, the door finally opened. Larry smiled as he looked at the orange-haired Koopa girl who stood on the other side. Said orange-haired Koopa girl gawked at him, her eyes wide.

"Larry…!" She nabbed his hand and pulled him inside, closing the door with a considerable amount of force as she did. "What are you doing here?"

Larry laughed at Peppy's tone. "Just wanted to see if you were up to going out and doing hero work with me"

Peppy's face turned scarlet. "How…" she shook her head. "How did you even know where I live?"

"Duh!" Larry turned in a way that made it look like his head was upside down. "Wendy gave me your address!"

"Wendy…" Peppy stood silent for a minute before shaking her head and rubbing her temples. "See, this is the problem! This is why superheroes have secret identities, to prevent stuff like this!"

"Oh come on, relax! It's not like I'm a villain or anything!" Larry stepped closer to her. "Besides, you now know my address. Wouldn't it only be fair that I know yours?"

Pepp seized up a little bit. "Y… you… you…" She sighed in the most frustrated way possible. "Just… just come upstairs; we can change into our costumes then."

Larry beamed and followed her up the stairs. As he did, he studied her house; from the red walls, black trim, and very stylish wooden floor, it certainly was an interesting place for someone to call home. The red wasn't too bright or too loud; there was a level of charm to it that wasn't easily or readily replicated.

"Nice place," Larry said when they got to the top of the steps.

"Thanks." Peppy led him down the hall. "My parents and I moved around a lot when I was little, so I really like that we were able to find a place we can really call home." She snickered. "Although, in comparison to my friend Stormy's house, it's not that impressive."

Larry snorted. "You sound jealous."

"Well… I don't know if I'd go that far… but I will say that I liked spending time at Stormy's house as often as possible growing up." She snickered. "Seriously, there are ten bedrooms on the second floor alone."

Larry nodded and continued following her. Peppy took him to her bedroom first and foremost, a place that was a little… disheveled. Not so much that it warranted condemning the house, but just enough to be noticeable. In all honesty, it actually kind of reminded Larry of his own room. His room wasn't as clean as Ludwig's or as dirty as Roy's; it had just the right amount of mess. And seeing Peppy in this living environment… well, it made Larry smile a little bit.

"Okay…" Peppy muttered to herself. She opened up her closet, pulling out her Fiery Tempest costume. She started putting it on, which prompted Larry to do the same.

"You know," he said once he finally got the main part of the costume in place, "I got my costume at a store."

Peppy snorted. "Wow. Next thing you'll tell me is your secret lair is at a gas station."

Larry laughed. "Well, I don't exactly have a secret lair, but… huh. You know, getting one might not be the worst idea in the world." He started slipping on his gloves. "But that's neither here nor there. Where did you get your costume?"

Peppy's eyes twinkled playfully. "I can't tell you that!"

Larry's heart dropped almost instantly. "Oh." He sniffed, shaking his head as he let out a groan. "I'm guessing it wouldn't be 'proper superhero conduct?'"

Now it was Peppy's turn to laugh. "Well, I gotta still have some secrets to my name, don't I Captain Metal?" She reached into a drawer on her bureau, pulling out her red mask. "Fiery Tempest is a woman of mystery, a mare do well vigilante that only strikes when is needed."

"Oh." Larry snickered. "So, she only strikes when the iron is hot?" Peppy snickered and rolled her eyes at the wordplay, all while Larry took mental note of the joke so he could tell Lemmy about it later. "But… I guess you're allowed to have secrets." He pulled out his own mask. "Privacy is a right, not a privilege."

"Exactly." Peppy turned and got her cape out of the closet, strapping it over her shoulders. Larry took the time to admire her in her completed outfit. Maybe it was just because he now knew the identity of the girl behind the mask, but seeing her in the costume now made him feel good. "You ready?"

"Pretty much." Larry pulled his cape out and put it on his back. "If you want, I can fly you to our destination. Would probably make transportation a lot more practical."

"True." Peppy took the time to think about this. "You know what? That's not such a bad idea."

The flight over the Koopa Kingdom at this particular time… Larry wasn't going to lie, it was actually quite peaceful. Somehow, he thought that this flight away from Peppy's house was a lot less stressful than the flight to her house. He couldn't quite describe why though; if someone asked him the reason, he would probably hesitate for a long time and start discreetly backing away. Trying to put words to the reason behind this feeling would be like trying to explain what a rainbow was to a blind person.

Of course, there was a significant theory behind the origin of the feeling. That being, that it was caused by Peppy's presence. Somehow, gripping his hand in hers… it felt really nice. Larry hadn't held a girls hand before, not even once. And yet, it felt right now that he was doing it. He felt stronger, knowing that he had a girl with him who was willing to hold his hand and fight by his side.

"The Koopa Kingdom looks so beautiful from up here," Peppy said.

"Yeah." Larry sped up a little bit, hoping to reach a town called Ashenway somewhere in the southern region of the kingdom. "I mean, it's still not the absolute prettiest region in the Mushroom World, but… I dunno." He shrugged. "I suppose seeing things from new perspectives is nice in general."

Peppy nodded. As she did, and Larry looked down at her, he realized that there was more truth to his words than he originally anticipated. After all, didn't he have a whole new perspective right now too? Didn't he now know who Fiery Tempest was, and now had a whole new appreciation for her and a way of looking at her heroic deeds? He thought he did. He was pretty sure he did.

So, the two continued flying. Peppy didn't seem worried about falling at all; instead beaming as she gripped her hand in his. Larry mostly spent his time looking forward, just to make one hundred percent sure that he didn't bump into anything or overshoot his target. Of course, there were very few things he could bump into from so high up in the air, but… eh, whatever; he felt safer doing that anyway.

When they were about three-quarters of the way to Ashenway, a question popped up in Larry's mind. "Hey Peppy, I imagine that you will only want to be referred to by your superhero name on the battlefield. Am I correct?"

Peppy blinked before laughing. "Yeah, I think that would probably be for the best." She laughed some more, having the same energy that had revealed her identity to Larry in the first place. "I mean… it would be kind of awkward if some villains are backing me into a corner and you call out 'Peppy!' That would totally confuse the villains in question!" She paused. "Although, maybe that would be a good thing, as they'd be so busy trying to figure out who Peppy is that they won't even notice Fiery Tempest scorching their fronts."

"Maybe." Larry chuckled to himself. "But I think it'd still be best to only go by our codenames in a fight. After all, I don't want our enemies to know I'm Captain Metal, and I bet you don't want our enemies to know you're Fiery Tempest either."

"Yes. Exactly."

The two flew in silence for a few minutes, but only a few because another question popped up in Larry's mind. "You know… Fiery Tempest is a pretty cool name." Peppy smiled when he said that, much to his delight. "How did you come up with it?"

Peppy blinked. "Uh… well…" she scratched the back of her head. "I actually went through quite a few names before I settled on this one. Sailor Scorch really appealed to me, as did Fiery Spark." She laughed. "I also considered the Hottest Girl, but… well, that one didn't sound like a superhero name so much as the name of a magazine."

Larry chuckled. "Well, if it is the name of a magazine, you'd better tell me where I can buy one right away."

Peppy snickered. "Yeah." She looked down at the ground. "Honestly, when it came down to the wire, I had the hardest time choosing between Fiery Spark or Fiery Tempest. I racked my brain for hours trying to decide which one would be best."

"And you ultimately chose Fiery Tempest, I wager."

Peppy chortled. "Actually, it wasn't even me who chose the name." Larry blinked, looking down at her as a nostalgic smile appeared on her face. "It was actually my friend, Lilac."

"Your friend." Confusion settled in over Larry. "So… your friends know you're a superhero?"

"Oh no, they don't. I had just gone to her one day and asked, 'Lilac, which do you think would be the best name for a superhero with fire powers?' I framed it like I was trying to write a story or something. That's how she was able to choose Fiery Tempest."

"Huh. Cool." Larry looked ahead once again. "Well… gotta give Lilac credit; she made the best possible choice."

Peppy was silent for a little bit. "Yeah." She paused again, and the feel of her hand in his changed a bit. "She did."

The two didn't talk for a lot on the rest of the flight to Ashenway. When they got there, Larry turned on one of his new vision modes, just to see if there was ay crime happening in any part of the town. He didn't see much, which was rather unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on one's point of view). He wove in between the buildings, all while he started to wonder what would be the best next place to look if he didn't find anything here. They could go to Amber. That was the very first town Larry had ever done hero work in, and it was usually filled to the brim with crime on a good day. Yeah, it'd probably be the best idea to try there. Lord knows that he wasn't seeing anything noteworthy in Ashenway…

"Larry, look!"

Larry looked where Peppy was pointing. When he did, he saw… an admittedly strange sight. What looked like a little purple rabbit bolted down the street with a bag strewn over his shoulder. Some people ran after him, calling out as they did.

"Thief! Stop him! Stop him now!" Unfortunately for them, they ultimately ran out of breath and were unable to catch up to this odd little kleptomaniac.

Despite that, Larry's heart still welled with happiness. He and Peppy exchanged a smiling look. "Well well well. You ready to kick some bunny butt, Fiery Tempest?"

"Of course, Captain Metal!"

With one last grin, Larry zipped after the thief.