AN: Hey everyone. I have an announcement to make. As soon as I am finished with this story and have started Episode 39, I will start writing and publishing SK "Prequel Episodes." They will take place before Celia's Dad in the timeline and will be labeled like this: "Super Koopalings Episode 0.0," "Super Koopalings Episode 0.1," etc. Now, I won't be stopping everything to write those episodes; they will just be side projects, and I will be writing the mainline episodes at the same time. So… yeah, to those looking forward to SK episodes 39 and 40, don't worry :)

So… anyway, yeah. Just thought I should let you all know. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 13 Hit That

It didn't take long after the outing with Peppy for Larry to return home. And when he did, he immediately went to his siblings and told them everything that Peppy had told him. He didn't leave out a single detail; this story was amazing, so leaving stuff out would be a true detriment. The results of that decision were amazing; the jaws of all the other Koopalings dropped, and their excitement levels were visible to anyone with eyes and ears. As such, Larry's own emotions climbed even higher.

"It was so cool!" Larry exclaimed. "I had no idea that my superhero career could do that!"

"Well, these things do happen," Wendy said. "Things you do have impacts on people without anyone ever realizing it." She smiled. "In some ways, the fact that you never intended it to happen makes it all the more amazing. More beautiful."

"I agree!" Larry puffed out his chest while wearing the proudest grin ever. "This is just… wow." He giggled, feeling more and more like he had all reason in the world to be proud of himself. "I was excited about a partnership with Peppy before, but now? Now…" He laughed and shook his head, all while most of his siblings smiled.

"Well, that's great, Larry!" Roy got up and came over to him. "We like seeing you so excited." He patted Larry's shoulder but suddenly stopped. He stood still and silent for quite a while, and he gave Larry an interesting face. It was quite hard to read; he looked giddy, but also somewhat… cheeky? It was odd; that was the best way Larry could describe it.

"What?" He asked Roy.

Roy just giggled. Larry looked at his other siblings, hoping that they would have more luck decoding Roy's behavior than he did. All five of them just sat there, observing this interaction with faces that screamed that they knew one hundred percent what was going on. This made Larry even more confused, and his confusion only increased when his family all started to giggle.

"What?" he asked again. He turned back to Roy, who was also falling into a giggling fit of his own. "What is going on with you guys? What did I say or do that was so funny?"

Lemmy giggled. "Wow, are you clueless. It's adorable."

Now Larry was growing frustrated. He frowned, hoping his siblings would pull back the curtain soon. Otherwise, they were all going to be in for a world of pain. Thankfully, Roy finally decided to speak up (took him long enough).

"I bet that the fact that your partner is a pretty girl makes it all the better."

Larry blinked. He picked up on an implication contained within Roy's words but decided to just ignore that for now. Instead, he sniffed and put on a smile.

"Well… I'll admit that Peppy is very pretty." He sighed. "She's also funny, smart, and kicks some serious ass." Now it was his turn to chuckle. "In many ways, she's the ideal superhero partner. She fills a role that no one else could, and she does so effortlessly. The way she approaches the superhero life is pretty admirable. So… yeah, she's pretty cool overall."

The others blinked. "Wow," said Ludwig. He paused before smirking. "You are so gonna hit that."

Larry almost gasped and jumped back. "WHAT? Are you crazy?"

"Not as crazy as you are for Pepita, as the evidence leads us to believe," said Iggy, who was doing his best to not fall into a laughing fit.

"And I must say, I think it'd be interesting if you were into my best friend," Wendy said. She got up, smirking as she put her hands on Larry's shoulders. "Just promise me that you won't break up with her. If I'm not able to hang out with her because my brother started and messed up a relationship with her…"

Larry gave her a glare. "I promise that I won't break up with her." He removed Wendy's hands from his shoulders and directed the glare toward his brothers. "Because I'm not going to go out with her!"

"Aww!" Lemmy said. "Why not?"

"Because…" Larry let out an exasperated breath and shook his head. "I don't see Peppy in that way! She's not girlfriend material!"

Roy giggled and leaned against Larry. "Because she's wife material instead?"

Larry pulled himself away from Roy, making him collapse to the floor with nothing to lean against. "No. No, I don't view Peppy in that way. And honestly, I'm not really interested in a romantic relationship at this point." He bit his lip. "Besides, I don't have any way to actually get into and ensure a long-term relationship with anyone." He lifted his head. "My wish on Fortune's Comet made it so I don't age."

The others blinked, all looking at Larry with a sort of sadness in their demeanors. Larry tried to not let it bother him. What he said was just the facts, there didn't have to be any emotions attached to the facts. He frowned, hoping that the look would help to drive his point across.

"So… yeah. No relationship. I don't see Peppy in that way." He turned toward the door. "Besides, I highly doubt that she looks at me like that either." He started walking, hoping he could get out of the room and away from this subject matter.

"That's not true."

Larry blinked, surprise filling him. He turned back to Wendy, almost feeling shocked enough for his jaw to drop. "What was that?"

Wendy hesitated, holding her hands behind her back as she did. "I… well, I think Peppy might actually think of you in that way."

"And what makes you say that?" Larry asked. He raised his eyebrow, unsure of which way he wanted Wendy to answer this question.

"Um… well, it was a long time ago, but…" she let out a breath. "I remember before you guys got kidnapped by Cackletta and Fawful, I was participating in a sleepover with Stormy, Peppy, Lilac, and Celia. At the beginning of it all, we decided to play some icebreakers. One of the questions was who we had a crush on, and Peppy said… well…"

Larry's eyes grew wide. "She said she liked me?"

Wendy bit her lip before nodding. "She did."

Now he was shocked enough for his jaw to drop. Larry tried to say something, to respond to this new information in an appropriate (or maybe even a cool) way. However, none of his thoughts were able to turn into words. The fact that some of his brothers were whistling didn't help.

"Wow, Larry," said Ludwig. "You have to go out with her now!"

"Yeah! It'd be a crime not to!" Lemmy chuckled. "You don't want to go through life with the reputation of being a heartbreaker."

Larry's face grew warm. He looked at Roy, who wiggled his eyebrows. Cringing, he looked back at Wendy, who looked a little squirmy. "How…" He cleared his throat, hoping that his voice wouldn't become squeaky. "How long ago was this?"

Wendy shrugged. "About a year and a half ago."

Larry sighed, putting his hand to his chest. "Okay. Well, she's probably changed her mind in that period of time." He smiled. "She probably doesn't see me in that way anymore. I mean… she said that I inspired her, but she never showed any signs that she was into me during our time out."

Morton snorted. "Or she did and you didn't notice."

Larry gave him a sideways glance. "Uh, I think I'm smart enough to pick up on a girl's hints."

"Says the guy who has never had a girlfriend and doesn't usually interact with girls other than his sister," Ludwig said. Much to Larry's chagrin, that statement got Lemmy and Iggy to laugh out loud.

Larry sighed. "Why are we even having this conversation? We're superhero partners!" He looked at all of his siblings with the most serious look possible. "The relationship that we have already is a partnership, a professional relationship. Getting into a romantic relationship would only jeopardize that."

"Or it could make your bond stronger and make your chemistry on the battlefield stronger." Wendy's eyes glittered. "Two superheroes being in love with each other and fighting side by side would be interesting."

"Ooh!" Lemmy bounced up. "I could put that in my Moo Man comic!" He smiled and jumped up and down. "That would be such a fun dynamic to write about!"

Larry frowned, his frustration from before starting to rear its ugly head again. "Well, I'm not Moo Man. I'm Larry Koopa, aka Captain Metal. Captain Metal worries about what would be the best way to save people who are in trouble." He turned back toward the door. "What he doesn't do is consider what would be the best way to get boned by his partner."

"Oh come on, Larry!" Roy said as Larry started to walk away. "Is that really what you think? I mean, don't you see Peppy as at least a tiny bit attractive?"

Larry stopped. He stood still for a second, not saying anything. He honestly didn't know what to say, as any answer he could think of would just lead to an argument or something like that.

"That's neither here nor there," he eventually decided to state. He turned back to the others, wearing a stern look. "Mark my words, guys. Peppy and are not ever getting together. Period."

…

Wow, today had been a good day. As she lay on her bed, Peppy's mind couldn't help but think about her adventure with Larry. Catching Nabbit… man, that had been fun. It had probably been the single most exciting adventure she had since becoming Fiery Tempest. Which was crazy, considering that her time as a superhero was already filled with so much excitement and intrigue!

Giggling, she briefly removed the sacred star from around her neck and held it above her head. As she kept her eyes on the star itself, looking more gorgeous than any ruby that was being sold on the market at this very moment, she felt amazing. Like she was on top of the world, like she was on Cloud Nine.

"I am so glad I kept you," Peppy said. As she put it back around her neck, she began to wonder. Lilac still had her sacred star, so she could become a superhero too. That would be interesting; being part of a superhero trio along with a Koopa prince and one of her best friends…

Peppy shook her head after giving that idea some consideration. No, no. Lilac already had a lot of things happening in her life at this moment. She probably wasn't concerned with the thoughts of becoming a superhero, and you know what? That was perfectly fine. If Lilac was happy with her current life with Stormy, then that was more than okay. She could worry about her life all that she wanted.

Besides, being part of a superhero trio with her and Larry wasn't required. Introducing a new superhero into the group would potentially cause problems, which wouldn't be good considering how Peppy and Larry already had an amazing dynamic.

Peppy blinked when she had that thought. Yeah, they really did have a good dynamic, didn't they? They worked so well together on the battlefield. They got along in other areas of their life too, which was a big plus.

Oh, and Larry was pretty cute too. Peppy had always liked the way he looked. And considering that the age gap between the two of them was less than a year…

Peppy giggled. Oh man, her thoughts were starting to run wild again. But… really, wouldn't it be nice? Wouldn't it be nice if she and Larry decided to become "more than friends?" Wouldn't it be good to start a relationship with someone who she already got along with? That's what Stormy and Lilac did.

When she had that thought, Peppy almost burst into laughter. "Peppy, you silly goose." That shouldn't even be a concern right now; it really shouldn't be. She was already preoccupied with life and superhero stuff. She didn't need to add a romantic relationship on top of that. As she turned, shut off her light, and got under the covers, she told herself that she wasn't going to worry about that. Sure, Larry was good-looking. But they were superheroes, they were essentially coworkers. People didn't start relationships with their coworkers.

No matter how cool and handsome they were…