Chapter 3 Stinging

Was it a good thing or a bad thing that things were pretty uneventful today? There was no crime! No robberies, no assaults, not even a simple case of shoplifting! This made Larry antsy, made him wonder when the Koopa Kingdom turned into Heaven on Earth. Seriously, no country in this world was so peaceful. Why was this the case now?

"Hey, Larry."

Larry did a double-take and looked to his left. Fiery Tempest (aka Peppy Pequena), Larry's former crime-fighting partner, as well as her new partner, Tidal Wave (Lilac Arbol), stood right beside him. They both looked like they had achieved perfect harmony and bliss. Larry didn't know how to feel about this. He supposed he should feel glad, as both girls seemed to be feeling happy right at the moment (which was miraculous given what happened between him and Peppy). But… as horrible as this sounded, their presence just increased Larry's own frustration.

"Hey." He tapped into the Internet, hoping to see some crime on the news. He didn't see anything, which made him sigh and turn to the girls. "I suppose I have you guys to thank for the lack of crime today?"

"You betcha!" Peppy said. "The two of us have been working nonstop!"

"Yep," Lilac said. She stepped closer to Larry. "We've been making your job a lot easier."

"Yeah, and a lot more boring." By this point, Larry's frown was as steep as a mountain. Seriously, he missed the days when he was the only superhero in the Koopa Kingdom. Don't get him wrong; he loved that Lilac and Peppy were doing such a good job together. It made the two of them happy, which Peppy needed after the shitshow that she and Larry had gone through. And, if it were any other day, he'd probably be thrilled that he had significantly less work to do than usual.

But not today. He was itching for activity, for stimulation, for a fight. Superhero work helped him feel alive, and helped him step into another world so he could forget about his problems momentarily. Without crime, he didn't have that.

"Hey," Peppy said, pulling him out of his head. "Don't fret; Lilac and I are efficient, but not that efficient. You'll find some amoral scumbag out to ruin people's lives eventually."

Larry snorted. "Those are the most comforting words I've heard all day." He tapped back into the Internet, scrolling through the news at breakneck speed.

"And," Lilac interjected, "Iif you don't find anything to your liking, you can always take the day off. I'm sure you could relax by using your Internet powers to watch funny cat videos." This got both girls to chuckle.

In response to this, Larry snorted yet again. "First off, I've had enough cat videos to last me twenty lifetimes." He scrolled through more articles, letting out a growl when he still found that there was nothing to see. "Second, I can't relax. I want a fight. I went out of my way to put on my costume today, and I don't want that to go to waste."

He continued scrolling, pulling back into his own head. He still didn't see anything to his liking, which at this point was making his frustration escalate into anger. There had to be something. There just had to be!

"Hey, Larry?"

"Yes, Peppy?" Larry continued scrolling, not lifting his head to look at his former partner.

"I've… I've bee doing a lot of thinking ever since we had our falling out. And… well, I did enjoy our partnership. I really did. But… don't take this personally, but Lilac and I have been working really well together. Like, really well together."

"Yep," Lilac said as she stepped forward. "And I feel as though the fact that we are able to do this stuff together has helped us. It's easier for us to talk to one another."

"It is." Peppy stepped even closer to Larry. "And… I don't want that to end. So… I don't think I want to…." Peppy's face turned crimson. "As horrible as this might sound… I don't think I want to be your partner again. At least, not anytime soon."

Larry paused, pulling himself out of the internet. He stared at nothing for a little bit, thinking about what Peppy just told him. He didn't move as he tossed this viewpoint around in his head. Did it make him feel angry? Well, he didn't know if he would use the word "angry," but… he didn't exactly feel very good either.

"I'm really sorry," Peppy said. "Like I said, I really liked being your partner. But Lilac and I are just closer than you and I have been. We have a history together. We have amazing chemistry on the battlefield. We… know each other." Peppy paused. "And, if we were to try and incorporate you into our group…" Peppy paused again before letting out a breath. "I would hate it if you ended up feeling like a third wheel."

Silence. Larry thought about this some more, focusing on the last sentence in particular. This… this made him feel things. He couldn't exactly say what things, but it made him feel a little off. He supposed he should've expected Peppy to give him information like this… but it was still surprising. As well as disheartening.

"So… it has nothing to do with you. I've forgiven you for what happened. It's nothing personal against you; I swear." Peppy looked over at Lilac. "It's not you Larry; it's me. One hundred percent."

Oh… wow, that actually stung a little. Those words echoed in Larry's head, the significance and irony they possessed not lost on him for a second. He stayed completely still before taking a deep breath.

"It's fine, Peppy. I get it." He turned toward her. "It's… just… fine."

"You sure?"

"Of course. I… I want… I want you to be h… ha…. Hap…." He shook his head; why was he such a mess all of a sudden? "I want you to be happy?"

Peppy smiled. "Thanks." Her brow furrowed. "Although, my happiness isn't what's most important right now…"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Larry asked. "It's what's informing your decision, and honestly, it's completely logical that it is." He bit his lip, holding his hands behind his back. "As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

Peppy blinked before letting out a breath. "Well… okay! I guess everything is sorted out now." She let out a nervous breath and pushed a strand of her hair back. "That's… not gonna lie, I'm kind of relieved."

"As you should be," Larry said as he took a step away from her. He went back on the Internet before, thankfully, he saw something that excited him. There was a crime today! An actual crime! Apparently, this family had been taken hostage by a criminal. Nobody knew what the criminal looked like as of this moment, nor did they know the precise location where the captors were being detained. However, Larry didn't exactly need all that information as of right now. He knew where the family had last been seen, which was all that he needed. He knew where to look for the hostages. He knew where to look for their kidnapper.

"Well…" Larry logged out of the Internet again and gave the girls a smile that wasn't forced (or at least, not entirely). "I'm glad you two are working so well together. That's really the best possible outcome in all this." He turned away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go. I need to find a family who was kidnapped in Lava Falls."

"Oh, do you want our help?" Lilac asked.

"Nope." He looked into Lilac's eyes. "I can handle this by myself."

"Oh. Okay." Peppy waved at Larry. "Well… good luck finding that family."

"Thanks." With that, Larry rose into the air. He didn't look back at the girls as he flew away from them, mostly because he didn't see the point. The stinging pain in his mind would only get worse if he were to do something like that, and that was the last thing he needed. He shouldn't be focusing on Peppy and Lilac; he needed to be one hundred percent focused on finding this family. They were counting on him. They didn't need him to be an emotional wreck; they needed him to be strong. He needed to be strong for them so he could return them home safely.

And that was exactly what Larry planned to do. He would return them home in no time. This mission was going to be quick.

…

Francis licked his lips. He had hacked into one of the security cameras in Lava Falls, and his eyes were currently glued to the screen. Not that that was unusual, but this time, Francis did this activity for a specific purpose. He had planted the seeds; he just needed to wait and watch them sprout.

"Come on," he muttered out loud. He stuffed some potato chips into his mouth. "I posted that article three hours ago. He should've read it by now."

"Master," Tec said, "Are you certain that you know what you are doing?"

Francis rolled his eyes. "Gee, and here I was thinking that computers were smart." He rolled away from the screen and looked up into Tec's camera. "Look, Tec, buddy, pal. I know what I'm doing." He spun around in his chair. "According to research, Captain Metal uses news articles to find out where the most recent crime has happened. By planting a fake news article, I am more than guaranteed to get his attention." He chuckled. "And once I do, he'll fall right into my trap, and I'll have myself a brand new robot servant in no time!"

"I see," Tec said.

"Well, I would hope you do!" Francis wheeled himself closer to the screen. "And I don't know about you Tec, but there are a lot of amazing possibilities if I were to reprogram him. He could make me milkshakes. He could aid me in hacking into some of the most secure databases. I mean…" Francis chuckled. "If my research is to be believed like it usually is, he can access the Internet wirelessly. And I don't think that's exclusive to just the basic stuff." He stuffed some more potato chips into his mouth. "He could probably access the dark web with the right direction. He could probably give random people computer viruses." He giggled. "That would be a fun thing to do. There's a lot of chaos that could potentially be caused if I were to try that."

"There is, and there is no doubt you will find frivolity in that," Tec said, "But I think you aren't aiming your sights high enough."

Francis blinked before wheeling back and glaring into Tec's camera. "What… the fuck…. are you talking about?" He scowled. "I was joking when I said I was gonna reprogram you before. But seeing how you're dissing me…"

"I'm not dissing you, Master," Tec said, his voice so matter-of-fact that it was scary, "I just think that, logically, there is something else you can do with a robot such as Captain Metal."

"Really?" Francis raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"I have done the calculations. Based on the research you conducted with me, we were able to see that Captain Metal has a plethora of superpowers. Flight, a sonic cannon, immune to pain. With powers like that, you could reprogram into a super soldier. A super soldier that, if used correctly, could aid you in taking down even some of the most imposing and powerful authority figures."

Francis blinked once. He blinked twice. As those words sunk in, a slimy smile appeared on his lips. "Oh my God." This time, when he looked into Tec's "eyes," he did so with an impressed, excited mood. "Tec… that's a great idea!"

"It's the most logical idea," Tec said, his voice flatter than a plateau.

"It is! It really is!" Francis laughed. "Oh man, I could take down even King Bowser! I could be the one to rule the Koopa Kingdom! That would be awesome! That would be…"

He stopped when he noticed something on the computer screen. It was movement, some kind of swift movement that played with the eyes. As such, it took some squinting and a little bit of rewinding the tape for Francis to fully see what was happening. But once he did…

"Well! Looks like Captain Metal is here!" He got up from his chair, pulling a remote out of his shirt pocket. "He's falling right into my trap." He went over to the edge of the room. "Tec… have you prepared everything I told you to prepare?"

"I have, Master."

"Good." As he pressed the button on the remote, causing a hole in the ceiling to open up and the floor he was standing on to rise up, he giggled. "Oh, this is going to be awesome!"