Chapter 4 Taken

Lava Falls was just up ahead, standing out amongst the otherwise dull horizon. Larry smiled when he saw it, which most people could conceive as a psychotic action. After all, he was well aware of the fact that there was some crime that had happened, a family who had been taken. But that wasn't the source of his pleasure; he mainly focused on how satisfying it would be to punch a criminal in their ugly, wicked face. Seriously, who wouldn't be ecstatic at the possibility of ruining the life of a felon?

Giggling, Larry put on a burst of speed. Now, he was actually flying over Lava Falls itself. Even though he was technically here to observe the crime, he also found himself being seduced and entranced by the scenery. With the rainbow lava falls, and houses that were strikingly colorful, he was surprised that he never noticed Lava Falls's intrinsic beauty before. Sure, it wasn't Sparksville, but it was a close second in terms of being the prettiest Koopa Kingdom town, Larry could see himself settling down here; getting a house, taking the time to relax and sit back as he observed the titular, color-shifting falls…

Oh shoot, he was getting distracted. Stupid brain; he needed to worry about the mission! The more time he spent with his head in the clouds, the more time that poor poor family spent being held hostage by a villain!

So, shaking his head, Larry focused on the task at hand. Just to make extra sure he wasn't missing anything, he turned on one of his alternate vision modes. This particular mode allowed him to see movement and people in a completely different way, essentially being a mixture of X-ray vision and thermal heat vision. Larry looked from one part of Lava Falls to the other, hoping that he could see the family that he was supposed to rescue.

But… he didn't see them. He must've flown over the entirety of the town, and yet his eyes failed to see where the captured family was. Huh. Weird. Coming to a stop, Larry began to wonder. Was it Lava Falls that said the family was being held at? Just to be one hundred and ten percent sure, he looked at the article again.

No, no, it was Lava Falls. So… if the family was being held in Lava Falls, why couldn't Larry see them? Were they underground or something? Or were they wearing outfits made of lead, thereby making it impossible to see them with heat vision? Honestly, the last possibility was sorely unlikely, so much so that it almost made Larry snicker. Almost. He probably would've done it if he wasn't so frustrated.

"Where are these people?" Larry asked aloud. Turning on his special vision again, he flew over the town a second time. This time he went out of his way to be thorough, out of his way to make sure he was seeing everything that there was to see. And he did see some interesting things; he saw some people getting their hair cut in a salon, and he did see people playing video games in a house (Larry could probably whoop their asses with one hand tied behind his back). But he didn't see the family. He didn't see anyone who was being held captive.

With confusion taking him over, Larry floated back down to the ground. This… this shouldn't be this hard, should it? He should be able to see what was going on here. The article explicitly stated that the family was being held hostage somewhere in Lava Falls.

"So… where are they?" Larry asked himself. He felt stuck; he felt like there was something he wasn't seeing. Something important, something so obvious that it would make him feel stupid if he realized what it was. Seriously, where was the family? Where were…

Before he even had a chance to finish that thought, Larry noticed something in the corner of his eye. Blinking, he turned around, only to spot something green, scaly, and ropelike shifting into the shadows of an alleyway. Larry blinked again when he saw this, trying to figure out what it was. Was it a snake? That would be strange if it was, as snakes weren't native to the Koopa Kingdom. Larry debated in his head whether or not he should go after this strange thing, whether or not it would be a good idea to find out what it was. He ultimately figured he should, despite a little voice in his head telling him that only danger waited for him if he went in that direction. He was a superhero; danger didn't matter to him nor did it scare him. And besides, if following the strange green thing helped reveal where the captured family was being held, then that was a pure and clear bonus.

So, he ran into the alley. The shadows were some of the darkest and scariest that he had seen in a while. It was like he was briefly stepping into a different dimension, one where the sun didn't exist. Oh well; that didn't matter. Larry just activated his thermal vision, squinting through the shadows so he could see the heat signature of the strange lifeform. He saw someone slinking down a pathway that led to the left.

"Hey!" Larry ran in that direction, all without deactivating his vision. He ran with an impressive speed, but even with that said, the figure he was trailing behind was both swift and elusive. For the next three minutes, Larry might as well be a dog chasing his tail. His frustration grew beyond his usual limits, making him growl and scowl. Why was this so difficult?

"GET BACK HERE!"

The figure bolted down yet another alleyway, causing Larry to make a sound that he had never made before. He bolted down the alleyway… only to see it was a dead end. A dumpster sat situated next to the righthand wall, but that was the only thing of significance Larry had seen. There was no figure, nor any lifeform in general.

"What the hell?" Larry stepped further down the alleyway, looking left and right. "Where… where are they?" They should be right here! Since it was a dead end, that meant they didn't have anywhere to go. So, they should be here! Why weren't they?

Without much thought, Larry activated his thermal heat vision one more time. He looked to the left first and foremost, asking himself if the figure he was chasing was now hiding in the dumpster. They were not. Larry turned to the left, and when he did…

"What the…" Someone was here hiding in the shadows cast by the leftmost wall. But they had the weirdest silhouette Larry had ever seen. They didn't appear Koopa, human, goomba, or any of the other species that Larry had grown so accustomed to seeing. So… Larry turned off his thermal vision, squinting at the lifeform…

And screamed. The person was the biggest lizard Larry had ever seen. With skin greener than the green of the grass, a yellow shirt with cheese puff stains on it, and glasses covering its beady, squinty lizard eyes, Larry could say with full confidence that he had never seen anyone or anything like it. As the lizard person squinted at him and chuckled, Larry started backing up. The thought of getting his sonic cannon out as he stared at this strange, almost alien appearance.

"Wha…" he tried to speak, but no words would come. He started to tremble, realizing that he needed to get out of there. He could fight it, in fact, he probably should, but… Well, the thought of fighting it once again didn't occur to him. The only thoughts running around in his head were thoughts of his own safety, of getting away from the danger that such a strange creature potentially posed. He turned on his heel, about to run away, when the creature pressed on a button on their wristband. Something shot toward Larry and…

BZZT!

…

"Ugh…" Larry groaned. What… what happened? What was going on? His mind an unfocused mess, he tried to remember the last thing that happened to him before blacking out. He… he was in an alleyway, wasn't he? And… and there was this lizard. A big lizard, bigger than even the mighty giants that the real world called Komodo Dragons. Larry's entire being shook as he remembered the sight of it, of how it stared at him with beady, greedy eyes. He remembered how he tried to run away, and remembered the shocking sensations that had run through his body when the lizard shot… whatever he shot at him (Larry guessed it was some kind of taser).

Wait. If the lizard person had shot him… then where was he right now?

Forcing his eyes open, the first thing he saw was a dark ceiling hanging over his head. He blinked, unsure whether he should be surprised that he wasn't seeing the sky overhead. He tried to stand up, but instantly realized he couldn't. Some sort of binds were keeping him tied to the table. Gasping, Larry struggled against the binds. He didn't break them. They didn't budge.

"WHAT…" Larry increased the intensity of his struggles, determined to break these binds. However, right in the middle of this, he heard something. A laugh, one so slimy that it made Larry feel more scared than he had felt… well, ever. He stopped struggling, looking around to see if he could find who had made such a bone-chilling noise.

To his right was the lizard person, grinning ear to ear. They sauntered over to the table, the grin they wore making Larry's eyes grow even wider than before. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't think. Before he even realized what was going on, the lizard touched his cheek. Their touch was cold, much colder than the touch of a koopa. It felt as though he had let his hand soak in ice water for the past hour or so.

"I am so happy that I finally got to see you." He licked his lips, his beady little eyes feeling like they were staring into Larry's soul. Larry knew that this lizard was dangerous, that they were some kind of villain. He once again tried struggling against the binds, but the lizard just laughed. "Don't bother struggling. The table you are lying on is an invention of mine. It won't let you go until I tell it to."

Larry gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself." The lizard cleared his throat. "My name is Francis. Honestly, I'm shocked that you haven't heard of me before. My reputation does proceed me."

"You mean when it comes to kidnapping random people and holding them hostage like this?" Larry spat out.

Francis shrugged. "Eh. I was going to say in terms of my programming and gaming abilities, but sure, we can go with that." He got closer to Larry, leaning fully over the table. Larry shivered, all at once realizing that he didn't want Francis's freezing hands to touch him again. He prayed within his head that Francis wouldn't, but unfortunately, his prayers were in vain. Francis reached for his superhero mask, ripping it off his face. When the lizard saw Larry's face, he gasped.

"Oh… my God. You're Larry Koopa!" He laughed. "Larry Koopa, a member of Koopa Kingdom royalty, is Captain Metal!" He laughed, so hard in fact that he tilted his head all the way up to the ceiling. "This is incredible!" He wiped a tear from his eye. "Makes me wonder how you are in a mechanical body as opposed to an organic body." He looked right into Larry's eyes. "How did you accomplish this? Did you have someone program your mind into a supercomputer, which you then planted in a robotic shell?"

Larry gritted his teeth a second time. "That's none of your business!" He resumed struggling again, hoping he could activate his sonic cannon. Maybe he could shoot his way out of these binds. Maybe he could shoot Francis.

"Yeah, you may be right. It doesn't matter how you did it; the fact is you did it. And I'm gonna take full advantage of that!" Francis noticed Larry struggling, slamming his fist right on top of his chest. "Don't bother," he said, his voice low and growly. "I went out of my way to deactivate all of your powers. Your flight, your sonic cannon… they're all gone."

Fear shot through Larry. "What? How… how did you…?"

"I'm just that brilliant," Francis said with a smirk. He pressed his hand harder onto Larry's chest, making the Koopaling squirm. "But don't worry, Larry. I'll give you your powers back in no time." He sneered. "Right as I figure out how to reprogram you."

Fear shot through Larry once again, this time so much stronger and so much more terrible. "Wait. Reprogram me? What do you mean by…?"

Before he could finish his sentence, Francis pressed another button on his wristband. The floor that Larry's bed was standing on zoomed downwards. Larry screamed, struggling against this binds once again. He legitimately worried that he was going to die when he landed. Thankfully, he didn't, but that didn't mean he was anywhere close to feeling comforted. Hyperventilating, he stared at another dark ceiling before, miraculously, the binds around his arms pulled away. He bolted upright, looking around the room he found himself in. Aside from there being a computer (easily the largest computer Larry had ever seen), the room was empty. There were no tables, no chairs, and worst of all, there was no door.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!" Larry jolted out of bed and ran over to one of the walls. He banged on it, his fear and desperation climbing at an accelerating rate. "LET ME OUT!" He punched the wall. "LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT…!"

"Stop."

Larry blinked. He turned around, trying to figure out who had just spoken to him. The only thing in here was the computer, which… wait a minute.

Removing his hand from the wall, Larry walked up to the computer. "Uh…" he looked up into the camera above the screen. "Did… did you just talk?"

"I did," The computer responded. "My name is Tec-XX, but you can call me Tec."

"Tec…" Larry tried to get himself to stop shaking. "What… what is going on…?"

"Sit back, Larry Koopa," Tec said with a flat voice. "I will explain everything."