Brooklyn Heroes

One afternoon, in the city of Brooklyn, two brothers as thick as thieves, were busy driving around the town to work on any plumbing problems.

It was an occupation they had decided to take to follow in their father's footsteps who along with their mother moved from Italy to America to find work and put down roots in a country of possibilities.

The brothers had been together every single day, a pair of siblings whose inseparable bond was a wonderful thing. They did pretty much everything together, even chose to work together, going into business for themselves, known as Plumbing Brothers, Mario and Luigi.

Their motto, "No Job was Too Big and No Problem Overlooked." They loved helping people as well as fixing plumbing and helped as best they could.

They were good young men, their mother's pride and joy, though some things about them their father was always concerned about.

Mario, the oldest, who wore blue overalls, a red shirt and cap with his initial M on it, was a short but unafraid man, never letting anything stop him from being somewhere to get a job done and looking after others. His heart belonged to adventure, and he felt like Tarzan of the urban jungle he knew his way around.

Luigi, the youngest, also wore blue overalls, and a green shirt and cap with his initial L. He was a head taller than his older brother and a bit of his opposite despite their strong bond. He was a timid fellow and preferred to play it safe. He did like to look after others and helped in whatever way he could.

Their rivals and biggest headache, who were also everyone's, were ugly thugs named Wario and Wuigi whose family were from the same country as Mario and Luigi's parents. They were a pair of crooked creeps causing just about any kind of problem but were always bested by the Plumber Brothers.

That afternoon, they worked on a flooding in a fountain at a park, both wet from the waist-down but satisfied with a job well done.

Mario caught sight of two familiar goons in the distance, a soda machine whose cashbox was being removed while no one was around.

"Oh, no," the red-clad plumber groaned with an Italian accent, scowling at the sight.

"What-a is it, Mario?" Luigi asked with the same accent.

"It's Wario and Wuigi. Dey're (They're) at it again."

"Oh, no, please tell me we can just-a call the polizia fis (this) time," his younger brother hoped.

"It'd be-a too late. Dey'll (They'll) be-a long gone. Come wif (with) me-a, I know how we can-a intercept dem (them). Let's-a go."

Luigi sighed before catching up with his older brother who was running through the park trees, knowing the city like the back of his hand.

The criminal brothers were carrying the sack of money from the cashbox they had put back so no one would be the wiser, unaware they had witnesses who jumped out of the bushes and stood in front of them.

They loured with resentment at the smaller brothers, Mario looking without fear.

"We-a saw you pinch dat (that) soda machine. Drop the money."

"Zure (Sure), so I can-a drop you like the pesky fly you are, runt," Wario growled, punching his right fist in his left palm. "Take the green-a chicken, Wuigi."

"Don't-a call my brother a chicken, Wario."

Mario and Luigi did this like they always did. Despite the size disadvantage, they knew they were smarter than the bandits who fought with brute force rather than with thinking.

Mario was light on his feet and somersaulted over the bewildered Wario's head who punched thin air, stumbling before Mario quickly kicked his back, making him kiss the concrete of the sidewalk.

Luigi didn't like confrontation, but he knew Wuigi's moves and ducked between the taller Italian's legs before he grabbed the loot to knock him off his feet, making him hit a streetlight and see stars.

A pedestrian saw the scene and called the authorities to take the pair of gangsters away. The Plumber Brothers handed the cops the money to take back to the machine before congratulating each other for once again putting the two in their places.

Rumors spread of Mario and Luigi's actions all over Brooklyn. The people liked that someone was there to stand up to Wario and Wuigi, but their father wasn't as excited.

When they returned home where they were living with their parents for the time being, their mother hugged the boys for saving the day while their father stood with his arms folded as if he was displeased from seeing a teenager come home after curfew.

"What were-a you two thinking, chasing after dose (those) ruffians again?"

"Papa`, Luigi was the one who wanted to call the polizia, but I didn't think dey'd (they'd) come in time."

"So, dey (they) would have gotten away with sacks of soda machine money. So what? It's-a not worth getting pummeled. You want-a your madre to get a phone call from the hospital and tell her you're in intensive care? Do you want to torture your genitori?"

"Dear, dey (they) don't have a single injury on them," their mother assured.

"Dat (That) is no excuse, Mamma. Dey (They) keep up this superhero act, that'll happen soon enough."

"Papa`, no one-a else stands up to people like them. Zomeone (Someone) has to have the nerve."

"Si`, but leave it to the polizia. I did not-a work blood, zweat (sweat) and tears for your madre and me to move to America and spend years showing my only boys the ropes of plumbery for you to risk your necks fighting thugs."

"Papa`," their mother tried to reason, but he went on with his lecture.

"For years, you in-a particular, Mario, you treat life like zome (some) sort of fantasy world that needs zome sort of hero that no one here, in the real world, asks for."

"No, no one-a asks us, but they still-a thank us. Would you not dank (thank) a regular Joe for going out of deir (their) way to help you? Dis (This) city always strikes fear that scum like Wario and Wuigi take advantage of, it's not right."

"No, it is not-a right," he admitted, "but you can't-a help with everything, even the polizia cannot zolve (solve) every problem. You and Luigi have-a your own problems, making business and zaving (saving) money for your future home and whatever famiglia you may zomeday (someday) have to feed."

Mario shook his head, not getting anywhere with his father as usual. Their father was about to follow him, but his wife held him back, making him give up and sigh as Luigi helplessly stood looking at Mario's bedroom door he closed.

That evening, Mario was alone, lying on top of his covers, still in his clothes, his right foot swinging on the edge of the mattress, his hands behind his head as he looked through the window beside him.

The sunset was good from here and it usually helped whenever he had these talks with his father.

"Why can't-a he understand?" he whispered to himself.

He heard a knock and in came Luigi who came in with a plate of their mother's special pasta.

"Mamma had a plate made for you."

Normally, Mario would have gulped that pasta in less than a minute, but not even his favorite dish could cheer him up.

"Oh, Mario, you know Mamma is proud of us, and a lot of people appreciate what we do," Luigi comforted, closing the door behind him. "Papa`… he worries. Dat's (That's) all. I do, too."

"Not like dat (that)."
"Mamma says people show deir feelings in different ways."

Mario sighed, sliding his hands on his face. "I… just want-a to do the job I love and give people hope dere's (there's) someone dere for dem (them)."

"I know, and both Mamma and Papa` do, too."

Mario didn't seem convinced, but their conversation was interrupted by a newsflash on his radio that a major flood in town occurred and would start flooding floors of homes, maybe higher.

"Dis sounds like the big one. Let's-a go."

"Mario, wait, we've never handled a big one, not even Papa` has…"

"Dey may need all the help dey can-a get. You can-a stay if you want, Luigi, but I'm-a goin'."

Luigi held the plate, debating whether he should stay home and worry about his brother or go with him to a huge flood they had never fixed before…

Sighing, he put the plate on the nightstand and followed him. "Wait for a me."

000

"I'm-a tough because I care, dear," their father said, the two of them in their room, their mother sitting on the bed. "Zose (Those) two are gifted plumbers, and I, their padre and mentor, do not want-a to see dose skills goin' to waste."

"Dey just care about people, Papa`, dat's more than what-a either most timid people or indifferent people have been-a doing."

"I'm not-a asking our sons to be indifferent… Mamma, we are not getting any younger."

"We have-a insurance. Dey'll be taken care of, dey're not-a children."

"No, but dey may have children, and I would like to see our grandchildren zomeday before it's-a our time. I love the life we've made here even if the city isn't-a perfect."

"Zo (So) do I, and zo do dey."

"And if dey want-a what we have, dey need to stop treat life it is zome sort of action movie or comic book or video game and-a focus on deir profession."

000

The Plumber Brothers were doing just that, seeing authorities in helicopters evacuating the people.

"I still think this is-a more than we can chew, and if Papa` knew the stunt we are pullin'," Luigi started to protest, but Mario was dead-set.

"He wants us to be good plumbers, dat's what we're goin' to do. Besides, look at the harm it's doin'. People's homes are at stake. I'm-a goin'."

Mario saw a manhole that he removed, water going down like water in a bathtub. He held his breath before he dived, his reluctant younger brother in pursuit.

They were in the sewerage system, waist-deep in water. They followed the flow of the water to the end of the pipe before they climbed and slid like a huge underground jungle gym.

"I don't know what scares me more, the wandering deep in a sewer or Papa`'s reaction when he finds out where we are," Luigi whispered to himself, not wanting to annoy his older brother who was determined to help Brooklyn.

Frankly, he confessed to himself as they went deeper how old this area looked. There was one pipe that was bright green.

"What is it, Mario?"

"Dis pipe… it's-a different from the others… And listen…" They kept silent and heard a noise in the distant darkness… like a sort of noise a vacuum makes. "Hmm, I wonder if dis leads outside zomewhere…"

The more the red and green brothers stood there, they felt something… pulling at them into the pipe.

The next thing they knew, they were sucked inside, yelling as they spun around helplessly. Then, the pipe became transparent, so they could see through, and they found themselves… in the clouds?!

Impossible! They were underground! They forgot about it and paid more attention to surviving. Mario grabbed onto Luigi's hands.

"Hold-a on, Luigi! Don't-a let go, no matter what happens!" he instructed, his voice echoing in the clear tube.

"Mario, what is-a happenin'?!"

"I don't-a know, but we mustn't get separated. Hold on!"

Luigi intended to hold on, but they came across a two-way pipe connector. The right one led farther into the white clouds and the left led… to an ominous cloud of smoke and lightning! Mario tried to make sure they went to the right that had to be safer than the left!

It was futile because both ways tucked on each brother, the left taking Luigi from Mario who watched in despair his younger brother being sent to endure Heaven knows what on his own.

Both of them called out each other's names as they were helplessly flown to different destinations. Mario was now falling in through a pipe that was green like the one he and Luigi discovered.

Then, he fell outside, finally free and bounced on what he thought were trampolines, but when he landed on the grass and fought the dizziness while fixing his hat, he looked at his surroundings and realized the things that broke his fall were giant… mushrooms?!

"Mama Mia, what now?" he asked with a tired shrug.