AN: Graphic depictions of violence in this chapter. Viewer discretion is advised.

Chapter 4 An Awful Crime

Unfortunately for Larry, the costume that he usually wore when he went out on superhero missions was MIA. This was mostly thanks to Francis, a fact that really pissed Larry off. That stupid, evil lizard man couldn't just reprogram him and call it a day. No, Francis had to make Larry's life harder in countless ways, ways that no sane person would even consider. Thankfully for Larry, he knew exactly where to go to get a new Captain Metal costume. It was the same store he bought the first one, and luckily for him, the exact type of costume he was looking for was in stock. Thank. Grambi.

So, Larry put on the costume in the changing room, went to go pay for it (the cashier barely paid attention to the fact that Captain Metal was currently in the store. Must not watch the news very often), and exited. He took a deep breath right outside the store. The air smelled like sulfur, but that hardly mattered. This was a fresh start. This was a very important mission, and not because it was the first mission he had been on in a while. Smoothing out the folds of the costume, he pulled out his phone. Wendy had sent him a text saying that Peppy was currently at Bowser's Castle in her Fiery Tempest costume. Lilac couldn't be with her, because… well, just because.

But whatever. Larry flew back to Bowser's Castle. And… he had to admit, he hadn't realized how much he missed flying until now. The wind rushing past his face, the sights he saw of the Koopa Kingdom below him… it was lovely. It kinda made Larry forget about his troubles. He felt free, liberated, better. He even managed to smile, telling himself that maybe he should take the time to fly more often. Maybe he could even go on flights with Ludwig, as Ludwig had flying powers. And everyone knew Larry LOVED spending time with the crotchety and sarcastic Lud…

*Snicker* Yeah, Larry couldn't even finish that sentence. Flights by himself were perfectly fine.

Within no time, Larry got back to Bowser's Castle. He saw Wendy and Peppy spending some time in front of the door, which helped him breathe a breath of relief. He descended, taking notice of Peppy's expression as he did. She looked… downtrodden. She looked like she was dealing with so many complicated emotions that the simple emotions lay completely forgotten. At least, until she saw Larry. She managed to smile… sort of. It didn't look natural enough to be real.

"Hey, Larry," Peppy said as Larry touched down to the ground. She approached him with a furrowed brow and a concerned shine in her eyes. "How are you doing, buddy?"

Larry hesitated. "I see Wendy told you about the current situation." He looked over at his sister, not necessarily in an angry way, but also not in a way that was even close to being pleased. Wendy gave him a sheepish smile before Larry turned back to Peppy. "And you don't have a problem letting Lilac fight crime by herself while you help ME of all people?"

Peppy chuckled and pushed a strand of hair out of her masked face. "Well, first off, Lilac is currently sick." Oh. Well, that explained everything perfectly. "And second…" She looked Larry in the eye. "There are worse things than trying to help a former partner."

Larry frowned. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his character and actions, but compared to what Peppy COULD'VE said, he supposed he shouldn't scrutinize it too much. "I see." He looked over at Wendy. "Well… I guess we'd better be on our way. The faster we start fighting crime, the happier I'll be."

Wendy smiled, the expression so pleased and genuine. "Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that." She backed up closer to the castle door. "Have fun, you two. If you need me for anything, I'm always available on the phone."

"Sure thing," Peppy and Larry said in unison. They watched as the smiling Wendy went back inside before looking at each other. The vibe in the air… was it awkward enough to be defined as awkward? Larry honestly couldn't tell.

"Well…" Peppy stepped towards him, trying to look happy as she did. It was almost convincing, almost enough to tell Larry that he didn't have anything to worry about regarding this outing. It was just too bad that her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "I suppose we should get going?"

Larry bit his lip. "Y…yeah." He extended his hand, which Peppy took. When this happened, Larry's mind flashed back for a second. He was now back in a simpler time, where he and Peppy were superhero partners with a great dynamic on the battlefield. There was no grief revolving around Tec and there was no awkward tension between Larry and Peppy. Man, what Larry wouldn't give to be back in that time.

With that thought in mind, he rose into the air. He and Peppy flew over the Mushroom Kingdom, keeping their eyes on the towns they flew over. Stonebrim was just as drab as ever, Generica was just as drab as ever. It was kinda depressing to see, but not as depressing as the empty, obsidian-covered ground in between towns. Sure, Larry had never thought twice about this kind of sight beforehand, seeing it as a normal part of the Koopa Kingdom. But this time… there was something about the ground. It inspired a feeling of loneliness in him. It made him feel isolated, like he was cut off from anyone who would bother to take notice of him or care about him.

This feeling was what prompted him to talk to Peppy. "So… how are things?"

"Things are good," Peppy said with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm. "I've just been living life and kicking butt." She paused. "Really not happy that Lilac is sick though. She isn't sick with anything too major, but she still has to quarantine from everyone."

"Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah." Peppy sighed. "Honestly, it's kind of a bother. I miss having a superhero partner. With her out of commission, I more or less have to fight crime by myself, which isn't nearly as fun."

Larry didn't say anything. Instead, he focused on the way up ahead. Right as he was starting to feel really bad about what Peppy said was when they got to Amber. Ah, Amber, Larry's dingy and criminal-filled friend. If Peppy wanted to fight crime with a superhero partner, Amber was the perfect place to locate such a crime.

Or at least, it would be under normal circumstances. As the two flew over Amber, it was… oddly still and peaceful. Was… was this Amber? Was this the same town that had enough crime to compete with Gotham City? It didn't even resemble its normal self! It was like any other town! Did all the criminals get together and agree to go on some sort of vacation? What was going on here?

"Man, there's like no crime in Amber today."

Peppy laughed. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

Larry's face grew warm. "Well… it's not. Believe me, if Amber is a safer place today, then hallelujah! I'm sure the people who live here are absolutely thrilled about that." He shook his head. "Doesn't mean anything good for me though."

Peppy giggled some more. "On the one hand, I would tear you a new one for actually WANTING crime. But at the same time…" she laughed some more. "At the same time, I can't blame you. It's fun doing hero work, and we can't do that if there's no crime."

"Yeah," Larry said with a nod. "It's an odd predicament to be in." He grumbled a little. "It's like… what, do I need to pay a criminal to do something bad? I have a lot of money; I can easily do that."

Peppy snickered. "No, no, keep your money, Larry. And I'm not just saying that because it would be unethical and a complete waste of your cash." She chuckled some more (man, for someone who looked sad when Larry first came across her, she sure had done a lot of laughing over the course of this flight). "I've probably said something like this before, but there is always one amoral scumbag out there in this kingdom. And like any amoral scumbag, they'll show their true colors and make life harder for someone. Don't know who or how, but it's pretty much a guarantee that they will make themselves known."

Now it was Larry's turn to snicker. "That is the most comforting bad news that I've ever heard." Both Peppy and Larry laughed out loud. "But you're right. Completely cynical and pessimistic, but you're right. We'll find someone eventually, especially since we're in Amber."

"Right. No worries."

The two continued flying, with Larry hoping that Peppy's words would ring true (as bad as that sounded). But… they didn't see anything. Not one thing, not a single thing that would count as a crime worthy of two superheroes interfering. Was it depressing? Was it depressing that nobody was causing trouble and therefore rendering Peppy and Larry completely useless?

It kinda was, honestly, and for more reasons than one. Mixing this frustration with Larry's previous feelings about Tec (which hadn't gone away like he had hoped they would) made him feel absolutely MISERABLE. He was stuck in a well of despair, and he hated it. He just wanted ONE fight. One, one fun fight that would help him feel like he was doing something big and important. But right now… the feelings of uselessness were really messing with his head.

Eventually, he came to a stop and sighed. "This is dumb." He shook his head. "There's nothing here."

"No, there isn't." Peppy paused. "I guess we need to check another town…"

BOOM!

Larry shrieked, almost dropping Peppy in the process. That… that sounded like gunfire! Someone had just gotten shot! A criminal had finally made themselves known! Finally! Without any words, Larry and Peppy flew in the direction they had heard the gunfire. As they didn't, despite the fact that Larry's excitement was growing, he also felt worried. He had no idea what had happened, so hopefully no one had gotten seriously injured.

Unfortunately, someone did. After a little bit of flying, Larry and Peppy arrived at the scene of the crime, and… it was… it was… no words could describe it. A woman lay sprawled out on the ground, covered in blood. Further inspection revealed that she was bleeding from her head. That alone would've been disturbing, but there were also… brain bits strewn everywhere. Another person, a man, stood over her, and he was bawling his eyes out while her blood covered his entire front in splatters.

"Oh my God," Larry said. He heard Peppy gag, something he'd probably be doing too if his body was capable of it. On some level, part of him didn't want to go up to the dead person. He didn't want to see any other part of this scene; it was sickening and made Larry want to cry. But… he was a superhero. He had to.

So, he and Peppy descended. The scene of the shot woman was even more disturbing on the ground than it was in the air. He had to force himself to go up to the man. "What happened?"

The man looked up at him. There was some relief in his tear-stricken face, but it was so very minimal. "Captain Metal?" They wiped their eyes, with some of the blood staining his face in the process. "They… they shot my wife!" He cried some more. "They shot her! They… they shot…"

"Hey." Peppy approached and gave the man a hug, all while Larry felt so close to crying. This showed it, didn't it? This showed how cruel the world was. Innocent people died for no reason. People lost their lives in horrible ways.

Kind of like Tec.

Forcing himself to push that thought to the side, Larry stepped toward the crying man. "I'm so sorry."

The man looked into Larry's eyes, an action that almost made Larry himself cry. His eyes were red, and not just because of the blood. He looked as though he had lost all innocence, all joy. That was enough to make Larry hurt on the inside. The thoughts about Tec increased in intensity. He was SO close to breaking down.

But what the man said next prompted him to stay strong. "They also took my daughter! They shot my wife and took my daughter!" The man whimpered. "They're… they're gonna kill her! I know they are!"

"No, they're not," Peppy said right as the man descended into another round of sobs. She hugged him despite the blood. "Captain Metal and I won't let that happen." She looked up at Larry. "Right?"

"Y… yeah." They could take care of it, but after seeing this… after seeing how violent this crime was… Larry seriously regretted wishing for some crime. This was awful, and he had a feeling finding the daughter wouldn't do anything to make it any more enjoyable.

"Come on, Fiery Tempest. Let's…" Larry bit his lip. "Let's go find this shooter."