Super Heroes

Chapter 1

He clenched his fists and grit his teeth, standing atop the city as he faced off the two most nefarious supervillains the city has yet to see. His brother stood forward in the spotlight, while he waited behind his left shoulder, back a few feet. He liked standing back in the dark. It gave him a chance to observe.

It was the most important battle yet, or so it seemed. Come to think of it, it was starting to feel like every face-off was more important than the last. This one is the most important though. The fate of the city is in the hands of two heroes. It's two vs. two. Anyone had the opportunity to come out on top. 

He looked at his brother, who wore a deep red mask over his eyes with a matching red hooded cape. Below the cape is a blue long-sleeve with flame-like patterns running up the arms. This made sense for him because his superhero name was Flamethrower. His superhero powers were pretty self-explanatory. He threw flames.

He looked away from his brother and back to the two supervillains they just so happened to be facing off that night. The villains the two heroes would usually fight would often rotate between three or four different people. On most nights, it was Bowser, who didn't even bother giving himself a super-villain name or hiding his identity. He was powerful, but mostly harmless. His plans were never actually thought through. He relied on impulse, which made him easy to stop. 

The Phantom was his least favorite villain to fight. He had a few guesses as to who The Phantom could be, but he wasn't going to go out in public and expose him. Secret identities were serious. It was important to keep superhero lives separate from their everyday lives, so exposing The Phantom was the last thing he would want to do. Besides, no prison cell could hold a ghost. The Phantom was a particularly annoying villain for him because the villain knew about his fear of ghosts and used that against him. On top of that, because The Phantom wasn't exactly alive, fighting him was particularly challenging.

The next villain, (or villains,) that were most common for him and his brother to fight were the Greedy Gamblers. The two of them never made any plans that would actually put the city at risk, but had a knack for stealing and causing minor inconveniences. The taller of the two, the one who often dressed in purple, tended to get under his nerves, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. 

These two villains, though, they were new. They were smarter and they were stronger. 

Flamethrower held his right hand up and made a dark red flame appear, bouncing between his fingertips. "Get ready, Mr. L," he warned. "I have a feeling this is going to be a long night."

~ A Few Hours Earlier ~

Mario and Luigi were simple plumbers who lived in the city of Brooklyn. They grew up in the city, so they knew it well. All the streets, all the local businesses, everyone who lived near them, everything. It was home, after all. Not just their house, but the entire city was home. 

Luigi sat in the dining room with a fresh sandwich, listening to the faint sound of the news coming from the TV in the other room. He never bothered really watching, since the news had been pretty much reporting the same thing for the last few months, debates between Mayor Pauline and her upcoming opponent for the election, Peach. 

He didn't care who would be elected mayor next, they both were good people. He was actually fairly good friends with both of them. (Though Mario knew them better. There used to be somewhat of a love triangle going on between them. Honestly, he stopped paying attention to his brother's relationship drama. It was better to stay out of that stuff.)

The only reason he and his brother kept the news on was to keep an eye out for any supervillain action. Not that it mattered during the day, villains and heroes only fought at night. Daytime was a time dedicated to their everyday lives.