Super Heroes

Chapter 8

"Do you think any superheroes have the power to be immortal?" Henri asked Luigi the next day as Luigi helped him clean up the bakery. According to Blumiere; once Luigi, left Flamethrower showed up and helped save the day before the entire place was destroyed. Still, that didn't change the fact that The Phantom left a huge mess behind. 

"I can't say I've thought much about it," Luigi shrugged. "I doubt anything's really immortal."

"Maybe immortal isn't the right word," Henri breathed. "I don't know how to describe what I'm thinking of. It's like... someone dying, but coming back to life the next day and nobody remembering they died in the first place."

Luigi suddenly stilled, then slowly turned to face his friend.

"Um... that sounds pretty weird," Luigi awkwardly replied. 

"Yeah, it does," Henri admitted, looking down. "But... I don't know, it's kinda an interesting concept, right?"

"I don't think so," Luigi replied all too quickly.

"Why not?"

The plumber paused, silently debating whether or not it would be suspicious if he told Henri how he felt about the matter. After all, his response could very well be seen as a normal response, even if it was maybe not the most common response. When it came to most people, the idea of immortality seemed cool, because everyone feared death. But most people who claim they'd like to be immortal don't really think through what that meant exactly.

"Well, say someone did have that power. Then they might never be able to actually die. They'd have to watch everyone around them disappear. They also would never get the chance to rest. They'd be forcefully pulled back up every time they were pushed down." Luigi explained. "To me... that just sounds really hard. Plus... you have to think about how it feels to die. Most people only experience it once, but someone with a power like that would have to experience it over and over again. It's gotta hurt."

Henri nodded, then brought his eyes back down to the floor. 

"I didn't really think of that," he muttered. "It must also be hard when people forget too. I mean, if someone had that power, then how would they even go about talking about it?"

"They probably wouldn't," Luigi stated. "I mean, if everyone forgets anyway, then why bother?"

"Yeah..." Henri muttered, picking up a broom and sweeping some of the splintered wood.

Luigi looked down at his hands, then back over at Henri. 

"What... makes you ask?" Luigi muttered.

"Huh?" Henri hummed. "Oh, nothing. I just... I guess I was curious. Last night, when Flamethrower was saving us, just seeing the superheroes made me wonder what kind of powers I would like to have. That's when immortality crossed my mind."

"Oh," Luigi breathed, letting out a brief sigh of relief. 

"Yeah..." Henri muttered. "I didn't really think of the power that way when it first popped into my head. But for what it's worth, if someone I knew had that power, I wouldn't want them to bottle it all up and keep it a secret. Even if I'd forget each time they died or told me. I wouldn't want them to have to deal with that all on their own."

Luigi frowned slightly but shrugged it off and continued cleaning. 

"Thanks for helping, by the way," Henri said. "And... Blumiere and I don't blame you for suddenly running away yesterday. I almost ran myself. I've never actually been in the superhero action like that."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Luigi quietly chuckled. "You know how I feel about danger."

Henri chuckled and nodded, and the two continued cleaning.