Past Lives Could Never Come Between Us

47

"Hello, Luigi." Snoozemore greets him, handing him a mug. "Drink."

Luigi tries to refuse, "Thanks, but no. I'm okay."

"No you're not." Snoozemore says knowingly. "This line of work means things like what just happened inevitable. You need it."

Luigi reluctantly takes a sip, wincing. "Spiked coffee."

"Sometimes just coffee doesn't cut it." Snoozemore says.

"Like when you first hurt someone on purpose?" Luigi asks.

"It was your job." Snoozemore tries to comfort him. "And it was justified. He's also not dead, since you don't know how to control the Thunderhand yet."

"How did he know about us?" Luigi wonders.

"That was pure chance." Snoozemore replies. "Apparently you found him on the doorstep, and it didn't take a genius to know you had the Thunderhand, so of course he was going to take full advantage."

"I would've bet anything it was Uncle Arthur." Luigi sighs.

"A shame." Snoozemore says. "For what it's worth, I wanted it to be him too. So you could be one step closer to finding him."

Luigi nods thoughtfully, then they sip in sync.

When Luigi finally leaves Snoozemore's office, Mario ambushes him.

"Hey there!" He rushes over. "Please tell me you're okay."

"You would know better than me." Luigi says.

"I don't see any anomalies in your brain. The brainwashing is gone, but it looks like the Thunderhand is permanent."

"Hm." Luigi says. "Thanks, by the way, for that kick in the pants back there. How did you know that was gonna work?"

"I didn't." Mario replies, making Luigi's eyes widen in shock. "Weeg, the only one who's ever been inside your head besides you is me. And vice versa. What don't I know about you?"

"Why didn't the tape affect you?" Luigi challenges.

"Because it was already affecting you." Mario replies easily. "Your dreamscape, remember?"

"Then how come you didn't freak out when Gigi played it for you in the real world?" Luigi challenges again.

"Oof, fine." Mario holds up his hands. "You got me."

He lowers one, palm up, and a fireball appears in his hand.

Luigi gasps, "I knew it! It did affect you!"

"No it didn't." Mario says, making Luigi look confused. "I already had it before we ever took the case. Got bored, went snooping through some ruins. Came out throwing fireballs." He shrugs. "No big deal."

Luigi sits down. "No big deal he says. He has a not normal ability to throw fireballs out of his hand, and he says no big deal."

"It isn't, once you get a handle on it." Mario says.

"But I don't want to." Luigi tells him. "What, am I just supposed to accept that this world left their permanent mark on me?"

"Yes." Mario says. "It doesn't have to be a bad thing. A little training, and it's just another tool. Which you're gonna need anyway, so you don't cause a power outage everywhere you go."

"True." Luigi admits. "Wanna do it now?"

"I would, but I can't." Mario says apologetically. "Rain check?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Luigi nods a little too enthusiastically, trying to hide the hurt. "Rain check.", then walks away before Mario can say anything else.

Spike's waiting by the pipe when Pauline walks up to him.

"Hey there." She greets. "Wanna do something tonight?"

"I'm literally dead on my feet." Spike says. "I just wanna go home and sleep."

"Want some company?" Pauline flirts.

"Spike?" Snoozemore appears out of nowhere. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

"Sure!" Spike nods, then says to Pauline, "See you tomorrow?"

Pauline's confused, but just jumps in the pipe and disappears, waving goodbye.

The moment she's gone, Snoozemore asks Spike. "Well?"

"She bought it." Spike says.

"Not a clue?" Snoozemore asks.

"Not one." Spike confirms. "Destiny has no idea I joined her gym to spy on her."

"What about Pauline?"

"She's getting harder to lie to." Spike admits. "And frankly, I don't want to."

"Trust me, it's for her own safety." Snoozemore insists. "Don't look at it as lying, look at it as keeping her safe."

"Believe me, I know." Spike says. "But Pauline's gonna be too pissed about being lied to to care."

"Destiny is a person of interest." Snoozemore reminds him. "I just need to know what exactly she's doing and who's pulling her strings. Is she starting to let her guard down?"

"I think so." Spike admits. "But Snooze, I need to know. How far am I supposed to take this?"

"How far is Luigi's life worth to you?" Snoozemore replies, then walks away.

After a moment, Spike leaves through the pipe.

Luigi opens the apartment door to find Clark standing there.

"Hey." He says in surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"Wanted to deliver the good news in person." Clark says. "And also some bad news about your uncle Tony."

"Okay, let's hear it." Luigi says.

"Can I come inside, or are you gonna zap me?" Clark jokes.

Luigi snorts, "Tell me the bad news first, and find out.", then moves to let her inside.

"The good news is your Uncle Arthur and Marie are more than likely listed under their married name." Clark starts.

"Do you have their number?" Luigi asks hopefully.

"Which brings me to the bad news. Under the same last name, there's over 300 listings. Under a different one, over a thousand." Clark tells him regretfully.

Luigi sighs in disappointment, then says, "Can I have the list?"

Clark holds up a thumb drive with a smile, handing it over.

Luigi stares at it for a long time, then shares a smile with Clark.

"Guess I'd better start dialing."