Rainbow Road [Super Mario Bros.]

14

Rainbow Road's policemen operated in vehicles that looked like flying-saucers — or maybe it was better to call them flying shrooms, because they floated, had large roofs, and a single, narrow passenger seat where the policeman sat and operated the vehicle. There wasn't much use for them closer down to the surface, where regular air traffic control watched out for criminal activity, but up here with the Twenty Mile Mall and hotels, they whizzed across the skies like birds, keeping an eye out for mischief.

At least, the brothers hoped that's what they were doing — it took them a while to finally flag one down, and when the window rolled it revealed a police Hooski that had his central computer tuned to a rom-com.

"Marioooooooo!" the Hooski, whose name tag read Dash, exclaimed. "What an hooooooonor! Can I have yoooooooour autooooooooograph?"

Mario scribbled a little something on the napkin Dash proffered him, and then said, "We're looking for an escaped criminal. His name is Nabbit. He almost robbed the Plaza satellite of the Twenty Mile Mall two hours ago. Have you seen him anywhere up here since then?"

"Nooooooo," Dash said. "But lemme ask my broooooooos. Maybe oooooone of them saw soooooomething."

The Hooski started poking at his computer, turning off his romantic comedy and bringing up what looked like a database. It took a while — Hooskis were both slow-speaking and slow-moving, and it appeared there was a lot of data to go through. Luigi didn't mind, though — they'd been hiking upward for only fifteen minutes, but already his legs were killing him again. It was a relief to sit down.

Ten minutes later, Dash finally said, "Noooooooothing. Noooooooooone repooooooorted any sightings. Nabbit must be pretty sneaky. Ah! But it says that there's a mooooooving bloooooockade oooooooperation being set up."

"Moving blockade?" Mario repeated.

"Moooooooooving bloooooockade," Dash said. "Ten shrooooooooms are scooooooouring the Roooooooood starting at the Three Mile Rest Stoooooooop and coooooooooming up. If yoooooooour Nabbit is doooooown there, they woooooooould've caught him."

"So yoooooooou're... I mean, you're saying that Nabbit's not headed back down to Earth," Mario said. "He's going up instead?"

Dash shrugged. "That's what I woooooooould do. There's not a blooooooockade cooooooooming froooooooom that direction."

"Not yet... Right?"

"Right. Looooooooks like they're rallying some shroooooooooms foooooor ooooooone, thoooooough. We're coooooooooollaborating with Ooooooooooorbit City PD."

Mario glanced at Luigi. "So if there's a blockade coming down from Orbit City, and one coming up from the planet's surface..."

Luigi cracked his knuckles. "Nabbit's got nowhere to run. They'll drive him straight to us! Then I can smash his head into the—"

"Is there someway we can be notified of the progress of the blockades?" Mario asked. "I can give you my number."

Dash gaped, eyes sparkling. "Mariooooooooooo's cell phoooooooone number? OoooooOOOOOOOOOH!"