Rainbow Road [Super Mario Bros.]

24

A Slinky?

Two Slinkies, both of them gigantic and made of pure metal, rather than rainbow-colored and of plastic, like the kinds they sold at carnivals. But Luigi was no less confused — a 500-coin Item Box had just gifted him with two boring metal Slinkies that you could easily find at a one-coin store. Disappointment crashed through him: What am I supposed to do with this? He felt like he'd just been spit in the face: a pair of springs couldn't drive him toward Nabbit or grant him special powers, like a Bullet Bill or a Power—

Wait. He glanced over his shoulder at his older brother. Springs.

Mario had told Luigi many stories about his intergalactic travels to rescue Peach when she had been held at Bowser's Galaxy Generator, and several of them involved a very exotic variety of mushroom called the Spring Shroom. There was nothing of the kind down on Earth, but they were quite common in other galaxies; their strange metal tendrils, once cut from the main body of the plant, were frequently utilized as magical accessories, as once attached to a user, they granted their every move "extra punch", as Mario had put it. Luigi himself had never seen these special metal tendrils before but... Gazing down at the taut springs in his hand, he couldn't help but wonder. The Item Box didn't just spit out random junk... Did it?

He was about to find out, because he had to move: with every passing second, Nabbit's flying shroom was rising higher and higher. The Item Box had granted him its gift, and he had to use it, and pray that it worked just as he expected it to.

Without further ado, he knelt, and got to work strapping each Spring around his calves. They were both suitably elastic, but as soon as he twisted them into position, they tightened into place around his legs like some sort of live twine. Slowly, he rose to his feet... And almost fell over.

Office Jack caught him. "What are you doing?" the police toad demanded. "What's going on?"

Luigi tried to concentrate on keeping his balance. His heart was pounding. The items seemed to be working just as he'd hoped they would — he took a precious few practice steps, and every twitch of his leg muscles resulted in an overly exaggerated version of the movement he wanted, driven by the power of the Springs. With each step, he could barely keep himself from doing a full-out vertical kick. He peered up at Nabbit's shroom again. It was still close — clearly, the burglar was still finding all the ins and outs of the controls. Was he close enough that Luigi could get to him with the help of the Springs?

"Give me some space," Luigi demanded.

The police toads, looking utterly bewildered, complied and drew back, opening up a ten-meter runway from here all the way to the end of the ship's roof. He only had one chance at this: if he jumped and missed, it was a long way back down to the Road, even with the gravity wells to soften his fall. I won't miss. I'm not letting Nabbit get away with this!

He set off, trying to keep control as his Spring-powered feet threatened to skid right out from under him. Not getting away. He's not getting away! You aren't letting him get away, Luigi!

Soon, he was at the final three-meter stretch. Three meters, three jumps. He lined them up so that in the last leap of his triple jump, both feet hit the very edge of the galleon's roof. Then, utilizing the power of both Springs, he launched himself into the air.

He greatly underestimated the drive behind his augmented jump — he rocketed straight up in the air like a Bullet Bill, with such force that he was surprised he didn't break the sound barrier. G-force peeled his lips back, and for a moment, the world around him turned into a stream of blurry color, passing like a tunnel. Flashing lights came and went, and some part of him realized that he'd completely overshot Nabbit's flying shroom. Shoot! Just how far was he going to go before he slowed?

A moment later, Rainbow Road's gravity wells absorbed his speed — stole his speed, seizing him and stopping him with such bone-crushing force that he came within an inch of his entire body crumpling like a tin can. Then, like a trampoline, the gravity well reversed him, sending him speeding back downward. He had just enough time to see the Shipyard and, much closer, Nabbit's shroom before everything went runny again. Luigi grit his teeth. Just a little to the left, and I'll—

He'd barely maneuvered himself into place when he was abruptly forced to stick a landing — right in the center of the flying shroom's roof. He rolled, and though he hadn't been going fast enough to break any bones, his insides groaned all the same, and a crack in the ship's reinforced polyester formed beneath him.

His breath left his lips in a gasp. I did it. Somehow, on his first try, he'd gotten up and landed on Nabbit's flying shroom. What were the odds?

But this nightmare wasn't over yet: just as Luigi was contemplating what to do next, the speaker that adorned the flying shroom's roof crackled and came to life. "You Mario Bros and your jumping," Nabbit growled. "Well, no problem — if you're feelin' froggy, asparagus, then I'll play with you!"