Rainbow Road [Super Mario Bros.]

28

Luigi had Nabbit's wrists behind his back and bound up in both sets of his shoelaces when the OCPD finally made landfall — despite the fact that the criminal was knocked out cold, Luigi couldn't shake the feeling that if he took his eyes off of the wily rabbit for one second, he would escape again. And given how many people were recording the incident with their phones, he absolutely could not let that happen.

Soon, Rainbow Road was swarming with police lights, and Luigi was approached by a menagerie of toads and Shy Guys and Yoshis in uniform. It took them a moment to get him to let Nabbit go — again, it just didn't feel safe to do so. But eventually they had the criminal up and in a flying shroom, one of the ones outfitted to act as a criminal transport. Luigi watched them go, feeling a little dazed and barely conscious of two officers relieving his poor legs of the two Springs. Was it over? Was it done? Was Nabbit safely locked down?

"Hellooooooooo? Luigi?" Luigi blinked out of his stupor, and focused on a friendly face: Dash the Hooski, who was waving an arm in front of his eyes. "Sorry," he said. "What were you saying, Mr. Dash?"

"I was saying, gooooooooooood wooooooooork!" Dash exclaimed, slapping Luigi on the back — thanks to the now-fading Charley-horse in his leg, the blow nearly sent Luigi back to the pavement. "Goooooooooooot sooooooooome pretty incredible foooooooooootage of yooooooooour chase. If yoooooooooooou hadn't gooooooooooone after him after he ejected, whoooooooooo knooooooooooows where he might've hidden next! Thanks to yoooooooooooooou, we've goooooooooooot ooooooooooooone less hooooooooooooligan ooooooooooon the street!" He stuck a clipboard in Luigi's hands. "Alsoooooooooooo, sign this. Bureaucracy."

Luigi signed the forms, just as chatter started up on Dash's radio. He took a listen, then said, "I've goooooooooot oooooooooorders tooooooooo fly yooooooooooou to the OC Med Center. Up foooooooooooooor a shooooooooooort ride?"

The Medical Center? Luigi straightened. "You mean... Mario?"

"Yep, he's there resting, just wooooooooooooke up."

In all the chaos, Luigi had nearly forgotten about Mario's dislocated shoulder. How long had it been since his brother had collapsed? It felt like it had been hours. "Let's go!" he exclaimed.

" 'Kay. Let's gooooooooo toooooooooo the OCPD Tubeway Poooooooooooort. Faster."

The OCPD Tubeway Port. That sounded familiar... Had Mario mentioned that once before? "Isn't that all the way in Orbit City?" He asked. "Wouldn't it be better to take one of the flying shrooms?"

Dash raised a brow at him. "We are in the city," he said. "Well, almoooooooooost."

Astonished, Luigi looked up. Perhaps because he'd been a little distracted with getting his hands on Nabbit and keeping him down, he hadn't noticed that beyond the crowds of spectators was a looming, colossal wall of patchwork metal, overrun by pipes, panels, small docks, surveillance cameras and windows, mirrors, and technological arrays. It seemed to stretch endlessly up into the cosmos, but closer to the ground, closer to the Road, it abruptly terminated into a butted archway, one at least a couple of kilometers in diameter. It further subdivided into at least half a dozen gates, each the width of a two-lane highway: one for foot traffic, one for cars, one for buses, one for spacefaring vehicles. The Road stretched through it, its glow becoming lost in the lights of the buildings and skyscrapers beyond.

It was the city gate.

He'd done it.

He'd made it to Orbit City.

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The attached image isn't exactly what Orbit City looks like.. But I like how glittery it is. XD