Super Mario Bros.: A Force to Be Reckoned With

Prologue - A New Story

"Mommy, I did it! Look!"

A pair of brothers sat on a purple rug in the middle of a playroom. Paintings, drawings and family photos proudly adorned the grey stone walls of the playroom; plush circus animals, unfinished puzzles and empty storage bins of a myriad of shapes and sizes laid scattered around its floor. Behind both brothers was an orange loveseat that looked as if it would be more suitable as a fort or hiding spot due to its massive size and a large window boasting a magnificent view of the castle's other towers and lava moat.

The smaller blond-haired brother proudly held a purple flower that had rapidly grown from the pot in his lap. The colorful petals unfurled between his claws, which only further fueled his excitement. The larger brother, who had green hair, sat across from him and looked on with boredom and perhaps a hint of bitterness.

"Mom—"

"Cool, cool." The larger brother rolled his eyes, which were intensely magnified beneath his thick black glasses. "Can I eat it now, Lemmy?"

"No, Iggy. You can't." Lemmy sighed.

"Yes I can. Watch me!" Iggy stood up from his spot on the rug.

"No! Don't you dare—"

Lemmy stepped between Iggy and the flower, although the former wasn't that much bigger than the flower or the pot and the latter was at least a head taller. Lemmy reached back into his orange and yellow spiked shell.

"I don't see what the big deal is! I can do that without my glasses on!" Iggy shoved past his brother and threw him against the wall with enough force to knock down multiple photos, many of which shattered when they hit the floor. Lemmy pulled a silver wand with a green orb at its tip out of his shell and whispered something to himself.

"No you can't!" Lemmy shouted.

Iggy gasped when an orange forcefield appeared around the flower. He screamed and frantically bashed at it with his fists.

"I've been trying to do this spell for months!" Lemmy shakily pointed his wand at the flower and hoped the forcefield would hold.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Iggy now turned his fury to his brother.

"W-Well," Lemmy gulped. "...yes."

Iggy growled and rushed at Lemmy. The smaller boy shrieked and tried to create a new forcefield around himself, but he knew he wasn't yet skilled enough to protect both himself and his flower.

"Mommy! Help!!" He cried out in desperation, closed his eyes and braced himself.

The gentle warbling of a forcefield forming resounded in his ears.

Lemmy slowly opened his eyes and gasped. There were now three forcefields: the orange one he had made to keep the flower safe and two new ones surrounding each brother that were mint green in hue.

The boys' mother, a tall woman with pale yellow scales, forest green hair and concern-filled blue eyes now stood between them. Her arms were outstretched, her hands glowing the same mint green as the forcefields she conjured to separate her children.

"Are you alright, love?" She turned to Lemmy, who barely came up to her knee.

"Mommy..." The minute he laid eyes on his mother, he started bawling and reached for her. His wand fell to the floor with a gentle thud.

The woman, while still holding the forcefield around Iggy, scooped Lemmy up into her free arm and held him against her chest.

"You're safe, baby. It's okay." She nuzzled his forehead. "You're okay."