L

Chapter 1: Hidden in the Shadow

"I wanna be a great plumber like my brother Mario." — Luigi

"Well, let's just say that if things stay the way they are now, your wishes will never come true." — Geno

Luigi Mario, Newborn

"Look at our beautiful baby boy, honey!"

"He has your face!"

"He has your eyes!"

"Sir, ma'am. You have twins. Would you like to hold the other child?" The nurse asked the parents who were coddling the firstborn of the twins. A scowl crossed the mother's face as she held her child closer to her bosom. The father sneered.

"We never wanted a second child. One is good enough. Keep him. Do whatever you do with unwanted children."

"But sir, you have to take him with you."

"Fine! Lousy, no-good hospital..."

Baby Luigi cried. His wails caused his parents and the nurse to clamp their hands over their ears. The father's expression became one of pure anger.

"Shut up, you brat! Can't you be more like your older brother?!"

The child continued to cry, causing his father and mother more and more of a headache.

Luigi Mario, Age 7

Luigi had taken to wearing almost exact copies of his brother's clothes. He had the color in green, however. He hoped that one day his parents might mistake him for his brother and hug him someday. That they would have applauded him when he learned how to walk, potty trained himself, and became able to jump higher than his older brother. However, his parents never acknowledged his accomplishments. They only recognized his failures. Mario wasn't a bad person, though. He just couldn't understand Luigi. And that made things worse.

"C'mon, little Mario. It's time for your snack!" Their mother called the two. They had been in the backyard playing with this turtle they found. It was funny how he had his own home on his back. Luigi felt a little envious. He wished he had the free, uncaring attitude of this turtle. Then maybe he could travel the world and find his own place in life. A place that sat outside of his brother's shadow.

Mario and Luigi rushed towards their mother, eager for a snack. She picked up Mario and stopped Luigi in his tracks. She held up a hand to stop and smiled in a sickeningly sweet manner. Luigi knew this routine. They always fed his brother the snacks, made sure he never went hungry. Luigi was always left alone outside. He looked at his mother's face. How could someone so beautiful be so... ugly?

"No, Luigi."

And then she went inside. Mario held out his hand, reaching for his younger brother, before the door was closed and he was gone. Luigi sobbed silently, not wanting to be heard and told to shut up. He'd be alone during snack time again. It would be just him, this turtle, and the ghosts. There were always ghosts. He should have never listened to his father's scary stories.

"Why?"

Nobody answered him. Nobody cared enough to even try. Luigi bottled up his feelings. He had to be like his brother. He couldn't lash out or act horribly. He had to be the perfect child deserving of his parents' love.

Just like Mario.

Luigi Mario, Age 14

Luigi became a specter of the house. He barely showed up. He did his homework, turned it in, and would occasionally greet Mario. He ate dinner, but was always given smaller portions than Mario. Less love. That was what it always came down to. His family was not rich. They could only afford one child. They didn't even care to be told if they were having twins or not. They knew from the beginning only one child would receive their love.

Luigi felt lonely, but once more he bottled his emotions.

He looked at himself in the mirror. He was taller than Mario now. They weren't identical twins, unfortunately. He noticed he was getting a little bit of a mustache. Mario was too. Perhaps he could grow it out with Mario's? It would be another way they would be alike. It would be another way he could be closer to his brother. Another way Luigi pushed himself deeper into his brother's shadow. If he couldn't be recognized as himself, he'd have to do the next best thing. Be as close to his brother, everybody's favorite red-suited teen, as he could be.

There was no other choice. Nobody wanted Luigi. They all wanted only his brother. Luigi hoped to become as much like his brother as possible. His wonderful, selfless brother. He had no choice in the matter. It was decided for him, since his birth.

He went to his room in the attic. The floorboards creaked underneath his weight. A few spiders continued to create their own webs, their own homes. Luigi fell onto his thin mattress. He pulled the moth-eaten blanket over him. He fluffed his pillow which felt like a wooded board. He closed his eyes and begged for the gentle embrace of sleep to take him. Hopefully, the ghosts would not come out tonight. He didn't like ghosts. Even though he was told they didn't exist, it still didn't stop his fear.

Nothing stopped his fear.

Luigi Mario, Age 22

Luigi and Mario were no longer in Brooklyn. They had been cleaning the pipes of an old house downtown. The brothers had started their own plumbing business. It was only their first job. Now, they were in a fantastical world filled with monster turtles, mushrooms that made you grow big, and flowers that allowed you to shoot fire. Turtles could fly, people wore Mushroom Caps, and there were evil plants that shot fire out of their mouths. And to think they were just trying to clean a pipe naught but a week ago? There was a princess being held captive here in this world. Mario jumped at the opportunity to save was always the noble one, helping out anyone he could. Luigi was glad to be away from that awful world. He could be free in this place, free from being forced to live like his brother. But the thing about this world, the Mushroom Kingdom, was that it was eerily familiar. Like Mario and Luigi had been in this world before.

Mario and Luigi reached the final castle. At the end was Bowser, the boss of the castle and the one responsible for the kidnapping of the princess. Bowser was a giant, raging Koopa, or turtle. No, he was the King Koopa hoping to make Princess Peach Toadstool his bride. How disgusting.

They were on a narrow bridge above a boiling pit of lava. Bowser blocked their path and threw large hammers at them. Mario and Luigi both charged. At the end of the bridge was always an axe for chopping the chain that held the bridge aloft. Bowser did this in all his castles, most likely as a last resort. It was a shame that he never got to try to use it. Mario and Luigi both slid underneath Bowser, his legs making a tunnel for the brothers. Mario sprinted on to the next room, heading straight for the princess. Luigi grabbed the axe and swung it hard at the chain, causing Bowser to fall in the pit of lava. His screams were muffled by the lava entering his mouth. Neither of the brothers knew of Bowser's resistance to the lava. He'd be back.

"Thank you. You have saved me." The princess was beautiful and wore an equally beautiful (and expensive) pink dress. Her golden hair shone above her deep blue eyes. She leaned forward and kissed Mario, who freed her first. Then she turned to Luigi and raised an eyebrow, slight irritation flashing in her eyes.

"Who are you? Are you his underling?" Luigi dropped the axe. The axe bit deep into the ground, the handle standing straight up. He frowned at the princess. It looked like there was no place he was safe from his brother's shadow. He sighed, removed his hat, and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm Luigi. His younger brother."

Luigi Mario, Age 24

Luigi had gotten a mansion. He had saved his brother from the ghosts inhabiting it and purged the ghosts. It felt good to be finally able to fight his fear. He had been nearly scared to death many times. But he has persisted; using his Poltergust 3000 made by Professor E. Gadd to suck up all the ghosts and turn them back into their original form of paintings. He had gotten very wealthy from the money he had in the mansion. So wealthy that he could, in fact, rebuild it once the ghostly mansion he had originally ventured into disappeared.

Now he was all alone. After saving his brother, Luigi went to reconstruction. He was going to make the mansion better than ever. Mario went on a vacation with Peach and Toadstool without him. However, Daisy would occasionally visit with Luigi. She was the princess of Sarasaland and a good friend of Peach. She was a tomboy, the exact opposite of the very feminine Princess Peach. She took an interest in Luigi for some reason. Luigi thought it was because he looked like his brother. Nevertheless, they were good friends.

"Hey! Weegee! Get over here and do something fun!" Daisy was yelling at him from the ground. Luigi was dangling from the roof of the mansion, trying to get some more construction in. He had the framework almost done for the mansion. Luigi considered hiring Toads, the local people of the Mushroom Kingdom that wore Mushroom Caps, to build the rest. They were great at rebuilding, if nothing else. They were a funny people, reminding Luigi of himself at times.

"Hold on, Your Loudness! I'm trying to build here!" He shouted back. He couldn't afford to get distracted now. He could easily fall to his death at this height. Once this mansion was done, he'd live here. Maybe he would free a couple of the non-violent ghosts from their portraits. They could help him and perhaps he could even become friends with them. And get over his fear of ghosts.

"Well, hurry up! I might move to another castle!" Daisy was smiling at Luigi, Luigi smiled back. He got the joke. His initial hunt to free Peach had just been ridiculous. In fact, Peach probably was getting kidnapped in this very instant. Luigi would let Mario handle it. He had his hands full with a princess of his own.

"I'll be right down!" Luigi shouted. He unclipped himself from the roof and dropped his tool belt. His tool belt dropped towards the ground, making a loud thump as it hit the grass. Luigi felt lighter.

He jumped from his position atop the roof. Perhaps he wasn't living in his brother's shadow anymore? Perhaps he was starting to become his own person. Yeah. He was Luigi, not Luigi Mario. He was out of the shadows and into the light. He was flying, no longer bound to the shadows of the ground.

He felt free.

Luigi, Age 26

Luigi sat in his study. The mansion was complete. It now felt a bit lonely at times. Daisy had fallen asleep in a chair in the corner. They had been talking for a long time, laughing, joking, and even flirting at times. Luigi had a bit of a crush on Daisy, though he never told anyone, not even his dear older brother. Luigi turned his attention back to his work. The mansion was his, but he had expenses to pay. Food was one thing. Electricity was something he himself had been able to supply. He used an ability called Thunderhand. It was something he had picked up while on an adventure with Mario. One of the very few adventures they had together. The water bills were always rather cheap. Mario and Luigi had gone to pluming school, after all. For once, Luigi felt content.

He looked over at the sleeping face of Daisy and smiled. He'd take her home soon. It would be horrible for her neck if she continued to sleep in that chair like that. Even if it looked really comfortable. Luigi was going to ask her out on a date tomorrow. Of that he was sure. He had a feeling that she liked him too. They would be a great couple. Perhaps they could go play sports on their date? Daisy was an active person.

"Mario... I ...love you too." That was Daisy talking in her sleep. She snuggled up against the comfortable chair she had been sitting in, a content smile on her face. Luigi was frozen in shock.

"W-what did you say?" He whispered, only barely able to understand what had happened. This couldn't be happening. It was impossible, right? Right? Daisy wasn't like this.

"Mario... you're so... brave... unlike... Luigi." She continued to talk in her sleep. Luigi's face lost all expression.

His heart felt like it had been broken into a million pieces. Like he had been given a single source of light in the darkness, only for it to be snatched away at the last minute. It was the last straw. His pain could no longer be bottled up. A single tear formed in his eye. The tear fell, carrying his previous love and contentment with it. With her, he felt as if he had been finally free, finally his own person. He was wrong. He was very, very wrong. He had never distinguished himself from his brother, never left the shadows. He was just reaching for the light, unable to attain it. He would have to change that. He stood up and whistled. A shimmering form appeared.

"Yes, master?" The butler ghost asked, eager to accomplish his new task.

"Shivers, take Princess Daisy home. Use the quick method." Luigi said apathetically. Shivers was unaffected by Luigi's tone of voice as he scooped up Daisy into his arms and disappeared in a flash of light. Luigi exited the study and went out into the hallway. He started to head towards the bathroom. A ghost popped out of the ceiling, holding sheet music towards Luigi's face.

"Luigi! I have made another beautiful piece! Would you like to hear it?" It was another ghost Luigi had freed. Her name was Melody. She had golden hair and a passion for music. She loved the fact that Luigi was always willing to listen to her works and praise her. He was the only one who truly cared about her passion. Occasionally, the two would play video games together. Luigi smiled weakly at his ghostly friend.

"Another time, Melody. I have a few things to do first." He said as he continued to walk towards the bathroom. As he passed her, a worried expression worked its way onto Melody's face. Luigi was always bright and happy unless he was scared. But right now, he was neither of those. The expression on his face when she saw him was...

Scary.

Luigi entered the bathroom. He grabbed a razor and removed one thing that tied him to his brother. His mustache. He shaved it off in a single movement, cutting himself in the process. Blood flowed from his upper lip. He didn't care. He would let the blood fall. Luigi exited the bathroom and headed towards the roof. Dark thoughts were in his mind, flooding out anything unnecessary.

Lackluster, loser, liability. Luigi. That was what he was, what he always had been. He had aimed too low. He wanted to be just like his brother?! No! His sorrow was replaced with something that had been building up since he was first conceived. Righteous fury. Why did he have to live in his brother's shadow?! Why can't his brother live in his shadow?! Why can't Luigi be the hero?! Why?! Why?! Why! Why! Why! His fists clenched, his knuckled turned white underneath his gloves. A drop of blood fell from his lip. He moved faster to the roof. A ghost appeared beside him.

"Luigi. Your future... Are you sure about this path? If you go down it, you will not be able to return to your current life. Everything will change." Madame Clairvoya was another ghost he freed. She was a fortune teller.

"Yes. There is no other way." Luigi managed to make his voice stay calm, despite his barely restrained anger. The ghost nodded and disappeared. A drop of blood fell from Luigi's lip. He didn't move to wipe his lip.

He reached the roof and looked up at the large moon in the sky. His fists clenched tighter, drawing blood from his hands. His white gloves became stained with red. He glared bloody daggers at the moon.

"WHY?!" He shouted. Blood flew off his lip as he yelled, screamed, at the world. He didn't have to be in this position! Things didn't have to be this way! He could be first! He could!

The light of fury in Luigi's eyes went out. It was replaced with a twisted form of understanding.

In the alphabet, L always came before M. The letter L was always first, in its rightful place. That was what he would be. He would be L. L for legend. He'd be more than a hero. He'd do what nobody else would do. He would not make the mistakes of his brother. Very soon, Mario would be lost in the shadow of L. L looked down at his body. He was unsatisfied. He had grown rather round, almost like Mario. He'd have to fix that. He had a lot of training to do, a lot of techniques at his disposal. He'd just have to master them. And get rid of that excess fat. It was disgusting. He had a lot of changes to make.

"I'm done being second best."

L, Age 26. Present Day. Approximately 6 months later.

L appeared in Bowser's chambers. The Power Flower had worn off, dispelling his invisibility. He was much sleeker now, having hard, packed muscled on his thin frame. He had gone through hellish training to lose all the unneeded weight. He wore all black. He had discarded his cap and overalls quite some time ago. Those were his brother's clothes. He wore a hood to cover his head and a mask underneath to cover his face. On his body, he wore a dark cloak. Underneath it, he wore black pants, and a black shirt. He had two black belts crossing his chest, forming an X pattern. On the belts were lined numerous power-ups within miniature blocks. The mask was pure black, with only the slightest hint of green in the right light. There were no patterns or anything fancy on it. It only had two eye holes that gave L a heads-up display and night-vision. Professor E. Gadd was happy to make it with the right funding. Not that he knew what L had planned for it.

L unsheathed his blade from his back. It was a black metal that E. Gadd had found in a crater. It was extremely conductive. In fact, the sword seemed to increase the effect of electricity. L looked over at his target. The big lummox was snoring in his huge bed. L moved close, careful to avoid knocking into any chains that might collide with him. He didn't want to wake the big guy up, now did he? He snuck over to the bed. He climbed atop the bed and moved over to where Bowser's thick, fat, head lay. He was snoring peacefully.

Disgusting.

L would make sure this creature would never wreak havoc in the Mushroom Kingdom ever again. He would purge this villain. He raised his blade over his head. L smirked.

"Goodbye, you disgusting tub of lard. I hope you rot in hell. And make me a legend. L the Kingslayer." He plunged his blade into the thick skull of Bowser. Bowser's eyes shot open. He sat up in a lightning fast movement, L's sword still stuck in his forehead. Luigi hung onto the blade as Bowser swung his head wildly. He had not plunged the sword in deep enough. It was a terrible mistake. L would make sure to not repeat it.

"YOU LITTLE PUNK! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Bowser stood and began to rampage around the room. Blood squirted from his wound on his forehead. L still hung on; trying to get a good enough grip to finish Bowser. Bowser slammed his head against one of the stone walls of his room, crushing L against it. L cried out in pain as he felt his ribs break. Bowser seemed a bit dazed from smashing his head against the wall. L took advantage of this situation. He tightened his grip on his sword and was finally able to do it. His killing move.

"Thunderhand."

Electricity sprayed from L's hands into the sword, which seemed to come to life when the electricity flowed through it. It went from a dull black to a bright, glowing green. This sword was one of E. Gadd's greatest creations. The Prototype Beam Sword. As of right now, it only worked for L. E. Gadd hoped to one day perfect the Beam Sword for everybody to use them. However, L doubted any others would ever be nearly as powerful as it was now. No other Beam Sword would be powered by L.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Bowser roared as he was electrified in the head by the Beam Sword. Images of his skeleton flashed as lightning danced across his skin. Bowser staggered left to right, back and forth. Luigi pumped more electricity into the sword. Bowser became something akin to a nightlight, glowing in the darkness as electricity flowed through him freely. Bowser continued to roar through all this somehow, words ceasing to accurately describe his situation. The electricity was more than just deadly. It was excruciatingly painful. After his roar, he fell to the ground, taking L down with him. Bowser's muscles twitched after his death, the last remnants of electricity leaving his now charred body. What once had been a king was now a charred corpse on the ground. L pulled his sword from the corpse's skull. He spit on Bowser. And then lit the corpse on fire with Thunderhand, ensuring that the bones could not be used for resurrection.

"Disgusting." He reached for a miniature block on his one of his belts. He crushed it with in his grip, immediately being healed from the Mushroom that was contained within. Mushrooms were good for healing.

L smiled. The Mushroom Kingdom would change. And it would be by his hand that he directed it towards the right path. Not Mario's. L would be himself. He could never be a glorious, noble, selfless hero like his brother. No, that was an impossible goal. He'd handle things his style. He'd embrace the shadows that he'd been pushed into, use them to his advantage and make his own name for himself.

Luigi may be forgotten, but L...

L would be remembered.

A Koopa Troopa burst into the room moments later, having been terrified by King Bowser's roar. What he found was a pile of ashes, an open window, and no sign of the Assassin.

A/N: I had to get this idea out of my mind. It was hard to concentrate as long as this wasn't written. Well, how was it?

REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW. Pretty please with a Power Flower on top?