(In response to Mario's best paper friend poll, in which Kooper won.)

It was a sunny day. 'Good,' Kooper thought. "Hey, KTQ!" he called out suddenly.

At the moment Koopa the Quick happened to enter Koopa Village. "Hi Kooper," he said. "How did you know I was going to be here?"

"What are you talking about?" Kooper asked. "You were standing right there."

"Are you sure you meant to be calling to me?" KTQ scratched his head.

"Well duh! Unless there is some other Koopa the Quick you want to tell me about."

"Ok, whatever," KTQ sighed. "What do you want anyway?"

"Well I want to race, off course!" Kooper looked annoyed. "What did you think I wanted?

"How was I supposed to know?"

Kooper shook his head. "You didn't do well in school, did you?"

"I don't see what that has to do with-"

"Shut up and race!"

"Sure, ok," KTQ agreed. "Where to?"

"What, you don't know?" Kooper roller his eyes.

"Um... no."

"Haha! Ah... we're going to race to the top of the Koopa Bros.' Fort. Everyone knows that!"

KTQ raised an eyebrow. "Everyone?"

"Well, everyone important anyway," Kooper responded. "I know, and I told Kolorado yesterday, and I'm sure he told all the important people."

"I guess I'm not important," KTQ pouted.

"Don't worry about it. We can't all be important." Kooper put a hand on the fellow turtle's shoulder.

"Riiight. Well let's race... what the?"

Kooper had already started running. KTQ raced to catch up and did so in about three seconds.

Four minutes later...

"Hey! What do you think you're doing in our fort?" asked the Red Ninjakoopa.

"Whew, that was easy!" KTQ grinned. "But where's Kooper?"

One hour later...

"Come on, get out of here!" the Yellow Ninjakoopa whined.

"Ok, I have to go find Kooper anyway," KTQ said as he left.

Seven minutes later...

"What the? Kooper? Why are you still in Koopa Village?" KTQ asked when he returned.

"I should be asking you the same thing!" Kooper snapped.

"I don't know what you mean."

"We were racing, and everything was going fine and dandy, when suddenly I couldn't see you anymore. Obviously you quit and I won by forfeit."

KTQ was silent for a few seconds. "Did it ever occur to you that I might have gotten so far ahead of you that you just couldn't see me?" he finally inquired.

"No, of course not. Why would I think that?" Kooper looked very confused.

"Oh, no reason," KTQ replied as he turned to leave. Then, "Kooper?"

"What do you want now?"

"You remind me very much of Mario."

"You take that back right now!" Kooper immediately shouted. "I'm much better than that... that hero wannabe!"

"Right, sorry," KTQ said. He left town, shaking his head. "They are perfectly identical, in the brain department," he said to himself.