The rain and hail were heavy, solid blocks of ice hitting hard enough to shatter glass and dent cars, the water soaking a grown man to the bone in seconds. It came down harsh and wild, with the winds ripping vehicles off the streets. The rain was loud, but the siren warning of the incoming danger was far more deafening.
‘A tsunami is approaching the city. Evacuate to higher ground immediately. A tsunami is approaching the city. Evacuate to higher ground immediately.’
Big enough to cast a shadow on the entire city, bringing a wave that would smash most of the buildings flat at any moment, this freakish storm had seemingly appeared from thin air and without warning. With nowhere to run or flee, many people stared in horror, shock, and some acceptance.
Yet, they sometimes say that in the darkness, a person will truly see the light. On the road, a woman had been running in an effort to escape, despite the fact that there was nowhere to go. She reached her breaking point, her legs buckling and giving out beneath her. She dropped down, breathing heavily, her head cocked to the side as she stared at the massive wall of water. It was so dark that it almost looked black, and she knew how stabbing the cold would be when it engulfed her.
That was when something in front of the massive wave caught her eye.
The woman’s eyes squinted ever so slightly as she stared at the tsunami that would crush her any second now. It almost looked like there was a golden glow that came from the road directly in front of the black wave.
"Oh, my God." The realization hit her. She wasn’t the only one who had stopped and stared. Many people turned to the light as it began to grow. Even as the ice fell and the water spilled, the glowing didn’t stop as something waited for it.
“Is that... It is! It’s really her! The Victorian!”
The light in the darkness. A woman stood, waiting for the tsunami. A red flowing cape was wrapped over her, a skintight suit showed off her muscles, and a golden light seemed to burst forth from the air around her. The woman, the Victorian, the greatest hero in the world, took a deep breath.
Then, in an instant, she breathed out. It came out so hard and so fast that the tsunami was instantly frozen, an entire ocean's worth of water changing into a wave of ice. Slowly, the woman pulled her fist back.
Then, with a single mighty punch, she exploded the tsunami.
And just like that, it was over.
***
“This is the winner of this year’s ‘Best hero moment of the year’ poll!” On the screen of a TV, a news channel was currently playing. One with a pretty anchor, showing footage of a disaster that had been diverted. The scene showed the Victorian easily halting a sky-sized wave of water with her bare hands. “Another deed by the greatest hero of our generation, the one and only Victorian!” The woman announced. “It’s no wonder why she is considered to be the leader of the Enforcers! And she isn’t the only hero working hard!” The image changed, showing hundreds of cities and thousands of names. “At this rate, there won’t be any crime-”
“Hey.” A loud voice yelled on the bus. “Turn that off. We’re about to start.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Jack.” There was a click, and the TV turned black, fading out. Only the sounds of the bus hitting a bump could be heard as an awkward silence filled the cabin.
“Yeesh.” Someone muttered as the bus finally stopped in the streets of Lillian City, and they began to pile out. “The Enforcers made one heck of a mess this time. It’ll be massive overtime, for sure.”
Standing on the street, they saw what was left after the Enforcers finished one of their battles. Buildings lay in ruins, the roads were cracked, cars were tipped over, and in the center of it all was the reason they had been called out on such short notice.
A massive crater the size of four football fields stretched out across the ground. It was hard to miss; planted squarely in the middle of the crater, massive in size, was the corpse of a dragon. It was covered in dark red scales, and its head had been blown clean off. It was so big that it took up most of the crater and still hung over it, black blood flooding the streets.
Superheroes have existed since as far back as anyone can remember. Dressing up in stylish costumes with flowing capes and wielding powers some can only dream of. However, the next battle begins once the dust settles and the heroes pick up their toys.
The Cleanup Crew.
“The reports say it popped out of nowhere and was the cause of the tsunami. The Victorian apparently killed it by accident when she was getting rid of the wave.” One of the workers said, staring down at a file in his hand. “You’d think the heroes could have made our job a little easier and at least moved it out of the crater. Alright men! Let’s get to it! We need to get this city block back to looking pretty before the end of the month!”
They were dressed in brown jumpsuits and carrying futuristic tools straight out of a comic, each of them beginning to help get cars turned back over or move large debris. “No good.” One of them shouted as he began hacking away at the massive corpse. “This thing’s scales are too hard to cut through. We’re gonna need to do this reverse style, like we did with that spaceship in Daisy City.”
An unsung battle. They weren’t heroes; they weren’t known by name to many, and they never got loud cheers. They just weren’t hero material. And none of that was more obvious than one.
“Jack!” Someone shouted.
“Yes, sir?” He quickly dropped his cigarette, stomping it into the drenched street with a soft sizzle.
Dressed in the standard brown jumpsuit the Cleanup squad wore, it didn’t show off his form too much. What could be seen, though, showed he was a little out of shape. Not fat, but rather more like an athlete who gave up and let themselves go. A bit of muscle to his arms and legs from lifting, with a beer gut starting to form. His skin was mostly pale, with patches of various levels of sunburn, messy and unkempt reddish brown hair, tired dark eyes with heavy bags underneath them, as well as a wild beard that was out of control.
His name was Jack Larison. He wasn’t a hero. That was pretty obvious, though.
“What can I do for you, sir?” He asked.
“We got a spot opening.” The boss of their crew said, looking over some files. “Your break is over. Grab a tool and go down. This corpse isn’t stable and isn’t touching the bottom of that crater. We need to make sure it doesn’t fall any further and cause a massive earthquake.”
“Yes, sir.” He replied, taking a second to stretch. He wasn’t the only one who looked bummed out. He had to use a series of tunnels and broken walls in the sewers to get to the bottom of the crater. The corpse of the beast was about forty feet above the bottom of the hole. Its body was so long that it worked sort of like a bridge to either side up above.
The crater was also filled with that black blood. So much so that it went all the way up to their ankles.
“Reports say it ain’t anything we should be worried about.” One of the other workers noted.
“Still try not to get any of it on ya.” He gave a slight grimace as he wiped some of it on his pants. “I had a buddy who screwed around with weird space things. Last I heard, he became a mountain-sized monster and is living his life out at the bottom of the ocean.”
“Really!” One of the workers down in the sinkhole asked.
“Nah. I lied. But don’t get it on ya anyway. Seriously. Bad stuff.” He grunted.
“If ya ask me, those heroes should just chuck these corpses into space.” One of the workers murmured as they got to work setting their tools up.
“That’s an awful idea,” he said, shaking his head. “The last thing we want is some space God taking one of these things and turning it into a massive metal form. I’ve had enough of space beasts for three lifetimes.”
It wasn’t an easy job. They spent hours putting up beams and drilling them into the ground and underbelly of the beast, making sure it was secure and wouldn’t randomly fall when the people above started to remove it piece by piece. The task would have been nearly impossible if not for the ‘help’ Harrison Avalon provided them. All their tools, built by the man, easily allowed them to do what no other construction crew could.
He grunted as he and another guy raised one of the metal beams up. They had a ladder, which a third member of their crew climbed up. The ladder extended, getting longer and longer, and soon the man was so high up that a single slip would likely kill him. The worker used a powerful drill and bolted the beam to the scales of the dead dragon.
“I can’t believe nature would actually let something like this exist.” One of them muttered.
He gave a snort. “Get used to it. Heroes and villains really messed up our world when they appeared.” It was the same thing every day. Well, that wasn’t really true. Some days, there were natural disasters. Some days it was just common criminals or massive villains. Sometimes monsters or robots. Either way, the heroes arrived, they fought off whatever it was that caused the issues, and the Cleanup Squad would do their best to fix the mess.
He let out a sigh when he saw what his hard work had managed to accomplish after hours of effort. He stood back up top with the others, staring at all the carved chunks of the beast. They were making progress, though it wouldn’t be done for weeks, maybe even months. At least now, though, they wouldn’t have to worry about it caving in on itself.
“We’re nearing the hard part,” he grunted. “Once this thing is light enough, we’re gonna have to somehow lift it out of here. Then we’re gonna have hundreds of massive holes to plug up.” He rubbed his brow and got to work, moving large boulders of debris out of the way.
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“He’s pretty good at what he does.” One of the workers wondered, watching him work.
“Oh, Jack Larison?” Another worker said, raising an eyebrow. “Yeah. He’s been here for a long time. Fifteen years, give or take.”
“Fifteen years! Who would ever want to keep doing this job for that long? I’ve already given my two-week notice! He must have had some rotten luck.”
He could feel the back of his neck burn, his ears turning red as he listened to them talk. He felt the stabbing gaze on his back and did his best to ignore it as he worked harder, hoping to get done early.
Today was going to be a long day.
***
His keys dropped onto the table as he stumbled into his apartment, nearly tripping over his feet as he did so. His ‘home’ was small. It was better than living off the streets, though. “I was right. That day felt like it would never end. I’m back!” He called out.
“Are you drunk already?” A voice asked as he closed the door behind him.
“Not yet.” He grinned, unzipping the brown jumpsuit. It dropped to the floor as he stepped out of it, now just in a T-shirt and his underwear. He collapsed forward, falling face-first onto the couch. “How was your day?”
The home he shared was small, the living room and dining room in one, with a TV still on the box and a simple table with a mini fridge next to it. Off to the side was a door to their bathroom, a kitchen, and their bedroom, though he rarely used his, claiming the couch most nights. Sitting at the table with a laptop was his roommate. A dark-skinned man who, unlike him, at least made an attempt to look nice, with their hair combed and beard trimmed.
“My day was pretty good.” The man’s name was Nick, and he was one of the few people Jack accepted as a friend. “Work was quiet. No one tried to rob the bank this time.” Unlike Jack, Nick worked as a security guard, though in a day and age with superpowers, he really never did anything anymore. “How about you? How has your day been?”
“Terrible.” Jack sighed, turning over onto his back. He felt the floor for a bit before he found a remote. The TV flicked on, landing on the news. It talked about the retirement of Old Dog, a hero in his late nineties, as well as the newest concert Pretty Face, the man ranked in the top five hottest male heroes, was holding.
“You’re getting old.”
He let out a grunt, sitting up on his bed and rubbing his neck. He fished around, finding a can of beer, which he popped open. “Speaking of getting old… How much did you lose?” He demanded.
Nick gritted his teeth for a second. “I haven’t lost anything yet.” The man smirked. “If the Blues win, I’ll have enough money to pay off rent for next month and still have some left over for food.” Nick eagerly stared at the screen as it showed a horse race, stats, and numbers scrolling along the edges of the stream. “Come on, Blues!”
“Reds are gonna win.”
“Don’t jinx it!”
He stared for a second, then slowly took a sip of his drink as he waited. Nick’s cheerful look grew worse. He drank a bit more. Finally, Nick closed the computer. “How much did you lose?”
“You can pay next month’s rent, right?” Nick asked quietly.
Nick had a gambling problem.
“This just in!” The TV announced loudly, getting his attention. “The hero, the Victorian, easily stopped a city-level disaster today!” It was the same newswoman that had been on earlier.
“Does she ever sleep?” He muttered, grabbing the remote.
“The hero or the news anchor.”
“Both.” He was about to turn it off but stopped when a picture of the hero appeared on the screen.
It was a pretty woman. One with long blonde hair and a set of strong golden eyes as bright as the sun. Her skin was flawless, and she didn’t wear a mask. She didn’t need one. There were no silly things, like a secret identity, with her. Her outfit was black, looking almost similar to what figures in the military would wear, but with the addition of a long flowing red cape, one she had received at a young age, as well as a few bits of red cloth over her suit. The leader of the Enforcers, the greatest hero team in the world.
He stared at the TV in silence, his eyes stuck on the picture of the Victorian. “Uh, dude?” Nick asked when he finally noticed it. “Are you doing okay? No offense, but that's super creepy.”
“How did I end up on this side of the coin?” He asked under his breath.
“What?” Nick questioned.
“And if that wasn’t enough, it’s been years since we’ve heard from her arch nemesis!” The woman on the TV announced cheerfully. “Could the Victorian have succeeded where other heroes have failed and rid herself of the rival? Either way, I know that the previous number one superhero, Full Monarch, would be proud-”
The TV exploded into a hail of glass and plastic as he threw his beer can at it as hard as he could. It smashed through the screen, breaking it instantly and knocking it off the box, where it crashed to the floor with a loud thud.
“Whoa! What the hell, man?” Nick yelled with wide eyes as he stood up. “Our TV!”
“I’ll buy a new one,” he asserted, already feeling a little regret at what his anger caused.
“What!?”
He stood up and grabbed a pair of dirty pants and a mostly clean buttoned-up shirt. “I’m heading out.” He grunted.
“You can’t just go after that!”
“Watch me.”
He slammed the door to their room and stepped back out into the night air, leaving Nick. He could hear the man screaming inside, but he ignored it. He allowed his legs to carry him to his favorite destination.
The bar usually didn’t have many people at this time of night. Still, there always seemed to be at least someone lurking around. Not today, though. Even the owner was gone. Things were scattered all around, as if people had been in a hurry to leave. The shaking made him sigh.
Another villain attack. That wouldn’t stop him, though. He jumped over the counter and threw a few bills down before grabbing his usual drink. He took a few swigs from the bottle as the shaking got worse. “Cleaning is an important job.” He took another drink. “I’m helping people out in my own way. I’m doing good. I don’t need to get involved with anything-”
The wall exploded, and the entire bar shook as debris fired out in all directions. A body of a girl slammed into the counter, and let out a groan. He stepped back a little out of shock. Seconds later, a massive man covered in stone ran in. His mind almost went blank as he heard the girls screaming, and the fists of the man pounded into the flesh of the kid.
The bottle he held exploded as his fingers grew tense. The villain didn’t notice him; too busy beating what he guessed was a rookie hero. He felt his heart pounding, and his face grew queasy. His chest ached just seeing the bad guy. He shook his head as the pain got worse. He turned around to leave. The hero could handle themselves. She was the one who got into the mess in the first place, after all.
Her words, however, caused him to stop.
“I- I said. I- I am a hero.” The girl spat. “I got you away from the others. You can’t hurt them now. They’ve all had time to escape!”
The villain growled and swung a massive hand at the hero. He finally made up his mind. He fired forward faster than a human should have been able to move. Golden lightning danced across his skin, and not even Intake saw him as he raised his hand up and caught the attack.
“I think that’s more than enough.” He stated in a blunt tone. “You’re acting like some big shot, yet here you are picking on a young girl.”
“W- Who the hell are you?” Intake screamed. His voice echoed out so loudly that it actually caused the building to shake.
“Keep it down. Do you know how hard it is to find a quiet bar?” He burped a bit and casually threw Intake off of him by raising his arm.
Intake crouched low, and his arms grew long, stone-like blades out of them. “You’re dead! Do you hear me? You and that child are dead!”
He lazily raised his finger and thumb up, turning his hand into a makeshift gun. He could feel it once again. That power he used to have. That energy. All of it swirled in his veins. His skin seemed to glow for a moment, and lightning twisted out of the tip of his finger.
“Bang!” The energy blasted out of his hand, and Intake was slammed through the building and several walls of the neighboring building, leaving a trail of smoke behind.
Lazily, he jogged over, exiting the bar through the hole he created. “Damn. I only blasted him through three walls. Guess I’ve gotten rusty.” He grunted when he saw the smoking body of Intake slowly stand back up after he blasted the villain through the building.
Intake struggled to a knee and roared at him. “Tell me who the hell you are! I’m gonna send you in pieces back to whatever third-rate Super team you’re a part of!”
The villain jammed their hands into the ground, and Jack rubbed his eyes as Intake began to grow. “Do you seriously think I’m gonna wait around for you to do a whole power-up scene?”
His hand raised in a gun shape again, and the lightning crackled out of his finger. Intake’s eyes burned, and for a moment the villain became blind as the golden light smashed through the empty apartment they were in and tore itself through the villain’s lower half, ripping them in two.
Intake spat up more of that black blood and crashed to the ground, missing both of his legs now. “You’re one of those Supers that heal, right?” He asked, though he didn’t really care either way. Smoke poured out of his finger, which burned with more of that golden light. This time he pointed his entire hand toward the downed villain. “Guess that means I don’t have to hold back. I’ll blow your arms clean off and leave you as just a torso.”
The light began to build up in the palm of his hand, letting out an intense hum of energy. Intake’s eyes went wide with fear, and the villain let out a cry for help. “E- Ears!” Intake screamed. “Warp me out of here!”
His attack fired, washing over the ground and setting it on fire as the beam swirled toward the villain. It wasn’t fast enough. Before it could reach its target, a small iridescent orb appeared shooting at Intake. It splashed against the villain, quickly spreading out across their form. With a high-pitched whining noise, it shrank to nothing, taking the villain with it as his energy smashed into the ground and blew a hole right through it and down to the basement.
Intake had managed to escape. Sirens screamed in the air, and he winced, just now noticing the damage he caused. He had blasted the villain out of the bar and through another different building, then he had gone and destroyed that building as well.
“Whoops. It's been a while since I used my power.” He reached into his coat pocket and placed a Cleanup Crew Squad number down so that when the owners returned they could get this place fixed up. With a slap of his hand, an intense wind fired out, putting out all the fire he had started. “This is the least I can do.”
“I- Is it over? D- Did that bad guy escape?”
He froze and turned to stare at the girl. The kid didn’t look to be in good shape. Her body was busted and bruised, and now that he got a closer look, she really wasn’t in a superhero costume. She looked like a normal girl. A child.
The girl struggled to her feet and peered out into the alleyway. “How’d he get away?” She asked, holding onto the wall for balance.
“Ears,” he stated, “A teleporter working for the Bad Timers. Guy’s basically their get-out-of-jail-free card. It’s how they keep getting away. You hear about the bank thing a couple of days ago when the Victorian showed up? Should’ve been it for them, but even her speed ain’t enough to catch up with instant teleportation.”
Brick and wood crunched underfoot as the girl shifted her feet. “Who are you? You must be on a hero team, right?” The newbie hero questioned. “I never saw a power like that.”
He pointed at her, and before she could move, his golden energy slammed into her, and just like that, she dropped to the ground as if her strings were cut. “I’m just a nobody.” For a moment, he looked down at her. She looked strangely familiar. “Maybe… This was fate? No. That would be stupid. I’m a nobody after all. Not anyone important. This was all just a coincidence. I’m sure that you are also a nobody.”
Despite that, though, the words that girl had said went through his mind once more.
‘I got you away from the others. You can’t hurt them now. They’ve all had time to escape.’
Those were words he had heard once before. He picked the unconscious girl up, throwing her over his shoulder. His attack would ensure that she wouldn’t wake up for a few hours at least. “You did pretty good, all things considered, hero. Let’s get you to the hospital now. It’s been a long day.”