Time To Clean Up

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 his bones in seconds. It came down harsh and wild, the winds ripping vehicles off the streets. The rain was loud, but the siren warning them of the incoming danger was far more deafening. A sound that was present throughout Lillian city, buzzing and hissing nonstop.

'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, 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 is when a person will truly see the light. On the road, a woman had been running in an effort to escape despite the fact there was nowhere to go. She reached her breaking point, 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.

Her 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 all 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.

"Is that... It is! It's really her! 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, Victorian, the greatest hero in the world, pulled her fist back.

Then, with a single mighty punch, sheer wind 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 is currently playing. One with a pretty anchor, showing footage of a disaster that had been diverted. The footage 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 with a smile. "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 hundreds of names. "At this rate, there won't be any crime-"

"Hey." A loud voice yelled in 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. Only the sounds of the bus hitting a bump could be heard as an awkward silence filled the air.

"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 a hard day the Enforcers had. Buildings laid 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.

It was hard to miss, planted squarely in the middle of the street. Massive in size, it might have once been known as a fierce and powerful Kaiju, but now it was just a corpse. Purple liquid, the monster's blood, oozed out of the holes in the creature. It had been a hard-fought battle, but the Enforcers saved the city and slayed the beast.

Superheroes have existed since as far back as anyone can remember. Dressing up in stylish costumes, with flowing capes, wielding the 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. 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, 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 things scales are too hard to cut through. We're gonna need to do this reverse style, like we did with that Alien Ship 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 unkept 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?" Jack asked.

"We got a spot opening." The boss of their crew said, looking over some files. "Your break is over. Grab a tool and head on in."

"In?" The red-haired man said, not liking how that sounded.

His boss slowly handed him a metal drill and a containment suit. "We need you to go in and start carving the thing's muscles out."

"Yes, sir." Jack sighed, taking a second to stretch. He wasn't the only one that looked bummed out. They used the hole in the monster's stomach to get in. The outside was too tough for mere mortals and their silly gear to break apart, but the inside was slightly easier. A strange purplish goo spilled from the many cracks, and so they wore white skintight suits with strange filters on. "God, it smells awful." Jack did his best not to gag, powering the tool up and smashing it into a thick bone, carving through it.

"Reports say it ain't anything we should be worried about." One of the other workers noted. He poked at what might be some of the organs with a metal rod.

"Still try not to get any of it on ya." Jack gave a slight grin. "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."

"If ya ask me, those heroes should just chuck these corpses in space." One of the workers murmured, scraping strands of muscle away from a section of cartilage.

"That's an awful idea," Jack 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 Kajus for three lifetimes."

It wasn't an easy job. They spent hours breaking it down while the other workers got to be in the cool air. The task itself 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 do.

Jack himself grunted, stabbing the spear down into a heavy block of muscle, and with a growl of effort, he forced his weight into it, shattering it apart. He groaned, feeling the warmth of it splash over his legs. Even in a suit, it was gross.

The stomach acid of the beast had been drained, allowing them to stand in the gut of the Kaiju. That said, it was full of the most random stuff. Things like cars, chunks of buildings, statues, and anything else it had managed to devour in its short rampage time. Jack poked at one, what looked like a strange rock, that was almost in the shape of a man. "What even is half this stuff." He had seen all manners, from planes to even bridges, floating in the gut of the monster.

Their tools dug into it, removing what they could piece by piece. They loaded it up in barrels and removed bone fragments. The outside was still a mess whenever they'd step out, but it was coming along. Most cars had been taken off the road, and the majority of debris had been collected into more manageable piles.

"I can't believe nature would actually let something like this exist." One of them muttered.

Jack gave a snort. "Get used to it. heroes and villains really messed up our World when they appeared. I miss the good old days." His spear impaled another portion of muscle above them, allowing the purple goo to spill out. It was the same thing every day. Well, that wasn't really true. Some days, it was natural disasters. Some days it was simple 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.

Jack let out a sigh when he saw what his hard work had managed to accomplish after hours of effort. He stood outside of the Kaiju, staring at all the carved chunks of the beast. They were making progress, though it wouldn't still be done for weeks, maybe even months.

"We're nearing the hard part," Jack 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 let out a sigh and a mild curse, hacking into some of the loose scales.

"He's pretty good at that." One of the workers wondered, watching Jack work.

"Oh, Mr. 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."

Jack 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. One that had everything it needed, though. It was better than living off the street, after all. "I was right. That day felt like it would never end. I'm back!" He called out.

"Are you drunk already?" A voice sighed as Jack closed the door behind him.

"Not yet." Jack 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 into the couch. "How was your day." He asked.

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 Jack rarely used his, claiming the couch most nights. Sitting at the table with a laptop was Jack's roommate. A dark-skinned man who, unlike Jack, at least made an attempt to look nice, his hair combed, and his beard trimmed. Still, he was dressed in whatever they had been able to get for half price.

"My day was pretty good." His name was Nick, and he was one of the few people Jack could say was his friend. "Work was quiet. No one tried to rob the bank." Unlike Jack, Nick worked as a security guard, though in a day and age with superpowers, he really never did anything anymore. "Oh, this cute girl did give me her number, though. I got a date."

"Seriously?" Jack's tone showed he didn't believe the man.

"No joke." Nick grinned. "I'll be seeing her tomorrow. 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 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."

"Speaking of getting old..." Jack 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. "So, how much did you lose?" He finally asked.

Nick gritted his teeth for a second. "I haven't lost anything yet." He smirked. "If the Blues win, I'll have enough money to pay off our rent for next month and still have some left over for food." He eagerly stared at the screen as it showed a horse race, stats, and numbers scrolling along the edges of the stream. "Come on, Blues!" He grinned.

"Reds are gonna win. Ya, always bet on Reds. They all always pull back a win."

"You don't know that!"

Jack 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 said quietly.

Nick had a gambling problem.

It was funny except for when it was sad.

"This just in!" The TV announced loudly, getting Jack's attention. "The hero Victorian easily stopped a city level disaster today!" It was the same newswoman that had been on earlier.

"Does she ever sleep?" Jack 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. Just Victorian. Her outfit was black looking, almost similar to what figures of the military would wear, but with the addition of a long flowing 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.

Jack stared at the TV in silence, his eyes stuck on the picture. "Uh, dude?" Nick asked when he finally noticed it. "You doing, okay? No offense, but that's like super creepy."

"How did I end up on this side of the coin." Jack sighed.

"What?" Nick questioned.

"And if that wasn't enough, it's been years since we've heard from her arch nemesis The Emperor!" The woman on the TV announced cheerfully. "Could 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 Jack threw his 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," Jack muttered, falling back onto his bed.

"What!?"

"Goodnight."

"You can't just go to sleep after that!"

Jack stared at the wall in silence. "Cleanup is an important job and a good service." He sighed. "I have a roof over my head and can eat when I want. It's good enough, dammit. Just don't think about it."

"Dude, I don't know what's gotten into you, but you better get up and go and get a new-"

Jack fell asleep.

***

There was nothing worse than having a great dream of the past, only to be forced awake by the piercing sound of a phone ringing. Jack groaned, his eyes opening and burning from the beam of sunlight. He growled and turned over as he set up. The nearest clock read that it was around lunchtime. He worked evenings to nights, so this was quite early for him to wake up.

There was ringing coming from the pile of clothes he had dropped when he first got home. He stumbled towards it, wiping sleep from his eyes and finding the phone in one of the pockets. Only one place ever calls him.

"Talk to me."

"Hey, Jack! We got a new recruit over in the Squad and hoped you could come in early and help train them." The voice of his boss blared through the phone. "You've been here the longest, so I figured you'd be the best for it."

"I'm not the one who normally trains new recruits. Wait... Do we even train recruits?" Jack sighed, rubbing his eyes. He had just been thrown into the deep end when he first got the job. On top of that, he had never been asked to train someone in the fifteen years he had worked here. Most people quit after a week, maybe a year tops, due to the conditions.

"This one is a little special." His boss admitted. "Just get down to the office when you can. That's an order."

"Sure thing, boss." He closed his flip phone as his eye twitched. "Maybe the overtime will be worth it."

The ride over to the office wasn't long. He lived close by. "Hey, Jack! Welcome! C'mere." The voice of his boss shouted at him. There was almost no one else in the building. Most of the workers were either stalling before they'd have to head out or had already left for another big job.

"Yo boss. So, where's the new part timer-" His words stopped as he entered the small office building and saw his boss, a thin man in a suit, who only managed the paperwork, and bills, never actually doing any of the physical work, standing next to a young girl.

She couldn't have been older than fifteen, maybe even younger. So young, he would guess she was still in school. She wore a red T-shirt with the famous pop singer hero on it. Her raven hair was long and wild, and her eyes were a childish bright blue, the kind that hadn't reached adulthood yet hidden behind a set of round glasses. She was young. Too young to be in this job.

"Hello." The girl gave a nod of her head. She spoke quietly, with a bit of nervousness or shyness. "My name is Hope."

The girl practically jumped when the boss clapped her on the back. "Mr. Larison, you remember my son Armin, right? Well, this girl here is one of his friends. I thought it would be best to introduce the two of you. Hope here has been acting up a bit at school. It's a Tuesday, and she got kicked out. It's not the first time, and at this rate, I doubt it's gonna be the last. Her mother's a good friend of mine, and long story short, she's gonna be working here to teach her a lesson."

The girl flinched at the man's words. "It's not that big of a deal." Hope muttered bitterly.

"So why me." Jack sighed, scratching at his beard.

His boss gave him a larger grin. "Well, since she's a kid and all, we don't wanna have her being pushed too far, and you're always complaining how you need someone to keep track of the tools and what goes where, so I figured you could use a little bit of extra eyes. Also, Hope is really into superheroes. Her mother even threw her a hero themed party last year and somehow convinced me to come dressed as Max Lightning." His words caused the girl's face to flush, and she looked like she wanted to murder him for a second. "You know a lot about heroes, so I figure it would give her something to talk about. After all, didn't you first tell me that your dream used to be to become a superhero when you were younger?"

Jack gritted his teeth, staring at the man. "Now, now, don't scare the kid." He tried to give a nervous chuckle to lighten the mood, but it likely didn't work. "That was years ago, after all."

The girl, however, only seemed to be focused on one thing. "Why."

"Huh?"

"Why did you call it quits?" Hope questioned.

Jack stared at her before he shrugged and laughed. "Well, you know there are a lot of people who want to be a hero, and it's a lot of work to get recognized as one. Everyone's got a limit to what they can do, and there were so many other superpowered people, so I guess I just realized I wasn't cut out for it."

"Not cut out for it? So, you just gave up on your dream." She sounded shocked and stared at him with wide eyes.

Jack winced but gave another shrug. "I guess... I was just a kid back then. Sometimes dreams change, and I just got too old. I wasn't able to do it back then, so what chance do I have now? You'll get it when you're older."

"No." Hope finally seemed to have a bit of emotion as she glared at him. "I won't understand just giving up. I don't want too either." She stormed past him, heading towards the back. "I'm getting dressed." She muttered, slamming the door behind her.

"Geez! I really thought you two would have gotten along!" The boss said with wide eyes.

Jack stared at the door, letting out a sigh. "What a stupid kid."