The ground quaked twice, once with a step and the second with a thud. 

Guy Dynamo had done it again. 

One more giant monster slain under his belt as he floated above them triumphantly. What was it this time, a building-sized armadillo with crystal skin? A massive snail with acid-like slime?

 

It didn't matter to me; I had to clean them up all the same. Still, as I waded amongst the crowd of onlookers circling around him–i wondered.

What must it be like to be a superhero every day? And I do mean every day. I couldn't remember the last time the news hadn't covered Guy Dynamo saving the day.

I waved at him, catching his attention.

“Ah! Cleanup Girl! It's good to see you again.” He smiled at me, teeth so white that he’d actually blinded people before.

“Hey Guy. And I told you—” I pointed at my name badge,” you can call me Sapphyra.”

He waved his meaty palm, dismissing me.

“Nonsense. We're professionals, aren't we? It's not good to be too casual, you know.” 

“Guy! Can we have your autograph?” A pair of nosy teens wormed their way in. If you couldn't tell they were fans from his face being on their shirts, then something was wrong with you.

You'll never hear me admit it out loud but I used to be one of those fan girls. I still have one of his signed comics in a box at my mom's place.

“Haha! Of course, ladies, anything for my loyal fans.” He said with an air of bravado so thick you could spread it on toast.

I rolled my eyes and chuckled, grabbing my cleaning supplies. I moved somberly, stepping through the crowd to the part no one wanted to pay attention to.

The leftovers. Rubble and debris littered the asphalt before me, some pieces bigger than my body.

And at 7ft tall, I was not a small woman.

This place used to be an apartment complex full of retirees. Now? It might as well be a graveyard. Guy Dynamo, for all his amazing abilities–like super speed–only got out a couple of kids. The rest of the older adults were too fragile to move.

But the media wasn't covering that; they never did.

It made my head hurt to think about it so I chose not to…at least I tried not to.

One quick look around to make sure no one was paying attention to me, and I went to work.

“Vacuum!” I quietly called out, condensing the pressure in the air and pulling into me. 

My mouth opened ever so slightly–just enough for a whistle. Air swirled into a vortex, sliding each leftover piece of trash and rubble into me. That handled all the small pieces, anything bigger than half my height had to be broken down first.

Something caught my attention nearby. A soft whimper followed by a sniffle. My clock said 3:30 pm and my job ended at 4:00pm–a stark reminder that I needed to work quickly. In the great metropolis of The City, overtime wasn’t an option in my class.

Another whimper? No. A sob. I sighed and wiped my hands on my pants, leaving the pink and black jumpsuit dirtier than when I started.

I should leave it alone. The last time I tried to help anyone I–

The words wouldn’t come. Flashes of blood and fire filled my vision, bringing me to my knees.  This wasn’t the first time my mind rebelled against the notion. Something was there, something in my past tried to stay buried. Blood started dribbling from my nose.

Just my body's reminder to stay in my own world.

“Damn it…” I headed towards the noise, keeping my eye out for any stray monsters. It was rare but sometimes there were follow-up monsters, smaller and easier to hide but just as deadly as their main counterparts.

Each step into the crumpled ruins of the city made me…ache. I’m not sure with what though. I passed through a park, overgrown with vines and rusted playground equipment. The sob I’d heard earlier was louder now.

“Hello? Does anyone need help?” I called out between cupped hands.

“Help me! Please help me!” A tiny voice called out to my far right. I was there in three quick strides, no longer holding back my size. An apartment held together with a few shaky pillars had started crumbling, leaving a small hole big enough for a tiny person to get through. 

Or a child.

“Where are you?”

“I’m here! I can’t move my leg! It's stuck!” A small arm, brown and grimy, reached out of the hole.

I frowned, disgruntled with the situation presented before me.

“Ya got a name kid?”

“Penny…Penny Dunbar.” She sniffled. 

“Hi Penny.” I squat down, gently pulling away pieces of the wall with my bare hands. “My name is Sapphyra. I’m the cleaner assigned to this section of the city. Stay still, I’ll do my best to get you out, okay?”

“O…okay.” She softly responded, holding in sobs. 

I wish I was better at comforting people. Wyatt was the comforter. He could heal a drowning man with a glass of water. No, shit, don’t go down memory lane now..

Another chunk gone, I could see her there. A massive piece of wall was pinning her leg down beneath the broken ceiling. It was almost poetic, the sun shining down on a child near a park. 

“Hey Penny, I can see you! I’ve got you, any second now.”

“Okay.” The tears softly fell from her sunken eyes. The poor thing looked like she hadn’t eaten in days.

Her eyes widened when she saw me—a giant black lady with pink cotton candy hair and ocean blue eyes—not exactly subtle. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten that reaction.

My mom told me stories about the old days. Kids used to play in parks freely. There were monsters but only those of human design, men parading around in ice cream trucks and candy vans.

Wyatt and I once talked about starting a–fuck! There I go again. What is wrong with me today?

Now we have actual monsters, anything from vampire tigers to zombie wooly mammoths on a daily basis. And after the attacks? People like Penny, those in the poorer districts get left behind. Souls left behind that have to pick up the pieces and move on while the city forgets and cheers for its heroes. They shouldn’t have to.

Things like that are why I took this job.

I ripped off the chunk holding her down with ease. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, a reminder that she wasn’t alone in this. 

Gray dust fell onto my nose–the only warning that the ceiling was about to come down.

Muscles tensing–my body moved on its own, arms spread wide to cover Penny.

“Shit—”