Once in a while she would be at the park. The guy was there every day doing his regimen. She would sit in the grass and watch him, sometimes she would just stroll past on a walk. Some days she took out her kitty cat umbrella and stand in the rain watching him. She didn't know why she would keep coming back, she hardly talked to him. At times the sounds his body made were so bizarre it was gross. At times she would bring him lunches and he'd inhale them.

Maybe she was fascinated. After the Heroes Association was established by a big chinned grandpa, people claiming to be heroes were coming out of the woodwork. This guy though... She stared blankly, blinking on occasion as the rain pattered on her umbrella, clearing out the park besides them. Rain or shine this guy was doing an insane training regimen for a year now. Other people were just inventing gadgets to help them fight. Some of them had natural fighting talents, but who's to say they trained as hard at this average dude?

Maybe she admired him a little.

Not having a lunch for him today, she headed back to her apartment on the other side of town.

Monsters were becoming an epidemic. Z City was a magnet for trouble and was the least desired city to live in. The so-called heroes were good to beat them back, but it seemed the more heroes the more monsters appeared. She stared at the grey and wet sidewalk as she walked on. As a car drove by, it didn't bother to slow down as it passed and splashed her, soaking her jeans and sweatshirt. She halted and looked down at herself and then at the car that drove away. She didn't get overly mad, but she wondered, "What good are the heroes."

With more people being "heroes" the more "dick-head-ish" common people seemed to be. It was like watching the heroes boosted their own egos. She continued walking home wet and cold. It's not like the monster problem was even lessening. Some heroes were even becoming haughty with their popularity after only a year. And it was a business that was only going to continue to grow.

Making it home, she shook out her umbrella before tucking it away behind the front door. She stripped herself of her wet clothes and decided to do a load of laundry, dressing in a tank top and kitty cat shorts. She sat on the floor in front of her computer and turned on the television, which was always on the news channel.

Sure as shit.

=A hidden laboratory had a nuclear meltdown and several animals that were being spliced and experimented on have broken out, heading towards these nearby cities.=

They showed a map and she sighed. "It's further south at least. Z City will be hit last if at all." Turning to her computer she listened as the news anchor rattled off responding heroes and the association's efforts as she typed away, checking her email. She was registered to the Heroes Association website, built to receive different kinds of feedback from civilians as well as post news and updates such as newly registered heroes, popularity polls, new rankings, ect. She would receive emails on occasion from the website keeping her up to date, however no new heroes seemed to be registered in a while. She sighed, "Not like that guy would be registered yet. Or that I know his name at all."

She decided to go to the website itself and logged in.

Username: KamaSutra404

Password: ********

Main page was a general feed of the more popular articles. Which of course was for the more popular heroes. Lightning Max and Stinger were steadily rising in rake it seemed. Cool, she kinda liked them. Kinda. They didn't seem dick-ish. She also used this website in an unhealthy way by stalking her more hated heroes. "Biting Snake Fist" Sneck, who was rising in rake by also newbie crushing. She didn't like his smug expression, however if she were ranking them by how much she hated their faces, Amai won most hated.

"Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask", or Amai Mask is what most people called him. She went to his page and of course it was exploded. Steadily rising in rake, constantly on television, number one in all the popularity polls. She had a bad habit of hating things that were popularly liked, however this guy in particular... She watched a clip of him on a talk show and was fixated on his smiling face.

Fake.

This guy was a fake. She was convinced that this guy was a bad guy. His expressions were obviously hiding something wicked underneath. "Guess anyone can be a hero, huh?" She closed out and changed the channel.

There's going to be too many heroes and for what? Will they actually be able to stop the monster epidemic or will stronger ones show up? She sighed as she leaned back against the table, watching her nightly show. The stronger heroes become the more uppity they'll be; either they're too above the work or they'll focus more on popularity like celebrities. Then the smaller heroes won't be able to fight the bigger threats.

She stared at the ground in front of her as she got lost in thought. That guy was working his ass off to be a hero, but she had a feeling... maybe... she sighed and got to her feet. She hated to do this, but she went to the phone and made a call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, uh, it's me."

"Yeah, I know, I'm confused. You never call. Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Uh..." She looked to the side and pulled at her bangs, fidgeting out of nervousness. "Hey... So... I don't know why you take care of me still when everyone else stopped." Stubbles was quiet. "I mean... I don't do anything in return and it's not like I'm looking for work. But..." She sighed and scuffed her foot on the carpet. "I'm... I'm asking you for a bit more money."

"Huh? Why's that?" He sounded curious.

"Well..." She frowned out of embarrassment. "Um... I just need more groceries. There's a guy I found. He's training to become a hero. I make him lunches sometimes."

"Huh?" She deadpanned at his shock. "Is he a boyfriend type?"

"No!" She snapped. "He's way average."

"Well... I mean you're not really a winner yourself."

"Bite me."

"Sorry, but I mean, let's be honest."

"Your stubble is stupid."

"Right. You don't really like heroes, though, don't you?"

She went silent, fidgeting as she tried to fight her embarrassment. "Well... This guy might be different."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

He was quiet for another moment. "All right. I'll start sending you more."

She was surprised. "S-seriously?"

"Maybe he'll inspire you. I see completely average to below average people applying to be heroes, so I know you could apply as well." She deadpanned again. "Some of them make it with dedication. I know you hate the idea of working, but maybe if you did something like that instead of retail work. Heroes earn donations based on performance." She frowned and remained quiet. "If this guy's pretty average and doing training, I know you can."

"Thanks for speaking so highly of me. To my face."

"You don't really build yourself up much."

She hung up. "Fuckin' Stubbles." Dropping back down in front of her computer she decided to mindlessly look through memes. Still, his words nagged her. Maybe he'll inspire her? Her apply to be a hero? She nearly scoffed. However...

More and more heroes were being created. She didn't know how long that guy was going to train for. What if he did too well? What if he became a douche? What if he didn't do well enough? Other heroes would crush him, like Sneck. Leaning back again she crossed her arms and went deep in thought. She liked not working, having no obligations. Yet she also liked watching that guy train, it'd become a hobby of hers. She was even supporting him. As much as she hated to admit it, it was kind of inspiring.

"We don't need any more heroes."

Leaning forward again she decided to look up a couple things.

One hundred push-ups. One hundred sit-ups. One Hundred squats. A ten kilometer run. She sighed, she'd be so behind him starting now. He was already more than a year in. And she was someone that gave up halfway through if there were no immediate results. The lower body was naturally stronger and it was more difficult for females to build upper body strength, so she'd skip push-ups. She didn't really need sit ups either. "So, I'll just change that with one hundred lunges and a wall sit. For like... An hour?" She shrugged, "If that average guy is doing it then it shouldn't be that hard, right?"

She'd start tomorrow.