Suddenly, a small group of police officers and a lone ambulance rapidly drove up to the road to Grey Ghost. Paramedics quickly got out and picked up Mrs. Pickles, placing into a stretcher. One of the police officers jogged out and quickly spoke to Grey Ghost, clearly intent on getting out of there as fast as possible. "Thank you! We heard a man had hobbled into here, drunk. His family was very worried about him. We just came in here to get him in and out, but we better go and get this guy to a hospital. Thanks again! You probably helped save his life!" And just like that, they were gone. [b]*Later, in a hospital bed.*[/b] [color=ed1c24]"Clarence... Clarence... Clarence!"[/color] Clarence groaned and put a hand on his head. His brother, Dave (the oldest of his siblings) stood, disapprovingly, in front of him. [color=ed1c24]"I have good news,"[/color] said Dave, angrily. "Doesn't sound like good news." [color=ed1c24]"I found your wallet. It was in an elevator. On top of an alien corpse."[/color] He placed the wallet on top of Clarence's bed. "Huh. Funny things you do when your drunk. Must have wandered into that elevator..." said Clarence, looking at a balloon in the corner of the room with [color=f7941d][i]Get Well Soon![/i][/color] scrawled onto it. He recognized Cecelia's hand writing. [color=ed1c24]"Just like you wandered into the hero exams! And just how you wander off into bars every night! Why did you become a hero? And why didn't you tell me? Why did you tell Chuck? Now he's got all these visions of you going around and saving the day with S Ranked heroes! Why, he even said that Ventus gave him an autograph because of you."[/color] Dave scoffed. "Chuck told you?" [color=ed1c24]"I said I'd buy him another pack of hero cards if he told me what happened,"[/color] said Dave. "He sold me out!" exclaimed Clarence, somewhat unsurprised and with a tinge of sarcasm. [color=ed1c24]"That's not important. What's important is that you stay away."[/color] "Look, I know you're big on personal space but, come on, this is [i]my[/i] hospital bed. I can't exactly-" [color=ed1c24]"Not from me! From our brothers and sisters! Imagine how heartbroken they'd be if they figured out that you [i]died[/i] just because you got drunk and signed up to be a hero! Hell, you don't have any powers! And don't pretend like you've got some excellent fighting skills. You're ruining them with this drinking! The family is falling apart because of you!"[/color] Clarence grimaced. "Well, if I don't stay with them and take care of them, who will?" Dave glared at Clarence, and Clarence suddenly knew the answer to the question. "The convent. You wouldn't. You know I hate that place! Ever since I got arrested for public urination near there which I [i]did not do[/i]." [color=ed1c24]"It's what mom wanted. In the case that you were an unfit guardian, everyone was to be sent to live in the convent and live their. You know how she was friends with Angel Grace."[/color] Clarence opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to say. [color=ed1c24]"And don't think for a second that you can actually take care of them! Don't even pretend! I'm taking matters into my own hands. So I'm going to send our ten younger siblings there, where they can grow up with a caretaker that isn't a joke. And I'm using the money to go off to college."[/color] Clarence grew serious. "Dave, that's my money." [color=ed1c24]"You can stand up right now and get it. Come on. Fight me for it. Think of how much Chuck would like that, you splitting the family apart. And Carl. He'd love that too, right? Growing up his whole life with an older brother that was a laughing stock? The town drunk? No, I'm putting as much distance between you and them as possible. You can visit them on Saturdays if you take a part of their alcohol rehabilitation program. And I'm taking the money and making something of myself, like you never could. So go ahead, get involved in a long legal battle. Like you could even get a lawyer."[/color] "Rehab, huh? Is that what it's come to? Using the law to out maneuver your older brother?" Clarence grew angry and stood up. He brought his arm back to punch Dave, but he just ended up getting the IV painfully pulled out of his vein. He stumbled to the ground, and some nurses quickly rushed in and picked him up, plopping him back into the seat. When he looked back, Dave was gone. [b] *Even more later* [/b] Mrs. Pickles took the bus to the only place where he'd be able to afford rent. City Z. He walked into his new "house", which had no electricity, plopped his mother's box and his father's hunting rifle onto the coffee table (which broke from the weight of the hunting rifle), sighed, and then went to use the restroom. He found it odd that he hadn't seen anyone. Sure, City Z was mostly abandoned. But there were enough people around that not even seeing anyone on the bus ride was strange. Little did he know about the isolated information about Gumbo's creation... As Mrs. Pickles washed his hands, he heard a lion's roar outside. That was odd. He wasn't seriously still drunk, was he? He casually walked outside... and then lion-scorpion hybrid monster sniffing around in his front yard. Mrs. Pickles gracefully retrieved his hunting rifle. But not before screaming "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!" and tripping over the remnants of his new coffee table. He quickly dashed outside, steadied his nerves, got his gun ready, and aimed at the monster. Dave said he wasn't worthy? Ha. He'd show him. He would become a great hero. Make them proud. He squeezed the trigger. One monster after the other, by punches, kicks, blades, settling it in Smash, and bullets, he'd fight anything that stood in between him and his siblings. And nothing could stop him! *Click* Except for the fact that Mrs. Pickles was out of ammo... "Oh no..."