The Greatest Good

"I think I'm developing a lot of energy," said Ronnie.

Dana looks up at her cereal. "Really? Sir, that's good!"

Ronnie shrugs. "I mean I'm not sure yet. We'll see. But I think I'd like what the suit would be like if it happened."

“Oh, I have to get a suit,” agreed Dana.

Ronnie's cutting copper. Not sure about the main color yet. Maybe green, or blue. He picks up cloth swatches to check out the different combinations.

Every time he goes to the gym, his muscles and rap go up. It can be normal. He’s been walking a lot, it makes sense. It does not mean that you are special.

He jumps in the air, just before he lands, just as if he were flying.

The green and the brass are made to die. He had better go with the navy.

"Look at this," said Ronnie. They jump into the air and float a little.

She sighs at Dana. "Whoa!"

"That's true, isn't it?" Asks Ronnie anxiously. "I don't think so?"

"No," Dana reassures her. "Of course it is. Aw, dad, I'm so happy for you!" Hug Ronnie and hold him tight.

Ronnie puts his hand on his little, stunning back. "That's fine," he said. "I think I'd better be busy."

She decides to go with the black-gray. Copper will really explode against it, he thinks.

She sends someone she finds online to sew it based on her drawings. They've never made a hero suit before, but Ronnie loves that. He does not want his suit to be the same as other people's. You want it to be new. This person has done a lot of good clothes, especially for dancers - skin-protective, eye-catching, easy to get into. They have to be perfect.

Incomplete. That's what he asked for, sure, but it wasn't in his head.

Maybe he should try it on the navy after all.

The Navy also does not work. Ronnie stops doing new things and hires someone who has done suits before, and then stops what he is trying to do for himself. Then he has four suits, he is not happy at all, and he has spent a lot of money.

"I loved the navy," said Dana, trying to help.

Ronnie is breathing. He has tried all twelve times, and the person in the mirror is not the person he should be. He doesn't look like a hero or an icon. She's just Ronnie wearing a catsuit.

He is still able to dive permanently now, and his energy is beyond his ability to choose a gym dumbbell. There is no doubt in his mind that he can still be a powerful warrior. No doubt at all.

"Help!" cried an old woman across the street. "My poor stranger!"

Dana raises an eyebrow. Ronnie shakes his head. He does not want to wear jeans and a Knicks tank top for the first time when he uses his power in public.

"Will you just leave her when she cries about her lost cat because you are not wearing the perfect outfit?" Dana wants to.

Ronnie looks at the cat. It is absolutely beautiful, hanging from a branch, and looks intimidated by all the conflicts. "It's not that high," he pointed. "I think he can jump from there."

"You know what, I'm going to come to the drug store," said Dana. "I'll see you at home." He doesn't wait to confess before he leaves.

Ronnie stays until someone puts the cat down. Not another hero, or a firefighter or anything, but a certain young man standing on a grass chair. See? Nothing big.

"What do you want?" Dana yells at the bathroom door, twenty minutes after the fight starts on the other side of the house. "You chose the first dress that suited you, for God's sake! Why is this dress so big?"

"Because the prom didn't care!" Ronnie shouts. "This is important! Helping people is important!"

"How should I believe that helping people is important to you as you hang around your neck?"

"No one has ever made a worse Wikipedia page about prom!" Ronnie shouts, bursting into tears.

The door slowly opens. Ronnie looks away, trying to swallow his cry. She feels Dana's hand on her shoulder grip her tightly.

"It'll be fine," Dana said, his anger gone. "You don't have to be perfect on the first date. Just put the cat in your jean, okay?" She presses Ronnie's hand. "You can consolidate your estate sometime."

Ronnie covers his face on Dana's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said, confused.

Dana rubbed her back. "Let's go to bed," he said. "You are not in a position to travel and save anything tonight."

Ronnie chooses the seafood. He can always change his mind later. He keeps it in his bag and writes down the nearest bathroom wherever he goes, in case he needs to get in and get ready.

Two weeks later, a hurricane struck the region in the middle of the night. Ronnie wakes up to the sound of screaming and runs outside to see the telephone pole fall into someone's house.

In the morning, all the news shows the same picture: Ronnie lifts a pole in the air, is surrounded by electric shocks, wears neon blue striped underwear and an old-fashioned My Chemical Romance concert T-shirt.

"The icon," says Dana, setting it as her lock screen.

"Thank you," said Ronnie dryly, then put on his pants to give the builders a hand.