#2 – Manny

“You saved my life last night.”

“Wish I hadn’t…” Manny grumbled into his beer.

“You didn’t give me a chance to thank you, not that I ever could.”

“Well don’t mention it, that’s fine for me.”

“Let me buy you a round!  Hey!”  The man waves down the bartender.  “Two cold ones for the hero here!  This man saved my life!”

Manny grits his teeth and downs the rest of his drink.  He slides off the barstool and scoops an arm around his new “friend”, pulling him toward the door.  “Hold those beers, Frank, I’ll be right back.”  he says with a motion of his hand.

The two step out into the cool autumn night.  The small town streets are quiet.  Manny leads the man around the corner of the building and releases him,  giving him a slight nudge towards the wall.  He turns his back to the man and shoves his hands into his jean pockets.  “Listen, kid.  I understand you are grateful.  What I did for you.  But… I… Look.  Just keep your mouth shut about me, ok?”

“I don’t understand… you’re a hero!”

Manny winces at the word.

“I saw what you did.  What you could do!  You’re special, you could… I dunno… save  people!  Save lives!  Change things!”

Manny turns to face the man.  “Oh, just like that?  That simple huh?”

The man shrugs.  “Well… no, not simple, I guess.  But you could, if you wanted to!  I believe that!”

“And if I didn’t?”

“What?”

“What if I didn’t want all that.  What if… I couldn’t…?”

“But you’re unstoppable… how could you not?”

“I just can’t.”

“But I watched you–“

“I CAN’T!  I just… I can’t live up to that!  I can’t be that perfect hero!  What if I lose, huh?

Hell, WHAT IF I WIN?!  What if I save the day?  What then?  Then I’m famous.  A household name.  Everyone wants my help.  And what if I can’t help them?!”

“No one’s asking you to be perfect…”

“Aren’t they?!  They want a hero!  They EXPECT a hero!  What if I can’t be that hero?  It doesn’t always work the way you saw it.  I can’t WANT to do what I do…  Yet I have this talent.  This gift.  I can’t NOT want it!  I can’t keep it bottled in, to let it rot and eat at me… but I can’t face it.  That… that FEAR that I might win.  That I might rise to the top.  That I might become that great hero…

And that I might fall… I might lose it all because my sick sense of pride or perfection or..or FEAR… decided I couldn’t.

If this world really needs a hero… it can’t be me.  I just don’t deserve it.”

—

Just a concept I’ve been drumming about.  Sort of inspired by feelings about my work and that slump funk I find myself falling into more and more often these days.  Also just intrigued by the whole “flawed, would-be hero” angle.

Manny is just trying to be the average joe, working as a garbage man and keeping a low profile despite his super human strength and impenetrable skin.  In any other circumstance, this would lead to greatness.  However, Manny is a troubled man, plagued by hesitance and self doubt.  But that’s worked fine for him for the past 39 years.

Category: Drama, Superhero