Challenge #00325: The Unnypical

I’m tired of villains being the only representation of people who aren’t 100% mentally typical.  Show me a hero coming out as having anxiety disorder/depression/Asperger’s/something (I know not all of those are equal but you get my drift).  Show me a place in heroics for people like me, that isn’t either as a villain or locked up in an asylum, or both. (Marvelverse or DCverse would be awesome

[AN: Attempting to do this while also staying away from the Magic Cripple trope]

There are fine lines between ‘mild-mannered’ and 'antisocial’. And why not be antisocial. All my attempts to be social resulted in infamy, ignominy and just outright humiliation.

It took me a very long time to learn how to seem normal. It took me longer to even want to. I had to, and there is a gulf of difference between having to and wanting to do anything.

Normal is cruel. And I could never bring myself to be cruel to anyone. Not on purpose.

Normal is self-centered. But in order to understand this, I had to step out of my own head and imagine what it must be like. I just can’t be normal, there.

Normal doesn’t care if the wrong amount of pressure can hurt someone else. I had to care about that since puberty.

I don’t know how or why it happened, but it did. I’m one of the very many supers out there who can fly and are strong and are almost invulnerable.

Nobody sees where I come from because Normal doesn’t pay attention. They ignore the weirdo on the train with the rainbow stockings. Or on the street. Or -youknow- anywhere.

All I gotta do to go from weirdo-on-the-street to The Unnypical is take off the big coat that helps the Normals not bother me… and after that, they’re all looking at the silver dress and the rainbow stockings and the combat boots.

It took me a while and I really don’t wanna hurt your feelings and that? But Normal is also kind-of stupid.

I asked Nightcrawler about it, once. How he can get away with not using the image inducer if he just puts on a hoodie and keeps his hands in his pockets. I mean, he doesn’t even hide the tail! And his shoes have to be made special.

He just said, “People don’t look that far down. Usually.”

I’ve lost count of the crimes I stopped just because I saw things other people would miss. I had to learn to wait until things actually started to happen, though. You can’t arrest folks for attempted crimes.

Well, most of them. Murder’s the big exception. Of course.

Oh, and don’t look at me about the name. That’s the news at work. They had no real name for me and 'eyesore’ doesn’t sell papers or get an audience for CNN or whatever. Someone analyzed my voice patterns or something during a fight? And they said I wasn’t nypical and it sorta stuck.

It’s way better than some of the things I get called.

Normal is cruel.

It’s why I hang out with all of the visible mutants. They get it. They get me. Sure, some of them think I’m 'slumming’ just because I can scrub up okay, but then we get talking and… well… they know I’m not 'slumming’.

Normal came up with 'slumming’.

But Normal also came up with heroes. And helping folks because it’s the right thing to do. And learning about things. And social justice.

It’s why I gotta keep being nice. It’s why I have to be the hero. It’s why I want to be the hero.

Because someone has to teach the Normals how to be good.

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