It was his first day on the job, and Ted was determined to make a good impression. Sure it was just a construction job, but getting along with coworkers was important no matter what a person did for a living.

He had already gotten his safety gear and was heading to the field. The place was buzzing with activity. People ran around, the sound of tools filled the air, and large vehicles lumbered around. The place was dominated by the skeleton of the building in the middle though.

Since he had not gotten an assignment, Ted figured that was the best place to start looking for a foreman or a supervisor. Someone who could place him best. He hurried to the building in progress, but slowed greatly when he got there. He did not want to disturb anyone by moving too quickly, after all.

Apparently, he did not do a good enough job of that.

"Um, excuse me? Can I ask you to move? I have to deliver these pretty quickly, and there's not much room to move."

The speaker was a young woman, he could tell that by the voice. But there was plenty of room to move. What was she delivering that would require such a large space? He turned and his eyes widened.

The woman was quite the beauty, and while that would normally be quite important for him, what he focused on was what she was carrying. She held a massive pile of I-beams. Each one had to be more than ten feet long and at least two wide. And there were dozens of them. The pile was easily three times taller than she was, to say nothing of width. The woman held them over her head like it was nothing.

"Uh...sorry?" He said.

"Hm, you don't look familiar." She said. "Are you new here?"

"Y-yeah. I, uh, I'm just starting today."

She smiled brightly, practically ignoring her load. "That's great! We've been needing a few extra hands. I'm Mary, nice to meet you."

"I, uh, I'm Ted." He replied hesitantly.

"So, Ted, what can you do?"

"Huh?"

"What's your power?"

"My...power?"

Ted looked around. He saw a small shadow pass over the ground and looked up. He saw a person flying. In another part of the yard, several small pieces of metal were being held up by electricity that came from a bored looking woman. Ted's eyes opened wide at the realization.

"I...I think I might have gotten the wrong place."

"Why? Something wrong?"

"I...I, uh, I'm not a super."

"You're not?" She asked. He shook his head. "Oh, I see." She nodded. "You're that new guy."

"What?"

"We were told we were getting a normal soon. Don't worry, you're in the right place."

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not." He watched a man weld two beams together by shooting flame out of his fingertips.

Molly chuckled. "No, I promise, you didn't make a mistake. Come on, I've got to deliver these beams. I'll introduce you to the boss when I'm done."

She started walking, leaving Ted to get out of her way and then follow behind. Maybe she would be able to protect him if some of the others got aggressive. Plus, he had a lot of questions.

"So, why would a super construction company need a normal guy like me?"

"Because you fulfill a very important role. And no, it's not just for a diversity hire. You're here to do all the things supers can't."

"Oh yeah, like there's anything like that." He said while rolling his eyes.

"No, really, it's true. Take me for example. What do you think would happen if I was to handle plywood? You know, the stuff we're going to need in very large quantities soon?"

"Uh, what?"

"It would break. I can't be gentle enough to grip something that fragile. Now, see that guy welding stuff? Don't get too close to him. He radiates heat like crazy. Not because he wanted to. He just does. And it's hot enough that he can't get close to anything that melts or burns easily. Like plastic. And see that girl with the lightning powers? Can't get within ten feet of anything with a circuit board."

"So, I'm here to handle all the fragile stuff?"

"That's right. And make no mistake, there is a lot of that. In fact, without you, we'll never be able to get this building done. Heck, I'd say pretty soon you'll be the most in demand person here."

"Even though I can't lift...however much you are?"

"I'd say it's about 95 tons." She said casually. "And it's because you can't lift this much."

Ted thought about that in silence as he followed her. It was hard to believe that he could ever do something a bunch of supers could not. He knew they were rare, but everything he had heard about them said they were just better in every way. Nothing about normals like him being useful to people who could fly or lift hundreds of tons.

Even looking at such a slender woman easily lifting such a huge amount of metal made him feel useless. But he had also never spoken to a super himself. Few people had, given their rarity. And now one of them was telling him he was not only useful, but essential? It was hard to believe.

But as he thought about it, he came to realize that he had to have been hired for something. Which meant he would be good for something. He would just have to find out what that was.