To Be Continued...

Of course, Bernard had never meant to become Rubbish Man and doom his relationship with Claire forever. He loved her very much, but after four years of coming second, or even lower down, on the list of priorities in Awesome Lady's busy life, he had had enough. He left her. Or rather, he tried to leave her. But in spite of all his hatred of what she had become, he still loved the tiny part of Awesome Lady that remained hidden to most people.
In order to survive as a superhero, Awesome Lady had all but erased the young woman she used to be. Claire, if ever thought of, was considered by Awesome Lady as a distant memory, nothing important, and definitely an unnecessary part of her personality. To Bernard, however, it had become the only thing in his life worth living for. He didn't like his job (he never managed to finish his chemistry degree) and hated having to appear at public events with Awesome Lady, where everyone ignored him because he was so plain-looking. If people did talk to him it was usually to order drinks, and Bernard had long given up trying to explain he was not a waiter, and usually spent all evening walking to and fro with drinks.
And then there was Brock Supernova. He was the young god of superheroes, and young girls everywhere fell asleep every night thinking of him. Every month another article about the suspected relationship between Awesome Lady and Supernova was published, and every month Bernard grew more and more jealous of the two. He knew Awesome Lady and Brock Supernova were not in love (Brock had a lovely boyfriend who was just as invisible as Bernard, but thankful for it), but the fact that Supernova got to spend more time than Bernard with the woman he loved angered him beyond reason.
So, regardless of the dangers he would be putting Claire and Awesome Lady in, Bernard started to experiment. He still had his textbooks and some good friends left from his time at University, and he set up a laboratory in the shed.