Not looking behind him Jason put his head down and moved as quick as he could away from the warehouse, or at least what remained of it. As he moved back home he could see the attention of the normal pedestrians on the wreckage of the building.
He had ensured that there wasn't any debris or indication he had been close to the collapse on his clothing, yet there was still that doubt that he had given something away. Yet it was all for naught, he made it back to his apartment and collapsed on the couch in the living room. 'Phew, that was a close one, lucky that I have super speed now', thinking of his future actions he was feeling quite optimistic.
'I have a hold on my strength and speed now, it's about time to see if I can deal with some of that shit I heard'. Thinking of the details he had overheard over the previous few days had him looking forward to putting his abilities to use.
'They've had their time to exploit innocents, now it's my turn to use them, let's see if they have what it takes to stand against hope'.
[Meanwhile back at the wreckage]
Soon the collapse of the building was complete and after the dust had settled, the area was swamped with Police and Paramedics in case of potential injuries. There were some Firefighters picking through the rubble to ensure the stability of the area and inspect some locations for destabilization.
The area was surrounded by an encirclement of police tape and the immediate location had been cordoned off. Some of the public had moved up to the border to see the action and if there was anything of interest. Yet within 30 minutes they had mainly cleared off due to lack of interest, nothing was happening.
If they hadn't seen the rubble with bare eyes and heard the commotion, then no one would have noticed anything. It was to this place that a non-descript car drove up to, an officer came up to the window to order the driver to move away, yet with a wave of a badge the officer backed away.
Exiting the car the man made his way over to the Officer in charge, who upon seeing the man moving towards him gave him his full undivided attention.
"Agent Jenkins, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
The officer looked overwhelmed by the introduction, "that's a mouthful isn't it? How can I help you agent?"
"Yes I am aware, what's the situation Sergent? We had an operation get interrupted recently and now this….. what have your guys found out?" Jenkins asked in a no-nonsense tone.
The officer looked uncomfortable at the question and looking very hesitant finally worded his report, "well witnesses report seeing what they are calling a twister that seemingly tore the building apart, however we have checked with the cities Meteorological Institute and they have confirmed that their scans and instruments had shown no notable weather occurrences.
Personally, I think it's probably due to the state of the building, that they have finally started falling apart and collapsing. Have a look around and you'll see the condition in this part of the docks, if you ask me I think we are lucky no one was hurt."
Furrowing his brow Jenkins listened to the report, "thank you Sergent, and there have been no other signs of outside tampering with the structure?".
Getting a negative Jenkins dismissed the officer, and after getting clearance from the fire fighters he made a lap around the site to inspect the rubble and surrounding damage.
An hour later he moved back to his car and in it's sanctuary made a call.
"Sir, this is Jenkins reporting in. Yes, that's right, it's the same location." Listening in he nodded a few times in response, "that's correct sir, the police were on the scene and took some statements, they have confirmed the lack of reports of any adverse weather conditions in the immediate area."
Waiting on the response Jenkins confirmed the question asked, "Yes sir, after getting the report from the officer I surveyed the area and based on preliminary inspection it seems that the collapse was out of the ordinary.
The placement of the rubble from the collapse of the walls and roof shows destruction beyond the immediate vicinity of the building itself, the damage and location of some of the further pieces does not agree with the assessment of the police. It is my opinion that we may need to take over the investigation and look into the occurrences that have come up around the docks.
There is the potential of an enhanced individual residing in the area, or at least someone familiar with the area as they knew which warehouses were abandoned."
Pausing to hear the response after his report Jenkins started looking around the area through his car windows, "yes sir, I will start canvassing the area and seeing if anyone has seen anything out of the ordinary."
Confirming for the last time Jenkins hung up and starting his car proceeded to drive to the closest shop underneath a dilapidated apartment building.
[Back with Jason]
It had been quite a fretful night sleep, he kept waking up expecting to get a knock at his door asking about the warehouse but as the sun rose and shone through his bedroom window, he realised that there had been nothing. Breathing a sigh of relief, he got ready for the day, pumped for the day as he had some costume shopping to get done.
He had been wracking his brain to figure out what to get, what it should look like, and with his brain going a hundred miles an hour he couldn't settle on any one thing. Maybe for the proper full costume he should wait and just get something to tide him over as he sources the appropriate materials.
At the current time he could get by with generic clothes, potentially some more rugged outdoors materials. It would be more cost effective in the short term until he build his funds up, on top of while he gets used to the system and what it can do exactly. What are the 'Hope' points for, do they improve his abilities, help him unlock the next series of Superman ones or are they solely tied to the templates?
Making his way to the closest camping supplier he looked around at their options and noticed some nice muted red tops, he could potentially go a hoodie and scarf until he had something more substantial. Maybe give himself something a bit more casual until he has established himself, also potentially until he could study and research some materials that could handle his current and future abilities.
It probably took a better part of a day to finally source something he was happy with, planning forward he purchased multiple sets of the outfit, granted he got some weird looks from the sales assistant. Putting that to the back of his mind he was just too stoked to get hung up on what someone thought of his purchasing habits.
Making his way home he stripped down and got dressed up in the costume, or should we say the temporary costume. But getting everything on Jason stood in front of the mirror and inspected the look.
He had a dark red, almost burgundy hoodie, thicker around the hood to provide protection, the material had a waterproof coating on it which had a black sheen to it. This let the top reflect less light and stand out less.
He wore a scarf around his mouth and nose, wrapping his lower face. The scarf was coloured similar to the hoodie but maybe a little brighter. The material was thinner making it more breathable and the weave of fibers gave it a deceptive strength.
His pants were a rugged midnight blue with padded knees for outdoor work, some Kevlar panels lining the higher use areas to reduce wear and tear. Hopefully it would also last him a bit longer than normal pants, until he can make his own or find someone to make a highly durable and strong material that can survive his abilities.
He finished the look off with some high top hiking boots, they had a large amount of grip and support around his ankles, with the material also having Kevlar strips under the fabric going over the foot and around the ankle. The boots were coloured black and also had the waterproof coating, making the material a much darker matte black colour which seemed to drink up the light.
All in all Jason loved the look and thought he would be ready for anything that came his way. He also decided that he didn't need to use any weapons or gadgets, his speed and strength should be sufficient for anything that came his way.
Jason had made sure to have a small pouch tucked away in his lower back that contained some zip ties, in case he needed to restrain anyone. With his speed he could take people down and have them disabled before most individuals would know what hit them.
Eyeing the time and realising that his inspection and getting ready took a bit longer than expected, mainly due to him getting lost in the feel and look of the outfit, Jason thought that it was about time to get out there and show the city just what he could do.
Closing the door behind him he made his way up to the roof and after closing the door behind him he looked around. The city spread out before him and he just knew that he was ready, the days he had spent practicing his abilities and getting everything sorted we finally culminating in this moment. It was time the world got to know Superman.