On the street, the dim yellow streetlights cast faint beams, illuminating the remains of a fish-moth human corpse, which only had its main torso left, lying openly on the ground. It was not pretty.
Standing beside the corpse, Hank Henshaw, the head honcho at the Department of Extranormal Operations (DEO), frowned deeply, looking all kinds of grave. This alien was their target, after all.
But, just when they'd pinned down its location, bam! Someone else had already taken care of business.
"Jeremy, what's the intel looking like?" Hank asked, rubbing his temples. He turned toward Jeremy, the DEO's IT guy, who was messing with a tablet nearby.
Since it was late, the streets were dead, no witnesses to be found. Plus, it wasn't exactly cool to go knocking on doors. So, Hank was banking on the internet and those street cameras.
"We know the dude who handled the alien is rocking blue and white armor, a black suit, and a sweet golden motorcycle," Jeremy replied, still glued to the tablet. He looked up, pushed his glasses up his nose, and went on, "That's what we got so far."
He handed the tablet to Hank. The screen showed a bunch of video clips. One of them had the blue and white armor guy riding the golden motorcycle, chasing the fish-moth alien, looking both dangerous and cool.
Other videos showed this "Goggles Armored Man" fighting crime, busting up gang deals, you name it. Definitely an active "vigilante."
"Another one? Ever since Superman and the gang stopped Apokolips two years ago and started the Justice League, these vigilantes have been popping up everywhere," Hank said, shaking his head. He watched the video a few times. Couldn't tell what the armor was made of, but the guy was definitely a "public-spirited individual," or a new superhero.
"Yeah, they're all over the place lately," Jeremy added, nodding. "But, sir, what do we do about this 'public-spirited individual'? He's fighting crime, sure, but he could also cause problems."
Hank's frown got deeper. He stared at the armored dude on the screen, thinking hard. After a long pause, he spoke slowly.
"For now, put him on the watch list. Keep an eye on him. If he's just fighting crime and not blowing anything up, we leave him alone. But if he crosses the line…"
Jeremy got the message. The DEO was there to keep things in order and help super-powered folks protect the public, not pick fights with vigilantes, unless they got out of hand.
"Got it, sir," Jeremy said, nodding. He went back to the tablet, pulling up more footage and data, ready to add the "Goggles Armored Man" to the DEO's system.
"Let's roll. We've got plenty to do," Hank said, giving the corpse one last look. He took a deep breath and headed for the black SUV parked nearby. Jeremy followed, tablet in hand.
The night wind blew, and the street went quiet again, leaving only the fish-moth corpse and the DEO agents doing their thing—investigating, collecting data, cleaning up the scene.
Lunchtime at National City High was usually pretty chill, but today, things were about to get a bit more complicated for Isaac Kondo.
"Isaac, look! It seems our National City also has its own guardian!"
Isaac had just taken a bite of his lunch, a carefully packed bento box courtesy of his mom, when he heard Kara's familiar voice from a distance. He looked up to see Kara excitedly running over, holding a bento box in one hand and waving a newspaper in the other.
"Last night, the Goggles Armored Man engaged in a fierce chase with a wall-climbing wack on the street. According to our reporter's understanding…"
Isaac took the newspaper Kara handed him and unfolded it. His gaze first fell on the blurry photo, and he frowned slightly. Although the picture wasn't clear enough, he immediately recognized it as the scene from his battle with that alien last night.
"Who took this?"
He voiced to himself, doubt swirling in his mind, but he swiftly dismissed his bafflement and continued examining the article. Yet, the moniker "Goggles Armored Man" instantly killed his interest in reading any further.
"Hey, Isaac, what do you reckon the Goggles Armored Man looks like beneath all that armor?"
Kara peered over to look at the paper with Isaac, her eyes sparkling with pure curiosity. She playfully bumped Isaac's arm and inquired eagerly.
"I dunno, maybe some gnarly-looking creature."
After a brief pause, the phrase "Goggles Armored Man" stirred conflicted feelings within Isaac, but he inhaled deeply, attempting to regulate his emotions, and casually responded to Kara's inquiry.
"Ah!?"
Kara's eyes grew wide slightly; she was clearly taken back by Isaac's remark.
"I was just spoutin' off, don't sweat it."
Recognizing Kara's reaction, Isaac realized his comment sounded kind of harsh and quickly added, "I just figure someone protectin' our city shouldn't be too hard on the eyes, right?"
To this, Kara tilted her head and said with a pure smile. "Maybe, maybe not."
Shrugging it off, Isaac got back to eating his food, but he couldn't help but think, If she knew the Goggles Armored Man was me, how would she react?
"But this Goggles Armored Man is seriously awesome! I'd love to run into him sometime!"
Seeing that Isaac didn't seem keen on continuing their back and forth, Kara didn't think much of it. She started skimming through the paper on her own, muttering to herself.
Hearing Kara's comment, Isaac nearly choked on his meal and started coughing pretty hard.
"You alright?"
Noticing Isaac's weird reaction, Kara didn't dwell on it either. She swiftly set aside the newspaper and patted him supportively.
"I'm good, just scarfed it down too fast."
Waving it off, Isaac said he was fine, but in his head, he became wary: Gotta watch myself from now on. I can't have her put two and two together.