A stream of cool energy flowed through his mind.
The entire world became more 'clear' and 'three-dimensional'.
He could hear the sound of a child licking an ice cream cone on the street below.
He could 'see' the texture of a pigeon's feathers from several kilometers away.
He could even selectively block out all these chaotic streams of information, focusing only on what he wanted to perceive.
'Incredible!' Soya marveled inwardly.
This feeling of having complete control was intoxicating.
----
Meanwhile, at Stark Tower,
Tony Stark looked over the latest integrated report from JARVIS, his brow slightly furrowed.
"A large-scale drug bust at the Queens dock? Anonymous tip? The timing and general area overlap somewhat with our 'flying kid's' movements after he appeared at the jewelry store."
"JARVIS, pull up all the surveillance footage from near the docks last night, especially from cameras that were 'conveniently' damaged or had poor angles."
[Processing, sir. Preliminary checks indicate several cameras experienced signal interference or brief malfunctions during the key timeframe.]
"Hah, this gets more interesting by the minute."
Tony said, a sharp glint in his eyes.
"Keep on it. I want to know who this hide-and-seek enthusiast really is."
In a more secretive location, the New York branch of S.H.I.E.L.D., a well-dressed, stern-looking black man with one eye was reading a brief.
The brief mentioned two incidents:
The bizarre and gruesome car crash from a few days ago, where the sole survivor, Soya, was completely unharmed, recorded in medical files as a "medical miracle";
And the jewelry store robbery yesterday, where three armed robbers were instantly subdued by an unidentified youth, described by witnesses as...
"Fast as lightning, impossibly strong."
"Coulson,"
Fury said gravely,
"That car crash survivor, Soya, and the jewelry store 'good samaritan'... what's the status?"
Agent Phil Coulson, standing across from him, adjusted his glasses.
"Soya's background is straightforward. Columbia University graduate, no criminal record."
"He was discharged from the hospital very quickly after the crash. His current whereabouts are temporarily unknown. The witness descriptions from the jewelry store incident are vague, but all point to a young Asian man of average build."
"We're attempting facial recognition matches, but high-quality footage is scarce."
Fury tapped his finger on the table.
"New York has been unsettled lately. A man who can survive a crash like that, and someone who can subdue armed robbers with his bare hands... I don't believe in coincidences."
"Put a tight surveillance on that Soya. Also, widen the investigation scope for the jewelry store incident. I need to know who these people are and what they want."
"Understood, sir."
Coulson nodded in acknowledgment.
Soya, of course, had no idea that he had now attracted the attention of two of the world's top intelligence and technological organizations.
At this moment, he was leisurely enjoying a sunbath, while using his newly upgraded super senses to keenly 'listen' to and 'observe'... this vibrant city.
Suddenly, his ear twitched slightly.
His super hearing caught a somewhat familiar, but now tearful and desperate cry for help,
coming from an old apartment building several kilometers away.
"Help... someone please save my child... there's a fire... my child is still inside!"
Soya bolted upright from his lounge chair, his eyes instantly turning sharp.
'Looks like my sunbath is ending early today.'
A smile touched the corner of his mouth.
In the next second, his figure vanished from the terrace, transforming into a nearly invisible streak of light, speeding rapidly towards the source of the voice.
A new "job" had come knocking.
The distance of several kilometers was nothing to him, covered in the blink of an eye.
The pungent smell of burning – wood, plastic, and the distinct odor of chemicals scorching – assaulted him even before he arrived.
He could have easily blocked out these unpleasant smells, but he didn't. Because this smell was the alarm bell of urgency.
He didn't land, but instead came to an abrupt halt a hundred meters in the air.
Like a sentinel hidden in the twilight and thick smoke.
The sunset's afterglow and the raging fire below dyed the sky a strange orange-red.
The five-story old brick apartment building was now a scene of hell on earth.
Flames, like greedy tongues, spewed from the windows on the third and fourth floors.
Thick, black smoke billowed skyward, suffocating.
The firefighters seemed so small before the inferno.
The water jets from their hoses were like using a cup to put out a forest fire.
Outside the cordon, the faces of the onlookers were a mix of fear and morbid curiosity.
At the edge of the cordon, a woman was on her knees, crying hysterically, supported by a police officer. It was her voice that had drawn Soya here.
"My child! Leo! He's on the fourth floor! Please, I'm begging you, save him!"
Soya's X-ray vision – a nascent ability he was still figuring out, but one that was now incredibly effective – pierced through the smoke and flames.
Fourth floor, second window on the left, back of the apartment building.
A little boy, who looked no older than five, was curled up under a bed, coughing violently.
Flames were closing in on all sides.
The ceiling above him groaned under the strain, ready to collapse at any moment.
There was no time to hesitate, not a second to delay.
He began his descent.
Not like a falling meteor, but like a bird of prey locking onto its target.
With controlled, impossibly fast speed, he dove down.
Instantly, he pierced through the rolling smoke.
Gasps erupted from the crowd, someone pointed at the sky.
"Look... what is that... a flying... flying man..."
Soya paid no mind. He flew straight towards the boy's window, ignoring the already overwhelmed fire escapes.
The window glass had long since shattered from the heat.
Flames roared out from the gaping opening, like the maw of a dragon.
To the firefighters below, this was suicide – yet that figure plunged unhesitatingly into the heart of the fire.
Soya felt the intense heat.
Heat capable of instantly charring an ordinary person to a crisp now merely brushed against his skin like a warm caress.
His Kryptonian cells, fully charged by the afternoon sun, barely registered this level of heat as a threat.
He passed through the wall of fire as if it were a curtain of orange-red silk.
Inside the apartment, the smoke was thick enough to blind and suffocate anyone in seconds.
But his super senses cut through it effortlessly.
He saw the terrified little boy, Leo, his small face smudged with soot and tears.
"Hey there, little guy,"
Soya's voice was unusually calm, cutting clearly through the roar of the fire and the boy's fearful whimpers.
It was a voice that promised safety and hope, instantly soothing.