Kenji and Leo spent the rest of the afternoon hunched over in Leo's garage, which smelled perpetually of soldering iron and stale energy drinks. If Kenji was going to be the Red Blur, he couldn't keep showing up to "incidents" in a charred Pizza Hut hoodie.
"Okay, look," Leo said, pulling a dusty box from under a workbench. Inside was a "Solaris-brand" official Hero Tracksuit—merchandise from three years ago that Leo had bought on clearance. It was made of a high-durability synthetic polymer designed to wick sweat, but for Kenji, it was just a canvas.
"It's tacky," Kenji noted, poking the bright gold sun emblem on the chest.
"It's camouflage," Leo countered. "Everyone wears Solaris gear. If someone sees a blur of this material, they'll just think it's a dedicated fanboy. But look at what I added."
The "Blur" Prototype Suit
Leo had spent the last two hours sewing thin, flexible lead-lined mesh into the inner lining of the suit.
The Internal Lining: The lead mesh acted as a "damper." It wouldn't stop the lightning, but it would help contain the Crimson Glow so Kenji didn't look like a human lightbulb while running at night.
The Boots: Reinforced with heavy rubber soles from an old pair of industrial work boots. "Standard sneakers will melt the moment you hit Mach 0.5," Leo warned. "These will at least last a week."
The Mask: Instead of a simple cloth mask, Leo had modified a sleek, matte-black tactical respirator. He'd replaced the filters with voice-modulators and tinted the goggles with a red-polarized film.
Kenji pulled the suit on. It was tight—compressing his muscles in a way that actually felt good, like it was holding his vibrating molecules together. He snapped the mask into place. His breathing echoed inside the respirator, sounding heavy and mechanical.
The First "Hero" Moment
"How do I look?" Kenji asked. His voice came out two octaves deeper and slightly distorted through the mask's speaker.
"You look like a boss-fight in a Cyberpunk RPG," Leo whispered, holding up his phone to take a picture. "The lead lining is working. I can barely see the spark under your skin."
Suddenly, Leo's phone chirped. He'd set up a police scanner app to trigger whenever keywords like "unidentified," "high-speed," or "energy signature" popped up.
"All units, we have a 415 in progress at the 5th Street Bank. Preliminary reports indicate a 'Grounder' type meta-human is sealing the exits with some kind of biological sludge. Vanguards are twenty minutes out."
Kenji's heart hammered against his ribs. The Red Static began to hiss around his ankles, licking the floor like tiny crimson snakes.
"Twenty minutes is too long," Kenji said, his voice buzzing with accidental electricity. "People will suffocate in there."
"Kenji, wait!" Leo yelled. "We haven't tested the mask's oxygen seal or the boot durability!"
"I'll test them on the way!"
Kenji didn't run. He exploded. One second he was in the garage; the next, he was a streak of jagged red light tearing down the alleyway, leaving a trail of scorched rubber and a very confused best friend behind.
The Stakeout
Kenji arrived at the bank in less than thirty seconds. He was perched on a rooftop across the street, his chest heaving. From here, he could see the "Sludge" sealing the windows—the same stuff from his school.
But then he saw her. Hana, his crush, was standing near the police line, camera in hand, trying to get a shot of the villain inside.