Weeks had gone by since Jamal's actions had gotten the entire city under lockdown. It was a risk he was willing to take, and now its consequences were taking root. Travel was limited even within the city, as some days Jamal could see the rows of soldiers, tarrs, and other military vehicles patrolling the city. The only good news out of it was that at least Sera could walk almost freely without facing persecution since she had joined so late to the party that no one realized who she was allied with.
As August strolled past and into early September, all Jamal could encourage the others to do was to train. Train, survive, and plan. Plan for the inevitable. That they would get Port-O-Bea back into proper hands. Of course, they would have to convince most of the city to align with their past views, but Zim and the military were making that difficult to do. Even still, Jamal had made sure the others stayed hopeful for their future.
However, on this cool September dawn, Jamal was instead concentrating on Hops in their courtyard, who seemed even stronger than ever in the brief period of time. Despite his objections, Jamal couldn't help but note the dedication the man was putting into his training, so much so that he still went out to train at that one gym he told him about. Apparently, he was gaining quite an audience when he started squatting eight hundred pounds unassisted and would have done more if the gym owner prevented him from adding any more weight. As a result, it was as if his body started transforming rapidly, with a rather stocky build and even thicker than Leon. Of course, his height still remained the same, but Jamal even wondered if his powers were starting to manifest more instead of just into his legs.
At least that's what he thought, as Jamal watched Hops step on several inches-thick reinforced concrete bricks. A loud crack erupted through the space, as his foot crashed through them like butter, before landing on the ground, causing a sudden earthquake to appear out of nowhere as well as dirt lifting into the air. Jamal had to press himself against the wall as it lasted about another minute before subsiding, even hearing carr alarms going off. Did it travel that far?
"You've been getting better." Jamal went up to the man, as he was about to lay another set of bricks. "You may be getting stronger than me."
"Nah, I'm focusing right now on concentrating my energy onto one point. That seems to be more effective and deadlier." Hops said with no remorse. "I will surpass my limits."
"Um, okay. I think you've done well man. You're much stronger than I assumed you would be at this point. You're not taking anything, are you?" Jamal was a bit concerned by his growth.
"You actually think so?" Hops actually loosened up a bit, laughing a bit loud. "No, this is all-natural, all hard work and dedication. I still have much to learn about myself and then I'm going to reach my peak."
Clearly, this man was still invigorated by his woman's fight, as Jamal continued to watch the man heave the bricks on top of one another. Maybe he himself wasn't training hard enough, he considered until he heard a woman's voice call out to them. Turning around, both men saw Sera, Ula, Alice, and Laken start walking toward them. Even with time advancing, Jamal couldn't help but continue to see Ula's stomach getting larger, with their child. His own kid, and Laken's soon-to-be sibling. At least he'll be a good brother, he hoped.
"We were just about to leave when the building started to shake. You guys alright?" Sera spoke first, as Jamal and Hops looked back at each other.
"We're good." Hops replied first.
"Where are y'all going anyway?" Jamal looked at the trio of females. "You're supposed to stay inside, except for Sera."
"Jamal, it's for the baby." Ula replied back, holding her belly. "We have to make sure it's okay."
"Ula, it's not saf-" Jamal was starting to say, before getting cut by Alice.
"Yeah, your input doesn't matter right now. It was decided upon last night, so we're just letting you guys know that. Apparently, Ula knows where to go, and we're actually going to assist her, unlike someone." the psychic woman humbled him, shutting him up. "Anyway, Ryan I love you."
"Love you too." Hops actually went in for a kiss, while Jamal kept silent.
"Alright then, do as you need. Just don't get captured." Jamal grumbled off, as he literally walked past his family.
"Pa!" he could hear Laken call for him, temporarily slowing down.
"You're going to have to watch him until we come back." Ula started to move towards him, with Jamal sighing and coming back.
"Okay, I'm sorry for that ordeal. I'm just really focused on how we're going to get out of this situation." He mentioned as he picked up Laken. "You guys are my everything."
"I know." Ula smiled, as they shared a quick kiss.
"Ula, the time's ticking." Sera had taken note of the sun's position. "We got to avoid the five o'clock curfew."
Nodding, Ula and Jamal had let go, as the female trio waved them goodbye, before making their way out of the courtyard and through the entrance door. And just like that, they were gone. Even still, something clicked in Jamal's head. He recalled something vital that had happened here when he initially had saved the city all those years ago. They had created an entire holiday based on that faithful day. So theoretically, that would be the best day to get the civilians back on their feet and the journey back into peace.
"Jamal, you're okay there?" Hops started to approach him, until Jamal held his hand up to stop him.
"I finally figured it out." Jamal started to grin back, while Laken stared at him curiously. "I finally know exactly how we're going to get out of this entire mess. We just got to wait about another month or so."