8:30 a.m.
The doorbell echoed through the quiet house. Noah, still holding a warm mug of coffee, moved toward the front door, puzzled. Through the side window, he saw two suited security personnel and a familiar figure standing between them — Mayor Johnathan Reeves.
He opened the door, eyebrows lifting in surprise. "Mayor Reeves?"
"Mr. Stroud," Reeves said with a nod. "Good morning. I hope I'm not intruding."
Noah stepped aside slightly, his tone neutral but curious. "No — just didn't expect to see you here. Is everything all right?"
"I'm here unofficially," the mayor replied. "No cameras. No press. Just a matter that I hoped you could help me with… or at least point me in the right direction."
Noah tilted his head. "What kind of matter?"
Reeves' expression shifted — concern edging into his voice. "There was a robbery last night. Small gas station off Eastpoint. Normally wouldn't make my desk, but this one was different."
Noah listened, eyes sharpening.
"The robber dropped his weapon the moment a figure in a black armored suit entered the store. Looked like Skybolt. Sounded like him, at least according to the clerk. But the ending wasn't heroic." Reeves paused. "He executed the suspect. Cold."
The silence that followed was thick.
Reeves continued, quieter now. "The footage is blurry. But the silhouette… it's close. And now people are asking questions. If Skybolt's returned, why is he killing? And if that wasn't him, then who — or what — was it?"
Noah's jaw tightened slightly.
"I was hoping to speak to Imani," Reeves added. "She was the last person he saved. I thought… maybe she could help me reach him."
Just then, Imani stepped into the hallway.
Just then, footsteps padded softly across the hardwood floor behind him.
Imani appeared in the hallway, dressed in a loose, oversized sleep shirt and plaid lounge pants, her hair tied up in a messy bun that somehow made her look even more effortlessly awake. She held a steaming mug of coffee in both hands — an old white ceramic hospital mug, chipped near the rim, with faded red lettering that read:
"I'M A NURSE — WHAT'S YOUR SUPERPOWER?"
She took a sip as she approached, her eyes narrowing slightly as she registered the suited man at their doorstep.
"Noah?" she asked, her voice still drowsy from waking up. "What's going on?"
Noah turned slightly, his posture tightening just a bit. "Imani… this is Mayor Reeves."
Her eyebrows lifted, surprise flickering across her face. "The mayor?"
Reeves offered a respectful nod. "Ms. Carter. I know this is early — I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important."
She stepped beside Noah, both hands still wrapped around the warm mug. "I'm listening."
The mayor glanced between them, then lowered his voice.
"There was an incident last night — a gas station. A robbery that ended… wrong. A suspect surrendered, but the figure who entered — someone dressed like Skybolt — executed him. The footage is grainy, but the resemblance is close enough to raise questions."
Noah didn't move. Imani's expression hardened.
"I need to reach Skybolt," Reeves said, looking directly at her. "And you… you're the last person he saved. I was hoping maybe you had a way."
Imani shifted the mug in her hands, her eyes steady on the mayor. "I don't have any way to contact him," And I don't know who's in that suit. I just know whoever he is… he saved my life."
Mayor Reeves studied her for a moment. "I believe you," he said gently, nodding. "And I'm grateful he did. What happened at that hospital was—"
He paused, glancing toward Noah, then back at her.
"But I keep thinking…" His voice dipped slightly, more introspective now. "Victor Hales… he kidnapped you. A nurse. Not a politician. Not a CEO. Just…" He caught himself. "I don't mean that disrespectfully, Ms. Carter. I just can't shake the question."
Imani didn't respond, but her grip on the mug tightened slightly.
The mayor's eyes narrowed, his voice more deliberate now. "Why go through all that trouble unless he knew Skyboltwould come for you? Unless he knew exactly what kind of reaction it would provoke?"
There was a long, thoughtful silence.
Imani's voice was steady, though her eyes flickered with something darker beneath.
"Victor Hales was a madman," she said plainly. "No one knows why he took me. Not even me."
Mayor Reeves held her gaze a beat longer, then gave a slow, understanding nod.
"I figured as much," he said quietly.
He exhaled and reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. A crisp white card emerged between his fingers — gold lettering stamped along the edge.
"If anything comes to mind," he said, offering it out to her, "a way to reach him… or if you'd just like to talk — come down to City Hall. I'll make time."
Before Imani could reach for it, Noah stepped forward. Silently. Calmly.
He took the card from the mayor's hand without a word, his eyes unreadable.
The mayor studied him for a moment but didn't push.
"Thank you both," he said, giving a final polite nod. "Stay safe."
Then he turned, his security detail parting to make way as he descended the porch steps. The SUV door opened with a muted click, and within seconds, the vehicles pulled off down the quiet street.
Noah stood still at the threshold, staring at the card in his hand.
Behind him, Imani took another slow sip of her coffee, the warmth of the mug doing little to chase away the chill that had crept into the morning.
As the front door shut behind him, Noah walked back into the kitchen, eyes a little distant but movements calm. He opened a cabinet and reached for a skillet, setting it on the stove with a dull clang.
Imani stepped in cautiously behind him, still holding her coffee.
"You're making breakfast?"
Noah didn't look at her. He grabbed eggs from the fridge.
"Figured we could do something simple. Scramble, maybe toast. You want cheese in yours?"
Imani blinked.
"Noah… did you not hear what the mayor said?"
He cracked an egg, the shell splitting cleanly in his hands.
"I heard him."
"So you're just—what? Ignoring it?"
He finally turned, his voice even but firm.
"It's not my responsibility anymore, Imani. I'm not him. Not Skybolt. Not anymore."
Imani stared at him, stunned into silence for a moment.
"There's an autonomous suit out there killing people," she said, tone rising slightly. "That sounds a hell of a lot like your responsibility."
Noah turned back to the pan, pouring in the eggs.
"Let the cops deal with it."
She stepped closer. "And if they can't?"
He didn't answer.
The only sound was the quiet sizzle of eggs hitting hot metal.
Noah reached for a slice of bread and slid it into the toaster.
Imani still hadn't moved from where she stood.
"Noah… you're really not going to say anything else?"
He kept his eyes on the stove.
"I did. I said I'm not Skybolt anymore."
"Yeah," she said, crossing her arms. "You said it like we're talking about laundry detergent. There's a murder bot out there wearing something that looks like your tech, and the mayor just asked me how to reach you because you saved my life. That doesn't mean anything to you?"
He stirred the eggs in the pan, slowly, methodically.
"I gave everything last year. My job. My body. My silence. I nearly died trying to stop Victor. And what did I get for it? A few headlines and a bunch of people cheering for a suit — not the person in it."
Imani's voice softened slightly.
"I get that. I do. But this—"
"No one knows who I am," he cut in, turning around. "Not really. Not the mayor. Not the press. Skybolt is the hero. Noah Stroud is just the guy who almost burned alive in a bar."
Imani stepped forward, her tone firmer now.
"You think that gives you an out? You think because people clapped for the suit instead of you, that means you're done?"
He looked at her for a long moment, then turned back to the stove and clicked off the burner.
"I think… I just want one morning where I don't have to be someone I'm not."
Silence fell. The toaster popped behind him, the smell of eggs lingering in the air.
Imani's jaw tightened.
"And what happens when that thing kills someone else tonight?"
He didn't answer.
Not yet.
"Then maybe someone else needs to step up this time," he said. "Because if I put that suit back on… I don't know if I'll ever take it off again."
Imani stared at him. The way he said it — quiet, like a confession — chilled her more than if he'd shouted.
She walked toward him slowly, her coffee forgotten.
"Noah…"
But he just shook his head, still not facing her.
"I told myself I'd stop once Victor was gone. That if I survived all of it, I'd get a chance to be normal again. Just… Noah Stroud. But now?"
He finally turned around, and she saw it in his eyes — the weight, the wear, the quiet fear he couldn't outrun.
"If I go back," he whispered, "I'm not sure there'll be anything left of me when it's over."
Imani moved toward him slowly, the tension in her shoulders softening. She set the coffee mug aside and stepped up beside him at the sink.
Noah kept his gaze down, knuckles tightening on the counter.
Imani reached out and placed her hands gently on his face, guiding his eyes up to meet hers.
"You listen to me," she said softly, firmly. "You are Noah Stroud. You've always been Noah Stroud. The suit didn't make you brave. It didn't make you smart. It didn't give you a heart big enough to risk everything for people who'll never even know your name."
He blinked, jaw clenched, but didn't pull away.
"You think you'll lose yourself if you go back out there," she said, brushing her thumbs along his cheekbones. "But what if that's how you find yourself again?"
Noah looked at her, the shield around his expression flickering, just for a second.
"Victor thought the world could only be saved through control," she continued. "But you… you proved it could be saved through choice. Through hope."
She leaned in closer, forehead almost touching his.
"You're not Skybolt because the world needs a hero. You're Skybolt because you're the only one who still chooses to do something when it's hard. When it's painful. When no one else will."
The silence between them was heavy, but this time, it didn't feel empty.
Finally, Noah exhaled.
"I don't want to lose us."
Imani gave a faint, bittersweet smile.
"Then don't. But if you don't stop what's coming, we both lose everything."
She let her hands fall from his face, but her eyes didn't leave his.
"Go downstairs. You don't have to suit up yet. Just look at it."
Noah didn't move at first. But something in his chest began to shift — not with certainty, but with purpose.
He nodded once, quietly.
Then turned toward the basement door.