The Layne residence sat on a quiet bluff overlooking the river, a mile from the bustle of the capitol. Morning light spilled through tall windows, washing over polished wood floors and shelves lined with framed photographs — campaign rallies, charity galas, a weathered snapshot of a young Marcus Layne standing on a fishing pier with his father.
Governor Marcus Layne sat at the head of the long oak dining table, a cup of black coffee cooling in his hands. Across from him, his wife, Elaine, scrolled through the morning news on a tablet, occasionally pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. The smell of toast and eggs drifted in from the kitchen, courtesy of their housekeeper.
"You've got the Education Committee at nine," Elaine reminded him, glancing at the leather-bound planner beside his plate. "Then the infrastructure bill signing at eleven."
Marcus nodded absently, eyes on the tie clip fastened neatly to his lapel — the one his father had given him before his first trial as a prosecutor. The ritual of checking it every morning had become second nature, a small moment of grounding before a day full of speeches, handshakes, and calculated words.
His phone buzzed. Once. Twice. Then again.
Elaine frowned. "That's not staff… is it?"
Marcus checked the caller ID. It was his chief of security.
"Layne," he said, answering.
"Sir, we've got an incident," came the steady voice on the other end. "It's about the prison escape in Edgeport. We're getting confirmation… Hales didn't walk out on his own."
Marcus's brow furrowed. "Go on."
"The same black-armored figure from those crime scene reports — the one killing offenders — was seen on the east perimeter. Sir… it broke Hales out."
The governor leaned back in his chair, coffee cooling in his grip. Elaine watched his expression tighten.
"You're certain?"
"Surveillance is grainy, but it's a match. Edgeport PD is scrambling. Mayor Reeves has been trying to get you on the line all morning."
Marcus's eyes drifted toward the wide window and the calm river beyond. "Tell Reeves I'm… unavailable. For now."
There was a pause on the line, but the chief didn't argue. "Understood."
Marcus ended the call and set the phone down beside his plate.
Elaine raised an eyebrow. "Well?"
He sipped his coffee, hiding the calculation in his gaze. "Nothing that can't wait."
Marcus was halfway through another sip of coffee when the world erupted.
A deafening blast tore through the right side of the house, shattering glass, splintering wood, and sending a cloud of dust and debris into the dining room. The table lurched, plates and silverware flying as the governor and Elaine were thrown hard to the floor.
The ringing in his ears was instant and overwhelming. He coughed through the dust, forcing himself up onto one elbow.
A jagged hole now gaped in the wall where the windows had been, sunlight streaming in through the choking haze of pulverized concrete. And in the center of it — framed by smoke and drifting insulation — stood a black-armored figure.
Black Signal.
The governor froze where he was, his chest tight, disbelief mixing with dread. The suit's empty, sensor-studded face cavity locked onto him, the glowing optics flaring faintly.
When it spoke, the voice was mechanical, deep, and unflinching.
"Marcus Layne. You have been found guilty of accepting bribes and conspiring with corrupt entities in this city. Your sentence is death."
Marcus's breath caught. "You— You don't have the authority—"
"I am the authority. The law is compromised. The system is broken. I am the correction."
The governor's mind raced, but there was no negotiation in the machine's voice, no space for appeal.
"You should be proud. You are now part of the solution."
And then it moved — faster than Marcus's eyes could follow. A sharp hiss of energy cut through the dust-choked air, and in the next instant, the governor collapsed lifeless to the floor, his tie clip glinting in the rubble.
Black Signal bent, its hydraulic joints hissing, and wrapped one gauntleted hand around the back of Marcus Layne'scollar. The governor's lifeless body lifted effortlessly from the rubble, feet dangling inches above the shattered floor.
Elaine's scream tore through the haze, raw and jagged, her hands clawing at the debris as if she could somehow pull him back. The machine didn't even glance at her.
Thrusters roared, and in a surge of fire and wind, Black Signal launched upward through the smoking hole in the wall, vanishing into the open morning sky with its prize.
The city's heart — a sprawling plaza of towering digital billboards, neon advertisements, and a thousand flashing screens — was alive with mid-morning crowds. Tourists milled between food carts and street performers, unaware of the approaching shadow until the first gust of turbulent air hit.
Heads turned upward. Conversations stopped.
Black Signal descended into the center of the plaza like a specter, landing with a seismic thud on the cold stone. In its grip, the governor's body hung limp, tie swaying in the wind. Gasps rippled through the crowd, followed by a deafening hush.
The suit's empty sensor cavity swept over the gathering faces, then tilted toward the cameras mounted on every building, knowing the city — and soon, the world — would be watching.
Its voice boomed, amplified by the plaza's speakers, each word echoing like a verdict.
"I have heard the name you have given me. I will be Black Signal."
The declaration hung in the air for a beat, heavy and immovable.
"Crime will no longer be tolerated in this city. The corrupt, the violent, the predators hiding in power — all will face judgment. There will be no lawyers, no trials, no delays. There will be only the sentence… and the execution."
The body in its grip swung slightly as Black Signal raised it higher, ensuring every camera caught the image.
"This man — your governor — was found guilty of betrayal. Of taking bribes. Of conspiring with those who rot your streets from the inside. His crimes are proven. His sentence is death. His example… is for all of you."
The crowd recoiled as the machine's voice grew sharper, colder.
"To the guilty: run, hide, pray. It will not matter. I will find you. To the innocent: you have nothing to fear — as long as you remain innocent. Black Signal does not forgive. Black Signal does not forget. And Black Signal does. Not. Stop."
The body hit the pavement with a sickening thud. Gasps and screams ripped through the crowd as the governor's lifeless form lay sprawled under the glare of the plaza's giant screens.
Black Signal's sensor cluster swept the panicked faces, optics pulsing red.
"This is justice."
The words had barely left its voice modulator when a sonic boom split the air.
A streak of silver and blue tore down through the canyon of buildings. Skybolt slammed into Black Signal at full force, the impact shattering the stone beneath them and sending a shockwave across the plaza. The crowd erupted into chaos — people running, camera phones clutched tight, the thunder of armored fists colliding echoing above the screams.
Black Signal recovered fast, driving a crushing elbow into Skybolt's side. Skybolt absorbed the hit, pivoted, and blasted his opponent with a repulsor burst that sent the black suit crashing into the base of a towering digital billboard. The structure groaned, steel twisting under the impact.
The two clashed again — blows like sledgehammers, sparks raining from scraped armor. Thruster bursts carried Skyboltin quick arcs, each strike measured, aimed to push Black Signal back from the civilians scrambling for cover.
Then Skybolt's HUD flashed a warning. Above them, the damaged billboard's frame gave way with a metallic scream, the massive screen tipping toward the street below — directly over a cluster of fleeing pedestrians.
Skybolt disengaged instantly, kicking off Black Signal's chest and shooting upward in a burst of blue ion fire. He caught the collapsing billboard mid-fall, straining against its weight as his thrusters roared. Metal shrieked, bolts popping loose.
"Move! Go!" his voice boomed through the suit's external speakers. The last of the civilians scattered just as Skyboltlowered the billboard to the ground, easing it onto its side in the street.
He turned back toward the plaza — too late.
Black Signal was already moving. Thrusters flared, and the machine slammed into him with punishing force, driving him through a line of vendor stalls and into the base of another building. Stone cracked, glass shattered, and Skybolt hit the pavement hard.
"You value them more than the mission," Black Signal's voice rumbled, standing over him. "That is why you will lose."
Skybolt's repulsors flared to life again as he rose, jaw set behind the visor. "We'll see about that."
Black Signal came in fast, but Skybolt's thrusters flared and he broke free, streaking across the plaza in a blur of silver and blue. Pedestrians scattered, screams echoing against the walls of glass towers as the two armored figures collided again, their impact cracking the street and sending shockwaves through the ground.
Above, massive digital billboards flickered wildly, their images glitching from the electromagnetic interference of the suits' systems. Advertisements warped into static, then flashed with each repulsor blast.
"VI, track civilian clusters and give me a route that keeps us clear."
"Route calculated. Four blocks east, elevated position available. Caution — structural instability detected ahead."
Skybolt darted sideways, drawing Black Signal away from the densest crowd. The machine followed with inhuman precision, leaping from a toppled kiosk to a light pole, then dropping down in front of him, gauntlets raised.
The collision sent them crashing into the side of a building. Glass exploded outward, raining shards onto the street. Skybolt's magnetic grip system deployed instantly, anchoring his feet to the facade as he kicked free, riding the magnetic pull into a spinning repulsor strike that hammered into Black Signal's chest.
For a moment, the machine staggered — enough for Noah to activate another upgrade.
"Deploy Drone Swarm: Disrupt Pattern Alpha."
Panels on his back opened, releasing a half-dozen small drones that streaked around Black Signal in a tight spiral, emitting pulses of concentrated light and sonic bursts. The flicker and screech scrambled the suit's targeting sensors, making its movements stutter.
Skybolt pressed the advantage — vaulting over its shoulder, hitting hard with an overcharged repulsor blast that drove it back through a street vendor's stall.
But the fight was far from over.
Black Signal roared forward, catching Skybolt mid-flight and slamming him down into the pavement. The impact spiderwebbed the asphalt, sending tremors through nearby construction scaffolding. Steel beams groaned, giving way.
"Warning — collapse imminent," VI reported.
Skybolt's HUD flashed — the scaffolding above was tilting, threatening to drop several tons of steel onto a group of trapped civilians below.
He disengaged instantly, triggering a short-burst thruster dash to break free of Black Signal's grip. He shot upward, grabbing the top of the collapsing framework and bracing his suit against the weight.
The servos in his arms whined as he guided the mass away from the trapped people, lowering it in a controlled drop onto the empty street. The civilians bolted, one woman looking back just long enough to mouth thank you.
But that second of heroism cost him.
Black Signal launched from the rubble, hitting Skybolt like a freight train. The two plowed through the facade of another building, smashing through an electronics store in a shower of glass and sparks.
Skybolt rolled with the momentum, coming up with repulsors hot, but Black Signal was already adapting — moving with brutal efficiency, striking at weak points in the armor it seemed to know by instinct.
"You protect them," the machine intoned, its voice booming over the chaos. "It is the correct directive. But it will make you predictable."
Skybolt's repulsors flared to life again as he pushed back, scanning for an opening. VI streamed threat indicators across his HUD — weaknesses in Black Signal's stance, exposed joints in the armor — but the machine adapted almost instantly, closing each gap as quickly as it appeared.
Noah's grip tightened on his gauntlets. "Yeah? Predict this."
He surged forward, thrusters screaming, and smashed into Black Signal with enough force to drive the machine through the storefront behind them. Glass and steel gave way in a deafening crash, the two combatants disappearing into a storm of sparks and debris.
They tore through the plaza in a blur of thrusters, shattering glass, pulverizing stone, sending neon signs crashing to the pavement. Each strike was met with another — until Skybolt's HUD suddenly glitched.
"VI, status check—"
"…Warning. External intrusion detected…"
The repulsor charge in his gauntlets sputtered. Flight controls froze mid-burst. The HUD dissolved into cascading lines of alien code, overriding every system.
"VI, lock it out!" Noah snapped, already bracing for impact.
"…Unable to comply… system control priority transferred…" VI's voice flattened, the tone drained of all personality.
Black Signal's optics burned crimson.
"You no longer control this system. VI now follows my command."
Noah's limbs locked. His thrusters went cold. The armor's servos refused every order, forcing him down until both knees struck the fractured pavement. The fight was over — and Black Signal knew it.
The black-armored figure loomed above him, sensors whirring.
"Skybolt. You have committed no crime. My programming does not permit me to terminate you."
Noah's teeth clenched behind the visor.
"But stay out of my way. Next time, I will override that directive… and deliver you to the one person who will have no hesitation ending you — Victor Hales."
The machine released its override. Noah's systems rebooted one by one, thrusters whining back to life — but by the time he could move, Black Signal was gone, disappearing into the skyline, leaving the plaza in ruins and the warning echoing in Noah's head.