CHAPTER ONE
The sky above Neo-City didn't look like the sky anymore. It was a chaotic ceiling of neon-blue plasma grids and hovering warships. Down below, the frantic pounding of heavy combat boots echoed all around, slicing through the smog. A single name roared through the tactical comms channels, filled with absolute terror and fury:
Jackson Blake.
The man in question was slipping through the shadows of a towering skyscraper. As the deadliest and most ruthless operative of the infamous Black Squad Agency, Jackson was used to danger.....but tonight, he had pushed himself to the absolute limit. His sleek black tactical suit was torn to shreds, his body a painful canvas of deep cuts, with warm crimson blood dripping steadily from his fresh wounds.
But he didn't care about the pain.
"Hah... hah... hah..." Jackson panted heavily, his chest heaving as he finally collapsed against a metal railing on the highest rooftop. He opened his tightly clenched fist. Resting in his palm was a glowing, iridescent artifact that pulsed with an eerie, rhythmic warmth. "Finally... I got the Time Amulet. Now, no more danger for this world."
He mumbled the words to himself, catching his breath in the fleeting solace of the quiet, dark night sky.
Suddenly, a low hum vibrated through the air. A sleek, silver flying ship cloaked in anti-gravity fields dropped its altitude, closing the distance between the edge of the roof and the open sky.
A familiar face peeked out from the side hatch. "Hey dude, don't just stand there posing! Come on, let's go before the backup grid locks us down!" his comrade yelled over the roar of the thrusters.
Jackson let out a breathy, triumphant laugh, his tense shoulders finally relaxing. He started moving toward the open hatch of the spaceship, stepping out to leap across the gap.
But luck is a fragile thing in the year 2160.
Just as his fingers were inches away from the ship's metal hull, a terrifying, blinding flash of light erupted from the center of the vessel. A sudden, catastrophic engine explosion tore through the ship. The heat wave hit Jackson instantly. In a split second of pure, white-hot destruction, the spaceship disintegrated.....and Jackson Blake died on the spot.
