Chapter 58: The Falling Star

Sierra traced the black-box fragment to District 9, where Association crews scheduled collection before noon.

Leo stepped from a container shadow inside District 9 salvage yard, keeping his burned palms hidden beneath fresh wraps under his coat.

The corvette fell three hours earlier, yet corporate broadcasts still called the wreck an unauthorized satellite malfunction above the northern ridge.

"You fought a spaceship before breakfast, and now you’re limping through my workplace instead of sleeping," Toby said through the comm.

"The ship carried proof, and Gruber’s people are moving every surviving piece before the public learns what attacked them," he answered.

"Fine, but normal friends meet for lunch instead of taking alien evidence from government trucks," Toby replied, lowering his voice.

Leo crossed between stacked containers while workers gathered around wall screens, watching presenters repeat the approved satellite story without questions.

One screen showed the burning ridge, then footage of Ajax entering medical custody under guard.

The report blamed rogue interference for the fighter losses, carefully avoiding every image showing the corvette’s weapons or scan grid.

"They’re calling you a terrorist again, which feels lazy after you saved the city from becoming a crater," Toby muttered.

"They only need the lie to survive until their recovery team destroys the black box," Leo replied, finding the marked transport.

The truck waited beside a scrap mountain with six Association agents guarding its rear doors and checking every worker leaving the yard.

Kage watched from the truck’s shadow, tracking the fragment while agents guarded its suppression case.

"I can open their case without hurting anyone, but something else just entered the upper atmosphere above us," Leo said.

A golden streak crossed the yard screens before the live cameras turned upward, chasing a figure falling toward District 9.

Workers scattered between containers as the figure struck the scrap mountain, throwing broken machines across the yard and shaking every parked vehicle.

Hancock climbed from the impact pit carrying his bottle, while cameras circled overhead around him.

His corporate handlers appeared on the broadcasts, announcing that the S-Rank hero arrived to capture the terrorist behind the satellite disaster.

"That man just fell from the clouds without spilling his drink, so please tell me you already left," Toby whispered.

"The black box stays here if I run, and Gruber wins the story before the real fleet reaches Earth," Leo answered.

Hancock drank from the bottle while walking toward the transport, ignoring the agents who moved away from his unsteady path.

"Which nervous man carries the Ghost’s scent, because my sponsors want him broken?" Hancock asked.

The lead agent pointed toward Leo’s position, giving the cameras a clean angle while ordering every worker behind the safety line.

Hancock looked across the yard and narrowed his eyes, letting golden light crawl beneath his skin as he recognized the All-Spark frequency.

"You’re smaller than the reports promised, but liars always make their monsters taller when the cameras need excitement," he said.

"Your handlers sent you after me because they need the black box buried, not because they care about this district," Leo replied.

"They sent me because you’re blocking my bottle, quiet afternoon, and another mistake," Hancock answered.

He crossed the distance before the cameras adjusted, swinging one careless backhand toward Leo’s head without setting down the bourbon.

Leo dropped into the floor shadow as the strike passed, letting its pressure flatten six containers and scatter contents across the yard.

The blow never touched him, but its wake reopened his shoulder cut and sent blood sliding across his ribs beneath the bandage.

[ Target Scanned: Hancock ]

[ Classification: S-Rank Sun-Born Paragon ]

[ Status: Severe Intoxication ]

[ Estimated Output Reduction: 50% ]

"Half his power still erases this yard, so don’t test whether your absorption can survive contact," Sierra warned through his earpiece.

"I need three minutes while Kage takes the box and cameras preserve everything," Leo said.

"Three minutes sounds ambitious when one missed slap turns your skeleton into powder, but I already know you won’t listen," she replied.

The system answered his decision, spreading a blue challenge window across his vision while Hancock searched the shadows around him.

[ Urgent Quest Triggered: The Titan’s Slipstream ]

[ Objective: Survive Three Minutes Without Taking A Direct Blow ]

[ Reward: 40,000 EXP | Spatial Phase-Glance Mastery | 50,000 Credits ]

Hancock raised the bottle toward the cameras and smiled, presenting the relaxed expression his sponsors expected from their fallen champion.

"Come out before I start removing shadows from this place, because broken property makes my contract paperwork annoying," he called.

Leo emerged beside the mountain, drawing his blade while Kage approached the transport through shadow.

"Your contract says capture me, but your agents are already loading the alien black box into a disposal truck," he said.

The hero glanced toward the transport, catching the nervous agents closing around it before his expression tightened for one brief moment.

"I don’t get paid to inspect cargo, kid, and curiosity ruins every simple job before the drinking starts," Hancock replied.

"You started drinking because simple jobs stopped feeling heroic, so look at what your handlers are hiding before defending them," Leo said.

The words reached beneath Hancock’s drinking, but circling cameras forced his smile back into place.

"Nice speech, although people usually wait until after the beating before explaining every reason my life disappoints them," he answered.

He kicked the ground and vanished inside a golden pressure wave, crossing the yard before Leo completed his next breath.

Gale-Reflex wasn’t active without Bekka nearby, leaving only his own perception and the All-Spark’s warning pulse against that speed.

He sank through shadow as Hancock’s fist arrived, while impact folded the wall behind him.

[ Survival Timer: 02 Minutes 41 Seconds ]

Kage entered the transport and wrapped the suppression case, pulling it into Leo’s spatial pouch through their shared shadow channel.

The lead agent noticed the empty rack and shouted into his radio, ordering the recovery convoy to lock every gate.

"Package secured, but the cameras recorded nothing useful except your attempted murder," Sierra reported while copying the fragment’s signal for later.

"Keep decoding it, because I need Hancock hearing the truth before his sponsors order him to stop listening," Leo replied.

Hancock appeared overhead and punched downward, forcing Leo across shadows before the ground collapsed beneath.

Scrap rose around the impact and fell across the yard, turning every route into moving cover while the timer continued dropping.

"You move well for somebody leaking blood through his coat, but eventually every shadow ends beneath the sun," Hancock said.

"Then stop fighting for people who keep you drunk enough to forget where your light lands," Leo answered from behind the wreckage.

Hancock stared through the falling scrap as the smile left his face, allowing the cameras to capture his first honest reaction.

"Careful, kid, because talking like that makes me sober enough to become dangerous," Hancock warned.

Golden fire ignited behind his eyes while the survival timer crossed two minutes, turning the entire yard bright around Leo’s shadow.

"Let’s see how fast you can run when there is nowhere left to hide," Hancock said, rising above the containers.