"Boss, we hit the jackpot."
Inside the bank vault, one of the robbers hugged a bag stuffed with cash, barely able to contain his excitement.
"Save it," the leader snapped. "Time's up. Grab the last bags and move. Cops will be here any minute."
He hoisted the final sack of money and crouched to crawl through the blasted opening in the wall.
The moment he reached the exit, he froze.
A man was crouched outside the hole.
Black mask. Long leather coat.
A rifle already raised and aimed straight at them.
"Hey, Four, what are you doing?" one of the robbers called out. "Move, we're trying to get—"
The leader suddenly sensed something was wrong. His hand moved toward his own weapon—
Too late.
The rifle fired.
BANG.
The first shot punched clean through his wrist.
Before the others could react, several more shots followed in rapid succession.
BANG. BANG. BANG.
Each bullet struck with surgical precision.
Not their torsos.
Their ankles.
Blood sprayed across the vault floor as all four robbers collapsed, screaming in shock and pain.
They had never imagined the guard outside would turn on them.
Within seconds, every one of them was down.
Noah Vale watched them carefully, confirming their legs were disabled.
None of them were going anywhere.
Satisfied, he stepped outside, climbed into the getaway car the robbers had prepared, and drove off without hesitation.
Ten minutes later, the old sedan rolled to a stop on an empty road outside the city.
No traffic.
No lights.
Just quiet countryside and distant highway noise.
Noah opened the trunk and pulled out the sacks.
One by one, he checked the contents.
Cash bundles.
Gold bars.
Jewelry.
Paper securities.
After counting the money alone, he estimated roughly four hundred thousand dollars in cash.
Seven gold bars of varying weight.
Several pieces of expensive jewelry.
Plus financial instruments that could be sold later.
Altogether, the haul would probably convert to well over a million dollars once properly moved through the right channels.
Noah leaned against the car and let out a relieved breath.
"Okay… that solves the money problem."
Now all he needed was a way to clean the assets.
Luckily, he already had a few potential connections—
His thoughts cut off suddenly.
Behind him came the steady sound of a cane tapping against pavement.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Noah's body tensed instantly.
He turned.
A tall white man approached from the darkness.
He wore a tight leather suit and a red mask covering everything above the nose. In one hand, he carried a collapsible baton that also served as a cane.
Noah stared.
For a moment, he genuinely didn't know what to say.
Running into a bank robbery was one thing.
But running into Daredevil in the middle of nowhere afterward?
That felt like some kind of cosmic joke.
"Hey," the man said calmly, a faint smile on his face. "Kid, you're carrying a lot of things that don't belong to you."
Noah tilted his head slightly.
"Daredevil? Shouldn't you be busy dealing with Kingpin or something? What are you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?"
As he spoke, Noah casually stepped backward until he reached the driver's door.
His left arm rested lightly on the open window frame.
His expression looked almost friendly.
"If you know who I am," Daredevil replied, walking closer, "then you already know how this ends. Turn yourself in and this stays simple."
His tone was relaxed.
To him, this was just another small-time criminal.
A quick cleanup before the night ended.
But as Daredevil stepped within three meters of Noah—
His expression shifted.
Because in that instant—
Click. Click.
Noah had reached into the car and flipped on the stereo.
Music exploded into the quiet night.
A loud pop song blasted across the empty road.
The sudden noise distorted the delicate soundscape Daredevil relied on.
And at the exact same moment—
Noah attacked.
His right leg whipped through the air.
The kick tore through the space between them like a steel cable snapping.
WHOOOSH.
Daredevil heard the movement an instant before impact.
Even through the chaotic noise, he managed to pinpoint the attack's trajectory.
But it was fast.
Too fast.
With no room to dodge, he leaned back and lowered his center of gravity, bringing his baton up across his chest as a shield.
THUD.
The impact sounded like a hammer striking metal.
Daredevil's boots scraped violently across the asphalt as the kick shoved him backward.
Four meters.
Five.
Only then did he manage to stop himself.
Meanwhile, Noah used the recoil of the strike to flip backward and land beside the car.
Without hesitation, he reached inside the window—
Straight for the rifle.
He intended to finish the fight quickly.
But just as his hand entered the car—
A silver cable snapped forward.
The line wrapped tightly around his arm.
It had launched from Daredevil's baton.
The grappling hook locked in place.
Across the road, Daredevil's casual expression had vanished.
Now he looked completely serious.
The brief clash had told him everything he needed to know.
The guy in front of him might sound young.
But he was dangerous.
Fast.
Strong.
And very possibly a future supervillain.
Still, Daredevil had also noticed something else.
The kid had power—but almost no real fighting technique.
More importantly…
He wasn't trying to kill anyone.
And there was another strange detail.
From the sound of that earlier kick striking the baton, Daredevil could tell Noah's foot had likely cracked a bone from the force.
His body's durability didn't match his strength.
"Kid," Daredevil said quietly, tightening the cable. "You're in way over your head."
Noah sighed.
His right arm was pinned.
The rifle was out of reach.
He let go of the weapon attempt instantly.
Instead, he grabbed the cable with his free hand and charged forward.
Unbelievable.
Of all nights to run into Daredevil…
Fine.
One move. End it.
Across the road, Daredevil listened to the approaching footsteps and steadied himself.
One exchange.
That would decide the fight.
But as Noah ran—
Daredevil frowned.
Because a strange series of sounds came from his body.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
What…?
Some of the noises made sense.
Daredevil could hear the stress in Noah's legs as his bones strained under the explosive force of his sprint.
But the rest of the sounds—
Those were different.
They were the sound of muscle fibers rebuilding.
Bone structure shifting.
Body tissue strengthening in real time.
While running—
Noah was pushing his strength even further.
The system inside him responded instantly.
His physical power climbed again.
From 1.5 to 1.6.
Daredevil's senses flared in alarm.
Wait… his speed—
Too late.
Noah was already there.
He planted his left foot.
BOOM.
The asphalt cracked beneath the impact, leaving a visible half-inch footprint in the road.
The force traveled up through his body—
And exploded out through his other leg.
His kick launched forward like a cannon shot.
Daredevil had no time to react.
The strike slammed directly into his chest.
CRACK.
The sound of breaking bone echoed through the empty road.
Daredevil's body flew through the air.
Eight meters.
Nine.
He spun violently before crashing into the ground.
Blood burst from his mouth as he collapsed face-first onto the asphalt.
This time—
He didn't get back up.