POV T'Challa
It took far longer than I liked to finally track down what Killmonger meant by where it all began. This led me to a small apartment building in Oakland, California.
"This is where it happened," a voice says as I enter the apartment complex.
"Face me, coward!" I demand.
"Fine, just find me; I'm not going anywhere. Only one of us shall leave this apartment alive," Killmonger says coldly before the intercom cuts off.
I search the building until I stop at a unit with a door slightly ajar. Upon entering, I didn't find Killmonger, but I did find several photos of someone I recognized: my uncle.
"This is where your father murdered my father in cold blood," Killmonger says while ignoring me.
"I don't care what lies you spout; just face me!" I shout angrily.
I throw the photos down and keep looking, eventually ending up on the roof where I see Killmonger. The man before us was wearing a suit of armor somewhat similar to mine but clearly quite a bit more crude in some ways. He was carrying a traditional Wakandan Axe.
I don't attack immediately as I feel this could be a trap.
"So we finally meet in person," Killmonger says as he turns around.
"You'll answer for your crimes!" I say with grim determination.
"Maybe," Killmonger says calmly.
I get into a stance and ready for a fight that I knew wouldn't be quick. Or so I thought.
WHIIIIIIIIIIINE
"AHHHHHHH!" I fall to the ground in agony as a high-pitched sound pierces my ears and causes my suit to collapse.
"You really thought I was going to fight you in your suit? No, no, I am going to take your suit, strip you of all your gadgets, then I will kill you. Scum like you doesn't deserve that suit, and doesn't deserve any honor of a duel," Killmonger says as the sound stops and I find myself frozen.
He gets closer and presses a button, causing my Panther Habit to melt away and gather back into the necklace before it is taken away from me, leaving me paralyzed on the ground.
"You like this? It's a little treat I bought from Stark Industries back when it was still making weapons. I had to tweak it myself to work on Vibranium, but my father was a brilliant man who left me with the knowledge I needed for my revenge," Killmonger says while turning me over.
Killmonger rears up and smashes his axe into my arm using the flat side, causing my arm to break, and I want to scream, but I cannot. He repeats the same thing with every limb until none of my limbs have usable bones.
"You know, I thought long and hard about how I would kill you. I took my time with your father. He was my main target after all. But you... You were the fish that got away. Luck, I suppose, allowed you to be away when I attacked. I admit I had fun with our little game of cat and mouse. But all things must come to an end. And with this weapon, I shall end the feud once and for all," Killmonger says while showing his axe in front of my face.
"Hmm, you humans always seem to be trying to kill each other over the simplest things," says a third voice from nowhere.
"What?" Killmonger says in shock but doesn't get another chance to do anything as a hole appears in his chest.
A dagger that looked familiar for some reason was the culprit, which was connected to a hand that looked wrong somehow. But what followed was what truly horrified me. Killmonger didn't fall over; instead, he rapidly shrank or aged as if something was draining him until nothing remained but a set of armor.
"I truly am glad I kept this interesting little dagger. Without it, I would have had to take my time cracking that annoying shell of yours," says the voice.
"W-Who... Who are you?" I say with what little strength I can muster.
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I must have been talking out loud again. Sigh. I really should deal with that habit. But sorry, I don't like to talk to my food," the creature says before my vision goes dark.
POV Shift ???
"Hmm, that is quite good. I'm glad I made this little detour. I think I am as ready as I can to take him on," I say to myself.
I had only one chance to devour my target, and I refused to make a move until I was as ready as I could be. To do that, I used the knowledge I had absorbed from my fishy prey to target Wakanda, as they supposedly have some powerful specimens. And it seems that was very correct, as their abilities, while not as impressive as an Eternal, they were far beyond a normal human, and given all the humans I had been quietly devouring, I knew it was time to move on. I could tell that things were getting too dangerous to remain on this continent.
'On to Africa, it seems.'
POV Shift Rio (Batman Form)
I drop into an alley and inspect the area. Looking for any signs of the person I was looking for, but unlike previous times, I find something: a track, not much, but it was something.
"If you want to sneak up on me, you should try a bit harder," I comment to the new arrival.
"Heh, guess I shouldn't be surprised you detected me," Daredevil says as he drops to the ground.
"What do you want, Daredevil?" I ask.
"Possibly the same thing as you. I'm investigating the disappearances of several homeless people and criminals," Daredevil says.
"Do you have any findings?" I ask.
"Not much, just that the few small-scale gangs that exist are on high alert. They don't know what is hunting them, but it seems to have scared them. At first they thought it was an attack by some rivals, but with the disappearances coming from all sides, they aren't so certain anymore," Daredevil comments.
"I've found similar things, but the list of victims has been difficult to narrow down," I add.
"I've got maybe three dozen that could be tied to this," Daredevil offers.
"This case crosses state lines. I've confirmed at least three thousand with many more unconfirmed disappearances tied to this case," I reply.
"T-Thousand! You're kidding, right? There's no way over three thousand people could go missing without someone noticing," Daredevil says with shock.
I don't respond and only keep my frown.
"Dear god... D-Do you know who might be responsible?" Daredevil asks.
"There is no evidence tying anyone to the attacks. But they started around the time that a section of the Canadian forest was destroyed during some kind of battle. And the trail leads from there to NYC to Los Angeles. Some were from Serial Killers that are now behind bars; others were from gang attacks, but whoever is behind the majority of disappearances is hiding really well. Every attempt I have made to find them has them slipping away or vanishing," I comment.
I had used the Compass, but my query wasn't specific enough, and oddly enough, I would track the target for a few moments and then lose them, only for the Compass to locate them again before losing them. It was almost as if the person I was looking for was constantly popping in and out of reality, or somehow shifting so completely that the Compass no longer considered them the same person. The closest example I could give was when I was transformed into a Template. If I sought out Batman now, the Compass would point at me, but if I sought Rio out instead, it would come back inconclusive, as Rio doesn't exist right now, unless I made a magic clone, in which case it would lead to that clone.
"How can I help?" Daredevil asks.
"For now, turn over any evidence you have found or will find and work with the Guardians if we need it. Other than that, if you somehow discover the foe, use this device," I say while handing him a watch.
"A watch?" Daredevil says with confusion.
"When you press the side button, it will send a distress signal to the Guardians, and we will arrive as quickly as we can. You cannot defeat whatever is behind these disappearances, so keep your anger in check and do not engage the enemy," I warn sternly.
Daredevil nods before storing the watch in a pocket on his suit, and then he leaves me to keep doing his patrols around Hell's Kitchen.
There were several reasons I didn't invite Daredevil into the Guardians. For one, he was never willing to kill, no matter what. Second, he was very religious, and that influenced his decision-making. Third, he had major anger issues that led him to be a loose cannon. Fourth, he is not very strong. In terms of combat ability, he's okay but nowhere near Batman levels, and as such, he just wasn't strong enough to join the Guardians. Lastly, I didn't think Daredevil would want to join the Guardians in the first place.
I returned to the Watchtower and reviewed the investigation so far, looking at the pattern to see if I could predict where they would strike next. But all that was for naught, as I would soon learn the enemy had stopped and seemingly vanished.