Butcher Hunting Superheroes

Southern Louisiana, America. New Orleans.

Several police cars surrounded a bar, their neon lights flashing nonstop. Though the police had already cordoned off the area and dispatched numerous officers to maintain order, a large crowd had still gathered outside.

They clustered curiously beyond the barricades, craning their necks to peer inside and find out what had happened. There were even quite a few tabloid reporters among them. In the relatively peaceful city of New Orleans, a major case like this could certainly boost their newspaper sales.

From the outside, the bar had been utterly wrecked. Not only had its front doors been blasted to pieces, but its windows had also been smashed, leaving countless shards of glass scattered across the ground. Spiderweb-like cracks spread over the walls as well.

Clearly, if someone had not thrown a bomb in here, then it had to be connected to those superpowered individuals.

Inside the bar, Cable looked grim. Although he had prepared himself for the worst while rushing over after receiving the intelligence, his expression still darkened when he saw the scene for himself.

On the largest table in the bar lay a man on his back, eyes wide open in death. Everyone recognized him at once: Gambit of the X-Men.

Gambit’s real name was Remy Etienne LeBeau. Before his mutant gene awakened, he had been a professional thief and had even worked for some villains. But after losing his memories and awakening the ability to charge objects with energy and make them explode, he had turned over a new leaf with the help of the X-Men.

It was hard to imagine that a superhero from the X-Men had been murdered in the streets. His trademark playing cards littered the floor, and quite a few had even been stuffed into his mouth by the killer. His own staff had pierced through his chest, standing upright from his body.

This was not the first superhero to be killed. Superheroes made countless enemies, and the risk of dying violently in the streets was always there. But the deaths of several heroes within such a short period had still drawn the attention of those who cared.

The first victim discovered had been Black Widow. She had gone missing during an infiltration mission, and when others found her, all they saw was her corpse hanging in midair. The killer seemed to be flaunting the murder before them.

Later, the bodies of Luke Cage, the bulletproof Black hero, and Iron Fist were found as well.

Although those two were not as famous as first-tier superheroes, neither was someone an ordinary person could take down. Yet when their bodies were found, everyone was horrified to discover that they had died in exceptionally gruesome ways, as though the killer were a cruel butcher who delighted in slaughter.

And one who specifically targeted superheroes.

Nick Fury, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., reacted quickly. He first used his influence to suppress the news of the superheroes’ deaths, preventing the public from panicking. At the same time, he secretly assembled a team to investigate clues about the killer.

Cable, a superhero from the future, was the first helper Nick Fury recruited. That was not only because of Cable’s formidable strength, but also because of his exceptional insight and experience carrying out missions.

Besides Cable, the team included several capable heroes: Punisher, Moon Knight, the second Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, and Jessica Jones and Misty Knight, relatives of the superheroes who had been killed earlier.

These heroes might not possess world-destroying powers, but they had extraordinarily sharp instincts for crime. Street-level heroes like Moon Knight and Punisher, in particular, were no less capable at investigation than any famous detective.

"I hope we can find some clues soon. Strictly speaking, we shouldn’t be here. Time is running out. We need to find something useful before the military takes over." Cable looked at the grisly scene and spoke in a low voice.

"I remember this guy was an X-Man. Samos, do you know him?" Moon Knight asked. He had always worked alone, so he was not very familiar with other superheroes or groups.

"That’s right. I knew him." Cable nodded, then added, "But we weren’t close, and his background was complicated. He was even a criminal in his early days."

"That’s true. Criminals hate people like him most—the ones who turn over a new leaf. And he used to belong to the Thieves Guild, right? Could they have done this?" Punisher offered his own theory.

"It’s worth investigating, but I don’t think so. The Thieves Guild is only a loose little organization. They can barely stir up any trouble, and they wouldn’t have been capable of the other murders. After all, Luke Cage and Iron Fist weren’t ordinary superheroes."

Letting out a breath, Moon Knight picked up a bloodstained playing card. A drop of blood slid across the Joker’s smiling face on it. Moon Knight murmured, "Believe me, whoever did this…"

"He enjoyed it to death!"

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, New York, Zhang Ye and the other two had just finished moving into their rental.

Although none of the three had any identification in this world and were technically undocumented, the saying that money could make the devil turn the millstone was no joke. With the mountain of gold Old Bruce Wayne had left behind, Zhang Ye quickly persuaded the money-loving landlord’s family and moved in with their bags on the spot.

Having arrived in a new world, and one filled with countless superheroes at that, there was no way the three of them were not excited. Even Kara, who usually seemed somewhat aloof, had begun to grow curious about this world.

After all, before coming to Earth, she had only been a fifteen-year-old child. Battles between justice and evil had existed only in storybooks for her. When those stories truly unfolded before her, she was instantly captivated by the exploits of these superheroes.

"Let me make this clear first. From now on, you’d better not use your superpowers carelessly. Especially you, Pietro. You’re the one I’m least worried about." Sitting on the couch, Zhang Ye immediately called the two of them in for a talk.

"Huh? What did I do? I’ve always been well-behaved." Pietro immediately jumped up at Zhang Ye’s words, wearing an expression that said, How could you suspect me like that?

"We’ve been through plenty together. Do you think I don’t know you?" Zhang Ye was not affected by Pietro’s reaction in the slightest. "Out of the three of us, you’re the most restless. Two universes ago, you couldn’t sit still, and in the last universe, you even snuck out to steal things while I was asleep."

".Ahem, I-I wasn’t stealing." Pietro was left speechless after Zhang Ye exposed his past, and his voice grew quieter and quieter as he tried to argue.

"I’m warning you, Pietro. This world has superheroes. Your speed isn’t nearly enough in front of them. And until we know how safe this world is, we absolutely cannot expose our identities. I don’t want this world’s superheroes and supervillains setting their sights on us."

"I got it. I’ll behave, okay?" Pietro covered his face.

"And there’s one more thing. This world has your counterpart—another Quicksilver. I don’t know whether you two look alike, but you’d better disguise yourself when you go out. Don’t let anyone recognize you."

Pietro lowered his head even further. After a long while, he finally let out a soft wail.

".Got it!"