Chapter 2: The First Avenger

Lately, there had been a series of murders in Manhattan. These murders were unusual and Loki could not find a single connection between any of them. Each of them had been different. The first victim was found floating in the Hudson River, her body severely mutilated. Her corpse was first discovered at day break when a local fisherman hauled up his net. It appeared at first glimpse that she was just another catch, until he pulled the net fully in and took a closer look. The man was appalled by the site before him and called the local authorities. That is when Loki arrived at the scene. When the medical examiner arrived he evaluated the body and learned more about the state of the corpse, as well as the murderer. This murderer was meticulous and concise; he made sure to remove all of the victim's teeth so they would not be able to divulge her identity. Loki was amazed at the precision of the murder, but underneath his calm exterior he was shaken up about the fact that someone could do such a thing to another human being. When he approached the medical examiner to gain intel on the death of the victim, he started by asking basic questions.

"How long has she been deceased?" Loki asked.

"About 24 hours it appears…" replied the medic.

Loki raised a brow and noticed the lack of fingernails the corpse had. It appeared as though she had been clawing at something, but at what? He bent down to get a closer look and notified the examiner of his wishes.

"I want samples taken and tested. It could give us a clue as to where the murder took place. Certainly her body was disposed of here, but the murder was committed elsewhere."

As he continued his examination he took note on how her face was so ruthlessly bludgeoned, and that there was no way to recognize specific facial features. So, they had to hope that her prints were in the government database because otherwise this woman would remain a "Jane Doe," and her family, if she had one, would never know of her demise. However, this murder was only the beginning of many more to come.

Less than a week after the first body was discovered, the second was found in an alleyway, shot once in the head. The wound was clean for the most part; the bullet went straight through. The part that peeked Loki's interest was the fact that the caliber was that of a gun used only in combat. Most street thugs and common murderers would not own such a weapon. This lead him to believe this murderer had military training and some vengeance to seek. At the crime scene he also noticed the remnants of a piece of cloth that was stuck to a pipe in the alley. "This has to be the flaw in this felon's plan," Loki thought to himself, "how could someone so precise possibly make such a mediocre mistake? Is this a trap?" He in fact knew that this was no ordinary felon, but how could this red, white, and blue cloth relate to anything? And what was the motive? Loki put on his rubber gloves and picked up the cloth.

"Will you please take this to the lab to be checked for DNA?" Loki asked a cop standing near him. "Yes, of course, sir," she answered and went to prep the evidence for the lab. Loki shook his head in disbelief. What if that tiny piece of fabric was how both cases could be solved? Little did he know about what he would find next.

The third murder truly stumped him. The woman was found in pieces, as if arranged as a puzzle. Now Loki wondered, how can there possibly be a connection between these three murders? He found the key to all of it at the third crime scene. He discovered that at the last murder site, with the dismembered woman, that her body parts were arranged in a fashion to create a message, one specifically written for only his eyes to see. When decoding it, he realized that the blood of the woman spelled out the message: the only thing they can get me for is running a funeral parlor without a license… This note truly disgusted Loki due to the fact that the killer thought he would never be caught and he would just continue in his charades. He took some of the blood samples so they could hopefully identify the victim. He wrapped up the crime scene, taking care to get any evidence he might need in court, and left.

When the lab reports came back from the medical examiner Loki felt like he finally got the lead he needed to crack this case wide open and reveal the monster behind these murders once and for all. The report stated that the red, white, and blue material did offer some evidence to the case, and that the first victim was in fact clawing at an object of metal. The residue under the remainder of what used to be her nails appeared to be some type of rare alloy. Debunking what it was took more time, but finally forensics, with the help of the federal government, learned that under her nails were traces of adamantium. This evidence narrowed the list of possible offenders to just one; that being the one and only Captain America. Loki thought to himself, "So, this is what America's Golden Boy does in his downtime." He just chuckled to himself. After he made the arrest, which required back up as well as some of the SWAT team, the case was closed and he moved onto the next. He had heard rumors around the precinct of a rogue marksman that used a bow and arrow to take out his targets. This drew Loki; he knew that this mercenary was up to no good.

((***The above quote that was made into the message that was left by Cap for Loki was an actual serial killer's words. The original speaker of these words was, John Wayne Gacy.***))