Avengers: Infinite Wars

by free man writer

The Clone Wars are in full swing with the galaxy divided. The Jedi lead the clone army against the infinite droid army of the Separatists. Yet a wild card enters the fray. The Avengers. From there, newer, more sinister and deadlier threats emerge and The Galaxy, no, the universe, shall never be the same again. Co-written by Jebest4781 and BulletStormX. Now in Season 4.

20. Lost

So, glad you all enjoyed the last chapter was fun to write and catch up with on Earth, but we're not done just yet.

But first things first. Happy New Year's everyone. The start of a new decade in the new millennium. We've now entered the 2020's. Let's hope to god we don't get a repeat of the previous century if you know what I mean.

Other than that, something that needs to be addressed that I did not last time.

Rise of Skywalker… was a complete waste of fucking time, a giant fuck you to Star Wars fans, Rey is a shitty character, Kylo… the Knights of Ren… they made the Dark empire Story ONE THOUSAND TIMES better then what they did here. I cannot begin to describe the vitriolic hatred and… you know what? No, it's not hatred. It's complete and utter disappointment. Just a blank feeling of emptiness that I felt towards one of the biggest let downs of a saga's conclusion. Everything Luke, Anakin, everything the first six films had established and accomplished undone by these three films. And they wonder why we prefer the old Legends compared to this dumpster fire that Disney shat out.

And I love how those fucks call us so many names, yet the Mandalorian has been universally beloved, same for Fallen Order and we all can't wait for Clone Wars season 7. It's not that we the fans hate oversaturation, female characters or any of that. No, we just hate shitty storytelling and characters. Why do you think all of us kept coming back to the MCU even with some of its repetitive nature? Simple, good stories, good characters and above all else, RESPECTING WHAT CAME BEFORE, WHAT IS TO COME AND NOT INSULTING THE FANS THAT PUT MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS.

Now some of you may think that this is hatred towards Star Wars, and I refute thusly. How in the hell could I hate something I am writing a story about? I just hate Disney's sequel trilogy that essentially said fuck everything prior to us buying Lucasfilm. That's what Disney did and now they're beginning to feel the effect of it all. Fire that cunt Kathleen Kennedy and place Filoni in charge, you know, the one who actually knows, understands, reveres, respects and loves Star Wars.

Urgh, Anywho, other than that, let's keep the show rolling. And let me preface this by saying here and now. A lot of this story has already been planned out.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 20: Lost

"So you recruited a fifteen-year-old boy to the Avengers?"

"Oh my God, is everyone gonna hound my ass for the rest of my life now? The kids got potential and he chose to be a hero without any of us telling him to do so. Why is everyone treating me like I'm the bad guy. I even gave him a new suit so he won't make any of the mistakes that we've made in the past. How is that considered irresponsible and inconsiderate? Jesus, one step forward two steps back. Anyone else have any further criticisms for me? None of you guys are Cap so you better bring your A-game and yes that is a play on with the A for Avengers."

Tony was met with silence from those present in the conference room of the Avengers HQ.

Matt Murdock sat on the left of Tony, a few seats down as his hand glided over a brail transcribed document over a case he was working on.

Clint Barton sat parallel to the lawyer; legs propped up on the table with a book in hand.

Hank Pym was sifting through a datapad, going over some of his research.

And Peter Parker sat closest to Tony though he was silent and felt really out of place right now.

"Feel better now?" Clint asked after a prolonged silence.

"Somewhat but the only time I really feel better is when I'm with Pep and she's not here right now." Tony remarked.

"Innuendo aside." Matt spoke up. "Aside from Mister Parker's recruitment, there is the matter of Ulysses Klaue being in the city of Manhattan."

"How did a man like that get into the states so easily?" Hank inquired, grimacing as he recalled the illegal dealings Klaue specialized in.

"In today's day and age with what he's packing, it shouldn't be surprising how easily a guy like him could get around." Clint stated. "There's people all over the world who'd give up an arm and a leg for his specific type of product. And get that arm and leg back a day later."

"What's he selling?" Matt asked.

"The very rarest metal on the planet." Clint said, recalling a conversation he and Tony had a few months ago. "Vibranium. The same metal that made Cap's shield. Metal is damn near indestructible."

"And this Klaue individual is now in Manhattan with this rare metal hoping to sell it to the highest bidder." Matt said dryly.

"Jeez, don't make it sound like it's the end of the world."

"You're right Mr. Stark, I shouldn't make such haphazard statements in your presence most of all. You and Mr. Barton do specialize in such matters."

"Hardy Har Har, Mr. Murdock. You use this wit with the ladies or in court?" Tony deadpanned.

Matt remained silent with a small upward twitch of the lip making Tony momentarily glower though he brushed it off a second later.

"This is what I get for recruiting a lawyer." Tony said to himself.

"We do specialize in pissing off just about everyone we meet, Mr. Stark." Matt plainly stated. "Us as well as most politicians, inventors and businessmen."

Both Stark and Pym stared at the blind lawyer with half-lidded eyes as the man continued to trail his fingers over his reading.

Sighing, Tony shook his head and looked over to Peter who was fidgeting a bit in his seat.

"What's the matter kid, something eating you?" Tony asked making the young hero perk his head up.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing Mr. Stark."

"You sure?"

"Yea…" Peter paused for a moment before gaining a sheepish look. "Uh, I actually need to get home. I got… homework."

Clint guffawed a moment later with Matt smirking openly at such a statement. Even Hank shook his head in amusement while Tony stared blankly at the high schooler before rolling his eyes.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that."

"Now, now Mr. Stark." Murdock spoke up. "Far be it from us older gentlemen to impede upon Mr. Parker's education. The youth of America are the future of this country and the world after all."

"Did you swallow Shakespeare, Poe and every other dramatic book on the way here or something?"

"I'm a lawyer."

"That explains everything." Tony said sarcastically. "Alright, since you two can't stay out of your pond for longer than an hour."

Soon enough, Peter and Matt were in the backseat of a car with an automated car.

It was a bit of an awkward silence between the two with Peter's finger drumming against his knees as he kept his face turned to his window.

"Mr. Parker."

Peter jolted at Matt suddenly speaking.

"Could you refrain from doing that with your hands and knees?" Matt asked politely. "The constant drumming is rather jarring."

Peter blinked at such an odd request, glancing down to his hands before back up to the lawyer.

"Wait, you were able to hear all this?" Peter asked, gently tapping his fingers against his knees.

"I can hear many things." Murdock replied vaguely. "I can hear your stomach digesting that quesadilla you had eaten at the Avengers headquarters along with the cars driving on the freeway a few miles up ahead to that fly that just flew by the driver's window."

Peter stared silently at Matt, his mind processing what the Lawyer had just described.

"That's… wow, so you have hyper advanced senses then?" Peter asked excitedly.

Matt arched a brow at the teens shift in demeanor, now clearly much more interested in him then attempting to remain silent for a majority of the drive.

"Yes…" Matt spoke slowly. "It compensates for my blindness."

"Wow, that's awesome." Peter praised. "I kinda have the same thing but it's weird really. I mean it's like, I could hear and see everything all at once but man it-"

"Can be overwhelming?" Matt finished for Peter with a knowing tone.

"Yeah, everything is just turned up to eleven and it was freaky for the first few days." Peter recalled when he first got his powers. "Everything was just slamming into me all at the same time. It was trippy and gave me the biggest headache."

Matt snorted to himself. "I know the feeling. Had the same reaction when I…" He gestured to his ruby glasses. "Couldn't even sleep properly. All I "felt" was everything around me."

"Oh man." Peter leaned back into his seat. "Maybe it's a good thing then? All of us super powered guys sticking together and all?"

Matt quirked a brow at the question. While a slightly pessimistic man, Murdock wasn't one to simply reign down negativity for the sake of it. On the contrary, he relished in every positive scenario or individual he would come across.

It's why Foggy Nelson was his best friend.

"We should." Matt confirmed, nodding to Peter who grinned at him.

"I uh… I just grinned at you…" Peter said awkwardly. "Y-you know-"

"Thank you." Matt nodded at the high schooler, a sense of familiarity coming over him. "So, I remember something about you being from Queens correct?"

While the two New Yorkers began to bond, back at the Avengers HQ, Hank Pym was at the lab once more working through exhaustion to better understanding the circumstances that had led to the Avengers disappearance.

There was one thing on his mind however, something he had caught on recently and a topic that has been eating at him to go to the source of it all.

Hank had watched the many HYDRA videos of their scientists conducting experiments for what felt like the thousandth time when Tony Stark walked in.

"You know, I don't know how much this means to you, Hank…" Tony drawled out. "But have you considered taking a break? A nap? Hot shower? Cause the number of rings around your eyes would make Saturn jealous."

"As funny as ever Stark." Pym dryly remarked, eyes glued to his datapad.

"What exactly are you looking for, Pym?" Tony inquired. "Something we might've missed? Cause I kinda made sure about a dozen times now that I didn't miss anything."

"With the equipment that you had." Hank quickly pointed out. "But not with mine."

Tony tilted his head at that last bit. "I beg your pardon?"

"You used everything you had at your disposal, correct?" Hank inquired, though he left no room for Stark to answer. "So then can you explain to me what this is?"

Hank held up the data pad to display a graph chart with a constantly fluctuating wavelength.

Tony took a second to look at it. "That's the residual leftover energy from the base. Why, did I miss something?"

"Perhaps you did." Hank murmured. "I've noticed some strange occurrences. First of all, this energy has yet to subside. I understand the whole leftover residual energy but this? This energy spiked a few times since their disappearance. You missed something. We missed something."

Crossing his arms, Tony pondered on Hank's words. "Alright, humor me. What do you think we missed?"

"Something we don't fully understand." Hank stated. "These energy readings; I've tried matching them to quantum fluctuations and the like and while there is some kind of link it's completely its own thing."

"So what? You're telling me Hydra was working on something new? Discovered a new source of some kind?"

"Possibly." Hank looked back down to the data pad. "There might be the off chance that there is still more in that mountain base then we had initially perceived."

"More hidden equipment and tech?" Tony shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I'm all for going back out there then just sitting around here twiddling our thumbs."

"I wholeheartedly agree, Stark." Hank stated. "Which is why I'm coming with you."

"Oh? A sudden lust for adventure?"

"I admit that just remaining in one place doing research isn't enough in regards to this situation. A more hands on approach is needed here."

Tony only grinned. "That's my kind of style."

Hank rolled his eyes. "Of course it is."

"So then, when do you wanna go?"

"As soon as possible."

"Friday, make a list of tools and equipment we'll need for our trip."

-One Week Later-

Spider-Man swung through the streets of Manhattan, ever vigilant in his patrol of the city.

It had been a few days since his encounter with Klaue and meeting Daredevil and since that time he had been devoting himself to making trips all over New York to see if he could find any trace of the weapons dealer.

So far, nary a hair nor trace of the man in question.

Griping to himself, Spidey angled his body to slingshot upwards before landing on a radio pole and looked down at the city below.

"How the heck can you hide in a city like… wait, no, never mind." Peter said, dropping down into a sitting position onto the edge of the rooftop building that held the radio antenna. He slouched a bit in frustration while removing his backpack he had carried on with him.

Where could they possibly be hiding?

He had already checked several abandoned warehouses at multiple docks as that always seems to be the go-to spot for those kinds of individuals, yet he found nothing.

Grumbling again, Spidey hitched his mask up to his nose and pulled out a bottle of water and jugged down the contents.

Crushing the bottle flat and easily dropping it over a recycle bin conveniently down below on the street level, Peter leaned against his knees as he hung his head.

He went through many possible scenarios as to where Klaue and his goons could possibly be but found himself lacking.

Looking for weapon dealers were a first for the web-head and he honestly had no idea what to do. This was not in his usual wheelhouse of stopping muggers, robbers and common petty criminals. These men were more organized and experienced. Which means he couldn't just rush in recklessly.

Sliding his mask back down, Peter took to swinging and talking to himself as he found himself doing so more and more often when dealing with problems.

"Okay, let's think. Whatever possible locations these guys are hiding have to be from either abandoned warehouses or buildings… or locations owned under different aliases." Peter muttered out, rubbing his forehead with his free hand. "Which, in this city, is a lot."

Performing a corkscrew spin, Spidey zipped in between several multiple alleyways before swinging through Times Square.

"Definitely nowhere near anywhere public or even close to it." Peter said, glancing back at the busy streets of one of Manhattan's most popular tourist areas.

If he were being true to himself, as well as he knows Manhattan and New York in general, God knows how long it would take in finding Klaue.

"Wish Mr. Stark gave me Friday or any AI. This might run a little smoother. Emphasis on little."

Heading towards midtown, Peter looked to the stores below and spotted a name that made him blink.

"Hell's Kitchen…" Peter murmured to himself when his eyes lit up. "That's it! I just gotta talk to Mr. Murdock! He knows all about the underground shifty business."

Swinging down to a nearby alley way, Peter quickly changed into his civilian clothes and pulled out his phone to type in a specific address.

Following its directions, Peter arrived in a short while at his destination only to find a slightly portly man walking out of the building humming a jaunty tone.

The man noticed Peter who was staring at him.

"Uh… hey there kid." He greeted politely enough. "Can I help you with something?"

The high schooler stammered slightly, looking at his phone then back at the man standing at the door to his destination.

"Y-yeah, um, I-I'm here to see Mr. Murdock." Peter answered.

"Matty? Well we're closing up shop for the moment to get some lunch." The man stated.

"Huh?"

"Foggy? Did you get the-"

Matt stopped in his tracks, ruby shades facing Peter who gave a slight shaky grin.

"Hey Mr. Murdock." Peter greeted somewhat awkwardly.

"Mr. Parker." Matt said slowly. "I'm surprised to see you again so soon. Then again, we are neighbors so to speak."

"Matt, you know this kid?" Foggy inquired.

"Yes, we had just met recently." Matt stated. "Foggy, go on without me. It's clear that Mr. Parker sought me out for a reason."

"Wait, what?"

"Just trust me on this, Foggy." Matt assured. "If Peter here sought me out, then it must be something important."

A few questions flew through Foggy's mind though the pointed look his friend gave him made it clear that this was a special case with Peter standing off to the side with a slightly sheepish expression.

He'll be sure to learn more of this once back; he'll be sure of it.

Patting his friend on the shoulder goodbye, Foggy walked off with Matt turning back to Peter.

"Alright, I think the two of us need to talk." Peter stated.

"Clearly."

-Scene Cut-

Tony Stark hovered high in the air within his newest Iron Man armor, making scans at every nook and cranny within the HYDRA base which the Avengers had disappeared in.

As thorough as Stark was the last time he had come to this cave, he was leaving no literal stone or pebble this time around.

Hopefully with a fresh pair of eyes on the scene will give him a new perspective on the search.

Hank was down below on the ground level with a scanner of sorts that he had built for the task at hand.

"What a complete mess." Dr. Pym spoke. "Didn't bother cleaning this place up properly."

"Hey, I kinda didn't care all that much for the mess." Tony retorted. "Missing Avengers and all."

The billionaire flew over to the Quantum expert to help move aside a few heavy contraptions that were in the way.

"Not to mention if we were to do a full clean, some evidence might've been lost in the process and neither of us would be the wiser."

Hank hummed in agreement before shaking his head. "Would've been better for some of it to be moved at least, like the big debris and all…"

"In a rush, do I need to repeat a thousand times or is your hearing aid not working."

"Are you two done being annoying?" Spoke the resident bowman of the team, walking into the cave in uniform. "We've been here for several hours now and all we've gotten is more scrapped computers and software."

"Friday can remake and restructure them." Tony waved off.

"But how will we know if it's useful?" Hank asked. "What if it'll be more of the same… what exactly were they working on here?"

"That's the trillion-"

"Got it." Hawkeye spoke up, holding up a discarded datapad underneath a pile of rubble.

"Screens cracked to all hells, but… I think tech underneath might be salvageable."

"Friday."

"Yes, boss?"

"Access this datapad and pull everything in it."

There's a moment or two before the AI's voice was heard. "Give me a few minutes. There appears to be more files than I would've expected in the connecting servers. And some seem to be corrupt."

"And why couldn't this have been retrieved sooner?" Hank questioned.

"Said servers were closed off and the only means of access were through these data pads, apparently."

Tony hummed as he thought it was a smart move in HYDRA's part. Key devices to go through the locked servers and hardware. Something he'll need to look more into for later projects.

Clint in the meantime tapped on the screen a few times, the tech lighting up though flickering a few times.

"Dammit, come on." Clint murmured to himself, lightly slapping the side of the data pad in hopes that that would do the trick in making it function for a moment. It appeared to be some kind of video.

Grunting to himself, Clint inspected the data pad to see if he could do something to fix it himself.

Tony and Hank all the while continued their own inspection of the base.

"You sure left a lot behind here, Stark." Hank said. "Would've figured you to take everything."

"I wanted to, but I took what was functioning properly." Tony said. "And even then, Friday was having a hard time bypassing their work. HYDRA made sure to encrypt their files with a hybrid algorithm from their initial Ultron specs. They've been busy since Sokovia."

"I got it!" Clint said aloud, grinning at his success. "It's only this video, but I got something."

Both geniuses were now standing on either side of the archer with all three men gazing at the cracked screen.

The video showed how the lab once was with a strange contraption in the center of it all, a swirling mass of some kind that the HYDRA scientists surrounding it kept throwing objects that vanished into the energy generated by the machine.

It ended with a HYDRA scientist entering the swirling blob of energy only to not come out.

Upon gazing at the footage, the two scientist inventors and bowman were silent when processing everything. Yet one thing was obviously voiced.

"...Huh, getting a big Stargate feeling here when watching this."

"What's your first clue, Stark?" Hank dryly remarked.

Clint only gazed up at their surroundings, eyes landing on a pile of destroyed devices.

"That was the machine that they made." Clint nodded his head over to the scrap heap. "But… my gut is telling me that this wasn't the first time they made something like this."

From that statement, Hank Pym snorted loudly. "HYDRA hasn't been able to make their own damn tech other than stealing it or incorporating it from other sources. They've got no originality."

He knows this from his own personal experience with the then controlled SHIELD hoping to take his work and applying it in mass production.

"Hopefully Friday found other HYDRA bases where this tech is being stored at. This place can't be the only location they're doing… whatever they're doing exactly."

Clint all the while approached the center of the room where the apparent teleportation device once stood, now only in ruin and kneeled down to inspect it.

It was irreparable, nearly destroyed. He could only imagine what exactly happened. Yet the more he dwelled on what they were working on, the more familiar the environment became.

This place was a lot like the room where he was assigned to watch over the Tesseract. There might be a possibility HYDRA was continuing the work from old, three years back.

Seems he'll need to get back in touch with whoever is left in SHIELD and get whatever schematics there were for that. Might prove useful in their investigation.

"I'm picking up some readings." Hank called out, walking around the destroyed machine while holding his scanner over parts of it. "Don't know if it's residual or… something else."

"Something else?" Clint looked over to Pym.

"Not sure how to describe it." Hank replied. "This is unlike anything I've ever seen. Not anything related to Gamma, vita, solar or any of that sort. There's some kind of correlation with Quantum energy but it's miniscule at best."

"So you have something then?" Tony walked up to the center of the room.

"Maybe, but I'll need to look more into this data back on friendly soil." Spoke the former Ant-man.

"Can't argue with that there." Clint muttered out.

Looking elsewhere, Stark spoke to his AI. "Did you get everything, Friday?"

"Just about and~ done. Ready to leave when you are, boss."

"Guys." Clint's sharp tone cut through. "I found something."

Both Hank and Tony were next to Clint in an instant, the archer moving aside debris and metal with Stark quickly assisting him.

On the ground was an indent of some kind, but not one naturally made. It was a straight line that lead underneath the rest of the ruined contraption.

"Alright, stand back."

Tony began to work as fast as he could, either physically moving aside rubble and scrap or simply blasting it away until the center was cleared to reveal a two-panel ground door.

"Friday?"

"One moment Boss."

Several seconds go by until a hiss came out from between the two panels, the ground opening up with the three men tense and ready for whatever may come up.

Slowly, a circular stone structure of some kind rose up from the ground with what seemed to be tech pieces indented into the circular gate. And along the sides, there were oddly carved symbols that were truly alien… yet familiar.

On a nostalgic level, that is.

"...Oh yeah, definitely Stargate."

"On that note, the two of us can agree, Stark."

"So… any idea what this is?" Clint asked the two. "Other than it being a Stargate rip-off?"

"No clue." Tony shook his head. "But now at least, we're getting somewhere."

-Scene Cut-

It was quiet, slightly awkward.

Peter tried to be as calm as possible without squirming to much in Matt's presence as the man appeared rather aloof at the time being, somewhat feeling judgmental.

Matt all the while ate silently, barely making much noise as he cut into his pancakes.

"So…" Peter began, breaking the silence that hung in the air. "H-How has your day been?"

Matt paused in his pouring of syrup to quirk a brow at Peter who deflated a bit.

"Alright, bad question."

"Nothing wrong in being polite." Matt's first words since they sat down at this diner. "A welcomed reprieve."

"Right, right."

"How's the search coming along?"

"Huh?"

"The search for Klaue." Matt clarified. "I've been hearing web swinging out of the corner of my ear all day today, echoing around Manhattan. You came to me, but you weren't looking for me. My best guess, you're looking for Klaue."

Peter blinked a bit before laughing lightly. "Yeah, you're basically right about that."

"So…?"

"Not great, actually. Kept hitting walls…"

"Not swinging into them?"

"Metaphorical ones, Mr. Murdock."

"I know and I was merely joking."

"...Hard to tell with you of all people."

"I get that a lot at times." Matt said with a wry grin.

"Ah, so you do have emotions." Peter said jokingly.

"Yes I do. They're not dead to me."

"Could have fooled me with that…" Peter's hand went over his face. "Stone-cold visage."

"I'm a lawyer, Mr. Parker." Matt plainly stated. "I have appearances to keep up."

"You know… nah, I shouldn't say it, that would be rude."

"Go on, I'm not going to judge."

Peter shifted about in his seat. "Well~ I was gonna say that for a blind guy, you do know how to look sharp in your suit."

Matt snorted, chuckling to himself. "I'll take that as a compliment. Though Foggy and Karen have been a big help."

Peter laughed lightly, the two momentarily taking some time to eat.

"So listen, Matt." Peter was unsure of himself. "I don't know exactly how to say this, but maybe the two of us could team up. Work together and all to find Klaue and get our hands on those weapons he deals out. We could get it done faster if the two of us work together."

Matt regarded the young teen silently, taking in his words and thinking them through. Here sat before him a teenage superhero who, in his opinion, was way too young to be taking on the responsibility in tracking down weapon dealers.

At first, when he had spoken with Stark again after the night involving Klaue, Matt believed that the billionaire had dumped ideas of grandeur onto the teen and basically tricked him into joining the Avengers. When he learned that the boy had apparently been conducting "Superhero work" well before meeting Stark, it surprised the lawyer to realize this to be true.

Mr. Parker had received power at a very young age and rather than use it selfishly like most teens would, he had selflessly gone out of his way to help anyone and everyone that he could.

That certainly garnered respect from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Respect not so easily earned.

And here he was coming to him for help in regards to something he wasn't experienced with.

"Before I answer your request, I have to ask, why come to me?"

Peter stared at the vigilante, scratching the side of his head. "Well… I did think about asking Mr. Stark for help at first since he and the Avengers have busted HYDRA up for the past year until Sokovia. And with his suit it would seem like a breeze."

Matt tilted his head, hearing the boy's heartbeat ring true to his words.

"But he's busy as is and, well, I don't think he knows New York like you and I." Peter said with a grin. "My Uncle always told me that New Yorkers need to stick together after all. And you took down the Kingpin! So if anyone could find these guys in Manhattan, it'd be you."

Now, it wasn't easy to flatter someone like Matt whose reputation is known as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Oh, he may feign such responses in front of others if they make it overly polite or say it falsely but right here and now, this young man has indeed flattered Matthew Murdock.

"Alright with reasoning like that, I don't see any qualms about it."

Peter's mood brightened. "Great."

"So to start out our search tonight-"

"Tonight?"

"I'm still on my work hours, Mr. Parker."

"Oh, right sorry."

"As I was saying… to start our search tonight, we need to slim down possible locations as to the 'where' Klaue may or may not be doing his dealings at." Matt lectured. "Now I know you have no clue as to where many black-market dealings will take place, but I possibly do."

Peter breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing he made the right decision earlier.

"Yet like most criminals in the underworld, they often change locations periodically while disposing of an old one for safety concerns. There's also the fact to consider of most criminals possibly rotating locations to throw off investigators off their trail."

Peter nodded, processing this information as it's very valuable in his new line of work.

This went on for a while until it was time for the two heroes to go their separate ways, due to their personal lives taking center stage at the present time. After paying the check, Matt told Peter to rendezvous back at his office later tonight so they can go on with the search for the infamous black-market dealer.

Concurrently, while these two American natives discussed such matters in regards to their city, another group of people were having a meeting of their own with a common interest.

What common interest one may ask?

"Ulysses Klaue." T'chaka, Kind of Wakanda stared intently and glaringly at the holographic display of the arms dealer.

Around him in the hotel room he was staying at were his two children, prince T'challa and princess Shuri along with the captain of the Dora Milaje Okoye and her lieutenant Ayo.

They were garbed in suits and dresses, rather than their traditional Wakandan garb though each had on a specific garment that both reflected their tribe which they come from as well as their place in Wakandan society.

"This man has long avoided Wakandan justice." T'chaka went on. "Twenty long years since he invaded our home and stole from us, only to give it away to murderers and those besmirching our people and history."

"We will find him, aba." T'challa assured. "Klaue will not evade our capture this time."

Shuri then held up her hand, tapping on the beads she wore on her wrist

"Last our contacts and satellites were able to pick up on him, he was spotted entering the state a few days ago. He hasn't made a peep since coming here, but why?" Shuri said for small dramatic flair. "Why to make a business deal, of course."

"Get to the point, sister."

"Sorry, brother." Clearing her throat, she typed a command on her holo-computer to show off a digitized document. "Was able to find a message exchange for a meeting going on a few nights from now. Don't know what exactly is being brought onto the table for all parties. But with our boy Klaue, it's with our property."

"A meeting?" Okoye spoke up. "With whom?"

"Unclear on names but they have their own history that none of you may like." Shuri informed. "These buyers have had many dealings of their own internationally, with this group in particular that's troublesome."

A holo-symbol of what could only be described as vulture-esque wings was displayed.

"This group here deals in retrofitted and recreated alien technology. Technology specifically from New York three years ago."

This piece of information greatly disturbed and troubled the Wakandans as this was something they certainly weren't expecting.

"What were those creatures called again?" T'chaka inquired. "Their names were all over the news."

"Chitauri, my King." Okoye said, her expression deeply troubled.

"Alien technology mixed with our own…" T'challa left the comment unfinished, the silent implication of it all being enough to convey the weight of such a matter.

"We must find Klaue and these men post haste." T'chaka stated. "Never mind the effect they may cause upon our nation. This would very much affect the rest of the world."

This garnered nods of agreement from the others when the King saw his daughter giving him a pleading look.

"Shuri?"

"Aba." His daughter said in an innocent tone. "Since we are dealing with New York and all and Chitauri technology, do you think…" She swayed side to side. "Maybe we could…?"

"Out with it, Shuri." T'chaka stated. "What is it?"

Shuri grinned cheekily. "Maybe we could call on the Avengers for help?"

"The Avengers?" Okoye scoffed, visibly annoyed with the idea. "Why in Bast's name would we even consider working with them?"

"Come now, Okoye." T'challa was amused at his sister's request and the commander's response. "Let's hear her out."

"This is their home turf, as the Americans say. Not to mention it would be good to have some assistance-"

"This isn't some excuse for you in meeting with Tony Stark and hoping to beat him in smarts, is it?" Ayo asked dryly with an expectant brow.

Shuri merely crossed her arms and puffed her cheeks like a pufferfish. How could they see this is not an excuse for her to meet the infamous Ironman?

"I'm tired of hearing that he's the smartest man on the planet." Shuri declared. "For that title belongs to me."

"Here we go." T'challa rolled his eyes in amusement. "The truth rears its head at last."

"Oh, come on, brother." Shuri whined slightly. "Think about it. If I meet him and show him how good I am, the two of us could make so much new stuff. Think of the possibilities! And the headquarters are right there."

Shuri pointed out the window directly to the gleaming A on the Avengers Tower.

"That's changed recently." Okoye stated. "They have moved upstate."

"And we're not driving up there." Ayo added making Shuri huff.

"I wasn't suggesting us meeting them in person. I thought we could give them a call."

"Shuri." T'chaka said pointedly, finally managing to make Shuri drop the topic with one of his patented Fatherly king looks.

She turned her head away in indignation making her father chuckle lightly at her behavior.

T'chaka then heard his son hum in thought.

"Son?"

"Hmmm?"

T'chaka gave his son an expectant gaze. "What is on your mind?"

"Perhaps Shuri's words have merit."

Shuri's head snapped at her brothers direction, eyes wide and mouth agape. T'challa couldn't help but chuckle at her response, a bit too much like a child would respond when being promised something they want.

"And tell me, my son. Why would you agree with her?"

Breathing in, the Wakandan prince collected himself before answering. "You know, as much as everyone else in this room, we rely on the Black Panther to help solve the injustice done towards our people; both within and outside of our borders. Our secrecy has remained intact for generations, there's no argument about that. In the past, previous Black Panthers had done each and every task for the throne successfully with little to no drawbacks… in a realistic approach.

Yet with how it was done back then, no one was none the wiser in truly paying attention.

Nowadays, technology outside of Wakanda, has started to catch up with what we have, even at a fraction's worth. Surveillance cameras, smartphones… people at the most random of chances could catch me if I'm not truly careful. And sure, we have our ways to scrub the documented footage to keep hiding us from the outside populous, yet we might slip up in more ways than one and reveal ourselves in a bad light… without our terms.

Now what I'm trying to say is that if I were to go on this task alone, there might be some thug or dealer that would escape without me knowing and would spread the word of the Black Panther. And word travels faster than it's been years go."

Breathing in once again, T'challa continued. "So I would like to suggest we get in touch with the Avengers for some… assistance. Come clean as to why we are here in their territory. We don't know if one or more of them could, perchance, stumble upon the deal tonight. And if either one would have caught me there, there will be a fight and confusion added into the mix. Something neither of us want to deal with.

With us coming to them first, this confusion would be taken care of right off the bat; as the Americans say. And if you're worried about the truth of our people, we can make them swear in keeping a tight lip."

T'chaka gave his son a hard stare, looking to Okoye and Ayo then back at T'challa all the while ignoring Shuri who bounced upon her bed excitedly at her brother siding with her.

"I shall consider it then." T'chaka acquiesced. "We shall conduct our search alone for the time being. I do not wish to dwell here for long but if we make no progress, then I myself will approach Stark."

Shuri opened her mouth with her father glancing over to her. "And you can come with me."

"Yes." Shuri cheered, jumping off her bed to hug her father. "Thank you, Aba."

T'chaka knew that no matter how hard he tried, Shuri's giddy personality would always break through his visage making him laugh warmly while hugging her back.

Pulling herself away from T'chaka, Shuri faced her brother with an excited grin.

"This is the perfect place to try the newest suit I've been working on." Shuri said happily.

"Are you two still on about the suit?" T'chaka inquired in amusement.

"We've at last come to a compromise, Aba." T'challa assured. "Though in no small part of convincing this rebellious child."

In response, Shuri merely flicked her tongue at her older brother who chuckled.

"We'll begin tonight then." T'challa stated. "No time like the present, as they say here."

-Scene Cut-

"So where exactly are we going first?"

"There's typically several docks and bridges that are common meeting areas in the city. Williams borough, Brooklyn, High Bridge and the West side port terminal between 48th and 52nd."

"Wow, you really got the whole place mapped out."

"Have to. Most of the crooks and roaches fester in the same place. They just don't know when to stop."

Peter hummed in thought, glancing over to his "Partner-in-crime" who stood on the corner edge of Matt's apartment rooftop.

The suit he now wore had received significant upgrades courtesy of one Mr. Tony Stark. At first, the Lawyer had been adamant in resisting using it but after getting convinced by his two associates to try it on. On top of those two, apparently Matt's original suit creator had been found and hired by Tony Stark personally.

In essence, Matt kinda had no choice by this point. After all, Melvin Potter has been on hard times lately and needed a good means to make a living. He previously done suits for those of the underworld for quite some time and wanted to get out with little to no success.

Now, Melvin has essentially become untouchable by the entirety of the criminal underworld courtesy of just being Starks newest suit designer. A legit profession now, under a legit company instead of offshore, false facade companies.

And his own suit was a great deal more streamlined, emphasizing the clashing of the red and black motif. All in all, Spidey thought that it was a great and intimidating look. The blood red helm was especially cool (Season 2 variant Daredevil suit).

"So, have you had a chance to test out your new toy?"

"Haven't had the chance to fully break it in." Matt answered. "Still tight on a few places."

"Yeah, kinda had the same feeling in the old web shooters." Spidey admitted.

"Did not need to know that." Matt then reached to his side weapon and pulled out a small baton. With a snap of his hand, the baton extended out into a complete bo-staff. "This however, this I have had time to practice with."

"Can't that also be used as a grappling hook?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Several variations." Daredevil stated, with a small appreciative grin. "The note Stark left when he dropped this off at my home simply said for the blind ninja… in braille, of course."

Matt was certainly surprised by how much Stark had incorporated into his new melee weapon. Apparently, Melvin had been working on it and Stark had stepped in to assist and he had essentially created an all-in-one weapon.

It held many features from grappling hook to Escrimas, batons, nun-chucks, bo-staff, flail and several other variants he had yet to test out.

But tonight was good as night as any.

Daredevil tapped the side of his helm and began signaling out multiple voices that were being filtered through the earpieces Stark had installed which allowed him a greater level of singling out voices. Honestly, the billionaire held nothing back when completely remodeling his suit.

"There's some crooks gathering at a deli several blocks down." Matt informed the younger hero. "I recognize two of them as the ones who were with Turk the night they met with Klaue."

With a target in mind, both New Yorkers took to the skies, swinging in between the buildings while displaying astonishing acrobatics and flexibility.

It wasn't long until they arrived at the deli Matt had directed them to, with the duo sticking to the shadows as they watched a group of goons walking out of the Deli with smug looks on their faces.

"They're enforcers." Matt informed the Web-head. "They just came by to collect their Protection fee."

Spider-Man's lenses narrowed in anger at the men they were spying on.

"So what's the plan? How do we do this?"

"Hit them fast, hard but leave some conscious."

"While trying to put little to no property damage in the process."

"Exactly." Giving Spidey a grin, both men prepared themselves as the group of criminals began to leave the vicinity.

They didn't get far as Spider-man jumped from his hiding spot, quickly firing several webs at the first three goons at the front of the group.

Daredevil struck from behind, holding up his new tool. A small hatch opened at the top, firing several pellets that blew up and expanded to reveal nets that ensnared several more thugs.

The remaining two men had attempted to flee yet it was all for naught as both Spidey and Daredevil fired their lines respectively grabbing one each and pulling them back.

It was over in a matter of seconds.

"Sweet." Peter declared, feeling a great deal of accomplishment. This was his first hunt for a big time criminal and the first step had been a success.

Hearing the faint sounds of sirens growing in the distance, the two heroes needed to make themselves scarce from the scene… right after Spidey webbed up the crooks together.

The younger hero had also taken to taking back what the crooks had stolen and left it hanging at the front door of the deli with a note that simply said This belongs to you.

One thug however had the unfortunate luck of being conscious. Which meant he wasn't being turned into the cops just yet.

"Murphy." Daredevil said with a casual tone, looking down at the squirming criminal who was webbed up to a chimney roof. "Looks like you never learned the last two times I sent you packing."

"Look man, can we seriously not do-OOOF."

Murphy was effectively silenced by a powerful jab to his stomach, knocking the wind out of the man and making him cough loudly. Peter couldn't help but wince at the action, not fully used to such methods.

"Now your third time will be difficult as you possibly know something my friend and I don't."

"Like what?" Murphy wheezed out before eying the wallcrawler. "Who even is this guy?"

"You don't remember? This is the same individual who you ran into a few nights ago. This is Spider-man." Daredevil said plainly.

Murphy squinted slightly. "Oh yeah, that weird spandex bug guy. The hell is he doing here with you?"

"Just being a fine upstanding citizen." Spidey said proudly. "And fyi, it's arachnid, not bug."

"Tomato, Tamato. Same difference."

"No, very much no." Peter shook his head.

"Not now, Spider-man." Daredevil said before focusing back at the crook. "Now, Murphy, I'm gonna ask you this one time. And one time only." The Devil of Hell's kitchen leaned in right up to the criminal's face making the man greatly uncomfortable and nervous. "Where is Ulysses Klaue?"

The man played dumb. "Huh? Klaue? Who are you-ACK! OWMMPH!"

Daredevil had socked him in the ear, deafening his hearing for a moment and muffling his mouth.

"I can tell when someone is lying, Murphy." Daredevil said in complete calmness. "Now, try again this time because I'm not repeating myself."

"If you don't, I can probably do something quite embarrassing to ya." Spidey offered. "And by what I'm barely reading off my friend, my option is the lesser evil."

Murphy tried to speak through Matt's hand, the vigilante lawyer removing his hand as to allow him to speak.

"Alright, alright, Jesus fuck." Murphy said in a pained tone. "Give me a moment."

"Clock's ticking." Daredevil simply said. "By the sound of it, you've got less than a minute before the police show up. And my patience is rather thin when rushed."

Murphy glared at the Devil before reluctantly sighing. "Ok, look, all's I know is there's been a lot of movement recently with some heavy players in the underground. Turns out Fisk wasn't the only big shark in New York's pond. There's been word of these guys from Queens comin' in to meet with Klaue and whoever is left here in the city. Klaue is putting on quite the auction."

"Do you know where they'll meet?"

Murphy shook his head. "No idea. It's only a need to know kind of thing on the locale."

"Then do you know when?"

"Nope." Murphy said, leaning back. "Only that they'd eventually come find me themselves. Basically, drop everything I'm doing and move."

"Unfortunately for you, you won't be attending."

"Really?" Murphy wryly said. "No shit, not when yo-MMPH."

"Alright, that voice was getting annoying." Peter said, rotating his wrist casually. "So, what do we do now?"

"Now? Now we keep searching for a bit longer before calling it a night. Or we find a possible, further lead and follow from there."

"Right." Peter nodded. "What about him?"

Daredevil looked down at the bound Murphy. "Still wanna embarrass him?"

Down below, the cops were rounding up the group of thugs Daredevil and Spidey had first taken down.

However there was one that appeared to be missing.

That was until said missing criminal was deposited before them in nothing but his underwear and bound by some strange white rope of some kind.

Bewildered by the sudden appearance of their missing perp, all heads looked up when they heard a series of Thwipping sounds. The cops were left with the surprising sight of Daredevil and Spider-Man swinging away from the scene of the crime together.

…

"We don't get paid enough for this shit."

For the remainder of the night, both heroes achieved little else and decided on continuing their search the next night.

They found nothing the next night as well, unfortunately, but their resolve held strong as they had encountered nearly a dozen or so men and women connected to the underground and rounded them up for the police to take in.

All the while, the ever-present threat of whatever it was Klaue was planning dwelled on their minds. Arms dealer he may be, he could still cause untold levels of chaos and destruction with the tech at his disposal. And with him looking to sell these weapons…

They needed to find Klaue as fast as possible.

Their search continued well into a third night…

Only this time, Hell's Kitchen would host three enhanced individuals.

A figure in complete black jumped from rooftop to rooftop of Hell's kitchen with feline grace and poise, unaffected by the inhuman leaps and landings.

This figure ran on two and fours with graceful ease, landing upon a fire escape obscured by shadow, taking a moment to gauge his surroundings.

"Is everything reading well on your end, sister?"

"Yes it is, brother." Shuri spoke from his comms. "Seeing and hearing things clearly within a block radius at the time being." Things were quiet before T'challa heard her stifling a laugh. "Oh Bast almighty, that's hilarious!"

"And you're just getting that now?"

"Well I was freshening myself before coming online and just seeing this as we speak."

What Shuri was referring to was T'challa seeing an assortment of thugs being strung up by a web-like substance and put into a series of… positions that were truly embarrassing to describe.

"Oh I would love to chat with whoever did all that."

"I'm afraid to do so."

"Who is possibly doing this?" Ayo inquired from her end, far off on the other side of the block.

While T'challa roamed high above the skyline and Shuri provided information, Okoye and Ayo were down on the ground walking about the streets trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Granted, they walked at times alone and in a pair garnering some looks though most people ignored them.

It was Manhattan after all. The city that never sleeps had seen stranger.

"Who could have done this indeed?" Black Panther mused aloud, moving closer to the knocked out, tied-up criminals. "Shuri, see what you could find on the going's on here in the city."

"On it brother." Shuri stated, already moving to bring up multiple news files on the current events of New York. What she found surprised and intrigued her greatly.

"Brother, it appears that this city has its own pair of protectors and they've been very busy here." Shuri said. "There is the Spider of Queens and the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Apparently they've been rounding up many men and women with criminal records for the past few days."

"Truly?" Now T'challa was interested. So there's more enhanced beings out here than just the Avengers?

And it appears they have been using their powers and skills for a greater purpose. That much T'challa could respect.

"Could you maybe grab me a sample of that substance? I would love to study it, if possible."

Knowing what Shuri was referring to, he responded. "I will if you're a good sister and not use it for nefarious means."

"And why, dear brother, would you think otherwise?"

"Oh~ I can think of a good number of reasons."

T'challa simply shook his head, flicking his claws out. He carefully cut through the substance finding a moment of surprising resistance to his Vibranium claws before getting a solid clump of it to take back for his sister. And like its resistance, it was hard for him to pry off his claws and put into a container for Shuri to analyze digitally in real time.

"My prince." Okoye sharply spoke through the comms. "You'll want to see this. Up ahead."

He saw where Okoye stood and turned in the direction that she was staring at. His eyes widened at the sight of two individuals in the sky swinging on lines high in the sky.

"What-"

Shuri gasped from her end as she was watching from her brothers' point of view. "That's them! It's them! Those two vigilantes that have been all over New York."

"Should we pursue them, my prince?" Okoye asked, eyes still on the heroes that were now getting further and further away.

"Keep your distance." T'challa instructed. "Let's not do anything reckless."

T'challa quickly scaled up the wall while Okoye and Ayo picked up their own paces with all three moving to catch up to the two heroes.

Meanwhile…

"Alright, shotguns are simple and easy to reload."

Turk Barrett, career criminal, was back at what he did best.

"Hey man, we wanted something more precise. Not this cheap shit."

"What? With your expert and steady hand?" Turk retorted sarcastically. "Nah man, ya'll need this more than whatever AK shit is usually on the market."

"How is this supposed to help us against that Spider guy and the devil?"

"Look man, do you want these or not?" Turk asked indignantly. "These are the best you idiots can afford and they're actually customizable."

"Very impressive, Barrett. If you only applied knowledge like that in a more professional and legal fashion."

Upon hearing that all too familiar voice, Turk hissed in anger and fear while moving to grab one of the shotguns from his trunk.

Only for Daredevil to unceremoniously drop down and slam the trunk shut onto Turk's hands.

The dealer cried out in anguish while those who came to buy guns attempted to flee.

"Crap, it's the bug and demon!"

"It's arachnid." Spidey said as he dived on one of the crooks with a kick towards the cranium. "Why does everyone keep saying bug?"

"Riling you up, for starters." Daredevil said, casually flinging his baton at a thug that ran the furthest. It struck the man dead center in the back of the head with the baton ricocheting back into his hand.

"True enough I guess." Spider-Man remarked, heaving back the rest of them with all being tied up with his webbing.

Turk groaned, nursing his hands. "Why the hands, Dee? Come on man, they were sore as hell after last time."

"Good to see you too, Turk." Daredevil said conversationally. "We need to talk."

"For God's sake man, why you gotta hurt me every time." Turk said, wincing at the pain while giving Daredevil and deadpan stare. "And what's with the bug kid? He your sidekick now?"

"...How often do you two run into each other?"

"Too often."

"Right."

"Whatchu want this time Dee?" Turk asked in aggravation. "Kicking my ass last time wasn't enough for you?"

"Normally, it would be." Daredevil said. "But this time… this time, you better tell us everything up front."

Turk blinked, surprised by the menacing aura Daredevil exuded. This wasn't like the usual times he had run in with the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. No, this time, he was living up to a moniker like the one the city had bestowed upon him and he really did not seem like he wanted to play around right now.

"There is an international criminal in this city and we want to know when and where he's supposed to be making his grand auction." Daredevil said menacingly. "You know everything that goes on in this city so Turk, this is a one time question. Where is Ulysses Klaue?"

Daredevil tilted his head to the side for a brief moment, looking back at Turk a second later.

"You better tell him, Turk." Spidey piped up. "We really don't wanna go through beating up another person."

Turk regarded the two silently for several seconds. "Listen man, I've only heard rumors but-"

Daredevils fist slammed through Barrett's car window, completely shattering the window.

"I am not in the mood for games or word play, Turk." Daredevil said sharply. "You better tell us where Klaue is having his little get together or we're gonna start breaking more than just your hands."

"Or~ we could just feed him to my spiders." Spider-Man said with a casual shrug.

Matt and Turk paused, both heads slowly turning to the Web-head who stood there unbothered by their looks.

"What? I'm not called Spider-man for no reason you know." Peter said in faux indignation. "I can talk to the spiders you know. Gotta live up to my name in its entirety."

Daredevil stared at the teen hero when he realized just what he was trying to do and could barely hold back the grin on his face.

Matt began playing along. "I thought you said you were still getting the hang of that power."

"Well yeah, at first." Spidey 'admitted'. "But practice makes perfect, you know. All I really gotta do is concentrate on one target specifically and then they come crawling."

As if on cue, Peter spotted a spider crawling on Turks car and held out his finger for the little arachnid to crawl onto his finger.

"Hey there little guy." Peter greeted cheerfully; his voice sickeningly sweet. "I need you to do me a favor. Start rounding up the rest of the boys nearby. I think I found your next meal ticket for the next few days."

All the while, Spidey had been slowly facing Turk with every word which in turn made the criminal begin to sweat profusely. Now, as a man who has had a long distinguished "Career" in dealing with people Turk had acquired the rare ability of reading most people with ease and being able to callout a bullshit deal when he saw one. He needed that skill of course when dealing with some of the crazier mooks. Hell, Harlem showed that when dealing with that psycho Cottonmouth.

But right now, a masked vigilante had just said that he could communicate with spiders and order them to eat him. And after what these guys had already been shown to be capable of doing, Turk was honestly not sure of whether or not this was some bluff.

"H-hey man." Turk said with a nervous laugh. "N-no need to go all I-itsy bitsy on me. Let's just calm d-down and put that little friend of yours away."

Peter hummed aloud, holding up the spider that was dangling from his hand at the moment. "I don't know Bartholomew, what do you think? Should we let your next meal ticket go? You won't go hungry for a long while."

"Ok, fuck this. Fine I'll talk man, I'll talk." Turk pleaded.

"Good." Daredevil said pleasantly. "Now, give us a location and date."

Turk hated himself right now but then again… it was either this or being a slowly eaten carcass. No thank you, that's not how Turk Barrett was going out in this world.

"Ok, ok." Turk slumped a bit. "Look, it's at the old docks where the Yakuza used to operate at. It's big, spacious and apparently from what Klaue said, has the best view of a psychotic city. Tomorrow night. That's it man."

"Leave to crazy criminals to not do things in half-measures." Spider-Man remarked. "Sorry little guy, looks like you'll have to look elsewhere to eat tonight."

Turk released a pent up, anxious breath he did not realize he had been holding, rubbing his chest with the hand that was the least banged up.

"Alright, can I please go home now?" Turk pleaded. "My hands are messed up and I got a new crippling fear of Spiders now."

First thing he was doing when he got home was killing every last damn spider he could find.

Daredevil mused to himself. Normally, this would be the part that he'd knock Barrett out clean and leave it at that with the cops coming to pick him up soon after.

But right now he was really amused at Peter's trick working so flawlessly and actually had a small pang of pity due to Turk being genuinely scared right now at the concept of being eaten by thousands of tiny little critters.

"Alright." Daredevil stepped back. "You weren't as annoying as usual this time around."

Turk looked up at Daredevil in astonishment. "Seriously?"

"You have five seconds before I change my mind."

The gun dealer damn near scrambled into his car, the engine revving up with his tires screeching as he drove away.

"I thought you weren't gonna let him go." Spider-Man said in slight surprise.

"I wasn't." Daredevil admitted. "But he was this close to crapping his pants. That spider bit really got to him."

Spider-Man guffawed upon learning that with Matt smirking as well when it turned into a frown.

"We're being watched." He said quietly.

"...Huh?"

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Daredevil instructed, already running off.

The whole time that the two had interrogated Turk, four Wakandans were listening in and observed the scene.

"They are after Klaue?!" Ayo spoke in surprise.

"It appears they want him out of this city as much as we do." T'challa mused.

"I can't believe they found his location before we did." Okoye said.

"They were searching well before our arrival it seems." T'challa said. "That explains all their sightings and capturing of criminals. Very thorough, these two."

"So what to do now, my prince?"

T'challa hummed to himself when his sister added her two cents in.

"Maybe we should try and speak to them. We're after the same person here." Shuri then giggled mischievously. "And that Spider-man sounds cute and fun. Wonder if he's cute underneath his mask."

T'challa groaned upon hearing this. He did not want to deal with his hormonal, teasing sister at this time.

"Shuri."

"Oh come on brother, let a girl have her fun." Shuri said a bit petulantly.

"Who are you?"

T'challa immediately tensed from the voice that came from above.

Whipping his head up, there stood the two vigilantes he and Dora Milaje had been spying on.

How on Earth did those two sneak up on him so quickly? Looks like they were more skilled than they appeared.

"My prince!" Okoye cried out.

"Hold general." T'challa ordered straight away, arms raised placatingly towards the two that stood above him.

"Whoa, what are you supposed to be?" Spider-Man crouched down. "Some kind of… cat-type person? You here to audition for Cats? I don't think they're back in town."

"T'challa."

"Hold Ayo, stay back." The Wakandan prince ordered more firmly this time and out loud in order for both New Yorkers to hear.

"So those two were with you." Daredevil said, more in confirmation for himself rather than from T'challa.

"I mean you no harm." T'challa said in his regal tone surprising the two a bit. They were even more surprised when the helmet that he wore receded to reveal his face.

"My name is T'challa. I am the Prince of Wakanda." He introduced himself as non-threateningly and cordially as possible. "I have not come to this city to cause problems for the two of you."

"Why are you here then?" Murdock asked suspiciously.

"It has to do with whom you are pursuing. Ulysses Klaue." Panther said determinedly.

Both Peter and Matt exchanged glances.

"You know him?" Peter asked getting a nod from the Prince. "Why are you after him then?"

"Because he has evaded Wakandan justice for far too long and his time of international crimes need to come to an end." T'challa said in a fierce tone. "I have come to this city to capture him and remove him before he can cause more harm than he had already caused."

"Well, if you figure a pile of trash to be harmful."

Matt elbowed Peter making the web-head chuckle sheepishly, a gesture shared by Shuri who had heard the comment from her end.

"The three of us share a common goal." T'challa once again speaking of Klaue. "Perhaps to achieve this matter, we can work together to better deal with this enemy rather than individually."

"My prince, you cannot be serious." Okoye argued through the comms.

"Okoye, this is their city." He refuted. "And though this is our fight it is theirs as well. They had already engaged with Klaue and have just as much reason to rid him from New York as much as we do. You had just witnessed what they were willing to do to find him. It is better to have them as allies than enemies."

The native New Yorkers considered the prince of Wakanda's, Daredevil listening to the man's heartbeat and breathing the whole while. He had found nor detected any deceit or lies from this newcomer and appeared genuine in offering aid.

He spoke of Klaue and it was clear to them that these Wakandans had a more personal vendetta against this man.

Still… there was something highly unusual about this T'challa and it wasn't just what he was wearing.

"I say we do this." Peter declared.

"What? You can't be serious."

"Hey come on, was he lying at all? He just revealed his identity to us, this must be serious for him to, Dee. You gotta see that."

Daredevil wished to argue but saw Spidey's argument and held back his comments.

He then sighed a bit tiredly. "Alright then, what can you tell us about Klaue that we don't know?"

-Scene Cut-

It was cold.

Freezing cold. Brutally cold one might say.

But then again, that's Russia for you.

Walking through the blistering cold was something James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes thought he'd be used to by now. Given the many decades of him being put under ice in between the many missions he was forced to undergo by HYDRA.

Yet the Siberian Tundra truly lived up to its name and held up its reputation well.

Fully decked in the thickest winter clothing he acquired, he traversed through the snowy climate in hopes of reaching his destination.

It had taken a while for him to get here, but he hoped this was worth it with what he planned on doing.

Ever since HYDRA's public reveal and eventual downfall from the failed Project Insight, Bucky has been slowly regaining his memories. But more importantly, his humanity.

Yet with each and every moment he recovered from his old life, he gained more and more nightmares of the atrocities he performed by being HYDRA's illustrious go to assassin. It all ate him up and there were things he can't face anymore without him wanting to end his life at a moment's notice.

He was never a religious person, but he hoped that any higher power out there would grant him mercy if he were to pass on.

Yet before doing so, Bucky wanted to clean up certain messes which he took part in. And one of the biggest ones were located at where he was heading off to at this time.

'I hope my memory is serving me right where I'm going now.' Thought the Winter Soldier as he trekked through the snowy landscape.

After what felt like forever, Bucky was able to come across a rocky ledge where a metal door was placed underneath it's covering.

Stepping into the space, he eyed the steel wheel placed on the door's front. Now normally people would try to open the door by simply turning it. Yet this door was no ordinary door.

Moving off to the side, he brought up his false arm and traced the rocky surface before his fingertips tapped onto something out of the norm. Pulling off the stone covering, Bucky found a nine-digit keypad.

Unzipping his coat, Bucky pulled out a red leather-bound book with a white star on the cover.

For the umpteenth time, Bucky had to resist the urge in tearing this thing a new one and burning it to ashes. Yet he needed its inner contents to get what he wanted and right his wrongs.

What was in his grasp was the Red Book… well, one of two Red Books; procured from the late Director Pierce's home safe. The other one, however, was lost to the wind somewhere.

Upon his creation, HYDRA used these two books to keep all sorts of secrets from prying eyes and from their direct servers. There were details in locations of the vast hidden bunkers around the world and how to access them. Sure a good chunk was decommissioned over the years with them moved and updated elsewhere, but they were still HYDRA property and had to be known.

But this wasn't all that was kept in these two books. In fact, within their pages lied the vast studies and notes about their favorite pet project: him.

His strengths, his weaknesses, the jabs against his character if he were to show any remote humanity that somehow able to surface. So many details painted quite the picture and he was disgusted by it.

Especially the activation phrase to reign complete control over him.

Breathing in the cold air to cool his nerves, Bucky opened the book to the bookmarked page. Scrolling down, he found the access code for the panel before him. Once typing it down, a loud clunk was heard coming from the steel door to reveal that it was finally opened after nearly two decades.

Strolling inside, Bucky tucked the Red Book back inside his coat before closing the door behind him.

Many… fond memories flooded through his head as he looked at every other direction of the Siberian HYDRA bunker. Oh how he wanted to blow it to kingdom come to bury it's dark history for good. Yet Bucky wanted to be sure what lay deeper inside this base was destroyed by his own hand, in front of his own eyes.

Echoing steps resounded throughout the halls and corridors, due to him being the only conscious occupant roaming about. Even though the Winter Soldier practically had full reign of the place now, his nerves were at a knife's edge that anything out of the ordinary would set him off. So his involuntary training kicked into high gear to pay attention to anything amiss.

Upon reaching the destination in mind, Bucky opened the door and pried it open to reveal a cooling room with several devices strung about and attaching to five pillars.

Instead of being made of concrete and earth, these pillars were made out of metal and glass. They were nothing as to remotely close as to being support pillars at all. No… these were cryo-pods…

And not just any cryo-pods, but ones containing the five HYDRA-made Super Soldiers.

Out of all HYDRA operatives, this elite death squad made the most kills in the organization's history… and this was before they were administered the Super Soldier serum; which was reversed engineered by the late Howard Stark.

Each of them were designed to be the new generation of Winter Soldiers, i.e. Winter Soldier MK II. Better marksmanship, better hand to hand combat, better maneuverability, better everything. And he was their personal punching bag, more so once administered the stolen serum that made his best friend into the man he is today.

With them speaking thirty different languages and not having distinct features that would make them stand out amongst a crowd, they can topple governments and countries in a single night and none would be the wiser.

With the many praises they got under their belts, there was one flaw into their own creation, they became insane; unstable.

Despite their training and conditioning, most of it was disposed of once the Super Soldier serum was injected into their bodies. Bucky remembered what Steve told him about the serum: it makes a good man better while making a bad man worse.

With how bad this elite squad got, HYDRA was forced to put them under and seal them away before they had the means of properly controlling them without another episode or two occurring at every goddamn moment.

'At least I'm better than them on that department.' Bucky mused with a silent chuckle.

Walking by the frozen soldiers, Bucky hated the nostalgic, overbearing feeling he got from this place.

Flashes of the many times his memory was shocked out of him made him wince as he clutched his head.

Right now, he needed to focus on why he was here… asides from the frozen soldiers behind him. He will deal with those five later.

Entering a separate room, Bucky looked around until he spotted what he was looking for.

An old rotary phone. Using the red book once more, Bucky spun the dial several times until there was a ding followed by a wall of pipes, valves and meters shifting to the side to reveal a familiar black door.

Despite having access to the place, Bucky never had the chance to come to this particular door before. Part of him back then felt drawn to this location whenever he was brought to this bunker, yet his superiors kept pulling him away before getting the chance to investigate. And it was on this act alone that got him more electric shock therapies for his curious innocence.

'What were you Nazi bastards keeping behind this door.'

With all the secrets and information kept within the Red Books, there was no mention of anything written down of this particular location in this bunker.

Just the code to get in on the Rotary phone.

Whatever was behind this door was not only off the record, there was literally nothing about it that proves its existence other than it being right here in front of him.

As he stood before the black door, several moments went by when the hissing sound of air escaping through the door came out, slightly jolting the Winter Soldier.

Slowly, with metal groaning, the black door opened to reveal a peculiar and slightly unsettling sight.

"...Well, that's not ominous at all."

Before him laid a large machine with a black glass-like material taking up 80% of the device. By the looks of it, it appeared to be a more sophisticated cryo-pod given what he saw from the containers holding the second generation of Winter Soldiers. If it weren't for the designs he saw earlier, Bucky would've figured the object before him was some sort of sophisticated, high tech container.

This one was incredibly bizarre in the eyes of Bucky as this looked like a blend of a cryo-pod and something else entirely. He couldn't quite put a word on it but whatever it was, this was no ordinary Cryo-pod.

Coming up close, Bucky brushed his organic hand across the obsidian black surface. He felt the heat radiating off its surface as he traced it over before moving over to the side for a better inspection. When he did, the mind-controlled assassin thought something was playing tricks with his head.

Eyes narrowing, Bucky's vision concentrated on what was no doubt a silhouette within the pod. A silhouette that resembled a woman. But how? There was no way he could've seen past the pitch-black glass at all, yet he can see the vague woman's silhouette right now!

Crouching down a bit, the light within the room helped in better confirming for Bucky that there was indeed a woman within this pod. The shapely mounds were a bit of a dead giveaway.

Now, James Buchanan Barnes was no pervert, but he was a man who recognized the form of a woman. Those bit and pieces of the life he once had showed him that much.

Yet now he had more questions than answers which was honestly common by this point in his travels for the past year and a half. Every attempt he had to rediscover himself only left him more questions which only tacked on to his journey of rediscovery.

But right now, he only had one question in particular.

Who was it inside this pod?

Looking off to the side, Bucky saw a computer console and made his way towards it. Turning on the device, he waited for it to be fully booted up before he attempted to start his newfound investigation. And after several grueling minutes of painstakingly long annoyance, the Winter Soldier scrolled through the files before coming across what he needed now.

Browsing through the digitized journal entries, this high tech cryo-pod was discovered in Roswell, New Mexico when the infamously rumored crash landing occurred back in the 1950's. Sure the government had covered it up, but the story got out there to which how the whole thing became infamous.

Things were confusing at best on the whole situation.

Anyways, it was SHIELD who discovered the crash in the first place as they found the occupants all dead with their bodies burned to a crisp upon entering Earth's atmosphere. And with the crash, it entirely wrecked the space-worthy vessel. To the point that not even SHIELD and HYDRA could reverse engineer anything.

Only thing that was done was the salvaged Cryo-pod that had miraculously gotten out unscathed from the crash.

And this pod was unlike anything SHIELD/HYDRA had ever encountered save for the Tesseract.

For years since discovering unusual pod, HYDRA worked tirelessly in their attempts to uncover the secret's this strange tomb held.

Yet… in all their work. In the many decades continuously pouring time and research into this pod, the answers that they received came in two forms. A big blank pile of nothing….

… And unadulterated, pure madness with some who dared to study the pod eventually succumbing to insanity having been put down for the safety of others. Thus, the Pod was placed in a secret chamber that a literal handful knew of. Not even Secretary Pierce was aware of this Cryo-Pods existence. Only those extreme select few knew of the Pod being real and where it was located. Kind of like him.

There wasn't much left to read about within the files, everything essentially being spelled out for him. The only other topic worthy of note in regards to this cryo-pod was the constant low-key energy that seemed to exude from it though what it is has yet to identified.

Pulling back from the computer, Bucky scratched his chin looking back to the Pod when his eyes caught something behind the pod. Something he missed apparently.

SaRCOphagus

taliSMaN

DaRK lorD

There were red marks in between some of the scratched words. Bucky recognized the red stuff right away.

Dried blood.

Whoever had put those on the wall had done it in a hurry and apparently uncaring to their own physical well-being.

Now Bucky was at greater unease than he was before entering this chamber.

Thinking on it now, this entire chamber upon entering made him feel uneasy. There was… something in the air that he couldn't quite describe but if he were to describe it.

It was as if it were some kind of pressure. Though not in the overbearing sense but in a more subtle way. Was this that "energy" those files mentioned?

However, that thought process came to an abrupt end when steam shot out from the Pod and the lid jolted upwards.

Eyes wide in alarm, Bucky in an instant had his handgun trailed up at the pod while holding a knife beneath his gun.

The pod slowly began to open up, mist pouring out from within. The lights flickered for a few moments before retaining their steady glow.

All the while, Bucky was tense and ready for action.

God knows who he would find slumbering inside this… This Sarcophagus but the only safe assumption would be that this person must be extremely dangerous, having been kept in an entirely secret off the books chamber. So he may be in for a fight.

Gripping his gun more tightly, Bucky waited… and waited.

He saw no movement and heard nothing other than the mist wafting out from the interior of the pod.

There was nothing but tense sile-

"ZAYNE!"

The woman from within sat up from the pod in a frantic mood, desperately looking around in a panic.

She was around Bucky's age, that was for certain though her official age could be a hundred for all he knew.

After all, he could attest to technically being a hundred years old even if he is biologically twenty-eight last he checked. Honestly, he could be thirty something for all he cared considering how he had been in and out of ice for the past 70 years.

Barnes had yet to lower his gun as the woman had at last appeared to begin to get her bearings together, grasping as to where she was.

Her eyes landed on Bucky, with confusion, fear, trepidation and a glint of hostility in her own eyes.

She didn't make any sudden moves as did Bucky, with both locked in a quiet stare down.

This went on for an unknown amount of time until the modified super soldier cautiously raised both hands.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Bucky said calmly. "If you're not going to hurt me."

The woman gazed at him, eyes darting between his face and his two weapons in hand.

Noticing that she obviously was aware of his knife and gun, he took a gamble, holstering his firearm before sheathing his blade.

"There, see." Bucky said assuredly. "Nothing to be afraid of here, I'm not going to hurt you, nor do I plan to."

No longer armed, the woman opened her mouth to speak only to find her mouth and throat incredibly dry. Letting out a few strained coughs, she hunched over to clutch her chest while trying to get control of her breathing.

Seeing such a reaction, Bucky cleared his throat to get her attention.

Looking up at him with watery eyes, the lady saw him hold out a bottle of open water.

"Drink up, you must have been in there for a while." Bucky said, knowing all too well the feeling of 'Frozen-dehydration' as some of the HYDRA scientists had coined it.

Tentatively she took the bottle from Bucky and took a momentary whiff of the bottle. Not detecting anything poisonous that her nose could sense, she proceeded to take a large gulp of the water bottle. By the time she was done, there was barely a quarter left.

"Thank you." The woman said softly.

"Don't worry about it." Bucky said softly. "You could keep the bottle if you need another gulp."

She gave him a grateful expression which then morphed into worry. "Wait, you must tell me, are the Mandalorian Wars over?! What has happened to the Jedi and the Republic? Do they still stand? Do the Sith still threaten the galaxy? The Covenant?! The Rakghouls?!"

Bucky blinked at the rapid wave of questions he had no iota as to how to answer. What the hell was she talking about?

Seeing that he wasn't responding, she slumped when she felt a familiar weight upon her chest.

"No! No!" She cried out, clutching what seemed to be some kind of talisman on her chest in a desperate attempt to remove it from her being.

"He's still… He's still…." She suddenly stopped gazing at the talisman in bewilderment and uncertainty. Where was he? Was he still there? What was going on?

"Hey."

It was then that she remembered that she wasn't alone, looking back up to the man who seemed to have been the one to have opened her Sarcophagus.

"Are you alright?" He asked with caution.

She honestly did not know what to say.

Seeing her become a bit unresponsive, Bucky had to try another method.

"My name is James Buchanan Barnes." He introduced himself. "I found this place and you in it."

"Y-you freed me?"

Bucky scratched his chin. "I don't know. Maybe I did by finding you. I don't know what to tell you. All I was able to learn was how long you've been here apparently."

"And how long have I been here."

"About sixty-five years from what the files say. Though they're not sure about how long you've been in that pod you're in." Bucky replied.

"Sixty-five years." She said to herself. It wasn't long. Not too long. But that last comment off put her. This Barnes said that she had been here for those amounts of years yet the people who found her could not figure out how long she herself had been trapped within the Sarcophagus.

"Look, I came here looking for answers." Bucky spoke up, gaining her attention. "And I found you instead. They've kept you locked in a chamber that I didn't even know existed for all this time. Who are you?"

It was at this point that she realized she hadn't even introduced herself when James had done so.

Strangely feeling sheepish over such a simple manner, she cleared her throat and gave him a small smile.

"I'm Celeste Morne. It's a pleasure to meet you James."

And that's a wrap everyone.

Whew, what a marathon of a chapter, same as the last one.

Oh so much set up, so much excitement and so many ideas that are gonna get started soon.

One more chapter till we kick off season 2 in a huge way.

Jebest4781 as per usual was instrumental in getting this chapter done a lot faster and thank god for him otherwise this one would have taken even longer.

Seriously, big ups to comrade Jebest.

But Anywho, there's still much more to come and you guys are gonna have to wait until next so till then…

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.