American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

85. The Murderer’s Identity.

AIM (Advanced Idea Mechanics) Island.

Cable and his team followed the last signal sent by the "Uncanny Avengers" squad to this base originally controlled by MODOK, but when they arrived, they were still a step too late.

"Uncanny Avengers" was merely a temporary codename; the team's original name was the Avengers Unity Division.

After the battle between the Avengers and the X-Men, to eliminate hostility between the two sides and to foster public trust in heroes, Captain America gathered some members from both groups to form a special task force.

The members of this squad were quite diverse, encompassing almost all supernaturally powered superheroes, including humans, mutants, wizards, Inhumans, and even heroes like Human Torch and Cable who had served in this team.

The initial purpose of this team was to promote the principle of peaceful coexistence among different races.

In the current era of a rising number of superheroes, this team's designation was retained, and its membership had hardly changed. However, its leaders had become Mystique from the X-Men and the veteran sorcerer Doctor Voodoo from the Midnight Sons.

Other members included Synapse from the Inhumans, Deadpool, and Quicksilver. Yes, this universe's Quicksilver was also in this team, but if Alex saw the scene at that moment, he probably wouldn't worry about the potential meeting of two Quicksilvers.

The last signal sent by the Uncanny Avengers was from MODOK's island base. With the increasing number of superhero deaths and disappearances, Nick Fury found that things seemed to be slipping out of his control. To obtain some crucial information from the villains, he not only summoned Cable and others but also secretly arranged for the Uncanny Avengers to breach MODOK's defenses and try to extract information about the butcher from him.

But Nick Fury probably never imagined that this action would lead to the annihilation of the entire Uncanny Avengers squad.

When Cable and his team arrived, the entire base was already deserted. MODOK hadn't even bothered to clean up the scene, and the entire base was covered in blood, with corpses scattered everywhere.

"We're too late. Another batch of superheroes has joined the casualty list," Cable said with a grim expression. He looked at the horribly mutilated members of Uncanny Avengers, feeling a mix of emotions since these people were his friends.

"The battle traces here haven't been cleaned up. This might be a fortunate aspect. We may be able to gather crucial clues from them," Moon Knight said calmly. Compared to mourning the dead, he preferred to find out the murderer's true identity as soon as possible.

In contrast, Kate couldn't hold back anymore. She said, "More and more heroes are dying. Do you still think it's right to hide the information? The Fantastic Four's disappearance has already made the papers. People aren't fools; Mister Fantastic was just interviewed last month!"

"I've discussed this with Nick Fury. He has secretly notified some lone heroes to lay low recently, but as you know, most heroes are independent. Whether they heed the advice is not something we can control," Cable shook his head helplessly.

"I think we should make the whole matter public. This way, those lone heroes will understand the severity of the situation. Now that the Uncanny Avengers have also died at that guy's hands, it shows that the enemy's combat power is likely far more terrifying than we imagined."

"No way. If we publicly acknowledge the existence of a murderer who can threaten all superheroes, it would undoubtedly damage the credibility of all superhero teams. This would significantly diminish the public's trust in heroes, and Nick Fury won't agree to that."

"Cable, you're from the future, right? Can your future sensor help or guide us in finding the mastermind behind all this?" Moon Knight asked curiously.

"Probably not. My timeline is a bit disrupted at the moment. After Nick Fury found me and gathered you all, the future became obscured. This suggests that I might be next," Cable murmured, the complexity of his emotions evident to no one.

"It's their own fault for being so useless," Punisher interjected coldly, glancing at the bodies strewn about.

"The killer has already revealed his weapons: ordinary knives and firearms. These weapons are nothing special; even any gang could get them. If they died to such weapons, doesn't it prove they deserved it?"

"Frank, show some respect! I know you have issues with these superpowered individuals, but they were our comrades!" Kate scolded with a tight frown.

"I think Punisher has a point," Moon Knight suddenly said, standing up. Noticing Kate's hostile glare, Moon Knight softly explained, "Don't misunderstand. I don't share his views, but he is right about the killer's weapons."

As he spoke, Moon Knight approached Quicksilver's corpse. This universe's Pietro had collapsed on the steps, and his legs had been severed at the ankles by a sharp blade, with gunshot wounds visible on his chest, making for a gruesome death.

"At first, I considered the possibility that the killer was trying to mislead us, but now it seems everything isn't as complicated as we thought. Ladies and gentlemen, our adversary is merely an expert with guns and blades."

Moon Knight then looked at Doctor Voodoo's decapitated head. From his eyes, one could tell that Doctor Voodoo hadn't even had a chance to react before dying, or he didn't realize what was happening!

"I knew Doctor Voodoo; his power is immense, and few can harm him. From his current state, it appears the killer ambushed him. The only ones who could get that close on a battlefield would be someone he deeply trusted."

Piecing together the clues, Moon Knight narrowed his eyes. At that moment, a name slowly emerged in his mind.

"I've said it before; the killer might be closer than we think. Ever since I left the Avengers, I seldom paid attention to these task force rosters, but Deadpool is part of this squad, right?"

........

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86. The Man Behind the Scenes.
87. The Lord of Dimension.
88. Return.
89. Human Meteor.
90. The Gravely Injured Alien.