Marvel: Blood in the Water

POLICE PRECINCT (Same Time)

Ryan's father, Mathew, sat at his desk in the precinct, wading through an endless stack of paperwork. Across from him, his partner, Elise, was leisurely eating a green salad, an amused look on her face.

"Elise, if I'd known being a detective meant this much paperwork, I never would have taken the exam," Mathew grumbled, a sulking expression crossing his face as he scribbled notes.

Elise looked up, a smirk playing on her lips. "I've loved writing since I was a kid, and besides, your workload's doubled because you visited the crime scene yesterday. What was the guy's name again?"

"Ronan Carbrey," Mathew replied with a sigh. "He was an Irish neurobiologist who came to the States on a tourist visa about three years ago. He's in our system because he tried breaking into Stark Industries once. Security cameras caught him in the act, but he managed to escape when the alarms went off."

"Wow… going after Iron Man's tech? That takes guts," Elise laughed. It wasn't a secret that everyone coveted the Technology that Tony stark had developed. Even the military tried to take it but the entire ordeal ended with Tony Stark embarrassing the US Military and all the competitors who were trying to copy his suit. In fact, the failure of Hammer industries to do what Tony Stark had done was on the news just a few days ago.

"Ya it does. By the way, what about the FBI imposter you told me yesterday? Any new information pop up?" Elise asked curiously. Mathew shook his head as he said "No not yet. I talked to the captain yesterday and we gave a statement to the FBI. They are currently looking into it and even the police commissioner has a few detectives scrubbing yesterday's tapes. Her photo must have been distributed to all the other precincts by now. I wanted to search as well but since my own son is a witness, captain told me to stay away from it."

Before Elise could respond, her phone buzzed with a call. She picked up, listened intently, and then hung up. "The medical examiner's office. They've finished Carbrey's autopsy. Let's head over."

"Thank God. I was dying of boredom. Even though the case isn't officially assigned to us, I want to see what the ME finds." Mathew said, snapping his file shut and grabbing his coat.

A short drive later, Mathew and Elise arrived at the ME's office, stepping into the clinical, quiet atmosphere within. In the examination room, they found three bodies laid out on metallic slabs. Two were fully covered with white sheets, lying still and undisturbed, while the third lay partially uncovered, displaying signs of recent examination.

The third body had faint marks where the medical instruments had pressed into the skin, hinting at the careful, methodical work performed on it.

"I had quite the bizarre night yesterday, Detectives." A voice rang out from behind them. Turning, they saw Dr. Scott, a middle-aged man in his fifties, squinting at a computer screen through thick glasses perched precariously on the edge of his nose.

"Dr. Scott, good to see you too," Mathew said with a nod. The doctor chuckled, adjusted his glasses, and rose to his feet.

"Welcome, Detectives. I've got something interesting to show you." Dr. Scott picked up a file from his desk and led them over to the half-covered body. He handed the file to Elise.

They both knew the file contained the ME report on Ronan Carbrey. As they stood over the body, Dr. Scott began his explanation. "First off, this man isn't as old as he looks. And no, it's not just makeup or surgery."

"When did getting surgery become simple? And if it's neither of those, then how does he look so old?" Elise asked, her brow furrowing.

Dr. Scott's eyes sparkled with intrigue. "Because he is genuinely this old. He's actually aged to this extent—rapidly."

Mathew raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Are you saying that Ronan Carbrey is truly this aged, or that he isn't Ronan Carbrey at all?"

Dr. Scott shook his head. "I'm saying he's indeed Ronan Carbrey, the same man in your records. But in just the past two years, he's aged close to thirty years."

"You sure you didn't spike your coffee this morning, Doc?" Mathew joked, though his face was filled with doubt.

"Nope, all clear," Dr. Scott replied with a smile. "I can't pinpoint exactly how long it took for him to age this much, but his muscle tissue shows evidence of a temporary increase in bulk, almost superhuman, followed by rapid deterioration."

Elise glanced at Mathew. "Could he have used some kind of steroid? It might explain the sudden bulk and then the decline."

Mathew shook his head. "He wasn't a gym nut. He was a neurobiologist. Maybe he experimented on himself with something dangerous, and it went horribly wrong."

Dr. Scott nodded. "That's the most plausible explanation for now. Anyway, let's move on to how he died."

"Didn't I see a knife lodged in his heart at the scene?" Mathew asked, recalling his initial examination.

Dr. Scott nodded. "Indeed. But the precision of the wound intrigued me."

"You mean to say the killer was highly skilled? Only a pro could have driven a blade straight through the heart so cleanly," Elise surmised.

Dr. Scott nodded again. "Exactly. I also analyzed the blade shape and size. It matches a Japanese tanto—a combat knife favored by samurai and ninjas. The craftsmanship is top-notch; there aren't many places in the city you'd find a knife of this quality."

"Now we've got a lead," Mathew remarked, watching as Dr. Scott respectfully covered Carbrey's body with the white sheet once more.

"Thanks, Doc. We'll get going," Mathew said as he turned to leave. But Elise stopped him. "One minute. Doc, can you tell me about the two bodies I sent in yesterday? The accident cases."

Dr. Scott raised an eyebrow, his expression turning pensive. "Ah, those two… an interesting situation, actually. They would have died even without the accident."

"Yes, the paramedics mentioned liquid in their lungs," Elise said.

"Not just any liquid," Dr. Scott clarified, walking over to the other bodies and uncovering one of them. "They had water in their lungs, and notice the blue tinge to the skin—it's a classic sign of drowning."

"Drowning?" Mathew scoffed. "Is that all? I thought you had something unusual."

Dr. Scott gave him a pointed look. "It is unusual, Detective. They had no evidence of exposure to a pool or water source. The water in their lungs? Purified, bottled water. Chemicals usually added to remove impurities were present. Both bodies had dry clothing and hair, so it wasn't a case of waterboarding."

Elise arched an eyebrow, smiling as she glanced at Mathew. "With that many assumptions, Doc, you might be after our jobs soon."

Mathew, catching her meaning, nodded. "I'll talk to the Captain. Ronan's case isn't ours anyway, so we'll take on this 'accident' case instead."

Elise's pride in their teamwork shone through. Their bond had grown so much that they could communicate without a word. They both always liked cases that seemed to bizarre. Although that would take them a considerable amount of time to solve cases like these, the captain of their precinct felt it was worth it because at the end of the day, the families of the victims deserve answers and closure about their loved ones.

NYC Airport

Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson had just arrived in New York and immediately dialed Agent Romanoff's number. After a few rings, she finally picked up.

"Natasha, I've been calling you for hours. Where are you?"

"In hiding," she replied tersely. "The NYPD and FBI are both after me."

"What happened?"

"Impersonation. Apparently, I'm wanted for pretending to be an FBI agent."

"But didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. set up an airtight identity for you?"

"Yes, but minutes after I entered the precinct, someone erased my entire profile from the FBI database. Without it, I've got nothing to back my cover. I'm headed to Stark's place for now."

Phil frowned. "Only the FBI Director or someone within S.H.I.E.L.D. could delete your profile like that. There has to be a mistake. I'll look into it. Meet you at Stark's."