The Hunt in Rio Part 1

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-

-February 20, 2010, 2000h local-

"So, where are we this time?" Erik asked as soon as his sense of nausea disappeared. He's carrying a duffel bag and a large suitcase filled with techs and weapons.

"Rio..." Naruto answered while checking around his safehouse. He needs to make sure he that it's all stocked up and the security measures are in place."Since this is your last outing, I planned something special." He added with a maniacal grin.

"Why is that giving me some bad vibes?" Erik said with an incredulous look.

"Because it should. You never encountered something like this..." Naruto replied. "You have to make a choice before we start, though."

"What is it?"

"This mission has two parts. You can just take the first part and be done with it, or you can go all the way with it. You have to keep in mind that depending on what would happen, it could take three months before it's finished." Naruto stated while taking out a few ammo boxes from his storage seal.

Erik thought about it for quite a while to think about Naruto's proposition. A year ago, he would say 'Fuck that' and take the easy mission. Everything pales in comparison to his dream of racial 'equality' with Wakanda at the helm. But now, he knows, shit would remain the same even if Wakanda is leading the world.

"There are two things you should know about..." Naruto interrupted Erik's musing. "First, you get the bead no matter what happens with this job. Succeed or fail. Just do half of it or do it all. You'll get it..." He said while raising his forefinger. "Secondly, this mission has a minimum casualty clause, so no killing if not necessary. That's where these ammo comes in..." He pointed to the ammo boxes. "These are knock out rounds. One hit anywhere in the body, and they're down for a day. Don't ask me where I got it..." He then raised his ring finger. "Finally, if for some reason you're not at or near Wakanda in June, somebody's going to pick you up."

Erik was startled by that information, so he looked up and stared at Naruto.

"What do you mean pick me up? And who's going to do it?" Erik asked.

"That's the rub, ain't it?" Naruto flashed a mischievous smirk. "Prince T'Challa, the current Black Panther, is really interested in meeting you. When he asked me about you, I can't exactly lie to the guy since I'm using their system for your beads..." He lied but continued when he saw Erik's expression. "Don't worry too much. T'Chaka has no idea about any of this."

"Fucking hell, man." Erik exclaimed.

"You do know that all Kimoyo beads need to be connected with the Wakandan System as well as tuned into the genetic data of the Royal Family. Where do you think I 'borrowed' those an unassigned War Dog Kimoyo beads?" Naruto asked with an incredulous look.

"Fuck it..." Erik let out. "If someone's going to pick me up, either way might as well do this shit. Give me the long mission parameters."

"Excellent..." Naruto replied with a smile. He knows he would be busy as fuck during Stark Expo as one of the stockholders and make sure that the whole ground doesn't get blown to kingdom come. He took out a disc and threw it to the ground. It activated, revealing a holographic map of Rio. "See that green dot at the Favelas? He inquired.

Erik nodded, prompting Naruto to press on the green dot. Two holographic projections flashed up from the bubble. One is a pasty pepper haired guy, and another is a massive green behemoth. The green monster is triggering something from his intel reports before leaving the military, but it wouldn't just come to him.

"This guy is Dr. Bruce Banner, hired by the US Army to recreate the super-soldier serum. He tested it on himself when they were about to pull the plug on the project. The 'Hulk,' as they like to call the big guy, is what happens when Banner gets angry or just any instance where his heart rate goes up..." Naruto told a short recap on Banner's profile. " The 'Hulk' has extreme strength, durability, and regeneration. From what I could tell, his stats go up if the big guy gets angrier..." He continued while showing some footage of the Hulk. "Your mission for today is to protect Banner at all costs and bring him stateside without getting detected. I'm not going to help with transportation, of course."

"What? You mean we're not going to get rid of the walking tank leaving in the middle of a heavily populated area?" Erik asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Hell no! Are you a psychopath or something?" Erik just raised an eyebrow when he heard Naruto's question. "Yeah, yeah. I can't say anything about that but think about it for a second..." Naruto urged. "The guy we're protecting Banner from is General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross..." Erik grimaced when he heard the name. "I know, right! I mean, the guy is patriotic, charismatic, and a dog in war, but the guy just doesn't have the brain cell for anything not related to war..." He expounded. "Add the fact that he drafted Emil Blonsky, the only other guy I can think of that's more bloodthirsty than you, to deal with a rage monster. Well, you get the point."

"Damn it..." Erik exclaimed. "Why am I escorting him back here, though?"

"Cause he might have found a way to cure himself, and that's a thousand times better than Ross somehow finding a way to recreate it..." Naruto replied. "Any more questions?"

"Nah. Not at this time, just the final details." Erik answered, to which Naruto nodded before answering.

"From what I can tell, Blonsky and two platoons of black ops guys carrying both heavy weaponry and incapacitation gears..." Naruto explained. "You can do anything you want to accomplish this job, but I recommend you approach him early in the morning and extract him out of the city to make sure that the good doctor doesn't get stressed..." He suggested before flashing his trademark toothy grin. "But if you want to make it more interesting, then by all means."

"Fuck that. I'm not suicidal..." Erik commented while picking up the ammo boxes. "You got anything to deal with The Hulk if it all goes sideways?"

Naruto stood up and walked towards the door. He opened it before answering.

"Run."

-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-

-February 21, 2010, 0500h local-

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is a 42-year-old, 5'8", caucasian male with brown eyes and pepper colored hair. The stress of being on the run really took a toll on his body, not to mention his particular condition.

Before being a wanted fugitive, Dr. Banner is a highly respected scientist and widely considered to be one of the smartest people on the planet, even smarter than Tony Stark himself. His 7 PhDs on biomedicine, bioengineering, and high energy emissions only proved that small fact.

As for why a highly respected scientist is currently on the run from the US government, stupidity from himself and the military. The military, specifically General Ross, hired him to recreate the super-soldier serum. Apparently, Ross heard about him through his ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross, the general's daughter.

Banner and his team felt they're so close to a breakthrough when the Military informed them that the funding would be cut. In a moment of desperation, he decided to test the serum and procedure on himself. Surprisingly, he didn't die with the lethal amounts of gamma radiation he was exposed to. Instead, he acquired the uncontrolled ability to transform into a rage monster.

Bruce uprooted his life ever since that incident three years ago. He focused on controlling the monster, and when it failed, controlling himself. He wasn't idle in those three years, though.

Banner had managed to get into contact with a colleague of his back in the states. Sterns is a brilliant scientist, and the only person he knows that can find a way to reverse what happened to him. Except for Betty herself, but that bridge has long been burned.

Bruce is currently sitting on top of his bed in a lotus position for his daily hour of meditation to keep the monster at bay. He was thinking about the accident in the factory last week where a drop of his blood dropped inside a cola bottle when he heard a knock on the door.

His heart rate rocketed up since nobody looks for him in his apartment. Nobody. Good thing he was able to control himself easily since he was already meditating. He took a few moments to calm himself before approaching the door.

"Who is it?" Banner called out while already holding onto his bug out bag in case everything goes to shit.

"You don't know me, but I know you, Dr. Banner..." Somebody answered from the other side of the door. "I'm here to get you out of here before Ross arrives here later today."

Bruce's mind ran processed the information almost instantaneously. Base on what he knows and the accident last week, it's more than possible for Ross to track him down to Rio. There's one question left, though.

"Who the hell are you, and why the hell should I come with you?" Bruce asked warily while silently placing the barricades on his door.

"Erik Stevens aka Killmonger, and before you react, I'm proud of that nickname..." Erik started. "Former SEAL, and this is my final mission before my boss gives me the chance to let me go. My mission is to escort you back stateside to one Sterns until your condition has been resolved while preventing the military from getting their hands on you."

"Ugh..." Bruce released a groan when he heard Erik's statement caused his fucked either way if his unexpected visitor isn't exactly friendly since they already knew too much. "Fine. Fine. I'm opening up but remember what the other guy can do." He said before opening up the locks and removing the barricades.

When Bruce opened up the door, he saw a muscular African-American man who clearly reeks of a military man. He's wearing a full black tactical suit with a buttload of gears and a rifle.

"Come on, Dr. Banner. I took out a few advance parties on the way here, so they're at most only an hour away..." Erik told Bruce. "I got a car outside waiting for us, but you got to hurry up."

"I'm not trusting you. It's the only logical thing to do right now without letting the other guy lose." Bruce stated while picking up his bag and laptop.

"Fair enough..." Erik commented before unholstering a pistol before handing it over to Bruce. "Take this doc."

"Oh, no. No, no, no. I don't use that." Bruce nervously declined it.

"It's not for you. That's for the guy you're shooting..." Erik clarified. "Believe me. It's a lot better to die with a bullet to your head than getting turned into mush by the big guy."

Bruce had no choice but to agree with that statement, so he took it hesitantly. Erik walked out of the apartment and checked the surroundings before calling over Bruce to follow him. They cautiously walked down the chaotic alleys of the Favelas towards the main street.

When they got out of the alleyway, Bruce saw an old, banged up SUV that looks like it could barely start, so he sent Erik a questioning look.

"Don't look at me like that. It's my boss prepared that but don't worry about it. It's leagues better than what it looks like..." Erik placated before unlocking the doors remotely and motioned for Bruce to get in the back. "Let's go. I got us passage to Florida using a smuggler's cargo ship, and it leaves at seven."

Bruce opened the door and tossed his things inside. Eric got inside the driver's side door and placed his rifle on the passenger side seat. He took one last look around before starting the car and driving off.

"I kept hearing about your boss, and you're former military, so I could only assume that you're a mercenary or something." Bruce deducted, trying to start small talk.

"Yup. Former JSOC. Hired, or more like bribed, by my boss two years ago to do some jobs..." Erik answered. "Thought I was going to topple some governments or some shit since it's my specialty but turns out we would take down some organized crime groups..." He continued. "As for my boss, he's an idiotic genius and most definitely a weird guy. But let me tell you something..." He added seriously. "My boss is a thousand times worse than anything green dude can do."

"I highly doubt it." Bruce countered with a scoff.

"Let me tell you something important, Doc..." Erik said while looking at the rearview mirror and staring straight into Banner's eyes. "You're not special, doc. There's a whole other group of people that's capable of wiping the shit of the green guy."

Bruce knew that as well informed as he was, he doesn't know everything. However, even if that's the case, he can't believe that someone out there can defeat the epitome of rage and strength. The more worrying thing, though, was if it's true this person has some sort of interest in him since he sent one of his guys to help him apparently.

Erik was twenty minutes into driving towards the harbor when something finally happened. He noticed three SUVs closely following behind them. That's not what worried him. It's the fact that these SUVs are heavily armored and looked like it's built for ramming stuff. With how corrupt the local law enforcement was, he's not surprised that the cars could make it inside the city.

"Hey, Doc!" Erik called out. "We got company. There are noise-canceling headphones and a blindfold under your seat if you want it."

Bruce rapidly turned to look behind the car, and he saw the black car following them. He took three calming breaths to make sure his heartbeat doesn't rocket up.

"No. It's better not to have those on..." Bruce replied. "Can you lose them?"

"No idea, but my boss said to press the red button if a car chase happens, so we should be good." Erik answered.

"You mean the big red button with a thousand crossbones and do not press signs at the dash?" Bruce said sarcastically. "That's reassuring!" He continued sarcastically.

"Don't worry about it. The blonde bastard just wants to play around." Erik brushed it off.

Two minutes later, the SUVs finally made their move. One of the cars rushed past them while the other one blocked his left side, leaving one behind them. They're obviously trying to box them in. The passenger side window of the car beside them rolled down, revealing a goon that open fired at them.

Erik tried to face away from the inevitable rain of broken glass hit him, but to his surprise, the bullet just bounced off of the glass. No webbing, no cracking, no chipping from a 5.56 rounds.

"Fuck yeah!" Erik exclaimed.

-Rio de Janeiro, Brazil-

-February 21, 2010, 0530h local-

A few kilometers away from Erik and Bruce being surrounded by the SUVs, two figures can be seen sitting on top of one of the Favelas. These are Naruto and T'Challa.

Naruto is eating a ramen cup while T'Challa is holding a pair of overpowered binoculars and watching the situation unfold.

"So explain to me again why we're not helping them?" T'Challa asked.

"Because this is an audition or test, or any other stuff you want to call it.." Naruto answered after sipping from his ramen cup. "Besides, don't you want to see what the prospective Black Leopard can do?"

"I'm not sure if Baba would accept my cousin, and even if he does, there's only a small chance a second warrior would be approved..." T'Challa answered. "There has only ever been one protector of Wakanda, and it's the Black Panther. The elders would raise an uproar for countering traditions."

"Traditions have to start somewhere, and this might be the start of a new one..." Naruto countered before activating his Shinigan. "Relax and enjoy the show. You don't want to miss anything."