They drove all the way back to the apartment.
At the moment, half the street where Su Che's apartment was located had been cordoned off.
State police, firefighters, investigative teams, and many others had all gathered here.
After all, two apartment explosions in broad daylight were bound to cause a major stir!
Arriving at the scene, they saw that the previously intact apartment was now in ruins, the area littered with traces left by the explosion.
Even the windows of nearby buildings had been shattered by the blast!
Under normal circumstances, unauthorized personnel would absolutely not be allowed onto the scene for safety reasons.
As the apartment owners, Su Che and Steve would typically be taken away for questioning.
Fortunately, Natasha Romanoff was there.
Using her S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials, Natasha got Su Che and the others access to the scene.
"So far, there are no clear leads, but the evidence at the scene indicates the explosion was caused by human factors."
"And the explosive used was likely TNT."
Speaking to this point, Natasha Romanoff looked at Su Che with a serious expression and then said softly, "But there's one puzzling detail: the person who set this explosion seemed to have used an extremely precise amount of TNT."
"Aside from your and Steve's apartments, the other buildings weren't significantly affected, apart from shattered windows."
"And from my own inspection, the epicenter of the blast was right in the middle of your apartment's living room. It's as if someone placed a bomb there and detonated it!"
Listening to Natasha Romanoff's words, Su Che surveyed the bombed-out apartment.
The walls were cracked, and all the furniture had been blown to pieces.
Traces of water used to extinguish the fire were still visible.
"Any findings from the nearby surveillance?" Tony Stark, who had been checking the surroundings, asked Natasha with a similarly grave expression.
"No, that's the strangest part!"
Watching the state police evacuate the surrounding crowd, Natasha Romanoff shook her head and said, "I had people investigate the surveillance footage from the moment the explosion happened~!"
"But unfortunately, according to the videos, from before the explosion until after, there were no suspicious individuals inside or outside Sue and Steve's apartments."
"Even the pedestrian traffic around that time was very light. If someone had sneaked in to plant a bomb, we definitely should have caught it on camera!"
"After all, several street cameras cover the area from multiple angles. Even if there are blind spots, they shouldn't be enough to hide someone completely!"
As she spoke, she glanced around.
Noticing Wanda seemed to be comforting Su Che, she lowered her voice and said to Tony and Steve, who had gathered closer, "I'm not sure if it's HYDRA's revenge."
"After all, we just captured dozens of HYDRA agents and destroyed their Sokovia base."
"And now, right after, Sue and Steve's apartments are bombed."
Saying this, Natasha Romanoff looked at Tony!
"Damn it!"
Meeting Natasha's gaze, Tony Stark immediately pulled out his phone and called Pepper.
As soon as the call connected, Tony quickly asked Pepper where she was.
Hearing Pepper say she was at the Stark Industries building, Tony told her not to go near his apartment recently and not to have anyone clean his villa.
He would have J.A.R.V.I.S. conduct a full scan of his villa first.
He instructed Pepper to stay put and preferably not leave the building during this period!
At the same time, Tony Stark asked Happy to lead the Stark Industries security team to wait for JARVIS.'s scan of the villa.
They were to guard the villa 24/7, allowing no one to enter, and ensure Pepper's safety!
After a moment's thought, he still felt it wasn't secure enough.
So Tony Stark called Colonel Rhodes.
He briefly and clearly told Rhodes that someone might be seeking revenge on him and asked Rhodes to arrange for some military personnel to protect Pepper.
On the other end, both Pepper and Rhodes were a bit confused.
Fortunately, Rhodes was reliable.
Hearing Tony's serious tone, he didn't even ask for details and directly promised to send people to ensure Pepper's safety!
After hanging up, Tony Stark seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
He then turned to Natasha Romanoff and asked, "That should cover it on my end. As long as Pepper is safe, I'm not afraid of any enemies."
"However, what about the Maximoff siblings?"
Looking seriously at Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark said, "Until this matter is resolved, it's best to find protection for Wanda and Pietro."
"I don't know if the bomber is targeting all of us."
"But now that Sue's and Steve's apartments have been hit, we can't let our guard down!"
Seeing Tony's rare seriousness, Steve, standing beside him, also nodded gravely.
Steve knew that Tony's concern for the Maximoff siblings stemmed from a trace of guilt he felt towards them.
However, since the apartment bombings targeting him and Su Che had been confirmed as deliberate acts, who was to say the perpetrator, or perpetrators, wouldn't target others?
"...Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to Wanda and Pietro!"
Seeing the serious expressions on Steve and Tony's faces, Natasha Romanoff nodded. "They're like my younger siblings. As their guardian, their older sister and parental figure, I will definitely protect them!"
There was something Natasha Romanoff didn't say aloud.
That was, both she and Nick Fury would do everything in their power to ensure Wanda and Pietro came to no harm.
As holders of the Black Gold Diary, both she and Nick Fury knew the special place Wanda held in Su Che's heart.
If anything happened to Wanda, Su Che would undoubtedly go berserk.
That would be a truly terrifying scenario!
Just like in the comics, New York wouldn't want to face a corrupted Superman, and Gotham wouldn't want to see a fallen Batman.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was absolutely unwilling to witness Su Che—a superhero from a parallel world whose heart was already "devastated," who had finally found a sliver of spiritual solace—have that last "light" in his heart snatched away by some mishap.
Even though both she and Nick Fury believed that nothing could truly make this battle-hardened superhero succumb to darkness, they had to strive to prevent even the slightest possibility.
Natasha Romanoff couldn't bear to imagine this Su Che—always handsome, with a hint of world-weariness in his brow yet a sunny smile, who silently warmed others—turning dark.
That was something she absolutely did not want to see
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(TL : More Chapters @patreon.com/c/Gooberilla)