PFC Chapter 3902 The Nameless Bat (72)
Chapter 3902 The Nameless Bat (72)
Chapter 3902 The Nameless Bat (Seventy-Two)
The Penguin was about to explode in anger, but seeing the reporters behind Harvey Bullock, he dared not say anything. He was the mayor now; every move he made was magnified by the media. Who knew if the other party was broadcasting live? If any indecent words or actions were exposed, his entire year's work would be for nothing.
However, the bombing of his invested park enraged him so much that he swallowed his anger, nearly turning himself into a shriveled penguin. Fortunately, Brock soon discovered the Avengers.
The Avengers are big stars in New York. Captain America and Iron Man are the cream of the crop. Although the second Spider-Man keeps a low profile, he has a loyal following because he inherited the fame of the first Spider-Man. Brock immediately went up to Captain America, smiling broadly as he shook hands with him.
Captain America, however, was quite experienced in handling these kinds of situations. He said, "We shouldn't be making light of such a terrible incident. The police and secret agents are investigating, and we should give them space. Detective Brock, I'm sure you think so too, right?"
Captain America instinctively glanced downstairs, and the camera followed him. Sure enough, the York City Police Department—the former Gotham City Police Department and the NYPD combined—had deployed a large force to cordon off the scene. FBI agents originally stationed in New York were also crossing the cordon to collect samples from the accident site.
Harvey Brock, known as "Detective Brock," stood alone on the rooftop, taking photos with reporters. Captain America's words put him under accusations of unprofessionalism.
Brock seemed surprised by the other party's experience. After all, the superheroes and supervillains in Gotham were all ruthless and taciturn, and he rarely caught anyone, so he naturally lacked this kind of experience and almost got himself into trouble.
"Ahem, conveying the truth to the public is also one of the duties of the police. Captain, what's your opinion on this attack? Who do you think did it? Could it be the Joker?"
Captain America shook his head and said, "This is clearly not a bombing. If a directional bomb could achieve such precise cutting, the perpetrator would have won the Nobel Prize long ago. This was done by a supervillain."
"You mean someone with superpowers? Who do you think is the most likely suspect?"
"It's too early to draw conclusions..." Captain America was saying when Peter emerged from the rooftop door and said, "I went to the accident site and took a look. There were cutting marks..."
Upon seeing the camera, Peter frowned deeply. Taking advantage of the reporter turning away, Iron Man snatched the camera, glanced at it, and said, "Shit, live on TV."
“Hey, you can’t do this!” the cameraman shouted.
Natasha and Coulson immediately stepped forward, flashed their S.H.I.E.L.D. badges, and said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. Taking photos of Avengers members without permission constitutes a portrait rights infringement. S.H.I.E.L.D. legal personnel will contact you within seven days. Be prepared to pay up."
The reporter turned pale, because this was entirely his personal action. That's how American journalists are: getting a headline brings benefits, but if it causes trouble, they have to take responsibility themselves; the TV station won't be accountable.
He glared at Brock, who had invited him, and quickly left through the rooftop door. Brock tried to say something, but was instantly pinned down by Hawkeye behind him. Natasha pulled two voice recorders and a miniature camera from his person.
“Standard spy gear,” the female agent said. “Prepare for charges of treason, sir.”
"You can't treat me like this! I'm a regular at prime time! I can make you pay with just one word..."
“Our what?” Natasha smiled and said, “Our chief doesn’t want votes. Alright, let him go and take him away. Chief Gordon will know what to do.”
Hawkeye dragged him off the rooftop. Everyone turned their attention to Peter, signaling him to finish what he hadn't said.
“It wasn’t an explosion,” Peter said. “It was some kind of laser cutting. As far as I know, only two people have that ability: Superman and Cyclops.”
"Hiss..." Captain America took a deep breath and said, "These two guys are tough to deal with. What do we do now? Should we contact Professor X?"
"Do you think he would admit it if he really did it?" Iron Man asked. "Don't forget, Professor X may be moral in some ways, but Superman, who is also a suspect like Cyclops, is an alien. Professor X wouldn't care about wrongly accusing an alien. Besides, Superman injured Magneto before. We all know that the two of them seem to be enemies, but their actual love-hate relationship could make eight TV series."
"You mean Professor X won't admit it and will instead pin the blame on Superman? But what if Superman really did it?"
“Then he must have had a reason to do it.” Iron Man sighed and said, “Don’t tell me you didn’t realize that Superman is a very pure good guy who can’t tolerate the slightest injustice.”
“That being said, he is, after all, an alien,” Bruce said, frowning. “And although he seems stable, he once sent Magneto flying into the sun. Nobody really knows what’s going on with him.”
A silence fell. Captain America broke it first, saying, "Let's go down and take a look. Hopefully, we can find some solid evidence."
They went downstairs, but the area was already packed with people. Besides the police, there were many reporters. This incident was arguably the most serious attack since the new city was established, and every reporter wanted a headline story.
They cheered when they saw the Avengers approaching. But another figure flying in from the horizon excited them even more—it was Wonder Woman.
Although New York has merged with Gotham and Metropolis, the city is so vast that the superheroes rarely have the opportunity to meet. This is Wonder Woman's first meeting with the Avengers.
As soon as Wonder Woman landed, she saw Captain America dressed in bright colors. She walked up to him, shook hands, and said, "Hello, Diana Prince, Amazonian princess, codename Wonder Woman."
“Hello, Captain America.” Captain America was very cautious. He knew Diana was also a big star and had a very special political status. Their meeting was like a meeting between the President of the United States and the Queen of the Amazons; neither could afford to embarrass the country they represented.
Bruce was the first to lose his composure. He said to Wonder Woman, "Why didn't Superman come with you? Aren't you two always inseparable?"
The phrase "inseparable" made Wonder Woman frown, but she explained anyway, "He couldn't come, so me coming to check on things is the same. Can you tell me what happened?"
When Wonder Woman flew over, she glanced at the scene of the accident but didn't look closely. Now, standing here and looking over, her pupils instantly contracted—she clearly realized that this wasn't an explosion, but rather someone had used lasers to cut through the entire building.
The ability to shoot lasers from his eyes is Superman's signature skill, witnessed by many in Metropolis alone. Wonder Woman almost immediately realized that Bruce's unfriendly attitude stemmed from their suspicion of Superman.
Wonder Woman was anxious. Superman couldn't make it in time right now, because to pay his exorbitant rent, he was disguised as a reporter, squeezing into the front row to get the first scoop for a bonus.
Although she knew proving her innocence was more important, she was already late, and arriving late was more suspicious than not arriving at all. Wonder Woman sighed inwardly, truly at a loss for what explanation to offer.
Peter entered the crime scene again and came out shortly after. He gave Iron Man a look, and Iron Man understood. With a flick of his hand, a laser beam severed the police tape, and reporters swarmed forward, shoving cameras directly in the faces of the superhero and the police.
The two slipped out of the crowd amidst the chaos. Peter looked around and said in a low voice, "There are claw marks on the wall."
"What? God, it can't be..."
“It’s highly likely that Cyclops and Wolverine got into a fight,” Peter sighed. “Although I don’t know why they were fighting, and they even cut the building in half, the police will find evidence soon. I’m just afraid…”
"Afraid that Superman will be wrongly accused?"
"Pretty much. Our new mayor might not want to offend mutants, after all, Magneto is a terrorist, and you'll regret messing with him. But Superman is a good guy, so even if this is pinned on him, he won't do anything to the Penguin. The Penguin might destroy the evidence."
Did you take any photos?
"Yes, it's on my phone."
"Send this to James Gordon."
"what do you mean……"
“This sheriff is a good man. Even if he doesn’t know Superman well, he won’t stand by and watch him be wronged. Even at the risk of offending mutants, he will definitely reveal the truth. It carries much more weight when the Gotham Police Chief makes the announcement than when anyone else does.”
Peter sighed. He opened his phone, found a number, and started sending pictures. He rubbed his forehead and said, "Since the two Earths merged into one, the trouble has doubled. I really don't understand."
"If even your clever little brain starts to get a headache, what about the others?" Iron Man chuckled twice and said, "Let's go."
"where to?"
"We need to sound out Professor X. The key question is why Wolverine and Cyclops are fighting."
Peter paused, then said, "I heard they're rivals for each other's affections."
“Yes, but they’ve been rivals for love for a long time.” Iron Man said as he walked. “They’ve had a falling out over Phoenix for more than a decade. Why did they have to fight now of all times?”
“I suspect one of them was provoked,” Peter speculated. “Judging from the traces at the scene, Wolverine doesn’t seem to have attacked proactively; he was on the defensive the whole time, and leaving claw marks on the wall was also for escape. But Cyclops destroyed the entire building.”
Do you know Cyclops?
"I've met him a few times before, but we're not very familiar. He doesn't seem like the violent type, otherwise he would have joined the Brotherhood of Mutants. Since he works for the X-Men, he must be quite reliable."
"Hard to say," Iron Man shook his head and said, "Is there anyone in the world more unpredictable than Phoenix? Professor X still keeps her by his side, doesn't he?"
"That's because Phoenix is unstable no matter where she stays. Once she explodes, it will be a disaster for the entire universe. It's better to keep her by your side and watch her over, so that you can get a warning before the explosion begins."
They headed towards the X-Men's base in Manhattan and soon arrived at the entrance. But just as they were about to go inside, they suddenly felt a wave of heat rise up.
Iron Man grabbed Peter and ran at top speed. The two flew two miles before daring to look back. As soon as they turned around, they saw flames rising above the X-Men base.
"Could it be that the Phoenix has erupted?!"
wave after wave