Arlington County, outside the temporary aid station.
Carried by four Iron Man suits, the [Boxer Mech] slowly descended from the sky.
However, the arrival of this massive mech didn't startle anyone in the aid station.
Or perhaps it did, but the fleeing civilians were too numb to care. They just watched with dull eyes, then lowered their heads again, waiting for their fate.
Compared to these people whose bodies were already contaminated by radiation and whose futures were uncertain, Luca was much luckier.
Although he faced the nuclear blast head-on, thanks to the excellent properties of E-Carbon and the intact sealed cockpit, the radiation damage he sustained wasn't severe.
After the mech's exterior was decontaminated, Luca stepped out of the cockpit and saw sunlight again.
But as soon as his feet touched the ground, two small figures, one white and one green, hopped over to him.
"Luca, Luca~"
"Luca, Luca~"
Looking at Erha (Second Haro) and Fifth Haro at his feet, completely unharmed...
And then at the two Haro Mechs in the hangar, destroyed beyond recognition...
Luca's head was full of question marks.
Wait, bootleg Haros don't have the conceptual power of indestructibility, right?? Why are you two perfectly fine???
When the nuke went off, the mechs these two were piloting were right next to him.
The mechs were scrapped, the [Boxer Mech] was half-destroyed, yet these two little things were still bouncing around?
Is there some stress-bearing mechanism in Haro's structure that I don't understand?
While Luca was pondering this in confusion, Gwen hurried over.
She gave Luca a big hug, then spoke softly, her voice choked with emotion.
"I'm glad you're okay. Everyone is waiting for you in the command room."
Luca's survival not only brought Gwen joy and relief but also helped dissipate some of the heavy, depressive atmosphere brought by the refugees.
Seeing Gwen getting emotional, Luca didn't say much. He patted her gently and led the three little ones (plus the decontaminated Fourth Haro Mech) toward the temporary command room.
Inside, only Steve, Harry, Thor, and Tony were present.
Luca knew from his earlier call that Clint, Natasha, and Banner had gone to New York to help SHIELD with the aftermath, so he wasn't surprised.
Because they had spoken briefly before, everyone's reaction upon seeing Luca was relatively normal, except for Gwen.
Only Harry Osborn in the corner had an indescribably awkward expression when he saw Luca swaggering in.
"Hey, amateur hero~"
Seeing Harry's face and knowing what his classmate was thinking, Luca's greeting almost made Harry break down.
But Luca's attitude actually lightened the heavy atmosphere in the room.
Steve and Tony breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that Luca didn't show too much guilt or depression after the nuke and seeing the refugees.
Actually, their worry was misplaced.
Luca was fundamentally different from these superheroes.
He didn't want innocent civilians to get hurt, but he had no attachment to the USA, nor did he see himself as a world-saving superhero.
He wouldn't take responsibility for any casualties or feel guilty about it. So, he was actually the most mentally stable person in the room.
Dragging a chair over, Luca kicked Fifth Haro, who kept trying to snuggle up to him, slightly away.
He looked at Tony in front of the computer and asked.
"Signal was bad earlier, couldn't talk much. What's the situation now? Where's the Hydra leader? Did you catch him? And who's the 'shiny helper' you mentioned?"
Hearing Luca's questions, the expressions in the room turned serious.
But before Tony could explain in detail, JARVIS interrupted from the computer.
"Sir, Nick Fury is requesting a call."
Luca shrugged at Tony, signaling that business came first. Tony connected the call immediately.
Nick Fury's bald head appeared on the screen. His first sentence was:
"Tony, Carol has departed. But she plans to check the blast center first."
As he spoke, the screen changed to show a blonde woman in a red and blue suit, glowing with white-gold energy, taking off from the Helicarrier.
Tony's 'shiny helper' is indeed Captain Marvel? Fury must be desperate to call her back. Luca thought.
But his thoughts didn't affect the conversation.
Hearing that Captain Marvel was going to check ground zero, Tony frowned.
"I sent drone suits to check the center right at the start. There's nothing left."
"Hydra didn't just detonate one nuke. Traces show one was detonated inside the nuclear bunker."
"Including the underground servers you mentioned... everything was destroyed in the blast."
However, Nick Fury didn't explain further after hearing Tony.
He didn't say whether he distrusted Tony's check or had other motives.
He just shrugged, looking innocent.
"Carol just wants to take another look. Relax, radiation won't affect her constitution."
As he spoke, Captain Marvel on the screen had already flown out of New York.
Although not at full speed, she was approaching Washington D.C. within a few sentences.
However, when Luca noticed the somewhat familiar wasteland on the screen and the rapidly spreading rain curtain around D.C., his heart skipped a beat.
It can't be that coincidental, right?
Next moment.
BOOM——————
A deafening explosion pierced through the screen. The entire satellite view was filled with fire.
And on the wasteland outside Washington D.C., three mushroom clouds, entangled together, rose into the air again.