The call was brief.
After a few simple questions and answers, they hung up.
Hawk lowered the phone and seemed to ponder something. Then, as if struck by a thought, he lifted his gaze to the sky.
His eyes seemed to pierce the reddened clouds and the atmosphere itself, locking onto a high-definition communications satellite.
Through that satellite link—
S.H.I.E.L.D. Operations Command.
Maria Hill had already returned there. Arms folded, her expression was steady, though unease churned beneath it as she stared at the big screen—at Hawk, who seemed to be staring right back through the satellite feed.
She worried the call might be taken as a threat.
In truth, it wasn't a threat.
It was a concession.
Leave. Go back to New York. Pretend none of this ever happened.
They had little choice.
At the Pentagon, a few hawkish generals had blustered about dropping a nuke on Hawk.
But…
If it worked, fine. What if it failed?
Who would bear the cost of failure?
Told they'd take the fall if it didn't work, the hawks fell instantly silent.
They could act tough; they refused to take the blame.
After all…
If they made a move, Hawk would really kill.
They didn't dare gamble.
More importantly, they couldn't. A headless General Ross lay on the floor like a dead dog—that image was still right in front of them.
None of the Pentagon brass wanted to be next.
So playing dead was the only option.
But even if they played dead, Hawk was still inside the Quantico base.
So the Pentagon turned to Maria Hill.
Hill looked up at the screen again—at Hawk, whose eyes through the satellite seemed to meet hers—took out her phone, and dialed.
Hawk, still gazing skyward, heard the phone ring again. He put it to his ear.
"Hello."
"Hawk…"
"Reason."
His tone was calm. "You get one chance to explain, Ms. Hill."
Hill hurried on. "The car—returning it."
Hawk's brow twitched.
Under the satellite's clarity, every flicker of his expression was visible.
Steeling herself, Hill quickly explained that Natasha Romanoff had gone to New York to return Gwen's repaired car. She also added that, after Hawk left New York, to prevent the military from seizing Gwen as leverage against him, Natasha had stayed behind as a precaution.
She left out only her suspicion that Nick Fury had colluded with General Ross—she had no proof yet.
But…
She would find out.
So Maria Hill told herself.
Hawk listened in silence for a moment, then lowered his gaze from the sky.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Relief loosened Hill's chest. Then she seemed to think of something.
"I can arrange a plane to fly you back to New York."
"…Alright. Thank you."
Hawk considered, then didn't refuse. After hanging up, he took a long breath and looked at the only intact building left on the base.
He slid his right foot back; as it touched down, the flagstones beneath shattered.
A heartbeat later—
Boom!
His right fist drove forward. In the instant it struck, windows throughout the building burst outward in a wave; in the blink of an eye, cracks raced through the structure and it collapsed in on itself…
As the thunder of falling concrete and a plume of dust rolled out, Quantico's last whole building was gone. The base was now nothing but ruins.
Watching through the satellite feed, Hill's brow twitched.
In the Pentagon, hawkish generals felt a chill crawl through their hearts.
In a secret room, Nick Fury—fresh from S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ—watched the same scene, an odd light flashing in his single eye.
Half an hour later—
The S.H.I.E.L.D. jet lifted off from Quantico once more. Only when it had completely vanished from sight did the soldiers waiting outside the perimeter edge back onto the grounds.
Everywhere they looked—
The earth was split. Buildings had caved in.
Charred APCs, tanks, jets, and bodies littered the base—an apocalyptic tableau.
But the thing that drew the most attention was a massive corpse lying amid the rubble, burned to a blackened husk.
"Hiss…"
"That is…"
"Abomination?"
"Where's his head?"
"Where's Abomination's head?"
A few soldiers—braver now that Hawk was gone—approached the corpse and stared at the headless hulk, trading uneasy looks.
Then—
They seemed to think of the same thing, and all lifted their eyes toward the direction the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet had disappeared.
High above the clouds.
Hawk lounged on a soft sofa, eyeing the scorched, grotesque Abomination head sitting before him. He shook his head, grabbed it by the horn, and tossed it into a trash bin.
He'd thought about bringing it to his sister's grave as a gift.
But his sister had always been timid. When she was little, even a mouse would send her scrambling into his arms. A gift this ugly would probably make Anya cry.
So…
Forget it.
Don't make Anya cry. Back then, if she cried, he could soothe her—she was alive.
Now she was in Hell. If he made her cry, he couldn't get to her in time to comfort her.
So Hawk told himself.
Yet…
The thought of his sister still waiting in Hell made the urge to go there and bring her back burn even hotter.
After the battle at Quantico, Hawk had a clear, complete sense of his current power.
In a word—
No one on Earth can defeat me.
But…
Invincible on Earth.
Enemies from the Heavens.
The lord of the Hell Dimension—Mephisto—wasn't some mortal being.
He was a god.
A dimensional god.
Hawk wasn't yet qualified to take what he wanted from a being like that.
Even with his Microcosmos, as real as it was in the Marvel Universe, it wouldn't be enough.
In the world of Saint Seiya, Mephisto would be on par with Hades.
A Saint just awakened—no Cloth, not even a Sixth Sense—and he's going to fight Hades on entry?
That Saint would have to be brain-damaged.
So…
"The Cloth is the key."
"And I still need the Reality Stone. With it, I can make my Microcosmos truly manifest in the Marvel Universe."
"Only then—and only then—can I go to Hell and bring my sister back."
His thoughts flashed in order. He had a plan.
The Cloth was the key.
He already had two of the materials—only the last one remained: orichalcum—known in Marvel as Vibranium.
Once he had Vibranium, he could assemble the Phoenix Cloth.
Even if his Microcosmos wasn't yet fully projected into reality here, wearing the Cloth should give him enough power to fight Thor.
After all…
The Reality Stone's story plays out in Thor 2.
That should be next year.
In the back half of the year?
So Hawk mused.
Just then—
The cockpit door opened, and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent stepped out.
Sharon Carter.
She was about to speak when her eyes fell on the hideous head in the trash bin. She paused, slightly stunned.
"Mr. Hawk, that head…"
"Not keeping it."
Hawk followed her gaze to the bin and shook his head. "Too ugly. I'd just make my sister cry."
Sharon chuckled. "True."
At first, she couldn't make sense of what Hawk had done today.
But…
After reading through his file, she saw it differently.
"You're a good brother, Mr. Hawk."
"Heh."
Hawk gave her a look and a short laugh. "I'm not. If I were, my sister wouldn't be dead."
The dam opened.
Sharon eased into the sofa opposite him. "It isn't your fault, Mr. Hawk. If your sister knew you avenged her, she'd be happy."
Hawk looked at her, saying nothing.
A tiny jolt ran through Sharon's heart. She blinked.
"What is it, Mr. Hawk? Did I say something wrong?"
"No."
He shook his head and looked away. "So you agree with what I did?"
"Professionally, no comment," she said with a smile. "Personally, I do. Though if I had a brother and I died, I'd want him to live happily, not drown in hatred."
Hawk's gaze settled on her again.
Their eyes met.
He smiled slightly.
"I don't like that."
"Hm?"
"Forgiving enemies is God's business. I prefer sending them to meet Him."
"Understood."
Sharon blinked, then nodded thoughtfully. With a light, joking tone, she added, "Then I hope I never end up on Mr. Hawk's bad side."
Hawk laughed and looked at her.
"If people don't mess with me, I don't mess with them."
"Got it."
Her brows arched; she smiled again and shrugged. "So, once you're back in New York, any plans?"
Hawk seemed to recall something and looked at her.
"Driving lessons."
"Driving lessons?"
"Mm."
He nodded.
And then moving his sister to a new place.
He had money now.
A lot of money.
Half an hour later—
The S.H.I.E.L.D. jet touched down smoothly at an airfield on the outskirts of New York.
As Hawk stepped out of the cabin, he immediately saw her by the repaired yellow Corolla—a girl in a yellow coat, arms folded, smiling at him with warm eyes.
He descended and walked over.
Their eyes met.
"I'm back."
"Mm."
Gwen beamed.
"Home?"
"Home."
"Come on, get in."
"Am I driving?"
"No. You don't have your license yet. If you get caught, George will haul you straight into court."
"Will you plead for me?"
"Hawk!"
"Hm?"
"When you do something wrong, you take responsibility. You should stand in court and admit your mistake."
"…"
(End of Chapter)
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