❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁
Question and answer.
Hawk froze.
Felicia froze too.
"A year?"
"A month?"
"..."
Hawk and Felicia locked eyes, both seeing the shock reflected in the other's gaze.
The next second, Hawk suddenly understood why he'd entered through the storm system at night but found it still daytime when he arrived.
The time flow here really was different from the outside.
Except—
"One month outside equals one year here."
"Then one day here would equal..."
Hawk's mind raced.
Felicia already had the answer.
"One day here is roughly twelve days outside."
"Holy hell."
Hawk stared at Felicia, who'd already done the math, and sucked in a sharp breath. His gaze swept across the cabin's layout once more.
From the moment he'd walked in, something about this clean, cozy cabin had felt off.
But he hadn't been able to put his finger on it at first.
Now he knew what was wrong.
This cabin—from the layout to the furnishings to the decorations—didn't match the aesthetic of the tattooed natives outside at all.
"So you and Peter built these chairs and tables too?"
"Mostly Peter."
Seeing Hawk change the subject, Felicia didn't dwell on the time flow issue. She followed his gaze and smiled. "Peter's really good with his hands."
When she talked about Peter, Felicia's face lit up with that unique expression women in love get when talking about their boyfriends.
Auras don't lie.
Hawk had initially thought Peter was here. When he'd only found Felicia and no Peter, he'd assumed his senses were off.
They weren't.
Peter's residual presence on Felicia was so strong it had reached the point where it could fool even Hawk's perception.
There was only one way that could happen.
Physical intimacy.
When Hawk heard Felicia praise how good Peter was with his hands, a flicker of something knowing crossed his eyes. But he quickly hid it.
"By the way, didn't you guys come here to find Peter's parents? Did you find them?"
"We did."
"So..."
"Like you just said—one day here equals twelve days outside. That explains why the Iwi Tribe kept saying Peter's parents died over a hundred years ago. At first, we thought it was a translation issue. Turns out... they were telling the truth."
One year on Skull Island equaled one month outside.
Peter's parents had disappeared over a decade ago. Converted to Skull Island time, that really was over a hundred years.
Just then—
Felicia seemed to remember something. She looked at Hawk. "Wait. You said it's only been a month outside? That should be when the supply team I arranged was supposed to arrive. How'd you end up here?"
Hawk snapped back to attention and looked at Felicia.
"I said you guys have been in here for over a month."
"Outside..."
"Your experimental platform's wiped out. Everyone's dead except one survivor. Guy named Oz or something."
"Oz?"
"Yeah."
Hawk nodded and gave Felicia a brief rundown of the night raid on the platform, then frowned. "Do you know anyone else who might have a grudge against you and know about your Pacific platform?"
Felicia was silent for a moment, then shook her head.
"Taking over Osborn Industries went smoothly. And the old shareholders don't push back against me the way they did with Harry. Our working relationship is good. I can't think of anyone who'd want to hurt me."
"Forget it. We'll deal with that later."
Seeing he wasn't getting anywhere, Hawk let it drop. At least Peter and Felicia were safe. That was what mattered.
Once again, as long as he and his friends were happy, that was enough.
He knew, for instance, that Felicia hadn't come here alone with Peter. There should have been an entire squad with them.
But Hawk didn't even ask.
Because he didn't care. So he didn't want to know.
"By the way, how long has Peter been gone? When's he getting back?"
"He left this morning. The village hunting party goes out every morning. They usually get back before sunset."
When Felicia talked about Peter, that lovestruck expression returned to her face. She smiled. "Peter's incredible. After we got here, the Iwi took us in. I managed to pick up some basic Iwi, but Peter... he's something else. It's dangerous out there, but he..."
She paused mid-sentence, meeting Hawk's eyes.
The next second—
Felicia looked away. "Hawk. Do you know what the Iwi Tribe was saying when they were bowing to you earlier?"
Hawk thought back to the natives prostrating themselves.
"God?"
"No."
"No? Then what?"
"They think you're their ancestor."
"Come again?"
Hawk's eyebrows shot up.
He didn't even have any kids yet. How the hell had he suddenly become someone's ancestor?
Also, he'd originally thought Peter's love life would be full of obstacles. That no matter what, he'd definitely have kids before Peter did.
But now—
Damn time differential!
As Hawk processed his shock, his eyes flicked to Felicia's stomach. There, a Baby was growing strong.
Felicia noticed Hawk's glance but thought he was just shocked about the tribe's worship. She explained, "In Iwi Tribe legend, they're descendants of a god. That male god could also fly through the air and had immense strength. You match their description of their ancestor—flying through the air with incredible power."
Hawk let out a dry laugh. "If they really were descended from a god, they wouldn't be stuck on this dangerous island."
...
Felicia looked at Hawk. "By the way, are you thirsty? There's this special fruit here. Kind of like a coconut from outside, but it tastes way better. Peter brought back a few the other day. Let me get you one."
Hawk nodded.
"Sure."
"Just a sec."
Felicia smiled, turned, and went into the back room. She quickly returned carrying a blue fruit that looked similar to a coconut.
As Hawk took the fruit, Felicia grabbed the metal tool in her hand. "This thing's really hard. You can only open it with this—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
The metal tool had vanished from her hand.
She looked up—
Hawk was staring at the metal knife in his hand, completely absorbed.
"Uh... Hawk?"
"Yeah."
Hawk snapped out of it and looked at Felicia, gripping the metal knife. "Where'd you get this?"
Felicia answered without thinking. "Peter saved an Iwi Tribe kid a while back. They gave it to us as thanks. Why? Is there something wrong with the metal?"
Hawk shook his head.
Nothing wrong with the metal.
Except that the moment he'd seen it, the Sixth Sense that had been quietly humming in the background suddenly went silent.
Obviously—
This metal in his hand was exactly what his Sixth Sense had been pointing him toward. It might take a while to find, but it was worth it.
At first, he'd been curious about what could possibly require spending time to locate.
Hawk had assumed it meant the item was hard to find or difficult to obtain.
But no—
When his Sixth Sense said it would take "some time," it was referring to the time flow differential between Skull Island and the outside world. Even if he spent just one day here, twelve days would pass outside. That's exactly what the Sixth Sense had meant.
As for this metal?
Hawk's right hand—still gripping the metal—suddenly erupted in flames. White-hot fire engulfed the small piece of metal. It showed absolutely no signs of softening or melting.
Damn.
This metal's melting point was even higher than Vibranium?
Hawk stared at the metal, which remained completely unchanged even under the heat of his exploding Cosmo. He couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath as a particular metal came to mind—one that did indeed have a higher melting point than Vibranium and could be found on Earth.
Adamantium!
Vibranium was powerful. It could absorb kinetic energy. But that absorption wasn't limitless. Once it exceeded its capacity, it would break.
Case in point: Cap's shield.
Captain America's shield had been hacked apart in just a few strikes when Thanos used his double-bladed sword made from Uru metal.
But if Cap's shield had been made from Adamantium instead of Vibranium?
Let's just say—
Thanos could have hacked away until the end of time and it wouldn't have cracked.
Because Adamantium's defining trait was hardness.
Unprecedented hardness.
Adamantium had to be kept at extreme temperatures. Once it solidified, it was set forever. It could never change form again. It couldn't be broken down. Even if subjected to high heat again, it wouldn't remelt.
Put it this way—
Wolverine had survived the full force of the Phoenix—Jean's complete Phoenix Force—thanks to this metal.
The entire thing.
The only thing that could pierce Adamantium was Adamantium itself.
Hawk now fully understood why his Sixth Sense had led him here.
Because Adamantium was exactly what he needed.
Of course, he also needed Uru metal.
In the materials he needed to forge his true, complete Phoenix Cloth, Uru metal was his replacement for Vibranium.
He still needed substitutes for Stardust Sand and Gammanium.
He hadn't been in a rush before because he'd had no leads.
But now, Hawk stared at the piece of suspected Adamantium in his hand, his eyes burning with intensity.
He'd found his replacement for Stardust Sand.
Adamantium.
A Phoenix Cloth forged from a fusion of Uru metal and Adamantium would be truly indestructible.
❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁
~# 50 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
https://p-atreon.com/dragonnx
(Just remove the hyphen to access Patreon normally.)
~# Bonus Chapter every 300PS