Calver Lake, the surface of the water had returned to its calm and tranquil state.
The same went for beneath the water.
The murky lake water washed over Hawk's body.
Hawk's gaze was expressionless as he looked ahead, lying still in the lakebed mud with his giant green body.
Hulk!
Yes.
He was dead.
The death was simple, just as Hawk had planned, trapping him in the water and then having him drown alive.
But saying it was easy, doing it was not.
Hawk glanced at his current Little Cosmos.
In the Little Cosmos, there was chaos, even the Phoenix Constellation Map that lit up was now dim and dull.
There was no choice.
Hulk was indeed strong. Normally, people would burst out with incredible force when drowning, let alone Hulk, who grew stronger the angrier he got.
Hulk's counterattack just before death almost sent Hawk into the Phoenix, entering a state of rebirth through fire.
But…
He still won.
Hawk looked at Hulk's silent corpse lying on the lakebed, silently contemplating.
Just then.
Strands of green light emerged from Hulk's massive body, and then, with a whoosh, they entered Hawk's body.
Buzz!
Hawk felt his body begin to rotate slowly on its own, as if drawing those green lights into his Little Cosmos.
As strands of green light entered the Little Cosmos, which had also been desolate, life began to bloom anew.
"This is…"
"Gamma Power?"
Hawk raised his sword-like eyebrows and looked at Hulk.
With the posthumous power completely absorbed by his Little Cosmos, Hulk's massive body began to shrink, the green light on the surface dimmed, and finally, the colossal Hulk vanished silently with the final trace of power, replaced by Bruce Banner lying lifeless on the lakebed.
Hawk looked at the newly appeared Bruce Banner, his eyes flickering.
On the banks of Calver Lake.
Gwen was still wide-eyed, holding her breath, staring motionlessly at the calm lake surface.
At that moment.
Boom!
The lake surface exploded.
Gwen's pupils shrank.
In the next second.
She watched as Hawk burst from the water, reappearing before her eyes, and couldn't help but exhale, her tense expression blooming into a smile.
Gwen quickly ran towards Hawk, who had broken the surface, holding Bruce Banner and returning to the shore.
"Hawk!"
Bang!
His upper body clothing had long been torn in the fight, and his casual pants were also in tatters. After tossing Bruce Banner to the side, he looked at Gwen, who was running towards him, breaking into a smile through her tears.
In the next second.
He fell to the side.
"Holy shit!"
"Hawk!"
Gwen was stunned at first, then quickly accelerated her pace, reaching Hawk just as he collapsed, catching him with trembling voice: "What's wrong with you?"
Hawk's head leaned on Gwen's shoulder.
"I'm fine."
"Liar."
Gwen looked at Hawk's pale face, almost in tears.
Hawk shook his head.
"Really, I'm just exhausted."
"…Really?"
"Yeah."
Hawk nodded.
The battle with Hulk had indeed left him feeling drained after the Little Cosmos burned.
Underwater, it was manageable; after all, he was still in fight mode. But as soon as he got on shore, the overwhelming weakness and fatigue attacked every corner of his body.
However…
With the Little Cosmos absorbing the Gamma Power, the Phoenix Constellation Map that had dimmed began to brighten again, and the powerful healing abilities quickly dispelled this sense of helplessness.
Although it couldn't bring Hawk back to his peak in a blink of an eye.
But…
In just a blink, color returned to his once pale face.
Seeing the color return to Hawk's cheeks, Gwen finally believed him, exhaling as she remembered something, guiding Hawk while glancing at Bruce Banner lying on the ground.
Perhaps because of transforming into Hulk, Bruce Banner had a large shared pair of trousers to avoid the awkward embarrassment of transforming into Hulk and being left-threadbare upon reverting.
Gwen looked at the soaking wet Bruce Banner, wearing only large briefs, then glanced sideways at Hawk leaning on her shoulder.
"He's not dead?"
"Not dead."
"Then Hulk…"
"Hulk is dead."
Hawk stated confidently, then looked at Bruce Banner lying motionless on the ground: "But he is not."
After all, Hulk is Hulk, and Bruce Banner is Bruce Banner.
Hawk was also surprised to see Bruce Banner appear after Hulk's death.
Hulk was dead, but Bruce Banner was not; however, after instinctively opening his eyes underwater, Bruce Banner choked on several mouthfuls of water and passed out.
Back then, he hesitated whether to leave Bruce Banner at the bottom of the lake.
But...
Hawk chuckled weakly, inhaling Gwen's fragrant hair, and said, "The one who killed my sister was the Hulk, not Bruce Banner."
Just like he insisted from the beginning.
If it were Bruce Banner who killed his sister, he wouldn't waste words and would have already smashed Bruce Banner into pieces.
An injustice has a head, debt a master.
The Hulk is dead.
His grudges with Bruce Banner are settled.
That's why he brought Bruce Banner ashore from the bottom of the lake.
"And he..."
"He choked a bit, probably will wake up in a while."
"...Alright."
"Let's go back."
Hawk said, glancing up at the sky, and said to Gwen, "Heading back now, we should make it in time before your curfew."
Gwen raised her eyebrows, seeming to think of something, and shook her head.
"I don't think it's possible."
"Why not?"
"Our car got smashed."
"..."
With Gwen's support, Hawk saw the yellow Corolla that was supposed to be parked far away but was still smashed into a wreck. He also saw Natasha Romanoff lying on the grass nearby, sleeping sweetly like a baby.
Meeting Hawk's gaze, Gwen quickly explained in an innocent tone.
"I didn't mean to knock her out. I saw her taking out her phone, thought she was going to alert someone, so I knocked her out with a stick."
"Uh..."
Hawk looked at Gwen, who had an innocent look and tone, thought for a moment, and decided to hold back the words revealing Natasha's identity, instead saying, "Do you have a phone?"
Gwen took out her phone from her pocket.
"Got it."
"1-646..."
With one hand supporting the weakened Hawk, Gwen dialed the number on the phone with her other hand.
The call quickly connected.
Anna's voice came through from the other end.
"It's An..."
"Have your people bring the car over."
"..."
Anna on the other end was silent for a moment, then quickly responded, "Hold on, Hawk."
Three minutes later.
A black Chevrolet SUV drove up from the end of a nearby path and stopped in front of Hawk and Gwen.
A man in a black suit got out of the car.
"Hawk, first..."
"Keys."
Hawk interrupted the black-suited man's words.
The man paused, then took out the car keys from his pocket and handed them over.
Hawk reached out and accepted the car keys, handing them to Gwen, and with her support, moved towards the Chevrolet SUV.
With Gwen's help, he opened the passenger door, ready to sit inside. Hawk seemed to think of something and turned to the black-suited man standing with hands folded in front, showing a very upright posture: "By the way!"
The black-suited man raised his head to look at Hawk upon hearing.
"Sir?"
"Natasha and Bruce can die, but not today."
"...Understood, sir."
The black-suited man paused and then nodded with a deep response.
Hawk said no more, and with Gwen's help, sat in the passenger seat, leaning against it.
Gwen closed the car door afterward and walked to the driver's side, pausing to thank the black-suited man as she passed by him: "Thank you for the car."
The black-suited man hurriedly said, "You're welcome; it's what we should do."
Gwen looked at the somewhat worried black-suited man, blinked, then smiled and thanked him again before getting into the driver's seat.
"Hawk, you should speak more kindly; they did deliver the car to us."
"Alright."
Leaning in the passenger seat, Hawk felt the unprecedented soreness brought by the strong gamma power healing during the process, and looked sideways at Gwen with a smile: "Then help me get out so I can bow to him?"
Gwen rolled her eyes at Hawk, ignoring him, started the car, turned the Chevrolet SUV around in place, and then drove towards New York City.
"By the way, my car is still there. When they wake up, they won't find us, right?"
"My grudge with the Hulk is settled, but if they want trouble, I don't mind having another encounter."
"That woman in the combat suit seems like she is..."
"Gwen?"
"Hmm."
"Can I rest for a while? I'm very tired."
"...Alright."
With hands folded, the black-suited man watched his Chevrolet SUV depart, then took a phone from his chest and made a call, reporting Hawk and Gwen's departure and what Gwen had said upon leaving.
The voice on the other end of the call was silent for a while.
After a moment.
"Come back; we have a good relationship now; keep it that way."
"Alright, sir, about the car left here..."
"Leave it be, since he didn't mention, either he doesn't care, or has plans, don't interfere."
"Roger."
"..."