Something happened.
A major event occurred once again in New York City.
Well-informed media personnel rushed back to their offices almost immediately from home. By the time daylight broke, brand new headlines were already in the spotlight.
『New York Times: "Military Christmas Night Raid on Civilian Cemetery Sparks Massacre, Calvin Cemetery Turns Slaughterhouse!"』
『Wall Street Journal: "Another Disaster by General Ross, Is the Tragedy at Calvin Cemetery Due to a Failed Hulk Capture?"』
『Global Observer: "Seventy-seven Dead in Horrific Conditions, Helicopter Turns into Fireball, Countless Tombstones Shattered, What Exactly Did the Federation Military Do!"』
What happened at Calvin Cemetery was impossible to hide.
Indeed.
Countless New York City residents woke up to see the headlines of the newspapers, especially those who had buried their deceased relatives in Calvin Cemetery, feeling as if the sky had fallen instantly.
They rushed to Calvin Cemetery as fast as they could.
But…
Calvin Cemetery had already been sealed off by the military assistance dispatched there.
Faced with countless New York citizens shouting that their relatives were in there, wanting to go in, the guards remained unmoved. And upon receiving orders, they chambered bullets and stared intently at the perimeter, ready to open fire without hesitation if any citizen dared to cross the line.
You must be kidding.
If we can't beat last night's monster, can't we at least bully you common folk?
Military-civilian relations?
That doesn't exist in the Federation. Even when disasters strike across the Federation, when the military shows up, it's not to provide relief, but to suppress.
The public was furious, immediately pulling up banners and staring across the perimeter in protest against the soldiers.
The Mayor of New York City was also at his wit's end at this moment.
Taxpayers in Manhattan, upon seeing the news and recalling the loss caused by the military's last unauthorized action, either called the Pentagon if they had connections, or if they had some money, they called the Mayor of New York City.
With just one sentence.
If you can't do the job, get out. They'll get a competent mayor.
The New York City Mayor cursed the military internally thousands of times at this moment.
The military had always been reckless.
But no one expected the military to be so reckless this time.
Turning the cemetery into a battlefield, with countless tombstones reduced to dust, and many more shattered into pieces?
Wow.
Were you executing a mission, or just raving on someone's grave?
With a livid expression, the New York City Mayor immediately held a press conference, pointedly demanding an explanation and an account from the Pentagon for this incident, without any ambiguity or implication.
The Pentagon claimed not to hear, giving no response whatsoever.
Washington was quiet.
Quantico was quiet too.
At least…
On the surface.
But Gwen, who was still on vacation with her family in Long Island, couldn't stay calm upon seeing the news.
Calvin Cemetery?
Last night?
Hawk.
Gwen quickly took out her phone and dialed Hawk's number.
The phone was off.
Gwen's heart skipped a beat, just as the TV in her bedroom started broadcasting last night's incident at Calvin Cemetery by the attractive news anchor.
There was no choice.
News has a time limit. If you don't report it, another station will, and then the ratings go to them.
So, for the sake of ratings and ad revenue, the TV station wasn't heeding any calls from Washington trying to persuade them to play dead, eager to broadcast the exclusive photos and news materials brought back by their savvy reporters, racing against time.
When the anchor displayed a photo of Spider-Man taken at Calvin Cemetery, which had just been purchased for five hundred US Dollars, a name popped into Gwen's mind.
Peter Parker!
Gwen's eyes lit up, and she picked up her phone again, found Peter's number, and called him directly.
This time, the phone was not off and was answered quickly.
"Gwen."
"Peter, was it Hawk last night?"
Gwen got straight to the point: "Did you see where Hawk went?"
Peter on the other end of the line was silent for a moment, then scratched his head: "I just saw the news about Calvin Cemetery too, Hawk was there last night..."
Gwen felt her trigeminal nerve aching.
"Peter!"
"Uh..."
Peter opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment: "Hawk is fine, the battle was over when I arrived."
After subconsciously answering Gwen's question, Peter couldn't help but ask: "Did Hawk tell you my identity?"
After hearing Hawk was safe, Gwen breathed a sigh of relief, then listened to Peter's confused inquiry, speaking with a sardonic tone: "I'm not stupid, with all your changes, plus becoming friends with Hawk, it's not hard to guess you're Spider-Man."
Listening to Gwen's explanation, Peter nodded subconsciously.
"Where's Hawk now? I couldn't reach him by phone."
"I don't know."
"Peter!"
"I really don't know."
Peter quickly explained: "Hawk left too quickly, he just asked if I planned to stop him, I didn't, so I stepped aside, and then he disappeared."
While explaining, Peter curiously asked back: "By the way, Gwen, I thought Hawk went with you to Long Island for vacation. Why was he at Calvin Cemetery last night?"
Hearing this, Gwen thought for a moment and bit her lip.
"Hawk has a sister named Anya, who died in an accident in '09, and was buried in Calvin Cemetery afterward. Every Christmas, Hawk goes there to spend time with his sister."
"She really is your sister."
Peter exclaimed.
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong?"
"When Hawk left, he asked me what I would do if someone ruined Uncle Ben's tombstone."
"Anya's tombstone is damaged?"
Gwen's heart skipped a beat, and her tone involuntarily lifted.
Peter quickly said, "No, no, I saw that tombstone was fine, no damage, it's just..."
Listening to Peter's somewhat stuttering response, Gwen's heart skipped again.
"Just what?"
"Uh..."
Peter recalled the look of the tombstone behind Hawk as he left: "A nearby grave exploded and accidentally affected Anya's grave."
It's over.
After hearing Peter's answer, this was the only thought left in Gwen's mind.
No one understands better than her how much Hawk values his sister Anya.
If Anya hadn't been resurrected, even if she and Hawk were married, on Christmas Day, Hawk would probably choose to spend it with his sister Anya.
No exaggeration.
And right now...
Gwen was in disbelief as she came back to her senses.
"Anya's grave exploded?"
"What, no, no, no."
"Peter!"
"It didn't explode, just the sealed soil was impacted, some was scattered, I didn't see the coffin or anything exposed."
"..."
The sealed soil exploded?
How's that different from a grave explosion?
Gwen's mouth twitched.
At this moment.
Helen's voice sounded outside.
"Gwen!"
"Coming."
Gwen snapped back, loudly responded, then said to Peter on the phone, "If there's news about Hawk, remember to contact me," hurriedly hung up the phone, steadied herself, opened the door and went out. She was walking down the stairs of the vacation villa, asking, "Mom, what's up?"
Before finishing the sentence.
Just as Gwen stepped off the stairs, she saw a familiar face.
Uh-huh.
Very familiar.
Natasha, whom she had knocked unconscious with a stick that day, was now standing at the front door, smiling as she talked to her mom, Helen.
Seeing this, Gwen's heart jumped again.
Helen, looking at Gwen coming downstairs, smiled and said, "Natasha said you lent her the car, she's here to return it."
Natasha followed suit, smiling and greeting Gwen as she walked over.
"Good morning, Gwen."
"...Good morning."
Gwen was silent for a while, responded, then said a few words to her mom before following Natasha, who had come to return the car, out of the house.
She saw.
The yellow Corolla, already repaired and looking brand new, quietly parked at the door.
"Go up and take a look, I didn't damage your car."
"..."
Listening to Natasha's words, Gwen said nothing, opened the driver's door, and sat inside.
Natasha also got into the passenger seat and closed the car door.
Gwen took a deep breath, looking at Natasha.
"Are you here to kill me?"
"What?"
Natasha was first surprised, then laughed and shook her head, "No, no, no, how is that possible, you didn't kill me then, how could I kill you."
Gwen looked at Natasha, "But you guys sent someone to kill Hawk."
Natasha shook her head again, "Last night's attack wasn't us, in fact, if last night's incident hadn't happened, I wouldn't be here to meet you now."
Last night's incident at Calvin Cemetery took all of New York City by surprise.
But it also caught S.H.I.E.L.D off guard.
Maria Hill never expected, while she was still collecting data and pondering how to make the first peaceful contact,
Unexpectedly, the military would bypass everything and directly intervene.
Good heavens.
You supposedly did a pre-war assessment, and you just charged right in?
Darn right.
When Maria Hill learned of this incident, in a blink, it was too late to consider why the military acted so brainlessly, or even bother to think about how they knew about Hawk. Her first thought was to contact Natasha, who had also just returned yesterday from Tennessee without having time to rest, instructing her to immediately drive the repaired yellow Corolla from New York S.H.I.E.L.D to find the only related person they could currently locate.
That would be Gwen.
Natasha looked seriously at Gwen, "Gwen, we now need to know Hawk's location; if this gets out of hand, it won't end well."
…