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A single Phoenix Ray would leave Stark without even ashes to bury.
A single Phoenix Wings Rise would wipe out the current Avengers—everyone except Thor.
Wait... Captain America Steve Rogers had maybe a fifty-fifty shot at surviving too.
Cap was the king of coin-flip odds.
Bottom line, It was never a question of whether Hawk could kill someone. Only whether he wanted to.
...
Pietro kept talking. "I would give my life to become stronger."
"My sister felt the same way. And she wasn't the only one who underwent that experiment. There were over a dozen other women."
"...Hold on!"
Hawk's mind caught up. His brow twitched. He stared at Pietro.
"How many? Say that again?"
"Over a dozen."
"Holy—"
Hawk sucked in a breath.
"You're saying I have—"
"No, you don't."
Pietro seemed to know where Hawk's mind was going. He shook his head. "My sister was the only success. The other test subjects didn't even show pregnancy symptoms."
Hawk exhaled with relief.
Thank God it didn't work.
If Hydra had actually used his blood to produce a whole football team, setting aside whether he'd lose his mind—Gwen would absolutely lose hers.
This was what he got for selling blood back then.
Still—
Hawk's thoughts churned. He looked at Pietro. "Your sister was the only one who succeeded?"
Pietro nodded. "Yeah. I didn't understand the science Strucker was spouting, but basically, he said a powerful bloodline can only be carried by an equally powerful woman."
Hawk's mouth twitched.
"You seem to trust Strucker quite a bit."
"He helped me and my sister when we were at our lowest. You wouldn't understand—I'm sure you've never experienced—"
"My sister died."
"Gah!" Pietro's mouth hung open. He looked at Hawk—who had cut him off with that calm expression—and swallowed his words. "Sorry. I didn't know."
Hawk's expression remained neutral. "Don't be. I've already taken her soul back from Hell."
Pietro's expression froze again. Hearing this, studying Hawk's face, he couldn't tell if Hawk was serious or joking.
But one thing he was certain about.
Pietro refocused, looking at Jean in Hawk's arms. "I have to take Jean back. Otherwise Strucker won't spare my sister—or Billy and Tommy."
Hawk snorted with amusement.
The next second, He caught two familiar names. He looked at Pietro, frowning slightly. He already had an answer in mind, but he asked anyway.
"Who are Billy and Tommy?"
"Jean's twin younger brothers. They're also your blood."
"...Holy shit."
One older daughter. Two younger sons.
Wasn't that exactly Gwen's dream?
What the hell.
Gwen dreams it, Wanda makes it real?
Hawk's thoughts raced. His brow furrowed deeply as he stared at Pietro.
Pietro met his gaze and laid out the whole story.
"Wanda and I volunteered for Strucker's superhuman experiments."
"But Strucker had his eye on Wanda. He wanted her to join the other female test subjects in the artificial gamete pregnancy program. If she agreed, I'd get priority access to the safer version of the power-awakening procedure."
"Wanda agreed."
"Twenty-five women participated. Only Wanda showed any response."
"Ten months later, Jean was born."
"At first, Jean seemed like any normal baby. But everything changed when a woman in a tight suit tried to take Jean from my sister's arms."
"Jean seemed to awaken some kind of powerful ability."
"In Strucker's words—she'd inherited your power."
"So Strucker wanted my sister to do it again."
"But we were voluntary participants. And my sister had awakened her own magic during Jean's birth. So she refused."
"But Strucker offered something we couldn't refuse."
"He could lure Tony Stark to us. Let us take our revenge with our own hands."
"So—"
"My sister agreed."
"Last May, she gave birth to twins."
"Billy and Tommy."
"But—Billy and Tommy don't seem to have shown anything special."
Hawk listened to Pietro's account. His expression didn't change.
But internally—
He knew exactly why Billy and Tommy hadn't inherited his power like Jean had.
The reason was simple.
After returning from London, Hawk had proposed to Gwen. Part of his vows had gone like this:
"Everything I am will belong only to you."
"I share everything with you—without reservation."
"Past."
"Present."
"Future."
"And our bloodline descendants will inherit everything we possess."
That was how Hawk had proposed.
Sounded simple enough.
And he'd meant every word.
Everyone knew, When a God spoke with solemn intent, it wasn't just speech—it was divine decree.
Hawk possessed Phoenix Divinity.
So his proposal to Gwen wasn't empty words. At minimum, his Phoenix Universe didn't treat it that way.
In simple terms.
Only children conceived with Gwen had the right—and only children conceived with Gwen could inherit his name, his power, and his energy.
So—
The fact that Billy and Tommy—as Pietro described them—hadn't inherited his energy was completely normal.
If they had inherited it, something would be very wrong.
But Jean was different.
Jean had been born before he'd proposed to Gwen. So from a certain perspective, the three-and-a-half-year-old girl with the soft red hair in his arms had slipped through a loophole.
Hawk thought this through. He glanced at Jean—whose small hand clutched his shirt—then looked back at Pietro.
"Where's Strucker?"
"I don't know."
"Heh."
Hawk heard Pietro's answer and laughed.
"You don't know?"
"I really don't."
Pietro shook his head. He pulled a satellite phone from his pocket. "When I woke up, I was in Paris. Then Strucker called. Told me I had to bring Jean back, or he'd kill Billy and Tommy—maybe even my sister."
Hawk's gaze fell on the satellite phone in Pietro's hand.
"Then what?"
"Return to Paris. He said he'd know. He'd tell us how to get back."
"Paris..." Hawk chuckled softly. "Return to Paris—and you ran to Texas?"
Pietro shrugged. "You were chasing me. I wasn't about to lead you to Paris. What if Strucker killed my sister?"
Hawk glanced at Pietro.
"You know what Strucker's planning, don't you?"
"I do now." Pietro met Hawk's gaze. "Strucker intends to use Jean, Billy, and Tommy as leverage against you."
Hawk nodded.
"Exactly. Since you already know—do you really think you can take Jean back?"
"Yes."
"...Reasoning?"
"If you keep Jean, my sister and Billy and Tommy are in danger. I have to take Jean back."
"That's your reason. Not mine."
"It's yours too." Pietro took a deep breath. He looked at Hawk. "If you keep Jean, it proves you care about her. And if you care about bloodline, then Billy and Tommy—still with Strucker—are in even more danger. So you have to let Jean come back with me."
Hawk listened to Pietro's logic. He watched the anxiety on Pietro's face and smiled.
"You're different from what I expected."
"...You've seen me before?"
"In a way." Hawk said this casually.
Marvel's Quicksilver had died the moment he'd appeared. Barely any lines. An embarrassingly casual death.
Imagine—a man faster than sound, killed by a bullet.
So there wasn't much footage of Marvel's Quicksilver. The X-Men version had way more screen time.
But that one was too edgy for his taste.
The Pietro standing before him matched the Marvel version better—and that suited Hawk just fine.
So—
Hawk smiled.
"I have a better idea."
"What?"
Pietro saw Hawk's smile and frowned. "You're planning to follow me? That won't work. If Strucker finds out—"
Hawk shook his head.
"No. I'm not following you. Because you're not going back either."
"Wha—"
WHAM!
Pietro's expression shifted—but before he could react, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed gracefully to the ground.
Hawk chuckled. One arm cradled Jean. The other grabbed the unconscious Pietro. In the instant he looked up, he'd already risen miles into the sky. Then—BOOM—his speed became a rainbow streak, shooting back toward New York.
What a joke... If he'd let Pietro take Jean back, that would prove he actually cared.
Most importantly, There was an old saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
You're already here. You think I'm letting you leave?
If Strucker had the balls to kill Wanda, her soul would enter the Underworld. Then Hawk wouldn't even need to search—he'd pinpoint Strucker's location instantly.
And when that happened...
You just wait, Strucker.
...
S.H.I.E.L.D. New York.
When Sharon led Gwen from the main hall back to her office, she found Hawk had already returned with the red-haired girl. A bearded man in a silver suit lay face-down on the floor.
"This is the intruder?"
"Yeah. Pietro. Codename Quicksilver."
Hawk nodded.
Sharon studied Pietro for a few seconds, then looked back at Hawk.
But just as she was about to speak, Iron Man Tony Stark's voice crackled through her earpiece.
Sharon looked up at Hawk.
"Tony's team found something."
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