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Five days later.
Midtown School of Science and Technology.
The physics teacher was lecturing at the front of the classroom.
Down below, Hawk sat in his usual seat by the window, jotting down a few words in his notebook.
Orichalcum.
Gammanium.
And Stardust Sand.
Individually, these names meant nothing to most people. But together, they meant only one thing.
Saint Armor.
The combat gear of the Saints. When worn, it allowed a Saint to connect with their guardian constellation, dramatically amplifying their power.
And to forge a Saint Armor, these three materials were essential.
The good news:
Since he was the only person in this universe with a Cosmo, he wouldn't have to literally forge the armor himself. He just needed to find the three materials, and his guardian constellation would automatically refine them into his own unique Saint Armor.
The bad news:
Who the hell was going to tell him how to find materials from the Saint Seiya universe inside the Marvel Universe?
Hawk felt a headache coming on.
Fortunately, he still had time. He hadn't even ignited a single guardian constellation yet, so the need for an armor wasn't urgent.
But...
It was always better to be prepared.
Rather than waiting until he'd awakened a constellation to start searching, he might as well start planning now.
So.
Hawk looked at the word 'Orichalcum' in his notebook. After a moment of thought, he wrote another word next to it.
Vibranium?
Orichalcum, one of the three core components of a Saint Armor, was a legendary alloy from ancient Greek mythology, said to be capable of resisting any normal impact.
Coincidentally.
Vibranium was a legendary alloy in the Marvel Universe—in fact, it was the top-tier alloy.
And Vibranium also possessed the property of absorbing and negating kinetic energy indefinitely.
Captain America's shield was forged from it.
One of a kind.
Unparalleled in the world.
As a metal that existed only in whispers and legends, Vibranium was something money couldn't buy.
But...
Hawk knew of a place in the world where Vibranium was abundant. A place with reserves so vast, it would probably be enough to forge all forty-eight Bronze, twenty-four Silver, and twelve Gold Armors, with plenty left over.
That's right.
He was talking about Wakanda—the nation that was still isolationist in the 21st century, all while pretending to be a starving third-world country to get relief aid from the UN.
If Vibranium really could be a substitute for Orichalcum...
Then—
Hawk had to have it.
What's that? Wakanda won't give it to him?
Heh.
My need for Vibranium has nothing to do with you.
He wasn't a warmonger, but if anyone stood in the way of him getting stronger, that was a fundamental conflict.
And in a conflict like that...
There was no backing down.
With that thought, Hawk's eyes moved to 'Stardust Sand' in his notebook. He paused, then wrote the word 'Meteorite' next to it.
Stardust Sand.
The name was self-explanatory: sand ground from the stars of the galaxy.
Meteorites were, quite literally, fallen stars.
If he could find a meteorite, he could use the energy from his burning Cosmo to crush it into Stardust Sand.
But...
Gammanium.
What the hell was this stuff?
If Orichalcum provided the armor's metallic properties and Stardust Sand granted it the ability to self-repair, then Gammanium was the catalyst—the agent that fused the other two materials and, most importantly, imbued the armor with a life of its own.
In a word.
Orichalcum and Stardust Sand weren't the true key to forging a Saint Armor.
Gammanium was.
Without it, an armor made from the other two would be nothing more than an inert, lifeless shell. Only with Gammanium could it become a true, living battle suit for a Saint.
But.
Hawk's brow furrowed. After a moment of deep thought, he wrote 'Gamma Radiation' next to the word, then drew a small question mark.
Based on its ability to grant life to the armor, and the obvious 'Gamma' in its name, it seemed almost certain to be related to the mother of the Hulk—gamma radiation.
The Hulk was born when Bruce Banner was exposed to a massive dose of gamma rays.
From a biological standpoint, gamma radiation was the Hulk's mother.
Of course.
If Bruce Banner had been a woman, then it could have been the Hulk's father.
The point was, even if gamma radiation wasn't Gammanium itself, there was almost certainly a crucial connection between the two.
Hawk closed his eyes, the tip of his pen tapping unconsciously on the notebook as he thought.
Just then.
He felt a nudge.
Hawk opened his eyes and looked at Gwen, who had just nudged him with her elbow.
"Mr. Anderson is calling on you."
"..."
Hawk blinked, then looked up toward the front of the class.
Mr. Anderson, his hair starting to gray at the temples, smiled as Hawk met his gaze. "Hawk, would you care to answer the question for us?"
Great. Busted for daydreaming.
But—
Hawk stood up from his seat, and after only a moment of thought, he gave a perfect answer to Mr. Anderson's question.
Now it was Mr. Anderson's turn to be stunned.
However, since Hawk's answer was correct, the teacher just gave him a look that said, 'You got lucky this time,' and told him to sit down.
Hawk said a quick "thank you" and took his seat.
Just as he was about to dive back into the puzzle of 'Gammanium' and 'Gamma Radiation,' a small, folded piece of paper was slid onto his desk.
Hawk unfolded it and read the note.
In neat, cursive handwriting, it said:
"Is your court hearing for your emancipation petition confirmed?"
"...It is. This afternoon."
Hawk thought for a second, then wrote his reply below her question and slid the note back.
Since his apartment had been demolished by aliens, a new placement in the foster care system had yet to be arranged.
But Hawk figured he'd never get one anyway.
The New York City bureaucracy was notoriously slow, and he wasn't the only orphan who had been displaced. He estimated that by the time his name came up, it would be next year.
And next year, he'd be eighteen.
So.
Hawk had been spending his time looking for a cheap apartment to rent.
He couldn't keep living like a refugee, crammed into a smelly hangar with hundreds of other people. Not to mention, he was constantly worried that one of the people who'd lost everything would snap.
He had to move out next year anyway. He might as well just do it now.
But since he was still a minor, legally, no one would rent to him.
That was why he had been taking the afternoons off to go to the Queens Family Court and file a petition for early emancipation.
And since he'd been leaving early, Gwen knew why.
It wasn't that Hawk had told her.
He wasn't that sociable.
Simply put:
Hawk was a student.
Gwen was the student aide.
And she was the student aide for his grade.
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