The next morning, Hawk felt the world shift around him. He pulled his consciousness back from his Cosmo, slowly opened his eyes, and saw Gwen, her head resting on his chest.
"Morning,"
"Morning,"
Seeing that he was awake, Gwen leaned down and kissed his forehead, then climbed off him. "Come on, get up. I brought you breakfast."
Hawk nodded.
Today was the day their two couples were heading to London.
Everyone was excited.
Their flight wasn't until noon, but by a unanimous vote—mostly from Gwen and Mary Jane—they had decided to head to the airport early, just in case they hit traffic.
Hawk and Peter, of course, had no say in the matter.
After a quick shower, Hawk got dressed and went downstairs. The first thing he saw was the breakfast Gwen had laid out on the kitchen table.
Gwen was standing in front of the fireplace in the living room, looking at it with a curious expression.
"Hawk, did you do something to the fireplace last night?"
"What?" Hawk, who had just taken a sip of the coffee she'd brought, looked over at her. "What about it?"
Gwen turned and walked toward the kitchen. "It just feels... different than yesterday."
Hawk glanced past her shoulder at the fireplace.
"Does it?"
"Maybe I'm just seeing things."
Gwen shrugged, dismissing the thought. "Come on, eat up. MJ just texted. She and Peter are already on their way to the airport."
Hawk didn't say anything. He just downed the rest of his coffee, devoured the two pancakes she'd brought, and then clapped his hands together, heading for the garage.
Gwen stared, her mouth agape, then hurried after him.
"Do you have your luggage?"
"It's in the car."
"Right."
Gwen got into the passenger seat, pulled out her phone to text Mary Jane back, and then looked at the slowly opening garage door. "Go, go, go!"
Hawk just smiled and hit the gas.
...
At noon.
The international flight from JFK to London Heathrow was on time. After a smooth taxi and takeoff, they were in the air.
It was a full flight, so they hadn't been able to get seats together.
Peter and Mary Jane were on the upper deck.
Hawk and Gwen were in a two-seat row by the window on the main deck.
As soon as they reached cruising altitude, Gwen pulled on her sleep mask. "Wake me when we get there."
It was a seven-hour flight. She wasn't about to spend the whole time staring at the back of a seat.
Sitting next to her, Hawk looked out the window at the scenery below and couldn't help but think of his last two trips.
The first time, he'd been robbed the second he'd stepped out of the airport.
The second time, he'd been stranded by a military coup.
He'd had an accident before the flight, and an accident after the flight.
What about this time?
It couldn't possibly be an accident during the flight, could it?
Hawk thought to himself.
Bad things come in threes. If something really did happen this time, it could only mean one thing.
He was never meant to leave New York City...
Fortunately...
Seven and a half hours later, they landed smoothly at Heathrow. No turbulence, no engine failures, no drama.
Hawk let out a breath of relief.
Okay. Maybe I was just being paranoid.
The next second, the cabin door opened, and a line of stern-faced London police officers boarded the plane and headed straight for the upper deck.
Half an hour later, they learned that a group of five terrorists, who had been planning to hijack the plane to demand the release of their comrades, had been thwarted by the heroic efforts of Mr. Peter Parker and Ms. Mary Jane Watson.
The moment the flight attendant made the announcement, the entire cabin erupted in applause.
Peter just blushed and smiled shyly.
Mary Jane, on the other hand, looked incredibly proud.
Gwen, who had just woken up, was completely stunned.
Hawk was silent.
Okay. It was official. He was never leaving New York City again.
No, wait...
Maybe he could. He just had to bring Peter with him. As long as he didn't have to be the one to deal with the inevitable disaster, it didn't count, right?
It was a flimsy excuse, but it was the best he could do.
...
Because of the incident, they had to spend a few hours at the airport police station giving statements. By the time they were finally released, it was one in the morning, London time.
The police, as an apology for the inconvenience, had arranged for a car to take them to their hotel near the Tower of London.
The hotel was in a prime location, close to both the Tower and London Bridge.
The night in London wasn't much different from a night in New York.
He and Gwen checked in and got their room key. After some intimate time together, Gwen—who had slept through most of the flight—was out cold again.
Hawk watched her for a moment, then gently pulled the covers over her. He grabbed his phone and opened the email Anna had sent him while they were at the police station.
A boarding pass appeared on the screen.
Erik Selvig.
He had just flown into London as well.
The same Dr. Selvig from the first Thor movie—the astrophysicist who, in The Avengers, had been mind-controlled by Loki into opening the portal for the Chitauri.
Hawk looked at the boarding pass from Anna and smiled.
It seemed he had come to London at just the right time.
If Dr. Selvig was here...
Then Dr. Jane Foster wouldn't be far behind.
And the Reality Stone...
Was almost within reach.
Hawk's mood brightened. He turned off his phone, looked at Gwen's peaceful, sleeping face, and then turned off the lights, pulling her into his arms as he drifted off to sleep.
...
The next morning at the hotel's breakfast buffet, a glowing Mary Jane was breathlessly recounting the story of the five hijackers to an equally bright-eyed Gwen, waving her hands around dramatically as she talked.
How Peter had spotted them, how he had secretly alerted the air marshal, and how the three of them had taken the five terrorists down one by one.
Mary Jane wasn't just a good dancer, she was a great storyteller.
Gwen was completely captivated by her vivid, immersive tale.
Hawk listened too.
He had already made up his mind. He was never leaving New York again unless it was absolutely necessary. And if he did, he was bringing Peter with him as a disaster shield.
After breakfast, their London tour officially began.
For five straight days, they toured the city.
The London Eye and Big Ben.
Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey.
Gwen and Mary Jane were having the time of their lives.
Hawk, the Marvel Universe's only Saint, and Peter, its only Spider-Man, both had superhuman stamina. But even Peter was starting to feel worn down after a few days of nonstop tourist activities.
Hawk was holding up fine.
So after some not-so-subtle hints from the guys, Gwen and Mary Jane finally called today a rest day.
They were at the OXO Tower Restaurant, a chic spot on the South Bank of the Thames, with a stunning view of St. Paul's Cathedral.
The four of them were sitting at a window table, eating and talking.
Gwen and Mary Jane were taking pictures of the cathedral with their phones, capturing the beautiful moment.
Hawk and Peter were talking quietly.
But...
When a woman who looked remarkably like Natalie Portman walked in, Hawk's attention was immediately drawn to her.
Jane Foster.
The earthly girlfriend of Thor, Son of Odin, Prince of Asgard.
Finally.
Hawk's eyes lit up.
Gwen, who had been talking to Mary Jane, seemed to sense something. She glanced in the direction Hawk was looking and saw Jane Foster, who was now sitting down across from a man.
Hawk instinctively looked at Gwen.
She looked back at him.
Gwen just smiled faintly, then turned back to her conversation with Mary Jane.
A little while later, Jane's friend and assistant, Darcy Lewis, bustled in, said a few words, and then left.
Soon after, Jane, who was clearly on a date and trying to move on from Thor, apologized to the man she was with and stood up to leave as well.
Hawk looked at Gwen.
But before he could even speak, Gwen said, "Go."
"Uh..."
"Should we wait for you?"
"Probably not."
"Okay." Gwen smiled. "Then we'll wait for you at the hotel."
Hawk opened his mouth, then closed it. He changed his mind. A slow smile spread across his face. "Come with me."
Gwen's eyebrow arched.
Hawk stood and held out his hand to her.
A brilliant smile spread across Gwen's face, and she placed her hand in his.
Across the table, Mary Jane was speechless. She watched them stand up to leave, completely bewildered.
--
After leaving the restaurant, Hawk and Gwen hailed a cab.
He got in, tapped the driver on the shoulder, and pointed to the red sedan that was just pulling away from the curb. He then pulled two £50 notes from his pocket and held them out.
"Follow that car."
"You got it."
The driver's eyes lit up at the sight of the two crisp bills. He pocketed the cash, shifted into gear, and hit the gas in one smooth motion.
The taxi shot forward, falling in line behind the red sedan carrying Jane Foster.
In the back seat, Gwen nudged Hawk's shoulder. When he looked at her, she whispered, "What are we doing?"
"That's the key to Hell."
Hawk said with a small, knowing smile.
It was just as he'd always said.
If he wanted to get to Hell, if he wanted to get his sister's soul back from Mephisto, he couldn't just ask nicely. He had to fight for it.
And at his current power level, going to Hell to fight Mephisto was suicide.
After all, even Mephisto had figured it out. His Cosmo wasn't native to this universe—it had to be channeled through the Phoenix constellation before reaching Earth. At best, he could only tap into seventy or eighty percent of his real power.
It was enough for the small fry.
But against a being like Mephisto, it was nothing.
In that sense, Hawk wasn't wrong when he called the Reality Stone the key to Hell.
Only the Reality Stone could make his Cosmo a permanent part of this universe's fabric. Only then would he have the power to face Mephisto as an equal. Because the moment his Cosmo became real, he'd reach the level of a Gold Saint.
And a Gold Saint versus Mephisto??
Now that's a fight!!
...
Half an hour later, the red sedan pulled into a container yard and stopped.
The taxi driver pulled over as well.
Hawk and Gwen got out.
Gwen immediately pointed to a shipping container that was standing on its end, with another one balanced precariously on top of it.
"Hawk, look."
"I see it."
Hawk nodded, then his gaze shifted to Jane Foster, who was getting out of her car along with her assistant Darcy Lewis and Darcy's intern, Ian.
Jane and Darcy saw them at the same time.
Darcy looked at them, then back at Jane. "Are they… following us?"
Jane didn't answer.
Because Hawk and Gwen were already walking toward them.
Hawk smiled at the God of Thunder's girlfriend and extended his hand. "Dr. Foster, hello."
Jane frowned, but she shook his hand.
"Do I know you?"
"Hawk."
His gaze shifted to a dilapidated, abandoned building in the distance. "I have something of mine in there. I'm here to get it back."
With that, he gave Jane a polite nod, then turned to Gwen. "Let's go."
Gwen nodded.
Hawk took her hand and led her toward the abandoned building.
He no longer needed Jane Foster to lead the way.
Because his Sixth Sense was screaming at him. The thing he was looking for was inside that building—
Jane Foster watched them go, stunned. She looked at Darcy.
"Remind me again. What's in there?"
"An Infinity Stone."
...
As they walked, Gwen, having just learned their purpose here, looked at Hawk in confusion. "What's that?"
Hawk explained as they walked.
"There are two stories about where the Infinity Stones came from."
"The first is that they were formed from the remains of a primordial cosmic being named Nemesis."
"But let's set that one aside for now."
"The second, more widely accepted theory is that before the universe existed, there were six singularities. When the Big Bang happened, the remnants of these singularities formed into six gems, each one controlling a fundamental force of existence."
"The Space Stone, which can manipulate, warp, and even reorder space itself."
"The Mind Stone, which can control minds, enhance psychic abilities, and project energy beams."
"The Reality Stone, which can warp reality and restructure matter."
"The Power Stone, which contains infinite power and energy."
"The Time Stone, which controls all of time."
"The Soul Stone, which can manipulate the souls of the living and the dead."
Hawk gave her the condensed version, then added, "You've seen one of them before."
Gwen, who was still trying to process whether he was telling her a bedtime story or not, looked at him, confused.
"I have?"
"The Tesseract."
Hawk shrugged. "It's in your history books. Captain America recovered it from HYDRA in the 1940s. Last year, the wormhole over New York City was opened by the Tesseract. The Tesseract is the Space Stone."
Gwen understood, then shook her head. "Wait, but the Tesseract isn't a gem. It's a cube."
Hawk smiled. "The cube is just a container. A box to hold the stone."
Gwen nodded, understanding dawning on her face.
"So, the one we're here for is…"
"The Reality Stone."
Hawk said, his eyes on the abandoned building. He heard a shout from inside and pulled Gwen through the doorway.
His original plan had been to come alone.
But Gwen had been so understanding. That had made him change his mind.
They stepped inside and followed the voices. Then they saw it. A young boy stood on the staircase, dropping a beer bottle into the stairwell. But instead of hitting the ground and shattering, the bottle would fall halfway before vanishing, only to reappear at the top and start its descent all over again.
Over and over.
In that moment, a perpetual motion machine had become a reality.
Gwen's eyes went wide.
"What the…"
"Hiss." Jane Foster, who had just come in behind them, let out a sharp gasp.
"Now do you see why I called you?" Darcy said.
Jane didn't answer. She pulled out a handheld sensor and started walking toward the stairs.
Hawk smiled at Gwen.
"Hold on tight."
"What?"
He didn't answer, just pulled her into his arms.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, Hawk swept past Jane, Darcy, and the three kids still messing around with the bottle, carrying Gwen in his arms. His senses were fully extended, tracking the bizarre, otherworldly energy ripples through the air to a fourth-floor hallway.
When he set her down, Gwen stumbled, pressing a hand to her forehead.
"Hawk."
"Yeah?"
"Don't ever do that again."
She fought back a wave of nausea, her expression dead serious. "Unless it's an emergency, you are not allowed to do that."
Hawk readily accepted her terms. "Alright. You stay here."
He looked down the hallway, toward the source of the energy fluctuations. He decided it was better if she didn't come any further.
The Infinity Stones were infinitely powerful, but they also had infinitely powerful side effects.
They weren't something a normal person should get close to.
But just as he was about to go on alone, his Sixth Sense flared. He looked back and saw Jane Foster, who had just come up the stairs.
Hawk spoke first. "You're going in, Dr. Foster?"
"..."
Jane looked at the readings on her device, then at Hawk's face. "Are you going to try and stop me?"
Hawk just smiled, then stepped aside and made a sweeping, "after you" gesture.
His Sixth Sense had just triggered a memory. In the original story, it wasn't really that Jane Foster had discovered the Reality Stone—the Reality Stone had found her.
The stone was right there. He had only one chance at this. To be safe, he decided to let Jane take the lead.
Jane, however, hesitated.
As the old saying goes, beware of Greeks bearing gifts. An act of unsolicited kindness is almost always a trap.
Hawk saw her hesitation and chuckled. He leaned in and whispered in Gwen's ear, "If I suddenly disappear, don't worry. I'll be back in about six hours."
Gwen's eyes widened.
Hawk gave her a quick kiss, then glanced at Jane and started walking down the hallway.
Jane, seeing the kiss, thought of her own absentee God-boyfriend, and a flash of envy crossed her face. She gritted her teeth and followed him.
Gwen watched them go, a worried expression on her face.
As Hawk walked down the abandoned hallway, he could feel the strange energy fluctuations around him intensifying.
But then, suddenly, they began to recede.
Then, as Jane walked past him, as if to prove she wasn't afraid—the energy surged into a raging, chaotic storm.
The space around them began to twist and warp.
The next second, a singularity appeared, and reality collapsed in an instant. Jane—and Hawk, who had grabbed her shoulder at the last possible moment, vanished.
Gwen stared, her eyes wide, Hawk's last words echoing in her ears.
"Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
"..."
--
A dead-silent realm of absolute darkness.
Suddenly, a crimson dimension tore through the void—a space that seemed to writhe with a life of its own, pulsing like a river of blood.
Jane Foster, who had been yanked inside without warning, was just as abruptly thrown forward, stumbling blindly into the unknown.
Right in front of her was a bottomless cliff.
Terror flared in Jane's eyes.
The next second, a hand clamped down on her shoulder, stopping her cold just as her foot stepped out over the edge.
"Careful."
"..."
Jane spun around, her eyes wide with fear as she saw Hawk. She instinctively scrambled backward.
And then, with a terrified shriek, her right foot found only empty air. Hawk shot his hand out again, grabbing her arm and hauling her back from the abyss a second time.
Hawk was speechless. "Again, be careful. I've saved you twice. I'm not doing it a third time."
Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a choice. If Jane Foster tried for a hat-trick, he was letting her fall. He couldn't save someone who was determined to die.
With that, Hawk turned away from her, his attention focused on their new surroundings. He followed a narrow stone path to a large, open platform.
The platform seemed to exist in a state of zero gravity.
Countless massive, shattered black monoliths floated in the void, hanging upside down in every direction.
But the thing that truly captured Hawk's attention was in the distance: the shattered remains of a colossal, inverted Gothic cathedral.
The ruin itself wasn't the focus.
It was the black, geometric device suspended at the cathedral's base, radiating an aura of profound, ancient malice.
Within the device, a viscous, blood-like liquid swirled and pulsed.
The Reality Stone.
Also known as—
The Aether.
Of the six Infinity Stones, five were solid gems. Only the Reality Stone existed in this strange, fluid state.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was that the Reality Stone was the Aether, and the Aether was the Reality Stone.
That was enough.
Hawk's eyes locked onto the prize and started walking toward it.
CRACKLE!
Arcs of raw energy began to writhe across the surface of the strange device. A thick, writhing tendril of lightning shot out, aimed directly at Hawk.
He raised an eyebrow, and his figure blurred, vanishing from the spot.
BOOOOM!!!
The lightning bolt tore through the afterimage he'd left behind and slammed into a massive stone monolith, which instantly disintegrated into fine dust. Not a single pebble remained.
The device was now alive with a storm of silver serpents, arcs of electricity dancing wildly across its surface.
In an instant, the entire sealed dimension was illuminated by the strobing, silver light. The storm of energy gathered itself into a torrential downpour and unleashed hell, blanketing the area where Hawk stood.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
What the hell is going on?
Hawk weaved through the air, dodging the bolts of energy that his instincts screamed would do serious damage.
This didn't happen to Jane Foster in the movie...
His mind raced. He thought for a moment, then, after dodging another volley, he retreated to his original position near Jane.
As he moved back, the storm of lightning subsided, the arcs of energy receding back into the geometric device.
Knew it.
It was just as he'd thought.
It wasn't that Jane Foster had found the Aether. It was that the Aether had found her.
The reason was simple.
The Aether needed Jane to escape its prison.
And why only Jane?
Because she was Thor's girlfriend. She carried the scent of Asgard, the scent of Odin's bloodline.
Long ago, when Thor's grandfather, Bor, was the All-Father of Asgard, the Aether had been in the hands of the Dark Elves.
Bor had defeated them and taken the Aether, intending to destroy it.
But…
If an Infinity Stone could be destroyed, it wouldn't be called an Infinity Stone.
So Bor had settled for the next best thing. He had built this device to seal it away for eternity. And since the device was built by Thor's grandfather, its targeting system was… selective.
Jane Foster was the girlfriend of Bor's grandson.
From a certain point of view, if Thor had his way, she would one day be the Queen of Asgard. So, the device recognized her as an ally.
As for everyone else??
Kill them.
Right now, there was no way for him to get near the device. This thing was built by the All-Father of Asgard in his prime. Hawk needed the Aether, Bor had sealed it. The difference in their power levels was laughable.
Hawk stared at the now-calm device, his mind racing.
Just then, Jane's voice cut through the silence.
"Who are you?"
"Where are we?"
She had finally recovered from the initial shock, her eyes now fixed on the strange, crackling device that hummed with a power she vaguely recognized. She looked at Hawk.
She had been terrified at first, but now, she was calm. It was clear that this man meant her no harm.
After all, based on the speed he'd just displayed, if he had wanted to hurt her, she would already be dead.
Hawk heard her voice and glanced at her, then his gaze returned to the sealing device.
"Hello?" Jane frowned.
"Hold on. I'm thinking about whether I should tell you the truth, or just make something up."
"..."
A muscle in Jane's jaw twitched.
Hawk turned to face her.
Jane looked from his deadpan face to the bizarre, silent landscape around them and took a deep breath. "Where are we?"
Hawk shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Is that the lie?"
"No, that's the truth."
He shook his head again. "My best guess is that we're in one of the Nine Realms. Svartalfheim."
He was trying to remember the movie.
It seemed that after Bor had captured the Aether, he had sealed it away in Svartalfheim.
But he wasn't sure.
This was reality, not a movie. Svartalfheim was the home of the Dark Elves. Logically, it made no sense to imprison the very thing you had just taken from them on their own planet.
That didn't make any sense.
Jane's eyes widened. "The Dark Elves?"
Hawk turned to her, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I almost forgot. Thor gave you the beginner's course on the Nine Realms when he was on Earth."
At the mention of Thor's name, Jane's expression became animated.
"You know Thor?"
"Nope."
"..."
Jane's face froze. She closed her eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, and fought back the urge to scream a string of curses at him.
This place was too strange.
And while she didn't think this man was a threat…
What if he was?
Hawk just chuckled. "That's also the truth. I know of Thor. But I've never met him."
Jane composed herself and opened her eyes. She said nothing, her gaze following his to the geometric device, which still hummed with the familiar energy of Thor's lightning.
She saw the swirling, malevolent liquid inside it, the thing that looked like living, viscous blood.
She looked back at Hawk. "You want the thing inside that device, don't you?"
Again, she wasn't an idiot. You don't get a Ph.D. in astrophysics by being slow on the uptake.
Hawk didn't look at her. His eyes were fixed on the Aether. He nodded.
"I do. But with Bor's seal on it, I can't get to it."
"Bor?"
"Thor's grandfather."
"..." Jane drew in a sharp breath. Her eyes darted back to the device. "You're saying Thor's grandfather built that thing? No wonder the lightning felt so familiar."
Hawk said nothing.
Jane frowned again. "So… you want this thing, and I don't. Can you please send me back now?"
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I followed you to get in here." Hawk laughed and finally looked at her. "You didn't think I was the one who brought you here, did you?"
Jane's brow furrowed.
"Then…"
"Look—" Hawk pointed at the sealed Aether. "That thing dragged you in. It wants you to help it escape. And I want to get my hands on it. So, the truth is, I'm only here because of you."
"Me?"
Jane pointed at herself.
"Why?"
"Because you're Thor's girlfriend."
Hawk shrugged. "You're the only one who can get close to that thing without being vaporized. Because his grandfather built it."
Jane thought back to the storm of lightning that had just been unleashed on Hawk. A corner of her mouth twitched.
"Are you serious?"
"Don't believe me? Go on. Try it yourself."
"Fine, I will."
"..."
--
Jane said the words. But she didn't move. She was rooted to the spot, as if her feet had been glued to the floor.
Hawk saw this and couldn't help but laugh.
"Scared?"
"No."
Jane shook her head. She looked from the sealed Aether back to Hawk. "You said this was sealed away by Thor's grandfather, Bor?"
"I did."
"And he sealed it away because it was dangerous, right?"
"...Yes."
"Then there's no way I'm going near it..." Jane threw her hands up, her expression resolute. "You want me to help you unleash something that dangerous? Not a chance!"
Hawk just raised an eyebrow.
Jane's expression was firm, the look she was giving him no different from the way one would look at a villain, as if she were prepared to die for her principles.
If she didn't know the truth, it would be one thing. But now that she knew this was some kind of superweapon that even the All-Father of Asgard had feared, she wasn't about to let it out.
Jane paused, her gaze still locked with his. "But thank you for being honest with me. You could have lied, but you didn't."
"Don't mention it." Hawk smiled faintly and said nothing more, his attention returning to the Aether.
A man has to have a code. He could have lied. He could have manipulated her into doing exactly what he wanted.
But… Deception, like killing, is a line you only cross once. After that, there's no going back.
If he started using underhanded tactics now, he'd eventually become an underhanded person.
As they both fell silent, the chamber was once again plunged into a dead stillness.
Jane looked at Hawk, who was standing as still as a statue. She opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it and closed it again.
After a few more moments of silence, she couldn't stand it anymore.
"Look…"
"That thing brought you in here. If we don't let it out, we're not getting back." Hawk, who had been waiting for her to break down, cut her off. "That's our only option, for now."
"For now?" Jane caught the key word.
"Yep."
Hawk nodded. "If you don't want to do that, we can wait. We can wait until I'm strong enough to just brute-force my way through All-Father Bor's seal and take it myself. Then we can leave."
The seal was powerful, no doubt.
But…
Bor was long dead. And this seal had been here for millennia. The divine lightning that powered it had weakened over time.
Honestly, Hawk could probably break through it now if he went all out—Phoenix Armor and all.
But he would be injured.
Badly.
He hadn't even mastered the Sixth Sense yet. His Cosmo was barely at the level of a rookie Silver Saint.
And even if he did manage to get the Aether, it would be useless.
The Infinity Stones were powerful, but they came with a price.
The Reality Stone, in particular, was a parasite. It fed on the life force of its wielder. If you were weak, it would drain you dry in an instant.
If he was seriously injured when he took it, the Aether would consume him before he could even begin to use it to manifest his Cosmo in reality.
But if he could fully awaken his Sixth Sense, it would be a different story.
He was confident that, with the power of the Sixth Sense, he could break the seal without a scratch.
"And how long would that take?" Jane frowned.
"Ten months." Hawk said it casually.
He had no idea how long it would take to master the Sixth Sense. It was a matter of inspiration. Just like when he had fought the Demon Hulk. A flash of inspiration in the heat of battle had allowed him to crack open a corner of the door to the Sixth Sense and learn to fly.
"HOW LONG??" Jane looked like she was about to snap.
"Ten months. Maybe longer. Who knows."
Hawk glanced at her wide, disbelieving eyes and smiled. "Are you in a hurry?"
Jane was speechless.
"Aren't you?"
"Nope."
Hawk shook his head, his gaze returning to the sealed Aether. "This is what I came for. I'm not leaving without it."
Jane fell silent.
After a long moment, she looked at the Aether, took a deep breath, and then, slowly, took a single step forward.
Hawk, who had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, smiled to himself.
This was the other reason he hadn't lied.
He didn't need to.
There was only one way out.
So, instead of manipulating her, he had just told her the truth and let her make the choice herself.
As long as he wasn't in a hurry, the pressure was all on her.
And now, she had cracked.
After all, he could afford to wait ten months.
She couldn't.
Jane slowly walked over to Hawk's side, stopping just at the edge of the seal's effective range. She looked at him again. "Are you sure this thing won't attack me?"
Hawk's voice was calm. "I haven't lied to you yet. This is just my theory."
A flash of anger crossed her face.
Hawk immediately added, "But you can try. If it does attack you, I promise I can get you out."
Jane's jaw tightened. She took another deep breath, then, without looking at him, she faced the seal, squared her shoulders, and took a single, deliberate step forward.
The next second, nothing happened.
Jane blinked, then a look of relief washed over her. She took two more steps.
Still nothing.
The seal was completely inert.
Even though he had expected it, Hawk couldn't help but feel a flicker of surprise.
Jane, realizing the seal wouldn't harm her, quickly walked right up to it.
The moment she got close, the Aether inside began to stir.
She watched as the swirling, red energy began to slam against the inside of its prison, and took a step back, startled. She didn't dare get any closer. She turned to Hawk. "How dangerous is this thing?"
"Depends on who's using it." His voice was even.
"What do you mean?"
"It used to belong to the Dark Elves. They tried to use it to plunge all Nine Realms into eternal darkness. That's why All-Father Bor defeated them and sealed it away."
"And you?"
Jane's brow furrowed. "If you get it, what are you going to use it for?"
Hawk met her gaze and smiled, his voice still perfectly calm.
"To save my sister."
"...Your sister?"
Jane had imagined a dozen different, terrible scenarios. But this was not one of them.
The guarded, suspicious look on her face softened into one of confusion. "What happened to your sister?"
"She died in an accident on September 10th, 2009."
"She died?"
"Yes."
"Then…"
"She's in Hell, waiting for me to bring her home."
"Hell."
Jane thought back to what Thor had told her. "You mean… Mephisto?"
Hawk smiled and nodded. "Yes. Mephisto's Hell."
"Okay..."
Jane looked from the swirling, malevolent Aether back to Hawk. "You haven't lied to me. I believe you. So, how do I help you?"
Hawk shook his head.
"My original plan was to just follow you in here and then take it."
"But I didn't realize until we got here that you didn't find it. It found you."
"As long as Bor's seal is active, I can't touch it."
"Only you can release it. The moment you do, the seal will break."
"But…"
"The instant you touch it, it will try to possess you. And no matter how fast I am, I won't be able to absorb all of it."
Even if he could, it wouldn't be the complete Aether anyway.
If he remembered correctly, there was another fragment of the Aether still in the hands of the Dark Elves—the fragment that was used to create the Kurse.
The monster that had killed Thor's mother, Frigga.
If he wanted the complete Reality Stone, he would need all the pieces.
But for now…
Hawk pushed the thought from his mind.
One step at a time.
Jane's eyes were wide. She looked from the swirling red mass back to him, her voice trembling slightly. "So, I'm going to die?"
Hawk snapped out of his thoughts.
"No. It will just start feeding on your life force. If we don't get it out of you in time."
"And how do we do that?"
"I don't know."
"You—"
"But you won't die. I promise."
'By now, Thor has probably noticed his girlfriend is missing.'
Hawk thought to himself.
Jane, who had been on the verge of a complete meltdown, swallowed the curse that was on the tip of her tongue and glared at him. "So, to get out of here, we have to let this thing out, and you promise I won't die. Right?"
Hawk nodded.
"Correct."
"Then let's do it."
Jane had given up trying to find another way. This was it. She took a deep breath and stood before the seal. "I'll count to three."
Hawk's senses went on high alert. He watched as she slowly raised her right hand.
"Do it."
"One."
"Two."
"THREE!"
BOOOOOOM!
"..."
--
Jane didn't hesitate. The moment she counted to three, her fingertips made contact with the sealed Aether.
Suddenly, the Reality Stone—like a living, viscous fluid, lashed out, instantly enveloping her hand. In less than a heartbeat, a third of the Aether had surged into her body like a ravenous tide.
At the same instant Jane made her move, Hawk was already in motion.
As he moved, the sealing device had begun to crackle with lightning—preparing to annihilate the intruder who had violated this hallowed ground.
But it was too late.
The Aether had already escaped its prison. With a deafening clang, the containment unit snapped shut.
The seal was broken.
Freed from its confinement, the remaining Aether surged, ready to completely consume Jane. But in that moment, Hawk appeared. He shoved Jane aside, intercepting the remaining two-thirds of the Reality Stone.
WHOOSH!
The dark red, blood-like substance flooded into him, a living torrent that began to sweep through every corner of his being. The side effects of the Reality Stone were immediate:
A parasitic draining, a voracious consumption of his life force.
The Aether was feeding on him.
Hawk unleashed his Cosmo.
With a single thought, the viscous, searing energy of the Aether was wrenched from his physical body and hurled into his Cosmo.
In that instant, his Cosmo—once calm as a still lake—erupted into chaos, as if a massive boulder had been hurled into its depths.
The Aether began to spread, its crimson ripples expanding to every corner of his Cosmo.
Just then, a Phoenix cry echoed through the void.
The Phoenix, which had already gone all-in and fused with his Cosmo, opened its eyes. A storm of fire erupted as the celestial bird emerged, its wings spreading wide as its flames washed over the entire universe.
The Phoenix slammed into the liquid form of the Reality Stone.
"SKREEEEEEE!!!"
As the two forces collided, a new flame was born—a fusion of the Phoenix's brilliant crimson-gold and the Aether's crimson essence.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The moment the scarlet flame appeared, Hawk's Cosmo was torn apart and reborn in a second Big Bang.
His universe twisted.
It detonated.
And then—
It expanded.
The scarlet fire spread with impossible speed. In the blink of an eye, a new Cosmo was born from the ashes of the old.
A universe vaster, expanding exponentially beyond its former limits.
And as Hawk's consciousness was lost in this new trinity—a universe forged from himself, the Phoenix and the Aether, a corresponding event took place in the Physical Universe.
...
In the heart of the Phoenix Constellation, 5.8 billion light-years from Earth, a tiny, almost invisible singularity, burning with a scarlet flame, blinked into existence.
It pulsed, on the verge of detonation. If it were to explode, a new parallel universe would be born, with the Phoenix Constellation at its heart.
At the same time, in a small country on Earth, a newborn baby girl's eyes flickered open, and for a fraction of a second, a spark of scarlet fire burned within them.
...
An unknown amount of time passed.
Lost in a Cosmo that now rivaled that of a Veteran Silver Saint, Hawk heard a voice—a faint, anxious call pulling him from the depths.
Is that…
Gwen??
His consciousness snapped back to reality.
The next second, he opened his eyes. He saw her, kneeling beside him, her face etched with worry, tears welling in her eyes.
She stared at him in disbelief. He had been gone for over four hours, and when he had reappeared, he had been a withered husk, his eyes sunken, his skin stretched tight over his bones like a skeleton.
Hawk, seeing the state of his own emaciated hand, understood.
With a single thought, His new Phoenix Cosmo blazed to life. In an instant, as Gwen watched in stunned silence, his withered frame began to fill out, his life force returning with the speed of an inflating balloon, restoring him to his former self.
The good news: he had the Reality Stone... Or part of it.
But it was enough. With its power, the ethereal potential of his abilities had become a solid, tangible reality.
He could now unleash one hundred percent of his power.
The bad news: he only had a piece of the stone. To truly elevate his Cosmo, to make it a physical reality, he would need the complete Infinity Stone.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, Hawk stood up, pulling Gwen to her feet and wrapping her in a comforting embrace. He held her for a moment, then glanced around. "Where's Jane Foster?"
He was back, so she should be too.
Gwen, still clinging to him, looked up. "Dr. Foster? She appeared a little while before you did. She just went outside."
Hawk heard the roll of thunder from outside. He took Gwen's hand and led her toward the exit.
"How long was I gone?"
"Four hours."
"That's not so bad. I told you it could be up to six. I came back early. Why are you crying?"
"Have you seen what you looked like when you came back? I thought a vampire had drained you dry."
"Sorry. I was wrong."
Hawk apologized immediately, cutting off the rant that was clearly about to begin.
Outside, it was now pouring rain.
Just as they were about to step out of the building, Hawk's Sixth Sense flared. He saw a burst of Aether energy erupt from Jane in the distance, and he immediately pulled Gwen into his arms.
BOOOOOM!!
The Aether's self-defense mechanism unleashed a wave of energy, sending the three London police officers who had been trying to arrest Jane flying.
Thor, seeing this, ran to Jane, swept her into his arms, and looked up.
The next second, a brilliant seven-colored pillar of pure energy slammed down from the sky, enveloping them. An intricate Asgardian rune was burned into the ground, and as the light of the Rainbow Bridge faded—Thor and Jane were gone.
Hawk stared at the scorch mark on the pavement and fell silent.
A moment later, he just shook his head and laughed.
Fine.
The Dark Elves will be here by tomorrow at the latest anyway.
Let's see how this plays out.
Hawk thought to himself, then looked at the downpour. With a flicker of thought, the energy of his Cosmo flowed, and he led Gwen out into the storm.
Gwen braced herself, expecting to be soaked to the bone.
But—
She looked at the pouring rain surrounding them, then at the perfectly dry bubble of air they were walking through, and froze.
The next second, she thought of the Reality Stone. Her eyes lit up.
"Hawk, did you…"
"I got a piece of it."
He didn't hide it from her.
It was only a fraction of the stone's true power, not enough to turn his Cosmo into a true Golden Phoenix. But it was enough to alter the reality of the weather in a one-foot radius around him.
A little personal sunshine.
Hawk looked away from the Bifrost mark on the ground. "Let's go back."
Thor and Jane were in Asgard.
There was no way for him to get the rest of the Reality Stone now.
...
Hawk and Gwen's departure went unnoticed by Jane's assistant or the London police officers who were just picking themselves up off the ground.
He had used his newfound power to simply… edit their presence out of the immediate reality.
They walked out of the police cordon, hailed a cab, and headed back to their hotel.
The moment Mary Jane got Gwen's text, she was on their door. "So, are we still on for tomorrow's plan?"
"Uh…"
Gwen thought for a moment. "Probably. I'll check with Hawk when he gets back. By the way, have you guys eaten?"
Mary Jane shrugged. "Didn't I call you an hour ago? You said to go ahead without you."
Gwen remembered. She had still been waiting for Hawk to come back then.
She smiled and apologized.
Mary Jane, having gotten what she needed, left and headed back to her own room.
Gwen closed the door and walked toward the elevator.
--
On the rooftop of the hotel.
For the first time in a long time, Hawk wasn't training. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the cool concrete, his posture mirroring that of a meditating Buddha.
He no longer needed to throw punches.
His most pressing concern now was transcending the limits of his own existence.
The reason Gwen had found him looking like he'd been drained by a vampire was a direct result of those limits.
As everyone knows, the Reality Stone is a fickle power. It warps reality, reshapes the world, but it comes at a cost. If you have the energy to pay, it takes it. If you don't, it takes your life.
When his Cosmo was active, he had more than enough energy. His very being was on par with the most powerful superhumans in the Marvel Universe.
But without his Cosmo... he was just a man.
And for a single, terrifying instant, as the Reality Stone began to reshape his inner universe, his Cosmo had vanished. The stone, however, had continued its work, and in that moment, it had nearly siphoned away his entire life force.
He was lucky.
It was only a fragment of the stone, and he hadn't tried to fully manifest his Cosmo in the physical world.
If he had, he would have been dead before he even knew what was happening.
So, His priority was clear. He had to ascend.
Fortunately, the Saint system was a complete package.
The Cosmo was the foundation of a Saint's power, the core from which all their strength was drawn. But it was the development of the senses beyond the first five that determined the true level of a Saint's existence—the true power of their Cosmo.
The Sixth Sense.
It was the latent potential that elevated a Saint beyond the five senses. Only a Saint who had mastered The Sixth Sense was worthy of the title of Silver Saint.
Hawk had first touched it during his battle with the Demon Hulk on the African savanna. He had grasped a fragment of it, enough to unlock the power of flight, but he hadn't truly understood it, let alone mastered it.
Logically, without mastering The Sixth Sense, he shouldn't have been able to elevate his Cosmo to the Silver level.
He had considered using the fragment of the Reality Stone to force the evolution, to push his Cosmo to the level of a true Silver Saint.
He could have done it.
But the moment the thought had crossed his mind, a voice from the depths of his being had warned him:
Try it, and you die.
Cheating has its price.
So his current mission wasn't to train his body, but to understand and master The Sixth Sense. Only then could he truly become a Silver Saint and elevate his Cosmo to its proper level.
Hawk sank his consciousness into his inner universe, appearing before the gateway to The Sixth Sense.
He had already pushed the door open. Flight was the proof.
But he couldn't step through.
He thought back to the legends of the Saints, to the ways they had awakened their true potential.
There was no single, guaranteed method. There were many paths.
The first was the easiest: find a higher-level Saint, a Gold Saint, and have them guide you. By experiencing their Cosmo, you could awaken your own Sixth Sense without any pain or risk.
However—
In the Marvel Universe, he was the only Saint. There was no one to guide him.
The second path was similar: find a good teacher, someone who could show you the Way, who could point you in the right direction and save you from the pitfalls of self-discovery.
But that path, too, was closed to him.
He was his own teacher.
That left only the final, most difficult path.
A path of extreme mental discipline, or a trial by fire in a battle between life and death.
He had already walked the path of battle. His fight with the Demon Hulk had been the catalyst for his initial awakening.
But that path was dangerous, and it had nearly cost him his life.
The other path, the path of the mind, was a journey inward. A process of forging his spirit in the crucible of his own imagination, of facing his deepest fears and emerging unshaken and his Will unbreakable.
It wouldn't harm his body, but it could shatter his mind. One wrong step, one moment of weakness, and he would be lost to madness forever.
And that was the path he was on now.
Fortunately, he was not alone.
Every time he neared the edge, every time the darkness threatened to consume him, the cry of the Phoenix would echo through his Cosmo, pulling him back from the brink.
"This isn't working..."
Hawk's eyes snapped open. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his heart still pounding from the memory of his last attempt.
Shaka be damned.
If just touching The Sixth Sense was this dangerous, how in the world had the legendary Virgo Saint spent his entire life with his eyes closed, meditating on the Eighth?
He thought, a shiver running down his spine.
He would rather die a warrior's death on the battlefield than be silently consumed by the shadows of his own mind.
Tomorrow. It would have to be tomorrow.
He needed the Reality Stone to manifest his Cosmo. And the Dark Elf, Malekith, needed it to plunge the Nine Realms into eternal darkness.
Hawk reviewed Malekith's history in his mind.
Even with the Aether, he had been defeated by Thor's grandfather, Bor, who had then taken the stone from him... and in the movie, in a straight-up fight with Thor, he had been outmatched. But that didn't mean he was a pushover.
Thor had been fighting with the fury of a grieving son.
The fact that Malekith had taken a direct hit from an enraged Thor, armed with Mjolnir, and had only lost half his face... that proved he was tough.
And this time, he would be empowered by the same Reality Stone fragment that Hawk now possessed.
Hawk looked up at the star-filled sky, a sense of calm settling over him.
For some reason, he felt no fear. Only a quiet, thrilling anticipation.
Hawk thought of the coming battle, of his new Silver Phoenix Cosmo, and his hands, resting at his sides, clenched into fists.
One thing was certain.
Tomorrow would be a hell of a fight.
Just then, the door to the rooftop opened.
Hawk turned and saw Gwen. A smile spread across his face as he stood up.
Gwen didn't beat around the bush. "When's the next fight?"
"...Tomorrow." Hawk was taken aback for a second.
Gwen nodded. She took a deep breath, her face serious. "Is it dangerous?"
"No."
"Can I come with you?"
"What?" Hawk's eyebrow shot up. "Not this time, Gwen. This is..."
He trailed off, but she had already understood.
"I get it. I won't go."
"Uh..."
"I trust you, Hawk." Gwen's smile was soft, but her eyes were filled with a fierce, unwavering belief. "So don't let me down. Come back to me."
Their eyes met.
Hawk looked into her emerald-green eyes, which seemed to speak a language all their own, and nodded.
"I will."
The Phoenix does not die. It is only reborn.
...
The next morning, Hawk and Gwen shared a final kiss.
Then, with her watching from the window, he stepped onto their hotel balcony, looked up, and launched himself into the sky. He became a streak of light, shooting toward Salisbury Plain—the ancient site of Stonehenge—a hundred miles southwest.
He had chosen the location for a reason.
It was open, remote, and barely populated. Even if their battle shook the earth to its core, there wouldn't be any collateral damage.
His sister had been a casualty of someone else's war.
He would not make the same mistake.
...
Gwen watched until Hawk had completely disappeared from view, then let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
She had wanted to say goodbye.
But last night, Hawk had told her not to. He'd said it was a jinx, a death flag.
At first, she hadn't understood. But then he'd explained, and she'd remembered all the movies where the hero says, "I'll be right back," is always the one who never comes back.
So, she hadn't said it.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. Gwen took a deep breath, pasted a smile on her face, and opened it.
Mary Jane stood in the hallway, practically vibrating with excitement, ready to start their day.
Behind her, Peter's eyes darted past her, into the room. He seemed to sense that Hawk was gone, and a look of surprise crossed his face.
Gwen turned to Mary Jane. "Hey. Hawk's not feeling well. He said he's just going to rest today. We can just go, the three of us."
Mary Jane's face fell. "He's not coming?"
"No."
"But..."
"You know, I'm actually feeling pretty tired myself," Peter said, raising his hand. "I think I'll just stay here at the hotel too."
Mary Jane looked from him to Gwen, then a slow, knowing smile spread across her face. "Okay, then. The boys can stay here. We'll have a girls' day out."
Gwen shot a quick, grateful look at Peter, who gave a small, almost imperceptible nod in return. She then turned back to Mary Jane, her own smile bright and genuine.
"Yeah. A girls' day. No boyfriends allowed."
"..."
--
Stonehenge.
Also known as the Salisbury Plain Stone Circle. It is one of Europe's most famous prehistoric cultural sites.
Every year—no, to be more precise, almost every day—tourists flocked here to witness its majesty.
In other words...
It was just a bunch of broken rocks, their authenticity questionable at best.
Hawk glanced at the scattered stones, some standing, some fallen, and immediately lost interest.
Perhaps because it was still early, or perhaps because some idiot had gone streaking through the stones the day before, Stonehenge was closed to the public today.
But that didn't include Hawk.
He stood silently before one of the monoliths.
He could feel it—an inexplicable energy pulsing from the stones, the same kind of vibration he'd felt in that abandoned warehouse yesterday. It was as if the entire monument had been activated.
The Convergence of the Nine Realms.
It was a celestial spectacle, a marvel that occurred only once every few thousand years.
Today, as the World Tree trembled, the nine realms connected by its branches would briefly overlap, like a planetary alignment.
Technically, Earth should no longer be considered one of the nine realms after having fallen from the World Tree.
But while the branch may have broken, the roots remained. And because of that connection, the spectacle of the Convergence would play out here, on Earth.
That's exactly why Malekith planned to use the Aether to drag the Nine Realms into eternal darkness today.
On any other day, whatever reality he created would be temporary—just a fleeting illusion. The moment his power couldn't sustain the Aether's energy drain, or the second someone took the stone from him, the Nine Realms would snap back to normal.
After all, the reality altered by the Reality Stone alone was not permanent.
Otherwise, Thanos wouldn't have bothered collecting all the Infinity Stones; he could have just used the Reality Stone to rewrite reality from the start.
First, the Reality Stone cannot directly override, cancel, or surpass the core abilities of the other Infinity Stones.
If Thanos were to use only the Reality Stone, he wouldn't be able to rewrite the entire universe with a single thought.
He would have to wait for the Aether's crimson, liquid-like substance to physically spread and envelop the cosmos.
A process that would, conservatively, take a few hundred billion years.
The universe is a big place.
But that wasn't the most critical limitation.
The reality created by the Reality Stone alone is temporary, it cannot be made permanent.
That was why Thanos needed the other stones.
Only with the other stones could he tap into the Power Stone's infinite energy to fuel the Mind Stone, use the Mind Stone to amplify his will, and then finally wield the Reality Stone to permanently reshape the universe at every level—space, time, and soul.
Malekith knew this. It was why he had chosen today.
During this once-in-a-millennium event, the boundaries between the Nine Realms would blur and overlap, creating massive, inter-dimensional energy conduits and spacetime anomalies. This would provide the Aether with an unprecedented source of power, an amplifier for its influence.
With it, Malekith's dark reality would become permanent.
Coincidentally, Hawk had the same idea.
The moment his Cosmo manifested in reality, the moment its parallel universe was born from the true Phoenix constellation, it would unleash an unprecedented burst of energy—an explosion that would make his Cosmo a permanent, physical reality.
...
Just then, he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He glanced toward a stone pillar to his left.
Hawk smiled. "Do you carry that suit with you everywhere?"
"Nope. I wear it underneath. When I need it, I just rip off my jacket and pull on the mask."
Peter, who had been crouched on the pillar like a gargoyle, shook his head and gave a completely serious explanation for his quick costume changes.
Hawk listened to his explanation and nodded. "Where are Gwen and Mary Jane?"
"They went out shopping."
"And you?"
"I decided to take a break too. Besides, MJ dragged Gwen off for a Girls Day Out."
"Right."
Hawk chuckled.
Peter shot a web, swinging gracefully down to land next to Hawk. He looked toward the center of the stone circle, where the energy was most concentrated. "Need any help?"
Hawk smiled.
"You know what I'm here for?"
"Nope."
Peter shook his head and shrugged. "They're having a Girls' Day. Figured we could have a Brothers' Day."
He didn't know what Hawk was doing here, or what he was about to do.
But one thing he knew for sure.
Hawk was his friend. And if the roles were reversed, Hawk would have his back, no questions asked.
Hawk understood perfectly.
But—
"You can watch. But don't help."
Hawk's voice was serious. "Even if it looks like I'm dying, don't interfere."
"..." Peter tilted his head, his expression hidden behind the mask.
Hawk's expression was grim. "Don't worry, I won't really die. Even if I'm struck down, I'll just be reborn from the ashes."
The Sixth Sense could only be mastered at the edge of death itself. Only by coming infinitely close to death—or even experiencing it—could one earn the right to wield it.
His Cosmo might have reached the level of a Silver Saint, but it was an empty title.
Peter listened to the gravity in his tone, looked at his serious expression, and after a moment, nodded.
"Okay. So, can you at least tell me who you're—"
"He's here!"
Before Peter could finish, Hawk felt the Aether rapidly approaching. He cut him off and looked toward the center of Stonehenge.
A ripple, silent and unseen, passed through the air. And then he was there. Malekith, the Dark Elf, his face as pale as stone, the left side freshly scarred. He had sunken eye sockets and milky white pupils, and he radiated an aura of ancient doom and otherworldly menace.
The moment he appeared, Peter's Spider-Sense screamed, and every hair on his body stood on end.
Hawk and Malekith's eyes met.
"Child. I believe you have something that belongs to me. Would you be so kind as to return it?" Malekith's pale pupils were calm as he looked at Hawk.
Hawk smiled faintly. "I'm afraid I can't do that."
Malekith also smiled.
He had known the moment he saw him that the boy would not give up the Aether willingly.
After all, he was already using it.
"A power from another universe... With the energy you can currently manifest, I doubt you have what it takes to stop me."
"We'll see."
Malekith was an ancient being, a contemporary of King Bor, Odin's father.
Like Mephisto, his experience was vast, so it was no surprise he recognized the origin of Hawk's power.
Hawk wasn't concerned. He just shrugged. "If I die, the Aether is yours. If you die, it's mine."
"Fair enough." Malekith nodded, then his gaze shifted to Peter. "And what about this spider?"
Hawk smiled back. "Every fight needs an audience. If I die, he can take care of the body. Saves you the trouble."
Malekith laughed.
Hawk laughed with him.
Their eyes met again across the stone circle. The next second, a crimson energy erupted from Malekith's body, coalescing in an instant into a razor-sharp spear.
"Go!"
The moment Malekith's expression changed, Hawk shouted at Peter. As the crimson spear shot toward him, his right fist was already moving to meet it.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The spear shattered like glass.
A flicker of amusement crossed Malekith's pale eyes.
"You fell for it—"
Before the words had even faded, the shattered crimson fragments instantly reformed, flowing around Hawk's fist and slamming into his chest.
CRACK!
Hawk was thrown backward, crashing clean through the retaining wall the London government had built to protect the ancient monument.
Peter, who'd listened to Hawk and stayed clear of the battle, watched from his spot on a stone pillar as Hawk went flying through the air.
With a single step, Malekith exited the stone circle. With the next, he passed through the hole Hawk had just blasted in the wall. A cloud of dust rose from the ground nearby. As it settled, Hawk stood again, looking disheveled.
Malekith smiled, his expression one of genuine, almost gentlemanly appreciation.
"Care to continue?"
"Of course."
--
Hawk spat on the grass beside him.
He looked at Malekith, who had just asked if he was ready for more, and let out a short, sharp laugh.
"That was just the warm-up."
"Is that so?" Malekith's lips curved into a faint smile. "Then are you ready now?"
Hawk smiled back. "I am!"
The moment the words left his mouth, a spectral phoenix, bathed in crimson flames, materialized behind him.
The next second, the phantom phoenix dissolved, breaking apart into individual components that surged toward Hawk.
A pauldron, intricately detailed with the feathers of a magnificent bird, was forged in the roiling flames and collided with Hawk's left shoulder like a meteor. With a resounding metallic clang, it snapped seamlessly into place, fusing perfectly with the other pieces of the armor that arrived in the same instant.
Greaves, vambraces, cuisses... countless components, all glowing with a brilliant, fiery gold, shot from the flames as if they had a life of their own.
They moved with unerring precision, one after another, locking into place, covering every inch of Hawk's body.
As the last piece settled, Hawk finished his sentence.
"Lightning—"
"—Sonic Fist!!"
As his right fist shot forward, the cry of a phoenix tore through the sky. A storm of phantom fists materialized, closing the distance to Malekith in the blink of an eye.
CRACK!
Malekith's head snapped to the side, a visible ripple of force distorting the air around his cheek.
He was launched backward, crashing through the retaining wall the London government had built around Stonehenge and slamming into the ground, carving out a deep crater in the grass.
Dirt and rock flew into the air.
A cloud of dust rose.
Perched atop one of the monoliths, Peter's jaw dropped as he stared at Hawk, who was now clad in a suit of brilliant golden armor, complete with a pair of magnificent golden wings.
His jaw dropped even further as he watched Hawk reach back, detach the wings, and toss them aside.
Hawk, now free of the wings—which were, at this point, all flash and no substance—cracked his neck as a sudden downpour began to fall.
The Cosmo within him was burning at its absolute limit.
The next second, he left an afterimage in his place. He was already hovering in the air above Malekith's crater, his right fist, now wreathed in crimson flames, plunging downward.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—
The earth trembled amidst the deafening explosions and the rising cloud of dust and steam.
The systems at the London Earthquake Monitoring Centre began to shriek with anomalous readings.
Peter's eyes lit up.
Is it over?
"Heheheh..."
Just as the thought crossed his mind, Malekith's perfect, villainous laughter echoed from within the dust cloud.
"Child..."
"I must confess, I misjudged you."
The dust, washed away by the sudden torrential rain, quickly dissipated.
Malekith's figure reappeared.
He was completely unscathed.
A transparent, dark-red barrier, formed from the raw power of the Aether, shimmered around him.
His pale pupils were fixed on the now-armored Hawk.
"Your power... it is impressive."
"But it does not belong to this universe."
"That is why you require the Aether—to anchor it in reality."
"But in doing so, you cannot use the Aether for more... interesting applications."
"And I can sense that you do not have complete control over this power of yours."
"It reminds me of another Child."
"Thor."
Thor, God of Thunder?
No.
Thor, God of Hammers!
"So..."
"This is your final chance."
Malekith, feeling the approach of the other "Child" and the imminent peak of the Convergence, was losing his patience.
"Give me the Aether, and I will spare your life."
"I refuse."
Hawk's answer was swift and absolute.
Malekith's smile vanished. The next instant, he was standing directly in front of Hawk.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A punch, infused with the dark-red energy of the Aether, slammed into Hawk's faceplate.
The helmet cracked.
With a single blow, it shattered.
In the next instant, Malekith seized Hawk, and wrapped in the power of the Aether, they vanished as a wave of energy from the Convergence swept over them.
Peter, still perched on the monolith, stared at the spot where Hawk had just been, completely floored.
He leaped down, landing where they had disappeared.
And then... Nothing.
The wail of sirens grew closer, but Hawk and Malekith were gone.
Peter was utterly baffled.
Just then.
"MALEKITH! COME OUT AND FACE YOUR DOOM!"
CRACK!!!
A peal of thunder split the storm as Thor, the God of Thunder, descended from the sky with Mjølnir in hand.
He saw Peter and paused, a look of confusion on his face.
"Where is Malekith?"
"He's not here."
Peter shook his head, then pointed to the spot where Hawk had vanished. "He was here a moment ago, he disappeared with my friend."
Thor's voice was the kind of deep baritone that other superheroes could only dream of. He looked at Peter and nodded. "It is a spatial ripple, created by the Convergence of the Nine Realms."
Peter frowned.
"So, when will they be back?"
"I do not know."
"What?"
"The Convergence occurs only once every few thousand years. I was not yet born the last time it happened."
"...So what do we do now?"
"I do not know."
Thor's answer was blunt.
He had come to Earth because his girlfriend, Jane, told him that another human—a man named Hawk—also possessed the Aether. He came to protect Hawk and prevent Malekith from reclaiming its full power.
As long as Malekith didn't have both pieces, as long as they could hold out for the eight minutes of the Convergence, the Nine Realms would be safe.
He had wanted to come to Earth last night.
But his mother, the Queen of Asgard, had died, and he had been compelled to attend her funeral.
And now he was too late.
The Convergence was about to begin. During this time, even Heimdall's all-seeing eyes were blind.
So, for a moment, Thor just stood there, at a complete loss.
...
On the planet of Jotunheim, one of the Nine Realms, the scene was quite different.
This was the home of the Frost Giants—a harsh, desolate world of ice-covered mountains, glaciers, and frozen forests.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Hawk and Malekith, teleported here by the spatial ripple, were locked in a brutal battle.
Icebergs shattered.
Glaciers cracked.
They fought from the frozen peaks to the icy plains, from the mountains to the forests.
To call it a "battle" wasn't quite accurate.
Because Hawk was being completely overpowered, driven back by Malekith's relentless assault. If it weren't for the constant, burning power of his Cosmo, he would have been finished long ago.
But even so, he wasn't in good shape.
His Phoenix Armor was covered in a web of fractures.
His helmet had been shattered at the very beginning of the fight.
Just as he suspected. This armor, despite its golden brilliance, was still only a Bronze Cloth—flashy, but lacking substance.
The Aether he possessed was being used entirely to anchor his Cosmo in reality.
But Malekith also had the Aether.
At first, Hawk had been able to hold his own, using the kinetic absorption properties of his Vibranium armor to fight him to a standstill.
But the moment Malekith had realized what the armor was made of, the situation had changed.
Vibranium might be the strongest metal on Earth, but it wasn't the strongest in the universe.
Thanos's Uru-metal Twinblade had carved through Captain America's shield in three hits.
And this was Malekith—an ancient being who had lived for thousands of years and now wielded the Aether itself.
The moment he adapted, the battle was over.
But!
Hawk did not retreat. He was being beaten, but he was still fighting. His message was simple.
"You're going to have to kill me."
"Gladly!!"
Malekith, a man of few words and decisive action, seized him and plunged toward the ancient, miles-thick ice sheet below.
WHOOSH!!
Yet, just before impact, another spatial ripple swept over them, and they vanished once more.
...
In the distance, a group of Frost Giants who had been watching the two intruders devastate their homeland exchanged bewildered looks.
The next second, they raised their fists to the sky and roared.
"ODIN!!"
"ASGARD!!!"
Don't ask why they blamed Asgard.
Just know that Odin had stolen their most sacred treasure—the Casket of Ancient Winters.
...
Earth. Stonehenge.
Peter, who had been about to leave, was now stuck with the God of Thunder.
Thor, sensing the awkwardness of the moment, shifted his hammer from hand to hand. He glanced at the London police, who were cautiously approaching, then turned back to Peter. "Jane told me Hawk saved her life. That makes him a friend of mine as well."
Peter just nodded and said nothing.
--
Peter remained silent.
Thor, on the other hand, was starting to feel awkward.
He had come here to stop Malekith, only to find that both the Dark Elf and Hawk—the man who had saved his girlfriend and now carried the Aether—were gone.
If he were here alone, it would be one thing.
But he was stuck with a stranger who seemed completely uninterested in conversation.
Thor wanted to leave.
But...
This was the focal point of the Convergence. He didn't know where Malekith and Hawk had gone, but if they had left from here, there was a good chance they would return here.
With that thought, an idea struck him. A broad grin spread across his face. "So, do you know Tony Stark? We fought together in New York."
Mr. Stark?
Peter's gaze shifted upward. "He's a billionaire."
Thor frowned.
"And...?"
"I'm just a kid from Queens. I know who he is, but he doesn't know me."
"..."
Thor drew in a sharp breath at the bluntness of the reply. Then his eyes lit up again. "What about the Hulk? You know the Hulk, right?"
The big green guy Hawk killed twice?
A strange expression formed under Peter's mask. He just nodded.
"I know him."
"Excellent!"
Thor beamed, snatched from the jaws of a social deep-freeze. He was just about to tell Peter that he and the Hulk were also good friends when three black Chevy SUVs pulled up behind them.
Natasha and Clint stepped out of the lead vehicle. They saw Thor and New York's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man standing amidst the ancient stones, exchanged a look, and walked over.
"Thor."
"Natasha!"
Thor turned, his face lighting up at the sight of his friends. He then turned back to the still-silent Peter. "See? Not only am I friends with the Hulk, but these are my friends, too. When your friend Hawk gets back, we should all get together."
Friends with the Hulk?
Get together with Hawk?
Peter's expression became even stranger.
Natasha, hearing Thor's cheerful suggestion, shot him a strange look. She lowered her voice. "Uh, Thor... the Hulk is dead."
Thor's smile froze.
He stared at her. "What? Dead? How?"
Natasha glanced at Peter—publicly, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, privately, Hawk's good friend, then turned back to Thor.
"The Hulk's battle with the Abomination was the cause of Hawk's sister's death. Late last year, after you left, Hawk found the Hulk and killed him."
Thor's jaw dropped and instinctively looked at Peter.
Peter just met his gaze and, after a moment, gave a slow, deliberate nod.
"..."
"So Bruce is dead?"
"Uh..."
Clint stepped in to bring him up to speed. "Not at first. Betty Ross tried to get revenge for her father by kidnapping Hawk's girlfriend. That plan went south, and Hawk killed her, too. Then Bruce Banner went after Hawk for revenge... and he died."
Clint paused, then, seeing the utterly lost look on Thor's face, added, "So, yeah. The Hulk and Bruce are both dead."
He and Natasha had just gotten back from Africa, so they knew all about Hawk's battle with the Demon Hulk on the savanna. They'd been in London for a debrief when S.H.I.E.L.D had notified them of Thor's appearance at Stonehenge.
Thor listened to Clint's debriefing, his mind reeling.
He had only been gone for a year. But it felt like a lifetime.
The Hulk is dead?
Just like that??
He shook his head, trying to process it all. He looked at Natasha. "So, who is this Hawk? What is he, the bastard son of some god?"
He had fought alongside the Hulk. He knew his power...
No mortal on Earth could have defeated him.
It had to be a demigod. After all, his father had told him stories of the old days, when the gods of the cosmos would often visit Earth for a "beautiful encounter" with mortal women.
He had done the same thing, hadn't he?
Natasha opened her mouth, about to explain that Hawk was, as far as they knew, just a man, when a violent, chaotic wave of energy erupted from the center of Stonehenge.
The next second, with a deafening roar, Hawk materialized in a flash of fire and magma from Muspelheim. He shot out of the portal like a meteor, slammed into the ground, and carved a kilometer-long trench of fire into the pristine grass.
At the end of the trench, he lay in a smoking heap, his Saint Armor cracked, shattered, and glowing with embers.
As for Malekith?
He had appeared with him, and he hadn't fared much better. The right side of his face was now as hideously scarred as the left.
But compared to Hawk, he was still standing.
"Child."
"Give me the Aether."
The last vestiges of Malekith's gentlemanly facade were gone, burned away in the fires of Muspelheim. The energy of the Convergence was reaching its peak. If he didn't use the Aether to plunge the Nine Realms into darkness now, he would have to wait another thousand years.
Hawk struggled to his feet, blood streaming from a gash on his forehead. He looked at the scarred, hate-filled face of the Dark Elf.
His answer was the same as before.
"You'll have to kill me first."
"Fine. I will accommodate you!"
Malekith's ruined face twisted into a sneer. He raised his right hand, and the Aether pulsed within it like a dark, beating heart.
Nearby, Thor snapped out of his shock.
"MALEKITH!"
He gripped Mjølnir and with a roar, he leaped into the air, bringing the hammer down in a devastating arc, aiming to perform an impromptu craniotomy on the Dark Elf.
But just as he was about to strike, Hawk threw a punch.
Not at Malekith, but at Thor.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
"..." Malekith froze.
"..." Peter froze.
"..." Natasha and Clint froze.
And Thor, who had been sent tumbling to the ground, the afterimages of a dozen fists still shimmering on his armor, stared at Hawk in disbelief. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING??"
Hawk's face twisted into cold rage. He locked eyes with Malekith, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"He's mine..."
"You want a shot? Get in line!"
He had fought this long. He wasn't about to let someone else steal his kill.
With that, he shot a final dismissive glance at Thor, then stomped his foot, shattering the ground, and charged at Malekith once more.
"Let's finish this!"
"Heh, you rush to your own death."
Malekith sneered, his eyes blazing with a cold, murderous light. He met Hawk's charge with a fist wreathed in the dark, swirling energy of the Aether. The instant their fists collided, Malekith rewrote the very laws of physics, turning the air around Hawk as dense as diamond.
In that instant of slowed time, Malekith's Aether-infused fist slammed into the chestplate of Hawk's Saint Armor.
CRACK!
A sharp and clear sound—like shattering glass—echoed across the battlefield.
Ptui!
Hawk's face went flush, and he coughed up a spray of blood.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
He was thrown backward, the upper half of his Saint Armor disintegrating, its golden fragments falling to the ground like dead fireflies.
Malekith had used the Aether to change his armor's property from 'Indestructible' to 'brittle as glass.'
A True Gold Cloth would have been immune—
—Forged in the heart of a sun, its golden sheen embodied the very light of a star. Even if Malekith had drained himself completely, he still could not have affected it.
But Hawk's armor??
It might have looked golden, but its essence was still Bronze.
And so... It shattered.
Hawk landed on his feet, his body a canvas of raw, bleeding wounds. The pain was immense—a chorus of agony screaming through his mind.
Thump.
Thump.
He could feel his own heart slowing, each beat a struggle.
It reminded him of the bottom of Culver Lake, of the moment the Hulk had nearly beaten him into his first rebirth...
But that had been a near-miss.
This was the real thing.
Deep within his Cosmo, the spectral image of the Phoenix appeared, its wings spread wide, wreathed in a silent, eternal flame.
The rebirth sequence had been initiated.
But...
Where's the enlightenment that's supposed to come on the edge of life and death?
I'm about to die. Where is the Sixth Sense?
He felt no fear of death.
Perhaps because he knew, deep down, that this wasn't truly the end.
With his last ounce of strength, he looked up at Malekith, his vision blurred by blood, and sighed.
Peter, watching from a distance, felt his heart skip a beat.
The next second, as Malekith and the others watched, Hawk's eyes closed.
And then, in the space between one heartbeat and the next—
Something changed...