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"Grandpa?"
"The one who runs a cotton farm in Georgia?"
Hearing Gwen's words, Hawk's mind immediately conjured up a very specific image.
A classic old-money American gentleman wearing a cowboy hat, holding a whip coiled tight enough to fold five times over, surveying his vast and beautiful cotton fields.
White cotton and dark soil painting a striking contrast.
It was a beautiful mental picture.
Gwen caught sight of Hawk's expression—which he couldn't quite keep neutral—and rolled her eyes. "Stop imagining things. The family doesn't have a farm anymore. The Fox family in Forks is just a normal, average family now."
Hawk let out a slightly disappointed sigh, then looked at Gwen curiously.
"Why does your Grandfather suddenly want to meet me?"
"Take a wild guess."
Gwen sat up in bed now that Hawk's attention had successfully been diverted. "We're engaged, and Grandpa still hasn't met you. I was planning to bring you to Forks over summer break, but we got caught up with Peter's situation and all that SHIELD business, so I never mentioned it. Then Grandpa called me and asked if you were scared to meet him."
Hawk blinked, immediately defensive.
"That's not on me. You never told me. If you'd said you wanted to go to Forks, I wouldn't have gone looking for Peter."
"Relax, I already explained it to Grandpa."
"Oh."
"So over Christmas break, we'll go to Forks together and meet Grandpa?" Gwen looked at Hawk, negotiating the timing, then added with a tempting tone, "Grandpa doesn't have the farm anymore, but he kept a lot of old photographs from when the Fox family used to grow cotton and watermelons."
Hawk's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Gwen. "We're going. Absolutely going. I'm not interested in the photos, but I'm very interested in meeting your grandfather. We should visit him and get his blessing for us."
Gwen nodded. "Alright, then it's settled. I'll call Grandpa tomorrow and tell him we'll visit over Christmas."
Hawk hummed in agreement.
"Sounds good."
"Let's sleep."
"Yeah."
Hawk agreed, though his mind was already wondering just how many of those old photographs Gwen's Grandfather had kept.
Gwen, who had already quietly lain back down, sensed Hawk settling in beside her. The corner of her mouth curved upward in a subtle, hidden smile.
...
The next day.
Morning.
Gwen, feeling more rested than she had in a long time, opened her eyes—and immediately found Hawk staring directly at her.
She jumped, startled, then looked up at Hawk—who was hovering in mid-air above her, still with his left arm in a sling. Her mouth twitched. She took a deep breath. "New house rule. No superpowers allowed inside this house. Period."
Hawk stared at Gwen with eyes full of grievance.
"But you don't play by the rules."
"...When have I ever not played by the rules?"
"Last night..."
"That's because you didn't remind me."
Gwen put on her best innocent face, maintaining her composure as she threw back the covers and prepared to get out of bed.
Hawk didn't budge. He just kept floating there.
Gwen, already at the door and about to leave, turned back to see him still hovering. Her mouth twitched again.
"Aren't you getting up?"
"No."
"..."
Gwen stood there in silence for a moment, then sighed and turned around, her tone resigned. "Fine. Then lie down properly."
The words had barely left her mouth when—
THUMP.
Hawk flipped mid-air and landed flat on the bed, perfectly positioned.
One hour...
Actually, no.
Afternoon.
Gwen emerged from the bedroom looking radiant and energized, though her lower back was a bit sore.
"You want to go out for a walk or something?"
"...No."
Hawk's voice drifted out from the bedroom behind her, dripping with exhaustion and weakness.
Gwen heard his voice, and the corner of her mouth curved upward again.
She'd confirmed something important.
As long as she didn't give in first, Hawk would be the one who ended up drained—especially now that she'd banned all superpower usage inside the house.
Hawk lay in bed, still with his left arm in a sling, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Just then, His phone on the nightstand began ringing.
Hawk didn't move.
After a moment, the ringing stopped.
The next second—
The ringtone transferred to outside the bedroom. Gwen, who had just gone downstairs, came back up, walked into the room, looked at Hawk lying on the bed, and approached. "It's Tony."
As she spoke, Gwen switched the phone to speakerphone and held it near Hawk's mouth.
Hawk continued staring at the ceiling, his voice hoarse.
"Hello."
"Jesus..." Tony's voice came through the phone. "What happened to you? You sound like you've been completely wrung out."
Hawk's voice remained distant.
"I was completely wrung—"
SLAP.
Gwen quickly reached over and gently covered Hawk's mouth, taking over the conversation. "Tony, did you need something from Hawk?"
Tony's thoughts raced on the other end of the line. He quickly pieced together what had happened and smoothly changed the subject. "We managed to restore part of the system data from the Rhyolite Ghost Town facility. We've got a pretty good idea of what HYDRA was working on. If you've got time, come down to New York SHIELD. Trust me, you'll be interested in what HYDRA was doing."
Hawk didn't respond.
Currently in his post-clarity state, Hawk's consciousness was wandering deep within his Cosmo, lost in contemplation of why his inner universe was so vast, why his Cosmo was so brilliant.
In the end, Gwen took over, saying they'd head over shortly.
After all, she was pretty curious about what HYDRA had been doing in secret.
So, After hanging up, Gwen quickly roused Hawk from bed. An hour later, she was driving him to SHIELD headquarters in Times Square.
...
As the car entered the underground parking garage that served as a cover, just as the vehicle was about to crash into the wall, the wall suddenly split apart.
Gwen, no longer surprised by this, skillfully drove the car into the exposed elevator that appeared once the wall opened.
As the wall closed behind them, the car elevator began its slow descent.
Soon enough—
The elevator doors reopened. Gwen drove into the spacious underground facility, parked the car, and she and Hawk stepped out one after the other.
Sharon Carter, who had been waiting for them, came forward to greet them, then escorted them into the tactical operations center.
Tony was currently standing in front of the massive screen, hands moving through the air as damaged files and surveillance footage recovered from the Rhyolite Ghost Town HYDRA system flashed rapidly across the display.
Gwen walked in and noticed the rows of SHIELD agents still seated at their stations on either side of the screen. She lowered her voice and turned to Sharon.
"I thought New York SHIELD was being disbanded?"
"It was."
"Then..."
"This isn't New York SHIELD's tactical operations center anymore. It's SHIELD's Hub headquarters now. It provides technical and operational support for SHIELD. The medical center, laboratories, and tactical center are also being renovated, though they're not finished yet."
"...I see."
Gwen listened to Sharon's explanation with a hint of surprise but didn't say anything more. Instead, she glanced over at Hawk.
Hawk had already found a seat the moment they'd walked in. His consciousness was still deep within his Cosmo.
This was a place he had never been before.
But Hawk's Sixth Sense told him this was where the Seventh Sense resided. If he could illuminate this place, he would comprehend the Seventh Sense.
He'd only managed to sink his consciousness down to this level after entering his post-clarity state, completely exhausted. That exhaustion had allowed his consciousness to descend deep enough to perceive this place.
But—
Just like when he'd first sensed the Sixth Sense deep within himself but couldn't find the way to unlock it, now he knew exactly where the Seventh Sense was located but had no idea how to activate it.
And Hawk had a feeling he wouldn't be able to stay here long. Once his time was up, he'd be kicked out.
There was a saying that fit perfectly.
If he hadn't stumbled into this place by chance, trying to perceive the Seventh Sense would have been like a frog at the bottom of a well trying to see the moon.
But now that he'd accidentally made it to the realm of the Seventh Sense, perceiving it was like a speck of dust trying to comprehend the sky.
He didn't want to leave. While he was still here, he was channeling all the power of his Cosmo, desperately trying to illuminate this place.
So—
From an outside perspective, Hawk's eyes were vacant, and he still looked completely drained.
Gwen looked at Hawk, still in that state, and was starting to wonder if she'd pushed him too hard.
Sharon, standing nearby, also looked at Hawk's vacant expression and lowered her voice. "How many times did you guys...?"
Gwen glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then whispered back, "Not that many. Just five more than usual."
Sharon blinked.
"How many is usual?"
"Three, I guess."
"In one night?"
"No, one morning. He insisted."
"Damn."
Sharon drew in a sharp breath, instantly understanding why Hawk was in this condition. "He's completely tapped out."
After all, she'd seen Thor in a similar state before.
That had been the day after Thor and Jane had settled in New York. Thor had looked exactly like Hawk did now—eyes vacant, as if he'd entered some kind of meditative trance.
Gwen, hearing Sharon's comment, quickly changed the subject. "He'll bounce back. Anyway, you said you found something in the HYDRA base about experiments they might be running on Hawk?"
Sharon's expression turned serious as she refocused and nodded at Gwen.
"Gwen, remember when I told you that HYDRA launched their operation because I discovered that Dr. Merrick, the cloning specialist, had been replaced?"
"Yeah."
Gwen nodded, then seemed to realize something. She looked at Sharon.
"Don't tell me..."
"Exactly."
"They've been secretly cloning Hawk!"
"..."
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