Hawk's raised right hand paused in mid-air.
Betty Ross, dressed in loungewear, opened the door, looked at Hawk with a normal expression, then opened the door wider and stepped aside: "Please come in."
It was as if she had known Hawk would come.
Hawk lowered his right hand, looked at Betty Ross, whose eyes showed no fear of death, only composure in its face, inviting him into the house, and chuckled. Then he stepped into the room.
The door closed.
Betty walked towards the bar in the apartment.
"What would you like to drink?"
"No need, I'm in a hurry."
...
Betty, who was almost at the bar, heard Hawk's words, and her body trembled involuntarily. Then she took a deep breath: "Can I have a glass of whiskey then?"
Hawk thought for a moment.
"Yes!"
"Thank you."
Betty calmly said thank you, then walked behind the bar, took out a bottle of whiskey from the liquor cabinet behind her, and poured herself a glass.
Hawk watched Betty with a calm gaze.
Betty raised the glass in her hand. Although her expression was calm and her eyes showed no fear of the impending death, her trembling right hand holding the glass indicated that her heart was not as calm as her expression and eyes.
After all, few people can truly face death without fear.
Hawk was also afraid of death.
Unfortunately...
"If only you had known this day would come, you wouldn't have done what you did."
"You killed my father."
Betty met Hawk's gaze and said calmly, "I was just avenging my father, just as you avenged your sister."
Hawk chuckled.
"Yes, and precisely because of that, you have the chance to enjoy one last drink."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Hawk expressionlessly looked at the two-thirds of whiskey remaining in Betty's glass: "I'm very curious, what was your initial plan? Kidnap Gwen, then make me take the blame and die?"
Betty took another sip of the whiskey in her hand and looked at Hawk.
"No."
"Then what was it?"
"Kill her, then record it and send you the video."
...
Hawk listened to Betty describe her plan, feeling a bit surprised, and looked at Betty with a calm expression.
He seriously suspected that Betty Ross had gone insane.
But it didn't matter.
Insanity only granted criminal immunity in court, not with him.
Hawk thought, and chuckled softly.
"A good plan. If you couldn't kill me, you'd kill my girlfriend. That way, even if I found out and killed you, Gwen would already be buried with you."
"Yes!"
Betty nodded, admitting it directly, then said in a deep voice, "Unfortunately, you ruined it."
As she spoke.
Betty seemed to think of something, shook her head with a self-mocking smile, drained the last sip of whiskey from her glass, placed the glass on the bar, and then looked up at Hawk.
"She's truly lucky."
"Her good fortune is your misfortune."
Hawk said expressionlessly.
"Whoosh!"
"Thud!"
Hawk instantly appeared in front of Betty, then directly grabbed Betty's neck and teleported from behind the bar. Then, with a thud, he lifted Betty and pinned her against the wall.
His right hand, gripping Betty's neck, loosened slightly.
"I'm giving you one last chance to speak."
"Heh heh!"
Betty, who neither struggled nor showed fear, stared into Hawk's eyes, let out a strange laugh, and then her voice became calm and venomous.
"I'll be waiting for you in hell."
...
Hawk was slightly startled, then looked at Betty, whose eyes had also become incredibly venomous, and smiled faintly: "I'll go to hell."
After all, his sister was still waiting for him in hell to take her home.
With that said.
The moment Hawk's right hand exerted force, there was a crisp snap, and Betty's expression froze in a bizarre, venomous contortion.
Betty Ross...
Dead!
Thud.
Betty, devoid of life, her body fell directly to the floor.
Hawk shifted his gaze from Betty's body, then fixed his eyes on a large photograph on the living room wall not far away.
It was a wedding photo taken when Bruce Banner and Betty Ross got married.
This was their wedding photo.
Hawk raised an eyebrow, as if he had thought of something, and his gaze once again fell on Betty's lifeless body on the floor.
Thoughts rapidly flickered in his mind.
After a while.
Hawk looked at Betty's body and chuckled out of the blue.
"Heh."
"Entering the fray yourself?"
"Good."
"I'll give you this chance."
Hawk's thoughts turned. He took one last look at Betty's corpse, said as much, then turned and left the apartment.
When he saw that wedding photo, he had already guessed what game Betty was playing.
Betty herself certainly couldn't kill him.
So...
If Betty wanted to avenge her father, she could only rely on external forces.
But who would dare help her?
Who could help her?
After Hawk's display of power in Quantico, the Military, which had gone silent, absolutely couldn't help her.
At the very least, the Military wouldn't act against him again until they had formulated a plan with at least an eighty percent chance of defeating him.
Unless the Military wanted to re-enact the tragedy of Quantico!
S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Perhaps.
But two months had passed since Hawk returned to New York City, and S.H.I.E.L.D. had made no moves, which could only mean that S.H.I.E.L.D. did not intend to get involved in this matter.
Perhaps it was because Hawk was in the right, or perhaps it was because they, like the Military, were unsure about capturing Hawk.
In short, without external support, it would be very difficult for Betty to avenge her father on her own.
So...
She chose to enter the fray herself, and marrying Bruce Banner was probably also part of her revenge plan.
Bruce Banner might not avenge a former father-in-law who pursued him.
But Bruce Banner would definitely avenge his wife.
If his wife was also pregnant, that would be even better.
Unfortunately!
Betty Ross was not pregnant.
Hawk was certain of this.
He estimated that Betty initially planned to launch her grand revenge scheme of 'entering the fray herself' after becoming pregnant, but perhaps she found that she wasn't getting pregnant, or realized she couldn't get pregnant, so she simply launched the plan anyway.
She was gambling that after she 'entered the fray' and was killed by Hawk, her newlywed husband, Bruce Banner, would avenge her.
The plan was good.
Hawk also wanted to see if Bruce Banner would seek revenge.
Because when he returned from Calver Lake, he had some regrets.
The reason was simple.
Just like Dagu could transform into Tiga again even after losing his energy bar.
The Hulk was dead, but Bruce Banner wasn't.
Who knew if Bruce Banner would transform into the Hulk again?
So Hawk had a hint of regret after returning from Calver Lake that time.
But at that time, he still adhered to the principle of 'the wronged have their source, the indebted have their master.'
Now...
He was giving Betty, who had chosen to enter the fray, a chance.
Hawk left.
Bruce returned.
But when he returned, Hawk had already left for over two hours, and Betty Ross, lying on the floor, was already cold and stiff.
The moment Bruce saw Betty's body on the floor, his entire being felt as if it had been struck on the head with a hammer. A buzzing sound filled his ears, and he instantly froze in place.
Victoria Hand, who had just met Bruce Banner downstairs and came up with him, also saw Betty's body.
S.H.I.E.L.D. satellites had been monitoring the area.
She knew when Hawk had left, but she hadn't gone up immediately. Instead, she waited until Bruce Banner arrived before coming up with him.
Victoria Hand looked at Bruce Banner, whose lips were twitching and tears were starting to well up. She opened her mouth, about to say something, when she heard a furious roar.
"Betty!"
Bruce Banner roared, quickly ran to Betty's body and knelt down, then looked at his wife's corpse with an expression of disbelief, his hands trembling as he carefully and gently touched Betty.
When the coldness touched his fingertips, Bruce Banner instantly collapsed.
He quickly embraced Betty's body, sobbing uncontrollably.
Victoria Hand watched this scene, took a deep breath, and remained silent.
Bruce Banner held Betty's body and sobbed for a long time, from when the Sun was high in the sky until the Sun set in the west.
It wasn't until Victoria Hand, who could no longer bear to watch, came to pull him away that he slumped weakly to the side, watching the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had come to help collect Betty's remains.
Bruce Banner, his eyes vacant, slumped on the floor as if he had lost all his strength and hope for living.
Victoria Hand was silent for a moment.
"My condolences, Bruce."
"Who."
"What?"
"Who did it."
Bruce's three words were practically squeezed through his teeth.
Victoria Hand looked at Bruce and realized that at this moment, Bruce Banner's eyes were bloodshot, and a Fire called revenge was spreading within them.
"Hawk."
Victoria Hand did not hide it. After stating Hawk's name, she then recounted in detail how Betty had attempted to hire criminals through a black market intermediary to kidnap and kill Hawk's girlfriend, but Hawk had discovered and foiled the plot, thus bringing about her own demise.
Initially, Bruce's rage burned fiercely.
But...
After Victoria Hand finished speaking, the Fire in Bruce Banner's eyes clearly showed signs of faltering.
After all, the meaning of her words was already very clear.
Betty had made the first move. From a certain perspective, Hawk killing her was merely an act of revenge.
Bruce Banner fell silent after listening to Victoria Hand's narration.
Victoria looked at Bruce, whose eyes had once again become vacant, and pursed her lips.
"My condolences."
...
Bruce Banner slumped on the floor, then seemed to think of something, and stared blankly at the wedding photo hanging on the living room wall.
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