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CLANG!!!
Hawk's right hand shot out. Without moving an inch, he caught the Vibranium shield Captain America had just hurled at him.
The exact same way the Winter Soldier had caught Cap's shield last night.
The next second, Hawk flicked his wrist and sent the shield spinning back toward Cap. "Careful there, Captain. First time's an accident. Second time, I'm going to assume it's on purpose."
People with faith deserved respect.
Especially those willing to die for what they believed in.
No matter what that belief was.
Judge the action, not the heart.
Cap snatched his shield out of the air with a sharp whoosh, eyeing Hawk with clear wariness. "Who are you?"
Natasha, standing to the side, snapped out of her shock. Though she was confused about why Hawk was here, she stepped forward and made the introductions.
"Captain, this is Hawk."
"Hawk, this is Steve Rogers. Captain America."
Before now, Hawk and Cap had never actually met.
After all, Hawk lived in New York City. Cap's hometown was also New York, but after his revival, he'd moved to Washington D.C. So the two had never crossed paths.
But—
"So you're Hawk."
Steve listened to Natasha's introduction and looked at Hawk. "Thor and Tony have mentioned you. So you're a friend, not an enemy."
Hawk let out a dry chuckle.
"Not necessarily."
"Oh?"
"To Natasha? Sure, we're not enemies. But to you, Captain? If you've got a problem with me killing people, then we might end up on opposite sides."
"..."
Natasha heard Hawk's words and immediately pictured the sea of ash that had once been Wakanda.
Steve, meanwhile, heard the same words and his expression turned serious.
"But you only kill bad people."
"At the very least, I've never killed anyone unprovoked."
Hawk was speaking the truth.
Steve instinctively glanced at Natasha.
He didn't know Hawk well, but he knew Natasha very well.
Natasha thought about it seriously. Aside from that first time when Hawk had stormed Quantico—which admittedly was him starting trouble—every other incident after that hadn't actually been Hawk's fault.
Meeting Steve's gaze, Natasha nodded.
Steve saw the confirmation, then turned back to Hawk with a slight smile. "I'm a relic from another time, but back in my day, if you killed the bad guys, that made you one of the good guys."
Hawk looked at Steve.
"You're different from what I expected, Captain."
"I slept for seventy years."
Steve shrugged, dropping his combat stance and making a self-deprecating joke. "The history books also say I never smoked or drank."
Hawk remembered what the history books said about Captain America and laughed. He looked at Cap with genuine curiosity.
"But you do drink??"
"Yeah."
Steve nodded with a smile, then extended an invitation. "Once we're done with what we're dealing with, maybe we can grab a drink together."
Hawk shrugged.
"Sorry. I'm under twenty-one. Can't legally drink yet."
"....."
Steve's expression froze. He instinctively looked at Natasha again.
Natasha took a deep breath, suddenly remembering Hawk's actual age. "That's right, Captain. Hawk's only nineteen this year. He's a freshman at NYU Law School."
Steve looked at Hawk in surprise and let out an impressed whistle.
"Wow."
"Although, Captain, if you really want to have that drink, we could go somewhere else. Like London. The drinking age there is eighteen."
Hawk smiled as he spoke.
Federal law said you couldn't drink under twenty-one.
But in London, eighteen was perfectly legal.
So, he couldn't legally drink in the States, but in London, he was golden.
Rules were rules. People made their own choices.
Just like when he and Thor had gone to Mars for their fight. After they finished beating the hell out of each other, they'd had a few drinks on Mars, then both flew back drunk.
Federal law might have long arms, but Hawk seriously doubted it reached all the way to Mars.
Steve processed Hawk's words and laughed, then nodded.
"Deal. Once this is over, I'll take you to London for that drink."
"Sounds good."
Hawk nodded, accepting Cap's invitation.
Natasha, watching this exchange, turned to Hawk and got back to business. "Hawk, why are you here...?"
Steve also looked at Hawk.
Hawk said nothing. His gaze moved past the two of them and landed on the old-fashioned computer monitor behind them, where a digital face had appeared.
His eyes fixed on the electronic face of Zola displayed on the screen, and a slight smile tugged at his lips. "Zola. I've been here for a while now. Has that broken algorithm of yours figured out why I'm here yet?"
Zola's server hummed and whirred.
The next second, Zola's electronic voice spoke.
"Alexander Pierce told you that I was the mastermind behind HYDRA's attempt to test you."
"Correct."
Hawk's smile widened. "So do you know why I'm here?"
Zola's electronic tone remained flat.
"To destroy me."
"Smart."
"Not smart."
Zola refuted Hawk's compliment, his voice devoid of inflection. "This is the most probable outcome based on my analysis of all your past actions. Thaddeus Ross provoked you, and you killed him. Bruce Banner provoked you, and you killed him. Wakanda provoked you, and you wiped out their entire nation. Now I have provoked you. There is no reason you would spare me."
Hawk's smile grew even wider. "Once again—you're very smart."
Steve, listening to Dr. Zola's words, looked shocked. He turned to Natasha, his tone incredulous. "Bruce Banner is dead?"
He genuinely hadn't known. After the Battle of New York, Bruce Banner had left the country, so Steve had assumed he was still overseas somewhere.
But the truth was, SHIELD had buried that information.
Natasha opened her mouth, meeting Steve's gaze, then shrugged and shook her head. "It's a long story. I'll explain when we have time."
Steve nodded, watching as Hawk ignored both of them entirely and engaged Zola in direct conversation. It suddenly made sense why Hawk had said they might become enemies if Steve disapproved of his killing.
Hawk overheard Cap and Natasha's exchange and turned to look at Natasha. "I've already cleared out the HYDRA agents from SHIELD's New York branch. Aren't you two planning to head over there?"
He thought about the original timeline, where Cap and Natasha had been stalled by Zola long enough for a missile strike to hit them.
The missile hadn't shown up yet, but what if it did?
"I heard Victoria Hand is putting together a plan to retake the Triskelion and restore SHIELD's command structure. Don't you want to regroup with them?"
"What?"
Natasha stared at Hawk in shock. "The New York branch is back under SHIELD control?"
Hawk laughed.
"Why else do you think I'm here? This digital bastard sent his people to my house to threaten my fiancée and demand she hand over Sharon."
"..."
Natasha was speechless. But this time, she wasn't looking at Hawk. She was staring at the electronic face of Zola on the screen.
Holy hell.
He sent people to Hawk's house. To threaten Hawk's fiancée.
Natasha had already thought Zola was incredibly bold when he'd revealed the Insight Protocol.
But this...
This was a whole other level of audacity!!
How did you even think that was a good idea? The last person who dared threaten his fiancée ended up having their entire bloodline wiped out.
'Wait. Hold on. Why am I sympathizing with HYDRA?'
'I should be celebrating.'
Natasha's thoughts raced, then she focused on the fact that the New York branch had been liberated. She turned to Cap. "Captain, we need to get to the New York branch immediately and tell Commander Hand about HYDRA's plan."
Cap frowned.
"But what if..."
"Hawk's already vetted them. I trust that there are no HYDRA spies left in the New York branch."
Natasha spoke with absolute confidence.
Because Hawk had personally handled it. Which meant anyone Hawk even suspected of being HYDRA had probably been sent straight to Hell.
So, The New York branch's current SHIELD purity level? Definitely one hundred percent.
Steve watched as Natasha urged him to head to the New York branch with complete confidence. He instinctively glanced at Hawk.
"Hawk, what about you...?"
"Zola and I still have some unfinished business. You two go ahead."
"Alright!"
Thinking about the Insight Protocol that Dr. Zola had just revealed, Steve didn't hesitate. He nodded and prepared to leave with Natasha.
But just then—
CLANG!
As Dr. Zola's program activated, the only elevator leading to the surface suddenly slammed shut behind a heavy steel blast door.
Natasha and Cap froze.
Hawk turned to look at the scene, genuinely amused. He glanced at the screen displaying Zola's face.
He didn't address Zola. Instead, he teleported between Natasha and Cap in an instant, placing his hands on both their shoulders.
The next second—
With a thought, Hawk vanished from Zola's server room with both of them. When they reappeared, they were under the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan.
Since he was already playing delivery service, he figured he might as well take them all the way.
After dropping Natasha and Cap off beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, Hawk gave Natasha a brief smile, then turned and vanished once more.
Cap looked up at the familiar Brooklyn Bridge and opened his mouth.
"This is..."
"Teleportation, probably."
Natasha snapped out of her daze after Hawk disappeared. She looked at the stunned Captain. "It's a power Hawk started showing after the Battle of London."
Steve nodded thoughtfully. "Thor told me he and Hawk frequently spar on Mars. I thought he was joking, but apparently..."
Natasha turned to Cap, her expression serious.
"Captain."
"Yeah?"
"You know that massive crater scientists discovered on Mars recently? The one way bigger than Victoria Crater?"
Steve nodded.
"That crater was made by the two of them fighting. Hawk says Thor made it when he got slammed into the ground. Thor says Hawk made it. Pepper told me about it once over the phone."
"..."
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~# 70 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
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