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"My son is dead."
"Your children won't survive either."
"DIE!"
The instant Strucker heard Hawk tell the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft to leave, something inside him snapped. He exploded into motion—his mind flooding with the image of his son being obliterated without mercy. The twin blue pinpricks serving as his eyes flared with renewed intensity.
Simultaneously, the Mind Stone embedded in his chest blazed with brilliant light.
The next second, Two beams of searing yellow energy erupted from what passed for Strucker's eyes, streaking toward the fleeing S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft.
But...
He had beams. So did Hawk.
"Phoenix Ray!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The moment the Phoenix Ray collided with the Mind Stone beams mid-air, the impact was catastrophic. Shockwaves exploded outward from the collision point, rippling in every direction at terrifying speed.
The turbulent air currents generated by the clashing energies locked onto the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft like invisible chains.
The aircraft shuddered violently, pitching and rolling.
"SHIT!"
"Get us out of here, Mark!"
Inside the cabin, the S.H.I.E.L.D. operative—who felt like he was trapped inside a leaf caught in a hurricane, seconds away from going down—stumbled toward the cockpit door and roared at the pilot.
"FUCK!"
"Stop rushing me—I'm trying!"
"FLY, DAMMIT!"
The pilot—Mark—roared right back.
He'd already maxed out the engines.
The aircraft's turbines screamed at full power.
But, Something had them pinned. No matter how much thrust he demanded, they weren't moving. It was like the aircraft was glued in place.
Inside the cabin, Wanda peered through the window at Hawk—hovering to their right, locked in a beam struggle with Strucker. After a moment's thought, she shifted Billy and Tommy into Pietro's arms.
Pietro blinked, instinctively accepting the twins before shooting his sister a look.
"What are you doing?"
"Helping."
"Helping my ass!"
Pietro's eyes nearly rolled out of his skull. He watched scarlet energy already gathering around his sister's hands.
"Can you fly? The second you step out that door, you'll drop straight into the ocean."
Wanda heard this and frowned.
"But..."
"Just sit tight. The only thing we can do right now is stay out of his way."
"..."
Wanda considered her brother's words. Then she turned back toward the window, watching Hawk and Strucker clash in the sky beyond.
Strucker's voice was savage with fury.
"JUST DIE ALREADY!"
"You?"
Hawk's tone dripped with contempt. As he spoke, his form rose steadily higher—the Phoenix Ray maintaining pressure from above, pressing down against Strucker's Mind Stone beams from an elevated position.
He wasn't even taking Strucker seriously.
The man hadn't been a threat in human form. Now that he'd abandoned his humanity entirely? Even less of one.
However—
While Hawk didn't give a damn about Strucker himself...
He cared very much about the Mind Stone.
By all rights, Strucker shouldn't have been able to wield an Infinity Stone at all. More accurately—no living creature could use an Infinity Stone without consequences.
Everyone knew the deal.
Infinity Stones...
Got energy? They drain your energy!
No energy? They drain your life!
Any human attempting to harness an Infinity Stone had only one outcome waiting for them—their life force would be siphoned away long before they could accomplish anything meaningful.
But Strucker had stopped being human.
By transferring his soul into this Vibranium-and-nanobot hybrid chassis, he'd effectively found a loophole around the Mind Stone's side effects.
Whether that was intentional or just dumb luck, Hawk couldn't say.
Either way—
As Strucker continued firing those Mind Stone beams, his Vibranium body was visibly deteriorating—turning to ash at a rate the naked eye could track.
But his body wasn't just Vibranium.
It was also nanobots.
The moment sections of his frame began disintegrating, nanobots rushed in to fill the gaps instantaneously.
Just like Tony Stark's future nanotech suit—damage repaired in the blink of an eye by countless microscopic machines.
From a certain angle, Strucker had perfectly circumvented the cost of wielding an Infinity Stone.
But!
Strucker relied on external tools.
Hawk relied on himself.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
As Hawk's Cosmo continued burning at a steady, controlled rate, his Phoenix Ray's energy output remained rock-solid—and with the advantage of higher ground, he began steadily pushing the collision point downward toward Strucker.
He was forcing Strucker to make a choice.
Either abandon the attempt to destroy the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft, rise to match Hawk's altitude, and continue the beam struggle.
Or—
Watch the Phoenix Ray punch straight through and vaporize his new body.
"Keh-heh-heh!"
"Hawk Phoenix—you're such a hypocrite."
"You claimed you didn't care whether I killed your children or not. But clearly, you care quite a bit."
Strucker saw through Hawk's strategy—and it delighted him, like discovering a new toy. His laughter turned manic.
"Makes sense, though."
"At your level of existence, you probably have no idea that these three children might be the only offspring you'll ever have."
"After all—that Gwen Stacy of yours can't bear your children."
"I'm the one who gave you these three kids."
"You should be on your knees, thanking me. Thanking me for gifting you three children."
"So—"
"KNEEL!"
As he spat that final word, Strucker made his choice. With an explosive surge, he rocketed upward—soaring higher than Hawk—and reversed the dynamic entirely. Now he held the elevation advantage, his Mind Stone beams pressing down against the Phoenix Ray.
But in doing so, he'd abandoned his assault on the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft.
The instant Strucker ascended, the aircraft—previously trapped by the shockwaves—felt its engines roar back to life. The pilot immediately pitched the nose down and throttled forward, desperate to escape.
Hawk sensed something was wrong.
And sure enough—
The Mind Stone in Strucker's chest blazed with blinding intensity.
His voice turned utterly savage.
"These three children were my gift to you."
"What I give, I can take back."
"So watch. Just like me—watch helplessly as your three children die right in front of you."
"Keh-heh-heh!"
Hawk heard Strucker's mechanical, demonic shriek. His Sixth Sense stirred. His peripheral vision dropped toward the ocean surface below.
And he saw it.
A dark silhouette—skimming just beneath the waves, racing toward them at incredible speed.
That's...
Namor McKenzie?
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The figure shot from the water like a swordfish breaching the surface. A furious battle cry tore from his throat as the trident in his grip launched forward—streaking through the air like an intercontinental missile, aimed directly at the fleeing S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft.
Strucker's laughter turned savage.
"Your turn to choose, Hawk!"
Either ignore the aircraft and continue the beam struggle—but watch the trident tear it out of the sky.
Or break off to intercept—and eat a direct hit for his trouble.
Hawk said nothing.
WHOOSH!
The instant his form flickered and vanished, Strucker's Mind Stone beam slammed into his right shoulder, knocking him off-course.
The next second.
CLANG!
WHOOSH!
Namor watched his trident—milliseconds from striking home—get punched away by a figure that materialized directly in front of the aircraft. His pupils contracted sharply. His right hand opened, telekinetically recalling the spinning weapon to his grip.
"Hiss!"
"He's hurt."
Inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft—once again frozen in place by Strucker's telekinetic hold—Wanda stared through the window at Hawk. He stood suspended in the air before them, blood streaming from a vicious wound on his right shoulder.
She gasped in alarm.
"Hawk!"
Back in New York, inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s central command hub, Gwen's eyes went wide. She watched blood pour from the savage gash on Hawk's right shoulder, unable to contain her cry.
Sharon flinched instinctively beside her—then her brow furrowed.
"Something's off."
"What?"
Gwen heard Sharon's words and immediately turned to her. "What's off?"
Sharon studied the satellite feed. Hawk's right shoulder was clearly wounded—but his expression hadn't changed at all. She noted the cold, calculating calm in his eyes... and something clicked.
"Wait. Hawk's baiting them."
Gwen blinked. Then she looked back at the main screen.
She'd been too panicked to think clearly.
But Sharon's observation—combined with everything she knew about Hawk—
Hiss.
Hawk got hit on purpose?
Gwen sucked in a sharp breath as realization dawned.
"Keh-heh-heh!"
"I knew you were bluffing!"
"DIE!"
Strucker watched Hawk take a direct hit just to protect the aircraft. His eyes lit up with savage glee, his laughter turning manic as he fired another Mind Stone beam straight at the S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft.
His son was dead.
He wanted Hawk's three children to die screaming right before their father's eyes.
Hawk's expression didn't waver. His left hand extended toward the aircraft.
"Telekinesis!"
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The Mind Stone beam hammered against the aircraft—and splashed harmlessly against an invisible barrier, sending ripples cascading outward with each impact.
"HRAAAAH!"
Below, Namor stood barefoot on the ocean surface. Watching this unfold, he let out a thunderous war cry. His trident spun in a blur—and from the churning sea, massive water dragons erupted skyward.
The dragons roared with fury, surging upward against the natural order, rocketing toward Hawk.
Hawk glanced down at the water dragons racing up to meet him. His right hand opened.
"Telekinesis!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Countless water dragons launched themselves at him in waves, each one slamming against the barrier before Hawk and detonating into spray.
Strucker attacked from above.
Namor attacked from below.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
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~# 70 Advanced Chapters Available on my Patreon!
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~# Bonus Chapter every 300PS