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The Avengers worked around the clock, building their time machine.
Hawk stayed at 521A Palm Street, treating it like his own universe. He hardly ever left the house.
He only went out to buy groceries with Anya. Most days, he sat under the Phoenix tree in the backyard, letting his mind wander as he watched the flow of his River of Time.
The clock ticked down.
In the blink of an eye. Twenty days passed.
At the Avengers compound, they had quickly built a massive time tunnel.
But there was a problem... Scott Lang kept turning into a baby. Or an old man.
It looked like Scott was traveling through time, but he actually wasn't. Instead of Scott moving through time, time was moving through him. That might sound similar, but it's not the same.
Steve Rogers quietly shut down the machine. He rubbed his temples, looked up at the sky, and figured the plan was dead.
Then Tony Stark arrived in his Audi, just in time. "Let me guess. He turned into a baby? Then an old man?"
"..." Steve didn't answer. He just stared at him.
"Why are you here, Tony?"
"The EPR paradox. It's dangerous. Did anyone warn you time travel was a bad idea?"
"You did."
"Right. I did."
Tony got out of the car and held up his right hand, showing a device on his wrist. "Good thing I built a fully functional Time-Space GPS."
Steve's eyes locked onto it.
A little while later, Iron Man and Captain America shook hands. Clint Barton, who had lost his family in the Blip and felt he had nothing left to lose, volunteered for the test run. He came back holding a baseball glove.
The Time Heist was officially on.
"We need a team."
"Rocket, Falcon, and Nebula got the message. They're on their way back."
"Danvers?"
"Radio silence."
"Thor?"
"Norway. I'll go get him."
"Take Rocket."
"Wait." Steve paused, thinking of a wild card. "What about Hawk? Bruce said he's a powerhouse. He made it through the Quantum Realm by himself. Will he help us?"
Bruce shrugged. "If he's the Hawk from the universe I visited? Yeah. He's a powerhouse."
Natasha looked at Steve and shook her head. "He won't help. He meant it. We're on our own."
Steve nodded. He dropped the subject.
By the time Bruce and Rocket brought back an out-of-shape Thor from New Asgard, Hawk had already spent twenty-two days in this universe.
Inside the compound, the Infinity Stones were displayed on a holographic screen: Space, Mind, Time, Reality, Soul, and Power.
Thanks to Natasha's research, they found out that three stones were in New York at the same time. The team split into three groups.
"Five years ago, we lost. All of us." Cap's voice resounded through the hangar. "We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves."
"Today, we have a chance to take it all back."
"You know your teams. You know your missions. Get the stones. Get them back."
"One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But that doesn't mean we know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other."
"This is the fight of our lives."
"And we're going to win."
"Whatever it takes."
"See you in a minute."
Hummm!
The machine powered up. Natasha smiled softly, as if she were watching her broken family finally come back together. The platform lit up, and the Avengers disappeared into the quantum tunnel.
The next moment. A stone dropped into the River of Time, sending ripples crashing into the past.
Meanwhile.
Hawk sat under the tree in the backyard at 521A Palm Street, using his Seventh Sense to watch over the compound.
As soon as the Avengers entered the timeline, Hawk went in right after them.
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The New York Sanctum.
Hawk materialized without a sound.
The Ancient One, having just sent Banner on his way, turned around. She froze for a split second. Then, a bright smile spread across her face.
"Oh. It's been a while, Hawk."
"..." Hawk narrowed his eyes.
The Ancient One kept smiling. "When Dr. Banner came for the stone, I looked at the timeline. The Chief God of the Phoenix from the multiverse. But I know you prefer Hawk."
Hawk let out a short laugh. He cut straight to the chase.
"Tell me about me and Wanda in this universe. What's the deal?"
When he first absorbed the memories of his 616 variant, he didn't think much about it. His main focus was unlocking the Eighth Sense of Life and taking down the runaway Celestial, Gargaratus.
But as his golden Phoenix Micro-Universe settled into this reality, he took a closer look at the timeline and found something strange.
Bottom line.
This universe's Hawk wasn't him. But he was this universe's Hawk.
And it wasn't an isolated incident.
Looking through the River of Time, he noticed the exact same signature on this universe's Wanda.
Simply put, the Wanda living here felt exactly like the Wanda living in Westview back home.
Just like him, it was like one tree with two flowers. It didn't make any sense.
He knew he wouldn't be going home soon. With the Avengers' time heist in mind, he decided to visit the timeline where the Ancient One was still alive.
The Ancient One smiled. She didn't answer him directly.
"What do you think is going on?"
"I'm the one asking the questions, Sorcerer."
"You already know the answer, don't you?"
"..."
Her smile stayed steady and her eyes were calm. "You just don't want to believe it."
Hawk didn't say a word.
He just stared at her. She stared back.
A long silence stretched between them.
Hawk's mouth twitched. He looked away. "I really hate the multiverse. Sometimes I want to burn down every universe except my own."
The Ancient One beamed. "No, you don't."
"You sure about that?"
"Positive."
Her tone was absolute. "Because any universe that holds you and Wanda will always hold one other person. And as long as she is there, you won't destroy a thing."
Hawk looked back at her.
"Anya."
"Yes." She nodded. "No matter the universe, Anya Phoenix will always be Hawk Phoenix's dearest sister."
When he heard his own logic repeated back to him, Hawk smirked and sighed.
"Give me some advice, Sorcerer. The Time God back home is off on vacation somewhere. I can't track her down."
"Apologies." The Ancient One shook her head, still smiling. "A Chief God's family drama isn't something us lesser gods interfere with. Too easy to get burned."
Hawk blinked.
"I thought you said you weren't my subordinate."
"The other me is. And you're in my universe now."
"So?"
"So, by proxy, I fall under your jurisdiction." She looked up at the universe itself, then back at Hawk and shrugged. "Don't put me in a tough spot. You wouldn't want me to create a timeline where you turn into a bull like Zeus, would you?"
Hawk chuckled.
"So a lesser god refuses to help with family drama, but openly threatens the Chief God to his face?"
"If the Chief God tries to push others around, the lesser god has to defend herself." She smiled, and her eyes flickered as she noticed something in the timeline. "Are you sure you want to stay here? Someone is about to jump off a cliff."
Hawk didn't say a word. He just stared at her.
The next second.
"I used to wonder why I let my kid completely wreck the timeline you wove back home."
"I actually felt a little guilty about it."
"Now I get it."
"Nobody likes a fence-sitter."
"Indeed." The Ancient One nodded at his comment, her tone still calm. "But if you have to offend one person or two, even a child knows which to choose."
She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "Women hold grudges."
Hawk's eye twitched violently.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again. He gave her one last look, turned, and vanished from the roof of the 2012 New York Sanctum.
Suddenly.
He followed the temporal ripples left by the Avengers, hid his presence, focused on a specific moment, and broke through the fabric of reality.
He opened his eyes.
A blood-red moon hung in the sky.
Vormir!
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