Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 107: [] - When Wakanda Falls, Everyone Eats (Bonus)

Chapter 107: [107] - When Wakanda Falls, Everyone Eats (Bonus)

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History would remember this day.

The moment Hawk’s Phoenix’s Winged Ascent shattered Wakanda’s Vibranium energy shield, Wakanda’s dream of getting rich in secret while begging for relief aid from the United Nations was shattered along with it.

But—

None of that was Hawk’s problem anymore.

Just as he’d told Maria Hill, he was there to help. And now that he had, it was time to go home.

He had been away long enough.

...

It was nine o’clock at night by the time Hawk returned to New York City.

He walked out of JFK International Airport and straight to the long-term parking garage.

His black Audi A8 was right where he had left it.

After paying the exorbitant parking fee, Hawk started the car and pulled out of the airport. As he drove, a thought occurred to him.

The last time he’d left New York, on his way to Quantico, he’d been met with an unexpected robbery.

This time, on his way to Africa, his flights had been grounded by a series of sudden rebellions.

"..." Was it a rule now? Every time he left New York, something had to go sideways? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Hawk mused on the strange pattern. Just then, his phone rang.

It was Anna.

He glanced at the number and answered.

"Good evening, Anna."

"It’s almost morning here."

"...What time is it on your end?"

"Five AM."

Hearing the time, Hawk smiled. "You’ve made it to Wakanda, then?"

Anna’s laugh came through the line. "Hawk, you should have told us. We’re supposed to be friends."

Hawk laughed out loud. "The reveal was my gift to you, Anna. Don’t you think this is better? Saves your people the trouble of fabricating a source for their intel."

It was the truth.

He’d been thinking of Anna when he decided to tell Maria Hill the truth about Wakanda.

Anna paused, processing his explanation.

"A gift... for me?"

"Of course." Hawk’s tone was warm but firm.

"You’ve helped me a lot. And as I’ve said, I’m always generous with my friends. I don’t care what side you’re on. You’re my friend. And because of you, I told Maria Hill the truth. So, you go tell your superiors that this was my doing, and that they should give you a promotion and a raise."

Anna’s laugh returned, brighter this time.

"Alright, Hawk. I’ll be sure to tell my boss."

"That’s the spirit. I only took a small amount of Vibranium for myself. There’s plenty more where that came from. How much you can get is up to you. But you’re the experts in that field."

"Thank you for the gift, Hawk. I love it."

"Glad to hear it." Hawk’s tone shifted, becoming all business. "By the way, I need you to keep an eye on Jane Foster for me. Let me know the second she goes to London."

He couldn’t remember the exact date the Reality Stone—the Aether—had appeared on Earth.

The movie had never specified a year, month, or day.

But Hawk remembered one thing very clearly: the Aether had shown up around the time Jane Foster went to London.

And so—

Sticking close to Jane Foster was the key to finding the Reality Stone. There was no doubt about it.

Anna agreed without hesitation.

...

After another thank you and a joke about the bonus she was going to demand, she hung up.

Hawk ended the call and focused on the road, a slow, satisfied smile spreading across his face as he drove toward his home in the East Village.

He had just thrown the world’s superpowers a much juicier, more profitable target than himself.

His reasons were threefold.

First, it truly was a gift for Anna and, by extension, HYDRA.

Second, he despised the hypocrisy of Wakanda, a nation playing the victim while sitting on a mountain of wealth, taking aid that could have saved lives elsewhere. If they didn’t want to act like decent human beings, then they didn’t deserve to be treated as such.

And third, and most importantly, it was a strategic misdirection. With the entire world now focused on Wakanda, he would be free to move without scrutiny. Before this, his battle with the Demon Hulk would have put him under a global microscope.

But now?

The choice was simple. Monitoring Hawk was a high-risk, low-reward venture. Piss him off, and you might get another Quantico.

But monitoring Wakanda? The potential profits were astronomical. The sheer volume of Vibranium, the advanced technology... any nation that could get its hands on even a fraction of it would leapfrog its rivals.

That included the parasites growing within them—HYDRA.

Staking a claim in Wakanda was in everyone’s best interest.

And Wakanda’s opinion on the matter?

Irrelevant!

The moment they had chosen to lie, to deceive the world and take what wasn’t theirs, they had forfeited their right to an opinion.

Their actions were an order of magnitude more egregious than anything someone like Gaddafi had ever done.

The world’s superpowers didn’t even need a pretext for war this time.

Wakanda had handed it to them on a silver platter.

Their Panther God couldn’t save them now. Only the World Security Council would decide their fate.

But none of that had anything to do with Hawk anymore.

...

An hour later, Hawk pulled into the garage of his house.

It was ten o’clock at night.

He walked inside, immediately stripped off the S.H.I.E.L.D t-shirt, and headed straight for the shower.

The cold water was a welcome shock, washing away the grime and fatigue of the long journey.

Within his Cosmo—

Every corner of his inner universe now pulsed with the essence of the Phoenix. At its very center, the Phoenix Armor rested, slowly growing stronger as it bathed in that power.

Because the true Phoenix had decided to go all-in on him, Hawk’s Cosmo was now at the absolute peak of a Bronze Saint’s.

But it still wasn’t enough to get to Hell. First, he needed the Reality Stone. With its power to reshape reality, he could elevate his Cosmo to the level of a Gold Saint.

Only then would he be ready.

But that was a problem for another day. The Reality Stone hadn’t appeared yet. All he could do now was wait.

After his shower, Hawk walked out of the bathroom and saw his phone, which he’d left on the bed, ringing.

He walked over, looked at the caller ID, and answered with a smile. "Hey, Gwen."

"You’re back in New York?"

"Yeah."

"Then I’m coming back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Wait." Hawk pulled back the covers and lay down, propping himself up on his elbow. "I thought you were there for two months. It’s only been two weeks."

Her study program at Berkeley was supposed to last the entire break.

On the other end of the line, Gwen’s voice was bright. "It was for two months, but I never said I had to stay for the whole two months. MJ was asking when I was coming back a few days ago. And you forgot—we’re graduating this semester. We need to get the yearbook and the alumni directory ready, so I’m going back to school to help out."

The yearbook—a photo album with an individual picture of every graduate and a class photo.

And the alumni directory, a magical little book containing the contact information of every successful person who had ever graduated from Midtown Tech—the school’s parting gift to its students.

Hawk remembered that Gwen was the student aide for their grade and smiled. "Alright, then. What time tomorrow? I’ll pick you up from the airport."

"You can come around ten-thirty."

Hawk agreed.

After they talked for a while longer, they finally hung up.

Hawk looked at the phone, then tossed it aside, turned off the light, and closed his eyes.

...

The next day.

Hawk drove to JFK International Airport once again.

At ten-thirty in the morning.

Gwen, pulling her suitcase, emerged from the arrivals gate. She headed toward the parking garage, her eyes scanning the crowd, searching for Hawk, a hint of worry and nervousness in her expression.

Just then, she felt a light tap on her hand.

She looked to her side and saw him, standing right next to her, as if he had appeared from thin air.

Hawk smiled faintly.

"Welcome home."

"Yeah." Gwen looked at him, her lips pressed together in a tight line.

The worry that had been clouding her features vanished, replaced by a radiant, relieved smile.

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