Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 78: [] - One Storm After Another (Bonus)

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The helicopter thundered overhead.

Searchlights flooded Calvary Cemetery, turning night into day.

On the ground, the two armored vehicles with their sonic cannons and the helicopter with its minigun formed a deadly crossfire, trapping Hawk in the center. The federal soldiers’ weapons gleamed under the harsh lights.

And in the center of it all, Hawk just smiled. It was a wide, genuine, and utterly terrifying smile.

Just then, a piercing screech came from the helicopter’s loudspeakers, followed by the booming voice of General Ross, echoing across the cemetery.

"HAWK, YOU ARE SURROUNDED!!"

General Thaddeus Ross, who had mobilized his forces the instant he got Hawk’s location, was watching from the command center at the Quantico military base.

He stared at the image of Hawk on the main screen, caught in the spotlight with nowhere to run, and his voice was a low growl. "You are under arrest for crimes against national security and the unauthorized breach of a military installation—"

Ross felt a sense of relief.

His initial plan had been to send a special forces team, but learning Hawk’s location was a public cemetery had changed his calculus.

This wasn’t Manhattan.

This wasn’t some city street. It was a cemetery. He’d faced no consequences for the destruction in Manhattan; what did he care about a cemetery?

Ross was determined to capture Hawk.

So, There was no more talk.

From his command center in Quantico, Ross broadcast his voice across New York City to Calvary Cemetery.

"You have ten seconds to surrender!"

"Prepare to fire!"

WHIRRRRR!

As Ross’s words fell, the minigun on the helicopter began to spin up, its barrels locking onto Hawk, ready to turn him into a bloody mess in less than a second.

BEEEEEP!

The two sonic cannons on the armored vehicles began to charge, their operators’ hands steady on the controls.

CLICK-CLACK!

The federal soldiers surrounding Hawk chambered their rounds, and rocket launchers were shouldered, all aimed at their single target.

Hawk followed the sound of Ross’s voice, his gaze lifting past the blinding searchlights to the camera mounted beneath the helicopter.

His eyes locked onto the lens, and it felt as if he were staring right through the void, making direct eye contact with General Ross in his command center.

A slow, predatory smile spread across his face. His voice was quiet, but it carried perfectly through the microphone, clear as a bell in the Quantico war room.

"Thaddeus Ross."

"I just remembered."

"I almost forgot about you. Thank you for reminding me."

"..."

General Ross’s expression faltered. Before he could even process the words, he realized what had happened.

The man who had been standing in the searchlight was gone.

"Wha—"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

"Aaargh!"

By the time the searchlights found Hawk again, one of the armored vehicles was already airborne.

The screams of the sonic cannon’s operator were cut short as the overturned vehicle slammed back down to earth, crushing him instantly.

Before Ross could even react, the second vehicle was also sent flying through the air.

Ross’s eyes narrowed.

"OPEN FIRE!"

WHIRRRRR!

The helicopter, which had been hovering in place, began to move. The operator in the cabin gripped the controls of the minigun.

In that instant, The minigun unleashed its fury, spitting a torrent of fire at the ground below.

Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew!

A relentless storm of bullets rained down.

It tore through the earth, sending dirt and shrapnel flying. It pulverized tombstones, turning sacred ground into a cratered wasteland. It ripped through the bodies of federal soldiers caught in the crossfire...

Collateral damage...

"Fire!"

"Fire!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

One of the soldiers, seeing Hawk send a comrade flying with a casual backhand, overcame his panic and fired the rocket launcher on his shoulder.

The rocket, trailing a long plume of smoke, shot directly at Hawk.

Hawk turned to face it.

CRASH!

The rocket slammed into Hawk’s chest, a direct hit that blossomed into a massive fireball, the shockwave engulfing two nearby soldiers and setting them ablaze.

...

"Did we get him?"

Not only was the soldier who fired the rocket overjoyed, but even General Ross, watching from his command center, felt a surge of triumph.

But—

It was impossible.

Before the look of joy could even fade from the soldier’s face, Hawk strode out of the flames, the upper half of his shirt now burning away.

Thump.

The soldier felt a searing pain in his chest and instinctively looked down.

He saw it.

A fist-sized hole...

"SHIT!"

"Shoot him!"

WHIRRRRR!

The soldier in the helicopter, watching the bloody scene unfold in the stark light of the searchlamp, cried out in shock and immediately swung the minigun back onto Hawk, who was now tearing away the burning remnants of his shirt.

Hawk looked up.

PING-PING-PING!

TANG-TANG-TANG!

A hailstorm of bullets from the minigun slammed into Hawk. He didn’t even try to dodge.

The bullets struck his head, his face, and his bare torso, revealing a physique carved from pure steel.

Bullets like these couldn’t even scratch the Hulk. What chance did they have against Hawk, who had now absorbed the Hulk’s gamma energy?

Hawk took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the helicopter above. The ground beneath his feet cracked as he launched himself into the air like a cannonball.

The helicopter pilot screamed, yanking at his controls, trying to evade.

Alas...

It was too late.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Like a human missile, Hawk shot straight through the helicopter. A split second later, a massive fireball erupted from the gaping hole in its hull, followed by a thunderous explosion. The flaming wreckage plummeted earthward, smashing through dozens of headstones before slamming into the ground in a cloud of dirt and fire.

...

"..." Far away in his command center, General Ross stared in disbelief at the static-filled main screen.

The soldiers on the ground, who had just witnessed this inhuman feat, were completely frozen in shock.

The surviving soldiers saw a streak of light land on the ground and shoot toward them.

Their training kicked in, and they turned to run.

But it was too late for them, too.

Killing one is still killing. Killing two is the same. So killing fifty more... It was just a matter of numbers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

In the blink of an eye, the tables had turned completely.

The once-aggressive federal soldiers were now like dogs with their tails between their legs, their screams and cries filling the night as they ran for their lives, wishing they had been born with more legs.

They scrambled for the cemetery gates.

One of the soldiers, hearing the screams of his comrades fade behind him, saw the cemetery gates just ahead. A flicker of hope ignited in his chest.

The next second, That joy was frozen in place. Not just his expression, but his entire body.

The soldier looked down and saw it. A bloody hand was holding a small, still-beating thing in front of his face.

Instinct told him it was his heart.

That was the last thought the soldier ever had. His eyes went dark, his body went limp, and he crumpled to the ground.

...

By the time Spider-Man arrived at the cemetery, all he could do was stare in disbelief. Peter, crouched on top of the cemetery wall, couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

The ground was churned up, as if it had been plowed by a tractor.

Shattered tombstones lay scattered like broken teeth.

The dismembered bodies of soldiers were strewn everywhere.

In the distance, the bisected wreck of the helicopter was still burning.

And then he saw it.

The two overturned armored vehicles. The door of one of them had been kicked open from the inside, and a soldier, his head covered in blood, was struggling to crawl out.

The next moment, The soldier, halfway out, seemed to sense something. He struggled to lift his head—

—And saw Hawk, bare-chested, standing before him, his face devoid of all emotion.

The soldier opened his mouth.

"I only..."

SPLAT!

"..."

Peter flinched as he watched the soldier’s head explode like a watermelon.

By the time he recovered, Hawk was gone.

Where did he go?

Peter shot a web and swung down into the carnage.

He landed softly and saw him, standing a short distance away, his hand gently tracing the photograph on a small, simple headstone.

Hawk’s right hand traced the picture of his sister, a fire now burning in his heart.

Peter walked cautiously toward him.

"Haw—"

"Peter."

Hawk pulled his hand back and turned to face him, cutting him off. "If someone tried to destroy Uncle Ben’s grave, what would you do?"

What?

Uncle Ben.

Peter didn’t even have to think about it. "I’d kill them."

This was not the Amazing Spider-Man, nor the tech-savvy one. This was the original, a young man who, after his Uncle Ben was killed, had hunted down the robber and killed him, never once thinking of letting the law handle it.

That was why Hawk liked this version of Peter Parker.

He was shy and reserved, just like him.

And just like him, he repaid every kindness and avenged every wrong.

Hawk wasn’t surprised by his answer. He gestured to Anya’s headstone. "This is my sister, Anya. Are you going to try and stop me from getting my revenge?"

Peter’s eyes twitched. He looked at Hawk—at his emotionless face, and the inferno of rage burning deep within his eyes—and said nothing. He just silently stepped aside.

Hawk smiled faintly.

"Thanks."

"Do you need hel—"

Peter started to ask, but before he could finish, Hawk vanished from sight.

He was left standing alone in the silent, ruined cemetery, the wail of distant police sirens finally reaching him.

"Shit."

"This is bad. This is really, really bad."

Peter snapped back to reality.

...

Bonus Chapter at 2,000PS

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