Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 80: [] - Leveled the Ross Family’s Cemetery!

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Gwen’s face went completely blank as she stared at Natasha.

"I don’t know."

"..."

Natasha stared back, her own voice low and steady. "Last night’s incident really wasn’t us. If we were coming for you, we would have been here long ago. Why wait until now?"

Gwen ignored her.

"Are you here to arrest me?"

"No."

The moment the word left Natasha’s lips, Gwen pushed open her car door and got out.

Natasha opened the passenger door and followed, watching as Gwen shut the driver’s side door. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Gwen’s voice was calm. "Thank you for bringing my car back."

"..."

Natasha frowned as Gwen turned and walked back toward the house without another glance. She watched her go, then, after a moment of silence, turned and opened the door of a black van parked nearby.

The moment she was inside and the door was shut, Natasha contacted Maria Hill, who was running the show back at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion.

"Commander."

"What’s the situation?"

"She’s not talking." Natasha reported the facts.

She could have grabbed Gwen, tortured her for information, and forced her to give up Hawk’s location.

But the memory of waking up after the attack, alive and unharmed, flashed through her mind. The thought of harming Gwen was dismissed before it could even fully form.

Maria Hill didn’t sound surprised by her answer. "Don’t bother. We’ve found him."

Natasha paused. "You found Hawk?"

"Yes."

"Quantico?"

"No. New Mexico."

"New..." Natasha was stunned. "What the hell is he doing in New Mexico?"

Maria Hill looked at the video an agent in New Mexico had just sent her. After a moment of silence, she said, "The Ross family cemetery has been destroyed."

As she spoke, Natasha pulled out her phone, which had just received the same file.

She opened the video.

The scene was one of utter devastation. As far as the eye could see, headstones were shattered, graves had been blasted open, and splintered coffins and skeletal remains littered the entire cemetery.

And that wasn’t even mentioning the Ross family estate in front of it.

As the camera panned, the once-magnificent mansion was now a smoldering ruin.

Natasha was stunned.

"This..."

"Our agents in New York just confirmed it. The damage to Hawk’s sister’s grave was minor, likely from last night’s battle. It seems clear that the destruction of the Ross estate and their family cemetery was Hawk’s retaliation."

"Hiss."

Natasha drew in a sharp breath. A thought occurred to her.

"Does General Ross know?"

"He does."

"He must be losing his mind." Natasha said, her eyes still glued to the video on her phone. If someone had done this to her family’s resting place, she would have gone on a warpath.

But—

Serves him right.

Natasha thought with a grim satisfaction in her eyes.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was still in the middle of running threat assessments and planning a first contact, and the military had just charged in with no plan and no intel.

Did they really think that just because Hawk’s name sounded a little like Hulk’s, he was another Bruce Banner?

Just because Banner ran when you chased him, did you really think everyone would?

Well, now they knew. The more arrogant they were at the start, the more painful the payback.

...

Natasha marveled at the sheer audacity of it, then she froze.

"Commander, that’s not right. New York is a long way from New Mexico. It’s only been six hours since the incident. How could he have gotten there so fast?"

"To be precise, it took him less than three hours to get to New Mexico."

"What?"

Natasha was shocked. "That’s impossible."

"But it’s a fact," Maria Hill said, her voice grim. "And right now, his speed isn’t the issue. If I’m right, his next stop is Quantico."

Hawk killing the Hulk for revenge was one thing.

But leveling the Ross family cemetery sent a much clearer message.

Hawk repaid every wrong.

So, If he would go so far as to destroy their family cemetery, what were the odds he would spare Thaddeus Ross, the man who had ordered last night’s attack?

Though S.H.I.E.L.D. had once again lost track of Hawk...

Maria Hill was certain of his next destination.

Quantico.

Natasha frowned as she processed Hill’s prediction. "So, what are my orders?"

"Stay put."

"What?"

Maria Hill’s voice was firm. "Find a way to stay close to Gwen. Until this is over."

Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Commander, are you saying...?"

"It’s not confirmed. But we need to be prepared for the worst. And Natasha... this conversation stays between us. Understood?"

"Understood. Then what about...?"

Natasha nodded, then glanced at the three other S.H.I.E.L.D agents in the van, who were all busy with their own tasks.

Maria Hill seemed to know what she was thinking. "The team with you was handpicked by me and Victoria Hand. They’ll be responsible for external security until this is over."

Natasha understood.

"Yes, Commander."

"Hill out."

...

In her office at the Triskelion, Maria Hill ended the call and tossed her phone aside. She leaned back in her chair, subconsciously massaging her temples.

Her initial plan had been to recall Natasha.

But, Just as she was about to give the order, an instinct, a sudden jolt of intuition, had made her change her mind and order Natasha to stay and protect Gwen.

Because she had a feeling that the military, unable to defeat Hawk head-on, might try to use Gwen as bait.

It wasn’t just a feeling. It was an assessment based on her years of service in military intelligence!!

To win a war, the military would stop at nothing.

The only reason Ross hadn’t used the Hulk’s girlfriend, Betty, as bait was because she was his own daughter. If it had been anyone else, Ross would have had her kidnapped and set a trap for the Hulk to walk right into.

And now, Hawk had just desecrated his family’s graves.

It was a precaution she had to take.

And after thinking about General Ross, another name came to mind. Maria Hill looked up, her gaze drifting toward Nick Fury’s office—

Her gut was telling her that Nick Fury’s fingerprints were all over the military’s sudden attack on Hawk.

Of the seventy-seven dead federal soldiers found at the scene, one of them had been identified by S.H.I.E.L.D’s New York office as a fake.

It was one of theirs...

And very few people within S.H.I.E.L.D even knew Hawk existed. Of those who did, she had given a direct order forbidding any contact or investigation without her command.

Maria Hill had a strong suspicion that the agent who had died in New York had been sent there by Nick Fury.

The timing was too perfect. Yesterday afternoon, the World Security Council had abruptly reinstated Fury’s operational authority.

The military attacked that night.

Was it really possible there was no connection between the two events??

...

As Maria Hill was lost in thought, the phone on her desk rang.

"Hello."

"Commander, we have a possible sighting of Hawk."

"..." Maria Hill was on her feet in an instant, heading for the door.

By coincidence, the door to the office opposite hers opened at the same time.

Nick Fury, his operational authority fully restored, stepped out.

Maria Hill didn’t wait. She strode directly to the commander’s private elevator and descended to the command center.

A few moments later, she and Nick Fury entered the room, one after the other.

"Haw—"

"Where is the damn criminal now?"

Before Maria Hill could even speak, Nick Fury strode past her, his voice booming with its old authority. He glanced at her as he passed and smirked. "Sorry, Commander. We’re not in a state of war."

Maria Hill gave a stiff, professional smile and said nothing.

She was the Deputy Director and the acting commander in a time of crisis. Only then did her authority supersede his. But now, with his powers restored, Fury was in charge.

"Director."

"We had a possible sighting of Hawk in Maryland—"

"Put it on the screen."

An agent complied. An image from what looked like an ATM camera filled the screen. It was blurry, a figure moving so fast he was practically a ghost.

Fury stared at it, then let out his signature catchphrase.

"Motherfucker... You have any other pictures?"

"No, sir."

"Analyze his desti—"

"Sir!"

An agent at the main console, having just received a new piece of intel, turned to face them, his voice urgent.

"There was an explosion at the Quantico military base. Five seconds ago."

"..."

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