Marvel: The Enlightened One#225+226: Reunion of Cousins, Is Dr. Merrick Real?

The Fox family.

Alongside the Salvatore family, the Gilbert family, the Lockwood family, and the Forbes family, they formed the five founding families of Mystic Falls.

As one of the earliest families to settle in the town, the Fox estate sat on the eastern edge of Mystic Falls, nestled near the valley where the mountains met the river.

The scenery was breathtaking.

As Hawk pulled up to the weathered Southern-style manor that had clearly seen better days, he glanced at Gwen with mock regret. "You should have brought my cowboy outfit."

Gwen had already spotted her grandfather waiting by the entrance. She ignored Hawk completely, pushed open the car door, and ran toward the man standing there—hair gray but posture still strong—calling out happily.

"Grandpa!"

"Haha!"

William Fox, now sixty-five years old, laughed warmly as he embraced his granddaughter. Then his eyes shifted to the young man stepping out of the car.

Hawk climbed out, buttoned the suit jacket he'd unfastened while driving, adjusted his cuffs, and walked forward.

He wasn't a fan of wearing suits.

Given the choice, he'd take casual or athletic wear any day.

But this was different. He was here to meet Gwen's grandfather. The occasion called for something formal.

"Grandpa, this is Hawk."

"Hawk, this is my grandfather, William Fox."

"Mr. Fox."

Hawk smiled politely as he extended his right hand toward the gray-haired man whose sharp eyes spoke of a mind still every bit as alert as it had ever been.

He couldn't exactly follow Gwen's lead and call him "Grandpa." At least not until after he and Gwen were officially married.

Helen was different. When Hawk called her "Mom," it was only when the three of them were alone. He'd never done it in front of anyone else.

William Fox didn't try to intimidate him with some power play. The moment Hawk extended his hand, William clasped it firmly, completing the handshake. "Welcome, Hawk."

Hawk felt the surprising strength in the older man's grip—sixty-five years old and still solid—and smiled. "Thank you."

Soon—

Hawk followed Gwen, who had her arm linked through her grandfather's, into the main building of the estate.

The interior opened up into a spacious hall. A long, rectangular dining table sat beneath antique chandeliers. A fireplace crackled warmly against one wall. Oil paintings hung throughout the space, each one whispering stories of the Fox family's storied past.

Unfortunately, those days were long gone.

Everyone knew how the Civil War had ended.

The North had won. The South had lost.

And so, the Fox family—once owners of sprawling plantations—had been reduced to what could generously be called small-town aristocracy.

The current sheriff of Mystic Falls was Gwen's aunt, Liz Fox.

And if things went according to plan, the next sheriff would either be Liz's daughter, Caroline Fox, or whoever Caroline eventually married.

Still—

None of that had anything to do with Hawk or Gwen.

They weren't planning to settle down in Mystic Falls. They were just here to visit Grandpa and take a little vacation. They wouldn't be staying long.

Gwen sat down on the sofa near the fireplace, still holding her grandfather's arm. "Where are Aunt Liz and Caroline? Didn't they come back?"

Her grandfather chuckled. "They live in town now. They only come back on weekends. But I called them this morning. They'll be here this afternoon."

Gwen's face lit up. "I haven't seen Aunt Liz and Caroline in forever. Oh—Caroline should be graduating soon, right? Has she gotten her college acceptance letters yet?"

Caroline Fox. Aunt Liz's daughter. Gwen's cousin. Eighteen years old. A senior at Mystic Falls High. Captain of the cheerleading squad. Beautiful, poised, confident.

Don't let the movies and TV shows fool you with their stereotypes about vapid, airheaded cheerleaders.

In America, being a cheerleading captain was serious business. Serious enough to put on a résumé.

The selection process was rigorous.

You had to be pretty. You had to have good grades. And you had to come from the right kind of family.

All three. No exceptions.

Even Gwen—confident, brilliant Gwen—had felt a flicker of insecurity when Jennifer Check, Midtown High's cheerleading captain, had tried to flirt with Hawk right after they'd started dating.

...

That afternoon.

After Hawk and Gwen finished lunch with William Fox, the older man excused himself for his afternoon nap. Gwen took the opportunity to give Hawk a tour of the Fox estate.

Of course, The estate itself wasn't the main attraction.

The real draw was the collection of old photographs documenting the family's history.

Hawk finally got to see them.

Yellowed photos showing the Fox estate in its prime. Endless fields of cotton and watermelon stretching to the horizon. And laboring in those fields—Black workers bent beneath the Southern sun.

Hawk flipped through the photos, one after another, each one a monument to a bygone era. He shook his head and sighed.

"Born too late."

"What do you mean, too late?"

"Wrong place, wrong time."

Hawk shrugged.

Gwen glanced at Hawk as he continued flipping through photos and muttering under his breath. She blinked. "Keep your voice down. You're being way too obvious about your... preferences."

Hawk laughed dryly and looked at Gwen.

"Am I not obvious enough already?"

"Uh..."

Gwen thought back to Wakanda—the nation Hawk had wiped off the map after they tried to kidnap her.

Yeah.

Hawk's preferences had been pretty clear from that moment on.

Gwen thought about some of the conversations she'd had recently with Sharon while they were out shopping.

"So that's why SHIELD's demographics have been shifting lately?"

"Hm?"

"Sharon told me."

Gwen shrugged. "She said there used to be Black agents in the New York branch. But after Maria Hill's reorganization, the percentage of Black agents has dropped to almost nothing."

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

He honestly hadn't known that.

Gwen shot him a look. "Our current president is..."

"He's a mutt."

"Uh..."

"When you crossbreed two different dog breeds, the offspring is called a mutt. Or a mongrel."

"..."

Gwen's mouth twitched. She immediately decided to drop the subject and pivoted to something safer. "Let me show you around town. There should be a party happening tonight."

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

"Should be?"

"Yeah."

Gwen nodded and looked at Hawk. "Mystic Falls has a nickname. 'Party Town.' Want to know why?"

Hawk shook his head.

"It started when the town decided to make tourism its main industry. Every mayor since then has kept the tradition going."

"The town gets tourists every single day."

"So to keep them here and spending money, they started throwing parties constantly. Every few days, there's a new event."

Gwen explained the economic strategy behind Mystic Falls' endless party schedule.

Bottom line?

Keep the tourists entertained. Keep them spending.

"Mystic Falls is actually pretty tame about it."

"There was a town in a neighboring state that went way harder."

"To keep tourists coming back, the entire population dressed up as cowboys and outlaws. The second a train full of tourists pulled into the station, they'd stage a fake raid—bandits attacking the town, kidnapping the beautiful saloon owner, laughing maniacally as they rode off into the sunset."

"..."

Hawk's eyes lit up. He turned to Gwen. "Which state was—"

Gwen smiled faintly.

"It went bankrupt in 1970. The whole town's a ghost town now. Maybe three people still live there."

"Oh."

Hawk, who had been genuinely interested in visiting a live-action Wild West roleplay town, deflated instantly.

Just then, Hawk's eyebrow twitched. He turned sharply toward the door of the study.

He'd caught a scent.

The same scent he'd picked up on the road into town. The one that smelled distinctly like vampire.

At the same moment—

A voice called out from downstairs.

"Grandpa!"

"Gwen?"

"..."

Gwen, who had been wondering why Hawk had suddenly turned around, heard the voice and her face lit up. "That's Caroline!"

She turned and hurried out of the study, stepping into the hallway just in time to see the girl standing in the first-floor foyer.

Caroline Fox stood in the grand entrance hall, looking up.

And then she saw Gwen.

The next second, Both girls let out the kind of high-pitched, glass-shattering shriek that only reunited female friends can produce—pure joy and excitement compressed into a single eardrum-destroying sound.

Gwen started down the stairs.

Caroline rushed toward the staircase.

And then—

They met halfway, colliding in a tight hug and bouncing up and down in place, laughing and squealing.

It was pretty clear both of them were genuinely happy to see each other.

"Gwen, I thought you'd come back last year! Grandpa said you couldn't make it."

"I'm sorry."

Gwen smiled sheepishly, then instinctively brushed back the blonde hair that had fallen across her face during the excitement.

Caroline was about to say something when a flash of purple light caught her eye.

She followed the shimmer and found herself staring at the ring on Gwen's finger—a stunning six-carat purple diamond engagement ring.

"Is that...?"

"..."

<><><><><><><><>

That finger...

That ring...

Caroline's mind made the connection. She stared at Gwen, who was smiling with barely contained excitement, and her eyes went wide. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.

"Oh my God!"

"Yes. It's an engagement ring."

Gwen smiled as she opened her hand fully, giving Caroline a complete three-sixty view of the six-carat purple diamond on her finger.

"Gorgeous, right?"

"GORGEOUS."

Caroline echoed the word in awe, then looked back at Gwen. "But when did this happen? Mom and Grandpa never said anything. Who is he? What's his name? What does he do?"

Gwen's smile widened. She was about to answer when she caught movement in her peripheral vision—Hawk stepping out of the second-floor study.

Caroline followed Gwen's gaze upward.

Their eyes met.

Caroline's pupils constricted sharply.

Not because Hawk was handsome. Not because he was built like an athlete.

But because...

She hadn't sensed a second person in that study at all.

She'd only been a vampire for a short time, but she was smart. She'd learned quickly how to control her bloodlust, manage her newfound strength, and utilize her enhanced senses.

But those heightened senses—which should have picked up every heartbeat, every breath in the house—had completely missed him.

Of course, If she had sensed him, that would have been the real surprise.

Put it this way: If Caroline could detect Hawk's presence when he didn't want to be detected, it wouldn't mean she'd gotten stronger. It would mean Hawk had gotten weaker.

Hawk noticed the flicker in Caroline's eyes but didn't acknowledge it.

Like he'd said before—he was here to visit Gwen's grandfather and take a vacation. Not to play some "hidden master" routine.

"Caroline, let me introduce you."

"Hawk Phoenix. My fiancé."

"Hawk, this is my cousin, Caroline Fox."

"Nice to meet you."

Hawk smiled politely and extended his right hand.

Caroline steadied herself, looked at the offered hand, and shook it. "You too."

Hawk smiled faintly. He had no intention of interrupting the cousins' reunion. He withdrew his hand and turned to Gwen. "I'm going to take a walk around the grounds. You two catch up."

Gwen hummed in acknowledgment, watching as Hawk headed for the door. She called after him, "Be careful."

She was thinking about what Hawk had said earlier—about vampires in Mystic Falls.

Sure, New York had vampires too. But New York was huge. And SHIELD headquarters was right there, keeping them in check.

Mystic Falls was tiny.

And even though Hawk could handle an entire clan of vampires without breaking a sweat, that didn't mean she couldn't worry about him.

Being invincible and her telling him to stay safe were two completely different things.

Hawk waved without looking back and walked out of the manor.

Caroline, meanwhile, stared at his retreating figure, her brow furrowing.

Once again—

Her enhanced vampire senses picked up nothing. No heartbeat. No scent of blood. Not even a trace of fear.

It was as if he had no fear at all.

But he wasn't a vampire.

Caroline had just shaken his hand. In that brief moment of contact, she'd felt his pulse through his warm palm, sensed the blood rushing through his veins like a raging river, heard his heart beating like the birth of a universe itself.

But the second she let go, her senses lost him completely.

Something about this man was wrong.

Caroline's mind churned.

Gwen, standing beside her, noticed her cousin staring a little too intently at Hawk's back. She waved a hand in front of Caroline's face.

"Hey."

"Sorry."

Caroline snapped back to attention and turned to Gwen. "Your fiancé's really handsome. How did you two meet?"

Gwen shot Caroline a look and smiled. "Not telling."

Caroline understood immediately. She grabbed Gwen's arm and started shaking it, her voice turning soft and pleading.

"Cousin..."

...

WHOOSH.

The moment Hawk turned right after leaving the manor, his form vanished. When he reappeared, he was standing deep in the woods, watching as a male vampire's eyes widened in slow motion, shock beginning to register on his face.

Hawk's lips curved upward.

"Hello."

"..."

Damon Salvatore stared at the man who had appeared out of nowhere directly in front of him. Every instinct screamed danger. His body moved like a ghost, blurring backward as he tried to escape.

He succeeded.

The instant Hawk finished speaking, Damon became a streak of motion, disappearing into the forest behind him at inhuman speed.

But—

He didn't get far.

The moment Damon stopped—far enough that he could no longer see the Fox estate—and tried to process what the hell he'd just encountered, Hawk's voice came from directly behind him.

"Too slow."

"—!"

Every hair on Damon's body stood on end. His heart—which hadn't beaten in over a century—actually twitched.

He didn't hesitate. He spun around, his right hand shooting forward like a spear aimed directly at Hawk's chest, moving with the ghostly speed only a vampire could muster.

The result—

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Damon's body launched backward like a cannonball. Ancient trees—some of them centuries old—splintered and cracked as he crashed through them one after another. By the time he slammed into the fifth tree, his pale face had turned an unnatural shade of red. Dark blood spilled from his lips as he collapsed onto the damp forest floor.

Hawk stood over him, hands casually in his pockets, his expression calm as he looked down at the vampire coughing up blood against the tree trunk.

"Name."

"...Who are you?"

Damon's mind reeled. One hit. That's all it had taken for him to understand the gap between them. His thoughts immediately jumped to something his ex-girlfriend had said before he and his brother had locked her in a tomb. He looked up at the man looming over him.

"Klaus?"

Hawk laughed dryly. "I'm not a vampire."

Hawk's internal disdain was palpable as he looked down at the vaguely familiar bloodsucker. He was about to speak when something made him pause. His gaze shifted toward the Fox estate.

In that moment—

Damon, gasping and weakened, didn't hesitate. He pushed off the ground and bolted toward town at full speed.

But he was still painfully slow.

At least, from Hawk's perspective.

Stil, Just as Hawk's eyes began to glow crimson, something made him stop. A thought occurred to him. He chuckled softly and let the Phoenix Blast fade.

The reason he'd hunted down this vampire was simple.

The bastard had been lurking outside his door.

'You don't let strangers sleep on your doorstep.'

Hawk's Sixth Sense had detected Caroline the moment she approached. It had also detected the vampire tailing her.

He'd assumed the guy was some kind of stalker. But then Hawk had remembered who this vampire was.

Damon Salvatore.

One half of the infamous Salvatore brothers.

Damon and his brother Stefan were... interesting characters.

Both brothers had dated the same woman...

Hawk had come out here planning to teach this vampire a lesson—make an example out of what looked like a stalker casing the place.

After all, he'd just arrived, and already some bloodsucker was watching him? If he didn't hit back hard, it would send the wrong message. His enemies would think he'd gone soft.

But clearly, Damon wasn't here for him.

He was following Caroline.

As for why? That didn't matter. As long as the vampire wasn't tracking him or Gwen, Hawk didn't care.

That's why he'd decided to let Damon live.

Hawk turned his gaze away from the fleeing vampire—who was still well within his attack range—and vanished from the forest.

...

Gwen stood by the car, looking around for Hawk.

"Hawk!"

"Right here."

Hawk's voice came from behind her.

Gwen spun around, relief washing over her face as she opened her mouth to speak. Then she paused. Her nose wrinkled. She leaned closer, sniffing at Hawk's shirt, then looked up at him.

"Blood?"

"Not mine."

"Then whose?"

"A vampire's."

"Jesus." Gwen sucked in a breath, her eyes darting around the grounds. "Where? What did he want?"

Hawk looked at Gwen, who seemed to be scanning for threats, and smiled.

"He ran."

"Ran?" Gwen looked at Hawk skeptically. "You let him get away?"

Hawk laughed.

"If I wanted him dead, he'd be dead."

"Then why—"

"I thought he was stalking us. Turns out it was a misunderstanding. So I let him go. You're the one who's always telling me to be kind."

Well...

Gwen had said that.

She listened to Hawk's explanation and smiled faintly.

Hawk quickly changed the subject. "Your cousin's still inside. Why'd you come out? Finished catching up already?"

Gwen snapped back to attention and handed Hawk his phone. "Almost forgot. Natasha just called. I came out to find you. She said she needs to talk to you. Call her back. I'm heading back to Caroline—we're not done yet."

She'd been in the middle of telling Caroline a slightly embellished version of how she and Hawk had met when Natasha's call came through.

That's why she'd suddenly left mid-conversation.

Now...

Mission accomplished. Gwen waved at Hawk and headed back into the manor to continue her chat with Caroline.

Hawk stood by the car, watching Gwen disappear inside. Then he raised the phone to his ear as the call connected.

"Yeah."

"Hawk. We got the results back from Merrick's physical."

"And?"

"Every single data point matches the records from when we arrested him before."

"From a scientific standpoint, he is Merrick."

"The real Merrick."

"..."