Marvel: The Enlightened One#217+218: Post-Clarity Enlightenment! The Cloning Project Exposed

"Grandpa?"

"The one who runs a cotton farm in Georgia?"

Hearing Gwen's words, Hawk's mind immediately conjured up a very specific image.

A classic old-money American gentleman wearing a cowboy hat, holding a whip coiled tight enough to fold five times over, surveying his vast and beautiful cotton fields.

White cotton and dark soil painting a striking contrast.

It was a beautiful mental picture.

Gwen caught sight of Hawk's expression—which he couldn't quite keep neutral—and rolled her eyes. "Stop imagining things. The family doesn't have a farm anymore. The Fox family in Forks is just a normal, average family now."

Hawk let out a slightly disappointed sigh, then looked at Gwen curiously.

"Why does your Grandfather suddenly want to meet me?"

"Take a wild guess."

Gwen sat up in bed now that Hawk's attention had successfully been diverted. "We're engaged, and Grandpa still hasn't met you. I was planning to bring you to Forks over summer break, but we got caught up with Peter's situation and all that SHIELD business, so I never mentioned it. Then Grandpa called me and asked if you were scared to meet him."

Hawk blinked, immediately defensive.

"That's not on me. You never told me. If you'd said you wanted to go to Forks, I wouldn't have gone looking for Peter."

"Relax, I already explained it to Grandpa."

"Oh."

"So over Christmas break, we'll go to Forks together and meet Grandpa?" Gwen looked at Hawk, negotiating the timing, then added with a tempting tone, "Grandpa doesn't have the farm anymore, but he kept a lot of old photographs from when the Fox family used to grow cotton and watermelons."

Hawk's eyebrows shot up. He looked at Gwen. "We're going. Absolutely going. I'm not interested in the photos, but I'm very interested in meeting your grandfather. We should visit him and get his blessing for us."

Gwen nodded. "Alright, then it's settled. I'll call Grandpa tomorrow and tell him we'll visit over Christmas."

Hawk hummed in agreement.

"Sounds good."

"Let's sleep."

"Yeah."

Hawk agreed, though his mind was already wondering just how many of those old photographs Gwen's Grandfather had kept.

Gwen, who had already quietly lain back down, sensed Hawk settling in beside her. The corner of her mouth curved upward in a subtle, hidden smile.

...

The next day.

Morning.

Gwen, feeling more rested than she had in a long time, opened her eyes—and immediately found Hawk staring directly at her.

She jumped, startled, then looked up at Hawk—who was hovering in mid-air above her, still with his left arm in a sling. Her mouth twitched. She took a deep breath. "New house rule. No superpowers allowed inside this house. Period."

Hawk stared at Gwen with eyes full of grievance.

"But you don't play by the rules."

"...When have I ever not played by the rules?"

"Last night..."

"That's because you didn't remind me."

Gwen put on her best innocent face, maintaining her composure as she threw back the covers and prepared to get out of bed.

Hawk didn't budge. He just kept floating there.

Gwen, already at the door and about to leave, turned back to see him still hovering. Her mouth twitched again.

"Aren't you getting up?"

"No."

"..."

Gwen stood there in silence for a moment, then sighed and turned around, her tone resigned. "Fine. Then lie down properly."

The words had barely left her mouth when—

THUMP.

Hawk flipped mid-air and landed flat on the bed, perfectly positioned.

One hour...

Actually, no.

Afternoon.

Gwen emerged from the bedroom looking radiant and energized, though her lower back was a bit sore.

"You want to go out for a walk or something?"

"...No."

Hawk's voice drifted out from the bedroom behind her, dripping with exhaustion and weakness.

Gwen heard his voice, and the corner of her mouth curved upward again.

She'd confirmed something important.

As long as she didn't give in first, Hawk would be the one who ended up drained—especially now that she'd banned all superpower usage inside the house.

Hawk lay in bed, still with his left arm in a sling, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Just then, His phone on the nightstand began ringing.

Hawk didn't move.

After a moment, the ringing stopped.

The next second—

The ringtone transferred to outside the bedroom. Gwen, who had just gone downstairs, came back up, walked into the room, looked at Hawk lying on the bed, and approached. "It's Tony."

As she spoke, Gwen switched the phone to speakerphone and held it near Hawk's mouth.

Hawk continued staring at the ceiling, his voice hoarse.

"Hello."

"Jesus..." Tony's voice came through the phone. "What happened to you? You sound like you've been completely wrung out."

Hawk's voice remained distant.

"I was completely wrung—"

SLAP.

Gwen quickly reached over and gently covered Hawk's mouth, taking over the conversation. "Tony, did you need something from Hawk?"

Tony's thoughts raced on the other end of the line. He quickly pieced together what had happened and smoothly changed the subject. "We managed to restore part of the system data from the Rhyolite Ghost Town facility. We've got a pretty good idea of what HYDRA was working on. If you've got time, come down to New York SHIELD. Trust me, you'll be interested in what HYDRA was doing."

Hawk didn't respond.

Currently in his post-clarity state, Hawk's consciousness was wandering deep within his Cosmo, lost in contemplation of why his inner universe was so vast, why his Cosmo was so brilliant.

In the end, Gwen took over, saying they'd head over shortly.

After all, she was pretty curious about what HYDRA had been doing in secret.

So, After hanging up, Gwen quickly roused Hawk from bed. An hour later, she was driving him to SHIELD headquarters in Times Square.

...

As the car entered the underground parking garage that served as a cover, just as the vehicle was about to crash into the wall, the wall suddenly split apart.

Gwen, no longer surprised by this, skillfully drove the car into the exposed elevator that appeared once the wall opened.

As the wall closed behind them, the car elevator began its slow descent.

Soon enough—

The elevator doors reopened. Gwen drove into the spacious underground facility, parked the car, and she and Hawk stepped out one after the other.

Sharon Carter, who had been waiting for them, came forward to greet them, then escorted them into the tactical operations center.

Tony was currently standing in front of the massive screen, hands moving through the air as damaged files and surveillance footage recovered from the Rhyolite Ghost Town HYDRA system flashed rapidly across the display.

Gwen walked in and noticed the rows of SHIELD agents still seated at their stations on either side of the screen. She lowered her voice and turned to Sharon.

"I thought New York SHIELD was being disbanded?"

"It was."

"Then..."

"This isn't New York SHIELD's tactical operations center anymore. It's SHIELD's Hub headquarters now. It provides technical and operational support for SHIELD. The medical center, laboratories, and tactical center are also being renovated, though they're not finished yet."

"...I see."

Gwen listened to Sharon's explanation with a hint of surprise but didn't say anything more. Instead, she glanced over at Hawk.

Hawk had already found a seat the moment they'd walked in. His consciousness was still deep within his Cosmo.

This was a place he had never been before.

But Hawk's Sixth Sense told him this was where the Seventh Sense resided. If he could illuminate this place, he would comprehend the Seventh Sense.

He'd only managed to sink his consciousness down to this level after entering his post-clarity state, completely exhausted. That exhaustion had allowed his consciousness to descend deep enough to perceive this place.

But—

Just like when he'd first sensed the Sixth Sense deep within himself but couldn't find the way to unlock it, now he knew exactly where the Seventh Sense was located but had no idea how to activate it.

And Hawk had a feeling he wouldn't be able to stay here long. Once his time was up, he'd be kicked out.

There was a saying that fit perfectly.

If he hadn't stumbled into this place by chance, trying to perceive the Seventh Sense would have been like a frog at the bottom of a well trying to see the moon.

But now that he'd accidentally made it to the realm of the Seventh Sense, perceiving it was like a speck of dust trying to comprehend the sky.

He didn't want to leave. While he was still here, he was channeling all the power of his Cosmo, desperately trying to illuminate this place.

So—

From an outside perspective, Hawk's eyes were vacant, and he still looked completely drained.

Gwen looked at Hawk, still in that state, and was starting to wonder if she'd pushed him too hard.

Sharon, standing nearby, also looked at Hawk's vacant expression and lowered her voice. "How many times did you guys...?"

Gwen glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, then whispered back, "Not that many. Just five more than usual."

Sharon blinked.

"How many is usual?"

"Three, I guess."

"In one night?"

"No, one morning. He insisted."

"Damn."

Sharon drew in a sharp breath, instantly understanding why Hawk was in this condition. "He's completely tapped out."

After all, she'd seen Thor in a similar state before.

That had been the day after Thor and Jane had settled in New York. Thor had looked exactly like Hawk did now—eyes vacant, as if he'd entered some kind of meditative trance.

Gwen, hearing Sharon's comment, quickly changed the subject. "He'll bounce back. Anyway, you said you found something in the HYDRA base about experiments they might be running on Hawk?"

Sharon's expression turned serious as she refocused and nodded at Gwen.

"Gwen, remember when I told you that HYDRA launched their operation because I discovered that Dr. Merrick, the cloning specialist, had been replaced?"

"Yeah."

Gwen nodded, then seemed to realize something. She looked at Sharon.

"Don't tell me..."

"Exactly."

"They've been secretly cloning Hawk!"

"..."

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

Gwen looked at Sharon's serious expression, and when Sharon mentioned Dr. Merrick—the cloning specialist who'd been replaced—a terrifying thought crystallized in her mind.

Just as she was processing the shocking implications—

Tony Stark's voice cut through her thoughts, confirming the exact theory that had just formed.

"Damn."

"They're cloning Hawk."

"But they don't have—"

Gwen drew in a sharp breath, turning toward Tony as he approached. She was about to deny the horrifying possibility when her words suddenly caught in her throat.

She'd been about to say that HYDRA didn't have any of Hawk's DNA, so how could they possibly clone him?

But then she remembered.

She'd accompanied Hawk when he'd sold his blood that one time.

Right before he went to get revenge on the Hulk.

She remembered it clearly.

And the buyer had been Anna.

Which meant—

Gwen's head snapped toward Hawk.

"Anna..."

"She wouldn't betray me."

Hawk's consciousness had already returned. He'd snapped back the moment Tony mentioned HYDRA's cloning project.

After speaking, Hawk let out an internal sigh.

Not because of the cloning.

But because he'd realized he couldn't get back to that deep realm where the Seventh Sense resided.

Still...

No point rushing it.

He'd take what came.

If he got it, great. If not, that's life. Besides, he still had the Mind Stone as a backup plan. The Seventh Sense was his—it was just a matter of time.

Hawk pushed the thought aside, stood up from his seat, and looked at Gwen with a smile. "If Anna had betrayed me, do you really think Alexander Pierce would have chosen death over giving up her location?"

Gwen's eyebrows rose.

Hawk didn't elaborate further. He turned toward the massive screen displaying the files JARVIS had recovered, and in a blur, appeared directly in front of it.

Sharon instinctively looked at Gwen.

"Anna has a sample of Hawk's blood?"

"Yeah."

Gwen nodded, glancing at Hawk as he reviewed the files on the screen, then spoke quietly. "Hawk traded his blood to Anna once."

Sharon and Tony exchanged a glance.

Both of them had the same look of sudden understanding.

After recovering the files about the suspected cloning project, they'd been wondering how HYDRA had gotten hold of Hawk's DNA.

It wasn't like they'd disguised themselves as janitors, collected the garbage from 521A Bleecker Street, picked through used condoms, and extracted DNA that way.

More importantly, The timeline didn't match up.

Based on the data Tony and the others had recovered, it looked like HYDRA had started testing the feasibility of cloning Hawk long before he'd moved to Bleecker Street.

Now, hearing Gwen's explanation, the mystery finally made sense.

And then, All three of them turned to look at Hawk.

By now, Hawk had already speed-read through everything JARVIS had managed to restore from HYDRA's systems.

Yes.

HYDRA really had been trying to clone him.

But Hawk wasn't surprised.

After all, he already knew the reason HYDRA had launched their operation—Gwen had told him about Dr. Merrick being replaced.

So when he'd heard that, combined with Alexander Pierce's stubborn refusal to talk and Strucker's comment in Sokovia—"No one in this world is immortal, and you're no exception"—Hawk had already formed a pretty solid theory.

This just confirmed it.

It also explained why Alexander Pierce had chosen to antagonize him instead of maintaining their good relationship.

Cloning.

After replacing Dr. Merrick, HYDRA had planned to clone Hawk—create a version they could actually control—and then use that clone to kill the real Hawk, who, while friendly with HYDRA, was also friendly with SHIELD.

Only something like cloning would make Hawk furious enough to completely annihilate HYDRA once he found out.

After all, Hawk had explicitly said they could use his blood for anything—as long as they didn't clone him.

That's why Alexander Pierce had refused to talk.

Even now, trapped in the Frozen Hell, dying over and over and being resurrected in an endless cycle, he still hadn't begged for mercy.

Except...

All of this—Pierce's assumptions, HYDRA's plans—were based on a fundamental misunderstanding.

When he'd sold his blood, he'd already anticipated that HYDRA might try to pull some weird experiments with it.

Cloning included.

HYDRA wasn't exactly known for their moral compass. They'd prepared all those meteorites, brought all those "gifts"—obviously, they wanted something. Something big.

Hawk genuinely didn't care. When he'd told Anna not to use his blood for cloning, it had been more of a casual warning than anything else. A little reminder to keep HYDRA in check.

His actual message had been simple:

If you're going to clone me, do it quietly. Just don't let me find out.

But HYDRA had apparently misunderstood him.

...

Hawk's thoughts drifted as he realized this. He couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh, shook his head in exasperation, and turned around.

The next second, he found himself facing three pairs of eyes. One nervous, one worried, one curious.

Hawk looked at Gwen, who was clearly tense, and raised an eyebrow as he walked over to her.

"What's wrong?"

"...Hawk, are you okay?"

Gwen snapped out of her thoughts, carefully studying Hawk's face—which showed no signs of anger or distress—and asked cautiously.

After all, this was cloning.

HYDRA had been secretly cloning Hawk. No wonder Alexander Pierce had chosen death over revealing the truth.

Because either way, he was dead. And talking might have made his death even worse. So why bother?

Hawk looked at Gwen's anxious expression and chuckled. "Relax. It's just cloning. I figured it out the moment Pierce refused to talk."

Gwen blinked. "You already guessed?"

Hawk rubbed his chin with his good hand. "It was a theory back then. Now it's just confirmed. Why else would HYDRA go through all the trouble of replacing Dr. Merrick if not for his cloning expertise?"

Cloning technology itself wasn't that difficult.

Especially in the Marvel Universe, where advanced tech was everywhere. Cloning was high-end, sure, but not exactly cutting-edge.

The problem was that life was science's forbidden zone.

Other scientists had tried cloning experiments. Cloning animals worked fine. But when they tried cloning humans, all they got was a pile of rotting flesh.

But Dr. Merrick was different.

Here was the thing.

Dr. Merrick was currently the only person who had successfully cloned a human and given that clone a functioning consciousness.

Science couldn't explain it.

But metaphysics could. Simply put, Dr. Merrick seemed capable of granting souls to his clones.

That was why SHIELD hadn't gone after just any cloning specialist—they'd specifically targeted Merrick.

Sharon, standing nearby, watched Hawk's calm demeanor and listened to his steady voice. She couldn't help but ask, "Hawk, HYDRA's cloning you. You're not angry?"

"Look at my left arm."

"What?"

Sharon instinctively glanced at Hawk's arm, still in its sling.

Hawk smiled. "If I were angry, I would've already taken this thing off by now."

Sharon's expression froze.

Oh. Right.

If Hawk were furious about this, he wouldn't be standing here calmly. He'd be... well, definitely not standing here calmly.

Tony, standing off to the side, was more concerned about something else entirely.

"If HYDRA actually succeeds in cloning you, how strong would the clone be compared to you?"

"You're asking if the clone would be stronger than me, or if I'd be stronger than the clone."

"Yes."

"Remember my Armor?"

Hawk watched Tony nod, then let out a short laugh. "This is the same question you asked me last night. You asked if HYDRA's knockoff armor could compare to my armor."

Tony frowned.

"What if it's your clone wearing the knockoff armor?"

"Ha!"

Hawk burst out laughing.

And then—

SCREECH!

A phoenix cry echoed through the room. In an instant, a massive, crystal-clear, impossibly real projection of a fire phoenix materialized behind Hawk.

Within the embrace of the phoenix's folded wings, another vast image appeared—a boundless universe filled with countless stars, rotating slowly as if it had no foundation holding it in place.

"This is the true source of my power."

"My bloodline descendants can inherit my strength."

"But a clone?"

"A fake is a fake. They might be able to copy my face, but there's no way they can replicate the source of my power."

You think you can just clone him and instantly gain the strength he'd spent blood, sweat, and years building up?

What kind of joke was that?

It was the same reason no one could ever perfectly replicate his Saint Cloth.

Because the key to the Cloth was the Saint.

And the key to the Saint?

The Cosmo.

So, Even if HYDRA managed to clone him, so what? Could they replicate his Cosmo too?

Zero chance.

If HYDRA could mass-produce clones with Cosmo, would they really still be stuck on Earth, failing to take over twice in a row?

If they had that kind of technology, they would've conquered the universe by now.