Marvel: The Enlightened One#205+206: The Avengers Trinity and the Phoenix, In the Snap of a Finger, HYDRA Turns to Ash!

Alexander Pierce's apology was calm.

On the other end of the line, Gwen froze for a second, staring at the phone that had just been disconnected. She blinked.

The next second—

"Shit!"

The moment it clicked what was about to happen, Gwen's expression changed completely. In a rare display, she actually swore out loud, launched herself off the couch, and—barefoot, phone still in hand—bolted straight for the basement panic room.

She wasn't some delicate, naive damsel in distress. She was the police captain's daughter. Raised by George, she subscribed to firearms magazines every week and spent her free time reading professional law enforcement reports. She was tough as hell.

But this time, Gwen wasn't planning to face whatever was coming head-on.

First—

Hawk had specifically told her last time not to do that again. And she actually listened to him.

Second—

If HYDRA was making this move, it meant Hawk was joining the good guys. And at this critical moment—when Hawk was about to become a superhero—she refused to let herself become the reason he missed his big moment.

So, Hawk, go be a superhero. Go save the world.

She practically sprinted to the basement, punched in the code, yanked open the heavy door to the panic room, slipped inside, and locked all thirty-five mechanical bolts behind her. Only then did Gwen finally let out a breath of relief, thinking silently to herself.

And she was right.

The moment Alexander Pierce hung up the phone, he turned to the HYDRA strike team leader standing nearby and gave his orders in a low, commanding voice. "Send them in. Capture Gwen Stacy. This is our only shot. Success is not optional."

He'd just received word from SHIELD's surveillance center that Hawk was moving at maximum speed toward Japan.

And Ophelia had hung up on him earlier, which only confirmed it.

Add to that the strike team leader's report—multiple bases going dark one after another, each preceded by a flash of crimson light—and it painted a very clear picture.

Hawk was systematically wiping out their forces at a rate of one base every five minutes. And he was closing in fast.

That phone call had been Pierce's last gamble.

After all, the three Insight helicarriers were about to come online. Once they were fully operational, he would be unstoppable. Untouchable by anyone below a god.

He refused to fail. Not now. Not when he was this close.

Not even for Hawk.

At the end of the day, Alexander Pierce had never been a good man.

Most importantly, Hawk already knew Anna was a fake.

So, he was screwed either way. If he was going down regardless, why not roll the dice?

If he did nothing, he was guaranteed to lose. But if they managed to capture Gwen Stacy, there was a chance—however slim—that they could still win.

Alexander Pierce knew he had a gambling problem.

What he'd forgotten was the old saying:

Gamblers who keep doubling down end up with nothing.

Just as the HYDRA operative beside him nodded, pulled out his phone, and prepared to activate the two heavily armed strike teams that had been lying in wait outside Bleecker Street—teams equipped to breach the door in under ten seconds—

WHAM!

The Black Widow agent Natasha—disguised as the England Council representative—moved.

She launched into a flying cross armbar, slamming the gun-wielding HYDRA operative in front of her straight into the ground with a heavy thud. In one smooth motion, she disarmed him, and just as the HYDRA strike team leader dropped his phone and drew his sidearm to fire—

BANG!

The strike team leader's head snapped back. Natasha put a bullet through his skull.

The next second, Still on the ground, her thighs locked around another HYDRA operative's neck, Natasha fired repeatedly at the remaining four operatives as they scrambled to react.

Gunshots rang out. All four went down in various twisted positions.

The Eastern Council representative quickly joined the fight, snatching up a sidearm and aiming it at Alexander Pierce, who had instinctively bent down and was now trying to do something. "Don't move!"

Pierce frowned, ignoring the representative entirely, his eyes locked on the "England representative" slowly rising from the floor.

Natasha stood, tore off her synthetic face, and revealed her true features. Her eyes were ice-cold as she stared Pierce down. "You're pathetic, Pierce."

She didn't know exactly what had happened.

But, If Alexander Pierce had lost his mind enough to try kidnapping the Demon King's anchor, that meant one thing: Hawk wasn't sitting on the sidelines anymore. He'd entered the game.

And he was on SHIELD's side.

There was no way in hell she was going to let Pierce make that call.

Pierce looked at Natasha's true face and smiled.

"Natasha."

"Sorry, but your plan to use Gwen Stacy as leverage against Hawk isn't happening."

"Doesn't matter."

"My Insight helicarriers are already in the air."

Pierce smiled, turning toward the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.

...

Outside.

Accompanied by the deafening roar of massive engines, the three Insight helicarriers—equipped with Zola's algorithm—were rising through the launch bays one by one, ascending toward their designated positions.

It was plain to see that Captain America and the Winter Soldier were fighting on one of the carriers.

And it was equally obvious:

Cap was getting his ass kicked.

After all, this time around, Cap and Natasha had the support of the New York SHIELD branch, but they were missing Falcon—the guy with wings. And on top of that, Cap now knew the Winter Soldier was his best friend, Bucky.

Cap, who already fought everyone to a draw, was now holding back. Naturally, the Winter Soldier was dominating.

Natasha glanced outside briefly, her expression unchanging. She looked back at Pierce, her words cutting deep. "Once Hawk gets here, none of your plans are going to work. And you pushed him to our side yourself."

Pierce's face was blank as he stared at her. "You don't understand anything!"

Did he want to piss off Hawk?

No.

Of course he didn't. But he'd been stuck on a sinking ship with two idiots for teammates. And those two idiots had dragged him down with them from the very start.

Whether it was Strucker's clones or Zola's clones, once they were exposed, all of them were dead.

At the time, there had only been one option.

Use Anna to deceive Hawk, then pray he never figured it out.

They'd succeeded.

And then they'd failed. But the arrow was already loosed. There was no pulling it back now.

If he could do it all over again, he'd kick those two morons off the team in a heartbeat.

Pierce thought bitterly.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, catching something in his tone. "What else did you do to Hawk?"

Pierce's expression darkened.

Just then—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A massive crash echoed through the room. Everyone inside turned toward the windows.

Outside, A thick bolt of lightning crackled across the sky. A moment later, a god made his entrance, wreathed in thunder.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Thor—clad in his lightning-charged armor—appeared above the Insight helicarrier, swinging Mjölnir down as he landed on the command deck. A golden light flared across the entire ship's hull, rippling outward like waves on water.

But the carrier remained completely intact. It didn't even shake.

Natasha, who had also turned to watch, went pale. She snapped her gaze back to Pierce.

"Vibranium shielding!"

"That's right."

Pierce let out a low laugh. "That's why Project Insight was delayed until now. In this world, aside from Hawk, not even Thor can break through a Vibranium shield."

Natasha's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Hawk's already on his way."

Pierce fell silent.

Yes.

Hawk was on his way.

Just then, Natasha's concealed earpiece crackled to life with Commander Victoria Hand's voice. "Tony's here too."

The moment the words finished—

WHAM!

A streak of red light shot across the sky. Iron Man—Tony Stark—touched down on another Insight helicarrier in his signature superhero landing pose.

Immediately after, Tony's voice patched into the secure communications network Commander Hand had set up.

"What do I need to do?"

"Override the control systems. That's your specialty."

"Got it."

Tony, inside his Iron Man armor, nodded. "JARVIS!"

JARVIS responded instantly.

Sharon's voice came through, filled with excitement. "Commander, did you contact Thor and Tony?"

...

Back at the New York branch, Commander Hand—watching the arrival of the Avengers Trinity—visibly relaxed. "Tony was reached through Coulson. Coulson has Pepper Potts' private number. He got in touch with Tony in South Korea."

"And Thor...?"

"Hawk passed through New Mexico. Thor sensed him, and after they parted ways, he came here."

"Hawk's coming too?"

Sharon, currently leading SHIELD agents in a firefight against HYDRA operatives, sounded thrilled. "Hawk's in the fight!"

Commander Hand looked at the massive screen, watching as SHIELD bases across the map lit up one by one. She listened as surviving agents from various locations began reporting in, and she smiled. "Yes. Hawk's in the fight."

Sharon's spirits soared. "Where is he now? Has he arrived yet?"

Just as Commander Hand was about to answer, another voice echoed through the command center.

"West Virginia SHIELD division, Level 6 Agent Jack Marsh reporting to command."

"Phoenix just liberated us."

With the liberation of the West Virginia division, every state leading to D.C. on the main screen lit up.

Commander Hand's eyes brightened.

"Hold tight. Phoenix is almost there."

"More than—"

"Not almost."

"He's already here."

Natasha, still locked in her standoff with Pierce, watched as a rainbow-colored streak of light shot into view, racing toward them at incredible speed. She spoke calmly, then turned to look at Pierce.

"Hawk's here."

"You've lost."

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

When Natasha spoke those words, both her tone and her expression radiated absolute certainty.

And in fact—

Alexander Pierce, watching the crimson light streak across the sky toward them at incredible speed, didn't even try to argue.

Because she was right.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk's form transformed into a rainbow streak. In one fluid motion, he dove straight down and punched clean through the uppermost Insight helicarrier. The Vibranium shielding didn't even ripple. It just... shattered. Instantly.

Suddenly—

A violent explosion erupted. Brilliant flames burst from both the top and bottom of the helicarrier.

The shockwave from the massive detonation swept outward in all directions, launching both Captain America and the Winter Soldier—former best friends locked in combat—straight off their feet.

WHAM!

Cap hit the deck, rolled several times, and sprang back up.

The Winter Soldier wasn't so lucky.

Because Hawk had grabbed him.

The Winter Soldier stared at Hawk and tried to fight back—but in that same instant, Hawk's hand was already wrapped around his throat.

Just as Hawk's eyes began to glow with crimson light—

Cap called out urgently. "Hawk, please—"

The red glow faded from Hawk's eyes. He glanced at Steve, who was scrambling to his feet. "Captain?"

Steve spoke quickly. "Don't kill him. Please."

He was genuinely nervous.

On the flight from New York to D.C., Natasha, Sharon, and Commander Hand had filled him in on a lot of Hawk's history.

Starting with General Ross's entire family being wiped out. And the complete annihilation of Wakanda.

Clearly—

Hawk was ruthless. So Steve was terrified that Hawk might casually snap his best friend's neck without a second thought.

But Hawk was angry right now, sure. But not so angry that he'd lost control.

He'd just wanted to see if Captain America Steve Rogers really did have those "special feelings" for his old friend that the legends always hinted at.

And sure enough.

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Hawk let out a quiet laugh. He looked at Steve's tense expression, then casually tossed the Winter Soldier at Cap's feet.

"He's all yours, Captain."

"...Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Hawk said the words, then vanished in a flash, reappearing on the second Insight helicarrier.

Thor was still hammering away at the Vibranium shielding.

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

"Need a hand?"

"No!"

Thor didn't even look back. Then—probably because his sparring partner had just shown up and he didn't want to look weak—he roared, his biceps bulging, lightning coursing through his body. Mjölnir crackled with electricity as he brought it down on the Vibranium shield one more time.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

"CRACK!!"

With the deafening crash of thunder, spiderweb cracks appeared across the surface of the Vibranium shield. They spread outward at lightning speed, covering the entire barrier.

Hawk didn't stick around. He moved on to the third helicarrier, where Tony Stark was working.

Tony had been contacted by Phil Coulson, who'd reached out to Pepper Potts. Under Pepper's stunned gaze, Tony had suited up in the armor that had flown straight to him from their private jet and then headed here.

The deck of the helicarrier was already littered with HYDRA corpses.

Hawk glanced at Tony, who had already breached the command deck like it was a walk in the park and was currently working with JARVIS to seize control of the carrier. Hawk's gaze lingered for a moment, then shifted away. He looked toward the SHIELD headquarters building—specifically, toward Natasha, who was standing at the top floor's floor-to-ceiling windows, watching him.

The next second—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Space rippled. Hawk vanished from the helicarrier and reappeared inside the top-floor conference room of the Triskelion.

His gaze immediately locked onto Alexander Pierce.

"Where's Anna?"

"..."

Pierce looked at Hawk. His eyes flickered for a moment, then steadied.

"Dead."

"Is that so?"

Hawk's expression didn't change. Instead, he let out a rare laugh. "Sounds like you've been hiding a lot from me. But that's fine. We'll find a quiet place and have a nice, long chat."

Pierce's pupils contracted. Without hesitation, his teeth bit down—

Hawk's Sixth Sense flared. He tracked Pierce's heartbeat, pulse, and eye movements in an instant. With a thought, his psychokinesis surged forward and froze Pierce in place just as he tried to bite down on the poison capsule hidden in his tooth.

Just then—

Natasha spoke up. "He just tried to activate HYDRA operatives hidden outside Bleecker Street. He was planning to take Gwen hostage and use her as leverage against you."

Hawk's expression darkened.

"But I stopped him. The call didn't go through. Commander Victoria Hand has already dispatched a SHIELD team to protect Gwen."

"Thank you."

Hawk's heart, which had clenched tight for a moment, relaxed slightly. He looked at Natasha and smiled faintly, then turned his gaze to the Eastern Council representative, who was still holding his gun. "Pierce and I have some private business to discuss. You don't mind if I take him with me, do you?"

The Eastern representative—dressed elegantly and wearing an equally elegant expression—smiled politely.

"We do not interfere in the internal affairs of others."

"Appreciated."

Hawk smiled faintly. When he turned back to Pierce, his gaze had become razor-sharp. "I always thought you were the smartest person in HYDRA. Turns out, you're the biggest idiot of them all."

Pierce, frozen in place by Hawk's psychokinesis, showed no expression.

But his heartbeat was accelerating. Even his pupils were contracting rapidly.

Hawk let out a dry chuckle. He was about to take Pierce and leave—head back to New York first to confirm Gwen was safe, then find some secluded spot where he and Pierce could have a proper conversation about everything that had happened between them.

Just then, Natasha seemed to hear something through her earpiece. She called out to Hawk, pulled the device from her ear, and handed it to him. "Hawk, Gwen's been safely extracted from the panic room."

Hawk took the earpiece and put it in his own ear.

"Gwen?"

"Hawk!"

Gwen—who had only emerged from the basement panic room after Commander Hand personally led the team and the female agent from the hospital confirmed their SHIELD identities—smiled as she heard Hawk's voice through the earpiece. "I'm fine. Go do what you need to do. Be a hero. I'm proud of you."

Hawk's lips curved upward.

"Hero... You know—"

"You don't have to be a hero all the time. You just have to step up when it matters. That's what makes someone a hero."

"Alright. If you want me to be a hero."

"I'll be waiting for you to come home."

"Yeah."

Gwen's voice was soft. Calm. It reminded Hawk of the time after his Quantico raid, when she'd called him home. Her voice had sounded just like this—instantly soothing the chaos raging inside him.

"Gwen wants me to be a hero. So I'll help you guys this one time." Hawk removed the earpiece and handed it back to Natasha. "Watch Pierce. Don't let him kill himself. I can go to Hell and drag him back if he dies, but that's a pain in the ass."

After all, he and Mephisto were already on bad terms.

Sure, their last encounter had ended with Mephisto backing down.

But—

That was only because neither of them could kill the other. If either of them got the chance, though? They'd take it in a heartbeat.

So if Pierce died and his soul ended up with Mephisto, retrieving it would inevitably cause another confrontation.

Better to avoid the hassle.

Hawk thought to himself. After Natasha nodded in agreement, he focused his mind. When he reappeared, he was hovering in the air outside the Triskelion.

The next moment, his Sixth Sense spread out like an invisible net, blanketing the entire SHIELD building below.

He saw the SHIELD agents on every floor—outnumbered and outgunned, but still fighting back fiercely against the HYDRA operatives.

He also saw Sharon Carter, leading a squad of SHIELD agents, trying to break through to the underground command center.

The SHIELD agents' expressions were resolute. Willing to die for the cause.

The HYDRA operatives looked twisted. Self-destructive. Like they'd gladly take someone down with them if they were going out.

Hawk floated in the air, his Sixth Sense fully deployed, taking in every detail of the chaos unfolding both above and below ground.

And then—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk's Cosmo detonated. The immense energy released by the explosion fed into his Sixth Sense, which split into countless threads. Each one locked onto a HYDRA operative with pinpoint precision.

One by one.

Agent after agent.

Until the very last HYDRA operative had been marked.

HUM!

The HYDRA agents engaged in firefights with SHIELD operatives began vanishing. One after another. Like a magic trick. Gone in an instant, right before the SHIELD agents' eyes.

Sharon, who had just led her team to the underground command center and was staring down the barrel of a HYDRA operative's gun, felt her heart sink. She'd already accepted that she was about to die.

But then, the HYDRA operative vanished right in front of her.

Sharon froze. Then, as realization dawned—

"Hawk!"

"That's right. It's him."

Natasha—who had just pulled the poison tooth from Pierce's mouth—heard Sharon's whispered words through the earpiece. She looked outside and confirmed it.

...

Outside the building.

A massive, lifelike phoenix made of fire spread its wings in the sky.

And beneath it, HYDRA operatives appeared one by one, teleported directly into the flames. They didn't even have time to scream before they were burned to ash.

Countless HYDRA agents, pulled from the building by Hawk's Sixth Sense: Psychic Teleportation, flew toward their own destruction like moths to a flame.

In a way—

They got exactly what they wanted.