Marvel: The Enlightened One#199+200: Who Really Made That Crater? Japan is 13 Hours Ahead of New York!

CLANG!!!

Hawk's right hand shot out. Without moving an inch, he caught the Vibranium shield Captain America had just hurled at him.

The exact same way the Winter Soldier had caught Cap's shield last night.

The next second, Hawk flicked his wrist and sent the shield spinning back toward Cap. "Careful there, Captain. First time's an accident. Second time, I'm going to assume it's on purpose."

People with faith deserved respect.

Especially those willing to die for what they believed in.

No matter what that belief was.

Judge the action, not the heart.

Cap snatched his shield out of the air with a sharp whoosh, eyeing Hawk with clear wariness. "Who are you?"

Natasha, standing to the side, snapped out of her shock. Though she was confused about why Hawk was here, she stepped forward and made the introductions.

"Captain, this is Hawk."

"Hawk, this is Steve Rogers. Captain America."

Before now, Hawk and Cap had never actually met.

After all, Hawk lived in New York City. Cap's hometown was also New York, but after his revival, he'd moved to Washington D.C. So the two had never crossed paths.

But—

"So you're Hawk."

Steve listened to Natasha's introduction and looked at Hawk. "Thor and Tony have mentioned you. So you're a friend, not an enemy."

Hawk let out a dry chuckle.

"Not necessarily."

"Oh?"

"To Natasha? Sure, we're not enemies. But to you, Captain? If you've got a problem with me killing people, then we might end up on opposite sides."

"..."

Natasha heard Hawk's words and immediately pictured the sea of ash that had once been Wakanda.

Steve, meanwhile, heard the same words and his expression turned serious.

"But you only kill bad people."

"At the very least, I've never killed anyone unprovoked."

Hawk was speaking the truth.

Steve instinctively glanced at Natasha.

He didn't know Hawk well, but he knew Natasha very well.

Natasha thought about it seriously. Aside from that first time when Hawk had stormed Quantico—which admittedly was him starting trouble—every other incident after that hadn't actually been Hawk's fault.

Meeting Steve's gaze, Natasha nodded.

Steve saw the confirmation, then turned back to Hawk with a slight smile. "I'm a relic from another time, but back in my day, if you killed the bad guys, that made you one of the good guys."

Hawk looked at Steve.

"You're different from what I expected, Captain."

"I slept for seventy years."

Steve shrugged, dropping his combat stance and making a self-deprecating joke. "The history books also say I never smoked or drank."

Hawk remembered what the history books said about Captain America and laughed. He looked at Cap with genuine curiosity.

"But you do drink??"

"Yeah."

Steve nodded with a smile, then extended an invitation. "Once we're done with what we're dealing with, maybe we can grab a drink together."

Hawk shrugged.

"Sorry. I'm under twenty-one. Can't legally drink yet."

"....."

Steve's expression froze. He instinctively looked at Natasha again.

Natasha took a deep breath, suddenly remembering Hawk's actual age. "That's right, Captain. Hawk's only nineteen this year. He's a freshman at NYU Law School."

Steve looked at Hawk in surprise and let out an impressed whistle.

"Wow."

"Although, Captain, if you really want to have that drink, we could go somewhere else. Like London. The drinking age there is eighteen."

Hawk smiled as he spoke.

Federal law said you couldn't drink under twenty-one.

But in London, eighteen was perfectly legal.

So, he couldn't legally drink in the States, but in London, he was golden.

Rules were rules. People made their own choices.

Just like when he and Thor had gone to Mars for their fight. After they finished beating the hell out of each other, they'd had a few drinks on Mars, then both flew back drunk.

Federal law might have long arms, but Hawk seriously doubted it reached all the way to Mars.

Steve processed Hawk's words and laughed, then nodded.

"Deal. Once this is over, I'll take you to London for that drink."

"Sounds good."

Hawk nodded, accepting Cap's invitation.

Natasha, watching this exchange, turned to Hawk and got back to business. "Hawk, why are you here...?"

Steve also looked at Hawk.

Hawk said nothing. His gaze moved past the two of them and landed on the old-fashioned computer monitor behind them, where a digital face had appeared.

His eyes fixed on the electronic face of Zola displayed on the screen, and a slight smile tugged at his lips. "Zola. I've been here for a while now. Has that broken algorithm of yours figured out why I'm here yet?"

Zola's server hummed and whirred.

The next second, Zola's electronic voice spoke.

"Alexander Pierce told you that I was the mastermind behind HYDRA's attempt to test you."

"Correct."

Hawk's smile widened. "So do you know why I'm here?"

Zola's electronic tone remained flat.

"To destroy me."

"Smart."

"Not smart."

Zola refuted Hawk's compliment, his voice devoid of inflection. "This is the most probable outcome based on my analysis of all your past actions. Thaddeus Ross provoked you, and you killed him. Bruce Banner provoked you, and you killed him. Wakanda provoked you, and you wiped out their entire nation. Now I have provoked you. There is no reason you would spare me."

Hawk's smile grew even wider. "Once again—you're very smart."

Steve, listening to Dr. Zola's words, looked shocked. He turned to Natasha, his tone incredulous. "Bruce Banner is dead?"

He genuinely hadn't known. After the Battle of New York, Bruce Banner had left the country, so Steve had assumed he was still overseas somewhere.

But the truth was, SHIELD had buried that information.

Natasha opened her mouth, meeting Steve's gaze, then shrugged and shook her head. "It's a long story. I'll explain when we have time."

Steve nodded, watching as Hawk ignored both of them entirely and engaged Zola in direct conversation. It suddenly made sense why Hawk had said they might become enemies if Steve disapproved of his killing.

Hawk overheard Cap and Natasha's exchange and turned to look at Natasha. "I've already cleared out the HYDRA agents from SHIELD's New York branch. Aren't you two planning to head over there?"

He thought about the original timeline, where Cap and Natasha had been stalled by Zola long enough for a missile strike to hit them.

The missile hadn't shown up yet, but what if it did?

"I heard Victoria Hand is putting together a plan to retake the Triskelion and restore SHIELD's command structure. Don't you want to regroup with them?"

"What?"

Natasha stared at Hawk in shock. "The New York branch is back under SHIELD control?"

Hawk laughed.

"Why else do you think I'm here? This digital bastard sent his people to my house to threaten my fiancée and demand she hand over Sharon."

"..."

Natasha was speechless. But this time, she wasn't looking at Hawk. She was staring at the electronic face of Zola on the screen.

Holy hell.

He sent people to Hawk's house. To threaten Hawk's fiancée.

Natasha had already thought Zola was incredibly bold when he'd revealed the Insight Protocol.

But this...

This was a whole other level of audacity!!

How did you even think that was a good idea? The last person who dared threaten his fiancée ended up having their entire bloodline wiped out.

'Wait. Hold on. Why am I sympathizing with HYDRA?'

'I should be celebrating.'

Natasha's thoughts raced, then she focused on the fact that the New York branch had been liberated. She turned to Cap. "Captain, we need to get to the New York branch immediately and tell Commander Hand about HYDRA's plan."

Cap frowned.

"But what if..."

"Hawk's already vetted them. I trust that there are no HYDRA spies left in the New York branch."

Natasha spoke with absolute confidence.

Because Hawk had personally handled it. Which meant anyone Hawk even suspected of being HYDRA had probably been sent straight to Hell.

So, The New York branch's current SHIELD purity level? Definitely one hundred percent.

Steve watched as Natasha urged him to head to the New York branch with complete confidence. He instinctively glanced at Hawk.

"Hawk, what about you...?"

"Zola and I still have some unfinished business. You two go ahead."

"Alright!"

Thinking about the Insight Protocol that Dr. Zola had just revealed, Steve didn't hesitate. He nodded and prepared to leave with Natasha.

But just then—

CLANG!

As Dr. Zola's program activated, the only elevator leading to the surface suddenly slammed shut behind a heavy steel blast door.

Natasha and Cap froze.

Hawk turned to look at the scene, genuinely amused. He glanced at the screen displaying Zola's face.

He didn't address Zola. Instead, he teleported between Natasha and Cap in an instant, placing his hands on both their shoulders.

The next second—

With a thought, Hawk vanished from Zola's server room with both of them. When they reappeared, they were under the Brooklyn Bridge in Manhattan.

Since he was already playing delivery service, he figured he might as well take them all the way.

After dropping Natasha and Cap off beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, Hawk gave Natasha a brief smile, then turned and vanished once more.

Cap looked up at the familiar Brooklyn Bridge and opened his mouth.

"This is..."

"Teleportation, probably."

Natasha snapped out of her daze after Hawk disappeared. She looked at the stunned Captain. "It's a power Hawk started showing after the Battle of London."

Steve nodded thoughtfully. "Thor told me he and Hawk frequently spar on Mars. I thought he was joking, but apparently..."

Natasha turned to Cap, her expression serious.

"Captain."

"Yeah?"

"You know that massive crater scientists discovered on Mars recently? The one way bigger than Victoria Crater?"

Steve nodded.

"That crater was made by the two of them fighting. Hawk says Thor made it when he got slammed into the ground. Thor says Hawk made it. Pepper told me about it once over the phone."

"..."

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

After seeing Natasha and Steve off, Hawk had already returned to Zola's server room.

He hadn't heard their conversation.

If he had, he would have mentioned that the impact crater on Mars—larger even than the Victoria Crater found on the Meridiani Planum—had been created when he'd punched Thor so hard the Thunder God had crashed into the Martian surface.

Of course, If Thor had heard that conversation, he would have said the same thing. That Hawk had made that crater.

As for what the actual truth was?

That would probably remain a permanent mystery.

Back in Zola's server room, Hawk looked at the electronic face on the old-school computer screen with an expression somewhere between amusement and mockery.

"I take back my earlier assessment. You're not as smart as I thought. You think that steel door can stop them. But can it stop me?"

"No. But I had to try."

"You're brave, Zola."

"You have nothing you can use to threaten me, Mr. Phoenix."

"True."

Hawk listened to Zola's electronic voice and nodded in genuine agreement. "You don't have family. No descendants. So I can't use them as leverage. And you're an electronic being—a dated one at that—running purely on logic. You don't have any emotions at all. Even though you know I'm about to pull your plug, you're not scared in the slightest."

There was no denying that Dr. Zola was a genius.

Back in 1972, he'd managed to transform himself into an electronic lifeform—something that couldn't just be called advanced. It sounded like science fiction.

Unfortunately, Every era had its limitations.

For example, Dr. Zola could travel through this facility's network and access any corner of the internet. But his core—his actual body—was stuck here. Unlike modern AI, he couldn't exist anywhere there was a network connection.

Which meant destroying Dr. Zola was easy. Just blow up the servers in this room.

If the servers here were destroyed, Zola would be completely dead. There was no possibility of him escaping through the network.

(The movie explicitly stated that these servers were Zola's true body. If they were destroyed, Zola would be permanently erased.)

But—

Before pulling the plug on Zola, Hawk looked at him with curiosity and asked the question that had been bothering him on the way over. "I'm curious. Based on your logic calculations, you should have understood the consequences of crossing me. And yet, knowing with absolute certainty that you'd piss me off, you did it anyway. Why?"

Dr. Zola didn't hesitate.

"My calculations were wrong."

"What?"

Hawk raised an eyebrow at the answer, staring at Dr. Zola.

"Your calculations were wrong?"

"Yes. According to my projections, you were not supposed to return to New York City this quickly."

Information cascaded down Dr. Zola's monitor like a waterfall. "Based on my prior calculations, I predicted that if your friend Peter went missing, you would go to rescue him. And you did. But I failed to account for how quickly you would return."

Hawk immediately held up a hand. "Wait. Are you saying Peter and Felicia's disappearance—that was you?"

Dr. Zola didn't deny it.

"Yes. I dispatched operatives to attack their offshore research base."

"So you were planning to get me out of New York from the start?"

"Correct."

"Why?"

"Because of the Insight Algorithm."

"The one you use to run big data calculations, figure out who'll stand in HYDRA's way in the future, and preemptively eliminate them through targeted interventions?"

"Correct."

"So I was going to be a roadblock for you people?"

Hawk actually laughed at that, looking at Dr. Zola. "Your algorithm's got some serious bugs. If I had a problem with HYDRA, I wouldn't have made friends with Anna in the first place. And if you hadn't tested me this time, I would've just sat at home and watched to see if you guys could beat SHIELD or not."

Dr. Zola's electronic voice remained perfectly calm. "Because you were getting too close to Sharon Carter. According to the Insight Algorithm, the more time you spent in contact with Sharon Carter and Maria Hill, the lower our chances of success became."

Hawk laughed.

"That's it? That's the reason?"

"Yes."

"And now? Is this the outcome you wanted?"

"When you returned to New York City, HYDRA's probability of success dropped to ten percent. But after you sent Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff away, the success rate returned to sixty percent."

"...Is that so?"

Hawk stroked his chin thoughtfully. "How exactly did you calculate that success rate?"

Dr. Zola continued without holding anything back.

"When you first returned to New York City, the algorithm calculated a ninety percent probability that you would take action against us. That you would even attempt to stop this operation."

"But just now, when you sent Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff to New York City—not directly to the New York SHIELD headquarters—the algorithm recalculated. After you eliminate me, there is now a ninety percent probability that you will not interfere with our operations in Washington."

"Am I correct?"

Dr. Zola even went so far as to ask Hawk directly at the end.

Hawk smiled.

"Your algorithm actually has some merit."

"Thank you."

"So you deliberately sealed this place just now to verify whether or not I'd sabotage your Insight Helicarrier plan in Washington?"

"Correct."

"Fine."

Hawk shook his head with a slight laugh, then looked at Zola with renewed curiosity. "You know Alexander Pierce sold you out. And you're still supporting him?"

Zola's voice remained emotionless.

"To make HYDRA great again."

"Alright then!"

Hawk had lost all interest in continuing the conversation. He was ready to pull Zola's plug and head home to have a late-night snack with Gwen.

He'd already gotten the answers he'd come for.

Zola's algorithm had predicted that the more time Hawk spent with Sharon Carter and Maria Hill, the more his loyalties would shift toward SHIELD. So the algorithm had orchestrated getting him out of New York and launched the second uprising.

But the calculations had gone wrong. They hadn't anticipated he'd return so quickly.

The Zola in front of him wasn't truly the original Zola, though. So even after realizing Alexander Pierce had betrayed him, he'd still chosen to follow his first directive—to make HYDRA great again.

Hawk mulled over these thoughts as his gaze swept around the room, taking in Zola's "body." Finally, his eyes settled back on the computer screen displaying Zola's face, and he asked one last question.

"I'm curious. Are you actually just a program? Or are you really the same Arnim Zola from 1972?"

"I am Arnim Zola. But Arnim Zola is not me."

"Understood."

Hawk nodded thoughtfully. His eyes began glowing with a faint crimson light as he prepared to pull Zola's plug for good.

Just then—

He seemed to sense something. He looked up, his gaze piercing through the ceiling overhead and locking onto something miles above—a short-range ballistic missile rapidly closing in on this location.

Hawk laughed, looking back at Zola.

"So this is your final move? You're trying to see if you can take me down with you?"

"No."

As the short-range ballistic missile roared closer, the computer screen began displaying static. Zola's electronic face seemed to form a strange, twisted smile.

"That missile is not here to try to take you down. It is here to eliminate me."

"HAIL HYDRA!"

With Zola's final words—a sharp, distorted cry of "Hail HYDRA!"—the short-range ballistic missile slammed into the facility.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The moment the brilliant flash of fire appeared, the electronic Zola went permanently offline. And as the flames surged forward to consume Hawk, still standing in place, his figure vanished from the server room.

The ground shook violently. The roaring flames swept through the entire server room like a flood, and the explosion instantly obliterated even the supply warehouse on the surface that had been used as camouflage.

A pillar of fire shot dozens of meters into the sky from the explosion's epicenter, illuminating nearly half the military base.

The shockwave from the blast swept across the ground like an invisible hand. The concrete guard post foundations—which had stubbornly stood for who knows how many years—suddenly spiderwebbed with cracks across their surfaces. Moments later, they collapsed entirely with a dull, thunderous roar.

Hawk appeared silently in the air above the explosion, gazing down at what was now a flaming crater where the facility had once stood. His mind replayed Zola's final words before going offline.

'That missile is not here to try to take you down. It is here to eliminate me.'

So, was this internal conflict within the organization?

Or, was this to silence Zola permanently?

Hawk wondered.

Suddenly, he snapped back to the present, glancing at the police cars racing toward the scene in the distance, their lights flashing.

He took a deep breath, turned around, and transformed into a streak of rainbow light, shooting back toward his home at 521A Bleecker Street.

...

THUD.

Gwen, who had just finished preparing a late-night snack at home, heard the noise from the backyard. She walked out of the kitchen, poked her head out, and saw Hawk pushing open the sliding glass door and stepping inside. She smiled. "You're back. Perfect timing. Food's ready. Let's eat."

Hawk smiled and hummed in acknowledgment as he walked into the kitchen.

Just as he reached for a handful of fries on the plate, Gwen quickly stopped him.

"Hey. Wash your hands."

"Fine."

Hawk shrugged good-naturedly and headed toward the sink. As he walked, he pulled out his phone, which had just buzzed with a notification.

It was a video from Anna.

Hawk opened it.

On the screen—

In the bright, pleasant weather of what was currently 1 p.m. in Japan, the shrine that was supposedly the spiritual pillar of the island nation was now engulfed in towering flames.

Hawk watched the trending video, his lips curling into a satisfied smirk. He slipped the phone back into his pocket.

But the moment he turned on the faucet and was about to wash his hands, something clicked in his mind like an electric shock. He froze in place.

Japan was 13 hours ahead of New York...

...