"Heh."
"Go home??"
"I just ran from New York to New Mexico to level the Ross family cemetery, and then ran all the way back here from New Mexico."
"What do you think I came here for?"
"Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"
"They started this war, not me!"
"They may have decided when it started, but they don't get to decide when it ends. I do."
Hawk's laugh died in his throat. His ice-cold gaze swept over the crowd of uniformed, well-dressed men huddled in the doorway—the so-called 'great men' of the nation.
Normally, these men would have exuded an aura of power and authority.
But now, They were terrified. Anxious. Pathetic.
Heh.
You only learn when it's too late. You only change course after you've already crashed. You only feel regret when death is staring you in the face.
But you don't feel regret... You just feel fear!!
Hawk took in the pathetic sight, then turned his gaze back to Maria Hill. "There are only two ways this ends."
"...May I hear them?"
"Of course."
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Hawk's lips. Compared to the sniveling cowards in the doorway, his opinion of the woman who had stood firm in the face of the Abomination was relatively high.
Hawk looked at her, his voice quiet and hollow, completely devoid of emotion.
"Since I'm already here, what's the difference between killing one or killing two? Five hundred, five thousand, fifty thousand—they're all just numbers to me."
"..."
Hearing his words, a chill went down Maria Hill's spine.
Hawk continued. "After I kill everyone here, I'll go to the Pentagon. After I'm done with the Pentagon, I'll go to the White House. In short, they started this war, and a war can only have one victor. Either they kill me, or I kill them."
"Ms. Hill."
Hawk paused, a small smile returning to his face. "What do you think of that ending?"
His gaze once again swept over the men huddled in the doorway, trapped between coming and going.
Hawk hadn't spoken loudly, but it was more than loud enough for them to hear every single word.
And so—
They broke.
They collapsed.
They begged.
In the face of death, all men are equal. The powerful men, now slumped on the floor, saw Hawk's gaze fall upon them and began to plead for their lives.
Their message was simple: The attack was Ross's idea. It had nothing to do with them. They begged Hawk to let them go, swearing he would never see them again.
Hawk said nothing. He just watched their pathetic, tear-streaked performance with cold amusement. He had no doubt that right now, these men would pimp out their trophy wives if it meant saving their own skins.
Beneath the polished veneer, a cesspool of corruption and depravity.
As Hawk was enjoying the show, Maria Hill, having recovered from her shock, finally spoke. "And the second ending?"
YOU ARE READING
Marvel: The Enlightened One
FanfictionReborn in the Marvel universe, Hawk learned one brutal truth-safety wasn't something you were given, you had to fight for it. He made himself a promise that day, committing to a path of relentless training and iron discipline that would define the n...
