Hawk had originally thought Dr. Merrick could truly create life.
That was why he'd been willing to give Merrick a chance.
If he could, Hawk wouldn't have minded letting go of past grievances, treating Merrick with respect, and inviting him to sit as an honored guest.
After all, once his small cosmos was manifested into reality, it would need living beings.
If Merrick's tech actually worked, then a reality-made small cosmos could quickly give birth to its own life.
And yet—
This? That's it?
What a letdown.
He still wasn't planning to kill Merrick, at least not right now.
Because the original reason he sought Merrick wasn't that Merrick could conjure souls from nothing. It was purely that Merrick's cloning technique could use his sister's DNA to produce a brand-new body for her.
So—
Hawk thought this through, looked at Merrick—who, after having his "secret sauce" called out, now looked gray and doomed—and said, "I can still let you live."
Merrick's bleak eyes flared with hope again as he looked at Hawk.
"Really, Mr. Phoenix?"
"So long as you can clone a body for my sister."
"But my cloning—what you just said…"
"I only need the body. I don't need your 'soul infusion.'"
"No problem."
Merrick brightened immediately and agreed without hesitation.
Hawk smiled, stopped minding him, and turned to Natasha. "He's yours. Don't kill him."
Natasha glanced at the about-to-leave Hawk, curious. "You're not taking him?"
She knew perfectly well why Hawk wanted Merrick. If Hawk hadn't been after him, who knows how much longer Hydra would've stayed underground.
And now that Merrick had been found, it sounded like Hawk wasn't even going to bring him back.
Hawk chuckled at the question.
"Want the polite answer or the real one?"
"The polite one?"
"What I told Sharon at the time: I'm only 'borrowing' Dr. Merrick. He's still yours."
"Uh-huh. And the real one…"
"I don't exactly have spare cash to build a full cloning lab—and I'm taking Gwen down to Georgia to see her grandpa first. Not convenient to haul him home."
"Got it."
Natasha nodded, understanding. "I'll get him back to HQ in one piece."
Hawk grunted assent and was about to head out.
But—
just as he was about to blink away, something tugged at him from inside. He turned back and fixed his eyes on Merrick.
That instant of razor focus felt like it stripped Merrick bare.
A chill ran through Merrick's bones under that stare.
Hawk withdrew his gaze quickly and said nothing.
Natasha flicked a look at Hawk, then signaled two agents to escort Merrick away.
Once Merrick was gone, she looked back at Hawk.
"What is it?"
"When you get back, have someone give this Dr. Merrick a thorough workup."
"What's wrong?"
Natasha frowned.
Hawk didn't answer at once—he was thinking fast.
He had already been ready to leave, but right as he was about to, a flare of irritability rose in his chest.
And he knew very well it wasn't random. It was his Sixth Sense throwing a flag.
Flag about what?
About the plan he'd just formed in his head: once Merrick cloned a body, his sister could finally be revived.
Obviously the issue wouldn't be with his sister. Which left one possibility for the warning:
Merrick had a problem.
Hawk's first instinct was that this "Dr. Merrick" might not be the real Merrick at all.
But—
he had just washed Merrick inside and out with his Sixth Sense and could confirm this one wasn't a clone like the ones he'd seen.
And yet his Sixth Sense doesn't miss.
Since awakening it, its warnings had been—almost without exception—pinpoint accurate.
So Merrick had to be "off" somehow.
Sometimes "no problem" is the biggest problem.
Therefore—
Hawk's eyes flashed as he told Natasha openly, "There's something wrong with this Merrick."
"What?"
Natasha blinked. "He's a clone too?"
Hawk shook his head.
He'd seen the "successful" clones wake up. Sure,
to ordinary eyes they could pass for real.
But not to him.
Don't forget—Hawk held a piece of the laws of life and death. What passed for indistinguishable in normal eyes was, to him, a soulless moving corpse.
If Merrick were a clone, Hawk would have spotted it instantly.
But he wasn't.
At least, Merrick did have a soul; he wasn't one of those soulless walking shells.
Unfortunately,
Hawk isn't the type who needs "evidence." He trusts instinct—just like how he picks friends without caring about their "faction."
Take Anna, for example.
To this day, her very first number still sits in his contacts.
So—
Hawk thought it over and said to Natasha, "Once you're back, dig deep. If you come up empty, have him clone something—see what happens."
Natasha gave him a curious look. "You can't tell what the issue is?"
"No. But my gut says he's wrong."
"…"
If it were anyone else, she might have shrugged it off.
But coming from Hawk, it meant one thing:
this Merrick really might be wrong.
Natasha's thoughts spun. "If this Dr. Merrick has a problem, then maybe we didn't find this place because of luck after all—maybe someone wanted us to?"
Because their "streak" did feel too smooth.
A Hydra defector.
A warehouse stacked with supplies far beyond local needs. Then, conveniently, a Hydra courier slipping out from the underground site and getting bagged alive.
One word:
Smooth.
As in "flowing with the current," "falling into place" smooth.
But what if that smooth wasn't luck—it was arranged?
What if this Dr. Merrick was deliberately released, to make S.H.I.E.L.D. believe we'd bagged the real one?
And Hydra's motive wouldn't be hard to guess.
Hawk might not worry about clones of himself, but S.H.I.E.L.D. did. Which made them rabidly serious about catching Merrick.
More serious than hunting Hydra cells, frankly.
Put it this way:
As long as Merrick remained at large, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't sheathe its sword.
In the time since the cloning threat was uncovered, the number of Hydra bases smashed had exceeded past tallies.
Before, they might hesitate over "suspected Hydra."
Now?
Sorry—"suspected Hydra" gets investigated.
If they're wrong, they'll say so later. They've got plenty of agents of certain stoic-island heritage—bow, apologize, move on.
Bottom line:
Because of Merrick, any Hydra nest that hadn't yet been flushed was having a very bad month.
So under that pressure, Hydra would want relief.
And what takes pressure off better than handing Merrick back to S.H.I.E.L.D.?
If they can't hand back the real one, a fake will do.
Natasha spelled out her chain of thought: "If this Merrick isn't the real Merrick, that would explain why everything lined up so neatly for us."
Saying it out loud only convinced her more that they hadn't gotten "lucky"—Hydra had allowed, even guided, them to "find" Merrick.
But—
Hawk can accuse without evidence.
S.H.I.E.L.D. cannot.
Natasha nodded. "Understood. Once we're back, I'll put this Merrick through the full scientific workup. As soon as I have results, I'll call you."
Hawk smiled. "No rush. Tell me when I get back."
Natasha picked up on the key word. "Back?"
"Yeah."
Hawk nodded and grinned. "Tomorrow—no, technically today—Gwen and I are heading to Small Falls to see her grandpa. If nothing goes sideways, we'll probably spend Christmas there this year."
That was the plan.
In past years, if his sister hadn't been brought back from Hell yet, he always spent Christmas with her.
But this year was different.
Her soul was in his Underworld; where he spent the holiday didn't matter. And Gwen was eager to see her grandpa.
Natasha nodded. "Alright. Once the tests are done and we know for sure, I'll let you know."
Hawk almost said he didn't care if this Merrick was real or fake.
But seeing how earnest Natasha was, he simply nodded and readied to leave.
"Okay. I'm off."
"Got it."
Natasha smiled. "See you."
Hawk echoed a goodbye, turned—and vanished from her sight.
A heartbeat later,
he reappeared.
Natasha blinked at his return.
Hawk smiled. "Right—could you…"
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]