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The phoenix burned.
HYDRA died.
All across the battlefield, SHIELD agents locked in combat with HYDRA operatives stopped in their tracks. They stood frozen, staring up at the sky as their enemies—one by one—were pulled into the burning phoenix above and reduced to ash.
And at the same time—
The phoenix's flames grew even brighter.
Soon, the phoenix vanished.
Hawk vanished with it.
THUD!
After incinerating every last HYDRA operative, Hawk reappeared in the top-floor conference room of the Triskelion. He walked straight to Alexander Pierce, grabbed him by the throat, and looked at Natasha.
"I handled the hard part for you. You don't need me for cleanup, right?"
"Of course not." Natasha snapped out of her daze and nodded.
Hawk smiled faintly. Without another word, he turned back to Pierce. His eyes turned cold.
The next second, he vanished with Pierce, disappearing from Natasha's sight—and from the view of the three Council representatives still in the room.
At the same time, Sharon's voice came through the earpiece, barely containing her excitement.
"We've secured the Insight command center. We now have control of Helicarrier Two."
"Three's under control too."
Tony Stark's voice joined the channel. "JARVIS, transfer command authority."
Soon after, Sharon watched as the third helicarrier came online. Her face lit up. "Helicarrier Three is operational."
There had been three Insight helicarriers in total.
Hawk had destroyed Carrier One. That left two.
"Carrier One has crashed into the Potomac. Agent Thirty-Five is leading a team to the scene now."
"Copy that."
"Rat-tat-tat-tat!"
As the excited voices of SHIELD agents retaking control echoed through the comms, a Quinjet streaked across the sky and descended vertically onto the Triskelion's rooftop landing pad.
The next second, A woman in SHIELD tactical gear stepped out of the jet. Maria Hill. She glanced at Iron Man, who had just flown over from Carrier Three and landed nearby. She nodded in greeting, then walked with him into the top-floor conference room.
Tony's faceplate retracted. He glanced around the room curiously, then his gaze settled on Natasha.
"Where's Hawk?"
"Just left."
Natasha shrugged, then looked at Maria Hill as she entered. "Commander."
"Thank you for your hard work." Hill nodded at Natasha, then turned to the three Council representatives still in the room. She held out a tablet. "Emergency directive from the World Security Council. I've been promoted to Director of SHIELD, effective immediately."
When Alexander Pierce had thrown SHIELD into chaos, she'd known something was wrong.
But—
Pierce had ordered her to stay in Africa with the Wakanda coalition forces, citing "security concerns" and her role as tactical commander.
Fortunately, after the New York branch was liberated, Victoria Hand had contacted her. Through the UN coalition stationed in Wakanda, Hill had managed to reach the Big Five. While flying back to the States, she'd waited for their orders.
By the time she crossed back into U.S. airspace, the Eastern and Moscow representatives had received emergency intel from their respective Council members. They'd unanimously approved her promotion to Director, giving her full authority to handle the HYDRA crisis.
The three representatives already knew about the directive. They glanced at the tablet Hill held out, then looked away. Leaving the room to Hill, they turned and headed for the exit.
SHIELD had its business to handle.
They had theirs. At the very least, they needed to report back to their governments and brief them on everything that had happened.
Soon after—
Thor walked in from outside, gripping Mjölnir.
"Where's Hawk?"
"Just left."
Natasha looked at Thor and shrugged again. Then she paused, feeling like she'd just said those exact words a minute ago.
Tony glanced at Thor. "JARVIS is tracking Hawk's energy signature, but it seems to have disappeared."
Thor frowned. "Did he go back to New York?"
Natasha shook her head. "No."
Commander Hand and a SHIELD team were still stationed at Bleecker Street.
They'd made their decision—they'd stay until Hawk returned. No matter how long it took.
Bottom line: they weren't giving HYDRA any openings.
So where had Hawk gone?
...
He hadn't gone far. In fact, he hadn't even left Washington D.C. After taking Pierce from the Triskelion—
The next moment, Hawk reappeared with Pierce at his secluded mansion in Rock Creek Park, hidden deep within a dense patch of trees.
"THUD!"
"Cough, cough, cough—"
After Hawk casually dropped him, Pierce—who'd been on the verge of suffocation from Hawk's grip—instinctively clutched his throat, coughing violently.
Hawk's Sixth Sense swept through every corner of the mansion. Then, hands in his pockets, he looked at Pierce as the man coughed and struggled to his feet.
Pierce—who had once carried himself with confidence and authority—now looked utterly defeated. His face was haggard, aged.
He'd lost.
Completely and utterly lost...
Still, Pierce held onto the last shred of dignity befitting a HYDRA leader. After pulling himself off the floor and catching his breath, he looked at Hawk.
"If I told you I never wanted to move against you, would you believe me?"
"Heh."
Hawk let out a dry laugh at Pierce's words. But a moment later, the humor faded from his face entirely. He stared at Pierce.
"I believe you. But it doesn't change anything. The fact is, you did move against me. I always thought you were smart, Pierce. I didn't give a damn about HYDRA. Hell, I didn't even care if you managed to take over the world this time."
He wasn't lying.
Out of everyone in HYDRA, he'd always considered Alexander Pierce the smartest.
After all, Anna worked for Pierce.
And Hawk's relationship with Anna had been genuinely good. In a way, if Pierce's strategy hadn't been to befriend him, he and Anna never would have become friends in the first place.
That was why, back in Wakanda, he hadn't suspected Pierce was lying to him.
Because it made no sense.
Pierce wasn't an idiot. Hawk's power was clear as day. Crossing him would guarantee HYDRA's grand ambitions would never come to fruition.
And yet—
Pierce had done exactly that.
It didn't fit Pierce's character. Unless there was one possibility: Pierce believed the cost of hiding the truth was lower than the cost of revealing it.
Hawk's thoughts churned. He thought about his friend Anna. He looked at Pierce.
"Where's Anna?"
"Dead."
Pierce let out a bitter laugh.
Hawk chuckled quietly, staring at Pierce—whose answer was the same as it had been at the Triskelion. "Anna's not dead. I'm absolutely certain. You want to know how I know?"
Pierce looked at Hawk.
Hawk had no intention of explaining. He didn't even entertain the thought. He just stared at Pierce thoughtfully.
"Anna's clearly alive. But you keep insisting she's dead."
"Which means one of two things."
"Either Anna's being held prisoner somewhere, or she's in critical condition."
"But that's not what matters. What matters is this: you'd rather have me believe Anna's dead than let me see her."
"So..."
"You're hiding something from me, Pierce."
"Why?"
"I've been thinking about that question ever since I got here. But I'm done thinking. There's no point..."
By the time he finished speaking, Hawk's gaze had turned ice-cold. He stared at Pierce. "I'm giving you one last chance. Out of respect for my friendship with Anna. Either you tell me right now, or you better take it to your grave."
He genuinely wanted to know what had driven the smart Pierce to do something so monumentally stupid.
He really did.
But If Pierce wouldn't talk, Hawk wasn't going to keep asking.
There was no point.
If he wanted answers, he could just ask one question.
He was the Strongest on Earth. And he had neither the patience nor the interest to play guessing games with these people.
"Your choice, Pierce."
"Heh."
Pierce let out a bitter laugh. The expression on his face grew even more resigned. "If I don't tell you, maybe you'll give me a dignified end out of respect for Anna. But if I do tell you? I won't even get that much."
Zola's plan to clone Hawk was one thing.
But the girl Strucker had been working on in Sokovia—
He couldn't talk about that.
It wasn't that he didn't want to.
It was because, at the end of the day—
He was HYDRA.
Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.
He might die today.
But if Dr. Zola's contingency plan succeeded, or if Strucker's project in Sokovia bore fruit, then one day, HYDRA's Third Struggle would begin anew.
And when that day came, HYDRA would finally, truly rule the world.
After letting out that bitter laugh, Pierce's expression shifted. The exhaustion and defeat vanished from his face. He looked revitalized—almost youthful—as he locked eyes with Hawk's cold gaze.
The next second—
His right arm shot up at a forty-five-degree angle.
"Hail HYDRA!"
"HAIL HYDRA!"
"..."
Hawk stared at Pierce—whose face was now filled with manic fervor, just like John Garrett's had been. No fear of death. Just fanatical devotion.
And Hawk laughed.
"Fine."
"You want to die."
"I'll grant your wish."
"But you're going to learn what it means to wish you were dead."
A smile spread across Hawk's face.
The next moment, his eyes turned crimson.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
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