Hawk responded quickly.
Without hesitation.
Clearly.
Gwen was delighted with his answer, and her voice became even more cheerful.
After a while.
The two who had only officially confirmed their relationship a few days ago finally finished their long phone conversation and reluctantly hung up.
Mainly it was Gwen who was reluctant.
Hawk also...
Okay.
He also felt a bit reluctant.
But Hawk knew why he had a crush on Gwen back in ninth grade yet only acknowledged these feelings now.
In one sentence.
Before, he wasn't qualified, but now he's stronger and has the qualifications.
So...
Whether to continue getting stronger or to maintain these qualifications, Hawk felt he should work harder than before, rather than slack off.
He might be very strong now, but if he slacked off now, how long could he maintain this strength?
A year?
Or two or three years?
The curtain of the Marvel Cosmos has already been drawn, so Hawk isn't just unwilling to relax; he even feels a sense of urgency.
So after ending the call with Gwen, Hawk started his task of ten thousand punches today.
Actually, hitting a sandbag no longer has any meaning for him now.
But Hawk is not hitting the sandbag anymore; he's using this way to calm his heart, so he can continue searching in this peace for the Sixth Sense that Hawk knows exists but feels he's unable to grasp.
On the rooftop of the apartment.
The sandbag hanging on a clothesline sways gently with Hawk's fists.
Hawk's eyes were blank, his mind wandering, feeling as though he was searching for something the size of a grain of rice in boundless darkness.
Until...
He heard tiny screams and shouts in his ears.
Hawk's eyes quickly snapped out of the darkness, and once focused, he instinctively turned around, looking in the direction of the Williamsburg Bridge where the screams and shouts were coming from.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
The space rapidly contracted in front of Hawk's eyes, and in just a blink, standing a few kilometers away from the Williamsburg Bridge, Hawk clearly saw what was unfolding on the bridge.
The Williamsburg Bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn, stretching across the East River.
Many people commute on this bridge, going to work in Manhattan during the day and returning to the Brooklyn side at night, so the Williamsburg Bridge is always busy.
Tonight is no exception.
But something unexpected happened.
Numerous Manhattan white-collar workers trapped on the bridge were running and screaming, hearing the constant sound of vehicles being overturned behind them.
At a glance.
A giant creature covered in gray-green scales with a head resembling a lizard was rapidly moving atop the cars.
As it moved, its equally strong tail hooked onto cars, flinging them away effortlessly.
It seemed to be looking for something.
"That's..."
"Dr. Lizard?"
Seeing this scene, Hawk couldn't help but furrow his brows.
At the same time, a thought popped into his head.
It wasn't about how Dr. Connor turned into Dr. Lizard without the Amazing Spider-Man's warning.
Instead...
Damn, Dr. Connor's recommendation letter is now useless.
New York University might recognize Dr. Connor's rapport, but they would definitely not recognize Dr. Lizard's rapport.
So, unless there's another surprise, Hawk's handwritten recommendation letter from Dr. Connor instantly loses its value upon Dr. Connor's transformation into Dr. Lizard, turning into something less valuable than a piece of scrap paper.
Even the stock market doesn't drop this fast.
Quickly.
Dr. Lizard, making his debut on the Williamsburg Bridge, seemed to find what he was looking for.
A well-dressed man was hooked out of his car by Dr. Lizard's tail.
The middle-aged man, holding a serum prepared for the military hospital, trembled with fear under Dr. Lizard's green gaze.
But he mustered his courage.
"You..."
"Ah!"
"Splash!"
Just as the middle-aged man started speaking, Dr. Lizard snatched the briefcase from his arms with one swipe, then whipped his tail, sending the man flying into the bridge railings.
In the next moment.
The cables sliced through the man's waist, cutting him in half, splattering blood as he plummeted toward the river below.
But just then.
Spider-Man...
Spat.
Spider Spirit made a dazzling entrance.
Swinging on his own web lines, Peter quickly adjusted his form in mid-air before dropping like a bullet to kick Dr. Lizard, who seemed just about to turn away.
Dr. Lizard staggered from the kick, then turned his head to see Peter crouched on the car roof, and hissed at him with his wide open mouth and flicking green tongue.
The next moment.
Peter shot a thread of web from his right wrist, which stuck with a plop to the briefcase in Dr. Lizard's arms, then pulled.
Seeing the briefcase fly away, Dr. Lizard became utterly furious, hooking nearby cars with his tail and flinging them at Peter one after another.
The war between Spider and Lizard swiftly commenced.
Standing on his apartment rooftop, Hawk watched with great interest.
But just then, he remembered something, quickly turned to the sandbag, and in an instant became a blur, with countless fist shadows landing lightly on the sandbag.
Thirty seconds later.
Having quickly finished his task of ten thousand punches for the day, Hawk finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned back toward the Williamsburg Bridge, ready to watch the show with no mental baggage.
But...
"Where's Dr. Lizard?"
"Where's Spider Spirit?"
"Where are they?"
As his gaze returned to the Williamsburg Bridge, intending to continue watching, Hawk was dumbfounded.
But he soon noticed something under the water below the bridge.
An underwater shadow seemed to be moving quickly.
Speed was fast.
Anyway, Peter, who swung over like a pendulum from a distance, eventually lost track of Dr. Lizard's whereabouts when nearing Roosevelt Island.
The sky was too dark, and Dr. Lizard's speed underwater was truly fast.
Peter paused on a skyscraper rooftop, shaking his head after losing track at the last location of Dr. Lizard.
Just as he was about to head home, he suddenly sensed something and came to the edge of the rooftop.
He saw Hawk standing on the rooftop of a ten-story building not far away.
Hawk smiled and waved at Spider Spirit, who was squatting on the rooftop edge looking his way.
...