Whoosh!
Boom——
Above Times Square, there first echoed an extremely faint sound of something breaking through the air, but then a thunderous explosion suddenly rippled out, instantly shattering the large electronic billboards on the high-rise buildings surrounding Times Square.
The next second.
A silver streak, impossible to catch with the naked eye and even hard for motion detectors to capture, swiftly weaved through the halted traffic and the stunned crowds, flying towards the outskirts of New York City.
Clad in a wind-resistant tight-fitting suit, the bearded Quicksilver, Pietro Maximoff, sped along with a red-haired little girl in his arms.
The red-haired girl clung tightly to Pietro's neck.
"Uncle!"
"Jean, how did you end up here?"
"I don't know, I missed Daddy, but Daddy seemed strange, almost like he didn't recognize me. By the way, Uncle, can I stay a bit longer?"
"No!"
Quicksilver Pietro decisively refused, then said, "Billy and Tommy didn't see you and both were crying."
Upon hearing this, Jean was slightly startled and then spoke with some worry in her voice, "Why were they crying? I was only gone for a little while. Let's hurry back, Uncle."
Quicksilver Pietro sighed inwardly with relief, gave a nod, and stopped talking, diving into speed space to quickly distance himself from New York City.
But...
"Found you!"
High above, Hawk sharply perceived the speed ripple created the moment Quicksilver Pietro accelerated, and with a boom, after breaking the sound barrier, he rapidly swooped toward Quicksilver.
When Quicksilver Pietro appeared to take away the red-haired little girl, Hawk was occupied with thoughts about the Time Gemstone, so he didn't immediately follow.
By the time he pursued them, Quicksilver's presence was already far from New York City and was continuing to speed away rapidly.
Hawk initially thought he had lost them.
But then...
"Quicksilver?"
"Heh."
"You can't outrun me!"
Hawk's Little Cosmos burned brightly, and without even pushing his speed to the limit, he steadily locked onto Quicksilver's presence.
And the gap between them grew smaller and smaller.
Indeed.
In the Marvel Cosmos, Quicksilver Pietro, officially recognized as the fastest speedster, had unimaginable speed.
Official data suggests...
Quicksilver's speed can reach up to 800,000 kilometers per hour, equivalent to around Mach 655.
But...
This was Quicksilver's top speed, not Hawk's.
A mere Mach 655. After experiencing sub-light speed, Hawk even felt this speed was slow.
The next second.
As Pietro below entered his attack range, Hawk, without hesitation, launched his right fist.
"Phoenix! Meteor Fist!"
"Hiss!"
Quicksilver's eyes constricted violently, instinctively coming to a halt.
The moment he stopped, right before him, in a ten-kilometer radius of the Texas desert, it was as if a rain of fiery meteors had unleashed a full-scale bombardment.
"Boom, boom, boom——"
Like countless fire meteors crashing down, the desert shook, and even the air quivered.
Pietro gazed at the desert that had turned into a minefield and couldn't help but swallow.
He didn't doubt for a second that if he hadn't braked in time, he'd be nothing but pieces of flesh now.
And even Jean in his arms...
As Pietro contemplated this terrifying scenario, Hawk appeared behind him.
Hawk looked at Quicksilver Pietro, who had his back turned, his hands tucked into his pockets, a smile playing on his lips.
"Keep running, then."
"..."
Quicksilver Pietro turned, holding his niece Jean, and looked at Hawk, "She is your daughter."
Jean's eyes lit up, and with a whoosh, she left her uncle Pietro's embrace and leapt into Hawk's arms, "Daddy, you're amazing."
Seeing this, Quicksilver Pietro immediately made a move to enter speed space, intending to snatch his niece from Hawk's arms.
Boom!
Pietro instantly entered speed space, and at that moment, time stretched out madly, freezing Hawk and his niece Jean's movements in his sight.
He quickly reached Hawk.
But just as he attempted to take his niece Jean once again...
An anomaly occurred.
Within Pietro's vision, Hawk's gaze, which was not upon him a moment ago, now fixed on him.
And—
Pietro saw the corners of Hawk's mouth curl into a smile, playfully menacing.
He can see me.
This is impossible.
Pietro's heart jolted, instinctively denying it.
But such was the reality.
One of Hawk's arms held Jean, while the other reached out, and in that moment, grabbed Pietro by the neck from within speed space.
He looked at Pietro, who was held by the neck, with a smile tugging at his lips.
"Haven't you ever heard this saying?"
"The same move is ineffective against Saint Warriors?"
Indeed, the same technique is ineffective against Saint Warriors.
The weight of this sentence is still rising.
Pietro managed to snatch this red-haired girl away from him once.
But he absolutely won't succeed a second time!
Pietro, with his neck pinched, looked utterly shocked.
However, Hawk hadn't planned to do anything to Pietro.
Because the red-haired girl in his arms said softly.
"Uncle."
"Thud!"
Hawk loosened his grip and then flung Pietro forward.
After landing, Pietro rolled on the ground, dissipating the momentum, quickly got up, and looked at Hawk: "I have to take Jean back, otherwise my sister and Billy and Tommy will die."
Hawk raised an eyebrow, ignoring Pietro's latter words, glanced at the red-haired girl in his arms, and then looked at Pietro.
"Jean?"
"Yes, Jean!"
Pietro took a deep breath: "My sister said the name comes from French, meaning God's gift."
Indeed, Jean means that in French.
But…
Hawk listened to the name that from a bloodline perspective, seemed like his eldest daughter, then looked at the four-year-old Jean in his arms, and felt an odd sensation in his heart.
Red hair!
She has the Phoenix Power!
Name's Jean!
"Hiss!"
Hawk instinctively drew a chilly breath, then snapped back, looked at Jean who had just jumped into his arms and suddenly yawned, then hugged his neck again and fell asleep, and smiled slightly.
Pietro looked at Jean, who had been fine a second ago but fell asleep the next second, and glared angrily at Hawk.
"What did you do?"
"Relax."
"She's too young to easily control my power, just needs another sleep."
Hawk glanced at Pietro, who was tense and thought he'd done something to Jean, and said casually without explaining much, directly changed the topic, asking his pressing question: "I'm curious, your sister, how did she agree to Strucker's plan, did they threaten her with your life?"
Pietro, looking tense, seeing that Jean was indeed just asleep, listened to Hawk's words, gazed at Hawk, fell silent for a moment, shook his head: "No, my sister initially came here voluntarily."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
Pietro looked at Hawk's expression, smiled self-deprecatingly: "Someone like you, a strong person, can never understand the experience of two orphans in a war-torn country."
Strong person?
Me?
Hearing Pietro's words, Hawk couldn't help but chuckle.
Pietro glared at Hawk again, thinking Hawk was mocking him.
But!
Hawk's voice was calm.
"I have a sister too."
"..."
Upon hearing, Pietro's anger vanished, looking at Hawk in surprise.
Hawk's tone was steady.
"Her name's Anya."
"Wanda."
Pietro also revealed his sister's name.
Seemingly because both were brothers with sisters, the tense atmosphere between them seemed to dissipate somewhat.
Of course, this tension was one-sided.
Because Hawk had never been tense.
Pietro's speed was fast, but not faster than him; if he wanted to kill Pietro, it would be quite convenient.
Moreover.
Even putting aside that Pietro could be considered his 'brother-in-law' in a certain sense, simply Wanda's ability to alter reality; there was no need to risk provoking someone who could say 'no more mutants from now on' in the future, after which all mutants disappeared—the Scarlet Witch.
Most importantly.
The mother of his 'bloodline eldest daughter' is Wanda.
When Hawk saw Anna in the Netherworld, learned from Anna about the red-haired lady from Sokovia, he immediately thought of the Scarlet Witch, Wanda.
And Pietro's arrival further confirmed this point for him.
But!
Hawk and Pietro locked eyes: "Again, how did you agree to Strucker's plan?"
Pietro suppressed his anger in his voice: "Because we want to have the power of revenge!"
Stark!
The accident at ten that shattered their family and buried a deep hatred for Stark in their hearts.
The murder of their father was an irreconcilable grievance.
Moreover, both parents.
Although their parents' death came from warlord conflicts, who caused their family to shatter and that missile bore Stark Industries' name?
They want to be stronger, strong enough to stand in front of Tony Stark and question why Stark did it.
So...
Unlike those forcibly imprisoned and experimented on by Hydra, he and his sister Wanda voluntarily joined Hydra and participated in their experiments.
"They told my sister that this DNA came from someone incredibly strong, the owner of this DNA kills Tony Stark like slaughtering a dog."
"Indeed."
Hawk met Pietro's confirming gaze, nodded calmly: "If I want to kill Tony Stark, he has no chance of survival."
...