A few days later.
Hawk drove the black audi a8, repaired by Glory Insurance, and took Gwen to John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Today was the day Gwen was flying to California to visit Berkeley University.
Originally, George wanted to see her off.
Last night at dinner, George specifically brought up the matter, and his suggestion was immediately rejected by Gwen.
After Hawk parked the car, he took the suitcase out of the trunk.
Gwen then naturally linked her arm through Hawk's, and the two walked towards the entrance not far away.
"Is someone picking you up there?"
"Don't worry, Berkeley University has a special liaison to pick me up."
"Alright."
"If you're worried, you can come with me."
Gwen looked at Hawk sideways, blinking her eyes as she said, "Maybe there's a kidnapper trying to abduct me there too."
Hawk heard this, said nothing, and just quietly looked at Gwen.
After a while.
He withdrew his gaze.
"There isn't anyone there."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Hawk's tone was very certain.
Betty Ross's incident was the first, and it would also be the last.
As everyone knows.
The same move is ineffective against a saint seiya.
So…
While Hawk was with Gwen to get her ticket and then waiting for Gwen's flight at the boarding gate, he took out a note with a phone number written on it from his pocket and handed it over.
"Here."
"What is this?"
Gwen took the note, flipped her small hand, saw a string of numbers on the note, and looked at Hawk curiously: "What's it for?"
Hawk smiled and said, "She's responsible for protecting you while you're in California, but you should see her once you get off the plane."
Gwen's eyes widened, and then she laughed dumbfounded.
"I was joking, Hawk."
"I wasn't."
Hawk's expression was serious, and his tone was earnest: "Although California isn't very far, it's just in case."
Gwen frowned slightly.
"I thought this kidnapping case was over."
"It is over."
Hawk smiled slightly: "But there's still an uncertain factor, so why not deal with it beforehand?"
Betty Ross was dead.
But Bruce Banner was not dead yet.
And Bruce Banner was the uncertain factor he was talking about.
Gwen looked at Hawk, whose eyes were flickering, and frowned her delicate brows.
"Hawk."
"Hmm."
"Promise me, don't let your heart become restless."
Gwen held Hawk's hand, looked gently at Hawk, who was sitting beside her, accompanying her to board the plane, and said softly, "At least for now, Bruce Banner is innocent, isn't he?"
The New York Police Department had already closed the case.
To be precise, it wasn't the New York Police Department that closed the case themselves, but rather the Federal Bureau of Investigation stated that during the apprehension of a police hater, after killing him, they found connections to Gwen's kidnappers in his home, thus closing the case.
In short, it was one sentence.
The mastermind behind the attempt to kidnap Gwen had been shot dead on the spot by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The New York Police Department was dumbfounded when they heard this news.
George was the same.
But Gwen knew the inside story because Hawk hadn't hidden it from her, so Gwen also knew about Betty Ross's plan to sacrifice herself.
Gwen felt an indescribable feeling after hearing it at the time.
However…
She had all sorts of feelings, except for sympathy.
It was still the same saying.
She was kind, but not a Holy Mother; at least, she wasn't so much a Holy Mother that she would ignore the murderer who wanted to kill her.
Ultimately, from beginning to end, Hawk had always been acting in self-defense.
If General Ross hadn't attacked Hawk, would Hawk have rushed to Quantico?
This time was the same.
If Betty Ross hadn't tried to kidnap and assassinate Gwen, would Hawk have killed her?
The answer was no.
If she hadn't been lucky enough at the time, and Hawk hadn't appeared in time to save her, it would have been her turn to die.
So Gwen didn't sympathize with Betty Ross.
One sentence.
She deserved to die.
But Bruce Banner?
When Gwen listened to Hawk describe Betty Ross's plan to sacrifice herself, upon hearing Betty Ross's scheme against Bruce Banner, she had only one comment.
"Bruce Banner is so pitiful."
Yes.
Pitiful.
Because in Gwen's eyes, if Betty Ross truly loved Bruce Banner, then she should have wished for Bruce Banner to find happiness.
Instead of like this, where the so-called marriage, the so-called love, were merely for the purpose of scheming against Bruce Banner.
Hawk regretted it as he spoke at the time, intending to take Bruce Banner away as well.
It was Gwen who stopped Hawk.
Gwen's reason at the time was the same as now.
"Betty Ross deserved to die."
"But Bruce Banner is just a poor man who was also schemed against by Betty."
"Don't let your heart become restless, Hawk, once again, try to be a person with a clear conscience."
"Of course."
"If Bruce Banner really falls into Betty Ross's trap, at that time, I will absolutely not stop you."
"I promise you, as soon as I get off the plane, I'll call this number."
Gwen spoke softly, soothing Hawk's restless heart, her small hand clutching the note with the phone number, looking at Hawk with a serious promise.
Their eyes met.
Hawk opened his mouth, then finally shook his head and chuckled.
"Alright then."
"Then let's wait a bit longer and see if he'll fall into Betty Ross's trap."
Gwen's face showed a gentle smile as she listened to Hawk's promise.
At this moment, the flight to California also began boarding.
Gwen stood up, hugged and kissed Hawk.
"Alright, I'm going."
"Okay."
Hawk smiled as he watched his girlfriend board the plane.
Half an hour later.
The flight to Berkeley, California, taxied on the runway, reached decision speed, then lifted off and soared into the sky.
Hawk watched the flight disappear into the clouds, withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and turned to the airline counter: "A ticket to Paris, one, in half an hour, please."
He had checked online yesterday, and there was a flight to Paris that allowed him to seamlessly fly to Paris after seeing Gwen off, and then take a private jet from Paris to Africa.
He had even booked a car online at the African airport.
Once there, after getting off the plane, he could drive directly to Wakanda.
Soon.
Flight 180 from New York City to Paris also entered taxiing status after the boarding procedures were completed.
At the same time.
In a cemetery in Jersey City, a funeral was being held.
However, not many guests came.
But how does that saying go?
It's about quality, not quantity.
Although the number of guests who came was very small, the guests who could come here were all of considerable standing.
"Bruce."
"Pepper."
"My condolences."
Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries, who had just recovered from the Extremis virus last month, wore a black dress and veil today. After the coffin was interred, she approached a dejected Bruce Banner, hugged him, and said, "Tony really wanted to come, but you know, his treatment has entered a critical phase, and Dr. Zhao strictly forbids him from going out."
Bruce nodded, forcing a smile.
"I know, Tony called me last night."
"Again, my condolences."
Pepper said, then hugged Bruce Banner again to say goodbye.
Stark Industries had a lot of work, and Tony was still in a critical stage of treatment; she was too busy.
Sharon Carter came to Bruce after Pepper, and similarly, she also conveyed Captain America Steve Rogers's condolences.
"My condolences."
Sharon Carter said with a wry smile, "Captain had originally booked a ticket to come, but Aunt's condition worsened again yesterday."
Bruce said, "It's alright, Steve also told me. I'm fine, really."
Sharon Carter looked at Bruce, who forced a smile, opened her mouth, but finally said nothing, just hugged Bruce again, and then also said goodbye and left.
Black Widow Natasha and Hawkeye Barton came to Bruce after them.
They, however, were not delayed by other matters.
However…
Just as Natasha and Barton hadn't spoken many words to Bruce, a ringing sound echoed.
Natasha and Barton took out their phones and glanced at them, then both looked apologetically at Bruce.
Bruce understood, forced a smile, and said, "I'm fine, really. You can go attend to your matters first."
Natasha and Barton heard this, could only hug Bruce, and then hurried out of the cemetery.
Not long after.
The funeral ended.
The sun set in the west.
Bruce stood alone by the newly erected tombstone, looking at Betty Ross's name and her smiling photo on the tombstone, silent, wondering what he was thinking.
Suddenly.
A shadow swept over, and then a voice sounded beside him.
"My condolences."
"…"
Bruce came back to himself, looking at the person who appeared next to him, wearing a black trench coat and a black eye patch: "Fury?"
The next second.
He reacted and looked back at the tombstone in front of him.
"Thank you."
"Too young, too impulsive."
Nick Fury also looked at Betty Ross's photo on the tombstone with his single eye, shaking his head with some regret: "I thought she had let go when she married you."
Married?
Bruce caught the keyword, chuckled self-deprecatingly, and said nothing.
Nick glanced at Bruce, sighed with some regret, and patted Bruce's shoulder: "It's just a pity about the baby in Betty's belly."
Bruce nodded mechanically.
Abruptly.
He suddenly looked up, his eyes wide, looking at Nick.
"Wait, what did you say, a baby, what baby?"
"You didn't know?"
Nick Fury was slightly stunned, his expression a bit surprised: "Didn't Betty find out she was one month pregnant when she went for a check-up at the S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital last week? Didn't Victoria and them…"
When he got to this point.
Nick Fury suddenly stopped, and then his expression showed understanding: "Oh right, they advocate peace, so it's naturally unlikely they would tell you about this."
Bruce: "…"
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