"Grandpa?"
"The one who owns a cotton farm in Georgia?"
Listening to Gwen's words, a scene emerged in Hawk's mind.
A typical U.S. old money, wearing a cowboy hat, holding a whip that could be folded five times, inspecting his vast and beautiful cotton fields.
In the cotton fields, White and black intertwined.
The scene was quite beautiful.
Gwen glanced at Hawk, whose expression couldn't help but rise, and rolled her eyes: "Don't even think about it. The family doesn't have a farm anymore. The Fox Family in Waterfall Town is just as ordinary as can be now."
Hawk sighed with a hint of regret upon hearing this, then looked at Gwen curiously.
"Why would Grandpa want to see me?"
"What do you think?"
Seeing Hawk's attention diverted again, Gwen sat up from the bed: "We're engaged, and Grandpa hasn't met you yet. I originally planned to take you to Waterfall Town this summer, but we've been busy with Peter's and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s matters, so I didn't mention it. Then Grandpa called me and asked if you were afraid to see him."
Hawk blinked, a little displeased.
"That's not my fault. You never told me. If you had said we were going to Waterfall Town, I wouldn't have gone to find Peter."
"Don't worry, I've explained it to Grandpa."
"Oh."
"Then, during the Christmas holiday, shall we go to Waterfall Town together to see Grandpa?" Gwen looked at Hawk, discussing the timing, then said with an enticing voice: "Although Grandpa no longer has a farm, he has kept many old photos of the Fox Family's cotton and watermelon fields from back then."
Hawk raised an eyebrow, looking at Gwen: "Yes, definitely. I'm not interested in photos, but I'm very interested in Grandpa. We should go see him and get his blessing for us."
Gwen nodded: "Alright, it's settled then. Tomorrow I'll call Grandpa and tell him we'll visit him for Christmas."
Hawk hummed in agreement.
"Okay."
"Time to sleep."
"Mm."
Hawk, on the phone again, was curious about how many old photos Gwen's Grandpa had kept.
Beside him, Gwen, who had quietly lain down, felt Hawk's movements and subtly curved her lips into a smile.
The next day.
Morning.
Gwen, feeling like she hadn't slept so comfortably in a long time, opened her eyes and saw Hawk staring intently at her.
Gwen was startled. Looking at Hawk, who was floating above her with his left arm still in a sling, her lips twitched involuntarily. She took a deep breath: "New rule: no superhuman abilities allowed in this house."
Hawk stared at Gwen with a resentful look.
"But you don't follow the rules."
"...When did I not follow the rules?"
"Last night..."
"You didn't remind me."
Gwen heard this, feigned composure, and prepared to throw off the covers and get out of bed.
Hawk remained unmoved, just floating quietly in mid-air.
Gwen, who had already reached the door and was about to open it, turned her head to look at the scene behind her, her lips twitching again.
"Aren't you going to get up?"
"No."
"..."
Gwen stood silently for a moment, then sighed, turned around, and said with a helpless tone: "Alright, then lie down properly."
As soon as the words fell.
With a thud, Hawk, who was floating in mid-air, flipped over and was already lying properly on the bed.
An hour...
Ah, no.
In the afternoon.
Gwen, looking enchanting and beautiful, walked out of the bedroom full of energy, though with a slight backache.
"Do you want to go out for a walk?"
"...No."
Hawk's voice, full of exhaustion and weakness, came from the bedroom behind her.
Gwen heard Hawk's voice and her lips curved upwards again.
She was now certain of one thing.
As long as she wasn't exhausted, Hawk definitely would be, especially after she explicitly forbade the direct use of any superpowers in the house.
Hawk lay on the bed, his left arm still in a sling, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Just then.
The phone next to him rang.
Hawk remained still.
After a while, the phone stopped ringing.
The next second.
The phone ringtone moved outside, and then Gwen, who had just gone downstairs, returned to the bedroom, walked up to Hawk who was lying on the bed, and said: "Tony's call."
As she spoke, Gwen turned on the speakerphone and placed it next to Hawk's mouth.
Hawk still looked at the ceiling, his voice a little dry.
"Hello."
"Hiss!"
Tony's voice came through the phone: "What's wrong with you? You sound like you've been drained."
Hawk's voice continued to be ethereal.
"I was indeed drained..."
"Slap!"
Gwen quickly reached out and lightly patted Hawk's mouth, taking over the conversation: "Tony, do you need Hawk for something?"
Tony, on the other end of the line, quickly understood what had happened and decisively changed the subject: "Some of the system data found in the Rhyolite Ghost Town has been restored. We generally know what HYDRA is up to. If you have time, come to New York S.H.I.E.L.D.. You'll definitely be interested in what HYDRA is doing."
Hawk remained unmoved.
Currently still in a sage state, Hawk's mind was wandering deep within his Little Universe, immersed in why his Little Universe was so vast and why it was so brilliant.
In the end, Gwen took over the conversation, saying they would be there shortly.
After all, she was also quite interested in what HYDRA was doing in secret.
So...
After hanging up the phone, Gwen quickly urged Hawk to get up. An hour later, Gwen drove Hawk to New York S.H.I.E.L.D. in Times Square.
As the vehicle drove into the disguised underground parking lot, just as it was about to hit a wall, the wall suddenly split open to both sides.
Gwen, no longer surprised by this, skillfully drove the car into the car elevator exposed after the wall separated.
As the wall closed again, the car elevator slowly began to descend.
Soon.
The car elevator door reopened. After Gwen drove the vehicle into the spacious underground Base, she parked the car and, with Hawk, stepped out of the car one after the other.
Sharon Carter, who was already waiting there, came forward, and after greeting the two, led them into the Combat Command Center.
Tony was currently in front of a large screen, gesturing with both hands. Damaged data and surveillance footage, recovered from the Rhyolite Ghost Town HYDRA system, were rapidly scrolling across the large screen.
After Gwen walked in, she looked at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents still seated on both sides of the large screen and asked Sharon in a low voice.
"Didn't New York SHIELD say it was going to disband?"
"It did disband."
"Then..."
"This is no longer the New York S.H.I.E.L.D. Combat Command Center, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hub Headquarters, responsible for providing technical and operational support to S.H.I.E.L.D.. At the same time, the medical center, laboratories, and tactical center are also undergoing renovation, but they are not yet completed."
"...Alright."
Gwen listened to Sharon's description, a hint of surprise on her face, but she didn't say anything more. Instead, she looked at Hawk beside her.
Hawk had found a seat and sat down as soon as he entered, his mind continuing to sink deep into his Little Universe.
This was a place he had never been to before.
But Hawk's Sixth Sense told him that this was where the Seventh Sense resided. If he could illuminate this place, he could comprehend the Seventh Sense.
This was a place his immensely fatigued mind had managed to sink into the moment he completely entered the sage state, allowing him to perceive it.
But...
Just as he had struggled to find a way to illuminate the depths of his Sixth Sense back then, he now knew this was the location of the Seventh Sense, yet he didn't know how to illuminate it.
Moreover, Hawk had a feeling that he wouldn't stay here for too long; once the time was up, he would be kicked out.
How does that saying go?
If he hadn't, by chance, come here this time, seeing the Seventh Sense would be like a frog in a well gazing at the moon in the sky.
But now, by chance, he had come to the World of the Seventh Sense, seeing the Seventh Sense like a mayfly seeing the blue sky.
He was reluctant to leave here. While he was still here, he called upon the power of his Little Universe to fully try to illuminate this place.
So...
From the outside, Hawk's eyes were vacant, and he still looked like he had been drained.
Gwen looked at Hawk, who was still in this state, and began to wonder if she had pushed him too hard.
Sharon, beside her, also looked at Hawk, whose eyes were distant, and asked in a low whisper: "How many times was he drained?"
Gwen heard this, instinctively glanced around, and after confirming no one was paying attention, lowered her voice: "Not many times, just five more than usual."
Sharon was stunned.
"Then how many times do you usually do?"
"Three, I guess."
"In one night?"
"No, in one morning. He insisted."
"Hiss!"
Sharon took a deep breath and instantly understood why Hawk was in this state: "He's been drained dry!"
After all, she had seen Hawk's current state on Thor.
That was the day after Thor and Jane settled in New York. At that time, Thor was also like Hawk, with vacant eyes, as if he had entered a state of meditation.
Gwen heard Sharon's exclamation and quickly changed the subject: "Hawk just needs to rest. Oh, right, you said you found evidence in HYDRA's Base that they might be experimenting on Hawk?"
Sharon heard this, also reined in her inner sigh, and nodded with a serious expression, looking at Gwen.
"Gwen, do you remember I told you before that the reason HYDRA launched its struggle was because I discovered Dr. Mallick, the cloning expert, had been swapped out?"
"Mm."
Gwen nodded, then seemed to remember something and looked at Sharon.
"It couldn't be..."
"Exactly!"
"They were secretly cloning Hawk!"
"..."
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