Marvel: The Enlightened One#229+230: The Angel Skeleton in the Fox Vault, The Villain You Can't Bring Yourself to Hate

The Fox family vault sat in the basement of the manor's secondary building.

William pushed open the door and flipped the lights on. Instantly, the square chamber revealed itself in full to Hawk's eyes.

Calling it a vault was almost misleading.

The place had an oppressive, suffocating atmosphere.

Because...

Chairs made from hair.

Drinking vessels carved from skulls.

Chopsticks fashioned from bones.

...

Without exaggeration, if any of the contents of this vault ever saw the light of day, it would trigger an absolute firestorm.

Some people would fondly reminisce about that "Golden age."

Of course, Others would despise that era with every fiber of their being.

But—

Among all the treasures in the Fox family collection, what drew Hawk's attention most wasn't actually any of these artifacts made from slaves. It was a skeleton.

A...

Angel skeleton??

Hawk stared at the skeletal remains before him. Even reduced to bare bones, the skull, limbs, and the pair of wings on its back were bound tightly with iron chains, fastening it to the vault wall in a kneeling position. His heart stirred. He turned to William beside him.

"This..."

"Yes. An angel skeleton."

William Fox met Hawk's gaze with a smile, his tone confident. "A real angel skeleton."

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

William's gaze drifted to the kneeling skeleton, his eyes carrying a hint of nostalgia. "Hawk, that era was the most savage time... This angel skeleton was found by my grandfather after he disembarked from the ship and arrived here."

Hawk frowned slightly.

"He killed it?"

"Killed it?"

"No, no, no."

William shook his head, looking at Hawk. "This is an angel, Hawk. When the first generation of the Fox family came here and started building, they dug this up from the ground. And when they found it, the skeleton was already in this state."

That's right.

When they'd unearthed it, it had already looked like this.

The Fox family had also arrived aboard the Mayflower. When they came to this land and began constructing their home, they'd excavated this angel skeleton from the soil. Because of that discovery, they'd built the Fox estate here, constructed the secondary building, and permanently housed the skeleton in the family vault.

Hawk listened to William's account while his Sixth Sense circled the angel skeleton, examining it carefully.

He'd already figured out the skeleton's origins.

Earth had once been home to Yahweh and his angels.

Mephisto could attest to that.

Back in the day, human souls had belonged to the Heaven Dimension. Then Mephisto showed up. After a Divine war between angels and demons, Mephisto emerged victorious, while Yahweh, his angels, and the Heaven Dimension lost their authority over Earth's souls and the cycle of life and death.

So if Hawk's guess was correct, this angel skeleton was probably one of the angels who'd fallen during that war between the Hell Dimension and the Heaven Dimension.

However—

"These five chains are for..."

"Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. My grandfather told me never to touch these chains, and never to expose the skeleton to sunlight. Otherwise, it will come back to life."

"...Right."

Hawk smiled and nodded at that explanation.

Revival was impossible.

After all, resurrection required following certain basic laws, didn't it?

He'd needed both a soul and a body to bring his sister back.

This angel skeleton only had bones left. The flesh and soul were both long gone. For it to resurrect, Yahweh would have to be truly omnipotent.

But he wasn't.

Because Yahweh couldn't create a stone so heavy that even he couldn't lift it. Therefore, Yahweh was not omnipotent.

Still...

"Yahweh."

"Heaven."

"Angels..."

...

That evening.

After accompanying Gwen through dinner with Grandpa William Fox, Aunt Liz Forbes, and cousin Caroline, Hawk returned to the guest room and lay in bed. His mind kept drifting back to the angel skeleton he'd seen that afternoon in the Fox vault.

William bringing him to see the angel skeleton—supposedly the Fox family's greatest secret—hadn't been some spontaneous decision or passing whim.

Because Grandpa William wanted him to inherit the Fox estate.

It sounded absurd, but that's exactly what William had said.

The reason? William hadn't elaborated, and Hawk hadn't asked.

But if Hawk had to guess, it probably had something to do with William knowing his time was running out.

Yes.

William Fox was dying. He had maybe a year left, at most. So he wanted to find an heir for the Fox estate.

Hawk was curious why William had chosen him and Gwen.

But that wasn't what intrigued Hawk the most.

What really caught his attention was what he'd sensed when examining the angel skeleton with his Sixth Sense—a faint but unmistakable scent he'd encountered before.

That same familiar scent he'd detected on Dr. Merrick's soul.

Including this time, he'd now encountered it four times.

The first time: Damon, outside the estate.

The second: Caroline.

The third: Elena.

And the fourth: this angel skeleton.

If he ranked them by concentration from highest to lowest, Elena's scent was the strongest, followed closely by the angel skeleton.

But even Elena's soul didn't carry the exact same scent as Dr. Merrick's soul.

She'd just been exposed to it.

Still, Hawk had a pretty good idea who the scent's true owner was.

That was why, when he'd first seen Elena, he'd been momentarily confused before understanding dawned.

But whether his theory was correct—he still needed proof.

Just then, Gwen emerged from the bathroom, having finished her shower. She ran a brush through her long hair while looking at Hawk lying on the bed. "You sure you won't tell me what's actually in the vault?"

Hawk snapped back to attention and smiled. "Sorry. Grandfather told me not to."

Gwen shrugged. "You don't have to tell me. I can already guess. It's probably stuff that would give me nightmares."

She knew how the Fox family had made their fortune.

So—

She had a pretty good idea what might be in that vault.

If he wasn't going to tell her, fine. She'd probably have nightmares if she knew anyway.

"Alright, go take a shower."

"I'm planning to go out for a bit."

"Hm?"

Gwen blinked, then glanced through the window at the darkening sky outside. Her eyes lit up. "Right now? To see vampires? Can I come?"

Hawk laughed. "You already saw one."

Gwen blinked, thinking he meant the drive into town. "Where? When we drove in, you mentioned it once, but I didn't even see a shadow."

Hawk shook his head. "No. You saw one. In fact, you spent the entire afternoon with one."

I saw one and spent the whole afternoon with them?

Gwen froze at Hawk's words. Her mind raced through the day's events. Then something clicked. She turned to Hawk, her eyes widening.

"Are you saying my cousin..."

"Yes."

"Oh my God!"

Gwen gasped, completely shocked.

The next second, She shook her head.

"Wait, no."

"What's wrong?"

"If she's a vampire, shouldn't she not be able to walk in sunlight?"

"You didn't notice the ring on her hand?"

"I did. I even asked about it. She said it was a sister ring."

"That's a witch ring."

Hawk smiled faintly. "A witch cast a spell on that ring. When a vampire wears it, they can walk freely in sunlight."

Gwen's mouth fell open in astonishment. Her mind flashed back to how Aunt Liz and Caroline had reacted when Hawk first mentioned vampires.

"Then my aunt..."

"She's not."

"But she knows Caroline's a vampire?"

"Yeah."

Hawk nodded. "It's understandable. Your daughter turns into a vampire—you're not going to kill her. Of course you'd help cover for her. Besides, not all vampires are evil."

That much was undeniable.

Just like HYDRA.

Anna might be part of HYDRA, but she was a good person—at least in Hawk's eyes.

Gwen pressed her lips together and sat on the bed, handing Hawk the brush. "Was she forced to become a vampire? Or did she choose it?"

Hawk took the brush and naturally began running it through Gwen's hair, thinking back to the plot of The Vampire Diaries. "Do you know the steps to turn into a vampire?"

Gwen nodded. "I do."

Turning an ordinary person into a vampire wasn't easy. And you definitely couldn't become one just by getting bitten by a vampire and surviving.

That wasn't a vampire. That was a damn zombie.

To become a vampire, you didn't need to be drained by one—you needed to drink a vampire's blood.

That was only step one.

Step two: the person who drank vampire blood had to die. Because only through death would the vampire blood activate and spread throughout their body. Once the vampire blood fully saturated their system, the dead person would come back to life.

Which brought them to step three—the most critical step.

Once resurrected, the person entered the transformation period. They had twenty-four hours to drink human blood.

If they failed to drink human blood within that window—

Sorry.

Once the twenty-four hours were up, they'd die. Permanently. No coming back.

But if they did drink it?

Well...

After consuming human blood, they'd successfully complete the transformation into a vampire.

No longer human.

...

<><><><><><><><>

Gwen thought back to the SHIELD files detailing the steps to become a vampire.

Then—

"While you and Grandpa were touring the vault, Aunt Liz mentioned that Caroline was hospitalized recently because of an injury."

"You think..."

Gwen turned to face Hawk. "That's when she was turned?"

Hawk shrugged. "Probably."

He did know exactly how Caroline had become a vampire.

Katherine had turned her. Or more accurately, Katherine had played a major role in Caroline's transformation.

Speaking of which, Katherine was actually a tragic figure.

Even though her name was synonymous with "cunning" and "selfish," what she really wanted was something simple.

To survive.

Unfortunately, even after becoming a vampire, that dream remained out of reach.

Because she'd been marked. The Original vampire Klaus had set his sights on her.

For the past five centuries, to evade Klaus's relentless pursuit, Katherine had worn countless masks, played countless roles. She'd done it so often that even she had forgotten who she'd originally been.

But one thing Katherine had never forgotten.

Survival.

Hawk recalled the story of this female antagonist from The Vampire Diaries—a character no one could truly hate—and shook his head. Then he heard Gwen ask him a question, her tone serious.

"Is there a way to turn her back into a human?"

"Hm."

Hawk snapped back to attention and looked at Gwen with a faint smile. "Gwen, vampires have plenty of flaws, but they also have incredibly long lifespans."

Gwen looked at him calmly. "I've read the files. When an Original vampire dies, every vampire in their bloodline dies with them. And honestly, calling them vampires is misleading—they're basically undead. No heartbeat, no body heat, and they can't even have children. Caroline's only eighteen."

Hawk shook his head.

"Maybe after becoming a vampire, she doesn't want to turn back."

"What?"

"It's easy to go from rags to riches, but hard to go back. Gwen, once you've tasted supernatural power, no one wants to give it up. Not even me."

At first, Hawk might have considered trading his strength for Anya's safety.

But as time passed, that idea had completely vanished.

Once you were strong, you could have whatever you wanted. Why make deals? If someone wouldn't give it to you, you just took it.

Gwen shrugged. "I've experienced that kind of power too—when you let me wear the Cloth. But honestly? It was fine, I guess."

When she'd worn the Andromeda Cloth, she had felt the rush of supernatural strength.

But after the armor dissolved, she hadn't felt any sense of loss. In fact, after Hawk explained the true cost of supernatural power, she'd completely abandoned any desire to pursue it.

Supernatural power? Been there, done that. Not impressed.

Hawk chuckled. "That's because you're wise. You can let it go easily. But do you really think your cousin Caroline would be willing to give up that power?"

Gwen frowned.

"But she's only eighteen."

"Aunt Liz is still pretty young. She could have another kid. Start fresh."

"Oh, screw you!"

Gwen rolled her eyes at Hawk's so-called solution and decided she was done with this conversation. "Fine. Go do whatever you need to do. I'll figure it out myself."

Hawk nodded, going with the flow.

"Alright."

"Come back early!"

"Got it."

Hawk climbed out of bed, kissed Gwen—whose hair he'd just finished brushing—smiled, and then vanished from the room.

The next second, Hawk stood before the mysterious waterfall that gave Mystic Falls its name.

The moment he released his Sixth Sense, it surged outward like a tide, blanketing the surrounding forest, the ground, and even the earth beneath in mere seconds.

He could hear the heartbeats of small animals in the woods, the movement of fish swimming beneath the falls, the flow of magical energy within a nearby stone wall—and beyond that barrier, the woman huddled against the corner, arms wrapped around her knees, radiating fear, fragility, and despair.

The female vampire, Katherine Pierce.

Hawk took a single step. When he reappeared, he was standing inside the tomb that held Katherine Pierce.

Calling it a tomb was generous. It was just a hollowed-out cave in the mountainside, sealed with magic. Any supernatural creature weaker than the one who cast the spell would be trapped inside forever once they entered.

Katherine sat in the darkness, not sleeping—vampires didn't need sleep—just feeling the presence of the Original vampire Klaus drawing ever closer. Fear, vulnerability, and despair radiated from her in waves, filling the enclosed space.

Then—

BOOM.

The entrance to the cave roared to life. Katherine, who had been keeping her head down to hide her weakness from the outside world, snapped her gaze upward. In an instant, the fear, fragility, and despair vanished, replaced by arrogance, playfulness, and a devil-may-care attitude.

The next second—

She saw him. As the cave door opened, a figure appeared before her: a young man with blonde hair, blue eyes, a strong build, and a tailored suit.

Hawk, meanwhile, looked at Katherine—who was now staring at him with that signature irreverent expression—and his lips curved slightly.

"Hello, Miss Pierce."

...

Because of Hawk's interference—and the fact that he'd nearly killed Damon—the group had gathered at the Salvatore boarding house: Stefan, Damon, Elena, the witch Bonnie Bennett, and Caroline, who had rushed over immediately after the estate dinner.

They were discussing what to do about Hawk.

Caroline relayed what she'd learned while subtly probing him at the estate.

There wasn't much to report, honestly.

"He got engaged to my cousin last September."

"They were planning to visit last Christmas."

"But my aunt thought their first Christmas after getting engaged and moving in together should be spent at their own place. So they didn't come."

"This year, they finalized the trip back in September. They agreed to come here, spend time with Grandpa, and celebrate the holidays. After Christmas, they're heading back to New York."

Caroline finished sharing everything she'd learned, then shrugged. "So honestly, I think you guys are overthinking this. He's just here for the holidays."

Damon, sitting off to the side nursing a glass of whiskey, his aura still weak, let out a cold laugh.

"Really? I don't buy it."

"Is it possible you're just annoying?"

"Then why didn't he come after me?"

Damon scoffed.

"He's your cousin's fiancé."

"What about Stefan, then?"

Caroline pointed at Stefan. "Stefan was standing right at the estate entrance. You were the one hiding on the hill. How come he didn't attack Stefan?"

Damon fell silent.

Stefan, seeing the tension rising, quickly changed the subject. He looked at Caroline. "Caroline, do you think he figured out what you are?"

Caroline thought back to the moment she'd walked into the estate and joined the conversation about whether the town had vampires. She remembered the knowing look on Hawk's face as she'd tried to deflect. She frowned.

"I..."

"We should find an opportunity to kill him."

Damon cut in. "Showing up here at this exact time? It's obvious. He's either a werewolf or part of Klaus's advance team."

Stefan looked at his brother, who was practically vibrating with the desire to charge over to Hawk's location and tear him apart. He rubbed his forehead. "Damon, can you not interrupt? We still don't know if Hawk is an enemy, a friend, or just passing through."

Damon laughed bitterly.

With a sharp motion, he ripped open his shirt, revealing his upper body covered in a dense array of red bruises—each one the imprint of a fist. "Look at these injuries and tell me again that he's our friend."

Bonnie, the witch sitting nearby, didn't like Damon either. She looked at him and said flatly, "Maybe he just doesn't like people spying on him in the shadows, so he taught you a lesson. After all, he didn't kill you, did he?"

Damon's gaze turned cold as he stared at Bonnie.

"Say that again."

"..."

Bonnie didn't respond. Instead, she silently cast a migraine hex on him.

Instantly, Damon's eyes cleared. He clutched his head, his expression twisting in pain.

Just as Hawk had said earlier—

Vampires who specialized in physical attacks and had no magical defenses were helpless against a witch's spells.

Elena, watching Damon's agonized expression, quickly turned to her best friend. "Bonnie..."

Bonnie released the spell. "I don't like you, Damon. I never have."

When Stefan had returned to town, everything had been peaceful.

It was only after Damon showed up that supernatural incidents started piling up, one after another.

So—

Frankly speaking, out of everyone in the room, very few people actually liked Damon.

Damon said nothing, just gasped for air as the lingering pain from the spell faded.

Just as Stefan was about to steer the conversation back on track—

Bonnie's expression suddenly shifted. She shot to her feet, as if sensing something incomprehensible, and her gaze turned toward the location where Katherine was sealed.

Elena, seeing her friend's dramatic reaction, exchanged glances with the others before quickly standing and moving to Bonnie's side.

"Bonnie, what's wrong?"

"..."

Bonnie's mind churned. She looked at Elena, her eyes filled with fear and confusion.

"A powerful presence..."

"Unmatched..."

"Vast as the universe..."

"—Just shattered Katherine's seal."

"..."