Marvel: The Enlightened One#219+220: The Hundred-Day Role-Play Ends, Dr. Merrick Finally Surfaces!

Clone human.

Clone Saint Cloth.

Hawk thought about what HYDRA might be attempting and let out an unconcerned laugh. With a thought, he dismissed the projection of his Cosmo.

But both Sharon and Tony were still staring at the space behind Hawk, as if they were still mesmerized by the universe he'd just displayed.

As for Gwen, This wasn't her first time seeing it.

Though, Gwen thought back to the Cosmo Hawk had just projected and murmured quietly, "I feel like it got bigger."

The last time Hawk had shown his Cosmo had been on the snowy mountain at Kamar-Taj.

But it had been a long time since that trip.

Hawk nodded, looking at Gwen. "Still not at the limit yet."

Even though he'd used the Reality Stone, the Four Creation Elements, the Ancient One's Time Stone, and later received Tiamut's life energy to aid his training—

His current Cosmo still hadn't reached the maximum potential of the Sixth Sense Silver Cosmo.

But the gap was closing.

Gwen didn't fully understand what Hawk meant by "not at the limit yet," but seeing the relaxed expression on his face—completely free of anger—she made one final confirmation. "So even if HYDRA actually succeeds in cloning you, there's no way they could defeat you?"

Hawk let out a short laugh.

"Of course not."

"Swear it. On Anya's name."

Hawk looked at Gwen's serious expression and understood what she was worried about. He didn't hesitate. "I swear on Anya's name. There. Happy now?"

Gwen's face finally relaxed into a smile.

She believed Hawk might hide things to avoid worrying her, but she also believed he would never swear carelessly on his sister Anya's name.

So, HYDRA's plan to use a cloned Hawk plus a cloned Saint Cloth to defeat or kill the real Hawk was pure fantasy.

After getting Hawk's oath on Anya's name, Gwen finally let go of her worries completely.

But relieved or not, one fact remained unchanged.

HYDRA was actively trying to clone Hawk.

With that thought, Gwen's disgust for HYDRA deepened. She turned to Sharon. "Can you find Dr. Merrick?"

Sharon glanced at Gwen, her consciousness gradually returning from the mesmerizing display of Hawk's brilliant Cosmo. "We're still searching. But we can confirm that the underground HYDRA facility at Rhyolite Ghost Town isn't their cloning facility."

The underground base at Rhyolite was a cloning facility, sure—but for cloning Hawk's Saint Cloth.

Probably because the Cloth cloning was part of the larger plan to clone Hawk, the computer system at that base had contained keywords related to Hawk's cloning.

That was how SHIELD had discovered HYDRA's cloning project in the first place.

Unfortunately, they still had no leads on where HYDRA was actually conducting the human cloning.

They'd notified Hawk immediately after finding the keywords.

After all, they were terrified of the possibility that HYDRA might successfully create a clone with Hawk's power but completely aligned with evil.

But now—

Hawk's answer put them somewhat at ease.

Though only somewhat.

After explaining, Sharon looked at Gwen and Hawk. "Commander Hand received the news and has ordered all SHIELD resources to concentrate on finding Dr. Merrick as quickly as possible."

Hawk wasn't worried about the "what if," because he was absolutely certain HYDRA couldn't possibly clone his Cosmo along with his body.

But SHIELD was worried.

To prevent the emergence of an evil Hawk clone, not just SHIELD but even the World Security Council, after learning about this, had panicked and immediately ordered SHIELD to locate Dr. Merrick as fast as possible.

Bottom line:

Hawk wasn't worried.

But SHIELD was.

Hearing that SHIELD had cast a wide net to search for Dr. Merrick, Gwen nodded. "Find him quickly. This plan is too evil."

Hawk also spoke to Sharon. "Call me when you find him."

Sharon nodded. "Don't worry. We'll notify you the second we locate him."

Even if Hawk hadn't said anything, they would have informed him immediately upon finding Dr. Merrick anyway.

After all, this concerned Hawk directly. And maintaining open, transparent communication was the most effective way to prevent any friction between SHIELD and Hawk caused by misunderstandings.

Unfortunately—

By the time Hawk and Gwen's first semester of sophomore year ended, SHIELD still hadn't found the hidden HYDRA cloning facility suspected of conducting experiments on Hawk.

During that time, SHIELD—armed with the Security Council's "shoot first, ask later" authorization—had struck all over the world, taking down several HYDRA bases hidden in remote corners of various third-world countries.

But after JARVIS collected and analyzed the computer data from those bases, they found nothing. Not just no Dr. Merrick—there wasn't even a shadow of the word "cloning."

Moreover, when the captured HYDRA operatives were interrogated using every method SHIELD had—even when asked about cloning experiments—their previously terrified eyes would transform into the blank stare of a clueless college student.

Clear and stupid.

These captured HYDRA operatives knew absolutely nothing about any cloning.

But SHIELD kept searching anyway. And as time passed, they seemed to be getting increasingly frustrated.

After all, knowing there was a hidden HYDRA cloning facility out there meant HYDRA remnants still existed.

And if HYDRA remnants existed, that meant their cleanup operation wasn't finished.

So—

Search.

Keep searching.

Even if they had to dig three feet underground, they would find HYDRA's cloning facility.

But compared to SHIELD's growing frustration, Hawk showed no concern whatsoever. He didn't put HYDRA's cloning project on his radar at all.

A fake is a fake.

A sparrow will never become a phoenix, no matter how high it flies.

Still—

Sharon, Commander Hand, and Director Hill—watching Hawk continue attending classes without a care in the world—felt their sense of urgency ease slightly.

The more indifferent Hawk acted about HYDRA's cloning project, the more it confirmed what he'd said was true.

HYDRA's cloning work was futile.

However, SHIELD still maintained weekly phone calls with Hawk... actually, with Gwen, updating them on the latest developments.

Hawk frequently forgot to bring his phone.

This was common knowledge. Fortunately, as long as Hawk was in New York City, finding Gwen meant finding Hawk.

...

The first day of winter break.

Hawk was sitting on the living room couch, applying antifreeze to the cast on his left arm, when Gwen came down the stairs holding her phone.

Just as Gwen was about to tell Hawk that SHIELD had found another HYDRA base last week but still no cloning leads, she reached the living room and froze. Her expression turned strange as she watched Hawk rubbing antifreeze into his cast. Her eyebrow twitched involuntarily.

"What are you doing?"

"It's cold outside. The cast is cracking. I figured I'd apply some antifreeze to maintain it."

Hawk answered without looking up.

Gwen's mouth twitched. She jogged over and snatched the bottle of antifreeze from beside him.

Hawk looked up.

"Hey, that's my antifreeze."

"Today is day one hundred and one. I told you last night—the hundred days are over. You don't need to wear that thing anymore."

"Uh..."

Hawk looked at his left arm, then up at Gwen, his expression full of reluctance.

"Can we extend it another hundred days?"

"No!"

Only God knew how many times over the past hundred days she'd regretted that decision.

Now that it was finally over—

He wanted to add more time?

Ha.

Dream on.

Gwen flatly refused. She grabbed the antifreeze and headed toward the garage, not even looking back as she spoke. "Besides, did you forget? We're going to see Grandpa tomorrow. Are you really planning to meet him with your arm in a cast and wrapped in bandages?"

Hawk blinked, remembering.

Except—

What did that have to do with his cast?

Hawk tried one more time, calling after Gwen as she headed for the garage. "Would that really be a problem?"

Gwen didn't turn around. She opened the garage door and walked in. "My grandpa's old-school Southern."

The words hung in the air.

Hawk went silent.

Gwen didn't pay it any mind. After putting the antifreeze back in the garage, she turned and headed back into the house—and found herself witnessing a magic trick.

One second ago, Hawk had been sitting there with his left arm in a sling, wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Now he was dressed in a burnt-orange leather duster, tight-fitting jeans, tall riding boots, and a cowboy hat.

Hawk pulled his left hand out of his pocket, flicked the brim of his cowboy hat with one finger, lifted his chin slightly toward Gwen, and raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"

The only reason he wasn't holding a cigarette was because he didn't really smoke—and he hadn't had time to buy any.

Otherwise—

Saying that line while holding a cigarette would've completed the look perfectly.

Gwen stared at Hawk, who had spent a hundred days playing an injured patient and apparently wasn't done role-playing—now he'd jumped straight into Wild West cowboy mode. Her mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"Where did you even get that outfit?"

"A store. I've been keeping it in the safe room in the basement."

Hawk smiled. "I was planning to surprise you. So? Surprised?"

Hearing those words, Gwen's entire expression froze.

But she recovered quickly.

Not only did Gwen's face light up with a smile again—

Her smile grew even brighter.

"Hawk!"

"Yeah?"

"You look so handsome. Let's go."

"Go where?"

"I can't wait for Mom to see your outfit and compliment you."

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

Afternoon.

Hawk drove Gwen to the Stacy apartment to pick up some things Helen had prepared for them to bring to Gwen's Grandfather tomorrow.

Originally, Helen had been planning to leave George home to watch the two kids, then go to Forks with Hawk and Gwen.

Except. There was a case.

And apparently, it was a big one.

The reason for "apparently" was because George hadn't said anything. Helen had deduced it based on how busy George had been lately—so busy he barely came home.

Even with George buried in work, she could have taken the kids to Forks with her.

But Helen didn't feel right about it.

Even though if something happened to George, she wouldn't know until uniformed officers with white gloves showed up at her door—

If something did happen, being in New York meant she'd know faster than if she were in Forks. And she could get to her husband immediately.

So, Helen decided not to go. She'd wait until George finished this case and had time off, then they'd take the kids and visit separately from Hawk and Gwen.

So tonight's visit had two purposes: mooch dinner, and pick up the things Helen had prepared to send to Grandpa.

Soon enough—

Hawk, whose left arm had instantly returned to normal after exactly one hundred days, executed a smooth parallel parking maneuver and slid the car perfectly in behind Helen's family minivan.

Gwen stepped out of the passenger side, then looked at Hawk—who had ditched the outdated and very pointed cowboy outfit in favor of the black casual suit she'd bought him recently—and spoke cheerfully. "Hawk, seriously, I wasn't lying. If Mom saw you in that cowboy outfit, she definitely would've complimented you. Enthusiastically."

Hawk glanced at Gwen, who had quickened her pace to loop her arm through his, a suspiciously gleeful expression on her face. "Could you at least try to hide that schadenfreude while you're saying that?"

Gwen caught herself and straightened her face, looking at Hawk.

"My apologies."

"Too late. I already saw it."

The corner of Hawk's mouth curved upward.

He wasn't an idiot. He'd bought that outfit on a whim a while back when he and Peter had passed a discount store.

Hawk had only bought it to mess with Gwen. He'd never actually planned to wear it to meet her grandfather.

Come on.

Knowing that Gwen's grandfather used to be a plantation owner, and now the plantation was gone—showing up in a cowboy outfit would be like twisting the knife in the old man's chest.

He wasn't that stupid.

A few moments later—

Helen opened the door, saw her daughter and future son-in-law standing there, and warmly invited them inside. Then she noticed that today, Hawk's arm was finally no longer in a sling. Her smile brightened even more.

"Your arm healed?"

"Yeah."

Hawk smiled, glancing at Gwen beside him, then turned to Helen. "Thanks to Gwen taking care of me. Honestly, I wish I could've stayed injured a few more days."

Helen let out a laugh and rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't say things like that. Who curses themselves with injury?"

"Mom, that's exactly the kind of person he is."

Gwen looped her arm through Helen's and looked at Hawk, her face dead serious. "He wanted to stay sick longer so I'd keep taking care of him."

Helen patted Gwen's shoulder.

"Hawk is your fiancé. If he's sick, shouldn't you take care of him?"

"Thank you, Mom."

Hawk jumped on Helen's words before Gwen could react.

He and Gwen were already engaged. Sure, they hadn't registered yet—because they weren't old enough—but Hawk had been calling Helen "Mom" for a while now.

So saying "thank you, Mom" came with zero psychological burden.

Of course—

He didn't use it when George was around, since George hadn't given permission yet.

But that wasn't because Hawk couldn't say it.

It was because he, Gwen, and Helen had agreed that, for the sake of George's blood pressure, they should hold off on that particular change for now.

Gwen watched her mother fully transform into Hawk's mother and opened her mouth, then shot Hawk a glare.

Hawk responded with a brilliant smile.

He'd originally thought George might come home for dinner tonight, but he didn't.

Clearly—

The case really was a big one.

Hawk thought about George's absence as he ate, though he wasn't particularly concerned.

After all, he had his Underworld.

To put it bluntly—even if George died, his soul would go to Hawk's Underworld, not Mephisto's Hell.

And honestly, If George really did die and ended up in the Underworld, it wouldn't be to suffer. There was no way Hawk would send George to experience the Eight Prisons of Hell he'd created.

Because if he sent George to the Prisons, Gwen would find out and immediately kick him to the couch.

So, If George ended up in the Underworld, it wouldn't be punishment—it would be early retirement. One day sooner meant one day closer to living the good life.

With that reasoning, Hawk didn't bother asking what case George was working on. He sat with Gwen, helping comfort Helen, who seemed a bit worried.

Though Helen's worry was pretty standard. She worried every time George had to work overtime on a case.

It wasn't some mystical sixth sense. It was just because Helen loved George.

And if she didn't love him, a woman from a Georgia plantation family wouldn't have followed George to New York City in the first place.

After dinner, Helen brought out the things she'd originally planned to take back to Forks.

There weren't many items. Three, to be exact.

An elegantly wrapped leather belt—for her father, Gwen's grandfather, William Fox.

A beautifully packaged scarf—for her younger sister, Gwen's aunt, Liz Fox.

And the last gift was for Caroline Fox.

Liz Fox's daughter.

As for why Aunt Liz's daughter Caroline also had the last name Fox, Hawk—standing quietly nearby—wasn't curious.

Gwen had already explained it to him.

Here was the thing.

If Helen had been lucky enough to find true love in George Stacy, then Helen's younger sister—Gwen's Aunt Liz—had been unlucky enough to find a deadbeat.

Well, maybe not a complete deadbeat. Just someone who was almost never in Forks, which naturally caused problems in the relationship.

But Helen had heard that her sister was seeing someone new, which was actually the main reason she'd originally planned to go back to Forks with Hawk and Gwen.

On the drive home after Hawk and Gwen picked up the gifts—

Gwen, sitting in the passenger seat, looked at Hawk. "What's wrong?"

Hawk glanced at her.

"What?"

"You're thinking about something."

"You can tell?"

"I'm a cop's—"

"Cop's daughter."

Hawk smoothly finished her sentence, then chuckled at Gwen's smile and didn't bother hiding it. "I'm thinking we should cancel the plane tickets. Helen's not coming with us anyway."

Gwen thought Hawk was getting cold feet.

"Scared? Backing out?"

"You forgot—I have a disaster magnet curse whenever I leave New York City."

"Oh..."

Gwen heard Hawk's words and remembered the analysis he'd given her after returning from Texas. His track record of leaving NYC: four trips, four different disasters.

First trip to Quantico—got mugged outside the airport.

Second trip to Africa—incident before takeoff.

Third trip to London—mid-air hijacking, though luckily Peter was there.

Fourth trip to Texas—encountered the Wind Elemental mid-flight.

Gwen recalled Hawk's self-narrated history, blinked, and looked at him.

"So what's your plan?"

"Fly there."

Hawk looked at Gwen. "And it'll be faster than taking a plane. Georgia's not that far. Carrying you, flying slow—ten minutes, tops."

Gwen raised an eyebrow.

"Sure. But I'm curious—if Mom were coming with us and your disaster curse actually kicked in and something happened, what would you have done?"

"What could I do?"

Hawk smiled at Gwen. "You know I've never wanted to hide my identity. You and SHIELD are the ones who think keeping it secret is better."

Gwen's expression turned serious. "And that's wrong? Look, one HYDRA organization found out, and they've been secretly trying to clone you. We still haven't found them. If you go public, God knows how many evil organizations will come after your blood."

Hawk quickly changed the subject.

"By the way, what did SHIELD say? Still no word on where Dr. Merrick's hiding?"

"Nope."

Gwen shook her head, remembering the call Sharon had made that morning, and filled Hawk in. Then her expression turned serious again. "Hawk, don't sell your blood anymore."

Hawk nodded repeatedly, looking at Gwen, giving her a definitive answer. "I won't."

At moments like this, agreement had to come fast. Otherwise, only God knew how long Gwen would nag about it.

Sure enough, Hearing Hawk's immediate promise, Gwen's stern expression softened slightly.

Just then, A phone rang.

"It's Sharon."

Gwen saw the caller ID and instinctively looked at Hawk, then seemed to realize something.

Sharon calling at this time—could it mean they'd found Dr. Merrick?

Hawk's eyebrows shot up.

The next second—

Gwen, catching on, quickly answered Sharon's call.

"Hello, Sharon!"

"Gwen, is Hawk with you?"

"Yeah, he's right here. Did you find—"

"Yes. Australia. Alice Springs!"

"..."