Marvel: The Enlightened One#94+95: Betty Ross’s Martyrdom Play, Nick Fury: “Yes, Betty Was Pregnant.”

Hawk’s raised hand froze in mid-air.

The door opened. Betty Ross, wearing a simple housecoat, looked at him with a calm expression, then opened the door wider and stepped aside.

"Please, come in.”

It was as if she had been expecting him.

Hawk lowered his hand. He looked at the woman before him—a woman who showed no fear of death, only a quiet resignation—and let out a short laugh. He stepped inside.

The door closed behind him.

Betty walked toward the apartment’s bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“No, thank you. I'm on a schedule.”

“...”

Betty, who had almost reached the bar, flinched. Her entire body tensed for a fraction of a second before she took a deep, steadying breath. “Then, may I have a glass of whiskey?”

Hawk considered it. “You may.”

“Thank you.”

Betty said, her voice even. She walked behind the bar, took a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet, and poured herself a glass.

Hawk watched her, his expression unreadable.

Betty raised the glass to her lips. Her expression remained perfectly controlled, her eyes showed no fear, but the slight, barely noticeable tremor in her hand gave her away.

No one faces death without fear.

Hawk was afraid of death too.

But—

“It’s a little late for regrets.”

“You killed my father.” Betty met his gaze, her tone level. “I was only trying to avenge him. Just like you did for your sister.”

Hawk laughed. “Yes. And that’s the only reason you’re getting the chance to enjoy a last drink.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Hawk looked at the glass in her hand, still two-thirds full. “I’m curious. What was your original plan? Kidnap Gwen and force me into a trap?”

Betty took another sip of whiskey. “No...”

“Then what?”

“Kill her. And send you the video.”

“...” Hawk listened to her words, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, but his expression remained unchanged.

He was beginning to suspect that Betty Ross was completely insane.

But that was fine.

Insanity might get you a pass in a court of law, but not with him.

Hawk let out a soft laugh. “A good plan. If you can’t kill me, kill my girlfriend. That way, even if I find you and kill you, she’s already gone.”

“Yes.” Betty admitted it without hesitation, her voice low and steady. “But you ruined it.”

As she spoke, a self-mocking smile touched her lips. She drained the last of the whiskey in her glass, set it down on the bar, and looked up at him.

“She’s very lucky.”

“Her good luck is your misfortune,” Hawk said, his face a mask of stone.

WHOOSH.

THUD.

He appeared before her in an instant, his hand clamped around her neck. He flashed back from behind the bar and slammed her against the wall, lifting her off her feet.

His grip loosened just enough for her to speak. “You have one last chance to speak.”

“Heh...”

Betty didn’t struggle. She didn’t show any fear. She just stared into his eyes and let out a strange, chilling laugh, her voice suddenly cold and filled with venom.

“I’ll be waiting for you in Hell.”

“...”

Hawk froze for a second. He looked at the pure hatred in her eyes and smiled faintly. “I’ll be there.”

After all, his sister was in Hell, waiting for him to bring her home.

With that, he tightened his grip. A sharp crack echoed in the silent room, and the look of venomous hatred on Betty’s face was frozen in place forever.

Betty Ross, Dead.

Thump.

Her lifeless body slumped to the floor.

Hawk looked away from her corpse, his gaze landing on a large photograph hanging on the living room wall.

It was a wedding photo of Bruce Banner and Betty Ross.

Hawk’s brow furrowed. A thought struck him, and his eyes returned to the body on the floor.

His mind was racing.

After a moment, he looked at Betty’s corpse and let out a cold, sharp laugh.

“Heh.”

“Using yourself as bait?”

“Alright.”

“I’ll give you that.”

As he looked at the wedding photo, he understood her game.

Betty knew she could never kill him herself.

So, if she wanted revenge, she had to rely on someone else.

But who would risk getting involved?

Who could help her?

After his show of force at Quantico, the military was silent. They weren’t going to make a move on him again, not until they had a plan with at least an eighty percent chance of success.

Unless they wanted a repeat of the Quantico disaster.

S.H.I.E.L.D?

Maybe...

But it had been two months since he’d returned to New York, and S.H.I.E.L.D hadn’t made a move. That told him they had no intention of getting involved.

Maybe it was because he had been in the right, or maybe, like the military, they knew they couldn’t win.

Whatever the reason, without any outside help, Betty had no way of getting her revenge.

So—

She had chosen to martyr herself. Her marriage to Bruce Banner was likely part of her plan.

Bruce might not have been willing to seek revenge for his former father-in-law, a man who had hunted him across the globe.

But he would absolutely seek revenge for his murdered wife.

And if his wife had been pregnant, all the better.

But she wasn’t.

Hawk was sure of it.

He figured her original plan had been to get pregnant and then put her martyrdom scheme into motion. But when that didn't work out, she'd decided to go ahead anyway. She was gambling that after Hawk killed her, her new husband Bruce Banner would come after him for revenge.

It was a good plan...

And Hawk was curious to see if it would work.

He'd felt a twinge of regret after leaving Culver Lake. After all, the Hulk was dead, but Bruce Banner wasn't. What was to stop him from becoming the Hulk again? But at the time, he'd still been stuck in his old way of thinking.

Now, he would give Betty’s plan a chance to play out.

Hawk left.

...

Bruce returned.

By the time he got home, Hawk had been gone for over two hours. Betty Ross's body lay sprawled on the floor, already cold and rigid.

When Bruce saw her, it felt like someone had hit him with a sledgehammer, his mind unable to process what he was seeing.

Victoria Hand, who had met him downstairs and come up with him, saw the body at the same time.

S.H.I.E.L.D’s satellites had been watching.

She had known the moment Hawk had left, but she had waited for Bruce to arrive before going up.

Victoria Hand looked at Bruce, at his trembling lips and the tears welling in his eyes. She was about to say something, but a raw, animalistic roar cut her off.

“BETTY!!!”

Bruce Banner scrambled to her side and fell to his knees. He looked at his wife’s body, his eyes filled with disbelief. His hands trembled as he reached out to touch her.

The moment his fingertips touched her cold skin, he shattered. He pulled her body into his arms and broke down completely.

“...” Victoria Hand watched, and took a deep, steadying breath.

Bruce held Betty’s body and wept for a long, long time. He cried until the sun had set.

Finally, Victoria Hand, unable to watch any longer, gently pulled him away. He collapsed to the floor, watching numbly as S.H.I.E.L.D agents came in to collect Betty’s body.

Bruce Banner sat on the floor, his eyes vacant, as if all the strength, all the will to live, had been drained from him.

Victoria Hand was silent for a moment. “My condolences, Bruce.”

“Who...”

“What?”

“WHO DID THIS!!!”

The three words were squeezed from between his teeth.

Victoria Hand looked at him and saw it. His eyes were bloodshot, and the flames of vengeance were beginning to burn within them.

“Hawk.”

Victoria Hand didn’t hide the truth. But after she said the name, she immediately explained the context—how Betty had hired criminals through a black market broker to kidnap and murder Hawk’s girlfriend, and how Hawk had retaliated.

At first, Bruce’s anger had been a raging inferno. But as Victoria Hand finished her explanation, the flames in his eyes flickered.

The implication was clear.

Betty had made the first move. From a certain point of view, Hawk killing her was just revenge.

After hearing the full story, Bruce Banner fell silent.

Victoria looked at his vacant expression and pressed her lips together. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“...”

Bruce Banner sat on the floor.

Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he looked up at the large wedding photograph on the wall and stared.

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

A few days later.

Hawk drove his repaired black Audi A8, with Gwen in the passenger seat, to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Today was the day Gwen was flying to California to visit the University of California, Berkeley.

George had wanted to be the one to drive her. He’d brought it up at dinner last night, an offer Gwen had immediately and politely declined.

Hawk parked the car and got her suitcase from the trunk.

Gwen looped her arm through his, and they walked toward the terminal entrance.

“Is someone meeting you there?”

“Don’t worry, Berkeley is sending someone to meet me at the gate.”

“Alright.”

“If you’re really that worried, you could come with me.” Gwen glanced at him, a playful glint in her eye. “Who knows, there might be another kidnapper waiting for me over there.”

Hawk said nothing, just looked at her. After a moment, he looked away. “There won’t be.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure.” His voice was firm.

The incident with Betty Ross was the first of its kind, and it would be the last.

As everyone knows, the same move never works on a Saint twice.

And so, after they had gotten her ticket and were waiting at the gate, Hawk took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

Gwen took the note and saw a phone number written on it. She looked at him, curious. “What’s it for?”

Hawk smiled. “Your protection in California. She’ll probably be waiting for you when you get off the plane.”

“California may not be that far, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Gwen frowned slightly. “I thought the kidnapping case was over.”

“It is.” Hawk smiled faintly. “But there’s still a loose end. Maybe I should just tie it up now.”

Betty Ross was dead. But Bruce Banner wasn't. And Bruce Banner was the loose end that needed tying up.

Gwen saw the flicker in his eyes and her own brow furrowed. “Hawk.”

“Yeah?”

“Promise me you won’t let your anger get the best of you.”

Gwen squeezed his hand, her voice soft as she looked at him. “Bruce Banner is innocent in all of this, isn't he?”

The NYPD had already closed the case.

Or rather, the FBI had closed it for them, announcing that during the arrest of a suspect wanted for targeting police officers, they had discovered a link to Gwen’s attempted kidnapping. In short, the mastermind had been killed in a shootout with the FBI.

The NYPD had been baffled by the news. George had been just as confused.

But Gwen knew the truth. Hawk hadn't hidden Betty Ross's deadly game from her. She knew all about her martyrdom play.

When she’d first heard it, she hadn’t known how to feel.

Of all the things she felt, sympathy was not one of them.

She was kind, but she wasn't a saint—not nearly enough of one to forgive someone who'd tried to have her killed.

When it came down to it, Hawk had been acting in self-defense from beginning to end.

If Thaddeus Ross hadn’t attacked him, would Hawk have gone to Quantico?

If Betty Ross hadn’t tried to kidnap and assassinate her, would Hawk have killed her?

The answer was no.

If she hadn’t been so lucky, if Hawk hadn’t shown up in time, she would have been the one who ended up dead.

So no, Gwen felt no sympathy for Betty Ross.

The woman got what she deserved.

But Bruce Banner? When Gwen had heard about Betty’s plan, about how she had used Bruce, she had only one thought.

Poor Bruce Banner.

If Betty Ross had truly loved Bruce Banner, she would have wanted him to be happy. She wouldn't have turned their marriage, their love, into nothing more than pieces in some twisted, manipulative plot.

...

Hawk had started to regret his decision as he was telling her the story, and had been on the verge of going to take care of Bruce right then and there.

It had been Gwen who stopped him. Her reasoning then was the same as it was now.

“Betty Ross got what she deserved...”

“But Bruce Banner is just another one of her victims.”

“Don’t let your heart get carried away by rage, Hawk. Try, just once more, to be a person with a clear conscience.”

“Of course.”

“If Bruce Banner really does fall for her trap, then... I won’t stop you.”

“I’ll call this number the second I land.” Gwen’s voice was soft, soothing the restless anger in his heart. She clutched the note in her hand and looked at him.

He looked at her, and after a long moment, a slow smile touched his lips.

“Alright.”

“We’ll wait. We’ll see if he falls for her trap.”

Hearing his promise, a gentle smile spread across Gwen’s face.

Just then, the boarding announcement for her flight to California began.

Gwen stood, hugged him, and gave him a quick kiss.

“Okay, I’m going.”

"Go." Hawk smiled and watched as she boarded the plane.

Half an hour later, the flight to Berkeley taxied down the runway, reached takeoff speed, and lifted into the sky. He watched until the plane had disappeared into the clouds.

Hawk took a deep breath, then turned and walked to the airline counter. “One ticket for the next flight to Paris, please.”

He'd already checked the flight schedules. He could smoothly go from seeing Gwen off to catching his own flight.

From Paris, he would take a private jet to Africa, where he had already reserved a car at the airport. He could step off the plane and drive straight to Wakanda.

Soon, Flight 180 from New York to Paris finished boarding and taxied down the runway.

...

At the same time, in a cemetery in Jersey City, a funeral was underway.

The guest list was pretty short, but it was definitely a high-caliber crowd.

“Bruce.”

“Pepper.”

“My condolences.”

Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries, who had just finished her own Extremis treatment last month, was dressed in a simple black dress, her face covered by a veil.

After the casket was lowered, she walked over to a devastated Bruce Banner and gave him a brief hug. "Tony wanted to be here, but you know how it is—his treatment is at a critical stage. Dr. Cho has him on strict bed rest.”

Bruce nodded, forcing a smile. “I know. Tony called me last night.”

“Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.” Pepper said, then gave him one last hug before leaving.

There was too much to do at Stark Industries, and with Tony still recovering, she was too busy.

Sharon Carter was next. She offered condolences from Steve Rogers.

“I’m so sorry, Bruce.”

Sharon’s smile was pained. “The Captain had a ticket, but my aunt took a turn for the worse yesterday.”

Bruce just nodded, “It's okay. Steve called me. I'm fine. Really.”

Sharon Carter looked at his forced smile, opened her mouth to say something, then thought better of it. She just gave him another hug and left.

Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were the last to approach him.

They hadn’t been held up by other matters.

But they had only exchanged a few words when both of their phones began to chime...

Natasha and Clint both glanced at their phones, then looked at Bruce apologetically.

Bruce understood, forcing another smile. “It’s fine. I’m okay, really. Go, if you have to.”

Natasha and Clint could only give him a final hug before hurrying away.

...

Soon, the funeral was over.

The sun began to set.

Bruce stood alone in front of the new headstone, staring at the name—BETTY ROSS—and the smiling photograph etched into the marble. He was lost in thought.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over him. A voice spoke from beside him.

“My condolences.”

“...” Bruce snapped back to the present. He looked at the man who had appeared next to him—the black trench coat, the black eyepatch. “Nick?”

The next second, he looked back at the headstone.

“Thank you.”

“She was too young... too reckless.” Nick Fury stared at the picture of Betty Ross, shaking his head with something like regret. “I thought when she married you, she had moved on.”

Married?

Bruce caught the word and let out a self-deprecating laugh, saying nothing.

Nick glanced at him and sighed, then patted his shoulder. “It’s just a shame about the baby...”

Bruce, who had been numbly nodding along, suddenly froze. He looked up, his eyes wide with shock. “WAIT, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? A BABY? WHAT BABY??”

“You didn’t know??”

Nick Fury looked genuinely surprised. “When Betty went to the S.H.I.E.L.D hospital for a check-up last week. They found out she was one month pregnant. Didn't Victoria or—"

He stopped, and a look of dawning realization crossed his face. “Oh, right... They're the 'Peace advocates.' Of course they wouldn't have told you."

Bruce: “......”