Marvel: The Enlightened One#53+54: One-Punch—The Lizard, Deceived by the Devil

The monstrous Lizard.

A dangling Spider-Man.

And a dumbstruck Gwen.

Hawk didn't have time to think. He grabbed Gwen, but in that same instant, a realization hit him. He yanked her back, pulling her into his arms and spinning on the spot, turning his own back toward the Lizard.

CRACK!

The Lizard’s claws slammed into Hawk's back with the force of a falling boulder, knocking him clean off the staircase.

In mid-air, Hawk twisted again, taking the impact as his back crashed into a bookshelf below.

The shelf splintered into pieces.

It all happened in a flash. By the time anyone else reacted, the library was filled with a new wave of screams as students scrambled for the exit.

"Hawk!"

The Lizard, perched on the stairs like a true monster, let a low growl rumble in its throat as it stared down at Hawk, who was already getting to his feet. "Blood... Give it to me!"

Okay.

So he's here for me.

Hawk, who felt nothing from the blow other than some dust on his now-disheveled clothes, made a mental note. He instinctively glanced at Gwen, who was also snapping out of her shock. "Are you okay?"

He was curious about something, though.

If the Lizard was after him, why did that last attack seem like it was aimed directly at Gwen?

It wasn't just a feeling. It was an instinct. If the Lizard had been aiming for him, it wouldn't have even come close. To think otherwise would be an insult to the two and a half years of brutal training he'd endured.

Hawk's first impulse had been to grab Gwen and exit the scene at supersonic speed.

But the moment he considered it, a series of consequences flashed through his mind.

Gwen's body wouldn't be able to withstand the sudden g-force. The g-force would crush her like an invisible hand.

Or the fatal air resistance would have torn her apart.

His body was built for supersonic movement—Gwen's wasn't. That was why he had changed his plan in that split second, choosing to absorb the Lizard's attack instead.

It had nothing to do with not wanting to expose his powers in front of his classmates.

He wasn't afraid of being exposed.

And he certainly wasn't interested in playing dumb to get the upper hand.

Even when he robbed the Quantico base, the most he'd done for a disguise was wear a hoodie and a surgical mask. He hadn't even worn gloves. If the military had done a thorough investigation, they probably could have found him.

After all, he hadn't worn any disguise when he'd scouted the place during the day. A simple check of security footage and some motion tracking would be enough to get a match.

In short:

If he wasn't afraid of being exposed to the United States military, he sure as hell didn't care about a bunch of students.

He just didn't want Gwen to get hurt.

Gwen, who had now fully recovered from the shock, instinctively shook her head.

"I'm fine," she said, before her eyes suddenly widened in alarm.

"Look out!"

WHOOSH!

Hawk threw a punch.

The sheer force of the air pressure slammed into the desk the Lizard had flung with its tail, and the desk disintegrated in mid-air.

"Be careful. He's incredibly strong!" The warning came from Peter, who was now clinging to the wall like an actual spider.

To be more precise, the Lizard was absurdly strong.

If the Lizard's strength on the Williamsburg Bridge had been a 1, its strength now was a 3.

Fortunately, Peter healed fast. But while he knew Hawk was strong, he'd never actually seen him fight. Seeing that Hawk was about to jump in, he had to give him a warning.

The voice Peter was using wasn't his own. Compared to his normal voice, this one was deeper, more guttural.

The change was enough to make Gwen glance up for a second, but she quickly turned back to Hawk and nodded.

"You be careful."

"I will."

Hawk gave her a reassuring smile.

Gwen turned, ready to run for cover.

But the instant she turned her back, the Lizard's pupils contracted. It kicked off the stairs, launching itself through the air—once again, straight at Gwen.

"Holy shit!"

"You're dead!"

The first line was from Peter. Seeing the attack, he dug his hands and feet into the wall and fired two streams of webbing, which latched onto the airborne Lizard's back, halting its forward momentum for a fraction of a second.

The second line was from Hawk.

Seeing the Lizard try to kill Gwen right in front of him, his voice turned to ice.

The next second.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A sonic boom ripped through the library. Hawk vanished from his spot, reappearing in the air directly in front of the Lizard. He threw a single, almost casual punch that landed squarely on the creature's chest.

CRACK!

The Lizard's chest caved in, instantly exposing the mutated heart within. His body shot backward like a kite with its string cut, a brutal shriek tearing from its throat.

Peter was sent flying with him.

His two web lines were still attached to the Lizard's back. The force of Hawk's punch pulled him from the wall, and he let out a startled yell as he was dragged along for the ride.

Luckily, he reacted instantly, severing the web lines. He did a quick flip in mid-air, and all four limbs slapped against the library ceiling, absorbing the momentum.

The Lizard was not so fortunate.

CRASH!

CRASH!

CRASH!

It flew backward, plowing through an entire row of bookshelves on the second floor. With a final, thunderous series of impacts, its back slammed into the far wall. The wall spiderwebbed with cracks, finally stopping its momentum.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye.

After sending the Lizard flying, Hawk reappeared next to Gwen. "Are you okay?"

Gwen just stared, shaking her head numbly. Her mind was stuck on the image of the airborne monster lunging at her.

Peter dropped from the ceiling, landing on the wrecked second floor amidst the shattered bookshelves and cracked floorboards. He saw the state the Lizard was in.

He stared.

The Lizard's chest was completely caved in. Shards of its own ribs were embedded in its exposed, mutated heart.

The heart was still beating—thump-thump—but the rhythm was slowing, and the creature's green scales were visibly fading back to pale skin.

One punch...

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

By the time Hawk and Gwen made it to the second floor, the Lizard was gone.

In its place was Dr. Connors, reverted to his human form. But the wound in his chest remained—a gaping, irreversible injury.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but as he saw Hawk approaching, he forced a painful smile.

"Thank you!"

"..." Hawk said nothing, just raised an eyebrow as he looked at the dying man.

Gwen, however, was still trying to understand. "Doctor, why did you try to kill me?"

She couldn't make sense of it.

If Connors was angry about what happened on the Williamsburg Bridge, he should have been after Spider-Man.

If he was after blood, he should have gone after Hawk.

Why her?

Leaning against the wall, completely drained of strength, Connors let out a weak, wheezing laugh.

The movement made his chest heave, and a flush of red spread across his pale face. He coughed up blood, his breathing growing dangerously shallow. As his eyes began to flutter shut for the last time, Dr. Connors whispered his final words.

"I don't know."

"I think..."

"The devil made me do it."

"I'm... so..."

"...sorry."

Thud.

With that final, strained apology, his eyes closed completely. His lone left arm slapped against the floor with a hollow, final sound.

Dr. Connors was dead.

Hawk's gaze shifted from the body to Peter standing nearby.

"Are you going to leave or what?"

Peter, who was still reeling from the shock of seeing Connors killed with a single punch, snapped back to reality. "What about you?"

"The Spider-freak killed him. What's that got to do with me?"

"I'm not a 'spider-freak.'"

"Then the webs..."

"I'm leaving."

Peter cut the conversation short. He turned, fired a web, and swung through the air, shattering the glass of the skylight with the tip of his boot before disappearing from sight.

Just then, Gwen's eyes went wide. "The security cameras!"

She grabbed Hawk's arm and started pulling him toward the library's security office downstairs.

"Don't worry. They didn't see anything."

"Huh?"

"The angle where I hit him was a blind spot. They'll only see the Lizard flying backward, not who did it."

It was probably just a coincidence.

He honestly didn't care if he was exposed or not—he hadn't known it was a blind spot when he threw the punch. He only realized it afterward.

Maybe, just maybe, God—if he existed—had decided it wasn't his time to be revealed.

...

Half an hour later.

The NYPD had arrived and were carrying out the body of Dr. Connors, which was already cold to the touch.

Captain George Stacy of the 19th Precinct was on the scene.

"Gwen!"

The moment he got out of his car, he rushed over and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank God, you're okay."

"Dad."

Gwen eased out of his embrace, glanced at Hawk, then took his hand. "Hawk saved me,"

George's eyes turned to Hawk.

Hawk gave a polite, familiar greeting.

"Mr. Stacy."

"Thank you." This time, George didn't ignore him. He looked him straight in the eye and gave a small, almost imperceptible nod of gratitude.

Hawk smiled. "I just did what I had to."

George said nothing, but his eyes darted for a split second to where his daughter's hand was firmly intertwined with Hawk's. He looked back at Gwen. "Call your mother. She was worried sick when she saw the news about the attack at Midtown."

Gwen gasped, realizing she'd forgotten. She quickly pulled out her phone and stepped away to call her mom.

Once she was gone, George stood beside Hawk, looking toward the body bag being loaded into the coroner's van. "So, the Lizard was Dr. Connors. But what was he doing at the school?"

Hawk's expression didn't change. "I don't know."

But he was thinking about Connors's last words.

The devil made me do it.

What kind of devil would convince Connors to ignore Spider-Man, the one he had a grudge against, and ignore Hawk, whose blood he supposedly needed, just to make a beeline for the completely harmless Gwen Stacy?

It made no sense.

Unless this devil wasn't playing by the usual rules.

A moment later, Gwen returned, visibly relieved after talking to her mother. She walked right up to Hawk and naturally looped her arm through his. "All clear with Mom."

George's eye twitched almost imperceptibly at the casual gesture. He decided it was time to leave.

If he stayed any longer, he might just shoot the kid.

...

Another half hour passed. After the NYPD and Captain Stacy had cleared out, Midtown Tech announced that school was dismissed for the day.

The students, who had still been buzzing with the aftershock of the Spider-Man vs. Lizard battle, immediately erupted into cheers. Praising the school's wise decision, they bolted for the parking lot like wild horses breaking free from a pen.

Hawk just shook his head, deciding to stop wasting time thinking about Connors's motives.

The man was dead. Dwelling on it was pointless.

That weekend, Hawk was in his apartment, surfing the web on the laptop he'd bought from Skye, connected to the hotspot from the phone his girlfriend had given him.

He finally had some downtime and decided to look for a way to sell the five Chitauri weapons he had stashed under his bed.

He had to...

He needed to make some money. Otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to afford a tux for prom.

Theoretically, he didn't need to worry about money anymore.

But—

When the original Spider-Man had been corrupted by the symbiote, the darkest thing he did was buy himself a cheap suit.

Hawk knew he wasn't as morally upright as Peter, but he couldn't be that much worse, could he?

As he was searching for a black-market connection...

A soft thump sounded at his window.

Hawk looked up.

Clinging to the fire escape outside his window, peering in, was the very Spider-Man he had just been thinking about.