Marvel: The Awakened One

Bruce Banner pulled his jeep to a stop in front of Hawk, got out and closed the door.

Hawk, having just finished his last punch, looked at the man who had come all this way to find him.

The Wakandans stood at the entrance to their settlement, watching and exchanging confused glances.

Their eyes met across the grassy clearing.

Hawk spoke first. ”Dr. Banner.”

”Hawk.”

Bruce Banner, who showed no outward signs of distress, nodded back as if greeting an old friend. He glanced around. ”This is a beautiful place.”

A good place for an eternal rest.

Bruce added silently.

Though Wakanda was known to the outside world as a barren, third-world nation, the land itself was breathtaking.

Rolling grasslands. Crystal-clear lakes. Lush forests. It was a pristine, natural sanctuary, untouched by the scars of modern industry—a rarity on the continent of Africa.

Hawk caught the double meaning in his words and chuckled. ”I thought you had given up.”

”I had.”

”Then why the change of heart?”

”Betty left me a message.”

”Oh...”

Hawk nodded with a look of dawning realization, then shrugged. ”You could have waited until I got back to New York.”

Bruce shook his head. ”Not in New York.”

”Why not??”

”Too many people. What if our fight ends up creating another Hawk?”

”Haha.” Hawk laughed at the explanation, then his smile faded, his expression turning cold.

”So, here?”

”Yes. Right here.”

”Alright.” Hawk smiled faintly.

The next second—

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Hawk’s figure vanished. He reappeared an instant later, standing exactly where Bruce Banner had been.

As for Bruce...

He was already in the air, his body bent like a cooked shrimp as he flew backward.

CRASH!

THUD!

SCRAPE!

Bruce’s body slammed into the grassland like a cannonball, gouging out a crater before plowing a fifty-meter-long trench with his own body.

When the sound and dust finally settled, Bruce Banner was lying in the trench, covered in dirt.

He wasn’t breathing.

He was dead!

Hawk remained perfectly still, his face like stone as he stared at the lifeless body in the distance. If Bruce had a death wish, he wouldn’t stand in his way. He’d be happy to grant it.

But—

Time ticked by.

Bruce Banner’s body lay in the trench, showing no signs of life, its warmth rapidly fading. But there was no sign of the Hulk.

Hawk stared at the corpse. As it grew cold, there was still no sign of a resurrection.

”...”

Did Bruce Banner just come here to commit suicide?

Hawk was genuinely confused. He couldn’t understand it.

Whatever.

The Vibranium is what matters.

...

Hawk looked away from Bruce Banner’s cooling corpse and turned back toward the Wakandan settlement.

An alarm bell was now ringing, echoing over the village.

One by one, Wakandans carrying what looked like wooden spears formed a defensive line, led by the elder he had met earlier. They stared warily at Hawk as he turned to face them.

”It’s seven o’clock.”

”Vibranium.”

Hawk walked back to his jeep, pulled out his phone, and glanced at the time. He tossed the phone back into the jeep, then began to roll up the sleeves of his black shirt as he walked toward them.

His voice was as calm as ever.

He stopped five meters from the elder. He looked up, his sharp gaze passing over the warriors and their wooden spears, and landed on the old man.

”Hand it over.”

”Never!” The elder roared. He slammed the staff in his hand—the one that seemed to be a symbol of his status—onto the ground with a metallic clang.

A strange light flowed over the staff. Before their very eyes, it transformed from a ceremonial scepter into a strange, metallic spear.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

As the elder’s weapon transformed, the Wakandan warriors behind him began to beat their own wooden spears against the ground.

One by one, their weapons transformed as well.

In the blink of an eye, the primitive tribesmen had become a troop of warriors armed with advanced, alien-looking metal weapons.

The elder slammed his spear on the ground again.

”WAKANDA—”

”FOREVER!” The warriors roared in response.

”RAAAGH!!!!”

The roar of the thirty warriors was deafening. The sound of their metallic spears striking the ground was like an earthquake.

The next second, the elder led the charge, his spear leveled at Hawk.

The thirty warriors followed close behind.

They charged like a stampede of wild boars.

Hawk watched them charge and couldn’t help but laugh.

God was his witness. They had attacked first.

But that’s fine.

If you hadn’t attacked first, I might have had some moral qualms about this.

But now?

I’m just defending myself.

As the elder closed the distance, Hawk let out a soft chuckle.

His body tensed.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

Even as his afterimage remained in place, a Prandtl-Glauert singularity—a sonic boom—erupted around it.

Hawk had vanished.

The next second, as the other Wakandans watched in horror, the elder was blown apart, his flesh and bone separating in an instant. The shockwave sent the other thirty warriors flying.

They rained down from the sky like sacks of potatoes, hitting the ground with a series of heavy thuds.

But they were back on their feet in an instant, their spears in hand, reforming their battle lines.

One of them looked at the freshly made skeleton lying on the ground and roared in anguish.

”LUNN!”

”Lunn is dead. You chose this,” Hawk said, glancing at the skeleton with a faint smile. He looked back at the warriors. ”Last chance... Hand over the Vibranium.”

”NEVER!”

”WAKANDA FOREVER!”

”AAAAH!” With another unified roar, the thirty warriors charged again, their Vibranium spears leveled at Hawk in the most basic, artless assault imaginable.

Hawk didn’t say another word. He just watched them come. He shifted his weight, his right foot sliding back as he raised his right fist.

The next second, he put his entire body into it and threw the punch.

Lightning Sonic Fist—

WHOOSH!!

WHOOSH!!

WHOOSH!!

A storm of phantom fists erupted from his position. In a single second, 345 afterimages filled the air, a deadly, inescapable net that descended upon the charging Wakandans.

There were no screams.

There were no roars.

And there were no surprises. When Hawk lowered his hand, there was not a single Wakandan soldier left standing.

The grassland before him was littered with shattered corpses. In the blink of an eye, the ground had been stained red.

But the Vibranium spears they had been holding now lay scattered across the blood-soaked grass, completely unharmed.

Hawk walked over, hooked one with his foot, and caught it.

To the outside world, Vibranium was priceless.

Here, the Wakandans were so rich they were making their standard-issue infantry weapons out of it.

Hawk gripped the spear with both hands and tried to bend it.

But—

Without burning his Cosmo, using only his raw, physical strength, the Vibranium spear didn’t even flex.

So this is Vibranium...

Hawk tossed the spear aside. The moment he took a step, he vanished, another sonic boom echoing across the plains.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The shockwave sent ripples through the pools of blood on the ground, causing a thin stream to trickle toward the crater where Bruce Banner’s body lay motionless and cold.

...

Hawk reappeared at the edge of the forest—the place the satellite maps showed as undeveloped wilderness, but which was, in reality, the true entrance to Wakanda.

An army was already waiting for him.

A phalanx of soldiers in blue uniforms, all armed with Vibranium spears.

In front of them, a line of twenty warriors sat mounted on what looked like massive rhinos, their armored hides glinting in the sun.

The beasts, sensing the danger, stomped and snorted, their animal instincts screaming at them to flee.

”...” Hawk’s gaze landed on the figure at the very front—a bald, Black woman, also in a blue uniform, but with a series of golden rings around her neck.

Her name was Okoye—the General of the Dora Milaje and a member of Wakanda’s Border Tribe.

If the Merchant Tribe was Wakanda’s first, deceptive line of defense, the Border Tribe was its first true line of defense.

Their duty was to guard Wakanda’s borders.

They were the most elite warriors.

The strongest soldiers.

Okoye, also mounted on a massive rhino, raised her spear and pointed it at the man who had violated their sacred land.

”WAKANDA!”

”FOREVER!”

”CHARGE!”

”...”

--

ROOOOAR!

The thunderous stampede of over twenty massive rhino mounts began, and the very earth began to tremble beneath their charge.

”Death to the invader!”

Leading the charge, her neck adorned with a golden collar, was Okoye, her Vibranium spear held high as she roared out the war cry.

”WAKANDA FOREVER!”

Behind her, the warriors of the Border Tribe—renowned as the strongest in all of Wakanda—echoed the cry. Clad in their traditional blue, they surged forward like a tidal wave, an avalanche of righteous fury aimed directly at Hawk.

Hawk’s face showed nothing but cold indifference as he watched the overwhelming might of the Wakandan army closing in on him, intent on complete annihilation.

The next second, he moved.

There were no complex techniques, no elaborate stances.

He didn’t even have his Armor yet. Even if he wanted to use the Phoenix’s Winged Ascent, he couldn’t.

But...

That was about to change.

Hawk’s move was the same as before. He took a single step back with his right foot, and the ground beneath it fractured and collapsed.

A moment later, his right arm became a blur, a visual distortion caused by pure, unadulterated speed as it broke the sound barrier.

To everyone else, it looked as if he had thrown only a single punch at the charging Wakandan army—

The Lightning Sonic Fist.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

As his fist shot forward, the very air in its path was compressed and torn apart. A visible, funnel-shaped vapor cone erupted from his knuckles—the crack of a sonic boom echoing across the plains.

In that instant, a storm of phantom fists materialized, a thousand punches delivered in a single heartbeat.

CRACK!

Okoye and her rhino, at the very front of the charge, took the full force of the blast. Her face instantly caved in, and with a wet pop, her head exploded, turning her into a headless corpse in the blink of an eye.

Her rhino met the same fate.

A fist-sized hole was punched clean through its massive head. Through that hole, the fate of the soldiers behind it was made brutally clear.

In a word: carnage.

In a sentence: it was a scene of utter, indescribable horror.

When the afterimages faded and the dust settled, Hawk lowered his fist and looked ahead. The result was the same as before.

It didn’t matter if it was the Merchant Tribe or the Border Tribe. Before his Sonic Fist, their fate was the same.

As far as the eye could see, the ground was littered with shattered limbs. In a single instant, the gushing blood had begun to form a small stream, flowing downhill.

If the Lightning Sonic Fist is this devastating...

What would the Phoenix’s Winged Ascent be like??

The effect would be apocalyptic.

Hawk thought to himself, a thrill running through him.

He had to admit, this was the first time he had fought with such complete abandon.

It was the truth.

Even at Quantico, he had been holding back.

But this time, he was fighting with pure joy, without a single extraneous thought in his mind. There was only one thing.

Just get it done!

The next second, Hawk’s gaze swept past the fallen defenders of Wakanda’s first line of defense and settled on the shimmering golden dome that concealed the true city from the outside world.

This was their final barrier. Beyond it lay the real Wakanda.

Hawk moved. As his foot lifted, it narrowly missed the stream of blood that had just reached him. He vanished.

The stream of blood, pulled by gravity, flowed faster and faster, until it merged with the blood of the Merchant Tribe.

In the distance, the body of Bruce Banner, lying in the trench, was now completely surrounded by it.

Suddenly, a wisp of pure, absolute darkness appeared in the blood. In the blink of an eye, the darkness had consumed the crimson pool, turning it a sickening black.

And as the black blood soaked into Bruce Banner’s skin, the heart within his chest, now turning as black as the blood itself, gave a single, monstrous beat.

Thump.

...

BOOOOOM!

Hawk reappeared in front of the golden energy shield. Without hesitation, he threw a punch at the final obstacle standing between him and the Vibranium.

THWACK!

A golden ripple spread out from the point of impact, but the shield held, quickly returning to its calm, steady state.

Hawk raised an eyebrow.

”Lightning Sonic Fist!”

DUANG, DUANG, DUANG...

Ripple after ripple appeared on the golden shield, spreading out like waves before vanishing into stillness.

”A shield made of pure Vibranium energy??”

Hawk drew in a sharp breath as he felt the full force of his attacks being absorbed and neutralized without a trace.

They were rich.

Unbelievably, obscenely rich.

Using Vibranium for their infantry weapons was one thing. But to use it to power a massive energy shield like this?

They really have developed the use of Vibranium to its absolute limit.

Hawk paused, his eyes studying the shield, a calculating glint within them.

...

Inside Wakanda, in the royal command center.

King T’Chaka, already clad in his Black Panther suit, stood watching the holographic projection of Hawk.

”Have you identified him?”

”I have.”

The one who answered was his daughter, Shuri.

A series of holographic projections flashed before her, displaying all of Hawk’s known data. Classified S.H.I.E.L.D files from the Quantico incident appeared one after another, projected into the air.

One punch shatters an armored car.

One punch obliterates a tank.

One punch levels a building.

And he crushes Thaddeus Ross’s skull with his boot...

The information was detailed.

And it was completely insane.

”He’s only eighteen. How does he have this kind of power? And how does he know about us?”

”His energy signature... is unknown.”

Princess Shuri looked at the data, which didn’t match any known energy source in her database, and shook her head.

She was a technological genius, but it was clear that Hawk’s power was beyond the realm of science.

But—

PING! PING!

”Vibranium energy shield energy consumption at ten percent. Current energy level at ninety percent.”

Princess Shuri’s eyes lit up. She turned to her father. ”His energy signature may be unknown, but at this level, he can’t breach our defenses.”

King T’Chaka said nothing, his eyes still fixed on the projection of Hawk.

Suddenly, the alarms blared again.

Princess Shuri froze, then quickly looked back at her console.

Hiss.

”Another energy signature detected at the Merchant Tribe’s location.”

”It’s strong.”

”And it’s growing.”

”I’ve got a match.”

”This...”

”The Hulk?”

Princess Shuri stared at the result from the database.

”No, wait.”

”It’s not the Hulk. But the energy signature is very similar.”

”Bring up the projection from the Merchant Tribe’s location.”

”On it.”

Shuri quickly pulled up the real-time satellite feed.

The scene was one of utter carnage.

A look of pain and anger flashed across her face, but then her eyes locked onto a massive, pitch-black figure that had just dropped from the sky.

Is that...

A black Hulk?

...

ROOOOOOOAR!

A scream that could tear the soul apart ripped through the air, spreading in all directions, as if announcing its return to the world.

”HULK!”

”...”

Outside the shield, Hawk’s nascent Sixth Sense screamed a warning. Without a moment’s hesitation, he vanished.

The moment he was gone...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Demon Hulk crashed down like a meteor where Hawk had just been standing.

The earth itself seemed to groan in agony as the mountain of black flesh slammed into it.

A spiderweb of cracks shot out for dozens of meters.

The savanna was torn apart, sending a shower of dirt and rock into the air.

The Demon Hulk rose to its full, terrifying height, muscles bulging like mountain ridges. Each breath created miniature whirlwinds, raw destructive power rippling visibly beneath its obsidian skin. Its eyes blazed like coals from the depths of Hell.

”Well, now.”

”A black Hulk. No, a Demon Hulk.”

Hawk reappeared a short distance away, a look of genuine shock on his face.

He had had his senses fully open, and yet, he hadn’t detected any movement, any sound, that would indicate Bruce Banner’s transformation.

If his Sixth Sense hadn’t warned him at the last possible second, he would have been crushed.

And that meant only one thing.

Compared to the Hulk he had killed before, this Demon Hulk, this creature that had clawed its way back from Hell, was on a completely different level.

At the same time, the Demon Hulk’s eyes, burning with hellfire, locked onto Hawk.

Flashes of memory—of being dragged into the water, of being drowned—surged through its mind.

The memories only fueled its rage.

ROOOOOOOARRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

The Demon Hulk, consumed by fury, wasted no time on words.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Its massive foot stomped the ground, which crumbled like a dry cracker. Its mountainous black body shot forward like an out-of-control siege ram, an unstoppable force of pure destruction, rocketing directly at Hawk.

Hawk’s eyes narrowed to slits.

But he did not retreat.

--

A Saint does not retreat.

Neither does Hawk.

As the Demon Hulk charged, the air itself seemed to part before its brutish force, letting out a deafening roar.

One hundred meters. Closed in an instant.

”HUUUULK!!!”

The Demon Hulk roared, swinging a fist the size of a small car, not at Hawk—but at the very ground he stood on.

In that last second, Hawk’s form blurred and vanished.

The Hulk’s fist came down.

BOOOOOOM—

It was as if a bomb had detonated. A ring of pure destruction erupted from the point of impact, a tidal wave of earth, shattered rock, and uprooted grass that tore across the battlefield.

The shockwave ripped every tree and plant within a hundred-meter radius out by the roots, tossing them into the air.

The Vibranium energy shield rippled, one wave after another.

And in that same instant, Hawk reappeared at the side of the Hulk’s massive head.

Lightning Sonic Fist!

The muscles in Hawk’s right arm tensed, his body coiling like a drawn bow. Without warning, his arm became a blur of pure light, moving beyond the limits of visual capture as a hailstorm of punches rained down on the Hulk’s enormous body.

BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM!

The storm of fists slammed into the Hulk’s mountainous black form, erupting in a shower of dazzling energy.

”HULK!”

”MAD!”

The Hulk roared in agony, its eyes turning crimson. It braced against the overwhelming barrage of the Lightning Sonic Fist and swung its house-sized fist again, a blow fueled by pure, landscape-shattering rage.

Hawk met the attack with his own right fist.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The moment their fists met, a single, deafening explosion was born.

Immediately, Hawk was sent flying backward. The shirt on his upper body disintegrated, revealing his powerful physique as he slammed into the Vibranium energy shield.

The shield absorbed the kinetic energy from his body, the force dissipating in a series of rapid ripples that spread out in all directions.

...

”Warning! Warning!”

”Energy level at eighty percent.”

”Energy level at seventy percent.”

”Sixty-fi—”

”Divert auxiliary power! Now!”

In the Wakandan royal command center, Princess Shuri watched the shield’s power plummeting and began snapping out orders.

King T’Chaka stared at the holographic display, his voice filled with shock. ”What the hell is that monster?”

”The Hulk, but not the Hulk. Its energy signature has traces of the Hulk’s, but it’s also mixed with something else—something demonic.”

Shuri thought her father was asking about the Hulk.

”...” But T’Chaka’s gaze was fixed on the other figure, on the man who had just taken a direct hit from that creature and was still alive.

He couldn’t believe it.

Based on the power drain on the shield, he knew exactly how strong that last punch had been.

T’Chaka knew, with absolute certainty, that he would not have survived it.

But Hawk?

He was fine.

Not only was he fine, but the moment he’d hit the shield, he had pushed off, instantly reappearing beneath the Hulk’s massive head.

A storm of fists slammed into the Demon Hulk’s jaw.

In that instant, the Demon Hulk’s head snapped back, and its colossal feet were lifted from the ground, its entire mountain-like frame launched into the air.

CRASH!

The Demon Hulk’s back slammed into the earth, and the ground itself seemed to scream, a massive crater forming in a vortex of shattered rock and dust.

The next second, two hellish flames ignited within the dust cloud. The Demon Hulk, now radiating an even more savage and brutish aura, smashed the ground of the crater and launched itself at Hawk once more.

Hawk looked up, his eyes narrowing.

CRACK!!!

”HULK!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The angrier the Demon Hulk got, the more ferocious it became.

And the more ferocious it became, the harder Hawk fought.

His Cosmo burned with a furious intensity.

WHOOSH!

Hawk appeared at the Demon Hulk’s right side. As he drew back his fist, the universe within him exploded.

Lightning Sonic Fist—

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The barrage of fists hammered into the Demon Hulk’s massive frame once again. Golden lightning ripped through its dark hide, carving deep, bloody gashes as it was launched backward through the air.

Hawk got a brief respite. He hovered five meters above the ground, his breathing slightly heavy.

Yes.

Hovering.

The path of the Saint was the path of battle. A Saint grows in battle, learns in battle, and ascends in battle.

And in this battle, Hawk had learned.

He had touched the threshold of the Sixth Sense... and in doing so, he had unlocked the art of flight.

But there was one problem.

He was growing stronger in this fight, but so was the Demon Hulk.

...

As the dust settled, Hawk saw it.

The Demon Hulk knelt in a crater that looked like a meteor impact site. Its massive arms were planted against the ground for support, black skin covered in countless fist-sized golden burns, many of which had torn open into bleeding gashes.

But a new, more powerful, more primal and destructive energy was gathering within it.

The next second, the Demon Hulk’s body began to expand. Not only were its wounds healing at a visible rate, but its massive frame grew even larger.

”Again??”

”Is this ever going to end?”

Hawk watched as the Demon Hulk healed and powered up in the span of a single breath, and he was completely speechless.

He was done playing this game.

If the Demon Hulk could just keep getting stronger every time it got angry, there was no way he could win.

And more importantly, he wasn’t here to fight the Demon Hulk. He was here on business.

Wait a minute.

The Vibranium energy shield.

Hawk’s mind raced. An idea struck him, and he glanced at the golden dome protecting the true Wakanda.

At the same time, the newly empowered Demon Hulk let out a roar and charged, each footstep a miniature earthquake.

Hawk snapped back to reality. He saw the mountain of black flesh charging toward him, and his eyes lit up with interest. He rocketed backward, a sonic boom exploding in his wake, and materialized directly in front of the golden energy barrier.

...

In the Wakandan command center, King T’Chaka saw this and his heart skipped a beat. He had a very bad feeling.

The next second, his feeling became a reality.

Hawk didn’t meet the Hulk’s charge head-on. At the last possible moment, he vanished.

The Demon Hulk’s fist, carrying an unimaginable, furious power, slammed into the Wakandan energy shield.

In that moment, the entire shield seemed to come alive.

The alarms in the command center shrieked.

”Energy level at sixty percent!”

”SHIT!”

”He’s trying to use the Hulk to break our shield!” Shuri was stunned for a second, then she understood.

Just then, King T’Chaka spoke. ”Open a breach. Let them in.”

”Yes, sir... what?”

Shuri was about to comply, then she processed the order. She turned and stared at her father in disbelief.

King T’Chaka said, ”Wakanda cannot be exposed. If the energy shield is broken, we will be revealed to the world. Let them in.”

Shuri’s mind raced. She turned back to her console and, as her hands flew across the holographic interface, she snapped out an order.

”Prepare to divert energy. Open sector C8-C1.”

”Energy diverted.”

”Open!”

”**VMMMM!**”

With the input of the command, a massive hole opened in the golden energy shield.

...

Hawk, who had just tricked the Demon Hulk into hitting the shield again, spotted the opening. He was surprised for a split second, then realized this was Wakanda’s only option. Without hesitation, he shot toward the gap.

The Demon Hulk followed close behind.

The moment they were both inside, the breach in the shield snapped shut.

In that instant, their energy signatures vanished from every satellite in orbit.

”Wow.”

As he passed through the breach, Hawk looked at the scene before him—the cliffs, the waterfalls, and the futuristic city in the distance—and let out a gasp of genuine wonder.

But he had no time to admire the view. The Demon Hulk was already on him.

Hawk looked at the thousand-foot drop before him, then at the waterfall crashing into the river below. His figure blurred, and he reappeared behind the Demon Hulk.

The Demon Hulk skidded to a halt at the very edge of the cliff.

”Hey.”

”ROAR??”

The Demon Hulk instinctively turned.

He saw Hawk pull back his fist with a small smile, then drive it not toward him, but into the ground beneath their feet.

With a loud crack, the cliff edge began to fracture, the cracks spreading out in all directions.

The Demon Hulk, still standing at the edge of the abyss, froze as understanding dawned. But it was already too late.

CRACK!

The cliff edge crumbled. A massive slab of rock broke away from the cliff face, and the Hulk, its enormous frame thrown off balance, tumbled over the edge and plummeted toward the river thousands of feet below.

”ROOOOAR!”

”HUUUUUUUUULK!!!”

--

Below the cliff, a torrential river raged.

As the cliff face crumbled and fell away, the Demon Hulk’s massive body plunged downward, its furious eyes locked on Hawk, who stood at the edge of the precipice.

Hawk, his chest rising and falling as he rapidly recovered his strength, gave the falling behemoth a small, smiling wave.

”Goodbye.”

”ROARRRRRRRR!!”

SPLASH!

The enraged Demon Hulk roared one last time before crashing into the river, the powerful current immediately swallowing him whole.

Hawk felt the Demon Hulk’s presence being swept far away by the river. He looked away and let out a sigh of relief.

The Vibranium was the priority. Once he had it, once he had his Armor, there would be plenty of time to settle the score with the Demon Hulk.

The next second, he stood at the edge of the broken cliff and looked up, taking in the full, breathtaking view of the true Wakanda.

A golden luminescence seemed to emanate from everywhere. It wasn’t the light of technology, but the soft, deep glow of raw, exposed Vibranium veins, pulsing with energy where they broke through the earth’s surface.

They were like the planet’s own vascular system, weaving through massive rock faces and deep canyons, a network of power that fed the mountains and rivers, the lush vegetation and the rolling hills.

In the distance stood a city of impossible, futuristic architecture.

And from a magnificent golden plaza in the center of that city, a squadron of equally high-tech fighter jets was rapidly ascending, heading straight for him.

Hawk’s gaze shifted from the approaching jets. He scanned the landscape and quickly located the massive, glowing mountain in the distance.

With his senses fully open, he could see the entrance to the mine.

”Found it.”

BOOOOOOM!

A sonic boom ripped through the air as Hawk vanished from the cliff’s edge.

...

”Holy shit.”

”He’s gone!”

The Wakandan pilots, who were rapidly closing in, cried out in shock.

The next second, they saw it—a shadow, moving at incredible speed through the jungle below, heading for their Mount Bashenga, the source of all Vibranium, known as ”The Great Mound.”

”There he is!”

”Shit, he’s going for the Great Mound!”

”We can’t let him get there!”

”Weapons free!”

”Roger that!”

The five pilots banked their Vibranium jets, diving low in pursuit of Hawk. They unleashed a volley of air-to-ground missiles.

The missiles, glowing with a golden energy, screamed toward him.

While running through the jungle, Hawk stopped dead in his tracks. He turned and threw a single punch.

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—

A storm of phantom fists erupted, obliterating a path of hundred-year-old trees as it slammed into the incoming missiles.

The missiles detonated in a series of brilliant, blinding flashes that lit up the jungle canopy.

With his work done, Hawk just smiled and continued on his way to the Great Mound.

”Holy shit.”

”After him!”

”Copy!”

The pilots, stunned by the sight, were about to give chase when a furious roar, as if from the depths of Hell itself, shook them to their very core.

”HUUUUULLLK!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The sky suddenly went dark.

The Demon Hulk, now the size of a small mountain, roared as it smashed the peak it had been standing on and leaped into the air. Before two of the pilots could even react, it had slammed into their jets, its massive hands crushing the Vibranium hulls.

The jets themselves might have been indestructible.

But the cockpits weren’t.

With a sharp crack, the reinforced glass shattered, and the pilots’ signals winked out.

Suddenly, the Demon Hulk hurled the two jets like stones.

”Shit!”

”Evasive maneuvers!”

The other pilots scattered, narrowly avoiding the improvised projectiles.

The Demon Hulk landed, shattering the ground, then immediately leaped again, heading toward the city in the distance.

The Demon Hulk had only one thought.

Destroy.

Annihilate.

Hawk, still racing through the jungle, felt the Demon Hulk’s presence heading in the opposite direction and smiled faintly.

Perfect.

You go play for a while. Once I get my Vibranium and forge my Armor, I’ll come find you.

Hawk thought to himself.

But for Wakanda, the situation was dire.

...

”Dammit!”

”Father, the one called Hawk is heading for Mount Bashenga, and the black Hulk is heading for the River Tribe!”

In the royal command center, Princess Shuri looked at the holographic display—at Hawk speeding toward the Great Mound, and at the Demon Hulk rampaging toward their city—and she was completely overwhelmed.

On one side, a powerful thief.

On the other, a brute of unimaginable strength.

What were they supposed to do?

”We can’t let that black Hulk near our city,” King T’Chaka said, his voice grim. ”Mobilize the War Dogs immediately. Go to full alert. We cannot allow him to destroy our city.”

As he spoke, he walked toward the fighter platform outside the command center. ”I will go to Mount Bashenga myself.”

Outside, the King’s personal warship, a unique and devastatingly powerful vessel with stealth capabilities, decloaked and began its launch sequence.

T’Chaka climbed inside. The jet took off vertically, then shot toward the Great Mound.

At the same time, all of Wakanda went to full combat alert.

The Dora Milaje, the all-female royal guard, swarmed from all directions, forming an impenetrable cordon around the command center.

General Akeya, clad in her red, Vibranium-inlaid armor, stood guard at the entrance, her face like a stoic sculpture.

The Royal Guard, responsible for the security of the capital, was fully mobilized.

Royal cruisers lifted into the sky.

Vibranium tanks rolled out of their depots, their treads thundering across the roads.

Vibranium jets soared through the air, their wings unleashing a barrage of missiles.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An air-to-ground missile slammed into the Demon Hulk’s skin and exploded.

The Demon Hulk swatted another missile out of the air and roared in fury at a jet that was banking away.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

The Vibranium tanks that had just arrived opened fire, their cannons recoiling as dozens of shells slammed into the Demon Hulk’s body.

The Demon Hulk staggered backward and fell into the raging river once more.

The next second, the memory of being drowned in Culver Lake surged through the Hulk’s mind.

The memory only fueled its rage. It leaped from the water, back onto the shore, and brought its house-sized fists down on the Vibranium tanks below.

...

Hawk, nearing the edge of the jungle, didn’t hesitate any longer. He took a deep breath and launched himself into the air, soaring toward the sky. From above, he could see the Demon Hulk locked in an all-out battle with the Wakandan army.

He only glanced at it for a second, then turned away. A sonic boom echoed behind him as his foot touched down on the platform of Mount Bashenga.

Just as he was about to walk toward the mine entrance...

Hawk suddenly spun around. He pulled back his right fist, and the air itself seemed to crackle as he threw a punch.

An invisible figure, the Black Panther, who had been about to ambush him from behind, was sent flying, his stealth technology flickering and failing.

T’Chaka, now visible in his Black Panther suit, landed and immediately fired an energy blast from his Vibranium spear.

Hawk just smirked. He swayed to the side, dodging the blast, and appeared before T’Chaka in an instant.

No more words. Let the fists do the talking.

One punch.

BOOM!

CLANG!

Hawk’s powerful and heavy blow slammed into T’Chaka’s Vibranium spear, which he had raised to block at the last possible second. The sheer force of the impact drove T’Chaka to one knee.

Then, Hawk’s right leg whipped out, another impossibly powerful blow that sent T’Chaka flying off the platform.

Hawk didn’t pursue.

The mission came first. The Vibranium.

He turned and, in the blink of an eye, was inside the mine.

Just as he had at Quantico, to prevent any interruptions, he stood just inside the entrance and unleashed a flurry of punches.

With a deafening roar, the entrance to the mine began to collapse, and in a matter of seconds, it was completely sealed by tons of rock.

Hawk then turned and descended into the darkness.

The deeper he went, the brighter the golden glow became.

Until, finally, he reached the bottom. And there it was.

The motherlode.

The Great Vibranium Mound.

Hawk stared at the pure, glowing veins of Vibranium embedded in the rock walls, and a look of pure joy spread across his face.

Lightning Sonic Fist—

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Snapping out of his awe, Hawk became a one-man mining crew, his arms a blur of motion as he unleashed a storm of punches against the walls of the mine.

In that instant, dust filled the cavern and the mountain itself began to tremble.

Hawk had only one thought.

Mine!

Forge the Armor!!

--

Mount Bashenga of Wakanda was trembling.

Every inch of the ground, every particle of dust, vibrated with the power emanating from deep within the mine.

In the depths of the cavern, a ceaseless stream of Vibranium was being absorbed into Hawk’s Cosmo.

Within his inner universe, the Phoenix constellation spread its wings and let out a long and clear cry.

The moment the Vibranium entered the star chart, it was instantly melted into liquid by the fiery bird’s intense heat.

Stardust Sand.

Gammanium.

The other two materials needed for the Saint Armor flowed into the molten Vibranium.

Just then, Hawk sensed something and opened his eyes.

And there, floating in the air before him, was a single, magnificent feather. It seemed to have torn through reality itself—a thing of pure, blazing fire.

”This is...”

”The Phoenix Heart Feather...”

The moment his hand touched the feather, he understood.

This was a gift from the Phoenix Constellation.

As everyone knows, unlike some mythologies where mortals can ascend to Godhood through training, Western traditions hold that if you’re not born divine, you never will be.

This is because the gods hold dominion over their concepts. Their authority.

And this Phoenix Heart Feather was a piece of that authority.

The true authority over Immortality and Rebirth.

Before, the powers of Immortality and Rebirth had been granted to him by the constellation. Now, by accepting this Heart Feather, that authority would be his own.

To put it simply, the Phoenix Constellation was going all in. It was betting everything on him—wagering its entire existence on the belief that he would make it the brightest constellation in the universe.

Bar none.

Of course, the Phoenix going all in had another meaning.

It wanted to merge with his Cosmo.

Hawk agreed without a second thought.

He’d been wrestling with this exact dilemma. After all, a jack of all trades is a master of none. Specialization was clearly the better approach. While he’d initially been thrilled at the idea of awakening every constellation, he’d quickly started questioning whether he should focus on one or spread himself thin.

The conclusion had been obvious.

Specialize!

But he still wanted the abilities of the other constellations. He’d been trying to find a third option—some way to get the best of both. And now, before he could even figure out a solution, the Phoenix had made the choice for him. In that case, there was nothing left to debate.

Hawk had made his decision.

The next instant, the Phoenix Heart Feather dove into his Cosmo, and the most brilliant, blazing flame he’d ever witnessed erupted.

Hawk pushed his Cosmo to its absolute limit.

”Burn, My Cosmo!!!!”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

The constellations of the Phoenix and Draco detonated, shattering into light. It felt as if the apocalypse had come to his personal universe.

”...” Hawk’s face went pale.

With his Cosmo, his very existence was elevated far beyond that of a normal human.

But without it, he was just a man.

To allow his Cosmo to collapse back into chaos was no different from self-mutilation. In this moment, anyone could kill him.

But it was worth it.

Hawk watched as his shattered universe, now a swirling chaos, began to merge with the flames of the Phoenix Heart Feather. He steeled himself and began the next step.

...

While Hawk was deep in the mine, meditating and waiting for his Armor to be born—

Outside, all hell had broken loose.

T’Chaka was snapped back to consciousness by his daughter Shuri’s panicked voice crackling through his earpiece. Hawk’s kick had sent him flying off the mountainside, and he’d tumbled into the darkness below.

”Shuri?” he groaned, his voice weak.

”...Father.”

There was a pause, and then Shuri’s voice was filled with relief. ”Thank Bast, Father, you’re awake! You have to get back here, now! The Black Hulk... he’s destroying everything!”

”What?”

T’Chaka flinched, wiping the blood from his mouth and nose as he pushed himself to his feet. In less than three seconds, he had leaped back up to the mining platform.

He stared at the collapsed entrance to the mine.

”Where is Hawk?”

”He’s still inside. Father, the city... we can’t stop the black Hulk!”

”Damn it!”

T’Chaka cursed under his breath, then looked up and leaped. With a quick flick of his wrist, he caught hold of his Royal Talon Fighter’s wing—the craft had been hovering above in stealth mode. He yanked open the cockpit and hauled himself inside.

VMMMM!

The fighter instantly decloaked and shot toward the capital city of Birnin Zana.

As he flew over the mountains and rivers, and the city came into view, he drew in a sharp breath.

As far as the eye could see, the district where the River Tribe lived was now a smoldering ruin. In its place was a massive crater.

Dismembered bodies were everywhere.

It was a scene from the apocalypse.

And in the center of the ruins, the black-skinned Demon Hulk, its eyes burning with hellfire, stood on a pile of rubble and let out a deafening roar that shook all of Wakanda.

”HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULK!”

It seemed to be looking for something.

...

In the royal command center, T’Chaka put his jet on auto-hover and leaped back inside. He looked at the projection showing the survivors of the River Tribe fleeing toward the capital.

”Casualties?”

”Catastrophic!”

”The River Tribe’s warriors have been almost completely wiped out. They stood no chance against the black Hulk.”

”The drivers of the Vibranium tanks are still alive. The Hulk can’t break through the armor.”

”But our weapons can’t hurt him, either.”

Princess Shuri rapidly reported the situation. ”He seems to be looking for something.”

King T’Chaka rubbed his temples. He looked at the projection, at the Demon Hulk, which had stopped its rampage now that the tanks and jets had ceased their attack, and was just standing in the ruins, roaring.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. ”Hawk!!”

”It’s looking for Hawk.”

”Order the jets to lure it back to Mount Bashenga.”

The moment he realized, King T’Chaka gave the order.

The Vibranium jets immediately changed course. They swooped down, fired a single missile at the Demon Hulk, and then banked hard, flying toward the Great Mound.

BAAAAAAM!

The missile exploded against the Hulk’s skin, not even scratching it, but it was enough to enrage him.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Hulk saw the two jets that had shot him and were now flying away. He bent his knees and leaped after them.

”It’s working!”

A cheer went up in the command center.

Shuri turned to her father, her face beaming. ”It worked, Father!”

King T’Chaka nodded. ”Once all the tribesmen have been evacuated into the capital, activate the energy shield. Let the two monsters fight it out. We are not to get involved.”

Shuri paused for a second, then nodded. ”Yes, Father.”

With the order given, T’Chaka let out a sigh of relief. Then, he remembered something else. ”Has your brother returned yet?”

”He’s on his way.”

”Good.”

The word had barely left his lips when a wave of agony washed over him.

PFFT!

His expression changed. He coughed up a spray of blood, his body went rigid, and he collapsed to the floor.

The entire command center, including Shuri, was stunned into silence.

”FATHER!”

Shuri snapped out of it and ran to his side, cradling his head. ”MEDIC!”

Leaning in his daughter’s arms, T’Chaka’s face was pale. ”I... I can see the Ancestral Plane...”

...

”A new small universe is born.”

Hawk’s face was ashen, his eyes slightly dazed, but his spirit soared as he gazed at the new universe unfolding before him.

To be precise, it could no longer be called a ”small universe.”

It was... The Phoenix Universe!

His Cosmo had completely merged with the Phoenix Heart Feather.

It was still a universe of brilliant, infinite stars, but now it was suffused with the incandescent, life-giving fire of the Phoenix.

From this moment on, his very soul was one with the Phoenix. If he were to ever fully manifest his Cosmo in the physical world, it would become its own parallel universe, a realm of fire and rebirth, just like Asgard.

But with its birth, the Draco constellation he’d just awakened was gone, consumed in the fiery crucible of his Cosmo’s rebirth.

The bad news: Draco was gone.

The good news: He was stronger than ever. And with the Phoenix Heart Feather’s full power flowing through him, his strength felt more solid, more tangible than before.

With a final cry, the Phoenix spread its wings wide, and from deep within its core, the Phoenix Heart Feather descended into the molten Vibranium below.

The next second, the flames roared to life.

Vibranium, Stardust Sand, and Gammanium—now bathed in the pure flames of the Phoenix—began the final, flawless forging of the Phoenix Armor.

Ting, ting, ting!

The sound of the Stardust Sand striking the molten Vibranium echoed through his Cosmo, like a divine hammer striking a cosmic anvil.

Hawk watched, his breath held in tense anticipation.

Just then—

BOOOOOOOM!

A colossal hand burst through the solid rock wall of the mountain and appeared right in front of him.

--

BOOM!

THUD!

CRASH!

Hawk, who had been completely absorbed in watching the birth of his Phoenix Armor, was caught off guard as the Demon Hulk’s hand burst through the mountainside, seized him, and hurled him outside.

Thrown clear of the mountain, Hawk’s body screamed through the air, the friction igniting him in a flash of fire. He slammed into the grassland, but his momentum didn’t stop—he bounced once, hard, and continued to fly backward.

Until—

BAM!

The Vibranium shield protecting Wakanda flashed.

Hawk, thrown from the inside, smashed against it, and for a moment, the world seemed to warp around him. He was thrown clean through, crashing hard onto the savanna outside.

The sound, like a meteorite impact, sent nearby herds of cattle and sheep into a panicked stampede. The S.H.I.E.L.D agents who’d just arrived were equally startled.

Leading them was none other than Commander Maria Hill.

She wasn’t here for Hawk.

Maria Hill had been tracking Bruce Banner—S.H.I.E.L.D’s New York office had suddenly lost his signal, and when it reappeared, he was in Africa.

She had immediately run a check on Hawk’s location.

And the result—

Africa.

So, she had brought a team. But it seemed she was too late.

When she’d arrived, all she had found was a battlefield of carnage and dismembered bodies, with no sign of Hawk or Bruce Banner.

Just as she was beginning to suspect they had already left and was about to give the order to pull out, a massive impact had drawn her attention.

”Is that...”

”Holy shit!”

”He came out of that forest!”

”Wait, do you guys hear that?”

The distant S.H.I.E.L.D agents instinctively muted their comms, listening intently. They could just make out a furious, roaring sound that was growing closer.

Their eyes all turned back to the forest in the distance.

The next second...

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

It was abrupt, instantaneous, as if appearing from thin air.

With a furious roar, the Hulk—now the size of a real mountain—materialized at the edge of the forest’s canopy. It crashed down with the force of a falling mountain, a savage grin spreading across its face as it spotted Hawk lying in the crater. It raised its right foot and brought it down.

CRASH—

The grassland buckled again.

The Demon Hulk’s massive footprint was now deeply embedded in the earth. A pure, destructive shockwave of physical force radiated outwards in all directions.

In that instant, grass and dirt were ripped from the ground, thrown into the air in a blinding cloud that blotted out the sun.

”Shit.”

”It’s the Hulk! No, wait, it’s a black Hulk!”

”How did he get out?”

The agents stared in shock and confusion at the sudden appearance of the Demon Hulk.

High above in the S.H.I.E.L.D. command jet, Maria Hill’s gaze was fixed on the primeval forest from which both Hawk and the Hulk had just been violently ejected.

Soon, the dust on the savanna began to settle.

”HUUULK!”

”DIE!”

The Demon Hulk, its foot still stomping down, roared with fury as it pressed its full weight onto the figure pinned beneath its massive sole.

Hawk, with more than half his body buried in the earth, was holding up the Hulk’s massive right foot with both hands.

His Cosmo was burning like a supernova.

And in that brilliant fire, the outline of the Phoenix Armor was beginning to form.

Hawk’s arms locked straight. An unimaginable power erupted from him. As the Demon Hulk roared in fury, Hawk slowly pushed himself free from the earth.

The next second...

”HUUUULK!!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Hulk’s colossal frame was thrown off balance. It staggered backward and, with a heavy thud, crashed onto the grassland, its enormous ass gouging another massive crater in the earth.

Hawk hovered a few meters above the ground.

He looked like he’d been through hell.

The only thing left of his clothes was a pair of tattered casual pants, torn so badly his black boxers were visible.

Wounds covered every inch of his body.

Under the harsh African sun, the blood that seeped from his wounds shimmered with the light of golden stars.

But—

With every breath Hawk took, with the burning of his Cosmo, the wounds all over his body began to heal and disappear at a visible rate.

In a matter of seconds, though the shredded pants still made him look like a wreck, there was no longer any sign that he had been injured at all.

At the same time.

The Demon Hulk, which had been knocked on its ass, slapped the side of its house-sized head and pushed itself back to its feet.

Its eyes, burning with hellfire, locked onto Hawk, who was now hovering at eye level. It snorted, clouds of hot air blasting from its nostrils.

Their eyes met.

The moment Hawk looked into the Demon Hulk’s blazing eyes, he felt a strange sensation.

It was as if—

Someone was watching him through the Demon Hulk’s eyes.

No.

It’s not a sensation.

Hawk’s expression hardened. For a split second, he had seen him—a man with a goatee, smirking at him from within the flames.

The next second—

The Demon Hulk’s body seemed to freeze. The hellfire in its eyes burned even more intensely, coalescing into the form of a man, his entire being seemingly made of red fire. He had a sinister smile, yet he carried himself with the air of a gentleman.

The man’s image, shimmering in the hellfire of the Demon Hulk’s eyes, met Hawk’s gaze. His voice, hollow, as if echoing from the depths of Hell itself, sounded in Hawk’s ear.

”My name—”

”—is Mephisto.”

”...” Hawk’s eyes narrowed as the demonic words echoed in his ears.

”You’ve been running your mouth about me for some time now. What’s the matter? Now that I’m here, you seem a little frightened.”

Mephisto’s voice was hollow but casual. The tone was like a demonic whisper, but the words themselves sounded like he was just making light conversation.

Hawk hovered in the air, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the image in the Demon Hulk’s eyes.

”So... the Demon Hulk. That was you.”

”Of course.”

Mephisto’s tone was nonchalant. He held up his right hand, seemingly admiring it, then glanced casually at Hawk. ”One minute you’re telling me to watch my back, the next you’re telling me to take care of your sister and make sure she doesn’t lose a single hair. I had to come up and see who was trash-talking me from behind.”

Hearing this, a muscle in Hawk’s jaw twitched.

”My sister...”

”She’s fine.”

Mephisto seemed to know what he was going to ask. He smiled. ”You sent a message with the Hulk, didn’t you? I received it. Don’t worry. I promise you, as long as you are alive, your sister will be perfectly safe. I certainly won’t give you the chance to fly into a rage and kill me.”

Hawk was silent for a moment.

”Thank you.”

”Don’t mention it.”

Mephisto said with a smile, then his tone shifted, his voice becoming as cold and sharp as ice. ”I thought you were supposed to be powerful. It seems you can’t even handle a toy I casually threw up here. If this is the extent of your strength, I’m quite curious... what gives you the audacity to threaten me?”

He was never supposed to be able to come to Earth.

But—

Some fool had traded a life for a life. And since he was planning on checking out this Hawk who was always running his mouth, he figured he’d just modify the Hulk that Hawk had killed and toss him back up.

And the result...

This is it?

The Demon Hulk might look impressive, but to a god, he was just a bit more durable than the average mortal.

The Sorcerer Supreme could knock the Hulk’s soul out of his body with a single slap.

What did they think he, the Lord of Hell, the god of his own dimension, could do?

A Dimensional God is still a God.

After his cold pronouncement, Mephisto seemed to sense something and chuckled. ”I have to go. You’d better stay alive. If you die and come to my Hell... hehe...”

As he spoke—

His image dissipated with the swirling hellfire. At the same time, as Mephisto departed, the Demon Hulk began to move again.

It stood for a moment, shaking its head as if in a daze. Then, its eyes locked back onto Hawk, and with a furious roar, it charged. When it was still ten meters away, it swung its massive arms together, as if swatting a fly.

”Hulk... SLASH!”

WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH!

The air compressed between the Demon Hulk’s clapping hands shot forward like a blade, tearing up the grassland as it rushed toward Hawk.

Hawk’s figure flickered, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he reappeared behind the Demon Hulk.

The Demon Hulk’s right hand balled into a fist. The instant Hawk appeared behind it, it spun and threw a punch.

Hawk met it with his own right fist.

BAAAAAAAAAM!

The earth trembled. A white vapor cone materialized at the point of impact, and the violent shockwave tore up the surrounding grassland once more.

Along with the flying grass and soil, Hawk was sent flying as well, letting out a sharp grunt.

Fuck!

The Demon Hulk got stronger again.

Thrown backward, Hawk saw the black shadow of the monster descending upon him. He flickered in mid-air, righting himself and putting distance between them, his face a mask as he stared at the Demon Hulk.

Just then, within his burning Cosmo, a single ray of golden light was born from the Phoenix Fire.

And then—

More Golden light bloomed.

The Phoenix Armor, at long last, had been forged.

--

Within the Cosmo.

As the Phoenix Fire receded, it was replaced by a golden light so brilliant it illuminated the entire inner universe.

And as the stars of his Cosmo turned, a golden suit of armor, shaped like a phoenix, was born.

It was brilliant, dazzling.

Like a Gold Cloth, the kind only a Gold Saint was worthy to wear.

But...

It wasn’t a Gold Cloth. The golden sheen was merely a result of its materials.

As everyone knows, there is no Orichalcum in the Marvel Universe. Hawk had used Vibranium as a substitute, and the natural color of Vibranium was a brilliant, pure gold.

So naturally, the Phoenix Armor he had forged was as golden as a legendary Gold Cloth.

But it was still a Bronze Cloth. It just looked golden.

In short, it was just for show.

...

On the savanna outside Wakanda.

The Demon Hulk, its frame as massive as a mountain, stood on the grassland and looked up at Hawk hovering in the sky. A sneer of disdain and contempt twisted its savage features.

At the same time—

”The game begins. I don’t accept forfeits.”

”Defeat my toy, and I will ensure your sister is safe.”

”Or—”

”Be killed by my toy, and come be a guest in my Hell.”

Mephisto’s words echoed in Hawk’s ear from the depths of Hell, even though the demon had already vanished.

”I’ll be in Hell soon enough, Mephisto.”

”And I look forward to meeting you there.”

Hawk answered, his face an emotionless mask. He pulled his consciousness from his Cosmo and hovered in the air, his eyes—now swirling with the light of cosmic stars—fixed on the Demon Hulk below.

The next second...

His Cosmo transcended the ethereal. It projected itself into the real Phoenix constellation, using it as a conduit before re-projecting into reality as a phantom image behind Hawk himself.

”BURN, MY COSMO!!!”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Crimson-gold flames erupted from every pore of Hawk’s body without warning. This was no ordinary fire; it was the purest, most intense, and most domineering power of the Phoenix, manifested from the raw energy of his burning Cosmo.

The crimson-gold flames instantly engulfed him, turning him into a furiously burning, humanoid torch.

And in that inferno, the image of a golden phoenix began to emerge.

...

”Ping, ping, ping!”

”Unknown energy signature rising rapidly.”

”Holy shit!”

”Commander, the energy readings are almost on par with the fluctuations we see when Thor appears.”

”My God.”

High above, in the S.H.I.E.L.D command jet, the agents stared at the screen, at the image of Hawk engulfed in the spectral form of a golden phoenix, and cried out in shock as the energy readings went off the charts.

Maria Hill raised a hand, silencing them. She stood at the window of the jet, her eyes fixed on the firebird below as it began to spread its wings.

...

On the ground, the Demon Hulk saw this, and the sneer on its face vanished, replaced by a look of dawning caution.

Amidst the blinding fire and searing heat—

The transformation began.

First, golden greaves and vambraces materialized around his bare legs and arms with a sharp clang of metal. The lines of the vambraces were as sharp as blades, the greaves thick and solid.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A series of rapid, clear metallic impacts rang out.

With a shudder of his arms, two massive, magnificent golden pauldrons, shaped like burning wings, appeared from thin air and snapped heavily into place.

The edges of the pauldrons were sharp, their form wild and untamed, like the most powerful feathers of a phoenix taking flight.

The tip of every golden feather gleamed with a deadly light.

Almost simultaneously, a golden chest plate forged in the roiling flames, its core emblazoned with a brilliant phoenix totem. It pulsed like a living heart, each beat pulling the surrounding flames higher.

The waist armor, a fauld resembling a cascading waterfall of fire, was formed from several thick, flexible plates of metal, their sharp edges swaying with the flickering flames, emitting a low, metallic groan.

Finally—

The crimson flames surged upward, coalescing into a unique, aggressive-looking helmet that formed in an instant of fiery light.

As the visor took shape, Hawk, who had been watching with his eyes narrowed, slowly opened them.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

The crimson flames erupted in a final, glorious burst, forming a phantom phoenix of fire that soared into the sky behind Hawk, letting out a cry that echoed throughout the cosmos.

The Phoenix Armor was donned.

...

”Hiss!”

”Holy shit!”

”Jesus Christ.”

”That armor is way more badass than Tony Stark’s.”

In the S.H.I.E.L.D command jet, the agents were completely stunned by the sight of Hawk, now clad in the Phoenix Armor, hovering in the sky.

And on the savanna, the Demon Hulk was completely enraged.

”ROOOOOOOARRRRR!”

The Demon Hulk no longer hesitated. The muscles in its massive arms tightened, and its fingers, like five great pillars, dug deep into the earth below.

Its muscles bulged, the veins beneath its skin popping like massive steel cables. With a furious roar, its arms unleashed a terrifying power, enough to rip the very savanna from the earth.

RUMBLE—

An entire section of the earth—the thick turf, the soil beneath, the tangled network of roots—was torn from the ground by the Demon Hulk’s inhuman strength.

With a surge of its arms, the Demon Hulk hurled the slab of earth—over ten meters in diameter and shockingly thick—at Hawk in the sky.

Hawk didn’t dodge. As the massive projectile came crashing toward him like a meteor, the Phoenix Fire around him roared to life.

As the Phoenix Fire surged, the massive slab of earth began to incinerate in mid-air, melting away at a visible rate.

The next second, Hawk appeared in front of the Hulk.

One punch.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

As if struck by a freight train, the Demon Hulk’s massive head snapped to the side. It spat out several enormous teeth as its entire body was lifted from the ground and sent flying, crashing onto the savanna.

”Hulk...”

”HURT!”

The Hulk roared as it scrambled to its feet.

But Hawk’s second punch was already on its way.

”Lightning Sonic Fist!”

BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!

A brilliant golden light erupted from Hawk’s fists, each punch a precision-guided missile that slammed into the Hulk’s body.

A massive crater, far deeper and wider than before, was formed in an instant, a pillar of dirt and rock shooting into the sky.

Press the attack. No mercy.

”Lightning—”

Hawk hovered in the impossibly deep crater, listening to the sound of the Demon Hulk’s heartbeat below. He opened his five fingers, his hand aimed down into the pit, and the fiery phantom of the phoenix once again appeared behind him.

The phoenix’s wings spread wide, and the continuously burning energy of his Cosmo gathered in Hawk’s hand.

”...Sonic Fist!!”

”BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!”

A dense storm of phantom fists, burning with the most brilliant fire, shining with the most brilliant golden light, shot from Hawk’s hand and plunged into the crater below.

At the bottom of the pit, the Demon Hulk was like an excavator, driven deeper and deeper into the earth by the relentless barrage.

A second later—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A perfect, circular shockwave erupted from the crater, tearing up the savanna for twenty meters in every direction, the earth and grass peeling back like a carpet.

In that instant, a crater of unprecedented size, as if from a meteor strike, was all that remained.

Hawk stood at the edge of the pit—now over thirty meters in diameter—the three golden tail feathers of his waist armor swaying gently.

He looked down into the depths, his face like stone.

At the bottom, there was only silence.

Shattered earth and roots, and now the rushing water of an underground river, crashed down upon a massive, motionless, humanoid silhouette at the center of the pit.

The Demon Hulk—

Dead.

Hawk let out a short, cold laugh. He looked up, his gaze fixed on an empty point in space.

Having donned the Phoenix Armor and received the full might of the constellation, he could now clearly sense a consciousness that had not yet departed.

If he wasn’t mistaken, it was Mephisto.

”Speak.”

”Mephisto.”

Hawk’s gaze fixed on the direction where the consciousness lingered, and he projected his own thoughts toward it. ”What’s wrong? Don’t feel like talking anymore?”

Mephisto, whose true form was in his Hell dimension and had only projected his consciousness here through the Demon Hulk, snapped out of his shock. He heard Hawk’s taunt and let out a dry chuckle.

”No wonder you were so confident.”

”But...”

”Your power does not belong to this universe. You are strong, yes. But that is all. You think you can use this borrowed power to make me hand over one of my souls? That’s not enough.”

”It will be.”

Hawk smiled. ”When I get to Hell, you’ll see, Mephisto.”

Mephisto said nothing more.

With a gentle breeze, his final wisp of consciousness vanished.

Hawk stood his ground, his eyes fixed on the spot where Mephisto had disappeared.

He knew, of course, that his power had not yet been ’certified’ by the Marvel Universe.

But Hawk already had a solution.

The Reality Stone.

Once he had the Reality Stone, the moment his Phoenix Constellation manifested in reality would be the moment he became a Gold Saint.

--

On the edge of the bottomless crater.

Hawk’s thoughts drifted to the Reality Stone—the key to making his Cosmo a permanent fixture of this universe—as he calmly watched the Demon Hulk’s body being slowly submerged by the inflowing lake water at the bottom of the pit.

His Cosmo began to settle, the storm within him calming.

At the same time, the Phoenix Armor dissolved in a flash of brilliant golden light, reassembling into the form of a majestic phoenix before merging back into the spectral universe behind him, awaiting his next summons.

Hawk was bare-chested again, dressed only in a pair of battle-damaged sweatpants. The countless wounds that had covered his body were already healing at a visible rate.

Behind him, the massive S.H.I.E.L.D. command jet descended vertically, landing on the savanna.

Maria Hill waved off her security detail and walked alone to the edge of the pit. She stood beside Hawk and held out a folded S.H.I.E.L.D t-shirt.

”Here.”

”...Thanks.”

Hawk glanced at the shirt, then took it and pulled it on.

The next second, he looked down at the S.H.I.E.L.D Logo emblazoned on his chest and laughed. He looked at Maria Hill, who was quickly becoming a familiar face. ”Does this mean I’ve joined S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Maria Hill smiled. ”If you want to...”

Hawk laughed out loud. ”Nah, I’m not interested. And I don’t have the time.”

”You could be an external consultant.”

Maria Hill didn’t give up, but she kept her tone light, almost joking. ”For example, if a world-ending crisis came up, you’d come and help us, right?”

Hawk looked at her, a curious glint in his eye. ”I thought the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D was Nick Fury. How come I’ve only ever dealt with the Commander? Shouldn’t the Director be the one talking to me?”

”He’s been suspended.”

”I see...” Hawk accepted her reason with a look of dawning realization.

After the Quantico incident, Maria Hill had spent most of her time studying every piece of intel she could find on him.

And yes...

Nick Fury had been suspended. Again.

The only reason Fury had been reinstated in the first place was because he had sold Hawk’s information to Thaddeus Ross. As part of the deal, Ross’s backers had pulled the strings to get Fury his job back.

But—

The deal had been for a joint operation. Ross had made his move, but when Hawk had attacked Quantico, Fury had gone dark.

And Ross had ended up dead.

Now those powerful backers were pissed. Ross had been their inside man, their ticket into the highest levels of the U.S. military, and now he was dead.

So, they had pulled their strings, and Fury was suspended once more.

Of course, the official reason for his suspension was that Maria Hill had reported him to the Security Council for leaking S.H.I.E.L.D intelligence.

After Quantico, she’d quietly gathered evidence proving that Fury had fed Ross intel on Hawk’s whereabouts. Then she’d taken it straight to the Council, cutting Alexander Pierce out of the loop entirely.

First, insubordination.

Now, leaking intelligence.

The Council was furious. Once again, it had been Alexander Pierce who had fought to save him, getting the punishment reduced to a simple suspension.

...

Fury really owed Pierce one.

Maria Hill thought, a frown creasing her brow as she thought of Pierce’s staunch defense of Fury.

She couldn’t understand why Pierce was so determined to protect him.

Was it just because he had been his hand-picked successor?

There has to be another reason.

She was still looking into it.

After a moment, she composed herself and looked back at Hawk, a small, casual smile on her face. ”Well... it’s a good thing Nick was suspended. I can’t imagine his meeting with you would have gone very well.”

Hawk just laughed and looked at her, his expression relaxed. ”If you’ve got something to say, spit it out. I’m not some dictator.”

”Alright.” Maria Hill smiled and then looked down into the bottomless crater. ”So, what’s the deal with this black Hulk?”

Hawk turned and looked, then sat down on the grass. He looked up at her as she stood over him.

Maria Hill smiled faintly and sat down next to him.

Hawk leaned back on his hands, enjoying the gentle breeze that had picked up after the battle.

”You saw what happened. The Demon Hulk. The result of Bruce Banner trading a life for a life. A Hulk that comes back from Hell is naturally going to be a Demon Hulk.”

”And this Mephisto you were talking to in the air...”

”The Lord of Hell. The Demon Hulk was just a toy he threw up here to test my strength.” Hawk didn’t hide anything.

He felt a sense of relief.

Because he had confirmed that his sister was safe in Hell.

Mephisto himself had confirmed it.

Hawk was certain that until he died, or until he went to Hell himself, his sister Anya would be well taken care of.

And that was enough.

As for what would happen when he eventually made it to Hell, whether Mephisto would use his sister as a hostage... that was a problem for the future.

I’ll let my future self worry about it.

Right now, he was happy.

His Phoenix Armor was complete.

He had news of his sister.

For the first time since awakening his Cosmo, Hawk—who had been pushing forward relentlessly—felt the need to pause, to rest, even if only for a moment.

And so, In his good mood, feeling a rare sense of leisure, Hawk was an open book, answering all of Maria Hill’s questions.

He was just killing time anyway.

Besides, Maria Hill knew he didn’t have a shirt and had brought one for him.

You don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

Most importantly, You show me respect, I’ll show you more.

That was another one of Hawk’s core principles.

...

Soon, Maria Hill had the full story.

Bruce Banner had traded his life for the Hulk’s. The Lord of Hell, Mephisto, had used the opportunity to remodel the dead Hulk into the Demon Hulk and send him back up to test Hawk’s strength.

But...

Maria Hill was still in shock. ”Why would Mephisto suddenly want to test you...?”

”Because I was trash-talking him.”

Hawk smiled faintly, and meeting Maria Hill’s astonished gaze, he added, ”More than once. I’ve told him repeatedly to take good care of my sister. If she so much as loses a single hair in Hell, when I get there, I’m going to rip his head off and use it as a urinal.”

Maria Hill’s eyes widened.

She knew about Hell.

Or rather, the existence of Hell was a classified fact in the S.H.I.E.L.D. database.

The S.H.I.E.L.D Texas branch had even dealt with demons a few times. Though they had resolved the incidents, every demonic incursion had resulted in heavy losses.

If a single demon was that hard to deal with, what about the Lord of Hell himself, the greatest demon of them all, Mephisto?

But, hearing his explanation and thinking about the love for his sister that was so evident in his file, she just smiled and nodded.

”You’re a good brother, Hawk.”

”Thanks.”

Hawk smiled and stood up. ”So you see, there’s no reason to be scared of me. Like I told you, I don’t pick fights, but I finish them—and I’m not interested in destroying the world.”

Maria Hill let out a breath of relief.

Although she had already concluded from his actions and the intelligence files that Hawk wasn’t some kind of supervillain—

That was just a judgment call. It didn’t mean much, especially since the battle at Quantico, and the one that had just happened here, both proved one thing.

If Hawk wanted to destroy the world, he was more than capable of it.

So, to hear him say it himself was a massive relief.

”Understood. Thank you.”

”You’re welcome.” Hawk smiled. Now that he had rested, he stretched, then looked at her. ”Any other questions? If not, I should get going.”

He had been gone long enough.

His Armor was forged, his mission was complete. It was time to go home.

Maria Hill nodded quickly. ”One last question.”

”That place over there...”

”Can you tell me about it?”

”...”

--

Maria Hill wasn’t pointing at some random spot on the horizon.

She was pointing directly at the true location of Wakanda—the vast, primitive jungle they used to deceive the outside world.

The battle between Hawk and the Demon Hulk was over, but for S.H.I.E.L.D, the fight was just beginning.

After all, both Hawk and the monster had burst forth from that very jungle.

So, while the S.H.I.E.L.D. commander was making small talk with Hawk, her agents on the ground had already reached the border. They were running scans on the perimeter, and the results were now being fed directly into Maria Hill’s hidden earpiece.

Hawk followed her gaze.

He saw a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, their faces alight with the excitement of discovery, using a variety of instruments to scan an invisible barrier.

Maria Hill watched his expression. ”You’re not going to tell me?”

”I can.”

Hawk looked back at her and shrugged. ”That’s Wakanda. The ’real’ Wakanda.”

Maria Hill froze.

Hawk then gave her the short version: the story of a nation sitting on a mountain of Vibranium, developing technology far beyond the rest of the world, all while posing as a starving third-world country to beg for aid at the United Nations.

He didn’t add any embellishments. It was the simple, unvarnished truth.

They were a high-tech nation hiding behind the mask of poverty, taking money and food that could have saved countless lives in countries that were actually suffering.

If they had simply chosen isolation, Hawk might have respected them.

But their deception? He had nothing but contempt for it.

A lie is a lie, no matter how advanced the technology you use to hide it.

As Maria Hill listened, her expression shifted from professional curiosity to utter shock—a shock even greater than when she had heard Hawk threaten to use Mephisto’s head as a urinal.

Mephisto was a distant, almost mythical threat.

Wakanda was right here. A member of the UN.

Hawk saw the look on her face and, thinking of Anna and the favor she had done him, smiled faintly.

”You don’t believe me?”

”Honestly? It’s a little hard to swallow.”

Maria Hill replied, her professionalism returning.

Hawk just smiled and said nothing, his gaze turning back to the shimmering, invisible energy shield that protected the hidden kingdom.

...

Wakanda. The Royal Palace Command Center.

After a frantic effort by the royal physicians, King T’Chaka had regained consciousness.

But for how long?

He was old, too old to bear the mantle of the Black Panther. The blow he had taken from Hawk on Mount Bashenga had been devastating. A normal man would have been torn in half.

The injuries he had sustained were severe.

The only reasons he was still alive were Wakanda’s advanced medical technology, and the sheer, stubborn will of a king who refused to die while an enemy was at his gates.

Now, sitting in a wheelchair, T’Chaka watched the holographic displays, his eyes fixed on the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents at his border.

Though Wakanda presented itself as a poor African nation, it was still a recognized member of the UN.

As its king, T’Chaka knew of S.H.I.E.L.D, the agency operating under the oversight of the World Security Council to maintain global peace.

Like many other third-world leaders, he had even signed the accords granting S.H.I.E.L.D. operational authority within his borders.

But they had never had any reason to interact.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had never paid any attention to a nation so poor that even Africa’s warlords ignored it.

But that was before today.

A sense of cold dread washed over the old king as he looked at the images of Commander Maria Hill and the man who had brought this catastrophe upon them.

Wakanda’s days of peaceful isolation were over.

...

Outside the border.

Maria Hill took the data slate an agent handed her. She glanced at the readings, then looked up as another agent fired a low-powered energy blast at the barrier. A massive, golden dome shimmered into existence for a moment, and her eyes went wide.

She was starting to believe him.

She turned back to Hawk. ”How do we get in?”

Hawk raised an eyebrow. ”We? No, no. I’m not going in. But if you want to, I can help you tear down that wall.”

His mission in Wakanda was complete.

As for the rest of the Vibranium...

Whoever wanted it could have it.

His attitude toward it was the same as his attitude toward money.

Power was the only thing that mattered. Money, Vibranium... they were just tools. As long as he had his strength, he could get more tools whenever he needed them.

Maria Hill considered his offer, then nodded, her expression serious. ”I’d be grateful for your help, Hawk.”

If Wakanda was truly what he claimed it was—a hidden, technologically superior nation with a monopoly on Vibranium, then this was a global security crisis. She had to report it to the World Security Council immediately.

A small African nation, secretly hoarding the world’s most advanced technology and resources while crying poverty? What are you planning?

Today you build in secret. Tomorrow, you build an empire.

Maria Hill’s expression was grim. Then, a thought occurred to her. ”Do you need us to stand back? So you can put on that shiny golden armor?”

Hawk was taken aback for a second, then he laughed. ”Did you like it?”

”I did.”

Maria Hill’s tone was dead serious. ”It’s far more impressive than Tony Stark’s.”

A smile touched Hawk’s lips. ”Thanks.”

With that, the spectral image of the Phoenix appeared behind him. With a piercing cry, the golden pieces of the Phoenix Armor materialized, assembling around him in a flash of fire and light.

Maria Hill’s eyes widened with a look of undisguised awe.

Beautiful.

Clad in the Armor, Hawk radiated an aura of deadly beauty.

Hawk smiled. ”You should probably have your people take a few steps back.”

”...Right.”

Maria Hill snapped out of it and ordered her agents to withdraw.

...

In the Wakandan command center, Princess Shuri turned to her father.

”Father.”

”Divert all power to the shield. He just fought that monster. He can’t have enough energy left to break through.”

”Yes.”

Shuri nodded and gave the order, reinforcing the Vibranium shield that had protected their peaceful and isolated way of life for centuries.

...

Outside, Hawk stood alone.

His Cosmo began to burn, and tendrils of crimson energy, visible to the naked eye, coiled around him.

As his power reached its peak, the very air around him seemed to ignite.

”PHOENIX’S WINGED ASCENT!”

His roar was like the cry of a phoenix being reborn from the ashes, shattering the silence of the savanna.

In that instant, a fiery phoenix materialized behind him. As he threw a single, devastating punch, the phoenix surged forward, its wings of flame beating against the air, and slammed into the Vibranium shield—the shield that was supposed to absorb all kinetic energy.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Time seemed to freeze.

Then, a sound like the world tearing in two ripped through the air.

The golden dome, the shield that protected all of Wakanda, flickered into full view for the first time, its surface rippling with golden energy.

Vibranium could absorb an incredible amount of energy.

But it had a limit.

Just as Thanos had been able to shatter Captain America’s shield, so too could this barrier be broken..

”BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!”

”Shield integrity at forty percent!”

”Twenty percent!”

”Five percent!!”

”Damn it, the backup generators can’t keep up!”

”BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!”

CRACK!

With a final, deafening crack, the dome that had hidden the true Wakanda from the world for centuries shattered completely.

In that moment, the real Wakanda—a nation of unimaginable wealth and power, a city of futuristic spires and flying vehicles, was finally exposed to the world.