Marvel: The Awakened One

”Peter’s missing?”

”How?”

Hawk listened as Gwen hung up the phone and launched into a frantic explanation. He headed toward the car parked at the curb, asking curiously as he walked, ”Didn’t Peter spend the entire Christmas break with MJ? I thought they went to Seattle together.”

He and Gwen had originally planned to go as well.

But one comment from Helen had changed their minds.

In Helen’s words, this was the first year Hawk and Gwen had officially become a couple, and also their first year living together. So going out to celebrate New Year’s somewhere else didn’t feel right—they should ring in the new year at home.

Because of that, when the Stacy family went to Long Island for New Year’s, they hadn’t even invited Gwen along.

Hawk and Gwen were good kids who listened to Helen. So this Christmas, they hadn’t gone anywhere, dutifully staying put in New York City.

The trip to Kamar-Taj didn’t count.

That was business, not pleasure.

”Peter didn’t go.”

”He didn’t?”

”No. MJ’s family went, but MJ didn’t really explain everything over the phone. I could tell she was panicking, though. Come on, let’s head over to her place.”

”Got it.”

Hawk nodded.

”You want to drive, or should I?”

”You drive. You’re faster, and I think MJ’s about to lose it.”

”Alright.”

Hawk caught the car keys Gwen tossed to him. He took a step forward—and in the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of the car door. He pulled it open and slid into the driver’s seat.

By the time he’d started the engine and released the parking brake, Gwen had just jogged over to the passenger side, yanked open the door, and climbed in.

Hawk floored the gas. The Toyota Corolla’s engine roared to life, and the car shot forward like an arrow, speeding off toward Queens.

Half an hour later—

Queens. Fifth Precinct neighborhood.

The speeding Corolla whipped around the corner at the entrance to the neighborhood, executing a perfect drift before smoothly entering the residential street. Moments later, it came to a precise stop in the space between two classic American single-family homes.

The house on the left belonged to the Parkers.

The one on the right was the Watsons’.

Mary Jane came rushing out of the Parker house on the left, pushing the door open the moment she saw Gwen step out of the car. She ran over and threw her arms around her. ”GWEN—PETER’S MISSING!”

Gwen wrapped her arms around the nearly sobbing MJ, immediately trying to comfort her.

Following MJ out of the house was Peter’s Aunt May.

Hawk, standing by the door, gave Aunt May—whose face was etched with worry—a small nod of acknowledgment.

Aunt May managed a weak smile in return.

”Thank you for coming, Hawk.”

”Peter’s my friend.”

Soon enough, all four of them were inside.

MJ stayed silent, just holding Gwen’s hand as tears streamed down her face.

Hawk could only turn to Aunt May, seated nearby, and asked with curiosity, ”When did Peter go missing?”

Aunt May shook her head. ”Over the holidays, Peter came back to New Jersey with me to visit relatives. After Christmas Eve, he said he wanted to come back to New York, so I let him leave early. I didn’t get home until last night, and I assumed he’d already gone to bed.”

Hawk listened, then turned to MJ. ”What about you? When was the last time Peter called you?”

MJ shook her head. ”About a week ago.”

Hawk raised an eyebrow at that.

”A week? And you’re only saying something now?”

”Peter told me he was dealing with something and not to worry. I didn’t want to bother him, so I didn’t call. When I got back yesterday afternoon, I noticed Peter’s car was gone. I figured he was out delivering pizza, so I didn’t think much of it. But then this morning, when Aunt May and I went into Peter’s room, we realized no one had been in there for at least a week.”

”Delivering pizza?”

Gwen, listening to MJ’s explanation, blinked in surprise. ”I thought Peter was working for the Daily Bugle?”

MJ glanced at Gwen. ”That’s his other job. He started in October, but he didn’t want me to tell you guys.”

Gwen turned to look at Hawk, who was seated nearby. ”Did you know about—never mind. Of course you’re not going to say anything. Bros before everyone else, right?”

Hawk looked at his fiancée, who’d just answered her own question, and his mouth twitched slightly.

He didn’t bother arguing, though.

Because he did know about Peter delivering pizza. Not that Peter had told him—Hawk had figured it out on his own. And since Peter hadn’t brought it up, Hawk wasn’t about to run around advertising it. He wasn’t a gossip.

Hawk turned back to MJ.

”Did you check with the pizza place?”

”First thing this morning. They said they’re looking for Peter too. Apparently on the morning of the twenty-sixth, Peter picked up two pizzas to deliver. He made it to the first customer, but never showed up at the second one. The second guy was so pissed he called and chewed them out.”

”The morning of the twenty-sixth?”

”Yeah.”

”Exactly one week ago.”

Hawk frowned, looking at MJ intently. ”What time did you call Peter on the twenty-sixth?”

MJ thought for a moment, then pulled out her phone and scrolled through her call log.

”Eleven in the morning.”

”So he was in the middle of the delivery route.”

”He delivered to one place but never made it to the second...”

Gwen chimed in, then looked at Hawk. ”Peter’s not the type to just bail like that. Unless something really important came up.”

Hawk nodded in agreement.

Forget Spider-Man’s famous reputation as ”Your Friendly Neighborhood” hero for a moment.

Just the fact that Peter had superpowers and never once thought about robbing a bank vault or shaking down criminals for cash—instead choosing to scrape by on meager photo commissions and eventually resorting to pizza delivery—said everything about his character. Peter wasn’t the kind of person who’d abuse his abilities for personal gain.

Which meant there was no way in hell he’d run off with a pizza order.

So the question was—

Where did Peter go??

But no matter where Peter had gone, one thing was certain: he wasn’t in New York City right now.

Because Hawk’s Sixth Sense had already spread out, blanketing the entire city. And he hadn’t detected even a trace of Peter’s presence anywhere in New York.

Of course, there was always the possibility that someone was using advanced technology to hide Peter. Or that someone stronger than Hawk was blocking his senses entirely.

The former was a possibility.

The latter, though, was extremely unlikely. At this point in time, the number of people with the power to surpass Hawk could be counted on one hand.

Thor was roughly equal in strength. And if Thor ever fully awakened his Thunder Authority, Hawk might not even be able to beat him.

But Thor was a straightforward warrior—the ”fight me head-on or don’t bother” type. He’d never resort to underhanded tactics like this.

Plus, Hawk and Thor were on pretty good terms. There was no reason for him to target Peter.

The second and third candidates were the Ancient One and Odin, the God-King who, at this point, had basically been exiled to Earth by Loki and was living out his twilight years like a forgotten old man in a nursing home.

But neither of them would bother with something like this either.

Which left two possibilities.

Either Peter had been captured by some villain with access to high-tech equipment.

Or—

Peter had left New York City entirely and gone somewhere unknown.

Hawk was leaning toward the latter.

He thought for a moment, then looked at Aunt May and MJ with curiosity. ”Before Peter disappeared, what was he busy with?”

MJ thought about it, then shook her head in confusion.

Aunt May, however, seemed to recall something. She turned to Hawk and said, ”Oh, right. When we were in New Jersey, Felicia kept calling Peter.”

Hawk raised an eyebrow. ”Felicia? Felicia Hardy??”

”Yes. I asked Peter what it was about, but he didn’t say.”

”No answer.”

While Hawk was talking with Aunt May, MJ—having heard Felicia’s name—had already acted with lightning speed, dialing Felicia’s number.

The call went straight to voicemail.

The next second—

MJ shot up from the couch like a spring had launched her. ”I’m going to find her.”

Gwen snapped to attention, standing up as well and quickly grabbing MJ’s arm. ”Are you seriously in any condition to drive right now?”

”Then what am I supposed to do?”

”Take our car.”

Gwen said, glancing over at Hawk.

Hawk caught her meaning and turned to Aunt May. ”We’ll go check in with Felicia first. See if she knows anything about Peter’s disappearance.”

With that, he stood as well, said his goodbyes to Aunt May, and then hurried after MJ and Gwen, who had already rushed out the door in barely controlled panic.

...

Soon, Hawk was back behind the wheel, driving Gwen—who sat in the passenger seat—and MJ, who was in the back, frantically redialing Felicia’s number over and over again. They sped toward the Osborn estate on the outskirts of the city.

”Still no answer...” MJ muttered as she hung up yet again.

Gwen, seated up front, suddenly remembered something. ”Come to think of it, wasn’t Felicia supposed to attend the NYPD charity gala on the twenty-seventh? I don’t think she showed up.”

Hawk glanced at Gwen.

”George told you that?”

”Mom did.”

Gwen explained. ”It must have been the twenty-eighth. Yeah, the twenty-eighth—you went off to spar with Thor that night. Mom came over. Remember? You asked where the lemon sea bass came from.”

Hawk followed Gwen’s train of thought, recalling that evening, and nodded.

”Right.”

”Mom and I were chatting in the backyard when she mentioned it. Apparently, Felicia was supposed to attend, but she never showed up. Her assistant came in her place.”

Gwen continued.

It wasn’t unusual. It wasn’t exactly a critical event. People canceling at the last minute wasn’t a big deal.

For the NYPD, as long as the donation cleared, they didn’t care if someone skipped the party.

So when Helen had mentioned it in passing, Gwen had just filed it away as an amusing anecdote and moved on.

But now—

”Wait.”

”Peter disappears, and now Felicia’s missing too? And conveniently, Peter was on the phone with Felicia right before he vanished?”

”They didn’t... elope, did they?”

Gwen’s eyes widened as the pieces clicked together. She carefully glanced at the rearview mirror, sneaking a look at MJ in the backseat.

MJ sat staring anxiously out the windshield, seemingly oblivious to Gwen’s wild speculation.

They arrived at the Osborn estate. Since Hawk and Gwen had been there before, the elderly butler recognized them and opened the gate. He stood waiting at the front entrance of the main manor.

...

A few moments later, The three of them climbed out of the car, and MJ immediately rushed up to the butler, asking urgently if he knew where Peter had gone.

The next second—

The butler blinked in surprise, looking at MJ with confusion.

”Peter and Miss Hardy took a flight out of New York on the afternoon of the twenty-sixth. Didn’t Peter tell you?”

”...”

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