Marvel: The Awakened One

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Alkali Lake Dam was infamous in the mutant world and known as Wolverine’s birthplace. It wasn’t in the United States—it sat just across the border in Canada.

From a distance, the massive concrete and steel dam stretched across the river like a sleeping beast, turning the rushing water into a calm, dark-green lake. The midnight wind whistled through the old guardrails, sounding like quiet, mournful cries.

This place had earned its reputation.

Within these walls, scientists at Sentinel Services conducted experiments, dissected, and killed numerous mutants.

Tonight, the dam was lit up. Agents patrolled the top and guarded the main entrance below.

Thud.

After picking up Wanda in New York and stopping in DC, Hawk landed smoothly on the facility’s helipad.

Two agents finishing their patrol heard the noise and turned. When they saw a man in a red tactical suit and a woman in a dark red corset, black pants, and leather boots on the landing pad, they froze in shock. A moment later, they raised their rifles.

”Helipad C! We’ve got...”

BANG!

Splat!

”...”

Wanda opened her mouth, then closed it again. She stared at the spot where the two agents had just turned into a cloud of blood, then glanced at Hawk.

Hawk shrugged.

He didn’t like this brutal approach either, but he didn’t have many options. His power still couldn’t reach into this dimension—so his only real weapon was his physical body—which held the mass of a star.

So it wasn’t really his fault. The universe was to blame.

Maybe this was a weak dimension, or maybe it was a trap that blocked his powers. Hawk still didn’t know. He and Wanda had only just arrived—it was still their first night here.

As the two of them looked at each other,

Woooop! Woooop! Woooop!

”ENEMY ATTACK! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!”

Alarms blared across the dam. People shouted along the edges, and powerful searchlights swung toward the helipad, trapping Hawk and Wanda in bright white light.

”I thought you took care of things in Washington,” Wanda said.

”I did.”

”Then what about these guys? Didn’t the politicians warn this base you were coming?”

”That’s why the old man is clever.”

”How so?”

”Because if this place were empty, I would be mad.”

As soon as he finished speaking—his feet lifted off the ground. He hovered for a moment, then shot off as a streak of red light.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

An agent guard ran out and raised his rifle. He saw a flash of red, felt a brief moment of pain, and then exploded into a cloud of blood.

”HOLY SHIT!”

”MUTANT! IT’S A DAMN MUTANT!”

”Load the X-Rounds!”

”HURRY!”

”Fuck, where did he...”

Splat!

The searchlights swept frantically across the dam, trying to find Hawk. Each time he passed through the agents, another burst of red mist marked where he’d been.

The lights couldn’t keep up.

Whenever they caught him, he was already gone, leaving only new clouds of blood in the bright beams.

Then Hawk flew upward, stopping at the same height as the base’s main command tower. As a dozen agent operators watched in fear—he turned sharply and crashed straight through the four concrete pillars holding up the building.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The pillars shook and split. The tower collapsed, smashing into the dam and exploding in a fireball when it hit the concrete.

Screams echoed through the night as flames shot up into the sky.

Hawk climbed to higher ground while Wanda stayed below. Chaos Magic glowed in her hands. The agents, rattled after watching their squadmates disappear, tried to run—but Wanda brought them down one by one.

After witnessing the massacre in the mutant underground and surviving the attack at Xavier’s School, she lost any sympathy for the humans here.

This was not her Earth. She felt nothing for it, especially after all the cruelty she saw on her first day.

Most importantly, her daughter was trapped inside this dam. The place was a harsh prison built for torturing and experimenting on mutants.

She was no longer the suburban mom from Westview.

This was the Scarlet Witch!!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Wanda pressed her glowing hands down. Dozens of agents, suspended in the air, slammed into the concrete with crushing force, flattened by her Chaos Magic.

A moment later, Hawk floated down from the top of the dam. The fight was over.

Wanda looked up at him, her eyes still glowing red.

”...” Their eyes met.

”No more mercy?” Hawk asked.

”They don’t deserve it.”

The wild energy around her faded, and the red light left her eyes.

Hawk smiled and turned to a rusted gate that looked like an old spillway. This was the entrance to the hidden facility beneath the dam.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Against Hawk’s strength, the rusted steel gate was as weak as wet paper. It shattered into metal dust that flew down the tunnel.

A strong stench poured out of the opening and hit them: bleach, rust, and the sickening smell of rot.

Hawk caught a familiar scent mixed in with the foul air and raised an eyebrow. Beside him, Wanda wrinkled her nose, then her eyes lit up.

”Jean!”

She recognized the unmistakable energy and turned to him. ”Hawk, I feel her. Our daughter is here.”

Hawk nodded. He sensed Jean’s presence too, faint and coming from somewhere deeper inside.

”Let’s go.”

”Yeah.”

Hawk led them into the tunnel, Wanda close behind. Armed agents appeared down the corridor. At the same time, under red emergency lights, a huge blast door began to close at the end of the tunnel with a loud screech.

Rat-tat-tat!

Clang!

Clang!

The agents fired their weapons, sending a hail of bullets down the tunnel to slow the intruders until the door shut.

And they succeeded.

Thud.

A door strong enough to survive a nuclear blast slammed shut, locking the end of the tunnel.

The agents sighed in relief. Some even stood, ready to celebrate.

Then a dull impact echoed through the bunker.

The agents looked at the door just in time to see the nuclear-proof barrier turn into a flying slab of steel.

Squish!

It crushed the front line on impact, dragging their bodies as it sped down the hall. It hit another dozen agents before finally slamming into the floor. A few fallen agents looked up at the slab and tried to stop it with their hands...

Crunch.

It was no use.

Hawk and Wanda stepped through the broken doorway. Hawk looked around, glancing down at the steel slab under his feet and the blood spreading out from beneath it.

Cold white light shone from the ceiling, lighting up rows of holding cells cut into the rock walls. They looked more like upright, clear coffins, with the captive mutants visible inside.

Wanda looked right at the prisoners in the pods on the wall. Barely kept alive, they had lost all hope. But seeing Hawk and Wanda walk in brought a sudden, desperate spark.

One by one, they pressed their hands to the glass. No one spoke. They just stared at the two newcomers with open longing.

To the agents, Hawk and Wanda were terrifying invaders. To the mutants, they looked like saviors.

Wanda met their desperate eyes as she looked around. Hawk followed her gaze along the rows of clear coffins.

Then Hawk’s ears twitched. He looked deeper into the facility.

Wanda felt it too. She frowned and looked into the dark tunnels ahead.

There they were—several mutants running for their lives.

And their daughter.

Jean.

She was right there with them...

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