Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 111: [] - Times Square Doesn’t Allow Anyone This Badass to Exist (Bonus)
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Hawk in the lead.
Peter right behind him.
With a gasp from Gwen and a cry from Mary Jane, the two women felt their vision blur as a wave of weightlessness washed over them.
The next second, the massive screen torn from the face of the Times Square tower slammed into the plaza below, obliterating itself in a shower of glass and electronics.
Miraculously, it didn’t hit anyone.
But—
The flying shrapnel from the screen still managed to injure several people in the crowd.
"HOLY SHIT!"
Mary Jane stumbled as she landed, catching herself just before she fell. She stared at the panicked crowd fleeing the square, then at the smoking crater where the screen had impacted.
"Wait, where’s Peter?"
Hawk, who had already moved Gwen to a safe alcove, pointed. "Over there."
Mary Jane followed his gaze.
Somehow, in the span of a few heartbeats, Peter had already changed into his Spider-Man suit. He swung through the air on a strand of webbing, executed a flashy mid-air twist—and landed perfectly on the roof of a police car.
The corner of Mary Jane’s mouth twitched.
Gwen put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Look on the bright side. At least he got you to safety before he ran off to play hero. It’s obvious he really cares about you."
Mary Jane paused, then looked at Gwen. After a moment, she nodded. "Okay. You have a point."
Gwen let out a small sigh of relief, then her expression shifted as she turned to look at Hawk.
He met her gaze, an eyebrow slightly arched.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Gwen smiled and changed the subject. "What happened over there?"
Hawk followed the fleeing crowd’s path, his gaze settling on Times Square. A strange expression crossed his face.
"Max Dillon."
"Who?"
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Gwen, but she couldn’t place it.
"Oscorp," Hawk said with a small smile. "Bio-Electricity department. He’s the guy who came with me to your lab that day."
The image of a quiet, unassuming man with glasses and a gentle face flashed in Gwen’s mind.
"I remember him. What happened?"
"He mutated."
Hawk shrugged.
He couldn’t be bothered to figure out why, in a world where Peter Parker and Harry Osborn were from the original movie trilogy, the villains were from The Amazing Spider-Man.
It was a waste of brainpower.
Wait a minute.
The Green Goblin last year was the original version too.
So... is this universe just a mashup??
...
Hawk blinked, then shook the thought from his head. He looked at Gwen and Mary Jane. "Alright, we should get out of here."
Gwen didn’t hesitate. She saw the tide of screaming people heading their way and nodded. "Okay."
She had no desire to be a spectator.
As the daughter of a police captain, she’d been taught one rule above all others: when trouble starts, you go the other way.
But Mary Jane’s eyes were still on Peter.
"Peter..."
"Don’t worry," Hawk said with a short laugh. "He’ll be fine."
It was just Electro.
If the Andrew Garfield Spider-Man could beat him, the original version would have no problem at all.
After all, this was the Spider-Man who could shoot organic webs without any tech, the one who was durable enough to fall a dozen stories, stand up, and just complain about his back. The kid was a walking, talking cheat code.
Gwen added, "It’s not safe here. If you stay, Peter will have to worry about you. The right thing to do is leave."
Hawk said nothing more. He took Gwen’s hand and started leading her toward where they had parked the car.
Gwen, in turn, pulled Mary Jane along.
Soon, the lights of his black Audi A8 flashed in the distance.
Hawk pulled the keys from his pocket and handed them to Gwen.
She paused, looking from the keys in her hand back to his face.
Hawk just smiled.
"You take MJ and get out of here. I’m going to go take a look."
"Hawk?"
Gwen’s brow furrowed, her expression mirroring the worry that had been on Mary Jane’s face moments before.
Mary Jane, for her part, just looked back toward Times Square.
The screams were louder now, punctuated by the sharp crackle of arcing electricity. The fight had clearly started.
Hawk saw the fear in Gwen’s eyes and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Don’t worry. He’s definitely not tougher than the Hulk."
Gwen remembered Hawk’s victory over the Hulk, and the worry on her face lessened slightly, but she still looked at him with a hint of doubt.
"Really?"
"I swear on my sister’s name."
"...Alright."
Seeing Hawk swear on his sister’s name, Gwen’s worries vanished.
As far as Hawk was concerned, an oath sworn on God’s name might be negotiable, but one sworn on his sister Anya’s was unbreakable.
With that thought, she was at ease. She hurried Mary Jane into the car, then got into the driver’s seat. She rolled down the window and called out to Hawk one last time, "Then you be careful."
Hawk nodded.
Gwen said nothing more. Before the streets became a complete parking lot, she slammed her foot on the gas and drove away with Mary Jane.
Hawk watched the Audi disappear, then turned his gaze back to Times Square.
He hadn’t planned on getting involved.
At his current power level, dealing with Electro would be a one-punch affair.
Besides, his opponent was the original Spider-Man—a version whose physical abilities and combat sense were leagues ahead of the other two.
Two-on-one, it was no different from bullying a kindergartener.
But—
That was Times Square.
The place that had haunted him, the source of his deepest regrets since September 10th, 2009.
...
Five minutes later.
On the rooftop of the Times Square building.
Hawk stood at the very edge of the roof, looking down at the chaos and the flashing arcs of electricity below.
Peter was in the air, shooting web after web, swinging between billboards and flashing neon signs.
Electro’s electric arcs chased him relentlessly, striking the signs and billboards and setting off a chain of explosions.
The next second, Peter grabbed two web lines, kicked off a wall with the force of a battering ram, and slammed his feet into Electro’s chest.
Electro was sent flying, crashing hard into a statue in the center of the Times Square fountain.
The statue crumbled on impact.
Hawk’s gaze shifted from the enraged Electro, who was already climbing to his feet, to the scene around him.
The fleeing crowds.
The innocent bystanders lying motionless on the ground, caught in the crossfire.
And finally, a young boy, shielding his little sister as he tried to pull her out of the line of fire.
A flicker of something passed through Hawk’s eyes. He looked at Spider-Man, who was still dodging Electro’s lightning whips. "Peter. Get him in the air."
He spoke softly, at a normal volume.
But Hawk was confident Peter would hear him.
And he did.
Peter, who was trying to find an opening to subdue Electro, heard the voice in his ear and instinctively glanced up at the top of the Times Square building.
He saw Hawk standing on the edge of the roof, gave a slight nod—and then turned his attention back to Electro, who now had his arms spread wide, unleashing arcs of high-voltage electricity like a mad god.
An idea seemed to strike him.
Peter shot two webs, latching onto a nearby police car. With a powerful heave, he ripped the car from its moorings and sent it hurtling through the air.
Electro just laughed, making no move to dodge. He spread his arms wide, unleashing a torrent of electricity that met the car in mid-air.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The police car exploded in mid-air.
Just then, Electro caught something out of the corner of his eye. He looked down and saw Peter, skimming just above the ground, two webs already latched onto his body.
The next moment, Peter yanked hard. As Electro was pulled toward him, Peter’s body shifted in an instant. He planted his hands on the ground, coiled his legs, and as Electro stumbled toward him, he unleashed a vicious kick.
BAAAAAAAAAANG—
Electro was launched into the sky.
This was it.
On the rooftop overlooking Times Square, Hawk spotted the man curled into a ball as he flew through the air, and his eyes lit up. With no wind-up, no warning, he clenched his fist.
A simple punch from Hawk was more than enough.
His fist moved, and the air itself seemed to part before it. In an instant, the invisible wave of force crossed the distance and slammed into Electro.
A second later—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Electro, still suspended in mid-air, simply detonated. The immense electrical energy he had absorbed from the city’s power grid was unleashed in a single, blinding flash, a storm of rogue lightning that lashed out in all directions.
In an instant, every light in Times Square, and for blocks around, went dark.
Thwip!
Peter shot a web and launched himself to the rooftop.
He looked at the empty space where Electro had been, then back at Hawk.
"You and that guy..."
"Max Dillon?"
"Yeah. Weren’t you two friends?"
"And?"
"Did he do something to piss you off?"
"No."
"Then..."
"Let’s just say, Times Square doesn’t allow anyone this badass to exist." Hawk said.
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