Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 74: [] - The Director and Commander of S.H.I.E.L.D (Bonus)
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The sun began to set.
Culver Lake was quiet. A gentle breeze rippled across the water and swept over the shore, waking the unconscious Natasha from her slumber on the grass.
Natasha’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared absently at the orange sun hanging low in the sky.
The next second, Her pupils focused, and she leaped to her feet, instantly dropping into her classic combat stance.
But the shore was empty. There was no one around, save for the yellow Corolla with its caved-in roof, and Bruce Banner, who was lying motionless in front of the ruined cabin, his condition unknown.
Wait.
Bruce??
Natasha snapped back to reality. She ran to Bruce’s side—he was soaking wet, wearing only a pair of remarkably durable shorts, lying on the fractured ground. She checked his vitals and found a faint pulse. Without hesitation, she pulled a syringe from her pocket and plunged it directly into his chest.
The effect was instantaneous. The moment Natasha pulled the needle out, Bruce’s eyes shot open.
The next second—
"Ah!"
Bruce Banner shot upright, terror written all over his face as he gasped for air.
Watching him come back to life, Natasha let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
After a few moments, Bruce’s breathing steadied, and the look of terror on his face began to subside.
Natasha helped him to the shore and sat him down against the trunk of a large tree that had been snapped in two. Once he was settled, she finally asked her question.
"What happened?"
"..."
Bruce didn’t answer. His brow was furrowed in concentration, as if he were trying to piece together a fragmented memory.
Natasha didn’t press him. While she waited, she subconsciously reached up and touched the back of her head, her own memory returning.
She could still see the eyes of the girl who had knocked her out. After all, It wasn’t every day you saw a perfectly screwed up expression.
Who was she?
Natasha wondered.
Just then, Bruce looked down at his own arms. He squeezed his biceps, a look of dawning realization on his face. He looked up at Natasha, his voice low and heavy. "The Hulk is dead."
Natasha snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes widening as she stared at Bruce, as if she hadn’t heard him correctly, or couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
After all, This was the Hulk they were talking about.
"The Hulk is dead—" Bruce Banner repeated, the fragmented memories replaying in his mind. "—he dragged the Hulk to the bottom of the lake. The Hulk couldn’t get away from him, he was completely overpowered. It was like he didn’t even need to breathe... he just killed the Hulk down there. But... he didn’t kill me."
His tone was strange, his feelings toward the Hulk’s killer were impossible to pin down.
Was it hatred?
Not really...
No one on earth hated the Hulk more than he did. Though they had reached a sort of truce after the Battle of New York, allowing him to control his transformations, it didn’t mean he had ever truly accepted the Hulk.
If given the choice, he would still have chosen a life without the Hulk.
The Hulk had destroyed everything he’d ever had. It had cost him the woman he loved, forced him into hiding in the most desolate corners of the world.
And now, his greatest wish had been granted. Someone had finally killed the monster for him.
From that perspective, how could he feel hatred? He should be grateful.
And yet...
Gratitude? Bruce Banner frowned. That wasn’t quite right either. He couldn’t put a name to what he was feeling.
But one thing was certain—
...
"The Hulk is dead."
"The kid named Hawk killed him."
"I’m sure of it."
Bruce took a deep breath, clenching his fists under Natasha’s watchful gaze. He no longer felt that familiar surge of power that always preceded a transformation.
He felt... a sense of loss. As if a part of him was missing.
Natasha listened to his confirmation, falling into a thoughtful silence.
Just then, the sharp ring of a phone cut through the quiet.
Natasha blinked, then realized it was hers. She quickly followed the sound and found it lying in the grass.
It was her phone. Natasha picked it from the ground, saw the caller ID, took a steadying breath, and answered.
"Director."
"Natasha."
...
At the S.H.I.E.L.D.
Triskelion headquarters, Nick Fury—instantly recognizable in his black trench coat and eyepatch—stood in the command center, his hands on his hips. He spoke the moment he heard her voice.
"What’s your ETA for Tennessee?"
"My ETA..."
Natasha’s voice trailed off. She looked at Bruce—at the strange, conflicting emotions warring on his face: relief, loss, even a flicker of anger—and the words caught in her throat.
"Director... the Hulk has been killed."
"..."
Nick Fury’s expression froze.
His single eye narrowed.
Standing next to him, Commander Maria Hill, dressed in her S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical uniform, was equally stunned.
"What do you mean, the Hulk is dead? Is Bruce Banner dead?"
"No. Dr. Banner is alive. But the Hulk is dead."
"..."
The Hulk is dead, but Bruce Banner isn’t?
The words hung in the air, a paradox that left the Director and the Commander of S.H.I.E.L.D. utterly baffled.
Nick Fury recovered first, his dark face now etched with a grave seriousness. "Report. In detail."
Natasha complied, starting from the moment she had picked up Dr. Banner at the airport.
She recounted their arrival at the cabin, how they were just about to leave for Tennessee when Hawk had appeared, seeking revenge for his sister.
She then detailed the fight... how Hawk, who couldn’t have been more than twenty, had gone toe-to-toe with the Hulk, dragged him into the lake, and killed him in the depths.
She left nothing out, including the part where Gwen had knocked her unconscious.
...
In the command center, Nick Fury and Maria Hill listened to her report, utterly speechless.
When Natasha mentioned being taken out by another girl, also under twenty-one, the corner of Maria Hill’s mouth twitched.
Nick Fury’s breath hitched.
Unbelievable.
A top S.H.I.E.L.D. operative, the super-spy known as the Black Widow, was taken out by a girl who wasn’t even old enough to drink?
This had to be a joke... 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
Natasha sensed the stunned silence on the other end. "I apologize, Director. It all happened too fast. I didn’t have time to properly assess the situation."
Thinking back on it now, she realized how careless she had been.
Why would a random teenage girl just happen to be there, at that exact moment?
But at the time, she had just regained consciousness after the shockwave, her head was still fuzzy, and Gwen had been unarmed. She hadn’t seemed like a threat.
And the result was a story she’d never live down. The thought of this embarrassing mark on her permanent record sent a wave of melancholy through Natasha.
Just then, Maria Hill’s voice came over the line.
"This girl who knocked you out—do you think she was with him? With Hawk?"
"Without a doubt."
Natasha’s confirmation was instant. Then she frowned, another thought occurring to her.
"However..."
"Go on," Nick Fury said, his voice low.
Natasha relayed what Bruce had told her—that after the Hulk was dead, Hawk could have just left him at the bottom of the lake to drown, but had chosen to save him instead.
And her, as well.
Natasha then remembered something Hawk had said.
"My score is with the one responsible."
Natasha clarified, "From the very beginning, Hawk said he was only there for the Hulk. He was there for revenge."
So... That’s why he didn’t kill Natasha or Bruce Banner?
’He has principles.’
Maria Hill thought to herself.
But Nick Fury clearly saw it differently.
"Heh."
Standing with his hands on his hips, Nick Fury let out a cold laugh. "Natasha, you said he knew your name from the start? And that he knew you were from S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Natasha was pulled back to the moment.
"Yes."
"He’s afraid. He doesn’t want to make an enemy of us."
"..."
Natasha fell silent.
Maria Hill looked at Nick Fury, a slight frown on her face.
She didn’t agree with his assessment.
They all knew how powerful the Hulk was. They had dropped him from thirty thousand feet in a glass cage, and it hadn’t killed him.
But this Hawk had.
Maria was about to voice her objection, but Nick Fury was already speaking again.
"This name, ’Hawk.’ Is that all you have? Any other details?"
"...One moment."
Natasha blinked, then scanned her surroundings. Her eyes landed on the wrecked Corolla. "Director, there’s a car here. It looks like it belongs to them."
Fury’s eye lit up.
"GW521!"
"Trace it. Now."
Fury barked the order at a nearby agent.
The agent nodded and began typing furiously at his keyboard.
...
Bonus Chapter at 1,500PS
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