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Yeah.
This time, Hawk was ready to step into oblivion again. He would face the edge between life and death, and he had no backup plan.
It was nothing like his fight with Malekith at Stonehenge.
Back then, he had a backup plan. Even if the Phoenix didn't bring him back, he made sure he wouldn't really die. That safety net meant he never truly faced absolute oblivion.
But this time was different. Hawk had nothing to fall back on... He had cut off his connection to his Cosmo. His divine body was sealed. If he entered oblivion now and couldn't return, he would die for good.
He had consistently believed one thing: trust only yourself.
Except for Wanda.
After Wanda closed his time loop, if Hawk had to trust anyone without question, it would be her.
"Do you know what true oblivion looks like?" Hawk asked.
"?"
"When I enter oblivion, everything about me disappears. It's as if I never existed." Hawk said. "That's why I didn't risk everything on the Phoenix's rebirth back then. If I couldn't get out of the void, I would have died."
Wanda held his gaze. "But you succeeded."
"Just like my timeline was never really closed, and my mind was never really changed." Hawk gave a small smile. "Like you said, anything you get by cheating is just a facade. You don't really own it."
The real reason he stopped short of the Eighth Sense was that, deep down, he was still afraid of dying.
Fear leads to hesitation, and hesitation leads to running away. Saints aren't supposed to know the word 'escape.' You only face oblivion for real when you let go of fear, step into the void, and look death in the eye.
So this time, there were no tricks and no distractions. He would face the void with a clear mind.
"When I enter oblivion, everything turns to nothing. When I come back, my sense of self becomes absolute."
Hawk saw his existence as absolute. That sense of self was the key to breaking through the Eighth Sense. The key was hidden deep in oblivion, and he needed the bravery to face death to find it.
"So..." Wanda's smile faded as she realized how dangerous this was. "If something goes wrong this time, you could really die?"
Hawk looked her in the eye, his voice steady. "I won't lie to you. Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I'm scared."
"What?"
"Oblivion needs total fearlessness. I was scared, so I cheated."
Every living thing is afraid of death deep down. Hawk was no different.
That's why he respected enemies who faced death without fear. Take Alexander Pierce. The man looked death in the eye. Even trapped in Hell, Pierce accepted defeat with grace. That's why Hawk spared him. No one likes being a saint, but everyone likes having one as a friend. Hawk just wasn't one.
Hearing Hawk admit his fear, Wanda looked surprised. "You're afraid of death?"
Hawk heard the curiosity in her voice and laughed. "What's so strange about that? You said it yourself, I'm not a good guy. Isn't it normal for the bad guy to be afraid of dying?"
"You really aren't a good man." Wanda looked at him seriously. "But you've always tried to be a kind one. A real villain wouldn't give his enemies a second chance to live."
Hawk just laughed at that, shaking his head without explaining.
He hadn't told Jean the real reason he let people off the hook, and he couldn't tell Wanda either. He really was the bad guy.
Kind? He was forced to be kind...
Wanda took a deep breath, watching him shake his head with a bitter smile. "So, what do I need to do to make sure you come back?"
"I don't know." Hawk shook his head.
Wanda frowned.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"If I knew, it would mean I still have a backup plan." Hawk met her eyes. "And if I have a backup plan, then I'm going into the unknown prepared. That defeats the whole point."
"And you're just certain I can pull you out?" Wanda's frown deepened.
Hawk shook his head.
"I don't know."
"Then how..."
"But if anyone can do it, it's you." Hawk interrupted, meeting her eyes. He smiled brightly and let out a soft laugh. "When Apocalypse was killing me in every timeline at once, didn't you save me then?"
Wanda couldn't help but smile at that.
"You had a backup plan at the pyramid two years ago too, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Hawk nodded.
"But this time, you really don't?"
"Really don't."
"...Alright." Wanda looked into his eyes, searching for something. Her smile matched his. "You aren't a good man, but you are a good father. So our kids don't lose their dad, I'll make sure you come back."
Those were the same words Wanda had said two years ago outside the pyramid, just before she stepped into his collapsing timeline. Back then, she was ready to die.
Sensing the tension, Wanda let out a casual laugh.
"So, when exactly are you planning to die?"
"It depends on how fast Bolivar Trask is building his Sentinels. A powerhouse deserves a fitting end." Hawk looked intrigued.
Kings die like kings. If he had to go, he imagined it would be dramatic and violent.
Just like when he faked his death, he picked Stonehenge as the stage. If this was really the end, he wanted the right place and the right opponent. Trask's perfected Sentinel was perfect for the job.
"Speaking of the little guy, how are his Sentinels doing?" Hawk asked.
"Probably behind schedule." Wanda shrugged. "Remember how they were hunting Mystique? They finally caught her a few days ago. Right now, they're working overtime drawing her blood, trying to figure out how to integrate her mimicry gene into the Sentinel hardware."
Raven was no amateur. She had spent years traveling the world, rescuing mutants and learning how to avoid capture. But in the end, no matter how skilled, one person can't outrun the power of the state.
Five days ago, agents caught her in Puerto Rico and brought her in. She wasn't in real danger, though. Wanda had been watching over her.
"What about Professor X and the others? Did they hear about her capture?"
"Not yet. Washington has the intelligence completely locked down." Wanda shook her head, looking at Hawk. "Should we tell Jean?"
Hawk thought about it and shook his head. "No need. As long as Trask hasn't produced a complete Sentinel, Washington won't dare cross me. By the way, didn't Magneto head over to the X-Mansion today? They're leaving for DC tomorrow, right?"
Trask was slow, but Xavier was moving fast. In just two weeks, he convinced his old friend to give humanity another chance. For the sake of peace, Erik finally agreed to go to Congress with him.
Poor Magneto. Xavier was probably leading him into another disaster. Or maybe not this time. Trask was behind. There was no way he'd finish a working Sentinel before the hearing.
Hawk mused to himself. Wanda nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, they should be flying out tomorrow morning. What are you plotting now?"
"I'm going to give Washington the confidence to come after me."
"You're using your daughter as bait?"
"Bait?" Hawk shot Wanda a questioning look. "Where did you learn a phrase like that?"
Wanda smiled.
"From you."
Hawk frowned, about to say something before catching himself and swiftly dropping the topic. "It's not exactly bait. Trask is just moving too slow. I want to light a fire under him. We've been here long enough. It's time to go home."
Because of how time worked, ten years here was only a month back home. Still, they had really lived here for over two years. Time didn't age their bodies, but the memories were real. Hawk missed home.
Hearing that, Wanda thought of Westview and their two boys, who were with their grandparents. She felt a wave of homesickness.
"What kind of message are you going to have Jean pass along?"
Hawk looked at Wanda. Their eyes met. Slowly, Hawk gave her the sly, confident smile of someone about to set a plan in motion.
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