11. Beautiful, kind-hearted, and a top student! (Please keep reading!)

Inside the old gymnasium.

Although Hawk had awakened his Cosmo, the habit of throwing ten thousand punches a day for one thousand consecutive days was not something easily abandoned. Thus, he had maintained this routine over the past few days. Besides, there was nothing else to do. Moreover, with his daily practice, Hawk could feel another star within his Cosmo beginning to glimmer. While it wasn't fully ignited yet, he estimated that if he persisted for another month, it would truly light up. Clearly, battle was not the only way to ignite the stars. At the very least, it wasn't the only option, even if combat was the only shortcut compared to the efficiency of daily punches.

But that didn't matter. Hawk didn't care. Firstly, he didn't view himself as a violent maniac, nor was he the type to transform into some "I don't eat beef" character the moment he gained extraordinary power. The thousand-day, ten-thousand-punch routine tempered not just his strength, but more importantly, his character. He mastered his power; power did not master him. Secondly, he hadn't even gathered the materials needed to forge a Cloth yet, so he was in no hurry to ignite his constellation. It was common knowledge that a Saint without a Cloth and a Saint wearing a Cloth were two entirely different species. Or, at the very least, that was mostly the case.

After a while, Hawk showered, changed into a new T-shirt and trousers, shouldered his messenger bag, and walked out of the old gym toward the school gate. His independent hearing was scheduled for 3:30 PM that afternoon. At this hour, if he caught the bus at the school gate and transferred twice, he would arrive at the courthouse just in time for 3:00 PM.

Sitting at the bus stop by the school gate, Hawk munched on a sandwich while waiting for the bus. Watching the various vehicles entering and exiting the school, he began to wonder if he should buy a car himself. Of course, before buying one, he would need to get his driver's license. Yes, unlike almost everyone else in his grade who already had their licenses, he didn't. Hawk had never considered buying a car before. But now, he had the idea.

Before his Cosmo awakened, he hadn't thought about it because he needed to plan for his future; after all, federal subsidies would end once he turned eighteen, and he would have to cover his own rent and potentially student loans. The pressure of his visible future was enough to make him gasp for air—talk of cars? Did he deserve that? He didn't. He probably wouldn't even be able to afford the insurance if he bought one.

But now, things were different.

If asked what his biggest realization was after awakening his Cosmo, it would be that Hawk felt a deep, heavy weight lift from his heart. He had completely shed the pressure of an uncertain future. After all, with his Cosmo awakened, barring any accidents, he only had two choices: living comfortably or living even more comfortably. If he were darker of heart, he could use his awakened Cosmo and the eventual forging of his Cloth to live like an emperor, where those who followed him would prosper and those who opposed him would perish. Power is authority. Power is the fist. Unfortunately, his fist was already approaching the speed of sound and would eventually surpass the speed of light. But he didn't have such thoughts, nor did he have that "I don't eat beef" mentality. At least, not right now.

However, having shed the pressure of the future, Hawk felt he could improve his quality of life. For starters, he still had five Chitauri alien weapons tucked away, waiting for a chance to be sold. Even if he sold them cheaply at twenty thousand dollars each, that was a total of one hundred thousand dollars. So, buying a car to improve his life didn't seem impossible.

As Hawk sat there wondering why the bus was taking so long, a yellow Toyota Corolla with a personalized license plate reading "GW521" pulled up in front of him. The window rolled down. Gwen, with her blonde hair tied up casually and her delicate face framed by blue eyes that seemed to look right through people, appeared in his line of sight.

"Get in."

"..." Hawk looked at Gwen, who was beckoning him, and remained silent for a moment. "No thanks, I'll just wait for the bus."

Gwen smiled. "Are you sure? The buses are out of service today."

"Out of service?" Hawk was stunned. "Since when? Why?"

"Since noon," Gwen said with a smile. "The New York bus drivers' union is on strike today. Haven't you noticed there's no one else at the bus stop?"

Hawk instinctively looked around. Indeed, he was the only person at the entire bus stop.

Damn!

Hawk took a deep breath, looked at Gwen smiling at him from inside the car, hesitated for a moment, then rose from the bench, grabbed his bag, walked to the car, opened the passenger door, and climbed in.

"Sorry to bother you, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Gwen replied, and as soon as Hawk was in, she stepped on the gas and sped off, driving toward the Queens courthouse.

"Oh, by the way," Gwen said, remembering something as she drove, glancing at Hawk in the passenger seat. "The judge for your independent hearing has been changed to Judge Bross, and the time has been moved up to 3:00 PM."

"?" Hawk's head filled with question marks as he listened, and he instinctively looked at Gwen.

Gwen smiled slightly. "You left the school's number as your contact, and the counselor couldn't reach you. I saw you heading toward the old gym at noon, so I guessed you might be waiting for the bus here."

Hawk suddenly understood and nodded. A moment later, he realized the situation and looked at Gwen, thanking her again.

"Thank you."

"Once again, you're welcome." Gwen responded with a smile, looking over at Hawk. "I'm the grade student assistant; helping students is part of my job."

This was the truth. At Midtown High, Gwen, as an eleventh-grade student assistant, was universally recognized for her kindness and beauty. She was incredibly patient when helping classmates who came to her with questions, such as Jessica. Even when Flash Thompson occasionally came to her, she would explain things patiently. Gwen would also stand up for students when she saw them being bullied, like Peter. She had even defended Maria when the cheerleader captain was picking on her, scolding the captain in the process.

Most importantly, Gwen also had excellent grades.

So, beautiful, kind, and smart—that was the definition of Gwen Stacy!