Make the Hulk and Abomination offer their condolences, too!

Hawk’s face was grim and cold as he recalled the events of the night of September 10, 2009. A blazing fire of vengeance burned within his azure blue eyes.

Gwen looked at the raging fury in Hawk’s eyes, her expression impassive.

She did not seem surprised by it at all.

In fact, she had already found out. It was on that very night, when she asked her father, George, to do her a small favor, that she discovered his name on the list of victims from the battle between the Hulk and the Abomination.

After all, that photo of them had been taken right around the time Hawk first started school.

Yet Hawk had never mentioned the girl in that photograph, leading Gwen to guess at the time that something tragic must have happened to her.

Combined with the subtle resemblance between Anya’s features and Hawk’s brows...

So...

She was very smart, and having a father who served as police captain made finding the records quite easy.

However!

"The Abomination is already dead, Hawk."

Hawk did not speak.

He thought of the Abomination from the movies—the one who remained alive and well, and even managed to be pulled out of prison by some old mountain king to fight in underground arenas.

He hadn't watched the subsequent plotlines, but if things went as expected, the Abomination would eventually be whitewashed.

If it weren't for his personal connection to this mess, whether the Abomination turned good or evil, he couldn't care less.

Yet having lived through that night, whenever Hawk thought of this matter, he felt only one thing.

Disgust.

Utterly, damnably disgusting!

At this thought, the internal flames churned within Hawk, but he quickly calmed himself, rubbed his face, and looked back at Gwen with a slight smile. "By the way, Gwen, did you need something?"

The blazing fire that had just flared up in his eyes vanished completely, as if everything a moment ago had been an illusion.

Gwen looked at Hawk, who a second before had been exuding an aura of vengeance, only to return to his casual demeanor the next, a hint of worry in her eyes.

Still, she could tell Hawk did not want to continue the topic, so she let it drop.

Gwen smiled slightly.

"People from New York University are coming to the school today. Mrs. Snow couldn't reach you, so she had to call me."

"New York University?"

"Mhm."

Gwen nodded. "Mrs. Snow said today is the day of the final decision. Let's go."

Hawk was just about to nod.

The next second.

His gaze fell upon the golf bag discarded on the ground nearby.

Hawk then looked at Gwen. "You go on ahead. I have someone to meet; I'm planning to sell some things."

Having already risen to her feet, Gwen heard this, glanced at the golf bag resting to the side, and then looked back at Hawk.

Their eyes met.

Gwen smiled slightly.

"Alright, then I'll wait outside for you so we can go back together."

"...Fine."

Meeting Gwen’s gaze, Hawk was silent for a moment before nodding. He then watched as she turned and walked down the woodland path.

Only after Gwen vanished from his sight did he slowly withdraw his gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the smiling photograph of his sister Anya on the headstone, and let his eyes linger on it once more.

For some reason, at that moment, in his eyes, the expression of his sister Anya in the photo seemed to hold a trace of lingering concern.

Hawk smiled faintly, speaking as if he were conversing with his sister Anya, or perhaps merely talking to himself.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"You'll be fine, too."

"Wait for me."

"It won't be long before I go to hell and bring you home!"

With that, Hawk took a deep breath. As he exhaled the pent-up tension, his expression returned entirely to its usual calm. Rising from the ground, he hooked the golf bag with his right foot, caught it firmly in his hand, and turned away without a backward glance.

How did the saying go again?

Condolences?

Empty platitudes are useless; if you've got the guts, make the enemy offer condolences, too!

The Abomination!

The Hulk!

He would spare neither of them. Not only would he kill those two, but he would also find a way to hell to bring his sister back.

Someday.

Soon.

Hawk thought silently to himself. Once he had cleared the area around his sister's grave, he spotted a woman not far away.

A woman with a wild, untamed aura, a blonde chignon, and profound, icy-blue-gray eyes—a true nine-heads-tall beauty.

Just as he looked toward this woman in the distance, she seemed to sense his gaze and looked back.

Their eyes met in mutual acknowledgment.

Hawk gave a slight nod of his chin.

The woman’s eyes lit up. She walked over, and upon reaching Hawk, extended her right hand with a smile. "Anna."

Hawk shook her hand, feeling the calluses on the right palm of the woman named Anna. "Hawk."

Withdrawing his hand, he brought the golf bag from behind his back around to the front and opened it right before Anna's watchful eyes.

Anna's eyes lit up once more as she gazed at the five energy weapons emitting a faint, eerie glow inside the golf bag.

She instinctively reached out.

Hawk beat her to it, snapping the bag shut again.

"Money!"

"Wait a moment."

Anna was startled for a second, then offered a smiling acknowledgment. She pressed a hand against the hidden earpiece resting by her ear and gave a brief command in French.

A moment later.

A tall, imposing, cold-looking man in a black suit and dark sunglasses appeared in view.

The man was wheeling a twenty-inch carry-on suitcase.

Anna did not let the man approach. Instead, she walked out to meet him, took the suitcase from his hands, and sent him away before walking back to Hawk and pushing the rolling case toward him. "A million."

As Hawk reached out to take the suitcase, he also handed the golf bag containing the five alien weapons over to Anna.

With a click.

The suitcase popped open.

Instantly.

Stacked tightly inside, layer upon layer of neat, crisp, brand-new hundred-dollar Franklin bills came into Hawk’s view.

Hawk instinctively caught his breath.

You couldn't blame him.

He had been poor for too long; suddenly seeing this much cash without warning would make anyone lose their composure just a little.

Yet Hawk quickly recovered. He didn't bother to check bill by bill to see if any were counterfeit.

He figured the other party wouldn't be foolish enough to use fake money to scam someone possessing Chitauri alien weaponry.

Locking the suitcase back up, Hawk stood and looked at Anna, who had just finished inspecting the Chitauri alien weapons.

"Then..."

Hawk spoke first, extending his right hand toward Anna. "Pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Anna."

Anna smiled and shook Hawk’s hand. "Just call me Anna."

Hawk smiled, gracefully adapting to the change in address.

"Alright, pleasure doing business with you, Anna."

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Hawk. By the way, we're friends now, aren't we?"

"Of course."

Hawk replied nonchalantly.

Anna’s smile only grew wider.

"That's wonderful. As a friend, I've prepared a little gift for Mr. Hawk, and I hope you'll like it."