Marvel: The Awakened One

Experience?

Experience what, exactly??

Physical examinations were never happening. Not in this lifetime. Did his body need a checkup? Please. Calling it a ”body of steel” wouldn’t just be insulting to steel—it would be insulting to him.

So, Hawk didn’t go.

Besides, he had more important things to do than get examined.

Like finding himself an internship at a law firm.

For second-year law students, the summer internship wasn’t just important—it was essential. For most students, it was the golden ticket to employment.

The vast majority of large firms, and many mid-sized ones, treated this period as their primary pipeline for future full-time attorneys.

If you performed well during your internship, you’d receive a full-time job offer for after graduation before the summer even ended.

In other words, You’d have a job lined up before you’d even graduated. Before you’d even passed the bar exam.

Most importantly... The compensation was damn good.

Everyone knew doctors and lawyers were the golden professions in America. Setting aside doctors for a moment, a typical ten-week legal internship paid around fifty thousand dollars before taxes.

And that was just base salary. It didn’t include housing stipends or bonuses.

That was why Hawk had been so determined to study law in the first place.

Not just to avenge his sister, but also to secure himself a solid future.

Though he’d already accomplished both of those goals by now.

Still, there was an old saying:

Stay true to your original purpose, and you’ll achieve your ultimate goal.

So, After classes started, Hawk rarely visited Empire State University next door. Instead, he spent his time after class huddled with classmates, gathering the latest intel on New York’s top-tier law firms.

Not that he could visit Empire State much even if he wanted to.

Gwen had her own work to handle.

While Hawk was hunting for internships, Gwen was preparing for her doctoral dissertation defense—scheduled for two months from now.

Yes.

Doctoral defense.

While Hawk was grinding away looking for internships, Gwen was about to become ”Doctor” Stacy.

It sounded absurd, but considering this was the Marvel Universe, it made perfect sense.

Bruce Banner had seven PhDs by his mid-twenties.

Tony Stark built circuit boards at four, designed engines at six, entered MIT at fifteen, and graduated with dual bachelor’s degrees in physics and engineering at seventeen.

Compared to them, Gwen earning her first doctorate at twenty was practically late.

Still, there was one thing Hawk was curious about.

Leaning against the doorframe, Hawk looked at Gwen, who had just finished a video call with Helen Cho and was sitting in her desk chair. ”How did Dr. Cho convince Empire State to hold a special doctoral defense for you?”

Helen Cho...

Another top-tier genius in the Marvel Universe. Not only was she a close associate of Tony Stark’s, but her intellect was widely acknowledged to rival his.

She was an absolute authority in regenerative medicine, tissue regeneration, and biotechnology.

She held honorary professorships at multiple universities and served as a guest faculty member at Empire State University.

Thanks to Tony Stark’s connections, Gwen had earned the opportunity to work with Helen Cho.

Two years ago, when Helen Cho had come to New York to conduct post-operative observations on Tony and pitch him for funding for her Regeneration Cradle project, Gwen and Helen had met formally for the first time.

And then, Helen Cho became Gwen’s mentor. She taught remotely while designing an extremely accelerated curriculum for Gwen, bypassing all upper-level undergraduate courses and diving straight into doctoral-level research.

In Helen’s words, Genius doesn’t follow rules. Rules bend for genius.

But...

”Even if Dr. Cho is an authority in regenerative biology, getting Empire State to go along with this still seems pretty unlikely.”

”You remember Dr. Curt Connors, right?”

”I do.”

”I worked as his assistant for a while. I didn’t get involved in the core experiments, but I did organize all his research materials.”

”Dr. Connors’s goal with the lizard serum was admirable.”

”Regenerating lost limbs.”

”But Oscorp Industries was too profit-driven back then. And the company was falling apart. Dr. Connors never had time to conduct more stable, in-depth research.”

”Helen’s regeneration theory shares some similarities with Dr. Connors’s work.”

”Over the past year, Helen and I have been researching whether the two approaches could be combined.”

Gwen stopped talking there. She stood up from her desk chair, walked over to Hawk, and wrapped her arms around his neck with a smile.

Hawk raised an eyebrow, looking at Gwen as she grinned up at him.

”And... you succeeded??”

”Yes.”

Gwen nodded, kissed him briefly, then let go of his neck and walked back toward her computer. ”So the university committee agreed to give me a chance. As long as I can pass the examination by the doctoral defense committee they’ve assembled for me. Which means I still have to prepare my materials.”

Hawk shrugged.

”Alright. I’ll head back to my study and keep looking at internships. I won’t disturb you, future Dr. Phoenix.”

”Thank you, Mr. Phoenix.”

Hawk’s mouth twitched.

Gwen caught the reaction and grinned even wider.

”Oh, Mr. Phoenix—are you jealous that I’m about to become a doctor?”

”Hey, when we graduate from law school, we’re doctors too. Juris Doctor!”

”Will people actually call you ’Doctor,’ though?”

”...Good night.”

Hawk took a deep breath, looked at Gwen’s smiling face, left that parting shot, turned on his heel, and walked out of her study. He immediately pulled out his phone and started texting his academic advisor.

He’d made up his mind. He was going to make people call him Doctor too.

Sure, graduating from law school made him a Juris Doctor. But that was a professional doctorate, not a traditional academic one.

Just like Gwen had pointed out—

Even after graduation, people would call him ”Mister,” not ”Doctor.”

Think about it.

Next year, after he and Gwen got married, when they met people, strangers would call him ”Mister” while addressing Gwen as ”Doctor.”

That wasn’t acceptable.

How could he allow that?

So Hawk decided he needed a doctorate too.

Bottom line, Hawk never settled for second place.

...

Late March.

Hawk held in his hands a certificate printed on Empire State University’s signature deep blue and gold cardstock, adorned with an embossed university seal and intricate vine-patterned borders.

EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY

To All Whom These Presents Shall Come:

The Board of Trustees and Faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences, by virtue of the authority vested in them to confer academic degrees, do hereby certify that

Gwen Stacy

has fulfilled all requirements prescribed by this University and, in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and research contribution, is hereby awarded the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Field of Study: Biological Sciences

Her doctoral dissertation represents a significant breakthrough in the field, titled:

”Cross-Species Mammalian Limb Regeneration Mechanisms Based on Arthropod Genetic Templates”

This research not only demonstrates theoretical innovation but also exhibits tremendous translational medical potential.

We hereby confer upon her all the rights, honors, and privileges pertaining to this degree.

In witness whereof, we have caused this certificate to be issued.

Chair, Department of Biological Sciences: Professor Miles Warren, Ph.D.

Dissertation Advisor: Professor Helen Cho

...

EMPIRE STATE UNIVERSITY

Date Conferred: March 24, 2015

New York, New York

...

Hawk stared at the freshly minted doctoral diploma, let out an appreciative whistle, then looked at Gwen sitting in the passenger seat and smiled. ”Congratulations.”

Gwen’s face lit up with a radiant smile. ”You already congratulated me yesterday after my defense. It’s just a doctorate. No big deal. Come on, let’s go to the hospital.”

Hawk couldn’t help but laugh at that.

”No big deal? Who was tossing and turning last night, terrified something would go wrong?”

”That was...”

Gwen’s brow furrowed. She thought for a moment, then looked at Hawk as he drove toward St. Cecilia’s Private Hospital. ”I had a stomachache last night. Yeah. That’s what it was. A stomachache.”

Hawk let out a bark of laughter at Gwen’s transparent excuse.

”Alright. Does it still hurt, Dr. Stacy?”

”Not anymore, Mr. Phoenix.”

”...”

Hawk shot a glance at his fiancée, who had deliberately emphasized the word ”Mister.” He wisely chose to shut up, stepped on the gas, and headed straight for St. Cecilia’s Private Hospital.

Last night, Felicia had successfully given birth to a baby Spider.

Peter had called first thing this morning. Hawk and Gwen were heading to the hospital to visit Felicia.

Funny enough, according to the due date, Felicia should have delivered at the end of January. The hospital’s examinations had also predicted late January.

But the baby in Felicia’s belly had stubbornly stayed put for an extra two months.

And yet all the indicators remained perfectly normal. Eventually, Hawk, Peter, Gwen, and Felicia had concluded it probably had something to do with the time dilation on Skull Island.

Fortunately, both mother and child were healthy.

”Peter, congratulations.”

”Felicia, congratulations.”

Hawk carried a portable baby crib into the hospital’s luxury suite, where Peter and Felicia were waiting. He and Gwen both offered their congratulations.

Peter’s smile was radiant.

”Where’s Aunt May?”

”She just left. She stayed here all last night.”

Hawk gave Peter a hug, then congratulated him once more.

Genuine, heartfelt congratulations.

After all, Whether it was Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man, or any version of the Spider—their fates were universally tragic.

What was the point of traveling to another world?

At the end of the day, wasn’t it to fix the things that went wrong?

And Peter was his friend.

So seeing Peter Parker—who in every timeline always carried a hint of melancholy in his expression—now wearing a smile of pure, unfiltered happiness filled Hawk with genuine joy for him.

Gwen, who had already peeked at the baby, called out excitedly to Hawk.

”Hawk, come look! He’s so cute!”

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

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