Marvel: The Awakened One

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As soon as they heard those words, Hawk and Wanda turned to Peter. The hope that had left Wanda’s face came rushing back.

Peter kept his explanation straightforward.

”When I looked at the Celestial’s energy spike, I used S.H.I.E.L.D.’s satellites to catch its data right as it left the solar system. When I checked the results, I saw a faint phoenix shape in the blast wave, so I thought it was you.”

Peter brought up several files on the main screen.

”But you were in the Quantum Realm, and I was sure of it. I talked to Dr. Pym, and he said if someone goes subatomic without a tether, they can’t return. At first, I didn’t think about Jean because the Celestial’s energy was so huge.”

He opened another window that showed a set of Quantum Realm coordinates.

”Later, Dr. Pym and I used his quantum-tracking tools to follow the Celestial’s jump, and we found that same phoenix energy again. I wrote down the exact coordinates.”

Peter made the data bigger on the screen.

”If Jean got out and ended up lost in the multiverse, this is the door she used.”

Wanda’s face brightened with hope.

Hawk looked at Peter, surprised. ”Peter, you just gave me a huge win.”

”Don’t celebrate yet,” Peter said, seeing their relief. ”Just because we found the door doesn’t mean we can go through it.”

Wanda frowned. ”Why not? I crossed into another universe pretty easily.”

”You crossed over because the version of you in that universe was still basically you,” Hawk said. ”And I was already there, holding things steady on the other side.”

The real reason that universe’s Wanda was considered the main one had to do with complicated time mechanics and shifting timelines. Hawk had some ideas, but now wasn’t the time to get into them.

”As for me, I was traveling through the Quantum Realm when I saw that universe’s Ant-Man. I followed him through his tunnel when he went back home.”

If Hawk hadn’t run into Ant-Man by chance, he never would have made it into Universe-616. Or he would have set off the universe’s cosmic defenses and been destroyed.

He would have been literally crushed.

Even with all his power, Hawk would have lost if the Celestials had found him on his first day. That’s why he stayed hidden and spent a month getting stronger before doing anything.

Hawk liked to win big. He wasn’t interested in taking chances just to survive.

Peter nodded. ”That answers the question Dr. Pym and I have had since your signal vanished.”

There was only one reason a quantum signature would disappear completely: Hawk had made it into another universe.

Death was never really an option. Even if Hawk had died in the Quantum Realm, his energy would have stayed behind as quantum static.

Besides, this was Hawk.

He had never lost a fight in his life.

Peter went on, ”What happened to you was a one-in-a-trillion chance. We can’t count on Jean’s universe having its own Ant-Man in the Quantum Realm at just the right time.”

Hawk nodded. ”Do you and Pym have another way to get in?”

”We have a theory. That’s what we were talking about when you got here.”

Peter pointed at the coordinates on the screen.

”We know exactly where the Celestial’s energy disappeared in quantum space. Dr. Pym and I think if we build a bridge to that spot, we can open a path into the universe on the other side.”

He tried to make it simpler with an example.

Think of a bank vault.

Any good bank robber has to do two things: first, find the vault—nothing else matters if you don’t know where it is. Second, crack the code, open the door, and go in.

The multiversal coordinates told them where the vault was. Now they just needed the right dimensional code to open it.

Hawk and Wanda just stared at him.

Hawk had studied law.

Wanda had studied magic.

The only scientist in the family was stuck in Universe-828.

Hawk raised his hand before Peter could go on. ”Don’t explain the math. I don’t care. Just tell me the bottom line. How long will it take?”

Peter started to answer. ”It’s complicated spatial mechanics. Dr. Pym said S.H.I.E.L.D. has old research on the Tesseract. If we could get access...”

Clack.

Before Peter could finish, something blue shot through the air. He caught it without thinking and looked down at his hand.

A glowing blue gem sat in his palm.

Hawk smirked. ”There’s your Space Stone. Now, what else do you need?”

Peter stared at the Infinity Stone, his mind freezing for a second before he snapped back to reality.

”A cutting-edge algorithm. Something strong enough to process...”

”Tony...”

Hawk interrupted and reached for his phone. The screen was still black. The battery had died weeks ago, and he hadn’t bothered to charge it during his month in Universe-616.

He looked over at Felicia.

She already had her phone out. ”I’m calling Pepper.”

Hawk took the phone as soon as the call went through.

”Pepper, it’s Hawk. Peter needs access to Stark’s servers.”

Pepper paused, surprised to hear from him after a month of silence, but she didn’t hesitate.

”Done.”

”Thanks. Talk to Felicia about the technical stuff. I don’t get any of it.”

Hawk gave the phone back to Felicia, then turned to Peter.

”What else? Just say it.”

”Pym Particles. A lot of them. Dr. Pym can make them, but he needs the raw materials first.”

”Sharon.”

Hawk didn’t even turn around. Sharon Carter had just walked in through the lab doors.

”You heard him. He needs raw materials. Is that a problem?”

Hawk wasn’t surprised to see her. Whenever he came back to New York, Sharon always found him right away.

Before, she usually called Gwen first because Hawk never answered his phone. But with Gwen stuck in Universe-828, Sharon came straight to the Osborn Estate.

As for how she got into the lab, half the equipment was classified S.H.I.E.L.D. tech that Peter had talked her into getting. Of course she knew the access code.

Sharon didn’t know what was going on yet, but she nodded right away.

”No problem. I’ll have a team reach out to Dr. Pym and get a list of everything he needs.”

She looked at Peter.

”You should call him first. If my agents show up at his door without warning, he’ll probably run.”

Peter quickly took out his phone and called Pym. While he talked, Sharon pulled Felicia aside to get the full story.

A minute later, Peter hung up.

Hawk looked at him. ”Anything else?”

”No.”

”How long?”

Peter looked at Hawk’s face. It was clear he only cared about the end result.

”If money and resources aren’t a problem, one month.”

Hawk thought about it, then nodded and looked at Wanda.

Wanda still felt afraid. Jean was still alone in some unknown universe, but Wanda knew this was the fastest way to help her.

She nodded back and turned to Peter.

”Thank you.”

Peter gave her a reassuring smile. He wasn’t great at reading people, but even he could tell something had changed between Hawk and Wanda.

His Spider-Sense confirmed it.

Then, at that same moment, it gave him a much stronger warning.

Don’t speak. Don’t ask. Pretend you didn’t notice anything.

Once Wanda agreed, Hawk turned to Sharon, who had just finished talking with Felicia.

He closed his eyes and quickly scanned the cosmos around them. When he opened them, he said, ”Whatever Peter needs, S.H.I.E.L.D. provides.”

Sharon raised an eyebrow.

”In exchange, there’s a dead Celestial floating in space. Its body is pure Adamantium, and I just moved it to the dark side of the moon. Consider that payment.”

Sharon blinked. ”Adamantium?”

”It makes Vibranium look like tin foil. It’s in the same league as Thor’s Uru metal.”

Hawk smirked, but his face changed when he sensed a sudden surge of chaos far away.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked at Wanda.

”Let’s go.”

”Where?”

”Westview. If we don’t get there now, those two Anyas are going to tear the house apart.”

”...”

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