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Kill the problem in the cradle.
That was Hawk's playbook.
He had just slaughtered a Sentinel hit squad. Would William Stryker send more agents after him? Would more enemies come to kill him, or worse, try to capture him?
Yes. Almost certainly.
So Stryker had to die... If Stryker stayed alive, Hawk would never sleep easily. Finding Stryker or figuring out how to catch him wasn't Hawk's concern. That was up to the military.
"My name is Hawk... Hawk Phoenix." Hawk looked calmly at Thaddeus Ross from this universe. "I want William Stryker. You have four hours to bring him to me. After that, for every ten minutes Stryker isn't here, I start killing."
Then he looked up.
"Wanda."
A low hum passed through the air.
Wanda appeared quietly at his side. She was already in her combat gear: a deep red bodysuit, black pants, and black boots. Scarlet Chaos Magic flowed from her hands, spreading into the sky with alarming speed.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Quantico Marine Base was swallowed by a vast red dome.
A Scarlet Barrier.
It was advanced magic, but Hawk's Wanda was unlike any other. She remembered everything from her Universe-616 self, had trained under Agatha Harkness, and had mastered Chaos Magic in ways few Wandas ever had.
Covering a military base with a barrier was easy—
Hawk's quest for godhood had put him on the wrong side of the local cosmic forces, but Wanda was still unknown to them. That's why he brought her to help find Jean.
Better safe than sorry.
Now, that choice was paying off. Hawk's cosmic energy was gone, but Wanda's still worked.
As soon as the red dome closed over Quantico, several panicked families tried to escape but hit the barrier and fell hard onto the pavement. A helicopter tried to fly out, struck the glowing wall, and exploded in a huge fireball, scattering wreckage across the tarmac.
Hawk watched the burning helicopter crash, let out a quiet laugh, and turned back to Ross. "Four hours. Either you give me an answer, or I come down there and get one myself."
With that, Hawk lifted into the air, pulling Wanda up beside him. He closed his eyes and hovered high above the base.
Quantico was sealed.
No one could enter.
No one could leave.
Hawk's voice resounded throughout the whole base. The surviving marines, their families, and the generals in the command building all looked up at the glowing, rune-marked dome and the man floating above them, demanding Stryker's head within four hours.
"..." General Ross looked pale and shaken.
He stared at Hawk for a few seconds, took a slow breath, and turned back to the command center.
Inside, the intelligence officers were already running a massive sweep for Hawk's identity.
Nothing came back...
"No domestic records. No Interpol hits either."
An officer looked up as Ross entered. "Sir, we have zero matches in any known database."
"Get Sentinel Services on the line."
"Yes, sir."
Ross's face stayed cold. What was the point of finding out who Hawk Phoenix was? Even if they found a file, it wouldn't change what was happening.
The man was a monster.
Ross glanced at the monitors: crushed tanks, burning helicopters, severed limbs. If they didn't hand over Stryker, Hawk would kill everyone on the base.
Ross did not doubt that for a second.
Compared to this man, Magneto seemed harmless.
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The video feed connected, and William Stryker's pale face covered the main screen.
"General, the Sentinels…"
"Save it," Ross cut in, his voice flat. "Stryker, you have one hour to get your ass to Quantico. You started this mess. You clean it up."
Stryker recoiled. "Sir, the Strategic Support Unit is already en route. When they arrive, they will take this mutant down."
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
"Heh."
Ross let out a dry laugh and looked at the desperate man on the screen. "So you're saying the lives of ten generals on this base are chips for you to gamble with?"
Stryker's face drained of color.
The other nine generals in the room, whether based at Quantico or just visiting, all turned to the screen. Their faces grew grim together.
"Aditya."
"Yes, General."
Aditya, the Deputy Director of Sentinel Services, stepped into view next to Stryker.
Ross did not blink. "Effective immediately, Stryker's clearance is frozen. You are now in command of Sentinel Services."
Aditya felt his heart jump.
It felt like a promotion sent from above!
"Yes, General."
"GENERAL ROSS, I PROTEST!" Stryker snapped, his voice edged with panic. "SENTINEL SERVICES IS UNDER JOINT OVERSIGHT FROM THE PENTAGON AND THE WHITE HOUSE. YOU DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO…"
Ross ignored him completely. "Aditya. One hour. I want Stryker on the tarmac at Quantico. You escort him yourself."
"Understood, General." Aditya snapped a salute.
The video feed cut to black.
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One colonel's life against ten generals and a whole base. The choice was obvious.
Stryker was not betting with his own life.
If the Strategic Support Unit could really handle Hawk, that was fine. They could go in after the generals were safe in a bunker. Hawk hadn't asked for the strike team. He wanted William Stryker.
Now, Stryker's only job was to get to Quantico, be handed over to the mutant, and take the target off everyone else.
That was Ross's logic.
It was also the logic of the other nine generals.
It was the logic of every soldier trapped inside the scarlet dome.
Trade one man to save the whole base.
Stryker was supposed to see it as an honor.
"BULLSHIT!" Stryker shouted as two of Aditya's guards grabbed his arms and marched him to the elevator for the roof helipad.
"THIS MUTANT IS HOLDING US HOSTAGE! WE SHOULD BE LAUNCHING A COUNTERATTACK!"
Aditya rolled his eyes and didn't respond.
Honestly, he felt lucky. He'd been working to get Stryker out for months. He had already made deals with the White House chief of staff, who had promised to speak to the president for the right price.
Aditya had been getting the money ready.
Now he could keep it.
Still, he made himself a promise. Once he was in charge, he would not hunt mutants like a madman. If he angered the wrong mutant and they sealed the Pentagon's doors, he would become the next bargaining chip.
"Aditya, wait!!" Stryker's voice changed as the elevator doors opened. "Listen to me. THIS IS WEAKNESS. This is compromise. It will only embolden them. THEY'LL THINK THEY OWN US."
They walked onto the roof. The helicopter blades spun overhead.
"Trust me. Authorize the strike team. Once they engage, that freak…"
Aditya did not react.
The guards pushed Stryker into the back of the helicopter, and Aditya got in after him. The chopper took off from the roof.
Stryker kept ranting until Aditya finally interrupted him.
"Give it a rest. The strike team has been recalled."
"What? You…"
"Orders straight from the Pentagon." Aditya shot him a cold look. "Besides, whether the team deploys or not is no longer your concern. You're suspended, Stryker."
"..." Stryker jumped out of his seat.
The two guards forced him back down. Not taking any chances, they grabbed his wrists and handcuffed him to their belts, worried he might try to jump out the open door.
Quantico needed him alive to get the base back.
Stryker could not die.
At least, not before they landed.
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