Marvel: The Enlightened One-Chapter 110: [] - Graduation and a Summer Trip

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The next day.

June 12th, 2013.

A Wednesday.

And the day of Midtown School of Science and Technology’s graduation ceremony for the senior class.

The school’s lawn, bordering the East River, was already bustling with proud parents. With the ceremony yet to begin, they were all busy pulling their children aside for one last round of keepsake photos.

Hawk and Gwen were no exception.

Dressed in their caps and gowns, they were being expertly orchestrated by Helen Stacy, striking one pose after another, much to her delight.

Hawk and Gwen stood under a large oak tree, hand in hand, looking at each other. Gwen offered him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry about this."

"Sorry for what?"

"My mom’s a little... enthusiastic."

"I think it’s nice."

Hawk smiled, glancing over at Helen, who was a short distance away, scouting for the perfect angle.

Helen, peering through the camera lens, suddenly had an idea. Her eyes lit up, and she looked up at Hawk.

"Hawk."

"Yes, ma’am?"

"On the count of three, you kiss her."

"Okay."

Hawk didn’t need to be told twice. He looked at his smiling girlfriend, and as Helen’s count reached three, he leaned in without hesitation.

Gwen met him halfway.

Click, click, click!

Helen, now in full professional photographer mode, held down the shutter button, capturing the perfect moment.

...

A little while later, seated in the audience, Helen was scrolling through the photos on her camera, an unstoppable smile on her face.

It was a good thing George had a case today and couldn’t make it.

Otherwise...

The look on his face would not have been a happy one.

Sitting in the front row, Gwen glanced back at her mother, who was still admiring her handiwork. The corner of her mouth twitched. She leaned over to Hawk and whispered, "Don’t come upstairs to the apartment tonight."

Hawk looked at her, confused.

"Why not?"

"Because if my dad sees these pictures, I’m pretty sure he’ll shoot you."

"..."

Hawk blinked. He looked back at Helen, who was completely lost in her own world of photography, and then thought about the series of poses she’d had them do—poses perfectly designed to give a doting father like George an aneurysm. He nodded slowly. "Good point. I’ll wait for you downstairs."

They had plans to meet Mary Jane and Peter at a new restaurant near Times Square tonight to celebrate their graduation.

Sitting on Gwen’s other side, Mary Jane let out a sigh. "At least you guys get pictures. I’m not even sure my date is going to show up."

Gwen, hearing the resentment in her best friend’s voice, turned to her.

"Is Peter still not here?"

"Nope."

"What’s he doing?"

"Don’t know, don’t care. All I know is that if he’s not here in the next ten minutes, he’s going to be my ex-boyfriend."

"..."

Gwen listened to the aura of resentment coming off her friend and immediately shot a look at Hawk.

Hawk got the message. He pulled out his phone and dialed Peter’s number.

After a few rings, he finally picked up. The moment the call connected, Hawk could hear the frantic sound of sirens in the background.

Clearly, New York’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was either fighting crime or on his way to fight crime.

Amidst the wail of the sirens and the rush of the wind, Peter’s voice came through.

"Hello?"

"Forget ’hello.’ You’ve got ten minutes to get here, or Mary Jane is breaking up with you."

Hawk kept it short and sweet. He hung up, then gave Gwen a nod. Message delivered.

Nine minutes later, as Hawk was watching Gwen—this year’s valedictorian—deliver a brilliant and moving speech, he saw a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye.

Peter, still in his cap and gown, was stealthily making his way from the portable toilets near the stage. He slid into the seat next to Mary Jane, fending off her furious, whispered attacks as he tried to explain.

Mary Jane, true to her word, hadn’t broken up with him yet. But she was making sure he felt the full force of her wrath.

Hawk, meanwhile, sat in his seat, his eyes meeting those of his girlfriend on stage, who was radiating a confident smile as she spoke.

...

That evening.

Gwen emerged from her apartment building and saw the black Audi A8 parked across the street. She smiled, crossed the road, and slid into the passenger seat.

As Hawk pulled away from the curb and headed for Times Square, he glanced at her.

"So, how bad was George’s face?"

"I wouldn’t say bad..."

Gwen looked at Hawk with a serious expression, then her smile bloomed. "I’d say very bad. He even asked when you were coming up. Good thing you didn’t."

Hawk looked at Gwen’s bright smile but didn’t smile back.

His voice was somber.

"Gwen, you do realize that I can’t just avoid him forever, right? I can’t spend the rest of our lives meeting you on the street."

"Uh..."

Gwen’s smile froze. "So, what do we do? Turn back?"

"No."

Hawk shook his head. "We’ll just have to trust in the wisdom of our future selves."

Gwen blinked.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that’s a problem for Future Hawk."

"...Hawk."

"Yeah?"

Gwen looked at him, her expression now as serious as his had been. "If future Hawk ever thinks about today, he’s definitely going to call past Hawk an asshole."

Hawk just shrugged. "So what? What’s he going to do, travel back in time and kick my ass?"

Gwen just shook her head, a smile playing on her lips as she changed the subject.

"Are Mary Jane and Peter there yet?"

"They are."

"Good. That place is always packed. Hopefully they got us a table so we don’t have to wait."

"Already done."

...

Half an hour later, they were at a French restaurant right on the Hudson River.

As Hawk parked the car and they got out, Mary Jane, who was sitting at one of the outdoor tables, spotted them and waved.

They walked over. Hawk pulled out a chair for Gwen, then sat down next to her. He looked at Peter. "So how late were you guys stuck at school taking pictures?"

Peter didn’t answer right away. He just looked at Hawk, his expression pained. "I feel like my legs are going to fall off."

Hawk just laughed.

Mary Jane rolled her eyes. "I told you yesterday, Peter. Graduation day is picture day."

Peter just gave a weak, apologetic smile.

Gwen, seeing his distress, just shook her head and jumped in, changing the subject and asking Mary Jane about her plans for the summer.

Mary Jane’s eyes lit up.

"What if we all went on a trip? Somewhere international."

"Like where?"

"London. What do you think?"

Mary Jane’s face was alight with excitement.

"I was also thinking Paris, but we can do London this year and Paris next. What do you think, Gwen?"

"I’m in."

Gwen said, then turned to Hawk. "Are you going?"

Hawk didn’t say anything. He just looked at her, a small, unreadable smile on his face.

Gwen smiled back, then looked past him to Peter. "Peter, what about you?"

Peter opened his mouth.

London...

The plane tickets alone are going to be insane.

He was already mentally calculating the cost, trying to figure out if his savings could...

Just as he was about to decline, Hawk answered for him.

"He’s in."

"..."

Peter looked at him, stunned. "I am?"

"You are."

Hawk looked from Peter to Gwen and nodded. "Yep. He’s in."

Gwen just smiled at Peter, waiting.

"Okay."

Peter gave up. He’d just have to max out his credit card. "I’m in."

Gwen and Mary Jane exchanged a triumphant look.

The next second, they both had their phones out, already searching for flights and hotels.

By the time their dinner arrived, they had a rough itinerary planned out.

Gwen was a student aide, after all. She was known for her efficiency.

And Mary Jane... well, she was just happy to be going.

After dinner, they decided to take a walk through Times Square. Gwen and Mary Jane walked ahead, excitedly discussing their trip.

Hawk and Peter followed behind.

Hawk glanced at Peter, who had been quiet and distracted ever since he’d heard the estimated cost of the trip. "I’ll cover you."

Peter looked at him and shook his head.

"No, it’s fine. I’ll figure something out."

"What are you going to do? Sell more Spider-Man selfies?"

"Uh..."

Peter scratched the back of his head. "I took too many this year... The Bugle’s not paying what they used to."

Hawk just shook his head. "Have you ever thought about switching papers? Why are you so determined to stick with the Daily Bugle?"

Peter looked just as exasperated.

"The problem is, besides the Bugle, all the other tabloids pay even less."

"...Fair enough."

Hawk fell silent for a moment. "Just save your money, Peter. It’s on me. It’s not like I had to sell my soul for it."

Peter was curious.

"So where did your money come from?"

"It fell out of the sky." Hawk just smiled.

Just as he’d said before, of the three versions of Spider-Man, this one was his favorite.

Peter opened his mouth to say something else to Hawk when a massive explosion erupted from Times Square ahead. Amid the chaos, a silver-white arc of electricity tore through the sky and slammed into one of the giant screens.

The screen flickered, then went dark, crashing to the street below.

Hawk and Peter froze, then looked at each other.

In the next instant, they were gone.

...

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