Chapter 380: [484] - I Just Like Playing With My Food

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Hearing his daughter say that sent Hawk into a fit of laughter. By the time it faded, he was grinning so broadly that he had almost forgotten about his cold.

"A peace treaty can't bring peace?"

"Drop the last word."

Because it was his daughter, he quickly let his amusement fade and put on a serious face.

"Murder is a bad habit, sure. But here's the hard truth. If you can't take what you want by force, talking won't help. People will see your mercy as weakness and think you're an easy target."

If you can't win something in battle, you'll never get it by negotiating.

He folded his arms and smiled at Jean.

"My dear daughter. You don't think your mother and I have lived in peace here this long because the people in Washington are peace-loving hippies, do you?"

Wanda, watching the debate from the sidelines, smiled at Jean.

"Do you know what your father did within the first twenty-four hours of us arriving in this world? No, scratch that. The first twelve."

First, they ran into a group of mutant bank robbers and ended up taking half a million dollars from them. Hawk planned to keep a low profile after that and follow the local laws. But then Sentinel Services raided the nearby mutant underground. Mutants were being shot, and even as they died, they fought hard to help the weaker ones escape.

That was when Hawk lost his temper. He attacked Quantico, and then went back and did it again.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"I gave the Pentagon a chance back then. But I knew there was a good chance they'd mistake my mercy for weakness. And sure enough, the second your mother and I reached the X-Mansion, Sentinel Services ambushed us."

Everyone who knew Hawk understood his rules. His mercy had limits. Unless you were Mephisto, you only got one second chance—no more.

Quantico was destroyed. The Pentagon was left half-in-ruins. Half of the White House was wiped off the map.

That's why he and Wanda lived quietly now. It's also why the IRS never sent them a property tax bill. Without that, the money they took on the first day would have run out long ago.

"Thinking a piece of paper can bring peace is as foolish as thinking you can go back in time and change history."

You can't change the past. Any treaty based on compromise is doomed to fail.

Jean frowned. She thought about it quietly for a while before looking up.

"So, Dad… you still don't agree with Professor X's ideology at all?"

Hawk waved a hand.

"What other people choose to believe is their business. I respect their right to hold whatever ideology they like, so long as they don't try to force it down my throat."

People have the right to believe what they want. Some are cruel, some strict, some merciful, and some are saints. Everyone sees things differently. Hawk didn't care what others believed, only if they tried to force him to agree. He was stubborn.

Jean searched his face.

"But you are merciful, aren't you? Didn't you say you gave the Pentagon a second chance?"

Hawk smiled. He looked at her in silence, and they stared at each other until Jean finally blinked.

"Aren't you?"

"…I suppose you could say that."

The real reason was something he could never say.

If a psychologist ever looked at Hawk's past, they'd see a contradiction. His actions weren't about mercy. For small crimes, he destroyed families. For bigger ones, he wiped out entire bloodlines. It was impossible to match the ruthless killer with the man who gave out second chances so easily. No one else could make sense of it, and half the time, Hawk didn't want to either.

But he had no choice.

Starting a fight was one thing. Defending yourself was another. Hawk needed a good reason before going to war. Even if he had to search through history, he wanted a solid excuse to act.

That was the polite way to put it.

Most of the time, it wasn't that Hawk didn't want to go on a rampage. He just had to wait. Even when he knew who the bad guys were and knew they'd break their promises, he still had to give them one chance. He only acted in self-defense, at least until his journey was over. If he wanted to survive, he had to follow those rules.

He knew he couldn't tell Jean the truth. He searched his mind for an excuse.

"Because I'm a cat."

Jean blinked.

"A cat?"

"Yep."

Wanda noticed Jean looked confused and stepped in, shaking her head.

"What your father means is that he thinks it's fun. When a cat catches a mouse, it doesn't always eat it right away. Sometimes it lets the mouse go so it can catch it again. It only eats the thing once it gets bored."

Jean's eyes widened. He hadn't spared his enemies out of kindness. It wasn't mercy. He had just been toying with them like a cat with a mouse.

Hawk saw the horrified question in her eyes and just shrugged. He couldn't tell her the truth, but he wouldn't lie to her either. He hated lying, especially to his daughter.

If Jean started to think he was some forgiving saint and tried to act that way herself, it would be a problem. If his perfect father image had to fall apart, so be it. Loving your child means thinking ahead.

Jean took a deep breath and tried to adjust.

"So, Dad. Are you saying I can't go to DC?"

Hawk shook his head, still smiling.

"If you want to go, then go."

"I can go?"

"Why couldn't you?"

"Didn't you just say the treaty is useless and it's probably a trap?"

His smile became gentler.

"Some things look simple on paper, but you have to see them for yourself to really understand. If you don't go, how will you know for sure whether the treaty is useless or a trap? Go. Your mother and I are here. You can go wherever you want."

Wanda didn't matter. Hawk's own Cosmo had already broken through the universal barrier, and even though it hadn't fully arrived, his power was already leaking into this world.

So even if Jean went to Washington and the worst happened, the answer was simple. Let her die. She would be reborn in his flames of possibility and come back again.

What happened to the rest of the world would be a different story.

Hawk already hated this universe. He still felt sick when he remembered agents shooting unarmed mutants underground. He had planned to use that as a reason to destroy the whole planet, but his power hadn't arrived yet—so he gave a light punishment and let the Pentagon and Sentinel Services off with just a warning.

But if his daughter went to Washington and something happened to her?

Heh.

He would erase the Earth. A father has the right to take revenge for his daughter.

Jean looked at his casual expression in disbelief, then turned to Wanda.

"Mom?"

Wanda gave her a warm smile.

"Don't look at me. I agree with your father. If you want to go, go. Who knows? Maybe by the time we leave, you'll have managed world peace."

When Wanda gave the same answer, a big, genuine smile finally appeared on Jean's face. Hawk and Wanda shared a look and smiled back at her.

That night, since she got the answer she wanted, Jean decided to stay in the guest room on Palm Street.

Wanda came out of the master bathroom in her pajamas. She got into bed and reached over to check Hawk's forehead.

"Hmm. Not bad. You should be back to normal by tomorrow."

Hawk grinned.

"Of course. Even as a regular person, I'm ridiculously healthy."

Back in the day, he had trained through a fever until he passed out, then woke up feeling fine.

Wanda shook her head at how smug he was. Then she thought of something and lowered her voice.

"That Sentinel project the government is working on in secret... They seem awfully confident in it."

Hawk nodded in agreement.

"Remember how this universe had already undergone a reset by the time we arrived?"

"I remember."

"This thing caused it."

"…"

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