Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"Don’t you have anything you’d like to explain?"

Nick Fury sat behind his desk, his face unusually grim as he stared at Evenson.

The battle between the Hulk and the Abomination had left New York battered. Military casualties, civilian deaths, and billions of dollars in property damage had turned the incident into a political nightmare. If the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. pretended nothing had happened, someone else deserved his chair.

What made matters even more complicated was Evenson.

A registered S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant had openly participated in the battle.

To anyone who knew the inside story, especially General Ross, it would be easy to conclude that S.H.I.E.L.D. itself had intervened and therefore shared responsibility for the entire incident.

True, Evenson had acted entirely on his own.

But how was Fury supposed to convince anyone of that?

Should he issue a statement claiming Evenson was merely a consultant acting independently and that S.H.I.E.L.D. bore absolutely no responsibility?

That would sound no different from every organization that rushed to declare, "The employee acted in a personal capacity," the moment a scandal erupted.

No one would buy it.

Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had already been dragged into the mud, Fury had little choice but to make the best of it.

"Hmph." Evenson, summoned to headquarters first thing that morning, folded his arms and looked away.

"I’ve got nothing to explain."

"The guy totaled the first car I ever owned."

"What was I supposed to do? Just watch?"

"And another thing."

He shot Fury a resentful look.

"I remember someone telling me, in no uncertain terms, that this operation wouldn’t affect me at all. That I could stay home and enjoy a peaceful day."

He spread his hands dramatically.

"Turns out disaster literally fell out of the sky."

To be fair...

It had.

His car had been destroyed by a flying taxi.

Fury’s eye twitched.

He had personally called Evenson and guaranteed Ross’s operation wouldn’t spill into his life.

Reality had slapped him across the face.

"I couldn’t have predicted things would end like this," Fury admitted with a sigh.

He wasn’t a fortune teller.

Even Evenson, who had known the Abomination would appear someday, hadn’t expected the fight to wander into his own neighborhood.

New York was huge.

The odds should have been microscopic.

Apparently fate had other ideas.

"Forget it."

Fury waved a hand.

"I’m not pursuing the unauthorized action."

Strictly speaking, Evenson was only a consulting specialist, not a field agent. His operational freedom was much greater than that of regular personnel. More importantly, Fury’s original order had been based on the assumption that the battle wouldn’t affect him personally.

Once his own property had become collateral damage...

That assumption no longer applied.

Besides, appearances mattered.

The military had created the monster.

A S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant had helped stop it.

Compared to General Ross, S.H.I.E.L.D. came out looking like the heroes.

"What I really want to know," Fury continued, "is how you convinced Ross to hand over the Abomination’s body."

Knowing Ross, that should have been impossible.

"I promised him S.H.I.E.L.D. would help keep the incident quiet."

Fury’s expression darkened immediately.

"And why would you promise something like that?"

Evenson looked genuinely puzzled.

"Weren’t you planning to do exactly that?"

He leaned forward.

"What good comes from telling the public?"

"That the military used taxpayer money to create two monsters..."

"...which then rampaged through New York and slaughtered civilians?"

He shook his head.

"That’s more than a political scandal."

"It destroys public faith in the government."

"Military leaders would resign."

"Senior officials would resign."

"Maybe even the President."

Fury couldn’t deny it.

Imagine if the military accidentally detonated a tactical nuclear weapon inside an American city.

The public reaction would be catastrophic.

The government, the military, and every federal agency would unite to suppress the fallout.

Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to expose the truth, someone higher up would almost certainly stop them. The World Security Council valued stability far more than transparency.

Fury sighed.

"That’s still not what I meant."

"I wanted to ask..."

"What he means," another voice interrupted, "is what gave you the authority to make that promise."

The office door opened.

A man in his fifties walked inside without bothering to knock.

His blond hair was streaked with gray, and his expensive tan suit carried the quiet confidence of someone accustomed to power.

Seeing him stroll into the Director’s office unannounced was enough for Evenson to identify him.

The newcomer smiled.

"Alexander Pierce."

"Secretary of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Fury immediately stood.

"What brings you here?"

Pierce shrugged.

"Half of New York turned into a war zone."

"You really think I could stay away?"

He turned toward Evenson.

"Mr. Evenson Richter."

"Our consultant."

"I’ve heard quite a bit about you."

Even when Evenson’s file had been locked behind Level Ten clearance, someone in Pierce’s position could have requested access if he’d wanted.

He simply hadn’t.

Once Evenson officially joined S.H.I.E.L.D. as a consultant, however, learning about him became... surprisingly convenient.

Pierce had been curious to meet, in person, the mysterious warlock whose existence had inadvertently exposed Hydra’s presence.

Evenson returned the smile calmly.

"The honor is mine, Secretary."

Facing Hydra’s true leader face-to-face, he betrayed not the slightest hint of unease.

"To be honest," Pierce continued pleasantly, "I should thank you."

"I just finished speaking with the World Security Council."

"They’re extremely pleased with how quickly S.H.I.E.L.D. responded to yesterday’s crisis."

In Pierce’s report, Evenson’s personal vendetta over his destroyed car had become a carefully prepared S.H.I.E.L.D. contingency plan.

According to the official narrative, S.H.I.E.L.D. had monitored the Hulk from the moment he entered the country and had already assembled a specialized response team. The agency simply chose not to intervene while the military appeared to have the situation under control.

When the unexpected appearance of the Abomination caused the operation to spiral out of control, S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately activated its emergency response and deployed its elite consultant before the disaster could escalate even further.

Compared to the military, which had created the problem, the overwhelmed police, and a government still arguing over responsibility, S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared remarkably competent.

The Council had been impressed.

So impressed, in fact, that when Pierce subtly suggested increasing the agency’s budget...

The request had been approved on the spot.

Evenson stared in disbelief.

This man could probably convince people the sky was green if he had five uninterrupted minutes.

Congratulations, Hydra. Looks like the end-of-year bonuses just got funded.

He had expected a reprimand.

Instead, Pierce had somehow transformed his revenge-driven rampage into a shining example of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s professionalism, complete with extra funding.

Fury, meanwhile, wasn’t remotely surprised.

His former superior had spent decades navigating politicians and diplomats.

Selling impossible stories was practically a hobby.

"However..."

Pierce’s smile faded.

"The Council also expects S.H.I.E.L.D. to remember its responsibilities."

The meaning was unmistakable.

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s job was to keep the public from learning truths they weren’t prepared to handle.

On this matter...

The agency was expected to remain silent.

Fury answered without hesitation.

"You can assure the Council we’ll fulfill our responsibilities."

As Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., his duty wasn’t to expose every truth.

Sometimes...

Protecting the world meant ensuring only a handful of people ever learned it.

Revealing everything would destroy public trust in the government overnight.

Once that happened, order itself could collapse.

Crime would explode.

Panic would spread.

Far more people might die in the resulting chaos than had fallen during the Abomination’s rampage.

It wasn’t fair to the victims.

But governments existed for the living.

Pierce nodded.

"Good."

"Now, back to the original question."

He faced Evenson once more.

"Mr. Richter."

"What authority did you have to negotiate with General Ross on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Why were you qualified to promise the agency would cover up the incident?"

Whether S.H.I.E.L.D. intended to bury the truth was one issue.

Whether Evenson had the authority to promise that on the agency’s behalf was another.

"I didn’t have a choice," Evenson answered calmly.

"If I hadn’t offered that bargain, Ross never would have surrendered the Abomination’s body."

The military had suffered devastating losses.

But it hadn’t been annihilated.

Its troops were already deployed throughout the city and would inevitably reach the battlefield before S.H.I.E.L.D.

Without leverage...

The corpse would have gone straight back to military laboratories.

Fury folded his arms.

"You really believe Ross would create another Abomination?"

"I do."

Evenson’s answer came instantly.

"The first disaster gave him the Hulk."

"He learned nothing."

"The second gave him the Abomination."

"So why wouldn’t he try for a third?"

He sighed.

"I don’t have enough cars to keep paying for his experiments."

Pierce spoke next.

"And why are you so certain he’ll fail?"

"What if he eventually succeeds?"

"What if he creates a true super soldier?"

After witnessing the Abomination’s strength, the thought naturally appealed to him.

Hydra wanted obedient super soldiers.

Not uncontrollable monsters.

If the Abomination’s remains were now in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s possession...

They were effectively in Hydra’s hands.

It was an opportunity too valuable to ignore.

Evenson considered the question.

"I don’t know every detail behind the Abomination’s creation."

"But I’m certain it has something to do with the Hulk."

"The difference is..."

"He was born incomplete."

"Incomplete... spiritually."

The word spiritually earned matching expressions from Fury and Pierce.

Neither found it particularly scientific.

Then again...

A genuine warlock was sitting across from them.

Perhaps souls really did exist.

"The Abomination’s soul wasn’t whole," Evenson continued.

"The part responsible for self-control had been cleanly removed."

"That’s why he couldn’t restrain himself."

"His madness wasn’t just psychological."

"It was structural."

"And because body and soul influence one another..."

"I’d wager the regions of his brain governing restraint were physically underdeveloped as well."

He wasn’t exaggerating much.

After being saturated with both Hulk blood and fel energy, the Abomination’s brain had effectively become soup.

"You’re certain someone removed that piece deliberately?" Fury asked quietly.

"I’m certain."

"I can see souls."

"The missing section wasn’t eroded."

"It was cut away."

"The edges were far too clean."

He paused.

"That said, body and soul affect each other."

"So I can’t say which came first."

"Whether damage to the soul reshaped the body..."

"...or damage to the body scarred the soul."

"Deliberately..." Fury murmured.

A thought clearly crossed his mind.

Then he looked up.

"That’s enough."

"You can go."

"Secretary Pierce and I have something to discuss."

Evenson reached the door.

"One more thing," Fury called after him.

"How bad is your car?"

Evenson’s face immediately darkened.

"Totaled."

"You didn’t make Ross pay for it?"

Fury found that hard to believe.

If Evenson had time to negotiate over the Abomination’s corpse, surely he’d found time to demand compensation.

"I did."

"He claimed he didn’t have the money."

"Said the proper department would handle compensation later."

Evenson rolled his eyes.

"I suspect that’ll happen sometime before the heat death of the universe."

He looked back hopefully.

"So..."

"Could S.H.I.E.L.D. classify my car as operational losses and reimburse me?"

Fury didn’t even hesitate.

"Get out."

...

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