Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

What happened when three instincts became the only things left inside a mind?

Unquenchable rage.

Unending hunger.

An urge that could never be satisfied.

Combined, they created something that was no longer truly human.

The result was a monster locked in a permanent berserker state, incapable of reason, communication, or restraint.

Even Evenson would have been surprised by the outcome.

He had expected the trace amounts of fel energy inside Abomination to damage his mind, but he had never imagined that exposure to the Hulk’s blood would catalyze the corruption so completely, trapping the creature in an eternal state of fury.

"This was Umbrella’s insurance policy."

Nick Fury’s expression darkened.

"They wanted anyone who stole their technology to create an uncontrollable monster."

The evidence was overwhelming.

Someone had deliberately tampered with Abomination’s brain.

General Ross clearly hadn’t intended to create an insane beast. The most likely explanation was that he’d managed to reverse-engineer part of Umbrella’s enhancement technology and used it on Emil Blonsky. But Umbrella had anticipated exactly that possibility and built safeguards directly into their biotechnology.

The result had been inevitable.

Abomination could never have remained under anyone’s control.

"And an exceptionally violent one," Alexander Pierce added.

"It’s an elegant deterrent."

"The thief loses everything."

"The technology can’t be replicated."

"And the weapon ultimately destroys its creator along with everyone nearby."

He frowned.

"What I still can’t understand is how Umbrella managed to engineer something this precise."

It was one thing for Umbrella to sabotage enhancements they had personally administered.

But Abomination wasn’t one of their creations.

Ross had merely incorporated fragments of stolen research into his own serum, yet Umbrella’s hidden failsafe had activated anyway.

That level of biological engineering bordered on the impossible.

The office telephone rang.

Fury picked it up.

"Nick Fury."

"...Go ahead."

"...I see."

"Understood."

He replaced the receiver.

"Our source inside the military finally reported in."

Pierce looked over.

"Ross never fully deciphered Umbrella’s technology."

"He did something much more reckless."

"He extracted biological material from Umbrella’s enhanced subjects and injected it directly into Blonsky while simultaneously administering his own unfinished super soldier serum."

Pierce’s eyes widened.

"...His brain dissolved too?"

It wasn’t the ethics that shocked him.

It was the recklessness.

Combining two experimental enhancement methods without understanding either one was little different from gambling with a loaded weapon.

Fury nodded grimly.

"Which means Evenson was right to insist that Abomination’s body be transferred to S.H.I.E.L.D."

Ross’s obsession with creating super soldiers had surpassed even Fury’s expectations.

If the general regained possession of the corpse, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t try to create another Abomination.

Pierce thought for a moment.

"Then destroy it."

Times had changed.

When Abomination first appeared, Pierce had coveted that level of raw power.

Now it represented nothing but a failed experiment.

He had no interest in worthless assets.

"And every enhanced corpse currently in our possession," Fury added.

"They may be studied."

"No human testing."

Pierce nodded.

"I agree."

For the moment.

He still coveted Umbrella’s biotechnology, but after today’s findings, reverse-engineering it clearly wasn’t happening anytime soon.

Besides...

Hydra already possessed its own enhanced operative.

Only one, admittedly, but an effective one.

And if all else failed...

Wilster had excellent connections inside Umbrella.

Buying finished products was always an option.

Pierce stood.

"I should get back."

"The Security Council has enough political disasters waiting for me."

Fury offered a brief nod.

"Until next time."

The office door closed behind him.

Almost immediately, the building’s AI announced another visitor.

"Agent Melinda May requests permission to enter."

This was the Director’s office.

Very few people could simply walk in the way Pierce had.

Fury rubbed his temple.

"Send her in."

Even directors deserved a few minutes of peace.

A moment later, Melinda May entered.

She had actually been waiting outside for quite some time. Interrupting a private meeting between the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and a World Security Council minister had seemed... unwise.

Fortunately, what she needed to report wasn’t particularly urgent.

"What is it, Agent May?"

"It’s about Evenson."

Fury blinked.

He just left this morning.

Now what?

"He requested an advance on one year’s salary before he left."

"...And?"

"I approved it."

Fury stared.

"Evenson has been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for less than a month."

He sighed.

"Our budget isn’t limitless."

"At this rate, next time he’ll ask for fifty years up front."

May looked away, unsuccessfully suppressing a smile.

"He was... remarkably persuasive."

"He was one step away from begging."

Remembering the scene in her office still felt surreal.

She’d seen countless hardened agents over the years.

Watching a sorcerer dramatically plead for an advance on his paycheck had been a first.

"What does he even need two hundred thousand dollars for?"

"According to him..."

"...he’s repairing his car."

Fury fell silent.

Then another thought occurred to him.

Actually...

Two hundred thousand dollars might not be nearly enough.

Considering the rarity of Evenson’s antique vehicle and the condition it was in, that amount would barely cover restoring the bodywork.

The engine alone would almost certainly require custom manufacturing.

Then there were the wheels.

The transmission.

The lights.

Every irreplaceable component.

By the time the estimate was finished, S.H.I.E.L.D. might as well hand him an employment contract that lasted until retirement.

"He said he had his own methods."

May produced a procurement report.

"On the way home, he purchased a considerable amount of equipment."

"What kind of equipment?"

Fury’s curiosity was piqued.

His own methods...

Magic?

May glanced down at the list.

"A forge hammer."

"An anvil."

"Various wrenches."

"A furnace."

"A bellows."

She continued.

"Large quantities of iron."

"Copper."

"Tin."

"A small amount of silver."

"And..."

She looked up.

"...an entire truckload of high-grade coal."

Fury blinked.

Once.

Twice.

"...Is he repairing a car..."

"...or opening a blacksmith’s workshop?"

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