Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"So... what did you do with the bodies?"

After listening to Tyler’s animated retelling of the night’s events, Evenson finally asked the question that actually mattered.

"They’re gone." Tyler jerked his thumb toward the hulking Voidwalker standing silently nearby. "Doom ate them."

Evenson nodded once. "And the scene?"

Tyler grinned.

"Doom ate that too. Other than a crater about fifteen feet deep, there’s nothing left to find."

Evenson let out a long, relieved breath.

Good.

Then it was time to go home and sleep.

It was already three-thirty in the morning. After everything that had happened, the only thing he wanted was a bed.

Sure, two mages from the Hidden Order had disappeared. They certainly weren’t going to let that slide.

So what?

How exactly would anyone connect their disappearance to him?

Tyler had handled the cleanup perfectly. Every trace, from the bodies to the evidence scattered around the battlefield, had been fed to the Voidwalker. Given enough time inside that abyssal stomach, everything would dissolve into pure Shadow energy.

There wasn’t a better way to erase evidence.

Even if Evenson had been there himself, he would have done exactly the same thing.

Eventually the Hidden Order would notice that two members never came back from dinner.

As for what happened afterward?

Were they murdered?

Did they quit in disgust over terrible pay and vanish into civilian life?

Did they fall hopelessly in love with each other and run off together?

There wouldn’t be a single clue pointing in any direction.

Satisfied that nothing could realistically be traced back to him, Evenson collapsed onto his bed and was asleep within seconds.

The next morning...

Nick Fury sat behind his desk, studying the young warlock sprawled across the office sofa.

Dark circles hung beneath Evenson’s eyes like bruises.

"You look awful."

Evenson slowly turned his head and stared at him.

I didn’t get to sleep until four in the morning.

Then this bald menace calls me at seven, drags me out of bed, and makes me drive all the way here.

Of course I look awful.

Fury’s lips curled into a smug grin.

"Trying to keep up with three women at once? That’ll do it."

Evenson’s eye twitched.

Keep up with your...

For one glorious second he imagined flipping Fury’s desk.

I didn’t sleep with anybody.

Not two.

Not three.

...Though the idea certainly had its appeal.

Instead, he simply sighed.

There was no point arguing.

Anyone who saw him checking into a motel with three gorgeous women wasn’t going to believe they’d spent the night discussing philosophy.

Besides, that story was a lot easier than explaining who those women actually were.

Fury wasn’t finished.

"You already borrowed a year’s salary in advance. Don’t spend all that extra money trying to prove you’re twenty forever." He smirked. "You’ll burn yourself out."

Evenson rolled his eyes.

"Being young is the advantage."

He looked Fury up and down.

"Isn’t that right... old man?"

That landed.

The veins on Fury’s scalp practically bulged.

Old man?

He wasn’t even old!

Maybe a little weathered.

Maybe permanently sleep-deprived.

But old?

"I suddenly feel like revisiting that advance salary agreement," Fury said through clenched teeth.

Evenson immediately stood up.

"Anyway... I’m guessing you didn’t summon me here for stand-up comedy."

He rubbed his tired eyes.

"Let’s get to the real reason."

Mentioning the salary was dangerous territory.

Best to change the subject before Fury actually reconsidered.

Fury snorted but let it go.

"You remember you technically have another job?"

Evenson frowned.

"...Do I?"

Between demon hunting, cultists, secret societies, and almost dying every other week, his schedule had become... crowded.

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Tony Stark’s medical consultant."

"Oh!"

Evenson snapped his fingers.

"Right. The job that pays five figures."

Fury stared at him.

"Money is literally the first thing you remembered."

"What can I say? Bills are persuasive."

Fury sighed.

"I think it’s time you actually started."

Evenson’s expression became serious.

"...Tony’s dying already?"

When he’d accepted the position, he’d made one thing clear.

He would only intervene with his own methods if Tony reached the point where conventional medicine could no longer keep him alive.

Was that point already here?

It felt too soon.

"Not yet," Fury answered. "But he’s running out of time."

He folded his hands together.

"I want you nearby before things reach that stage. If something unexpected happens, you’ll already be in position."

That made sense.

Tony wasn’t on death’s doorstep yet.

But the palladium poisoning was getting worse.

If he suddenly crashed, Fury wanted someone capable of keeping him alive until a permanent solution appeared.

Evenson nodded.

Then he tilted his head toward the woman seated across from him.

"And what about her?"

Across the room sat one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most valuable agents.

Natasha Romanoff.

Sarah would probably faint from excitement if she knew Evenson was casually sitting in the same room as the legendary Black Widow.

Fury answered first.

"Agent Romanoff will also be joining Stark Industries."

"But under a different identity."

Natasha offered Evenson a polite smile and a small wave.

"I may need your cooperation."

"Cooperation how?" Evenson asked. "The agreement was that I’d watch over Tony’s health. Nobody mentioned helping with spy games."

"You don’t actually have to do anything," Natasha said.

"Just don’t react when you see me."

She smiled faintly.

"I’ll be undercover. Treat me like we’ve never met. If Tony suspects I’m connected to S.H.I.E.L.D., my assignment becomes much more difficult."

"That’s easy enough."

Evenson shrugged.

"We barely know each other anyway."

Now he understood.

They weren’t asking him to become part of an espionage operation.

They were worried that someone without intelligence training might instinctively greet Natasha, accidentally exposing her cover in front of one of the smartest men on the planet.

It was a perfectly reasonable concern.

"You’ll head to Stark first," Fury explained. "Natasha will arrive sometime afterward under her cover identity. By then, I expect you to remember everything we discussed."

"I will."

"So... when do I leave?"

"Two days."

Evenson blinked.

"I thought you said this was urgent."

"It is."

Fury leaned back.

"But Stark’s in Washington for the next couple of days."

"There’s a congressional hearing."

He paused.

"It’s about Iron Man."

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