"Look at Tony Stark’s holographic workstation," Evenson muttered. "A couple of dramatic hand gestures and he gets his work done while looking impossibly cool. You’d think the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. could keep up."
"I’ll consider the upgrade," Fury replied dryly. Whether he meant it or not was anyone’s guess. "Now, can we focus on the matter at hand?"
"No problem."
Evenson adopted the expression of a scholar deep in research, studying the photographs while idly tapping at his tablet. After a minute or two, he snapped his fingers.
"Ah. Found something."
Fury and May immediately leaned over to look.
The tablet displayed page after page of war hammers accompanied by dense blocks of text written in an unfamiliar script.
Neither of them could make heads or tails of it.
"It’s an internal language," Evenson said lazily as they practically buried their faces in the screen. "You won’t understand it. There are probably fewer than ten people in the world who can read it."
Fury studied the writing a little longer before giving up.
It wasn’t Russian.
Or Latin.
Or Sanskrit.
Or anything else S.H.I.E.L.D.’s databases had prepared him for.
"Then your tradition is in danger," he said thoughtfully. "A language with fewer than ten speakers won’t survive much longer."
He genuinely sounded disappointed.
"Maybe you should teach it to us. Preserve a piece of human culture."
A beat later, he added,
"...It would also make an excellent encryption system."
Evenson almost laughed.
Azerothian Common disappearing?
That depended entirely on whether the Burning Legion succeeded in destroying Azeroth.
"We’ll discuss that another time."
He returned his attention to the tablet.
"My records aren’t particularly organized."
"I’ll have to compare a few possibilities."
In reality, he was simply scrolling through a catalog of famous war hammers from Azeroth.
He needed to put on a convincing show before revealing the answer.
"First."
He spoke without changing expression.
"The Hammer of Khaz’goroth."
"It’s said to be one of the tools the Titans used when shaping worlds."
"’Said’?" Fury repeated.
He had never been fond of creation myths.
"They’re more than myths."
Evenson looked him straight in the eye.
"The Titans are unimaginably powerful cosmic beings."
"They used the Hammer of Khaz’goroth to shape planetary crusts and mantles."
He continued calmly.
"Most worlds in the universe form naturally."
"But some..."
"...are deliberately created."
"...Or remade."
Fury fell silent.
His mind wasn’t dwelling on the cosmological implications.
It was doing what it always did.
Calculating value.
If an artifact capable of shaping worlds truly existed...
Its strategic importance would dwarf almost anything humanity had ever encountered.
Perhaps even surpass the most dangerous objects already locked away in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s vaults.
His voice grew noticeably tighter.
"Can you confirm it?"
"I can."
Fury’s heart skipped a beat.
Without another word, he turned toward his desk.
He was already reaching for the secure communications line.
Coulson needed new orders.
Immediately.
Maximum security.
No matter the cost, that hammer had to be transported safely into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.
"I can confirm..."
Evenson continued.
"...that it isn’t."
Fury froze.
Completely.
It was as though someone had pressed the pause button on reality.
Several emotions crossed his face in rapid succession.
Confusion.
Disbelief.
Relief.
Pure irritation.
Finally, he managed to speak.
"...What did you just say?"
He had only just recovered from the skipped heartbeat.
Now his heart seemed determined to make up for lost time.
"It was just a comparison."
Evenson shrugged innocently.
"You got excited all by yourself."
How was that my fault?
Fury stared at him.
He was increasingly convinced the young warlock had done it on purpose.
This had to be revenge for questioning Claire’s motives.
Though...
Technically...
She wasn’t even his girlfriend yet.
After several deep breaths, Fury regained his composure.
"...Why isn’t it the Hammer of Khaz’goroth?"
"Because the real artifact possesses immeasurable power."
Evenson answered seriously.
"If someone dropped it from orbit..."
"...the impact alone would release enough energy to crystallize at least half of the United States."
He met Fury’s eye.
"Stone."
"Soil."
"Metal."
"Living creatures."
"Everything caught in the blast would be transformed into golden crystal."
"So..."
"You should be grateful that isn’t what landed in New Mexico."
Fury rubbed his bald head.
"...Let’s move on."
He decided not to spend another second worrying about a weapon that, thankfully, wasn’t involved.
"Second."
Evenson scrolled again.
"Sulfuras."
"The legendary weapon wielded by Ragnaros, the Firelord."
"It was said that a single blow from it could create an active volcano."
Fury didn’t fall for the bait this time.
"...Is it?"
"No."
"Sulfuras is a massive two-handed spiked war hammer."
"And at its normal size..."
"...it would be about as tall as this building."
"Next."
"Doomhammer."
Evenson nodded thoughtfully.
"The dimensions are closer."
"And the silhouette isn’t entirely different."
"But that’s not it either."
"The head should be carved from black stone."
"And it bears the emblem of the Black Wolf."
He stopped scrolling.
Closed the tablet.
The prop had served its purpose.
Fury and May both straightened.
Neither spoke.
They simply waited.
Evenson slipped the tablet back into his dimensional storage.
"That leaves only one remaining possibility."
His voice became noticeably calmer.
"The weapon of the Norse God of Thunder."
He looked from Fury...
...to the image on the screen.
"Mjölnir."
"Thor’s hammer."
...
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