Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

"Seriously?"

Evenson shook his head as he secured Melinda to the chair.

Tony Stark watched a few minutes of combat footage, put on a suit of armor, analyzed some strange energy signature, and declared he’d cracked the secret to magic?

The confidence was almost admirable.

"Science and magic both pursue truth," Evenson said while tightening the last restraint. "Which means they both demand one thing above all else."

He looked down at the powerless S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

"Evidence."

Melinda had been hit with a Curse of Weakness. Her muscles had gone so limp that she couldn’t even remain seated without sliding off the chair.

"You don’t field-test experimental technology in a live operation."

She slowly rolled her eyes toward him.

"...Mental energy can change frequencies?"

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

"A radio changes channels. Why wouldn’t I?"

He snapped his fingers.

Sparks burst from the bracelet fastened around Melinda’s left wrist.

The device crackled violently before smoke curled from its casing.

"There it is."

He leaned over, unclasped the scorched bracelet, and held it up in front of her.

"So that’s your anti-warlock gadget."

With another flick of his hand, he tossed it onto the floor and crushed it beneath his heel.

"It overloaded the moment I increased my output."

Melinda turned her head away.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Tony Stark’s legendary reputation had just lost a fresh coat of paint.

"What I don’t understand," Evenson continued, "is why anyone thought these were a good idea."

He frowned.

"I don’t actually know many spells that can disable people without hurting them."

His gaze settled on her.

"If that bracelet had really worked..."

He let the implication hang for a moment.

"...then you’d have forced me to use the dangerous spells instead."

"You’ve seen what those can do."

Melinda sighed.

"I have."

She tried to shift in the chair but lacked even the strength for that.

"If you fought seriously... no one who came here today would survive."

"Not even Captain America."

"But missions don’t work that way."

Her voice remained steady despite the curse weighing down every limb.

"You don’t cancel them because the odds are terrible."

"You don’t quit because you might die."

Evenson couldn’t argue with that.

She continued.

"Our actual plan wasn’t for me."

"When your magic failed, Captain America was supposed to take advantage of the opening and subdue you."

She gave a tired smile.

"That part obviously didn’t happen."

"A solid plan."

Evenson nodded with exaggerated approval.

"Then why didn’t you attack while I was standing there looking confused? I was genuinely caught off guard for a second."

"Because I wasn’t the one meant to execute the plan."

"Only Captain America had any realistic chance of restraining you."

She paused.

"Unfortunately..."

"...Tyler kept him occupied."

Evenson chuckled.

"He did."

Then his expression became more thoughtful.

"I’ll tell you something honestly."

"If Steve had been standing where you were..."

"...I never would’ve walked that close."

"And I definitely wouldn’t have frozen in front of him after one spell failed."

Melinda pursed her lips.

"Well... that’s insulting."

He wasn’t even trying to hide it.

As far as Evenson was concerned, she simply wasn’t dangerous enough to warrant that level of caution.

Even so, she tried one last time.

"Please stop."

Her voice softened.

"Peggy Carter isn’t just one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders."

"She knows too many secrets."

A bitter smile crossed her face.

"If this rescue fails..."

"...Director Fury may authorize sterilization."

Evenson understood immediately.

Total containment.

If necessary, destroy everything and everyone connected to the operation.

"So he’d really go that far?"

"For those secrets?"

"He would."

Melinda answered without hesitation.

At least, that was what she wanted Evenson to believe.

Even she wasn’t completely certain.

Captain America was part of the operation.

Would Fury truly sacrifice Steve Rogers if it came to that?

She didn’t know.

But uncertainty had no place at the negotiating table.

"You understand how valuable those secrets are," she continued.

"Otherwise you never would’ve taken such an enormous risk to interrogate Peggy Carter."

"Interrogate?"

Evenson laughed.

"If I were interrogating her..."

"...she wouldn’t still be alive."

Melinda stared at him.

Then what exactly had he done to the elderly woman?

Given her a very aggressive chiropractic adjustment?

Evenson’s smile turned cold.

"I’ve always preferred questioning the dead."

"The body breaks too easily."

"The soul can endure far more."

"And souls..."

"...are remarkably honest."

Melinda couldn’t tell whether he was joking.

Knowing Evenson, either answer was equally possible.

"Then what are you doing to her?"

He turned toward Peggy.

"She’s undergoing a transformation."

"It’s almost finished."

The battle inside her soul was already decided.

The Doomguard’s spirit had lost.

Only the final fusion remained.

"Transformation into... what?"

Before Evenson could answer—

CRASH!

The doors burst inward.

A brightly colored figure charged into the room without saying a word.

Captain America.

His shield spun through the air like a circular saw aimed straight at Evenson’s head.

Evenson barely glanced at it.

The invisible barrier surrounding him knocked the shield harmlessly away.

Steve caught it on the rebound without losing momentum.

Sliding across the floor, he planted himself directly between Evenson and Peggy.

For one absurd moment, Evenson found himself thinking:

If Hubs were here, he’d probably have fetched that shield like a Frisbee.

"Tyler, you useless idiot!" Evenson shouted.

The Demon Guard chasing Captain America through the doorway actually flinched.

To be fair, Tyler looked rough.

His armor was blackened from the grenade blast. Though he hadn’t been seriously injured, he had clearly been through a fight.

Captain America should never have escaped him.

But Steve Rogers had improvised.

While dodging Tyler’s relentless assault, he’d spotted an unconscious S.H.I.E.L.D. operative lying nearby, one who had been knocked out earlier by Susanoo’s shockwave.

Rolling across the ground, Steve grabbed a fragmentation grenade from the fallen agent’s gear.

Then he charged.

At the last instant, he hurled the grenade at Tyler and slammed his shield forward.

The explosion blasted them apart, giving Steve just enough distance to break through before Tyler could recover and intercept him again.

"Long time no see, Captain," Evenson greeted him almost cheerfully.

Steve’s answer came in the universal language of combat.

He drove forward, shield first.

"Captain! The bracelet...!"

Melinda tried to warn him.

"Curse of Weakness."

Evenson’s voice was calm.

Steve’s body lurched.

He crashed to one knee.

"...Impossible."

Unlike an ordinary human, the Super Soldier Serum kept him from collapsing completely.

Even so, the curse settled over him like chains.

His muscles refused to obey.

"No..."

He gritted his teeth and forced himself upward.

"This... isn’t possible..."

With tremendous effort, he managed to lift his head.

Instead of looking at Evenson, however, he saw Melinda.

Her eyes were wide.

Her mouth hung open.

She wasn’t staring at him.

She was staring behind him.

A sudden gust swept through the room.

Then came the sharp crack of shattering chains.

Before Steve could react, an enormous hand seized him by the throat and lifted him effortlessly into the air.

He had only enough time to glimpse a pair of colossal black wings unfurling behind him before one wing slammed into his body with overwhelming force.

The impact hurled Captain America across the room like a discarded rag doll.

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