Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Nick Fury usually ran S.H.I.E.L.D. from the Helicarrier’s command center, but he also maintained a private office that served as the carrier’s captain’s quarters.

That was where he stood now.

Hands clasped behind his back.

Staring through the massive windows at the endless sky.

Building up just the right amount of righteous fury.

The door opened.

Fury spun around.

"You son of a...!"

His roar died halfway through.

The rest of the sentence caught in his throat.

His expression froze.

After several awkward seconds, his face cycled through anger, surprise, and embarrassment before settling on forced composure.

"...Agent Carter."

He straightened immediately.

"My sincerest apologies."

"I didn’t realize you were coming as well."

The dramatic reprimand he’d prepared for Evenson evaporated on the spot.

Giving a reckless subordinate a dressing-down was one thing.

Doing it in front of Peggy Carter was another entirely.

"Language, Nick."

Peggy’s tone sounded less like a superior officer and more like a mother correcting an unruly son.

"Especially in front of your elders."

"Yes, ma’am."

Fury accepted the scolding without the slightest resistance.

What else was he supposed to do?

Argue with one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders?

A sudden blur emerged from the corner of the room.

"Agent Carter!"

The newcomer nearly beamed.

"What an incredible honor."

Peggy turned toward the overly enthusiastic man.

Black suit.

Agent’s posture.

A noticeably retreating hairline.

"You are...?"

"Phil Coulson."

He immediately introduced himself.

"Level Seven Agent."

Originally, Coulson had come to report on the search for the Tesseract.

Now all thoughts of work had vanished.

Standing before him was Peggy Carter herself.

He was practically vibrating.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Peggy politely extended a hand.

Coulson grabbed it with both of his and shook it so enthusiastically that she briefly wondered if she had become a cocktail mixer.

"You and Captain America inspired an entire generation!"

"Thank you."

Peggy’s smile became slightly strained.

She couldn’t help noticing something.

Why was Steve’s name always coming first?

And...

Was he planning to let go of her hand anytime soon?

Beside them, Evenson nearly laughed.

Coulson clearly wasn’t here because he admired Peggy.

She just happened to be standing next to Captain America’s greatest fan.

"I’ve always admired Captain America..."

Coulson hurriedly added,

"...and you too."

The correction sounded suspiciously improvised.

"...Thank you."

Peggy’s smile stiffened another degree.

Wonderful.

I’m the bonus feature.

Steve is absolutely hearing about this later.

Perhaps obsessive fans really were their heroes’ greatest natural predators.

Completely oblivious to the danger he had just created for his idol, Coulson eagerly asked,

"May I get you something?"

"Coffee?"

"Tea?"

"Tea would be lovely."

"Right away!"

He disappeared almost instantly.

"I’ll have a cof..."

Fury called after him.

The office door closed before he finished.

Silence.

Fury stared at the shut door.

No year-end bonus for you.

He sighed.

"...Let’s discuss why we’re actually here."

This day had started badly and somehow continued getting worse.

His carefully prepared intimidation had failed.

Peggy had scolded him.

Now one of his most dependable agents had defected emotionally to Team Captain America.

If the Helicarrier exploded before sunset, he wouldn’t even be surprised.

"Fine."

Evenson dropped into a chair as though he owned the place.

"Then let’s start with why you decided to attack me instead of waiting."

Fury almost laughed.

"Attack you?"

He leaned forward.

"The fact I didn’t flatten your location with fighter jets is already proof of remarkable restraint."

"I think the only reason you didn’t..."

Evenson leaned back comfortably.

"...was because Agent Carter happened to be there."

Fury glanced toward Peggy.

"...That was certainly one factor."

Then his expression hardened again.

"But don’t you think what you did crossed the line?"

"The line?"

Evenson shrugged.

"Haven’t you spent months hoping someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. could obtain power comparable to mine?"

"You handed me an entire list of candidates."

"Wasn’t that the whole point?"

"It was."

Fury admitted it.

"But why Peggy Carter?"

I asked you to recruit an agent.

Not resurrect my former boss.

He wisely kept that particular thought to himself.

Instead he said,

"Agent Carter devoted her entire life to protecting this world."

"Didn’t she deserve a peaceful retirement instead of being dragged back into another war?"

Evenson smiled.

"She already gave her youth to the world."

"She grew old alone."

"I don’t think returning that youth is a cruelty."

"And besides..."

"The younger generation made a mess."

Peggy interrupted.

"So this old woman had to come back and clean it up."

Fury visibly winced.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had become infested with Hydra under his leadership.

Whether it was entirely his fault no longer mattered.

He was the Director.

Responsibility stopped with him.

Evenson immediately raised both hands.

"I didn’t say that."

Fury’s single eye had fixed on him with frightening intensity.

"I was going to say..."

"Steve’s back."

"So letting them finally have the life they were denied seemed worthwhile."

"Evenson."

Peggy shot him an exasperated look before turning back to Fury.

"I’ve been briefed on recent events during the flight."

Her voice became serious.

"You lost the Tesseract."

Fury’s face somehow darkened even further.

Steve had sacrificed everything retrieving it.

Peggy had spent over sixty years mourning him because of it.

And now...

The artifact had disappeared on his watch.

There wasn’t much defense to offer.

"When Howard recovered the Tesseract after the war..."

Peggy continued,

"...he reached one conclusion."

"Never conduct reckless research with it."

"We didn’t act recklessly."

Fury answered firmly.

"We had compelling reasons."

"We had no choice."

"I know."

Peggy nodded.

"Aliens have arrived."

She glanced around the room.

"In fact..."

"One of them is aboard this ship."

Evenson blinked.

"Sif?"

"You brought her here?"

Fury nodded.

"Yes."

"She’s Asgardian."

"The one who stole the Tesseract is also Asgardian."

"I believe her knowledge may prove useful."

Then he frowned.

"How did you know there was an alien aboard?"

Peggy slowly removed her sunglasses.

Green fel fire burned where ordinary eyes should have been.

"I saw her."

Even Nick Fury stared.

"...Evenson."

"What exactly did you do?"

Peggy answered before Evenson could.

"He helped me see more clearly."

"These eyes reveal the truth beneath appearances."

In more ways than one, she now stood firmly on Evenson’s side.

Fury remained silent for several moments.

Finally he sighed.

"...Well."

"At least I’m no longer the only person with unusual eyes."

Evenson muttered under his breath.

"Yours are damaged."

"Hers are upgraded."

"Not exactly the same thing."

"What was that?"

Fury cracked his knuckles.

"I didn’t quite catch it."

"Would you mind repeating yourself?"

"Gentlemen."

Peggy sighed.

"Can we focus on the Tesseract?"

The room quieted.

"I understand the pressure you’re under."

She looked directly at Fury.

"I don’t object to researching the Tesseract."

"But."

Her tone sharpened.

"You should have prepared properly."

"Instead..."

"You allowed an alien dictator to steal humanity’s greatest strategic asset."

"Do you understand what that means?"

Fury lowered his head.

"I’ve already activated our emergency response."

"I’m assembling Earth’s greatest scientists..."

"...and its greatest heroes."

"We’ll recover the Tesseract."

"Recover it?"

Evenson shook his head.

"I’m afraid you’ve misunderstood the real problem."

"We’ve already lost it."

"Completely."

Fury frowned.

"Has Loki already taken it off Earth?"

"If only."

Evenson sighed.

"I’d actually be grateful."

He slowly recited its many names.

"The Tesseract."

"The Space Stone."

"The Key to Worlds."

"When we kept it three kilometers underground, surrounded by shielding and containment systems..."

"...its energy signature barely escaped."

"As long as nobody activated it properly..."

"...the wider universe couldn’t easily detect it."

He looked directly at Fury.

"But Loki knows how to use it."

"And if he activates the Space Stone without any shielding..."

"...its energy will broadcast across multiple star systems."

He smiled grimly.

"It’ll stand out..."

"...about as much as your shiny bald head."

Fury’s eye twitched.

Evenson continued before the Director could respond.

"The universe isn’t filled with peaceful civilizations."

"Some are predators."

"They’ll smell that energy the way sharks smell blood."

Peggy’s heart tightened.

Unbidden, memories of the Burning Legion flashed through her mind.

Would they notice as well?

"So even if we recover the Tesseract..."

Evenson spread his hands helplessly.

"...Earth can never keep it again."

"We’ll have to send it somewhere far beyond this planet."

"Otherwise..."

"...those sharks will tear us apart."

Silence filled the office.

Then Evenson spoke one final time.

"That’s why I accelerated Peggy’s ascension."

His gaze swept across everyone in the room.

"Because the world..."

"...is about to need a lot more heroes."

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