Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

It had happened once before.

Long ago, the night elves’ reckless abuse of the Well of Eternity had sent its arcane energies rippling into the Great Dark Beyond.

The signal had reached the Twisting Nether.

And the Burning Legion had found Azeroth.

The Tesseract posed the same danger.

If Loki activated the Space Stone freely on Earth’s surface, its energy would become a beacon visible across the stars. Every empire, conqueror, pirate, and opportunistic civilization with the means to reach it would converge on Earth.

Humanity couldn’t even leave its own solar system.

Caught in a war between interstellar powers, the planet wouldn’t stand a chance.

Which was exactly why Earth needed more strength.

More heroes.

More people capable of standing against what was coming.

The explanation made enough sense that even Nick Fury couldn’t immediately refute it.

Most of it, at least, aligned with the facts.

Besides...

He still couldn’t identify any obvious personal gain Evenson had achieved.

Certainly, Captain America and Peggy Carter now owed him an enormous debt.

But Fury knew both of them too well.

Neither Steve Rogers nor Peggy Carter would ever compromise their principles because of personal gratitude.

Steve was almost painfully righteous.

Fury routinely kept classified information from him for exactly that reason.

Peggy was different.

Less idealistic.

Far more pragmatic.

But in matters of duty, she was just as unwavering.

Fury had known her most of his life.

If she believed Evenson was wrong, she would oppose him without hesitation.

Which left one question.

"Why didn’t you report any of this beforehand?"

Fury folded his arms.

"You had justification."

"But this was a decision of enormous importance."

"Did it really never occur to you to inform your Director?"

"I learned from you."

Evenson answered without missing a beat.

"Compartmentalization."

"No one leaks the entire truth if no one possesses the entire truth."

Fury’s expression darkened.

"...Except me."

Usually, he was the one dividing information among everyone else.

It was an unfamiliar feeling to discover someone had compartmentalized him.

"Agent Carter’s identity is uniquely sensitive."

Evenson became serious.

"The ritual itself carried enormous risk."

"A single mistake could have ruined everything."

He tapped his own chest.

"And frankly..."

"I’d also prefer to stay alive."

"So I kept a few cards to myself."

Fury stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"You don’t seem to trust us very much."

"Trust?"

Evenson looked genuinely puzzled.

"When has you trusted anyone completely?"

His eyes drifted toward the hallway.

"I passed Bruce Banner on the way here."

"The newest member of the Avengers Initiative?"

"I somehow doubt you informed the World Security Council about that."

"No."

Fury didn’t hesitate.

"Dr. Banner is the world’s foremost authority on gamma radiation."

"I recruited him solely to locate the Tesseract."

"Nothing more."

"Really?"

Evenson smiled.

"I visited Agent Carter for exactly one reason."

"To pay my respects to a legendary hero."

"Then I saw an elderly woman spending the end of her life alone."

"I felt sorry for her."

"I got carried away."

"And somehow forgot all about filing paperwork."

"Pay your respects?"

Peggy raised an eyebrow.

"I was in poor health."

"I wasn’t dead."

"Don’t you think that’s a rather unfortunate choice of words?"

Evenson considered it.

"...Commemorate?"

Peggy sighed.

"Actually..."

"The first version was better."

"I’m fairly certain you’re doing this on purpose."

Fury almost laughed.

He understood what Evenson was really saying.

Trust had limits.

When truly important matters were involved, both of them relied primarily on themselves.

"In a strange way..."

Fury admitted,

"...we’re rather alike."

"You’ve got the wrong idea."

Evenson immediately shook his head.

"I share information."

"I’m actually a nice guy."

Fury wasn’t entirely sure why that statement sounded so suspicious.

Evenson leaned back.

"The truth is..."

"I didn’t approach Agent Carter on a whim."

"I planned this from the beginning."

The room fell silent.

Even Peggy looked surprised.

"I’ve never met the person who passed this magic on to me."

Evenson continued calmly.

"He placed a spell on me."

"When I turned fourteen..."

"...memories suddenly appeared in my mind."

"Most were magical knowledge."

"The rest were fragments of information he possessed."

"Among them..."

"...was everything he knew about Agent Carter."

Technically...

Every word was true.

Just not in the way anyone else imagined.

Neither Fury nor Peggy interrupted.

They simply listened.

"I’m not the first person he found with the talent to learn this magic."

"He discovered someone suitable long before I was born."

Evenson looked toward Peggy.

"That person..."

"...was you."

"Which is why I could perform your ascension."

"You possessed the necessary aptitude from the very beginning."

Both Fury and Peggy stared.

"Then why choose you instead?"

Fury frowned.

"You’ve told me before that magical aptitude is incredibly rare."

"If he found Agent Carter decades earlier..."

"...why wait all those years before choosing you?"

Peggy frowned as well.

"I don’t remember anyone offering to teach me magic."

"I was there first."

"So why was I passed over?"

Evenson hesitated.

His expression became strangely awkward.

"...Because..."

"...Agent Carter was a woman."

The room fell silent.

Fury blinked.

"I’m sorry?"

"What does that have to do with magical talent?"

"You’ve never mentioned any difference."

"There isn’t one."

Evenson’s answer became even more uncomfortable.

"It’s just..."

"When he found Agent Carter..."

"...it was 1946."

"He was forty years old."

"And..."

"...he was from the American South."

Fury still looked confused.

Peggy understood instantly.

She slammed both palms onto the desk.

"Those damned chauvinists!"

The outburst echoed through the office.

Realizing she’d perhaps displayed slightly less dignity than intended, Peggy sat back down with a sharp exhale.

"I know exactly what that mindset looks like."

"In those days..."

"Far too many people believed a woman’s place was serving coffee, answering telephones, and organizing lunch meetings."

She knew that prejudice intimately.

She had lived through it.

She had repeatedly been denied field assignments.

Kept away from classified operations.

Ignored in meetings despite being the most capable person in the room.

She had spent years proving she belonged.

Only then had people finally begun taking her seriously.

Peggy folded her arms.

A determined spark lit her emerald eyes.

"I’ve made up my mind."

"When this crisis is over..."

"I’m establishing a Women’s Agent Association within S.H.I.E.L.D."

"No woman working for this organization will ever be treated unfairly again."

Nick Fury froze.

Then...

Very slowly...

He turned toward Evenson.

His single eye conveyed only one thought.

Look what you’ve started.

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