Evenson stared mournfully at the black ash scattered across the pavement.
His right hand.
His faithful companion through countless lonely nights.
Gone without even leaving a proper corpse.
A tragic end.
After giving the departed limb one final moment of silence, he looked at Thor.
"It was a necessary price."
He lifted the charred stump of his forearm.
"The power I used exceeded anything my body could safely handle. Strength like that always demands payment."
The others nodded.
After witnessing him erase nearly the entire Chitauri invasion with a single spell...
Losing one hand honestly seemed surprisingly cheap.
Some privately suspected it should have cost both.
"Fortunately..." Evenson sighed, dropping onto a chunk of broken concrete. "It’s still manageable."
He pushed back his hood, fished a cigarette from his pocket with his left hand, and lit it by conjuring a tiny flame from his fingertip.
After taking a long drag, he produced a violet crystal.
With a squeeze, it transformed into a Healthstone.
Lady Sif watched curiously.
"Can it restore your hand?"
She had experienced the stone’s healing power herself.
"It might."
Evenson sounded unconvinced.
"It’s worth trying."
He drew the Healthstone’s energy into himself.
Soft green light enveloped the ruined arm.
For a moment...
It looked promising.
Then the glow faded.
No flesh regrew.
Instead, crimson runes materialized in the empty space where his hand should have been.
They hovered there like an invisible outline burned into reality itself.
"So it failed?" Sif asked gently.
"I wouldn’t say failed."
Evenson stared at the glowing runes.
"The damage is... unusual."
She offered him an encouraging smile.
"If the opportunity arises, come to Asgard."
"Our healers can regenerate severed limbs without much difficulty."
"Thank you."
He smiled back sincerely.
Then he pulled a roll of bandages from his robes and began wrapping the empty space at the end of his arm.
Layer after layer.
When he finished...
The bandages held their shape.
They formed the outline of a complete right hand.
Evenson flexed his fingers.
The wrapped hand moved naturally.
"This is the best I can manage for now."
The connection between him and Ulthalesh had never been merely physical.
To sever that bond, the Eredar Twins hadn’t simply destroyed his flesh.
They had erased the very concept of his right hand.
The Healthstone had restored the concept.
Actual bone, muscle, and skin would take considerably longer.
Then another thought occurred to him.
A wonderfully opportunistic one.
He glanced toward Thor.
"I’ve done everything I can."
"The rest..."
"I’m afraid I’ll have to rely on Asgardian medicine."
"No problem!"
Thor answered immediately.
Then his enthusiasm faltered.
"...Once the Bifrost is repaired."
"I can wait."
Evenson crushed the cigarette beneath his boot and pulled his hood back over his head.
"It doesn’t interfere with daily life too much."
Then another concern surfaced.
"...By the way."
He looked around at the others.
"Did I do anything... strange while I was unconscious?"
Please tell me I didn’t challenge random people to Hearthstone.
Captain America shrugged.
"Nothing unusual."
"You shouted for a while."
"Then you just stood there."
"How long?"
"Less than a minute."
Evenson exhaled.
"That’s not too bad."
"What exactly did I shout?"
Peggy frowned.
"I couldn’t understand a word."
Evenson nodded slowly.
Good.
If she hadn’t understood it, then he’d probably been speaking either Eredun or another language from Azeroth.
Not English.
Not anything recognizable.
At that moment, Sarah’s voice suddenly echoed through their telepathic link.
A few seconds later...
"WHAT?!"
Evenson nearly jumped.
"I actually said that?"
Sarah sounded thoroughly entertained.
"You absolutely did, Boss."
"’One day I’ll put both of you in your place.’"
"I’ve got to admire your courage."
Evenson looked silently at his missing hand.
"...Honestly."
"So do I."
No wonder those two blew my hand off.
Inside the New York Sanctum...
Clea stood frozen.
Her face had gone deathly pale.
Her body trembled ever so slightly.
She had seen him remove his hood.
She had seen the face beneath it.
Evenson.
The same Evenson who spent evenings playing games with her...
Watching anime...
Arguing over Hearthstone decks...
Was the mysterious black warlock.
How...?
Then...
Is he... a bad person?
"What’s wrong, Clea?"
Oliver noticed her expression immediately.
She nearly jumped.
"N-Nothing."
She stole a quick glance toward the Ancient One, whose attention remained fixed elsewhere.
"I just overextended myself maintaining the barrier."
"I’ll be fine after a little rest."
Oliver relaxed.
"I see."
Evenson looked back toward the battlefield.
"So."
"How are things?"
Thor grinned broadly.
"The gates of Hel are overflowing with the cries of those you slew!"
Evenson translated that into something more practical.
We’re winning.
His gaze drifted toward Ulthalesh lying on the ground nearby.
Although...
Those Chitauri souls probably aren’t reaching Hel.
With the invading army almost completely annihilated, only scattered pockets of Chitauri remained at the edges of Manhattan.
Nothing the Avengers couldn’t clean up.
Evenson stood.
"Then all that’s left..."
"...is closing the portal."
Captain America nodded.
The entire day felt surreal.
Aliens had invaded Earth.
He’d learned his wife was now stronger than he was.
Then an impossible Warlock had nearly ended the invasion by himself.
It all felt strangely dreamlike.
He raised his communicator.
"Natasha."
"You can shut the portal down."
Natasha Romanoff was already standing beside the Tesseract.
Freed from Loki’s control, Dr. Erik Selvig had explained everything.
Only Loki’s scepter could deactivate the device.
She gripped the weapon.
Ready to strike.
"WAIT!"
Tony Stark’s frantic voice exploded through the comms.
Everyone froze.
"What’s wrong?" Steve demanded.
Tony’s answer came immediately.
"Incoming nuclear missile!"
Evenson’s expression changed.
"...What?"
Then recognition dawned.
"...Where the hell did they even get a nuke from?"
Moments later, everyone watched as Iron Man accelerated toward the incoming missile at maximum speed.
He caught it.
Redirected it.
And flew straight toward the portal.
Every eye on the battlefield turned upward.
Waiting.
Praying.
Hoping Tony would somehow make it back.
Everyone...
Except Evenson.
He casually crouched beside the street and slapped one hand against the pavement.
Stone surged upward.
Within seconds, a life-sized humanoid statue emerged from the earth.
With a grinding rumble, the statue spread its cloak wide.
Its crimson-lined interior opened like a shelter.
Evenson glanced upward without the slightest urgency.
"Sarah."
He spoke lazily into the telepathic link.
"Come down."
"I need a hand."
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