Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Moving to New York was an easy proposal to understand.

S.H.I.E.L.D. might claim to be everywhere, but its headquarters were in the United States. Naturally, its resources and personnel were more concentrated there. Moving to a major city like New York would put Nadia directly under S.H.I.E.L.D.’s watch, making her much easier to monitor and manage.

"Sure. No problem."

Even after understanding exactly what that meant, Nadia accepted without hesitation.

Danny’s situation was simply too unusual. Having S.H.I.E.L.D. watching over them was far better than continuing to live one day at a time, never knowing when the next threat would appear.

And the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. was openly offering her these terms also reassured her. It suggested they weren’t planning to make any further moves against her family.

What Nadia didn’t realize was that once she moved to New York, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t be the only organization keeping a close eye on her.

"Come with us," Evenson said, turning toward the exit. "Our aircraft is too large to land very close to here."

Nadia immediately followed.

Of everyone present, she was easily the most desperate to get moving.

After all, her son was the one who’d been kidnapped.

"Wait!"

Johnny suddenly shouted.

Everyone kept walking.

Johnny looked around.

Apparently, nobody had remembered to include him in the plan.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Go back where you came from."

Melinda didn’t even slow down.

As far as she was concerned, Johnny had been more trouble than he was worth. Working with him had only made her job harder.

Johnny nearly swore.

He’d been hiding perfectly well before all of this. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. had shown up without warning and blown his house apart along with his motorcycle.

Now that they’d made contact with Nadia, they were simply leaving him behind?

So he’d taken several beatings, lost his home and motorcycle, and accomplished absolutely nothing?

"Danny’s soul is tied to mine."

Johnny stepped forward.

"I’m not walking away from this."

People were always brave about their souls when they believed they still belonged to them.

They talked about being willing to die and go to Hell. They joked about selling their souls to the Devil.

But when the day finally came and those words became reality, how many of them would still feel the same?

Johnny was already being driven to the edge by the Spirit of Vengeance inside him.

Just as he had once been willing to sell his soul to Mephisto to save his father, he was now willing to do whatever it took to reclaim that soul.

Evenson stopped walking.

He studied Johnny for several long seconds.

Then he sighed.

"Fine. Come with us."

Reclaiming his soul and breaking the curse of the Ghost Rider promised to be interesting.

Very interesting.

Melinda immediately caught up with Evenson.

"You’re serious?"

She glanced back at Johnny.

"If that guy loses control on the plane, that’s not exactly going to be harmless."

"Relax."

Evenson smiled.

"As long as I’m there, he won’t be losing control."

Melinda studied him for a moment.

"Fine."

If Evenson was that confident, there wasn’t much point arguing.

Once everyone boarded the aircraft, Evenson turned to Rumlow.

"Take care of the woman I brought with me."

"Of course."

Rumlow glanced at Nadia and readily agreed.

She might have been a mother, but she was still an attractive woman. As far as Rumlow was concerned, this was hardly an unpleasant assignment.

"Also, keep your people away from the guy with the hairline that’s trying to become a bald spot."

Evenson’s smile carried a distinctly malicious edge.

"Understood."

Rumlow’s answer this time was completely sincere.

He didn’t consider himself a particularly good man.

But that didn’t mean he wanted to get within arm’s reach of the Ghost Rider.

"Make yourself comfortable," Evenson told Nadia. "I’ve got something to take care of."

"Thank you."

Nadia was still staring around at the aircraft’s advanced technology.

The level of technology alone had left her stunned.

With S.H.I.E.L.D. involved, she finally felt like Danny had a real chance of being rescued.

"You."

Evenson turned toward Johnny.

"Go sit in the cargo hold."

"Damn it."

Johnny muttered under his breath.

The difference in treatment couldn’t have been more obvious.

Still, what could he do?

His situation was unusual, after all.

And the way that terrifying woman was looking at him made it seem like she was praying he’d refuse.

"Claire."

Evenson leaned toward her.

"Come with me to the lab."

He lowered his voice.

"Just the two of us."

Claire froze.

A faint blush crept across her face.

She nodded quietly.

"Just so we’re clear, don’t try anything."

"Huh?"

Evenson looked puzzled.

"Okay."

Claire followed him toward the laboratory.

With every step, she took another slow breath.

Stay calm, Claire.

Stay calm.

There was no way he was about to make that kind of request.

Surely he just wanted to talk.

That had to be it.

After all, she’d spent more than a month with him before, and he’d never once made an inappropriate move.

That was reassuring.

Probably.

When they reached the laboratory, Evenson locked the door.

Then he pulled the curtains across the transparent walls.

Claire’s heart immediately started pounding.

No way.

Is he really going to...?

Absolutely not.

She clenched her fists.

"I refuse."

Evenson turned toward her.

"What?"

He frowned, genuinely confused.

"You don’t think it’s a little too soon?"

Claire’s face was bright red now.

"And even if... even if I’m not completely against it, doing something like that here? In a laboratory? That’s way too casual!"

She forced the words out in one breath and immediately lowered her head.

"Too soon?"

Evenson looked around the laboratory.

"I just figured we had some free time."

He gestured around them.

"And this place seems perfectly fine to me. What’s so casual about it?"

Then he pulled out the tiny vial he’d secretly taken from Nadia earlier.

"Besides, we’re only testing this blood."

He held up the vial.

"I don’t exactly need to draw a magic circle and decorate the room first."

Claire’s head snapped up.

"...What?"

She stared at Evenson.

His expression was completely genuine.

Then she looked at the vial.

Understanding finally hit her.

"Oh."

A strangled sound escaped her throat.

Claire felt as though she’d forgotten how to breathe.

She clutched her chest, stumbled backward, and leaned against the wall while taking several deep breaths.

"What happened?"

Evenson immediately hurried over.

"Are you okay?"

He reached out to steady her.

"I’m fine!"

Claire shoved him away.

"Don’t come any closer. I just need a minute."

"I can stay and think with you."

Evenson looked genuinely concerned and made no move to leave.

"No, it’s fine."

Claire waved him off.

"You go do your thing. I’ll be fine in a second. Really. I’m fine. Just..."

She pushed him away again.

"Go away!"

Evenson still didn’t move.

"Please."

Another push.

"Seriously, just..."

She finally snapped.

"GET OUT!"

The shout echoed through the laboratory.

Evenson blinked.

Then he quietly decided that anyone capable of yelling that loudly probably wasn’t suffering from any serious physical problem.

He walked back to the workbench.

What was that about?

He glanced at Claire suspiciously.

Could it be that time of the month?

He couldn’t think of any other explanation.

Still puzzled, Evenson poured the tiny vial of blood into a test tube and prepared to begin the analysis.

Then he froze.

A thought struck him.

Wait.

Was that what she meant?

Evenson’s eyes widened.

He slowly raised a hand and slapped it against his chest.

He wanted to bang his head against the wall.

He wanted to scream.

Instead, he gritted his teeth and silently mourned the opportunity he’d apparently missed.

I just lost out big.

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