Chapter 515

"Tony. Tony. Open the door."

"No."

"Come on, Stark. Open up."

"No."

"You built an entire suit of armor. Surely you can manage a door."

The standoff lasted nearly half an hour.

Several times, Evenson seriously considered blowing the damn thing off its hinges.

Then he remembered that the door was worth two million dollars.

His hand lowered.

"Fine. You win."

Evenson turned away and marched into the living room, dropping himself onto the couch.

This was getting ridiculous.

Pepper would probably be back soon. If she found him still sitting outside after failing to even get through the door, she’d start questioning whether he was actually competent enough to be Tony’s psychological consultant.

And if she questioned that, his paycheck might become negotiable.

That was unacceptable.

Evenson sighed.

He was a Warlock.

A practitioner of powers that had crossed worlds and defied death.

And here he was, defeated by a door.

The humiliation was almost physical.

He needed water.

Something cold and refreshing to extinguish the fire of his wounded pride.

He reached toward the glass on the coffee table.

Then stopped.

His eyes landed on something else.

A stack of ordinary A4 printer paper sat in one corner of the table.

A slow smile spread across Evenson’s face.

An idea had just occurred to him.

Down in the workshop, Tony was bent over one of his armor assemblies when he suddenly paused.

The house had gone quiet.

Too quiet.

Had Evenson finally given up and gone home?

Or was the bastard merely taking a break before resuming the siege?

Tony was just about to ask JARVIS what was happening when something slid underneath his two-million-dollar security door.

A sheet of paper.

Tony stared at it.

What was this supposed to be?

Had Evenson finally realized that words were more powerful than his voice and decided to try the written word instead?

Before Tony could figure it out, the paper suddenly erupted in green flames.

A demonic magic circle blazed across its surface.

Evenson’s silhouette emerged from the fire.

It was a simple trick.

He’d taken one of the sheets from the stack upstairs, drawn a demonic teleportation circle on it, and slipped it beneath the door.

Once the circle was inside, he could use it as an anchor.

No door could stop magic.

Evenson stepped into the workshop.

He turned his back to Tony, casually tugged his jacket sleeve into place, and struck a suitably arrogant pose.

"Tony, did you really think a door could keep me out? I’m a man who knows magic..."

Pssshhh!

Four white columns of fire-suppressant powder blasted him simultaneously.

They continued spraying for a full ten seconds.

Evenson remained frozen in the exact same pose.

Then he coughed.

Twice.

A cloud of white powder escaped his mouth.

"What the hell was that?"

Tony was struggling to contain his laughter.

"The... automatic..."

He coughed into his fist.

"The automatic fire-suppression system."

After New York, Tony had been through some pretty miserable experiences.

This might have been the most satisfying moment he’d had since the Battle of New York.

Did Evenson think knowing magic meant he could do whatever he wanted?

And did he seriously think Tony’s workshop didn’t have a state-of-the-art fire-suppression system?

Evenson looked down at himself.

His black suit was almost entirely white now.

His hair was coated in powder so thoroughly that one good shake could probably produce a small blizzard.

He stared at Tony.

"...This is awkward."

Tony finally lost the battle and snorted.

Evenson slowly turned around.

"Tony."

He pointed at his ruined suit.

"This was my only expensive suit."

His expression became mournful.

"You’re paying for this."

"Hahaha..."

Tony covered his mouth, still laughing.

"Sure. Fine. No problem."

A suit was nothing.

Getting this much entertainment out of Evenson was worth every penny.

"Good."

Evenson raised his right index finger and spun it once.

Then he tapped himself.

The white powder covering his clothes vanished instantly.

Tony’s laughter died.

He stared.

"...Magic really is convenient."

Evenson looked pristine again.

Of course, Claire had learned some spells from him. Evenson wasn’t about to let himself be disadvantaged by that arrangement.

He’d never been particularly impressed by the more elaborate mysticism of Kamar-Taj, but practical spells were another matter.

A cleaning spell saved time.

It saved laundry.

It even saved electricity.

That was useful magic.

Tony rubbed his forehead and turned back to his armor.

"Now that you’ve finished showing off..."

Evenson frowned.

"What’s wrong with you, Tony?"

Tony kept working.

"You locked me outside for half an hour. Have you forgotten who pulled you out of that black hole?"

A metallic clatter interrupted him.

The gauntlet Tony had been working on slipped from his hands and crashed onto the floor.

Tony’s fingers trembled.

Only for a moment.

Then he picked up the gauntlet and fitted it back into place.

Evenson’s eyes narrowed.

"You were afraid."

Tony didn’t respond.

"That little incident was a while ago," Evenson continued. "You’re still shaken by it?"

"Stop bringing up the fact that you pulled me back!"

Tony spun around.

He was holding a wrench, which he pointed accusingly at Evenson.

"You didn’t do it for free!"

His voice rose.

"Who put a ten-million-dollar debt in front of me the moment I regained consciousness and made me sign it?"

Evenson blinked.

Ten million.

He was pretty sure the original amount had been much smaller.

But Tony was speaking with such conviction that Evenson decided not to interrupt.

More importantly, Tony had completely dodged the question.

The topic change was painfully obvious.

It was also remarkably effective.

Evenson tilted his head.

"Since you brought it up..."

Tony’s expression tightened.

"When are you paying that debt?"

"Hmph."

Tony immediately turned back to his work.

Then he picked up a pair of industrial-grade noise-canceling earmuffs and put them over his ears.

Evenson’s eyes widened.

"You don’t get to ignore me just because I mentioned repayment."

He walked around the workbench.

Tony glanced at him once before returning his attention to the armor.

Evenson slapped a hand onto Tony’s shoulder.

Tony rolled his eyes and reached for the earmuffs.

Evenson stopped him.

With an unbearably cheerful smile, Evenson gave him a thumbs-up.

"Tony, you absolute bastard. You’re trying to skip out on your debt."

He grinned.

"No wonder you’re anxious and can’t sleep. Terrible character, terrible credit. Serves you right."

"Hmph."

Tony stared at him.

"Flattery won’t work."

Evenson shook his head.

He’d had enough fun.

This time, he simply grabbed the earmuffs and ripped them off.

Then he tapped Tony lightly between the eyebrows.

"Face your fear, Tony."

Tony’s entire body convulsed.

His expression twisted.

His eyes went blank.

Then he collapsed backward, hitting the floor hard.

"Don’t!"

His voice cracked.

"No! Stop!"

The episode lasted only seconds.

Tony suddenly sat upright, flailing both hands.

"Stop! Stop!"

He looked absolutely terrified.

"Aunt Peggy! Please! I’ll behave! I swear I’ll never do it again! Aunt Peggy, please!"

Then, with genuine desperation:

"Mom! Help me!"

Evenson stared.

At first, he hadn’t found the reaction particularly strange.

After all, he’d told Tony to face his deepest fear.

But this?

This was something else entirely.

"What... exactly did you see?"

Tony was still pale.

His eyes remained unfocused.

"I saw myself when I was a kid..."

He swallowed.

"Aunt Peggy..."

The memory seemed so horrifying that he couldn’t even finish the sentence.

Evenson pinched the bridge of his nose.

"All right. Childhood trauma. Very frightening."

He sighed.

"But that’s not what I wanted you to experience."

He raised his hand.

"Let’s try again."

Tony’s eyes widened.

"Wait—"

Evenson’s palm smacked against his forehead.

This time, the spell found what it was looking for.

Tony was back in New York.

The Chitauri invasion raged around him.

The nuclear warhead was in his hands.

The black hole waited ahead.

He flew toward it once more.

He carried the weapon through the portal.

Only this time, no one pulled him back.

There was no portal closing around him.

No hand reaching out.

No rescue.

The nuclear blast swallowed Tony whole.

Fire consumed him.

His armor vanished.

His body was reduced to ash.

And Tony Stark died alone in the darkness.

...

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/Sinmerry