Chapter 629

The mission was essentially over.

There was only one thing left to do: secure the gravitonium.

Dr. Hall’s solution had been extreme, reckless, and completely unacceptable, but he had been right about one thing.

Gravitonium was dangerous.

With Earth’s current level of technology, humanity simply wasn’t ready to study or exploit it safely on a large scale. For now, the sensible option was to seal it away and leave it alone until science had caught up.

So the team flew to one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most secure facilities, a place reserved for dangerous artifacts and dangerous people alike.

The Fridge.

Evenson naturally came with them.

The gravitonium was still sitting inside his personal storage. There was no way he was going to let it out of his hands and then miss the next part of the story.

By the time they arrived, the Fridge’s technicians had already prepared a containment unit.

It was a transparent cube roughly one cubic meter in size, with thick, high-strength glass making up the visible structure.

Evenson walked around it once, then stopped.

"Isn’t this just a giant fish tank?"

He peered through the glass.

"You’re telling me putting gravitonium in a fish tank makes it safe? I suppose that explains why Hall wanted to dump the stuff into the ocean in the first place."

Coulson and the others had become accustomed to Evenson’s habit of treating everything like an opportunity for a joke.

The Fridge’s technicians had not.

One of them immediately gave a serious explanation.

"Don’t underestimate the container. The glass is primarily there for protection and observation. The real work is being done by the frame."

Evenson tilted his head and looked more closely.

The silver framework surrounding the glass had a strange inner structure. Blue electrical pulses flickered through it in a steady rhythm.

"According to the specifications Agent Leopold Fitz sent us, we constructed the frame to generate electrical currents across multiple frequencies. After calibration, the frequencies can maintain gravitonium in a stable state."

"Oh."

Evenson nodded thoughtfully.

Then he frowned.

"Wait. Who’s Leopold?"

A hand rose from somewhere in the group.

"Me."

Fitz looked mildly embarrassed.

"That’s my full name. My father gave it to me. I don’t really use it."

"Got it."

Evenson nodded.

During the flight, he’d spent quite a bit of time talking with Coulson, and Fitz’s family had come up.

Fitz had grown up with his mother. His father had been an alcoholic and, frankly, a coward who had abandoned Fitz and his mother shortly after Fitz was born.

It wasn’t exactly surprising that Fitz had no fondness for the man.

That dislike extended to the name his father had given him.

Outside of situations where he was legally required to provide his full name, Fitz almost never used it, and anyone who knew him well understood that he really didn’t like being called Leopold.

"All right, your turn."

Coulson gestured toward the containment unit and looked at Evenson.

"Bring it out."

"No problem."

Evenson waved everyone backward.

"Give me some room."

Everyone took a step away.

Evenson raised both hands.

The gravitonium appeared between them, a silvery mass twisting and flowing like liquid metal suspended in midair.

He guided it forward.

The mass slowly settled into the center of the containment unit.

The machine immediately did exactly what the technicians had promised.

The gravitonium simply floated inside.

No violent fluctuations.

No gravitational distortion.

No miniature apocalypse.

Evenson looked rather pleased.

Coulson, however, crouched beside the container and narrowed his eyes.

"Am I imagining things?"

He studied the gravitonium.

"It looks smaller."

Evenson glanced at it.

Coulson continued comparing it with the size he’d seen back in Hall’s laboratory.

"It definitely is smaller."

"Hmm."

Evenson scratched his head.

"It only looks smaller."

Coulson looked at him.

Evenson explained, "When you saw it inside Hall’s generator, it was active. Its internal structure was highly energized, which made it expand."

"Once I removed it, I rendered it inert. The structure contracted."

Coulson raised an eyebrow.

"So... thermal expansion?"

"That’s not exactly the same thing."

Evenson smiled.

"But close enough."

"Really?"

Coulson gave him a long, searching look.

"I don’t suppose I’m going to get a call in a few weeks telling me gravitonium has appeared on the black market."

"Hard to say."

Evenson shrugged.

"Quinn got away. He may continue mining the stuff."

Then he paused.

His eyes widened with exaggerated offense.

"Wait. Are you accusing me?"

Coulson stared at him.

Evenson looked genuinely scandalized.

"How could you make such an accusation without evidence? I have my dignity, you know."

"What dignity?"

Coulson folded his arms.

"I’ve seen what happens whenever you come aboard our aircraft. You always make a beeline for the liquor cabinet. I don’t say anything about you drinking the alcohol or accidentally taking the glasses home, but somehow several bottles always seem to disappear too."

Melinda May joined in from the side.

"And emergency supplies disappear from the galley."

She began counting them off.

"Bread. Bacon. Vacuum-packed beef."

Her expression remained perfectly serious.

"They don’t disappear one item at a time, either. Entire cases vanish."

"At this point, the crew responsible for restocking the aircraft are starting to wonder whether we’re secretly selling S.H.I.E.L.D. supplies on the side."

Evenson’s face reddened.

Veins stood out on his forehead as he pointed indignantly at them.

"Food doesn’t count!"

He drew himself up.

"You can’t call that stealing. Taking food from a pantry is not theft."

He paused, searching for the right argument.

"And besides, being broke doesn’t count as a character flaw."

He frowned.

"Warlocks aren’t exactly famous for their financial stability. Some of us are just born with terrible luck."

That did it.

The others burst out laughing.

For a few seconds, the sterile containment chamber became considerably less serious.

Once the laughter died down, Coulson shook his head.

"All I’m saying is that the gravitonium went into your possession and then came out of your possession."

He pointed toward Evenson.

"I’ve seen your ’light-fingered’ habits before. I can’t help being suspicious."

Evenson looked genuinely exasperated.

"If you don’t believe me, weigh it!"

He pointed at the container.

"The volume might have changed, but the mass wouldn’t. Measure the thing yourself!"

Coulson stared at him for a moment.

Then he snorted.

"Never mind."

He laughed again.

There was no evidence. They were mostly joking anyway.

Besides, trying to put a gravitonium mass on a scale and determine its exact weight was absurd enough that the image alone nearly made him laugh.

For the first time since the operation began, Coulson felt like he could finally relax.

The gravitonium was contained.

The island was still above sea level.

And, miracle of miracles, Evenson hadn’t stolen the entire Fridge on his way out.

At least not yet.