Chapter 768

"Eva Starr. That’s her real name.

"To you, her abilities might seem miraculous. Something to envy, even. But to Eva herself, they’re a curse—a living nightmare she can’t escape. Every day, those powers inflict endless torment on her."

Peggy Carter had finally given them a lead.

Evenson and the others decided it was worth following.

Torture would have been the fastest and most direct way to get information out of Eva. Eventually, they would have gotten what they needed.

But the price would have been severe.

Physical injuries weren’t much of a concern. Eva’s body could recover from almost anything within minutes. Damage to the soul was another matter entirely. Whether such injuries could be repaired at all was uncertain, and even if they could, recovery would take days.

There was another problem.

Eva had been sent undercover to infiltrate the enemy, steal information, and return as quickly as possible. If a female agent vanished for several days during what was supposed to be a short infiltration mission, people were naturally going to start asking questions.

This wasn’t some elaborate role-playing exercise where she could simply disappear into character.

If Eva returned after being tortured for days, how trustworthy would the information she brought back actually be?

Whether they wanted to recruit Eva or simply understand her abilities out of curiosity, they first needed to know exactly how she’d acquired them—and how things had gone so horribly wrong.

That was why Peggy Carter, one of the few people who knew the full story, began explaining.

"The reason Eva developed her current abilities goes back to a failed scientific experiment. Two people were directly involved.

"One was her father, Elias Starr.

"The other was... Hank Pym."

Eva’s expression changed instantly.

"How dare you blame my father?"

She shot upright, glaring at Peggy.

"This was all caused by Hank Pym! He’s the real culprit!"

Peggy sighed.

Evenson, however, cut in before the argument could escalate.

"You’d better remember where you are. We’re currently discussing how to get you out of this mess."

He gestured toward the people gathered around them.

"So if you really want to escape the torture your powers put you through, I’d recommend keeping quiet and letting us finish our little... scientific conference."

"Hmph!"

Eva turned away with an irritated snort.

But she didn’t stop listening.

Her ears practically strained toward them, terrified that she might miss a single word.

Whatever else she thought of them, her desperation to escape her condition was obvious.

"Fine. Let’s start with Hank Pym."

Since Eva was convinced Pym was responsible for everything she’d suffered, there was clearly more to the story than simple personal resentment. Even accounting for her emotions, Hank Pym’s involvement couldn’t be insignificant.

Besides, the name had been bothering Evenson since Peggy mentioned it.

It sounded familiar.

"What exactly is Hank Pym like?"

"He used to be one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s scientists," Peggy said. "A brilliant man. A genuine genius. In several fields, he was even more accomplished than Tony Stark."

She paused.

"But outside science? He’s an absolutely terrible human being."

Peggy’s brow furrowed as she continued.

"Especially when it comes to his personality. Very few of his assistants or colleagues have anything good to say about him. When his name comes up, some of them practically want to spit on the floor."

Evenson gave a quiet scoff.

"If someone can’t stand seeing other people succeed or someone else prove themselves more capable, that’s just a lack of generosity."

Throughout history, brilliant people had often been difficult.

Rodin. Mozart. Tesla.

None of them had exactly been famous for their social skills. They poured so much of themselves into their work that they had little patience left for everything else.

But there was a difference between being eccentric and being truly intolerable.

For a scientist, jealousy of another person’s talent was especially damning.

Science was supposed to advance through discovery. If you resented anyone who might surpass you, you weren’t merely being unpleasant—you were standing in the way of progress.

"A man like that could be as brilliant as he wanted," Evenson said. "He’d still be a petty little bastard."

"Exactly!"

Eva immediately nodded in agreement.

"You’re absolutely right!"

Peggy looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Actually... that’s not quite what happened."

Eva’s head snapped toward her.

Peggy continued.

"Hank Pym’s relationships with other scientists weren’t terrible because he was jealous of their abilities. It was because he genuinely thought most of them were incompetent."

She sighed.

"He was a tyrant in the laboratory. He couldn’t stand being questioned, and he had very little patience for anyone he considered intellectually inferior."

Peggy’s expression darkened.

"One of the things he said to his assistants most often was, ’If you don’t have the talent for this, get out. People like you are what’s going to destroy human science.’"

Evenson scratched his cheek.

"Uh..."

That sounded less like jealousy and more like brutal honesty.

"Maybe he’s just blunt?"

"Blunt?"

Peggy rolled her eyes.

"No. He’s just got a terrible temper. Half the time, it was like he had some kind of anger disorder. Honestly, I think he actually did."

"How bad could a scientist’s temper possibly be?"

Evenson wasn’t convinced.

Peggy gave him a flat look.

"He screamed at me."

"So?"

"I was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time."

She folded her arms.

"Well, technically I was nearing retirement and had already stepped back from the front lines. But that didn’t give him the right to shout at me."

Evenson shrugged.

"Scientists are allowed to have some attitude. If the guy’s actually brilliant, maybe he doesn’t need to flatter everyone around him."

After all, someone with real talent was naturally going to have some confidence.

Not every scientist could be like Gross, who would probably throw himself flat on the ground and pledge eternal loyalty the instant the Eredar twins walked into the room.

Peggy gave him a cold smile.

"Really?"

She leaned forward.

"He once grabbed Pierce by the head and repeatedly slammed his face against a table. Right in front of me."

Evenson’s eyes widened.

"Oh."

That was different.

That wasn’t bluntness.

That was just insane.

No wonder people hated Hank Pym.

Peggy sighed.

"Although, looking back, I think he was right to do it."

She clenched her fist.

"He just didn’t hit Pierce hard enough. He should’ve smashed that traitor’s skull open on the table."

Eva stared at her.

"Wait. Director Pierce is a traitor?"

Her confusion was genuine.

As far as Eva knew, her relationship with Pierce had always been fairly good. At the very least, they shared one significant opinion: they both hated Hank Pym.

"Yes," Evenson said. "He’s a traitor."

He looked at Eva.

"Was he the one who sent you?"

"Hmph."

Eva immediately turned away.

Not even a hint of an answer.

Evenson sighed.

"Right. Worth a shot."

He turned back to Peggy.

"So what does Hank Pym have to do with Eva’s condition? What role did he play in the failed experiment?"

Peggy hesitated.

"That’s... complicated."

She gathered her thoughts.

"Eva’s father, Elias Starr, was also employed by S.H.I.E.L.D. back then. He worked as Hank Pym’s assistant—"

"Collaborator!"

Eva immediately interrupted.

Peggy closed her eyes for a moment.

"Fine. Collaborator."

She clearly didn’t want to argue over terminology.

"They were working together on a research project, but Starr and Pym eventually reached a fundamental disagreement over their theories. They had a violent argument, and after Pym attacked Starr—"

"It was a fight!"

Eva shouted again.

"A mutual fight! And my father won!"

Peggy stared at her.

"Fine. Your father won."

Evenson rubbed his forehead.

What the hell kind of research laboratory was S.H.I.E.L.D. running back then?

Were there boxing rings between the laboratories?

Did every scientific disagreement end with both researchers signing a waiver before climbing into the ring to settle the matter with their fists?

"Then what happened?"

"Hank fired Starr and kicked him out of the laboratory."

"And after that?"

Peggy spread her hands.

"That’s where their relationship ended."

Evenson stared at her.

"That’s it?"

"Yes."

"There was no ’after that’?"

"No."

"But then..."

Evenson pointed toward Eva.

"What about the experiment that caused her condition?"

Peggy’s expression tightened.

That was the part she clearly didn’t want to discuss.

"If Starr and Pym went their separate ways before the experiment, what does Hank Pym have to do with Eva’s powers? How did he become the culprit?"

"That’s... very complicated."

Peggy looked genuinely reluctant to continue.

Eva finally took over.

"I’ll tell you."

Her voice was quieter now.

"Hank Pym didn’t just fire my father. He destroyed his reputation."

Evenson listened.

"He told everyone that my father was a disgrace to science. He claimed my father’s theories were fundamentally flawed and that his calculations contained fatal errors."

Eva’s hands tightened into fists.

"Hank Pym was extremely respected in the scientific community at the time. Once he said those things, nobody wanted to work with my father anymore."

"No laboratory would hire him. No scientist would collaborate with him."

Evenson frowned.

That was a little too far.

Scientists disagreed all the time. Sometimes they couldn’t reconcile their theories and went their separate ways.

Fine.

But deliberately destroying another man’s career?

That was vicious.

"So my father had only one way left to prove himself," Eva continued.

"To restore his reputation and finish his research, he sold everything we had and conducted the experiment himself."

Her expression became distant.

"He gambled everything on it."

Evenson didn’t interrupt.

"I was there when it happened."

Eva’s voice trembled.

"Something went horribly wrong. The experiment spiraled out of control."

She swallowed.

"That failure took both of my parents from me."

Her eyes hardened.

"It gave me these damn powers."

"And it left me alone."

She looked down at her hands.

"Alone, in pain, with nothing left."

Evenson was silent for a moment.

"That... really is a tragic story."

He genuinely felt sorry for her.

But there was one problem.

What the hell did any of this have to do with Hank Pym?

The story was tragic. There was no denying that.

But if anything, it seemed to prove that Hank Pym had been right.

Starr and Pym had disagreed. Both men had stubbornly believed their own theories were correct.

And in the end, Starr’s theory really had contained a fatal flaw.

As for Pym ruining Starr’s reputation...

It was possible that Hank Pym had simply been vindictive. Maybe he’d been petty enough to make sure anyone who crossed him paid for it.

But there was another possibility.

Maybe he’d been trying to prevent Starr from experimenting with a theory he genuinely believed was dangerous.

"If you don’t have the talent, get out."

Evenson wondered what exactly had been happening when Hank Pym said those words.

Because, in this particular case, he might actually have been right.

As a human being, Hank Pym sounded awful.

He relied on his authority, reputation, and intellect to look down on everyone around him. He had little patience for colleagues, treated assistants brutally, and apparently wasn’t above throwing punches when someone annoyed him.

When people made mistakes, he didn’t teach them.

He mocked them.

He insulted them.

And even after driving Starr out of the scientific community, he apparently hadn’t been satisfied until the man’s reputation was ruined.

Even if his ultimate goal had been protecting scientific integrity, his methods were reprehensible.

He hadn’t relied on evidence and rigorous scientific debate to prove Starr wrong.

He’d relied on humiliation, personal attacks, and relentless abuse.

That made him a terrible person.

Eva’s hatred of him was completely understandable.

Honestly, it would’ve been stranger if she didn’t hate him.

But as a scientist?

That was another matter.

Science was cold.

It had to be.

Scientific truth couldn’t bend simply because someone was a friend, colleague, or respected elder. Once the evidence was in, someone was going to be right and someone was going to be wrong.

And sometimes that meant discovering that decades of someone’s life had been built around a mistake.

Science needed data.

It needed experiments.

It didn’t need scientists to protect one another’s feelings or treat every colleague with perfect courtesy.

The people who genuinely pushed science forward weren’t always pleasant.

They were the ones willing to bury themselves in research, obsess over evidence, and keep testing their theories regardless of how uncomfortable the conclusions became.

Otherwise, what happened?

There were plenty of experts who could talk endlessly about wisdom, harmony, and interpersonal relationships. They rarely offended anyone. Everyone liked them.

But beyond inspirational speeches and feel-good platitudes, what had they actually discovered?

Evenson finally sat down across from Eva.

"As for what happened to your parents..."

His expression became sincere.

"I truly am sorry."

Eva looked at him.

"I offer you my deepest condolences."

He paused.

"But their deaths and the failure of that experiment weren’t meaningless."

His voice remained calm.

"Science advances through failure. Countless failed experiments have laid the foundation for every successful discovery that came after them."

He looked directly into her eyes.

"Your father failed, but that failure still contributed to scientific progress. In that sense, his work had enormous value."

Eva stared at him.

"Th-thank you."

She lowered her head slightly.

For years, no one had spoken about her father that way.

After the accident, he’d been remembered as an arrogant fool. A stubborn man who rejected the warnings of a genius. A reckless scientist who gambled everything on a flawed theory and ultimately paid the price.

That had become his legacy.

But now, for the first time, someone had acknowledged that he’d contributed something meaningful.

Granted, Evenson had his own motives for saying it.

Still...

She appreciated it.

"Then your father—"

Evenson caught himself.

"Forgive me. Your father, if I may ask, what field of science was he researching?"

His expression suddenly became one of genuine admiration.

After all, he’d just heard about a man who had sacrificed everything for science.

"And if we’re going to find a way to stabilize your condition, we’ll need to understand his research."

"Quantum physics."

Eva answered without hesitation.

"The experiment was an attempt to create a quantum tunnel."

"Quantum physics..."

Evenson’s eyes widened.

That sounded important.

He stared at her for several seconds.

"Quantum..."

He frowned.

"Quantum what?"

Eva blinked.

Evenson cleared his throat.

"Sorry. My education isn’t exactly extensive. Never heard of it."

Eva froze.

For a moment, she simply stared at him.

Whatever tiny amount of respect she’d developed for Evenson after hearing him defend her father vanished instantly.

Her father’s life’s work had finally been acknowledged.

And somehow, the person giving him that recognition didn’t even know what quantum physics was.

Eva suddenly felt very sorry for her father.