Chapter 769

"Quantum..."

That was about all Evenson could think of when Eva mentioned quantum physics.

Well, that and quantum chick, which wasn’t exactly useful here.

What else was he supposed to do? Spontaneously write a graduate-level physics paper?

Fortunately, he wasn’t the only person in the room.

Peggy Carter, former head of S.H.I.E.L.D., offered what was apparently meant to be an explanation.

"The quantum realm is... well... a realm."

Evenson stared at her expectantly.

"...That’s it?"

Peggy shrugged.

"What exactly do you expect me to explain? Even if I gathered every leading physicist on Earth, none of them could give you a definitive explanation of what the quantum realm actually is. Everything we know is still theoretical."

She paused.

"The important part is that it exists. And within it is an almost limitless source of energy. Our research was based on creating a tunnel into the quantum realm and extracting that energy to replace conventional power sources."

"Heh."

The corner of Evenson’s mouth twitched.

He’d always thought S.H.I.E.L.D. had an impressive combination of advanced technology and a complete disregard for common sense.

Apparently, he’d been right.

They’d discovered an entirely unknown realm containing unimaginable amounts of energy, had almost no understanding of what existed inside it, and their first instinct hadn’t been to study it carefully or perform extensive safety assessments.

No.

They wanted to punch a hole into it and start pumping the energy out.

Wonderful.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. ever discovered the Twisting Nether, they’d probably build a pipeline into it and start bottling fel energy.

Evenson sighed.

Earth had survived humanity for a surprisingly long time.

"Anyway." He brought the conversation back on track. "So the abilities you have now are the result of your exposure to that unknown energy from the quantum realm?"

"Yes."

Eva nodded.

"My father’s experiment failed, but for a brief moment, the tunnel he created really did connect to the quantum realm. It drew energy through."

Her expression darkened.

"But then everything went out of control."

"I could tell my father was terrified. He told us to leave immediately while he stayed behind."

"I didn’t want him facing it alone, so I went back."

Eva swallowed.

"Then the energy erupted."

"Afterward, I was the only one left alive. Both of my parents were dead."

She looked down at her hands.

"And the energy changed me into this."

Her voice suddenly rose.

"That’s why I hate Hank Pym!"

Evenson flinched.

He still didn’t understand the connection.

Her father’s experiment had failed. How exactly was Hank Pym responsible for that? Had Pym secretly sabotaged the experiment?

"My father could have escaped with us," Eva said angrily. "He could have run to safety with us. But he didn’t. Why?"

Evenson answered almost immediately.

"Because he didn’t want to live?"

Eva’s anger faded.

"What makes you think he didn’t want to live?"

Her voice became quieter, filled with grief.

"When I was a child, I didn’t understand."

"But later, I did."

"My father had devoted his entire life to that research. He genuinely believed he’d found the truth. Then Hank Pym rejected his work, humiliated him, and destroyed his reputation."

"He gambled everything on that final experiment because he wanted to prove himself to the world."

Her hands trembled.

"And instead, the experiment proved that he had been wrong."

"He lost everything."

"So he stopped wanting to live."

Evenson fell silent.

A thought came to him.

Sometimes, perhaps, the distance between sanity and madness was nothing more than one terrible day.

If Hank Pym had controlled his temper that day...

If he’d been willing to compromise, even slightly...

Perhaps he and Starr wouldn’t have gone their separate ways.

And if Pym hadn’t destroyed Starr’s reputation after Starr left S.H.I.E.L.D., things might have gone differently.

Starr’s advanced theory might have been fundamentally flawed, but that didn’t mean the man himself was incompetent. His basic scientific knowledge was clearly considerable. He could have found work as a university lecturer or ordinary researcher. He could have lived a respectable life.

He might never have been driven to gamble everything on one final experiment.

But life didn’t come with ifs.

It was impossible to ask what would have happened if Alexander the Great had fought Augustus Vale. Before that question could even make sense, you’d have to assume Alexander conquered India, crossed the great deserts, somehow marched an army over the Himalayas, lived long enough to outlast Cassian Vale and several generations of his successors, and eventually reached Augustus Vale’s reign.

There were too many conditions buried inside a single what if.

And somewhere between Hank Pym’s worst day and Elias Starr’s final experiment, Starr had taken that one terrible day and run straight down the road toward madness and self-destruction.

"Your abilities came from exposure to quantum energy," Evenson said, tapping his fingers against the armrest.

"So... what exactly do you think is happening to you now?"

Eva stared at him.

What kind of question is that?

Did these people actually know what they were doing?

Were they trying to save her, or not?

What did you think your condition is even mean?

That was like walking into a hospital and having the doctor ask, So, what disease do you think you have?

Still, she’d run out of better options.

She forced down her doubts.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. called it molecular destabilization."

Her expression hardened.

"That name is vague and misleading. It makes it sound harmless."

"Every cell in my body is being torn apart and reassembled."

"Over and over."

"There is no end to it."

Eva looked toward Peggy.

"But S.H.I.E.L.D. saw an opportunity in my condition."

"They created this containment suit so I could control my phase shifts. They trained me to become invisible and turned me into a weapon."

"I stole information for them."

"I infiltrated places for them."

"I killed people for them."

Her eyes burned with anger.

"I sold my soul because they promised they could cure me."

"You made that promise to me yourself, Peggy."

"And you never kept it."

Peggy sighed.

"I led S.H.I.E.L.D. for many years. I’ve made countless decisions. Some of them were ugly. Some still keep me awake at night."

She looked at Eva.

"But Eva..."

"Training you as an agent was a temporary solution. While you carried out missions, we also used the suit to collect data on your condition."

"That data was being used to develop a treatment."

"I give you my word. The project was never abandoned."

Eva gave a bitter snort.

"Except that aside from this suit, you haven’t produced a single result."

Peggy hesitated.

"At least, not before I retired."

Evenson leaned back and rolled his eyes.

"That’s weird."

He looked at Eva.

"Seriously. You’re a trained agent. You should be able to figure this out yourself."

"Figure what out?"

"Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. want to cure you?"

Eva stared at him.

"If I were in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D., I wouldn’t cure you either."

Her expression changed.

"You mean..."

"What is there to explain?"

Evenson almost laughed.

"You just told us yourself how useful you are."

"You can steal information. You can assassinate targets. You can accomplish missions even Black Widow and Hawkeye can’t."

"And you don’t fail."

He spread his hands.

"Once they cure you, what are they left with?"

"A completely ordinary woman."

"Why would S.H.I.E.L.D. give up an asset like you?"

Eva froze.

She’d never considered it.

But now that the possibility had been placed in front of her, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

What did S.H.I.E.L.D. actually gain by curing her?

As she was now, she could use her agonizing abilities to complete missions ordinary agents couldn’t touch.

But if she were cured?

She’d simply be a normal woman.

Useless to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Her treatment had supposedly been progressing for years, yet somehow there had never been any meaningful breakthrough.

Maybe that wasn’t because S.H.I.E.L.D. lacked the technology.

Maybe it was because they didn’t want to cure her.

They needed her abilities.

They didn’t need her.

And they certainly didn’t care how much pain those abilities caused her.

The more Eva thought about it, the more convincing the idea became.

Evenson continued before she could speak.

"I spent enough time around S.H.I.E.L.D. to understand how they handle exceptional agents."

"Average agents might get treated like people."

"But highly capable ones?"

He shook his head.

"They use them until they’re broken."

"If you don’t believe me, look into Phil Coulson."

Eva frowned.

"Coulson?"

"He’s a highly accomplished S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."

Evenson shrugged.

"The man already died, and they still wouldn’t let him rest. They dragged him back and put him to work again."

"You’re still alive."

"And you think they’re going to let you retire?"

He laughed.

"Keep dreaming."

Eva’s face went pale.

Dead or alive, apparently S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted its people working.

If even the dead weren’t allowed to retire, what chance did she have?

Peggy looked uncomfortable.

"You’re making S.H.I.E.L.D. sound far more sinister than it is."

"I don’t know what S.H.I.E.L.D. was like when you ran it."

Evenson made a broad circle with one hand.

"But these days?"

He pinched his little finger between his thumb and forefinger.

"Imagine a field of flowers with one tiny black spot in the middle."

He held up the tiny gap.

"That’s how much good is left."

Peggy turned her head away.

She didn’t like hearing it.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. she’d built wasn’t the problem.

The organization that existed now—the one infiltrated by Hydra—was.

Evenson turned back to Eva.

"So, kid—"

"I’m older than you."

"Fine. So, old lady."

Eva glared at him.

"Stop working for S.H.I.E.L.D. It isn’t worth it."

"They have no reason to cure you. But we do."

He smiled.

"Because we want to recruit you."

Eva stared at him.

That logic was disturbingly convincing.

"Can you really cure me?"

"Give me a second."

Evenson stood and walked over to the Eredar twins.

He lowered his voice.

"You two understand what’s happening to her body, right? Do you have any idea how to fix it?"

He was confident they could.

After all, they’d already restrained Eva’s abilities with a single magical chain.

And the restraint had worked so well that Eva hadn’t even wanted them to remove it.

Surely that meant they knew what they were doing.

Salorla’s answered first.

"We understand molecular destabilization?"

She shook her head.

"No. I have absolutely no idea what that is."

Evenson’s heart sank.

Then Othaleus added,

"Because we have our own term for that condition."

Evenson looked up.

"Phase shifting."

"Phase shifting?"

He stared at them.

"Why didn’t you just say that?"

The term sounded familiar.

Then he remembered.

"The imp’s ability?"

The little demon he’d contracted—his family’s tiny nightmare, not that he’d ever admit it out loud—Trapsey could phase through solid objects too.

"Yes," Salorla’s said with a nod.

"Only hers is considerably more advanced."

That made sense.

Trapsey could phase, but if the little imp had Eva’s level of control, Evenson’s household expenses would probably be much lower.

Still, there was one obvious difference.

"Then why is she suffering so much from it while Trapsey doesn’t seem bothered at all?"

Othaleus rolled her eyes.

"Because Trapsey is a demon imp."

"She is human."

"Their bodies aren’t remotely the same."

She paused.

"Fish breathe underwater. That doesn’t mean you can shove a human underwater and expect the same result."

"I can breathe underwater indefinitely."

Evenson blinked.

Then he realized he’d walked straight into that one.

"Right. Fine."

He recovered quickly.

"But if her phase shifting is more advanced, how did you suppress it?"

Othaleus smiled.

"We have absolutely no idea."

Evenson stared at her.

After watching his expression collapse, she continued.

"Knowing how something works and knowing why it works are two different things."

"Ask your little imp how it manages phase shifting."

"If it can actually explain the mechanism to you, I’ll—"

She paused.

Then, apparently deciding she’d made a sufficiently outrageous promise, she continued.

"I’ll cut off one of my horns and let you use it as a drinking cup."

Evenson’s eyes lit up.

Now that’s a deal.

An Eredar horn had to be worth something.

Probably an epic item, at minimum.

Then again, even if Trapsey actually knew how his ability worked, there was no chance the little demon would risk making Othaleus fulfill that promise.

Salorla’s raised a hand.

The magical chain binding Eva suddenly released itself and flew back into Salorla’s grasp.

Eva immediately stiffened.

The moment the chain disappeared, the pain returned.

Her body began flickering.

Her outline destabilized as afterimages scattered around her.

The Eredar twins moved together.

Both placed their hands on the chain and began chanting.

The links flashed several times.

Then Othaleus swung the chain like a whip.

Eva cried out.

"Ah—!"

But the chain didn’t wrap around her this time.

It plunged directly into her neck.

Her cry turned into a gasp.

And then—

Silence.

The pain vanished.

The chain continued sinking into her body until not even a trace remained.

Eva stared at her hands.

Her body was stable.

Completely stable.

"You..."

She looked at the twins in disbelief.

"You actually cured me?"

Salorla’s smiled.

"Of course not."

Eva’s expression fell.

"I merely gave you another shackle."

She explained calmly.

"Your abilities are now stabilized. They will only manifest when you deliberately use them."

Eva stared at her.

"You..."

Her anger returned.

"You’re just like S.H.I.E.L.D.!"

"Correct."

Salorla’s nodded without hesitation.

"We need your abilities too."

"If you became an ordinary woman, you wouldn’t be useful to us anymore."

"And if you’re no longer useful, there’d be no reason to recruit you."

Eva clenched her fists.

But Salorla’s continued.

"The difference is that we’re considerably more merciful."

"And considerably more competent."

"Your abilities are now completely stable. They obey your will, and they no longer damage your body."

"Even when you use them, you won’t experience the pain you suffered before."

Eva wasn’t sure she believed her.

She closed her eyes.

Her body shifted.

For a moment, she became incorporeal.

Then she returned to normal.

Nothing hurt.

No agony.

No sensation of her body tearing itself apart.

Nothing.

And more importantly, controlling the ability suddenly felt natural.

"See?"

Othaleus smiled.

"Isn’t this better?"

"When you want to be a ghost, you can be a ghost."

"And when you’re tired of it, simply stop using your abilities and you’re a normal woman again."

Eva’s breathing became unsteady.

"I..."

She looked at her hands.

"My body..."

"My life..."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"I can finally choose what happens to me?"

"Thank you."

She looked at the two Eredar.

"Thank you so much."

For as long as Eva could remember, she’d never truly had control over her own life.

Someone else always decided what she would do.

Someone else decided what her body would become.

Even her own abilities had never belonged to her.

Now, for the first time, she had a choice.

Othaleus smiled.

"We’ve generously given you quite a lot of freedom."

"But there’s one thing you should understand."

She raised one hand.

A small section of green magical chain appeared around her fingers.

Othaleus gently pulled.

Eva’s body jerked forward.

Her eyes widened.

The chain that had disappeared into her neck began emerging again, inch by inch, as though Othaleus were pulling it directly out of her body.

She slowly lowered her hand.

The chain disappeared back inside Eva.

"You’re free to make whatever choices you want."

"You can live whatever kind of life you want."

"I won’t interfere."

"But remember one thing."

Othaleus’s smile faded.

"The shackle of fate around your neck is in my hands."

Eva went silent.

So, in the end, she still wasn’t completely free.

But compared to the life she’d been living before...

This was still infinitely better.

"I understand."

She bowed her head.

"I won’t betray you."

If she’d already been bought, then she might as well earn her keep.

"Good."

Evenson nodded.

"For now, practice controlling your abilities."

"You need to make sure you can use them naturally. If you go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. and someone notices something has changed, our little arrangement could become a problem."

He smiled.

"And after that, I want you to watch a show."

He raised one finger.

"Remember—whatever happens, make sure you get a recording."