Thor had slipped into the temporary research outpost S.H.I.E.L.D. had set up around his hammer, Mjolnir. Still unaware of the duties tied to it, he couldn't lift the enchanted weapon. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents quickly caught him, hauled him away, and locked him up.
Coulson watched Thor being taken off, his instincts telling him this man was connected to the hammer. But Thor's failure to move it and his ordinary appearance gave no clues. He looked just like everyone else who'd tried. Coulson started to turn, eager to push the researchers for quick answers, when a strange feeling stopped him. For some time, unnoticed, a figure cloaked in a hooded robe of swirling black smoke had been standing behind him. The smoke hung thick, hiding the stranger's face completely.
Though Coulson couldn't see who it was, he knew this figure had recently helped Tony Stark resolve a huge crisis. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had even given the mysterious ally a codename: the Dark Wizard.
Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know Sebastian's true identity. They thought he was just a person with superhuman abilities, not a wizard with dark, powerful magic. They couldn't believe he had such immense strength, far beyond what he'd shown before. His fighting style and powers were so different that they never linked him to the Dark Wizard.
S.H.I.E.L.D. knew secrets most people, even governments and armies, couldn't imagine. But they weren't all-knowing. Many things, especially magic, stayed hidden from them.
Coulson figured the figure was probably on the side of good, so he didn't run or fight. Instead, he spoke carefully. "Hello, what's your name? If you don't want to tell me your name, then why not call you by the codename we gave you internally?"
"Codename? What codename?" A cold, deep voice came from the smoke, making Coulson shiver.
Coulson pressed on. "Dark Wizard! This is the codename we gave you within S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Dark Wizard?" Sebastian's lips curved slightly under the smoky veil. "Just right!"
Coulson let out a relieved breath and smiled. "So, Mr. Dark Wizard, what are you doing here this time?"
"It's simple. I want to see the hammer."
"Excuse me, our researchers are studying the hammer, I think—"
"That thing doesn't belong to you," Sebastian cut in. "Besides, it's not a scientific object. You can't study it."
Coulson paused, surprised. His eyes brightened. "So, Mr. Dark Wizard, you know what that thing is?"
"I know a little," Sebastian said. "That's why I want to look at it closely."
"Well… then please follow me, Mr. Dark Wizard."
Coulson led Sebastian toward the hammer's location. Along the way, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stared—some shocked, some excited, others scared. They kept their distance, watching as Coulson and Sebastian reached the deep pit where Mjolnir rested.
As Sebastian stepped into the pit, a sharp sensation pricked his forehead, like a blade held close. He looked up and saw Hawkeye, Clint Barton, perched on a metal platform above, his bow drawn, an arrow aimed straight at him.
Sebastian raised his hand, flicking his dragon heartstring wand toward Barton. With a soft Transfiguration Charm, the arrow on Barton's bowstring morphed into a cluster of sunflowers.
The sudden move startled Coulson and the nearby agents. They raised their weapons—guns and batons—pointing them at Sebastian. But before they could act, Sebastian waved his wand again, casting Expelliarmus. Every weapon flew from their hands, clattering to the ground at his feet.
"I don't like having weapons pointed at me," Sebastian said calmly.
He approached Mjolnir, standing firm on a mound of earth and rock. His fingers brushed the hammer's handle, but it didn't budge. After a moment's thought, he raised his wand and tapped Mjolnir lightly, casting Revelio to probe its secrets. The instant his wand touched the hammer, a dazzling burst of electric light erupted, striking Sebastian square in the chest. He staggered back, barely catching himself at the pit's edge.
The lightning's impact scattered the black smoke cloaking Sebastian as he stumbled back. Just as his face risked exposure, he flicked his dragon heartstring wand, summoning the smoke to swirl around him once more, veiling his form completely.
Through the haze, Sebastian glanced at Coulson. Had Coulson glimpsed anything? The agent's attention seemed fixed on Mjolnir, which had just sparked to life, not on Sebastian himself.
"Mr. Dark Wizard, that hammer reacted," Coulson said, his voice sharp with curiosity. "How did you make it do that?"
"Magic," Sebastian replied, turning to face Coulson without hesitation. "I told you before, the name S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me fits. I'm a wizard. I use magic, not the superpowers you keep assuming."
"Magic?" Coulson's tone was skeptical. "Mr. Dark Wizard, that's not a funny joke."
Sebastian smiled and shook his head. "You know aliens exist in this world. Why can't you believe magic does too?"
With that, Sebastian ended the exchange. Coulson was a decent man, even heroic, but Sebastian had no desire to get tangled up with him.
He stepped toward Mjolnir again, raising his wand. Thin tendrils of black smoke drifted from the wand's tip, curling around the hammer. Slowly, blue and white sparks crackled across Mjolnir's surface, as if it were poised to strike.
But Sebastian abruptly pulled back, canceling the Revelio spell with a flick of his wand. He retreated to the pit's edge. He'd found the answer he sought—no need to provoke the hammer further.
Mjolnir carried Odin's will, a force binding it to Thor alone. Even someone as worthy as Steve Rogers, the future Captain, couldn't lift it now. Odin's decree was absolute, not to be challenged lightly.
Sebastian's discovery was clear: the hammer's handle was crafted from the World Tree, just as he'd suspected. If he could obtain a fragment of the World Tree to form a wand's body, paired with a core of equal power, he might create a wand rivaling the Infinity Stones. Should that prove impossible, he could wait for Mjolnir's destruction. Salvaging its remains, especially the handle, could yield a wand of extraordinary potential.
Those were plans for another time. For now, confirming the handle's material was enough. The future would bring opportunities.
"I've got what I came for," Sebastian said to Coulson. "I won't stay longer."
He turned to leave, but Coulson's voice stopped him. "Mr. Dark Wizard, S.H.I.E.L.D. has no bad intentions toward you. We respect you greatly. Can you spare a moment so we can talk properly?"
"I know what you want to discuss," Sebastian began, pausing briefly. But then he twisted his wand, vanishing in a spiraling vortex of Apparition. His final words echoed faintly, "But I don't want to talk to you."
Coulson sighed as Sebastian vanished before his eyes. People with extraordinary powers were all so unpredictable. At least Stark had cooperated with S.H.I.E.L.D. after the expo crisis, keeping the director's Avengers plan alive. Without that, their efforts might have crumbled.
Meanwhile, Sebastian slipped away from Mjolnir's site, following the Trace Charm on Thor to a nearby S.H.I.E.L.D. holding facility. He cloaked himself with a Disillusionment Charm and lingered in the shadows. He recalled Thor meeting Loki here, but the exact timing eluded him. To be safe, Sebastian stayed close, watching and waiting for Loki's arrival.
He had no desire to clash or tangle with Loki. But he knew Loki didn't use the Rainbow Bridge to reach Earth. The trickster had his own method to travel Asgard's nine realms. If Sebastian could uncover that secret, it would be a tremendous advantage.
Free travel across the nine realms—its value was beyond measure.
Sebastian waited most of the day, but Loki didn't appear. Instead, Coulson arrived, questioning Thor briefly before leaving empty-handed. Sebastian prepared to keep watch, but a faint ripple of magic caught his senses.
Still invisible, he moved to an empty corner, tapped his wand to his temple with Oculus Veritas, a spell to pierce illusions. His vision shifted, revealing a new scene.
In the interrogation room, Thor, once calm, grew agitated. Before him stood a lean man with black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, dressed like a refined gentleman. A wicked glint marked his features—Loki, unmistakably.
Ignoring their conversation, Sebastian fixed his gaze on Loki. After a brief exchange with Thor, Loki cast a spell and vanished. Sebastian didn't hesitate. He recast his Disillusionment Charm, muffled his steps, and trailed Loki back to Mjolnir's pit.
There, Loki tried repeatedly to lift the hammer, each attempt failing. Sebastian watched, unmoved, a flicker of amusement rising at the trickster's frustration.
Loki soon realized Mjolnir wouldn't budge. He glanced skyward, as if glaring at Odin, then stormed off, heading northwest.
Using magic, Loki moved swiftly, reaching a barren wilderness in moments.
Abruptly, Loki halted, spinning to scan the area behind him. A sly, wicked smile crept across his face.
"Come out," Loki called. "I know you're following me. I must say, Earth's mages aren't as feeble as I thought, seeing through my illusion and evading me this long."
No one emerged. Loki's smile widened. He raised a hand, firing a burst of green flame to his right. The blast roared, shaking the ground.
From the explosion, a swirl of black smoke shot out, landing to Loki's right. It coalesced into Sebastian, his hooded robe of writhing smoke cloaking him once more.