Chapter Forty-Five: The Crystal Coffin

The so-called second phase involved testing with powers from various psychic disciplines. Artanis had anticipated the results, and the experiments confirmed his suspicions. Purification energy, void energy, twilight energy, and even the solar energy wielded by the Purifiers could completely annihilate these monsters, though each did so in its own way.

Purification and solar energies required the eradication of every trace of the Deep Diver’s power, while void and twilight energies could kill them outright. However, given the shortage of Deep Divers, Vorazun went back into the city to capture more, finally enabling a complete round of testing.

Watching the Deep Divers reduced to ash, Vorazun excitedly ignited her psionic blade. Now that the experiment had yielded results, the next phase belonged to them. Artanis packed away his equipment and gazed at the city of R’lyeh, shrouded in mist.

…

Pepper Potts never imagined that Tony Stark would return from a trip with such a surprise: a massive crystal coffin—and someone inside!

“Hey, Tony, I think you owe me an explanation,” Pepper said, staring at the crystal coffin Tony had placed in the hall. The casket was so large that Tony hadn’t dared to move it to the lab yet.

“I just visited a local landmark and brought back a souvenir,” Tony shrugged. It had taken considerable effort to sneak this thing home.

“A local landmark? A souvenir?” Pepper rolled her eyes. “Maybe you could elaborate on your adventure?”

Tony didn’t really want Pepper involved with gods and monsters. After all, such beings defied all logic; their power to disturb the mind was beyond anything Tony or even S.H.I.E.L.D. could counter, and right now he was focused solely on finding a solution.

Pepper glanced at Tony’s silence, understanding his motives. As the person who knew Tony best, she suspected his protective instincts had surged again, even if she didn’t know exactly what had happened.

“All right, darling. Maybe you’ll tell me when the time is right,” Pepper stepped forward, kissing Tony tenderly. “I’m always here.”

Tony hugged her tightly. Ever since he became Iron Man, it felt as if the world had been wound up like a clock, and all sorts of bizarre things kept emerging. He increasingly sensed that humanity alone might not be enough to face future threats.

But for now, the most important task was unraveling the mystery of the woman inside the crystal coffin. After Pepper left, Tony addressed Jarvis, “Jarvis, what did the scans find?”

“Sir, the crystal coffin is perfectly formed, with no sign of any man-made carving, and not a single crack. If you wish to rescue the lady inside, you may have to force it open,” Jarvis projected the scan data before Tony. Since Tony had brought the crystal coffin to Stark Tower—Avengers Tower, really—Jarvis had been analyzing it nonstop.

Tony’s fingers swept over the data. Jarvis had already mentioned in the underground chamber that the coffin was seamless, and now it was confirmed—not even a hint of a gap. “So, if she was sealed inside before me, she should have suffocated. It seems she’s no ordinary person.”

As far as he knew, only the Hulk could survive in a vacuum. Even Captain America needed oxygen. Meaning, this wounded woman was already beyond most of them in this regard.

“Sir, should I call the other Avengers?” Jarvis understood the danger: forcibly opening the coffin in unknown circumstances could be risky.

“Well, it looks like I can’t keep this from them,” Tony sighed. He’d hoped to beat S.H.I.E.L.D. to useful data, but now he’d have to share the information.

Soon, the Avengers still in the tower received Tony’s summons. In the newly designed building, each Avenger had their own floor, making life and work easier—after all, for a team of super heroes, an entire floor sufficed for most needs.

Before long, Captain Steve Rogers and Dr. Bruce Banner arrived at Tony’s level. Barton and Natasha were out on assignments, so only these two were present at the base.

“What’s going on, Stark? Why did you tell us to be ready for battle?” Steve entered, alert. Tony’s message had asked them to gear up, so Steve brought his shield.

Dr. Banner pushed up his glasses, immediately noticing the massive crystal in the living room. Steve voiced his confusion.

“Guys, no need to panic. Jarvis, replay the earlier footage at triple speed,” Tony said calmly, sipping his tea—he’d let Jarvis do the explaining.

After watching Jarvis’s selected video clips, Steve and Banner understood what Tony meant.

“This was too risky—you should have told us and gone together,” Steve said, disapproving. He’d seen Tony’s solo expedition in the footage and objected to such actions.

“Come on, Cap. If we all went, S.H.I.E.L.D. would assume aliens were invading again,” Tony shrugged. “Besides, with Jarvis’s help, I handled those traps better alone.”

Mention of S.H.I.E.L.D. made Steve frown. After their last battle, despite everyone banding together against the alien invaders, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s reputation had plummeted in his mind, especially with the Hydra emblem still haunting him.

“You have a point, but you should have informed us as soon as you brought the coffin here,” Steve conceded.

“Well, I’m telling you now,” Tony said, shaking his head. He hadn’t expected Cap to dislike S.H.I.E.L.D. either.

Meanwhile, Dr. Banner was already inspecting the crystal coffin, jotting notes in his notebook. “This is incredible. Such a crystal, naturally formed, has never been seen.”

“Oh, come on, Bruce, it’s obviously not natural. Maybe it’s the work of some crystal-powered hero,” Tony rolled his eyes. As a leading scientist, he was well aware of Banner’s thought process.