Chapter Fifty-Eight: Expedition to the Antarctic

What are you talking about? Piers was shocked and furious, and he drew his pistol at once, aiming it at Rumlow’s forehead.

Rumlow’s smile did not change. He tilted his head slightly to the right, his eyes fixed on Piers as a faint green glow flashed once more.

“Why resist? Why evade it? This is the blessing of our god. Only He will save us all, lifting us beyond the boundary of life and death and granting us true salvation.” Rumlow’s voice seemed to drift from far away. Piers felt his consciousness sinking lower and lower, his hand too weak to raise the gun.

He seemed to be drowning in the ocean, endless seawater flooding wildly into every opening of his body. He wanted to vomit, yet only inhaled more seawater. Just as he felt he was about to die by drowning, a shadow of eerie green appeared before his eyes.

Behold them: mighty creatures, whose claws can pierce through steel plates with ease, creatures able to live freely in both sea and land. Behold them: enchanting creatures, immortal and undying, able to rise again even when reduced to pulp. Behold them: beautiful creatures, their smooth skin shimmering with the mysteries of the deep, their wise eyes carrying the traces of ages. They are the great Cthulhu’s kin, the Deep Ones.

Piers and his men were effortlessly subjugated by the chosen one, becoming part of the Church of Cthulhu. With the power of S.H.I.E.L.D. behind them, they began to spread into American politics, and all of this remained unknown to the Avengers far away in Antarctica.

...

The Antarctic continent. The Quinjet carried the Avengers to this frozen holy land, where the two surviving members of the research team had already been waiting for some time.

“Tch, this place really lives up to its reputation.” Tony put on his helmet. In a place like this, he could only stay in armor the whole time.

Steve suited up in his winter gear. Though it was the latest model, it was still a size larger than his combat uniform, so he adjusted the fit of his shield.

Qu Yizhi stepped off the plane. The hem of her thin dress did not stir in the freezing wind. She closed her eyes slightly; after arriving here, part of her memory seemed to have awakened, with strange images flashing now and then.

“How is it? Remember anything?” Natasha was a Russian by birth, but she still obediently wore winter gear. She had been keeping a close eye on Qu Yizhi.

Qu Yizhi shook her head. “I can feel that this place is somehow connected to my past, but my memories are still too blurry. Only fragments keep flashing through my mind.”

“Don’t think too much about it. Maybe once we get to the site, it’ll all come back at once,” Banner said in comfort. He had some experience with memory loss himself.

“All right, folks. Get your gear and weapons ready. Our Antarctic adventure is about to begin.” Tony cracked a small joke once everyone had disembarked.

Coulson had already gone to speak with the reception staff nearby, and learned that the two survivors were in a tent just beside them.

“Then we’ll head over first, Coulson.” Steve nodded gravely. As Captain America, he actually did not want to come to Antarctica at all, but his professionalism would not allow him to refuse. Besides, he also wanted to improve his experience fighting otherworldly creatures.

And yes, since S.H.I.E.L.D. had already obtained Odin’s dossier, Tony Stark naturally had access to it as well. What Tony regretted was that Thor was not here; otherwise, the Avengers’ file might have been even more complete than S.H.I.E.L.D.’s.

But for now, the most urgent matter was dealing with the situation in Antarctica. Surely this place could not also be hiding some alien species and their servant race? If so, why had Odin’s files not reached them sooner?

Thinking as they walked, the group arrived at the tent. Although the temperature inside was much higher than outside, almost no one removed their winter gear; they had only come to ask a few questions.

“H-hello, are you... the Avengers?” The young team member became extremely excited when he saw them enter, especially after spotting Captain America’s shield and Tony’s armor.

“Calm down, kid. Your teammates are still waiting for us to save them, so tell us everything we need to know. If there’s nothing else, we’re setting out.” Tony waved a hand, indicating that his time was valuable and this was no moment for a fan chat.

“O-okay, let me think.” The poor team member blushed deeply and stammered a little. “After the captain and the others went in, they suddenly started dancing for no reason, and then they pressed something and disappeared.”

“Dancing? That wasn’t mentioned in your earlier report.” Tony raised an eyebrow, showing a bit of interest in this new piece of information.

“Oh, yes. We were too nervous before and almost forgot that strange movement.” The team member took a deep breath and said, “After the captain’s group entered that room, it seemed they saw some kind of mural, and then they began performing a dance we had never seen before.”

“Good. This is valuable information. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be leaving now.” Tony nodded, reluctantly accepting the explanation. After all, dancing was indeed hard to connect with a spatial rift.

Coulson and the staff nearby were responsible for taking the two frightened survivors back to New York. They would have to undergo a week of quarantine and psychological observation. Nick Fury had always been extremely wary of anything capable of influencing the mind.

Under the guidance of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, the Avengers arrived at this newly discovered oasis. Because of the peculiar nature of an Antarctic oasis, storms were almost impossible here, so a number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were stationed nearby.

“All right, looks like we’re all going to be moles this time.” Tony gave the primitive underground passage a disgusted look, then led the way into the tunnel.

One after another, the other Avengers followed into the subterranean cavern. Advancing along the route recorded in the footage, they reached the final hollow chamber.

“So? Do you feel anything strange?” Since everyone present was a technical type, they had no choice but to ask Qu Yizhi, whose memory had still not fully recovered.

“Mm. It feels very strange here, as if something exists and yet does not exist.” Qu Yizhi closed her eyes and carefully sensed the surrounding aura. This was where the expedition members had vanished, and the spatial rift must be here as well.

Meanwhile, Tony was constantly adjusting his equipment. He intended to use scientific means to detect the spatial rift, but that would take a little time. The others, wary of the earlier claim that entering would make people start dancing, were all standing guard for the two of them.