FBI: Chapter 40/41

Chapter 40: Deeper Sea Star

Coulson's face immediately flushed, despite the fact that the temperature in this ice cave was somehow even colder than before.

Dante glanced at him out of reflex. This guy was running on pure fanboy adrenaline.

"Coulson, calm down. Your idol's still an ice pop! Even if you're Captain America's dream guy, you've gotta wait until we get back to HQ!"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Coulson coughed a few times, then shot back, "It's just hard to believe the most iconic hero in American history was frozen up here for nearly a century."

"The real shocker shouldn't be that he survived being frozen for that long! I mean, I'm not knocking your scientists, but we're talking tech from over a hundred years ago…"

If this were a pure Marvel Universe, Dante wouldn't question anything.

But in a mixed universe? Weird is normal.

"No need to worry about that," Coulson replied, like he was about to give a full science lecture. "Back when the Super Soldier Serum was developed, survival in extreme environments was factored in. It gives the subject high resistance to both heat and cold…"

Then he immediately betrayed himself.

"…And most importantly, the research guy who fell down there had scanning equipment. It picked up vital signs from Captain America."

Dante rolled his eyes.

You could've led with the part where you already confirmed he was alive!

Still, he wasn't gonna blame Coulson. The man was clearly overwhelmed. Honestly, it was impressive he remembered this much while riding a full-on emotional rollercoaster.

Whatever. First things first—dig him out.

Dante summoned more Will Green Light, materializing a whole rig of floating, glowing-green ice-breaking tools in midair. Under his control, they began chipping away at the permafrost surrounding Captain America.

After a series of clang clang clang, Cap—ice layer and all—was neatly carved out.

"Huh? That's it?" Harley looked visibly let down. "I was expecting the old ice pop to unfreeze and wake up like BAM, surprise revival."

"Revive your head," Dante muttered, wiping away imaginary sweat. "Yeah, he's alive, but his body's been hibernating for decades. He needs time to boot back up."

The tools made from Will Green Light were absurdly sharp. He'd intentionally left the ice around Cap thick, not just for medical reasons—but because he was afraid of accidentally nicking the guy.

They were going to be coworkers, after all. Would've looked bad.

Although, given Cap's legendary moral compass, even if Dante had accidentally dinged him during excavation, the guy probably would've thanked him anyway.

"Ada, notify the scientific expedition task force that we're done here. They can pack up and head out."

"You're too late," Ada replied smoothly. "Before we came down, I already ordered the expedition team to pull out via the Bureau's command channel. They're probably halfway through loading their gear by now."

Ada Wong, ladies and gentlemen. Queen of Predictive Logistics.

The moment Dante said he'd handle the digging, Ada had made the executive decision to get the regular staff out of here. No way they were sticking around to witness what was coming next.

This is why she was his adjutant. Not the strongest on the squad—but easily the best external brain in his entire orbit.

Dante had imagination and reckless impulse. Ada handled the clean-up and the details.

Seeing that everything was already taken care of, Dante nodded, opened a portal back to the Airbus, and said:

"Time to go."

"W-what kind of power is that!?" Coulson's jaw dropped. This one hadn't been in the dossier.

"Oh, this?" Dante waved casually. "Just a little teleportation magic. First time I'm using it in front of you. Newly acquired."

He tossed Cap's irregularly-shaped ice coffin, into the portal like a chunk of luggage and gestured for everyone else to go in.

Coulson, Ada, and Harley stepped through first.

Coulson and Ada immediately headed to the equipment bay to see if there was anything they could use to start the thawing process. The ice block was too bulky to move as-is.

Harley, maybe because the arctic chill had temporarily frozen her brain cells, actually didn't start bouncing off the walls. Instead, she wandered off to the medical area to grab some vital-sign scanning gear to double-check Cap's status.

Watching her go, Dante felt a little emotional.

Harley was doing something serious. It almost made him feel like all the neck bites and lipstick marks were worth it. Almost.

The price of being her emotional support chew toy. He couldn't remember the last time he left a room without looking like he'd walked through a kiss-themed warzone.

Once the three Agents—none of whom had surpassed human physical limits yet—were safely back aboard the Airbus, Dante turned to call his beloved Goddess of Death and her chaotic younger brother, the God of Mischief.

But the siblings were still standing at the edge of the pit where Cap had been.

Now, all that remained was a large hole.

And both of them were staring into it.

"Hela, Loki, let's roll."

"No. Come here," Hela said without looking up.

"Something's… wrong here."

"What's the issue?"

Dante shut the portal and made his way over.

If Hela—an actual Heavenly Father-tier deity—was bothered by something, it wasn't something to ignore.

She didn't answer right away.

Instead, she summoned a Nightsword from the void with a flick of her hand.

It was a move eerily similar to his own Will Green Light materialization. Dante used imagination. Hela used her divine power as a mold, compressed elemental forces around her, and solidified them into a weapon.

Sounded complicated, but it all happened in a blink.

"What did you find? Why'd you bust out your sword?"

Dante's expression grew more serious.

He hadn't forgotten the "other things" mentioned in the system mission brief.

Could it be… Hela's perception had picked up one of them?

She didn't answer his question.

Instead, she controlled the Nightsword to stab straight down into the pit's center—driving it deeper and deeper.

Then she finally spoke.

"Extend your light along the sword's path. Increase the brightness. Illuminate everything below."

Dante didn't hesitate.

He pushed the Will Green Light to max output and funneled it downward along the sword's path.

After around ten meters, the energy reached something beneath the ice.

Water.

Seawater, to be exact.

The light spread into the frozen depths, illuminating the glacier and the dark ocean below.

And then—

Right in the middle of the glowing green abyss…

An eye opened.

Massive.

Wide.

Staring.

An eye almost as big as the entire ice cavern.

Dante froze for half a second.

Then instantly snapped open his communicator and roared:

"TAKE OFF IMMEDIATELY! NOW!"

"Motherf**ker, there's a giant STARFISH down here!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 41: That’s It?

As soon as Dante issued the warning, he opened a portal, booted Loki through it with zero ceremony, and—while Hela wasn't looking—grabbed her hand and bolted in after him.

The other side of the portal opened on the open ground near the Airbus. Dante emerged, scanning the surroundings immediately.

"Dante! Did I even get a chance to refuse the portal? Was kicking me in the ass really necessary?!"

"Shut it, you tsundere. Keep talking and I'll get your sister to slap you again."

Loki clamped his mouth shut, still fuming.

Not that he had a choice.

His lovely big sister had about as much familial affection for him as a tax audit.

Translation: she was kind of treating him like family now.

And more importantly, Loki couldn't beat either of them. One more snarky remark and he might end up the sad victim of a co-op sibling smackdown.

With Loki finally quiet, Dante exhaled.

Thankfully, Ada had ordered the entire scientific task force to retreat before they even entered the ice cave. Judging by the tracks in the snow, their vehicles were already long gone.

At least there wouldn't be any innocent bystanders to rescue.

"It really was a giant lifeform," Hela said calmly, with zero concern—only satisfaction. "I felt a faint pulse the moment I entered the cave. At first, I thought something was off with the frozen human, but it was coming from below him."

No fear. Just full-on, goddess-level vindication.

She turned to Dante, eyes glittering. "This planet's North Pole actually harbors such a massive creature? Just how many surprises is Midgard hiding from me?"

"My dear Hela, that thing is definitely not from Earth."

Dante shrugged and started giving her the briefest crash course possible.

"That's called Starro. It's an intelligent space monster. Wanders the stars, always looking for a prime parasitic environment."

"Parasitic?"

"Yup. When it finds a good spot, it asexually reproduces thousands of spores that latch onto the locals and mind-control the hell outta them. Doesn't matter which planet—it always ends in disaster."

The difference between Starro and your average space kaiju? Most just smash stuff for fun.

Starro? Starro doesn't smash. Starro settles in, brainwashes the ruling species, hijacks the planet's ecosystem, then strip-mines it like a corporate vampire.

The others leave a mess and go home. Starro moves in, lives rent-free, and takes your entire monthly salary.

That's what you call sustainable overexploitation.

And if a host doesn't get treatment quickly after infection? Game over.

Just as Dante finished explaining, Ada's voice crackled in through the comms.

"I've lifted the Airbus into hover mode. What happened down there? What giant starfish? Are you serious right now?"

Ada might mess around on the regular, but when it came to missions, she was a total pro.

The fact that she followed Dante's one-line freakout and immediately got the aircraft airborne? Perfect response.

Before Dante could reply—

RUMBLE RUMBLE.

The ground shook beneath their feet.

Then, with a blast of force, a massive purple-and-blue starfish erupted from the ice!

Dante instantly cloaked himself in Will Green Light for defense, stepping lightly off the flying ice chunks and putting some distance between himself and the monster.

Loki—while considered "weak" compared to Dante and his charming sister—was still a god. Dodging the clumsy attacks of a sluggish kaiju? Easy work.

Hela didn't even dodge. She just floated there in midair.

And then?

A hundred pitch-black Nightsword manifested around her in an instant.

They spun like deadly petals in orbit.

The second they made contact with the shattered glacier, the entire sky turned into a fine mist of ice powder.

Dante caught the wild gleam in Hela's eyes.

Oh yeah. She was thrilled.

This was Hela, Goddess of Death—conqueror of realms, destroyer of armies, literal war goddess. Calling her a warmonger was practically a compliment.

After being sealed away for over a thousand years, her combat instincts must've been clawing at her ribcage for release.

And now? Giant space starfish? Perfect warm-up target.

That's why Dante wasn't worried about Starro being the real danger.

The actual threat was if that thing got loose and started latching onto civilians. Its spores could wreck towns.

But as a monster?

Please.

Against a Heavenly Father-tier goddess? It was just XP.

Hell, even Loki—if he gave up the rogue cosplay and actually used his ridiculous multiverse-level spellbook—could probably solo Starro.

Suicide Squad killed it in the movie. Sure, that version was weaker, but so was the Squad.

A kaiju getting killed by rats with attitude says more about the monster than the rats.

"You… are all… SLAVES."

A sharp voice echoed directly into their heads.

Dante and Loki exchanged a look.

Well, it was definitely stronger than the movie version. This one had legit psychic projection.

Not much, though. Judging by how long it took to speak those words, the thing probably couldn't maintain a full telepathic conversation.

Maybe a thousand years ago, Starro could've been mistaken for a god by early humans. Might've even ended up as Lovecraft's muse.

But today?

It was just future sashimi for an actual goddess.

Dante didn't even bother attacking.

He and Loki just watched as Hela went full-on blender mode.

The Nightsword danced in formation, each one enhanced with her divine power. Their sharpness wasn't just supernatural—it was Asgardian divine-tier.

Starro never stood a chance.

And just like that—

The starfish was dead.

Aside from its big dramatic entrance, it hadn't offered any of the pressure or weight you'd expect from a true kaiju-class monster.

Because this wasn't beast vs. beast.

It was beast vs. God.

Even so, Dante couldn't help but marvel.

This was Hela at her lowest point—sealed away for a thousand years, drained of most of her power—and she still crushed a universe-level threat like it was a Tuesday workout.

Honestly, if he had to go all out right now? He still wasn't sure he could beat her.

His best assets were:

Green Lantern Ring

Diamond Form

Loki's physical toolkit

That was plenty for smashing Thor, Loki, Tony Stark—heck, even Vision if necessary.

But someone like Hela?

Different league entirely.

Before long, the shredded remains of Starro were scattered across a hundred-meter radius of snow and ice.

And Hela?

Still hovering in the air, radiating joy and goddess energy, laughing like she'd just cured her centuries-long itch.

"HAHAHAHAHA! Universe monster? That's it?"

(To be continued.)