"That's right. I'm also curious—how did you know it was me?"
Dr. Pym quickly regained his composure. As the original Ant-Man, he had seen far too much to be shaken by a single remark.
"I have my ways. Everyone has secrets, don't they, Dr. Pym?"
Karl smiled mysteriously before continuing,
"Scott's still unconscious, right? Want me to wake him up?"
Pym hadn't expected Karl to even know Scott's identity. His tone sharpened slightly.
"No need. This is part of his test. I have my own plan—I don't require outside interference."
Karl shrugged, unconcerned.
"Suit yourself. If you ever need help, feel free to contact me. I'm always open to solving problems… for the right price."
He flicked a business card in front of the camera.
"I only need to take Scott with me."
Pym still didn't trust him—more accurately, he didn't trust any Avenger.
At the root of it all, he didn't trust Stark. Anyone with that name.
For years, Pym had believed Stark and S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to steal his research—Pym Particles. But Howard Stark had never cared about them. He only wanted Pym to help arm the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
The real ones coveting the particles had always been HYDRA.
Neither Howard nor Peggy had ever intended to take them.
"Oh, go ahead. Leave whenever you want. You're the ones who interrupted my sleep anyway."
Karl waved it off casually. He had zero interest in Pym Particles. To him, enlarging or shrinking things was trivial—just another form of magic.
At this stage, Scott couldn't even shrink to the quantum level anyway.
"…Thank you."
Pym exhaled, his tone softening now that Karl wasn't interfering.
"And remember—if you need anything, call me. Or come by the office. As long as the price is right."
Karl added one last time.
Even if he was powerless now, that would change in two months. Pym's plan—and Darren's research—wouldn't be finished anytime soon.
Without another word, Pym shrank the ant, grabbed the unconscious Scott, and slipped out through the door gap.
---
After they left, Gwen looked at Karl curiously.
"Who exactly was that? He can enlarge and shrink living organisms!"
As a biologist, she knew how difficult that was. Manipulating size alone wasn't the issue—but doing it safely to living beings was nearly impossible.
"He's just an old man—Hank Pym. Former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist. He created something called Pym Particles, which allow size manipulation."
Karl leaned back.
"He used them to become a superhero—Ant-Man."
"Someone actually invented something like that… incredible."
Gwen sighed, genuinely impressed.
---
Scott slowly opened his eyes.
The surroundings were unfamiliar.
After staring blankly for a moment, he suddenly felt a gaze fixed on him.
He looked up—
A beautiful woman in a black suit stood before him, staring silently while holding her phone.
Scott jolted upright.
"Y-you… who are you?"
She didn't answer, still focused on her phone.
"You've just been standing there watching me sleep?!"
"…Yes."
"Why?!"
She finally looked up, expression cold.
"Because the last time you were here, you stole something."
Scott froze, glancing around.
Recognition hit.
"Hey—look—I'm really sorry about that—"
He threw off the blanket and tried to get out of bed—
Then froze.
The floor was covered in a dense swarm of ants. Not a single place to step.
He immediately scrambled back onto the bed.
"These are giant tropical bullet ants. Ranked number one on the Schmidt Pain Index."
She smiled faintly.
"They'll be watching you while I'm away."
Scott swallowed hard.
"Dr. Pym is waiting downstairs."
She turned and left without another glance.
"Hey! How am I supposed to get out of here?!"
No response.
---
With no choice, Scott cautiously lowered one foot—
To his surprise, the ants parted, forming a small clearing around his foot.
"…Oh."
Step by step, he carefully made his way out.
Eventually, he reached the living room downstairs.
---
"I can hack the servers. Darren won't notice. We don't need him."
Hope spoke quietly.
Scott entered just in time to hear it.
"I assume you've met my daughter, Hope."
Pym folded his newspaper.
"Oh—yeah. I did. She's… very pretty."
Scott answered awkwardly.
"She believes we don't need you."
"Yes. We absolutely don't."
Hope crossed her arms.
"I went through a lot of trouble to get him to steal the suit, and you let him get arrested."
Pym said, though his gaze was on Scott, the words were directed at Hope.
"Fine. Your call. Let him try. But if he fails—I'm stepping in."
Her tone left no room for argument.
Pym poured Scott a cup of tea.
"Now that you're here, I think you'll find the task I'm about to propose… interesting."
"Task? What task?"
Scott frowned, feeling like he'd been caught in a carefully woven trap.
"To be honest, Scott, I've been watching you for a while—ever since the VistaCorp incident."
Scott immediately raised a hand.
"Let me stop you right there. It's theft, not robbery. I don't do robbery—that's for amateurs with no skill."
He said it with absolute seriousness.
For Scott, there was a clear distinction.
He was a professional.
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