The Ties That Bind
Hank Pym braced himself from the oncoming storm, curious as to whether or not he should just turn around now. 'No, I'm not going to back away from this, not now.' He felt as his hand slowly began to open the large doors of Avengers Mansion.
"Greetings sir, and welcome back." JARVIS stated, as expected. Hank simply smiled and thanked the AI system as he stepped inside. He had almost forgotten the sight of the massive Foyer before him.
"Pym! Bout' time you showed up around here," Clint came up beside him, clocking him on the shoulder playfully, it was nice to see a welcoming face. "It's been weeks, man, what have you been up to?"
Hank smiled brightly, "Research, meetings… research. More or less the same as always, but what about you, Clint?"
"Fighting, kicking ass, annoying the shit out of Stark… Did I mention kicking ass?" He smiled genuinely, "Seriously though, the Avengers have kept me pretty busy, it's not the same without you and Thor, of course, but we get work done. Especially me, I mean, I don't want to brag or nothin' but-"
"Clint, all you do is brag," Hank laughed, soon joined by Hawkeye. The man was in his 'civies' for once, a comfortable sight for a man who hasn't been in the field for a while. Hank felt himself being pushed into the living room to where, he could only assume, the other Avengers were waiting.
"Come on, the guys will be thrilled to know that you are back." Hank was about to speak up when he heard a familiar, low growl erupt from the enormous, green man in front of him.
"Hmph, look who came crawling back. Told ya' fighting is fun, couldn't stay away, could yah?" Hulk grinned up from his place on the sofa. "Or did you decide to stick around for your girlfriend." He laughed loudly, soon joined by Clint.
"I don't know how long I'll be staying around actually, I have some important work to attend to. And although Janet is not my girlfriend, I am here to see her. Would you happen to know where she is?" Hank asked, watching carefully as his two former teammates' faces fell.
"Seriously? I thought that you'd be around for good this time, Pym?" Clint sighed.
"Anyways, we know where she is at, might not want to interrupt though… I have a feeling that you'll get a face full of fist," Hulk growled slightly, "Can we assume that you might've had somethin' to do with this, bug boy?"
Hank lowered his head slightly and Clint took note of that right away. "Geez, what happened this time?" Hank was about to respond, when Clint added to his statement. "Wait, lemme guess, you blew her off again, or oh, I know, you were being overprotective. Man, you really fucked this one up, she looked like she was ready to pounce as soon as she stepped in the door. Funny thing is, she pulled in with some guy… Jealous there, aye Pym?" Hank stopped him there.
"I get it, Clint, I messed up… And to answer your question, yes, I am. That man you saw her show up with today is scum, he is up to absolutely no good. I heard the conversation that they were having, something about him isn't right." He turned his head towards the window, eyes like daggers, "Not at all."
Shocked by the tone of the normally peaceful scientist, the men in the room had not noticed the armored avenger approaching the scene.
"Hank?" Tony questioned, "What are you doing here, is everything alright? Wait, don't answer that." Hank felt a hand on his shoulder. "Can we talk about something," he looked towards the others, "in private." The others slowly made their ways out of the room, Tony directed his full attention to Hank.
"And what is this about exactly?" Hank asked, turning to his friend.
"Jan, actually, I had an interesting confrontation with her a bit ago." Tony stated, pulling Hank towards the couch. "Mind telling me what happened?"
"As if you don't already know Tony, it is drastically clear that she told you everything." Hank shifted uncomfortably, "and yes, this is all my fault."
"Interesting, she had been saying the same thing," Tony watched as the scientist's brow perked up.
"Why would she ever blame herself, I was absolutely unfair to act as I did, I've never felt so ashamed in myself."
"Because, Hank, she is Jan…" he trailed off for a moment, "I think both of you are overreacting, this is obviously just another sign that you two need to hook up already." Hank's eyes rolled, causing Tony to throw his arms up in defense, "I'm serious!"
"Tony, it isn't that simple. Jan is-" he sighed, "Jan is- she deserves more than just me."
"Well, she wants you, Hank, it is obvious that you both need to take the next step." Hank raised a careful eyebrow, causing Tony to sigh indefinitely, "and you; of all people, know what I mean…"
"Yes, Tony, I do, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with you. Jan deserves someone special, someone that I will never be, and certainly not someone like the excuse for a man she came here with." Hank mumbled the last part a bit, but Tony didn't miss a thing, smirking at him with an eyebrow raised. Hank just shrugged him off and continued, "But that's beside the point, I need to apologize to her, we need to talk this out and-"
"Yeah, good luck with that, I don't know how Cap and T'challa have lasted as long as they have…"
"As I was saying, this is my fault and I need to fix it. I know that she is mad at me… well beyond that most likely, but I'm taking my chances here, a broken arm or two is worth it. As long as I can try and gain her forgiveness, I'll be happy… Although I don't deserve it." He sighed slightly, about to make his departure, when Tony caught his shoulder.
"It'll be okay, trust me, you two need each other," he smiled genuinely, "good luck, genius." Hank smiled at him before stalking off towards the elevator, anticipating the sights that awaited him."
Janet panted heavily, throwing yet another strong punch at the target in front of her. A few kicks and some more swift punches followed, eventually leading to an angry growl and a high powered bio-blast in the robotic figure's head. She grunted, furiously throwing herself to the ground. She had finally broken… after destroying most of the training room's punching bags and practice levels. She kneeled down, sobbing into her hands gently. She felt the salty tears roll down her face and land on her gym clothes and patch gloves.
All this time she had regret to notice Steve and T'challa hadn't left with Tony after all. The two men rose from their places in the corner and approached the girl. Neither man was used to seeing her a vulnerable as she looked now. T'challa placed a gentle hand on her back, patting it gently, as Cap let her lean into him and sob. This wasn't a sight he was initially prepared for, but he accepted it and helped the Panther comfort the woman. The pair watched as she stood and wiped away some final tears, trying to etch out a smile.
"Thanks guys, I'm sorry that you had to see that, I'm not usually one to break down." She sniffled, pulling herself together and giggling slightly, "bet I look pretty foolish right now…"
"Not at all," the Wakandan said softly, "you look like a warrior to me, one whom has experienced much, but kept it all hidden. Janet, you must not treat yourself in this fashion, things will play out as they have been willed to. You are strong, so you will pull through and relinquish what troubles you. Something tells me that Doctor Pym will-"
"Will what, T'challa, see the error of his ways and come to set things right once again?" she said in a mocking tone, "it isn't like it'll change anything, he doesn't see things like I do." Sighing, she stood and moved over towards the training dummy, "he never will…"
"I don't know about that, Jan, he is a very intelligent man, I'm sure that he will figure things out soon enough. Like T'challa had said, you are strong, probably far stronger than I, you can certainly handle this… so can Henry Pym." He placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. "Give this another chance, everything will change, in time." He smiled, "now, how about we get back to training?"
Jan perked up, "you're sooo on!"
The three heroes headed towards the control panel, pulling the boxing ring out and a fresh set of punching bags. Just as soon as they had started, however, the elevator landed on their level, revealing none other than-
"Hank? This better be good! Have you come to announce your resignation again, or are you just here to extend our 'discussion' from earlier?" She spat out, fuming as her hands began to glow their usual fluorescent yellow. She watched as he stepped forward, hands out, striding silently towards her, she finally snapped, "What do you want?" She breathed heavily, "I take that back, I don't want to know, just get out of here."
'It isn't like you want to be here anyways,' she thought, shrinking down and flying off towards the door. A lone tear streamed down her face, 'what am I doing, I'm making myself look completely stupid. I'm the freaking Wasp, I face my problems, not run away from them.' Just as she was about to turn back towards the door, she felt a familiar hand gently grasp her wasp like form.
"Jan, please." he stopped, "I know that you don't want to, and I really don't blame you… at all, but just hear me out, okay?" He sighed, letting go of her and pulling his finger towards her miniscule hand, grasping it in a sense.
She turned to look at him, eyes still red from the tears she's shed. His eyes sparkled, showing genuine concern and regret. She'd give anything to look into those eyes all day. 'Snap out of it, Jan.'
"Fine…" her voice was shaky. Something he really didn't like coming from her. She was stronger than this, he has always know that.
Hank, however, was thinking the same thing, her blue eyes had dragged him in. The dried tears that graced her face shocked him, he wasn't used to seeing her like this. Amazingly enough, her wet eyes seemed to sparkle (more than usual,) in the light of the room. She was glowing, and it was almost too much for Hank's sore eyes. He wished he could pull her in, kiss her passionately, and admit the love he's felt for so long. 'No, not now, I have to make things right first. Who am I kidding, I don't deserve her.' He sighed, and opened his mouth to speak.
"Janet, I want you to know that I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I just- I worry about you Jan… a lot. You mean a lot to me, and I don't want anything to happen to you. You have to understand that the way I acted was foolish, but it is only because I care." By now Jan had already grown back to normal height, Hank had grabbed her hand, and she had grabbed his back. "I don't expect you to forgive me or even talk to me ever again, but I really just needed you to hear what I had to say."
"Hank, I do forgive you, just don't think you're getting off too easy," she smiled, "come here." She hugged him, catching him off guard, but he gladly returned the embrace and patted her softly on the back.
"Thank you, Janet, really." he broke off and rubbed his arm slightly, "one more thing… That man you were with earlier, something seems… off about him."
"Hank…" she sighed, "don't start…"
"I am serious, Jan, he is up to no good and I don't want to see that affect you in any way. He seems overly infatuated in you, the way he looked at you.. and how he talked about-"
"Wait, how do you know about any of that?" she watched as he rubbed his back, about to answer her, when… "you were spying on me? Hank, I- why would you- ugh- I thought that you'd changed, that everything was fine, but now this! Why?" She had been yelling, turning away from him slowly and walking away.
"I was worried, when I saw him walk away with you… I just couldn't help it! I'm so, so sorry, Jan." He reached for her shoulder, "Please."
"What, Hank? What could I possibly say to any of this?" She exclaimed, brushing him off forcefully.
"That we can move on from this, go back to how things used to be."
"I don't think that's possible right now." She said quietly, "things change." She walked back into the training room, Hank not far behind.
"Jan…" he said, catching up to her and pulling her face to face with him. "I did it for your own good, I never meant for this to happen. You have to understand that." She was staring at him intently, realizing where he was going next. "Jan- I- I-" but before he could get the words out… Crash! "What the- Jan, get down!" Shoving her out of the way, an oncoming beam struck him in the chest.
"Hank!" she yelled, running to his side.
"I'm fine, come on, we have to get out of here." She helped him up, watching as he pulled out his ID card.
"You still have that? Miracle…" She said, causing him to roll his eyes and smile slightly, glad to see Jan was back to normal.
"Tony, we need help, we're in the gym. Avengers Assemble!" Just then, smoke filled the room and a figure appeared. Suddenly, Hank and Jan collapsed onto the ground. "This- cough cough- this is knock-out gas." He coughed some more, "Jan, get out of- here."
"I'm not leaving you." She coughed out, gasping one last time before finally passing out. Hank was helpless to help her, he could only watch in horror as the figure dragged her away.
"No," he spoke out, "no, please… Jan…" then the darkness fell over him, and he could no longer hang on. A tear graced his cheek as he laid out alone and unconscious.
Sooooo sorry for the late update, my computer wasn't working at all. Expect normal updates once again, and some new stories as well, hehe. I love cliffhangers… or at least to write them!(: Until next time, review, pm, and favorite please! Peace out!(: (P.S. I'm not a big fan of this chapter, but I hope you feel differently...)
Wasp9000