ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 8, 9:00 UTC

"Azari, what a pleasant surprise." His aunt told him over the phone "I wasn't expecting your call today, has something gone wrong?"

"Ah no Aunt Shuri." Azari began to explain "I'm calling about the briefcase. I saw the contents and followed the instructions to a tee. It was an...experience."

"Ahhh. How are you feeling then?" Shuri asked sympathetically

"Well it was actually a couple weeks ago, it's really only now I've got the time to talk to you about everything."

"Well you survived the experience so that's good." Shuri

"Was there a chance of me not surviving?" Azari asked just a tad worried for his health and safety.

"A very minimal chance. We know you are empowered by the Heart shaped herb even if scans on your body don't exactly show it. For that reason we believed it safe for you to physically take the herb. But still there was a miniscule chance for you to react poorly as no one has taken it twice before. But I would not let the future King take something truly dangerous. Did you feel any side effects?"

"Honestly? I feel great. Possibly even better than before. I don't know if I'm stronger or anything but...It's like I'm weirdly more focused. Locked in if you will."

"Well we always knew you being even more enhanced was a possibility, but we thought that would be a good thing. How was the experience with your father?"

"So that was supposed to happen?"

"Yes. I had one with my father, as did T'Challa and every king before him. It is a staple of the ritual."

"Well it was...Impossible. That's what it felt like. Impossible." Azari explained "It didn't feel like that could happen but I also knew that it was very real. Talking to my father wasn't something I ever thought would be possible again. And yet it was everything I needed."

"That's good Azari. I'm glad he was able to impart such wisdom on you. You were too young to be fretting so much about things around you. I hope you know that he, and the past kings, will always lend their wisdom when needed."

"Yes, my father did say that as well."

"Good. Well I also hope that means your stance on the Wakandan throne has changed. Even if it's just a little bit. You did tell me you were ready to learn a while ago."

Azari laughed a bit and smiled "Yes, that was a big topic I spent talking about with him. And like I told you before I'm really ready to take the next steps for becoming the King of Wakanda. My father told me that learning to become King doesn't mean it had to happen tomorrow. But that doesn't mean I can't ensure I do my best when the time comes."

"There's my wise nephew." And he could practically feel Shuri beaming over the phone line "In terms of next steps you have to continue reading and learning up on Wakandan Law. The next most important thing is financial work, you must understand how Wakanda contains it's wealth and understand the Vibranium trade. Other than that, if you're ever willing, the best education you can get on Wakanda is coming to the place and getting to know your people."

"I think I would like that. After all this Masters of Evil garbage. I think you can pencil me in for a month's stay in Wakanda."

"Perfect. The people are going to be very excited Azari. Even when your father was a boy there was never this much anticipation for the next of kin. YOu are special, and I hope you never forget it."

"Thank you Aunt Shuri. I'll have to go now, but I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright Azari, take care."

After saying goodbyes, Azari put his phone down and flopped on his bed and let out a huge sigh. His stance on Wakanda had certainly changed in the past few weeks. Courtesy of his Dad's spiritual essence or whatever.

He was going to be a King someday. A day that in reality wasn't even that far from coming. It was just a couple of years. And they all knew how time could fly by. It was just two years ago they were fighting Ultron.

In the next three years, Azari had to wonder, what would the Avengers be doing? Would they still be dealing with threats like this? Spending countless hours trying to deal with the deconstruction of Ultra City. Would James, Torunn, Pym, and Francis ever stop things and have a normal sort of life?

Being a King certainly wasn't simple but it was technically a "normal" job. More normal than being a Superhero anyways.

Would Azari end up separated from the Avengers. Would constantly being in Wakanda alienate him from his friends, his family. Everyone knew Wakanda wasn't too big on visitors. Would they see each other more than once or twice a year? Would they still be friends when it was all said and done.

In three years would they even still be needed? Maybe the Masters of Evil were the last remnants of the old days. And maybe with no new threats to deal with, the Avengers would be fine doing whatever they pleased.

And yeah, In the back of his mind Azari knew that was less than likely, but he couldn't help but want that for his family. If anyone deserved rest it was those guys. All of them were constantly doing something.

Sorry to bother you Azari but can you head to Tony's lab? Pym, Riri, and I are working on something and we need some assistance.

"Be right down." Azari called to his ceiling. They really were always doing something. As Azari left his room he could only hope that whatever happened in the next years of his friends lives, was that at least they would find peace.

Everyone knew they deserved that.

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, MAY 8, 12:00 UTC

"How ironic that we are headed to the dry forests." Daisy sighed "I mean in what world do barren forests make a good hideout, or whatever it is they are doing...James you in there?" Daisy ended up a bit worried for the Avenger.

"Yeah it's just…" James started before suddenly stopping, he even took his shield off his back "This isn't going to work. It's too hot."

James took his goggles and his helmet off. He had to take off his sweatshirt and his jacket, and only put his jacket back on. He ran and hand through his hair, and it felt like a fountain of sweat was released from his hair.

Costa Rica was a naturally hot place but their dry forests were another level of heat. On average it was 33 degrees celsius. Today it was worse, pushing nearly 36.

"Pym, Deus, and Riri have been talking about reconstructing a new outfit for me for a little while now. I've kinda ignored it, but maybe it's time for the military look to go." James told Daisy who was blushing just a bit.

"Yeah maybe. I think the military look really worked the past few years because well, it still felt like we were in a war. But now. Things are changing a bit so maybe it's time to retire the look, though you do look great in it."

"Yeah you're probably right. I'll tell Pym and the others when we get back." James decided, it really was time for a change

"So you're going back to the black and red?" Daisy questioned

"The black and red stars were always supposed to be a homage to my parents. And it was good for the time. But it's also kiddish and doesn't exactly scream Captain America. If I'm supposed to be...some sort of icon or voice for the people. I'd like to be something everyone can trust and rely on. I feel like the blue and red portrays that better."

"I mean, if you say so." Daisy told him with a shrug. She believed it didn't necessarily matter what James wore as he already had the trust of the people.

"Alright, it's time to focus back on the mission. It's been 26 hours, and we've got to move fast before we lose the mercs again. I estimate they are only 4 or 5 clicks off our current location, it shouldn't take much to get there at our speed."

"Got to be careful though. I'm thinking we've got a definite hostage situation. And who knows what else."

"Yeah definitely. I think we're going to need to be careful. Definitely a situation where I'll go first." James planned things out

"Right, and while you drag them out, I'll get to the hostages. It should be that simple." Daisy finished for him

"Hopefully it is, but things usually have a way of spiraling out of control."

Daisy didn't respond and the two left it at that. For the next ten minutes they walked in silence and peace. The couple didn't actually need to speak too much to get their points across. Things were sound that way.

And with how serious they took their missions it went without saying that romance on missions was certainly not going to be happening. Even if it crossed both of their minds once in a while. Eventually walking was no longer an option for the duo and they stopped their trek to refuel for a few seconds before getting going.

"You're sure you're okay with running? It's real hot and keeping up with me can be a challenge. We might be able to make it walking."

"I'll be fine James, plus I like the challenge. And remember we tried the walking thing once already. If it had worked we'd be home right now. Don't worry about me." Daisy insisted with a teasing grin "And if I recall it was a certain super soldier complaining about the heat not too long ago."

"Right, right." James laughed with Daisy "Alright then, come on."

And that started the jog through the Costa Rican forests. Everything started off well. Teasingly James started off way faster than Daisy could ever hope to keep up but quickly he slowed himself to match her pace and the two were rolling and making great time.

It was probably only 6 or 7 minutes into the jog when Daisy began to feel a wave of nausea hit her body. It felt very off to her. Almost like a little explosion randomly going off in her body, and she did not like it one bit.

She couldn't understand it though. She knew she was in tip top shape. She had run for much longer in similar conditions before, and that was with more than just a pistol on her hip. She was trained to withstand much more and yet she could feel herself crumbling under the heat.

James gave her a side eye glance and she realized she had fallen behind so she gave her head a good shake (bad idea) and forced herself to keep going. She wasn't going to be a liability on the mission.

"You okay Daisy?" James asked as he watched the girl fall behind for the fourth time. He couldn't help but get a little worried. Over the past two years he had run a few missions with Daisy and the Scavengers and she had never really struggled with stamina, you needed tons of it to do what they did, and she had never skimped on training.

It really was hot even for him, but she had been fine all of yesterday and earlier today so it was weird that she was reacting like this.

"I'm totally fine James." Daisy said, but her voice didn't carry the usual confidence that came with it, and he couldn't help but be a smidge worried.

"If it's too hot..."

"I'm fine." Daisy insisted once more "Pym made our suits to be as breathable as possible. That's not the problem."

James nearly commented that her saying the suit wasn't the problem insinuated that something else was, but he wasn't sure that was going to help.

"Alright. It's only a little further and then it's go time, so I was just making sure." James explained.

Daisy didn't bother to give him a response, not because she didn't want to, but because she felt like if she focused on anything other than what was in front of her, she was going to puke her guts out.

What's wrong with me?

Luckily for Daisy in the next 5 minutes they hit their location and hid behind a tree as the situation they were in began to play itself out.

Beyond the trees they were hiding behind was a rather open area, with a couple of shacks, and a huge lighthouse where a sniper's gun was ready. Over 15 men with Assault rifles and ballistic military gear stood ready for anything they spotted.

One man wore a black vest differentiating him from the rest, making it very obvious who the boss was. Of course in the middle of all this, laying on the ground feet and arms times behind their backs near some jagged rocks was 6 hostages. All of them women and children. That was the prize. It looked bad but James felt they could do this.

While Daisy eagerly drank all the water in their canteen, James began to navigate the exact details of the plan.

"Alright, here's the deal." James began "The place is pretty open, even for a guy like me stealth will only work for so long. The number one thing is going to be protecting the hostages. The left side of this forest is denser, easier to hide in. There's also only 4 men on that side, but tapping into infrared says there's a fifth in the grass as well. Take him out, and you should be able to go untouched to the lighthouse where the Sniper has the best vantage. From there you set up shop and use the silencers, and I'll keep the hostages safe as well as take down the baddies while you lay some coverfire, got it?"

"Did you catch that Daisy?" James questioned once more after he got no response. He turned around to see a rather comical sight of Daisy smacking the bottom of the canteen trying to get the last drops of water from the canteen.

"Yeah." She said with a nod and honestly, after drinking all that water, she was feeling pretty good. Maybe it really was just heat exhaustion. "I'm going through the grass, and I gotta watch out for the guy in the grass and the other four right outside of it. Then watch out for the guy in the lighthouse and provide cover fire.

James was content with recollection of the plan and pleasantly surprised that she looked much better now "Great. Let's get it done then."

They duo gave each other one last nod before they took off in opposite directions. Daisy took off slinking through the grass stealthily and got closer to her target. She turned once and watched as James climbed a tree and used its bushes for cover, easily jumping from one to the other ready to launch the perfect stealth attack.

Daisy got closer to her target when another wave of vertigo hit her body, almost causing her groan out loud. Instead she slipped out a very small circular disk that was only the size of half her thumb and went right behind the man covering his mouth first before placing the disk on his neck electrocuting him, and make sure to muffle his screams and let his body his the ground gently, to not alert the other guards.

As she moved a little away from the scene she had to stop at a tree and deal with the sudden crushing pain. She could only take a few seconds as she knew James was counting on her. So she took a deep breath and headed towards the back of the lighthouse where the sniper was supposed to be on his perch.

Daisy snuck around once more finding a tad bit of comfort in the cool shade of the trees but as she neared the lighthouse that disappeared and instead she was in the more open area of the lighthouse.

She wasted no time jogging right up to the back of the lighthouse ready to start her climb up the ladder. However as she looked up the sniper rifle was trained on her.

"Stop!" The man demanded in Spanish "Stop, don't move! Move and I shoot! Hands up! People Intruder."

Daisy immediately put her hands, for fear of getting shot, she did her best to stay calm as she had been in pretty terrible situations before but with a sniper trained on her and James far away, this might have topped the list. Worst of all, for some reason her wrists were throbbing. The pain was so unusual.

As she slowly walked backwards with her hands in the air she was suddenly surrounded by 8 or so men. All with their guns trained directly on her.

"State your purpose! Now! Do not move an inch!" The one wearing the black vest yelled at her angrily "Talk now before we kill you!"

"This...they are my family!" Daisy lied easily, "I came to rescue them. Please don't kill me!"

Yeah that was it, lay it on thick, let them believe she was helpless and maybe she could spring. Still 8 guns was much. She was going to need a big distraction so she could hide in the forest, and even then it was going to be hard to get there without getting shot.

The man in the black vest seemed to stare into her soul attempting to see if she was lying, before smiling wickedly.

"Search her. And then we tie her up with the rest." The black vest man told his crew. He seemed to take a sick pleasure in watching his crew absolutely violate her by checking everywhere for her weapons. They felt up everywhere and it seemed the more she struggled the funnier the man thought it was.

She wanted to destroy those dudes, but she could take some satisfaction from the sound of a smoke grenade going through the air and the sound of James' shield hitting 3 different bodies.

"There's another one!" The Black vest man yelled before turning towards Daisy "You lying bitch! You'll pay. Everyone with me. Rodrigo, keep the girl, but kill her if you have to."

They all left except the man with the sniper rifle who pulled out a handgun and kept it trained on Daisy, it was only one person now but honestly the gun was making it really hard to make a move. She would no doubt die in an instant.

"Stop moving!" The man demanded, and Daisy tried to listen to the commands she really did, but she couldn't stand still, not with the pain she was feeling. "I'm not going to do anything."

"Stop! Moving!" He yelled once more, his finger was on the trigger, and he could obviously hear the sound of a shield smacking across the battlefield, and with the other hostages gone, it seemed that 'Ricardo' was seriously considering cutting their losses permanently.

"I-I won't do anything." Daisy insisted "I'm harmless. I just...let me sit down."

"You don't listen." Ricardo told her angrily, but he was more focused on the fight before he turned back to her. His finger was on the trigger, and muttered something Daisy couldn't make out, but she didn't like the look of this.

"Wait no...STOP!" Daisy called as he fired the bullet, time seemed to move in slow motion as the bullet raced to her, certainly it would go straight through her skull.

Her hands were in front of her face simply because of reflex but the action seemed to have saved her life. In that split second her arms stopped hurting and instead it was like a rush of adrenaline directly in her hands that let out an emission of waves that crushed the bullet before it could even make it to her.

"What in the!?" The man began to freak out "What are you?"

Daisy was shocked herself as she thrust her hand out towards the man and waves hit him, instantly sending him to the ground screaming in pain. It would have been kind of cool.

If she could stop.

She turned towards the lighthouse still emitting the vibration-esque waves and it was probably the wrong thing to do, because of the situation she was in. And it proved right as the lighthouse crumbled almost instantly under her new power. The stone and metal crumbled under her and sent an avalanche towards the men and James.

What was a cool experience for about 20 seconds was becoming a nightmare. She pointed her hands to the ground and that didn't seem to help much either. "Come on, turn off, turn off!" she hissed at herself.

The worst thing was the pain was beginning to come back. Her hands couldn't seem to handle the pressure and she also couldn't make it stop.

She fell to her knees, hands by her side, and tried to will everything to stop but it really wasn't working.

"Daisy!" She heard from in front of her she lifted her hands up, thinking it might have been one of the mercenaries but instead it was James. She hit him straight in the chest and the scream he let out was immense. She had hurt him badly.

Yet still after a few moments. James got back up this time with his shield right in front of him. He struggled to walk but eventually got right in front of her.

The waves she let out were repelled by his shield but it was still affecting the area around. It looked like an earthquake had hit Costa Rica, and Daisy was the cause of it.

"Daisy please. I need you to relax, stop please."

"I...I can't." Daisy cried, the pain was excruciating as well "I wish I could but I can't stop!"

"You've developed powers. Tony used to say many mutants went through things like this all the time. I just need you to take a deep breath. Breath Daisy."

They both took a minute and James tried to lead through the exercise but it was failing and they both knew. The structural integrity of the entire forest was struggling because of the trees falling over. it was getting worse.

They had to do something quick before they had another international. "Daisy. I need you to close your eyes for me. Alright?"

"Yeah. Okay. That I can-

As her eyes closed James wasted no time whirling his shield at Daisy, he watched as it slowed as it went through the vibrational field but it still hit her head with a resounding crack, but it had the desired effect as the field of vibrational waves immediately ceased.

James ran over grabbing his ribs as he did and checked on Daisy. There was some blood trickling from her head as he expected, she was knocked out cold, and he could patch her up but this was bigger than that.

If Daisy woke up and her powers were still out of whack she could take out her plane, she could cause real damage to Costa Rica and that wasn't what they needed right now.

"Captain America to Avengers. Come in. I'm going to need a immediate transport. Requesting Tony, Banner, Pym, Riri, Amadeus and Azari. ASAP." James called in as he picked Daisy up and began the trek back to the Quinjet

"James. Tony came on the line. Most of us are in the lab right now. How bad is it?"

"The injury is minimal, she's fine, the mission was successful, but that doesn't seem to be the problem."

"What is it then?"

"Daisy...She seems to be some sort of mutant. During the mission As far as I can tell she was attacked most likely shot at and her powers began to show. She's strong to say the least. The blast she hit me with, definitely crushed most of my ribs. She destroyed a lighthouse easily, her powers were akin to an Earthquake. I need an intercept because the moment she wakes up it's going to happen again and I don't think she can take another hit from my shield to get her to stop."

"Alright okay. Get into the Quinjet, give her some normal medicine, and a dose of the lunesta and you should be fine until we get there. Then I need you to treat yourself and start taking blood samples, and describing in every detail how her powers work so we can counteract that. Got it?"

"Yeah, just give me ten minutes. Talk soon." James grunted, he didn't listen to hear what they said and instead ignored the pain and ran as fast as he could to the Quinjet. Things were really getting crazier everyday.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

In the Biodome things were a little hectic as Tony, Banner, Pym, Azari, Riri, and Amadeus scrambled around shovelling things in a bigger Quinjet and yelling about things Francis and Torunn didn't totally understand.

They had both jumped at the idea to help out Cap and Daisy, but they learned that this wasn't really a problem that could be fought, and with Azari and now Riri having fighting capabilities they didn't really need anymore.

The group of 6 had flown out nearly 20 minutes and that had left Torunn and Francis alone and in charge, naturally the two gravitated to each other, but today there really wasn't anything to do. No Masters of Evil stuff, nothing they could do about the Daisy situation, and nothing they could do to help out Valerie or the situation with the presidential campaigns so the two heroes plopped themselves down in front of the TV relaxing with one another.

"I can't believe Daisy is a mutant." Francis began "I never really considered that anyone here other than us could exhibit powers. It's almost weird to think."

"Yes, but now look. Riri has found her own source of power. And Daisy has been born with extraordinary gifts. I think this is exactly what we needed." Torunn explained

"I mean it's definitely a good thing. Still I always assumed Tony and Bruce could simply figure out if someone was going to mutate before it was going to happen. It means anyone else who's here could be a mutant as well. Kinda cool." Francis thought.

Torunn agreed and they continued to watch the TV, and Torunn couldn't help but think that things had changed for the better. Her and Francis had kept most of the fighting to a minimum...kinda usually they just ignored the arguments, but still it was better than before.

"I've been thinking," Torunn began suddenly, "I'll have to head back to Asgard."

"What?" Francis whirled on her "When?"

Torunn pulled away from Francis and frowned at his tone, last time she checked she hadn't said anything wrong. What was with the sudden hostility "As soon as possible honestly."

"Why?"

"It's been long enough. I'm needed at home."

"Seriously Tor?" Francis scoffed, and stood up away from her "It's been less than a month. It hasn't even been 3 weeks!"

"This is just something I have to do, Francis." Torunn insisted

"Oh I'm sure." Francis rolled his eyes "What could possibly be so important that you need to leave Earth. Your home by the way, every three weeks. Huh?"

"It's not every three weeks, Francis. And I've already told you I have things I need to do. Earth is my home, always. But understand that Asgard is also my home, but it's also my duty to protect." Torunn told him, anger quickly rising.

"Really?" Francis asked deadpan "Torunn is something is really wrong with Asgard and your Dad can't take care of it, what would you be able to do anyway. He's like the strongest person in the universe."

"It's not that simple. It's not just about fighting. My parents are in Asgard, and at times I need to go to them for guidance and things of that nature. Asgard is...It's more than you guys could understand. It's just...different from here."

Francis paused for a while and Torunn believed that he might actually be taking in what she was saying before he gave a little laugh. "Yeah I guess none of us could ever understand having parents to talk to, could we?"

"That's not wha-

"Save it. You're going to Asgard to have a talk with mommy and daddy? Seriously? You know when you ducked out on Pym, James, and I for the France mission I almost let James trick me into believing that you weren't just focused on whatever it is you do up there. But it's clearly all you care about."

"Stop assuming things Francis. You are making things up. First off I can go and come back from Asgard as fast as I need to. I'll come back. And like I said, Earth is my home. I will always love everyone here, and I'd never abandon it like you continue to insinuate! And James is right, I'm not just focused on Asgard. I am completely invested in everything that is going on right now."

"Of course!" Francis threw his hands up in the air "That's why you're abandoning your family during their most intense time in two years right? I don't know if this saying hasn't been removed from Asgardian lore or something, but Actions speak louder than words Torunn. Talk about how much you care for us all you want, you're still leaving. Not even surprised to be honest. Apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Torunn was simply going to ignore Francis until he added in that last bit. Her blood was boiling he knew how she felt about all that stuff with her Dad, she hated it as much as anyone.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Torunn demanded angrily, and despite how angry she looked and how easily

"Don't make me say it."

"No. Say it Francis. You've said so much already, what's one more little thing right. Complaining is what you do best so just say it already."

Francis' eyes narrowed, and at this point he couldn't care less about anyone's feelings. "The apple doesn't fall from the tree. We both know that if your All-Seeing Dad wasn't an All-Seeing Asshole the Avengers might still be alive. Not just that but the millions of deaths that happened as a result. Maybe if the All-Powerful King Thor did...I don't know ANYTHING. Earth wouldn't be in the place it's in right now."

Torunn stared at Francis angrily, willing herself not to be emotional in front of the archer. Instead she thrust her arm out to the side which confused Francis at first, until he could hear the sounds of destruction as Torunn called Arnbjorg to her through the Compound and it hit her hand with a burst of electrical energy.

"When the others come back, make sure you let them know that it's your fault I'm leaving early." Torunn spat vehemently

"Will do." Francis shot back with just as much heat. Torunn raised her sword and Francis had to cover his eyes as the light broke through the Compound ceiling, and in less than a second Torunn had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Leaving behind a big mess and the familiar Asgardian sigil on the ground.

Francis sighed, and left the room "Vision," He commed in, "I'm gonna need some help with cleaning up."

HEROES OF TOMORROW

"I know we've been through a lot lately, but I think we might all agree that this is the craziest thing out of all the bunch." Amadeus told the group of scientists.

Currently Tony, Bruce, Riri, Pym, and Azari had set up shop in Tony's laboratory. They had made the intercept from James Quinjet and had begun tons of testing to help out Daisy. Of course things were never going to get finished on the plane, but things had trouble getting off the ground in the first place because Daisy was just a wild case.

As Azari worked on the schematics for a possible solution to Daisy's problem with Riri he had to admit Pym might be right. Despite everything that had happened in the past three weeks. Discovering an entirely different evolutionary offshoot from the human race was something else.

"Have you compared the samples of Daisy's blood to Azari's yet Amadeus?" Bruce questioned the young genius.

"Yeah, as expected, not all too similar." Amadeus said with a sigh. "That makes blood samples different. The X-Factor sequence is completely different. RNA sequences are different, which we all know are like the big thing in all mutants, so I think we're clear on the fact she is most likely not a mutant."

"Could be that." Pym agreed "But have we considered the fact that Azari's inheritance of the Heart Shaped Herb could also be playing a factor in these differences?"

"It could, but the effects of the heart shaped herb have always been closer to the Super Soldier Serum, so I don't necessarily think so."

"Yeah, but that actually might be the difference." Pym pointed out and pulled up two pictures of what seemed to be James' genetic code, and the other must have been Daisy's "You see how James and Daisy's DNA sequence are almost exactly the same except for an extra sequence down this right side?"

"Yeah." The others nodded.

"Well Azari's is like that as well, except we all know those extra sequences are just his X-Factor at work somewhere in there. Daisy's last imagery from a couple of months ago shows that this sequence was also there; it was just...in development. See how much shorter it was just a couple of months ago?" Pym pointed out once more.

"Wow. That should not be possible." Amadeus exclaimed off the bat.

"No it shouldn't." Riri joined in "But it does make sense. Kind of. That sequence is what we all know gives a mutant their powers usually. Except anyone can be born with the X-Factor sequence, there's just a low chance of it activating. This is a gene sequence that has probably been developing for years on it's own. But it's built to do the same thing as the X-Factor."

"Give a person their latent ability." Pym agreed with Riri "Exactly, maybe she's not a mutant in the conventional sense, but she has certainly evolved like one. I'd like to call this an Evolutionary offshoot. It only makes the most sense."

"It does." Tony admitted "And I think you're mostly right Pym. But something's missing. I can't help but feel like there is more to this. Like you said, James, Daisy, and Azari's normal DNA sequences are nearly exactly the same, yet they are all different."

"But they most likely all post the same results." Bruce hopped in "I don't know if you all noticed but our patient has been healing much faster than she normally does. Didn't she break her collarbone on that mission in San Francisco two weeks ago?"

"She did." A new voice suddenly entered the conversation. It was James who was bandaging his own ribs as he entered the room. He already seemed much better after an hour of rest, he would be fine.

"She's never healed that fast before. And to be honest, she didn't have trouble keeping up with me when I was sparring, or when we were running earlier today. I never really noticed because she's always been better than the other Scavengers but, maybe...this was the cause?"

"I think so." Tony agreed with the Super Soldier "Think about it people, why can James do what he can do?"

"The Serum." Pym automatically answered

"And Azari?"

"The Herb." Amadeus answered, beginning to see here this was going. "So why can Daisy do what she can do?"

"All I know is that in one case, we have man engineering the perfect serum to create the perfect soldier. In another case we have a herb that had been mutated by a meteorite of vibranium. Also creating one of the most perfect ways to gain the peak of human strength and ability. So for Daisy-

"There has to be something else. Something more than her just being the next natural evolution in humans for her to develop the powers she has right now. You're right." Pym admitted to Tony "But then I have no clue what it could possibly be."

"And I'm not sure Daisy would either." James spoke up "From what I know she doesn't know much about her past she mostly remembers her time with Francis' dad."

The six scientists were truly stumped as they could figure the reason for this phenomena. Similar abilities to James and Azari but all three genetic codes are slightly different. And then she had something akin to the X-Factor gene just like Azari but it was also different in almost every way that mattered. She was not a mutant, she was not a human, and she wasn't a super soldier so...what was she?

"I know it's annoying not knowing exactly what this is, but we will figure it out, but not without our patience." Bruce told them "She's the only one who can tell us everything we need to know. And before any of that happens we need the solutions to shutting her down for now. Do we have that yet?"

"Azari and I figured it out, yeah." Riri nodded "We got Jocasta to start printing out the gauntlets, if she's doing what we theorized they should keep her from bugging out until she gets control of her abilities."

"Alright we can take a little break, and get back to this later." Tony told them, and that's exactly what they did. Everyone left Tony's lab, James went to the medbay and sat by Daisy's side the entire time and the others eventually went back to the lab and began spitballing ideas once more about what Daisy could be until it was time for her to wake up.

Azari and James slipped the grey metal Iron Man-esque gloves on her hand, they lit up blue for a second which they all hoped was a good sign, and then watched as Daisy slowly began to wake up.

"Oh man…" They heard her groan as she adjusted to the lights, but other than that she sat up and stretched before looking around the room "Something bad happened didn't it? James?"

"Right beside you." He called "Costa Rica Daisy, you don't remember?"

That seemed to put some pep in her step as she nearly jumped out of the medbay "Oh my gosh, no one went critical did they? I'm so sorry-

"Relax Daisy, you were the one we were the most worried about. Your powers were out of whack for a little bit, but it seems like Azari and Riri fixed that up for you." James told her with a soft smile. He couldn't help but be a little worried her powers would go crazy, but that's why he had his energy shield, and he trusted Riri and Azari.

"My powers.." Daisy whispered to herself in amazement before turning to Tony looking for answers "So I'm a mutant?"

Tony and the other scientists looked at each before sighing, knowing how long it was going to take to explain something they still didn't understand. "Not quite Daisy...This is going to be a little hard to explain."

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Pym entered his room past 1 am. After explaining everything to Daisy they way they understood the girl was clearly shocked and even worried which was almost weird as long as he'd known she was always confident in everything.

Still he might be worried as well if he was some unknown variation of mutants or super-soldiers or however they decided to name Daisy.

"She's not a mutant, human or super-soldier. She's not an Alien either I mean, Tch, might as well call her Inhuman....Nah that's just stupid." Pym told himself with a chuckle.

Still at times like late at night with nothing to do he would either talk to Torunn, Azari or read something. With Torunn doing her best disappearing act on the team and Azari busy with Wakandan stuff Pym was content to read his Parents journals.

So far he had really only read his fathers stuff still in the 80s for the most part, and it could be a bit weird at times but it was his parents so he cherished every word. This time however he decided to read his mother's journal for the first time since he originally picked it up.

At first he regretted the decision. As what his mom was interested in wasn't exactly his cup of tea. Lot's of fashion stuff, most of the pages at the beginning had simply been used as a sketchbook.

But quickly the book turned into something more. While his father's books was nearly all about science, and ants, and becoming as tall as could be or the Quantum Realm his mother's book was really about being an Avenger, and a superhero, and it was written perfectly.

All her adventures were there to read. She described how it was when they uncovered Captain America, being one of the first leaders and how it was like to hold meetings, pressers and things of that nature. Her near death experience early on. It was one of the most interesting things he ever read.

And so despite over an hour passing and it now being 2:20 am, Pym continued reading his mother's journal.

He wished he hadn't.

Flipping from page 58 to 59 was like an entirely new experience. You see in the earlier pages his mother mentioned his father quite a bit, obviously with them being romantically involved and being a duo and working for the Avengers it was only natural that she mentioned him, but even then it wasn't as much as you'd expect.

It was little things like 'Hank needs to get out of the office more' or things like 'Hank and I are thinking of doing this for Christmas.'

But now it was different. And Henry didn't know how to react as things seemed to spiral out of control.

After the Yellowjacket stuff I and the other Avengers knew Hank wasn't exactly stable but...we had thought he had gotten better. This isn't the case. In fact I might argue that he's gotten worse. He's had his second nervous breakdown. Or at least, his second huge nervous breakdown, and I don't know what to do when he's like this.

He can be cold, petulant, and almost villain-like in the way he treats me, and the rest of the Avengers. I understood what I was getting into marrying Hank but this is...something else. I try to help him, and I can't get a word in our conversations. Fury assigns psychiatrists and they don't work. He's just not the same when he's like this.

But maybe the worst thing is, when he's supposedly changed back...he's not all too different from the normal Hank. Did I marry a psycho? Am I in love with a crazy person? Maybe but there's nothing I can do about it. I want to help him, and I'll continue looking for a solution but… this isn't looking good.

Another entry was very similar. Hank has been good almost perfect for months, there's been nothing I could complain about, I assumed we had turned a new leaf. Of course. I was wrong. I can only believe his schizophrenia is getting worse.

What does one do in this situation? The person I love is buried under this baggage. All these different personas which simply aren't the real him. But aren't they? It is him isn't it? It's not like he suddenly won't have all these personas. And even if I don't like it, they are him right? He is the one creating villains to attack the Avengers, and then saving them from it as if it wasn't his fault? He is the one who yells and throws things for entering his lab. Right?

He is the one who gets angry when I talk to other people right? All we need is us, no one else right Jan? Right?

Though that is something the normal Hank would say as well. He's always been possessive but, I mean I can't blame him. So am I. We can be toxic, throwing things, and having wild fights throwing obscenities about but I also knew where his and my heart lay. We loved each other no matter what.

I'm not sure if I still see that. Even when he's Hank he spends an absurd amount of time in his lab. Trying to grow just a little higher, trying to shrink just a little smaller, or working on whatever new toy he's found next.

The loving Hank, the caring Hank, the Hank I'd take a million bullets for. He's rarely around anymore and I'm not sure how long I can take this. It's crazy.

The notes went on that for a while and Pym almost stopped before landing on a certain page that made his heart stop.

Hank slapped me...We're getting a divorce.

That was all that page read, and the next page from a few days later seemed to expand on the situation

I've been hit before. I'm a superhero. Getting hit is just a part of the job. Physically the backhand from Hank didn't hurt all too much, I mean he's strong but I'm pretty tough too.

Hank had his 3rd nervous breakdown. It was...chaotic. He had these plans. Attack the Avengers with a huge robot, give it a secret weakness, save the day and everyone would love him. That was the plan of Yellowjacket.

It was dumb, irresponisble and reckless and I told him that, I told him he couldn't do it, and the more I talked he just angrier, and angrier, and snapped. He smacked me right across the face.

Hank and I have fought many times. We spar all the time. He's socked me in the jaw, I've punched him in the nose, he's kicked me in the ribs, and I've taken out his knee. I even dislocated my shoulder once.

Never once was I scared of Hank. I knew that when we were training, we were just doing that training. After particularly heavy training during our early Ant-Man and Wasp days, he might give me a massage or tend to my wounds. It was always love. I knew that.

Getting slapped across the face by Yellowjacket. Watching him as he simply continued working and mumbled out a cold sorry for striking me like that. I think that's caused me more psychological and mental pain than anything physical ever could.

Knowing that he simply didn't care for my wellbeing, that he could have actually hurt me and not blink twice is scary. I've tried rationalizing this a million times already. It was Yellowjacket, not Hank. They are two different people. I tell myself that all the time.

But maybe it's time for me to accept that they are one and the same. I'm not sure MY Hank has been around in a long time.

Regardless, after the nervous breakdown was over, After I saved the day, after Yellowjacket turned back into Hank I handed him divorce papers. He seemed to understand just fine, not caring one bit.

As much as this hurts, as much as I thought I found my life partner, as much as I thought Hank could change well...I guess I was wrong. It's crazy, if he had just shown a little compassion I probably would have taken him back. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

After that reading all that Pym shut the book immediately and threw it towards his desk without a care in the world. As of that moment he was questioning the sanity of either of his parents to be honest.

Never had he thought he'd learn that his father struck his mother or was a schizophrenic or anything like that but he had. This was years before his birth, and now Pym was questioning what was wrong with his Mom that made her go back? "Come on Pym, we don't victim blame around here." he told himself.

But he was still weirded out. He thought his parents were a great couple with minimal problems aside from the odd scuffle all couples had but...His mother's book said otherwise. They were downright toxic which is the exact opposite of what Tony and Bruce had told him.

And obviously they knew the truth because his Mother said that this was public knowledge to all the Avengers, except for the slap. Regardless of whatever intertwined between his parents, What Pym couldn't get around was the lies he was told.

His trust in Tony and even Banner was waning fast. They clearly weren't shy about lying as they did with the Atlantis stuff, but he thought that was it. Now there were his parents and Pym couldn't help but wonder...What else were they lying about?