Nine:
Particles Of Reality
Chapter One
Sitting in Hank Pym's office, Stephen looked at the confusing labyrinth of figures, calculations, formulas and theories sprawled across three giant whiteboards, admittedly baffled.
While he was rather a brilliant Doctor, surgeon, and sorcerer, mathematics on this level was not his forte.
Hank Pym had explained it in as basic a fashion as possible, and, while Stephen felt he had a better grip on the concept than before, he was still well out of his depth with this type of physics.
Hank, his eyes bright with excitement, turned away from the whiteboard, toward Stephen, asked,
'Do you know what all of this means?'
Apparently Stephen wasn't great at hiding his confusion, so, arms thrown wide, Hank said, exhilarated,
'Using the Pym Particle, and these new theories, we could open a…a..gateway…into a quantum realm. Another dimension…an alternate…'
'Reality?' Stephen supplied, coming to his feet, stepping closer to the board, still struggling with the math.
Hank stepped close alongside, said,
'Tell me. This woman you're looking for.'
'Master Jade,' Stephen supplied, and Hank nodded,
'Master Jade. How does she travel, from wherever it is she is, to here? How do you travel here, from New York?'
Stephen shook his head, explained,
'I have a mental picture of where I want to go, then open a dimensional gateway. But, I can't go somewhere I've never seen.'
Stephen scowled,
'As I explained, before, I believe she is in an alternate reality, so I can't vouch for how she arrived here.'
Hank frowned,
'You realize how problematic such a concept is? Crossing realities? How could she do such a thing?'
Stephen scrunched his face, hunched his shoulders slightly, prepared for Hank to mock him, as he replied,
'She has a Staff. It's a Relic. The Staff of Bisected Realities. I believe that's how she can accomplish it.'
But, when he met Hanks eyes, he was surprised. Instead of scorn, he saw contemplation. After a few moments, Hank turned to a different white board, began drawing energetically.
'You call it a 'Relic', but, what if it's actually some type of a device to create a quantum bridge? I discovered the Pym particle, in our era, but there's no reason it couldn't have been discovered or used before. Maybe this 'Staff' uses that same particle?'
Hanks' marker flew across the whiteboard at a dizzying speed, working out calculations only he understood,
'Time would flow differently, faster, more slowly, in an alternate reality. So, it would take some doing to jump between them. But, if it could be done, if she can do it…'
He stepped back from his diagram, and said, quietly, looking at the new set of calculations,
'Perhaps we can, as well.'
Stephen turned, paced anxiously, Cloak, as always, tight to his shoulders.
Brow knotted, he admitted, disappointedly,
'How would we even know where to go? Where to look? My studies have revealed there to be a vast multiverse, full of all types of beings. Some, not so nice.'
On his shoulders, Cloak gave a shudder, obviously recalling their encounters with Sable, as well as Dormammu.
It was discouraging to think that, now there was a possibility of accomplishing what he had hoped, he actually had no idea how to find Master Jade.
Hank scowled, thinking. After a few moments, he suggested, cautiously optimistic,
'She could have left a trail.'
'What?' Stephen replied, pausing his pacing to meet Hanks' contemplative expression.
'Travel, whatever the type, even across dimensions, leaves behind markers. Disturbances in the fabric of time. A trail.'
Hank pulled off his glasses, chewing his lip, with a disappointed shake of his head,
'Ah, if you only had something that she might have left behind, on her visit, that would make it easier.'
Cloak just about leaped free of Stephen's shoulders, tapping his hand excitedly in a reminder, then, with its' hem edge, mimicked painting.
A wide grin split Stephen's face when he realized what Cloak was attempting to tell him.
Of course.
The paintbrush.
'It just so happens, Dr. Pym, that I have such a thing.'