Chapter 30: Roundup Part 3
The number of heroes in Fury's secret bunker was growing slowly, and it was getting crowded. Their scouting parties were bringing back heroes, but some of them were also coming to the island hideout on their own. Just the other day, the king of Wakanda, T'Challa, his sister Shuri, and his girlfriend/Wakandan spy Nakia had all arrived on the island in a sleek-looking black aircraft that hadn't appeared on any of the island's scanners.
"Wakanda has fallen," said T'Challa, sitting in the common room with Fury, Captain America, and Tony Stark. Splinter came in, bringing them some tea. His tea recipe had grown in popularity among the heroes, who appreciated the warm and spice-flavored beverage. He made a herb blend from different plants around the island that Ka-Zar had shown him.
"Loki's army arrived shortly after they took the United States," T'Challa continued, accepting Splinter's offer of tea. "Our forces put up a brave fight, but we were overwhelmed by sheer numbers. My people are hiding in caves in the nearby mountains of Jabariland. Loki was targeting our vibranium."
"That's not good," Tony said. "With the amount of vibranium they're sitting on, who knows what Loki's up to. Or what he'll do with it."
"So we've got a planet conquered and divided among supervillains," Fury said, setting down his cup of tea. "North and South America have been overrun by HYDRA, and the Council of HYDRA reinstated a Nazi rule straight out of Cap's deep-freeze."
Cap clenched his fists.
"As far as we know, Doom has claimed Europe for his own," Fury continued. "It looks like Loki's territory is Africa and Asia. Octavius has taken a group of five other super-villains and formed a group called the Sinister Six to rule over Australia."
"What could they possibly want with all that land?" Cap asked. "How are they going to maintain control?"
"They're super-villains," Tony said. "Dictatorship is kind of their modus operandi."
"But they attack in coordination," said Nakia. "Their armies united against us, the same way they did against the United States and the rest of the world. Then they split up. The Asgardian's alien army provided most of their manpower."
"So if we hit him and take him out," Cap said, "maybe we can cripple them enough to gain the upper hand."
"We need to get Wakanda back," Fury said. "The longer Loki has control of those vibranium mines, the lower our chances of coming out on top of this get."
"If we can retake Wakanda, we will at least be able to control the vibranium," Nakia said. "And you will have the aid of our War Dogs, in hiding in other countries."
"Give us the word, Fury, and we'll suit up," said Tony.
"Not yet," Fury said. "We still have a few superheroes that need recruiting. Cap, Romanoff and the O'Neil girl are going to find Barton. When she gets back I want you to take her, Falcon, and Vision to the states. Take down the HYDRA Council, and cripple their forces. I'm hoping that will draw some of Loki's forces back to the U.S. before we strike. We'll hold the fort down and keep tabs on the villains till you get back, Stark."
"I'm sorry," Tony said, "were you planning on sending me somewhere?"
"I need you to take Scott and Hope to Germany, right in the heart of Doom's kingdom."
"Who's our target?"
"Hank Pym."
Tony's face fell. "Come on, Fury. Seriously? You're sending me of all people?"
"We need his Pym Particles if we're going to pull this off," Fury said. "I know you Starks have some bad blood with him, but that's why I'm sending his daughter with you."
"He'll never work with us," said Tony. "Didn't you try recruiting him for the Avengers Initiative?"
"I did," Fury said. "But maybe the fact that the world ended will change his mind."
"He's Hank Pym," said Tony. "There's no changing his mind." He threw up his hands. "Well, hey, at least I get a trip to Germany out of it. Maybe we'll pick up some pretzels or something. By the way, how exactly do you plan on getting me into Germany unnoticed? Doom's empire has all but closed their borders."
"Last I checked, Tony Stark owned a $12.4 billion dollar tech industry," said Fury. "Contact Doom. Tell him you're interested in cutting a deal. That'll get you into Germany. Scott and Hope can shrink their way in."
Tony set his tea cup down and walked out of the room, down a hallway towards one of the bunk areas to get his stuff. He passed by one of the rec rooms and saw Peter Parker and Casey Jones hanging out and having fun. He paused, watching them from the doorway.
Parker shot a line of web onto Casey's chest from his web-shooter. Casey, in response, activated the potato masher taser that was built into his hockey glove. "You ready?" he asked.
"Ready," Parker said, bracing himself. "One . . ."
"Two . . ." said Casey.
"Three!" they both shouted as Casey zapped Peter in the shoulder with his taser. The electric current rushed into Peter's body, and he grunted and twitched as he was electrocuted. The shock traveled down his webbing and entered Casey's body. Casey yelped, his hair standing on end.
The two of them collapsed to the ground, catching their breath and laughing. "Ok-k-kay, that suck-k-ked," Casey stuttered, steam rising from his body.
"Idunno whut we 'spected," Peter slurred, running his fingers through his now-frizzled hair.
Casey looked at Peter, grinning. "Wanna do it again?"
"Yes!"
Tony smiled. It was good to see that even when faced with such overwhelming odds against them, kids could still find a way to have fun. He turned, hearing a noise, and saw that Splinter had followed him. "Did you teach them this?" he asked, gesturing at the two high schoolers.
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Stark," said Splinter. "But teenagers come with their own sort of joy that they bring to the world. I should know. I live with four of them."
The two of them continued walking down the hallway towards Stark's room. "I gotta say, I am very impressed with the technology your boys use," said Tony. "All built from sewer garbage, too. Reminds me of the time I built my first Iron Man suit, in a cave."
"Yes," said Splinter. "It amazes me what being put under pressure can force from someone. It is only through pressure and stress that a coal lump can produce a diamond."
"Human nature is quite remarkable," Tony said, reaching his room. He dug through the small box of possessions he'd brought with him to the island and pulled out a custom wrist watch. "While I'm happy to save the world and all, though, there are times you just need to save the best gadgets for yourself." He looked at Splinter and smiled. "Well, I'm off."
"One request, Mr. Stark," Splinter said quickly. "Would you mind if I joined your party? While being inside is fun, and the jungle provides quite a bit of exercise, I would like to see how the rest of the world is faring under these dark times."
Tony thought for a moment. "I don't see why not," he said, shrugging. "More the merrier. As long as you know how to keep a low profile."
They made their way to the hangar, where Scott Lang and Hope van Dyne were waiting near Stark's private jet. They hopped in and flew the aircraft out into the air towards Germany.
Mikey was hanging out in the infirmary, never leaving Raph's side. Night Nurse had forbidden him from leaving his bed. She'd managed to set his leg, but he needed time and rest. Somewhere on the way here, he'd caught an infection in the surrounding tissue of his broken leg, and it had spread to the rest of his body. Now sick, he'd have to undergo an operation soon to remove some of the muscle. Night Nurse was worried that Raph might never walk properly again.
But Mikey hadn't told Raph any of that yet. All he could do was be a supportive brother. So he stayed by Raph's bedside, reading him comic books, listening to music he'd downloaded onto his T-Phone, laughing, joking. They'd played with Mikey's action figures for hours.
"I gotta say, Raph, the whole hero lifestyle isn't so bad," Mikey said one day. "You get to travel the world, show off your skills in front of other awesome dudes, save hot chicks—totally a dream come true!"
Metalhead gave Mikey a thumbs-up. Mikey had to say, he really dug the new upgrades Stark had given their old buddy. And it was good to see a familiar face in this new post-apocalyptic world.
"Heh," Raph chuckled, coughing slightly. "If you're into that, little brother. I'm fine with just clobbering bad guys' faces in."
"When are we gonna get back to doing that, bro?" Mikey asked.
Raph leaned over and ruffled Mikey's head playfully. "Don't you worry, Mike. As soon as I get over this stupid cold, we can get back out there and kick Loki's butt. And then Shredder's, too."
"I hope Leo and Donnie come home soon," Mikey said. "I miss them. And we need all the help we can get to take down these guys."
"Yeah," Raph said. "The odds aren't looking too good. But that's never stopped us before."
They were silent for a few minutes. Finally Mikey said, off-handedly, "At least Sensei is happy."
"No, little brother," Raph said, coughing as he sat up in bed. "He's not." He coughed some more, his body shaking with the effort. When he was done with his coughing fit he continued, "And the reason he's not is the reason he's not telling us. Or told us—"
Raph went into a bout of uncontrollable coughing, and Mikey became concerned. "You okay, dude? Maybe I should go get Night Nurse—"
"No, I'm fine," Raph said, even though Metalhead had already left the room in search of the doctor. He swallowed the blood he'd just coughed up. Mikey had a lot on his plate already; he didn't need to worry about his crippled brother. "Look, Master Splinter is a lot of things. World's greatest father, a wise sensei, a Zen philosopher, all of it. But what he's not is selfish. He gives whatever he has. You've fought with him, dude—you know. Whatever happens, he bleeds first. But being happy . . . that's not bleeding. That's not giving. That's asking for something for himself. And it's not easy for Master Splinter to do that."
Black Widow sat in the cockpit of the Quinjet as it flew high in the skies over the United States. They had to be careful; they didn't want HYDRA to know they were here. April was using her psychic powers to scan for any enemies, and she didn't detect any so far.
"So what's the plan?" April asked Widow. "The USA is an awfully big place to look for one guy."
"Actually, it's Amerika now," Widow said from the pilot's chair. "HYDRA's official re-naming. And it would be—if it weren't for the tracker implanted into Clint. He's in the U.S. heartland."
"Hiding out in Kansas?" April asked. "Doesn't seem like the place to disappear."
"Not many people know this," Widow said from the pilot's chair, "but Barton's retired. Wanted to spend more time at home with his kids. He lives in a farmhouse. It's not listed in any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records."
"A farmhouse," April said, sitting back and admiring the view out the window. "Reminds me of the time the turtles and Casey and I went and hid after the Kraang terraformed the U.S." She glanced at Widow. "Which reminds me, where were you when that happened? You could have been a big help."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. was looking into an incident that happened in Missouri," Widow said. "Some kind of cosmic seed started blossoming and wiped out an entire city before it suddenly stopped. We think it may have been trying to terraform the entire planet. That's still a big question mark." She glanced out the window. "We're here."
The Quinjet broke through the clouds over the vast snowy landscape of the American Midwest. Everywhere April looked, she saw white. White fields, white treetops, it all extended for what seemed like forever. She'd never seen something so magical in all her life.
The Quinjet landed in a two-inch layer of soft snow behind a grove of trees. April and Natasha walked down the boarding ramp and out into the snow. April hadn't been expecting snow, and now wished she'd brought a jacket. The snow crunched under their feet as they moved through the trees toward an idyllic old farmhouse.
"This place is amazing," April breathed. Natasha was about to reply when without warning an arrow thudded into the tree next to April's head. She jumped, startled, then turned to see where the arrow had come from.
About fifty yards away, a young girl stood partially concealed behind a tree. She had brown hair and brown eyes, wore cold weather gear typical of the Midwest, and held a carbon fiber compound bow in her hand. She'd fired the arrow.
"Hey, Lila," Black Widow said, smiling disarmingly. "Remember me?"
A man stepped out from behind the girl, wearing a jacket for the cold weather. He patted the girl's shoulder. "It's okay, Lila," he said, walking towards Natasha. "Hey, Nat."
Black Widow smiled. "Hey, Clint." She gave him a hug. "It's been a long time."
"Too long," Hawkeye said, grinning back. He glanced at April. "Who's the girl?"
"April O'N-neil," April said, extending her hand for a shake. The cold was getting to her, and she tried to stop her teeth from chattering.
"Well, April O'Neil, why don't you guys come inside and I'll see if Laura can't make us a pot of coffee," Clint said, motioning the girl towards them. "This is Lila, my daughter."
"Sorry I shot at you, Auntie Nat," Lila said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck.
"No, hey, that was an awesome shot," Natasha said, smiling. "I think you're gonna be a better shot than your dad."
Lila laughed, and Clint rolled his eyes as they approached the house. A woman with long brown hair and a warm, inviting smile came down the stairs towards them. April guessed it was Clint's wife. "Hi, Natasha!" she said, hugging Black Widow. "It's so good to see you."
"It's good to see you, too, Laura," Natasha said, returning the hug. "I'm afraid this isn't a pleasure trip, though. April and I—" She gestured at April, who waved timidly "—are here for Clint."
Laura's smile dimmed. "These are troubling times," she said. "Please, come in. I was just about to get dinner on the table."
They entered the house, a traditional two-story style farmhouse. A cute place, April thought. It was much nicer than her family's old farmhouse had been. Of course, they hadn't visited it in years when she and the turtles had arrived.
She made fast friends with Lila and her two younger brothers, Cooper, who was eight, and Nathaniel, who was four. Nathaniel, she learned, had been named after Natasha.
Clint called up the stairs, "It's all right. They're friends." A blonde woman wearing a high collared, skintight, grey jumpsuit with black detailing and with blue panels running from her upper torso to her knees as well as on her elbows came downstairs. She was followed by an extremely muscular man in a navy blue outfit with a red "W" across the chest and red bands on his arms and wrists.
The blonde approached Natasha and gave her a hug. "Natasha," she said, pulling back and smiling. "It's been too long."
"It's good to see you, Bobbi," Natasha said. "I was afraid you were gone too."
"Nah," Bobbi grinned, "it takes more than the end of the world to keep Mockingbird down. I was in San Juan in Brazil when the attack happened. By the time I got back there was nobody I could call. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gone. Fury and Coulson, if they made it out, disappeared." She glanced over at Hawkeye. "I'm not usually one to crash at an ex's pad, but I figured I could make an exception this time."
"And you were just the first," Hawkeye said. "Once Laura and I found out that heroes had survived, we made it our mission to save as many as we could and hide them here. Simon crashed out back," he said, gesturing at the muscular man.
Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man, sheepishly raised his hand. "I went after Loki as soon as he left New York," he said. "We had a battle in the stratosphere, and I managed to take out a good chunk of his forces before that witch woman put a curse on me and I crash landed in Clint's backyard."
"Technically it was my front," said Clint, grinning. "And we had to cut those trees down anyway, so you technically did us a favor."
They walked into the kitchen, where Laura was preparing the cocoa with a female tiger-like mutant. She had a full head of red hair and her entire body was covered in orange fur with black stripes. "It didn't take long for HYDRA to start sticking their nose out here; they spread unchecked across the country in weeks," Clint said. "Tigra was on a prison transport heading for a HYDRA facility out in Wyoming when Wonder Man intercepted it in South Dakota and brought her here."
Tigra smiled, her eyes glittering as she bent over, setting the table. "I owe you big time for that, Simon," she said.
Clint glanced around. "And Marc—well, he's somewhere around here—Marc was on the transport too. He kind of comes and goes. Odd guy, kinda cold, but he puts in work and he's great with the kids."
Suddenly the front door opened, and a tall muscular man dressed in work overalls and a flannel entered, brushing snow out of his shaggy brown hair. "Tractor broke down again, Clint," he said. April noticed how his brown eyes seemed to stare right through her. He was attractive, but his gaze was . . . unsettling. Like he'd seen a lot in life. What a stupid thought, she thought to herself. The world ended. Life as we know it is over. If that doesn't break a person, I don't know what does.
"Speak of the devil," Clint said. "Nat, meet Marc Spector, the Moon Knight."
"Pleasure," said Natasha, shaking the man's hand. He shook back but didn't say anything.
"Oh, Dad, I was going to tell you about that," said Lila as they all gathered around the dinner table. "I tried my best to patch it up, but I think we need a brand new engine."
"She did an amazing patch-up job, Clint," Moon Knight said, grabbing one of the rolls on the table and taking a bite.
"I bet she did," said Clint as they all sat down. "But unless one of you has some magic beans to sell, I don't know how we're gonna get one."
"So what do we do?" Lila asked.
"Some heavy lifting, I guess," said Hawkeye, shrugging. They said grace and started passing the food around. Meat stew and rolls with milk to drink. April hadn't tasted good, hot, home-cooked food in a long time. It made her feel warm inside, something she hadn't really experienced since before Loki's attack on New York and they'd been dragged into this whole mess.
Clint turned to his wife. "Abe Donovan said he wouldn't give me twenty bucks for the pigs. I told him they were clean, but he just wouldn't take the risk after last time."
"Can't say I blame him," Laura said softly. "How many did he lose? Five hundred?" There was an awkward pause.
"What are we going to do, Dad?" Cooper asked finally.
Clint took a bite of his stew. "I'll think of something."
"Jolene from the market offered thirty-eight bucks for the X-Box," Laura said. "Said she'd make it an even forty if we threw in that long-lasting battery."
Clint shook his head. "We are not selling the children's toys, Laura."
"Just an idea," Laura said defensively. "That's all. The rent's due in two days' time and we have nothing else worth selling. Besides, the kids know how tight things are."
"Yeah," Cooper piped up. "We don't mind, Dad. We hardly have time to play with it anyway."
Clint smiled at his son. "I am not selling my children's toys," he said lightheartedly, but April could sense the tension.
"My friend Becky's mom was saying you used to be a super hero," Lila said suddenly. The room went quiet as she continued. "She said you were in some kind of team before the bad guys took over. Is that true, Dad?"
Clint hesitated, and they all saw it. He glanced at Natasha, and she returned the look. Then he smiled, leaned over, and ruffled Lila's hair. "You tell Becky's mom there's no such thing as superheroes," he said. "Now, be a good girl and pass me those bread rolls."
After dinner, Natasha found Clint outside, leaning against a fence post watching the sun set. "You know, Lila didn't mean any harm," she said softly as she came up behind him. "Only natural a child would be curious about what her father used to do." She paused. "Don't be angry with her, Clint. She's just a little girl."
Clint shook his head, glancing away. "It's not Lila I'm angry with," he said. "It's myself. How could I let things get this bad? You know what they do when you don't make rent? There was a family over the ridge who missed their payments three months in a row, and HYDRA took them all away. Returned their skinned corpses to the house and left them there as a warning."
Natasha shuddered. "But . . . but you said they missed payments three months in a row," she said, her voice shaking. "How many times have you?"
"This would be my first time in almost a year," Clint said. "Honestly, it doesn't matter. HYDRA can't look weak in front of Doom. They have to punish people."
"Maybe tell them they'll get double next month, Clint," Natasha suggested. "I'm sure they can be reasonable when they want to be."
Clint snorted, glancing over at Natasha. "This is HYDRA, Nat. They don't do reasonable."
"Maybe we make them reasonable," she said, pausing. "Listen, I wasn't upfront with you about why we came. April and I—we were sent. By Fury."
Clint let out a chuckle. "This is the part where you ask me to come back and join the team. Do a solid for an old friend." He looked at Natasha, his eyes empty and devoid of any hope. "Sorry, Nat. I'm not interested. And neither is anybody in the house. We can't keep pretending that everything's the same as it was yesterday. I mean, look around. Half of our friends are dead. Some have turned. How could we possibly have a chance?"
"This isn't a time to go down with the ship," Natasha said. "We need to do something. We need to stop this. The Clint I knew—the Clint I was friends with—would never turn over belly-up and let the bad guys walk all over him."
Clint shook his head sadly. "Maybe I'm not the Clint you know anymore," he said. "I haven't picked up that bow except to train Lila how to shoot. My days of fighting are over. Remember? I'm retired."
Natasha let out a defeated sigh. "Okay. I'm not going to abuse our relationship. If you don't want to fight, you don't have to. I'll make the same offer to everybody in the house in a couple of days. We're not leaving until we help you figure out a way to get the rent money."
Hope van Dyne had never been to Latveria before, but she knew her history. Latveria had been a thriving country with an elected government for most of the 20th Century. It had sent an army to fight alongside the Soviets against the Nazis. It was an open, peaceful country with many resources, which made it all the more a shame that Doom had taken over. He'd deposed the president, and cracked down on personal liberties in the name of security, much in the same way Stalin had. Journalists had been silenced. Dissenters were jailed.
So she had a good idea of what to expect going into Doomlandia, and she knew she wasn't going to like it.
"Here we are," Tony said, as the Stark jet broke through the clouds over Germany's Munich International Airport. "Security checks before we land. They'll want to know what I had for breakfast. They'll want to know what Pepper had for breakfast."
After an extensive check, the jet was cleared to land. They dropped into a vacant hangar near the edge of the airport. Tony turned to the others as he grabbed his ID docs and ship specs. "Hope, Scott, do your shrinking thing." He handed Hope a small watch-like device. "This'll help you track Hank's signal. Splinter, do your ninja thing, stick to the shadows, keep right with them. I'll contact you guys when it's time to leave."
"Sounds like a plan," Scott said, activating his suit's helmet. "Let's roll!" He pressed the activators on the suit's gloves and shrunk down to the size of an ant. Hope's suit didn't have activators; hers came with an integrated reaction system, allowing its user to control all of its features without the push of a button. She shrunk down with Scott, using the four artificial, transparent fiber composite, insect-like wings on the suit's upper back to flit and hover in the air before landing on Tony's shoulder. He jumped visibly. "Eeugh! That's unnerving. Could you not do that right next to my ear?"
"Sorry," Wasp said, flicking her wings incessantly to create a low buzzing noise and irritate Tony. "Suit's malfunctioning."
Ant-Man, meanwhile, had climbed up Tony's suit pant legs to hang on for the ride. "Wow, whoever tailored this really knew their stuff," he said, examining the stiches. "Is this Valentino? Prada?"
"It's Burberry," Tony said, communicating with the two of them via an earpiece. "And do you have to critique my suit up and down? I don't do that for you guys."
"That's because our suits are better," Wasp said, smirking behind her helmet.
"Agree to disagree on that one," Stark said as the jet door opened and he strode down the staircase to the hangar floor. As soon as they had left, Splinter snuck out the jet door and up onto the roof of the plane, dropping down onto the other side behind the wheels. He pulled the hood of his robes up for extra stealth before scurrying off out of the hangar.
Nuzzling the Bavarian Alps and resting beside the River Isar, Munich was rife with natural beauty and yet its streets are also lined with man-made marvels, in the form of designer retail shops and shiny BMWs. It was made up of a handful of neighborhoods that radiated around the city center. The city was—had been—a pleasant place to live.
Splinter took to the rooftops as soon as he made it away from the airport. From here he could see the Altstadt, the city's historical district—or rather, what was left of it. A gigantic structure crowded out Marienplatz, Munich's main town square. Doom had imported a garrison, a huge prefabricated structure that contained barracks for his Doombot soldiers and a large jail for prisoners.
He could feel it rising up from below. Munich was now a city of fear.
Splinter took off across the rooftops, following Stark as the billionaire got into a limousine provided by Doctor Doom that drove off towards the garrison. It was strange to be in a city again, strange to feel cool air. He had been isolated in the bunker in the Savage Land for so long. He slowed his pace across the roofs as he approached Marienplatz. The presence of Doombots was heavy here, as they filed in and out of the garrison. The sight of the robot soldiers and the building had a chilling effect. Splinter watched the green and silver columns march through the streets, watched how the people shrank before them, as his ears rang with the menace of their footsteps.
People tried to avert their gazes from the garrison but shot sidelong glances of apprehension at it. So many streets fed onto Marienplatz that they couldn't avoid it, but they stopped speaking as they passed. Even footsteps seemed hushed, and paces quickened as the Germans hurried by.
Splinter had seen this before. All the signs were here—the menace in the air, the strange silence. The troops in the streets, the black vehicles racing by, filled with uniformed officers. Splinter knew well the techniques of a powerful force tightening its grip on a once peaceful society. But this was worse. It wasn't just fear in the air—it was terror.
Tony stepped out of the limo as they pulled up to the garrison. A squad of Doombots were waiting for him. These things were cheap in compared to, say, his Iron Legion, but they were cost-effective. They made for excellent foot soldiers; low-level superhuman strength and endurance but normal human speed and reaction levels, and able to shoot energy bolts from their naked hands. Their photoelectric eyes scanned him as he exited the limo. "Target A-2 detected," they said in monotone robotic voices. "Target A-2 confirmed. Welcome to Doomlandia, Anthony Stark. Please let us see you to your room."
Tony breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn't picked up on Scott or Hope. "Which one of you has a direct line to Doom?" he said, staring into the robot's eyes. "Let him know he needs better reception. I'd rather talk to a live person than a robot."
"Your meeting with Lord Doom will be scheduled for thirteen hours from our current time," the robot said. "Enjoy the city in the meantime. If you violate any of Doomlandia's laws your meeting will be cancelled and you will be considered a criminal and enemy of the empire."
Tony was shown to his quarters, a room with only a table made out of one slab of polished stone, a single chair, and a bed. The bed was the darkest of spruces, the green of a thick algae.
Ant-Man and Wasp unshrunk and returned to their normal sizes. Scott glanced around at the room's bare furnishings. "This is the best the Emperor of Doomlandia has to offer?" he asked. "Feels like I'm at a Motel 6. Only difference is there's no ashtray and the toilet works."
Hope went over to the window and looked out, spotting Splinter on a rooftop. Splinter held up a hand, acknowledging her, and she waved back. "Splinter seems to have found a hiding spot for now," she said.
"Good," Tony said. "The meeting is set for tomorrow morning. We've got all night to find Dr. Pym, so I suggest we hit the town."
The two of them shrunk back down and left as Tony changed into some more incognito clothing and left the garrison, walking through the narrow streets of the surrounding district. "My scanners say he's uptown," Wasp said, flitting over to a street lamp and landing on it, using her helmet to zoom in on faces and look for a match. "We should cut over a street."
A shadow crossed over her from above and she looked up to see Splinter landing on the roof above her. "Watch for Doombots," he warned. "They are everywhere."
"Try not to engage," said Tony, doing his best to act casual. "They can't track us for now and I'd like to keep it that way."
From somewhere on the street below him, Ant-Man snarked, "You might be preaching low profiles, Tony, but your clothes say otherwise."
Tony glanced down at his outfit. "What's wrong with my outfit, Lang?"
"Red and white flannel overshirt, dad shoes, tweed golf cap, it all screams 'tourist'," said Ant-Man. "All you need now is a camera with an oversized lens and bingo."
"For the record, I'm not about to take fashion advice from the guy who walks around in red-and-black leather as his work outfit," Tony shot back.
"Okay, well, it's not leather, it's lightweight fabric," Ant-Man said defensively.
Wearing his signature single-breasted three-piece suit with notched lapels, Hank Pym sat at the counter of the Mirror Munich Bar in uptown Munich. The bar was pretty much empty these days; ever since Doom had moved in with his garrison the Munich night life had all but ceased. Fine by him; he'd never been much of a crowds person anyway. The bartender brought him a bottle of Scotch and a shot glass, then left him alone. He knew Hank appreciated his privacy.
What he didn't know was that Hank appreciated his privacy so much, he had used his Pym Particle technology to shrink video cameras down and attach them to the backs of his squadron of carpenter ants. They were always nearby, serving as lookouts. If the cameras ever picked up something, the video would transfer to his pair of Old Focals' clear Advocate glasses and he could assess the situation. In this new world they lived in, under Doom's vice grip, one could never be too cautious.
That's why Hank was surprised to see a fire ant emerging from under the counter of the bar and crawling over to his hand. He raised a hand to his ear. Behind his right ear he wore an EMP communicator device. To the untrained eye it looked like a simple hearing aid, but it was actually a very high-tech piece of equipment that used electromagnetic waves to stimulate the olfactory nerve center of ants and mimic their pheromones, allowing Hank to communicate with and control them. He wasn't interested in controlling this ant, though; he told the ant to scurry away behind the counter and out of sight. The bartender took less than kindly to any signs of pests in his bar.
The ant didn't respond. Confused, Hank re-sent the message, more forcefully this time. The ant shook its head, as if confused or in pain, and slowed its steps slightly but kept walking forward. Hank frowned. Either his device wasn't working and he'd have to run a diagnostic when he got back to his apartment, or . . . something else was controlling the ants.
The ant approached Hank's hand and looked up, making a very high-pitched chittering noise inaudible to the human ear. It kept turning its head towards the bar's back door, the one that led out into the alley. Was it trying to tell him something? The ant scurried onto his jacket sleeve as he paid and left out the backdoor into the alleyway.
"Alright, Hope. I know it's you," Hank said aloud. "Nobody else could override my communicator by sheer willpower."
Hope grew into view from her shrunken state and withdrew her helmet, hugging her father. "It's good to see you, Dad."
"It's good to see you, too, honey," Hank said, hugging her back. Scott grew back to normal size as well, standing awkwardly waiting for their display of affection to finish.
"Hey, Hank," he said, waving. "Can I get a hug, too?"
"No, you cannot," Hank said firmly.
"You sure? Just like a quick—"
"Why are you here?" Hank asked. "I'm assuming it isn't a social call. And you're a little too old to be asking me for money."
"We're putting together a team," said a voice, "and we need you on it." They turned to see Tony emerge from a shadowed doorway.
Hank's expression immediately darkened. "Stark," he said.
"That's my name," Tony said, shrugging. "Don't wear it out. So you in? I've got a jet waiting at the airport, and we'll be leaving first thing tomorrow. Or, as soon as I get my meeting with Doom done."
"You think you can come recruit me like some two-timing guy with a hero gimmick?" asked Hank angrily. "Scott. Hope. You two of all people should know better. The Particles are far too galvanizing of a substance to be used by any outside parties. Their levels of sophistication—" Hank whirled to face Tony "—far exceed that of any discovery made by a Stark or otherwise."
"Yeah, maybe," Tony said. "Until now." A thin line of red nanobots climbed out from inside Tony's shirt and materialized as a wristband on his arm. "Nano-tech. Taps into our non-synchronous temporals to keep us undetected from Doom's cameras or Doombots. Impressive, right?"
Hank glared warily at Tony. "Maybe for a Stark."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Tony shot back.
"You're just like your father," Hank spat. "You Starks think you can fix everything with engineering and more technology. Your OWN inventions keep creating the problems you get everyone else to face off against."
"That's not—" Tony started, but Hank cut him off.
"Remember Afghanistan? Stark Industries pumped billions of dollars' worth of weapons into the region and funded the conflict on both sides. You think you can just announce at a press conference that your company isn't going to make weapons anymore and that magically fixes everything? Go ask the war-torn mothers and children whose fathers aren't coming home. Hell, you even made the weapons that got your sorry ass captured. Then you create the Iron Man suit, and your mentor Obadiah Stane went and made the Iron Monger, stealing your own tech. Los Angeles's insurance companies had a field day after you and Stane trashed the city. You helped my old colleague Maya Hansen perfect her Extremis solution, and it was immediately weaponized. And then you created Ultron. You and the Avengers took him down, but when was the last time you've been to Sokovia? The place is a hellhole now. Oh, and remember Ivan Vanko? Built his robot legion directly to rival your suit. And your irresponsibility led to one of your suits being confiscated and turned over to the guys supplying Vanko. You and Howard share the blame for that one. Howard was stealing credit for the reactor that Vanko's father helped build."
"That's not fair at all," Tony cut in. "Anton wasn't interested in bettering humanity, he was only in it for the profit."
"And Howard wasn't?" Hank snorted. "Please. Howard loved his profit. Why do you think he was trying to duplicate my Ant-Man tech behind my back? For bettering humanity? The Starks' antics continue to put the people they most care about in danger, time and time and time again. And the solution is always more tech."
"No." Tony snarled, shoving Hank Pym in the shoulder and sending him stumbling back. "You do not get to take pot shots on my father's character."
"Guys!" Hope shouted, and both men turned to look at her. "We don't have time for this infighting. Whatever personal quarrels the two of you have, you can get it out on the jet ride home."
"Though I, for one, would prefer you didn't," Scott interjected. "I was planning on getting some sleep on the way home. Jet lag can be a real pain."
"Dad, we need you," Hope said, facing Hank. "We all need you. Fury sent us. He's got a plan to stop Doom and his crew. We're all going around getting whatever heroes are still alive to help. We'll need all the help we can get."
"Hope, I'm an old man with an irritable temper," Hank said. "What exactly does Fury need me for? The Pym Particles? You can forget it."
"No!" Scott and Hope lied. "No, that's not it at all."
"Because you're one of the few people who can pull it off," Hope said. "And we need someone they won't see coming. Someone who can fly under the radar."
"Someone who isn't me," said Tony.
Hank ignored him. "I imagine Fury and whatever boy band he's cooked up this time at the top of Loki's most wanted list. What makes you think I give a damn about any of this?"
Hope looked at her father in shock. "You can't want the world like this, Dad."
Hank gave her a glance, and she could see how tired and sad he looked. He was a shell of the man he'd once been, the man who, although she'd clashed with frequently, she'd loved. The man who had been her father. "I'm sorry, Hope. But my duty has always been to keep the Pym Particles and their limitless potential for power and destruction safe from anyone trying to tap into them and wielding them in maniacal ways. I'm not going to hand them over to S.H.I.E.L.D. or anybody. And besides, even if I wanted to help, the last of the Pym Particles I had were destroyed when Doom took over Europe. I'm sorry."
He turned and began to stride off down the alleyway. Hope started after him, but Scott placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't," he told her. "Hank wants his privacy. We owe him at least that."
Tony, still angered by Hank Pym's harsh words, was unfazed. "I told Fury this was going to happen," he muttered. "We'll leave tomorrow, after my meeting with Doom."
From the rooftops above, Splinter watched as the heroes headed defeated back towards Doom's garrison. The tension was all too clear between Stark and Pym, but he wasn't too surprised. One who was too insistent on his own views found few to agree with him. Perhaps he could restore balance to where pain and suffering had torn a rift between the heroes. So he took off, on the rooftops, after Hank Pym.
Hank returned to his small, one-room apartment, on the second floor of a three-story building above a German restaurant. He stepped out onto the small balcony and stood looking out at the street below and the city beyond.
Heaving a sigh, he pulled a small vial from his jacket pocket. The Pym Particles. His life's work and yet, the bane of his existence. Capable of shunting or adding mass and reducing or increasing scale of any form of matter, compressing physical forces around such objects or organisms that they are applied to, as well as increasing density and strength of the subject, they were easily the most dangerous object on the planet if weaponized. It was his duty to ensure that they never were.
He felt bad for lying to Hope and Scott, but it was better they return empty-handed. He had sworn on the grave of his wife that he would never let the Particles be used for evil, and guard them with his life if necessary. When he died, their secrets would die with him. And it was better for the world that way.
A sudden noise startled him, and he turned to see a human-sized rodent creature inside his house. Suddenly on the alert, he shoved the particles back into his jacket pocket. How had the creature gotten past his ant security cams? "What do you want?" he asked, unable to stop his voice from shaking.
The creature held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "You may call me Splinter," he said, in a deep voice marked by a slight accent. "I apologize, I did not mean to startle you. I am a friend of your daughter's. And of Scott."
Hank let out a shaky breath, and moved inside. "Well, if you're here for the same reason they are, I'm afraid you won't have much luck." There was an awkward pause before Hank shrugged, gesturing around. "Can I . . . get you something?"
"I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea," Splinter said. "I am quite parched."
Soon the kettle was whistling, and Hank and Splinter sat before the fireplace sipping chamomile tea from ornamented tea cups. "So you are this Doctor Pym I keep hearing about," Splinter said.
Hank snorted. "Yeah. Yeah, that's me. Dr. Henry Pym. The original Ant-Man, discoverer of the Pym Particles, and a scientist with a secret history full of action, adventure, and espionage." He let out a sad laugh.
"What I did not take you for was a liar," Splinter said. Then, when Hank said nothing, the mutant rat continued, "That vial . . . it is item we seek. And your expertise with it."
"Maybe I wasn't exactly up front with them," admitted Hank, as he put the cup down. "It's just—well, you wouldn't understand."
Splinter laughed. "My friend, I am a mutant rat, who spends his time living in the sewers reading books, eating cheesesicles, and teaching my sons ninjutsu. You will find I am quite an understanding person."
There was another moment of silence. Finally, Hank said, "I love them. Both. In their own way. Scott, as a friend, but Hope . . . Hope is my daughter. My wife died on a mission shortly after she was born, and . . . I don't know, part of me feels like Janet is still alive. Living through Hope. I'm devoted to her, but that devotion causes resentment in her. It drives us apart. I guess I'm afraid of passing the mantle to her. And losing her like I did her mother."
"I understand," said Splinter softly. "Better than anyone. I was not always this hideous rat you see before you. Once, I too had a wife and daughter. That was in my other life, as clan leader of the Hamatos. We were peacekeepers. My adoptive brother and I were rivals not only for clan leadership, and in martial arts, but also for the heart of the woman who became my wife. My pride overcame me, and my wife paid for it with her life. I was too afraid to start a new life, to start a new family. I do not want to lose them, as I lost my old family.
"You can't fix the past," Hank Pym told Splinter. "You can only search for the strength to change the future."
Splinter looked at Hank, his wise eyes filled with emotion. "Perhaps you should take your own advice, Doctor. After all, the hardest lessons are still lessons learned."
Despite Black Widow, April, the Bartons, and the other superheroes' best efforts and ideas, two days came and went, and they only managed to collect enough money for half of what they owed. Clint walked out of the house to see Lila sitting on the front porch with a quill over her shoulder and a bow in her hand, putting an arrow to the string. "Put the bow away, Lila," Clint said.
"It's okay, Dad." Lila drew the bow back, aiming down the sight. "Nobody will see it. I'll just keep it close in case these goons give us trouble."
Clint watched his daughter's stance, her poise, the way she drew the bow back to her chin, the way her breathing slowed as she concentrated on her target. Given time and training, she would make a fine archer. "The only way that's gonna happen is if they see your bow," he said. "Please put it away."
Subdued, Lila walked past Clint into the house to put the bow away. "I was only trying to help," she muttered.
"Clint?" Laura called. "The Collectors are here."
A HYDRA hybrid tank was rolling through the countryside towards the property, kicking up a flurry of snow in its wake. Natasha recognized it as the same model of tanks the Avengers had fought in Sokovia; a Russian-made BMP armored fighting vehicle upgraded with armor panels, sensor arrays, EMP emitters, and powerful Chitauri pulse weapons.
She, April, and the other heroes were concealed in the Quinjet, which had its cloaking device activated. It was now invisible to the naked eye as well as most scanners. It was sitting in the woods where they'd left it, and they had a clear view of the scene as it played out in front of them. They'd promised the Bartons not to show themselves or intervene, no matter how bad things got. "This is my mess," Clint had told them around the breakfast table. "No need for you guys to pay for my mistakes."
Natasha watched as Clint walked forward off the porch, slowly and deliberately standing about twenty yards from his house and staring down the tank as it approached. It rolled to a stop and the rear doors opened, unloading a dozen HYDRA soldiers. Each soldier bore an energy rifle and was decked out in an exo-suit blending Arctic military uniforms with Chitauri tech.
A grey-haired man wearing a pressed black stroller suit with a striped tie and a sneer on his face pushed his way through the ranks of HYDRA soldiers to face Clint. "Mr. Carson," Clint said politely.
"Hawkeye," Mitchell Carson said, sneering. "Oh, excuse me. I keep forgetting you don't like people calling you by your old name anymore. Is it 'Mister Hawkeye you go by these days?"
"Clint's fine," Clint said. From the cockpit of the Quinjet, Natasha saw Clint clench his fists, but he kept them at his sides. She recognized the man. Carson had been the Head of Defense at S.H.I.E.L.D. before it collapsed during Project: Insight. No one had known he was a HYDRA operative until it was too late. He had betrayed all of them.
Carson smiled. "That's right," he chuckled. "Hawkeye died the night the bad guys beat your asses. How forgetful of me." He stepped forward, looking down at Clint and staring into his eyes. "Now we'll cut to the chase here, Clint. Because we know you don't have this month's rent. Which is why I brought some friends here today, too."
Two HYDRA soldiers stepped forward from the ranks. Each bore a fist energy-brace on each hand, weapons that would pack a powerfully charged punch. They moved up, into Clint's personal space, staring him down from behind their combat helmets to intimidate him.
"Well, you being such a thorn in HYDRA's side all those years ago, they were worried this might turn nasty. Of course, I tried to explain you had put that part of your past behind. But you know what soldiers are like. Always wanting to fight." Carson grinned and backed away.
"Are you ready to take your punishment, runt, or do we have to flatten your crappy little farm?" one of the HYDRA soldiers yelled.
Clint didn't answer, staring straight ahead at Carson. "You deaf, punk?" the other HYDRA soldier shouted in his ear. "Are you ready to take your beating?"
Clint shut his eyes, imagining the scenario play out in his head. He would drop to one knee and grab the knife from his ankle holster, burying it in the HYDRA soldier's neck, where the combat helmet met the military uniform. He'd swing the man's energy-brace into the other soldier's chest before he could react, as Lila let fly with arrows from the porch.
"This punk is trying to piss us off!" the other HYDRA soldier said, jabbing a finger into Clint's chest.
Clint opened his eyes, returning to reality. "Yes sir," he said. "I'm ready to take my beating."
"Good." The HYDRA soldier threw a punch that knocked Clint to the ground head-first. Laura held the children on the porch, shielding their eyes so they wouldn't have to watch their father humiliated. The two soldiers began mercilessly beating Clint as he lay on the ground. Their suits amplified their strength, and the energy dischargers on their fists felt like sledgehammers being pounded all over Clint's body.
Mitchell Carson signaled to the other soldiers. "Go," he said. "Search the house and the surrounding area. Kill anything that isn't the family." The soldiers spread out in search patterns. Carson turned back to the beating, and let out a cruel laugh. "Oh, Hawkeye, how did they mess you up so bad you won't even defend yourself?" he asked.
"Come on, punk!" one of the HYDRA soldiers said as he stomped down on Clint's chest. "You used to be the most dangerous archers alive! We're just a bunch of HYDRA soldiers!"
Lila broke away from her mother's embrace and disappeared inside the house. She emerged from the house with her bow, arrow pulled taut on the string. "Get your hands off my dad!" she screamed.
The two HYDRA soldiers glanced at her, chuckling. "She's funny," one of them said.
"And pretty," the other soldier said. "Maybe we should take her as payment for the missing rent." He took a menacing step towards her.
"No . . ." Clint gurgled, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Don't—" His plea was cut off as the HYDRA soldier stomped viciously on his head.
Lila froze in fear, starting to shake as the soldier approached her. "Go ahead," the soldier laughed cruelly. "Shoot me."
She wouldn't. She couldn't, even though she wanted to more than anything. But she knew if she did, they would all be dead. The soldier's arm flashed out and grabbed her by the wrist, his gaze travelling from her face down her neck to the bare shoulder exposed to the cold air. "You're kinda cute," he leered. "You think Carson would mind if we played with her a little, before we killed her?"
"Leave her alone!" Laura screamed from the porch.
Lila's breath came in ragged gasps, and her own heartbeat filled her ears. "Just be glad we have a sense of humor, little girl," the soldier said finally.
Suddenly a low humming noise filled the air and a flash of silver flew past Lila's vision. There was a sharp pain that struck the side of her face as the soldier's helmet visor exploded in shards of purple and he fell backwards. He lay on the ground, making a horrible gurgling noise as Lila pulled a piece of his visor out of her temple and looked at him. A large silver throwing disk, shaped like a crescent moon, had impaled itself in his face, and his blood now poured freely into his helmet and out onto the ground.
The soldiers looked up at the front porch to see a white figure in a hooded cloak crouched on the roof of the farmhouse, partially eclipsed by the sunlight peeking through the clouds. Natasha peered at the screen. How had Moon Knight made it to the house? She turned to see the Quinjet's bay doors wide open, and the landing ramp down. All the heroes were gone. She closed her eyes and sighed. It always had to go down the hard way.
"Take down the super!" Carson shouted, and immediately the soldiers raised their weapons, sending blasts of blue energy from their rifles towards Moon Knight. Lila dove for the ground.
Some of the soldiers aimed their rifles at Laura, Cooper, and Nathaniel, crouched screaming behind the porch rail. Wonder Man burst through the front door, leaping in front of the trio and using his powers to generate a purple force energy bubble around the four of them.
"Get them to the jet!" Mockingbird yelled as she and Tigra ran through the doorway behind them, out towards the soldiers. Mockingbird used her pistol to fire at the troops, while Tigra ran bounding on all fours towards the nearest HYDRA soldier and leaped on him with a snarl. Her razor sharp claws and fangs made short work of his armor. Moon Knight spread his glider cape out behind him and dove through the air over the HYDRA soldiers, towards the tank. He aimed his feet as he landed so he kicked the soldier in the tank's turret back inside the tank.
Wonder Man began moving his way off the porch, though it was slow going as he maintained the force field around them. The soldiers didn't let up, concentrating fire on the superhero. Finally he turned to Laura.
"I'm going to drop the shield and distract them," he said. "You and the boys run for the clearing in the woods. Find the Quinjet. We'll meet you all there."
"But—" Laura began to object.
Wonder Man wasn't having it. "Go!" he yelled, dropping the shield. Immediately he was hit from all sides with energy blasts and dropped to his knees, groaning in pain. But because his body was made from ionized organic matter, and not normal flesh, he absorbed the shots from the HYDRA soldiers' weapons instead of them tearing through his body. Standing to his feet, his eyes began glowing with a purple blaze as he let a devastating blast of ionic energy fly from his hands and eyes, obliterating the HYDRA company.
With the HYDRA soldiers now defeated, the heroes turned to face Carson, who had grabbed Lila and was holding a gun to her head. They hesitated, realizing the hostage situation they were in. A slow smile spread across Carson's face as he realized he had the upper hand.
He didn't for long. Lila still had the arrow in her hand from when she'd tried to threaten the HYDRA soldiers attacking her father, and now drove it into the HYDRA agent's side with all the force she could. Carson let loose with a blood-curdling scream as the arrow burst through his lower torso, and he fell to his knees, still screaming.
His screams were cut short by Moon Knight, who strode over and slammed him in the side of his head with his truncheon. Carson's neck went back with a sickening snapping sound and he crumpled over to the ground and lay still. Moon Knight turned back to face the other heroes, staring at him in shock at the brutality they'd just witnessed.
"I was tired of hearing him scream," Moon Knight said simply.
Mockingbird bent down near Hawkeye's battered and broken body, feeling for a pulse. She let out a shuddering sigh of relief. "He's alive," she said, and Lila burst into tears of joy. Wonder Man approached, gingerly lifting Hawkeye's body into his arms.
"Let's get the hell out of here," he said, and the group took off into the woods in the direction Laura and the boys had gone.
Laura and the boys, meanwhile, had almost reached the Quinjet when they were suddenly ambused by HYDRA soldiers. But April appeared behind them and used her telepathic powers to lift a fallen tree from the grown and send it hurtling towards the soldiers. "Duck!" she called, and Laura, Cooper, and Nathaniel hit the snow immediately. The tree trunk whizzed over their heads, missing by inches as it sent the HYDRA soldiers flying. "Let's go!" she shouted, as inside the cockpit of the Quinjet Black Widow decloaked the vehicle and made it visible to the naked eye.
They ran inside, and the other heroes and Hawkeye were right behind them. Black Widow had already fired up the launch sequence, and the Quinjet rose into the late afternoon sky, disappearing as its cloaking device was activated once more.
Mockingbird joined Black Widow in the copilot's seat, as both of them had had piloting experience. Laura held the children in their seats, as they sobbed and whimpered into their mother's shoulders. She whispered, shushing them reassuringly and petting their hair in an attempt to calm them down. Tigra went over to Clint, analyzing his injuries. She moved back up to the pilot's seat and bent down, whispering in Natasha's ear. "His jaw is broken," she said in a low voice so as not to alert the family. "Several fractured ribs, and possible internal bleeding. Get us to wherever we're going as fast as you can."
"You don't have to tell me twice, sister," Natasha said, as she and Mockingbird increased engine drive to maximum and the Quinjet zoomed into the clouds back towards the Savage Land.
Splinter sent word to Tony and the others that Hank Pym was on board and would be returning to the Savage Land with them. The only thing left for them to do was wait until Tony had finished his meeting with Doom. Wasp and Ant-Man were going to run reconnaissance on Doom's garrison until Tony's meeting was over and see what they could turn up.
Dressed immaculately as usual, Tony followed the Doombot servant to the elevator shaft. They went up 17 stories to the top floor, and as the door opened the Doombot gestured into the room. "His Lordship Victor von Doom will see you now."
Doom sat behind a long desk in front of a wide window stretching from wall to wall. Dressed in his usual green livery over his armored suit, he did not move as Tony entered the room. The Doombot closed the elevator doors, leaving the two of them alone.
Tony activated his wristwatch, as it converted into an Iron Man gauntlet and covered his right hand. "You know, the others wanted me to kill you," he said, aiming the gauntlet at Doom's head.
Doom still hadn't moved. Instead, a low chuckle came from the mouthpiece of the armored suit. "Well, you'd be wasting a power play, I'm afraid. I'm not actually here. You're speaking to me remotely through one of my Doombots. A rather expensive Doombot at that. The minute you even thought about firing that thing at me, my guards would swarm this room faster than you would be able to react. The only reason they haven't done so yet is because you and I both know that gauntlet is designed for deterrence and not offense."
Tony was amazed at how much Doom knew about his own tech. "Touche," he said, converting the gauntlet back into a watch.
"So why are you really here, Anthony Stark?"
The voice filled Ant-Man's helmet as he ran down the hallway shrunk, towards one of the offices in the garrison. He and Hope were going room by room trying to find anything that would give them a hint of what Doom had in store. But they could both hear Stark's conversation remotely, thanks to a wire Tony was wearing.
He slid under a doorway into another empty office and returned to normal size. Hope grew in size next to him. "Hopefully this one's got something," she said.
"I don't know, I rather like listening to Tony parlay," Scott said. Hope opened one of the filing cabinets, but Scott shook his head. "Stop. Stop."
Hope stared at him, confused. "What?"
"You've never seen an action movie?" Scott asked, moving over towards the desk. "Bad guys always keep their files on a computer."
"Yeah, but it's probably got some super-algorithmic lock on it," Hope said. "It would take you days to break through Doom's firewalls."
"Lucky for me, I don't have to." Scott pulled a small flash-drive device out of his suit's pocket. "Something Luis and the boys cooked up. This baby is a hacker's best friend. It runs a computer program that guesses passwords, scans files, the whole nine yards. All we have to do is plug this in, and . . ."
He plugged the drive into the computer. A WARNING: SECURITY BREACH message box popped up on screen for about five seconds, then disappeared and was replaced with an ACCESS GRANTED message box. "Bingo," Scott said, scrolling through the list of local files on the computer.
Suddenly, a new message box appeared. GHOST DRIVE FOUND.
"Ghost drive?" Hope asked. "What's that?"
"A data backup process," said Scott, fingers flying over the keyboard. "It copies the contents of a computer hard disk in a single compressed file or set of files, referred to as an image. The ghost image copies the entire contents to another server or hard disk for storage, and the software also converts a ghost image back to its original form when needed. So let's see what Doom's hiding here."
The ghost drive was full of files that Scott began perusing through. The first several were data files on vibranium. "Vibranium?" Scott asked. "What does Doom want with that?"
"It's the strongest metal on earth," Hope said. "Why wouldn't he want it?"
The next several files were blueprints for nanite cameras to be attached to people for spying. The following file was a compilation of information on Wakanda's security information. "Doom must have developed nanite cameras and dispersed them into all Wakandans," Scott realized.
"Making them his unknown spies," Wasp said grimly.
"With all their security information, no wonder the city fell so quickly when Loki and crew invaded," said Scott. "This isn't good. He's got access to the vault that holds Wakanda's vibranium, and the information on how their mining operations work. The bad guys are having a field day harvesting that stuff."
But the final file was the most daunting one, and even though the room was sealed Hope felt a chill run up her spine. The last file was a video of Doom conducting an experiment using a vibranium sample and magic. After a series of spells, Doom was successfully able to magically charge the vibranium, and then hooked it up to a large generator.
"This generator powers my Latverian castle," Doom said, as he activated the generator and began pumping power through the castle. Even as he spoke, the lights began to grow brighter, and the power levels on the generator screen spiked. "As you can see, magically charged vibranium has infinite power potential," Doom said. "With just this small sample I could charge the entire city, or maybe even the country. The following experiments will deal with weaponization. Just as soon as I get my hands on more, we can begin running more tests."
"Doom's trying to make himself unstoppable," Scott said. "He's already got the vibranium. The clock is ticking for us."
Suddenly, voices of Doombots in the outside corridor startled them. "AM-2 and AM-3 activity detected."
"Time to go," Hope said, as she shrunk back down. Scott followed suit, after copying all the files from the ghost drive onto the flash-drive and then detaching it from the computer. He shrank down out of sight just as a trio of Doombots entered the room.
"AM-2 and 3 activity confirmed," one of them said in a monotone voice. "Activate refracted vision. Scan for constructs and life forms outside normal spectrums of vision."
"Scanning," the other bots said. Their sensors were aimed and focused on the floor, so Wasp was able to pick up Scott and carry him over the Doombots' heads to the outside hallway. They landed, and she let him go, gasping for breath.
"You have got to start exercising again," she said.
They took off down the corridor. "Tony!" Ant-Man radioed. "We got what we needed. We'll meet you at the jet."
Tony heard everything loud and clear through his earpiece. Frankly, he wasn't surprised. Megalomaniacal dictators like Doom were always trying to come up with ways to become unstoppable, or immortal, or something of that nature. For now, he just had to pretend he was on Doom's side, and buy the others time to escape.
"I'm here because we're in a predicament," Tony said. "We do have some heroes, true, but nowhere near the manpower we would need to actually launch a successful global coup. Us Starks have always tried to stay on the winning side of the fight."
"Like father, like son," Doom said.
"We only have ourselves to rely on," Tony continued. "They think that's more than enough, but I don't. While you have partners now—Octavius, Loki, HYDRA. How's that working out, by the way?
"We each have our strengths," Doom said. "The Shredder, the Foot Clan, and Loki and his horde are primary scavengers, interested in razing whole worlds then picking over the bones. Baron Strucker, and Red Skull before him, are all about conquest, subjugation, breaking the will of a people, or entire planet. Once their work is done, mine begins—as ruler, offering my subjects a sense of stability, security, and safety."
"As long as they know their place and kneel before you," Tony said.
"Doom's eyes glittered behind his mask. "By that point they will, Mr. Stark. Gladly."
"And Loki and Shredder? And HYDRA? Will they kneel? Or am I supposed to believe this really is a partnership of equals?" Tony asked. He let out a mirthless chuckle. "Sure it is. It's just you're a lot more equal than the others."
"A reference to Orwell's Animal Farm." Doom sounded impressed. "I didn't think you knew how to read, Anthony. Or did you only play the video game? Of course, you're equating me with a pig. Hardly a compliment. But you could never understand the consequences of anything you or any of your fellow heroes did."
Consequences? What in the world did Doom mean by that? But before Tony could ask, one of the Doombots came in and knelt before Doom's replica. "Master, the ruling council requests your presence. An urgent matter has arisen that requires your attention."
"And?"
"The matter concerns the ninja turtles, Master."
Doom heaved a sigh, waving the Doombot off. "I must attend to this," he told Tony. "Probably inconsequential. Your turtle friends have about as much importance as Latverian peasants in the grand scheme of things. Since your friends are waiting for you in your jet at the airport, I'm sure you know your way out. Or wait for the guards and you may stay as my . . . guest."
"No offense, M.A.N.T.I.S., but I've had enough of your hospitality," Tony said. "I'll see myself out." He turned to leave.
"Comparing me to a 90's pop culture reference," said Doom. "For the record, I much more prefer being compared to a vigilante scientist than a pig."
Tony stopped at the door and turned back to face Doom's replica robot. "This isn't over, Doom. Strip away our world, subjugate the people we are supposed to protect, and after what you did to superheroes . . . I hope you don't think you're done with us."
Doom let out a deep, menacing laugh. "Oh, no, Stark. I am far from done with all of you."