Jinero: I haven't read it myself, but I know what you're talking about and I agree with you completely. It was a complete perversion of Gwen Stacy. Whoever wrote that storyline either has no idea who Gwen Stacy is or just doesn't care for consistent characterization. The writer for that comic should be fired.
Green Hal3: Yep, he did. They probably can but as of right now, thy have yet to do so. The past Avengers are from 2016, so that wouldn't have made any sense.
Previous Guest: He's acting like Rhodey; he's playing a part so no one gets suspicious until the time is right. He's just had two years to learn how to act more like Rhodey. Plus, a Skrull would likely have no patience for Ross' BS. You're fine. I personally doubt that very much. New York had to be full of Leviathan corpses; it wouldn't have been hard for Hydra to get their hands on one.
Jason Hunter: We'll see.
Guest 1: This chapter and then I'll likely finish up next chapter.
Guest 2: That's kind of like saying someone kidnapping your child is up for debate IMO, bur okay. I personally am more inclined to buy Hank's version of events. Hank is not the easiest person to get along with, but if he blacklisted everyone who disagreed with him, you'd be hard pressed to find a credible scientist within SHIELD. And Bill has also shown himself to be incredibly biased when it comes to Hank, even going as far as to blame him for what happened to Janet out of spite.
Guest 3: Yeah, Everett was much better in Black Panther than in Civil War.
Guest 4: Yeah, Zemo is no one special. Everyone lost someone, doesn't give him the right to do what he did.
Guest 5: Well how else would you describe someone who continuously lies and keeps secrets from everyone, put fake blood on trading cards to inspire The Avengers and won't tell them that Coulson is alive but manipulative? What other word would you use?
Guest 6: Yeah, that was in the movie.
Guest 7: Yep.
The three were in the lab later as Hank said Bill was filling Ava's head with lies because Elihas had been a traitor who had stolen his plans. The ants worked under his command, setting things up as Hank worried that Bill fried the system. Hope said they'd adjust the relays while he could reprogram the system.
"I've seen a lot of crazy stuff since I signed on with Fury. But seeing ants as a construction crew is a new one," Clint said in a little disbelief.
"It takes some getting used to," Scott said with a nod.
As they got to work, Hope said she'd thought she'd be more ready after all this time and Scott said no one could prepare for going subatomic but she said she was talking about her mom. She wondered if Janet was a different person as Scott joked if it was like George Washington and George Jefferson to her amusement.
"Or me," Tony joked as they all laughed.
Hope worries Janet had forgotten her but Scott said when he had been in prison, the thought of Cassie had kept him going and he would have remembered her even if he had been imprisoned for 100 years.
"I can relate," Clint said with a nod, thinking about all the times on the job when he'd been captured and brought to the brink, the only thing keeping him going being the thought of his wife and his children. "Our children give us strength that you can only understand if you're a parent."
Scott, Barton and, to the surprise of all the past Avengers but Clint and Natasha, Scarlet nodded. Wanda was shocked at the realization that she had a kid, maybe kids, in this future. But now was not the time to ask, Wanda thought as she turned back to the screen She'd ask later, once this was over, Wanda decided.
Scott said Janet would be counting down the minutes she could see Hope again and she thanked him as Scott's phone rang and they chuckled. He picked it up and Luis said he had forgotten the motion sensor lights on the back of the building which the Karapetyan had asked for specifically. Scott said he could stop by the next day but Luis said he had to fix it now. Scott said he couldn't leave so Luis said he'd come to him instead and asked him for the location.
"Don't be stupid don't be stupid don't be stupid," Scott pleaded with his on screen self as a pit of dread formed in his stomach. "Don't tell him where you're at."
Scott said it was complicated as the lab was shown to be in the middle of the woods.
"A lab in the middle of the woods. Sounds a lot like the beginning of a joke," Rhodey joked.
Kurt and Dave rehearsed how they would present their system to the Karapetyan as Luis said he was going to Scott to fix the plans and would be back soon.
"Damn it," Scott moaned in dismay as he put his head in his hands.
Everyone was silent as they looked at Scott sympathetically. Natasha reached over and placed a hand on Scott's shoulder, hoping it would offer their new friend some comfort.
Luis asked if they had the van washed for next morning and was told it was at the undercarriage. Luis was shocked, saying those were scammers when Sonny and his men arrived, with Sonny saying how undercarriage was used for cleaning out road salts in the snow-laden states.
"He found them. How'd he find them?" Scott asked in alarm as he bolted upright in his seat so fast it almost gave him whiplash.
"It's explained in a minute," Lila told him.
Scott didn't say anything else, just stared at the screen worriedly.
Luis asked who he was and how he knew so much about car wash protocol and Sonny introduced himself, saying a friend of his at the FBI had told him Luis was an associate of Scott Lang who was a known associate of Hank Pym, who had a portable laboratory with all kinds of tech in it and Luis was going to tell him where it was. Luis said he had no idea what Sonny was talking about and Sonny said he had promised results to dangerous friends so his man Uzman would extract information through psychoactive means. Uzman took out some kind of a fluid from a briefcase. Luis asked if that was truth serum but Uzman said truth serum was nonsense from TV and this was a concoction he had perfected in his days with the SIS which made people suggestive and highly responsive. Luis, Kurt and Dave said it was truth serum and an argument broke out between them all if it was truth serum or not.
"Well…" Parker trailed off.
"Wait, you mean truth serum actually exists?!" Peter asked excitedly.
"Some countries have developed concoctions that achieve results similar to truth serm by lowering inhibitions and making it difficult to lie," Lila explained.
"And Burch's guy got his hands on one," Steve noted.
Luis said he had a lot of allergies so they better be careful.
"Which they'll take into consideration, I'm sure," Thor said dryly.
At their base, Bill said the lab was needed as the chamber and suit were barely helping anymore and Ava only had a couple of weeks, maybe.
"That poor girl," Scott said as they all felt sympathy for Ava.
"Yeah, try and remember that," Barton said as he eyed Scott, wondering how he'd react.
Ava said she would use Lang's daughter to make them give up the lab.
"Oh hell no!" Scott exclaimed angrily, most of the sympathy he had for Ava evaporating. "Don't even think about it!"
"Remember Scott, she's desperate," Parker said.
"I don't care how desperate she is, she goes near Cassie, there will be hell to pay," Scott snarled, his face marred with the rage of a protective father.
Bill said he tolerated a lot of things Ava did but won't tolerate this. Ava said he was not the one about to fade into nothingness and that he had promised to fix her. He said he would but if she laid a finger on that little girl, they were done. Ava walked away, saying there were other options.
"Thank god," Scott said in relief as he slumped back into his seat. "Thank god."
"Other options," Natasha noted and Scott stiffened as his mind raced, going from Maggie and Jim to Luis, Kurt and Dave.
At X-Con, Luis was injected with the fluid as he said they were all right and it wasn't the truth serum before saying it was a lie and then said he felt something, saying it was truth serum but Uzman again said there was no such thing.
"It sounds like truth serum," Rhodey said.
"Well, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck," Natasha shrugged.
Sonny sat down in front of him and asked where Scott was. Luis then started his story as flashbacks of Scott's first meeting with Luis in the prison were shown, "Well, see, that's complicated. 'Cause when I first met Scotty, he was in a bad place. And I'm not talking about cell block D. His wife had just filed for divorce. And I was like, "Damn, homie, she dumped you while you were in lock-up?" And he's like, "Yeah, I know. I thought I was gonna be with her forever, but now, I'm all alone!" And I was like, "Damn, homie, you gotta chin up. 'Cause you'll find a new partner. But you know what? I'm Luis." And he says, "You know what? I'm Scotty. And we're gonna be best friends." Their lips moved in the flashback at the same time as Luis told his story.
"That is not how it happened," Scott said as they all laughed.
"Luis' storytelling never gets old," Parker said with a laugh.
"I can see why," Thor said with a chuckle. "He is quite good."
Sonny stopped him, saying he liked stories as much as the next person but what did it have to do with where Scott was. Luis said he was getting there. Dave said, "You put a dime in him, you got to let the whole song play out." Kurt said, "He hit like human jukebox."
"That's actually pretty accurate," Scott mused as everyone else snickered.
"Luis, the human jukebox," Sam joked.
"Oh!" Luis said as another flashback of Luis' granny in a restaurant was shown, "My abuelita had a jukebox in a restaurant. Yeah. Only played Morrissey. And if anybody ever complained, she'd be like, "Oh, porque? Gusta mas?" And El Chicanos, we call them mas, "then, adios!" What can I say? We relate to these melancholy bandits, you know?" His granny's lips moved in the flashback at the same time as Luis talked but Sonny asked about Lang.
"I love this guy," Tony said as they all laughed.
"Can you imagine if he and Korg ever met?" Clint asked and they all laughed harder.
"The rock and the ex con. Best sitcom ever," Scott joked and they all laughed, their minds taken off the tense situation temporarily.
"Right, right, right, right," Luis said as a flashback of Scott's and Hope's first meeting was shown Luis-style, "So anyway, this guy gets out of jail and starts working for Hank. And that's when he met Hope. And Hope's all like, "I want nothing to do with you. Look at my hairdo. I'm all business." And then Scotty's like, "You know what, girl? My heart's all broken, and I'll probably never find love again. But damn, if I want to kiss you!""
"Not how it happened! Seriously, what goes on in his head?" Scott wondered as they all laughed.
"Many have wondered, but the inner workings of his mind are an enigma," Barton said seriously with a grin and they all laughed once more.
Luis continued as a flashback of Scott and Hope making out was shown Luis-style, "But then you fast-forward and they're all like into each other, right? And then Scotty's like, "You know what, I can't tell you this, but I'm gonna go trash an airport with Captain America!""
"Hydra assassins! Seriously, what is so hard for people to understand about that?!" Scott exclaimed in exasperation.
Luis continued and a flashback of Hope talking on phone was shown, "Then she said, "I can't believe you split like that! Smell you later, dummy!"" She threw her phone away.
"That is probably accurate…mostly," Scot said with a wince as everyone shot him sympathetic looks.
Scott was then shown in his house, throwing a ball as Luis said, "So Scotty goes on house arrest, and he won't admit it, but his heart's all like, "Damn! I thought Hope could've been my new true partner. But I blew it!"" A flashback of the earlier meeting at X-Con was shown as Luis said, "But fate brought them back together, and then Hope's heart is all, "I'm worried that I can't trust him. And he's gonna screw up again and ruin everything.""
"And I did," Scott said with a sigh.
"We make mistakes Mr. Lang, it's what makes us human," T'Challa told him sympathetically. "What defines us is not our mistakes, but how we respond from those mistakes. Whether we learn from them and grow or we fail."
"You're pretty good at that Your Highness," Scott said after a moment and T'Challa simply chuckled.
Luis said, "And in my heart, it's all like, "That fancy raspberry filling represents the company's rent. And we're days away from going out of business! Oooh!""
"Out of business?" Scott asked alarmed.
"Yeah, not too many people were willing to trust their security to a group of ex criminals," Scarlet said and Scott groaned. "Don't worry, X-Con stayed afloat."
Kurt and Dave were shocked on hearing that as Luis was angered at the truth serum and said they were broke, with him having tried to be a good boss and the Karapetyans were their last hope. Kurt and Dave said that was terrible bossing as Luis said that was on him before Sonny asked about Lang again and Luis said, "I've been trying to tell you. He's in a tricky spot, emotionally speaking."
"He found a loophole," Wanda noted impressed.
"Not bad," Clint said. "Although it probably won't do much good."
"Emotionally speaking," Sonny snorted. "But where is Scott Lang, literally speaking?!" "Oh! The woods," Luis said. "The woods?" Ava asked as she suddenly appeared, frightening them all while Kurt said, "Baba Yaga!"
"Shit," Rhodey said as most of them jumped.
"She was there the whole time?" Sam asked.
"So it would appear," Vision noted.
"What do you mean, the woods?" She asked. "The Muir woods! The second fire road off the Panoramic Highway!" Luis said and she walked off and disappeared. Kurt sang, "Baba Yaga, coming late, little children, sleep tight."
"And now she knows," Scott groaned.
"So does Burch," Natasha pointed out and Scott groaned again.
Sonny and his men walked out to see his tires sliced and said they would never see the tech if Ava got it but they could steal it from the feds. He called his source at the FBI, telling him everything and asking him for the lab. The source was Woo's partner.
"Somehow, this isn't surprising," Tony said and they all nodded.
Sonny told the agent the feds would find the tech while they had to fix his car as Luis, Kurt and Dave watched from inside. Woo was trying the card trick in his office but failed as the agent walked in.
Everyone laughed at this, the dire situation momentarily forgotten.
The agent told him he had a lead.
At the lab, Hank and Hope managed to start up the system as the tunnel started opening but then it started shutting down to their shock.
"Damn it, as if we didn't have enough problems," Scott groaned.
Hope wondered if the vectors were off as Hank said he had gone over them a million times. Scott suddenly looked around funnily and running up to the computers. Hank told him to get away from there but Scott said he didn't have a lot of time as he started fixing the algorithm, saying he had thought about it a lot 30 years down there.
"What?" Wanda asked as the past Avengers looked perplexed.
"I'm so confused," Scott said as the future Avengers barely resisted the urge to laugh at their faces.
"I think I get it," Thor said as his eyes widened in realization and he turned to Barton, who nodded with a smirk. "Interesting."
"Something you wanna share with the rest of the class Thor?" Clint asked sarcastically.
"It'll make sense soon," Parker said with a grin.
Hank and Hope looked at Scott shocked before Hank said "Janet?" Scott then said 'Hi hon' to Hank and patted his cheek before calling Hope 'jellybean' and patting hers.
"Wait, what?" Scott asked in shock.
"You've become a woman Scott," Barton joked as the future Avengers contain themselves anymore and burst out laughing.
"She didn't put a message in your head…she put her in your head," Tony realized as the future Avengers nodded.
"Just an antennae, but yeah," Lila said. "It's like a wireless receiver; Janet can use it to contact Hank and Hope."
"So I have an antenna in my head?" Scott asked, looking weirded out. "That's just weird."
'Janet' said this wasn't the reunion she had imagined and said they had done great work but needed a little nudge as the tunnel started working again. 'She' walked to another computer to work as Hank asked how this was possible and Hope realized she had put an antenna in Scott's head and 'Janet' called her clever girl and said 'she' was proud of her. Hank asked where 'she' was and 'she' said it was too complex so 'she' needed to talk to them, telling them to 'follow' her voice. Hope realized it was like following a call to the source as 'Janet' winked at her.
"This is so embarrassing," Scott said flushing as they all laughed at this.
"For you," Sam said with a laugh.
Hank talked about the subatomic frequencies they would use and 'Janet' said they needed different ones before joking about them squabbling again so Hank agreed on a compromise and 'she' said their first fight in decades was over just like that. 'She' locked on to the source and it started as the three held hands and 'she' told them the Quantum wasteland was dangerous to the human mind so they had to be careful. They had 2 hours and it would be a century before alignment came again.
"So a time limit with three kinds of enemies coming at us. No pressure or anything," Scott muttered.
Hope said they'd find her and 'Janet' caressed her cheek, saying she knew before Scott came back to normal and said how he had nothing before wondering how they had come here and realized him and Hank were holding hands.
Scott flushed as everyone else laughed.
"Seriously, just kill me now," Scott groaned.
Later, Hank and Hope prepared as Scott told her what to expect but she said was going to be fine and Scott said he was just saying because he had been there.
"Really? She had no idea," Natasha said dryly and Scott flushed.
Then his phone rang and he picked it up, with Luis telling him Ghost and the feds knew where he was as he had been given some kind of truth serum to make him talk honestly and he hated how Scott used the dishwasher before saying Scott needed to go home and told him not to put plates on the top rack before cutting the call.
Despite the tense situation, everyone laughed before Scott put his head in his hands. Realizing it wasn't from embarrassment but shame, Sam reached over and put ah and on his shoulder.
"It's okay Tic-Tac, this hasn't happened yet," Sam assured him.
"And we'll make sure this never happens Scott," Steve said firmly.
Scott lifted his head with a sigh, knowing they were right. Still, it didn't make him feel any better.
Scott walked up to Hank and Hope, telling them Ghost and the FBI were coming as he had told Luis their location, angering them both. He said they had needed help with the Karapetyan proposal as it was hard for ex-cons to get jobs these days.
"Yeah, it's tough," Scott said with a nod. "It's why so many of us go back to crime, no one wants to hire us and some of us have families to support."
Everyone looked at Scott sympathetic as Tony began making plans, thinking there was something he could do for Scott and his friends.
They started working on the machine again as Scott said he needed to go because the FBI were coming to his place and needed to borrow the suit. He'd come back but Hope told him not to bother as they would take it from him once they found Janet.
Scott winced, guilt hitting him again.
She told him to go so he reluctantly wore the suit, shrunk and escaped on a flying ant.
Scott's door was knocked on before being opened to reveal Cassie, Maggie and Jim who began looking for her soccer shoes as they called out for Scott. Cassie ran up the stairs looking for Scott as Jim discovered dirt and leaves on the ground and Maggie commented how Scott lived like a pig these days.
"No, like an ant," Parker quipped and they all chuckles, the tension broken momentarily.
Hearing sounds from the bathroom, Cassie opened the door to see an ant in the bath instead before smiling.
"An ant in the bathtub. Now I've seen everything," Steve muttered.
Woo and the FBI arrived to search the place as Maggie said they had no shame.
"They really don't," Barton said darkly.
One of the agents said the monitor placed Scott in the bathroom and Woo said he didn't buy it. Cassie came down the stairs as Maggie told her to let the agents search the place. Cassie said Scott was barfing a lot but Woo said as a federal agent, he had seen much worse before asking if it was a lot a lot.
"Aw, is the big bad FBI agent scared of a little vomit?" Natasha asked in a baby voice and everyone laughed at her antics.
He still ran past her to the bathroom as Cassie ran after him. The door opened to reveal Scott Lang.
"Oh thank god," Scott sighed in relief.
"You made it just in time," T'Challa noted and Scott nodded.
"Yeah, just in time," Scott said wearily.
Scott asked Woo why he was here and said he was sick as Cassie said she had told him. He said they had to let it out and going into the bathroom, making barfing sounds again.
"You are really committed," Peter said and Scott shrugged.
Hank and Hope got out of the lab and the former shrunk it only to reveal armed agents having surrounded them to their shock. Another car pulled up behind them and Woo's partner walked out, saying they were under arrest.
"Damn it," Scott groaned.
"Don't worry, it all works out in the end," Scarlet assured him. "You'll make it right."
"Just sit back and enjoy the show. It's about to get good," Barton said with a smirk.