Chapter 4

Guest- I…suppose I could do it. Not sure how I'll be able to make it different from this one, but I suppose we'll see in the future. And I guess there'll be a happy ending here…sort of.

Just A Reader- Yeah, not something you see everyday that's for sure.

Proxima looked at the human as he pursed his lips, in thought of what she just said. Frowning, she asked again if he was fine with going out on the field.

"I am. Its just that…the UN will come hunting for us, the moment they figure out I'm back on the grid. I don't to risk your chances of uniting the Avengers by being seen with me." Said Steve. Proxima rolled her eyes at that.

"I'll be fine, human. You don't need to worry about my chances." Said Proxima before going back to the monitors, all of which were monitoring the perimeter of Scott's home. "It seems that your friend's daughter has arrived." She then pointed to a little girl going inside. Steve nodded, smiling slightly at the thought of Scott spending time with his daughter. He felt like scum in bringing Scott into the fray again, he really did, but he had to. HYDRA had a dangerous weapon and they needed to take it out quickly or else the damage they could do would be severe. He then saw a monitor change to a view of Scott hugging his daughter. Frowning, he looked at Proxima, who shrugged. "I had a drone go with you, in case any government agents were inside. I…kept it there to monitor Scott. Not because I don't trust him, but because I'm taking precautions. A task group from HYDRA may come to his house and hurt him." Steve still frowned. While he could appreciate that Proxima did it out of caution for his compatriots, he didn't like that she kept it hidden from them.

"Proxima." Said Steve. "You should have told me about it. You can trust me."

"You would have objected." Argued Proxima, looking at Steve with her fierce eyes. Steve, however, used to just looks from the likes of Fury, kept calm and starred back with a disapproving stare.

"True, but with good reason." Said Steve. "For our alliance to work, we need to trust each other. If you keep doing things behind my back, how am I suppose to trust you?" To her credit, Proxima looked to the ground, in shame, Steve couldn't tell, she was good at hiding her emotions, almost on par with Natasha.

"You…make a point human." Said Proxima, looking like she swallowed something nasty. She then looked at Steve. "I…apologize." The disgusted look was still there, though Steve knew that it was more at her attempt at an apology than at him.

"You haven't apologized much, have you?" Asked Steve, curious on her behavior. Proxima sighed.

"No. My family is a tough one. None of us apologized to the other when something was obviously our fault. We just ignored the faults of our actions or swat down any attempt to make us apologize. So the idea of apologizing is…foreign to me." Steve frowned at that.

"You should own up to your mistakes, no matter how bad they are." Said Steve. "It'll make you a better person and shows how mature you are." Proxima nodding in agreement. "At least she's trying."

"You are wise." Said Proxima. "I can see why you were the leader of the Avengers." Steve just coughed at that.

"Thank you." Said Steve. "I appreciate it. If you want I can help you with apologizing." Proxima looked at Steve.

"You would do that for me?" Asked Proxima. "We're just allies, not friends." Steve then smiled a bit at that.

"Just because we're new allies, doesn't mean we can't try to become friends." Said Steve. "It's the duty of allies to help each other, no matter what the situation is." Proxima rolled her eyes at that.

"You're naïve as ever human." Before Steve could retort, Proxima looked at him with a smirk. "But that's your charm and I respect your attempts to help me." Smiling back, the two looked at each other, finally finding some common ground to work with. Before they could talk more, Proxima looked back at the monitors, seeing Scott play with his daughter. Upon seeing the man play with his daughter, Proxima adopted a sad look on her face, something that caught Steve's attention.

"You miss your family?" Asked Steve, looking at Proxima, who nodded.

"We didn't have anything like what your ally is doing with his daughter." Admitted Proxima, seeing no reason to keep this from Steve. "We didn't have the time. Our father was always demanding us to work, no matter how old we are. My two youngest sisters were forced to work and train, even when they were the age of young children. They endured many challenges, challenges that no young child should ever endure." Hearing that caused Steve to look at her in concern. Having been forced to live by himself after his mother and father died, he can understand the difficulties of having to work at a young age. It was difficult for him to find someone willing to hire him. He was sure that, if it wasn't for Bucky, he would be starving on the streets of Brooklyn and not here in the future.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Were you all in a poor economic state?" Proxima scoffed at that, surprising him.

"No, we aren't." Said Proxima with a hint of anger. "He wanted them to prove their strength. That they're worthy of being his daughters. And when they failed his expectations, he ripped out their original organic parts and replaced them with cybernetics." Upon hearing that, Steve widened his eyes in shock and horror. "One in particular, had so many parts replaced that she's more machine than flesh. It made her stronger, but there's barely anything left of her original body. And when she grew older and bigger, our father just had those cybernetics ripped out of her without any anesthetics and replaced them with more appropriate cybernetics." Proxima then brought a hand to her eyes. "And none of us could do anything less we incur the wrath of our father. If I had to point a day where I failed to be a good sibling to my younger sisters, then it would be the day that my younger sister received her first major overhaul. It was painful, both to her and me." As Proxima remembered the screams and her being forced to watch, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking over, she saw Steve, staring at her with sympathy and anger, which was aimed at her father.

"Your father." Said Steve, saying the word with such venom that Proxima thought she was speaking to a different person. "Is a complete monster. A father's duty is to take care and love their children. Not turn them into machines for failing his expectations. If I ever encounter him, I'll be having a long talk with him."

"Believe me. You'll die if you do that." Thought Proxima, knowing full well who her father was. Sighing, she removed Steve's hand from her shoulder.

"I appreciate the words, human, but I'm to be partly to blame for her current condition. If I just taught her how to please our father or protect her from him, she might not be what she is today." Said Proxima, regret in her tone. Steve just stood there, feeling sorry for her.

"We all have things we regret." Said Steve as he looked at Proxima, who nodded in agreement. "We looks back at our past regrets and wonder what would have happen if we did something different. Would someone we love be still alive? Would they be as safe as they were before? Or would they die sooner? But no matter how much we want to, we can't go back in time and fix our mistakes. The best we can do is to just own up to our mistakes and help those that have suffered from those mistakes if we can. Believe me, I know." Looking at Steve, Proxima tilted her head.

"You regret involving your allies in your little civil war. That they suffered from your choice." Steve nodded.

"They're either in hiding or under federal house arrest. The public has turned against them. I helped divide the Avengers and I…" Steve closed his eyes in pain and regret. "…I betrayed a man I considered a close friend by choosing to keep the identity of his parent's murderer a secret." Proxima, though she wasn't an empath, could feel the pain and regret from Steve. Feeling both annoyance and pity for him, she got up from her seat and shook him. She would have slapped him, but she felt, after he talked of wanting payback from father, he didn't deserve to be slapped.

"Human, while I understand it was a difficult thing to do, you shouldn't be bottling up your emotions like this." Said Proxima as she forced Steve to look at her. "I read about your history, you and the Avengers. I know all about the little…rift between you and this Iron Man. To be frank, I understand his side more than yours. He was betrayed by one of his closet's allies, a man he thought he could trust with his secrets and life. So, to hear that you kept the identity of who killed his parents, well, I can't blame him for hating you."

"And I wouldn't as well." Said Steve. He would resent someone if they kept the identity of his own parents from him as well, even if they were a friend.

"So help me understand." Said Proxima, looking at her ally with her fierce eyes. "Explain to me in detail why you refused to tell him." Sighing, Steve explained the whole situation. About Bucky and HYDRA. About what went down in Siberia. And how he fought Tony with Bucky, resulting in him dropping his shield in shame. Once he was done, Proxima sighed to herself.

"Can I just say how stupid you were at the time. I know this Bucky is your friend, but you should have told this Tony Start the truth the moment you knew that it was Bucky that killed his parents. He may have been eager for revenge, I have no doubt on that, but you could have tempered him. Convinced him that revenge is not the way. That his parents would not have wanted him to kill the Winter Soldier when it was revealed that he was brainwashed. Would it have worked? Maybe not, but it was better option than keeping it to yourself." Said Proxima. Steve just sighed.

"I know." Said Steve. "I see that know. I thought I was protecting him, but I was just protecting myself. From the decision of picking between Bucky or Tony. And I may have lost one of my best friends because of my choice. I've regretted not telling him ever since that day in Siberia. I would give everything just to have Tony forgive me." Sighing again, Proxima pushed Steve to the ground and pinned him down, her face near his to the point that her lips nearly touched his.

"What's done is done." Said Proxima. "You made your choice and choose poorly. Now you have to own up to it and face the consequences as well as tending to those that have suffered from your poor choice. Isn't that what you said to me a few minutes ago? That we should own up to our past mistakes and try to make amends? Or were you just being a hypocrite?" Realizing that Proxima was right, Steve spoke to her.

"You're absolutely right. I need to own up to my mistake and make amends." Said Steve. Hearing that caused Proxima to nod in satisfaction.

"You'll talk with this Iron Man after all this is over? With Thanos and all? You won't run or hide from what needs to be done?" Asked Proxima. Steve just nodded. Much as he tried to deny it, a part of him knew that he wasn't just hiding from the government. He was hiding from Tony and the need to apologize to him. Even though a part of him wanted to do so, another didn't want to in fear that Tony will lash out in righteous anger and attempt to arrest him. Maybe that was why he steered clear from any state that Tony was in. He was afraid of Tony and his reaction to seeing him again. But upon seeing the anger from Proxima's eyes at his inaction and apparent hypocrisy, and her words that reminded him of who he was, made him realize that he needed to do it, even if Tony wouldn't listen. If he didn't at least attempt, then Proxima was right that he was being a hypocrite.

"I will." Said Steve. "But after Thanos is taken out. We can't afford to be arrested by the U.S." Satisfied, Proxima let go of her hold on Steve's arms and looked at him in the eye. Coughing a bit, Steve raised an eyebrow

"Are you going to get off?" Asked Steve, looking down to see Proxima's legs were squeezing his waist a bit tightly. No unbearable, but enough that it was distracting. Looking down, Proxima got up and apologized, which Steve waved off.

"Now that you're down mopping around, let's get back to monitoring your ally. I suspect that HYDRA might attack him." Said Proxima before going back to monitoring Scott's home. Steve frowned at that.

"You're sure that HYDRA will attack?" Asked Steve, worried for Scott and his daughter.

"I'm positive." Said Proxima. "With the death of their assassin team, they'll assume that you uncovered the serum that made them shrink. With that assumption, they'll also probably assume you'll take it to the Antman as he's the supposed expert in shrinking technology. If they have any more of those shrinking soldiers left, then they'll probably send them after Antman. I suppose they could also go for this Hank Pym, but from what I gathered, he's in hiding. Not even your intelligence agencies can find him and his daughter. So, they'll go for the next best thing." Steve could see the logic. He just wished that she was wrong. For Lang's sake. Fate, however, seems to not be on their side as they heard chatter from the comm unit that Proxima looted off from one of the HYDRA soldiers.

"This is strike team." Said someone on the intercom. "We're in position. Should we commence operations?"

"Negative." Said someone else. "Wait until the backup team's vehicle is in position. Then strike." The first person acknowledged the orders before cutting off the line. By then, however, Proxima had already traced the signal, pinpointing one was in the backyard of Lang's home while another was in San Francisco. With their location known, Proxima got up and went to get her spear.

"You'll need a weapon, human." Said Proxima as she stopped to look at Steve, who nodded in agreement.

"You have a shield?" Asked Steve as he followed her.

"I…might have one." Said Proxima, actually unsure if she did have one. "But first warn your friend. He's in trouble."

Few minutes later

Scott

"So how is school?" Asked Scott as he looked at Cassie, who was watching him shuffle a deck of cards.

"Its fine." Said Cassie with a smile, wondering what trick her dad will do. "I'm getting straight 100 so far. I think I'll get A's in my report card."

"That's good to hear!" Yelled Scott, proud for his daughter. "Are you eating your vegetables?"

"Hmm…no." Said Cassie truthfully, causing Scott to shake his head.

"You got to eat those thing Cassie. They're good for you." Said Scott before showing a single jack card. He then put the deck down and put the Jack in his right sleeve. He then placed his left hand behind Cassie's ear before revealing the jack card, causing her to giggle. "You liked it!" Cassie nodded. "Want me to do it again." Seeing her nod again, Scott was about to do the trick again when he got a call. "Man. Hold on Cassie. Got to take this." Nodding in understanding, Cassie watched as her dad got up and went to the kitchen. Once Cassie couldn't hear, Scott spoke. "Hello."

"Scott, its Steve." Said Steve as he looked at Scott's backyard from his neighbor's home, who thankfully weren't at home. "Listen, you and Cassie are in danger. HYDRA is after you." Upon hearing that, Scott eyes widen in shock and horror. Looking around, he whispered to Steve.

"You sure?" Asked Scott.

"I'm looking at the HYDRA team now." Said Steve, seeing five men in Scott's backyard. "There's five men in your backyard. And there's a backup team in a van somewhere nearby. My partner is dealing with them while I'm dealing with the guys in your backyard. Go upstairs and keep your daughter safe. We'll take care of them for you."

"Okay thanks, cap." Said Scott before hanging up. Sighing, he walked over to Cassie, pretending that everything was alright. "Hey Cassie, why don't we continue this in my room. I got a big surprise there." Hearing that caused Cassie to gasp.

"I like surprises." Said Cassie. Scott smiled at that.

"Me too." Lied Scott. "C'mon let's go." With that Scott lead Cassie upstairs. As he did so, he prayed that Cap can take care of the HYDRA goons.

"Maybe I should…no. I can't." Thought Scott as he thought of his suit, hidden away somewhere in the house, according to Luis. Much as he was tempted to call Luis, to ask him where the suit was, he also didn't want to. He didn't want to break his agreement with the government. "But cap needs help. What if those HYDRA goons have those rip off suits of the Antman suit? He needs an ace up his sleeve." Biting his lip, he continued to debate as he and Cassie arrived in his room.

Meanwhile

Steve grunted as he knocked out a HYDRA goon with a bash of his borrowed shield. The man would have a headache once he woke up, but that'll be the least of his worries once the federal agents come. Sensing danger from behind, he put up his shield and charged at the HYDRA soldier that fired at him. As the fifth bullet hit the shield, the man pointed at Steve's unprotected legs and was about to pull the trigger when Steve jumped and tossed the shield at the man's stomach. Upon being hit by the shield, the man was pushed to the ground, where he lay, groaning in pain. Moving to pick up his shield, Steve grabbed the man's gun, a silenced pistol, before firing at the remaining three. Two bullets went into a man's legs, knocking him to the ground, where he clasped them in pain. One went into a man's head, killing him. And the last two went to a man's torso, where his bullet-proof vest kept him safe. Giving a grunt of pain upon feeling the bullets impact the vest, the man aimed his rifle at Steve when he threw his shield at the man's head. The shield slammed into the man's forehead, actually cracking the skull and causing internal bleeding. As the man lay dying on the ground, Steve grabbed his shield and looked at the man in pity.

Though Steve had a relatively low body count during his time in the Avengers, Steve was perfectly fine with killing. He had, after all, killed quite a few during the years of WW II. That didn't mean he enjoyed it. Rather, he felt pity for the people he killed. With exceptions like the Red Skull, they all, at least Steve thought they did, have families they cared about and Steve just killed a member of that family. Looking at the HYDRA agent, Steve could see the hate in the man's eyes, even as they became clouded. Not wanting the man to suffer, Steve grabbed the man's pistol, checked it for bullets, and pointed the gun. Steeling himself, Steve pulled the trigger and ended the man's life. Sitting on the ground, Steve looked at the surviving HYDRA agents. The one with bullets in his legs tried to get up, but Steve just went over and knocked the man out with a punch to the face. He then disarmed the man along with the others. With his opponents all dead or unconscious, Steve went into Lang's home. Letting himself in,

Steve went upstairs, knowing that's where Scott was with his daughter. Not knowing which room they're in, Steve began knocking doors until Scott answered. He finished knocking on the 3rd door when he heard a door open. Looking to his right, he saw Scott with his daughter, who gasped upon seeing him.

"You're Captain America!" Yelled Cassie, both out of surprise and excitement. Seeing that they were safe, Steve looked at Scott and nodded. Getting the answer, Scott looked at Cassie.

"So, this is the surprise Cassie." Said Scott with a smile. "You get to see Captain America in the flesh. Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Said Cassie with a smile. Looking at Steve, she smiled at him, causing Steve to smile back. "You're just as handsome as the pictures make you out to be." Chuckling a bit at that, Steve just knelled down to look Cassie in the eye.

"I appreciate it, Cassie." Said Steve. "As much as I like to spend time with you, I got something to say with your dad. Also, can you keep my visit a secret? I rather not cause more trouble for your dad." Cassie nodded at that. Though she didn't know much about the Sokovia accords, she did know that Captain America, including a few others, were wanted by the government. Cassie thought it was stupid, but she couldn't do anything about it. She also knew that, if the government agents knew that Captain America had come to her dad's home, he'll be in big trouble. So, put a finger near her mouth as a sign to say that she won't tell. Smiling at that, Steve gestured Scott to follow him. Once Scott was with him, Steve led him to the kitchen, where they can speak freely.

"The HYDRA team is gone, Scott. They're either dead or unconscious. If you have any way to contact your handlers, do it. They need to interrogate those HYDRA agents." Blinking at that, Scott raised a hand in objections.

"Uh, that's well and good, cap, but how do I convince them that I didn't do it? I mean, I don't have the suit anymore, but they think I still have it. They'll question me for days before they realize that I didn't do it." Said Scott. Before Steve could respond, the both heard a knock on the front door. Looking at each other, the two went over and opened it. To Scott and Steve's surprise, Proxima was waiting, holding her spear, which was covered in blood. Before Scott could react negatively, primarily freak out upon seeing an alien, Steve coughed.

"Scott." Looking at Steve, Scott looked at Steve, waiting for an answer. "You know that partner I was talking about?" Seeing him nod, Steve continued. "Well, this is my partner. Scott, this is Proxima Midnight. She's…an alien and she's the one that helped me with taking down the HYDRA teams sent to hurt you. Proxima, this is Scott, a good man and a friend." Looking up and down at Scott, Proxima pursed her lips, not impressed with Scott's physique. Chuckling nervously at the alien woman, Scott raised his hand and waved.

"Hi." Said Scott. Looking at Steve, Proxima was about to speak when she noticed a girl on the stairs. Pointing behind the two men, the two men looked to see Cassie staring at Proxima with shock and growing excitement.

"Best visit ever!" Yelled Cassie as she rushed down the stairs. Scott sighed at this.

"Well, least she's happy." Said Scott with a chuckle.

Later

Several hours later

"Can I touch your horns?" Asked Cassie as she looked at Proxima's horns, looking them with child-like adoration. Sighing, Proxima looked at Cassie.

"No, you cannot." Said Proxima, keeping a neutral tone as best she could. This had been the fifth time that the human girl had asked to touch her horns and Proxima would have hurt her if it wasn't for the fact that she was just a little girl, causing her to reel herself from doing anything rash. "Only a trusted friend or significant other can touch my horns. You are neither of those."

"Aww." Said Cassie, pouting. "But I really want to touch them. Can I please touch them once? I promise to be gentle." Twitching a finger, Proxima glared at Steve, who coughed while Scott whistled, the two checking up on Proxima, who had been tasked with keeping Cassie entertained while Steve talked with Scott about the failed HYDRA attack, and Hank Pym. Something that annoyed the alien quite a bit.

"So," Said Scott, eager to end their conversation while Proxima was still in a relative good mood. "I made the call with Hank before Cassie arrived. I should get a response soon from him and his daughter. I also told him that you wanted to see him. That you had intel on these rip-offs that HYDRA made. That should get him to come over and talk with us." Steve nodded. That was good. If they had any hope to defeating these shrinking HYDRA goons, what better than the man that created the tech that made it all possible.

"Will he forward an email or call ahead?" Asked Steve, knowing the man was resourceful if he stayed under the government's nose all this time.

"Eh, probably." Said Scott, shrugging. "Come to think of it, I should probably warn them that the FBI will arrive soon to take those HYDRA goons. You secured them all and hid them from plain site, right?" Steve nodded.

"Bound and gagged." Said Steve before tilting his head at Proxima. "She'll send an unanimous call to the police, giving them the location of the HYDRA vehicle. We hid all the bodies in their van forty miles from your home so that the FBI won't immediately assume you're the culprit. Though considering your record, they'll interrogate you nonetheless." Scott nodded at that.

"The fact they went after me." Said Scott before sighing. "I'm worried cap. Think they'll try again?" Steve nodded.

"No doubt. And if they have more of those shrinking suits, they'll send them after you the next time they try to capture or kill you." That caused Scott to sigh again.

"Well, then I'll have to tell Cassie's mom to forbid her from visiting for awhile. At least until the HYDRA cell that's responsible for this shrinking soldier project is gone." Steve looked at Scott in pity. He was angry that HYDRA went after Scott while he was spending time with his daughter. They may have not known, sure, but he doubted they would have cared. She would have just been an acceptable casualty in their eyes.

"I'll make sure they'll go down soon, Scott. I promise." Said Steve.

"Indeed we will." Said Proxima, having overheard Steve's last sentence. When the two men looked at her, she continued. "I stole some intel from the vehicle that belonged to the group of soldiers I eliminated. In it was some interesting information, particularly the location where these shrinking suits are being kept and made. The location is identical to the traced location from the intercepted transmission. Its in the city known as San Francisco. If you want to take them out so that you can spend more time with your daughter, here's your chance." Upon hearing that, Scott shook his head.

"I can't." Said Scott before lifting up his left pant leg, revealing a tracking bracelet on it. "This thing will go off the moment I step out of this house. And if it goes off, my FBI handlers will come here and arrest me. And when that happens, its ten years in a Federal prison. My daughter will be a young woman by the time I'm set free. I don't want to miss her growing up as a teen or graduating from high school. I'm sorry." Twitching her eyes, Proxima was about to retort when Steve intervened.

"We understand Scott. We can handle ourselves against those soldiers in shrinking suits." Said Steve. "They won't be much of a problem to us." Upon hearing that, Proxima glared at Steve.

"Its only because of my intervention that you're still breathing, human. And even then, I only killed them because I got the drop on them. If I hadn't, we both would be dead." Upon hearing that, Scott looked at Steve in surprise.

"She serious, cap?" Asked Scott. Sighing, Steve nodded and explained what happened, how he nearly died to three HYDRA agents wearing suits that gave them the ability to shrink, and how Proxima saved him. Upon hearing that, Scott looked at Cassie, who had listened in to it all. Looking back, Cassie looked at her dad. Though she didn't say anything, Scott knew what she was conveying. To be a hero again, regardless of what would happen to him. To be Antman again. Sighing to himself, Scott looked at Steve. "Well, that settles it. I'm coming with you cap." Upon hearing that, Steve looked at Scott in surprise.

"But what about your deal with the government? Your daughter?" Asked Steve, worried for Scott's future. Scott just smirked.

"Yeah, well, life has a way to make good people suffer, even if they don't deserve it or not. Besides," Scott looked at Cassie, who smiled. "I don't think Cass will like it if her dad was a coward that refused to do the right thing, even if it means she won't see him again for ten years."

"She won't." Said Cassie, causing everyone to look at her. "But I'll be proud of my dad for doing the right thing so that others won't suffer." That caused Scott to smile. Proxima looked at the kid in shock and respect and so did Steve. Coughing a bit, Scott went to a drawer, rummaged in it a bit until he found a small throwing disk that was blue in the center. He then brought out his cellphone.

"Be right back. I need to make a call." Said Scott before going into his basement. After a few minutes, they saw a flash of blue light coming from the basement. Before Proxima and Steve could do anything, Scott came back with his Antman suit. "Alright, let me suit up and we'll go and kick some butt."

"Hold it." Said Proxima. "I may be able to deal with the device on your ankle." Getting up from her seat, Proxima knelt down and examined the device. "Crude. Unremarkable." As she continued to say insults to the piece of Earth technology, she pondered the best way to remove it without disabling it as she knew that was the preferred outcome for them all. After a few more minutes, she looked at Lang. "I think I can remove it without it going off. Just let me go back to my ship and we'll get it off you."

"Thanks, but they track my movement with this thing." Said Scott. "The moment they realize it isn't moving for a couple of hours, they'll come over and arrest me for breaking the contract." Proxima nodded at that.

"I think I have something that'll do the trick." Said Proxima before leaving. Once she did, Cassie looked at Steve.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Asked Cassie. That caused Steve to look at Cassie with a raised eyebrow as well as causing Scott to cough. Slightly flustered, Steve just coughed into his hand.

"She isn't." Said Steve. "We're just acquaintances." The smirk from Cassie said otherwise.

"Cassie. Bad girl." Scolded Scott. "You don't say stuff like that to people, especially people you just met." Cassie just pouted and apologized to Steve, who accepted it. Within a few more minutes, Proxima arrived with a machine the size of Scott. It was humanoid in design and grey in color.

"This is a sparing droid that I kept around to hone my skills in combat." Explained Proxima as she set down a box of advanced looking tools. "I can, however, reprogram it to follow your basic routine, that'll give you the opportunity to help us without rousing the suspicion of your handlers."

"You mean it?" Asked Scott with hope. If this worked, then he can both help out Steve and still be able to fulfill his agreement with the government.

"Yes. Just tell me what you normally do and I'll program it to do it." Said Proxima. "But first, we need to remove your device." With that Proxima brought out a tool with a razor-sharp blade. Gulping at seeing the tool, Scott chuckled nervously as Proxima approached him.

Half an hour later

"Alright, the bot is programmed with your basic schedule. If that is all, can we go now?" Asked Proxima as she sent the bot to do whatever Scott claimed that he normally did.

"We have to wait for a response from Hank and Hope." Said Scott, putting on his suit with Cassie watching in awe. "They won't like it if they find the house missing."

"And when will they respond?" Demanded Proxima. They wasted enough time as it was. Before Scott could say anything. His phone rang. Bringing it out, he checked it.

"Right about now." Said Scott. "They just sent an email. Hope is coming to pick us up in twenty minutes. We better get ready."

"Finally." Said Proxima. "I'll make the call to the authorities before she arrives. Are her parents coming to pick her up?"

"Yup. They should arrive in ten minutes." Said Scott before going over to Cassie. "Cass, in case we never see each other again, I just want you to know that you're a good girl. And you've been the greatest thing I've ever done for this world. I love you. And I want you to grow big and strong and to help the world in a positive way. Just not in this line of work. Trust me, its awful." Smiling, Cassie hugged her dad.

"I will, dad. Go kick the bad guys' butts." Said Cassie before going to get her things. Smiling at the affectional display, Proxima looked at Steve, who also smiled.

"Children are a precious thing." Said Proxima. "They make you both angry and annoyed, but also happy and proud. They're…something that should be treasured."

"That they should." Agreed Steve. "Ever considered having children?"

"I have." Said Proxima after a moment of hesitation. "Its just that I…don't think I'll be a good mother. I failed as a sibling, all I've ever known if war, and I don't know anything about raising a child. I failed a great many things in my time, I don't want to add being a failed mother as one of them." To her surprise, Proxima felt Steve put a hand on her shoulder. A part of her wanted to slap his hand away and yell at him, but another wanted to allow it. It felt…nice.

"I can understand the fear of failing at being a mother." Said Steve. "But you shouldn't let that prevent you from having kids. And just because you failed at being a good sibling, doesn't mean that you'll be a bad mother. If anything, you can use that failure to help yourself be a better person and mother. We not only learn from our successes, but also in our failures. And you're clearly willing to learn you're your mistakes. Besides, you'll have your spouse to help you in raising any children you have. And if they fail, then you can ask me for advice. I'll help." Stunned, Proxima looked at Steve for several moments before looking at the ground.

"Your words are appreciated hum…Steve." Said Proxima. Upon hearing his name, Steve smiled. It was a sign that Proxima considered him a trusted friend and ally, a step in the right direction. Before he could say anything, Proxima slipped from his grasp. "I need to go, I need some refreshments." With that, Proxima left for the kitchen.

"Smooth, cap." Said Scott in the Antman suit. "You sure you two don't have a…crush on each other." The annoyed stare from Steve told Scott to shut up.