KRONG!
Janet immediately recognized the unmistakable sound made when Captain America introduced someone face-first to his shield.
"HAVE AT THEE!"
An ear-splitting crack of thunder followed this pronouncement, indicating that Thor had just finished off his luckless opponent.
"UNAAAAGH!
The brief glimpse of a half-naked bruiser with four arms being used as an air-hockey puck meant Iron Man was not slacking off either.
Which left two, including the one she was facing. Even as this thought occurred to her, the agile aerial dodged a stream of crackling energy. Wasp flew around her opponent's attacks with an outraged squeal.
"OOOH! Wings?" she snapped. "Bio-electric blasts? What, you couldn't think of any original powers so you had to go and rip off mine?"
"Get over yourself, Bug-Blast Barbie!" the masked woman sporting a pair of purple bat pinions sneered before launching another beam. "I was born with these powers, I didn't buy them like you did! OW!"
This pained exclamation came right after Wasp leveled an answering shot into the mutant's chest. The Avenger flew back with a chuckle, sticking her tongue out as she watched her enemy rub that spot angrily. "Sorry, but that double-padded bra of yours made a very big target!"
Another huge stream of pink power missed her tiny form by a comfortable distance. She fired back and was pleased to note when her relatively miniscule shot connected without fail. It was almost unfair how much of a bigger target her adversary represented. The difference in their size was proving to be the deciding factor in this otherwise equally-matched duel. Next time you commit trademark infringement, you might as well get the whole package, lady!
The two of them continued their airborne battle. Members of the NYPD had cordoned off the streets around the Latverian embassy to prevent innocent bystanders from getting hurt. This battle between the Avengers and a group of renegade mutants was fast drawing to a close. When the fighters paired up against one another, Janet had chosen to go after the one in aquamarine tights who could fly, and was glad she did. Her guy pals, especially Thor, might have felt leery about attacking a woman. With three flyers in the group including Tony, Jan had graciously chosen to handle this one herself in the interests of protecting male chivalry. It had only gotten personal when she realized just how alike they were in terms of firepower.
"OUCH! You little…! That DOES IT!"
Snaps of violet energy then began to materialize around the villainess' body. These grew in number, collecting together to form sparkling clumps that left a nasty ozone smell lingering in the air. Nobody had to tell Wasp that whatever was coming next couldn't be good for her. The Pink Plagiarist seemed to be concentrating very hard on this next attack, however. And while she's distracted…
Janet streaked forward. She zipped around the rapidly growing balls of destructive power with an inhuman level of dexterity. Black Panther, eat your heart out! In seconds she was flying right at her target's hate-filled face.
"Little pest, you can't beat me no matter how close you-UMPH!"
The end of their fight was signified by the sound the mutant made when Wasp's suddenly human-sized feet connected with her face. Even wearing that half-mask, the full weight of the Avenger's body combined with high speed served to knock her out cold. Her flash-bombs dissipated, and she plummeted earthwards.
Uh-oh, the victorious heroine thought. That's not good. They were forty feet above street level. A fall from this height might prove more than painful. Better see about getting one of the boys to…
Before she could finish this thought the villainess suddenly halted in her descent, caught in what appeared to be a giant spider-web stretching from one side of the street to another. Surprised, Wasp turned her head in time to see someone give her an exaggerated salute before crawling around the skyscraper in a flash of red and blue.
Oh, she smiled to herself. That guy. Figures he might show up eventually. I'll have to remember to say thanks next time we run into each other. Insects and arachnids gotta stick together, after all.
From her elevated position Janet scanned the area. Looks like there's only one left. The other members of her team had completed their fights and were converging on that lone holdout in front of the embassy gates. Wasp flew over to get a better view of the inevitable curb-stomping.
"MUTANT FREEDOM!" the Mohawk dude in the blue trenchcoat wielding the scythe screamed. "We will not have our rights dictated to us by any nation, foreign or domestic! We will decide our own destinies! We will-!"
KRONG!
That settles that.
"Nice work, team." Tony Stark surveyed the smoldering stretch of city street. "Looks like nobody got hurt except for the ones who deserved it."
Janet peered down at the moaning albino. "I don't recognize this guy. Is he on our list?"
Stark settled hands on his hips and looked thoughtful. "I dunno. Face doesn't ring a bell. I'll check his stats against all the super-powered offender bolos." He then fell silent as information came up on his interior helmet display.
Clint 'Hawkeye' Roberts leaned on his bow squinting. "He's sporting a scythe. Likes to make long-winded speeches…" He cast a questioning look around at the others. "Reverend Reaper, maybe?"
Iron Man shook his head. "Nope. Wrong M.O. Could be Death Reaper?"
"That's a girl."
"Oh."
"Mayhap 'tis the Reaper of Demon Fire!" Thor stated grandly while raising a finger in 'Ah-Ha' fashion.
"No."
Wasp floated in deliberation. "Grim Reaper?"
"We already caught him," Hawkeye reminded her, sighting down an arrow.
"Oh, right. Uhhh… Son of Grim Reaper?"
"No."
"Merry Reaper!"
He snorted. "Now you're just making them up. Man, we got too many Reapers!"
"I fought a Reaper back in the day," Captain American mused aloud as he retrieved his shield, noticing the police approaching them. Already construction company foremen were lining up at the barricades in readiness to begin damage appraisal. "Nazi agent here in the States. Apparently it's a popular moniker for anybody looking to cause trouble."
"Wait! Here he is, I got him!" their leader exclaimed excitedly. "This guy's named… Reaper."
No one spoke for a time. At last Hawkeye rubbed his eyes with a pained expression. "What, just… Reaper?"
"Yup. Reaper."
Wasp frowned down at their defeated opponent. "That's kinda boring, actually."
"I agree."
With that, Iron Man lifted his palms. Twin repulsor blasts flashed forth, and Reaper's hands disintegrated.
"TONY!" Janet screamed, appalled. The rest of their company stared at Iron Man as though he had lost his mind.
"Friend Stark, that was unworthy of you," the Thunder God declared with stern disapproval. "Striking a defeated opponent is a craven's tactic."
"Oh, relax," he responded back. "I read this guy's file, he's got cybernetic arms and legs! I'm just cutting down on the threat he represents to the cops when they take him away. Look, he didn't even notice."
It was true. Even now Reaper gave no sign of being in any renewed pain from the amputation, and the stumps of his hands were revealed to contain smoking metal and circuits. The gathering of New York's finest seemed unsure of how to take this supposedly helpful gesture from their fellow defender of the peace.
"Prevention, people. That's the name of the game." The gleaming metal titan then directed blasts at the villain's feet.
Reaper instantly jerked up with a scream. "AAAAAHHH!"
Wasp let out a yelp of her own. Meanwhile the villain grasped his truncated right leg and fell back rocking side to side in obvious agony. His suffering was terrible to behold.
Several police officers and the remaining Avengers now turned looks of quiet accusation on Iron Man.
"Wait a darn minute, let me see…" Stark apparently did some quick reading. The face-plate of his helmet then slid aside to give them all a good look at his abashed features. "Oops," he mumbled. "Heh-heh! Um, okay, I kinda skimmed his file at first glance. What it actually says is he has cybernetic arms and leg. Leg. Singular. Meaning he only had one. Before. So, uh…" He looked down at where the new quadriplegic continued to howl. "Yeah."
"Smooth move, Tony," Hawkeye drawled. "Now you gotta make the villain a new robot leg. Another monster courtesy of Stark Industries."
The tech wizard considered his latest embarrassment. Then he swiftly rounded on Thor. "Hey, uh, Thor! Listen, I really don't need any more bad PR, Pepper's already threatening to kill me if I give her one more headache this week. And we don't want that, right? She's a good lady who doesn't belong in jail. So if anybody asks… you did that to him. Sound good?"
His answer was delivered in a dark tone of voice. "Nay."
"C'mon, please? I can't be…!"
At this Janet Van Dyne raised a hand and fired at Tony's head.
Everyone stood staring at her. Stark's eyes were huge, like he couldn't believe what just happened. That Wasp would shoot at him…
And also that she seemed to have missed.
Before anyone could seek to question this turn of events the tiny fashion mogul descended to the ground. When she rose back up, it was holding what looked to be an unconscious woman even smaller than herself by the collar.
"Think we missed one," Jan stated bluntly. "She was going for Tony. Guess he made her mad."
"That would be Thumbelina."
They turned to see the gates of the embassy open. Passing by a platoon of heavily-armed guards came a thin man in a green suit with the royal symbol of Latveria on his breast pocket.
"Mr. Ambassador," Captain America stated with some degree of wariness. "You know these people?"
The diplomat stopped before them to regard the Avengers calmly. "Yes. They are members of the MLF."
Hawkeye frowned. "Moms-I'd-Like-to-Fu…?"
"No!" Tony cut in hastily. "He means the Mutant Liberation Front. I've heard of these guys. I take it then this has something to do with your country's mutant proposal?"
Janet deposited her defeated burden in the care of a policeman wearing riot gear. She then went to land on Hawkeye's shoulder, settling in to watch this exchange without interest. All around them clamoring crowds were eager to get a look now that the danger was past. The news stations were probably salivating at the juicy broadcast they could air to their sensation-starved public tonight. So much for catching 'Best-Dressed Convict Moms' on Lifetime.
Her purple-plated seat tilted his head slightly and whispered, "Nice save back there."
She shrugged in response. "Meh. Maybe Tony deserved the hurt a little, but I already had to deal with one of these yahoos stealing my shtick. Two was not gonna happen. Not today."
The archer chuckled. "Yeah. Bet Ant Man wouldn't like the idea of competition either."
He failed to catch the look of brooding discontent that settled on Wasp's face.
"I'll ask the next time I see him. Whenever that is."
They watched the ensuing conversation between their team leader and the dignitary. Video recorders and cell phones held by tourists and news media alike recorded everything that had taken place up to that point.
This included a security camera on the side of the Latverian embassy, which focused on the Wasp in particular.
Ant Man woke to find Ultron staring down at him.
Immediately he bolted upright. "How long was I out?"
His mechanical aide took a step back. "Two hours, twenty-seven minutes, thirty-eight seconds."
"Oh, this is not good, not good at all!"
The distraught scientist sprang from his seat, scattering empty coffee cups that lay stacked together on the table. He had been so certain he didn't need any sleep! They were approaching a critical juncture, all he had to do was remain awake for another half-hour in order to keep the lines of communication open. He had been certain any disputes could be resolved! All the work he had put into this, the opportunities sacrificed, and everything had come to naught. Just because he took a nap! It was a failure, the biggest of his career, a complete and utter…
"Success!" he breathed.
Pym stared. Through the glass before him, a giant warren made of dirt and wood-pulp teemed with life. Ants roamed aboveground and throughout visible caverns below the soil, while along the walls, the hive bustled from the activities of honeybees. At the center of this unprecedented conclave, queens of both species were apparently holding court together. They were… cooperating!
"I don't understand," Pym breathed, entranced by the sum movement of all those tiny legs and antennae. "How could this have happened without me? I thought for sure they wouldn't ever achieve any sort of understanding without outside intervention!"
It took a significant effort to tear himself away from that marvelous occurrence, one he had scarcely dreamed possible. But eventually Hank turned to consult the data his instruments had collected during his nap. Recorded conversations between drones and workers were translated into their closest human equivalents. Overlaying this was the dialogue between the royalty. There were also previous instances when he had played negotiator for them.
But wait… the last of his interventions had come only fifteen minutes ago. How…?
He turned to look at the only possible explanation. "Ultron-5? Did you do this?"
The intelligent automaton stood at his shoulder, its attention fixated on the warren straight ahead. At his voice, however, the robot looked to its creator. "When you lost consciousness, I assumed control of the program in order to continue this venture to its desired conclusion. Their dispute has been resolved for forty-seven minutes, eleven seconds. The colony representatives agreed to end hostilities against the hive community. They have ordered a recall of the terminus-mites responsible for assassinating the North American honeybee population over the past seven cycles. In return the hive has consented to intercede with the Mexican killer bee empire in order to end their blockade of the southern ant colonies. This agreement between species will go into full effect once the representatives are returned to Earth."
Despite hearing this and seeing the end result for himself, Hank could hardly believe it. When he had accepted the American Beekeepers Association's request to determine the root cause behind the inexplicable destruction of their livelihood, it was with the belief that he was better suited than anyone to find out what might be the cause. Ant Man eventually learned this decimation was the result of a feud between insects across national boundaries, and had taken charge of stabilizing relations in order to resolve a continent-scale conflict that had gone completely unnoticed by human senses.
The project had taken up almost eight months of his life. And here he found the most sensitive, crucial and complicated stage had been completed without him. Instead it was Ultron who had saved the day.
"Ultron-5… thank you!" The astonished academic grinned and crossed his arms. "You've saved a vital species in our ecosystem! Not to mention aided the recovery of the American economy. Honestly, I hadn't realized your programming had advanced to the point where you could undertake something this involved. Your capability astounds even me!"
He looked upon the android with admiration. It returned the stare.
Then Ultron-5 said, "My capabilities are more than sufficient regarding all of your current endeavors. Should you for any reason fail to achieve your objectives, rest assured I will succeed."
Hank laughed in embarrassment. "The advantage of never having to sleep, I guess. I'm lucky to have you helping me. You make an excellent assistant, Ultron-5!"
He turned away then in order to admire their achievement anew. In doing so, Pym failed to notice how the robot's optic sensors flared for a moment. Instead he commented, "I suppose this means we should see about returning the two factions to our home dimension right away. Would you contact the Baxter Foundation and let them know we're ready?"
"I will do so." Ultron swiveled about to make its way towards the exit.
"Oh!" he called over his shoulder as a thought occurred to him. "And while you're at it, could you ask Jan if she would bring the latest data regarding the Ravonna recovery treatment?"
Behind him, metal-shod footsteps paused.
"Yes. I can."
The sound of Ultron's departure resumed. Meanwhile Dr. Pym remained enthralled by the sight of two disparate life-forms working in harmony.
"Fascinating!" he whispered.
"Hulk, if you wanted a pet cat, couldn't you have gotten something a little cuter?"
Ten feet of raw emerald fury turned to glower at Wasp as she sidled into the room. Tucked beneath the mighty brawler's arm was indeed some form of large hairy white… something. It was snarling and spitting in a frenzy, gnashing sharp teeth while glaring at them all with scary inhuman eyes. The exact nature of this entity was hard to determine, as it appeared Hulk had wrapped a highway's worth of guard rails around the thing to keep it contained.
When curiosity goaded her into stepping closer to have a better look at his catch, he jerked it above his head with a growl.
"You that tired of living, bug?"
Wasp settled hands on her hips in an irate posture. "No need to get all hostile! I wasn't going to pet your kitty or anything, I just wanted to see what it is."
"I would not get too close, Wasp." A voice spoke from above, and she jumped as Black Panther dropped from the ceiling to land without a sound. No sense in asking what he had been doing up there. The silent hero moved to stand between her and the caged beast. "This creature has a taste for human flesh."
"Ugh." She wrinkled her nose and hugged a data pad to her chest. "Thanks for the warning." When nobody seemed willing to offer the information, she decided to ask. "So what is that, anyway?"
Hulk had turned away by this point and was clenching his free fist restlessly, waiting for the door to Solution 42 to open. Panther looked back at the ravenous monster on their comrade's shoulder. "It is called Wendigo, one of the escapees from the Raft. Hulk and I have been tracking it through the Adirondack Mountains for eight days. We only managed to snare it this morning. Regrettably, it had already claimed several lives by then."
"Oh." This explained where they had been for the past week, as well as what put Hulk in such a bad mood. Well, more than usual, anyway. It reminded her that things didn't always end neatly in this line of work. They had stopped the MLF before the situation got too bad, but those guys were bargain-basement lowlifes compared to something that came out of the Raft. That was where S.H.I.E.L.D had imprisoned the villains deemed almost too dangerous to live.
It wasn't the first time she had heard about somebody getting hurt since the breakout, but Jan hated it all the same. With that in mind she looked up at their towering teammate and said, "Hey, I didn't mean to make you upset. How you doing, big guy?"
His broad squashed countenance curled up even more fiercely than before. "What do you care?"
"A lot more than people tend to think," she responded back, staring steadily at his averted face. Most anyone with a brain knew better than to provoke the Hulk. Wasp had a good idea of how to deal with him, though. "Lots of folks like to paint you as a big dumb monster. Almost as many tend to call me an airhead who only cares about looking good. I just never figured you were one of them. Was I wrong, Hulk?"
Janet then turned and strode over to stand before the portal, crossing her arms resolutely. After a few seconds the door opened and light poured through.
As she was preparing to walk past the frame, a low voice came from behind her.
"You weren't wrong. But you're still small, girl!"
The young Avenger smirked in satisfaction. "That just means I can fit into all sorts of things you can't." She glanced back and flashed a smile at him. "And all sorts of things fit into me."
His green eyes went very big, like he couldn't quite believe what she had just said.
Feeling pleased with herself, the flirtatious fairy proceeded to exit this plane of reality. "Hey, Ulfie!" Janet waved as she came through the portal to spy him waiting there.
"Thank you for coming, Miss Van Dyne," Ultron-5 responded back, flanked by two of his brethren. "Dr. Pym will be with you shortly. King T'Challa. Dr. Banner. Welcome."
She heard them respond in their own ways as she gave her metallic buddy a pat on the shoulder. There was the sound of a floating energy dome activating behind as the Ultron attendants took charge of Wendigo. Wasp didn't bother to stay for the custody transfer. She knew where she was going and didn't require anyone to show her the way.
Two robots escorted the possessed man-eater to its cell. Black Panther looked at his large green partner. "I am going to confer with Ant Man. Would you like to accompany me?"
Hulk merely curled his lip. "No. Gotta go make sure Wendigo doesn't bust loose along the way. If he does, I want the chance to make him regret it some more!" He then went lumbering after the hovering force-field.
T'Challa was about to ask Ultron-5 where his maker could be found, only to realize the robot was already walking away. No doubt it had other duties to perform. At the end of the corridor it went one way while Hulk went the other. Well, there were only so many places a man like Pym would be.
Remembering the Wasp's comment about size, Panther smiled behind his mask. When dealing with shrinking people, it did tend to make a lot more possible places to look.
All around her were shiny naked robots guarding oddly dressed hard-bodies. Like a Playgirl Christmas Jailhouse Special, Wasp thought. Having changed from her costume into bell-bottoms, sandals and a sporty teal blouse before coming, Janet felt a little out of place among this crew. But still definitely the best-looking one here. Although Black Panther did cut quite the impressive figure in his midnight wetsuit. Wonder if he's got a girl back home? Or maybe ten. It's good to be the king, after all.
This line of thinking had been prompted by her reason for coming here in the first place. At the same time she found herself growing slightly downcast at her appointed task's approach. If only there was some good news to report.
Now standing before a certain cell, more spacious and with significantly more Ultrons outside than the others, she prepared to face the music. Within this confinement a figure crouched on the bed, hands laced before him and chin resting atop them.
Wasp took a deep breath. "Hello, Kang."
The Conqueror of Time didn't move in response. Only his eyes slid over to her before returning to stare fixedly at a point on the wall. "Has there been any progress?"
Right to the heart of the matter. Despite the coldness of his voice she understood how important this was to him. For that reason Wasp didn't hesitate. She nodded to an Ultron, who then proceeded to key open a hatch in the side of the wall. Into this went the data pad she had carried all the way here. It closed, and moments later there was a swishing noise, after which another hatch slid open beside Kang's bed. He reached inside and removed the pad, bringing up its contents to examine them.
There was no change in his expression at what he saw. Considering how alien the future man's face seemed, that was a rather difficult thing to determine. Usually he just looked grim and angry. But Jan had been watching him long enough to think she could pick out subtle indicators.
This told her Kang was upset.
Without warning he flung the pad towards the front of his cell. It exploded in a flash against the blue sparkling field that separated them. She didn't flinch. He had a pronounced tendency to do that ever since the first time, when Tony insisted he give the pad immediately back so as not to give him access to any technological resources. Jan couldn't blame Iron Man for being worried. Kang was a very talented engineer and familiar with aspects of science they themselves were only just beginning to grasp. Not to mention he was a man on a mission: to save his entire future.
Although to be honest, she wondered sometimes if it had more to do with rescuing one person in particular than anything else.
"Ravonna's stable, Kang," she spoke softly. "She hasn't gotten any worse since the last time. That's something, right?"
Hearing the princess' name spoken caused a slight tremor to go up his bowed frame. Blue lips twisted in a snarl that might have even intimidated Hulk. "No worse," he hissed. "And no better!" Those dead black eyes swung to focus on her again. "If she dies, rest assured there will be no need to worry about my future. For I will make it my life's mission to see to it this entire world has no future! At all!"
He meant that threat. There was no doubting the seriousness in his voice. But at the same time, she could sense the despair that underlaid every word. His love for a woman was the first real sign of humanity they had seen from Kang. And she especially sympathized with it. The two of them had something in common. For this reason Wasp continued to speak calmly with him.
"Nobody wants her to die. We've got three of the most brilliant people alive working to find a way to prevent Princess Ravonna from disappearing. You just have to understand, none of them are that familiar with the concept of time travel, or the things that can go wrong with you as a result! Your men and the records they've shown us have been of great help, but some of the conditions and materials they're used to just don't exist in our era. We're doing the best we can."
"The best of laymen and savages!" he spat with contempt. "None of you can appreciate time and its intricacies as I do!"
She picked her words with care, not wanting to further antagonize him. "Reed Richards at least has done some time-travel before. It's just he wasn't the one who actually developed the technology that did it. He's trying to rig something along the same lines based on what he learned back then. We're making progress, Kang! Believe me."
The chrono-villain seemed to settle down. His hunted gaze continued to regard her. After a while Kang shifted and spoke. "You say this Richards did not invent a means to pierce the fabric of time. Then who did? Why are you not consulting the person responsible for that if they are so adept already?"
Okay. Here's where things got messy.
"That's… a tricky topic. The guy's kinda unavailable."
Kang's frown deepened. "He is dead?"
"No. He's just… how do I put this?" Wasp laid a finger to her chin in deep thought. "We're not really friends with him. I mean, he's not friendly to begin with. Imposing, yes. Dangerous, definitely. Scary, whoo-yeah! I've never had reason to lay eyes on him, much less talk with him, but the thing is…"
He looked a little confused. As much as Kang could get, which was kind of funny. All the same, she tried to give it one more last-ditch effort. "Look, have you ever seen 'The Devil Wears Prada'? Well, around here, the devil wears green and clanks when he walks."
Her unwitting audience looked at her for another second before turning away once more. Wasp gazed sadly upon the closed-off conqueror. Apparently there was nothing more to say, at least on his end. She recognized this from lots of previous experience. It was time to go.
The heroine turned away. "I'll be back. Hopefully with good news."
He did not respond, and she walked down the line of cells.
Movement came off to one side. Wasp's head turned in time to see something collide with the force-field on her right. Her eyes squinched from the flash, and when she opened them, it was to find herself being presented with a naked red monkey butt.
"AGH!" she screamed in revulsion. "Mandrill, you total PIG!"
The nefarious hairbag bared his fangs as he spun around and yanked up his trousers with a laugh. He leapt to grab a bar on the ceiling, swinging back and forth. "Missed seeing you around here, Wasp! How come you never come to give me any personal visits, huh? I'd love to get some one-on-one counseling with you!"
"Go chuck your feces!" She turned away with a sniff.
His colorful face split in a grin. "Waddaya think hit the field just now?"
And that's when it came clear.
"EW, GROSS!"
Mandrill laughed once more. In a flash he was hanging upside down with his pants around his ankles again, mooning her for all he was worth.
Wasp considered ordering the Ultron on guard to drop the barrier and give her two minutes alone with that stupid ape. One good zap to the crotch and we'll see who's smiling then, won't we, lover-boy? But no, that wasn't a good idea. He was just baiting her. She knew how his pheromone powers could have an effect on women, and wasn't eager to find out if the same might be true for an insect-girl.
Well, at least she couldn't smell it.
With that Janet resolved to turn up her nose and walk away. Be the mature one for once. Wouldn't Hank be proud of her?
Right then the caped criminal gave a giggling snort. "Just call me Mighty Joe Hung! Hey, baby, let's not fight. I'm a lover not a…"
A shadow fell upon them, followed by a deep rumbling growl from above. Both froze. After a second Janet slowly tilted her head back as far as it would go. Sure enough she found herself examining the bottom of Hulk's chin.
His murderous attention was leveled not at her. Looking back down, she was secretly thrilled at the sight of Mandrill quailing in utmost terror before them. She grinned mischievously.
"I'm sorry, what was that you were saying?"
His brown hairy head shook from side to side. "Nothing! I didn't say anything!" Another ferocious snarl from the Hulk made both of them jump, and Mandrill landed down on his knees in a cowering heap. "I'm sorry, really, I'm so, so sorry! Please, I won't do it again, please!"
I think that's good enough.
"C'mon, Hulk, we're leaving. Later, Scratch n' Sniff!" With that Wasp sauntered away. As Hulk moved to follow her, she let loose a derisive snort. "Can you believe that guy? Sometimes it's tough being beautiful. I've heard that and worse from his type before. They just can't help themselves around me."
"Right," he grunted, obviously not impressed.
"I'm serious, supervillains have the hots for me!"
"Yeah? Like who?"
"What, you looking for a list of more guys to pound on?" Before he could respond she continued. "Well, for starters, there's Living Laser."
"Isn't that Stark's guy?"
"Yeah! And I also get along great with the Lizard, and Hank says Whirlwind's got a thing for me now. Plus there's…" Wasp drew to a halt. "Oh, hey, Ulfie!"
The robot was standing only a few yards off. She hadn't even noticed. Could he have been there the whole time? Well, with so many Ultrons around, it was easy to miss one.
"Miss Van Dyne," that flat metal voicebox declared, "Dr. Pym is ready to see you now." He turned and gestured down the wide lane that encircled the prison shaft.
"Oh. Cool. Thanks, Ulfie."
Hulk came up behind her. "Ulfie?" he sneered.
She nodded emphatically. "Yeah, that's Ultron-5. Remember, from when we got inside Damocles? He helped us out."
The great behemoth frowned at the robot, who did not appear to notice. "How do you tell them apart?"
"Don't be silly!" Janet laughed and shrank down to miniature form. She then streaked over to land on Ultron-5's shoulder. His head turned to regard her there, and she gestured with both hands like a model at a car expo. "Look, this is clearly Ulfie quality! Isn't it obvious?"
The expression on Hulk's face said that it wasn't.
Wasp didn't see fit to press the issue. "Whatever. Race you to the top, boys!" Without waiting for a response she sped aloft into the heights of the great tower.
Ultron-5 and Hulk watched her ascent. With a moody grumble, the giant began to stalk off towards the elevator.
"In the future…"
He paused. Narrow green eyes drifted over to where the android continued to gaze upwards. It still didn't deign to look at him when it spoke.
"… I would ask you not interfere in the treatment of our detainees. Their rehabilitation is none of your concern."
The Hulk turned. "You got a problem with how I…"
Before he could finish Ultron-5 launched itself into the air, propelled by jets in its feet. In moments it had entered the upper research ring and was gone.
"You promise not to forget?"
"I do, Jan. Come Wednesday…"
"Tuesday."
"Kidding! I was kidding! Anyway, I'll be ready come Tuesday. My word as a man of science."
Black Panther leaned up against a wall as Wasp and Pym bid their goodbyes. He sometimes wondered just how close their relationship really was, considering Janet's flighty disposition and Henry's devotion to his work. It was only when seeing them together like this, arm in arm and hardly noticing anyone else in the room, that he felt certain there must be something real there. In his experience they had never even shared a kiss, but… it told in their body language; the ease Ant Man displayed whenever she hugged him, practically melting into her. And while you could call the girl cheerful under normal conditions, at the handsome scientist's touch she became practically giddy.
And then, of course, there was Pym's tendency to jump at every opportunity to make her happy. That was telling too.
"Try to come out before then," Jan whispered, stroking his neck. "Don't stay cooped up in here forever, okay? The team works better with you around, and so do I."
"You can count on me, Jan. I'll be back later today, I won't let you down."
They embraced then. It was uplifting to find such affection in two extraordinary people, the ruler of Wakanda reflected philosophically.
A restless shifting off to his side told him the Hulk did not share these transcendental sentiments. In fact, he looked even more dire than usual. Compelled by a curiosity that defied any self-preservation instinct, T'Challa chose to speak to him. "Is something troubling you, Hulk?"
Bruce Banner's uncontrollable alter-ego spared him a brief glance, then indicated with his head. "See that?"
Panther followed as directed, to where one of the ubiquitous Ultron series was stationed a ways off. Before he could form a credible thesis for the significance of this fact, Hulk rumbled, "That thing's been staring at Wasp ever since we got here. It's creepy."
T'Challa studied the robot. It seemed to be simply looking straight ahead, where the two people happened to be standing. Nothing particularly disturbing there. But he chose to humor his volatile comrade. "It is one of Pym's machines. No doubt he programmed them to respond to his and Janet's presence in order to better serve."
"Except the others aren't like that. Only this one." Hulk's biceps flexed as though in anticipation of smashing something. "I don't like it."
It looked as though further talk might prove dangerous, so Panther simply nodded and continued to wait patiently.
For his part, Hulk kept his eyes locked on the motionless offender. He wished dearly for some type of response, praying the thing would make a move or look right back at him; whenever the robots did that in the movies it always meant they knew you were onto them. Something that would give him an excuse to go over there and stomp that gaping-mouthed head into tinfoil!
But it did not comply. At no time did Ultron-5 betray by word or movement that it was even aware of him.
A minute later they had left Pym to his solitary refuge once more.
Kang lay abed. The lights had been dimmed all around the prison center. Inside their cells it was almost pitch dark except for the faint blue glow of the warding door. In spite of this he could not bring himself to sleep. These fools, these Avengers; they attempted to coddle him, boasting of their abilities and how he should open up, let them know more about the dawning doom that had brought him to their time. As if those lowly beings could be counted upon to succeed in a venture of such magnitude! The fact that they had managed to defeat his invasion in no way proved them capable of preventing the destruction of time itself. Rather it only served to hasten their annihilation. They were deluding themselves if they thought otherwise.
And he was doing the same, for daring to hope they might actually find a way to save his beloved's life.
The fallen future dominator rolled to his side, pillowing his head with one arm. At the very least that Wasp woman was not as insufferably smug as the other two; the Iron and the Ant, he called them. They behaved as though he were doing them a disservice by abusing their overblown senses of self-worth.
There came a noise then, something out of the ordinary. While faint, this caught his sleep-deprived mind's attention. It was undoubtedly to the right of his cell, where the malodorous Mandrill was imprisoned two doors down. The walls were soundproofed and the fences calibrated to block out noise at night, so as to prevent the more volatile inmates from disturbing the others' rest cycles. However the ventilation ducts still allowed for some faint noise to be heard. Mandrill's was the only occupied room close enough to his to make anything out. His ears were excellent, and so Kang focused without moving until he could catch it in greater detail.
"What? I'm trying to get some sleep here, you stinking tinker toy!"
Another voice might have spoken then.
"Oh, yeah? Why don't you come in here and say that!"
For a few moments there was nothing.
"Hey, wait! You're not allowed in here, I'm not…!"
Next came a muffled thump. Had he not recognized it the first time, shortly after it happened again. But even diminished by distance, Kang knew this sound.
It was a solid object striking flesh.
"…el… help! Some…" Coughing then. "Somebody HEL-"
After this there came a faint crack.
By now Kang was sitting up. He looked outside. It appeared as if none of the guards around his cell had reacted to any of this. Nor did the other visible attendants situated around the ring seem to show interest. Judging by that, one might think nothing at all was happening.
In defiance of this idea the soft, brutal noises continued for a few seconds more. Then there could be heard something like electrical flares, and a long scream. Afterwards was silence.
Kang stood and moved to the door slowly. A button there allowed the inmates to get the attention of the androids. He considered it, wondering what would happen if he made the call now.
While he was still debating this, two Ultrons suddenly walked by his cell. Neither looked in his direction. Between them they held the limp, bloodied form of Mandrill. Smoke spilled from his body in long sickening tendrils. Kang watched as the silent procession went past on the way to who knew where.
Another Ultron soon followed the first two. As it drew abreast of his position, this one ground to a halt. The head slowly turned to regard him. Kang stared unflinchingly into burning crimson eyes.
This close, in the light of the door, he could see dark blood spattered across its armor and dripping from its clenched fists.
The robot studied him a while longer before proceeding on its way. Its cohorts took no notice of any of this.
His heart began to beat hard with rage.
Kang returned to his bed and lay down. He would need to consider this. Obviously something out of the ordinary was taking place. And unless he wanted to be swept up in it, he would have to think of a plan.
To be continued…