Chapter 2: The Man in the Ant Hill

On the streets of New York City, numerous black vans with yellow hexicons on the side drove down the road. Inside each one were several men dressed in yellow suits reminiscent of beekeepers sat in the back, all arming high caliber weapons in their hands.

"Ten minutes until arrival," one of the men reported.

"Right," another replied. "Mind telling me why we're wasting all this time on a college egghead?"

"Because this 'egghead' has been working on a top secret project the Scientist Supreme believes could have tremendous potential for us. Whoever controls this discovery, could control the future."

"It's that powerful?"

"Oh yeah. Scary, powerful."

…

At Greyburn University, a multitude of students, school officials, and representatives from various companies were all taking their seats in front of a massive stage. Peeking out from behind the curtain of the stage was Janet Van Dyne, a well known fashion designer, socialite, and financial backer for the day's big presentation.

"How are we looking out there?" a voice asked.

"It looks like a hell of a turn out," Jan commented. "I think every student and faculty member is here.

She pulled back and turned towards the source of the voice, Dr. Henry Pym. He had his lab coat buttoned up to his neck, covering most of his clothing aside from black boots and black gloves.

"Well, that's only slightly daunting," he commented.

"Hey, you're gonna knock em dead out there," Jan reassured, walking over to him. "You've worked too hard to fail now. We've run every simulation there is to run, and performed every safety test. This is going to go well. I promise.

"I know, I'm just… this is something I've worked towards my entire life. Creating something that could change the world for the better."

"And this is going to do that in spades." She gave his shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Have a little faith in yourself, ok?"

Hank let out a sigh, smiling back at her.

"If you're so sure…"

"I am," she reassured, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Though, might not wanna lead with that thing with the ants."

"Why not?"

"It's… a little silly. Just… focus on the other thing for now."

Hank just rolled his eyes in response.

"If you say so."

"Great. I'll go warm 'em up for you."

She then turned back towards the curtain and went outside, leaving Hank to get ready for the demonstration.

…

Outside the college, the black vans began pulling up, circling around the main building. Once they were all parked, the men inside climbed out, with two men for each van carrying a rather large metal device. They carried these devices towards the building and placed them along the walls. Once they were placed on the ground, the agents turned knobs on the top, causing them to power up.

"Devices are set," one of the agents reported.

"Setting timer for five minutes," another agent chimed in.

"Once the devices go off, make your way inside and retrieve the technology. No mistakes."

"Understood," a third agent replied.

"And if there's resistance…" the lead agent raised his weapon. "You know what to do."

…

Back inside, Jan walked up to a microphone at the front of the stage, tapping it to make sure it was working.

"Hello, can everyone hear me?" she asked, her voice getting everyone's attention. "Thank you. Thank you all for coming tonight. What you are about to see today is an advancement in science the likes of which the world has never seen before. In this crazy world of superpowers and monsters, it can be easy to feel small and helpless. However, today's speaker believes there are advantages to being small. That to be down at that scale can allow us to see the world in a new and unique way. That what some might consider to be small and insignificant, can actually be a window into how wondrous and beautiful our planet can truly be."

From backstage, Hank couldn't help but smile at her words as he slid off his lab coat and prepared his presentation.

…

Outside, the devices started glowing up, one after another. Each one primed to go off.

…

"And so, without further ado," Jan continued. "I am proud to present to you-"

Before she could finish her speech however, the devices outside go off, shutting down the power to the entire building. The audience was shocked by the sudden happenstance, as was Janet, but she tried to keep a level head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm."

Just then, a laser beam shot through the side wall, causing everyone to panic as it proceeded to cut a circle out of the wall. The chunk of wall fell to the ground, allowing the agents to enter one after the other. Once they were all in, the lead agent made hand motions to signal the others. Half went to secure the room and make sure no one would leave, while the other half stormed the stage.

"Where is he?" the lead agent asked.

"Who?" Jan asked.

"Dr. Henry Pym! We know he's here."

"Never heard of him."

One of the agents held Janet as another went behind the curtain. His demeanor only worsened when he found no sign of Pym, say for his lab coat on the ground. Enraged, the agent stormed back onto the stage.

"He's not here. Fan out and search for him!"

The other agents nodded before spreading out around the room, beginning their search. The audience members all cowered in fear as the agents moved through the rows of seats. One of the patrons was beginning to feel nervous, his eyes darting towards the nearest exit. Finally breaking, he bolted towards the door. One of the agents looked up, seeing the man running and opened fire on him. The blast hit him in the back, causing him to instantly drop to the ground and the crowd to scream in horror.

"Anyone else want to try something stupid?" the agent asked before turning to a small group of agents. "You, check the lab. Pym could be hiding in there."

Four agents went off as Jan watched on in trepidation.

"What do you want with Hank anyway?" she asked.

"Do you know who we are?" the lead agent asked.

"Very aggressive bee keepers?"

"We are AIM. The Advanced Idea Mechanics. We control the course of scientific advancement and shape it towards the future. We know of Dr Pym's breakthrough technology. It grants its user the ability to reduce in size while retaining weight and strength."

Jan paused for a moment, before cracking up laughing in response.

"Are you for real? I think you guys have been reading too many comic books."

"Laugh all you want, we know such technology is here. And once we have it… our agents will be unstoppable."

Janet just looked on in horror.

….

Meanwhile, the other AIM agents continued making their way towards Hanks lab. Once there, one of the agents kicked down the door.

"Find him," one of the agents ordered. "And take anything regarding the research."

The others nodded before scouring the lab, turning stuff over and knocking equipment to the ground to look for data on the technology they were after.

"Tons of notes here," a second agent reported, picking up some papers. "No sign of Pym though."

"Keep looking." a third agent ordered. "We can't return without-"

Before he could finish, he fell to the ground with a thud, as though he'd been punched. This caught the other agents off guard since there was no one else in the room. The remaining AIM agents readied their weapons and looked around the room looking for the mysterious interloper. They continued moving around the room, completely on edge.

"What was that?" one AIM agent asked.

"I have an idea," another agent replied. "It must be the technology."

"Keep your guard up." a third one instructed. "It could be any-"

Before he could finish, the agent was taken out in the same manner as the first one. On instinct, the other two AIM agents began firing around the room in the vain hope that one of their blasts would hit their mysterious attacker. Their ammo however, was wasted however, as their attacker was a shrunken down Hank Pym, sporting a red and black suit with a silver helmet that had antenna on either side of his head, red eye covers, and a circular mouthpiece. He ran along the floor before leaping up and striking an agent, knocking him into a wall. He then leapt off and grabbed onto the barrel of the second agent, flipping onto the gun itself just as it fired. He then ran along the gun before leaping up and hitting the guy in the face, cracking his visor as he fell to the ground. The other agent quickly picked himself up, just firing randomly all around him in the hopes of hitting something. Pym however just leapt towards him, grabbing one of the cables on his helmet before suddenly growing human sized and flipping him towards the doorway, making him hit the ground hard. As he groaned in pain, Pym walked over to him, more than a little irritated.

"Why are you here?" Pym demanded.

"We were sent here to obtain a rumored technology called the Pym Particles. Though it doesn't seem to be rumored anymore."

"Guess not."

Pym them punched him out before pondering his next move. He looked around the lab, seeing several broken pieces of equipment before noting an ant farm smashed onto the ground. Seeing the ants starting to crawl free, a smile gracing his face under his helmet.

…

Back in the auditorium, the head agent was getting fidgety as the away team had yet to return.

"What's keeping them?" he demanded.

"Maybe they're taking a campus tour," Jan joked.

The head agent turned towards her in irritation. Jan raised her hands defensively, her eyes darting to something on the ground. The head agent noticed, instantly turning around and aiming his gun. To his surprise, nothing was there.

"What were you looking at?"

"Uh…nothing."

He turned towards Jan, leveling the gun at her head.

"Don't play dumb with me. You know something and I want to know what."

"I honestly couldn't say."

That caused the head agent to grab her arm and pull her in close.

"I'm going to ask one last time. Tell me where Hank Pym is, or I'm going to-"

Just then, the head agent felt a sharp pain in his hands, causing him to let go of Jan and drop the gun. He pulled off his glove to see several ants biting at his hand. He looked up to see his fellow agents suffering similar pains as they tried to swat off the ants targeting them.

"What the… ants?!" the head agent let out.

"Very painful ones," Jan remarked, punching him in the face.

He fell over as she ran over to the exit, pushing the doors open.

"Everyone out!" she called out.

The hostages quickly started filing out of the room, prompting one of the agents to fight against the pain, grabbing his gun and aiming it at the people trying to flee. Before he could get a shot off however, an invisible force collided with his chest, knocking him into a wall before dropping to the ground. Once he dropped, Hank grew to normal size, looking out at the crowd to see several of the agents pulling the ants off and reaching for their guns. Hank quickly shrunk down again, leaping towards an agent and hitting him in the face. He then leapt off and hit the hand of another agent, causing him to drop the gun before growing to normal size and uppercutted him, knocking him out. The final agent opened fire on Hank, prompting him to shrink down and run across the ground, dodging and weaving between the blasts before leaping onto the ground and sliding towards the agent. This knocked the agent off his heat before growing to normal size and shoved him to the ground, knocking him to the ground.

While this was going on, Jan just finished getting everyone out of the room before turning back to see Hank taking out the agents, a smile gracing her face as a result. Just then an arm wrapped around her neck and a gun barrel was aimed at her head.

"Don't move!" the leader called out, getting Hank's attention.

Hank turned around, holding up his hands at the sight.

"Wait! Don't hurt her!"

""So, it's true. A size altering suit that amplifies physical strength."

"Yes," Hank confirmed, discreetly activating a feature on his helmet.

"I want the suit. Now!"

"It won't do you much good. I'm the only one who knows how to operate it."

The leader gave him a look beneath his cracked mask.

"You're lying," he deduced.

"No, I'm not! The suit's technology is highly advanced. You can't-"

"Stop stalling! Now hand over the suit before I-"

Just then, his entire body started flaring up in pain, causing him to let go of Jan and the gun as he tried swatting down parts of his body to try and stop the pain. As he did, Hank took this chance to shrink down and leap towards him, hitting him in the face and knocking him out. The leader hit the ground hard as Hank grew back to normal size, seeing several ants crawling out of the sleeves of his uniform as Jan walked up, prompting him to flip his faceplate up and reveal his face.

"Still thing controlling ants is dumb?" he remarked.

"It… has its uses," Jan relented.

…

Later on, the police showed up to take the AIM agents away, with Hank and Jan watching from a distance, the former wearing a labcoat over his suit. Hank looked on with regret as the man who was shot was loaded into an ambulance.

"I can't believe how bad things got," Hank lamented. "And all because they were after my work."

"You had no idea, Hank," Jan concoled. "You made that suit to help people. It's not your fault those AIM jerks would come after it.

"All the same… I think we should hold off on any more big reveals. It's too big a risk for something like this to happen."

"So, what? You're just gonna lock the suit up?"

"I… don't know…"

Jan took hold of his arm, prompting him to face her.

"These people would have died if it weren't for you. This technology you've created, it can make a difference in the world. Help people."

"What? Like a superhero?"

"Why not? Hank Pym, the Astonishing Ant-Man! What do you think?"

Hank chuckled a little in response.

"Ant-Man? Kinda hokey don't you think?"

"Hey, it seems appropriate. You can do this."

"You really think so?"

"With a little self confidence… and maybe a partner."

Hank raised an eyebrow in confusion, before he went wide eyed as he finally pieced together what she meant. Jan just chuckled in response.

...

Ant-Man

Voice Actor: Wally Wingert

Appearance: the suit from the Ant-Man movie