Doctor Henry Pym, world renown scientist and former Avenger, has been lost in the wake of a mysterious spree of vigilantism! The culprit? A man who is neither friend nor foe to the Avengers! What can be done in the name of the late Doctor Pym? This will be unlike anything you've ever read, true believers! Behold the newest being in Marvel's arsenal; his name is-
Chapter 46: Yellowjacket
For some of the Avengers, 'just another day' meant having to stop an alien invasion, or intervening in an international crisis that threatened to tear the world apart, or liberating endangered civilians held hostage by nefarious supervillains. And while all those things were certainly within the realm of possibility for Connor Peterson, the technopath's idea of 'just another day' involved some calm, casual tinkering with tech down in the mansion's sublevel labs.
Bent over a workbench with a magnifier seated over a pair of circuit boards, the dark-haired man humming along to the tune of Lick it Up by KISS that was faintly playing in the background. Partly reminiscing about the awesome concert he and his brother attended, the rest of his mind was focused on soldering. Using the magnifier to see the tiny little electric connections he was working over, molten solder slowly but surely created new pathways between nodes as a part of their gradual integration to the larger contraption he was working on. Connor knew the task required careful concentration and he was exercising it well… until it was abruptly interrupted.
"Hey handsome." A familiar voice cooed as her arms wrapped around him from behind. The additional weight threw his balance off, forcing him to stop. Not that he minded. Connor paused, smiling as he relinquished his tools. "Guess who?"
"Hmm… who could be hanging off my neck at this very moment?" He wondered playfully. "Oh! I know. It's my intelligent, skillful, incredibly sexy girlfriend." Janet giggled as he reached back to kiss her and she happily kissed him back.
"What're you working on?" She wondered, resting her chin on his shoulder to peer at his work.
"Well, I'm trying to make my cannons more efficient, more power into shooting bad-guys than being wasted on heat. So I'm working on some extra circuitry that might ease the power-transference." He explained.
"Cooooool." Wasp said, staring at the innocuous circuitboard. "Hey! I understood everything you said just now!" She realized. Connor snickered.
"Is that a first?" He wondered.
"Well, it's just that Hank would've kept going on and on until I didn't care and started begging him to go do something fun." Janet explained. "But you… you made this little project sound like fun."
"Hank is a one of a kind. May not be the best at social cues or getting out of the lab, but he's a good guy nonetheless." Connor mused. "Obviously not everyone can get along with his personality, but I'm sure there's someone who can."
"For the longest time I thought it was me." Janet said, now resting fully against her lover and half-draped over his shoulder. "But now? Having been broken up with him for a while, I realize it just wasn't for me. We never would've worked out." As she spoke, the brunette leaned over to rest her head against Connor's. "You and me, however, are a much different story." Smiling softly, the technopath reached up and held her hands in his.
"Hopefully that story has a happy ending." He said, resting his head against hers.
It was at that moment their little moment was ruined by a beep from Connor's Avengers ID card. Withdrawing the device from his pocket with a sigh, the technopath held it up to reveal Captain America's face on the display. "Connor, Jan, we're getting reports of a rampaging robot downtown." He stated without preamble. The couple shared a brief look of unexpectance.
"Ooookay… where in the world did this thing come from?" Connor pried.
"Visual analysis suggests it's a Cord Conglomerate war droid run amok, codenamed 'Demolisher'. We need someone out there to shut it down before it flattens the whole of downtown New York." Steve responded. "Seeing as it's technology, I'd say it's right up your alley, mister."
"Yeah, alright, forward me the last known sighting." Connor relented as he tucked his card away. He stood and stretched, having to regrettably untangle from Janet in the process. "Never a dull moment, is there?" He commented aloud.
"If you want dull, try hanging out in Hank's lab for a few hours. This is way more my speed." His girlfriend readily responded, shrinking down without delay. Her civilian clothes piled up on the floor and she rose to eye-level clad in her Wasp costume. "And, hey, maybe you can test your upgrades on this 'Demolisher' robot." She proffered. Connor smirked and held up the two circuit boards he'd just been working on.
"You read my mind, babe."
The citizens of New York City were enjoying a pleasant afternoon in one of the city's more historic quarters, where a slice of life from days gone seemed to be within reach as the streets grew a little narrower and brick and mortar took the place of steel and glass. On these little side streets, people could take in an image of what the daily spectacle might've been like when walking amongst narrow row houses or passing large wooden doors of a warehouse, a design holdover from New York's earliest days.
But a tremble in the streets gave people pause, looking up from their daily lives as the equivalent of a small earthquake stole their attention as they sought out the source. Growing in frequency, many eyes turned towards the wooden warehouse doors that shuddered on their hinges. From the chamber beyond the heavily-barred portal, thunderous footfalls echoed, until an ear-splitting KA-WHOM blew the doors off along with the bricks they were fastened to, as a mighty army-green beast made its presence known.
The Demolisher robot, half a ton of intricately mechanized perfection, was the brainchild of Cord Conglomerate found and CEO Drexel Cord; a billionaire industrialist in the same business as the likes of Tony Stark and Justin Hammer. It was marketed as a corporate alternative to the Iron Man armor, available for purchase to any consumer with the money, with promises to 'put Tony Stark's tiny talent forever in Cord's shadow' and deemed 'superior to Iron Man in every way'.
Being purely a machine and not a high-tech suit of armor, the Demolisher was supposed to be operated from a master control panel. However, a short-circuit due to faulty design resulted in remote damage to the Demolisher's central computer complex via a reaction explosion. The result was upset programming; the mechanized menace following its original course to seek and destroy… anything and everything around it!
Panicked passerby's screamed in terror and fled the scene as the Demolisher lived up to its sinister title by leveling any building in its immediate surrounding. Chasing down the helpless people its hardware deemed 'threats', not even vehicles were safe as they were flipped over, crushed underfoot, or outright smashed to smithereens by titanium fists exerting strength no mere mortal could ever achieve, wishful thinking aside. The mono-visor, blood red in color, sought out anyone and anything close at hand that had yet to receive its due from the Demolisher's terrible mission.
And it was to this scene of carnage that Cybernaut and the Wasp arrived. Hovering a short distance away, the heroes watched as the Demolisher's party piece (an energy emitter amounted above its visor) made short work of half a car by melting it into a puddle. "Man! Talk about your mechanical monsters!" The heroine remarked. "There's that Dyanmo guy, the Titanium guy we fought in the Alps, Mechanoid-Marauder-"
"Don't forget Iron Monger from wayback when." Cybernaut added.
"And now this! Why does every single company think they need their own Iron Man?" Janet asked, hands on her hips.
"Hold that thought, honey. I don't think we're dealing with a man in a suit this time." Connor interjected, gaze slightly furrowed as his powers revealed to him the Demolisher's true nature. While not yet under his control, the technology within the machine spoke a language he understood fluently. And what it was saying proved very telling. "Look. The movements are too precise… slightly unnatural. It's definitely a machine and nothing more!" Connor determined. At his word, the Demolisher turned and fixated his mechanized gaze upon the two Avengers. It started moving, building up speed much like a human would.
"Well the way it's moving towards us, I'd say it's spoiling for a fight!" Wasp proclaimed, diving ahead and unloading a barrage of biostings that rippled across the Demolisher's chassis. Cybernaut moved to assist, summoning his irons and sending them ripping through the air to strike the robot over and over as he manipulated them with his magnets.
However, the results of the barrage began to reveal a truly ghastly reality…
"His armor's too heavy. I'm not making a dent!" The technopath realized with a gasp. Recalling his signature weapons, he deployed his twin plasma cannons and fired. This time, the Demolisher powered through the orange columns and took flight, diving towards the Avenger at a riotous speed. Propelling himself into the air at the last possible second, Cybernaut leap-frogged the robot as it plowed into a building behind him. He made landfall just as Wasp rejoined him.
"Hmph! How to you like that? He completely ignored me!" She huffed, sounding irritated.
"He's probably sporting a refractory coating, so his circuits weren't even tickled by your stings." Connor replied just as the Demolisher exploded through the roof of the building it had shattered.
"So now what?" Janet asked.
"Look for exposed circuitry. I'll try to keep him distracted." Taking flight again, Cybernaut rocketed towards the Demolisher as his magnets thrummed, hoping a little reverse-polarity might do the trick. "Alright, ugly, let's see how you enjoy your own dive bomber routine!" He growled as the gap closed significantly. Demolisher stood stock-still, as if confused with nowhere to run, even as Connor reduced the space between them to inches.
But like a massive matador of living steel, the Demolisher pivoted at the last second and drove and overhead blow into Cybernaut's back and threw him down into the wreckage of the building below. Hearing and seeing the blow, a worried Wasp changed course and made for her boyfriend.
"Connor!" She cried out as the technopath picked himself out of the debris with a pulse of his personal forcefield.
"Ugh… Even with my shields at maximum, my spine's still shivering from that one." He groaned, giving his head a shake. "Can't let anything with power like that gain the advantage." The sudden crunch of breaking pavement drew the Avengers to the outside of the ruins where the Demolisher had touched down and was moving to intercept.
"We gotta move!" Janet urged.
"Agreed. I'm not about to wait around for another piledriver punch." Connor said as stretched out a hand and flexed it. A tremendous shudder rocked the Demolisher's mechanized bulk as magnetic forces played havoc with its plating, but even that that did not deter the inhuman intensity of its computerized attack and it attempted to trudge on. "Jan! I've slowed it, see if you can take it out from an up-close-and-personal point of view." His girlfriend wasted no time diving back in, weaving in and around the war droid while raining down her biostings. As she did, the Demolisher began to move, lifting its arms and legs at just the right moment to force Janet to change her trajectory and half the output of her stings.
"What's with this thing? It's like it's… anticipating everything I try to do!" She said between attacks. It was a hard pill to swallow but made sense to Connor.
"Its computer complex must be specially programmed to combat anything that attacks it…" Abruptly trailing off mid-explanation, the truth suddenly dawned on the hero. "Wait. Jan! Stop shooting it!" He cried. A confused Wasp did so.
"What? Why?"
"Because it's probably got a learning algorithm that's memorizing your attacks and turning them into data to use for itself!" Cybernaut hurriedly explained. But with his attention waning, the Demolisher took a chance and powered up its emitter, generating a powerful disintegration-ray that erupted from its forehead. Connor noted the flash of light and reacted hurriedly. "Look out!" Leaping through the air, his outstretched hands snagged Wasp in mid-flight and they both crashed to the ground just seconds before the beam ripped through the space where she'd been flying. The heroes looked up to realize a hole had been blasted through the remaining rear wall and the fact both of them had been this close to death was rather unnerving.
Yet all it did was steel their determination.
"We can't waste time with this thing. We keep expecting it to react like a human, when it's just an emotionless robot." Connor stated.
"We need a plan then!" Janet responded.
"That we do, milady. And here's what we'll do; I'll slow him down again but this time you need to get inside that thing and shoot up its inner-workings. Make those circuits pop like its Independence Day!" He stated while scrambling to his feet as Wasp took flight.
"But how do I get in there?" The heroine wondered.
"Check the back, there might be a vulnerable spot leftover from the event that made it go rogue." The technopath suggested.
"On it!" Zipping off, the brunette disappeared from sight as Connor powered up his magnets and struck the Demolisher full-force. Again did its metal body shudder, again did its limbs thrash in response, but Connor persisted.
"That's right, ugly. Look at me!" He growled, arms trembling as the Demolisher fought back, driven by its corrupted programming on a singule-minded course of destruction.
As Cybernaut played out the deadly game with the berserk creation, Wasp dove around to the back of the mechanical monster and discovered, much to her delight, a cracked access panel revealing the computer core within. Shrinking even smaller, she dove between the shattered plates and into the creature with biostings primed and ready. She struck with the force of an electrified punch, dismantling its inner circuitry from within. The Demolisher trembled anew, shuddering from foot to head as Wasp powered through his inner-workings and struck hard. If she did not succeed, the Avengers had little left against it!
Suddenly, smoke and sparks erupted from every joint and the Demolisher slumped over. Cybernaut relaxed his power and watched expectantly. Mechanical whirring sounded in the robots head, indicating something was still online. Seconds ticked past and Connor grew worried when Janet did not appear. "Jan?" He called out. Still nothing. He took a step closer to the robot. "Jan!" In response, the Demolisher wobbled a little, then trembled a lot, then shattered into dozens of tiny electronic components as Wasp burst free by growing to her giant size. For the briefest of moments, she stood twenty feet tall as bits of the Demolisher rained down around her, towering over Connor. Then she shrank down to her normal size, appearing as just a costumed girl who hadn't been a heroic goliath mere seconds ago. All was smoky, smoldering silence.
"Whew! What a rush!" The heroine remarked, giving her head a shake as tiny metal bits fell from her hair. Her boyfriend breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thought I lost you for a minute there." Wrapping his arms around her, they held still in the rubble-strewn remains of the building. "Nice work."
"You're not so bad yourself." Janet replied, grinning. "You and me. Cybernaut and the Wasp."
"Hmm… kinda has a nice ring to it." The technopath thoughtfully hummed. Suddenly, his ID card chirped, signalling a communique from the rest of the team. The question of who in particular was soon answered,
"Captain America to Cybernaut, what's your status?"
"We're clear, Cap. The rampage is over and the robot's been dealt with." Connor responded. "We are all good here." As if to seal the deal, Wasp reached up and pecked him on the cheek. "Oh yes, we are definitely good here." Connor mused with a big dumb grin. All of a sudden, the display shifted from the blue of Captain America to the red of Iron Man.
"Nice work, lovebirds. I sent a message to Cord for them to come and pick up their walking trash can." The golden gladiator said. "You two need to hurry up and join me at Grayburn College." The on-site Avengers shared a confused glance.
"Uh, what's at the college, Tony?" Wasp asked. Iron Man's voice was stern, serious in a concerned way.
"I just got a call from Hank. He wants to meet. Today."
A short while later…
The last time Connor and Janet had been on campus grounds had been for the fashion program's second-year gala. Now, fully dressed in hero costumes alongside Iron Man, the mood was completely different this visit. All three of them were somewhat apprehensive about visiting the reclusive Hank Pym, who had completely cut himself off from the Avengers until today. Neither Tony, nor Connor, nor even Janet had heard a word from the microbiologist. Janet was particularly eager to see him and make sure he was okay, while Tony and Connor were more concerned with Hank's wellbeing… and with good reason.
"I'm so happy to hear someone is coming to check on poor Doctor Pym." Fellow college professor Elihas Starr told the trio as he met them just outside Hank's personal space. "You cannot believe how worried I've been about him. He never leaves his office. The only people going in and out are pizza delivery boys. Why, he doesn't even answer me whenever I knock." He adjusted his spectacles for a moment, scrutinizing the colorful heroes arrayed before him. "I know Henry can be something of an… eccentric fellow when it comes to his work, something you know as well as I, miss Janet, but this seems far more worrisome." He concluded.
"Well, he reached out to us. Or, rather, Iron Man. So maybe we can take that as a good thing." Wasp replied.
"I most certainly hope so." Elihas agreed. "I'm afraid I must be off, but I wish you three luck." He cordially said, parting ways with the team shortly after. Once he was out of earshot, Cybernaut leaned over and muttered to the heroine,
"Wow. I can see why you and everyone call him 'Egghead'."
"I know, right? What do your genes gotta do to give you a head that looks like that?" Wasp replied in an equally hushed tone.
"If you two are done judging," Iron Man interjected, "I think we should take Professor Starr's word under consideration. Be prepared for any sort of unusual behavior."
"More than usual?" Janet scoffed with a roll of her eyes. The armored Avenger stepped forward and tested the door, finding the knob unlocked, before swinging it wide open…
On the other side, a disaster area was revealed. While the lab didn't necessarily look like a bomb went off in it, it did resemble a moody teenager's room; books and pieces of equipment lay strewn about and piled up high on tables and counters. Small slices of half-eaten pizza still in open boxes cluttered the corners and whatever seats were available. The entire scene resembled a closed-off landfill.
"Wow, did a gamma bomb go off in here? Or does Pym just have the world's worst interns?" Iron Man remarked as the team filed in.
"Either that or someone hosted a party and he didn't notice." Cybernaut chimed in, wrinkling his nose as the pungent aroma of a stuffy lived-in lab hit him hard.
"He's a genius," Waso interjected, "but Hank's a total slob when he's in-" She was cut off by a distant muttering from somewhere within.
"…it's gotta be here somewhere… ah, found it…"
"Work mode." Janet trailed off.
"Hello?" Suddenly poking his head up from within the piles of mess, Hank Pym revealed himself. His clothes stained and wrinkled, his hair messy, unkempt and unwashed, a scraggly beard formed across his jaw to suggest how long it had been since he took care of himself. With a multi-level magnifier strapped over his head, the viewing lenses enlarged his worn features, revealing eyes both baggy and bloodshot from long nights without sleep. The man was a wreck and everyone thought it. "Tony, you came." Hank realized with a gasp, picking his way over the piles to greet the team. Then he stopped short when he recognized the two other Avengers present. "Connor? Jan? Oh, I'm not… I'm not ready to…" he muttered in greeting, trailing off before clearing his throat, "this really doesn't concern you." Janet frowned.
"Nice to see you too, Hank." She muttered in replied. Connor crossed his arms.
"Not even a 'long time no see, pal'?" He wondered.
"And that's the awkwardness appetizer." Tony interjected, clearing his throat. "What's this little 'tech miracle' you were so hot for me to see?" At the mention, Hank's expression brightened.
"Little, yes. And huge." He eagerly described. "It's my next iteration of The Big House." The Big House was a complete prison complex that Hank had scaled down to the size of a model as a way to house super-powered prisoners. The previous model had been crewed by his passive Ultron drones, until the Supervillain Breakout had seen its destruction. "You gotta see this." Excitedly in his own little world, Hank began picking across piles of stuff to a nearby counter. A sweep of his arm cleared everything off and he began digging for his latest project. The Avengers exchanged looks.
"That's… interesting, but kind of unnecessary now that Hydrobase is online." Iron Man commented, easing his way across the mess with Connor and Janet behind him. "Besides, the Big House didn't turn out so well last time, remember?"
"But this time, I'm the warden. I will be in control of the prison." Hank promised, dropping to the floor and continuing to rummage around. "I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Hank, I was glad to get your call, but to be honest, this is a disaster waiting to happen." Tony said as gently as possible. "When's the last time you slept, or ate anything besides pizza?" He asked. Hank did not answer, merely beaming as he stood up with a supersized disc in hand. It was covered with electronics that glowed golden. "And tell me that is not an unshielded quantum annihilator." Tony deadpanned.
"Should we be worried? It doesn't have a hair-trigger, does it?" Connor warily asked.
"No no no, it's perfectly safe and much more!" Hank promised with a big grin. "This micro-prison-"
"Hey… Hank, why not work on this at Stark Tower?" Tony interrupted, clearly seeing that Hank had spent a bit too long in one place doing one thing. "It wouldn't hurt for you to be around friends. And in a safer location."
"I'd like to help. Nothing like new tech to get me buzzing." Connor proffered in as friendly a tone he could muster.
"What? No! This lab is safe." Hank refuted, eyes flashing as a wild look overcame him. "It's when I'm not there to keep an eye on things that things go wrong." He added. Now the trio shared worried looks as they sensed his sudden shift in demeanor.
"Easy there, master controller, we just wanna help you do a good job." Connor said.
"Yeah, Hank. Set down the very dangerous… uh, science-thingy, and talk to us." Janet encouraged. Suddenly acting very protective and defensive, Hank turned away from his friends.
"You know what? This was a bad idea." He muttered angrily. "Why don't you leave."
"Hank-"
"Now." He said with a growl. More than a little freaked out by his sudden change in tone, the three opted to take their leave with one last plea for him to call if he needed anything more.
"It's great to see Pym is doing so well without us." Iron Man dryly remarked as they closed the door behind them and started walking.
"Am I the only one who got Jekyll and Hyde vibes at the end?" Cybernaut queried, hands folded behind his head.
"I know Hank didn't leave the Avengers on the best of terms, but I think he may need help." Wasp softly added. Connor glanced her way and could see the worried look in her eyes, the way her bottom lip pursed ever so slightly when she was deep in thought about a personal matter.
"You can say that again. An intervention, maybe." He agreed. "What with the disheveled appearance and overexertion and-"
The technopath was abruptly cut off by a scream from behind them, coming from the very lab they had left behind. Hank's cry was abruptly silenced when a thunderous explosion rocked the lab with enough force to blow the door off its hinges. Moving quickly, Connor pulled Janet into his arms and turned to let his back absorb the blow. His shields triggered instantaneously, protecting them both as the door shattered on impact and the remnants splintered on contact with Tony's armor. Momentarily jarred, the Avengers gathered their senses before turning and bolting back to the lab where a massive hole had carved out the wall. "Hank! Are you alright?" Janet cried out in alarm, leading them back. They stopped just as the edge of the room where fallen timbers and plaster debris littered the entrance.
"Tony? Anything?" Connor asked.
"Thermal energy is still clouding the room, I can't get a positive ID on anything." Tony responded as his scanners swept the room. Relying on visual confirmation, Janet looked up and around… and it was only when her gaze turned to the floor that she found something horrifying.
"Oh no… oh no…" She gasped with trembling lip, falling to her knees in front of the shattered magnifying goggles that lay ruined on the floor. "Hank…" Connor and Tony turned to grimly realize what awful thing had transpired…
Hank Pym was dead.
Days later…
Morning dawned cold and grey, a bleak light shining through the windows of the room where Connor slept. Blinking his bleary eyes a few times, he lay still on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He was shirtless, as he normally slept, with an arm behind his head as his faculties came around and the stark reality of the day settled in. Today was the day of Hank Pym's memorial, when the superhero community would gather together to celebrate his life and mourn his death… something that seemed so alien and foreign to them all; the fact that one of their own had died.
There was no body to be found in the aftermath of the explosion, the ill-fated doctor assumed disintegrated by the very quantum annihilator he promised was safe. So to avoid the awkwardness of burying an empty casket, Tony had commissioned a bronze statue shaped in the image of Hank in full Ant-Man costume to be displayed on the Mansion grounds as a testimony to the lasting legacy he had left behind.
Rolling his head, he checked the alarm clock on his nightstand. He was up several hours earlier than normal. Why the sudden change? The soft sniffling beside him revealed the answer.
Rolling over onto his side, he slipped an arm around Janet as she seemed to try and hide her tears. He snuggled up behind, spooning his girlfriend as he trapped her in a tender embrace without saying a word. "I'm sorry I woke you." She apologized between stifled sobs.
"No, you didn't, it's fine." He lied. With no point in hiding, Janet rolled over in their bed and curled up against Connor's chest, tears still streaming down her cheeks. He kissed her forehead, saying nothing as he offered a comforting presence in the midst of her sorrow.
"I keep… I keep thinking of when I saw him last." Janet whimpered, wiping away a tear. "Always working on one of his innumerable projects. I teased him about trying to invent a twenty-five hour day… the number of times I asked him to just come get a coffee with me. He always said the same thing, 'No can do. But have an extra cup for me.'" She laughed bitterly, recalling days she wished she could relive.
Her gaze turned up to meet her boyfriends'. "It's so strange. Here we are having broken up but I'm sobbing over him as if we were still together." She confessed. "I-Is it… wrong that I feel this way? So… heartbroken?"
"Of course not." Connor promised. "He was a big part of your life for so long, it's natural to miss him so strongly even if you were on the outs." His thumb wiped away a few more of her tears. "I wish I could take your pain and bear it for you…" He whispered. Janet sniffled.
"Oh Connor…" Her whimper drove her back into his chest, clinging to his frame as the only real and tangible foundation for her in that moment. At least she did not have to endure this alone. A cold bed and an empty room would have been unbearable.
"Not all tears are an evil." Connor quoted, cuddling her close. "I'm so sorry, Janet. I… I know what he meant to you." With those soft-spoken words, they spent the rest of their morning cuddled together in bed, Janet soothed by his warm whispers and the gentle stroke of his hand up and down her back.
Later that same day…
The sky had turned bright and blue by the time of the service and the heroes were grateful a pristine day had come. It seemed nature itself was in their corner, working its magic to ensure Hank Pym could be remembered in full.
Every invitee arrived on time, making for a full house of heroes of every level of fame and stature took a seat on arranged chairs in the courtyard of Avengers Mansion. Naturally, all the current Avengers were on the scene and the Fantastic Four had all come as well. Others included the Heroes for Hire; Luke Cage and Iron Fist, even Spider-Man was in attendance. Tony had even invited his friend, Colonel James Rhodes, and secretary, Pepper Potts, to make an appearance and both showed up to be with the team in their moment of grief.
Assembled before a mighty statue of the late Ant-Man, standing atop a molecule, and with the on-site flag at half-mast, Tony Stark addressed the solemn gathering.
"We didn't come here to remember an Avenger, or a scientist, or a man. We came to remember a dreamer who gave his life trying to make the world a safer place. Taken from us too soon, we will never forget our friend, Doctor Henry Pym." Sitting in the front row, Wasp dabbed at her tears eyes with Cybernaut on one side and Miss Marvel on the other, finding comfort in her allies amid her persistent sorrow.
Afterwards, the heroes grouped together to share memories and offer condolences. In that time, the Avengers one and all found themselves reeling.
"Death comes to all eventually." T'Challa mused as he stood with Hawkeye.
"I know, but it's the first time it was one of us." Clint concurred, soft spoken and speaking genuinely for the first time as far as others could tell. "I didn't think it would happen like this." He admitted with a sigh.
Tony tried to calm himself with a drink, standing with the mighty Thor. "T'was a noble speech, friend Stark. Worthy of the songs in Valhalla." The Asgardian praised in a low, courteous voice.
"Pepper wrote it. I'm not really good with sensitive." Tony quietly confessed. "Even though Hank and I didn't always agree, I meant every word."
Meanwhile, the grieving Janet stood with the rest of her team, familial and romantic parties included. "I wish he'd been able to finish what he started." She whispered, staring up at the bronze statue, half wishing it would come to life as Hank jumped down and said everything was fine. "I wish… I-I wish…" She trailed off, hugging herself loosely as she bit at her trembling lip.
"Oh Jan," Carol whispered, hugging her friend, "I'm so sorry." Steve patted her on the back.
"Hank always meant well. He just got lost." He proffered. It all became too much from the heroine and she made a run into the adjacent woods with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Jan-" Cybernaut tried to pursue, only to be halted by a meaty hand upon his shoulder.
"Give her some space, Connor. This hit her harder than us." Captain America said. The technopath slumped his shoulders, exhaling softly.
"I know." He muttered. All he wanted was to be there with Janet. But deep down he knew that Steve was right. Some things, some battles, needed to be fought alone.
Alone under the shadow of aging trees, Janet held her face in her hands and wept bitterly for the man she called friend. Ex-boyfriend or otherwise, she'd had known Hank long and intimately enough for his death to impact her greatly. For many years, from their first few flirtatious interactions while he was under the employ of her father to the earliest days in their hero careers, Hank had always been a constant… distant or otherwise.
And now he was no longer, and the hole was tangible.
Still somewhat mystified by her strong reaction to his death, Janet openly sobbed and smeared her tears on the back of her glove. "Miss Van Dyne." A soft voice called to her, ending her solitude. "My condolences." Looking up with a start, Janet sniffed as Nick Fury emerged from the trees.
"Fury?"
"Yeah. Keeping a low profile nowadays." Nick revealed as he approached her. "I was hoping to have a word in private with Stark." Even though he seemed buisness-oriented, his words were spoken with calm and care. A rarity for the director of SHIELD.
"Great timing as always, Fury." Tony sighed as he too arrived on the scene. "What do you want?"
"Sorry to be blunt. There's no easy way to say this." Fury began. "The explosion in Pym's lab wasn't an accident." His sudden statement froze Tony and Janet in place, the heroes lost for words as Fury's revelation rocked them both. Reaching into his trench coat, he tossed something to Tony who deftly caught it. Revealed was the wrecked remains of a detonator, just barely recognizable. It's existence, coupled with Fury's next words, sent a cold chill up their spines,
"It was murder."
As soon as the invited attendees took their leave, the whole of the Avengers assembled in the sublevel meeting room. Thor, Captain America, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Cybernaut, Miss Marvel and Vision met with Janet and Wasp to discuss Nick Fury's grisly finding. A scan of the device in question was projected to the meeting table for all to see.
"A detonator!" Connor gasped. "You mean someone was on hand in his lab to do him in?"
"My every instinct cries beware, my friends." T'Challa stated aloud. "A man to get the better of Henry Pym is not a threat to take lightly."
"I sense your meaning, Black Panther. This has all the earmarks of foul play." Vision concurred.
"I hope it is. Hank Pym might not have been my buddy but he was a teammate, and I won't rest until I can put an arrow between this lowlife's eyes." Hawkeye muttered, clenching his fist.
"Simmer down, bowman. Let's get to the bottom of this first." Captain America urged.
"There's nothing more to get to the bottom of, Cap. It's black and white." Wasp stated with anger in her voice. "SHIELD agents found it in the wreckage of the lab. Hank was killed." She stated, brows knit into a furious expression.
"Fury happen to see who did it with his good eye?" Hawkeye mirthlessly remarked. "Otherwise, we're hunting blind."
"Clint's right, Jan, we can't just hop to it when there's nowhere to hop to." Miss Marvel agreed.
"First we better figure out who had it out for Hank in the first place." Connor proffered. "To set a bomb off in his lab means someone wanted him out of the picture real bad."
"In that case, let your newest member make a more practical suggestion," Vision began, "we should determine first what Doctor Pym was doing during his absence from the Avengers. Perhaps a clue lies in his dealings that we do not know about."
"The robot speaks truly!" Thor loudly concurred. "We must investigate friend Pym's most recent efforts. Iron Man, Wasp, Cybernaut, you three were there last at his behest. Dids't he say anything of note?" Tony paused to think for a moment.
"Maybe. Just maybe." He concluded. "JARVIS, scan the device and access Doctor Pym's remote back-up drives." He ordered his AI.
"Yes sir." The render on the table shifted, projecting an image of a familiar motley crew. "Most recent file activity was concentrated on the Serpent Society."
"He put them away and tried to rehabilitate them, right?" Cybernaut asked aloud. "Man must've been hoping third time's the charm."
"It had to be them!" Wasp determined, fired up and ready to fight. "What are we waiting around for?"
"According to SHIELD, the micro-prison prototype wasn't in the wreckage." Captain America mused. "You think the Serpents stole it?" He asked Iron Man.
"It's the first thing that makes sense about all this."
Connor had a sudden thought. "Say, Cap, wasn't the Society working hand-in-hand with Viper and Keystone last we checked?" He asked.
"That they are, Cybernaut. And I can see the conclusion you're drawing… and I don't like it!" Cap responded, his expression grim. Everyone else swiftly came to the same conclusion.
"Hydra with Pym Tech, now there's a scary thought." Miss Marvel murmured.
"Aye, we must put these vile creatures down before they make a move! We shan't let them disgrace the good memory of Doctor Pym. The sanctity of his inventions must be preserved." Thor boomed.
"Thor's right. It's time to show these snakes why we're called the Avengers." Iron Man stated in agreement. "JARVIS?" The projection changed yet again, this time to a set of GPS coordinates and a map identifying the location.
"Doctor Pym's records show the whereabouts of the Constrictor, somewhere in the vicinity of Yancy Street." JARVIS revealed. A sense of anxiousness filled the room as the Avengers saw the formation of a plan afoot. All of them would've liked nothing more than to go after Hank's killers-apparent as a team. But rushing headlong into trouble would only cause more trouble.
"They're slippery. We don't want them to bolt before they're cornered." Captain America said aloud. "Panther, you up for a quiet hunt?" The Wakandan nodded in agreement.
"What about me?" Janet demanded. From her frown she appeared sour about being left out.
"Jan, maybe it's too soon." Iron Man said gingerly. "You'll get your chance, I promise, but-" Cutting him off with a huff, Janet plopped down in her chair and pouted, shooting anyone who looked her way a stink eye.
"Janet-" Connor started to say.
"Why we don't we go get something to drink." Carol interrupted as she rose from her chair. "Gonna be a long night anyway." She added, rubbing Janet's shoulders in a friendly 'get up and come on' gesture. The brunette grumbled in relent and stomped out with her blonde friend.
Massaging his temples, Connor keyed up more data from JARVIS. "I'm gonna stay here and analyze the rest of Hank's remote drives. Maybe there's more we can glean from them." He told the rest of the team.
"Vision, I want you to come with me to Hank's lab. Maybe we can find something the SHIELD investigators missed." Iron Man ordered the synthezoid. "Thor, Hawkeye, be ready to move in case Cap and Panther need backup. Now… let's get out there and do some avenging." He stated in a grave tone.
Under cover of darkness, Captain America and Black Panther stole across moonlit rooftops at blinding speed, their matching physiques further enhanced by the supersoldier serum and Wakandan heart-shaped herb respectively. The zenith of human potential, their agility rivalled that of the world's greatest gymnasts as they vaulted from roof to roof en route to Yancy Street. Executing flawless acrobatic rolls to the ground below, the two compatriots sprang to their feet to surgery the scene.
"This was the last of the safe houses in Pym's files." Cap noted. "Anything?" Using the built-in materials in the eyes of his mask, T'Challa was able to pick out details in the dimly-lit area that Steve could not.
"Heat traces." He said, observing a set of footprints, bright as day. "Less than five minutes old. We're close." His report was cut short by a sudden scream from somewhere out of sight, sending a chill up and down their spines as the revelation came they were far from alone. A man was a in trouble, the Avengers knew that much. Without thinking who might be crying for help, the heroes rushed to intervene.
As it turned out, it was none other than Constrictor who was in peril. The serpentine villain was scrambling backwards on the ground, a look of terror etched into his masked face. Somewhere, someone in the shadows was plaguing him, performing the impossible by striking fear into a member of the Serpent Society…
"I-I'll give you whatever you want, just let me go!" Constrictor begged his assailant. Stepping out into the light, the vigilante hounding him revealed himself. Clad in a yellow and black jumpsuit, with black gloves and boots and a mask that hid all save for his mouth, a pair of golden antenna jutted out from the sides of his head, their height matched only by the massive static wings framing his appearance. In his hand was a sinister looking pistol of unknown design, aimed right for Constrictor.
"What I want is to see scum like you punished once and for all." He growled in retort. Fear turned to adrenaline and Constrictor rolled backwards to spring to his feet, lashing out with his twin whips. But two blasts from hie foe's pistol stopped them short, robbing their inertia in mid-air so they slunk pitiously back into their coils. Now Constrictor was truly afraid. Lighting-fast reflexes and not an an ounce of fear to deter him from his grisly mission.
"But… who are you?" Constrictor stammered, backed up against a brick wall.
"The name is… Yellowjacket!" The vigilante responded, identifying himself. Raising his pistol high, he aimed right between Constrictor's eyes. "And since I haven't had any calling cards made up just yet, here's something else to remember me by!"
The sudden rush of wind followed by a metallic clang saw a blur of red, white and blue hurtle between the two and knock Yellowjacket's weapon from his grip. The shield rebounded off the wall and right into Captain America's grip as he and Black Panther made a timely arrival. "We'll take over from here, friend." Steve stated as Panther raised his ID card to collect some data for JARVIS to organize.
"Scanning. Energy signature analyzed. Identity unknown." The AI announced as a thermal render of the vigilante was saved and uploaded to the Mansion computers. Their mysterious newcomer gave the pair his full attention as Constrictor slunk back.
"The mighty Avengers." Yellowjacket scoffed, sounding none too impressed. "You going to scan him into submission?" He asked derisively.
"We're certainly not disintegrating him." Cap shot back.
"Which is exactly why the world needs someone like me; willing to do whatever it takes." Yellowjacket growled. Lunging ahead, he ducked low as Cap lashed out with his shield, driving a rising knee into his gut before throwing the supersoldier across the ground while Black Panther sprang into action. Yellowjacket parried his every jab and strike, fighting like a seasoned combatant. An uppercut knocked T'Challa back a few paces, Constrictor watching with wide, frightened eyes as his assailant cleaned the heroes' clocks.
"Who are you? You fight as if you know our every move. But prior villains have done as much, and it is my bet that you will succumb as they have!" Panther valiantly stated as he charged back in with claws out.
"Save your shekels, tabby! You'd lose!" Yellowjacket sneered, leaping high to reveal apparent flight abilities.
"Not so fast!" Captain America shouted, diving for his upturned shield. But Yellowjacket landed right on the edge and flipped his discus right into Cap's jaw, pitching him back with a pained grunt.
"Stings, doesn't it?" The vigilante chortled. "Here, chumps, you're about to discover the cold hard facts of life! Namely, that a fella would hardly take the name 'Yellowjacket' unless he commanded an army of the same!" He announced, opening his hands as a cloud of what appeared to be dull yellow dust erupted from his palms. "Maybe it'll help you to remember to stay out of my way!" Cap and Panther were immediately beset by a swarm of yellowjackets, their droning buzzing drowning out all sound as the beleaguered heroes swatted wildly at the insects. While their costumes could not be pierced by stingers, the sheer volume of the things was enough to drive anyone mad.
Using that exact chaos to his advantage, Yellowjacket collected his pistol and turned his killer gaze back to Constrictor attempting to make a break for it. Taking aim, he fired a single golden bolt that struck the serpent in the back, Constrictor disappearing with a flash and a pop as if wiped from this plane of existence.
"No!" A pale Captain America gasped in horror. Yellowjacket looked over his shoulder with a smug grin.
"So long, Avengers! Make sure the papers spell my name right. One word and no hyphen-OOF!" Suddenly flattened mid-taunt, Yellowjacket was flung to his back as the winsome Wasp made her presence known with a mid-growth uppercut. Startled by the heroine's appearance, the vicious vigilante lay still and wide-eyed for a moment as she glared down at him.
"You're gonna be sorry you did that!" She growled threateningly. Without a word, Yellowjacket quickly took flight, a droning buzz from his costume echoing loudly as he vanished into the night sky above. Footsteps drew Wasp's attention to the cloud of insects, where Black Panther and Captain America had emerged. Both of them looked stunned to see her here. "Hope that wasn't 'too soon' for you guys." She stated in a surly tone. Shrinking down again, the vengeful heroine took flight and rocketed after the fleeing vigilante.
"Jan, wait!" Cap's cries were in vain. The Wasp was hellbent on avenging the man who had been so prominent in her young life. She would live up to her title as an Avenger, one way or another.
Catching up to Yellowjacket was fairly easy, her speed doubled with her unwavering determination. "You think you can get away from me?!" She shrieked, unloading a two-handed biosting that struck Yellowjacket in the back and knocked him to a rooftop below. With spluttering grunts, the vigilante rolled to a halt as Wasp alighted and grew to normal size. "Do you realize what you've done? Constrictor was our only lead to finding out who killed Hank!" She snapped.
"So? Pym was the weak link in your little club. You're better off without him!" Yellowjacket retorted with a grating smirk. Gritting her teeth, Janet fired off another biosting with a scream, striking Yellowjacket right in the chest were his symbol had been stitched.
"You don't know anything about him!" She cried.
"Oh I know enough, sweetheart." Yellowjacket replied. "I know… 'cause I'm the guy that polished him off."
The bombshell left Wasp reeling. "WHAT?!" She screeched, suddenly rooted in place as her mind scrambled to process that information as fast as possible. "No… No, y-you're a nobody! Just trying to make a name for yourself by spinning some… some…. fairy tale!" She stammered.
"If it is a fairy tale, Waspie, then it is one which does not end happily for everyone!" Yellowjacket began. "I broke into his lab just after you and your Avenger friends left. I moved far too quickly for the nutty professor to react to my presence… but what do you expect from a loony who talks to himself? The fool… I think he tried to stop me, it was hard to tell with all that pathetic pleading for me to stop. Then he stopped, for good, when I set off that bomb in his face." He colourfully described. "That was the last I saw of Henry Pym. A fitting end to one who was constantly growing too big for his tight-fitting britches." He callously remarked.
Already seething, Wasp's anger tripled at Yellowjacket's heartless retelling of his point of view and, with her blood boiling, she fired off two biostings that struck with enough force to throw Yellowjacket across the width of the rooftop. But the vigilante was quick to return to his feet and a hand twitched from his belt and back. He drew back a closed hand, only for Wasp to shoot him again and interrupted his attempt. At once the handful of yellowjackets in his grip swarmed his body, generating a cloud that concealed him from view.
Not entirely sure what to do next, Janet lowered her hands and waited. Then, all of a sudden, Yellowjacket burst from the cloud and hovered above her. "Be careful, little Wasp… I have a nasty sting too!" He revealed, taking aim at a nearby water tower and shooting off a pair of golden sonic-disruptor stings from both hands. Striking the wooden construct, it fell apart under the barrage and dumped its contents on the rooftop.
Unable to move fast enough, Wasp was swept off her feet by the sudden deluge, her costume soaking wet as her thoroughly watered hair draped around her head like an unkempt rat's nest. Coughing up a mouthful of water, Janet looked high to see Yellowjacket still hovering in place, brimming with untouchable power. "You can't stop me. None of you can." He stated in parting before disappearing to the tune of the same buzz that his namesake was notorious for.
Left to pick herself up, Janet brushed back bangs of wet hair to suddenly spot something on her glove that hadn't been there before. It was a small organic-like thing that she plucked from her arm, revealed to be the eponymous insect of the night. It appeared the sudden rush of water had stirred up the recent Yellowjacket swarm and one of the things had become fixed to her glove in the process.
But what she found incredibly shocking was that it was completely mechanical, designed to imitate the real thing to a T.
Staring down at the creature between her fingers, the pieces suddenly came together in a flurry for Janet, the answer outrageous but also perfectly sensible in her mind. Of all the people she knew, only one person had designed her stings and knew insects inside and out enough to make perfect copies of them. Her wide blue gaze darker back to the night sky, tracing the same spot she'd last seen the fleeing Yellowjacket.
"H-Hank?" She breathed in disbelief.
Back at the mansion…
Sitting alone at the meeting table, Connor continued sorting through Hank's old files, categorizing them from most recent to most important, at least as far as this investigation was concerned. He was so engrossed he didn't notice Iron Man arriving with a cup of coffee in hand. "You know, I always find one cream three sugars to be the best equation for a long night in the office." The billionaire commented.
"Coffee from the hand of Tony Stark himself. This must be red letter day." The technopath chuckled as he took a sip.
"So, any plans to turn in for the night?"
"Nah, I'm still going through Hank's available files," Connor replied, "did you know he was married?" He asked. Tony did a double take.
"Who? Hank? Our Hank? Are we talking about the same Hank Pym?" He asked in bewilderment. "There's no way! You've got to be kidding me!" His exclamation was met with a shimmer from the projector as Connor's powers picked out the file in question. Soon revealed was the face one a young woman of European descent with long black hair. At a glance, she seemed quite pretty… and, weirdly enough, bore a ghostly resemblance to Janet if she were older.
"Maria Trovaya. European. The two of them got married long before you ever met him… marriage didn't last long though." Connor revealed.
"What happened? Science get in the way?" Tony wondered dryly.
"Nope. Maria was killed by government agents who wanted her dead for being a national icon, apparently she was a political dissident in her home country and fled here." The technopath elaborated, sipping coffee while staring ahead at the file. "Seems like she and Hank tried to fight back, but it didn't end well for her. She must have left such an impact on him that he kept a dedicated file about her." Tony leaned forward to stare intently at the information. He was completely transfixed on this new piece of unknown knowledge.
"No wonder he was a pacifist. First chance at violence and it killed the woman he loved." He realized after a moment.
"Yeah and that hurt him so much he never talked about it. Not even Janet knew…" Connor added, having been pondering it for himself. After another moment's consideration, he shut down the projector. "Let's… maybe keep this between us."
"Why? Why not tell the team?" Tony queried.
"Just… If Hank wanted to open up about this, he would've. Rather not tarnish a dead man's secrets if its all the same." Connor explained while rubbing his chin.
"Yeah… I get that." Tony agreed after a pause. Their decision seemed to come at a timely hour, for mere seconds later an incoming call from Captain America was patched through.
"Iron Man, Panther and I are returning to the Mansion. There's something you all need to hear." The cryptic message intrigued Tony and Connor in their own way and they managed to get Vision and Hawkeye down to the meeting room before their colleagues returned… although the presence of Wasp among them was rather surprising. Cap and Panther debriefed their allies on their run-in with the vigilante calling himself Yellowjacket and what he did to Constrictor before the Avengers could wrangle anything useful from the super-crook. It was a genuinely surprising turn of events.
"…so now you all know as much about this Yellowjacket as we do." Cap said.
"Which isn't much." Black Panther remarked.
"His cryptic words to the Wasp are haunting to say the least." Vision noted. "Whether they be the truth or a falsehood remains to be determined."
"We should track this guy down and force it from his lips, see if he's all talk or no." Hawkeye echoed.
"If he is Hank's killer, and given his actions that very much seems to be the case, we can't let him roam free. Not while I live and breathe." Cybernaut concurred.
"So why haven't we brought Yellowjacket to justice yet?" Iron Man questioned.
"Because, tin man, we got no corpus delecti. Any jury in the country'd laugh us outta court." Hawkeye said. "Trouble is, we don't know if that hornet-come-lately's telling it straight or just setting us up, somehow, to turn us into laughing stocks."
"You're shooting straight tonight, Hawkeye." Captain America agreed. "But from the look in his eyes, not to mention his actions, I'd bet my shield Yellowjacket did kill our friend Hank." Connor stopped and briefly reflected on one of Steve's quoted comments from the vigilante.
"'-want to see scum like you punished once and for all.' Did he seriously say that? With his motif? Doesn't he know there's that 'Punisher' guy making mobsters wish for their brown pants? Not only is this Yellowjacket certified-screwy but he's looking to compete with existing players!" He remarked aloud. Wasp suddenly clearing her throat drew all eyes towards her.
"Uh, hello, I'm still here! And I've still got something to say!" She said in an annoyed voice. "Maybe if you let me have a chance to talk, you could've avoided yammering on about Yellowjacket's identity when I know who he is!" With that, she tossed the robotic insect that had clung to her glove across the meeting table. "It's Hank!"
The men at the table fell still and shared bewildered looks. "Who is Yellowjacket?" Tony repeated in disbelief.
"Is your helmet on too tight?! I just told you!" Wasp snapped. "Yellowjacket is Hank Pym!"
"We heard you Jan, but it's a tough pill to swallow." Cap said.
"Not to mention impossible." Hawkeye added.
"Or highly improbable." Panther continued as he plugged his ID card into the meeting table. At once, the central projector powered up the data he'd acquired upon first encountering the vigilante. As he spoke, Connor picked up the robo-yellowjacket and studied it for himself, his powers intertwining with the latent technology remaining within the device as he studied it intensely. "Compare the scans. Different size, body shape, even the technology in Yellowjacket's costume carries a different energy signature." Sure enough, the comparisons between Yellowjacket and Ant-Man were a night and day difference. Something Janet was forced to contend with in a way that poked a lot of holes in her theory.
"Jan, we're all upset about Hank, but think about it. Think about what he did to the Constrictor." Tony gently proffered as he stood. "Hank was a pacifist. This thug can't possibly be the man we knew." Stubborn as ever, Wasp refused to budge on her stance.
"I know what I heard, what I felt." She muttered, angrily trudging out of the room. The men watched her go, loosing sighs as they deemed her apparent mania to be tied to her grief. Hawkeye looked to Cybernaut, who had yet to lift his gaze from the little insectoid between his fingers.
"Well, Romeo? She's your lucky gal, what do you make of her crazy talk?" He asked.
"Crazy, maybe." Connor answered. "But just crazy enough to hold some relevance." He added.
The next morning…
Word of the new vigilante cleaning up the streets of New York quickly spread like wildfire and every media outlet with news worth heeding was chasing the heated story. In his office, surrounded by his core staff to review the morning edition, J Jonah Jameson was looking quite pleased with the bold headline covering the front of the Daily Bugle:
CITY HAS NEW HERO… YELLOWJACKET
"Yellowjacket! Now there's my kind of superhero!" Jameson grinned with a cigar clamped between his teeth.
"Why so hot on this vigilante, Jameson?" Investigative journalist Ben Urich queried.
"Give a guy like that half a chance, and he'll mop up this town with a bum like Spider-Man!" The publisher retorted.
"More like he's selling a truckload of papers, right boss?" Robbie Robinson mused with a knowing look.
"And just what do you all know about real men of action, huh?!" Jameson shot back. "Maybe he is selling a truckload of papers… he'd sell even more if Peter Parker'd been on the spot to get some candid shots!" He muttered, tapping off some ash. "When there's work to be done, his generation's always out on a coffee break!" He grumbled.
Then, from just beyond his office window, came a very familiar voice, "…yellowjackets… wasps… ant-men… black widows… some days I almost wish I'd been bitten by a radioactive water buffalo!" Jameson heard it and turned livid.
"That voice!" He cried. "I'd know those mocking tones anywhere!" Bolting for his window, he threw up the blinds and shoved it wide open. There, suspended within a hammock of web from the flagpole nearest his office, sat none other than Spider-Man reading the morning paper for himself. "YOU! Get off my flagpole, you wall-crawling webhead!" Jameson roared.
"Your flagpole, Jameson?" Spidey questioned. "Sorry, laughing boy, but they're city property… municipal by-laws, page three-five-one, paragraph seventeen! Need I add that I looked it up?" He cheekily stated. "Still, if you're gonna be a spoil-sport about it, I'll go. But don't walk down any dark alleys on Halloween!" He added, hurling himself from his perch before he went web-swinging down the street.
"I'll walk anywhere I want, you web-spinning weasel!" Jameson bellowed after him.
It was a much quieter morning on the grounds of Avengers Mansion, the sun shining brightly down upon verdant green grass while a cloudless blue sky covered the expanse. Alone in the yard where the bronze statue of Hank's Ant-Man persona had been erected, Wasp stood gazing upon it with forlorn, wishful eyes. The memory of her harrowing encounter with Yellowjacket last night painted Hank's memorial in a whole different light. If he had indeed turned himself into Yellowjacket, she had to do something about it. This wasn't like Hank at all, there was something very wrong with him.
She flinched when she heard someone join her on the grass, glancing over her shoulder to see Cybernaut standing behind her. "You think I'm crazy too?" She quietly wondered.
"No. Just hopeful." Connor answered, drawing closer. "It's a common thing to grasp at even the thinnest of threads when grieving. Anything to give you an edge over your reality."
"I know Hank inside and out. I know him, Connor, and I know what I heard last night." Janet insisted.
"And I believe you." He replied. Despite his affirmation, Janet could hear the lingering pause at the end of his sentence.
"But?" She pried, turning to face him.
"They don't think your crazy. They'd all like to believe Hank isn't gone. But look at the evidence, Jan, it's stacked against you." He told his girlfriend.
"I know, but if it was him… if he's somehow altered himself, don't we owe him a chance?" She asked, her eyes pleading with him.
"Of course we do." He agreed, gently settling his hands upon her shoulders. "We just have to convince the team first." Janet nodded slowly with crestfallen eyes, accepting that would be a much bigger challenge.
"Are you really convinced it's him? Or are you just being nice?" She wondered curiously.
"Well, I've had a lot of time to think about it." Connor responded.
"Between last night and now?"
"You did do a lot of tossing and turning last night."
"Sorry." Janet apologized with a snort of amused embarrassment. "So what did I do to convince you?" She asked. In response, Connor held up the robotic insect she had delivered last night.
"I studied this little gizmo you brought back. The vast majority of the tech involved is very similar to the Pym tech I'm used to. Hank's definitely involved somehow." He stated. "Either Hank made it for himself or he made it for Yellowjacket or Yellowjacket made it using Hank's materials." His conclusion was logical and Janet was forced to concede that the others could see it that way too.
Within the mansion proper, Clint had splayed himself out on a sofa and idly flicked through channels on the television before him, generally keeping to news broadcasts. It was in this state that Black Panther found him, the Wakandan holding the lastest copy of the Daily Bugle in his hands. "How about that! Just the other day the Bugle's tag line was 'Ant-Man Remembered'. Now they're running a puff-piece on the guy who just might be his killer!" He grumbled.
"Has Stark cancelled our subscription yet?" Clint passively wondered as he remained reclined, casually flipping through one channel after another. Taking note of his flippancy, T'Challa lowered the headline with a look of disappointment on his face.
"You westerners and your obsession with television… wouldn't you be better served tracking down Doctor Pym's assailant?" He scolded.
"Hey, you do research your way, I do it mine." Clint retorted, flicking to an active newscast. "Check it." He urged with a flick of his hand. T'Challa watched, just in time to see the reporter begin to cover none other than Yellowjacket.
"And who is the new mystery man Yellowjacket? Friend or foe? The tale of the tape says he's no friend to the Serpent Society!" The broadcast cut to recorded footage of Yellowjacket singlehandedly taking down the members of the Serpent Society; Rattler, Anaconda, Death Adder, and Bushmaster all shot by the vigilante's gun to make them vanish into nothingness, seemingly disintegrated just like Constrictor had been the previous night. It appeared only King Cobra had yet to be confronted."Get stung by the Yellowjacket, you stay stung. Sounds like a hero to me." The anchorman remarked. "And what do the Avengers have to say?" At once, the footage cut to a glowering Hawkeye outside the front entrance of Avengers Mansion.
"No comment. Get that camera out of my face!" He snarled to the ravenous reporters, slapping a hand over the lens. The screen promptly turned black and T'Challa looked over to the couch with an amused look as a scowling Clint tossed the remote aside.
"Typical. When it's good news, Tony always gets interviewed looking like a movie star. When it's bad news, they ambush me. Never fails." The archer grumbled.
"Pardon me, Avengers, but Yellowjacket has been found by Thor." JARVIS suddenly announced. That brought the grin back to Hawkeye's face.
"We should hurry or we'll miss all the action." He told T'Challa.
Meanwhile, in downtown New York…
Terrified civilians ran screaming down a walkway, fleeing from the super-powered menace in their midst. Oddly enough, King Cobra was not here to terrorize the masses, but was instead fleeing in the same direction they were. The Serpent Society ringleader was in a panic, slithering away as fast as he could manage to try and escape his hellbent pursuer. "Get out of my way!" He cried, shoving his way deeper into the clamouring crowd.
Suddenly, it abruptly parted as the infamous Yellowjacket halted Cobra in his tracks.
Despite the cold fear that gripped him, Cobra was determined to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. "I'm not going to beg for mercy." He growled in defiance.
"You wouldn't get any." Yellowjacket darkly retorted. With that, he pulled the trigger on his pistol, and a golden beam reduced Cobra to a vibrant light that caused him to vanish without a trace. Lowering his weapon with a smile, satisfied that he had dispatched the whole of the Serpent Society, Yellowjacket's triumphant mood was abruptly sullied when storm clouds brewed overhead.
The sky darkened. Thunder rumbled. A column of crackling lightning struck the ground before Yellowjacket and the vigilante bolted with a cackle as Thor made his presence known. "When you struck down Pym, you earned my ire, mortal!" The Asgardian roared. "Lay down your arms and surrender!"
"I don't think so!" Yellowjacket retorted, taking flight across the city with Thor in hot pursuit. The vigilante proved yet again to be a skilled adversary, ducking and dodging thunderbolts hurled by Mjolnir. "Instead of attacking me, you guys should be thanking me." He called out over the deafening boom of thunderclaps. "The math is simple, blondie! Bad guys plus Yellowjacket equals no more bad guys!"
"Irritating insect!" Thor growled as he never once let up his pursuit, always staying just behind Yellowjacket as they zipped across the city skyline.
The their battle unfolded, the sleek aerocraft known as the Quinjet sliced through the skies over New York harbour, barrelling towards the city where lightning furiously flashed and crackled in blinding displays. With steely hands, Captain America guided the jet towards the storm front with Cybernaut in the co-pilot's seat. "Connor? What's our status?"
"Vision's back at the mansion tracking the techno-signature I gleaned from Yellowjacket's mecha-bug, and Miss Marvel is on standby. He tries anything funny, we won't lose him." The technopath responded. Between them, Wasp leaned forward to get a better look at the chaotic lightshow unfolding before them.
"Looks like Thor isn't having any better luck than we did." She realized as other Avengers observed over her shoulders.
"He can dodge lightning? Guy knows what he's doing." Hawkeye whistled.
"Let's get in there and end this." Iron Man stated. "And Jan-" The heroine whirled around, scowled, a jammed a yellow-gloved finger at her armored colleague.
"If you tell me to sit this one out, I'll zap you in your stupid metal face!" She threatened.
"I was going to tell you to hit him with everything you've got… no matter who you think he is." Iron Man explained. Cowed by his words, Janet relented.
"Oh."
Thunderbolts struck building after building as Yellowjacket continued to elude Thor. Finally, the thunder god got wise and cut him off with a thunderbolt in front, stopping the vigilante in his tracks. "Nowhere to run, mortal!" He bellowed, spinning Mjolnir above his head as Thor conjured a vicious storm that blew out every window in the warehouse behind them.
But amid the hail of falling shards, Yellowjacket remained shockingly unfazed.
"Getting mad and throwing lightning bolts. A real tough strategy to crack." He sneered, hovering backwards into the room behind before touching down. His strategy and foreknowledge of Thor's power was aiding him well… eerily so. "Next, he'll probably brag about his hammer." Yellowjacket said to himself as he unholstered his pistol. At once, Thor charged into the room in a fury, touching down a few meters away from the vigilante.
"Taste the wrath of Mjolnir!" He roared, making Yellowjacket smirk. Rearing back, Thor hurled his hammer with all his godly strength… and promptly watched in horror as a beam from Yellowjacket's gun removed Mjolnir from the equation, causing it to vanish without a trace.
"And in the blink of an eye, I'm in control!" Yellowjacket gloated as Thor recoiled in horror. "And you're finished, Thor." He added grimly, taking aim with his weapon.
"Impossible!" Thor growled, charging his foe. Yellowjacket did not flinch.
"Very possible!" He retorted, pulling the trigger. In a blaze of golden light, Thor disappeared before the eyes of the Avengers as they arrived in the room. The heroes paused with looks of shocked terror as their friend and colleague appeared to suffer the same fate as the Serpent Society.
A deathly silence fell over the room. One by one, the Avengers fell to rage, determined to avenge two fallen friends now. "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't total this creep!" Hawkeye demanded, bowstring pulled taut.
"I offer none." Cybernaut added, forming his irons into batons. "No bothersome insects will stay my hand."
"Answers first, my friends! A reason for this murderous rampage!" Black Panther cut in, although his claws were popped and ready. "We must question him. Make him tell us!"
"There's just one type of questioning that his kind understands, jungle man," Hawkeye responded, "and this is it!" Letting an arrow fly, Yellowjacket dodged as the explosive arrowhead detonated behind him.
"Hawkeye!" Captain America cried out in warning.
"Just give me one more crack at 'im!" The archer retorted, quickly fitting another arrow.
"That's hardly necessary, Hawkeye. Now while I stand ready to strike a blow for justice!" Cybernaut declared, sending his irons hurtling towards the vigilante. He scored an easy direct hit, knocking Yellowjacket upside the head and sending him stumbling towards the rear wall. The Avengers closed in, cornering him.
"That hurt… but you should stick to being a sideshow attraction, mutie!" Yellowjacket retorted with a grating grin. "Because you've got no super-powers to protect you from-" He pulled the trigger on his gun, only for nothing to happen. He tried a few more times and glanced down at his useless weapon in bewilderment. Then he looked up and met Cybernaut's eyes.
"Sorry, what was that? I've got no 'what'?" The technopath wondered in retort, earning a chuckle from Yellowjacket.
"You've got smarts, I'll give you that. The smarts to know how to let your enemy taste vengeance. You know how to do what needs to be done." The vigilante remarked. "Then there's others who couldn't do it at all… eh, bowman?" He wondered, shooting Hawkeye a look that caused Clint's teeth to grind.
"You're buckin' for a fat lip, yellow-belly!" The archer snapped, lining up another shot.
"I am, huh? Well, anytime you want to try me, Robin Hood, just-" Promptly cut off by the twang of a bowstring, Yellowjacket was send sprawling when a sonic pulse arrow bowled him over. The Avengers closed in again, but before Hawkeye could even take aim with another arrow, Wasp suddenly grew to full size behind Yellowjacket.
"Wait, Hawkeye, no! Don't!" She cried out.
"Stand aside, Jan, so we can cream him!" The archer retorted. The vigilante pulled himself to his feet, aiming his pistol at the team with a shaky hand.
"You should have just left me alone." Yellowjacket growled. "I had it under control!"
"No, you didn't, you never did!" Wasp exclaimed, reaching out and pulling back his hood in one swift motion before he could react. "You're not Yellowjacket… You're Hank Pym!"
And she was right.
The Avengers collectively gasped as the face of their teammate and friend was finally exposed to them all. They were dumbstruck. Wasp had been right all along… the true identity of Yellowjacket was none other than Hank Pym himself!
"Hank… You need help." Tony said slowly, the first to find his tongue.
"Me? I just shut down an Asgardian!" Hank retorted with a wild look in his eyes. "You said I wasn't tough enough… well, looks like I'm tougher than all of you!" The team tensed, seeing how Hank was clearly disturbed. Cap raised his shield as Hawkeye drew another arrow. "Don't even, Clint! I mean it! None of you can stop me!"
"You're wrong, Hank. I learned your tech from one of your insectoid friends." Cybernaut cut in. "I can shut you down with a thought, don't make me do it." Hank turned his pistol on him.
"I guess that must mean you're trying very hard to make sure my gun doesn't work." He mused with brow furrowed. "Good." Snapping up his free arm, Hank blasted the technopath with one of his new stingers, the sonic-disruptor bolt striking Connor in the face as he loosed a cry of intense pain and fell to his knees.
"Connor!" Janet cried in fright as power flowed back into Hank's gun. Now the team was facing an improved threat.
"Put the gun down, Hank. You can't shoot all of us at once." Iron Man stated.
"He doesn't know what he's doing!" Wasp cried, moving between them all. "Please, just stop it, Hank!" She begged him. Expecting him to respond or react in some familiar way, Janet felt despair knot her stomach as Hank instead levelled his weapon on her.
"Hank Pym is dead." He said, much to her dismay.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Yellowjacket." Iron Man muttered, raising his arm. As Hank pulled the trigger, the golden gladiator loosed a repulsor blast that struck his gun, creating a feedback loop that resulted in a sudden, blinding explosion that engulfed everyone in the room.
When the light faded, all that was left was a single disc left spinning on the floor… none other than the container for Hank's new microprison…
Connor awoke on a subatomic level, finding himself in unfamiliar territory as he came to with a groan. Clutching his throbbing cranium, he rolled over just in time for T'Challa to offer him a hand. "Are you hurt, my friend?" The Wakandan inquired.
"Just a four-alarm headache. Pretty sure I've had worse." The technopath groaned, accepting the hand up. The two quickly counted the others picking themselves up, noting all the Avengers present… including Hank Pym, who seemed none too happy.
"Look what you did! Idiots!" He snapped.
"What we did? You killed Thor!" Iron Man retorted.
"Nay, my friend." A familiar voice countered and the team loosed a collective sigh of relief as Thor swooped onto the scene. "Though he did cause me some minor discomfort." Thor added.
"I didn't kill anyone. My pistol places objects directly into my new microprison." Hank gruffly explained. "The one we are now trapped in because of you people." He added angrily.
"You mean we're stuck inside your gun?" Hawkeye wondered with a raised brow. The truth was revealed as the Avengers began to explore, discovering prison cells built into the walls where the Serpent Society was restrained. Each villain was restrained hand and foot, unable to move and unable to leave, due to the electrified containment field around them.
"King Cobra… Bushmaster… Rattler…" Iron Man listed off in awe as he strode past every cell, "Death Adder… Anaconda… Constrictor… This is sadistic, Hank!" He exclaimed. "You used to dream of rehabilitating criminals."
"I'm not Hank!" The vigilante snarled defensively, slipping his hood back on. "I'm everything Pym couldn't be." Iron Man sighed.
"I'm sorry. You were right, Jan," he apologized, "but in about three seconds I'm taking him out, whoever he thinks he is." Wasp quickly stepped between the two men.
"Hank, I know you're still in there." She pleaded with the man. "You've got to stop this before-augh!" Wasp was cut off by a massive tremor that shook the prison, causing debris to rain down from above as the Avengers lost their footing.
"Now what?" Yellowjacket demanded aloud, sounding annoyed. Iron Man quickly scanned the area, and the results were not good.
"The Pym Particles of your prison are unstable at this size." He announced. "The place is shrinking uncontrollably, but we're not shrinking with it. It's going to crush us!" Yellowjacket loosed an agitated huff.
"The pistol was the gateway. There's no way out."
"So fix it!" Tony ordered. "This problem isn't going to be fixed by someone in a yellow clown suit who wants to solve everything by fighting. I need someone who uses science, uses his brain!" He stated, jabbing Yellowjacket in the head. Janet laid a hand on the vigilante's shoulder.
"We need you, Hank Pym." She pleaded. Another violent tremor rolled through the building and the ceiling above began to crack and crumble, much larger pieces of debris raining down around the team. Thanks to his powers, Connor could sense everything the prison's systems were calculating. And the bad news was becoming worse news.
"The prison's destabilization is increasing every second. At this rate, a ten minute process will be over in a minute!" He told them all. Another violent tremble and the prison's power circuit was overloaded, the floor-mounted generator detonating in a fiery plume. The result was a loss of power to the cells around the team, freeing the Serpent Society. "Of course…" Connor grumbled as the six villains quickly surrounded the team.
"Cobra, hold up." Iron Man called out. "If we don't act quickly, we'll all be crushed. It's your choice, fight us and we're finished or we work together to get out of this mess." He offered. Klaus seemed to give that some thought for a brief moment. His response, however, was anticipated.
"Serpent Soceity, attack!" He screeched, firing off the twin missiles stored in his chest armor.
"Avengers, assemble!" Captain America ordered in turn, his shield bearing the brunt of the explosive projectiles.
Combat erupted throughout the prison as heroes and villains clashed. Iron Man was thrown into a wall by Constrictor's lashes as Wasp laid down a withering barrage against Cobra, only for Anaconda's hydraulic arms to encircle her and trap the heroine. Fortunately, Cybernaut was on the move, using his combined magnets and technopathy to induce lock-up in Anaconda's tech. Wasp responded by growing to nearly twenty feet in height, shattering her limbs before subduing Anaconda with a massive bio-electric punch that buried her in the floor.
The technopath moved on to aid Black Panther, familiar with the microcircuits the Serpents continued to use, he was able to cause Death Adder's suit to freeze up and allow his friend to land a hard kick that snapped the villain's head to one side.
Cap sparred with Cobra, his shield warding off Klaus' electric knuckles as he traded blows with a serpent. Forming his legs into a tail configuration, Cobra wrapped himself around one of the rooft girders to stay out of reach of the Captain. "We don't have time for this!" Steve growled as he hurled his shield, missing Cobra the first time but catching him on the rebound, knocking him out.
"Where is Doctor Pym?!" Thor demanded.
"Pym can't come to the rescue right now!" Yellowjacket remarked as he blasted Constrictor in the back with his stingers, freeing Iron Man. "And you're welcome, Stark!" His snarky remarks were cut short when the prison shifted violently, losing its gravito-propulsion systems as the building began to churn uncontrollably in subspace. The Avengers and Serpents tumbled about, Thor knocked from the air by debris as Rattler attacked him. Jamming his tail into the ground, he generated ultrasonic shockwaves to blow up the Asgardian from below.
"Methinks not!" Thor growled, countering with a jolt of lightning from Mjolnir. Electricity rolled back into Rattler's tail, creating an explosive feedback loop that detonated with concussive force, sending the villain sprawling.
Hawkeye rolled to his feet and drew an arrow taut. "Priorities, Bushmaster! Come on!" He growled as his mechanized foe unsheathed his blades. Cybernaut was on the scene in seconds, using his magnets to tear off the villain's mechanical arms and freeze his torso in place.
"Electricity, ice, anything, anytime now, Clint!" He barked. Hawkeye fired two in quick succession, a net arrow snaring the villain and sapping Bushmaster of his technological strength before an ice arrow froze him into a solid lump, no longer a threat.
With the last of the villains down, the Avengers regrouped. "Time to move from butt-kicking to problem-solving, guys." Wasp urged, now surrounded by fallen foes.
"The prison is imploding into a singularity." Iron Man reported. "We don't get out of here fast, it's over."
"Well, you're the genius, genius!" Hawkeye snapped.
"Not for this kind of thing." The armored Avenger replied, looking to Yellowjacket. "Snap out of it, Hank!" The two glared at each other for a moment, only for the tension to be cut by a sudden shriek from Wasp. The team whirled, finding the heroine in the clutches of a still-standing Constrictor. One of his tethers reeled her into his grasp where he clutched her shrunken form between two hands.
"Wasp!" Yellowjacket cried out.
"Come any closer and I pull the bug's wings off!" He threatened, holding out Wasp by her arms. At that size, all he would need would be a flick of the wrist to rip her limb from limb. "Or maybe I'll just do it anyway!" He added with a sick grin.
"Jan!" Hank exclaimed.
Before he could even think about what to do, Cybernaut was already moving.
Rocketing ahead with teeth gritted, his magnets crushed Constrictor's wrist cuffs and drove the shards into his arms, the pain causing him to lose his grip on Wasp. Snatching her unconscious body out of the air with one hand and holding her close to his chest, Connor wound up and delivered a mighty right cross, his pneumatic gauntlet amplifying the blow tenfold to send spittle and a tooth flying from Constrictor's mouth. The villain collapsed and Connor made sure he was buried in the floor with a blast from his plasma cannons.
Janet came to in his hand, looking up to see Connor holding her tenderly. "Connor?"
"You okay?" He asked. Wasp promptly grew to full size and threw her arms around him.
"Yeah. Just ducky." She gasped. Connor hugged her back and looked to Yellowjacket as he slowly lifted his mask. The realization that his actions towards Constrictor had inspired him to put Wasp in such danger was enough to shock his personalities into a cohesive blend for a moment.
"Jan… Connor…" Hank breathed.
"You wanna keep playing tough guy? Or be a hero, Hank? Make up your mind." The mutant demanded.
Atomic forces began to wreak havoc with the prison and the walls and floor began to compact against one another, slowly getting crushed by pressures on an incalculable level. Thor moved to exercise his godly strength, propping them both up as best he could. Meanwhile, Hank had finally pulled himself together enough to think.
"Panther, your ID card, it still has the scan of me from yesterday?" He asked. "I need it." Panther gave it willingly and Hank quickly disassembled the device. "Tony, give me access to your chest reactor."
"Ahh, not so fast!" Tony cut in.
"I built the prison around my bio-signature so only I could access it." Hank quickly explained. "If we can relay my bio-signature from Panther's scan through your ARC reactor, it'll explode like a wave-motion field and transpose us out of here."
"Yeah, sure, why didn't I think of that?" Hawkeye sarcastically remarked as the collapsing structure moved to pin him. Cybernaut reached out with his magnets, expanding a magnetic field that slowed the natural compression rate but only by a few milliseconds.
"Let him do it, Tony. It's the first logical thing he's said all day, let him have his moment." He urged.
"That reactor's keeping your heart going. If this goes wrong, you might die." T'Challa cautioned.
"If he doesn't try, we all die." Tony countered over the groan of collapsing metal. Popping open his chestplates, Hank quickly wired in the ID card to his power subsystems.
"This might hurt a lot." He stated flatly.
"Thanks for telling me now." Tony grumbled. The walls continued to collapsed, the Avengers confined to a singular sphere that rapidly dwindled by the moment. Captain America pressed against them, his enhanced physique making a few dents in the metal. Hawkeye and Black Panther reached out to join them all together as Cybernaut lifted his hands and increased the projection of his magnetic field, blood trickling down his nose. Hank quickly connected the last few wires into the core of Tony's reactor and then uploaded the scan data.
A blinding light flashed from the ARC reactor as Janet threw her arms around Connor, the Avengers bracing themselves as everything turned white…
The prison collapsed upon itself, reduced to an infinite nothingness no eyes would ever witness.
But with a flash of light, the containment disc used to hold it disgorged the Avengers with a flash of light, returning the team and the Serpent Society to the empty warehouse they were situated in beforehand. Everything was back to normal and everyone was still in one piece.
"Well, we cheated death. Again." Hawkeye said as they all breathed a sigh of relief, the archer sharing a fist-bump with Captain America. Cybernaut fell to his knees, feeling lightheaded as he wiped blood away from his nose. Black Panther helped him stand.
"Not us. Him." Iron Man said as Hank Pym received their attentions.
"You did it!" Wasp cried, throwing her arms around him. "I knew you could do it, Hank!" Instead of returning you joy, Hank merely slipped his mask back on.
"Let's clean this mess up." Yellowjacket stated, moving away from her to grab the nearest Serpent, leaving Wasp feeling more than a little wounded by his cold actions.
The sun set over New York and, after the tumult of the past few days, the peaceful evening was welcome as the team returned to Avengers Mansion. "The cells at Hydrobase should keep the Society out of commission." Iron Man was saying.
"Which is good. That power-dampening tech should limit the reaches of their circuitry. We know they could each bust down a wall if their gear was working properly." Cybernaut agreed as he, Tony and Janet approached a distant maskless Hank, staring at his bronze Ant-Man statute.
"Hmm. Not a bad likeness." He commented.
"We'll have to take it back down." Janet said.
"You should leave it." Hank replied. "Ant-Man is gone. That's the past."
"I think we spent too long wanting you to be someone you weren't, instead of appreciating who you were." Tony said apologetically.
"Hey, you want an Avenger who gets the job done right, here I am."
"Hank Pym is welcome back to the team any time. That's who we want." Tony sternly replied.
"I told you, the name's Yellowjacket." Hank answered, slipping his mask back on. He made to leave, only to be stopped by Cybernaut as he laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Reconsider it." The technopath said simply. "You should feel lucky and thankful that people like Janet are still in your corner."
"Oh yeah?" Yellowjacket retorted, shrugging off his hand.
"Yeah." Connor said in a low voice. "She could've turned you over to SHIELD but she didn't. She's a remarkable woman that sees the good in all of us, no matter how stupid or crazy we act. You would be wise to appreciate things like that for once in your life."
"Like you do?" Yellowjacket said pointedly, startling Connor. He smirked. "You were never all that subtle, Cybernaut, no matter how much you thought you were." With that, he took his leave and let the technopath simmer in sudden consternation. Janet watched him go.
"Tony…?" She trailed off.
"Absolutely not." Stark firmly said.
"He's your friend." Janet implored.
"Was." Tony cut her off. "Yellowjacket's as crazy as a hornet's nest, and a loose cannon to boot."
"I've been an Avenger from day one. I've always been the happy camper. I've never asked you for anything, Tony Stark." Janet whispered softly. "I'm asking now. Take Hank back. We need him and he needs us." She pleaded with him. "Aren't we supposed to help each other as well as others?" Tony was left to chew on that, but didn't get long as JARVIS suddenly piped up.
"Pardon me sir, but the New York Police Department is reporting a throng of mole people spilling from Madison Square Garden. And I don't believe there was a game today." The AI stated. The message was heard by all and Hank turned to shoot Tony grin.
"Bet I bag more mole people than you do, Stark." He challenge before promptly taking off.
"Wait, what?" Tony had barely a second to figure things out before the Avengers were not he move again. "Yellowjacket!" He shouted after Hank, taking flight to chase him to Madison Square Garden…
Somewhere else in the city…
Viper sat alone before a bank of monitors, overseeing various aspects of her burgeoning Hydra cell. As she did, footsteps behind heralded the arrival of Mark Moran… better known as the betokinetic Keystone. "The Avengers took down the Serpent Society. All six of them have been imprisoned in their new Hydrobase facility." He reported. Ophelia remained quiet, folding her hands together in ponderance. "You want arrange a breakout?" He asked.
"No." She decided after a moment. Rising from her seat, the villainess turned and laid her hand on her ally's chest. Letting glide across the mixture of black and grey in an inviting gesture for him to follow. "Come, Markus. We are here to start fresh and it appears that includes all aspects of our life and plans." She stated. Mark obediently followed.
"What are we going to do?" He asked.
"We are going to start anew." Viper answered. "We're going to create our own Serpent Society…"
Night had fallen by the time the Avengers returned to the mansion, having dealt with the Mole Men crisis with swift efficiency, made doable with the addition of Yellowjacket. While it might've been hard to curb his loose-cannon nature, the powers he brought were undeniable assets. Having proven capable of working with them albeit just barely meeting standards, Tony relented and allowed Hank's new alter ego to rejoin the team.
Now, after an exhausting affair, many on the team were ready for some much needed shuteye. Connor Peterson retired wordlessly to his room, struggling with his feelings that had built up over the day. Hank was back and Janet was happy. It was good that she was happy… but he had to wonder just how happy.
'Am I just the rebound guy? A tide-me-over until the real deal came back?' His negative thoughts plagued him and it didn't help that he felt put on the backburner all day long. He sat down on the edge of the bed, taking a moment to breathe and not think. Then the door opened again and Janet strode in, visually reminding him that this was their room. He paused to let his eyes wander and remind himself how much he loved this spandex suit of hers and the way it hugged her body, flaunting her every curve and rightly so. Hers was a body to be proud of and he was rather proud to say he knew it intimately. But not in some jock-like arrogance, only out of satisfaction that he was finally with his dream girl…
Hopefully.
"Tired?" He asked.
"Oh yes." Janet affirmed with a breathy laugh as she plopped down beside him. "Now that that's behind us, I'm super bagged." She admitted.
"You and me both. One more thing to not stress about."
"Yeah. First a funeral then a… what would you call this?"
"A reunion?"
"Sure. Heck of a reunion." They both laughed in their own way, Connor mostly as a mask for his questioning. He had to discuss Hank if only to figure things out for himself. Worries needed to be assuaged or else he wouldn't get enough sleep for the third night in a row.
"Still, kinda nice having him back." He said, broaching the subject.
"Yeah… personality shift is probably going to take some getting used to." Janet agreed.
"You can say that again." The technopath concurred. He peeled down the mask around his head, revealing his face and his expression. He looked to Janet, beholding her for a moment. "You're glad to have him around again, aren't you?" He commented. Janet looked up and the way her eyes landed upon felt as though she was staring right through Connor and into his soul. Call it a woman's intuition or just her people-person personality, but Janet cut right to the chase.
"Connor…" she said softly, standing up, "I had a lot of people talk to me after Hank walked out. He… He basically broke up with me." Janet explained. "I moved on. I finally decided to move on and I've been really happy since I did." She spoke with emphasis and determination, as if clarifying for herself as well as him. "I am not with Hank anymore." She stated, her tone somewhere between defining and promising.
"I-I wasn't… questioning you, Jan," Connor hurried to say, "it's like I said yesterday, he's been a big part of your life, it's only natural that you-"
"Connor," Janet cut him off and he stopped, watching as her mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried to find the words to say, "I love you." He sat that riveted as those three little words lingered in his mind, replaying over and over again…
And it occurred to him this was the first time she'd ever spoken them.
He stood slowly, his eyes never leaving hers. "I love you." Janet said again, with strength this time. That was all he needed and Connor slowly drew Janet into his arms. His worries vanished like dust in the wind and he reached down to press his lips to hers. Neither needed to say anything more, his arms encircling her slender yet curvaceous frame while her hands rose, one to cup his cheek and the other to tangle in his hair. What began slow soon escalated, lasting long into the night…