Chapter 219: Ant-Man Joins
In an unnamed safe house somewhere in Europe.
The air smelled of engine oil, old wood, and damp concrete.
Steve Rogers stood before a table covered with maps.
A red circle had been drawn around a remote region of Siberia.
Bucky Barnes sat in the corner, silently inspecting his cybernetic arm.
He had removed part of the outer casing, exposing the complex interface beneath it.
Sam Wilson sat beside him with a compact electronic toolkit, checking the damaged neural connections.
Their problem was no longer knowing where they had to go.
It was getting there.
"Every airport is being monitored," Sam said with a sigh.
"Private air routes are being monitored."
"Military channels are being monitored."
"We can't simply requisition a plane without somebody noticing."
Steve tapped the Siberian coordinates.
"We need something that can get past conventional surveillance."
"A Quinjet."
Sam gave him a look.
"There's one at Leipzig."
"Tony controls the Quinjets."
"We can't exactly walk into Leipzig Airport and say, 'Hey, Tony, we'd like to borrow one.'"
Steve was silent for a moment.
"Then we need another way in."
Sam leaned back.
"I know someone."
Bucky looked up.
"Who?"
Sam's expression became slightly uncomfortable.
"A very special guy."
"I've encountered him before."
Bucky waited.
"He can shrink."
A pause.
"How small?"
"Small enough to crawl inside your equipment."
"And apparently strong enough to make a mess of it."
Bucky's expression remained blank.
"That doesn't explain why you trust him."
"I don't."
Sam sighed.
"But he's useful."
"He can get into places we can't."
"He can disable equipment from the inside."
"And if everything goes wrong..."
Sam shook his head.
"...he can grow."
Bucky stared at him.
"Grow?"
"Yes."
"Don't ask."
...
Thirty minutes later.
Scott Lang arrived at the safe house.
Calling it an invitation would have been generous.
Sam had essentially brought him there before Scott had fully understood what was happening.
The door opened.
Scott stepped inside.
The first thing he saw was Captain America standing beside the map table.
Scott froze.
His eyes widened.
His mouth opened.
Then opened again.
"Captain America?"
Steve turned.
Scott pointed at him.
"You're actually Captain America."
"You exist."
Steve smiled politely.
"Hello."
Scott's brain appeared to stop functioning for several seconds.
"Can I shake your hand?"
He looked at Sam.
"Am I supposed to introduce myself first?"
He looked back at Steve.
"I'm Scott."
"Scott Lang."
"Ant-Man."
He hesitated.
"Technically."
"Just... Ant-Man."
Steve extended his hand.
"It's good to meet you, Scott."
Scott immediately grabbed it.
"Wow."
He looked down at his own hand afterward.
"I'm never washing this hand."
Sam closed his eyes.
"Scott."
Scott looked over.
"Right."
"Mission."
Steve's expression became serious.
"We need your help."
Scott straightened.
"What kind of help?"
"We need to reach Siberia."
"There's a HYDRA facility there."
"A man named Helmut Zemo is trying to activate a group of dormant Winter Soldiers."
Scott's expression changed.
"That sounds extremely bad."
"It is."
Steve pointed toward another map.
"We have reason to believe there's a Quinjet at Leipzig Airport that can get us there."
Scott slowly raised a finger.
"So..."
"You want me to help steal a Quinjet."
Sam nodded.
"Basically."
Scott stared at him.
"From Tony Stark."
Sam nodded again.
"And Rhodey."
"Possibly Black Panther."
Scott's expression became increasingly uncomfortable.
"That sounds very illegal."
Steve answered immediately.
"Yes."
Scott thought about it for approximately two seconds.
"Okay."
Sam looked at him.
"You agreed surprisingly quickly."
Scott pointed at Steve.
"Dude."
"Do you have any idea how long I've admired this guy?"
"I know all the stories."
"I had posters."
"Still do."
Sam shook his head.
"I regret bringing you here."
Scott looked offended.
"Come on."
"You brought the right guy."
...
Scott reached into the case he'd brought with him.
He removed the Ant-Man helmet and suit.
The red-and-black armor was far more sophisticated than an ordinary tactical uniform, built around the size-changing technology created from Hank Pym's work.
Pym's technology had always been more complicated than simple physical miniaturization.
The Pym Particles changed how matter behaved across different scales, allowing a properly equipped user to become extremely small or dramatically larger while remaining capable of functioning at both sizes.
Scott put on the helmet.
"Okay."
"Demonstration time."
He pressed the activation controls.
His body shrank.
One moment he was standing beside the table.
The next, he was only a few centimeters tall.
He sprinted across the tabletop.
Steve watched carefully.
Scott vanished beneath a weapon Bucky had left on the table.
Several seconds later, he emerged.
The firing mechanism came apart behind him.
Scott returned to normal size holding the removed component between two fingers.
"See?"
"I can get inside equipment."
"Electronic locks."
"Weapons."
"Armor."
"Engines."
"I can sabotage them from the inside."
Bucky looked at him.
"And the larger form?"
Scott nodded.
"I can do that too."
"Although I don't recommend making a habit of it."
Steve frowned.
"Why?"
Scott made a face.
"It feels like my entire body has been hit by a truck."
Sam stared.
"That sounds reassuring."
Scott shrugged.
"Still useful."
Steve nodded.
"Very."
"Your abilities may be exactly what we need at Leipzig."
Scott smiled.
"Then I'm your man."
...
While Scott explained his equipment to Steve...
Miracle Clinic.
Underground base.
Lynn stood before a holographic console.
He suddenly raised his head.
His Quantum Electromagnetic Domination had detected the distinctive energy signature of Pym technology.
"Pym Particles."
"Ant-Man."
Lynn's eyes narrowed.
He already knew Scott Lang.
Scott had previously entered his orbit because of the Pym technology Lynn had obtained through the events surrounding Pym Technologies.
More importantly, Lynn knew what Scott could do.
Size manipulation.
Mass redistribution.
Extreme infiltration.
And a technology whose underlying principles intersected directly with his own research into quantum scaling.
His expression remained calm.
"Interesting."
Back at the safe house...
Scott continued enthusiastically explaining the Ant-Man helmet.
"The helmet isn't just for looking cool."
"It lets me communicate with ants."
Sam stared at him.
"You can talk to ants?"
"Not exactly talk."
Scott waved his hands.
"It's more complicated."
"They respond to electromagnetic signals, pheromonal cues, and behavioral commands."
"You give me an ant colony and I'll give you a highly organized support team."
Sam rubbed his forehead.
"We don't have time for insect sociology."
Scott looked offended.
"Hey."
"Ants are incredibly organized."
"Better organized than some government agencies."
Steve smiled despite himself.
For a moment, the tension inside the safe house eased.
Then Steve looked back toward the map.
His expression became serious again.
"We leave as soon as we've finalized the Leipzig operation."
"We need the airport."
"We need the Quinjet."
"And we need to reach Siberia before Zemo activates those soldiers."
...
Bruce's underground Batcave.
The central computer illuminated the cavern in cold blue light.
A document floated above the main console.
TECHNICAL APPENDIX TO THE SOKOVIA PROTOCOL
Below the title were several proposed technological requirements.
Real-time recording of enhanced activity.
Digital identification and authorization for cross-border operations.
Dynamic monitoring of combat energy levels.
Post-disaster accountability tracking.
Victor Stone stood opposite Bruce.
The red glow of the Mother Box technology integrated into his systems reflected faintly across his metallic frame.
He finished reading the document.
"So..."
"You want me to help the United Nations build a global system for tracking superheroes?"
Bruce immediately corrected him.
"Not tracking."
"Recording."
"And early warning."
Cyborg's electronic eyes flickered as he looked at Bruce.
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