Chapter 88: Time Travel Is Confusing
POV Hank Pym
"We're about to get our first look from inside the spacecraft carrying the researchers to their final destination of high Earth orbit," the newscaster says calmly.
A new video starts, and we get an inside look at the ship. I had slightly mixed feelings about this. Mostly because my company was involved in the work alongside Von Doom Industries. I was tempted to investigate why there was a connection, but I couldn't bring myself to put on the suit again. Not now that Janet had come back to me. I couldn't lose her again.
My thoughts get interrupted by the screams of the newscaster as a massive ant appears on the spaceship near the camera.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we've just lost the connection, but what we've seen speaks for itself. The Corvair spacecraft has been taken over, conquered, if you will, by a master race of giant space ants. It's difficult to tell from this vantage point whether they will consume the captive Earth man or merely enslave them. One thing is for certain: there is no stopping them; the ants will soon be here," the newscaster says grimly.
But he switches quickly to a new tone.
"And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords. Like to remind them that as a trusted TV personality, I... I can be helpful in rounding up others to toil in their underground sugar caves," the newscaster says confidently as an image of an ant enslaving a man shows behind him.
'Why did they have that photo on hand? Or who would even make such a thing?'
I shake my head and refocus on what is more important. I get up and walk to my lab, where I store the suits with growing worry.
'Don't be the girl. Don't be the girl. Don't be the girl. Don't be the girl.'
I open the false wall and see that the Wasp suit is missing. I still hold a sliver of hope and check the trackers.
"D'oh!" I shout.
The tracker showed the suit was currently in orbit.
"She stole the suit and is on the Corvair, isn't she?" Janet says, smirking, as she enters the room.
"Sigh. Yes, and worse, she is using the new model suit. The suit is still highly experimental. Even Pym Particles are acting differently, and without intense study, I can't be sure what dangers they pose," I say grimly.
"She's her own person, and while we can try and stop her, the fact remains that she has to be allowed to make mistakes," Janet says calmly.
"I suppose, but she will regret stealing my stuff when she gets back," I say with determination.
"Oh, no doubt. I would be disappointed if you didn't punish her. Boundaries are also quite important," Janet says while hugging me.
"Now, since the kid is out of the house, why don't you show me if you still got it?" Janet whispers in my ear.
POV Shift Rio
"Well, this reporter was possibly a little hasty earlier. Would like to reaffirm his allegiance to this country and its human president," the newscaster says far more reluctantly than he should, given the circumstances.
Lucy chuckles a bit.
"It may not be perfect, but it's still the best government we have... For now," the newscaster says begrudgingly.
At this point, even I crack up a bit.
"Hmm? Oh yes! The spacecraft is still in extreme danger, may not make it back, attempting risky reentry, blah, blah, blah. We'll see you after the movie," the newscaster says while tearing a poster saying All Hail Ants!
Mal0 bursts into laughter alongside Selene. The second one surprised me, as Selene is not one to laugh. Honestly, I was starting to think she might be taking the Goth Vampire shtick a bit far. My musings are stopped when I hear someone speak up.
"Uh... Should we step in to help the spacecraft?" Tony asks.
"I already did," I reply.
"Huh? When?" Lara asks.
"Before they launched. I added several spells as a fail-safe to the craft. Not that they need it. Despite how... unreliable Johnathan Storm appears, he is a very skilled pilot, and I'm confident he can land the craft. If he is incapacitated, then Hope Van Dyne or the Wasp or whatever she wants to call herself should manage," I reply calmly.
"Huh... Wait, did you know this would happen?" Tony asks.
I give a so-so gesture.
"Kind of. Like I knew it was possible, but with Reed Richards dead, I thought it was possible that the mission would be fine. Then again, I also knew how dangerous that energy wave could be, which is why I had everyone evacuated from all orbital assets. But seeing as how the mission still ended up like this, it would prove my theory correct," I reply.
"The fate theory?" Lara comments.
"Yep, the energy wave acts too strange to be a normal cosmic phenomenon. When the project was delayed, the wave magically slowed down to give them time to catch up. Those on Earth thought that they miscalculated the speed or something similar, but with drones and the like, I can confirm that their first calculations were correct until the wave changed. Thus, I have to believe that this was a predetermined point in the timeline. You can call this many things: a canon event, flashpoint, focal point, fixed point, closed loop, predetermined, etc. The point is that it can't be changed. Or at least that's what I theorize," I explain.
Everyone thinks about that for a moment before Tony speaks up.
"Isn't there a chance that someone controlled the energy wave? Or maybe caused by someone from the future?" Tony offers.
"There's a chance. As I said, most of this is theoretical. I can't say for certain if anything I say is a fact or if I am completely wrong. But your idea is one I considered myself, but I haven't found anything definitive to suggest control, other than its varying speeds. I can, however, confirm that the wave has ceased to exist. Which in and of itself is very strange. Moreover, I haven't even found much of any literature about the wave that Reed was so obsessed with studying. Or why his friends also seemed to be so invested in the project both before and after Reed's death. Heck, Reed dying could be a strong piece of evidence against my idea of it being a fixed point in time," I comment.
"All this Time Travel talk is making my head hurt, and I didn't even know that was possible," Mal0 comments.
Lucy and Selene end up commenting on something similar. Coincidence. I THINK NOT!
Though, as good news, Mal0 now started wearing clothes like a civilized person. Though only when guests are around. But at this point, I had just been ignoring her as much as I could. Her antics were clearly designed to annoy me.
'I wonder if this is an elf thing. Then again, I feel like I didn't like nudity even before I was reborn. I should look into that.'
"Well, there is no need to talk more about this stuff. What happens will happen, and we at least gathered more info on this wave to understand it better. And nobody was hurt too badly. Probably," I add that last bit far more quietly, but almost everyone hears it.
Only the normal humans didn't hear it.
"So what next?" Lara asked.
I think for a moment, and then I get an awful idea. A wonderful, awful idea, and I had the Grinch-sized smile to prove it.
Lucy is the first to see, and she narrows her eyes.
"Wanna play a game?" I say in my best Saw voice.
Everyone looks at me with suspicion. Then they look to each other as if thinking about who should answer that loaded question.
"I'll bite, what is it?" Tony asks.
I got a very interesting item from a vendor in a universe, or at least I think it's a universe I opened a portal to. I can't say for certain because the universe is really weird. It's a market. A seemingly endless market. I don't even want to think about how it works, as just trying to think about it gives me a headache. Safe to say it's a mess. Some currencies are used; others are worth less than air. Sometimes literally. Then there are translation issues and the fact that there are species there that make you want to bleach your eyes. Or can apparently drive you mad just by looking at them. But my short time in that universe had me buying something very interesting.
"It's a game called DODJ OR DaAR," I say while taking out the game.
"Who made this? A five-year-old?" Tony asks jokingly.
"I dunno," I say while shrugging my shoulders, which was my honest answer.
"Okay, how do we play?" Selene asks.
"The main objective is to survive until someone lands exactly on the finish line. The game ends when a player rolls the exact amount they need to reach the finish line. Not any more or any less. Other than that, movement is accomplished by completing challenges on 'daar' cards. Each player's turn begins with them rolling the dice and drawing a 'daar' card. In order to move forward, the number of spaces shown on the dice, the player must complete the challenge listed on the drawn card. Failing or refusing to do so results in moving half the number of spaces shown on the dice and a 'dodj' card, which creates a random effect on the players or the environment until the end of the game," I explain.
"On the environment?" Tony asks.
"Yes, I've tested the game and confirmed that the effects are never lethal; anything that would cause you permanent or lethal damage is undone as soon as the game ends. They do, however, warp reality for everyone playing the game. Only you will be affected by the game; nobody else. That being said, the effects of the game will NOT end until someone wins the game. I won't lie, this game can be really intense, so only play if you are ready for a game like no other," I warn.
Everyone thinks about it for a few minutes, but eventually everyone decides to play. The only ones who didn't join were John and Helen, who had moved out a couple of weeks ago and were here to visit for a bit.