"Then we'll need to expand the team…" Scott said, clearly having thought this through.
"What else do we need?" Pym asked, immediately on guard.
He was extremely sensitive about bringing in outsiders. Aside from Hope and Scott, he trusted no one—just as he once distrusted Howard Stark and Peggy Carter, and now the Avengers.
"We need one person to infiltrate the control center and adjust the water pressure," Scott explained. "Another to hack into the building's power grid and shut down the laser security system. And a third to handle extraction—routes and transportation."
By the time Scott finished, Pym already knew exactly who he meant.
Scott's three… idiotic partners.
Pym had been monitoring Scott for months. He knew those three all too well.
"No—no—absolutely not!" Pym snapped. "Those three idiots are completely out of the question!"
From everything he'd observed, they were more liability than help—especially that chatterbox Luis.
---
The next day, however…
All three "idiots" were sitting in Pym's living room.
Hope set three cups of coffee in front of them.
"Thank you for the coffee, beautiful lady~~~" Kurt said cheerfully, as the others grabbed their cups.
"This is wild," Luis began, already in full chatter mode. "Scott, you break into someone's house, and next thing you know, you're friends—and now you've invited us over too. Why didn't you have this kind of skill before? We'd be rich by now!"
Hope leaned toward Scott.
"You know he got arrested for stealing an ice machine, right?"
"Actually, it was two," Luis corrected immediately.
"Are you sure these three can handle it?" Hope asked skeptically.
"Absolutely!" Luis declared. "We've got this. We're professionals."
"Frankly, I have zero confidence in you," Pym said from behind them, arms crossed.
"Trust me, Hank," Scott said. "They can do it."
"Yeah, we can!" Luis added. "By the way, are our credentials ready?"
He looked more excited than nervous.
After all, it had been months since their last "job."
---
Scott then stepped forward in the Ant-Man suit.
The three men jumped in surprise.
"Whoa—dude, you look amazing in that!" Luis's eyes lit up, especially at the helmet.
Scott lifted the visor.
"Alright, what you're about to see might be… a little weird. Maybe even scary. Just be prepared."
"Please," Luis scoffed. "There's nothing about you that could scare us."
"Ready?"
"Bring it!"
Scott rolled his eyes, lowered the helmet, and pressed the button.
Whoosh—
He vanished.
Luis yelped, nearly jumping out of his seat. Kurt shot to his feet.
"This is insane… it's like David Copperfield!" Luis muttered, scanning for the trick.
But he had no idea—
Scott, now tiny, had already climbed onto his shoulder.
"Don't freak out, Luis—I'm on your shoulder!"
Luis froze, then slowly turned his head.
There, perched like an insect—
was a tiny Scott.
"AHHH—! AHHHH!!"
Luis panicked, slapping wildly at his shoulder as if trying to swat a monster, then bolted for the door screaming.
---
"After Hank explained everything, they finally understood how the suit works," Hope said.
Scott looked at the three men now sprawled across the couch, fast asleep.
"I slipped a mild sedative into their coffee. They passed out instantly. Honestly… they're something else."
They had been so hyped up it was like they'd taken stimulants. Hope wasn't taking any chances.
---
After Hope left, Scott—still in the suit—went to check on his daughter, Cassie.
Only after seeing her did he finally feel at ease enough to sleep.
---
Over the next few days, they refined the plan repeatedly, running through simulations to ensure everything went smoothly.
"Alright, everyone," Scott said, standing over the table in the basement, covered in blueprints and schematics. "Let's review assignments."
"Dave?"
"I handle the getaway."
"Kurt?"
"I'll monitor systems and hack into the building."
"Luis?"
Luis grinned.
"You know me, Scott—I love uniforms. I look incredible in uniform. Super stylish—"
"Luis!" Scott cut him off.
"Oh, right—sorry. I'm just a little excited. Also, your girlfriend? She's gorgeous. My heart's doing flips back here."
He gestured toward Hope.
Pym looked like he was about to explode.
Scott opened his mouth to clarify—
—but Luis was already going again.
"Hey, I've got a great idea. When I go undercover, I can whistle or hum—makes it look natural, you know? Real smooth."
Scott shut that down immediately.
"No. No whistling. Absolutely no whistling. We don't want to hear that and suddenly feel the urge to go to the bathroom. So—no whistling. Ever."
Luis didn't take the hint.
Instead, he doubled down, listing every idea he could think of—up to and including acting like a suave secret agent, à la James Bond.
Everyone had reached their limit.
Even Kurt and Dave looked done.
Finally, Dave pulled out a roll of tape—
—and sealed Luis's mouth shut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~