"Good. Let's hope it's not HYDRA—otherwise, you won't be living very long~~"
Tony said it casually, but a cold glint flashed through his eyes.
While everyone was exchanging barbs, Scott quietly infiltrated the particle storage room. It was filled with rows of tubes containing the yellow particles Darren used for size alteration. Scott's goal was to blow up this place—or even the entire building.
At that moment, red ants had already gathered in the storage room, each carrying a timed explosive.
"Begin planting the charges."
At Scott's command, the ants immediately moved, placing explosives at designated points. Once secured, the explosives reverted to their original size.
Before long, all the charges were set. Scott then moved to a position directly above the chamber containing the Yellowjacket suit. A vertical metal shaft led straight down to the glass case below.
Standing at the edge, Scott looked down. A red glow filled the bottom—he knew it was a laser security grid.
"I'm in position."
He dropped a screw. The moment it passed through the laser grid, it disintegrated into ash without even a spark.
"Kurt, what's going on? Are you not done yet?!"
Scott asked anxiously.
Kurt was still working, progress only at around sixty percent—far from complete. Just as the two of them nervously watched the screen, Paxton and his partner suddenly knocked on the van door. Dave had been spotted earlier while stealing the police car.
"Occupants of the vehicle, step out now for inspection!"
Paxton pounded on the door. No matter how loudly he shouted, the people inside didn't respond.
Just as they were running out of options, the loading speed on the computer suddenly surged, quickly passing ninety percent.
Then, for some reason, the rear door of the van suddenly swung open. Paxton and his partner immediately aimed their guns at Kurt and Dave.
At that exact moment, the progress hit one hundred percent. Kurt seized the opportunity and slammed the Enter key.
High above, Skye sat leisurely in the pilot's seat, a progress bar displayed before her.
"No need to thank me~~"
She grinned and turned up the music.
"Scott's directly above the container—he's about to drop in. Natasha, be ready."
In the lab, Natasha subtly shifted her attention toward the container holding the Yellowjacket suit.
Above the shaft, Scott received the signal and leapt in, plummeting rapidly toward his target. The laser grid at the bottom had already been deactivated.
He landed smoothly inside the chamber and immediately reached for the suit—but just before his hand touched it, the suit suddenly dropped downward. There was space beneath it.
Scott instantly realized something was wrong.
He'd been played.
No—not just him. All of them had been played. Darren had known their plan all along. Everything had been a trap.
At that moment, a massive face loomed into view, holding a small glass container—with the suit inside.
"Hey there, little guy~~"
Darren grinned maliciously, clearly reveling in his success.
Natasha saw it. So did Pym and Hope, who had been watching the container closely. In that instant, they understood—this had all been a setup.
"I always suspected you were hiding an Ant-Man suit somewhere. I just didn't know where. And I kept wondering—who would be the next Ant-Man? Who would be the one my teacher trusted more than me?"
Darren stared coldly at Pym, devoid of emotion.
"Scott Lang—a thief, a repeat offender. And yet he earned more of your trust than I ever did. You'd rather believe a criminal than me."
His gaze never left Pym.
"Scott Lang will pay for stealing my research. He'll lose his wife and his only daughter—and the one responsible for all of it is you, Dr. Pym. You're the one who pushed him into the abyss!"
Darren grew more agitated, gesturing wildly. Behind him, a large screen displayed Scott's criminal record—and images of his family.
He placed the container holding the Yellowjacket suit into a briefcase, then turned back to Scott, who was pounding helplessly against the glass.
"And now, you've personally delivered the Ant-Man suit to me. How could I refuse such a gift?"
As he finished speaking, the laser grid above Scott reactivated, slicing through the line suspending him and dropping him back into the chamber.
"Darren, you can't do this. If you sell the suit to these people, the whole world will fall into chaos. You won't come out unscathed either. And there are Avengers here—you won't get away with this."
Pym sighed. He was utterly disappointed in his former student. Darren was beyond saving.
"I've already made the deal. And the Avengers? Once I have the Yellowjacket suit, they're no match for me!"
Darren's confidence bordered on delusion.
"I'm selling them the suit—but I'm keeping the particles. The suit doesn't run on fuel. If they want to recharge it, they'll have to come to me~~"
He spoke with absolute certainty, completely disregarding both Carson and Tony.
"That's enough, Cross. This farce ends here."
Tony and Natasha stepped forward.
"Ends? It's only just beginning."
As Darren's voice fell, more than a dozen armed men suddenly appeared, their guns trained on everyone present.
But at that moment—
The container holding Scott shattered violently. Using his size-changing ability, Scott expanded and blew it apart in one burst.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Natasha struck instantly—snatching a gun from one of the guards. Hope followed suit, disarming another. Back-to-back, the two women aimed their weapons at Darren's men.
"Drop your weapons, Darren!"
Hope's expression was icy as she pointed her gun at him.
"You chose the wrong side, Hope."
Darren raised his weapon, about to shoot Pym in the head.
Suddenly, Scott shrank and shot forward like a bullet, slamming into one of the armed guards and knocking him to the ground.
At the same time, Natasha opened fire, taking down three guards in an instant, while Scott charged toward the next.
The scene descended into chaos. People screamed and fled the laboratory. Carson, escorted by several subordinates, tried to escape as well—but before he could take more than a few steps, a red-and-gold armored figure blocked his path.
"Going somewhere? You don't get to see a show like this every day."
Tony stood firmly at the lab entrance.
Carson discreetly signaled his men. Just as they were about to fire, a series of micro-missiles shot out from Tony's arm, embedding themselves into their necks. They collapsed instantly.
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