"Damn it!!"
Darren slammed the button, trying to shrink—but a bolt of lightning suddenly struck his suit. Sparks burst out instantly, and all its functions failed. Shrinking was no longer possible.
At the same time, Carl appeared behind him, one hand already pressed against his back.
"Pathetic. Where did you even get the confidence?"
Boom—!
A pillar of flames shot skyward.
By the time Tony took Darren away, the Yellowjacket suit was completely gone. All that remained was Darren himself—charred black and utterly defeated.
Scott followed Tony as well. Their destination: Avengers Tower.
---
A few days later.
With nothing better to do, Natasha was killing time at the office. Wanda was cleaning as usual, while Skye tinkered with her newly bought computer.
"What happened to that Darren guy?"
Carl suddenly asked, having just remembered him.
"He's locked up. As for his research, it's been archived. Tony doesn't seem interested—called it 'a defective product not worth studying.'"
Carl nodded. That sounded exactly like Tony. If anything was worth studying, it would be the real Pym Particles—not Darren's unstable knockoff that collapsed an entire building.
"Oh right, I'm heading to see Dr. Pym tonight. Want to come along for fun?"
Natasha asked. Nick Fury had given the order—recruit Pym into the Avengers. If he refused, then bring in Scott or Hope instead.
Carl had zero interest in that stubborn old man, so he declined.
---
That night, Pym, Scott, and Hope sat together.
Scott had just returned from seeing his daughter Cassie. Paxton had dropped the charges, and Scott was now a free man.
As Hope walked him out, Pym—who had been waiting—finally opened the door… only to see Scott kissing his daughter.
The old man's eyebrows shot up instantly.
"This is how you 'see him off'? Since when?!"
"Nothing happened!"
Hope denied it immediately. Anyone would in that situation.
"Well… something happened~~"
Scott, on the other hand, had no such restraint.
"Get out of here before I shoot you!"
Pym snapped.
"Uh—how can you say that? You're the one who suddenly hugged me and kissed me—I wasn't prepared at all~~ Anyway, I've got stuff to do, I'll get going—bye~~"
Scott bolted.
"Full of nonsense!"
Pym muttered.
But the moment Scott opened the door—
Natasha was standing outside, looking at him with amusement.
"Your lips look… pretty red. New lip balm?"
She traced a finger playfully in front of his mouth.
"Cut it out~~ What are you here for?"
Scott waved her off. After a few days of constant interaction, they were already familiar.
"I'm here to see Dr. Pym."
"Alright, come in."
---
In the living room, they all sat down. Natasha got straight to the point.
"Impossible. I will never join you. Give it up."
Pym rejected her instantly.
Natasha didn't push further. She already expected this. Her real target tonight was Scott.
She left—but didn't go far. Instead, she hid nearby, waiting.
Soon, Scott walked out.
After following him for a few hundred meters, Scott suddenly stopped and turned.
"Agent Natasha, I know you're there. Just say what you want."
A top-tier thief still had sharp instincts.
Natasha stepped out.
"Not bad. You're pretty perceptive."
"So what do you want?"
"Nothing much. Just want you to join us."
"I'm in."
Scott answered immediately.
Natasha froze.
"…What did you say?"
"I said—I'll join the Avengers."
She blinked. She had prepared an entire speech—but he just… agreed?
For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.
She had never recruited anyone this easily before.
"…Alright then."
---
Soon after, Natasha brought Scott to Avengers Tower. They boarded a Quinjet and headed straight for the Avengers base.
---
Meanwhile, Carl continued his aimless lifestyle—either wandering around or lounging in the office. Truly entering his "slacker era."
That day, he was assembling a limited-edition Gundam model—made of pure gold. Skye had hacked the official backend to get it.
After carefully placing it inside a glass display case, Carl locked it.
From now on—no one else was touching it.
Just as he finished—
A massive surge of magical energy flooded in from outside.
Wanda immediately sensed it and pushed open the door, scanning the surroundings.
At that moment, several strangely dressed figures flashed past the entrance.
The one in front wore a sleeveless yellow robe. Behind him were more than a dozen followers in dark red robes.
"Kaecilius?"
Wanda recognized him instantly. He hadn't noticed her—likely because she had completely suppressed her magical presence.
Carl stepped out and glanced around, catching only a glimpse of a red-robed figure disappearing at the corner.
"Kaecilius? You sure?"
He turned to Wanda and asked.
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