Hope hung up the phone, turned around, and looked at Homelander with an apologetic expression.
"I'm really sorry, Daniel." Her voice was thick with guilt and reluctance.
"There's an emergency with my father, and I have to go there immediately."
"I haven't heard him sound this anxious in a long time; it might be very serious." Hope said as she quickly put on her coat.
"I'm truly sorry for ruining tonight, but I have to leave now."
"I understand. Family always comes first," Homelander said with reasonable concern.
"It's hard to get a cab at this hour. I'll have my driver take you there."
Homelander took out his phone and quickly dialed a number.
"The car will be downstairs within ten minutes."
Looking at Homelander's calm and reliable demeanor, Hope's anxiety eased slightly.
"Thank you, Daniel. You're really thoughtful," Hope said to Homelander, touched.
...
Five minutes later.
A black Maybach pulled up smoothly in front of the apartment building.
The door opened, and a burly driver wearing sunglasses stood by the car, respectfully holding the door open.
Homelander shielded Hope as she got into the back seat and then climbed in after her.
"To 804 Millville Street."
The Maybach sped through the night.
As the car entered the high-end neighborhood where Hank Pym lived, the dazzling red and blue Police lights could be seen flashing from a distance.
Two San Francisco Police Department patrol cars were parked outside Pym's Villa.
Homelander's car stopped outside the Police line.
They happened to see several Police finishing their notes, walking out of Pym's house, and driving away in their patrol cars.
Seeing the Police coming and going, Hope's heart skipped a beat.
"It seems the situation is even more serious than I thought." Hope pushed open the car door, feeling uneasy, and prepared to get out.
Just as her foot stepped out, she suddenly stopped.
She looked back at Homelander, who was also sitting in the back seat.
Everything that happened tonight felt like a dream. If it hadn't been for that sudden phone call, they might have already...
Hope bit her lip, suddenly turned around, and leaned her upper body back into the rear of the car.
Before Homelander could react, she cupped his cheeks with both hands and kissed him deeply on the lips.
Two seconds later, Hope pulled back, her face flushing red.
"I'll call you once I've handled things here."
She gave Homelander a deep look, then lifted her skirt and ran quickly toward the Pym family's old house.
Homelander leaned back in his seat, lightly touched his lips with his finger, and watched Hope's retreating figure with a meaningful smile.
...
Hope approached the familiar three-story retro Villa. She pushed open the ajar carved wooden door and, by the dim wall lights in the hallway, saw brass shell casings and shattered wood chips scattered across the floor.
The patterned wallpaper and furniture were riddled with rows of shocking bullet holes.
The staircase railing was broken in two, there was a large hole in the wall, and the air was thick with the lingering, pungent smell of gunpowder.
"This definitely wasn't a common burglary; this was a firefight." Having undergone rigorous Agent training, Hope's mind quickly made the assessment.
"Father!"
She shouted loudly, her voice echoing in the empty rooms. There was no response.
"Father! Where are you?!"
Hope called out again, a hint of unavoidable panic creeping into her voice.
"I'm here, Hope."
A slightly weary voice came from the direction of the Underground Room.
Hope went to the Underground Room.
Under the dim light, Hank Pym sat dejectedly on a low cabinet inside the vault, his hair looking even messier than usual.
Seeing her father unharmed, Hope's tense nerves finally relaxed, and she let out a long sigh of relief.
"Thank God you're okay." She hurried to Hank's side, looking him up and down. Once she confirmed he wasn't injured, her tone immediately became stern.
"What on earth happened here? What's with all those bullet holes outside? Why were the Police here?"
Hank faced his daughter, his eyes filled with a deep sense of frustration.
"My plan was botched, Hope." Hank rubbed his temples, his voice bitter.
"Plan? What plan?" Hope crossed her arms, asking despite already knowing.
"I found a person. A thief named Scott Lang." Hank smiled bitterly.
"I intentionally leaked the news to lead him to sneak in here and open that safe. I wanted to test his abilities; I wanted to give that suit to him."
"He's a rare talent, proficient in all kinds of security systems, and he was desperate, needing money to pay child support for his daughter."
"Everything was going smoothly at first. He passed all the tests, successfully deactivated the alarms, opened the vault door, and got the suit."
"And the gunfight outside? Did the thief fire those shots?" Hope pointed outside.
"No, it wasn't him," Hank explained, shaking his head.
"Just as Scott got the suit and was about to leave, another group burst in. Three fully armed thugs with night vision goggles and suppressed submachine guns. They were highly trained tactically and had a very clear objective: they were after that suit."
"Scott clashed with them. I don't know what methods that thief used, but he knocked one of the robbers flying and then jumped out the window to escape."
"But..." Hank looked up at Hope, his eyes full of gravity.
"...That ant-man suit was stolen by those robbers."
"What? The suit was stolen?!" Hearing this news, Hope's expression changed drastically.
She grit her teeth, forcing herself to calm down and analyze the situation.
"Listen, Father. Only one person knows what might be hidden in this house. And only one person has the motive and the willingness to hire bloodthirsty killers to seize it."
Hope and Hank looked at each other and spoke the name at the same time.
"Darren Cross."
"I underestimated his intelligence network; he must have found some clues in my old lab. Darren is very smart, exactly like I was when I was young, which is why I originally chose him as my protégé." Hank sighed weakly, his eyes full of worry.
"He's been trying to perfect the shrinking technology for the Wasp Suit, but he's never been able to solve the protein collapse issue in organisms during the shrinking process. That ant-man suit contains the stability formula for Pym Particles."
Hank's voice trembled slightly.
"If Darren really took that suit, he'll likely be able to derive it through reverse engineering. This means his weapons mass-production plan will definitely be moved forward—maybe to next month, or even sooner."
"I warned you long ago!" Hope's voice suddenly rose.
"I told you to give that suit to me! I've had professional combat and infiltration training! I'm familiar with Darren's security systems, and I know where he hides his servers. If I had been the one wearing the suit, I would have burned his data center to ashes tonight instead of standing here watching someone else steal the ant-man suit!"
"Why won't you just trust your own daughter?!"
Facing his daughter's accusations, Hank Pym's face flushed red, and his suppressed temper was ignited.
"I've said it many times, Hope! You're not the right fit!" He stood up abruptly, shouting loudly with agitation, trying to use his volume to mask his inner feelings. "You cannot wear that suit! Never!"