"I'm not suitable?!" Hope didn't back down, letting out a cold snort as she stared straight into Hank's eyes.
"Is it because I'm not smart enough? Or because I'm not strong enough?" She took a step forward. "Or is it... because of my mother? Janet..."
Upon hearing the name 'Janet', Hank Pym froze in place, his lips trembling slightly.
His eyes began to shift, not daring to look Hope in the eye.
After a long while, Pym finally spoke slowly: "You... you know everything?"
"I know everything." Hope struggled to keep her tears from falling.
"I know that in 1987, she chose to sacrifice herself to save countless lives, shrinking herself down to the subatomic level."
Hank slowly covered his face and let out a long sigh, his voice filled with over twenty years of regret and pain.
"I think back to that moment every day, Hope."
"She made that decision, and I could only watch helplessly as she shrank, completely disappearing from my sight."
He walked over to an old photograph; it was of him and Janet in their youth, both smiling radiantly.
"Losing her... felt like someone had carved out a piece of my heart."
Hank looked at Hope, his tone carrying a plea.
"You look so much like her, Hope. Your eyes, the way you get angry, even the tone of your voice, are exactly like Janet's."
"I can't let you put on that suit. I can't let you take that risk again. I can't lose you too..."
Following Hank Pym's heartfelt confession, the emotions between the two softened.
Hope's tears finally fell. She walked up to Hank and gently embraced the old man who had been stubborn his entire life.
"I'm sorry, Dad... I didn't know you were carrying so much alone."
Hank gently patted her back, just as he had comforted her when she was a child. The rift of many years mostly dissipated after mentioning Janet.
A moment later, Hope let go of Pym, her gaze becoming firm once more.
"Father, we cannot change the past. But now, we must face the threat Darren poses."
"Since the old suit was stolen, there is only one way now. Build another ant-man suit. This time, I'll do it myself."
"No!"
Hank refused almost reflexively: "Since you know the reason, you should understand why I will never let you wear that suit!"
"You can't let me take the risk?!"
Hope's voice rose again, snapping back without hesitation.
"So you can just let another innocent person take that risk with a clear conscience?!"
She pressed forward, her accusations hitting Hank like a barrage of gunfire.
"Other people have families too! Other people have people who love them!"
"That Scott Lang! You know perfectly well that he has a daughter!"
Hope's tone was laced with disappointment.
"To protect your own daughter, you're planning to let another little girl lose her father? To let her endure the pain you once went through?! What kind of bullshit logic is that, Dr. Pym!"
Hank Pym was left speechless by Hope's words.
He opened his mouth, wanting to defend himself, but found that he couldn't find a single reason to argue back.
Because Hope was entirely right.
He knew very well that doing this was selfish and cruel; when he was choosing Scott Lang, his subconscious was deliberately avoiding this issue. He kept brainwashing himself, telling himself it was for the greater good, that it was just a fair trade.
But in reality, he was using someone else's life to trade for his daughter's safety.
Hope looked at her silent father. The words Homelander had said to her echoed in her mind again.
"You are more suitable than anyone, and more qualified to inherit his mantle."
Her tone softened, yet it seemed even more unshakeable.
"Father, if you really want to stop all this, you must trust me. I am not a Normal naive girl ; I am the daughter of Janet van Dyne."
Hank looked up, earnestly watching his daughter's determined gaze. He suddenly realized that his daughter had long since grown up; she possessed a soul as brave and stubborn as his wife's.
He let out a long sigh, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.
"You've grown up, Hope. Braver than me."
Hank gently patted Hope's shoulder; he had finally compromised, yet the practical problem now lay before them.
"However, even if I agree to let you wear the suit to stop Darren." He shook his head with a bitter smile, pointing at the empty house around them.
"Look at what we have now?"
"Darren controls all the resources of Pym Technologies. If I rely only on myself, trying to build another ant-man suit would take at least two or three years."
Hank spread his hands: "By then, Darren will have already sold his weapons to Terrorists across the Universe."
Hearing this harsh reality, Hope also fell silent for a moment.
She paced back and forth somewhat troubled.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and looked at her dejected father, a confident and mysterious smile blooming on her face.
"Who said you only have yourself to rely on?"
"What do you mean?" Hank looked up in confusion.
"I just happen to know a friend."
Hope took a gold-edged embossed business card out of her handbag and handed it to Hank.
Hank took the card, and after seeing the title on it clearly, his brow furrowed tightly.
"Starr Group? The parent company of Vought International? Hope, you're playing with fire. These capitalists might be even greedier than Darren."
"He's different, Father."
Homelander's mesmerizing face appeared in Hope's mind, her tone certain.
"Tomorrow, I'll arrange for you to meet. I'll introduce you."
...
Meanwhile, in a shabby apartment in San Francisco.
The air was thick with smoke, and the table was covered with leftover pizza boxes and empty beer cans.
"Man! This is definitely the craziest night of my life!"
"I'm telling you, when I heard the gunfire erupting in the house, I swear, I even had the words for my tombstone ready: Here lies Scott Lang, a good father, and an unlucky bastard who got turned into Swiss cheese!"
"Shut up."
Scott leaned back in his chair, his eyes fixed on the metal pendant in his hand.
His brain was still a tangled mess.
He thought he was just going to steal from a retired old man's safe, but it ended up evolving into a shootout scene from a Hollywood action blockbuster.
What made him even more shaken was the bizarre thing that happened to him tonight.
He carefully poked the teardrop-shaped metal pendant.
No matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary piece of metal.
But, it was this very thing that, at the moment those gunmen fired, transformed into a shield that blocked the bullets.
Not only that, it also turned into a heavy gauntlet, allowing him to punch a fully armed brute ten meters away!
"This thing can bring you good luck, and when you encounter trouble, it can lead you out of a predicament. This is a gift from a friend."
Scott recalled the tycoon who had shared drinks with him in the bar; though they had only just met, he truly considered him a close friend.
"This Daniel, just who is he?"