C335 Spider-Man (Patreon)
Content
After a few days, Scott and his team of personal trainers stood in the basement, finished with his usual daily warm-up.
“You know, I think this regulator is holding me back.” Scott fiddles with the regulator on his suit.
“Do not screw with the regulator!” Hank snapped in warning. ”If it’s compromised, you’d go sub-atomic.”
Instantly, Scott stopped what he was doing and held his hands in the air. “What does that mean?”
“It means that you’d enter the quantum realm.” Hank explains vaguely.
“?” Scott continued to look at him, waiting for an answer that he could actually understand.
“It means that you’d enter a reality where all concepts of time and space become irrelevant as you shrink for all eternity.” Pym explains in a grave tone. ”Everything that you know, and love, gone forever.”
“R-Right...” Scott nodded dumbly as he kept his hands far away from the regulator. “Don’t touch the regulator. Got it.”
Basically, the regulator controls the degree of size reduction, giving the wearer of the suit a sort of safety net from any accidents.
“Alright, that’s enough of that.” Peter steps up. “It’s time for your hand-to-hand training.”
Nodding with a bit of dread clear on his face, Scott followed Peter to an open space and prepared himself for the beating that was coming his way.
“Remember to go easy, okay? I’m old, you know...” Scott asked hopefully.
“I always go easy on you.” Peter shrugs as he motions for Scott to come forward. “Now quit talking nonsense and start.”
Gulping anxiously, Scott let out a resigned sigh as he rushed forward and threw a fist at Peter’s face.
And before he knew what happened, Scott’s fist hit nothing but air as he suddenly found himself flipped upside down, crashing face up on the padded floor.
“Up!” Peter ordered as Scott’s daily beating officially began.
At first, Scott was happy with his training, as he knew Peter wouldn’t just beat him for fun, like a certain woman in the room, but he was soon served a big helping of reality.
As a man who would be an Avenger and go out into the field before his basic training was finished, Peter decided that he would take Scott’s training very seriously.
Of course, he didn’t like that Scott would be going into the field so early, but he also knew that this was needed for Scott to officially become Ant-Man.
Which is why Peter isn’t going to do Scott’s job for him.
After all, he could easily handle Cross and the Yellowjacket suit right now and still be back in time for lunch.
Especially since Peter can easily shrink and grow himself with the Reality Stone.
But sadly, this is a challenge that Scott needed to overcome on his own.
Though Peter would be sure to watch carefully and provide assistance when needed.
‘Once Darren Cross is taken care of, I’ll make sure Scott’s benched until basic training is finished.’ Peter reasoned to himself.
...
Once Scott was beaten black and blue and healed back to brand new with a wave of Peters hand, it was now Hank and Hope’s turn to teach.
“You’ve learned about the suit, but you’ve yet to learn about your greatest allies, the ants. Loyal, brave, and your partners for every situation.” Hank explains as various ant colonies crawled across the floor, each with their own unique characteristics.
Hope stepped forward and pointed to a colony of ants that were crawling around in a frenzied manner. "This is the crazy ant, also known as Paratrechina longicornis. They're called crazy ants because they move so quickly and erratically."
Scott observed the ants for a moment before turning to Hank. "What can they do for me?"
"They’re lightning fast, making them good mounts, but most of all, they can conduct electricity which makes them useful to fry out enemy electronics." Pym explained.
Hope then walked over to another colony and pointed to a large ant with a menacing-looking stinger. "This is the bullet ant, or Paraponera clavata.”
“Yeah, we’ve met...” Scott comments, as he woke up to them surrounding him only a few days ago.
Hope continues. “They're known to have the most painful sting of any insect."
Scott nodded as he already knew this.
"The venom from these ants can be used as a powerful sedative," said Hank. "If you need to take someone out quickly, just release a few of these ants near them. The sting will knock them out cold and even kill depending on how many their are."
Hope then moved on to the third colony. "These are carpenter ants, Camponotus pennsylvanicus. They're known for their strength and ability to tunnel through wood."
Scott nodded like the good student he currently was.
"They can help you create tunnels and pathways through wood," explained Hank. “I mainly used them for their flight ability, though not all of them have wings."
Finally, Hope walked over to the last colony and pointed to a group of ants that were scurrying around in a frenzy. "These are fire ants, Solenopsis geminata. They're called fire ants because their sting feels like you're being burned."
Scott raised an eyebrow. "What can I use them for?"
"These ants can be used for defensive purposes," said Hank. "If you need to create a barrier around yourself, just release a few of these ants. Their stings will deter anyone from getting too close."
‘Maybe I should make some pokè balls for him?’ Peter thought as he pictured Scott throwing a ball at his enemies and screaming ‘Fire Ants! I choose you!’
...
After explaining everything about the ants, Scott was forced to shrink down and bond with them.
After all, he would be taking up the mantle of Ant-Man, and the ants that Pym specially cultivated throughout the years came as a package deal.
(A/N: I don’t actually know how he controls the ants, but for now I’m just going to keep it vague. If anyone has some info for me. Or a link to some info. I’d be very appreciative.)
While Scott was awkwardly bonding with the ants, and even named one of them Ant-thony, an alert could be heard sounding from the security room.
“”“?””” Everyone, including Scott who grew back to normal size, walked over to the usually hidden room to see what was happening.
“Hmm?” Peter hummed as he saw movement on one of the cameras upstairs. “Isn’t that your bad guy?”
Pym's eyes go wide. “Wait here and keep quiet.” He said and rushes away to deal with their resident villain.
Pym emerged upstairs and paced to his living room to find Darren Cross standing there, admiring an old picture of them together, looking like a proud father and his son.
“Darren. How the hell did you get in here?” Pym asked in annoyance.
“You left the front door open, Hank. It’s official. You’re old.” Darren smirks.
“Well to what do I owe this pleasure?” Pym said, though, with his tone of voice, Cross could tell that it was more of a displeasure.
“I have good news!” Cross smiles happily.
“...” Pym raised a brow, waiting for him to spit it out already.
“Pym Tech, the company you created, is about to officially launch the first line of Yellowjacket suits. Soon enough, every global power will be outfitted with at least one of its very own Yellowjackets. We’re anticipating fifteen billion in sales tomorrow alone.” He says, but Pym still didn’t reply. “You’re welcome by the way.”
Pym refused to give him any satisfaction and kept his mouth shut. ‘I should’ve shredded this little sh*t’s resume the second I saw it.’
Cross smiled, enjoying this situation. “The buyers will arrive tonight and I know this is odd, but I’d like you to be there. This is my moment and I want you to see it.”
Pym couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his former assistant's sadistic attitude. “Sure, I’ll be there.”
...
After some more small talk, which consisted of Cross continuously rubbing dirt in his former mentor's face, Cross swaggered out of the house, happy with his visit.
And when he was gone, Scott and Hope rushed up the stairs followed by Peter.
“He knows! He’s baiting you!” Hope paces up to her father in worry. “We have to be careful...”
Realization suddenly flashed over Hope's face. “Do you think he knows I was here?”
After all, her position as a double agent was very important.
“There’s no way.” Pym shook his head back and forth.
“It’s possible.” Peter added. “It’s better to be safe than sorry so If I were you, I’d avoid being alone with him from now on.”
“...” Nobody doubted Peter's words.
After all, he had the most experience in things like this.
Well, technically Pym would be considered experienced as well, but he’s been rather rusty ever since his retirement.
“I don’t believe we have the luxury of training anymore.” Pym said.
“I agree.” Peter nodded as he took a seat on the nearby sofa. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well...”
———————————————
Hours later, as the sun began to set, a tiny ant-sized golden portal opened on the rooftop of Pym Technologies.
As the portal formed, a red and black helmet poked out, cautiously surveying the area before stepping out onto the roof.
“Alright, I’m on the roof of the target building.”
A/N: 1569 words :)