Natasha had clearly come prepared. For the agents at the Avengers facility, digging up this kind of information was child's play.
"Since you already know everything, why ask me?" Pym said bluntly. "Tell me—what will it take to release Scott?"
Now that Natasha had laid things out, there was no point pretending anymore. It was obvious the Avengers were already aware of Darren Cross's plans.
"Scott will be back tomorrow," Natasha replied calmly. "And we'll be intervening in Cross's operation as well. When that happens, I hope you won't interfere with our plan, Dr. Pym."
"A plan? What exactly are you trying to do?!" Pym immediately became wary.
To him, the Avengers were no different from the old S.H.I.E.L.D. If they got involved, it had to be for Cross's research. And that was exactly what he feared most.
If they obtained the results, it could spell disaster for the world.
Natasha seemed to read his thoughts and smiled faintly.
"There's no need to worry, Dr. Pym. We're not interested in Cross's research."
She didn't elaborate further.
But her words alone weren't enough to reassure Pym. His distrust ran deep. Still, the situation left him with no leverage—pushing further might only put Scott in danger.
"Fine," Pym said coldly. "Just release Scott as soon as possible."
Natasha nodded. "Of course. We don't have the budget to keep prisoners."
She stood and walked toward the door, but paused before leaving.
"Oh—and if you happen to see any Avengers at Cross's company later… I suggest you pretend not to recognize them."
Without waiting for a response, she left.
She knew Pym didn't really have a choice.
---
The next morning, Karl strolled lazily into the office.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, he saw Natasha sitting casually on the sofa, scrolling through news on a tablet.
"When did you get here?" Karl asked, slightly surprised.
Most Avengers lived in secure, undisclosed safe houses. Their home addresses were strictly confidential—like Barton's family home back in the day.
Natasha had long since vacated her old apartment. After Fury called off surveillance on Karl, even the liaison had been withdrawn. There was no reason to keep renting it.
Only Tony and Pepper still kept theirs—and Tony had prepaid twenty years of rent, occasionally dropping by for a stay.
"This morning," Natasha replied without looking up. "We caught someone calling himself Ant-Man. I paid a visit to his base last night."
"You mean Scott?" Karl asked, recalling that Scott had tried to break into the Avengers facility—only to get caught. Unlucky didn't even begin to describe it.
"You know him?" Natasha finally looked up, curiosity piqued.
"Of course I do—"
Before Karl could continue, Skye plopped down beside Natasha with a plate of cut fruit and eagerly jumped in.
"Oh! Let me tell you—"
She launched into the story of how Scott had crash-landed on their balcony.
"I nearly had a heart attack! Who has ants that big?!"
Anyone would panic at the sight of an ant the size of a calf.
Natasha chuckled softly.
"In that case… are you interested in joining this mission? Might be fun."
Her intention was obvious—she was here to recruit them.
"Stop right there. Not interested," Karl cut her off immediately.
"I'm just an ordinary person now. I need protection."
That was his trump card.
He knew Skye and the others wouldn't leave him alone to go on a mission—and they weren't Avengers anyway.
Skye had been tempted, but the moment Karl said that, she changed her mind.
He hadn't fully recovered yet. Of the three months needed, two and a half had only just passed.
"Sorry, Natasha," Skye said firmly. "I can't leave him like this."
"Exactly," Karl added, nudging Skye away from Natasha. "Go find Tony. He's definitely got a way to deal with Cross."
Natasha smiled knowingly.
She understood perfectly—Karl and Nick Fury had never seen eye to eye. Unless absolutely necessary, Karl wouldn't get involved in their affairs.
"Alright then. I'll go find Tony," she said. "What's he been up to lately? Haven't seen him in a while."
"Probably locked in his lab, tinkering with something weird as usual," Karl replied.
---
Meanwhile, Scott had returned to Pym's house.
The Ant-Man suit was intact—just as Natasha had promised, the Avengers hadn't kept it.
"You were completely irresponsible!" Pym snapped the moment he saw him. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You've messed everything up!"
Scott said nothing.
Instead, he quietly placed the device on the table—the signal scrambler Steve had given him before he left.
He didn't agree with Pym's view of the Avengers. In fact, after spending time with them, Scott found them surprisingly… likable.
Especially Sam and Rhodey.
Pym stared at the device in silence.
He hadn't expected this.
Based on his past experience with S.H.I.E.L.D., Scott should've come back empty-handed—everything confiscated.
But reality had proven otherwise.
"The Avengers aren't interested in your suit at all," Scott said. "They didn't even bother looking at it. You're worrying for nothing."
And he wasn't wrong.
From Steve and the other heroes to the agents and even the scientists—no one had shown the slightest interest in the Ant-Man suit.
Of course, that was largely because they didn't fully understand it.
If they knew the Pym Particles could shrink matter down to the quantum level…
Those scientists would probably lose their minds.
After all, the Quantum Realm remained a near-mythical concept—something no one had truly reached or understood.
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