Heist
Scott Lang probably had never been more focused in his life.
After months of planning, the moment had come. Unlike his previous attempts, this time he had no luxury to screw it up or retreat. He and the rest of his team had to pull off tonight in order to wake up to the better tomorrow they all hope and fight for. Scott wanted that for them, and he wanted for himself that his better tomorrow would be in his home world.
To achieve that goal, he and his team, -that mostly made up by his friends from work or normal people who wanted to take action- had to break into a literal supervillain's, evil lair and steal some shit from the said lair.
Or in other words; break into the Red Queen’s Secret Lab, a.k.a. Pym Tech building, and steal some Pym Particles. Which, was currently being protected by Ultron bots, dog-sized bullet ants, and cameras watching almost every corner and corridor of the building.
No need to add that Scott was guessing no matter the universe, Pym particle was something you shouldn’t mess with -unless you want to end up trapped in other dimensions like him and Janet or shrink to death like Darren Cross.
The point was they had to be very careful while carrying those precious and dangerous vials through an hour walk in the sewers. The risks were high, but they had to steal enough particles and bring them undamaged to replicate them if they can and if not, use them wisely with the ‘shrinking suits’ they were making.
They weren’t as advanced or lets face it, as durable and safe as Hank’s suits, but Scott knew enough about his tech to replicate something that would do the job. The job happened to be rebellion against the Red Queen.
The idea of a rebellion was something that people whispered since the Red Queen took the reigns after the incident, or that’s what Luis and Maggie told Scott. He had found himself in this world shortly before her rise in power, therefore he was able to take the ‘other’ and ‘dead’ Scott’s place before the body counting had begun.
When the Red Queen pressured the people with her orders, rules, and then Ultron bots, the idea of rebellion became more than a whisper and Scott became one of the ‘brains’ shortly after they started organizing.
The Pym Heist was his idea and it was planned by him and said ‘brains’. People who were risking their lives tonight were counting on their plan to succeed. Scott knew that, and that was the reason why he not only planned the heist, but he also took probably the most important -and the most dangerous- mission of the heist: Breaking into the secret vault inside the Red Queen’s secret laboratory that kept the red and blue vials inside.
Scott couldn’t and wouldn’t trust anybody else for that task. Not when it took so long just to plan the thing. He also gave the second most important job to people he trusted their loyalty and talents. So, he waited in the air duct for Luis, Linda, and Maggie to announce they were in position, the ants on their ways were neutralizing by Maggie as they spoke and Scott was good to go.
Scott swiftly jumped down from the air duct that hung on the ceiling. He hit the ground as silent as he could and froze for a moment. He looked around then slowly walked into the depths of the dimly lit room. His ears were listening to his surroundings for the clipping of a jaw or the metallic sound of a footstep.
He thought how every part of his team should be checking in through their comms, but it was Luis and Linda’s job to answer them. Scott wasn’t hearing them because his only open line was with Luis and Linda. He had done it on purpose. He didn’t need any distractions right now.
Scott was as careful and silent as he could as he walked between the tables and cabinets that filled with vials, files and different kinds of equipment that Scott didn’t know the names of. In a matter of minutes, he arrived at the cabinet 5-B without any accidents.
Scott stopped and looked inside the glass; empty bottles and files contained one shelf, and the rest of them were filled with books. Scott didn’t hold himself from rolling his eyes at the whole cliche look over it, but he went back to business and pushed in the right lid’s handle.
Almost cartoonishly, the cabinet moved forward and Scott took two steps back to allow it slide to the side and open the entrance to the Red Queen’s secret lab. Scott nodded appreciating,there was a real effort put into it.
He slowly walked into the brightly lit room. In the back of his mind, he thought how much Cassie will love when he told about how he broke into a vault behind a secret cabinet like he was in an adventure movie.
If she still likes to watch that kind of movies. He added sadly.
He looked around the room as he walked further. It was rather large. He knew Red Queen used the lab outside as her personal workplace, but this secret room was particular. While she allowed some people in the room outside with her, this place was for her only. It held her most secret and valuable tech and their plans.
Which a lot of them were hanging on the walls. Scott examined some of them and wished he had a camera or a phone with him to take pictures. He had no time to draw them down either, so he reluctantly let go and walked between the two big tables that some prototypes were scattered on. Scott even saw a suit at the end of the room. It had familiar colours with his suit but other than that it was shaped very different. Not the mention it was obviously a work in progress.
Given the time Scott would spend hours in there but he had a job to do. So he pointedly looked forward and made his way to the vault at the end of the room. It was buried in the wall and on the big lids left side there was a little screen and under it there was buttons with numbers on them.
Already having a fingerprint with the help of an assistant that worked here, Scott passed that step without any trouble. He also had most of the password too -thanks to Ant-i Red Queen. Scott only had to figure out the last number. Which even that one number would’ve been a real problem with only three chances to enter the password right, but the Red Queen was also a Drama Queen.
The last digit was seven. And Scott was sure of it because it was obviously part of a particular date; 24.10.1987. The death of Janet van Dyne and Hank Pym.
Scott would love to say the word death between quotation marks, walk up to her and say, “Nah, dude. There’s still a chance that they are down there wandering around.” But no, he had seen their tomb and watched an old record of the funeral. They looked very dead in their coffins.
After seeing that footage for the first time, Scott couldn’t help but felt a bit sorry for her. No matter what she was now, that day she was just a seven year old girl whose parents had died.
Though his sympathy was short-lived after he remembered another seven-year-old girl who lost her mother and left alone by her father for the most of her life, but didn’t turn out as a supervillain with an obsession of world domination.
Instead, she had become one of the best people Scott had ever seen in his life, and was one of the things helping him to keep his reason in a place that.
He dialed the numbers and safe opened with click. He touched his earpiece. “Safe is open. Give me five minutes and I’ll be on the corridor.”
“Got it Scotty,” Luis answered.
Scoot opened the almost gigantic safe door and looked at the wardrobe-like safe. He was speechless at the sight of maybe hundreds of red, blue and yellow vials in front of him. Scott grinned and went on his knees and started to take bottles of red and blue particles from the bottom racks so the Red Queen wouldn’t notice immediately that someone broke into her vault.
Scott carefully put the particles in a suitcase he specially prepared for their safe transport. When there was no place left, he started to refill his suit’s particles. Both for shrinking and growing.
With enough vials for his and other suits to be operational, he was done here. He carefully locked the vial case, and slowly got up with it in his hand. He closed the safe, it automatically locked itself again.
Scott quickly exited the secret room and hid it again after he got out. He touched the little button on his earpiece. “I’m out of the secret lab. Entering the corridor in a minute.”
“Ok. Your path in this floor is clear. Be quick, and you can go to stairs with no problem,” Luis said.
“Your path in this floor is clear -who are you? Gandalf?” Scott joked.
“Who’s Gandalf?”
Scott sighed. “Never mind.” He cracked the door open and looked around before exiting the room. He quickly made his way through the corridor and went to the fire exit without being seen. He slowly opened the door and closed behind him with the same care. There was no source of light in there, so he opened his flashlight. Then he started to go down the stairs as quickly and as fast as possible.
Scott made almost no sound as he almost flew down the stairs. Though, his ear was open for Luis may say something important. Just like his ears, his fists were also ready for if something might come.
When Scott had only about three floors left to the hatch’s floor, Luis talked. “Scott, you copy?”
Scott’s heart clenched in his chest. “Yeah man, only three floors left,” he answered out of breath. He saw he was already half-way through as he turned another corner. “You know what, make it two and a half...”
“Scott, we have a problem. I think we have two men down,” Luis said.
“What?!” Scott almost exclaimed but held himself at the last moment. “Who? Where?”
“In the electrics department, it just happened. Bill warned us about something like a robot. Then some static and they’re silent ever since.”
Bill, was a huge guy. Scott saw him take out a bot just by crashing its head to the wall once. They were all in danger.
“I’m on it,” Scott said, putting the particle case gently to the ground with his backpack. He then snapped his helmet on and exited two floor before his original destination. With his operational Ant-Man suit on, he could blow up those freaky robots in minutes without the other two men can even see him.
“Nononono, you can’t -you have the particles you can’t stop right now. I just contacted you to ask who to send!”
“The particles are safe, don’t worry. I can handle it Luis, you know I can. Just- be my eyes-on-the-sky alright?” Scott looked to a door nearby and read the number on it aloud. Luis started to guide him through dark corridors.
“Fine, but don’t do anything foolish until the back-up arrives.”
“Don’t worry ‘bout it,” Scott said. For a second, he thought about calling ants for help, but he quickly remembered his communication device was taken out from his helmet and was currently on the use by Maggie. The idea of her sending them to help him was quickly dismissed. She must be trying very hard to keep focused on them to stay away from the people already, since not a word came from her since announcing her position. He didn’t want to give her more than she could carry.
Scott already knew the layout of the floor since he spent nights memorizing the plans of the building. He walked through three empty corridors. All of them were dim lighted but was enough to read the plates on the doors.
Taking the last turn, he entered a dark corridor with red emergency lights on. He stopped after taking a few reluctant steps forward. He could hear the sounds of a fight and probably Buck’s yellings, but none of them was on sight. He put his finger on the button on his glove, but before he could push it a man flew out of the last room on the corridor. He hit the wall with a bang and moaned on the floor. The double doors slapped back on their after him.
“I found the room. I’m going in,” Scott whispered. He started to run and pushed the button. He waited for world to grown as he shrank, but he was confused when it didn’t. He slowed down before he reached to the doors but before he could run or hide, someone emerged from the room that his teammate just flew from.
A lean figure slowly walked to the unconscious man on the floor. Suddenly the white lights all across the corridor blinkered for a short moment and the figure’s transparent wings and yellow lenses on their shiny helmet shined.
Scott froze in his step his feet skriled on the tiles. The sound made the figure turn its head and saw him when lights blinkered again.
Scott knew she recognized him too, because the next moment the familiar click of her helmet brought Scott back into reality and he saw her face. Then his helmet was opening too and they were running to each other.
The moment their bodies meet, their arms held onto each other for dear life. Scott’s body started to tremble with sudden hiccups as he held Hope tighter and tighter, trying to convince himself that she was finally here, in his arms, that she had came for him. She was holding on to him in the same way.
With every passing second, the felt he weight on his shoulders was lifting. The relief that was washing over him felt like he was flying. He could tell Hope was feeling the same way by the kisses on his cheek and neck. Her happy tears and waves of laughter were mixing up with sobs. She pulled back for a moment, only to hold his face with both hands and kiss him senselessly.
“You’re... still alive,” she breathed between kisses. “I found you...” Scott held her tighter when she stopped kissing him, though her hands didn’t leave his cheeks. “I’m sorry we couldn’t get you sooner. Just fixing and modifying the pod took us a week before I could take out.”
A week? Only a-
“Scotty you’re ok?” Luis’ voice echoed in his ears, bringing him back to the reality where he was in middle of a heist. “Are you ok? I can’t see you because there are no cameras in that corridor, but Jack and Ed are on the floor now. They should be with you in a minute.”
“Uh… ok!” Scott said while holding a finger on his mouth. She frowned at him and he while he wanted to tell her everything, they didn’t have the time right now. He whispered to her ear instead, “I’m so, so happy to see you. But now you need to shrink -Right now! Stay close to me but don’t let them see you. We need to leave this place first for me to explain.”
“What? What’s going on?” Hope whispered back but she did as she’s told when she heard footsteps approaching. Scott didn’t snap his helmet back on so he could listen to the buzz of Hope’s wings. She was flying close.
“A heist is going on,” Scott said as he walked to his still passed out friend. “I can explain once we get home, but now please don’t let them see you.”
Two men, suited up with standard masks and suits but also with weapons in their hands and a backpack on one of them ran to them. Scott recognized Ed from the backpack and height. He was supposed to guard the hatch to the sewer and seeing him here made Scott want to leave this place immediately.
He forced himself to get it together and signed them to slow down. “You’re too loud!” he hissed. “Come on we have to hurry, we probably have to carry them both outta here.”
Two men nodded and followed him to their unconscious friend on the ground. “What happened to him?” Jack asked.
“I found him like this,” Scott said. Technically it’s not a lie, he thought.
“Do you think it was a bot? Are we exposed?” asked Ed.
“Don’t think so. If they did, we would know by now, trust me,” Scott answered.
Ed nodded while slapping the man’s cheeks. When he got no response he sighed and hanged his rifle on his shoulder. He nodded toward the room behind them, the doors were wide open after Hope came out. “You two go get Bill. I can carry him on my own,” he said, picking up the man and holding him firefighter style.
Scott and Jack nodded and went inside. They found Bill in a similar state on the ground. Jack went beside to Bill as Scott checked out the controls and made sure nothing was switched to wrong way while Hope beat them up. When he saw everything was fine, he went beside Jack and Bill.
He grimaced as he looked at his friend. Bill’s forehead was bloody, definitely needed to be stitched up. Scott saw a bloody pipe laying on the ground not far away from him. Hope certainly didn’t hold back.
Speaking of Hope, Scott looked around for her while trying not to be obvious with Jack beside him. As he started to worry when he couldn’t see or hear her, he felt something on the back of his neck.
“Okay, you got the legs, I got the shoulders. On three,” Jack said and Scott sprint to action. They picked the almost 400-pound man up with great effort, then they started to half carry half drag him through the corridors. After they turned three corners Ed came back running to help them.
Scott left them be and ran back to the staircase to get his backpack and case. He found them exactly how he left. “Ok. I got the particles, time to leave this place. Everyone ready?”
“Positive,” Luis answered. “Ed and Jack just brought Bill to the hatch. Me, Maggie and Linda will join you as soon as Linda finishes replacing the real footage with a fake one.”
“It’s almost done. We’ll be there in five minutes,” Linda said, and Scott let out a breath in relief. With his backpack on, he started to climb down the rest of the stairs. Hope flew in front of his face and gestured what’s going on?! with her tiny arms. Scott only smiled and made a thumbs up to her.
He’d never expect Hope would to turn out tonight and in this place. When he thought all the possibilities he could think of as he planned the heist he certainly didn’t expect that.
The whole heist was about getting his hands on some Pym particles so he could go back to the quantum realm and hope for the tiny possibility of being found by Hope and her parents, like they found Janet. But at the end of the night Hope herself found him. It was better than anything he stole here tonight. He would sing and dance in happiness if he weren’t in a building with literal killing machines walking around.
That moment had to wait just a little longer and he could wait a little bit longer.