The Death Knell

Do insects dream?

We knew it would, and this guy we knew, Hank Pym, he would.

In his most common dream, he and his girlfriend toured the Danube River, walked through the most famous residential areas of Budapest, and wandered through the antique streets.

To be precise, that was not his girlfriend, but his fiancée. It was originally planned that the two of them would get married after returning from the trip.

While he was still thinking about which way to return to their hotel as soon as possible, the harsh noise of a black car's tires scraping the ground rang in his ears.

"No one can escape!"

Almost at the same time as the car passed by, the man leaning out of the car window said this, and then the masked man took out a submachine gun.

It was a dream. Pim could do nothing. He could only see his fiancée standing in front of him and being swept to the ground in the hail of bullets.

As the vehicle sped away and he cried bitterly while holding his fiancée in his arms, an explosion occurred in the city of Budapest, and agents from the Logistics Department and Hydra rushed toward the explosion site like moths to a flame.

Everyone passed by him, but no one looked at him. He seemed to be abandoned by the world.

He woke up, sweating as usual, and even though it was midnight, he couldn't sleep anymore. Watching your lover die in your arms is probably something that a human being cannot forget in his lifetime.

The nightmare kept repeating itself in his mind.

Although many years have passed, he can still see the phantom of his girlfriend. She is here, talking to him and playing games with him.

As a scientist, he knew that he had some mental problems, and he also talked to a psychiatrist within SHIELD, but compared to general PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) therapy, it was of no use at all.

The shadow of his girlfriend always accompanies him, leaving him deep in the whirlpool of happiness and sorrow.

Intellectually he knew this was wrong, but emotionally it was like an addiction. Even though he knew that his girlfriend had left long ago, he couldn't let go.

So after being awakened by another nightmare, he went underground as usual, walked into his basement, put on the special red uniform and a silver helmet like an astronaut.

He came to his backyard and pressed the red button on his palm. He instantly became smaller than an ant.

Yes, he can only get rid of those past phantoms in this way, because when he becomes smaller, his girlfriend's soul can no longer see him.

Walking through the lawn like a primeval forest, the grass that had been pruned by geniuses was now like towering trees to him, and the unformed dew on the grass blades would probably wash him away if it hit him. Out very far.

But his goal was not here. He issued invisible orders through the hormone transmitter in his helmet.

Soon, a big red ant showed its head from behind the grass roots. It stared at him with its fiery red glasses, and then rubbed him with the tentacles on its head.

He climbed onto the ant's back with ease and let the insect, which looked like a small elephant, carry him toward the ant hole.

The ants there are all his friends. After becoming an ant, he still has human strength, so he helps them carry food, defend against enemies, and really lives an ant-like life.

The ant hole is his refuge, helping him stay away from the cruel reality, because ants are very simple, and when you are with them, you will not think of sad past events.

But escaping was only temporary. Today in 1980, he was already in his thirties and still worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

He has to work to maintain scientific research and his secret life. He has been a vigilante as Ant-Man for several years, but no one has ever said that being a vigilante costs so much money before.

While playing with the ants, he was thinking about many things. At least he didn't have to go to work today because there was an annual meeting of physicists in Arizona and he needed to give a speech at the meeting. Howard said he could take him with him on a private plane.

SHIELD has lost many outstanding scientists in the past few years. Dr. Richards, Dr. Zola, and Dr. Tesla all passed away due to various reasons. After Howard became the director, the title of SHIELD's chief scientific advisor fell to on Hank's head.

Dr. Richards' son Reed is a well-known genius boy and is currently studying for his fourth doctorate. He was supposed to inherit his father's legacy and join SHIELD, but unfortunately, he was lured away by the military, because when AIM tried to kidnap Reed, it was Major Ross of the military who snatched him away.

Currently, the Science Department of SHIELD is facing a severe shortage. Pim is as tired as a dog every day, but this is life.

After finishing the weight-lifting game with the ants, he left the ant hole to return to his original shape and went to the bathroom to take a shower. The phantom of his girlfriend appeared again, smiling and sticking behind him.

He could see her face through the steamy mirror, feel the skin-to-skin contact, and would have believed it if he hadn't tried a few years ago that she couldn't help herself with soap.

Pym was used to such weird scenes. He dried his hair with a towel, put on his suit in a daze, and then drove to the airport, where a Stark Industries plane was waiting for him.

Store the car, walk, and board the plane under the guidance of the ground staff, and Howard is already sitting on the sofa. The white beard and hair tell Pim that Howard is also old.

"You look very tired, my little friend, come and sit down." Howard waved and at the same time told the flight attendant: "Open another bottle of champagne to quench the thirst of my colleagues."

"No, Howard, thank you." Pim forced a smile and sat on the sofa opposite Howard, staring at the phantom of his girlfriend sitting on his lap: "I have to publish a paper on bioelectricity today, so drinking now is not a good idea. choose."

Howard smiled. He always felt that Hank seemed to be talking in an empty place: "It's your loss. The wine I have here is all Skywalker's good wine. Most people don't drink it when they come. Forget it. Beauties, give him a glass of milk.”

Hank couldn't resist the milk. He had indeed not eaten in the morning: "Is there anything to eat? Just bread."

"I have Wilson cheeseburgers here. I originally planned to have them for lunch, so I gave them to you." Howard asked the flight attendant to bring a small paper bag, and then ordered the plane to take off.

Despite the fact that he flew to Arizona on a Stark Industries plane, the crew were actually S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in disguise, and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s fighter planes would follow and escort him. He knew that he was now the target of countless people.

Pim thanked him again, and then ate above the clouds while chatting with Howard to avoid staring at the phantom.

Even if there is no topic, Pim will find one.

"Is Dr. Vanke really a Leviathan spy?" he asked Stark.

Howard also pretended to look around, as if to see if the flight attendants were eavesdropping, although they were actually field agents, but Pym did not know this.

"I didn't kill him, I just asked him to drive him out of his situation and drive him back to the Bear."

Pim chewed his burger and nodded: "So, there is no evidence to prove that he is a spy, because releasing hostile agents is against SHIELD regulations."

"Yes, I have no evidence." Howard wiped his beard, picked up the wine glass and slowly tasted: "His country is an enemy country across the ocean, and he tried to steal the computer technology left by Dr. Zola, as well as the 'Black Womb' project information, I can no longer keep him...but he should continue to live, and his intelligence can continue to contribute to the cause of mankind no matter which country he is in."

Pim was a little happy. As a scientist, he would not kill people, and he also hoped that Howard, who was also a scientist, would not kill people, because then science would not be pure.

Unfortunately, in addition to his secret identity as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Howard is also the largest arms dealer in the United States. He may not have personally killed anyone, but he has many dead souls under his command.

"What about the new element reactor you studied with him?" Pim was more concerned about this. New energy can solve many social problems.

Howard sighed and refilled his glass of wine.

"The theory is complete, but the process of turning it into reality is probably over. Without Dr. Vanke, we can only put it on hold for the time being... I hope he won't blame me in the future. Hey, what did I say? We are all this old , it’s useless even if he resents me, he will never be able to return to the United States in his life. In the future, he’d better let his son resent my son, haha.”

As he spoke, Howard laughed again. Science has no borders, but scientists do. He could only hope that Dr. Vanke could understand the situation of mankind in the universe and devote his energy to truly great causes.

In fact, according to the habits of spy agencies, Vanke would have died, and Black Widow could kill him in minutes, but now Howard is in charge of SHIELD, and too many great scientists have died in recent years, and he is more Willing to leave valuable wealth for mankind.

So he raised his glass and drank Pym's milk, drinking it down like a liqueur.