Chapter 16: The Ant-Man Suit (Edited)

"Haha, this is really interesting. Even the police mistook us for a couple. Do we really look that compatible?"

While driving Clark home, Hope couldn't help but tease the young man from the East.

"What's so funny about this? You've been laughing all the way!" Clark finally couldn't help but protest. "You've been paying special attention to me since the beginning of today, following me after school, putting in so much effort. I assume it's not just to spar with me, right?"

Hope then cleared her throat, reining in her laughter, "You noticed, huh? I've been practicing combat and need to keep training to maintain my physical fitness. I heard there's a magical place nearby called Martha's Gym, where working out is more effective than other places."

"Unfortunately, membership at that gym is full, so I specifically came to you." Hope glanced at Clark. "In your Eastern terms, I'm looking for a backdoor."

So that was the reason.

Clark was also hoping to have more people with significant destinies in his gym, as it would be more beneficial for him to collect impression points. Thus, he readily nodded, "No problem, I'll arrange a membership for you."

"Not just for me, but for my father as well," Hope added. "We moved here from New Jersey together, so you'll need to arrange for two memberships."

The original Ant-Man? Clark nodded, "No problem."

"Oh, and there's one more thing."

"More?" Clark frowned unhappily, feeling this girl was pushing her luck. However, Hope then took out an invitation from her pocket and placed it on the dashboard in front of Clark: "There's a charity masquerade ball tomorrow night. It was originally an invitation for my dad and me, but my dad isn't interested in those kinds of events. How about you accompany me?"

Clark didn't take the invitation but directly refused, "I'm not interested either."

Hope smiled slyly, "This charity masquerade ball is organized by Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries. There will be countless handsome men and beautiful women, elites from all walks of society. It'll be fun!"

Tony Stark!

Hearing this name, Clark was taken aback.

If you ask who has the highest destiny weight in the Marvel universe? In both the Marvel main universe and the Ultimate universe, it's probably the popular Spider-Man, Peter Parker. But in this Marvel Cinematic Universe, it's over 90% Tony Stark, the future Iron Man! On him, one could practically test the maximum impression points one could provide in a single instance.

Plus, considering the "elites from all walks of society" mentioned by Hope, there were definitely some with significant destinies there, so brushing up on some impression points wouldn't be a loss.

With this thought, Clark finally picked up the invitation, "Where should I buy the outfit?"

By the time the car had arrived at Clark's house, Hope smiled, "You don't need to buy the outfit yourself. I've already prepared it for you; it's in the trunk. You're strong enough, so I guess you don't need my help to carry it up, right?"

.........

Carrying the large box with the ball outfit back home, Clark couldn't resist his curiosity and immediately opened it to check.

Expecting just a cosplay outfit, he was surprised to find a suit made of an unknown metal, resembling a corrosion mask helmet; the entire suit made of unknown leather, in red and black...

This wasn't some costume for a masquerade ball. It was the Ant-Man suit! To say Clark was uninterested in the suit would be false.

His god-level BGM system, though an add-on, only served as an accelerator, speeding up the accumulation of power but not providing the power itself.

To gain power, he needed to find another way.

During the past two months, Clark had considered many ways to acquire power, including the Ant-Man suit.

In fact, the Ant-Man suit was a top contender on Clark's planning list!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is relatively more peaceful than the main or Ultimate universes, with many major events being optional for participation. For instance, at the start of the Avengers storyline, avoiding New York basically meant avoiding trouble.

To Clark, this wasn't cowardice but a matter of necessity.

At least for now, without any benefits, Clark lacked the motivation to shed blood and tears for foreigners.

While other disasters might be avoidable, Thanos's snap was an unavoidable hurdle.

With a snap, half of the intelligent life in the universe would randomly disappear.

Where could one hide to ensure safety against such a threat?

Answer: The Quantum Realm!

According to Marvel's lore, the Quantum Realm transcends the boundaries of time and space, even existing as a separate dimension, unaffected by Thanos's snap.

And as of now, the original Ant-Man was the only person who knew how to enter and exit the Quantum Realm before the snap.

Of course, while Clark was interested in the Ant-Man suit, even considering becoming the second Ant-Man, he had no desire to become Hank Pym's puppet like Scott Lang in the original story.

Therefore, he had no plans to interact with the Pyms too early, at least not until he had the standing to speak to them as equals.

But now, with the Ant-Man suit in front of him, to wear or not to wear became the question. After a moment's hesitation, Clark made up his mind.

Wear! Even if he didn't become the second Ant-Man, wearing the suit for fun seemed thrilling.

Why not wear it if it's available? Shedding his coat and relieving himself of weights, he awkwardly donned the Ant-Man suit.

Considering the "adventures in the sewer" from the movie, Clark made sure to lock the door and checked the room for any hazards before jumping onto the sofa. He moved around a bit, then focused on the red button on his right hand.

Here goes!

With the press of the red button on his right hand, Clark did indeed shrink, but before he could rejoice, what followed made his smile freeze on his face.

Clark felt himself continuously shrinking, with everything around him proportionally enlarging.

The sofa, cushions, fluff... even the dust, previously invisible to the naked eye, became as tall as mountains in moments.

Then, the surroundings underwent a dramatic transformation.

The colors around him became dazzlingly brilliant, and Clark felt as though he had entered a space as bizarre as a kaleidoscope!