Chapter 107: Hope

Even if it has been almost 10 days, you still can't forget the Foursome that you had enjoyed, things were a bit awkward the next day but in the end, even Amara accepted this new weird relationship you four people were sharing.

You end your reminiscing as all it does is make your dick hard, and right now you have actual work to do. Reaching your destination, you park your car and walk up to the main building of Pym Technologies.

It is evening right now so most people are heading back to their homes.

You enter the building and step into the private elevator, D.A.I.S.Y. ever so helpful starts the elevator straight to the research basement.

As you exit the elevator you are greeted by a welcome sight.

"Hey, glad you could make it!"

In front of you is standing a beautiful woman with her dark hair in a bob cut style, looking professional and charming at once.

It is Hope van Dyne.

Hope van Dyne is the daughter of Dr. Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, and Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp.

In the MCU she goes on to become Wasp herself.

"I have got some exciting updates on the Pym particle research," she says with a smile playing on her lips.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," you reply, matching her smile. "Especially when it means seeing you."

"You have even started to learn how to flatter now, Luke," Hope laughs softly, her eyes sparkling. "Come on, let me show you what I have been working on."

She ushers you into the lab, keying in the security code and following the procedures to open the doors.

"You know I am not just here for the research, right? We can talk about something else too. How's the company doing? and what's going on with you?" you ask curiously.

"As a person with an equal majority share in the company, you should keep a closer eye on it," Hope says, rolling her eyes.

"With you here why would I need to oversee anything? I trust you," you say, matching her gaze, as she gives you a small smile and opens the door.

"The company is fine, despite the bad state the company went in after we kicked Darren out. Now we have still not invented any groundbreaking new technology but at least the company is focusing on innovation instead of just surviving on the old glory," Hope replies as you both go deeper, passing by various rooms which were labs for different departments.

Darren Cross was removed from the CEO position and even from the company almost 2 years ago, and Hope herself was promoted to the CEO position with your support.

"And what about you?" you ask, looking at her.

"What about me?" Hope mumbles as you both reach another security door.

"You can't just work all the time, Hope," you speak candidly as there was no one around, "You can take a break, go out, have fun, live a little," you say with a smile.

Hope remains silent as she opens the door, you both enter a highly futuristic lab with multiple computer screens and multiple expensive and intricate-looking machines.

"After what you told me 2 years ago, how can you expect me to rest and have a break?" Hope speaks with a wry smile. She stops in front of a computer screen then turns around and looks at you, "Whenever I try to take a break or try to go out, in my mind all that is going on is how I am relaxing here when my own mother must be struggling out there all alone!" Hope looks at you seriously.

Yes, you were the major change in Hope's life, as you had informed her that her mother might still be alive, and she was crazy enough to believe you even with the minimal proofs which you had presented her with then.

"But rest is necessary, Hope. You will burn yourself out this way," you say softly.

"It has been more than 14 years, Luke! 14 years all alone in such a strange place, I-I don't know if she is even…" Hope's voice cracks as there is a pained expression on her face.

You place your hand on her shoulder, "Don't worry, I have Hope," you say with a smirk.

"Pfft," she laughs, her serious face melting, "At least your habit of making bad puns with my name hasn't gone away," she says, rolling her eyes at you with a smile. She turns around and starts explaining to you her research data.

You were able to easily follow along, in fact, many of these complex equations and molecular structures were your own additions, mostly in this last month.

"I am really close to cracking the Pym particle code," she explains, her voice brimming with excitement. "Now even I have started to believe your theory about these particles connecting with another dimension and them shunting and taking out mass from that dimension," Hope murmurs with a wry smile.

"Well, we need something 'otherworldly' if we want to bypass the square-cube law," you state as it should have been obvious.

Square cube law, proposed by Galileo, states that if an object grows larger, the surface area grows by the square of its growth factor, while its volume grows by the cube of its growth factor.

For example, if a man suddenly became 10 times taller, wider, and longer, his bones and tendons would be 10 times longer, his muscles and skin would cover 100 times more surface area, and he would be 1,000 times as big and weigh 1,000 times as much.

So obviously his skeleton would not be able to support his weight and his muscles would not be able to move the mass of his body. The end result would be that he is crushed by his own weight!

"It's incredible. Once we perfect it, we can manipulate matter at a quantum level! If only Dr. Pym would have left us with some notes or better yet a sample," Hope says with annoyance.

"Dr. Pym? You are still not going to call him Dad?" you ask speechlessly.

"You know I don't consider him my father. After my mother … vanished, I didn't see him for two weeks. He left a 7-year-old kid alone after explaining to her that her mother had died and will never come back," Hope speaks with an angry face.

"And when he came back instead of consoling me, he just sent me off to boarding school! He has never once showed any concern towards me after that. He had just forgotten that he even had a daughter who might need him," Hope's eyebrows crease as it looks like she wants to punch something.

This is still quite tame. When you met her two years ago at a conference, she was attending as the secretary of Darren Cross, the new CEO of Pym Technologies. Back then, her anger toward her father was much more explosive.

At that time, she legally changed her name from Hope Pym to Hope van Dyne. Upon turning 18, she assumed the role of chairperson of the company, inheriting her mother's shares. Using her newfound authority, she ousted her father, Hank Pym, from his own company!

She achieved this with the help of her father's protégé, Darren Cross. When you met her, Darren was not only pursuing her but also planning to rebrand Pym Technologies as Cross Technologies.

However, a long conversation with you steered her life in a completely different direction.

"So does that mean that there is still no contact from him?" you ask with a sigh.

After being ousted from the company, Dr. Hank Pym had gone AWOL. Even you or D.A.I.S.Y. couldn't find him still to this day.

"No," she murmurs defeatedly, "Although I hate him, it is undeniable that there is no one else who is as knowledgeable as him in quantum tech and Pym particles," she says with a sigh of her own.

There is no one as knowledgable as him … yet. If you didn't have all these projects and other … women to satisfy you would have already cracked the code.

"Still, I see you have made significant progress with the particle stabilisation." You revert the topic from the heavy mood.

Hope nodded, her enthusiasm coming back. "Yes, I have managed to achieve temporary stability, but I still need to refine the process. I am just a few months away from conducting trials with inorganic matter. If all goes well, we can move on to organic matter and eventually rescue my mother from the quantum realm," she says with sparkling eyes.

"You have done an amazing job, Hope. I'm confident we can accelerate this process. With our combined efforts, we might crack it in days instead of months," you say with a smirk as until now you had just talked and solved her doubts on video calls but now that you are here, you can definitely do better.

Her eyes soften, and she takes your hand in hers, "I couldn't have come this far without your help. Thank you for believing in me … and thank you for supporting me," she says with a smile.

"Always," you reply as you look into her beautiful dark eyes.

She shyly averts her gaze, withdrawing her hand and picking up a notebook from the side. "Uh, I still have some doubts. Let me get my notes," she says softly.

"Yeah, I have a few ideas that might help with the particle stability," you state confidently.

You spend hours discussing the complexities of quantum physics, exchanging theories, and bouncing ideas off each other. Still, you both were a bit distracted by the sexual tension that was building in the lab.

"You know," you say looking at her, "I prefer this, in-person discussions, this way I can be closer to you."

"Is that so? Well, I have to admit, it's nice having you around. You make the lab feel a little less... lonely," she says, giving out a small smile, as she keeps her gaze down at her notes, not ready to meet your gaze.

"Glad to be of service," you reply cheekily, "There are other, more effective ways to make you feel less lonely." You speak softly as you catch her hand that were turning the pages.

"Luke, the project…" She says, looking up at you with a small blush on her cheeks.

BZZZZ!

Just as you were about to answer her, your watch buzzes with a blue light!

"Uhm, just a moment, this might be important." You say to Hope with an apologetic expression.

Hope quickly retracts her hands and pretends to look at her notes seriously.

You stand up and take out your mobile phone. "Luke, the micro-satellite swarm has detected the wreckage of an aerial vessel in the Arctic," D.A.I.S.Y.'s serious voice comes through your phone.

Your heart skips a beat. "The Arctic?" you repeat, feeling a rush of urgency. You turn to Hope, your expression serious. "Hope, I am really sorry, but I have to go. This is an emergency."

Hope's face falls slightly, but she quickly composes herself. "I understand. Go take care of what you need to." She says getting up.

You step closer and wrap your arms around her in a tight hug. "I will try to take some time out regularly to meet you. Keep up the great work, and stay in touch."

As you are pulling away, you press a gentle kiss to her cheek. Hope is startled, but before she can say anything, you leave the lab, the doors opening automatically for you.

"Stay safe," Hope whispers, and you can feel her eyes linger at your receding back.

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