Ant-Man: 3(chapter 99)

Chapter 99

He gestured to Hope, who smoothly took charge, "Thank you very much, everybody. I will escort you out now. Thank you." As the room emptied, Cross approached Pym, who had stayed behind. "You seem a bit shocked," Cross noted with a feigned sense of camaraderie. Hank stepped forward, his voice firm, "Darren, there's a reason that I buried these secrets." Cross's eyes gleamed with triumph, "So you finally admit it. We could've done this together, Hank. But you ruined that. That's why you're the past, and I'm the future." Mitchell Carson, an interested party, interjected, "Dr. Cross." Cross walked over to him, intrigued. "You sell to me first, twenty percent of your asking price, I can have the cash here in two weeks," Carson proposed. "Deal," Cross agreed swiftly.

As the last attendees left, Hope confronted Hank, urgency in her voice, "We have to make our move, Hank." He looked at her, his mind racing with possibilities, "How close is he?" Hope replied, "He still can't shrink a live subject. Just give me the suit and let me finish this once and for all." Hank shook his head, the weight of experience behind his words, "No." Hope pressed on, determined, "I have Cross's complete trust." Hank's voice was resolute, "It's too dangerous." Hope countered, "We don't have a choice." Hank paused, considering his next move carefully, "Well, that's not entirely true." With a knowing look, Hope added, "I think I found a guy." Hank, intrigued, asked, "Who?" meanwhile their conversion where heard by herry, whom was rather enjoying this whole scene.

-scene change-

Scott showed up at his daughter Cassie's birthday party. Cassie, seeing him, ran excitedly into his arms. "Daddy!" she exclaimed, and Scott embraced her warmly. "Peanut! Oh! Happy birthday! I'm so sorry I'm late, I didn't know what time your party started." Cassie reminded him, "It was on the invitation!" Just then, Paxton, Scott's ex-wife's fiancé, interrupted. "He didn't get an invitation! But he came anyway," he said pointedly. Scott, undeterred, replied, "Well, I'm not going to miss my little girl's birthday party."

Cassie, thrilled to see her father, declared, "I'm gonna go tell mommy you're here," and ran off before Scott could stop her. Paxton confronted him, "What are you doing here, Lang? You haven't paid a dime in child support. You know, right now if I wanted to, I could arrest you." Scott retorted, "It's good to see you too, Paxton." Cassie returned with news, "Mommy's so happy you're here, she choked on her drink." Scott smiled and handed her a small bag. "Hey, look what I have for you." Cassie eagerly asked, "Can I open it now?" Paxton, attempting to be civil, said, "Of course sweetheart, it's your birthday."

Cassie pulled out an ugly rabbit toy which spoke, "You're my bestest friend!" Paxton looked at the toy in disbelief, "What is that thing?" Cassie, however, loved it. "He's so ugly! I love him! Can I go show my friends?" she asked, and Paxton nodded, "Yeah, of course sweetheart, go ahead." Cassie ran off happily with her new toy. Scott, trying to address the elephant in the room, said, "Look, the child support is coming. Alright? It's just hard finding a job when you have a record." Paxton, unimpressed, responded, "I'm sure you'll figure it out, but for now I want you out of my house."

Scott protested, "No, wait, it's my daughter's birthday!" Paxton remained firm, "It's my house!" Scott, standing his ground, replied, "So what, it's my kid!" At that moment, Maggie, Scott's ex-wife, approached them. "Scott! You can't just show up here, you know that. Come on," she said, trying to diffuse the situation. Scott argued, "It's her birthday party." Maggie, understanding but firm, replied, "Yeah, I know, but you can't just show up." Scott, desperate, reiterated, "She's my daughter."

Paxton interjected, "You don't know the first thing about being a father." Scott, turning to Maggie, said earnestly, "Maggie, I tell you this as a friend, and as the first love of my life, your fiancé is an ass-hat." Maggie defended Paxton, "He's not an ass-hat." Paxton warned Scott, "Hey, watch your language. Okay?" Scott, exasperated, replied, "Oh, what language. I said hat." Maggie led Scott out of the house, and Scott, still upset, said, "Really, Maggie? That guy? Come on, you could marry anyone you want, you have to get engaged to a cop?"

Maggie, trying to be reasonable, replied, "At least he's not a crook." Scott, pleading his case, said, "I'm trying, okay? I've changed, and I'm straight, I had a job, and… I want to provide. I had a lot of time to think about it, and I love her. So much. I've missed so much time and I want to be a part of her life. What do I do?" Maggie, trying to give him hope, replied, "Get an apartment. Get a job, pay child support. And then we will talk about visitation, I promise. You're her hero, Scott. Just, be the person that she already thinks you are." Scott, feeling both encouraged and dejected, got into Luis's van, and as he drove off, Cassie waved goodbye, her father honking the musical horn in response.

-scene change-

Frank stood in the bathroom of Pym Technologies, staring at his reflection as he took a moment to collect his thoughts. The room was quiet except for the gentle hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. Darren Cross's sudden appearance behind him startled Frank, and he turned to face Cross, his expression shifting from surprise to wary amusement. "I'm sorry you have such deep concerns about the Yellowjacket, Frank," Cross said with a hint of menace. Frank chuckled nervously, trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, well, uh, unfortunately we can't just do whatever we want. Would be nice though, right?" He finished washing his hands, trying to maintain his composure. "But there are laws," he added, emphasizing the point as he dried his hands with a paper towel.

Cross stepped closer, his eyes fixed on Frank with an intensity that made Frank's skin crawl. "What laws? Of man?" Cross asked, a chilling smile playing on his lips. "The laws of nature transcend the laws of man, and I've transcended the laws of nature." Frank felt a chill run down his spine as he realized the depth of Cross's madness. "Darren, I don't think you understand…" Frank started, his voice tinged with urgency. But before he could finish, Cross raised a small device and activated it. In an instant, Frank's body crumpled, transforming into a gelatinous blob of goo that oozed across the floor. Cross watched dispassionately, wiping the remnants off the sink with a tissue and dumping it into the toilet. "Hm. We still haven't worked out all the bugs," Cross murmured to himself. He pressed the flush button, watching the evidence of his crime disappear. "Goodbye, Frank," he said quietly, turning to wash his hands.