Back to GatefoldIssue #8 by A. Crute
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"Red Ghost Coast to Coast"
Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne: superheroes, celebrities, role-models, divorcees and, currently, a couple. The two sat opposite one another over a candle lit dinner at ‘A Voce’ in the heart of New York City. This was their first date as a new couple again. The two had ranged from being in relationships with one another to not, but they knew one another better than anyone else on the planet, and yet the two insect-based superheroes sat across from one another with butterflies in their stomachs.
The fact that somehow the press had been tipped off about their meeting and they had been greeted with paparazzi lining the pavement outside of the restaurant did not help whatsoever.
Hank was dressed in a suit, his shirt’s top button undone, and he had decided to forgo the tie. He’d sat in front of his mirror for about 30 minutes trying to figure out whether Jan, ever the fashonista, would approve of his ensemble. He forgot about it as soon as he had seen her.
Jan had gotten her hair cut especially for tonight, some subtle highlights added to give it more depth and volume. Her skin had been cleansed and she’d even had one of her professional makeup artist friends come around and give her the best ‘make over’ of her life. She wore a slinky black dress with silver trim. She looked beautiful.
“I am so sorry about all of that outside. You looked as uncomfortable as ever.” Jan gave a wry smile to her boyfriend.
“I don’t know how you do it.” Hank shook his head “Any time I’m in costume in an Avenger’s group shot or anything then it’s fine, but the snapping of photographs on the street as you walk to the store or come for a meal...do you know what ‘paparazzi’ means?”
“Buzzing flies or Mosquito,” Jan replied, smiling. “Don’t you think enough fashion designers have told me that? I’ve also seen La Dolce Vita about 10 times.”
“Oh! I meant to ask in the cab but was a little distracted.” Hank blushed a little with a smile. Jan always loved how easily he was embarrassed about simple things like making out. Jan did also wonder if the divorcees at their age should be doing such juvenile activities...she thought they should. “How was Milan?”
Jan rolled her eyes and then gave a curt little smile. “It was fine, for the most part; the boutiques were to die for. I got a whole new idea for a range and the shows went down a storm, but Zanda showed up.” Jan rolled her eyes.
Hank looked up at her, his mouth ever so slightly open as he tried to think of the needed words. His neurones were firing wildly trying to place the name; his Fusiform Gyrus, however, was not going to help him out this time as it just gave a big shrug.
“You have no idea who Zanda is, do you?” Jan asked without lifting her eyes to him. A little smile curled into the side of her mouth as she took a bite of food.
“I’m sorry, not a clue,” Hank said, sha his head, offering an embarrassed shrug.
“Zanda is an international arms dealer who launched a war on T’Challa.” Jan tried to jog Hank’s memory. It didn’t seem to work. “She was once Princess Zanda but was run out of her country and into the world of designing. Everyone is clambering over the designs of an arms dealer responsible for genocides.”
“Your shows clashed?” Hank asked as he cut a sliver of his steak, deadpanning his lack of knowledge about this clear threat to human rights.
“She tried to smuggle the key components of a Nega Bomb into Britain, where a fringe branch of Hydra were waiting for it. She had a giant battle suit and some robot drones and things...it was a little tiring if I’m being honest.”
Hank coughed and then wiped his mouth and his eyes from where he’d choked a little on the mouthful of food he’d been eating. “It sounds like quite an eventful visit. I was in the microverse and away from the news, so I’m sorry I couldn’t have helped. I would have asked about it but I never saw any Avenger files updates.”
“I’ve not gotten around to any of that yet,” Jan sighed. “There’s nothing as dull as filling out Avenger’s field reports.”
“Naughty, Jan.” Hank shook his head and pointed with the end of his fork “You, as a founder and former leader, should know better,” he tutted in false disapproval.
“Just because you share Gyrich’s first name...and hair, and we should really do something about that, the style just doesn’t suit your face shape…doesn’t mean that you have to toe the party line. Can you just fill it out for me?” Jan pouted at Hank and ran her foot up the side of his leg.
“I’m afraid I don’t have enough details on the case to really have it be useful,” he smiled.
“Zanda, Nega Bomb, battle suit...that’s the main parts, just embellish the rest.” Jan shook her hand as if she was brushing off the finer details. “I can really make it worth your while.”
“I’ll order the cheque,” Hank said quickly, glancing around.
“Not until I’ve had my dessert;” Jan smiled. The chocolate torte was something to die for at this place.
“Can we get it to go?” Hank asked, smiling. The two began to laugh gently.
The bald gentleman who stood at their table sneered, his cragged face twisting into the shape of pure revulsion and hate. His hanging white hair hung down limply and greasily over his shoulders and his red suit blended well with the wine which was on the table. His arm passed through it silently and unseen by those at the table.
He stood in the center of the table as the hands of the two superheroes moved through his body to touch one another. He felt violated but remained in his place.
Ivan Kragoff, a.k.a. the Red Ghost, was a well known super-villain, and using his powers of intangibility and invisibility made him perfectly suited for stealth. He was often spotted on ‘most wanted’ posters by numerous super-teams.
There was something different about him today, however, something which was not seen on his usual mug shots. The huge red growth hung from the side of his face that was sore and pulsating, the ripples across its surface were visible (had he not been invisible at the exact moment). It was postulant and dappled red with blood.
It would soon be his moment…
# # # # #
Scott and Cassie Lang’s apartment...
Cassie was sitting on her couch working on Algebra. She hated Algebra and she couldn’t give two damns about the Cosine rule no matter how much her Dad and Uncle Hank told her it was important (Aunt Jan seemed to think it was a useless thing too…).
She had no doubt that she would be able to get it a bit better if she wasn’t distracted by the music videos which were playing on the TV, but she got much more enjoyment from the TV so she was happy to take the math slowly. The thought did cross her mind that her grades would improve if she clicked it off and she needed good grades as that was one of her dad’s stipulations for her being part of the New Warriors: that not only did it not interfere with her grades, but he wanted to see some improvement in some cases.
Her Stature costume was hung up in her wardrobe now. It was through that costume with its Pym Particle infuser granting her, temporarily, the abilities to become the teen superhero Stature, following in the footsteps of the members of her family.
She was so far loving the life of a hero. She liked being in the action, she liked saving people and helping out, and she liked spending time with Goliath. The rush she got from it was like nothing she had ever experienced.
CRASH!!!
Cassie slid her work off her lap and onto the sofa as she heard the noise of the window breaking in the kitchen. Her mind was racing at a mile a minute already and her heart was pumping, getting her ready for action. She took a step backwards toward the door to her bedroom whilst keeping her eyes fixed on the closed kitchen door. It could have been anything coming through the window from a stray baseball to a Skrull invader. Given the lifestyle of her family she wasn’t about to take chances…this was most definitely a job for Stature.
She moved quickly and silently into her room and it was only when she was there did she turn her back on the kitchen as she launched herself over her bed in one long single stride and tore open the door to her wardrobe yanking down from the hangar her costume.
The unstable molecule derivative costume stretched as she began to climb in. She was wearing a set of shorts which would probably ruin the line of her suit but she had more important things to worry about at the moment as she slid into her second skin.
She moved quickly back into the main living area and toward the kitchen, taking one quick glance into the kitchen before she activated her powers. Her hand pressed against the door and swung it open before launching into the room. She was prepared for anything...except the giant gorilla which was crouched on the work surface and the orang-utan which hung from the cabinet unit.
Stature activated her Pym Particles and began to...nothing happened. She tried again but once again nothing happened. The two apes just continued to stare at her.
Her costume suddenly constricted and tightened on her like it was alive. It twisted her arms and legs, making pain rip through her body. She forced her arms forward into a more comfortable position and her costume began to melt off of her, transforming into the shape of a baboon. It bared its teeth and roared just a few inches from her face.
She threw up her arms and shoved the creature, managing to force it backwards from her. Its little fingers tore at her clothing as they transformed into tiny blades before she managed to throw him backwards into the gorilla. Cassie launched sideways, leaving a little trail of blood behind her across the kitchen as she went. She was going to make a flying leap into the utility, as she knew for a fact that her Dad had some of his Ant-Man things in there where he’d been working on them.
She never got that far however. A simple flick of the wrist by the orange ape sent the refrigerator hurtling across the room where it slammed into her and drove her back into the wall with a sickening thump.
The appliance hovered up into the air away from the unconscious and bleeding figure of Cassie. The Gorilla dropped down to the ground and hauled her up into his arms. Three metal discs slid in through the broken window and the apes, one by one, climbed aboard them and floated out of the room.
# # # # #
A few hours later...
Jan kissed the bottom of Hank’s chin as she ran her hand over his chest. They had been having a good night so far; they were happy to be together and, like any long term superheroes, they were fairly close to peak physical fitness so their stamina was high. The fact that the two of them were falling in love with one another again made the passion between the two of them even more pleasurable.
“That was great...I don’t think I can stand without falling over;” Hank laughed.
Jan laughed and snuggled up close to him. She didn’t think this moment could get any better and she could think of nothing which would ruin it. It was just then that the door to the room flew open.
Scott Lang came bursting into the room. He had a key to Hank’s apartment and had let himself in. He was dressed in his Ant-Man costume and was panting heavily, his shoulders slumped forward as he drew in large gasps of breath.
He looked up at the two of them. He didn’t show any sort of embarrassment for bursting in on them in the middle of what they were doing even as Jan hauled the covers across herself as Hank found the limb strength to jump to his feet. “Scott! What the hell?”
“Cassie,” he breathed heavily and stood up to his feet. “Cassie is missing and the apartment is trashed. The New Warriors don’t know anything and the rest of the Avengers are off somewhere doing something with Deathshead or Deadpool or something.”
Hank immediately moved across the room and pulled one of his costumes out of the wardrobe. “I’ve got a mini lab in this costume. I’ll go over the place with a fine tooth comb until I find something.”
“Doctor Pym, that will not be necessary,” the raspy Russian growl spread through the room as a figure ‘opaqued’ into existence. The Red Ghost was standing next to Hank with his still phased arm through his chest. His face was twisted into a sneer, which was only made worse by the fact some giant mottled lump of rancid flesh hung down from his face from just under his eye and down past his chin.
He raised his hand to Jan who was already charging a ‘Wasp Sting’ from her place in the bed. “Make a move and I solidify; I will destroy his entire cardiovascular system and he will die in seconds.”
“Where is my daughter!” barked Scott. He twitched, ready to launch forward, but fought off the urge. Scott was a superhero but more than anything he was a father. He had become the former because of the latter. He became Ant-Man so that Cassie could have life saving surgery and he had fought for her numerous times. He would protect her with his life in a millisecond.
“Your daughter is safe, Ant-Man,” nodded Red Ghost. “I am a scientist and a visionary, not a child killing monster.” He seemed mildly offended that Scott would even think such a thing about him, that he would hurt a child for no reason was far beneath him. Yes, it was true that human children would die by the thousands when his revolution finally came but that was only if they stood against him and his ape hordes which was, to his deranged mind, completely justified.
“Why have you taken her?” Jan queried. She kept her hands trained on him but her eyes on Hank. He could make a signal at any point that he was going to dodge sideways or begin to shrink or anything which might give them an opening to attack. She was a trained professional.
“I needed leverage,” Red Ghost smiled. “There are only a handful of individuals in this world that Doctor Pym cares for; I calculated via multi-dimensional scaling that it would be her who would cause the least amount of struggle and cause the maximum amount of emotional turmoil. Simple mathematics.”
“All this is about me? Tell me what you want and I’ll do it,” Hank spoke and kept his head facing forward.
“You will come with me. ALONE!” he raised his voice and glanced at the other two heroes to make sure his point had been hammered home. “I have a problem, as you can see, which requires your expertise. I need a cure.”
Hank nodded. “You could have just come to me, Kragoff, you didn’t have to kidnap the girl. I would have helped.”
The Red Ghost scowled “The issue is no just with me, Dr Pym, it is...well, you will see,” Igor clicked a communicator on his sleeve and began to speak in Russian. “You have a few minutes, Doctor Pym, so I suggest you get anything you need now.”
Igor lowered his arms to his side and allowed Hank to stand to his feet. Jan launched a bolt of energy straight at the Russian only for it to harmlessly move through him and strike the wall behind him. “I was hoping you wouldn’t do that, Wasp. You’re now on my list,” he scowled.
“If my daughter is harmed in any way I will make you pay, Kragoff,” Scott growled.
“You bore me,” sneered Red Ghost and faded from sight. A minute or so passed before the wall to the living room bulged in on itself and then splintered as the large metallic orb bobbed into the room.
Hank pelted back into the room fully dressed because of the commotion. No sooner did he appear then Red Ghost faded back into view over next to the orb. “All aboard,” he grinned as it twisted and created a seat for him and an opening for Yellowjacket.
Hank moved across the room and climbed into the orb. He turned back to the other two and gave them a resolute nod before it sealed around him and moved away from the wall. It bobbed in the air, the space inside the sphere was quite small and he couldn’t move.
It didn’t take long, a minute or so, before Hank began to feel light headed. His head swam, the air was limited and he was about to pass out. He struggled and banged against the sides of the sphere but then just passed out.
# # # # #
Miles away and sometime later...
Hank blinked his eyes as they opened. The sun was just too bright as he came round from the unconsciousness which had claimed him. His head was absolutely throbbing and his stomach was growling angrily. He must have been out for quite a while.
He titled his head forward and looked down at his body, where on his chest crouched the snarling form of Red Ghost’s baboon. He was really starting to have a problem with these super apes. “Ah, Dr. Pym, I was just about to become annoyed and rouse you myself,” spoke Ivan as he strode over from a small chair which sat underneath a parasol to provide shade. He didn’t speak to the ape but it moved clear of Yellowjacket and let him climb to his feet.
“Where are we?” Hank asked as he suddenly noticed the stifling heat which clung to him and, judging by the uncomfortable feeling of his costume, had done for the whole time he had been lying unconscious. Costume rash was one of the worst parts of being a superhero...beside murderous villains and kidnappings.
“Where we are, Doctor Pym, is the seat of power in a new and glorious age; the place where our glorious revolution will spring from.” Ivan motioned out across the vista which he turned Hank to look at.
He looked down from their place on the raised stone platform. It was a most peculiar sight. They were somewhere in South America, that much Hank could figure from the obvious signs. The jungle foliage was a big hint but the ruins which looked Aztec or Mayan in design were the biggest. It was also late afternoon judging by the sun’s position; night would hit quickly as the sun went past the distant mountains. Interspersed amongst the ruins that stretched before him were newer buildings made of metal that looked like advanced technology, no doubt constructed by Red Ghost and his magnetic orang-utan.
Large white field tents were set up over in the far distant corner of the massive complex. The most astounding thing, however, was the number of large apes which were manning the complex. They moved machinery around between buildings whilst others seemed to be in charge of farming. Hank watched one lug a large metal pot across the center of what looked like a town square to a large seating area.
“You’ve been busy. Is Charlton Heston around?” he asked with a half smile. He could see why Spider-Man and Hawkeye did this whole quipping thing…it did relieve tension in situations like this.
“I do not know this man,” Red Ghost said with a shake of his head.
“YOU?! YOU have not seen Planet of the Apes?” he stressed the first part of the sentence with surprise. Ivan sneered at him. “I think you’d like it, that’s all.” Hank stopped talking as he looked out at the busy apes and noticed the symbol on their chests. “Are those the Beasts of Berlin?”
“Da,” Ivan nodded. “My Communist brothers have joined me in my mission here to create a utopia for the apes of the world who wish to embrace the New World Order.”
“So let me get this right,” Hank sighed, “you and your Super-Apes have teamed up with a group of hyper-intelligent mutant gorillas created by an insane sect of communists in Berlin to create a communist utopia entirely for apes?”
“We will sweep over this world, our superior intellect and governance will make short work of you capitalist humans and your weaknesses.”
Great, thought Hank with an internal sigh of desperation. This was surely something more akin to the Great Lake Avengers or Deadpool or someone to fight rather than him but here he was. “Look, I’m just here to get Cassie. I understand you’re ill and judging by those medical tents you’re not the only one. You need me to help you and then I can take her home. Hank mentally added that he would then bring the Avengers back here and put a stop to this insane plan before it somehow managed to pick up steam.
“Da.” The metal platform on which they stood rose into the air and began to float down from the stone platform on which they stood. “This is the result of a rogue virus which I believe you have some familiarity with the origins of.
“Man-Beast’s plague? That should be all cured.” Hank rubbed his chin, remembering when he had travelled to Wundagore himself and was with the High Evolutionary as they released the anti-virus. It had cured all of the people who had been affected, though there had been one or two reports of mutant animals but no real evidence, so Hank had dismissed them.
“It has mutated in odd ways,” Ghost nodded. “I fear it is sentient.”
Hank nodded, as he knew for certain that it was sentient. “The virus,” began Red Ghost again, “has been affecting the minds of those who have been infected, driving them out of their minds into murderous rages...we have them all sedated. I was trying to help them when I myself was infected.”
Hank glanced down at the growth and the growth looked back at him with its one huge eye before its eyelid blinked. It was most certainly not the virus he had been before. He looked at the concern on Red Ghost’s face, which was only for his apes. He was a completely insane want to be despot to be sure but he really cared about those apes.
“I want to see that Cassie is okay and well treated first, then I’ll help.” Red Ghost was silent for a moment as he mulled over Hank’s request and with a nod and a gesture the floating metal platform changed direction.
# # # # #
A few miles away...
General Jones stared at the reconnaissance photos of the area which had been taken by an orbiting satellite last week then there had been no cloud cover. It was their last good shot of the place, a series of white covers were being built. He wanted to know what of. His detail was in charge of following Red Ghost and stopping his crazy schemes for world domination at every turn. He was itching to get his hands on the crazy Russian.
“Sir,” barked one of his soldiers as he came in and saluted his commander.
The General’s hairy upper lip twitched and he removed his hat, freeing his balding head to the sun before scratching it and replacing his cap. He saluted in return. “At ease soldier,” he said with his gravel gruff voice. “Sit rep.”
“Red Ghost and his super apes have returned and Jules reports they’ve got a super with them. His scope pictures show it to be Hank Pym sir...Yellowjacket. The Avenger appears to be getting a tour. The troops are awaiting further orders.”
Jones stood for a few seconds, rolling the information around his head. He shook it sharply. “This doesn’t change anything. We go at sunrise.
The fact that somehow the press had been tipped off about their meeting and they had been greeted with paparazzi lining the pavement outside of the restaurant did not help whatsoever.
Hank was dressed in a suit, his shirt’s top button undone, and he had decided to forgo the tie. He’d sat in front of his mirror for about 30 minutes trying to figure out whether Jan, ever the fashonista, would approve of his ensemble. He forgot about it as soon as he had seen her.
Jan had gotten her hair cut especially for tonight, some subtle highlights added to give it more depth and volume. Her skin had been cleansed and she’d even had one of her professional makeup artist friends come around and give her the best ‘make over’ of her life. She wore a slinky black dress with silver trim. She looked beautiful.
“I am so sorry about all of that outside. You looked as uncomfortable as ever.” Jan gave a wry smile to her boyfriend.
“I don’t know how you do it.” Hank shook his head “Any time I’m in costume in an Avenger’s group shot or anything then it’s fine, but the snapping of photographs on the street as you walk to the store or come for a meal...do you know what ‘paparazzi’ means?”
“Buzzing flies or Mosquito,” Jan replied, smiling. “Don’t you think enough fashion designers have told me that? I’ve also seen La Dolce Vita about 10 times.”
“Oh! I meant to ask in the cab but was a little distracted.” Hank blushed a little with a smile. Jan always loved how easily he was embarrassed about simple things like making out. Jan did also wonder if the divorcees at their age should be doing such juvenile activities...she thought they should. “How was Milan?”
Jan rolled her eyes and then gave a curt little smile. “It was fine, for the most part; the boutiques were to die for. I got a whole new idea for a range and the shows went down a storm, but Zanda showed up.” Jan rolled her eyes.
Hank looked up at her, his mouth ever so slightly open as he tried to think of the needed words. His neurones were firing wildly trying to place the name; his Fusiform Gyrus, however, was not going to help him out this time as it just gave a big shrug.
“You have no idea who Zanda is, do you?” Jan asked without lifting her eyes to him. A little smile curled into the side of her mouth as she took a bite of food.
“I’m sorry, not a clue,” Hank said, sha his head, offering an embarrassed shrug.
“Zanda is an international arms dealer who launched a war on T’Challa.” Jan tried to jog Hank’s memory. It didn’t seem to work. “She was once Princess Zanda but was run out of her country and into the world of designing. Everyone is clambering over the designs of an arms dealer responsible for genocides.”
“Your shows clashed?” Hank asked as he cut a sliver of his steak, deadpanning his lack of knowledge about this clear threat to human rights.
“She tried to smuggle the key components of a Nega Bomb into Britain, where a fringe branch of Hydra were waiting for it. She had a giant battle suit and some robot drones and things...it was a little tiring if I’m being honest.”
Hank coughed and then wiped his mouth and his eyes from where he’d choked a little on the mouthful of food he’d been eating. “It sounds like quite an eventful visit. I was in the microverse and away from the news, so I’m sorry I couldn’t have helped. I would have asked about it but I never saw any Avenger files updates.”
“I’ve not gotten around to any of that yet,” Jan sighed. “There’s nothing as dull as filling out Avenger’s field reports.”
“Naughty, Jan.” Hank shook his head and pointed with the end of his fork “You, as a founder and former leader, should know better,” he tutted in false disapproval.
“Just because you share Gyrich’s first name...and hair, and we should really do something about that, the style just doesn’t suit your face shape…doesn’t mean that you have to toe the party line. Can you just fill it out for me?” Jan pouted at Hank and ran her foot up the side of his leg.
“I’m afraid I don’t have enough details on the case to really have it be useful,” he smiled.
“Zanda, Nega Bomb, battle suit...that’s the main parts, just embellish the rest.” Jan shook her hand as if she was brushing off the finer details. “I can really make it worth your while.”
“I’ll order the cheque,” Hank said quickly, glancing around.
“Not until I’ve had my dessert;” Jan smiled. The chocolate torte was something to die for at this place.
“Can we get it to go?” Hank asked, smiling. The two began to laugh gently.
The bald gentleman who stood at their table sneered, his cragged face twisting into the shape of pure revulsion and hate. His hanging white hair hung down limply and greasily over his shoulders and his red suit blended well with the wine which was on the table. His arm passed through it silently and unseen by those at the table.
He stood in the center of the table as the hands of the two superheroes moved through his body to touch one another. He felt violated but remained in his place.
Ivan Kragoff, a.k.a. the Red Ghost, was a well known super-villain, and using his powers of intangibility and invisibility made him perfectly suited for stealth. He was often spotted on ‘most wanted’ posters by numerous super-teams.
There was something different about him today, however, something which was not seen on his usual mug shots. The huge red growth hung from the side of his face that was sore and pulsating, the ripples across its surface were visible (had he not been invisible at the exact moment). It was postulant and dappled red with blood.
It would soon be his moment…
# # # # #
Scott and Cassie Lang’s apartment...
Cassie was sitting on her couch working on Algebra. She hated Algebra and she couldn’t give two damns about the Cosine rule no matter how much her Dad and Uncle Hank told her it was important (Aunt Jan seemed to think it was a useless thing too…).
She had no doubt that she would be able to get it a bit better if she wasn’t distracted by the music videos which were playing on the TV, but she got much more enjoyment from the TV so she was happy to take the math slowly. The thought did cross her mind that her grades would improve if she clicked it off and she needed good grades as that was one of her dad’s stipulations for her being part of the New Warriors: that not only did it not interfere with her grades, but he wanted to see some improvement in some cases.
Her Stature costume was hung up in her wardrobe now. It was through that costume with its Pym Particle infuser granting her, temporarily, the abilities to become the teen superhero Stature, following in the footsteps of the members of her family.
She was so far loving the life of a hero. She liked being in the action, she liked saving people and helping out, and she liked spending time with Goliath. The rush she got from it was like nothing she had ever experienced.
CRASH!!!
Cassie slid her work off her lap and onto the sofa as she heard the noise of the window breaking in the kitchen. Her mind was racing at a mile a minute already and her heart was pumping, getting her ready for action. She took a step backwards toward the door to her bedroom whilst keeping her eyes fixed on the closed kitchen door. It could have been anything coming through the window from a stray baseball to a Skrull invader. Given the lifestyle of her family she wasn’t about to take chances…this was most definitely a job for Stature.
She moved quickly and silently into her room and it was only when she was there did she turn her back on the kitchen as she launched herself over her bed in one long single stride and tore open the door to her wardrobe yanking down from the hangar her costume.
The unstable molecule derivative costume stretched as she began to climb in. She was wearing a set of shorts which would probably ruin the line of her suit but she had more important things to worry about at the moment as she slid into her second skin.
She moved quickly back into the main living area and toward the kitchen, taking one quick glance into the kitchen before she activated her powers. Her hand pressed against the door and swung it open before launching into the room. She was prepared for anything...except the giant gorilla which was crouched on the work surface and the orang-utan which hung from the cabinet unit.
Stature activated her Pym Particles and began to...nothing happened. She tried again but once again nothing happened. The two apes just continued to stare at her.
Her costume suddenly constricted and tightened on her like it was alive. It twisted her arms and legs, making pain rip through her body. She forced her arms forward into a more comfortable position and her costume began to melt off of her, transforming into the shape of a baboon. It bared its teeth and roared just a few inches from her face.
She threw up her arms and shoved the creature, managing to force it backwards from her. Its little fingers tore at her clothing as they transformed into tiny blades before she managed to throw him backwards into the gorilla. Cassie launched sideways, leaving a little trail of blood behind her across the kitchen as she went. She was going to make a flying leap into the utility, as she knew for a fact that her Dad had some of his Ant-Man things in there where he’d been working on them.
She never got that far however. A simple flick of the wrist by the orange ape sent the refrigerator hurtling across the room where it slammed into her and drove her back into the wall with a sickening thump.
The appliance hovered up into the air away from the unconscious and bleeding figure of Cassie. The Gorilla dropped down to the ground and hauled her up into his arms. Three metal discs slid in through the broken window and the apes, one by one, climbed aboard them and floated out of the room.
# # # # #
A few hours later...
Jan kissed the bottom of Hank’s chin as she ran her hand over his chest. They had been having a good night so far; they were happy to be together and, like any long term superheroes, they were fairly close to peak physical fitness so their stamina was high. The fact that the two of them were falling in love with one another again made the passion between the two of them even more pleasurable.
“That was great...I don’t think I can stand without falling over;” Hank laughed.
Jan laughed and snuggled up close to him. She didn’t think this moment could get any better and she could think of nothing which would ruin it. It was just then that the door to the room flew open.
Scott Lang came bursting into the room. He had a key to Hank’s apartment and had let himself in. He was dressed in his Ant-Man costume and was panting heavily, his shoulders slumped forward as he drew in large gasps of breath.
He looked up at the two of them. He didn’t show any sort of embarrassment for bursting in on them in the middle of what they were doing even as Jan hauled the covers across herself as Hank found the limb strength to jump to his feet. “Scott! What the hell?”
“Cassie,” he breathed heavily and stood up to his feet. “Cassie is missing and the apartment is trashed. The New Warriors don’t know anything and the rest of the Avengers are off somewhere doing something with Deathshead or Deadpool or something.”
Hank immediately moved across the room and pulled one of his costumes out of the wardrobe. “I’ve got a mini lab in this costume. I’ll go over the place with a fine tooth comb until I find something.”
“Doctor Pym, that will not be necessary,” the raspy Russian growl spread through the room as a figure ‘opaqued’ into existence. The Red Ghost was standing next to Hank with his still phased arm through his chest. His face was twisted into a sneer, which was only made worse by the fact some giant mottled lump of rancid flesh hung down from his face from just under his eye and down past his chin.
He raised his hand to Jan who was already charging a ‘Wasp Sting’ from her place in the bed. “Make a move and I solidify; I will destroy his entire cardiovascular system and he will die in seconds.”
“Where is my daughter!” barked Scott. He twitched, ready to launch forward, but fought off the urge. Scott was a superhero but more than anything he was a father. He had become the former because of the latter. He became Ant-Man so that Cassie could have life saving surgery and he had fought for her numerous times. He would protect her with his life in a millisecond.
“Your daughter is safe, Ant-Man,” nodded Red Ghost. “I am a scientist and a visionary, not a child killing monster.” He seemed mildly offended that Scott would even think such a thing about him, that he would hurt a child for no reason was far beneath him. Yes, it was true that human children would die by the thousands when his revolution finally came but that was only if they stood against him and his ape hordes which was, to his deranged mind, completely justified.
“Why have you taken her?” Jan queried. She kept her hands trained on him but her eyes on Hank. He could make a signal at any point that he was going to dodge sideways or begin to shrink or anything which might give them an opening to attack. She was a trained professional.
“I needed leverage,” Red Ghost smiled. “There are only a handful of individuals in this world that Doctor Pym cares for; I calculated via multi-dimensional scaling that it would be her who would cause the least amount of struggle and cause the maximum amount of emotional turmoil. Simple mathematics.”
“All this is about me? Tell me what you want and I’ll do it,” Hank spoke and kept his head facing forward.
“You will come with me. ALONE!” he raised his voice and glanced at the other two heroes to make sure his point had been hammered home. “I have a problem, as you can see, which requires your expertise. I need a cure.”
Hank nodded. “You could have just come to me, Kragoff, you didn’t have to kidnap the girl. I would have helped.”
The Red Ghost scowled “The issue is no just with me, Dr Pym, it is...well, you will see,” Igor clicked a communicator on his sleeve and began to speak in Russian. “You have a few minutes, Doctor Pym, so I suggest you get anything you need now.”
Igor lowered his arms to his side and allowed Hank to stand to his feet. Jan launched a bolt of energy straight at the Russian only for it to harmlessly move through him and strike the wall behind him. “I was hoping you wouldn’t do that, Wasp. You’re now on my list,” he scowled.
“If my daughter is harmed in any way I will make you pay, Kragoff,” Scott growled.
“You bore me,” sneered Red Ghost and faded from sight. A minute or so passed before the wall to the living room bulged in on itself and then splintered as the large metallic orb bobbed into the room.
Hank pelted back into the room fully dressed because of the commotion. No sooner did he appear then Red Ghost faded back into view over next to the orb. “All aboard,” he grinned as it twisted and created a seat for him and an opening for Yellowjacket.
Hank moved across the room and climbed into the orb. He turned back to the other two and gave them a resolute nod before it sealed around him and moved away from the wall. It bobbed in the air, the space inside the sphere was quite small and he couldn’t move.
It didn’t take long, a minute or so, before Hank began to feel light headed. His head swam, the air was limited and he was about to pass out. He struggled and banged against the sides of the sphere but then just passed out.
# # # # #
Miles away and sometime later...
Hank blinked his eyes as they opened. The sun was just too bright as he came round from the unconsciousness which had claimed him. His head was absolutely throbbing and his stomach was growling angrily. He must have been out for quite a while.
He titled his head forward and looked down at his body, where on his chest crouched the snarling form of Red Ghost’s baboon. He was really starting to have a problem with these super apes. “Ah, Dr. Pym, I was just about to become annoyed and rouse you myself,” spoke Ivan as he strode over from a small chair which sat underneath a parasol to provide shade. He didn’t speak to the ape but it moved clear of Yellowjacket and let him climb to his feet.
“Where are we?” Hank asked as he suddenly noticed the stifling heat which clung to him and, judging by the uncomfortable feeling of his costume, had done for the whole time he had been lying unconscious. Costume rash was one of the worst parts of being a superhero...beside murderous villains and kidnappings.
“Where we are, Doctor Pym, is the seat of power in a new and glorious age; the place where our glorious revolution will spring from.” Ivan motioned out across the vista which he turned Hank to look at.
He looked down from their place on the raised stone platform. It was a most peculiar sight. They were somewhere in South America, that much Hank could figure from the obvious signs. The jungle foliage was a big hint but the ruins which looked Aztec or Mayan in design were the biggest. It was also late afternoon judging by the sun’s position; night would hit quickly as the sun went past the distant mountains. Interspersed amongst the ruins that stretched before him were newer buildings made of metal that looked like advanced technology, no doubt constructed by Red Ghost and his magnetic orang-utan.
Large white field tents were set up over in the far distant corner of the massive complex. The most astounding thing, however, was the number of large apes which were manning the complex. They moved machinery around between buildings whilst others seemed to be in charge of farming. Hank watched one lug a large metal pot across the center of what looked like a town square to a large seating area.
“You’ve been busy. Is Charlton Heston around?” he asked with a half smile. He could see why Spider-Man and Hawkeye did this whole quipping thing…it did relieve tension in situations like this.
“I do not know this man,” Red Ghost said with a shake of his head.
“YOU?! YOU have not seen Planet of the Apes?” he stressed the first part of the sentence with surprise. Ivan sneered at him. “I think you’d like it, that’s all.” Hank stopped talking as he looked out at the busy apes and noticed the symbol on their chests. “Are those the Beasts of Berlin?”
“Da,” Ivan nodded. “My Communist brothers have joined me in my mission here to create a utopia for the apes of the world who wish to embrace the New World Order.”
“So let me get this right,” Hank sighed, “you and your Super-Apes have teamed up with a group of hyper-intelligent mutant gorillas created by an insane sect of communists in Berlin to create a communist utopia entirely for apes?”
“We will sweep over this world, our superior intellect and governance will make short work of you capitalist humans and your weaknesses.”
Great, thought Hank with an internal sigh of desperation. This was surely something more akin to the Great Lake Avengers or Deadpool or someone to fight rather than him but here he was. “Look, I’m just here to get Cassie. I understand you’re ill and judging by those medical tents you’re not the only one. You need me to help you and then I can take her home. Hank mentally added that he would then bring the Avengers back here and put a stop to this insane plan before it somehow managed to pick up steam.
“Da.” The metal platform on which they stood rose into the air and began to float down from the stone platform on which they stood. “This is the result of a rogue virus which I believe you have some familiarity with the origins of.
“Man-Beast’s plague? That should be all cured.” Hank rubbed his chin, remembering when he had travelled to Wundagore himself and was with the High Evolutionary as they released the anti-virus. It had cured all of the people who had been affected, though there had been one or two reports of mutant animals but no real evidence, so Hank had dismissed them.
“It has mutated in odd ways,” Ghost nodded. “I fear it is sentient.”
Hank nodded, as he knew for certain that it was sentient. “The virus,” began Red Ghost again, “has been affecting the minds of those who have been infected, driving them out of their minds into murderous rages...we have them all sedated. I was trying to help them when I myself was infected.”
Hank glanced down at the growth and the growth looked back at him with its one huge eye before its eyelid blinked. It was most certainly not the virus he had been before. He looked at the concern on Red Ghost’s face, which was only for his apes. He was a completely insane want to be despot to be sure but he really cared about those apes.
“I want to see that Cassie is okay and well treated first, then I’ll help.” Red Ghost was silent for a moment as he mulled over Hank’s request and with a nod and a gesture the floating metal platform changed direction.
# # # # #
A few miles away...
General Jones stared at the reconnaissance photos of the area which had been taken by an orbiting satellite last week then there had been no cloud cover. It was their last good shot of the place, a series of white covers were being built. He wanted to know what of. His detail was in charge of following Red Ghost and stopping his crazy schemes for world domination at every turn. He was itching to get his hands on the crazy Russian.
“Sir,” barked one of his soldiers as he came in and saluted his commander.
The General’s hairy upper lip twitched and he removed his hat, freeing his balding head to the sun before scratching it and replacing his cap. He saluted in return. “At ease soldier,” he said with his gravel gruff voice. “Sit rep.”
“Red Ghost and his super apes have returned and Jules reports they’ve got a super with them. His scope pictures show it to be Hank Pym sir...Yellowjacket. The Avenger appears to be getting a tour. The troops are awaiting further orders.”
Jones stood for a few seconds, rolling the information around his head. He shook it sharply. “This doesn’t change anything. We go at sunrise.