CHAPTER FIFTY
SCOTT LANG
[ AVENGERS: END GAME ]
"We're back!" Antares sung, her voice echoing across the interior of the Avengers compound and she came sauntering in with Loki not to far behind her. She was met with silence. "Hello!" She called out again before Thor came sauntering through with a beer in hand, sunnies on his face and sweats that looked as though they haven't been washed in months. Maybe years.
The two hissed out and scrunched their faces as the stench of the man before them filled their noses, "Oh, Thor... You need a shower." She groaned, holding a finger bellow her nose while Loki screwed up his face at his brother.
"Brother, I wish I could say that I'm glad to see you." Loki nodded in Thor's direction, grimace still on his face as Thor begin to smile at them.
"Brother, Antares!" He cried, coming forward to give them a hug.
"Woah, easy going bud." Antares laughed, holding out a hand to stop the god from coming any closer.
"Take a shower, then you can hug me." Thor scrunched up his face then rose a sweat clad arm up to smell the pit of his grey sweater and grimaced at his own smell.
"It is good to see you." He smiled, nodding slightly as he took a step back.
"Ah, Antares! Isn't it good to see you!" Tony called as he walked through with tubing wrapped around his shoulder, "Can't say the same for you." He nodded to Loki behind her.
"So, how is everything coming along?" She asked, following behind the scientist.
"We just have to put everything together." He answered as they continued to walk through and into the large training haul that currently had a massive mass of parts strewn everywhere.
"Jesus, you've been busy. It's been what? A day?" She asked as she noticed Rocket clanking around in the mess.
"About four hours give or take." He corrected her, earning a low whistle.
"Hi Rocket!" The girl called towards the raccoon who just threw a hand over his shoulder with a wave and a slight grunt as hello back. "Who else is here?" She asked, feeling like the answer was everyone.
"Oh you know, only everyone we have left." Tony mumbled as he chucked the pile of mechanics on the concrete flooring, turning towards the god. "You, you need to watch your step. Clint's back and he won't be happy to see you."
"What a pleasure." She smiled sarcastically, clapping his hands together. Antares rolled her eyes before excusing herself and grabbing Tony by the bicep for him to follow her.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" She asked in a whisper. Tony's smile fell, he knew what failing would do to everyone, especially her. She probably wouldn't survive losing her brother - losing everyone again. It would shatter her. It would allow the entity inside of her to win control.
"We won't lose anyone else, I assure you." He whispered back.
"But you can't promise, can you?" She sighed, understanding that what they were about to do was risky.
"I'll do everything I can to keep everyone here and to bring everyone back." His hand reached out to pat the girls shoulder, but he drew back. "We'll do whatever we can."
Antares forced a smile as she nodded. She couldn't lose anyone else, she wouldn't allow for anymore of them to perish. If someone died on this mission, there would be no getting them back.
"You better go find your Romeo, Juliet. He's gonna eventually run into Barton and I can't imagine that's a pretty site."
"Your code names aren't funny." She said, though there was an amused smile on her face.
"You're fraternising with the enemy. My code names are very fitting." He shot back before shooing her away.
"Sure thing, Doctor Nefarious." She called back causing the scientist to scowl.
"I think we should leave code names to me." He called after her.
"Why? It's perfect! I have no doubt you've dubbed Rocket, Ratchet. It just works. But, if you do prefer,
I could always call you Clank?"
"Doctor Nefarious will do." He answered with a nod before a loud clattering sound and the yells of Natasha and Clint filled the empty hallways. Antares eyes opened wide before she went running after the sound while Tony laughed to himself. Both of them knowing that Clint had found their Romeo.
"Clint, calm down! He's with us." Natasha was trying to sooth the man holding a butter knife while Loki ate a apple with a smug smirk, a steak knife sticking out of the cabinet doors to the left of his head.
"Clint! Hi..." Antares called, happiness and awkwardness mixing together as she took in the man's new appearance. "You've got tattoos." She nodded towards the black ink curling up his left arm. He seemed to calm slightly.
"Antares, what the hell."
"It's been a long time Clint. A lot has changed over the passed five years." She stepped forward slightly and slowly reached for the butter knife in the man's hand while Natasha stood before Loki. "Loki's on our side now."
"Besides, it's not like I can control you again like a lifeless soldier. I don't have my sceptor. No, you guys stole it from me and couldn't even keep it safe, erasing half the universe. How great." He chimed, purposefully pissing off the now assassin.
Clint's eyes grew dark and suddenly the two girls were looking at each other with a silent agreement. Then they simply walked away, allowing Clint to grab the butter knife again and lunge for the God.
"Honestly, sometimes he really gets on my nerves." Antares sighed to Natasha as they walked down the hall.
"Sometimes he just loves to provoke people." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, but it's always fun to rile someone up, don't you think, My Love?" Loki asked as he materialised beside his partner.
"What did he do?" Antares asked.
"Why don't you think I did anything?" Loki asked.
"Because he was the one with the butter knife and you were looking for trouble." She rolled her eyes, one twitching as a low rumble filled her mind and she was quick to push it down. "It didn't take you long to get bored."
"Well, let's just say that he won't warm up to me as easily as the others." He laughed.
"Yeah, no shit." The two girls laughed together walking off towards the rec room down the hall from the kitchens, leaving Clint to chill off.
Antares and Loki spent the rest of the evening feeling useless as they tried to stay out of the scientists way while also trying to keep Antares' mind off the could be's and maybe's. Natasha had also spent time with them, also being useless in the science field and also having been told to take a step back from Tony.
"Hi, um, wow." Came a man's voice from the open doorway. Antares looked up from her deck of cards while natasha sat her deck face down on the table. Loki, confused, sat his cards down face up causing Natasha to called him out on a lie.
"You told me you didn't have a king!" She yelled, pissed. "You told me to 'pick up fish', you lier!"
"Natasha, he's literally the god of mischief." Antares sighed.
"That doesn't mean you lie in Go Fish." She shot back.
"Umm, am I interrupting?" The man asked.
"No." Antares laughed.
"Yes!" Nat snapped.
"I didn't have the king when you asked." Loki grumbled as he decided to flip his card deck upside down.
"This is bullshit, you haven't picked up a single card since I asked." She tried to reason.
"Actually he did. I told him to go fish." Antares agreed with Loki.
"How dare you take his side." She gasped.
"I think I'll just..."
"Oh my god, Nat stop." Antares laughed.
"You're just a big fat lire. Is anything that comes out of your mouth a truth?"
"I sure hope so." Antares sighed before turning to the dark haired man in the doorway looking slightly out of place. "Hi, I don't believe we've met. I'm Antares, and you are?"
"Oh, uh... I know who you are. You were like the first enhanced the public had seen. You're so cool.... I mean, hi, I'm Scott Lang - Ant-man is my hero name."
"Well, Scott Lang, it's nice to meet you. May I help you with something."
"Oh, um... the suits are ready. Clint is about to take it for a test run."
At that, everyone stopped what they were doing and discarded their cards on the table. Nat was the first to stand and follow the man out of the room while Antares turned towards her significant other, slapping his chest.
"You cheat." She managed to hiss out through a laugh.
"You lie like smooth mead." Loki smirked at her, a slight twinkle in his eyes as he watched the woman he loved smirked up at him before shaking her hair and pulling it over her shoulders.
"I love you and I would lie for you always, but that's the last time I lie for you to Nat." She answered before staking out of the room. "A fucking king. Seriously Loki, you couldn't have just given her a king." She muttered under her breath, exhausted.
Clint stood in the middle of the large circular platform that Rocket and Tony had built. He wore a white and red suit with a nanobot helmet. Antares noticed that he looked apprehensive, while all the others were nervous. Well, apart from Thor, who wore headphones and held his hands on his hips.
"We're going in three, two, one." Banner called. It was almost like Clint was swallowed up by a whole in the platform as he shrunk and disappeared.
"Please let this work." She whispered, crossing her fingers.
"It won't work." A dark echoing voice filled her mind and she chose to ignore it.
"And we're brining him back in three, two, one."
In an instant Clint was back on the platform, doubled over and groaning in pain. Natasha was the first to reach him, asking if he was okay. In his hand he held a baseball glove, something he didn't have before.
It worked.