Work Text:
Earth-616
Most of us are unconcerned about the insect world that exists beneath our feet. But to Hank Pym, the activities of these tiny creatures are of great importance.
“This is the third set of wavelengths I’ve received from the ants today. It sounds like panic.” Hank said, curiously. He sat at his bank of machines, with a clunky helmet connected to it as he communicated with his insects.
“Something must be brewing down there.” He whispered to himself. After all the times the ants have saved him, it was only fair Hank would return the favour. He changed into his red and black Ant-Man suit, and his silver, round helmet. Hank released his vial of red mist and in seconds, he was no bigger than a tic tac. He hit the button, on a tile of his wall, and it slid open to reveal his flying ant hangar. The cool breeze gently blew against Hank. Ant-Man straddled his favourite bug, Faithful, and they launched out into the streets of New York.
“Okay, girl. Take me to the scene of the crime.” Hank told Faithful, as they fluttered through the air.
They arrived at a grate, which led into the sewer. Hank groaned as Faithful went inside.
“The sewer? It had to be the sewer.” Hank sighed. Faithful carried Hank down into a subterranean passage where he found more bugs and insects. Not just ants. Spiders, cockroaches, houseflies, caterpillars, crickets and grasshoppers. They were all in a large, smelly and damp tunnel.
“Wow…” Hank said in awe. They had all gathered here, like an audience. The star of the show was a beetle, which was unnaturally red. It was a bright crimson colour, and the beetle was radiating a soft glow. All the other bugs were transfixed on this beetle. Hank fiddled with his helmet until-
“For ages, the human race has ruled Earth! Ever since I was experimented on with atomic radiation, and escaped that wretched laboratory, I have been planning my revenge. They will regret ever letting my brain evolve. Now, with you as my army, we shall seize control of the Earth!” The Beetle declared, not yet noticing Hank who was hiding amongst the crowd of critters. Hank couldn't believe what he was hearing. Who’s bright idea was it to experiment on beetles?
“Hello!” Hank called out with a wave, pushing through the bugs towards the Scarlet Beetle. Hank never thought a beetle could look incredulous, but he was proven wrong today.
“What are you?” The Beetle questioned.
“I'm Ant-Man. Nice to meet you. Here’s the thing, Earth is not ‘up for grabs.’ Okay? I'm sorry you were experimented on, but the rest of humanity doesn't deserve to be punished.” Hank explained.
“You dare come down here, all by yourself, and face me and my army?” The Scarlet Beetle hissed. “Get him!” He commanded. Three green beetles approached Hank, snapping their pincers threateningly. They attacked Hank, leaping at him - but Hank wasn't as defenceless as the Scarlet Spider suspected. With his normal strength, even at ant-size, he was able to fight off the mindless beetles… Or so he thought. Yes, he was able to land some punches and knock a couple down for the count, but he didn’t expect one of the beetles to snatch the helmet off his head.
“Oh no!” Hank gasped. The world suddenly went quiet. Deafeningly quiet. All he could hear was the sea of bugs chirping or clicking - nothing intelligible. Caught off guard, one of the beetles sank its pincers into Hank’s calf, making him cry out in pain and fall to the floor. Although the suit could protect him from most bug bites - there were some exceptions. The Scarlet Beetle approached him, no longer able to communicate with Hank. It reached down and snatched the enlarging gas from Hank’s belt.
“Oh no. NO!” Hank yelled, but the blue smoke was already engulfing the Scarlet Beetle. It grew rapidly, becoming a monstrous creature - and in the process, one of his legs swatted Hank. The scientist flung into the wall of the sewer with a crash - leaving him unconscious. The Scarlet Beetle commanded the insects to dispose of the Ant-Man.
When Hank woke up, his head felt like it was pounding. He rubbed his forehead as he assessed his surroundings. Hank was at the bottom of some pit, with steep, vertical walls all around him.
“Dammit…” Hank muttered. He looked down to see his canisters were gone, just like his helmet. Was he even Ant-Man anymore? He couldn’t contact the ants for a rescue, and when he attempted to climb out - it was too slippery. Hank just fell back into the hole with a thud.
“Awe, shit.” Hank groaned, feeling helpless.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Beetle had launched its first attack against mankind. Termites were chewing through telephone poles, making them fall and crash into cars and houses. Gunpowder and explosives were being stolen from the military’s armoury, without being noticed. Wasps swarmed the police station, stinging every policeman and detective inside. Mosquitos were going around hospitals, swapping blood with different patients and making them sicker. But all those incidents felt insignificant, as the titanic, Scarlet Beetle stormed through Manhattan. It smashed through TV studios, tore policemen in half, and tore through supermarkets.
“Where’s Ant-Man?!”
“ This is his jurisdiction!”
“Is he behind all this?!” People were shouting in the streets.
But poor Hank couldn’t do anything about it. He was still stuck underground, in a pit amongst the sewers. Every time he tried to climb out, he’d just slide back down to the bottom again. But Hank had underestimated his allies. A half dozen ants peered into the pit, making Hank’s eyes light up in hope.
“Faithful! I thought, without the helmet, you’d forget about me.” Hank admitted as Faithful came down. “You guys are more loyal than I give you credit for.” Hank smiled, touched. He mounted his insect and she climbed out of the pit, before bringing him to the discarded helmet on the ground.
“Alright. Now we have a chance.” Hank said, putting the silver dome back on.
Hank emerged from the sewers and back into the surface world. He gasped as he witnessed the destruction that had taken place, in less than a couple hours. Faithful flew through the air as they searched for the overgrown Scarlet Beetle. Taped to the monster’s underbelly were the Pym Particle capsules. Eventually, they found it in Central Park, harassing a group of tourists on a bridge.
“Alright… Listen well, my little friends.” Hank said, before broadcasting his thoughts. Hank and his ants approached the crimson critter and were soon noticed by the monster. A horde of beetles, spiders and cockroaches were sent to attack Hank and his fleet.
“Remember the plan, guys.” Hank said. First, a swarm of honey ants attacked, spewing sticky goo all over the enemies.
“That’s it! Well done!” Hank praised them as he descended. The rest of the ants mutilated and ravaged the remaining bugs that continued their attack.
“ ANT-MAN! Of all the humans, you are the most irritable! I wanted to have you as a pet, but I should have killed you!” The Beetle snarled, abandoning those on the bridge. Hank knew he’d never be able to defeat the grotesque creature, out in the open.
“If you want me, Ringo, come get me!” Hank taunted it, before flying away on Faithful.
The Scarlet Beetle loudly stomped after the Ant-Man, chasing him into a nearby toy store. Hank zipped inside.
“It’s
FUTILE
to run from me!” The Scarlet Beetle ‘shouted’ after him, through the wavelengths. The monster crashed through the front doors, sending shards of glass and debris crashing to the floor. Its large, black eyes scanned the store, searching for the small red dot.
“I’m through running! So come and get me, if you can!” Hank shouted, standing on the top of a counter. There was a toy battleship, a remote control car and a Jack-in-a-Box dotted around him.
“ IF I can?! You are nothing but a flea!” The Scarlet Beetle scowled. Hank quickly hopped into the remote control car and it sped off, just before the Scarlet Beetle could swing its leg at him.
“Good job, fellas!” Hank saluted to the ants, who were manning the remote control from another shelf. They were driving the car, helping Hank to dodge the red legs that were trying to squish him. But they were still ants at the end of the day. CRASH! The toy car hit a piece of the debris that had fallen from the Scarlet Beetle bursting into the store. Hank flew out of the toy car since there’s no seatbelts in toy cars. He flung across the store and smashed into a mediaeval toy set.
“Arargh, fuck…” Hank groaned, looking around the plastic castle he found himself in. There were a couple of toy knights that had toppled over, with swords in their hands.
“See? You never stood a chance!” The Beetle growled, ripping the front of the castle away and looming over Hank. The tiny hero had one of the swords in his hand.
“ IDIOT! That tiny weapon cannot harm someone as big as me!” The Scarlet Beetle said, almost sounding like a laugh.
“I don’t need to harm you. ” Hank said before he threw the sword with his incredible strength at the reducing gas canister. The grey, plastic blade punctured the canister from the sheer force of momentum. Red smoke poured out of it, spewing all over the Scarlet Beetle.
“ NOOOO!! ” It shrieked as it shrunk down to Hank’s size. Before the Scarlet Beetle could reach for the enlarging gas, Hank charged at it. The creature squealed and snapped at him, as he wrestled it to the ground. Hank swiped the growing canister away and put it back in his belt.
“Your rule over Earth has ended, Ringo.” Hank said, stepping back. The injured beetle lay there, defeated, as Hank tore open a bag of balloons and pulled a yellow one out. He stuffed the Scarlet Beetle into the rubber prison - letting its head poke out the end. Then, the ants came down and tied some twine around the yellow rubber - making sure the Beetle was well and truly trapped.
“I will get out of this, Ant-Man! I will kill you. And I will exact my revenge on humanity!” The Scarlet Beetle growled.
“ Who did this to you?” Hank questioned.
“Oscorp.” The Beetle answered.
“Alright. I’ll send an anonymous tip to the Daily Bugle. When this gets out, Oscrop will have no choice but to stop their experiments on insects.” Hank told it.
“That’s not enough. I will
burn
that tower to the ground!” The Scarlet Beetle stated.
“Actually, you won’t remember
any
of this.” Hank told it, before turning to the ants. “Bring him to my lab.” He commanded.
The bugs outside stopped their attacks on New York City since the Scarlet Beetle stopped giving out orders. Everything returned to normal if such a thing even existed in a city of superheroes. Hank, the ants and the Scarlet Beetle returned to Pym’s laboratory. Hank grew back to regular size and used a pair of tweezers to free the beetle from the balloon. Thanks to his scientific know-how, he was able to counteract the effects of the radiation - turning the beetle back into its natural, less intelligent and emotional self. It was just an ordinary bug again. Hank went outside and released the tiny insect back into the concrete wilderness.
“Go ahead, little fella. You’re free to be a bug again. I’m sorry mankind didn’t treat you better.” Hank said, softly, watching the red beetle disappear. When he returned to his lab, he made a quick, anonymous call to the Daily Bugle, in hopes of keeping his promise.