Work Text:
Earth-93000
Joyce Parish, Louisiana
Growing up, George Shrinks wasn't bothered by his diminutive size. It just made his life that much more interesting. Growing up, though, it became something of a handicap. Earning his degree was an uphill battle-taking notes wasn't as easy for him as it was for his other classmates, and most of his professors demanded he keep his Zoopercar outside the classroom, deeming it a distraction, so it was tough getting into and out of lecture halls.
He'd studied for engineering, his continued tinkering on the Zoopercar (which was replaced outright when it could no longer fit his gargantuan foot-tall frame) leaving him with a knack for using tools. One of his parents' friends managed to find George a job at a tech servicing place.
It was the five year anniversary of the Dusting event when George pulled into work. He parked his Zoopercar in the office like usual, clocked in, then climbed atop his desk to begin work.
"Morning, George," called his boss, a gentleman he simply knew as Will. Will had a well-groomed mustache and beard, combined with a flannel shirt and jeans made him look like a hipster, not that George would call him that.
"Hey, Will. What's on the docket today?" asked George. He sported some stubble along his chin, which he was currently working on a solution to get rid of.
"Just an old PC tower, it was donated for parts." He picked up said equipment with a grunt, placing it down on the desktop. "I'll be in the back, shout if you need a hand."
George nodded, dutifully getting to work. The tower was twice as tall as he was, but he'd managed to get a few toys that could get him into place and Will didn't mind his accommodations. Within a few minutes, he'd pulled off the last screw keeping the computer's side on.
"Timber!" he cried, the metal sheet bouncing off the edge of the desk and clattering to the carpeted floor below. He laughed, peering inside the tower.
The diminutive young man was instantly met with items that definitely weren't standard. A note card, a flash drive, and some sort of jewelry box. The note card didn't reveal much: "Left button grows, right button shrinks." Inside the box was some sort of folded up fabric with a tiny helmet on top.
"What the… Where the heck did Will get this thing from?"
Regardless, George knew that whatever this stuff was couldn't be picked up by just anyone, so he took it back to the car and made sure to keep it hidden. When he returned, he decided to get back to doing his job. When noon rolled around and he could clock out for lunch, George's mystery find was at the back of his mind.
George's childhood friend Becky worked at a bakery down the street, so she'd usually come in with a pastry and offer a portion to him. Today was no different, as she set a paper towel with a chunk of a donut on the desk, which he thanked her for and began eating.
Becky whistled as she saw the disassembled tower, running her hand along the edge. "Why'd someone give this thing up?" she asked. "It still looks pretty new."
"Your guess is as good as mine," shrugged George. "But Will wants it in pieces, so that's what I'm gonna do." He bit into his donut. "So how's work for you?"
"I thought I'd never get my lunch break," groaned Becky, voice low with exhaustion. "We had the most tasteless half-off sale for the anniversary, and everyone decided to take advantage of it." She had a drink with her, taking a few sips before setting it back down. "Still, it wasn't all bad. There was this girl who came in, Nadia, about my age. She was pretty polite, and she even got me this." She shook her drink around and let out a content hum, before she noticed the look George was giving her and her face instantly warmed. "W-What?"
"You're totally into her," he said with a playful grin. "Next time you see her, you should try and get to know her."
"I don't know if I'll see her again, though," Becky whined, resting her head on her arms. She then looked up at George with a grin. "You're just jealous I might get someone before you."
"Oof, that's a low blow," said George, placing a hand over his heart in mock offense. "You know short kings never prosper."
"You'll survive, you big wuss," she teased.
The two chatted until their lunches were over, and George went back to work. As the day progressed, disassembly was put on the back burner, but he was almost halfway done by the time his shift ended.
"I'll finish it up," offered Will. "You just head home, alright George?"
"Sure thing. Have a good night!"
The drive home was rather perilous, it wasn't like the Zoopercar had very powerful headlights so George had to keep his eyes on the sidewalk at all times. He managed to make it home safely, maneuvering to his room with no issue. Remembering his secretive cargo, George chose to place them beneath his pillow before heading down for dinner.
After that, he had pulled out the box first, inspecting the helmet first, which looked almost like a toy in his hands. It was silver, with two beady red eyeholes, ventilators that looked like an insect's mandibles, and two retractable antennas. The suit underneath it was red, and it looked like it was made to fit someone smaller than him.
"Is that even possible?" George muttered to himself, looking over every inch of it.
After setting the suit back down, he jumped back in surprise as they suddenly blew up in size, and now looked like they could fit him with little difficulty. It was a lot to take in, but he was too deep to give up now. George next grabbed the flash drive, climbing up to his desk where his laptop was, plugging it in so he could see what secrets it contained.
"Okay," he muttered, using the computer's touch screen function to open up the drive's folder. A lot of the file names were fascinating. "Pym Particles? Quantum research? Pheromone formula? What's this guy into?" George was relieved to see a video simply titled "explanation" among the files, opening it up.
The video opened with the face of an older man staring at the camera. He had fair skin with brown, graying hair and a beard. "My name is Dr. Henry Pym," he introduced. "If you're watching this, either you stole or I'm dead. For your sake, it better not be the first one."
Despite it being a prerecorded message, George couldn't help the shudder that ran up his spine.
"You aren't aware of this, but I am the covert agent Ant-Man," Dr. Pym continued. "While doing research into subatomic properties, I happened across a substance that I call 'Pym Particles.' These particles can shunt excess mass into a subatomic realm, making some shrink, and recall mass from the same subatomic realm, so I can grow. With this, I could fit between the treads of a car tire with space to spare, or grow half as tall as the Empire State Building. The first one is a lot easier, of course-"
"I've seen toku," George said to himself, "holding a giant form expels too much energy."
"-if I stay giant longer than three minutes, I'll be out like a light. There was this old tokusatsu show like that." Huh. Great minds must think alike. "But anyway, another feature of this suit is its ability to telepathically communicate with and control ants." George blinked. Control ants? "That might sound crazy, but it's saved my life more than I can count. I've engineered a number of add-ons that you can make from any household junk, so these ants are useful for plenty of tasks."
George rubbed his chin. If Dr. Pym was so confident in what the ants could do, who was he to question?
"But what's most important is that if you're wearing this suit, you need to know how to fight. If you don't have any combat skills, you're a dope in a fancy costume, and the ants only do so much." He took off his glasses and rubbed at his temples. "I can't be Ant-Man forever, so if you've found this message, I'm trusting you to do the right thing."
As the video stopped, George thought about what he had just seen. Being a hero, it sounded like something out of a comic book. But Dr. Pym sounded very serious about what he was doing. And assuming that he had indeed died before now, he was placing a lot of trust in a total stranger.
The diminutive young man walked back over to the suit, deciding to at least see how the thing worked. Slipping it on, he was surprised to find that, despite being a little baggy in places, it fit his physique pretty well. The helmet came next, sliding into place around his head.
"Okay, that note said something about buttons?" he muttered to himself, feeling around his costume. It was then he spotted something on the right glove, where the thenar was. "Better test this out on the floor."
Ziplining off his desk, he peered at the two buttons. Reaching with his middle finger, he pressed the leftmost button, letting out a cry of surprise as he suddenly found his surroundings a lot smaller. Looking down, he was now easily around six feet tall.
"I… I'm big!" he said in amazement, feeling himself over with an astonished stupor. "I can't believe that actually worked."
He then used his index finger on the right button, shrinking back down to his average height. Now that the easy part was out of the way, it was time to focus on the hard stuff.
Some time later
The days became a lot busier. When George wasn't working for Will, he was learning self defense, getting a handle on his ant control powers, and working on tools that would help himself and his ants. Beyond that, he was also on the lookout for a scenario that would necessitate the need for Ant-Man. But as the weeks went on, it felt like he'd never put his skills to the test.
Until a day just like any other: George was at work, mending a dropped laptop when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside. Will had heard it too, rushing to the front so he could peer outside.
"Something's going on down the street," he warned his employee. "Stay in the office, you'll be safest back there."
George complied, but not because he was concerned with his safety. Running to the office, he all but dived into the Zoopercar and retrieved his suit, slipping it on and sneaking through the front door.
As he grew to his "giant" size and ran down the street, he could see police cars surrounding someone. They were in a highly armored suit, possibly fifteen feet tall, gold with maroon markings, and covered in jagged spikes.
"We have you surrounded!" the police captain called into a bullhorn. "Step out of the suit and put your hands behind your head right now!"
A low, dark chuckle emerged from the suit. "I have a better idea," the pilot remarked, taking a few steps back. "Better make room for the Porcupine!"
With a quick order from the chief, the assembled officers opened fire on the Porcupine, their shots doing nothing as he began to run forwards. Once he built up the speed and momentum, the suit changed shape, curling in on itself. Now shaped more like a spiked wrecking ball, it tore down the street, officers barely ducking out of the way as it tore through one of the police cars like tinfoil.
Porcupine unfurled, cackling with sadistic glee. "If I can do that to a car, I could make all you boys in blue see black easily!"
It was then that Ant-Man made his appearance, placing a growth bomb on a rock and chucking it at Porcupine. It grew exponentially by the time it made contact, knocking the suit on its back.
"Not much fun fighting someone who can hit back, huh?"
As the Porcupine rose to his feet, he growled at the newcomer. "Poor choice picking on me, punk," he spat. "It'll be the last one you make!"
The suit's hands opened up, jets of flame bursting in Ant-Man's direction. He quickly shrunk down where they'd miss, dashing between Porcupine's legs. Once in position, he quickly grew to twice Porcupine's height, his sudden arrival once again knocking the villain off balance. Ant-Man then grabbed the suit's leg, picking it up and slamming it into the pavement once more. Deep down, he was lucky his brother was never this rough with him growing up.
Despite this jostling, the suit's operator wasn't down for the count, swinging a leg into Ant-Man's own. As Ant-Man fell on his front, Porcupine staggered to his feet and let himself fall backwards, intending to crush Ant-Man beneath him. Luckily, he shrunk down in time, barely avoiding the spikes, clinging to one as the villain tried rising upwards once more, only for his damaged leg to give out and snap completely. As he fell yet again, Ant-Man made it to the suit's collar, placing a hand on the side of his helmet.
"Let's finish the job, guys," he called, gazing at the horizon.
The crowd were taken aback by the appearance of dozens of flying insects, which if they knew to look they'd realize were actually ants with jetpacks. They swarmed around Porcupine, who tried fending them off with his flamethrowers. While not all of the ants could avoid him, enough were able to slip into the gaps between armor plating, seeking out and chewing through any wires that looked important.
Before long, the Porcupine suit was spewing up sparks, totally inoperable. The front of the suit opened up, the pilot-a blond man with long hair and a shaggy beard-staggering out. As soon as he did, he was surrounded by officers, who had him in handcuffs within moments.
During all of this, one of the ants gave George a ride back to work, where he changed, inspected his leg, and emerged from the office just as Will came back to check on him.
"The situation's under control now," he informed George. "You can take it easy for a while, this much excitement could shake up anyone."
George appreciated the offer. While not shaken, per se, the fight had taken a lot out of him, and he could feel his leg bruising from where it had been kicked. He climbed onto the desk and soaked in its cool surface before the door opened up, a brunette woman dressed in red and black. She stopped by every so often, although he'd never caught her name.
"Afternoon," she greeted, George waving back. "Did you hear about what happened earlier? A guy in a giant robot suit tried stealing diamonds."
"That's what happened?" asked George, hoping he sounded sincere. "All I heard was a guy going crazy outside?"
"Yep, but there was some other guy who beat him up." She smiled, as though she knew something the other didn't. "Social media's calling him the Spectacular Shrinker and Bugmeister."
"Seriously? Those are awful names."
"Yeah, I think a better one would be… Ant-Man." George shot up with wide eyes, the woman smiling back at him. "Hi, George. The name's Nadia Van Dyne, you can call me Wasp."
"How… how did you know?"
"Hank Pym was my father, and we worked together in our old universe." George looked ready to ask about that comment, but Daisy pressed on. "It's gone now. He had health issues that… that prevented him from coming, but he gave me the computer with his research and told me to find the next Ant-Man wherever I ended up." Nadia had a look on her face that made it clear the wound was fresh, but she wasn't letting get to her right now.
"So you're the one who donated the computer? So I could get the suit?"
"I'll admit I did it for shits and giggles, since you're small, but I talked to your friend Becky and she told me about that big brain of yours. So I think it worked out well."
George stared up at Nadia. She was from another universe, a universe that was gone. She was asked by the original Ant-Man, her dad, to give his suit to someone else, and picked him on a whim.
"So, you're from a world full of superheroes, I'm guessing?"
"Straight A's, Georgie. I'm willing to bet other heroes have come here with me, maybe some villains too. Things are gonna get weird, but I've got your back if you'll have mine."
Nadia stretched a fist out in George's direction. He understood the request, giving her a fist bump.
The two parted ways after that, George eventually getting back to work. He had no idea where the future would take him, but he was part of a much larger world now, and he would have to rise to the occasion before he knew it.
Earth-857
Japanese Countryside
The Green Lantern had been dealing with a Kree patrol craft in orbit when he'd heard that some of his classmates were dealing with a Brood hive. Somehow more of these parasites were getting to Earth than previously, and he wasn't a fan of this development.
Izuku came as fast as he could, but when he touched down all he saw was a series of bright flashes coming from inside a cave before a few of his classmates emerged.
"Midoriya!" one of them called. Shoto Todoroki stood out due to his white-and-red hair colors, the latter aligning with a burn scar on the left side of his face. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit with white cuffs and boots, holding onto his left side. "Thank you for arriving."
"It looks like you've got everything taken care of here, though," said Izuku, before noticing a gash beneath his hand. "To-Todoroki, you got hurt!"
"All that matters is the Broodlings never got their eggs inside me," replied Todoroki, his expression staying neutral even as the edges of his eyes softened. "And regardless, the fact you came at all is good enough for me." He gave a small smile, which Izuku gladly returned.
"Well this is a curious development," Izuku's ring mused, as its red-faced wearer clapped a hand over the accessory.
Todoroki raised an eyebrow, but couldn't question the act before someone else walked up to the two. Tsuyu Asui had waist-length black hair and a long tongue poking out the edge of her mouth, and wore a green and black suit with black boots made to look like frog feet. She had a few scratches, but nothing as bad as Todoroki.
"We could've used your help, but at least you're here now," she croaked, her expression blank but a hint of relief in her voice.
"Oh, Asui, y-you're alright too!" He was glad for the distraction. "Is anyone else in the hive?"
"Bakugou and Tokoyami are mopping up the last of the Brood," she explained. "And I told you, call me Tsu!"
A series of explosions rocked the ground beneath them, Tsuyu stumbling into Izuku. Both blushed, but pushed away as they realized where the booms were coming from. Seconds later, a body was flung out of the cave, coming to rest inches from the rest of the group. A Broodling, the Brood's soldier caste, lay in a heap, its corpse covered in burns.
"Look who it is." Katsuki Bakugou, Izuku's once childhood friend, stepped from the cave. The blond was dressed in a black and orange tank top and matching boots, black pants, and massive green gauntlets shaped like grenades. "Had fun out in space, you powerless reject?"
The group collectively bristled. It was never fun having to be in the middle of this. "Kacchan, I came as soon as I could-"
"We could've used you out there!" He gave a dark chuckle as he got closer. "The Brood Queen could've used a new baby momma."
"Bakugou, that's enough-"
"I didn't ask you!" Bakugou snarled, glaring daggers at Izuku. "This is between me… and him."
Aiming his arms back, he used an explosion to launch himself at the Green Lantern, who held his ring hand forward. All of a sudden, a giant green mallet swung in his direction, smacking Bakugou in the face and leaving him in an unconscious heap on the ground.
Tsuyu tapped him with his foot. "Is he dead?"
"Green Lanterns are forbidden from using their powers to take a life," answered the ring. "However, one brainless object colliding with another could have consequences." Izuku nodded at the explanation, before realizing something.
"Hang on, you said Tokoyami's also here. So where is he?"
Izuku and the others soon received their answer as a lone Broodling crawled out of the cave, only for black tendrils to lunge forward and drag it back into the darkness. What followed were cries from the parasite and harsh, wet crunching, before a loud belch echoed out of the cave. Everyone winced, even the unconscious Bakugou.
"I believe he's having lunch."
Once the noises ceased, the final classmate left the cave. Initially covered in some sort of black goo with white eyes, it peeled back to reveal a T'vaoan Kig-Yar, a plume of feathers on his bony gray head and arms, his skin besides that being covered in scales. For attire, he had a black shirt and pants, the latter garments cropped to fit his digitigrade legs.
Fumikage Tokoyami was a hero, that much couldn't be denied, but it was agreed not to send him on any retrieval missions-at least not on an empty stomach.
"Tokoyami, uh… what-what was that?"
"Brood Hive dangerous, Tokoyami hungry," was all Tokoyami had to say, picking a chunk out of his beak. "Dark Shadow make modest proposal."
A slimy tendril emerged from Tokoyami's shirt collar, forming the head of his Symbiote, Dark Shadow. "This was not my idea, he dragged me into it."
The others glanced at each other-between the carnivorous bird and the carnivorous goo, both were equally culpable.
"Rude to stare," he grunted. "Have thoughts, speak."
After a moment of silence, Tsuyu was first to speak up. "…Do Broodlings taste good?"