40: Bet

40: Bet

"Can you believe it?! I leave them alone for a moment, and they completely disappear!" Howard grumbled with some irritation. Saying the man had been eager to see what John could now do with his new abilities would be an understatement.

For that reason, when he returned to the lab and couldn't find them anywhere no matter how much he searched, an immense disappointment hit him.

"Perhaps I can help you look for them, Mr. Stark." At the offer, Howard sighed, shook his head, and then patted Isaac on the shoulder.

"Nah, they'll come back. Something must've happened. I don't think they'd start running tests without an expert scientist like me present to help… right?"

Isaac wasn't exactly sure how to respond—or if he should even respond. Was this what they called a rhetorical question? Although the android had been "living" among humans for some time now, his synthetic mind still struggled to fully grasp the complexities of true human thought, leaving him uncertain about how to act at times.

For the most part, he stuck by Howard's side, just as Colonel John had instructed. When he wasn't doing that, he could be found in his room reading books or helping other members of the base with minor tasks—something Howard had allowed him to do to help him "adjust to life," whatever that meant.

"Anyway, while they return, it's better if we focus on other matters. I'd like to move up your checkup. I think I finally understand how the internal mechanisms that allow your body to move with as much flexibility as a human's work. If everything goes well, I should be able to start building you replacement parts before the year is over."

Though Howard hadn't dedicated as much time to analyzing Dr. Horton's research, that didn't mean he hadn't been making progress in his spare moments. In fact, if not for the need to lead the investigations into the monsters created by Hydra, the man would've preferred to devote more time to studying the android.

The deeper he delved and the more he learned, the more he understood how incredible the person who developed such technology had been—especially given the limitations of the time, which Howard had previously thought would hinder any significant scientific breakthroughs.

In fact, the more time passed, the more Howard realized just how pessimistic he'd been without knowing it. He used to believe his era constrained him, that his mind and the achievements he could reach were shackled by not having been born in the "right" time.

Now, he knew he had been wrong.

"I'm glad to hear that," Isaac replied, though the thought of needing to change his own parts didn't feel very pleasant. He hoped to never be damaged enough to reach that point.

The two walked through the base, occasionally crossing paths with other members of the staff. It was calm and strangely relaxing to watch how everyone moved with purpose, with a task. It stirred something unfamiliar within Isaac—something he identified as envy, thanks to the descriptions he had read in some of his books.

He didn't know why such a feeling had surfaced. He already had a purpose, a task, and a place. Like everyone else, he fulfilled his duties at S.W.O.R.D. as instructed.

So why did he feel like he could do more?

His eyes blinked. Without realizing it, he had become lost in thought—something that should have been impossible but had started happening more frequently as his mind grew increasingly complex.

He and Howard finally arrived at the man's main laboratory, where his routine checkups were conducted to ensure his systems were operating in optimal condition. Without needing to be told, Isaac began to undress—it wasn't as though he had anything to hide. Despite his external appearance, he didn't actually have any kind of functional reproductive organs.

"Eh, every time I see that, I can't help but feel bad for you, buddy… Maybe I could fix that later," Howard said, glancing awkwardly at Isaac's lower body, almost whispering the last part to himself.

Isaac, of course, heard him—his auditory system was far sharper than that of ordinary humans—but refrained from commenting. He didn't understand what there was to fix. After all, he wasn't human, and carnal desires didn't seem like something he could ever experience.

Just as he prepared to remove part of his synthetic skin, a faint tremor—barely perceptible to an ordinary human—made him pause for a moment.

Was it a replica of the earlier tremor?

That assumption was quickly dismissed when, immediately after, more and more tremors, each stronger than the last, began arriving in rapid succession until a deafening alarm flooded the place.

Howard froze for a second before his eyes widened completely, and he dropped the tools he had taken for the checkup.

Then, the sound of gunfire and screams reached them, and for the first time in his life, n emotion like no other coursed through Isaac at the same time the fire began to emerge from his skin.

.

.

Janet wiped the bead of sweat rolling down her forehead as she tried to catch her breath, her specially designed suit clinging a bit too uncomfortably to her body. Maybe she'd have to see if the material could be switched to something less leather-like.

Grabbing a nearby canteen filled with water, she took a long sip before sighing and looking at the dozen or so obstacles ahead of her.

When John agreed to take her to the front, he didn't just leave her waiting—he helped her start training to use her abilities. It had been tough at first since she had never been a big fan of exercise, but once she got used to it enough, she realized how rewarding it was. On the other hand, her body seemed to recover its energy faster than before—perhaps feeding on the Pym particles generated within her? The explanation still eluded her, but what was certain was that something within her had changed, more than she had initially thought.

This allowed her to train much longer than the average person, something John took full advantage of to "torture" her with different exercises that conditioned her body until her physical condition reached a level she never expected to achieve in such a short time.

Abs. She was even starting to get abs!

Of course, things hadn't been easy. Even if her body recovered quickly, it only meant she had to endure more suffering than others in a shorter amount of time.

Janet never thought she had so much mental endurance until she found herself able to keep standing, even when her entire body begged her not to.

Before all this, she had doubted herself—her own abilities and her capacity to face challenges. Now, she had no doubt that if her father's wish had come true and she had taken his place, she would have thrived despite everything and carved out her own space in the scientific community, even as a woman.

Well, maybe that was still an option. After all, the war wouldn't last forever—everyone could feel it. Germany was weakening, and the Allied forces were more determined than ever to win. There were many factors contributing to this, but it all came down to how the world now perceived the Third Reich—not just because of the concentration camps, a revelation that had been on everyone's lips when their existence was made public, but also because of the inhuman abominations Hydra had created at the expense of its prisoners.

Saying that people abhorred such acts would be an understatement. Some had even begun shouting that demons had emerged from hell, that Hitler was the Antichrist who had allowed their arrival in the world, and that John was some kind of messiah chosen by God to stop him—or something along those lines.

Of course, anyone with adequate knowledge would know that the monsters were nothing more than the product of science used incorrectly. But the world was still full of overly superstitious people who preferred "simpler" explanations for things they couldn't understand.

Even if public perception was somewhat distorted, the truth was that this had begun to cause fractures even among the Germans.

There was talk of riots in the streets, protests, and increasingly severe internal conflicts. Janet hadn't paid too much attention to the news, but she knew enough to see that Germany might end up collapsing once Hydra—its greatest military power at the moment—fell.

With that and with Italy now mostly siding with the Allies, only the Japanese Empire remained as the most significant enemy left.

Once John destroyed Hydra and the Allies finished liberating all of Western Europe, it was expected that the Japanese Empire would be hit with the full force of God—or at least, that was what people whispered. No one expected them to lose, even if Germany had the "devil" on its side.

Janet had even heard from her father—during one of the rare times they spoke over the radio—that a new kind of weapon, like no other ever seen before, was in its final tests and would undoubtedly ensure the end of the war.

She tried to learn more, but it seemed that was all her father was willing to share, and they hadn't spoken since.

She was curious and thought that John would undoubtedly know something, so she asked him. But the man had only smiled at her without saying much. Well, he did say something, but it was a bit confusing.

"The biggest firecracker in the world. What does that even mean?" Maybe some kind of bomb? But what kind of bomb could possibly be enough to end a war like this? Janet couldn't imagine it, so she decided to stop thinking about it.

Instead, she focused on preparing to tackle the obstacle course that John, along with Raven and Professor Pym, had created for her. It was designed to test not only her physical abilities but also her powers.

So far, her best time had been 3 minutes and 25 seconds. John wanted her to do it in two minutes.

At first, Janet doubted whether she could reach that goal. Now, it wasn't a question of whether she could but how long it would take her to do it.

'If I keep improving at my current pace, I should be able to improve my record by at least a minute before the week is over.' That was good, but they were probably leaving for Poland soon, and Janet didn't want to go without at least achieving the expected time. She needed to push herself much harder.

With that resolution in mind, she leaned into a runner's stance, ready to try again. Of course, it was at that moment that the ground decided to start shaking. Abruptly, something seemed to explode, and part of the ceiling above her began to collapse.

Janet's eyes widened as she saw the debris falling toward her, and without thinking, her body began to shrink. Then the entire room was engulfed in clouds of dust.

.

.

"What?!" Hank almost shouted in alarm as his chair began rocking uncontrollably. Looking up from his desk, he could barely process the meaning of the deafening alarm that began flooding the base.

'An attack?!' A hundred questions formed in his mind in an instant, but he dismissed them just as quickly. Standing up, his gaze swept across his lab for a moment before his eyes landed on the containers storing the Pym particles.

Without a second thought, he started running toward them, ready to secure them—and, if necessary, destroy them along with everything else in the room.

It might seem excessive, but Hank knew how valuable his work was and wasn't willing to risk it falling into the wrong hands. He trusted that John would stop the attack on the base, but if an enemy managed to reach him before that happened, he knew he wouldn't have many options.

'It's just a final precaution,' he thought as he grabbed a transport cart and began loading the containers onto it before returning to his main workstation to make a few adjustments to them.

With any luck, John would end this quickly, and he could get back to his research.

Of course, Hank didn't know that John wasn't at the base—or anywhere near it.

As the sound of screams and gunfire intensified to the point where it could be heard even through the lab's insulation, Hank couldn't help but frown more deeply as he began gathering anything he thought might be useful.

He wasn't a soldier, but he was a scientist—and one in his own laboratory. If the Nazis thought he was completely defenseless, then he would prove them entirely wrong.

"It wasn't supposed to be used like this," he growled as he grabbed one of the latest prototypes he'd been working on—a version of his particle emitter reduced in size to be almost like a small handheld pistol.

This had not been its original form. Hank had built it to the size of nearly half a car, but thanks to the Pym particles, he had been able to reduce its size without having to think about everything that would have meant if he had done it the conventional way, saving him a lot of time and costs.

Connecting one of the Pym particle containers to it through a long steel hose, Hank held it with both hands and proceeded to aim at his chair, firing a test shot. The red beam traveled to its target in an instant, causing it to shrink until it disappeared from his sight—and probably from existence as well.

He still couldn't fully control the power output, reason why the device was still a prototype. Anything struck by the beam would continue shrinking to sizes even he couldn't yet calculate.

'If I hit someone with this, I'll definitely kill them—or worse.' The thought didn't bring him good feelings, but since he decided to join the military—or rather, S.W.O.R.D.—he knew his hands wouldn't stay clean forever.

Licking his dry lips, Hank sat next to the Pym particle containers while the sound of alarms, gunfire, and screams continued to echo. His hands pointed toward the lab's only door, deciding to push aside any doubts until the decisive moment arrived.

Not once did the thought of abandoning the lab cross his mind.

Of course, waiting was agonizing, even more so when the sound of nearby gunfire stopped, along with the screams, that either meant something good, or on the contrary, it meant something bad.

'The colonel should've put an end to this by now, right?' It was hard not to expect it, knowing the man's capabilities. No matter what kind of attack Hydra had launched, Hank didn't think it would be enough to accomplish anything truly damaging with him here.

Maybe he'd even see the colonel walk through the door the next second, asking if everything was alright.

That hopeful thought crumbled in an instant when the reinforced doors shattered as if they were made of thin aluminum, and a blood-covered figure crawled through on all fours.

At the sight of such a horrifying creature Hank froze, forgetting to pull the trigger on his particle emitter.

Hydra's monsters—he had heard of them and had even seen some of the bodies that had been brought to the base for study. He thought he had gotten used to the sight, but having one right in front of him, fully alive and moving, was enough to make him paralyzed with an inexplicable sense of dread—a dread that grew even stronger when he saw the halved body of a soldier held in its long, bony hands.

The creature, which didn't appear to have eyes, sniffed the air like a dog, its deformed face turning in his direction after a moment. That was when Hank snapped out of his stupor and raised the "weapon" in his hands.

The shot was quick. Hank might have hesitated longer if his target had been human, but against a monster, any thoughts of mercy vanished from his mind. He knew they were nothing more than mindless creatures, simple puppets Hydra used in their battles.

Unfortunately for him, his shot missed. The creature twisted its body, sensing the danger through its beastly instincts, and in a blur of motion, it closed almost half the distance between them in a single step.

"Shit!" Hank's eyes widened in panic, and without hesitation, he kept firing again and again. His aim was barely decent but not good enough to land a hit. However, he managed to force the beast to retreat, dodging the barrage of shots and giving him just a moment to think.

'I'm not going to hit it.' The realization was instant. He wasn't a super soldier, he wasn't even a soldier, and therefore, he didn't have the reflexes or the accuracy of one.

He also didn't have an infinite supply of shots. The Pym particle tank connected to his "weapon" would run out sooner or later, but even before that happened, he could feel the beast would reach him first.

Was he going to die here?

No! He still had so much to do—a research to complete, a world to change!

He couldn't let it all end in this place.

Thinking about all his theories and that possible great discovery he had recently made, Hank clenched his teeth and decided he was going to place a bet. Maybe he would be wrong and die, but if he didn't, then he would still have a chance, and a chance was better than nothing.

With his eyes completely bloodshot, Hank looked at the monster that was less than a meter away from reaching him, and without hesitating any longer, he dropped his weapon and grabbed one of the containers at his side. Then he released the safety on its lid, causing it to unlock abruptly, and in a blinding flash of yellow light, all the Pym particles stored inside were uncontrollably released throughout the place.

There was a silence, and the very space seemed to tremble as everything touched by the Pym particles began to shrink until it disappeared in the next instant, causing a sudden vacuum to appear in the place. And soon, the air from the surroundings began to be pulled into the laboratory to fill the 'gaps.'

Like an implosion, the laboratory was cleared from top to bottom until only a silent, dark, empty room remained, with no sign of life within it.

.

.

.

Note:

End of the chapter. I'd like to read your comments.

By the way, for the places where I couldn't respond to the comments and people are asking where John is, it might be a bit confusing since I don't usually use very explicit timestamps (my mistake). But everything we're seeing right now happened in the "past" relative to chapter (37), where John speaks with the ancient one.

In other words, during his journey into space and his several minutes of conversation with her, Warsaw and SWORD were attacked almost simultaneously.

(I think the portal opening at the SWORD base—before John's conversation with the ancient one even began—is a good indicator. But I should have been more explicit to avoid confusion, and I apologize for that.)

I know there are still other questions, but I don't want to over-explain outside the chapters, as everything will become clear within the story over time. I just wanted to clarify this for those who are still a bit confused.

As an extra, I'll give you a friendly reminder to never, ever eat mushrooms. God knows I love them, but I've decided not to eat them anymore since I had them for dinner yesterday and ended up spending almost the whole night trapped in the bathroom, regretting ever being born.

I don't know what happened, but I don't want it to happen again, hahaha.

Finally, remember that if you want to support me, you can do so through my Patreon ( patreon.com/EmmaCruzader )