Kapitel 28: Chapter 40 & 41 - Hank Pym
The vacation between their Third Year at Hogwarts and their Fourth Year could be fantastic. Out of the world, quite literally.
The three of them, Howard and Maria, went to space for the first time, looking at the Earth from out there. To test that they could bring Asteroids, they found one with the most mass in them and brought all of them back to the Earth.
During this time, the System's Presence was minuscule, and they had already guessed it was a nudging hand, helping them only when necessary.
They successfully brought more than a few asteroids, and they did take them out in the lab. Tifa could break them apart with her fists which shocked Howard more than anything else.
He wished to analyze the Martial Arts, Zangan-Ryu, but Tifa wasn't comfortable with that. Although he didn't get to analyze it, he did record it.
With gold, aluminum, platinum, and even found palladium in one of them. Their material was worth billions, and with so much of it, they had no idea how to exchange it for money.
Luckily for them, they had Skrulls who could become anyone and anything. In the time that they had made this organization, and with Howard's contacts from SHIELD and his knowledge of Black Market, they could set up a plan to sell.
The new problem they faced was how to turn black money into white. Ordinarily, that would be hard when it came to billions of euros.
"Do you have a brilliant idea?"
"Make a company," Howard narrowed his eyes, "And then make a product. Any product. Please put it on the market for a sky-high price and buy it yourself. You, the company owners, would be rich and then release the next batch."
"This won't do," Cloud leaned his head back, closing his eyes, "We lack an identity and assets. We need it and can invest in it using the raw materials and money."
They didn't need the money anymore. Everything they needed, they had, but they had no idea what the future might offer or how long they would have to play this game.
"When we didn't have money…it was trouble. Now that we have money…even more so," Tifa muttered.
Cloud stood up, "We start Mercenary Services, leaning more on the side of bodyguard work."
"And who will ask of you?"
"Exactly," Cloud narrowed his eyes, "The Skrulls are about to leave, and so they have no need of these identities. We burn them, transfer as much money as possible, and then use it for advertising. We will build up a reputation for one job, nine fake jobs; the louder, the better."
"Ok. But you have your school, and won't seeing the three of you would tip them off?"
"Yes, but…there are other SOLDIERS," Cloud narrowed his eyes, "Once we have a little reputation, we can divide the services. How much would you give…if there is a threat to your life and a man like Genesis is available for your protection?"
"A lot," Howard leaned back, "With what is going on between USSR and USA…you might find jobs."
Tifa leaned forward, "How about this…we should expand the options a little. Delivery and Retrieval."
"That wouldn't earn you much."
"Yes, if we deliver everyday items, then not. What if we talk about government objects, information, even assets?"
"You are talking about espionage?"
"I am talking about dealing with a mess. These politicians don't wish to make mistakes; if they do, they seek to hide it, right? Let's assume they make a mistake and want it dealt with before anyone finds out. I assume they would pay handsomely."
"That they would," Howard scratched his beard, "I am starting to feel like you three would flouring in the grey area more than you would in black or white."
"So, where do you suggest we start?" Cloud asked Howard.
Howard breathed in, "Ok, I do have an idea. I can't help you, but there is someone else who could help you make those contacts, and we even have what that guy might want."
"Who?"
Months Later, San Francisco, Pym Technologies,
It was a company that had recently started, but it was a massive success in its first three years, and the company was growing at a rapid pace.
Its security was still lacking, but it wouldn't have mattered if it had the world's best security. It wouldn't have slowed Cloud's step when he made his way to the Founder's Office.
"You! Who are—"
Cloud raised his hand, stopping in front of the guard's face, and the guard's eyelids started becoming heavy before he closed them to rest and fell to the floor.
He looked around, seeing Research Lab#7 written on one of the gates, and he knew he was in the wrong area. He turned around to go back, wondering if he should ask someone where it was. After all, he might be able to sense people, albeit some dark lords who were on the verge of death and hid with another one's life force.
Most if not all humans had similar life forces; he couldn't perceive the difference, so he couldn't tell which one was the CEO or the worker.
Cloud glanced towards the glass doors, seeing himself in the reflection. He wore a sleeveless turtleneck, cargo pants, and boots with black gloves. He only lacked his weapon, which he could summon anytime he wished.
He sighed, adjusting the turtleneck while silently invading the company; weaving through the crowd of workers, he asked a few passing by where he could find the founder even though he disliked it.
Following the directions that he was given, he made it to the Main Office, finding a middle-aged man sitting behind the desk, waiting for him to come.
He didn't have to step into the room to know that there were four people, guards, waiting for him to enter, to pounce on him. Nevertheless, he opened the door and stepped in. The moment they put the fingers on the triggers, a black flash of light flashed, in a wave pattern, from left to right, and when they realized something had happened, the cuts appeared on the guns, and they started falling, one piece after the other, ringing in the silent room.
"Wha—"
"What?!"
"Sleep," Cloud cast a spell, and the four of them felt their eyelid become heavy, falling on their knees before they plopped to the ground.
"What are you?! What do you want?!"
Cloud narrowed his eyes, "Howard said that you are different from him…but for someone different. Your reaction is the same."
"Howard? Do you mean Stark? You are the ones who killed him and his wife," Hank Pym took a deep breath, wondering if he was going to die next.
"No. We didn't kill Howard," Cloud said, sending a message to Tifa and Aerith, and the two teleported. He glanced at the tube skirt, stocking, and black jacket over Tifa's white shirt. At the same time, Aerith wore the same thing.
"Thank you, Cloud," Tifa smiled. Since they didn't want to appear together publicly, they decided to use the Fast Travel Function.
They had used the transfiguration to be in their adult body rather than the still growing one, but one thing that surprised Cloud was that they wore similar suits, albeit the color scheme was slightly different. Aerith looked classy while Tifa's was looking hot.
Aerith noticed his gaze, naughtily blinking, "What? Do you like it that much?"
"Hmph," Cloud turned away and exited the room, smiling softly.
Aerith parted her lips in surprise, turning her eyes away from him, looking at Hank Pym, cupping her cheeks, "It's hot in here."
"No, it's not," Hank Pym narrowed his eyes, "Who are you? What do you want? How did you suddenly appear over here?"
"Sorry. That we can't tell you, but there is something we'd like to offer you."
"You can offer me nothing," Hank Pym narrowed his eyes, "In just a few minutes, guards will come rushing in. If you want to escape, then you better make haste."
"No one's coming in as long as Cloud is there," Aerith chuckled, walking up to him, "Then we better make sure that we best use this time."
Hank Pym wanted to get away, but her hand grasped his shoulder, and the next moment the space around him twisted. He blinked, realizing he was in a much smaller space, but it was sharper.
He took in the surroundings, realizing he was in a place of some kind, with chairs on both sides, and the two girls in the room were already sitting, arranging their seat belts.
"Please sit down. We wouldn't want you to die," Tifa put the belts, suggesting Hank Pym take a seat.
"Where are we?" Hank looked around, "What are we in?"
"It's an Upgraded form of Quinjets that the SHIELD have been using," Tifa watched him sit down, nodding towards the pilot.
"Where are you taking me?"
Aerith grinned, pointing upwards, "Where do you think?"
The thrusters started, and in a few seconds, the jet flew through Earth's atmosphere, exiting it, coming to an abrupt stop in front of a much larger spacecraft.
Aerith held her stomach and covered her mouth with another hand, "No wonder Cloud took Guard duty. I am still not used to it."
Hank Pym narrowed his eyes, his experience as the Ant-Man to deal with this bit of turbulence, but them, "So you are not aliens?"
Tifa chuckled, remembering Aerith's remark since Cloud's hardened mask slipped every time he had motion sickness. She took a deep breath, holding back her smile, "No. We are not."
The Quinjet moved up and was taken in the ship's hanger before they came to a stop.
"It's safe now," The driver said as the hatch opened for them, and they removed the belts.
"I am not going anywhere until you tell me what is happening."
Tifa stood up, placing her hand on his shoulder, using Apparate, and the two appeared in the observation deck, with a grand view of space and Earth.
There were chairs on the side of the windows, and a few restaurants at the center with the Skrulls running them, disguised as humans.
Tifa sat down, only to find Aerith already sitting there, taking in the view, "We have an offer for you."
She turned her eyes towards the distance space, "A team of talented individuals is going to take a trip to outer space. Blend in, learn their technologies, and make or gain a map. We wish for you to be a part of it."
Hank Pym was dazedly watching the Earth and scoffed, "You believe there is something out there?"
"We already know there is something out there," Aerith leaned back on the chair, folding her legs, smiling, which soon disappeared.
"You see, a few years back, we had an alien invasion of a kind."
"Alien Invasion? What? The aliens took one of us, experimented on them, and dropped them back home in the morning? Is that how you know?"
"No. It's because a woman named Wendy Lawson lived here a few years back. She is the Alien from Kree Empire, and the ones she was trying to help are the Skrulls," Aerith informed him of the war between Kree and Skrulls. About her wanting to use Tesseract to create Light Speed Engine and her success.
Moreover, the accident that led to Carol Danvers gaining her superpowers and the fact that they could only save Wendy, too, barely since doing otherwise might have led to war.
"Having one Super-Powered Person…on this low-level planet? An accident. Anomaly, but have more? Kree would be interested in that, and that wouldn't be good for us," Aerith pressed her lips, "So. With Wendy Lawson, a.k.a. Mar-Vell, we have been working on this little project and looking for people. Scientists. Who could be of help in this mission."
Hank Pym sat on the chair, taking a deep breath, letting it all sink in, "One…if we weren't here in a spaceship, I wouldn't have given you the time of day. Two, I have already seen these organizations to protect the world, they say, and I won't fall for this again! Not when Howard Stark is a part of this!"
Tifa sighed, looking away, "He said you'd say something like this."
"Send me back right now!"
"No," Aerith pressed her lips, calling on the Skrulls dressed as waiters over. When he came closer, she nodded, "Would you show Mr. Pym?"
"Yeah, sure. Why not," The Skrull changed back into himself and then again into Hank Pym, looking at his hands, "This is good, right?"
"You!" Hank Pym stood in shock, seeing Aerith nod, "Now. You see, Mr. Pym. We will arrange for someone to take your place in the company and run it for a while. You did us a favor, sending your daughter to the boarding school. No one would know that you are gone."
"You can't keep me here! I wouldn't help you even if you did!"
Tifa stood up, "We believe it to be otherwise. We believe that once you see what's out there…you'd change your mind. We'll get you your Ant-Man suit, but unless it's an emergency, you won't be able to use it."
"Please guide Mr. Pym to his room."
On Earth, Pym Technologies,
"That was drastic," Cloud leaned against the door, looking at Tifa and Aerith but more towards Hank Pym (Fake).
"We had to take measures. He's far too stubborn, and we are behind," Tifa sighed, leaning against the table, "We didn't think that starting a spaceship would take so much time."
Cloud pressed his lips, slightly furrowing his brows. Howard and Mar-Vell did succeed, leaving them with one problem. When they started, the little things, one after the other, started coming up, and even with Skrull Engineers, they had a hard time. Since the material density was vastly different, they had to make multiple parts and seek Tifa's help to keep it up and running.
Though now, Tifa had collected raw material and already created spare parts in the past few months and put them in a briefcase that could be used anytime they needed during the trip. The fact that she could teleport anywhere Wendy and Howard went.
It took their summer vacation and more to get this done, and now that they were, they came to recruit Hank Pym even if they had to be slightly forceful.
Cloud raised his body forward, "Ok then. We should get back to school. This company should be good enough to make a few contacts and start our own Private Security Company."
"Noo~~! I am too tired," Aerith moaned, "Can we do this later?"
"Alright," Tifa closed her eyes, rubbing them, "We should be in a class… now that the term has started. That too…DADA."
"Don't remind me." Cloud teleported with them to the forbidden forest, continuing his sentence, "I dislike that guy. He's an idiot."
"An idiot that shares a surname with me," Tifa adjusted her robe once the transfiguration was removed, "Did you know that there are rumors that guy could be my father? And he didn't even try to reject it! I wanted to punch him so bad!"
Aerith giggled, covering her mouth, trying her best not to let Tifa hear it, "That one I heard too."
Tifa breathed out, resting her head on Cloud's shoulder, who hugged her, "I'll miss them."
"We could go see them at any time," Cloud stroked her hair. Now that Hank Pym was on it, the ship wouldn't stay long in orbit, and it had probably already left. That meant, Mar-Vell, Maria, Howard, and most of the Skrulls had left. There were a few, the ones that decided to stay a bit longer to help them with a few things; other than them, every Skrull on Earth had left.
"Mm," Tifa closed her eyes, felt Aerith's hand on her back, and shared a hug with them.
"I am hungry," Aerith muttered, causing the two of them to pull away with a smile and a laugh.
"Yes, we missed breakfast, so let's wait till afternoon," Tifa took her hand, and the three of them went to their DADA Class.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein