"So you already knew when I said an ant stole my stuff?"
Sitting in Tony's luxurious car, Tony looked at Noah with clear dissatisfaction. He hadn't forgotten how mercilessly Noah mocked him on the phone.
That memory was still fresh.
Tony had never really investigated these matters before.
The Avengers were no longer a purely civilian organization. They were now official. And as a core member, Tony Stark was in a honeymoon phase with the authorities.
Right now, he could mobilize an absurd amount of resources.
With the establishment of S.W.O.R.D. and Fury becoming its director, Tony's access expanded even further.
Investigating someone like Hank Pym should have been effortless.
But Tony had been furious at the time.
As a sorcerer and the invisible leader of the Avengers, Tony had his pride.
When he finally discovered that the mastermind was Hank Pym, he realized he had ignored far too many details.
That realization irritated him.
So he investigated again.
And then he fell silent.
Hank Pym was a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
More importantly-
Just as Noah said.
He was the first Ant-Man.
As for the grudges between Hank and Howard Stark, Tony couldn't be bothered to care anymore. Whatever happened between them was none of his concern.
He also remembered how Noah had threatened Hank back then.
And frankly, Tony didn't know what would happen when the two met again.
"Of course I knew."
Noah spread his hands.
"I told you I've known him for a long time. I understood his situation ages ago."
"Didn't Natasha do something big a while back?"
"Oh?"
Tony frowned slightly.
"What big thing?"
"When she destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D."
Noah tilted his head.
"She dumped a ton of HYDRA data. Though honestly, she didn't do a great job. She also dragged out internal S.H.I.E.L.D. files."
Natasha really hadn't done a clean job.
It wasn't entirely her fault.
HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. were too deeply intertwined. Bound information being exposed was unavoidable.
A lot of it, actually.
Noah had discovered this by accident.
He knew nothing about computers.
But he had BD-1.
He used the little guy to sift through the data and stumbled upon Hank Pym's files.
That was how he knew.
"There was data like that?"
Tony frowned.
"How did you-oh. BD-1?"
"Yes."
Noah nodded.
"That's it. Actually, I should thank you."
"Damn it."
Tony clicked his tongue.
"I wish I'd looked through that stuff too."
"Uh-huh."
Noah paused.
"...Forget it. Do whatever you want."
He didn't say more.
For a moment, Noah remembered something.
But stopping Tony now would only draw attention.
Better to leave it to fate.
No matter how it played out, the ending would be the same.
At worst, it would just cause internal fractures in the Avengers.
That kind of thing was inevitable.
Tony wasn't wrong.
Steve wasn't wrong either.
Bucky was Steve's closest friend. His only friend from before he became Captain America.
And Bucky killed Tony's parents because HYDRA controlled him and forced him to carry out a classified mission.
But from Tony's perspective-
You killed my parents.
I don't care why.
At best, I'll kill the people who controlled you after I send you to the grave.
Neither of them were wrong.
That was exactly why the conflict exploded.
On this issue, Noah stood with Tony.
On the accords, he sided with Steve.
But in this world, there were no accords.
At least, not anymore.
Noah had already changed Tony.
Even if they appeared again, he doubted they'd matter.
"The key is that this data is tricky."
"If Tony really digs up something from '91..."
Noah stroked his chin.
"That would be interesting."
He shook his head.
He didn't want to get involved.
Not because Tony was his apprentice or his friend.
But because wanting revenge for murdered parents was normal.
The problem was-
Tony now wasn't weak.
If things went wrong, Bucky could actually die.
And that would mean the Avengers truly split apart.
That possibility was very real.
"Resurrection magic..."
"That's a headache."
Noah sighed quietly.
"Hey."
Tony glanced at him.
"What are you muttering about? We're here."
"Hm?"
Noah looked up.
They were parked in front of an old but tasteful villa.
Clearly Hank Pym's home.
It was Noah's first time here.
Before, they had only met in labs or at Dr. Rickard's place.
Thinking back to twenty years ago, Noah found it oddly amusing.
Golden light flickered.
Under Tony's astonished gaze, Noah's appearance changed.
In an instant, he became a child of twelve or thirteen.
Black robes.
An eagle-like emblem on his chest.
"...Wow."
Tony took off his glasses.
"That magic's interesting. Rejuvenation?"
"No."
Noah casually summoned a mirror.
"Self-transfiguration."
He looked at his reflection and sighed.
Time really flew.
He hadn't realized how many years had passed since Hogwarts.
This was exactly how he looked back then.
The same appearance he had when he first met Hank Pym.
Just without a house crest.
"Let's go."
Noah smiled.
"Let's give my old friend some memories."
His Star of Time and Space shifted, becoming a wand.
"You're really awful."
Tony examined him carefully.
"Back in school-were you already this bad?"
"Watch your words."
Noah's voice was clear and youthful.
"Careful, Tony. I might give you a tragic memory."
"I'll pass."
Tony shook his head immediately.
"Save that for your old friend."
Noah chuckled.
With a flick of his wand, space folded.
The two of them appeared inside an old-fashioned house.
Effortless spatial transfer.
Simple.
They arrived at a bad moment.
Six people froze mid-action.
Planning.
Scheming.
Startled by their sudden appearance.
Noah tilted his head.
Scott.
Hope.
Hank.
And three... thieves?
Perfect timing.
If he'd arrived any later, they might've already acted.
Not that it would've mattered.
Their plan was far too simple.
"Damn it!"
Hank suddenly swore.
His trembling finger pointed at Noah.
"You... you..."
"It's you!"
"Surprise."
Noah paused.
"...Surprised, Dr. Pym?"
He nearly said something else, but held it back.
"You look shocked to see me."
"That's impossible..."
Hank's voice shook.
"How... why..."
"So young?"
Noah glanced down at himself, then looked up with mild disdain.
"For a sorcerer, this is nothing."
He smiled casually.
He had meant to surprise Hank.
He didn't expect to scare him half to death.
Even Noah hadn't realized how deeply his student-era appearance haunted this man.
"Hey-uh-who are you?"
Scott finally reacted.
Then he noticed Tony.
"...Holy shit."
"Stark?"
"Tony Stark?"
"What are you doing here?!"
"Shut up!"
Hank roared at him, then turned back to Noah nervously.
"I can't believe it."
"After all these years, you still look like this."
"It's really not that strange."
Noah tilted his head.
"But you..."
"I didn't expect you to age this badly in twenty years, Hank."
"Oh-oh-wait!"
Scott jumped in again.
"Did you just say twenty years?"
"You knew each other twenty years ago?"
"Is that strange?"
Noah looked at him with amusement.
"Isn't it?!"
"My God!"
"You look twelve, you're with Iron Man, and you knew Dr. Pym twenty years ago!"
"How is that not strange?!"
"Because..."
Noah smiled faintly.
"Because I'm a wizard."
Noah's single sentence silenced the room.
Hank Pym froze, staring at him as if lost in a distant memory. His gaze drifted, unfocused, as though he were reliving something from long ago.
Hope nudged him several times.
He didn't respond.
Scott and his three friends were no better. They stared at the short figure in the black wizard's robe, their expressions frozen in disbelief.
The robe looked real enough.
An eagle emblem rested on its chest.
"...Uh," Scott finally said after a long pause. "What did you just say you were?"
"Do I need to repeat it?" Noah raised an eyebrow.
"No, you said you're a wizard," Scott said slowly. "And you've been like this for twenty years?"
He paused, then burst out laughing.
"And you're with Tony Stark? Hahahahaha. Look, even if Mr. Iron Man really has worked with wizards before, there's no way he'd bring a little guy like you. Nice joke, Mr. Stark."
Scott laughed uncontrollably.
His three friends followed immediately, clutching their stomachs and howling with laughter.
Their reactions were genuinely impressive.
Even Noah shook his head.
It had to be said-Scott and his friends were natural comedians.
Unfortunately for them, the people they were laughing at weren't known for generosity.
Noah tilted his head.
In the next instant, Scott's three friends felt their bodies swell.
Slowly.
Visibly.
Like balloons being filled with air.
And then they started floating.
Upward.
Watching this, Scott's laughter turned into choking coughs. When he finally caught his breath, he wiped his eyes instinctively.
"Damn it..."
Reality hit.
Hard.
Scott stared at Noah-who looked utterly indifferent-and at Tony, who pretended not to notice anything at all.
For a moment, Scott didn't know what to say.
"Much quieter," Noah said with a small smile. "Now we can talk properly. Right, little ant? Oh-and you too, Hank."
"T-Talk?" Scott swallowed, glancing at Luis and the other two, who were now stuck near the ceiling, bouncing off the walls. "Talk about... what?"
Hope wasn't any calmer.
She had seen mages fight during the Battle of New York.
She knew how terrifying they were.
But this?
A twelve- or thirteen-year-old mage casually disabling all of them?
This was far beyond her expectations.
Before she could think further, dizziness washed over her.
It vanished just as quickly.
When she opened her eyes again, she realized something was wrong.
They were in the living room.
Hope, her father, and Scott were standing together.
Across from them, the small mage and Tony were examining their plans.
The two seemed to be discussing something-mostly about how stupid the plan was.
"...The living room?" Scott muttered, still dizzy.
Before he could process it, the world spun again.
This time it felt like motion sickness.
When his vision stabilized, he froze.
They were in the basement.
The basement.
The crime scene.
The place where he had stolen from Dr. Pym.
"Damn it!"
Scott cursed quietly.
Then-another spin.
Another shift.
Back to the living room.
By now, Scott was wondering if he should just accept it.
"Alright, little ant," a voice said calmly. "Let's talk about your earlier theft."
Scott, Hope, and Hank Pym all snapped back to reality.
The word theft hit like a hammer.
Looking at the two people in front of them, all three felt a chill down their spines.
They hadn't expected this.
And judging by the situation, these two weren't easy to deal with.
What shocked them even more was the realization that the Avengers had connections with mages.
"This... let me explain," Hank Pym finally said after a long silence. He sighed deeply. "I apologize for my reaction earlier. I was just... surprised. I never thought we'd meet again after twenty years."
"Mhm." Noah spread his hands. "Relax. We're not here to do anything to you."
"You helped us twenty years ago. I remember that. You also helped me set up a lot of WiFi later on. I'm grateful."
Hank Pym had indeed helped Noah.
Most importantly, he had helped with Lily.
Noah had initially approached the wrong person. Without Hank, Lily might not even exist.
It was also because of him that Kamar-Taj gained wireless internet access.
Neither Noah nor Tony had any intention of causing him trouble.
To put it simply, this was a reunion.
Noah just wanted to scare an old friend a little.
Maybe a bit too much.
The effect was... impressive.
Hank wasn't just startled-he was now genuinely anxious.
Thinking about it, Noah understood.
Every time he showed up, Hank seemed to run into trouble.
"What surprised me most," Hank said slowly, glancing at Tony, "is that you'd work with the Stark family."
His tone darkened.
"They can't be trusted."
"Maybe," Noah shrugged. "Tell me what happened."
Seeing that Noah had no interest in continuing that topic, Hank stopped pushing it and began explaining.
The situation matched Noah's memory closely.
The mastermind behind the Avengers theft had indeed been Hank Pym.
But there was a misunderstanding.
His real target wasn't the Avengers-it was an old warehouse, one he remembered Howard Stark using to store equipment.
For reasons unknown, that warehouse had become the Avengers' base.
Hank was too old for active operations, so Scott Lang had been the field agent.
Once Hank realized something was wrong, he immediately aborted the mission.
Provoking the Avengers would have been suicidal.
Scott, however, decided to finish the job anyway.
And somehow, he succeeded.
Not only that-he'd thoroughly pranked Sam Wilson.
The Falcon had been furious.
Up to this point, it sounded like an ordinary theft.
Then Hank mentioned Pym Particles.
Darren Cross.
A new shrinking suit.
HYDRA remnants.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Tony hadn't expected to come chasing a thief and walk into a HYDRA lead.
"So," Tony blinked, "you robbed me to stop Darren Cross from selling shrinking suits to HYDRA?"
"Yes," Hank replied stiffly. "And it's Cross, not Crosson. You're just as stupid as your father."
"Oh?" Tony smiled coldly. "Then why was my father famous? And you? You got kicked out by your own student."
"You-"
"Am I wrong? Sounds like a loser to me."
"You-!"
Fortunately, Hank didn't have heart disease.
Otherwise, he might not have survived that exchange.
Tony's mouth had always been sharp.
Hank's wasn't much better.
Since being thoroughly messed with by Noah, Tony had started to understand-and accept-his father.
He wouldn't tolerate Hank insulting him.
"Enough," Tony said flatly. "I don't feel like arguing with you. I'd rather not kill you with anger and end up in court."
He turned to Scott.
"Hm. Little pea-"
"It's Ant-Man!" Scott protested immediately.
"Oh?" Tony waved him off. "Peaman, then. The Avengers will assemble for this. We'll deal with it together."
"...Damn it." Scott sighed, then suddenly lit up. "Wait. You just said the Avengers are assembling?"
Tony nodded.
HYDRA was a universal enemy.
Anyone opposing HYDRA was on the right side.
That wasn't opinion-it was consensus.
HYDRA had to be eliminated.
To deal with its remnants and trace deeper connections, assembling the Avengers was an easy decision.
And if Tony had to guess-
Captain America probably agreed.
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