More than anything else, it was the suit's materials that bothered Scott.
The fabric, the engineering, the helmet's unusual design... none of it resembled anything he had ever seen before.
The questions lingered in his mind as he rode home with the rest of the crew.
Whatever the thing was, they'd already stolen it. Returning it wasn't exactly an option.
What none of them noticed was that dozens of ants were scattered across the walls and grounds of Hank Pym's villa.
Hidden in corners, cracks, and crevices, they had witnessed everything.
Every movement.
Every conversation.
Every second of the burglary.
Elsewhere, in the basement of another villa, Hank Pym and his daughter were still awake.
Both sat before a bank of monitors, silently watching the van disappear into the night.
"Well?" Hank asked with a faint smile.
Hope folded her arms across her chest.
"He lives up to his reputation."
"As a thief?" she added with a snort.
Hank chuckled.
"I meant his skills."
"His nerve. His intelligence."
His eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
As the original Ant-Man, no one understood better than him what qualities were required to wear the suit.
Hope remained silent for a moment before nodding slightly.
"So now he has the suit."
"And then?"
Hank's smile deepened.
"Go get some sleep."
"First, let's see if he tries it on."
The look in his eyes was that of an old fox patiently waiting for a trap to spring.
The next morning.
Sunlight poured through the apartment window and landed directly on Scott's face.
Groaning, he dragged himself out of bed.
After stumbling into the bathroom and splashing water on his face, his eyes landed on the dark red suit lying beside the sink.
He stared at it.
Then stared some more.
Eventually, curiosity won.
"All right," Scott muttered.
"Let's see what you're supposed to do."
He picked up the suit and put it on.
Just before putting on the helmet, he noticed something tucked inside one of the compartments.
A small vial filled with liquid.
The label read:
Pym Particles
"Pym Particles?"
Scott frowned.
"What's this for?"
Searching the suit, he found a slot at the waist designed specifically to hold the vial.
Without thinking much about it, he inserted it into place and secured the helmet.
A few moments later, he stood before the bathroom mirror.
The reflection staring back looked strangely insect-like.
"Kind of resembles an ant," he murmured.
"Maybe that's the theme."
His gaze fell on the controls built into the gloves.
A red button.
Curiosity struck again.
He pressed it.
BZZZZT!
The instant his finger touched the button, Scott shrank.
Not gradually.
Not slowly.
Instantly.
The world exploded outward around him as he plummeted from the edge of the bathtub.
Now reduced to the size of an ant, what had once been a short drop suddenly felt like falling from a skyscraper.
He hit the tub hard.
Then blinked.
And stood back up.
Completely unharmed.
"What the...?!"
Scott spun in circles, staring at his surroundings.
The bathroom had transformed into a landscape of impossible proportions.
Towering walls.
Gigantic fixtures.
Everything looked wrong.
Everything looked enormous.
"Scott."
A calm voice suddenly spoke inside his helmet.
"Quite a different perspective, isn't it?"
Scott nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Who's there?!"
"Who's talking?!"
Panic surged through him.
Then another disaster arrived.
SHHHK!
The shower curtain was yanked open.
Scott looked up.
Way up.
A colossal figure loomed over the bathtub.
Luis.
"Hey!"
Scott waved frantically.
"Luis! I'm down here!"
"Look down!"
"I'm right here!"
His tiny voice vanished into the vastness of the room.
Luis didn't hear a thing.
Didn't see him either.
Instead, Luis leaned toward the faucet.
Scott's eyes widened.
"Oh, no."
"No, no, no..."
"Luis!"
SQUEAK.
The faucet turned.
A heartbeat later, a wall of water erupted from above.
To Scott, it looked less like running water and more like a dam bursting.
A roaring flood surged toward him.
"Dammit!"
Scott turned and ran.
As fast as he could.
"Scott," the mysterious voice continued calmly, "consider this your first test."
"A test?"
"More specifically, a test involving water."
"Not helping!" Scott screamed.
The flood crashed through the bathtub.
The water moved far faster than he could.
Scott managed only a few inches before it caught him.
Then he was airborne.
The torrent hurled him across the tub like a rag doll.
BANG!
He slammed into the side of the bathtub.
The impact launched him into the air.
For a terrifying moment, Scott found himself falling once again.
Then—
CRACK!
He struck the bathroom tiles below.
The collision left a tiny fracture in the ceramic floor.
Yet Scott simply groaned, shook his head, and climbed back to his feet.
Apparently, shrinking had made him absurdly durable.
Much like an actual ant.
"You're tougher than I expected."
The voice sounded mildly impressed.
Scott, meanwhile, was too busy trying not to die.
A movement above caught his attention.
He looked up.
Then immediately regretted it.
Luis had started undressing.
"Oh, come on!"
Scott groaned.
"Luis, I really don't need to see this!"
A second later, Luis tossed his pants aside.
From Scott's perspective, they descended from the heavens like an extinction-level meteor.
"Holy—!"
Scott dove out of the way.
The enormous bundle of fabric crashed down where he'd been standing.
The evasive roll sent him tumbling straight into a nearby ventilation shaft.
"Wait, wait, wait!"
Too late.
Scott plunged into darkness.
The narrow passage became a nightmare ride.
He bounced from wall to wall, spinning uncontrollably.
By the time he shot out the other end, he was completely disoriented.
The vent opened into a nightclub on the floor below.
Scott landed directly on a spinning vinyl record.
The turntable carried him in a rapid circle.
Then the needle struck him.
TWANG!
He was launched into the air once again.
"Whoa!"
"No!"
"Move!"
The tiny fugitive pinballed through the nightclub, enduring one absurd disaster after another.
And then things somehow got worse.
A rat spotted him.
The animal's eyes locked onto its potential prey.
Scott screamed.
The rat charged.
Scott ran.
Furniture, cables, speakers, and scattered debris became a deadly obstacle course as he fled for his life.
The rat remained close behind.
Closer.
Closer.
Finally, Scott spotted a window.
Freedom.
He sprinted toward it at full speed.
Then remembered one critical detail.
The window was closed.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
SMASH!
Scott crashed directly into the glass.
Instead of breaking himself, he punched a tiny hole straight through the pane and shot out into the open air.
CLANG!