21: Particles

John believed he was an adaptable man, with simple and straightforward desires, capable of going with the flow of the situation and acting accordingly to what was necessary.

He never thought he was a good man; V was right about that. Steve Rogers would always be a much better person than him, something that couldn’t be easily changed even if his mind had acquired something like a conscience since he injected the super-soldier serum.

A weak conscience, easy to ignore but a conscience nonetheless.

“Am I a bastard?” he asked himself, though that was a question too easy to answer. He had always been a bastard. His father hated him, his mother blamed him for all her problems all the time, and his life had been nothing but a long, bumpy road with brief straight stretches, mostly due to others but he was also able to accept when he himself created the bumps.

Well, he should stop self-reflecting. His previous life had been shit, but that was fine. It didn’t matter as much anymore. His new life was a fucking success, and he needed to make sure it stayed that way no matter the cost.

That’s why he sent Raven after Doctor Horton. That’s why, when the man returned with calm steps, a casual smile, and a look of complicity, John smiled.

"Well, Doctor, I’m glad that you’ve decided to donate this incredible invention and all of your research to a greater purpose. I assure you that your contribution will save countless lives." The “doctor” smiled, shaking his hand; not many words were needed between them.

After all, Raven was his greatest ally. Together, they had killed thousands, making rivers of blood flow across Austria, not to mention those who died in Italy and the countless more who would die across Europe in the near future.

John was undoubtedly a bastard, and he knew it, but that was fine. He just had to tip the balance. Killing thousands? Did that even matter when he was about to save millions and prevent one of the greatest tragedies in human history?

Someone better, maybe someone like Steve Rogers, might say it wasn’t worth it. It was a pity. This wasn’t Steve Rogers’ story; this was his story, and no matter how many sacrifices needed to be made, John wouldn’t hesitate.

Of course, he wasn’t without compassion. If Doctor Horton had been a truly good person, then without a doubt, he would have been allowed to join SWORD. But he wasn’t. The man was more of a problem that was better resolved quickly. Even so, John would make sure his name was remembered, at least at the bottom of the pages of the history of the new hero that was about to be born.

After all, the man had created something incredible, even if his arrogance blinded him along the way, or maybe it was something else? Well, it no longer mattered. Horton may not have solved the problem with his creation, but that was fine. John knew the solution—a solution so simple that he wondered if Horton had really wanted to figure it out in the first place.

Dr. Horton left, but before that, he said goodbye to his "colleagues" and spoke with the research committee, making it clear that everything was fine and that he had already reached a "secret agreement" with John. The committee didn't ask too many questions since it was already agreed that any participant was free to choose their own path.

john supervised that some of his men transporting everything Dr. Horton had brought to the SWORD headquarters. It was quite convenient to be the boss of many people; no one asked unnecessary questions. He was Captain America, a colonel of the United States, and the general director of SWORD. All his men looked at him with admiration and obeyed without hesitation.

Having so much influence was certainly surprising, and John needed to get used to it. Even so, as with everything in his life, he knew he would adapt and be able to manage his men as needed, even outside a battlefield.

He watched his men leave, and soon Raven arrived at his side, having completely finished her task. The girl remained silent, simply staring into nothingness alongside him.

“Don’t you want to ask?” John said after a few moments. The girl turned to him, confused, raising an eyebrow.

“Is there something to ask?”

Yes, that’s why he liked Raven.

“No, of course not. Let’s go, it's about to start. There’s still one more thing I need from this place.” She nodded and followed him closely.

Watching her walk from the corner of his eye, John knew that if the moment came, Raven would be the one thing he couldn't sacrifice, although he wouldn't say that out loud, or she’d become an arrogant brat.

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The demonstration of the different booths was actually quite boring. For the most part, they were inventions that John really didn’t care about, with potential more in the long term, very long term. He invited some of the scientists there, of course. Some seemed more willing than others, which he expected. Though joining him brought great benefits, it also brought obvious responsibilities and risks.

He didn’t try to force anyone. After all, working with people who didn’t want to work with you was always a recipe for disaster.

“And this is Dr. Hank Pym’s booth,” Vernon said. All the main committee members were with him, along with John and Raven. Dr. Pym saw them arrive at his booth and quickly began to greet them. John noticed Janet standing not far away and nodded towards the woman in greeting. She noticed and a smile lit up her face. She waved, greeting him as well.

“It is a great honor to present myself before you. I assure you, nothing like this has been seen before. It is something that will undoubtedly surprise you completely,” Hank said with enthusiasm.

Vernon nodded, knowing that his daughter had been working with the man as his assistant, so he said a few symbolic words of support.

“I hope so. I’ve heard some good things about you, Dr. Pym.” Upon hearing that, Pym swallowed nervously, not daring to look directly at the man. On the other hand, Janet almost rolled her eyes. She had barely mentioned the professor's name a few days ago at one of their rare family dinners. She knew her father was only praising the professor because she was part of the project. Well, if her father knew she had actually done very little, he probably wouldn’t be as pleased.

“What can you tell us about what you will present today, Dr. Pym?” John stepped forward and asked with extreme interest. The man looked at him and shook his hand in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Colonel Vogelbaum. I heard about your great promotion in the news. I'm glad you’re here. It will undoubtedly be a day to remember, I assure you,” he said with more confidence than he actually felt, then began to explain his project.

“You see, some time ago, I discovered something incredible while studying a strange phenomenon that occurred during an experiment I was in charge of,” he said vaguely as he began to turn on his machine. He gestured to Janet, who quickly brought over some of the test objects Hank had prepared for this day on a wheeled cart, moving them to the main platform.

“The experiment was about researching the subatomic properties of matter, mainly its particles,” Hank then approached something resembling a turret, with a sturdy metal base and a long cannon with metallic rings around its tip.

Several cables of different sizes were connected to its sides, and Hank used both hands to correctly aim the cannon at the main platform.

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He then began to manipulate various levers and dials as well as pressing buttons. Some lights on the device lit up, and a low hum began to fill the place.

“I’ll spare you all the extra details. The only thing you need to know is that from that strange phenomenon, I discovered something incredible, something that will revolutionize the world as we know it!” he said with enthusiasm, causing some of the committee members to snicker quietly. Revolutionize the world—words they had heard many times before, words that almost always ended in nothing.

John raised his hand, calling Hank’s attention, who gestured for him to speak.

"I was wondering what this thing you’re talking about could be, Dr. Pym," John said, feeling that no one else would ask. He could hear the disdain in the whispers and, wanting to hurry this along, decided to intervene.

Hank smiled at the question and decided to explain it before starting the demonstration.

“Well, I call them Pym Particles, capable of completely bypassing the square-cube law by altering the distance between the atoms of objects, thus allowing us to change their size at will,” he said, causing several committee members to scoff and laugh after hearing it.

“Ridiculous! Do you really expect us to believe that you’ve discovered something capable of violating the laws of physics as we know them!?” Harold expressed what his colleagues felt. It was simply madness. Everyone present understood what something like this would mean, and therefore, they couldn’t believe it at all. Even Dr. Vernon frowned and looked at his daughter with doubts. Janet just shrugged at his gaze. Although she knew more or less what it was about, she hadn't seen the phenomenon Dr. Pym spoke of.

John raised a hand, stopping the mockery.

"Though it sounds impossible, I think we should give Dr. Pym the opportunity to demonstrate it. Only by seeing it with our own eyes will we know if it’s true or not. What do you think?" John said, looking at the committee members and giving Hank a kind smile.

Hank nodded toward him in appreciation for stepping in.

Dr. Vernon hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“I think the colonel is right. If what Professor Pym says is true, we will only discover it by seeing it for ourselves.” His words made other committee members nod, although there were still many doubters who simply thought it was nonsense.

Hank swallowed, wiping the sweat from his palms as he saw everyone watching him expectantly. He wanted to check the data again, re-verify every instrument, but that time had passed. So, without further hesitation, he got into position, grabbed the main lever, and looked at Janet.

“Miss Van Dyne, if you would be so kind,” Janet nodded and took out one of the objects Dr. Pym had prepared for this presentation, a metal chair of average size. Carefully, she climbed onto the platform and placed it in the center, then stepped off the platform, staying not far away with the other objects. After all, it seemed her most important task in this was moving things.

Everything was ready. Hank Pym took a deep breath before pulling the main lever down. The hum intensified, and the tip of the cannon glowed red before a beam of particles shot out at high speed towards the chair on the platform.

For a moment, the beam impacted the chair without any apparent effect. Then, before everyone's eyes, the chair slowly began to shrink, eliciting exclamations of amazement. A broad smile began to form on Hank Pym’s face. It had worked! But before his joy could fully settle, something happened.

An incident.

Sparks flew from the cannon, the particle beam began to destabilize, and the change in the molecular structure of the chair became unstable. Its size started alternating rapidly, sometimes smaller, sometimes larger, all within less than a second.

“What’s happening?” one of the committee members shouted, but Hank had no time to respond. Before he could do anything, the beam intensified, exploding in a shockwave of different colors that expanded into a semi-transparent energy dome, sending gusts of air everywhere.

John easily stood in front of Raven and other committee members, taking the brunt of the gusts without flinching. Dr. Pym was thrown about two meters back, landing on his back. But Janet undoubtedly had it the worst.

She had been too close to the platform. The strange shockwave dome struck her, enveloping her body within it for a moment before sending her flying through the air in the next instant.

The energy dome then dissipated into nothing, having lost its power.

John didn’t hesitate and jumped into the air, easily catching Janet in his arms and landing smoothly. When he looked at her, she seemed to have lost consciousness. Brief flashes of yellow light appeared on her skin, as if coursing through her body, before disappearing completely.

'Interesting,' John thought.

Hank shakily straightened up using his elbows to sit up and looked at the now broken Cannon in disbelief, why?! why had it failed!!?

“Revolutionize the world, huh? What nonsense!” Harold mocked as he saw Hank on the ground and turned away, along with other committee members who shook their heads in disappointment.

Clearly, this had been a failure.

Vernon ran towards John, looking at his daughter in his arms with concern.

“Janet!”

“Don’t worry, doctor. She’s fine,” John said quickly, though he wasn't entirely sure. Something strange had happened to her, after all.

As if to help him out, Janet's eyelids fluttered, and then her eyes slowly opened.

“W-what happened?” she asked, confused. Her vision was a bit blurry, and she felt dizzy.

John helped her stand up. She almost stumbled but managed to stay upright after a few moments.

Vernon sighed in relief as he saw his daughter regaining her composure, then turned to Hank with a frown. He approached the man still on the ground and spoke in a cold voice.

"I think you'd better pick up this mess professor," he said, then returned to Janet’s side to support her.

“I’ll take her to the infirmary. Thank you for your help, Colonel,” Vernon sincerely thanked John, who nodded and watched them leave with unknown thoughts. He then straightened his tie and approached Hank, who was still on the ground.

Hank snapped out of his disbelief upon seeing John’s hand in front of his face.

“Come on, professor, the floor is cold.” Clumsily, Hank took his hand and stood up, thanking John for the help. He looked at the platform with resignation, a long sigh escaping his lips.

“So I failed…” he couldn’t help but say as his gaze fell to the ground.

All his work, all that time invested…

“I wouldn’t say that,” John said, walking to the platform, his eyes carefully searching for something, his superhuman vision easily spotting things others couldn’t.

He crouched when he found what he was looking for and carefully pinched the object between his thumb and forefinger. Then he walked back to Hank, extending his hand in front of him once more.

Hank’s eyes widened in astonishment at what John showed him. There, between his fingers, was a metal chair the size of an ant.

“This is!” Seeing his amazement, John smiled, handed him the tiny chair, and spoke once more.

“A Success, a bit of a bumpy one, but a success nonetheless. I see a lot of potential in this project, Dr. Pym, even if others think otherwise.” Hank emerged from his astonishment, looking at John seriously, already having an idea of what was coming.

“You know why I’m here, professor, so I won’t beat around the bush. Join me, and I’ll provide all the funding and support you need to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again,” he said, pointing to the cannon still sparking behind him.

Hank looked at his broken machine for a moment. Remembering everything that had happened, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth. Although it wasn’t exactly what he had been aiming for, he knew that this was now his only opportunity. So without hesitation, he nodded firmly.

“I will. I’ll do better,” he promised, and John smiled in response.

“Of course. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

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Janet blinked as the nurse moved the light away from her watery eye.

“Everything seems to be in order, Dr. Vernon. Just a mild concussion that should pass soon,” the nurse told her father, who exhaled in relief. Thanking the nurse, he allowed her to leave and walked over to Janet’s side.

“I’m sorry, Janet, I—” Janet quickly interrupted him.

“Why are you apologizing? I was just doing my job. It was my fault for staying so close. I shouldn’t have.” In reality, she should have backed off more, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She wanted to see firsthand if Professor Pym’s invention would really be a success and change the world.

That curiosity could have killed her. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but she was undoubtedly very lucky. Only a mild concussion could be considered winning the lottery when it came to lab accidents.

Especially when it involved testing new technologies.

“You know the risks this job brings, Dad. Don’t take it so hard,” she said with a smile. Dr. Vernon nodded at her words. Of course, he knew, which was why, even though he was angry with Professor Pym, he didn’t really do anything against the man.

“For now, rest. No one will bother you here. I have to finish my work, but if anything happens, don’t hesitate to call the nurse,” he said, giving her one last look before leaving, leaving Janet alone in the room.

Janet sighed as she watched him leave. This day had not gone as she expected, but at least her work with Professor Pym should be over.

She stood up and walked to the bathroom in the room. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t help but frown at her completely disheveled hair.

“What a mess, it looks like I fought with a pack of cats.” She raised her hands, ready to try and fix her hair, but as she did, she noticed something strange happening on her palms.

She watched in disbelief as an ethereal yellow glow danced between her fingers. Curiosity and fascination took over as she observed the strange phenomenon. The light seemed to intensify for a moment, and instinctively, she moved her hands away from her face, pointing them forward.

Suddenly, a pair of yellow beams shot out, striking the sink and causing it to explode into pieces. Janet looked at her hands, which had returned to normal, with disbelief.

“What the fuck?!” When she looked in the mirror again, her eyes glowed with a yellow light for a moment.

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Note:

Preparations continue, soon we will meet a familiar telepath as well as an unexpected surprise, what could it be?

Comments, critiques, suggestions and more are always welcome. If you notice any errors, don't hesitate to point them out, and I will correct them.

You can already find the next chapter (and several more chapters) of this story on P)atreon (p)atreon .com/EmmaCruzader) All the support received is appreciated ;D