1/28 Instance: Breakfast Delicacy

[tears~fall~like~glass]

Timelined some morning before [Game]The Most Dangerous Game.


<Pym> Hank continued playing with the little tablet on the kitchen counter mindlessly as he swiveled slightly in the stool. He had been staring at it for nearly half an hour, debating about whether or not to try it.

<@Jessica> After breakfast rounds, Jess returned home and headed for the kitchen. Gloves got placed in helmet and helmet got dropped on the counter on her way to the kettle. "Good morning, Henry... Tea?"

<Pym> He frowned. "Henry? Please, I'm Hank or Pym. No Henry for the love of cripes." He eyed the tea kettle and decided with a half-nod that he would. "Please."

<@Jessica> "But Hank is so... old sounding... and Pym is formal as hell..." She wrinkled her nose, taking down her spider mug and another mug for Hank.

<Pym> "Yeah... I guess I'm one of those old souls." Not so old he couldn't appreciate the shapely body of Jess in the leather. However, that was not very gentlemanly of him so he discarded the thoughts.

<Pym> "You gonna try one of that Quentin guy's pills?" he asked, hopefully.

<@Jessica> She shook her head, "There's no point... Like I tried to tell him that night, I'm immune to drugs." She leaned against the counter while she waited for the kettle.

<Pym> "You are?" He made a mental note of that. "That's interesting. I got one of the pills to try but... I'm a tad apprehensive."

<@Jessica> "Interesting? It's a pain in the ass." She removed her jacket and set it on one of the chairs. "If you want to try it... I suppose I can keep an eye on you. I don't have anything to do this morning, finished work and I don't have classes til the afternoon. I was going to mess around in the Danger Room but I can do that any time."

<Pym> "Well... actually, the Danger Room would be most ideal for this scenario. Or outside. Whichever you would feel more comfortable 'babysitting', as you so aptly said."

<@Jessica> "I'm good with either." She turned to pour the tea. "Whichever you feel is more appropriate... though if we're going outside I will have to change first or I'll be no good to you at all."

<Pym> "What's wrong with what you have? It's not like I'm going to be tripping or something..."

<@Jessica> "Mmhmm, but I'll be asleep." She went to get the milk. "My mutation being spider based I get the whole 'its cold so I need to sleep now' thing..."

<Pym> He shivered at the mention of spider. "Yeah uh... okay well I suppose we can try it right here. I mean, like I said no tripping right? I just am worried about being in the DR and not having access to insects."

<@Jessica> "I'm fairly sure we can get Danger to put insects into whatever program we run. I do that sometimes... for spiders mostly..." She set his tea down on the table with the milk and sugar because she wasn't sure if he wanted any.

<Pym> "No spiders." He said sternly.

<@Jessica> "But they're so nice..." She pouted, sitting down at the table and poking the black widow spider on her mug. "Look how pretty she is..."

<Pym> "Nnnnooooope." He said firmly. "You don't understand,... maybe you would if you shrunk down with me. They're not cute at that size. They're terrifying."

<Pym> "Anyways, we should get to the DR. I want to do this before noon so I'm not still juiced up during dinner."

<@Jessica> "I could never be scared of spiders... they're weirdly like family." She smiled at the spider picture, "Okay, but I'm bringing my tea with me."

<Pym> "I'll do the same." They headed to the D.R.

<Pym> ---AT THE D.R. ---

<Pym> The doors opened and Pym walked in, setting his tea down at the wall. "You ready?"

<@Jessica> "You're the one taking the pill, what am I getting ready for exactly?" She raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of her tea. Ah. Much better.

<Pym> "Good point." He closed his eyes and took the pill. Swallowing it, he looked around. "... Nothing." He looked at his arms. "Nothing, right?"

<@Jessica> "How should I know?" she leaned against the wall, hands wrapped around her mug. "Just drink your tea and wait til it hits."

<Pym> He reached for his tea and as he did, he felt a surge of warmth in his belly. "Whoaaa..." He stepped back and suddenly realized he was shrinking.

<@Jessica> Jess straightened up, "Hank! Don't shrink without me or I might step on you!" She hurried to set her tea down.

<Pym> "Hold on!" Hank shouted. He tried to grow back. "There I go." He reached again for his tea mug. It was quite smaller than he remembered. "What the-" he looked to Jess and realized he was undeniably taller than her. Previously he had been a few inches shorter.

<Pym> "What the..." Hank realized he had grown. Not to his original size, but in fact exceeded it. "What the heck!?"

<@Jessica> "Um... I think you overshot?" Jess blinked at him, taking another sip of tea.

<Pym> "I-... I don't do that. Or rather, I couldn't." he closed his eyes and focused on re-adjusting his height. "Wow... Quentin wasn't kidding." he said as his height returned to normal.

<Pym> "I wonder if I can communicate with bugs better?" He went to the door of the DR and opened it. Standing in the door way, he opened his mouth slightly.

<Pym> To most, the sounds coming from him would be inaudible but they were subtle and high-pitched and Jess could certainly hear them. In a few moments, Hank was covered in ants. His figure now a goliath of constantly moving little black dots.

<@Jessica> "Is it hard to control? The height thing? I mean more than usual?" She winced at the sounds, thinking it was probably a really good thing that she was immune. Her hearing would be a nightmare.

<Pym> "Yeah.... no. It would be but I can feel myself in full control. Like I have never been." He stomped towards her. His voice was almost mechanical, the sounds of the ants buzzing or shaking their mandibles as he spoke. They were hive-minded and they walked and spoke with him now. "It's like being in a mecha or something." he buzzed to her. "Would you like to try it?"

<@Jessica> Jess backed up into the wall, "I don't think so... noise..."

<Pym> "Your choice." he stomped around some more and decided to try something. "Computer? Could I get one artificial foe, please?"

<Pym> The computer generated a ninja master who began to spin-kick repeatedly and advancing to Pym. "A little less ridiculous?" The ninja turned into a pirate. "... Meet somewhere in the middle of those." He offered.

<Pym> The computer generated a 1950's gangster who had a switch blade and adorned a leather jacket with a cobra emblem. "That works. Jess, let me handle this." he said proudly.

<@Jessica> "Noooo problem..." She covered her ears with her hands. The noise of the insects crawling all over him and buzzing was deafening. "Have fun..."

<Pym> The guy with the knife came towards Pym, blade out and smirk spread across his face. Pym's arm simply extended outwards and suddenly like a cannon, an explosion of flying ants and bees erupted from his arm and swarmed like a bullet into the man's abdomen.

<Pym> "More." Pym insisted, and another arm of bees exploded out and took the man's feet out from under him. They began to sting and bite, crawl into his ears and up his nose, some even got into his mouth. He screamed but Hank wouldn't listen. "More." The insects lifted the gangster up and slammed him into a wall, continuing to crawl about in his clothing.

<Pym> Their venomous stings were creating puss-filled, swollen, sores throughout the man's body. "MORE!" Pym errupted with hornets and wasps which soared away from him and formed a giant hand which throttled the man.

<@Jessica> "Hank! That's enough! X-men don't kill!" Jess hurried over to him, "I get that you're testing it out but, Jesus! Stop it!"

<Pym> "You don't tell me what to do!" He roared, and a million more bees flew out and slammed into Jessica's abdomen. "You're just a spider... Did you know there's a species of wasp that lays its eggs into a spider? And after their harvest season, they hatch from the well-fed spider? Hungry mandibles snapping? They eat it from the inside out."

<Pym> "They are the superior species of the micro-world. No doubt."

<@Jessica> "We're not in the micro-world." Jess responded to the attack with venom blasts to keep the bees at a safe distance - not that she was worried about the stings. The charge was as low as she could make it, not really wanting to hurt them. Instead, she opted for pheromones so the insects wouldn't see her as a threat... and hopefully Hank too.

<Pym> "Did you know there's a hornet species that hides in birds nests and the birds dare not try to eat them because their sting is so severe, it would make a flying bird drop right out of the sky. Higher-ordered insects are higher-ordered for a reson. They're the best. And they evolved to be so."

<Pym> He stomped towrds her, away from the swollen body of the gang member. "You would be a true test to this power. I can see now... when I shrunk down I increased the dosage's affect on my body. I can feel it surging in me." The Ant Man ground insects into a fist (which itself was made of other insects) and chuckled. The sound was displeasing, like bug wings rubbing against each other.

<@Jessica> Jess winced at the sound of cracking carapaces and suppressed a shudder. "If this is higher I think I'll keep to my primitive arachnids. You just killed hundreds of your favourite species and you don't even care." She increased the concentration of pheromones, backing up along the wall then turning and jumping up and sticking to the wall at twice her height before climbing still higher.

<Pym> "Jessica... I won't hurt you. It's just simple experimentation. I wonder though... how small can I become? Could I get inside you?" The goliath of ants spilled to the floor, Hank disappearing with them. They scattered and flew away while the microscopic man disappeared out of sight.

<@Jessica> Inside?! Oh hell no! Jess crawled up to the ceiling and across it. She always felt safer on ceilings. But how could she run from something she couldn't see? She was afraid now. "Hank? I think it'd be nice to ask my permission before you try these things... You're not really filling me with confidence about the no hurty thing...."

<Pym> Hank was going to take some steps around but suddenly he felt his arm swelling. "What?" He hadn't been stung. He was never stung. The ants loved him. He fell to the ground as his head began to swirl. It felt like he was being inflated. Parts of him were expanding and swelling, and without permission. He felt his body increase, but not all of it. Just parts. Then they would shrink back down. His bones were going to break if this kept up. "Yeeaaaargh!" He regained his normal size.

<@Jessica> "Hank!" Jess dropped off the ceiling, landing beside him in a crouch. "What's wrong?!"

<Pym> "My body... it's growing and shriiiiaaarrrgh!" He felt his hand try to shrink. "My bones!" He squirmed. "I shouldn't have shrunk! I increased the dosage! It was safe before that!"

<Pym> He curled up and felt organs grow too fast and bones shrink too small. "Ooooaaawwww!"

<@Jessica> "I'm taking you to the medlab..." She moved to gather him up.

<Pym> "No!" He stopped her with a firm grip on her shoulder. "No! I've screwed up too much already! I can't show my face again after that! Just... get a sedative..."

<@Jessica> "Hank, I don't think that's a good idea! This could be really dangerous! Please, I really think you should get checked over by a doctor...." The worry was plain to see on her face.

<Pym> He hissed through his teeth and pulled her close. "You get it for me or I swear to God I'll shrink down and you won't even be able to find the body. Just.... get it."

<@Jessica> "I... Hank... they're not just going to give me one - they know I'm immune..." she bit her lip. "And what if it doesn't work?"

<Pym> "Sssssteal it." he hissed to her.

<Pym> His skull was shrinking now. He needed to shrink his body so it wouldn't crush his brain. He did so, changing to the size of a small 7 year old child.

<@Jessica> Jess put her face in her hands briefly. She didn't want to steal from her family. Taking a deep breath, she nodded and got to her feet. "I'll be back as soon as I can..." she hurried for the door.

<Pym> He decided to shrink down to ant-size again, to prevent any potential shrinking damage. He would wait there for her until she returned. He lay on the floor, careful not to roll into a drop of sweat and drown. He had been sweating profusely at that size.

<@Jessica> It took a bit longer than she would have liked to sneak around Scott and McCoy in the lab and take a vial of sedative and a syringe. She had no idea what kind of dose he'd need and she hoped he'd be able to work that out. "Hank?" She called, walking back into the DR. "Are you still here?" Oh God, let him be okay...

<Pym> He heard her booming voice and returned to his regular size. "You have it?" he coughed out. He tried to sit up.

<@Jessica> She nodded, kneeling beside him. "I don't know how much to give you..." She held up the vial.

<Pym> He took the vial and the needle. Doing it himself, he filled the syringe and jammed it into his arm. "Gu-rah!" He slammed his body back onto the floor and felt his eyes roll into the back of his head, his body trembling and his spine lifting off the floor.

<@Jessica> Jess covered her mouth with her hands, not sure what else to do. "Hank!"

<Pym> As his shaking stopped, he breathed easily and opened his eyes. Feeling doped up and drowsy, he smiled lazily to Jessica. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shrunk down... I should have known better. It's like Quentin said... some people should not take it."

<@Jessica> Jess gathered him into a sitting position and hugged him. "Oh God, don't ever scare me like that!"

<Pym> "I-... it's fine." He said happily, hugging her back. "I'm fine. I'm sorry. I lost control, I won't do it again." He was so happy to be alive. She saved his life, whether she knew it or not. "I could seriously kiss you right now, you're amazing. Thank you for being so quick."

<Pym> "Most people would've just fumbled, I feel."

<@Jessica> "You're welcome," she gave him a gentle squeeze. "And no more talk about wasps laying eggs in spiders either... I do know about those wasps and I have enough nightmare fodder already thank-you-very-much."

<Pym> "I-... yeah. Sorry." He smiled sheepishly. "Let's get back to tea-time and forget this, huh?"

<@Jessica> She nodded, "I definitely need tea after that..." She shuddered again, the sounds of the crushed carapaces replaying in her mind. Jess got to her feet and helped him up, keeping an arm around his waist.

<Pym> "Okay... hey, Jess? Can we keep this between ourselves?" He asked quietly.

<@Jessica> She nodded, "Sure... actually I think it'd be great not to talk about it at all because I don't want to remember most of that..." She bent enough to pick up the mugs.

<Pym> "Great. Let's uh... let's just leave."