Only Ant-Man could operate the mechanisms and hidden systems controlling this house.
Even when a friend came to visit, they first had to exchange the proper password with Ant-Man. Once the visitor approached, Ant-Man checked the surveillance feed above the entrance.
There was no mistake!
It was Hope van Dyne!
Ant-Man had already been bored out of his mind, so he was delighted that an old friend had finally come to visit.
He hurriedly opened the entrance.
Even so, Ant-Man remained extremely cautious.
Hope had barely approached to give him a hug when Ant-Man pushed her aside.
He retreated three meters.
Hope immediately noticed his suspicion.
"What? Are you angry because we haven't seen each other for so long, or are you worried that I might do something to you?"
"Come on. We've been through life-and-death situations together."
As she spoke, she approached him again.
Ant-Man immediately attacked.
His strikes were extremely powerful, and every one of them was aimed at a vital point!
He showed absolutely no mercy!
"Are you actually trying to kill me? We just met again! If you have something to say, then say it properly. Don't start attacking the moment you see me!"
Hope's voice even carried a hint of grievance.
But Ant-Man could clearly sense that something about her presence was wrong.
It simply didn't feel like her!
Still, his suspicions were nothing more than instinct for now.
"If I'm not welcome, I'll just leave! Why are you acting like this?"
"You attack me the moment I arrive! Do you think I was desperate to come here?"
She turned as if she were about to leave.
Ant-Man began wondering whether he really had become too nervous and suspicious.
But after everything that had happened before, he had no choice but to become better at identifying potential threats.
"No. Come in and sit down. It's just that ever since our argument last time, you haven't contacted me even once."
"I thought it was a little strange..."
Ant-Man led her into his underground villa.
The security system here was extremely comprehensive.
The Skrulls outside had already tried several times to get inside, but they had never managed to break through the system.
Now, however, they had obtained Hope van Dyne's DNA.
They could easily replicate all of her abilities and even reproduce her appearance perfectly.
Ant-Man didn't appear suspicious of her anymore.
"About what happened last time..."
Ant-Man had originally wanted to explain himself and make peace with her.
They had known each other for so many years. There was no reason for a single argument to turn them into strangers.
"You've put a lot of effort into this place down here. I never really looked around properly before."
Hearing that, Ant-Man quickly handed her a glass of water.
Hope showed no hesitation whatsoever. She picked up the glass and drank from it.
But unexpectedly, the next second—
Someone knocked at the door again!
The two of them hadn't even had time to properly catch up.
Ant-Man frowned.
Normally, almost nobody came looking for him.
Yet today, everyone seemed to be arriving at once.
That was extremely strange!
"Don't open it."
"Today, I only want it to be the two of us."
Hope suddenly stood seductively in front of him.
Before Ant-Man could respond, his resolve immediately began to weaken.
"Today, I just want to spend some time with you. We can talk about the past... and maybe plan for the future."
Her eyes seemed to shine as she looked at him.
But then the doorbell rang again!
It continued ringing without stopping, gradually irritating Ant-Man.
Hope also looked increasingly annoyed.
"Stop pressing it! That doorbell was specially made for this place. If you break it, you won't be able to afford replacing it!"
Her voice was filled with impatience.
Unexpectedly, the person outside was wearing a black cloak with the hood pulled extremely low.
His face couldn't be seen clearly at all.
Hope immediately reached over and obscured the surveillance monitor near the door.
"Who is that? Doesn't he know the password?"
"Just ignore him. Not many people even know about this place!"
Ant-Man switched the doorbell system to silent mode.
No matter how much the person outside pressed it now, there would be no sound inside.
Hope looked extremely satisfied.
She wrapped both arms around Ant-Man's neck, her gaze becoming increasingly seductive.
Even Ant-Man was surprised.
He hadn't expected her to be this forward.
Just as he was about to embrace her—
A powerful electrical current suddenly surged through him!
His entire body was instantly paralyzed!
He couldn't move at all.
Every muscle in his body went numb.
Ant-Man immediately tried to shrink himself, only to discover that his ability wouldn't activate!
It was a trap!
A massive conspiracy!
"You're not Hope van Dyne!"
"Where is Hope? What did you do to her?"
The dangerous aura radiating from the woman instantly shattered whatever warmth Ant-Man had felt moments earlier.
Someone had deliberately set him up!
And if that was the case, the real Hope van Dyne was almost certainly in serious danger.
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
"I am Hope van Dyne."
She took Ant-Man's hand and pressed it against her chest, directly over where her heartbeat should have been.
But when Ant-Man felt carefully—
There was no heartbeat at all.
"You..."
Ant-Man tried to speak.
But his body had already stopped obeying him.
The fake Hope casually hurled him aside.
Ant-Man's vision exploded with stars from the impact!
He hadn't expected to be captured so quickly.
"Out of all the superheroes, you were one of the hardest to catch!"
"I didn't expect you to build yourself an entire paradise underground."
"Now we can finally have a proper conversation."
Ant-Man felt completely hopeless.
He was utterly at her mercy.
Whatever the enemy wanted to do to him, he had no way to resist!
He couldn't fight back at all.
For the first time, he felt utterly powerless.
"Look at you!"
"You look so pathetic that even I almost feel sorry for you!"
"It seems you really do still care deeply about Hope van Dyne. No wonder..."
Ant-Man stubbornly refused to give in.
But he could feel the numbness steadily spreading upward through his body until it had reached his neck.
Soon, he probably wouldn't even be able to speak clearly anymore!
Even if he was going to die, Ant-Man wanted to understand exactly what had happened first.
"No wonder when we captured Hope van Dyne, she was worried about everyone else's safety..."
"And she was especially worried about yours."
"It seems the two of you really do understand each other perfectly."
Those words immediately made Ant-Man even more agitated.
The impostor seemed delighted by his reaction.
However, she wasn't in any hurry to kill him.
Instead, she moved the immobilized Ant-Man onto a modified transport cart and administered a sedative.
Tothwanwell quickly received the signal.
He was extremely excited.
With this, their conquest of Earth was another major step closer!
At that moment—
BOOM!
A tremendous impact suddenly erupted!
The fake Hope was hurled several meters through the air and slammed violently into the thick wall behind her!
She coughed several times.
"I should've known it would be you again..."
The cloaked figure removed his hood, revealing Karl's familiar face.
The impostor was completely speechless.
Clearly, she had been wary of Karl for quite some time.
Their plan this time had been extremely meticulous.
This location should have been impossible for anyone to infiltrate.
And there were still plenty of superheroes they had yet to capture.
How could Karl possibly have guessed that Ant-Man would be their next target?!
"Who are you?"
After forcing those words out, Ant-Man felt his tongue growing increasingly numb.
His awareness of his surroundings was rapidly fading.
Ant-Man was already in no condition to help.
Karl could only shake his head helplessly.
"Don't worry. It's just an ordinary anesthetic!"
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
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