[center][img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YYRw8fNlTMc/WS7os0sjymI/AAAAAAAA1CU/0U37v2bqWSEARLAtl1DJmlJf1-erLHrAACK4B/s1600/ted_kord____the___real___blue_beetle_by_spidermanfan2099-d4qhf7q.jpg[/img][/center] [sub][h3][color=SKYBLUE][b]C R O S S R O A D S I N N O V A T I O N S[/b][/color][/h3][/sub][hr][sup][color=darkgray]Two Weeks Post-Crisis | East Rutherford, New Jersey… ugh… New Jersey[/color][/sup] Scott Lang stepped out of his old beater van and walked the few remaining blocks to Crossroads. Their carpark was strictly ‘Employees Only’ and didn’t allow exceptions to contractors. Just another way to keep the likes of Lang in their place. Pulling a leased wet/dry vacuum and a mop and bucket out of the back of your van which used to be filled with your electrician’s tools and trudging it two blocks up the sidewalk will do that to you. Still, a job’s a job, and if he’d been taught anything over the last few months it was humility. The ego fades and your priorities change. You learn what’s really important to you. And right now that was doing whatever it takes to maximize visitation. See Cassie regularly again. Heck, maybe even see Peggy again. I mean, she took her maiden name back and that’s seldom a good sign but, you know, who knows..? Maybe a work in progress? Still, he thought to himself, if he couldn’t pull off this other job they wanted him to do it would pretty quickly put the kybosh on all of that. Kybosh it all up. Have it all kyboshed to kybosh or whatever way you appropriately use ‘Kybosh’. So it meant focus up and stop thinking about the usage of odd obscure words with a lineage you have no idea about, there’s a burglary to plan. Not that there was much of a plan. He tapped his chest pocket to make sure he had his electromagnetic card for the security doors, and glanced down subtly checking he still had what he stole from Red Ant stowed away in the wringer section of his mop bucket. He started mindlessly whistling some song as he walked. He looked back up and suddenly found himself blinded and staggered by a bright light. He stumbled around blindly trying to regain his bearings before his vision started to blur back into focus. The last thing he thought he saw was a tiny winged woman, with a rage so bright it had literally begun sparking, then darkness. He woke up some time later to find himself tied to a chair and being looked down upon by a now considerably larger rage filled woman and the stern expression of that guy the news had been proclaiming as a hero… Blue Beetle? Except his expression isn’t so stern. Shouldn’t it be more stern? That’s what these types are supposed to be like, right? Then the realisation of what all of this meant finally hit home. [color=silver]“[/color][color=red][b]Oh God! They’re gonna kill Cassie![/b][/color][color=silver]”[/color] [hr] Ted and a now full-sized Janet stood over a trussed up, unconscious Scott Lang. [color=skyblue]“That’s the guy?”[/color] He asked, surprised and more than a little unimpressed. [color=yellow][b]“Game face on, Beetle. He’s a hardened criminal.”[/b][/color] Janet replied, scowling at the incapacitated thief. [color=skyblue]“He was whistling ‘[i]I’m Walking On Sunshine[/i]’, ‘Wasp’. I dunno. I don’t think I’m normally supposed to feel so bad for the real ‘hardened criminals’.”[/color] [color=yellow][b]“You’re not [i]SUPPOSED[/i] to feel bad for this one, either.”[/b][/color] She crossed her arms grumpily, which only added to her already imposing angry figure which the cleaner would see when he came to. She grumpily kicked his foot trying to see if it would wake him from his slumber. Ted looked at her and gave her a surprised expression, he’d never seen this frustrated side of her before. She’d always seemed so in control at all times. [color=yellow][b]“Oh don’t look at me like that. You know what he did. Taking advantage like that, it’s what he does. We don’t know that he’s not already awake and playing us.”[/b][/color] Ted looked back down at Lang. He seemed pretty out of it. [color=skyblue]“So how long are those things supposed to last anyway, Jan?”[/color] He asked her. She stared at him wide-eyed, and then shot her eyes at the figure tied to the chair. [color=yellow][b]"Codenames, Beetle!"[/b][/color] [color=skyblue]"Oh please, you're one of the most recognizable people in this city. Particularly for a guy who's spent the last few year in stir, where they probably trade magazines you're in for packs of cigarettes. And you're not wearing a mask or anything."[/color] Janet gave a nauseated expression. [color=yellow][b][h3]"Ewww!"[/h3][/b][/color] [color=skyblue]"Yeah. Sorry. That's probably one of those things that should have stayed unsaid... Anyway, how long do those things last?"[/color] [color=yellow][b]“I don’t know. I gave it to him pretty hard, but I hit you with them a bit back at the complex and it didn’t seem to do that much, so I figured I probably should unload on him a fair bit. It doesn’t seem like an exact science… [sub]Yes, alright Hank. It [i]IS[/i] an exact science. You know what I meant. It’s a turn of phrase.[/sub]”[/b][/color] Ted shook his head and smiled. [color=skyblue]“For what it’s worth, I’m with Hank on this one. It’s not a turn of phrase. And it is an exact science. You just haven’t tested this stuff enough to really know what it’s going to do.”[/color] [color=yellow][b]“Oh, hush.”[/b][/color] Ted shrugged. Then a small smile crept across his face. [color=yellow][b]“What?”[/b][/color] Jan asked irritably. [color=yellow][b]“Why the smirk?”[/b][/color] [color=skyblue]“You two really haven’t tested this stuff enough.”[/color] [color=yellow][b]“Oh, because [i]YOU[/i] have it all together and under control.”[/b][/color] Ted shook his head with a chuckle. [color=skyblue]“No. That’s not what I meant.”[/color] [color=yellow][b]“Oh yeah? Well feel free to enlighten me, ‘Beetle’. Since you’re clearly so much more advanced and experienced at this than me.”[/b][/color] [color=skyblue]“You haven’t tested this enough. And you know Hank, he is [b]METICULOUS[/b]…”[/color] Janet uncrossed her arms, trying to follow Ted’s chain of thought. [color=skyblue]“Which, to me, means either he’s [b]REALLY[/b] scared about this falling into the wrong hands. But that doesn’t really line up with how he’s generally viewed science. Unless he specifically knew WHAT the thieves who took his tech were up to and they had malevolent purpose, or if he were worried about the potential harmful consequences of others who are less qualified trying to complete his work. Well, he’s generally seen science as a boon for the world and it’s own reward. He’s never really sought credit or plaudits for any discovery or creation he’s had. And he doesn’t much care for patent law… as he let me know earlier today about Max. So, that leaves…”[/color] The Blue Beetle extrapolated. [color=yellow][b]“What?”[/b][/color] Janet asked, far more gently now. Ted chuckled. [color=skyblue]“He really would do [b]ANYTHING[/b] for you, Jan. Don’t you see that? He doesn’t ‘get’ any of this. Why you’re interested in it. Why you think it’s cool or heroic, or a fun notion. All he knows is it would make you happy.”[/color] [color=yellow][b]“Oh…”[/b][/color] Janet replied, reddening slightly from the public discussion of her and Hank’s relationship. [color=skyblue]“And I know you can hear all of this, buddy, but I’m guessing you’re being mighty quiet on the other end of that line to her right now. I’m right aren’t I?”[/color] [color=yellow][b]“[sub]Oh Hank…[/sub]”[/b][/color] Jan started to walk away to talk to Hank in private. [color=skyblue]“Hup, he’s starting to stir…”[/color] Janet was immediately locked back in, rage-filled game face and all. Righteous anger. How dare he think it acceptable to take advantage of that sweet man! Ted was almost amused to the point of laughter by the sudden switch in his partner, when their prisoner practically exploded in panic. [color=silver]“[/color][color=red][b]Oh God! They’re gonna kill Cassie![/b][/color][color=silver]”[/color] Ted jumped back at the surprising exclaimation from the previously unconscious thief. [color=skyblue]“Who’s Cassie?”[/color] He asked. Janet put her hand to her ear as she received incoming from Hank. [color=yellow][b]“She’s his daughter.”[/b][/color] [color=skyblue]“Hey… [b]HEY![/b]”[/color] He grabbed Lang’s face to ensure he had his attention, as the subdued former… and maybe a little current… criminal averted eye contact. [color=skyblue]“Who’s going to kill her?”[/color] [color=silver]“[/color][color=red][b]Darren Cross. Or at least his lunatic half brother...[/b][/color][color=silver]”[/color] Scott looked at Jan in her costume, and began to recognize where he’d seen her. [color=silver]“[/color][color=red][b]Wait-- you’re Janet Van Dyne. Hank showed me pictures of you. So, this is about Hank, isn’t it?[/b][/color][color=silver]”[/color] Ted tried not to chuckle as Janet went through a whirlwind of expressions, the nausea first returning when he recognized her, followed by a quick flash of relief when he mentioned that it was because of talking with Hank, before the anger quickly returned. [color=yellow][b]“Yeeeees. This is about Hank.”[/b][/color] Janet said as menacingly as she could, whilst letting her stingers crackle and spark threateningly. [color=yellow][b]“This is all about Hank, and how you’re going to give back what you stole from him...”[/b][/color] [color=silver]“[/color][color=red][b]I can’t.[/b][/color][color=silver]”[/color] He said. [color=silver]“[/color][color=red][b]Well, I can. But not yet. I need it.[/b][/color][color=silver]”[/color] Ted stepped in front of the Wasp before she could respond to this impasse with large quantities of bio-electricity. [color=skyblue]“Hold up a second. It’s pretty clear Hank’s not been the only victim here…”[/color] [color=skyblue]“Why don’t you start from the top. Tell us everything that’s happened so far, and maybe we can find a way to fix this.”[/color] And so Scott Lang told the whole story. Weaving a tale of intrigue involving extortion, kidnapping, burglary, corporate espionage and threats of murder. The brothers Cross had demanded Scott steal for them after getting to Lang’s parole officer. First they had demanded he raid the works from Hank Pym’s Red Ant, but due to his company’s superior encryption and security measures, handled by Pym himself, it had been a blind request - they knew he was at the very frontier of cutting edge technology, but had no idea what specifically he had which could be stolen. Scott, however, who had grown to like and befriend the complicated scientist, had been able to lie about his interactions and claimed he had been unable to achieve their request, realizing the Cross brothers had no means to know what could or could not be stolen. But the pair would not accept no return on their investment into forcing Lang back into a life of crime, so their next attempt was a more targeted approach. They were well aware of direct competitor PalmerTech’s inroads into medical nanites and this time they would not take no for an answer. Suspecting Scott Lang was insufficiently motivated with a mere return to prison, the less stable Cross brother secured further leverage - kidnapping his daughter Cassie and threatening harm if he did not achieve the desired outcome. It put Scott in a precarious position. The Cross brothers knew he had spent time in prison as a burglar of some notoriety, but what they didn’t understand or care to know was that a successful burglary takes time and planning. They provided him with neither and demanded results. Lang needed an ace in the hole. He needed a miracle. He needed magic to help him pull off the perfect burglary with no time to background and stake out the target, whilst still somehow reducing the risk of being caught. Or failing magic, he needed the next best thing. Pym tech. Scott remembered Lang ranting and rambling about his most recent attempts to ‘solve everything’. And what that plan entailed. Somehow, the genius had found the means to change the size and mass of objects. Growing and shrinking anything exponentially. And he’d produced multiple devices capable of performing such a feat. Including a ‘suit’. He watched and waited until Pym returned his discoveries to his hiding space, and then only needed to wait on the opportunity. An addled Pym who was off his medication created even more murkiness and doubt as to whether he would have just misplaced his work. Opening up the possibility that he could ‘borrow’ the suit and then bring it back without the scientist being sure it was ever gone. Lang had the means. He could still pull this off! He could get the Cross brothers their PalmerTech trinket! He could still have a life! He could save Cassie! He could re-spark things with Peggy! And then the flash of light, the long black darkness, and here he was, doomed. Strapped to a chair with the Cross brothers doubtless expecting him to check in. What would happen to his daughter; completely unthinkable. Ted waited and heard the whole thing out, and his heart felt for the man. His heart felt and his mind raced and when Scott was finally finished telling the story he broke the silence. [color=skyblue]“Alright. I think I know how we handle this.”[/color] He started to fiddle with the controls on the back of his glove. [color=skyblue]“I’m bringing the Bug around. We’re about to rip off Ray Palmer…”[/color]