l a n g

“Aw, little ol’ me? You flatter me, Scott.”

“Now, keep that in mind if anyone tries to tell you I called you lame. Kids-- kids say the darndest things sometimes,” Scott let out a jokey laugh.

“Cool. Because that’s not confusing to the general public at all.”

“Maybe, but do I go around calling myself Size-Changing Man?” I workshopped that name but Hank said ‘absolutely not’, “-- No. No, I don’t.”

“No, there’s two Hawkeye’s and they both seem cool.”

“Clint?? Cool? Pffft--” Scott pretended to laugh before stopping abruptly, “--no, yeah- you’re right. Clint is pretty cool.”

“No, no. That was all me. A good ol’ fashioned Bishop supplement. C’mon, Scott. You’re like fifty. It’s okay.”

“I am not a day over 45 thank you,” a lie, “--and besides, dude’s kind of a jerk. I don’t know if he even deserves the title.”

“We really need a record to show who’s crossing over. It’s getting so bloody complicated.” Jessica racked a hand through her hair, displacing dark strands temporarily. “Well, I’m sure he’ll be on his best behavior since he has a kiddo around. Kids bring out the best in people. Usually.”

“I don’t know how true that is though,” Scott grimaced, “--I talked to Nadia a bit and they don’t seem to have much of a relationship right now.”

“I’d say that’s a pretty good indicator that you did something right.”

“Thanks,” Scott nodded, the proud grin having yet to fade, “--that means a lot. Really.”

“I can’t get a read on him. There’s no Pym where I’m from so I only know what Peter, Miles and the others say.”

“Can’t say that I really can either. But I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, hopefully, and stay as far out of his way as I can.”

A look served as an answer. Maybe she was being a bit harsh though. There were merits to many things Gamora didn’t understand. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Scott nodded appreciatively, albeit a little embarrassed, “Thanks. I’ve only done it a few times before, but it’s always seemed to work out just when I need it to. Which is great. You know, considering the alternative.” A light chuckle slipped past his lips. 

“Yeah, comes with the territory.” 

“Strangely, I can relate.”

At the shifting of emotions on his face Yelena found herself smirking slightly. Good. Be uncomfortable. The Red Room was hell wrapped up with the bow of necessity. They did horrible things to little girls. “Up we go then. Graduates either become heroic, like Natalia and Nadia, or never redeem themselves.” Her name was casually left off the list. 

“And where did you fall on that list?” Scott prodded, hoping the answer was more positive than nihilistic, but not feeling confident about the woman’s answer.

“I heard you spent some time in the Quantum Realm. We always focused on the Negative Zone, so, I’d love to hear what it’s like over here.”

“The Negative Zone?” Scott blinked, trying to reign in his thoughts before he was accidentally sent spiraling by an innocent question from a curious scientist, “Uh-- it’s uh- it’s pretty bleak. If I’m being honest.”

“They’re way more multiversal and way less related.”

“Okay, fair enough. Although I didn’t force my daughter into this, so it’s more of a coincidence than anything.”

“I really want him to love me, Mr. Lang,” Nadia’s voice cracked. She had a bleeding heart that lived on her sleeve. There was no hesitation when she reached out to hug him, both arms wrapping around his torso. “I hope you don’t have to fight him.”

Scott’s paternal instinct kicked in the moment Nadia’s voice broke and he hugged her back immediately, one hand moving to gently stroke her hair in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

“I hope I don’t either, kiddo.”

“Are you seriously the lamest Avenger?”

“Hey, I thought Hawkeye had the honor of that title,” Scott joked.

“Younger, hotter, scarier. That about sums up Earth-616, huh?”

Scott was about to nod in agreement when brows furrowed in sudden confusion, “Wait, hotter?? When did I say that?”

“So, my Hank. As in, Hank from Earth-616. Great guy. History of being unstable. I thought he  was dead.”

“As far as I know, he’s alive and well,” Scott shrugged, “Well, well is a relative term I guess.”

“This was a sarcastic fun, Scott. Sarcastic.”

Scott nodded, making a noise of affirmation and pointing a finger in Gwen’s direction, “Ah, yes. I totally knew that.”