Chapter 92: Father Captured, Daughter Recruited
Seraph and her team searched the Sanctum Sanctorum but found nothing—it appeared to be just an ordinary residence.
Corvus and Seraph knew the sorcerers must have used magic to disguise it. There was nothing they could do—they didn't understand magic and couldn't break the illusion.
"Take these people back and assemble the teams!"
Corvus ordered before boarding the vehicle. "Arrange a military transport to take Ant-Man and his family to Celestial Island. The master wants to see them."
Seraph naturally wouldn't object.
Although she, a senior White House official, was essentially running errands, the operation's haul was truly substantial.
The individuals recovered included not only high-ranking federal officials but also senior leaders from several other nations. Most importantly, they'd recovered War Machine James Rhodes.
Everyone was ushered into vehicles, with one woman minimizing her presence and blending into the crowd.
San Francisco, California
Ryan was touring San Francisco when he received the news.
Over the phone, he simply instructed Corvus to send a list of the rescued individuals.
After hanging up, the Chevrolet Suburban stopped. Ryan pocketed his phone and exited the vehicle. He first glanced at the Pym Technologies building, then walked inside.
Ryan wasn't a quantum physicist and couldn't construct a quantum tunnel himself. Since Ant-Man and his family weren't home, he planned to acquire the ready-made quantum tunnel here.
Although Dr. Pym was absent, Pym Technologies was still operating normally. The security guard raised his hand to stop Ryan, and someone behind him immediately stepped forward and displayed credentials.
"FBI. Stand aside."
Seeing this, the security guard had to step back.
Ryan reached Dr. Pym's laboratory without obstruction. Upon entering, he immediately spotted the completed quantum tunnel. Just as he was about to approach, a voice called out.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
Ryan turned with a smile. "Are you Scott's daughter, Cassie?"
"Do you know me? Sorry, Dr. Pym isn't here. This is a private lab. Please leave."
Ryan's lips curved. "I'm not here to see Dr. Pym, and I know where he is. If you want to see Scott or Dr. Pym, you can come with me."
Cassie had learned of Dr. Pym's kidnapping from a phone call with Scott. When Ryan claimed to know Dr. Pym's whereabouts, she immediately became suspicious.
"Why should I believe you?"
The agent behind Ryan stepped forward, displaying credentials. "Senior FBI liaison. Dr. Ryan is a scientific research consultant for the Department of Defense."
Ryan continued, "Dr. Pym has been rescued and is with your father Scott and Hope. If you don't believe me, I can let you speak with them."
Cassie considered for a moment. "Okay, let me talk to them, then I'll believe you."
Ryan pulled out his phone and called Corvus. The call connected quickly.
"Put Scott on the line and tell him his daughter wants to speak with him."
Corvus understood immediately and went to where Ant-Man and his family were being held.
Covering the phone with one hand, he warned Scott, "Your daughter wants to talk to you. You know what to say and what not to say, correct?"
Using Cassie as leverage against Scott was a perfect pressure point.
Scott was initially furious, but quickly nodded in agreement.
Handing him the phone, Scott eagerly asked, "Cassie?"
"Dad! It's really you! Where are you? Are you safe?"
Scott glanced at Corvus. "Hey, sweetie, we're all safe. Don't worry. But we have some work to do for a while, so we might not be back for a bit."
Under Corvus's threatening gaze, Scott dared not reveal anything, confining himself to casual conversation.
After several minutes, seeing Scott showed no sign of ending the call, Corvus stepped forward to signal him to wrap up.
Scott quickly said into the phone, "Hey, sweetheart, just wait for us to come back, okay?"
"Then you must be careful!"
Reluctantly, Scott finally hung up.
He handed the phone back to Corvus and couldn't help asking, "How long are you going to keep us detained?"
With his Ant-Man suit and Pym Particles confiscated, there was no way to escape. Furthermore, they were using Cassie as leverage, making Scott and his companions even more compliant.
Corvus gave him a cold look before turning away.
Back in San Francisco, Cassie hung up and looked at Ryan. "Is my father really okay?"
"Of course. We're inviting Scott and Dr. Pym to participate in an experiment. It's not dangerous. Do you miss them?"
Cassie nodded.
Ryan smiled. "That's easy. Although it's a classified experiment, I can make an exception and arrange a visit."
"Really?"
"Of course. I have final authority on this project."
While Cassie's suspicions about Ryan's identity had been dispelled, she still questioned his motives.
She immediately asked, "So what's your purpose here?"
"The experiment requires a quantum tunnel. Dr. Pym is an expert in this field. Building a new one would waste time, so I'm here to acquire the equipment."
Cassie also had knowledge of the quantum realm—even something of an obsession.
While Scott and Dr. Pym were away, she'd been secretly conducting research on the subject.
Now, with a major research project involving the quantum realm, Cassie was naturally interested and immediately agreed.
Scott could never have imagined his daughter was about to be recruited by Ryan.
Even if he knew, he couldn't have done anything about it for the simple reason of being completely outmatched.
Ryan and Cassie stood outside Pym Technologies, watching the quantum tunnel being loaded onto a truck before climbing into the back seat of the Chevrolet Suburban.
Ryan asked curiously, "Cassie, you've done research on the quantum realm, right? Can you tell me about it?"
Ryan was deeply interested in time travel, including parallel universes and temporal paradoxes.
Although he'd time traveled once with the Avengers, he knew very little about the underlying mechanics.
Cassie's interest was immediately engaged.
"Of course! Where do you want to start?"
"Let's start with time travel."
The Chevrolet Suburban moved steadily within the convoy carrying the quantum tunnel. The two engaged in enthusiastic discussion.
"A quantum is the smallest, indivisible unit of energy, but Dr. Pym believes there are subatomic elements beneath even that level. The emergence of Pym Particles represents the process of matter shrinking beyond atomic scale. He believes that shrinking to quantum scale allows for deeper understanding of quantum mechanics."
"The truth is, exactly as Dr. Pym hypothesized, there's another realm within quantum space. In the Quantum Realm, time and space become almost meaningless."
"Because of quantum entanglement, it's not two identical quanta, but the same quantum existing at different temporal coordinates. Entering through one quantum coordinate allows you to exit at another point in time through that same quantum's entanglement."
Ryan roughly understood the principle of time travel, but couldn't quite grasp what the Quantum Realm fundamentally was.
As they talked, the convoy arrived at the nearest military base to San Francisco.
After exiting the vehicle, Cassie noticed the quantum tunnel being loaded onto a military transport and asked curiously, "Are we flying somewhere?"
The conversation had dramatically changed Cassie's impression of Ryan.
No one had ever engaged with her fascination for quantum science the way Ryan did.
Ryan smiled faintly. "Yes, it's quite a distance. Once we arrive, I can set up a dedicated lab where you can continue your research."
"That's amazing! Thank you, Ryan!" Cassie clapped excitedly.
One youthful and brilliant, the other experienced and knowledgeable—two intellectually curious individuals easily connected.
Skrull Base, Undisclosed Location
"Gravik, all the scientists and politicians we captured have been rescued!"
Gravik replied dismissively, "Tell our people to withdraw. I've already obtained what I need, so it doesn't matter if they've been rescued."
The Skrulls had kidnapped Maya Hansen to obtain the Extremis virus and create enhanced Skrull warriors.
They'd captured Dr. Pym, obtained the formula for Pym Particles, and stolen a time-travel device when the federal government confiscated S.H.I.E.L.D. assets.
Now, all Gravik needed was to reconstruct a quantum tunnel and he'd elevate the Skrulls to another level entirely.
Gravik's original plan was conquering Earth, but he'd later realized the gap between the Skrulls and the Avengers was too great. With Celestial Island lurking as an additional threat, complete Skrull domination of Earth seemed nearly impossible.
So Gravik devised an alternative solution: travel back in time and change Skrull history itself!
Fanatics don't limit their obsessions to one insane idea—they inevitably conceive even crazier schemes.
Gravik hung up and continued synthesizing Pym Particles.
Just then, his lieutenant Varra entered. "Gravik, what are you doing?"
Without even turning, Gravik replied, "You'll find out soon enough."
Varra had just visited her elderly father, who'd been the previous generation's temporary Skrull leader on Earth but was ousted after Gravik's arrival.
Gravik believed her father was too weak, content to hide the Skrull presence and never considering a true path forward for their people. He'd even left their fate in the hands of Nick Fury.
Varra, a member of the new generation, had agreed with Gravik's vision, and so they'd embarked on this different path.
But as tensions escalated—with human governments ahead and the Avengers behind—the Skrulls faced the threat of extinction at any moment. So Varra went to meet her father personally.
Only to learn a devastating truth.
Her mother had been murdered by Gravik.
She'd come today to confront him about this, but seeing Gravik intensely focused on developing a solution for the Skrulls' survival, Varra hesitated again.
Several minutes later, Gravik excitedly held up a vial of freshly synthesized Pym Particles and murmured, "The future of the Skrulls!"
By absorbing Hank Pym's memories, Gravik had gained the knowledge to create Pym Particles. The next step was constructing quantum communication technology.
"You're just in time! Follow this list and acquire what I need. Quickly."
Varra took the list, nodded, and ultimately left the facility without saying what she'd intended.
Gravik glanced at Varra's retreating form and smirked.
He wanted to save the Skrulls, but first, he had to become their king.
End of Chapter 92
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