#thewxsp

[kidnova]

@thewxsp

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Sam had heard it said by adults throughout his life many, many times, but the impact of the phrase didn’t mean very much to him - until now.

His time away from Nadia had felt like eons, and upon returning, their relationship sort of - faltered. Leaving for space for several months without warning or contact wasn’t exactly good for young love. But things had slowly eased back into normal, and Sam would be forever thankful.

Currently, they were both seated, shoulder to shoulder, on a dolphin shaped bench in the middle of a peacefully empty aquarium, observing a school of fish swirling through the water of the massive tank across from them. The spot was one of Sam’s new favorites to just relax and decompress, and he knew Nadia enjoyed it too.

If anything, for its educational value.

After a solid ten minutes or so of silence, Sam spoke up, voice quiet, “I’m sorry, Nadia.”

[dietnova]

@thewxsp​

Sam was shaking. One might have even called it vibrating due to the speed his leg was currently bouncing up and down, but truth be told he was shaking. The door to Nadia’s room was shut - somebody was tending to her inside. A nurse most likely. But the guilt eating away at Sam’s gut did it’s best to convince him that person inside would be furious to see him sitting here. They’d take one look at him and order security to escort him from the building. He’d never get a chance to see Nadia again.

This was it, it was over - it was -

The door creaked open and Sam’s stomach lurched, but an older looking woman in scrubs exited the room with clipboard in hand, hardly looking up from her work to even acknowledge Sam. In theory, he could have just been a concerned friend -- a doting boyfriend.

But Sam didn’t know what he was anymore.

Or if Nadia would even want to see him at all -- no. Sam shook the thought out of his head. Things wouldn’t end like that. They couldn’t.

Waiting until the room appeared to have no more nurses buzzing about, Sam got up from the bench he had been quietly brooding on and approached the door. His Avengers-issued visitor’s badge ( that he was somehow by the grace of God allowed to have, despite his recent stint in a holding cell ) turned the locking mechanism green and a faint click sounded.

He entered the room, afraid of what he might find, but determined nonetheless. These past few weeks Nadia felt like a distant memory, and the thought terrified Sam. Ever since Jean had undone whatever Emma had done to his mind, the only thing he could think of was her. Lying in bed, looking more fragile than ever, on the brink of death even -- and it was all his fault.

And now that thought was a reality, and Sam’s stomach turned in guilt and grief at the sight of her. She appeared to be sleeping, but he vaguely remembered overhearing a nurse earlier refer to her as comatose. But Sam didn’t know any better. No one told him anything. Especially not after what he’d done.

He approached the bed with caution and gently took Nadia’s hand in his own, before collapsing into the chair beside her cot and completely breaking down.

[gammadeus]

@thewxsp

All of this was such an enormous and unnecessary mess. Why, when everyone was finally returned from the cleanse and had a chance to begin anew, the first thing they do is prepare for war? Sure, this wasn’t technically a war now but every sign Amadeus saw only seemed to indicate that it would become one and Amadeus knew pattern recognition - It’s kind of his thing -  but for once he didn’t want to be right. He wanted to be proven wrong so badly. Too bad he knew he was right, and that’s why he took this baby out of storage. 

Placing a sizable lock box on his bed in the C.M.B. and going through all the security measures he put in place to keep it out of the wrong hands he open the hermetically sealed chamber with a hiss as it depressurized. Looking down at his golden mace, gifted to him by his old friend Hercules, he began reaching for it but froze. Picking this tool up, no. Picking this weapon up would he had given up on the idea of peace. He’d be taking up a weapon of war to use to keep the world safe and the mutants’ dangerous plan to revitalize their species at bay. The thought of all of this wracked his brain as he began to feel nauseous from the building anxiety.  He could feel his pulse quicken as all the probabilities flooded through his head. His veins began to bulge and he just couldn’t take it anymore.

With a roar he bellowed “No!” as he slammed the lock box shut so hard that not only did it break but the ship trembled. In a moment of clarity the smaller Hulk shook his head in shame. "Last thing anyone needs right now is me having a temper tantrum.” Amadeus muttered to himself as he made his way to his door. 

“I just need to cool down, get a smoothie and -” Amadeus trailed off as he opened his door only to find Nadia just on the other side. “Oh, uhmm... You heard that, huh?” He asked with a big awkward grin and a forced laugh. “I’m fine, just messed up on my game.” He said with an even staler laugh before pivoting around her and shutting the door preferably before she could see the damaged lock box.

[casslang]

@thewxsp​

Cassie knew that she shouldn’t be doing this, but she really couldn’t help herself. She was really tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else be able to try and protect the world while she was forced to wait back and just hope that her friends and her dad would be make it back alive. She wanted to do more, wanted to feel like she was making a difference. It had been a long five years without her father, and in that time she realized that she didn’t want to spend a second more of her life wondering how things would be different if she didn’t get involved. So she had been sneaking into the Pym Laboratory for a few months now, periodically in between her lunch breaks during school. Maybe the self-experimentation with volatile chemicals wasn’t the smartest thing to be trying by herself, but she just wanted to help. She’d just stuck the needle in her arm when she heard the door to the lab opening, and she scrambled to pull it out of her arm and hide it, but the Pym Particle canisters sitting on the table made it pretty obvious. “Nadia! I mean, hi! How- How are you?” She blurted out as she crossed her arms, but she knew what it looked like. Or well, what it was. “What are you doing here?”

[bigproblemsmadesmall]

@thewxsp

His hands trembled as his breath faltered and struggled to get out of his lungs. “Anilldrus bruchi...  Anonychomyrma myrmex... Aptinoma mangabe...” He said as he struggled to breathe and remain focused. He had to get his nerves together. It wasn’t as if she could see him. She wouldn’t be disappointed with who her father was if she wasn’t awake to meet him, so why was he so anxious? Why was he forced to rely on naming species of ants. 

“I can do this...” He told himself, already sounding exhausted as he he placed his hand on the med bay door. 

“Bothriomyrmex flavus...” What if she didn’t like him? He’d just dissapoint her  and make her life so much worse than it was like he did to so many others. 

His hand tightened on the handle. “ Axinidris acholli...”

If only he had done more. Pushed himself further. If he wasn’t so pathetic he would have been able to save Maria from her kidnappers, or at least properly avenge her, but he was weak. Even after tracking down her murderers he wasn’t able to do anything about it. Both mind and body wasn’t strong enough to save his wife and his little girl. 

He shut his eyes tight, preparing himself for the sight of his daughter. “ Liometopum xanthochroum...”

That’s why he became who he was today. An Avenger. He wasn’t an Avenger for the world. No. He was far too selfish for any such claim, even if he told himself that was his reasoning. He had something building in him. An anger at those who would kill and oppress people so wonderful and full of life as Maria all for their selfish gain and control. Furthermore he had to prove to himself he wasn’t just some husband unable to protect those he loved. That he wasn’t going to let that happen to anyone he loved ever again. Meanwhile his daughter suffered under the very same people he aimed to defeat and there was nothing he could do to save her. He was still powerless and didn’t even know it.

Eyes clenched as tears began to squeeze out the and into his open mouth as he was nearly hyperventilating through his gritted teeth. Heart pounding, he dug his heels into the ground and yanked the door open with a cry of desperation and determination, “ Bothriomyrmex costae!”

As the door swung open and Hank felt the rush of air brush across his cheeks. It was quiet. He didn’t know what he was expecting. Music? Fireworks? Confetti cannons? This was real life, Hank. Guess the movies didn’t portray it well. 

Eyes still clenched shut he focused in on the faint whoosh of the air conditioning and then on the heart beat monitor. The rhythmic beating brought him comfort it was healthy and steady. Tears down his cheeks as it dawned on him. This was her heart. It was his little girl. His knees buckled as he nearly fell to the floor. 

Open your eyes Hank! His thoughts screamed in his head as he slowly walked towards the sound of her heartbeat. “Bothriomyrmex myops...”

Please just open your eyes! He slowly shuffled towards her as the beeping grew closer. “ Tapinoma darwinianum...”

OPEN YOUR DAMN EYES YOU COWARD! “ Formica attelabo-” It was then that his food hit the leg of her cot causing his heart to skip a beat. He could hear her breathe. She was so close he could touch her and still he couldn’t manage to open his eyes and look at her. 

Hank stood there in anxious silence for what felt like an eternity as he tried to get his breathing under control and start thinking clearly. With one deep breath and a pounding heart he opened his eyes to look his daughter in the face. 

He couldn’t breathe. She took his breath away. She looked so much like her mother. She was... She was perfect. How could he have made something like this? For decades he tried to make something of value. Something he could love and that would make the world a better place, but she was here the whole time. 

Tear drops stained her clean white sheets as he moved a lock of hair from her  battered face. “Hi Nadia... I’m... I’m Dad...”

[dietnova]

@thewxsp

After the Champions had successfully brought down Warbringer, simultaneously saving the Chiaturi from mass extinction, Sam had been walking on air. It was one of the best moments of his life even.

But good things never really lasted, did they?

Tugging the blanket up further, past his chin, Sam continued to stare at the wall beside his cot. Counting the flecks in the metal seemed like the best use of his time now. Now that he was essentially useless.

A soft whoosh suddenly echoed through the room and Sam recognized the sound immediately as the activation of Pym particles.

“--I really don’t wanna talk about it,” he mumbled through the blanket.

[bigproblemsmadesmall]

@thewxsp

They said it was all over. That we won and could move on from this. That the unity made from coming together to face the Phoenix has helped end the tensions between the Avengers and mutant kind. While that was all objectively good news how did this effect him and Nadia? The woman responsible has been dealt with by their means but her victim still laid here dying, entirely unaware that her father has been restlessly waiting by her side since she first fell into this caustic slumber. That he worked and tinkered to wake her up and that failure after failure ground his sanity away and sleep was something all but unknown to him.

Hank had grown desperate and defeated. He even took a moment to plead to a god that he didn’t believe in, but as it always turned out for him, there was no answer. Others had tried to give him kind words and condolences, telling him to prepare for the possibility that this might be it. That she may never wake up and that he’d never get to see his creation that meant the most to it. While they had all meant the best he pushed them away. He couldn’t handle all of their soft words and gentle condolences. They gave up and he hated them for it. Even though deep down he knew the reason for his aggression was that he was at the cusp of accepting their word; of giving up.

Since the so called war had ended he had spent every waking moment at Nadia’s bedside. He had set up a portable work station by her bedside as he tried to work on a solution to save her. However the days without sleep had gotten to him. His face atop his workstation as he slouched in his chair. A picture of Maria and him on their wedding day had been erected at the corner of his station as seeing Nadia brought back waves of nostalgia, so much so he couldn’t help but bring out the pictures he kept hidden to help spare him the heartbreak. His right arm acted as a pillow as his left desperately clutched hers.

[casslang]

thewxsp​:

Bouncing in place, Nadia ran her hands up and down her arms to warm up. Russia had been cold but she hadn’t really seen much of her motherland from the Red Room basement. “Cassie!” She hopped a little higher. “Not only have I see your father, but I told him I would take you to his tent. Nadia Van Dyne.” She thrust a hand out. “Hank Pym’s daughter. Not your Pym. That has to be confusing, right? Multiverse theory.” The Wasp tsked. “C’mon, your food will get cold.”

Cassie wasn’t sure how this person knew who she was, but she knew that she could trust mostly everyone on this S.W.O.R.D. base, so she didn’t really argue as she nodded and shook the other girl’s hand. But she recognized that last name, and her eyebrows furrowed very quickly when suddenly there were talks of the multiverse theory. “Wait, huh?” She frowned as she shook her head. “Can we go back to that please? Not my Pym?” She questioned, but still slowly stepped forward as she walked alongside Nadia.