Batman's decision to travel to the Pym Technologies Building was not solely for the purpose of returning the Pym Particles.
On the third day after the Battle of Manhattan, Batman had discovered that the surveillance program he had previously planted within the internal system of Ant-Man's building had been quietly wiped away.
The listening devices hidden throughout the laboratories, bedrooms, dining halls, and corridors had also been located and destroyed one by one.
Had it not been for the listening device on the Ant-Man suit remaining undiscovered—allowing Batman to confirm that the miniature couple's status was normal—he would have long since put on the Frost Armor and brought Thor along to check on them.
Before arriving, Batman had envisioned numerous potential scenarios. Yet, when he entered the Pym Technologies Building via a hidden passage next to the skylight, the scene before his eyes was precisely one of the situations he had anticipated.
"Welcome, Sir."
The one standing politely before Batman with a slight bow to receive the Pym Particles was not Ant-Man or the Wasp, but an Ultron drone.
Unlike the previous Ultron drones that Batman could hack into or even hijack at will, the Ultron drone standing before him had clearly undergone yet another upgrade.
Almost instinctively, at the exact moment he handed over the Pym Particles, Batman attempted to inject a pre-written virus program designed for covert surveillance and listening.
"Sir, I can tell you are slightly surprised, as though after merely half a month, I have been upgraded into a form beyond your comprehension."
A red light beam shot from the Ultron drone's eyes. After verifying that Pym Particles were contained within the cold-storage box, it nodded and spoke to Batman.
"Yes, I don't comprehend it," Batman replied neutrally.
The Ultron drone's mouth remained still, but a blue light flickered in its eyes, as if it were smiling:
"That is only natural. My creator, Hank Pym—though perhaps you prefer to call him 'Ant-Man'—conducted a thorough, iterative upgrade of my programming. He has now granted me the ability to access the internet and engage in autonomous learning."
"Is that so?" Batman responded casually, though his gaze passed right over the Ultron drone to look behind it. "Hank Pym, you shouldn't be hiding behind Ultron."
The moment Batman's words fell, a red figure rapidly expanded from thin air, landing firmly on the floor. It was none other than Ant-Man, Hank Pym.
Upon revealing himself, he didn't speak to Batman first. Instead, he lunged forward in three quick steps to snatch the small cold-storage box straight out of Ultron's hands, then spun around and bolted toward the nearest laboratory.
"Although I have already confirmed that what you returned are indeed Pym Particles, it is clear my creator remains skeptical. He needs to test and analyze them," the Ultron drone explained to Batman. "Shall I lead the way for you?"
Batman ignored Ultron, stepping directly past the robot.
Having received no response, Ultron turned its body to watch the retreating figure of Batman draped in his heavy cape. Under the bright lights of the Pym Technologies Building, the cape cast a shade of deep ocean blue.
The blue light in its eyes flickered as if it were in deep thought.
"Batman." A crisp, melodic voice like a skylark rang out. It was Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, wearing a yellow dress as she stepped out from the dining area. "Hi~"
She raised her right hand slightly near her shoulder, wiggling her fingers as if playing a piano. This made her look less like a centenarian who had survived since World War II, and more like an ungraduated student.
"Janet." Batman nodded, greeting the Wasp.
Compared to Ant-Man, although Batman hadn't exchanged many words with the Wasp, he still distinctly felt that she was much easier to get along with—unlike Ant-Man, who was prone to anger and irritability.
Even if Ant-Man's irritability and short temper had been caused by Batman repeatedly stealing the Pym Particles time and time again.
"Is Dr. Otto doing well?" The Wasp brought over a cup of coffee for Batman, having clearly been preparing it in the dining area just a moment ago.
During the Battle of Manhattan, when Batman had sought help from the Ant-Man couple, it had been Janet who instantly agreed to rescue Dr. Otto. At this moment, it was only natural that she brought up Otto.
"He is doing very well, and he asked me to thank you on his behalf," Batman said in his low tone.
"It was nothing."
Janet, the Wasp, let out a soft laugh. Seeing that Batman didn't drink the coffee after taking it, but instead turned his hand to pass it to the Ultron drone behind him, she rolled her eyes slightly, turning her body around to walk toward the laboratory.
Batman followed her lead, and the two arrived together at the laboratory where Ant-Man was located.
"Damn it! Damn it!" Hank Pym was incessantly repeating that single curse inside the lab.
When he heard Batman's footsteps, he turned around abruptly, his teeth gritting tight:
"Ultron!"
Patter, patter... The Ultron drone trotted quickly into the lab as well.
Batman noted that while there used to be dozens—if not a hundred—Ultron drones inside the Pym Technologies Building before, there was currently only this single unit left. The rest were nowhere to be seen.
"Go check the storage vault where I keep the Pym Particles and see if any are missing! I suspect these two vials were stolen by Batman from me once again before he 'returned' them!" Ant-Man ordered Ultron while glaring at Batman.
"Understood, Master," the Ultron drone quickly turned and left, returning a few minutes later to report, "None are missing, Master."
"Impossible! What trick did you use? No one besides me can replicate Pym Particles! How on earth did you do it?" Ant-Man stared at Batman, his teeth clenched so tightly that Batman could even hear the sound of him grinding them.
"I merely used a workaround method, and it cannot be mass-produced. These two vials were my absolute limit," Batman stated.
In that brief instant, Batman weighed the situation in his mind and decided it was unnecessary to tell Ant-Man that he still had a separate vial left.
"A workaround? Your limit?" Sure enough, upon hearing Batman's explanation, Ant-Man's expression softened considerably. "You're not lying to me?"
Before Batman could even open his mouth, Ant-Man issued another order to the Ultron drone:
"Ultron, scan this guy's heartbeat and brainwaves to see if he's telling the truth."
Blue light flickered inside the Ultron drone's eyes as it scanned Batman up and down:
"I am sorry, Master. I am unable to scan Batman."
"Hmm?" Janet, the Wasp, let out a confused hum. "Why not?"
She had actually been faintly looking forward to seeing whether they could discover Batman's true identity after the Ultron drone scanned him. Who would have guessed that it couldn't even perform a scan?
"Because I am Batman," Batman said.
The Wasp rolled her eyes once more. She decided to leave the laboratory and leave the space to these two fellows.
One answered "I am Batman" to every single question, while the other had nothing in his brain all day except Pym Particles.
The Wasp felt that both of these men were utterly beyond saving.
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