Having received the two returned vials of Pym Particles from Batman, Ant-Man did not appear to relax in the slightest; instead, he grew increasingly vigilant.
Seeing that the Ultron drone was unable to scan Batman's heartbeat or brainwaves—making it impossible to identify whether the fellow was telling the truth—Ant-Man stared at Batman for a good while before parting his lips to issue an eviction order:
"Why haven't you left yet?"
"Aside from returning the particles, I have one more thing to do," Batman said.
The vigilance on Ant-Man's face intensified, his arms instinctively shielding the Pym Particles as his eyes fixed unblinkingly on Batman:
"What is it?"
Seeing Ant-Man like this, Batman knew all too well what was going through his head.
"It has nothing to do with Pym Particles." Batman's single sentence allowed Ant-Man's heart to settle by more than half.
"That's good then." Ant-Man Hank Pym let out a sigh of relief, his posture relaxing considerably. "Go on, speak."
"As one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s detention facilities for criminals, the Ant Farm has always remained under your jurisdiction. It seems your connection with S.H.I.E.L.D. is fairly tight-knit," Batman said.
"You could say that," Ant-Man replied with a forced, insincere smile.
Batman's voice was deep and commanding:
"Since Nick Fury's disappearance, I have lost my liaison with S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I hope you can introduce me."
"An introduction? Then go find Black Widow and Hawkeye. They're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents too," Ant-Man said with zero sincerity.
Batman did not get angry at Ant-Man's attitude.
After all, from the other man's perspective, Batman was essentially a thief who had broken into his home and robbed him. Though he had returned the Pym Particles now, it didn't erase the fact that he had robbed him in the past.
To Ant-Man, who valued Pym Particles more than life itself, giving Batman a pleasant expression was a tall order.
The fact that he hadn't kicked Batman out outright was already a testament to his tolerance.
"They have also lost contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. right now," Batman said.
And such was indeed the reality. Following the Battle of Manhattan, Nick Fury's body double was killed and Fury himself went missing; Quake was imprisoned; and John Garrett led the cybernetically enhanced agents to depart.
Black Widow and Hawkeye had already lost touch with S.H.I.E.L.D., their statuses reduced to an escaped convict and a traitor who defected after a failed mission, respectively.
"So you thought of me? You were dead sure I was still in contact with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Ant-Man turned around, carefully stashing the Pym Particles away like a miser, refusing to let Batman catch even a glimpse.
"Correct," Batman said.
"Then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed," Ant-Man replied without turning his head.
"If not, I will need to use a vial of Pym Particles..."
Before Batman could finish his sentence, Ant-Man spun around abruptly, looking as though he desperately wanted to step forward and cover Batman's mouth:
"I can get you in touch with S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
A faint curve tugged at the exposed corner of Batman's mouth:
"Thank you."
Hank Pym slouched dejectedly against the lab table, feeling that Batman was like a stone in a latrine—both foul and unyielding:
"I can help bridge the connection for you again, but you have to promise me that you won't target my Pym Particles ever again."
"I promise you," Batman agreed with exceptional swiftness.
Ant-Man eyed Batman suspiciously; he didn't trust Batman's promise at all.
However, the two had fought more than once: once, Batman had slipped away composedly; another time, Ant-Man and his wife had fled in disgrace.
Ant-Man currently had zero desire to throw hands with Batman, leaving him no choice but to pray in his heart that this stubborn, foul-tempered guy would keep his word:
"I hold extremely high clearance within S.H.I.E.L.D., so I know that even in Nick Fury's absence, someone else has stepped in to take charge."
"You might know of her—Nick Fury's assistant, Maria Hill. Assistant in name, but in reality, one of the few Level 9 agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D."
Batman had seen Agent Hill's name in certain files back when he hacked S.H.I.E.L.D., but he only knew the name; files wouldn't thoughtfully provide intruders with a complete dossier on an agent.
It was worth mentioning that while Batman could hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. anytime and anywhere before, he hadn't done so during the period leading up to the Battle of Manhattan.
When he recently attempted to do so again, he discovered that the backdoor he had previously left in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security system had vanished.
Clearly, an expert had rebuilt the firewall, though it remained unknown who specifically that was.
Batman could naturally hack into the system once more, but such an action offered no practical benefit toward gaining leverage over a S.H.I.E.L.D. that had lost its director.
"Agent Hill." A communication system was clearly integrated within Ant-Man's suit, and without any visible movement from him, he was already speaking to Agent Hill.
"Pym? Opportunities where you actively contact S.H.I.E.L.D. are pitifully rare," a voice said, barely escaping the Ant-Man suit, yet Batman still heard it with crystal clarity.
"I have a fellow here who wants to get in touch with S.H.I.E.L.D.," Ant-Man said, in no mood for small talk with Agent Hill as he cut straight to the point.
"Who?" Agent Hill asked directly.
"Batman." Ant-Man glanced at Batman, hearing the slight movement of Batman's lips as he uttered a word, so he added, "He wants to pay you a visit."
"Unfortunately, I am not receiving any guests during this period," Agent Hill's tone turned stiff. "Even if that guest happens to be Batman, whom I've wanted to meet for a long time."
Having delivered that line, Agent Hill didn't give Hank Pym even half a second to respond, cutting off the transmission with sharp decisiveness.
Ant-Man spread his hands at Batman, signaling that he couldn't offer any further help.
Batman also appeared to abandon the attempt, letting out a sigh as he turned to leave.
"Won't see you out," Ant-Man said, his mouth grinning practically to his ears the moment Batman turned around.
Batman made no reply with his back turned to Ant-Man. Raising his hand, he shot a strand of webbing through the skylight and departed, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Once he confirmed Batman had left and his Pym Particles remained intact and unlost, the smile on Ant-Man's face gradually faded. He looked at the Ultron drone standing quietly beside him:
"Ultron, did you manage to get even a tiny scrap of information when you scanned him just now?"
"I am deeply sorry, Master. I believe I still need to learn," Ultron lowered its head.
"Sigh." Ant-Man waved his hand. "Starting today, I am granting you maximum autonomous authority. Make sure to bring out your full capabilities in short order—you are, after all, an artificial intelligence I expended no small amount of energy to build."
"I will, Master," Ultron said.
"Tony, I've sent you a set of coordinates." On his way back to the Batcave, Batman opened an encrypted communication line with Iron Man Tony Stark.
"I see them. These coordinates seem to belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier?" Iron Man's voice rang out.
"Correct," Batman said.
Prior to the Battle of Manhattan, Hawkeye and Black Widow had been personally retrieved from the Helicarrier by Iron Man; how could Batman possibly forget that?
"I need you to use Stark Industries' satellites to perform a comprehensive scan of the conditions within a three-hundred-nautical-mile radius of those coordinates, then report back to me," Batman said.
"Hmm? You plan on making a trip there?" Iron Man asked.
"Correct, but not right now," Batman replied.
"Leave it to me." Iron Man was considerably more grounded than before, bringing the call to an end with a thoroughly dependable response.
--
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