Not Expendable

Particle Man

WARNING!! ENDGAME spoilers ahead!!

You have been warned...... :D

"Ow, damn it!" Scott cursed as sparks flew from his belt. "Are you almost done, Hope? I'm getting tired. I don't want to pass out."

"Yeah, almost done," Hope said. "I really kicked you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, good enough to break my suit," he sighed. She'd delivered a roundhouse kick to his abdomen during training that was hard enough to dislodge the sizing coils in his belt. Of course, it made him grow tall enough to break through the skylight in the training room. Not only did he have to face the humiliation of getting his ass kicked by his wife, but now he was stuck as a giant. Since Hope's wings only worked when she was small, Scott had his leg lifted up for her to sit on and work on fixing the coils. He was quickly starting to lose energy, and didn't want to accidentally drop Hope.

He felt her weight lift off of him, and she flew up in front of his exposed face. His helmet had flipped off during the suit's malfunction.

"Try that," she said.

Scott pushed the button on his thumb, shuddering back to his normal size. He stared at the gaping hole in the ceiling above him, then glanced at the shattered glass scattered across the floor. He saw Rhodes staring at him, and awkwardly smiled.

"Sorry about that, guys," Scott said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Um, I guess I can pay for that."

"It's my fault, if anything," Hope admitted, growing full size and landing next to Scott. "I'm just too good for you to keep up with."

Rhodes nodded, crossing his arms. "Maybe you should do your training outside from now on, Scott."

"Yeah," Scott sighed. He tried not to show that he was humiliated, but his ears were burning red.

His new sparring partner was Wanda. Like Scott, she was good at destroying things. At least, that's what she told him.

"Don't let it bother you too much," she said. She noticed him glancing at the hole in the roof again. "You just have to learn how to control yourself."

"Hey, that wasn't even my fault," he responded. "If Hank could build a decent suit, I wouldn't be in this mess."

Out on the lawn, they tried training. They were trying to take down each other, holding someone down for a few seconds, like in wrestling. But Scott couldn't ever come close to Wanda because of her telekinetic abilities.

Eventually, they just decided to stop and watch the others from the inside. Quill and his group, including Thor, were visiting earth to touch base. Most of them were engaging in training, except Quill, who was dancing by himself in the kitchen.

Scott and Wanda sat in a tree branch and ate peanut M&Ms that Scott had in his pocket. They were partially melted, but Wanda was okay with it.

"Think we'll get in trouble for this?" Wanda asked.

Scott shrugged, crunching on a blue candy. "It's fine by me. They probably don't think I can do anything right."

"Hey," she said, punching him lightly on the shoulder. "Give yourself more credit. Half of us wouldn't be here if not for you."

"Pfff. I'm not the one who snapped."

He watched Hope through the windows of the compound. He was sometimes jealous of how easily she fit in. She fought with grace and intelligence, making no mistakes. She cultivated respect in any room she walked into. And Scott felt like, well....a dumbass most of the time.