The Ant's Daughter (An Ant-Man Story)

Location #3

The gang landed in front of Location #3. Sarah was honestly shaking as she landed. This was it; this is all that was between her and Cassie: A broken-down wooden house. Hope noticed Sarah's nerves and placed her hand on Sarah's shoulder. Sarah looked up at her and smiled. "This is gonna work, Sarah," Hope reassured. Sarah nodded and looked back down, wishing she believed that, too.

She wanted Cassie back more than anything, but there was always that fear that Darren would not stay true to his word. What if Cassie was not here? What if she was already...

No, don't think like that, Sarah. She's fine, and you know it.

"Everyone," Hank said, "take three different entrances. Hope, go through the left window and see if it is locked. I'll enter through the cellar hatch. Sarah, go around back." Everyone nodded, shrunk down, and everyone made their way to their entrances.

Hank had made the adjustment of adding wings onto Sarah's suit so she wasn't hobbling around and taking forever to get to the location, so she made it to the back wall quickly.

"Everyone in positions?" Hope asked through coms.

"All clear over here," Hank responded.

"Same here," Sarah responded while trying to look through the cracks of the framing, "but there doesn't seem to be any sign of anyone in there."

"Let's go in and find out," Hope added before flying in. The other two quickly did the same.

Sarah flew into what seemed like the plain layout of what was an abandoned barn. Boarded-up windows, cracks of sunlight coming from the patchy woodwork, and endless floor space as far as the eye could see.

"Looks like no one is here," Sarah remarked, still searching for any sign that anyone has touched the place in a decade.

"That's probably what Darron wants us to think," Hope added through her headset, "if he has been able to evade us for this long, you can be sure that he would want his base to be the same way.

Sarah sighed and continued to look around. She occasionally flinched when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye, only to realize that it was simply a spider web moving from the wind from the outside.

"Look left," Hope called through her coms. Sarah turned to see that Hope was flying towards her. "Anything?"

Sarah sighed again. "Nothing. Only spider webs and rotting wood. No sign of Darron."

"Dang it," Hope responded. She put her fingers up to her ear to turn on her coms. "Anything on your side, dad?"

Only static came through from the other side.

"Hank," Sarah asked, "do you copy?"

Static.

Sarah and Hope became worried very quickly. Hope tried contacting him one more time before Sarah realized something. "He went through the cellar."

"A basement-level entryway," Hope added, "we've got to hurry."

Sarah and Hope flew out of there like bats out of hell to the cellar door. They flew through the small holes in the wood in case the door itself was booby trapped. And, sure enough, as they flew through the holes, they saw the tasers and alarm system attached to the hinges in case some snoopers came around for a prank.

As they flew, there was a single light at the end of the tunnel: a light above an elevator.

"Hank, are you there?" Sarah tried again, hoping that he was just out of range.

Still static.

They flew over to the elevator and looked around it. No signs of booby traps on the floor or the door itself. The only part they were concerned about was the button panel next to it.

"There's no way Darron wouldn't have rigged it in some way without a code or something," Hope pointed out, "I don't know how we are going to get through the elevator without it."

"I don't know either..." Sarah added with disappointment. Then, she thought of something. "Well, if Hank in through this way, shouldn't he be here with us?"

"Yeah..."

"That means he must have found a way to get through, right?"

Hope's eyes grew larger. "I think I've got it." She immediately flew to the top-right corner of the panel, twisting the nut that was holding the panel together. Sarah finally got on the same page and went to another corner and did the same thing.

Soon enough, all of the nuts were off, and the plate fell to the ground.

And boy, was it complicated.

There were twice as many wires as a regular panel for an elevator, more than likely for booby traps and such. Sarah hovered there with wide eyes, unsure of what to do next.

Hope noticed Sarah's eyes and told her, "So, Hank definitely  did not go through this way..."

"Then where could he be?!" Sarah said, starting to get frustrated and panicking on the inside. She looked around frantically for anything that could help them. Then, her eyes landed on something in the corner of the room.

She pointed up towards the corner and said, "The security camera. I can hack into it and, hopefully, find out where Hank was and where he went." Hope nodded and flew over to the camera with Sarah.

Sarah then realized something. "I have to grow to full size to hack into it. A computer as small as an ant isn't going to pick up enough signal to hack into the numerous firewalls this place probably has."

Hope paused before responding, "I don't like it, but it's the best shot we've got. Go for it."

Sarah pressed the button on her glove and grew to full size.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, the floor opened up underneath her, and she was falling down into darkness. She quickly tried to become small again, but the button wasn't working.

She landed with a thud of the ground, and she was consumed by darkness.

CLIFFHANGERS?! AGAIN?! Geez, author, give them a break, will you?

~MarvelRebel27