1988 Another Scott, Another 2012

Eddie's face stiffened, but he then hung up after saying a few perfunctory words.

He then sent Luke a reply. "Boss, Scott is probably training at home. I'm sure it's him."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have recognized the signature restaurant dish I bought, he added inwardly.

Luke replied to say that he got it, and told Eddie to remain on standby.

Eddie shrugged, put down his phone, and continued to make… hm, to arrange the food.

He shouldn't stress that he had made it, in case Annie recognized it too!

Luke had already gone downstairs. Entering the alley, he walked to the other person who had taken off his white suit, but was still standing there with a distraught expression — another Scott Lang.

At that moment, Scott was feeling devastated.

Why was he always the one who ran into a problem? That didn't make sense.

Last time, he had just been helping that 'Ghost' lady collect some quantum energy to fix her body.

It had only felt like a few minutes later when he came out, only to find that his father-in-law, mother-in-law and wife-to-be had all turned to dust.

Oh, his ex-wife and her husband had also turned to dust.

If it wasn't for his daughter, he would've collapsed.

But even then, what was so great about her growing up all of a sudden?

D*mn it. He had said he would spend a happy childhood with his little princess, but she suddenly turned into a big princess – Scott could barely lift her anymore.

But compared with Clint, whose entire family had turned to dust, Scott was undoubtedly lucky.

The princess had grown up, but she was still his princess.

Finally, Tony agreed to help Scott to perfect the theory of entering the Quantum Realm and returning to a certain point in the past.

The magnate had spent money and effort to build a new Quantum Tunnel and new Quantum Suits. Everybody went to three different time points to 'borrow' the Infinity Stones from that time period.

Scott, Tony, Steve, Dr. Hulk… hm, Dr. Banner, all chose New York in 2012.

That was because at that time, the Tesseract (Space Stone) and Loki's scepter (Mind Stone) were at Stark Tower, and the Time Stone (Eye of Agamotto) was at 177a Bleecker Street.

Everybody felt that it would be far easier for Tony and Steve to obtain the two Stones that had just been seized by Iron Man and Captain America in 2012.

But what was going on now? This very normal-looking New York was abnormal.

Also, where were Tony and the others? Why was he alone here? He wasn't a f*cking expert in quantum science. Thinking that, Scott felt like he was about to collapse.

What was even more troublesome was that because of his father-in-law's disappearance, there was no longer a source for the Pym Particle.

Each of them could only use the Quantum Realm twice during this operation, which was just enough for one round trip.

Now that he was alone, should he brace himself and get the three Stones before he returned, or should he go straight back?

"Hey, buddy, do you need help?" A gentle and clear male voice rang out not far away.

Scott raised his head and saw a smiling young man.

He gaped; for a moment, he didn't know how to refuse this kindhearted person.

With a smile on his face, Luke pointed at Scott's helmet. "Bro, your suit is quite cool. Are you a superhero? Do you know the Dark Knight and Black Cat?"

"What?" Stunned for a moment, Scott then admitted, "Yeah, I'm the superhero Ant-Man. Nice to meet you."

Luke shook his hand. "Ant-Man? Sorry, I haven't read about you in the newspaper. I prefer the Dark Knight and Black Cat. Deathstroke isn't bad either. Iron Man is trash."

Why would DC comic characters be in the news? Scott blinked blankly. Also, isn't Iron Man the Avengers' boss? Why are you saying he's trash?

Even as he complained inwardly, he somehow calmed down.

Luke pointed at a cafe not far away. "I'm very interested in the daily lives of superheroes. How about we have a chat?"

Scott hesitated. He still hadn't figured out whether to look for the Stones on his own or return to his universe in 2023.

He had no time for a coffee with a stranger.

Luke asked, "Is there an emergency? Do you need my help?"

Scott had already calmed down, but at this question, he suddenly realized something. Wait, why was he in a hurry? How long he stayed here wouldn't affect his return to 2023 – only five seconds would have passed then.

Then why was he in such a hurry? He could have considered the pros and cons before making a decision.

Steal the Stones from Stark Tower on his own? What a joke. He could deal with Falcon on his own, but take on all the Avengers himself? Sorry, they would string him up and beat him up.

Thinking that, he felt that it wasn't a bad idea to first understand the situation here from this kindhearted young man in front of him.

He didn't even know what year it was here — New York couldn't be this peaceful on the afternoon of 4 May 2012.

They sat in a corner of the cafe and chatted.

One was thoughtful, and the other was deliberate. The conversation quickly got back on track.

As they chatted, Scott couldn't stop gaping.

"It has already been years since the Chitauri invasion?

"You have Batman here? Hm, he sacrificed himself during the Battle of New York by sending a nuclear missile into space? The Dark Knight is Batman's successor? Are you sure his name isn't Nightwing Robin?

"Black Cat has three claws on each hand? Isn't that Wolverine's thing?

"Deathstroke is actually called Big Dipper, not Wilson?

"The Bat Squad is the strongest, not the Avengers?

"They're especially close?"

With each piece of news Luke gave him, he even took out his phone to show Scott all sorts of headlines online. Scott was completely confused. What the hell? How did he end up in a world which had Batman?

Thankfully, Luke told him very firmly that there was no Gotham City, much less Arkham.

At the very least, Scott didn't have to worry about Superman falling from the sky and turning New York into ruins.

But why did Batman debut in sunny Los Angeles at the very beginning?

Bruce Wayne, who had grown up enjoying the Californian sun, wasn't Batman at all! Shouldn't he be flying around a cold and damp Gotham?

Also, could a Dark Knight who didn't crawl through the sewers and send people to Arkham be considered Batman at all?!

Too many things were different in 2012 in this world, and Scott didn't know what to do.

Even though his mind was in a mess, Scott still had a good impression of Luke.

Whatever information the other party casually gave him was background information that he needed to immediately understand. This was much more convenient than flipping through the information himself.

Em~ But it seemed that there was breaking news on Messenger and F2F hot topics here? Many people had detailed timelines for the superheroes and major events here, which could be accessed online with a smartphone.

Scott would've found out sooner or later even if Luke hadn't said anything, but it was Luke who told him about the hot topics and breaking news.

He would remember this favor.

Gradually, it turned eight o'clock.

They still didn't leave. Luke simply ordered a delivery of Tesnack and chatted with Scott as they ate.

In the end, Scott felt a little uncomfortable. "Luke, why are you so… enthusiastic toward me?"

Luke tilted his head and thought for a moment. "Maybe… because you look nice?"

Scott fidgeted uncomfortably. "Uh, bro, I have a girlfriend. She's hot."

Luke had a complicated expression on his face. "I have a few girlfriends too. They're also hot."