Drex Valen had never been particularly interested in Saiyan genetics.
The reason was simple.
He still rembered scenes from another tiline where Vegeta, after training under gravity dozens or even hundreds of tis stronger than Earth's, had transford into a Super Saiyan... only to struggle with lifting a ten-thousand-ton robot's foot.
If that sa situation involved a Kryptonian, a Strontian, or soone like Hyperion, the result would have been laughably different.
A ten-thousand-ton machine?
They could move planets.
Compared to races like those, Saiyans simply weren't that impressive in Drex's eyes.
Given the choice, he'd rather spend his ti researching a hybrid super-soldier created from Kryptonian, Strontian, and Hyperion genetics than waste effort on Saiyan DNA.
The much-anticipated Saiyan invasion had ended almost before it began.
For a brief mont, the entire world had panicked.
Then people realized sothing surprising.
Earth had grown stronger.
Far stronger than anyone had realized.
The supposedly invincible Saiyans had been defeated.
That revelation boosted global morale overnight.
The atmosphere of despair that had lingered since previous alien invasions eased considerably.
People began believing humanity actually had a chance.
Of course, Tony Stark was still dealing with the backlash surrounding his energy revolution.
But overall, things had ended on a positive note.
At least for now.
Drex, anwhile, was occupied with a different concern.
"Calculate the probability of a Frieza invasion."
The Black Queen processed the request for several monts before responding.
"Impossible."
Drex raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"I cannot determine when parallel universes approach this reality, nor can I accurately asure the degree of overlap."
In other words, she had no way to calculate it.
Drex wasn't much better off.
The only comforting fact was that he could currently handle any threat that appeared.
What worried him was the possibility of sothing far worse arriving next ti.
Soone like Darkseid.
anwhile, Scott Lang remained thoroughly traumatized.
The experience with the Ant-Man suit had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.
The mont he returned to Luis's apartnt, he stripped off the suit as quickly as possible.
The helt.
The gloves.
Every piece.
Then he stuffed everything back into the bag.
As far as Scott was concerned, the plan was simple.
Wait until dark.
Return the suit.
Forget the whole thing had ever happened.
Exhaling heavily, he tossed the bag onto the couch.
He didn't even want to look at it.
Who knew what might happen if he accidentally pressed another button?
After that, Scott settled into the apartnt and refused to leave.
Luis and his friends noticed the change in his behavior.
But they assud he was still upset about the disastrous burglary.
From their perspective, that made perfect sense.
After all, they'd risked everything and walked away with what appeared to be an old motorcycle suit.
So nobody thought much of it.
Luis headed out as usual, spending his day drifting between bars, clubs, and other places where information tended to circulate.
That evening, he returned ho looking noticeably more energetic.
Because he'd found another job.
And this one sounded perfect.
The client was apparently dealing with so kind of problem and needed a docunt stolen from a specific location.
The reward?
One hundred thousand dollars.
For people in Luis's line of work, that was a very attractive number.
The job itself sounded simple enough.
The target was located in an ordinary residential neighborhood.
The only issue was that the client couldn't identify exactly what kind of safe the docunt was stored in.
Still, Luis wasn't worried.
If Scott could crack Hank Pym's vault, he could crack anything.
"Scott!"
Luis practically burst into the room.
"Get up! I've got great news!"
On the couch, Scott rolled over and pulled the blanket tighter around himself.
He wasn't interested.
At all.
In roughly two hours, the sun would set.
After that, he planned to return the Ant-Man suit and be done with the nightmare.
Unfortunately, Luis had no intention of leaving him alone.
Seeing no reaction, he walked over and yanked away the blanket.
Scott groaned.
Luis genuinely cared about him.
He knew how difficult Scott's life had beco.
In his own strange way, he was trying to motivate him.
Granted, the motivation usually involved illegal activities.
"Luis."
Scott rubbed his face.
"What do you want now?"
Luis grinned.
"This ti it's real."
"I've actually got good news."
Scott gave him a flat look.
"Your 'good news' nearly got arrested yesterday."
"Hey!"
Luis raised both hands defensively.
"Sothing had to be wrong with the information."
"That vault was supposed to contain sothing valuable."
Scott couldn't really argue with that.
The information hadn't been entirely wrong.
The vault had contained sothing valuable.
Sothing far beyond valuable.
The suit he'd stolen couldn't even be asured in dollars.
After what he'd experienced, Scott was convinced of that.
Still, he wasn't about to explain any of this.
"Fine."
He sat up with a sigh.
"Tell about this amazing opportunity."
Luis brightened imdiately.
"Okay, so you know my cousin Lovens..."
"Luis."
"Right, right."
Luis waved his hands.
"Skipping ahead."
"My cousin was at a bar this afternoon and t this gorgeous woman..."
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose.
Despite the complaints, he listened.
Eventually Luis got to the point.
A wealthy client needed a docunt stolen.
One hundred thousand dollars.
Five percent paid upfront.
Five thousand dollars just for accepting the job.
By the ti he finished, Luis looked extrely pleased with himself.
"So?"
He leaned forward eagerly.
"What do you think?"
"Interested?"
"I think this one's solid."
Scott stared at him.
"Are you absolutely sure your cousin wasn't conned by so random woman in a bar?"
Luis slapped a hand against his chest.
"No chance."
"My cousin isn't easy to fool."
Scott wasn't convinced.
"Maybe."
Luis leaned closer.
"Co on."
"Think about it."
"The job sounds easy."
"The pay is incredible."
"We should take it."
Scott glanced toward the bag containing the Ant-Man suit.
The last thing he wanted was another adventure.
His current priority was getting rid of that suit before it ruined his life.
"No."
Luis blinked.
"What?"
"No."
Scott lay back down.
"I'm not interested."
"Scott..."
"Seriously?"
Luis sounded wounded.
"I'm serious."
Scott waved dismissively.
"I want so sleep."
"I've got sowhere to be tonight."
"So unless the apartnt is on fire, don't bother ."
With that, he pulled the blanket back over himself.
Luis stood there for a few monts.
Then he sighed.
Without Scott's skills, there was no way he would risk taking the job alone.
Eventually, he shook his head and walked away.
For now, the opportunity would have to wait.
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