DOTM: Chapter 527/528

Chapter 527: The Value of Dr. Pym

Scott Lang didn't treat himself as an outsider at all. While Hank Pym and his daughter Hope were still quietly observing, he had already picked up the stone and was examining it repeatedly.

Halfway through his examination, Ethan lightly snapped his fingers again, and the stone in his hand immediately turned into fine sand. Turning into sand wasn't strange, but the key was that all this sand was made of tiny diamond particles.

Scott clumsily scooped the handful of diamond sand back onto the table, then watched again as the diamonds turned into clear water, which then turned into water vapor and completely disappeared.

"That's roughly what a magician is like."

Ethan had developed considerable understanding of matter and the ability to distort and transform it using magic. Even without the Reality Stone, he could achieve this to a certain extent.

His ability to directly create matter using magic, something he had been focused on for a long time, had also made significant progress. He was steadily approaching the goal he had set for himself back then.

"So... you can use magic to enter the Quantum Realm?"

Hank Pym now understood why Howard had brought him to see this person. Since scientific methods were proving difficult to solve his problem, perhaps he could try a different approach and solve it from another angle.

He didn't understand magic at all, and before today, he had always believed it didn't exist. But now that a real sorcerer had appeared before him, perhaps the problem that had plagued him for decades was nothing to this person.

"I'm not sure."

Ethan glanced at the aging Hank Pym. He, of course, knew what problem this man wanted to solve. He hoped to rescue his wife, Janet van Dyne, the first Wasp, who had been trapped in the Quantum Realm for decades.

However, he wasn't sure if he could connect to the Quantum Realm.

But the possibility should be quite high.

Theoretically, with the Space Stone in hand, he could connect to any area of this universe, and the Quantum Realm should also be considered part of this universe. After all, they were both components of the Marvel Universe.

As for helping out, Ethan didn't mind lending a hand. Tony had helped him a lot, and even now he was still busy helping him modify the Prometheus.

Furthermore, Tony had very directly pulled Hank Pym onto the warship.

"If you can help Dr. Pym rescue his wife, I think he'd be very happy to lend a hand with the modifications to your Prometheus."

Tony brought this up in front of everyone. Anyway, there were no outsiders present. After joining the Avengers, Scott Lang was, in a way, one of them.

Moreover, Ethan's situation had never been a secret to the Avengers, let alone the Prometheus. At most, the various technologies contained within it needed to be kept confidential.

Although Hank Pym didn't know what the Prometheus was, if Ethan could really bring Janet back, then helping out a little was no big deal.

"I'll give it a try. Are the things ready?"

Tony turned to look at Hank Pym and the others, and Dr. Pym, in turn, looked at his daughter.

To find someone, some special items are needed as a connection between the two. If Hope herself were a sorcerer, she could directly locate Janet based on their blood relation.

Ethan couldn't. He needed some items to serve as a connection.

Tony, of course, understood this. Although Tony's magic foundation was arcane magic, it didn't mean he wouldn't learn or come into contact with other systems of magic.

He had learned and mastered many spells from Kamar-Taj. A major advantage of Kamar-Taj spells is that they have very few restrictions on the nature of the magic power used. Almost any attribute of magical energy can be used to cast them.

It was just that this time the target was in the Quantum Realm. After a brief attempt, he found that he couldn't accurately pinpoint the other party's location, which was why he came to find Ethan, a top spellcaster skilled in spatial magic.

Frankly speaking, Ethan could now be respectfully called a master in the field of magic.

Especially in spatial magic, thanks to the space-time orb on Ethan's hand, he had traveled very far down this path.

Coupled with the Space Stone, which symbolized authority over the spatial attributes of this universe, by all appearances, finding Janet shouldn't be difficult at all.

But Tony really didn't expect it to be this simple.

Ethan took some items Janet had used from Hope, and then, using the connection between the items and their owner, began searching for Janet's location in every corner of this universe.

The Quantum Realm is very mysterious, and people know almost nothing about it, but at this moment, it was just a part of the entire universe.

What Ethan had to do was find a certain person from this vast area. As for parallel planes, quantum space, the river of time, except for the river of time which required the power of the Time Stone, everything else was no different in his eyes.

He even found Janet's location without using the Space Stone.

"Wait a moment, I'll go bring her back."

Ethan originally wanted to reverse summon Janet back, but the Quantum Realm was a very special area. He could only teleport himself there and then bring Janet back.

Seeing Ethan take the items earlier, then close his eyes and ponder, Hope and Dr. Pym thought the matter would be quite difficult.

Unexpectedly, only a few seconds later, Ethan uttered such a sentence, which made the two of them feel very surprised. Before they could even ask about the specific situation, Ethan, who was sitting in front of them, disappeared from the chair out of thin air. As his mastery of spatial magic grew stronger, he became more and more effortless when using teleportation spells, even able to ensure that not a single bit of energy fluctuation overflowed, meaning there were no light and shadow effects whatsoever.

If they hadn't been staring at Ethan the whole time and were sure the other party had disappeared out of thin air, Pym might even suspect he was hallucinating.

But this scene seemed to mean that the other party had found his wife.

"Magic is amazing!"

Compared to the excited, nervous, and expectant father and daughter, Ant-Man Scott Lang simply expressed pure amazement. Magic was just too miraculous.

"But he just went like that? Doesn't he need to make any preparations?"

Old Ant-Man Hank Pym had emphasized to Scott more than once how dangerous the Quantum Realm was and how severe the consequences would be if one accidentally got lost in it.

But would it really be okay for Ethan to just casually go there like that?

"Since he's going directly, then there's no problem."

Tony understood Ethan better. If there was truly danger there, or even a slight potential threat, Ethan would make all sorts of preparations first, ensuring everything was foolproof before setting off.

Since he was acting directly, it proved that there was no threat there at all.

Thinking about Ethan holding the Space Stone, there was basically nothing in this universe that could truly threaten him. Even Thanos, who had been mentioned countless times, couldn't truly threaten Ethan. Even if he couldn't win, Thanos couldn't stop Ethan from leaving.

Just as everyone was discussing whether there would be trouble, a ripple suddenly appeared in the empty space next to the table, and then the ground lit up with light. These lights slowly converged into complex mystical runes, finally forming a magic circle diagram.

As the light became less dazzling, a ball of light suddenly rose from the magic circle. After the light burst and then dissipated, Ethan was standing there with another person.

"The Quantum Realm is indeed a bit troublesome. There's no way to open a door and come back directly."

Going in was quite convenient, but coming out wasn't that simple. Ethan had to use a teleportation magic circle, which he hadn't used in a while, to get back.

This kind of magic circle is a bit different from the space-time teleportation he usually uses. It is also a common teleportation magic among sorcerers, slightly more troublesome to cast than the Kamar-Taj-style door-opening teleportation, but the advantage is that it can ignore the barriers caused by different dimensions within the same universe.

More importantly, this kind of teleportation won't bring back things that shouldn't be brought back. The Kamar-Taj-style portal is equivalent to directly connecting the normal world and the Quantum Realm, and no one is sure how much of the special energy contained in the Quantum Realm would spread out through the massive rift, nor is it certain what dangers these energies would cause.

As a safety precaution, he chose to use a teleportation magic circle to return. Ethan then glanced at the Wasp, Janet, who was now quite old. He could feel the immense energy contained within this woman. Having lived in the Quantum Realm for decades, she was no longer an ordinary human.

However, this was not the time to discuss this topic. Hank Pym had already walked over unsteadily. It wasn't that he was too old to walk, but that after so many years, finally seeing his wife whom he had longed for day and night made him too excited to properly control his body.

Equally excited was Hope. The father and daughter came before Janet, and the family of three embraced.

Ethan gave the family some space and went back to sit at the table.

"You said you wanted to invite Dr. Pym to help modify the Prometheus?"

Tony also didn't keep staring at the family of three. He naturally started discussing the Prometheus modification with Ethan.

"You know, building or completely overhauling a spaceship takes a lot of time, but Pym Particles can reduce the time needed."

A simple example, building a ship as large as the Prometheus, no matter how fast, would take at least a year.

If it were just building a model, even with very detailed component structures, a few months would be enough.

This is why Tony wanted to enlist Dr. Pym's help. After all, Pym Particles were only in Hank Pym's hands.

(To be continued.)

Chapter 528: Target Batman

Dr. Pym certainly wouldn't share his technology, but Ethan wasn't greedy for his Pym Particles. It was enough if he could help accelerate the modification of the Prometheus.

Speaking of which, Ethan took the opportunity to ask Tony about his modification plans for the Prometheus.

As soon as the topic came up, Tony once again showed his side as a tech enthusiast, first complaining endlessly about the spaceship Ethan brought back, and while complaining, he also explained how he planned to modify it.

Just talking wasn't enough. He used the device on his wrist to project a holographic image, accompanying his description with visuals.

At this moment, Dr. Pym had walked back. Seeing Tony and Ethan discussing something, he didn't rush to interrupt their conversation. He simply offered a brief word of thanks to Howard first. Although the two had been very much at odds back then, even having a very bad relationship, this time it was indeed Howard who helped him find his wife. He wouldn't deny this favor.

He recalled the Prometheus that Tony had mentioned earlier. It was clear that Tony Stark and the mage named Ethan were discussing something that required his help.

Only then did he realize that the so-called Prometheus was actually a spaceship.

"Stark has mastered interstellar travel technology?"

As a scientist, this news had a huge impact on Hank Pym.

Initially, he thought Tony Stark was just beginning research on spaceships, or that the ship was still just something on paper. But after listening for a while, he found that Tony and Ethan weren't discussing how to build an interstellar spaceship, but rather modifying an existing one.

"The reactor originally used on the Prometheus definitely needs to be replaced."

The Prometheus originally used a very mature nuclear fusion reactor, but Tony had more confidence in the Arc Reactor he had.

The Stark family had been researching this thing for decades, with several improvements. Tony had further upgraded it after researching the Cosmic Cube for a while, and after obtaining the Reality Stone, he further perfected the reactor.

The current Arc Reactor was no longer the original one. The new type of Arc Reactor, redesigned and improved by Tony, was a very powerful energy source. Even if Ethan could adventure in countless worlds, he might not find a better energy source than this one.

With longer duration, better stability, and higher output power, the new Arc Reactor could fully meet the needs of larger interstellar warships. Using it on a small ship like the Prometheus seemed like a waste.

Of course, for safety, a second backup reactor would also be installed on the Prometheus. Tony believed that even on the day most of the Prometheus's equipment was completely scrapped, these two reactors would not have any problems and would have a considerable lifespan.

"Will replacing the reactor affect the propulsion system?"

"There will definitely be an impact, but it won't be significant. Just some adjustments are needed."

The original propulsion engines of the Prometheus were quite powerful, capable of accelerating the entire ship to speeds infinitely close to the speed of light. In that world, infinitely close to the speed of light was actually the fastest speed the ship could reach.

Even in a world like the Marvel Universe, the speed of light isn't so easily reached. Compared to the comic universe where many characters can break the speed of light, there aren't as many cheat code users in the movie universe.

Even Tony had no complaints about the propulsion equipment on the Prometheus. What he needed to do was further optimize it to be perfectly compatible with the new reactor.

Besides that, Tony was mainly researching anti-gravity technology, preparing to apply this technology to the Prometheus.

"Other things, like the self-repairing nanite hull, don't need further introduction, right?"

"You don't need to mention those."

As for the modification of the internal living environment, Ethan was even less concerned. Ethan said that as long as the standard living environment was maintained, it was fine. After all, Ethan could transplant the separate space with the small island onto the Prometheus, so the crew wouldn't have to worry about not having enough spacious area to relax and play.

"Besides these standard modifications, I will also install a space jump device on the Prometheus, but there's a problem I need to explain to you."

"What problem?"

"That space jump device can only be used in this universe."

Tony learned this from Peter. The space jump device on the Milano couldn't be used in the universe where Ethan lived, and the space jump technology Tony possessed was also from this universe, so naturally, it couldn't be used in that universe either.

"So what I want to ask is, should we still install it on the Prometheus?"

"Install it."

Ethan didn't think for too long. This device wouldn't take up much space, and more importantly, he needed a clearer reference point to compare it with the space jump device in that universe. Maybe it could be used in that universe with just a few modifications.

Of course, that would be the best outcome. The worst-case scenario would be that the two jump technologies were completely incompatible, but that wasn't a big deal either.

Finally, they discussed weapons and equipment. The Prometheus was a purely scientific research vessel, and the ship itself had no weapons or equipment.

Without affecting the ship's structure, Tony installed a hidden main cannon on the upper front of the Prometheus, as well as countless hidden secondary cannons.

Except for the main cannon which could only fire straight ahead, the other small secondary cannons could attack enemies at any angle and direction around the ship's hull.

A certain number of missiles were also equipped. Since space was limited and the ammunition capacity wasn't high, these missiles were very powerful.

Besides that, the Prometheus also had no protective measures like energy shields, so all the standard protection technologies Tony possessed would also have to be installed.

After these modifications, the space inside the Prometheus became quite crowded. The warehouse that could originally hold several transport vehicles was compressed and became much smaller as a result.

Fortunately, Ethan didn't need to carry such vehicles on the spaceship, so the impact on him was not significant.

"I also combined teleportation magic technology to design a device similar to a tractor beam, which can pick up people from the ground directly or drop them off when the ship hasn't landed."

However, Tony thought of Ethan's magical abilities and how this technology was more suitable for large ships that couldn't easily land on a planet's surface, so he didn't actually build the device. He just mentioned it casually to Ethan to show off a bit.

The two chatted for a while, and finally, Dr. Pym couldn't resist his curiosity and joined in. However, he was mostly asking questions, especially about many technologies used on the Prometheus, many of which were only theoretical on Earth. He hadn't expected Tony to already possess mature technology.

This made him very puzzled, not understanding why Tony Stark possessed so much knowledge that was generations ahead of the rest of the world. Could Tony Stark really be a genius to this extent?

Because of Dr. Pym's participation, Tony began to discuss more with the old scientist, while Ethan chatted briefly with Hope and Janet.

The mother and daughter expressed their gratitude to him, and Ethan accepted their thanks gracefully.

As for concrete actions to express their gratitude, although Dr. Pym didn't explicitly state it, he actively discussed with Tony how to better complete the modification work on the Prometheus, which already showed his attitude.

With Dr. Pym joining in, Ethan believed he could get his new ship even sooner.

Before officially joining, Dr. Pym needed some time to enjoy family life with his wife, whom he had been separated from for a long time. Everyone expressed understanding, and no one foolishly urged Dr. Pym to start working immediately.

After seeing off the Pym family, Howard also said goodbye and left.

During this time, he had traveled to many places and seen many things with Maria. Recently, he had gone to Pepper Potts's place to prepare for his return to managing Stark Industries, in the name of Howard Stark II.

Tony was very happy to see his father take over Stark Industries again, so he could focus all his energy on things he was more interested in.

In a few years, once Howard fully took over Stark Industries, Tony could continue to provide technical support to the group secretly, or find new avenues for the Stark family.

Considering that both he and Pepper Potts had undergone enhancements and would not only not age in the future but might even live younger, Tony would inevitably have to disappear into the shadows to avoid causing discomfort among the general public.

However, his personality wouldn't allow him to remain an "obscure" (unknown, obscure) ordinary person for long. He could consider making a splash in other worlds, or in the universe.

In fact, even before being forced to retire into the shadows, Tony would still have the idea of making a splash in other worlds. After seeing off Dr. Pym's family and his father, Tony again mentioned the Dark Knight.

"Before the work starts, why don't you take me to meet Mr. Bruce Wayne?"

Ethan looked at Tony speechlessly. This guy was really fixated on Bruce Wayne. It seemed that if he didn't take him to meet Mr. Bruce Wayne, he would keep nagging endlessly.

"Meeting is possible... but which one do you want to meet?"

Leaving aside the Batmen from various comics, there were several movie versions. Besides the Bruce Wayne from Diana's world who hadn't been born yet, there were several other options.

Tony's answer was as expected by Ethan.

"Meet them all!"

(To be continued.)