Departure

Sharon's face stiffened slightly. Seeing Daisy with nothing but a shoulder bag slung across her back, she was a little stunned. "You're going just like that? We could run into all kinds of problems during the mission. Being underprepared could get you killed."

Daisy was puzzled too, and asked her best friend, "What did you bring?"

"Clothes, firearms, communication devices, lighting equipment, rope, and some instant food..." Sharon Carter counted on her fingers as she rattled off a long list.

Daisy seemed to see herself on her first trip to Puerto Rico. She had prepared a lot of things back then, but later threw them all away.

This girl was still lacking in experience.

Still, she did not dampen Sharon Carter's enthusiasm and casually said that bringing weapons was enough for her.

When they arrived at the rendezvous point, Black Widow was waiting for them leisurely.

She was empty-handed as well, showing none of the tension of heading out on a mission. She even seemed to be wearing light makeup. The trainees had all seen her specially made Battle Suit. Normally, she wore it beneath her clothes as underwear; once combat began, she could change into it within ten seconds. Her usual weapons were hidden in her tactical belt, though she generally did not need weapons for ordinary fights.

Hill looked like she had carried out many missions before. Her steps were just as steady, and she carried a travel bag in one hand.

"Help me carry some of this later, okay? We're best sisters..." Realizing she had packed too much, Sharon lowered her voice and pleaded into Daisy's ear.

The mischievous Daisy smiled brightly. She unzipped her shoulder bag and motioned for Sharon to look. "See? My bag is full too. Carry your own stuff, haha..."

Hank Pym had last appeared in Hungary, but that did not mean he was currently there. According to the available evidence, the last witness had seen the old man ten days ago.

They had to gather information first, so everyone was dressed in civilian clothes.

The group boarded the Quinjet. Black Widow set the coordinates, activated stealth mode, and let it fly automatically toward Hungary.

Without another word, Daisy took her best friend Sharon's tablet and began reviewing Dr. Pym's files. There was an enormous amount of information on this former academic prodigy, and she skimmed through it rapidly.

Dr. Pym's grasp of modern physics was terrifyingly profound. He had discovered subatomic particles capable of changing an object's size and named them Pym Particles.

These particles reduced the relative distance between atoms, allowing objects to shrink while retaining their original strength. Even Howard Stark, Tony Stark's father, had been deeply impressed by this achievement.

Dr. Pym's wife was a biologist. The biological helmet she developed could sense and control ants. Combined with Pym Particles, it created the first Ant-Man.

Old Doctor was not Hungarian, but his wife had been born here. One of the couple was Ant-Man and the other was Wasp. Together, they protected world peace, and both their relationship and their experiences were enviable.

Unfortunately, happy times were always so brief. During a missile crisis, Wasp vanished into the subatomic realm. After that, Dr. Pym spent several months here every year commemorating his late wife. Over time, he moved part of his experimental facilities here as well.

After Old Pym left S.H.I.E.L.D., he had not abandoned his research. This mission might very well be related to his work.

Daisy studied the old man's life story, Hill disassembled her firearm, and Sharon awkwardly sorted through her backpack, planning to trim it down before they landed.

Seeing that they were all busy with their own things and had no intention of communicating, Black Widow, the team leader, got a headache. She felt it was necessary to explain a few mission precautions to the newcomers.

As a former enemy agent who had defected to the United States, she had always avoided trouble whenever possible. She joined no cliques and formed no factions, and usually played invisible during meetings. Unfortunately, things often did not go according to her wishes.

Relaxing her expression, Black Widow Romanoff sat beside them and said casually, "Since we're going on a mission together, shouldn't we get to know each other's abilities?"

She introduced herself first. "I'm skilled with firearms, close-quarters combat, driving, and intelligence gathering."

The other three remained silent. Just as she started cursing internally and felt the atmosphere had gone cold, Hill finally replied, "I'm skilled with all kinds of weapons and unarmed combat, as well as coordination, deployment, and intelligence analysis."

When it came to Sharon, the second-generation agent, she had much more to say. The blonde beauty went from personal combat ability to reconnaissance, languages, and battlefield medical aid, rattling off a whole list.

By the time it was Daisy's turn, she felt embarrassed. The others had listed so much; if she only named two things, it would seem too lame. Racking her brains, she said, "I'm proficient in personal combat, firearm use, hacking, and cooking?... Also, I run especially fast and I'm pretty good at parkour..." By the end, even she felt embarrassed.

The agents all assumed she was hiding her true abilities. No one who had reached their level could be that mediocre.

Now that they had a preliminary understanding of each other's abilities, the next step, according to standard agent procedure, was to discuss the operational plan aboard the aircraft. Romanoff very much wanted to throw all three of them into the back and complete the mission herself, but that was unrealistic. She had to bring them along.

"Tell me what each of you thinks about the mission." Black Widow had her own way of doing things, but Nick Fury had assigned her to lead the team, so she had to act like a leader.

"Find people who had contact with Dr. Pym—his neighbors, students, and colleagues—and expand the search area. There must be clues among them." Hill's answer was as conventional as ever, like something out of a textbook.

Daisy scratched her hair, looking a little embarrassed. "You're right, but I already checked that. You know about my data analysis company, right? I used an algorithm to combine a large amount of data and calculated the three places where Dr. Pym was most likely to have disappeared. They were a private hospital, a Hungarian bar whose name I couldn't pronounce, and a park in the city center. All three places had heavy foot traffic. The data showed that Old Doctor had visited each location more than once, so I think the enemy could have taken him from any of them."

"You don't think the laboratory needs to be searched?" Black Widow asked with interest.

"We can take a look, but I don't think it's necessary. If the local agents couldn't find any clues, neither can we. Too much time has passed. Even if there were clues left behind, they've probably disappeared already." Daisy thought for a moment. She did not believe she had any talent for detective work.

An old man had been missing for ten days. Even if they called in a grade-school detective, he probably would not find any clues. Still, Black Widow insisted on searching, and Daisy did not object.

The Quinjet landed outside Budapest. Black Widow contacted the local intelligence personnel. They left two Chevrolets for the group and handed over all relevant intelligence before driving away.