Crisis Averted, a New Hero Goes Viral

The sirens faded completely, and the mountain road outside the laboratory returned to silence. The wind swirled the Ashes in the air before gently falling, as if drawing a hasty end to the chaos. Ye Mo stood under the broken window frame, his fingers still resting on the power button on the control panel, his fingertips still tingling with the electric current he had felt when the power went out.

He slowly withdrew his hand, the burn mark left by the lightning on his palm still throbbing faintly, like being branded with a hot iron. He didn't look at it, but simply put his left hand into his hoodie pocket, and pulled the hood up to cover half of his face.

Scott sat against the wall, helmet on his knees, sweat beading on his forehead, his breathing finally steady. He glanced down at the tear in the right arm of his suit; it was hard and brittle, like burnt plastic. "I mean... can this thing even be repaired?" he muttered. "If my daughter knew her dad's new work clothes were ruined, she'd make me write a apology."

Emma Frost stood slightly behind the two of them, her shoulders slumped slightly, but her posture remained upright. She had just reverted to her Diamond Form, and her skin was still a little cold, as if she had just been pulled out of ice water. She didn't speak, but simply moved her wrists slightly to make sure her joints weren't stuck.

"It's good enough that you survived." Ye Mo finally spoke, his voice still hoarse, but much smoother than before. "You still want to go through the workers' compensation process after claiming reimbursement?"

"But there's insurance," Scott rolled his eyes. "Dr. Pym said that Ant-Man equipment is subject to high-risk occupational wear and tear and can be replaced annually."

"Then you need to prove you're a full-time employee first," Ye Mo glanced at him, "Not a temporary worker."

"Yesterday I shrunk down and crawled inside the Yellowjacket armor to cause trouble!" Scott slapped his thigh. "Does that count as meeting my KPI?"

"It's alright." Ye Mo nodded. "At least it's better than the last time you tried to steal pizza and got caught on camera."

Scott rolled his eyes, too lazy to reply. He looked up at the crack in the ceiling, where dust was still slowly falling. Outside, it was already bright daylight, and the morning sun shone in, illuminating the mess on the ground with exceptional clarity—broken conduits, molten circuit boards, solidified ice, and the pile of armor wreckage sealed by freezing spray.

He suddenly heard a buzzing sound in the distance, like the sound of a drone taking off.

Immediately afterwards, my phone vibrated.

Not only him, but Ye Mo and Emma Frost's pockets also beeped at the same time.

The three men exchanged a glance, all seeing the same thought in each other's eyes: Something's happened.

Ye Mo took out his phone, and more than a dozen push notifications popped up on the lock screen:

[Breaking! Suspected "Ant-Man" spotted at San Francisco lab, engaging in fierce firefight with a mysterious enemy! Video footage released]

[Shrunken Hero Spotted! Witnesses Report Seeing Him Crawl Inside Enemy Mech and Detonate Device]

[Explosion at tech giant's lab last night; police cordon off the scene; online rumors suggest it's a superhero action film]

He swiped the screen, and a short video was going viral. The footage was shaky, clearly filmed by a passerby hiding on a mountain road with their phone. The camera panned across the ruins, capturing Scott climbing out of a ventilation shaft in his tattered suit. Then he turned back and shouted something inside, before shrinking to the size of a fingernail and slipping away down a drainpipe.

The comments section under the video exploded:

"Holy crap, is this really Ant-Man?!"

"Marvel movies are becoming reality?"

"Dude, are you sure it's not special effects? I just saw another one saying it was ' Mr. X ' saving the day..."

Ye Mo put his phone away and looked up at Scott: "You're famous now."

"What?" Scott was still scrolling through his Facebook page, completely bewildered. "Who uploaded this? Who took this picture? I was so shocked I felt like my pants were about to burst!"

"It doesn't matter," Emma Frost said softly, glancing out the window. "What matters is that now the whole city knows that a shrinking hero fought here last night."

"And they call you Ant-Man." Ye Mo smirked. "Congratulations, social media verification, no application required."

Scott paused for a few seconds, then suddenly sat up straight, his voice trembling. "Wait... I mean, should I issue a statement? Clarify something? Like 'I have not authorized the distribution of any images' or something?"

"What are you trying to clarify?" Ye Mo chuckled. "That you're actually a former thief who was almost roasted alive by heat rays last night?"

"I can emphasize the heroic aspects!" Scott retorted, "Like how I risked my life to infiltrate the enemy's core system..."

Before he could finish speaking, a new commotion came from outside.

It's a human voice.

As you approach, the situation becomes increasingly complex.

"There it is! That's the building!"

"Look! There are still scorch marks on the wall!"

"Hey guys, do you think Ant-Man might still be here?"

Several young people rushed to the open space in front of the laboratory's main entrance, excitedly taking pictures everywhere. Some even brought selfie sticks, livestreaming and commenting. "Guys, who knows anything about this? I live right at the foot of the mountain. Last night I heard a loud bang and thought it was an earthquake, but this morning I saw on the news—superheroes fighting villains right on our doorstep!"

Two more news vans drove to the outer perimeter with their hazard lights flashing. Reporters got out carrying microphones, followed closely by cameramen carrying their equipment.

"The heat came faster than a fire truck," Ye Mo said in a low voice.

"We have to go." Emma Frost glanced in the direction of the crowd, her tone calm. "If we stay any longer, they'll start looking for the 'other heroes'."

"But I didn't intend to hide it." Scott looked at the gossiping passersby, his expression somewhat complicated. "Are they... praising me?"

"Of course." Ye Mo looked at him. "Some people say you're daring, some say you're a great fighter, and some even say the scene where you got into the mecha was incredibly cool. You're a celebrity hero now, trending in the top three."

Scott opened his mouth, but no words came out. He looked down at his suit; smoke was still rising from the ripped parts, and his left leg joint made a slight clicking sound. He suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, not from the injury, but a feeling he couldn't quite describe.

"I... I just wanted to save someone," he said, his voice lowering, "Not to get on the trending topics list."

"So you're more suited to be a hero." Ye Mo patted him on the shoulder, "Because they remember ' Ant-Man,' but you know who you are."

Just then, a child with a schoolbag pushed through the crowd and ran over, clutching a sheet of printed paper in his hand. He stood about ten meters away from the lab and shouted, "Uncle! Is this you?!"

The three of them looked in the direction of the sound.

The paper the child was holding up clearly showed a screenshot from that short video— Scott was jumping out of a small vent, arms outstretched, like a fluttering beetle.

"My classmates all say you're the real deal!" the child said, blushing. "My mom told me not to tell, but I think you're super cool! Can you sign your autograph? Just here!"

He stuck the paper on the railing and waited with a pen in hand.

No one moved.

After a few seconds, Scott slowly stood up, stretched his stiff legs, and took two steps toward the door.

"Hey," Ye Mo called out to him in a low voice, "Are you really going to show your face?"

"I don't sign my name." Scott turned around and smiled. "I'll just draw an ant."

He walked to the railing, took the pen, and carefully drew a crooked little ant next to the photo, writing two words below: Keep it up!

"It's for you," he said. "Don't go so far alone next time."

The child's eyes widened, he nodded repeatedly, and ran back into the crowd with the paper in his arms.

Scott turned and walked back, his steps lighter.

"That sounds pretty convincing," Ye Mo said, looking at him. "How about we hold a fan meeting sometime? Tickets are fifty yuan, autographs are extra."

"Get lost," Scott laughed and cursed. "If I charged, my daughter would be the first to report me."

Emma Frost watched all this quietly, then suddenly asked Ye Mo softly, "You don't plan to let them know you're here too?"

"Me?" Ye Mo shook his head. "I'm not here to steal the trending topics. Let them remember the people they should remember."

After he finished speaking, he raised his hand and pulled his hoodie down even lower, his silver half-rimmed glasses half-covered by the shadow. He stopped looking at the crowd outside and turned to the narrow passage leading to the back alley on the east side.

"Let's go," he said to Emma Frost. "If we don't leave now, once the reporters set up their lights, we'll have to do a 'Behind-the-Scenes Heroes Interview Story'."

Emma Frost nodded and followed him.

The two walked one after the other along the gravel path towards the back alley. Their figures were quickly swallowed up by the corner, as if they had never been there.

Scott stood still.

He glanced back at the noisy crowd, then looked at the dark back alley.

The sunlight shone on his face, warm and comforting.

He took a deep breath, put his helmet back on, and pulled down his mask.

Then he turned around and took his first step toward the street.

In the distance, a drone quietly rose, its lens focused on the solitary yet upright figure in front of the laboratory door.

On the other side of the screen, the number of viewers is skyrocketing.