Janet Van Dyne, the Windsome Wasp, huffed in anger as she folded her arms across her chest. She was in the laboratory belonging to her on-again off-again boyfriend Hank Pym. Once again, he had filed to remember something important to her. Something that if he had remembered, she would have forgiven all of his other faults over the past year. Something that should have been on the forefront of his mind for months.
Their anniversary.
Of course, his ‘genius’ intellect left little room in his brain for that. Again. As it had the past three years. And it wasn’t just their anniversary. No, it was date nights, her birthday, Valentines Day. All of it, forgotten as he tinkered around in his workshop. Playing with his toys. Trying to make the world a better place, while a bomb slowly counted down to an explosion.
“Hank!” she bellowed, foregoing all the pleasantness that her twenty-something figure gave off as she placed her hands on her hips. Her entire face contorted as her eyes narrowed. She considered going all giant-woman on him and slapping some sense into him. But he would probably would suggest running some tests on her, just for his idea of fun. “Hank! Look at me!”
“Jan, please,” Hank said calmly, not even bothering to look up from his microscope. “I’m busy. We’ll talk later. I promise,” he continued, as he waved her off. Obviously not paying attention to her expression, or posture, which was murderess. All of the Avengers, aside from Hank perhaps, knew that she had a temper which could rival that of the Hulk. And that temper was certainly rearing it’s head today.
“When’s later, Hank Pym?” Janet snarled as she clenched her hands into tight fists. In the back of her mind, she began to wonder if it wasn’t him, but her. Was she not as attractive as she thought she was? Was she not pushing his buttons right? Did she maybe need to start wearing outfits like the other female Avengers wore, which would show off her flattering figure. To console herself, she cast a sideways glance towards the polished metal surface that was a workbench used by Tony Stark. [No,] she thought to herself as she saw her reflection. [No, it’s not me. It’s him. Look at me!] She was absolutely stunning, even in her civilian clothes. They hugged her every curve perfectly. Her shirt was low-cut enough so that you could just see a glimpse of her firm breasts. There was nothing wrong with the way she looked.
“Later,” Hank said, still ignorant of the apparent danger. “Later, over dinn…”
“Over dinner?” Janet fumed as she strode towards him, “got there, have you? Dinner? Tonight? What’s so special about tonight,” she asked as she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around, so that he was looking at her directly. “Hank?”
“Jan….I forgot…” Hank began to say as he looked around for an escape route. “Thi…”
“This stuff,” Janet snapped, as she pointed to the various chemicals in vials on his desk. “This stuff means more to you than me, doesn’t it?” She flared her hips as she edged closer to the Avenger. “Doesn’t it, Hank?”
“Jan don’t touch that!” Hank pleaded, as one of her hands came extremely close to one of the vials. “It’s an extract of the pheromones insect queens use to control the colony! I’m testing it out on the mice, so it can be used on prisoners in…” Janet didn’t listen to him. She didn’t want to listen to him anymore. If she had, she would most likely have killed him. So instead, she just walked away from him, out of the lab.
Her shoulders where bunched up as she passed Hawkeye, who made yet another of his lewd comments. About how he was so much better than Hank was. [I wish there was some way I could just put him in his place!] Janet thought to herself as she began to ascend the staircase that lead to the workout section of the mansion. She stepped into the change room, and slipped into a simple pair of yellow biker shorts and a midriff-baring black top. She just needed to vent her frustrations on something positive.
She stepped out into the gym, which Stark had set up for them, and looked around. There was the stationary bike she frequented, but she decided against it. No, she needed something that she could actually hit. Something that she could pretend was Hank. Or Hawkeye. She spotted a large, heavyweight punching bag that would suit her needs perfectly. She tapped it once with her fist. Then again. And again. She continued to ram her fists into the bag, with a quickening pace. She remembered all the times that Hank had ignored her. All the forgotten dates and holidays. About how he refused to go to her fashion shows. The things that meant the most to her. All of them, forgotten, just so he could find out how Queen Ants kept the worker ants in line.
“Wasp?” the voice of Steve Rogers, Captain America, asked as he stepped into the room. Like Janet, he was dressed for an intense workout. Though, his outfit was much more conservative than hers was. Not that she couldn’t admire the tones physique he possessed. A small voice in her head told her just how sexy he was. And how good it would feel to wrap her legs around him right then and there. But she ignored that voice. She was in a relationship. And she was going to be true to it so long as it lasted. But still, she couldn’t help but think that Steve was not the type of man who would just miss an anniversary. He, unlike Hank, was a gentleman. “You okay?” he asked, as he slapped on a pair of boxing gloves.
“Oh just fine,” Janet lied, unconvincingly as she stepped away from the bag.
“Hank missed your anniversary gain, did he?” Steve asked, clearly not missing a beat. As he said this, the little voice in her head returned, telling her just how good a guy he would be to her. After all, he was even remembering her anniversary with Hank. A gentleman, and a hunk too boot. “I’ll hold it steady for you,” Steve offered as he grasped the bag firmly.
“Thanks,” she replied as she resumed her venting. Even though Steve was holding the bag, it still moved slightly. Perhaps her blows were being bolstered by her emotions, or Steve was moving it slightly, so that she would at least think that she was accomplishing something. More evidence to support her considering him over Hank. And once again, the little voice returned, stronger this time. [Imagine how Hank would feel, if you asked Steve out? I bet he’d be crushed. Maybe then he wouldn’t forget about us so often.] A smile formed at the edges of her mouth. “Hey, Steve, you busy tonight?” she asked innocently, as she stopped her workout.
“I…uh..” Steve stammered as he glanced left and right. “Well, why do you ask…?”
“Oh,” Janet smirked as she swayed her hips to the side. “’cause I know someone who’s got reservations at New York’s finest restaurant tonight, and no one to go with.” She batted her eyes at the much older man, hoping to earn some sympathy from him.
“Ah…….” Steve replied as he took a step back. “Listen, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do…you and Pym…”
“Hank’s been ignoring me since before we started dating, really,” Janet reasoned as she took a seductive step towards the Super-Soldier. She traced a hand up his chest, as she began to push him against the wall. “Just something to make him a little….jealous. whadda you say, handsome? Up for a night on the town with me?”
“Listen, Janet,” Steve said as he placed both his hands on her shoulders. “You’re a wonderful young woman. But I just don’t think it’s right for you to use me to…”
“OH I GET IT!” Janet fumed, feeling the full force of her anger return, coupled with the little voice in the back of her head, egging her on. Her face puffed right up as she yelled at the top of her lungs. “NO NEED TO BE SO GENTLE WITH ME, STEVE! SAY IT!” she pushed him right up against the wall with one hand, “I’M JUST NOT THE RIGHT GIRL? NOT FOR YOU, NOT FOR HANK!” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hawkeye and Tony rush into the room, curious about the commotion. “WELL FINE! I’LL SHOW YOU! I’LL SHOW YOU ALL!” She finished as she stormed out of the room, pushing the archer out of the way as she did so. She flew all the way down to Hank’s lab, ready to give him a piece of her mind, only to find it empty.
For a moment, she thought he might have shrunk down, to avoid a confrontation, so she began to search for him. She looked up and down the workspace, lifting various vials and moving papers as she did so. Finally, she got to the vial which she had nearly touched earlier, the one Hank had warned her about. She lifted it up, and caught sight of the notes he had underneath.
“-subject F-087 was then exposed to the serum. And upon being let back in with the other mice, she appeared to be much more dominant. Other male mice were completely subservient to her. Recommend further study,” Janet read out loud. Her eyes trailed down the page, until she noticed something. “-by my estimates, the formula only works on females. Males not affected, save for becoming seemingly enamoured with exposed females.” That got her attention. She took one last look around the room for Hank before making up her mind. She decided that she would drink the formula. Either it would work, as promised and Men might pay her some attention. Or it wouldn’t.