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Cassie wasn't expecting to have this conversation at four in the morning with her dad after he caught her sneaking back into her room through a window, yet here she was.


She had climbed in and her dad had been sitting in her desk chair, looking serious and worried.


"Where were you?" was the first thing he said. No 'Hi, Peanut! How are you? It's really early don't you agree?' or 'Hi, sweetie. Come here, we need to talk.' Just flat out, dad-tone and everything, 'Where were you?'


"I was... out," Cassie replied, removing the black mask from her eyes.


"Doing what?" Scott asked, fury evident in his tone. "And for how long?"


"Daddy, stop," Cassie said, making her way over to her bed. She was exhausted and did not want to have this conversation right now.


"I just want to know where you've been," her dad said, "and what you've been doi— Is that blood?" His eyes widened and concern overpowered his fury.


Cassie touched her lip and pulled her hand away and sure enough, there was blood there.


"Cass, what's going on?" her dad pleaded.


No use trying to get out of explaining now. She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking at him. Then she started explaining what led to this:


"When half the universe's population disappeared, there weren't many heroes left, none at all here in San Francisco... Crime rates rose and I wanted to help stop it. I wanted to be a hero like you and Hope! I broke into Mr. Pym's house and stole some of the Pym Particles so I could grow and shrink, and stole some clothes from some stores so I could have a suit of sorts... It was getting really bad, Daddy. People were hurting each other and I just wanted to help! I wanted to be like you!"


Scott smiled just a little bit then stopped himself. He could hear Maggie right now in his head, telling him that if he continued to let Cassie go on like this he would be a bad father and would be putting her in even bigger danger since the half of the universe that had been dusted away was back. And he couldn't help but agree.


"Cassie, no," he said. "You can't keep this up."


Cassie frowned, anger filling her features. "Why not? I'm helping people! I was there when you and everyone else was stuck either in the Quantum Realm or wherever the disappeared people went! I can't give this up now!"


"Cass. I said no," Scott said. He frowned at her. "And it's final. I'm not letting you keep putting yourself in danger. Period. End of conversation."


"Why are you doing this? I thought you'd be glad I'm helping people?"


"I'd be a bad father if I let you keep doing this," Scott said slowly. "Give me the suit and the particles. You're done."


"What's going on in here?" came a voice from the doorway.


The two looked to the door to see a tired-looking Hope van Dyne standing there.


"Hope!" Scott exclaimed. "Uh. Nothing's happening. Cassie and I were just—"


"He won't let me continue to be Stature!" Cassie cut her dad off.


Hope mulled over what she was just told then sighed. "Scott, come here," she said, then pulled her boyfriend into the hallway and closed Cassie's door.


"Hope, please don't tell me you agree with her," Scott said in a low voice.


"Of course I agree with her," Hope replied in an equally as quiet tone. "Why wouldn't I agree with her? She's basically me when Hank and I were planning the Cross Tech heist."


"I just—"


"Don't be like my dad," Hope cut him off. "Don't try to stop her."


"Hope!" Scott shouted. "I don't want to lose her! Not a third time. I don't want her to get hurt, or worse: Killed. With my being Ant-Man, there's already that risk. With her out there as well—I don't..." His voice dropped to a broken whisper. "I don't want to lose her again."


The door to Cassie's room flew open and the teenager looked at her dad with watery eyes.


"Daddy," she said, "you won't lose me. I've been safe. I've been careful. Agent Woo helped me train to fight while everyone was gone."


Scott looked to his daughter, then back to Hope who nodded, then back to Cassie. He stepped toward her and cupped her face in his hands.


"I love you, so much, Peanut," he said. "I just don't want anything to happen to you..."


"Nothing will happen to me."


"You know that anything could happen," Scott said. "Something could happen to you. Someone could rip your heart out or send a hitman after you... I don't know what I'd do if anything like that happened to you."


"Daddy," Cassie let out a broken, breathy laugh. "You're overexaggerating."


"I'm telling you the risks of possibilities that come with this job."


"Same difference."

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