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What does the Quantum Realm look like?
Bizarre...
The moment Peter hit the button, Hawk stood on the pad without resisting. He felt like a drop of ink, stretched violently until it seemed to go on forever.
The familiar laws of physics broke apart like a fragile spiderweb. Time became thick and sticky, almost like boiling syrup. The world around him shifted, changing from a neon forest to a blinding waterfall of subatomic particles.
He felt as if he was falling into an endless abyss, while at the same time shooting upward into a starry void. The landscapes on either side of him multiplied and stretched without end.
Maybe a lifetime passed.
Maybe it was just a single second.
BOOOOOMM!!!
As soon as Hawk realized he had entered this bright, colorful dimension, his Micro-Universe came to life. He stopped himself and landed solidly on the swirling ground below.
His power worked perfectly down here. Just as he expected.
But...
Hawk shifted his focus inward. Inside his Micro-Universe, the four Infinity Stones that made up his Phoenix eyes had gone completely dark. "The Infinity Stones are dead down here."
He thought about the TVA and their literal desk drawer full of Infinity Stones. When Loki first saw that drawer, it practically shattered his entire worldview. Which made sense. Anyone would lose their mind if they spent their entire life hunting down a supreme cosmic artifact, only to find out some office drone was using a dozen of them as paperweights.
Hawk didn't feel that way. Because he was a walking cheat code.
The Infinity Stones were useless junk at the TVA because the TVA existed in a space exactly like the Quantum Realm. They sat adjacent to the prime multiverse without actually belonging to any specific universe within it.
The Stones only worked in their own universe. If you took them out or brought them into the space between worlds, they became useless. So it was not a huge surprise.
Hawk gave his dimmed Phoenix eyes a passing glance before returning his attention to the bizarre, alien landscape of the Quantum Realm.
The moment he entered the realm, the prime universe's crushing suppression vanished. The feeling of being watched was completely gone. But he couldn't awaken the Eighth Sense of Life down here, either.
The laws of physics in the Quantum Realm were divorced from the prime multiverse. They were fundamentally twisted. Put simply, if Hawk tried to grasp the true meaning of life in this chaotic dimension, there was only one possible outcome. He would go insane, driven mad by paradoxical rules, ending up a lunatic who didn't even know up from down.
So... He made it into the Quantum Realm. Now he had to figure out how to navigate through it to get back out.
Hawk raised his wrist and checked the Quantum Watch Peter had built.
There they were. Two vials of Pym Particles, perfectly intact. Enough juice for one jump into a new universe, and one jump back into the Quantum Realm. Once he made it back here, he just had to press the button on the watch. It would ping Peter, who would fire up the machine and pull him home.
Hawk wished he could get a few more vials from Dr. Pym, but Pym's supply was very limited and Hawk was running out of time. Who knew what kind of cosmic problem would show up if he waited any longer? Two vials would have to be enough.
Hawk pulled his sleeve down over the watch. With a thought, he held out his right hand, and the Space Stone materialized in his palm.
Because they were in the Quantum Realm, the normally blinding blue gem was dull. But deep inside the stone, a single coordinate flickered with light.
It was the multiversal coordinate Thanos had ripped out of that alternate-universe Bruce Banner right before he died. According to Thanos, this coordinate acted as a perfect GPS lock to that specific variant's home universe.
But now, even though he had not found an exit portal, the coordinate was already lighting up.
Hawk arched an eyebrow. Without overthinking it, he gripped the Space Stone tight, vanished from his spot, and rocketed off in the direction the coordinate was pointing.
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A moment later.
He spotted an Ant-Man cautiously creeping through a sprawling, towering subatomic forest.
Hovering high above the treeline, Hawk looked down at Scott Lang in his suit, then looked back down at the pulsing coordinate in his hand. Something clicked.
The next second, Hawk vanished.
"Scott!"
"Who's there?"
Scott Lang had been running a routine quantum jump experiment, but ended up stranded here for four hours with no radio contact. Startled by the sudden voice, he spun around and found himself face-to-face with Hawk.
Recognizing the face, relief washed over Scott. With a sharp hiss, his helmet retracted. Before Hawk could say another word, Scott grinned wildly. "Hawk!"
Hawk blinked, completely caught off guard. For a second, he couldn't tell if this Scott was from his native universe, or if he was from the alternate universe Bruce Banner had stumbled out of.
After all, if he remembered correctly, Sharon had told him that the displaced Bruce Banner had zero idea who Hawk was.
While Hawk tried to figure things out, Scott stepped forward and opened his arms for a big bear hug. "Jesus, Hawk! What the hell are you doing down here?"
"I'm not the Hawk you know..."
"What?"
Hawk moved aside to avoid the hug. He looked calmly at Scott, who was left standing with his arms in the air. "You've got the wrong guy. I'm not the Hawk from your universe."
Scott froze. He stared at Hawk's dead-serious expression. The gears in his head turned, and he let out a sharp gasp.
"Holy shit. The multiverse?"
"Yes."
"Jesus Christ!"
Scott instinctively dragged a hand down his face, staring at Hawk in absolute disbelief. "You're from an alternate universe?"
Hawk gave a dry laugh and looked around at the strange quantum landscape.
"Down here, so are you."
"Jesus!" Scott exclaimed again. Then, a thought hit him. "Wait, you know who I am. So your universe has a me?"
Hawk smiled. "It does. And clearly, your universe has a me. Tell you what. Give me the rundown on your reality, and I'll fill you in on what you're up to in mine."
Scott considered mentioning that he had been stranded here for 4 hours, with no contact with Hank or the extraction team. But he decided it did not matter. Four hours had already gone by, so a few more minutes would not hurt. Besides, meeting Hawk was proof that the Quantum Realm really did connect the multiverse.
So, Scott started talking. Through Scott's rambling, Hawk got the full picture of his own variant's life in that universe. He also figured out exactly why that universe's Bruce Banner didn't know who he was.
It was common knowledge. Bruce Banner exiled himself to deep space because the Hulk's temper was out of control. After his massive brawl with Tony Stark, he boarded a Quinjet and blasted himself out of the solar system.
Hawk's variant didn't show up in that universe until after Banner went into exile. And just like Scott was Ant-Man and Tony Stark was Iron Man, Hawk's variant had his own superhero alias.
"Mind Warrior?" Hawk's mouth twisted in disgust. "What kind of stupid name is that?"
Scott shrugged. "That's what Cap and the team call you. You never denied it. Honestly, it's been a while since I've seen you."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"After the big airport brawl in Germany, you and Wanda took off. Cap and Sharon went on the run. I was the only one who got caught."
"Wait," Hawk interrupted, staring straight at Scott. "Me and Wanda?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah. You and Wanda. Why? Are you two not dating in your universe?"
Hawk's expression grew awkward. He thought about the Wanda in his universe and frowned. "My relationship with my Wanda is complicated."
He and Wanda had never actually been together. Of all the women in the world, he only ever wanted Gwen. Still, Jean, Billy, and Tommy all shared his and Wanda's blood. He did not want to waste time trying to figure out what they were to each other.
Scott caught the awkwardness, quickly dropped it, and changed the subject. He asked Hawk what his own variant was up to in Hawk's universe.
Hawk gave him the straight facts.
Hearing the summary, Scott looked miserable. "Are you kidding me? I got arrested again?"
In his reality, he helped Cap and ended up in a cell. In Hawk's reality, he helped Cap and ended up in a cell. Did the universe just hate him specifically?
Hawk just shrugged.
Scott sulked for a minute before snapping back to business. "Anyway, Hawk, how did you even get down to the Quantum Realm?"
Hawk let out a dry laugh. He opened his mouth to answer.
Suddenly—
A frantic alarm blared from Scott's wrist console.
The next second. Scott jerked upright, panic flashing across his face. "Oh no, they're pulling me back..."
Before he could finish, a violently stretched quantum tunnel ripped open right behind him. Scott twisted like a pretzel and was instantly sucked into the void.
Hawk didn't hesitate. The exact second Scott was ripped away, Hawk dove into the tunnel right behind him.
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