18075/The Avocado Toast Anomaly

The Avocado Toast Anomaly
Date of Scene:	26 May 2024
Location:	Cafe Lalo
Synopsis:	The Hanks and Scott encounter and discuss Pym Particle Paradoxes.
Cast of Characters:	Hank Pym, Henry McCoy, Scott Lang

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Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym is back at Lalo's, his favorite eatery outside of the Hellfire Club. More oddly, he is actually smiling and engaging in an animated conversation with his colleague, the Fabulous Furry Beast, Dr. Henry McCoy. The talk has veered away from physics for the moment, despite equations scribbled on several sheets of note pad paper.

"So anyway, Henry, I'm at the bar in the Hellfire Club and this absolutely gorgeous young thing is sitting next to me -couldn't be helped, I was waiting for a table. She says, "You're the first man I ever saw bring a text book to a bar." I explained I doubted I could find any interesting conversation and she began working her wiles on me. She gave me pointers on flirting. Now this would knock your socks off... she wasn't a sex worker! She was a member! Selina Kyle. Who was one of the few women Janet ever seemed threatened by... well it was a thermodynamic miracle. Pretty sure."

He spots Lang approaching and hurriedly grabs some notes. "Anyway the anomaly I noticed in Pym Particle generation was here..." He coughs.

Henry McCoy has posed:
"Hank. We are men of science. Lies do not become us." he told his colleague, but softened it with a laugh. "Besides, I would think that the Wrath of Janet would be more than enough incentive to desist in chatting up strange women in Hellfire." he said. Then he glanced down at the equations scrawled all over the notepads they'd collectively brought. "Now, you see this? This is nonsense. Have you completely lost your mind?" he said as he picked up a sized-for-his-hands pen and start scribbling corrections to Hank's equations.

Scott Lang has posed:
"Lies?" Scott questions confused. "Pym, we both know you dye your hair. It's okay. Pym particles can't undo time, we know," he gives Henry Pym a sympathetic look. After a moment he begins, "What are we lying to me about? Besides his roots, I mean," Scott asks as he looks between the pair.

"Ahhhh. He's going off of the equation, crazy in the head, crazy in the bed. Not the first poor soul to regret testing that hypothesis out," he looks at Beast and then he grins at Pym.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym grabs a slice of avocado toast. "As a matter of fact, you must know I lost my mind as you put it three times. Once it was Ultron, once my Bipolar disorder, once... Janet and Nadia. But the equations are to explain what I observed and it's impossible. Pym Particles are created or found in pairs, a red and a blue. Only the reactions generating them are spitting out more red particles than blue. this violates Pym's Conservation of Pym Particle Law. It's a new law of physics but I'm pushing it very hard. That equation can't be right but Pym Tech gets more so called shrink particles... and dammit she was real! She had gorgeous green eye and a smile could stop the Hulk and shut up Dr. Doom!"

"Lang come over here. I need your findings..."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Doctor McCoy just shook his head. He was going to make a joke about lithium dosages but around Scott there were some places they shouldn't go and Hank's mental disorder was one of them. The big one, come to think of it. So Hank changed tack. "You should really workshop those names." he said as he pored over the math. "Aha! For someone of your mental and physical stature, your field equations are self-limiting in three dimensions? Have you considered..." Hank said as he flipped to a clean sheet of paper and started scribbling equations down.

"And did your imaginary attractive female offer to follow you home for a wild night of passion or does your imagination not stretch that far?" he asked archly.

Scott Lang has posed:
"What kind of findings?" Scott asks cruiously. He just wants to make sure they're talking about science and not questionable paramour choices. Light green eyes bounce to Beast as he talks about imagination.

"He is getting up there. Early onset senility?" Scott poses to the blue furred mutant as another possiblity.

In all fairness, Scott doesn't question the validity of Henry's story. He just questions the why. That choice seems dangerous at best.

Still, he will run with the joke for as long as he could. "Do you think it's a coping mechanism, like an imaginary friend?" Scott poses to Beast.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym bangs his fist on the table. "All right. Enough of my assignations real or not. I asked you here for opinions. And I'm not senile. I have bipolar disorder, which I would gladly exchange for selective deafness given the quality of banter you two descended to. Let us return to this problem however, I'm willing to match you at one armed push ups, Lang. You have the muscle tone of Dante Hicks. Anyway my problem as I was saying was the unequal creation of Pym Particles... which are characterized by red or blue... not changing that now. I am seeking a logical reason for the impossible. And... if you suggest bringing Reed Richards in on this you will BOTH. BE. DEAD. TO. ME. Don't try me on this." He wags a finger at them both.

Henry McCoy has posed:
Henry had been friends with Hank - and colleagues with Reed - long enough to know where that particular landmine happened to sit. So instead he turned to Lang, who Henry immediately recognized as a kindred soul in the art of Being An Annoying Pest. He spent a wistful moment remembering his friend Robert before dragging his mind back on-target.

"Only Scott is suggesting you might be anything other than at the very top of your game." he mused. "Leaving aside the issue of Hellfire - they probably spike their drinks there - and also leaving aside Doctor Richards's non-involvement in this issue - Scott, perhaps your unorthodox experience with the Hank Pym Particle of Hank Pym-ness might lend us some additional insight?"

Scott Lang has posed:
Scott doesn't know where that landmine sits, but knows to avoid that general area. Looking at Beast, Scott thinks on it. The equation runs thorugh his head. "Tony Stark could help. I've got him on Speed Dial," Scott suggests. Because that's not a landmine listed. "What about Kord or Holt?"

Then Scott slips to serious mode, "Science is never impossible, just highly improbable. That's why Science is the subject of making the impossible, possible. I think we're asking the wrong question. Is this an anomoly or a regular occurance? The latter could be a one off and something really hard to recreate," and that's what Scott wants to know. Parameters. Figuring out what is where.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks over at Scott and swallows hard. "Tony... might... be able to help. this might be an engineering problem. Congratulations, Scott! You had a bright idea! Let's try to keep it from dying of loneliness! As you say though we should try generating Pym Particles in other locations. Ther may be some local con..."

"Dizzy broad! I told you to meet me here an hour ago!!"

Heads turn. Meals are spoiled.

Hank says, "I mean... we're just a couple nerds, But what the hell does he think Henry is sitting here? A Muppet? Kelsey Grammer in a mask? Should we do scissor, paper, rock to decide who goes over there?"

Henry McCoy has posed:
"Let it go." he said softly, not wanting to kick off something more when the visible mutant went up to get in the faces of a couple of baseline humans. "I had a thought on your decay model here ... while particle physics is definitely your field and I am a lowly biochemist, I have to wonder - could you be missing something in the decay patterns here? Maybe a grow and shrink particle don't perfectly annihilate each other but instead..." he said, sketching out some ideas on the pad.

He was doing his best to ignore the kerfluffle, lest he only make it worse.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym pats Henry on the shoulder. "I understand. But you have two ride alongs here and, I tend to make a ruckus. Whirlwind nearly killed me here. I got a plaque on the wall." He gets up and walks over to the man. He's a good six inches taller than Hank Pym, but that could change.He reaches out a hand to tap him on the shoulder, other hand ready to defend himself.

He never touches him. As soon as he gets withing arm's reach, the loudmouth begins shrinking. "What the hell?"

The man gasps. Shrinking does that your first time. You feel like you falling in all directions at once. He closes his eyes, opens them, looks at his 5' 5" girlfriend's chest.

"Hey, how'd you do that, Lillian? Fix this right now!" Lillian looks at hank and recognition dawns.

"Aaaaaah shut up you twerp!"

The former tall man takes a step back, looks around uncomprehending at how close the ground is now.

Hank goes over to the woman and places something in her hand. "Here give him this when you think he learned his lesson. Give him this if you think he needs a repeat lesson."

Lillian looks at her man and takes him by the hand, "Come on home dear. We have a lot to discuss." She drags him out squeaking his protest. Hank returns to the table looking quite confused. "But... I didn't do that!"

Henry McCoy has posed:
"Well-done, Doctor Pym." he said appreciatively. It was _nice_ to have someone have your back - even if in a better world he wouldn't need it. "Now, if you'd care to take a look here..." he said, using a clawed finger to poke at a sketched diagram. "While this could be an engineering issue, like our un-doctored friend here might suggest, I hypotheisze that the problem may involve an imperfect understanding of Pym-Pym interaction." he said, giving his friend a quick smile.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks over the paper. "I would normally have a scathing comment, however... Obviously something is occurring that I do not understand. So what do you have here... ah! A side reaction consuming the blue particles. Mmmm this might lead to more Pymp Particles." He starts sketching an equation out. "Lang, did you do that to that blowhard to throw me a curve? Well done."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Doctor McCoy was mostly keeping an eye on the pad where Pym was busy sketching, but that didn't mean he wasn't also keeping an eye on Scott. "Oh, look." he told the engineer. "Doctor Pym remembered to account for more variables than the ones that he named after himself. Isn't it pleasant when they grow up?" he asked pleasantly.

Scott Lang has posed:
Scott did have to duck out for a few moments. "Sorry. Dad stuff. What did I miss?" Scott asks looking between the pair again. "I'm trying to fight it a little. I know she'll grow up. I just don't want to feel like I blinked, and suddenly she's graduating."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym looks up. "That oaf who was haranguing his girlfriend spontaneously shrunk. This may be caused by a build up of Pym Particles. I didn't do it. I wish I had thought about it. I was going to sic my ant on him. I... can sympathize with you, Scott, about Cassie. I... I was not here for Nadia. Because she obviously favored Janet. I... should have been a better father, been bigger."

Henry McCoy has posed:
Hank, eternal bachelor, merely smiled at Scott. "And how is Cassiopea?" he asked, giving his own spin on her name. Because it amused him to do so. "Or is it Cassandra?" he inquired. "Either way, how is she of the Culinary Disaster doing these days?" he asked. He didn't know Nadia nearly as well so he had no cute anecdote to share with Doctor Pym.

Scott Lang has posed:
Scott is quiet for a bit. He looks at Hank, "There's always Today. There is always tomorrow. You can't repair the past, but you can fix the presenet. As her Dad, you neeed to try. Again. And again. And again.," he looks at Hankf or a moment. Then a look to Beast, "She's good. She's excited by a lot of things. Summer means more time with me, so I'm excited," and then he grins. "Cassandra. I wouldn't have minded Cassiopea," he admits, having heard that. Those pale green eyes look to the Hanks. "You both need to get toegehter more. Even if I'm not here," although he would like to be. "I think it could be good for both of you," he's trying to guide Pym toward coming back out. "So, Which Hank is buying?" Scott grins and he will then offer to get this bill.