Ascendancy

Chapter 12

        "Daddy?"

        "Yeah! Yes, its me sweetheart!" Scott presses into the phone, as if trying to melt into it and right to where his little girl is halfway across the world.

        "Mommy, it's Daddy!!!" Scott can here her gleeful voice yell away from the phone.

        "Scott?" An older woman's voice says emotionally.

        "Yeah, Maggie, its me."

        "Thank God. We weren't sure if we would ever hear directly from you again. Where are you?"

        "I can't say," Scott looks around him at the rec room. Seeing nobody, he whispers, "For security reasons. But... We are currently somewhere- that shall remain nameless- in Africa. The only reason I can call you now is because they have totally sick tech that can't be tracked. Wink wink, if ya know what I mean."

        "Well, when will you be back?" Maggie questions, quickly frustrated.

        "I don't know. We are waiting for things to cool down with the government. Maybe," Scott says sarcastically, "if some giant, I don't know, purple alien comes down from the sky and we beat it's a*s, the government will pardon us."

        "Scott." She sighs.

        "Just give it some time. In the meanwhile, could I talk to Cassie?"

        "First, tell me, have you been stealing again?"

        "No! How, and why would I? I'm practically living on a resort!"

        The only reply he gets is the "Daddy!" a sweet adolescent screeches into the phone. Clearly, Maggie was overpowered by the sheer force of her daughter's joy.

        "Cassie!! How have you been? How is school? Is Tommy being mean to you again? How did your art project go?" Scott says in a blur, somehow trying to make up for too much lost time.

        "Hehe, it's fine Daddy!" Cassie giggles. "Tommy left me alone, but only after I told him that my Daddy is Ant-Man and would kick his butt if he teased me again."

        "That's my girl," He smiles into the phone. The biggest grin imaginable is on his face.

        "And I showed everyone at school the present you got me!"

        "Wait," Scott says, bewildered. "What present?"

        "The bear that can talk and sounds like you! I can ask it questions, and it's like you're talking to me!"

        "You didn't know about the scholarship, Scott?" Maggie asks, having heard his question.

          "The scholarship?!" Scott jumps off the chair, just as Sam and Steve enter the room. Both raise their eyebrows.

          Scott looks down at the ground, after shushing them with his hand. "What are you saying Maggie?"

        "A man came over here, gave us the bear, then said Cass now has a full scholarship to the collage of her choice. I thought maybe it was some kind of joke, but he put the money in my bank account. Scott, you're telling me you didn't do this?"

        "I... I..." Scott mumbles, breathless. "I've got to go. Cassie, I love you!" Scott yells loudly into the phone. He clicks it off, and turns to Steve and Sam.

        "Someone gave Cassie a full scholarship. Who would do that?!" While it's a question, his face is practically glowing.

        "Did T'Challa do it?" Sam asks Steve.