A/N: So for this chapter, we'll mainly be in Mega City One, obviously. Oh, the scenes in MC1 will also be featured in my other story, Conflict and Restoration, because both stories are happening at the same time. Any bits in the Star Wars universe won't be shown in that story though, as I want to keep those worlds separate.
Music: "Mega City One" from Dredd 2012 OST
Mega City One
2118
Joseph Dredd wrapped his hands in boxing tape, just as his wife, Becca Butcher, handed him his Judge's uniform.
Mega City One. Seven hundred forty million people living in the mega structures of the new world- and the ruins of the old.
Dredd slipped the uniform over himself, and proceeded to shove the reinforced riot armor over the sleek leather jacket, looking down at the golden badge that bore his name.
Only one thing fighting for order in the chaos: Judges.
Joseph placed the black and red trimmed Judge helmet over his head, looking out the visor at his Lawgiver pistol. More importantly, the display screen flashing blue.
DNA Check… ID Okay.
But for the last six years, the city has also been under protection by a superhero… my son.
Dredd looked over his shoulder, seeing his and Becca's son, Ryan, already had his red uniform on with the dark blue cape. Then again, of course he'd be ready first. He was a supe.
"Responders needed in sector 14. Judges Giant and Ekerson calling in a 10-24. Block War at Heavenly Haven in progress." Control suddenly announced on Dredd's comms. "Any Judges, please respond."
"Dredd to Control, on my way." Joseph spoke into his wrist comm, before turning to Ryan.
"You ready?"
"I always am, Uncle Joe." Ryan Butcher smiled. "Race ya?"
Joseph slowly nodded, as he turned to look at his wife.
"Be careful, you two." Becca smiled, kissing Dredd on the cheek. At that, Dredd cracked a small smile.
"Always."
Judge Dredd tore down the mega highway on his Lawmaster, while Ryan flew several feet above him. As Joe revved the cycle's engine, Ryan applied more speed, zooming ahead of him. Joseph fought back the urge to grin, as he pressed down on the gas and chased after his son.
Within minutes, Joseph arrived at the Heavenly Haven Block, seeing that Judges Giant and Ekerson were taking cover behind some debris. A second later, Ryan touched down onto the ground, slightly cracking the pavement from his superhuman strength.
"Beat you." Ryan grinned. Joseph didn't answer, but addressed Giant.
"What's the situation, Giant?"
"We're taking fire from the upper floors." Judge Giant reported. "It looks like they're from Cell B."
"I can fly up there and take care of them." Ryan offered.
"Wait." Joe told him, before activating his wrist comm.
"CITIZENS OF HEAVENLY HAVEN. THIS IS THE LAW." Dredd announced, via the comm's voice amplification. "DISPERSE IMMEDIATELY, OR WE WILL USE LETHAL FORCE. THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING."
Instead, all the Judges got were the perps continued to fire on them.
"Well, we tried." Ryan shrugged. Joseph gave him a short nod, and the supe flew up into the air, before crashing through one of the block's windows.
"Giant, Ekerson, with me." Dredd announced, checking his Lawgiver's ammo. "Fan out inside the building. Meet back on the 40th."
"Yes sir!" Giant responded, as he and Ekerson followed Joe into the block. Once inside, the three Judges went their separate ways, quickly shooting down creeps that tried to get the drop on them. Joseph kicked down one door, finding five perps facing the windows.
"Rapid fire."
The Lawgiver made an electronic humming noise, and Joe squeezed the trigger. Bullets rocketed out, peppering the creeps and dropping them like flies, and Joseph moved on to the next room.
After clearing every cell, the three Judges regrouped on the 40th floor as planned, kicking down one of the doors to find that Ryan had taken care of the perps inside. Their weapons were melted, with some of them wrapped around the criminals' arms in makeshift restraints.
"Good work." Joseph nodded at his stepson, before hearing his wrist comm beep.
"Control to Dredd, has the Block War been resolved?"
"Affirmative."
"Head over to Tek-21. Bring Ryan Butcher with you. Chief Judge's orders."
Dredd frowned, as he looked up at Ryan.
"You heard that?"
"Yeah." Ryan arched an eyebrow. "Why me?"
Joe formed his lips into a tight line, as he looked out the windows of Heavenly Haven to see the Grand Hall of Justice in the distance.
"Let's find out."
Dredd and Ryan arrived at Tek-21 an hour later, seeing Chief Judge McGruder waiting outside. After the suicide and mercy killing of Chief Justice Silver during Necropolis, the formerly retired woman was forced to return and take over.
"Glad you could both make it." McGruder said gratefully, as the three of them walked into the block.
"What's this about?" Dredd asked with a stern voice. "And why do you need Ryan?"
"Tek-Div has been working on Project Proteus ever since Necropolis." McGruder explained, as they marched towards the blast doors with the word "Proteus" imprinted on top. "They saw a chance to not only repair the machine, but upgrade its capabilities."
"Such as?" Ryan asked, just as they entered the room to see the time displacement platform get activated. McGruder stopped, and faced the two of them.
"We believe we can transport individuals not only across time, but to other worlds." the bearded woman revealed. "Are you both familiar with the multiverse theory?"
"Yes." Joe said bluntly. "Last year, Annie January was killed by a doppelganger of Frank Castle's friend, Bill Russo, and his creep brother."
"My condolences." the Chief Judge murmured.
"So which Earth do you want to send us to?" Ryan asked, already connecting the dots.
"That's the question, isn't it?" McGruder chuckled, as they all walked forward towards the platform. "The universe we are testing does not have an Earth, however."
"How do you know that?" Ryan asked curiously.
"We were unable to find a system in that universe that matches the vibrational frequency as our world." one of the Tek-Judges, a bald man with a badge reading "Irons", exclaimed, approaching Dredd and Ryan and handing them belts with golden discs.
"From what we've gathered, we've classified the target universe as THX-192110731879."
Ryan frowned for a moment. THX… where has he heard that before?
"Are you ready?" McGruder asked. Dredd looked at the Chief Judge, before putting the belt around his waist.
"Affirmative."
"Good." Irons nodded, and Dredd and Ryan stepped onto the platform "Stand by for activation in 3...2...1…"
Blue energy suddenly crackled around Joseph and Ryan, as the light got brighter, and brighter...
The light eventually faded from Dredd's eyes, and he looked around, finding himself and Ryan in what appeared to be a forest, during nighttime.
"Ryan, you okay?" Joseph asked, seeing his stepson nod.
"Good. Let's get back. Tell McGruder it was a success."
Joe tried activating the interdimensional jump belt, but quickly discovered nothing was happening.
"The drokk?"
Joseph frowned, before bringing up his wrist comm.
"Dredd to Control, the belts aren't working. Requesting backup."
No one responded. There was simply static on the other end.
"Dredd to Control, do you copy?"
Still, nothing.
"Drokk." Joseph muttered, looking around. "Where are we?"
Ryan looked around, trying to use his x-ray vision to find a clue as to where they were. He found it in the most bizarre fashion: in the form of a hulking monstrosity of metal, with rectangular red eyes, and walking on two legs. It almost looked like… like…
"An AT-ST?" Ryan frowned, remembering how he built a similar object out of legos when he and Becca were trapped by Vought.
"What?" Dredd asked in confusion, looking towards the supe. Ryan slowly turned to his father figure, displaying signs of worry and confusion as well.
"I think… I think we're in the world of Star Wars."
"I'm sure you can figure out what happened next." Dredd told the Mandalorian. The armored warrior and Cara Dune looked at each other quizzically, before the mercenary stepped forward.
"Thank you for your help." Cara told him and Ryan. "If there's any way we can assist you, let us know."
"We're just trying to return to our world." Dredd replied. "But it appears the means have been destroyed."
"Then we'll find a way to repair it." Mando promised, turning towards the partially ruined village. "But for now, we should rest."
Dredd and Ryan nodded in agreement, following Mando and Cara back to the village for the time being.
Music: "Mando Says Goodbye" from Mandalorian Season 1 OST
Three Weeks Later
Dredd, Ryan, the Mandalorian, and Cara lounged against one of the village huts, as a woman, Omera, handed them refreshments. While Cara sat on the porch's chair, Mando and Dredd leaned against the hut's wall, while Ryan stood with his hands behind his back. They all watched the village children play with the Child, who was trying to catch a frog to eat.
"Thank you." Cara smiled, while Dredd nodded in appreciation.
"Can I set you something in the house?" Omera asked, smiling sweetly at Mando.
"Uh, later." Mando stuttered. "Thank you."
Omera grinned, as she turned to look at the Child.
"He likes it here." Omera smiled. "He fits right in."
"Yeah." Mando murmured, as the villager left. Ryan smirked, seeing the kid. Amazing, how he was seeing all of this with his own eyes-
"So what happens if you take that thing off?" Cara inquired, indicating the Mandalorian's helmet. "Do they come after you and kill you?"
"No." Mando said bluntly. "You just can't put it on ever again."
"That's it?" Cara scoffed. "So you can slip off the helmet, live with that beautiful widow, and raise your kid while drinking spotchka?"
Mando said nothing, and Dune turned towards Dredd.
"And what about you?" Cara asked. "Haven't seen you take yours off either since you've been here. What's up with that?"
"I just don't." Dredd shrugged.
"You did for Mom." Ryan reminded him.
"Becca was different, Ryan." Joe told him. "You know that."
Ryan solemnly nodded, as he continued staring at the Child, who he had come to nickname "Baby Yoda" because of the resemblance.
"You know we raised Hell a few weeks back." Mando grimaced, addressing Cara. "That kind of action is too much for a backwater town like this. Word travels fast. You might wanna cycle the charts, move off."
"I don't wanna be the one to tell him." Cara nodded over to the Child.
"I'm leaving him here." Mando revealed, much to Cara's surprise. "Travelling with me, that's no place for a kid. I did my job, he's safe. Now he can live his life."
"It'll break his little heart." Cara warned.
"He'll get over it." Mando said sadly. "We all do."
Ryan softly sighed, taking in the Mandalorian's words. For some reason, those words stuck to him like glue. In a way, he never really got over the fact that his mother had kept him in a prison like home. Yes, it was to protect him from his father, but he still had no friends. Everyone in that neighborhood had been working for Vought, one way or another. Ironically, it seemed like the Child was about to experience the reverse of his situation: living with friends in this village, but losing the closest thing that was his parental figure-
Ryan suddenly whipped his head towards the tree line in the distance, hearing a faint beeping noise. The beeping was constant, almost in a rhythm, and it was slowly getting closer.
"I'll be right back." the boy announced, as he levitated off the ground and flew away. Cara raised an eyebrow at Ryan flying away, before looking at Dredd.
"And he's your son." Dune asked in a non believing manner. "Can you do that too?"
"No." Joe muttered. "I'm his… stepfather, really."
"What happened to his real father?"
Dredd's scowl deepened, as he turned to look at the tree line.
A hooded kubaz bounty hunter crouched between two trees, aiming a laser rifle at the Child. Just as it squeezed the trigger, a humanoid figure wearing a red suit and blue cape touched down, taking the blast meant for the bounty.
Dredd suddenly looked up, hearing the laser blast, as several birds flew up and away from the forest.
"RYAN!" Joe shouted, bolting towards the tree line.
Ryan groaned in pain, looking down at his chest to see a scorch mark on his suit. Odd. He actually felt that blast. But if blasters could actually harm him…
The supe looked up, pressing his palm against the bounty hunter and shoving him back. The push was meant to be light, but because of Ryan's superhuman strength, the kubazi flew backwards into a tree, smashing his back against the bark. The boy grimaced, stepping on the blaster and crushing it underfoot, just as Dredd, the Mandalorian, and Cara rushed into the forest.
"Ryan, are you alright?" Dredd demanded. To the others, his voice would have sounded commanding and authoritative, but Ryan knew he was just worried for him.
"I'm fine, Uncle Joe…" Ryan groaned, clutching his chest. "It just… hurts…"
Beneath his visor, Dredd's eyes narrowed in anger, as he pointed his Lawgiver at the bounty hunter.
"Hi-Ex."
The gun made an electronic humming noise, and Joe squeezed the trigger. Mando and Cara's eyes widened, as the kubazi's head suddenly exploded, and a small rectangular device fell off his person, with a blinking red circle in the middle.
"Tracker." Dredd realized.
"Who's he tracking?" Cara asked, as Mando picked the device up.
"The kid." Mando muttered.
"So he's not safe here." Ryan formed his mouth in a tight line.
"Yes." the Mandalorian murmured.
"And they'll keep coming." Cara added.
"Yes." Mando repeated, dropping the tracker and smashing his boot into it.
The Mandolarian, Dredd, Ryan, and Cara returned to the village, where they began packing up all their belongings. Once everything had been placed on Mando's skiff, including the Child, Cara finally approached them with one final offer.
"You sure you don't need an escort?"
Mando turned to look at Dune, sighing in exasperation.
"We're going to bypass the next town, head straight for the Razor Crest."
"And you guys?" Cara asked Dredd.
"We still need to find a way back to Mega City One." Joe told her.
"But until then, we'll tag along with Mando." Ryan declared.
"Well then, until our paths cross." Cara smiled, shaking his hand.
"Until our paths cross." Mando agreed, before he got onto the skiff. With one final nod towards the villagers, the astromech droid began pulling the skiff along, and Dredd and Ryan began to follow them back towards the Mandalorian's ship.
A/N: Alright, now the prologue is finished. The next several chapters will follow the show closely, although I will skip a couple episodes that I thought were just filler. You'll find out which ones soon enough.