Alright, loving the feedback from last chapter and all the speculation with many reviewers speaking of Quills potential siblings and all though I gotta say, I'm surprised how many went straight for Anakin. Though in the interest of fairness and ambiguousness, I will neither confirm nor deny such a thing. There's a lot that I could deny now that I think about it but there is something I need to clarify.
The two of Thanos's children in the Black Order who know how to open a Holocron. One if the fanatic one and a bit of a hype man but the other… well, I'll keep that one close to the chest for the time being. So any who, there's a lot we'll need to unpack in the coming chapters.
Season 2 is full swing, with two arcs already down with the Guardians and Spidey's arrival just the starting point. There are many concepts that have been floating around inside my head terms of legends as well as original work I hope to introduce later on down the line that ties in with both the old Legends canon and the MCU/Comics of Marvel. I would want to hint at it but I think I'll save it for later.
So other than that ramble, I'll just leave it at that for now.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 25: A bit of Dissension
Senator Riyo Chuchi let out a disgruntled sigh of relief as the Senate meeting had finally come to its conclusion.
In all honesty, this one felt meaningless like the last few.
Only more of the war effort, what to do, should there be peace talks and all that other blabber.
And her mentor and friend Padme had been doing this political shtick for how long again? Riyo didn't know how she puts up with it all.
Nursing her migraine, she felt a supportive pat on her back making her blink and look up in time to see the new Twi'lek representative Cham Syndulla giving her a look of encouragement and understanding.
He had been quite the maverick and open critic of the way the Republic had been conducting itself during the war effort. Really, Cham was a breath of fresh air as he had constantly challenged the norm as he was a man of action over this bureaucratic rhetoric. He had found himself in the company of senators who were more than willing to take action over just sitting around and doing nothing. So it came as no surprise that he became fast friends and allies with Senators Padme, Organa, Mothma and herself along with their own little circle.
Sending him a small smile of appreciation, Chuchi continued on her way down the hallway to her personal office within the Senate building.
As she drew closer, she saw a familiar mop of silver hair at the front of her door.
Blinking, Chuchi felt her lip twitch up in amusement as she approached the bored looking Avenger who was leaning against the closed doors of her office.
Clearing her throat, Chuchi gained the attention of the fastest Avenger.
"Mr. Maximoff." Riyo said pleasantly. "What a surprise to see you once more. What can I do for you today?"
Pietro Maximoff, otherwise known as Quicksilver, was becoming a strangely constant individual in Chuchi's everyday life the past several weeks. After meeting him at that little commemorative party for the Avengers actions organized by Padme, she had found herself running across the speedster.
Though running into Pietro would be putting it mildly.
Now, Chuchi was no stranger to having other men show obvious interest in her. During her time back home at the academies, she had several boys around her age vying for her attention and affection. Most, if not all, honestly weren't up to snuff. And not that she was cruel or unkind. She was awkward for the most part trying her best to let them down easy as she had wanted to focus more on her studies then being schmoozy with other boys.
She could thank her lucky stars that once becoming her people's senator, the suitors had died down… to a certain degree.
Riyo was easily preoccupied in her work, making her unable to find available time to even go out on a simple dinner date for example. She had tried one time, but she was forced to cut it short due to an emergency senate meeting. The Pantoran had tried to get back with her date afterwards, but it never worked out afterwards.
She felt as though there wouldn't ever really be time for an intimate relationship. Chuchi had a great many duties to conduct for her people and the Republic.
If she remembered it correctly on the joke, she was practically married to her job. Didn't know if it was actually funny or not these days.
But now?
After everything she had witnessed in her short tenure as a Senator during war time, Riyo was honestly craving new means of escape from her work.
Enter Pietro Maximoff.
The young man was certainly not like any of the previous suitors she had met and she wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.
However, if there was one defining factor of Pietro in the short time that she's known him was that he was persistent.
Like Cham Syndulla, Pietro was a breath of fresh air in a surprising way. He always came over when she least expected it to cheer up her dreadful days. When he was out of the field, the speedster tried to at least call her to keep her informed on the latest developments.
He was brash, cocky, arrogant in a way though at times it felt more self-condescending. Pietro didn't take himself too seriously, preferring an easy-going grin rather than being moody and focused like that Barton individual he constantly spoke of. Then again, he also stated that a great many deals of his jokes came directly from that old man.
To her, it was clear to see how much Pietro looked up to this Clint Barton. Either as an older brother or an uncle-like figure.
Though he was a great deal confident, Chuchi saw a kindness to him that he kept hidden in his own way. Cham had spoken of his actions back on Ryloth and rather than focusing on his apparent battle victories, the Twi'lek leader told her of Pietro being one who kept morale high. He went out of his way to assist anyone and everyone in any way that he could, getting extra food for the hungry, medicine for those that needed it most and even toys for the children. Something she learned when meeting Cham's daughter who proudly held up her doll, she had remodeled to look like him.
When bringing that little meeting up, it was highly amusing to see someone like Pietro become so bashful and trying his best to hide his red cheeks.
"Oh nothing much, Riyo." Spoke the Sokovian. "Just checking up on how bad the meeting was today."
The Pantoran merely sighed, rubbing her head as she entered her office with him following soon after. Walking towards a stand nearby, she drew herself a drink before taking a big swig.
"That bad, huh?"
"Very much, sadly."
"Well that's what goes on with war. So many people profiting off the problem. Despite wanting the fighting to end, they also are thinking of their funds."
Chuchi regarded the Avenger for a moment. "Your home. Sokovia, correct? It too was ravaged by war?"
"Too many times to count." Pietro said somberly, walking past her to stare out the window. "All my sister and I ever knew was war and conflict. My hometown… it was bombed so many times that I had lost track of it all."
Holding up his hand, it vibrated intensely as he turned his head to her. "This… was the eventual outcome of it all."
Sighing sadly, Riyo pulled out another glass and poured a bit of the alcoholic beverage into it. Coming over to him, she offered the drink.
"Thanks." Jugging it down, he scrunched his face a little.
"Not your preferred taste?"
"Hang on." Pietro held up his hand. "...And it's gone."
Riyo blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
He gave her a small grin. "One odd thing with my powers, hard to get hangovers; much less getting a buzz."
"You can't get drunk?"
"I could try…" Pietro shrugged. "I think. Would have to chug gallons worth of the really strong stuff. Trust me, I tried. Ran several bars dry and was banned for life from them." He chuckled out. "Hell, I did that once after becoming an Avenger and Tony had to freeze my account with how much I spent."
"Oh?" Riyo sat upon her desk in interest. "And how did this come about?"
"Hey, a dare is a dare." Pietro remarked with a shrug. "Clint should have known better then to give me a challenge."
Riyo shook her head, smirking slightly. "What happened afterwards?"
Pietro scratched his cheek slightly, cringing at the memory of one particular reaction.
"Wanda was ticked off when learning what I did. Threw me across the room and kept me stuck on a wall for hours as I was forced to watch shows she enjoys while I suffered."
"Oh it can't be that bad."
"If only you knew what Wanda likes, then you'd understand."
"Try me?"
"Well… there are certain eras of shows back on our home planet ranging through the decades. She greatly prefers these shows that came on fifty to seventy years ago. Some of the sitcoms having the leading actresses being stay at home mothers and going through the oddest problems I found utterly ridiculous. And to bug me even further, she'd quote the lines beat by beat as the show rolled on and on."
"That actually sounds quite lovely." Chuchi remarked earning a flat look from him, making her giggle. "I am curious about your Earth culture, you know. You have spoken about it so often and yet; I have never seen anything from these films and shows you speak of."
Pietro rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, we don't have any satellites here or..."
His face instantly brightened up. "But~! I do have my own collection of movies and shows. Hold on."
*WOOSH*
Riyo stumbled back slightly at Quicksilver abruptly running off at full speed, the force of his sudden run causing her hair to come undone.
Though she tied it back a moment later.
"...I should've been used to this by now."
*WOOSH*
"So forgive me in advance for us having to watch on the small screen." Pietro admitted as he soon scrolled through his collection of films and shows.
"Wait." Pietro held up his hand. "Wait… we're missing something here."
"What?"
"Snacks."
*WOOSH*
Thankfully her hair remained as it was this time.
*WOOSH*
"Wait, do you have any favorites?"
"Huh?"
"Snacks, you know, treats and all."
"Er…"
"Ah forget it, I'll just get a bit of everything."
*WOOSH*
And there he went again.
*WOOSH*
He soon arrived back with a basket filled with snacks and other small foods that Pietro had gotten from nearby shops and vendors.
Pietro began setting up his phone, grumbling that the holo-projector feature wouldn't be big enough.
"If it won't be too much trouble, we could try to connect this device of yours onto my system and pull it up on the holo-projector."
Pietro smiled. "Oh that's a great idea…. Wait would that work?"
Chuchi opened her mouth and closed it, humming in thought.
"I'm not sure, but let's try. You told me that your devices could interface with other technology, correct?"
"It should." Pietro said, examining his Stark Phone. "Don't know about alien tech."
He held it up to the control pad of the holo-projector and to their pleasant surprise, it connected.
Seating themselves on the couch within her office, Chuchi felt her body decompressing with her letting out a sigh of relief. One doesn't realize how tired they are until they take a moment to sit still.
Luckily for her, there was nothing else to go on for her for the rest of the day. Call it what you will as if the universe wanted her to finally have some time to finally enjoy herself. More so with pleasant company to boot.
What was this movie called?
Something about inanimate toys coming to life. Well whatever it was, it was turning out to be quite entertaining.
When asking Pietro on why having such a childish film on his device, he said it was one of the handful of films he still enjoys to this day. Bringing back to a time when there were no problems in his family's life. No wars, no struggles, just peace and happiness.
Turns out he was a bigger softy then he appeared to be.
-Scene Cut-
"Any possible idea where the others might be? I'm all ears."
"I would tell you if I had any." Natasha admitted, scrolling through the galactic map. "All we know is that everyone's arrival was at random locations while primarily separated. Luckily for some of you, you lot stayed together on Naboo and worked from there."
"You possibly found any patterns?"
Nat merely gave him a knowing look, making him move on.
"Then got any ideas on how to contact Earth?"
"Pulling up every schematic I have at the top of my head from SHIELD. And nothing I have could be good enough to send a strong signal. And that's on top of not knowing how exactly far away we are from home as it could take years for a message to be received before delivered back."
"Maybe I could get in touch with some of the engineers. They could maybe help improve the schematics."
"What do you have in mind?"
"From what I was told by some of the Clone Troopers, The Galactic Republic's communication systems span across most of the known galaxy even into the Separatist territories with a few exceptions like the Outer Rim and Wild Space. Maybe… ah, I don't know. I'm just throwing a hail Mary honestly. Maybe we could broadcast from those areas, send it out all at once."
"And what? Hope that someone that we know picks up on it?"
"It's a hail Mary." Sam shrugged. "I'm just spit balling honestly. We're in another Galaxy and for all we know, it's far as hell from our own galaxy. Then again, all galaxies are light years apart by default."
"Or we could be in our… No, if we were, I think we would have been able to discover all this flying around." Nat muttered to herself.
"So we're basically in a stalemate on our situation." Sam grunted in frustration.
Nat only sighed in slight defeat. "More or less. So Steve's told me about everything you guys have been pretty busy."
"You could say that again." Sam mused. "Been one complicated ride. All its ups and downs, left and right."
"And these… Clones." Nat said, unsure of how to regard them. "What are they like?"
"Damn good soldiers, that much I can tell ya." Sam said. "Most are practically fearless and they rush right into battle."
"Where'd they even come from? This Republic always had an army like this one?"
Sam shook his head. "Nada. From what some of our Jedi friends told us, they were born and bred in this world called Kamino."
Nat quirked her brow at Sam's troubled expression.
"But~?"
Sam sighed. "But there's something… off about the Clones and this whole army for that matter."
"What do you mean?"
"When Steve, Scott and I first got here and then Rhodey joined us a bit after we all went into learning as much as we could about this galaxy." Sam elaborated. "Anything and everything that might help us get home and get a better grasp of our situation. Rhodey then found something in the public archives that was contradictory."
"This Republic hasn't had a proper army in the past thousand years after something called the Ruusan reformation. The Republic army was basically disbanded and there was the Judicial Force to replace them. Everything else was merely small armies from respective worlds and systems."
"A thousand years without an army?" Nat said in bewilderment. "That… feels impossible."
"Yeah but get this." Sam narrowed his eyes. "Before the war started, the Chancellor called for the remaking of the Grand Army of the Republic. And less than a few days later on this other planet called Geonosis, this Clone army appears."
Nat frowned. "Did people really know ahead of time or…"
"They just showed up out of the blue with only a handful of people actually knowing ahead of time." Sam then explained. "Kenobi went to Kamino for an investigation and found the Clone Army being trained without anyone knowing about them. And later, Yoda went to retrieve them for the Invasion on Geonosis, thus the Clone War began."
Now Natasha found this intriguing and slightly disturbing. Being the Black Widow for most of her life, she has served the KGB, SHIELD and the greater world interest at large. Her job was essentially to know most everything that would assist in better safeguarding the world. And say what you will about this being a galaxy, but an entire army was bred and they just popped out when they needed them most? That's to a point of beyond having suspicions.
"Seems too convenient, if you ask me."
"Right?"
"And nobody ever bothered looking more into it?"
"Apparently not. Either too busy with this war or never bothered."
Nat found her mind going at a thousand miles a minute.
"Great, not even a few days and we're already getting thrown into another conspiracy. These Sith guys in hiding and these Clones and their origin." Nat grumbled. "Feels like HYDRA all over again."
Sam groaned. "Don't remind me."
Nat only laughed.
"Real question is, what is it for them after this war?"
Nat looked to Sam. "What do you mean?"
"They were bred for war and nothing else. What would happen to them once this is all over?"
"I… I honestly don't know."
"With what amount of there is left, it'll be hard to give them all new lives for them to accept. Some would want to still be in the military, for instance, but…"
"Yeah, I get ya."
The two fell into silence for a brief moment.
"We still need to find Wanda and Viz." Nat said.
"Yeah, and now there's also these two other guys." Sam said. "What'd that Spider kid call them? He said one of them was a blind lawyer named Murdock and the other, I can't believe it honestly is apparently the prince of Wakanda, T'challa."
"Guess things back home have been getting interesting that royalty got involved with the Avengers' newest recruits."
"Tony must have been desperate to have that kid join up."
"Maybe or maybe not." Nat shrugged. "Shell head doesn't do things like that without good reason.
"Yeah… still we have double the amount of enhanced now." Sam said, leaning on the table that still displayed the holographic map of the galaxy. "They could be anywhere for all we know."
-Scene Cut-
Scott hummed to himself, welding several wires back together from his utility belt for his suit making sure it was holding together properly.
"Have to still admit their periodic table is all kinds of weird." Hope said from her personal desk, looking over the litany of elements that would not "normally" be found on Earth.
"What do you expect with ours different from theirs."
"On top of having more."
"I have managed to find several that correlate similarities with elements back home, comrades."
"Thanks Tap." Rhodey said.
"There are several metals, comrades that I have found may be useful in integrating into your own equipment."
"Like what?"
"When reviewing some of the teams encounters with individuals like Grievous and Asajj Ventress, their lightsabers would prove to be extremely deadly if used directly against your own suits and limbs."
"Really?" Rhodey said in faux surprise. "Yeah, that would be bad considering we've seen Anakin and Obi-wan slice through those droids like they were butter."
"Luckily, Steve's shield was able to withstand them with no damage on it at all."
"But not all of us have Vibranium." Hope stated.
"So unless we wanna melt down his shield and use it on our armor, then we need to find something else of equivalent value."
"So what have ya found, Tap?" Inquired the Wasp.
Tap made several screens appear with the trio gathering around them.
"The first one you see here is called Cortosis metal." Tap explained, the first screen being highlighted. "From what I have been able to find, it is brittle but fibrous and conductive. It can short out Lightsabers apparently and if integrated properly into the suit, help resist blaster fire."
"Cool." Scott hummed.
"Right. What's the next one?"
"The next is an alloy called Beskar. Like Cortosis, it is very resistant to blaster fire from all sorts of ranges. Even a standard execution shot to the head can one survive if one wears a helmet of the alloy. Lightsaber strikes are also repelled as well."
"And where can we find some of these Metals?" Hope inquired.
Tap brought up a display of the mapped-out galaxy, highlighting specific areas for the Cortosis metal.
"Cortosis is found on several dozen worlds scattered throughout the galaxy and it is harvested constantly in order to retrofit ships, tanks and other vehicles especially in this wartime."
The galaxy then zoomed in on one system in particular with only two planets being highlighted.
"If you try to get the Beskar alloy from Mandalore, you'll have trouble acquiring it."
"Any reason why?"
"From what I have been able to download through the Holo-net, due to the civil war that happened on the Mandalorian home system, the alloy has become restricted under the decree of their current ruler, The Duchess Satine. Stating the alloy is part of their violent past and must be expunged. There are only two planets where one can obtain Beskar. Their moon, Concordia and the planet Mandalore itself."
"Then how do we get these Metals?" Rhodey asked, crossing her arms in thought. "That Beskar seems a bit difficult."
"So either we go through the black market to find it or have to go to the source directly and pull off a Mission Impossible or an Ocean's heist." Scott muttered out, earning eye rolls from the others.
"I believe purchase of Cortosis is viable." Tap said.
"What? How?" Scott asked in surprise.
"We have amassed a substantial sum in recent days with the spread and copyrights of Billiards and now Queen."
"I can't believe that's how we're getting paid with Billiards and Queen." Rhodey said dryly.
"Queen is a godsend and you know it, Rhodey." Scott said, wagging his finger at the colonel. "Besides, this is only Queen. Let's see how the galaxy reacts when they hear the rest of our music playlists."
Rhodey hummed in thought, considering having his own taste in music spread across the galaxy. That would be a smug little tidbit he could have against his best friend, him being the man who brought Jazz, Rock and Roll and R & B to an entire galaxy. The idea felt a bit too good to pass up.
"And what of the simulations, Tap?" Hope inquired.
"Results show the following elements will work well with your arsenal."
Looking down the list, some of them nodded and digested the bit of information.
"It'll take a bit to figure out the right ratios to make our weapons and gadgets function properly. Don't want to suddenly cause interference while out on the field."
"That's what hands-on testing is for. Simulations can only go so far."
"Tony did that with his first few armors and he's stuck with that method ever since." Rhodey stated. "No doubt had that Parker kid do all his testing with his suit… while on the field."
"That must've been fun for him." Scott added in. "Alright, Tap, set things up so we can make the purchases of the following, please."
"Most certainly, comrade Lang."
-Scene Cut-
Peter hung casually in a hammock in between two pillars within the great library of the Jedi temple, casually reading up on the intricacies of a how to pilot and repair a Starfighter.
With him was a small notebook, jotting down equations and schematics in order to keep himself busy. With all these new forms of technology around him, ideas started rolling through his head like no tomorrow. He had been keeping himself busy in learning everything that he could about this galaxy, one of which was finding chemicals that would be able to make him more web formula.
He was so deep in thought he didn't hear two sets of footsteps stop near him.
"Ahem"
Blinking, Peter glanced down below him to see Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee looking up at him, the former of which had an amused smirk on her face.
"That looks… comfortable."
"Sure is." Peter said, idly swinging around.
"Uh huh."
"I could make you one, if you want." He suggested. "You two look like you need it."
"Maybe another time."
"Wouldn't the webbing stick to our clothes?" Barriss asked.
"Not always. I could moderate them in a way so you can just get on no problem."
"How long would it last?" Ahsoka asked, reaching up to give an experimental tug on the webbing. "You did say those dissolve after an hour and I don't want to just drop suddenly."
"I could figure a way to adjust it." Peter said, jumping down to them. In doing so, he forgot about his notebook that rested on his chest. It fell, though Barriss reacted quickly and snatched it out of the air.
"Thanks." Peter said appreciatively.
Barriss stared at the Web-head intently for a moment. "Is everything alright, Peter?"
"Huh?"
"You seem awfully busy." Barriss noted as she looked through the notebook's pages. "Very busy, indeed."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
Barriss closed her eyes, concentrating momentarily. "You seem… troubled. No, worried. There is something that weighs on your mind, Peter. A feeling of…"
Barriss looked directly at the Wall-crawler who was rather perturbed by Barriss's forwardness in what he felt like a psychoanalysis of his mind.
"Guilt." She finished.
Ahsoka looked between Barriss and Peter, the latter of whom gaped a bit.
"What she means to say is…" Ahsoka intervened. "Is that, well, she can sense that you are troubled by something. You've been here for a few days now and since we've been seeing you often, she's picked up on it."
"Yes, that's correct." Barriss confirmed. "Is something wrong Peter? Does it have to do with us? The Temple?"
Peter frantically waved her off.
"No, no, none of that." Peter stated. "I really appreciate you guys."
"Then what is it?" Ahsoka asked curiously.
Peter hesitated for a moment.
"I'm just… homesick. More importantly, I'm worried for my aunt, May."
"Your Aunt?"
"Yeah." Peter said wistfully. "I'm all she has left. And last I checked, she had no idea I'm well, Spider-man. And now… I don't even know how I got here and have no means of contacting her."
Peter could barely contain his somber face. "She must be worried out of her mind right now. And I'm the reason why. Not like she had enough to worry about as is."
Both Jedi Padawans looked at one another, not exactly sure of how to respond to this.
Though luckily, an alternative came in the form of a native Earther placing a friendly hand upon Peter's shoulder.
"Peter." Captain Rogers stated, looking down at his fellow New Yorker.
Peter was momentarily starstruck by being in such close proximity to one of his idols again but he was getting used to it.
"Hey Cap." Parker said cheerfully. "What are you doing here? Need me for something?"
"Not really." Steve shook his head. "I was just looking for ya, just wanted to see how you were doing. Ahsoka, Barriss, glad to see the two of you."
"Captain Rogers." Barriss said respectfully, inclining her head slightly.
"Heya Cap." Ahsoka said much more casually.
"How are you two?" Steve asked. "Been keeping up with your Jedi training?"
"Yup." Ahsoka said proudly. "Just you wait, Cap. We'll be Jedi Knights before you know it."
"We will make both our master's and the order proud." Barriss said determinedly.
"Well, Luminara and Anakin can sleep well then if that's the case." Steve said good naturedly, turning to Peter.
"So you're from Queens, right?"
"Yes?"
"Brooklyn."
"...Oh… Yeah, that's right. You know there's a mural of you in your old hometown?"
"There is? Huh, I didn't know that."
Ahsoka and Barriss looked at the two Earthers before sharing a curious glance with each other.
"Is there something going on?" Barriss inquired.
"Not much, just that he's from Brooklyn and I'm from Queens."
"...Meaning?"
"It's… a New York type of thing where we're from back home." Steve explained.
"Yeah, most New Yorkers stick together through thick and thin." Peter declared.
Ahsoka and Barriss shared a look, shrugging as they really couldn't quite understand but whatever it was it seemed important enough for the two of them.
"So, what's this about a mural back home?"
For the next several minutes, the four held a small conversation regarding Steve's past as well as Peter's upbringing with him talking about how much he had learned about history with Cap's actions being clear and present throughout most of them. The air seemed pleasant enough, getting to know one another better, when...
"Been meaning to ask, but how long have you two been at the temple?" Peter inquired.
"As far as I can remember." Came Barriss' response.
"Like three years old, if I'm correct." Was Ahsoka's answer.
Peter and Steve stared, unsure of how to respond.
"Like, your parents and families have always been here or…?" Peter left his question unanswered.
"I was an orphan." Ahsoka admitted. "Never knew who my parents were. Master Plo Koon found me and brought me here and learned to become a Jedi when I was old enough to start training. If he hadn't, I would have been a slave."
That… certainly darkened Steve's mood at the thought of Ahsoka being a slave.
"And you Barriss?"
"Like I said, as far as I can remember." Barriss adopted a thinking pose, pondering.
"You've been a Jedi your entire life?" Peter asked, earning nods from the two padawans.
"What do you mean by "when you were brought here"?" Steve cut in. "Did your parents bring you in?"
Barriss shook her head. "No, the Jedi found me and discovered my strong connection to the Force. I was brought shortly after to begin my life here in the temple."
"But did your parents have anything to say about it?"
"Can't remember, sorry. I never knew my parents. My life has been here, in the temple and to the order."
To say that the two Earthers were rather disturbed by this piece of news was a bit of an understatement.
Steve Rogers has been here for nearly a few weeks, going onto months now, and out of respect he never truly inquired much about the order and how they conduct themselves save for their responsibilities and such. However…
Learning of Ahsoka and Barriss essentially being Jedi since they were toddlers was a bit unsettling for the WWII veteran.
"Are…" Peter wasn't sure if he should ask this. "Are all Jedi brought to the temple at such a young age?"
Ahsoka could sense how uncomfortable Peter had become on top of Captain Rogers having a more… solemn aura.
"Most of them, yes." Ahsoka said carefully. "There are some exceptions but… most are all either babes or very young children."
The face both New Yorkers shared said it all for the Padawans.
"Right." Steve said, brows furrowed with a slight tinge of anger to his tone. "Ahsoka, Barriss."
"Right." Steve said, brows furrowed with a slight tinge of anger to his tone. "Ahsoka, Barriss."
With that, Cap walked off with a purpose in his steps leaving the three teens in a bit of an awkward air.
Peter watched as Steve went off to who knows where, leaving him in a slightly uncomfortable situation.
He had learned a rather unpleasant truth to the Jedi Order though he didn't want to jump to conclusions. Peter had only been here for several days at most so really; he wasn't one to judge on a situation he knew next to nothing about.
As Steve left their line of sight, Ahsoka decided to bring up another topic. One that she hoped could lift up Peter's spirits.
"Say… you ever plan on flying a ship?"
This perked up Parker's interests, all too eager on moving on from the tense discussion from before.
"Most of you Avengers have been needing to get more in touch with our vehicles in order to properly live here. And since you just got here, you haven't flown any ships, have you?"
"Nope." Peter shook his head.
Seeing where her friend was going with this, Barriss picked up from there.
"Follow us." Barriss gestured. "We know just where to start."
"And where, pray tell, is that exactly?"
"Where most of us start learning how to fly, the simulators."
-Scene Cut-
Steve had walked off from the teens, a storm brewing in his mind as he continually thought upon the revelation that the Jedi have been taking babies and young toddlers from their homes and bringing them here. What was that about? Where did this even begin?
Better yet, why in God's name would they do something like this? It almost sounds like indoctrination. Almost.
He had to get to the bottom of this.
Rounding a corner, Steve went from one trio to another.
Down the hall he saw Obi-wan Kenobi, Aayla Secura and T'ra Saa all conversing with one.
Though he didn't want to do this, if he were being honest with himself, Steve steeled himself and walked forward.
"Here we go." Steve murmured under his breath.
As he drew closer, the Twi'lek Knight saw his approach.
"Captain Rogers." Aayla said with a friendly smile.
Steve gave her a shaky smile, nodding to T'ra and Kenobi as they both greeted him.
"Everything alright, Steve?" Obi-wan asked. "You seem… troubled."
Steve looked between the three of them, hesitating slightly.
"Mind answering me something?"
Seeing the emotions being worn on him, they could tell something unpleasant was going on inside his head right now.
"Of course." T'ra said. "What's on your mind?"
"Look, I don't want to come across as rude." Steve started out. "But there's something that I recently found out and… I'd rather hear about this matter from more old and experienced members of this order."
Now they were more confused but remained silent, allowing Steve to go on.
"Did… did any of you ever know about your parents or were you all brought here to the Jedi Order when you were all just babies; kids even?"
The Jedi were silently stunned by this sudden question.
"...What brought this on?" T'ra inquired softly.
"Just answer me, please."
Exchanging looks with one another, Kenobi relented and answered for them.
"Yes." Obi-wan said a bit warily. "All three of us were brought to the Jedi order when we were very young."
Steve tensed up; eyes sharp as he looked straight at the bearded Jedi Master.
"Why?" Steve questioned quietly. "Was it an unfortunate circumstance? Orphaned? Slaves? What was it that brought you to the Order?"
"Why are you asking this, Captain Rogers?" Aayla asked, her voice low.
"I just want to understand." Steve stated. "Though, I'm finding a hard time doing so."
"Please know, we understand if this is a matter you find… sensitive." Kenobi said.
"Sensitive would be putting it mildly." Steve said sharply. "Where I'm from, taking kids away from their parents, keeping them away from them and never knowing about them is highly offensive and controversial. I would think Keepers of the Peace wouldn't stoop to something like this."
"It is not that simple, Steve." Aayla said firmly. "It is a complicated matter and the Jedi Order does it within reason."
"The Order does not simply take children from their families so suddenly and without knowledge of the matter." T'ra said calmly. "I know you may not enjoy this answer, Captain Rogers, but the reason why we recruit so young has to do with the emotional state of those who are older."
This threw Steve off. "What do you mean?"
"To be a Jedi, is to serve your duty to the Force and to the Republic." Obi-wan stated, sounding as if he were recalling an old text. "In this duty, one must not hold attachments to closely to oneself lest you be threatened to be consumed by it."
"If you need some clarity, allow me to tell you the mantra of the Order." Aayla proceeded to recite the Jedi Code. "There is no emotion, there is Peace. There is no Ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no Passion, There is serenity. There is no Chaos, there is Harmony. There is no Death, There is the Force."
Steve stared at Aayla, processing what she had said but really all he heard was the first line.
"There is no Emotion?" Steve repeated. "How can anyone believe that? Are you telling me that you're all emotionless husks? Just… droids?"
Now, this certainly was not what these three Jedi were expecting today.
Above all else, this was a side of Steve they were unaware of. He always came across as an amicable, pleasant and extremely friendly individual. He wasn't naive so to speak, just showed that he is humble enough that there is still much to learn. However, when thinking about it, Steve Rogers displayed a sense of moral and ethical righteousness and conduct when going about his business both during a mission and when simply spending time with others.
"Steve." Obi-wan said carefully. "The Order is restrictive in this regard due to the danger of attachments and emotions. They can be an unpredictable and uncontrollable force unto themselves that can and has led many Jedi to the Dark Side."
"It is something that has been in place for many centuries." Aayla added. "The Jedi remained detached in order to go about protecting others while having no attachment."
"Do you guys honestly believe that?" Steve asked.
T'ra sighed, being silent for the most part. "Master Kenobi, Aayla. Would you please allow me to speak with Captain Rogers? I believe I can best speak with him on this matter."
"Are you sure, Master Saa?" Aayla asked in concern looking between Steve and T'ra. She sensed the conflicting emotions radiating off of Captain Rogers and wished to do something about it but her thoughts were cut off when the Neti Jedi Master placed an assuring hand upon her shoulder.
"Trust in me, Aayla." T'ra said with a small smile. "I believe I can best assist Steve in understanding the Order. After all, I am a few good centuries older than all of you. Who better than someone who's been alive for that long?"
While Aayla wanted to protest, the lighthearted tone Master Saa gave off alleviated some of her worries. Kind of like how she had done in the past when she was just a youngling in the order.
"We shall leave it to you, Master Saa." Aayla said with a bow, Obi-wan doing the same. The Twi'lek shot the Super-soldier one final look, opening her mouth to say something though closed it figuring now may not be the best time. She simply nodded her head in goodbye with Obi-wan walking alongside her as she left the two.
As soon as they were out earshot, T'ra exhaled tiredly giving Rogers a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." T'ra stated. "If I were to be honest with you, Captain Rogers, I share a great many deal of criticisms towards the Jedi code and rules myself."
Steve blinked, completely caught off guard by such an open admittance from one who always appeared so calm and exuded a serene aura.
"Walk with me, Steve." T'ra said, placing a friendly hand upon his shoulder. "I believe I should tell you a bit more about myself if you are to understand the Jedi Order a bit better."
-Scene Cut-
Anakin Skywalker in all honesty was ready for another break.
Their latest mission was… unique… to say the least.
Coming back from Malastare with the treaty was really hard, given the many setbacks.
It was simple enough at first, using this new EMP bomb on the Separatist army. And with them out of the way, the Republic will get their fuel reserves from the Dugs in order to help their ships.
Everything was good… until the aftermath.
In the battlefield in front of the palace, a very large sinkhole was formed due to the bomb. When checking the site in order to retrieve any survivors, they ended up uncovering… and awakening something long thought to be extinct: the Zillo Beast.
A gargantuan serpent-like creature with a lengthy whip-like tail at 97 meters tall. It's hide-like scales were so hard and thick, neither blaster fire and even lightsabers could cut through it.
To the Dugs, they slaughtered just about every one of them generations ago in order to survive. Yet one survived and started attacking once it was unearthed. Because of this, the treaty would not get signed until the beast was killed.
Yet the Jedi -mainly Mace- wanted to preserve the creature in some remote world in the Outer Rim. Sionver Boll, the one who created the EMP bomb, wanted to study the creature due to their weapons not penetrating through the scales. It would be beneficial on the research as it would vastly improve their body armor and ship armor for the war effort.
After some planning, the Republic decided to merely stun the Zillo beast in order to make it appear to have died in the fight. In reality, it would be heavily sedated. They would get their treaty and fuel while also having the beast studied at some remote research facility.
When the Zillo beast was finally knocked out, both Mace and Anakin learned the research facility was going to be located… on Coruscant… of all places.
To say that Windu was not pleased would be a bit of an understatement. Anakin himself agreed with him. Just getting that thing to slow down and get knocked out was a trial in itself. Now they were bringing the large creature here? He hoped the Chancellor knew what he was doing.
Right now though, he had just gotten back and had been called upon by his former master to meet him at the Senate building.
Walking through the building with R2 by his side, he saw his master up ahead along with some unexpected but pleasant company.
R2 rolled ahead and greeted his old friend.
"Oh hello." C3P0 said jovially. "You're not in trouble again, are you R2?"
R2 let out a few chirps and whistles in response.
"I am not being rude, just expecting the usual with you."
Anakin smirked slightly at the interaction before looking at his secret wife.
"Not that it isn't a pleasure, Senator, but I thought I was just meeting Obi-wan here." Anakin said.
"Master Kenobi explained the problem." Padme stated. "I'm here to help."
"Problem?" Anakin grunted. "What problem?"
"The situation from our friend from Malastare." Obi-wan said knowingly.
"Uh-huh." Anakin remarked, the gears quickly coming to an obvious conclusion. "I see what's going on here. You guys are hoping I could speak with the Chancellor on this, don't you?"
"Master Skywalker, the Zillo beast was brought here chained and against its will." Padme stated. "It has no voice to defend itself. We must be that voice."
Anakin only chuckled dryly. "You haven't seen it in action. You have no idea what it's capable of."
"What's what capable of?"
The group turned to see Pietro approaching them with one Senator Riyo Chuchi by his side.
"Pietro?" Anakin said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Just spending some time with Riyo." Pietro said simply, gesturing his head to the Pontaron Senator who flushed at the scrutinizing and amused stare she had received by her mentor Padme.
"What's up?" Pietro asked. "You guys look serious 'bout something. Is it political?"
"We're in the Senate building, Pietro." Anakin said in dry humor. "Everything under this roof is political."
"True." Pietro agreed with a shrug.
"But what is the matter?" Riyo asked. "I overheard you were speaking on meeting with the Chancellor."
"It concerns what Anakin and Master Windu returned with from their mission on Malastare." Obi-wan answered. "An ancient creature that may be the last of its kind."
"A creature that may be the last of its kind?" Riyo murmured in intrigue.
"Not only that, but it was brought here against its will."
"Man… the animal rights activists are gonna have a field day on this one." Pietro couldn't help but joke.
"The Zillo beast may be facing death if we do not make Chancellor Palpatine reconsider his actions in killing it and harvesting its plated skin." Padme said with conviction.
"Zillo beast?" Pietro muttered. "What, like Godzilla?"
"Godzilla?"
"Nothing, nothing, Earth thing." Pietro waved off. "You were saying?"
"We have to convince the Chancellor to release the Zillo beast." Padme said, now looking to Anakin. "Please, Master Skywalker."
Anakin gave her a look, relenting several moments later. "I did not think you would feel so strongly about such a matter. Alright, we'll go talk with the Chancellor."
"And I am gonna get a bite to eat." Pietro declared. "Chuchi, wanna come? My treat."
"After all the snacks from those films we watched?"
"I have a fast eating metabolism, remember?"
The Pantoran shook her head a little. "Alright. Just because you're treating me, Pietro."
The Sokovian smiled as the two departed side by side together.
"Well those two seem quite chummy." Anakin noted.
"I think it's rather sweet." Padme added in. "I don't see Riyo going out all that much anymore. I'm glad she's at least enjoying herself more often now."
Before leaving to see the Chancellor, with Padme going on ahead, Anakin stopped Obi-wan for a brief moment.
"Obi-wan, is everything alright?"
"What?"
"You seem a bit distracted by something else." Anakin noted. "Anything wrong?"
Obi-wan didn't answer at first before grimacing slightly. "I… had a rather uncomfortable confrontation and conversation with Captain Rogers not too long ago."
Anakin was slightly put off by the revelation of Steve being the source of Obi-wan's rather somber mood.
"What happened?" He asked.
"It's difficult to explain." Kenobi plainly stated. "One that would take up unnecessary time right now. You must go with Senator Amidala, get this Zillo beast business sorted out. We shall talk later."
Anakin now wanted to know just what had transpired but he saw Padme waiting for him out of the corner of his eye. So he had to put a pin on this and return his attention to his current task.
Padme and Anakin arrived in Palpatine's office a short while later, with the Chancellor being pleasant and cordial as he had always been when seeing two of his favorite individuals on Coruscant as he liked to say.
Padme cut right to the chase, speaking on having the Zillo beast be released rather than be put to death. The extinction of one species was not something the Republic should stand for, regardless of the circumstance.
While the Chancellor agreed with the Naboo Senators sentiment, he remained adamant, telling her that the war that rages on will only to claim more lives. His responsibility was to those who put him in power and for him to find a way to end the war as swiftly and quickly as possible. This opportunity to create impenetrable armor that would shift the tide of war was too good of a chance to pass up.
Anakin played for both sides, trying to remain neutral in this. While he would side with his Wife in a heartbeat, Palpatine made some very convincing pointers. He had constantly hated seeing so many of his men die in battle and having armor that basically ensured their survival was just not something to be dismissed out of hand.
Meanwhile, as the discussion for the fate of a species went on, one Peter Parker was getting his first set of flying lessons from Ahsoka and Barriss.
"So when you wanna adjust your speed, it's really a flick of the ignition here and adjust the thruster right… about… now." Ahsoka said.
The flying car leveled itself out and cruised at a comfortable speed in between the many other ships in the air in what was basically a highway in the sky.
Peter looked at all of this in complete awe and wonder. Now that he had the time to, it was rather unbelievable to think he was in an alien world that was basically one gigantic interconnected city. And this was only Coruscant.
As much as he kinda hated himself for him not wanting to go home straight away, Peter couldn't deny his tantalizing want in going out and seeing other planets now that it was a literal viable option.
With the short discussions he's had with the Avengers, they spoke of the many worlds they had all gone to in their short time here.
The inner nerd in him was just hyperventilating at the chance to go see worlds unseen by humankind on Earth. Go full Trekky and boldly go where no man has gone before. Though he was pretty sure pulling off a Captain Kirk wasn't within his skillset. He certainly wasn't a ladies man like he was.
Then again being in a space car with two very pretty alien girls around his age would say otherwise. He wasn't blind of course; Parker was still a young growing teenager with hormones. The advent of his Spider-powers at times enhanced it. But all those hormones and attractions have been firmly put on the back burner because, reasons.
Reasons being that he's in space in a Galaxy Far, Far Away. Focusing on getting home was rather top of the list right now.
Didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself with the smaller things.
"You know, when I get home, I am gonna rub this in Ned's face for weeks." Peter said excitedly, pulling his mask on and recording everything he saw. Turns out there was a video recording function on his suit he didn't know about that recorded just about everything he had done. He had found out about this feature by accident when he was tinkering with his suit a day or two before arriving here.
He didn't want to miss a thing.
As they continued to fly around through the Coruscant skyline, Barriss recalled a certain display that Peter had shown when rescuing her friend from being dropped by Cad Bane.
"Peter." She spoke up. "Forgive me if I sound rude, but I am curious as I never got to ask. How is it that you are able to move as gracefully and swiftly as you do? …How did you even get these powers of yours?"
Peter was a bit surprised by the question but was curious. "Why do you wanna know?"
"Curiosity." Barriss admitted. "And if I recall correctly, we spoke of a small agreement of an "exchange program". We teach you and you teach us."
Taking a moment to process what she had just said, Peter found himself chuckling along with Ahsoka while taking off his mask.
"Well, unlike you guys with the whole chosen by the Force thingy my powers were more of an accident."
"An accident?" Ahsoka repeated in bewilderment. "How does that happen?"
"A school field trip, me wandering off and getting a genetically altered spider to bite my hand." Peter listed off wistfully. "It's a bit of a long story that's also kinda short."
"That made no sense." Ahsoka dryly said. "Like at all."
"Trust me, I tend not to think about it otherwise I'd get a headache."
"And what of the webbing?" Barriss asked. "You said you made it, correct?"
"Yeah. Took me some practice but I…" Peter's abruptly stopped, his head tilting down.
This didn't go unnoticed by the two.
"Peter?" Ahsoka looked to him as he held a look of concentration.
Barriss followed up with her own question. "Is everything alright?"
Squinting momentarily, Peter looked off to the cityscape.
"Do you guys…"
Peter was interrupted in a rather shocking manner.
"RWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
An unidentifiable roar reverberated from the city followed by the sounds of terrified screams, blaring alarms and crumbling infrastructure.
The trio sat up sharply as they caught sight of some gigantic creature plowing through bridges and swatting aside any and all ships in its way.
"Oh god!" Peter cried out, instantly slipping on his mask and discarded the clothes he had on to reveal him still wearing his suit beneath them.
Ahsoka immediately sensed Peter's intentions. "PETER WAIT!"
It was all for naught as the web-head jumped out and angled himself head first, vertically plummeting down towards the chaos.
His enhanced eyes widened upon seeing two people falling to their deaths.
Firing two web-lines, with a quick pull he launched himself with an increase of speed as he drew near the two who were yelling in absolute terror.
Reaching out with his arms, he shot off two more lines and reeled them in and quick succession fired another line and swung them to safety.
Landing, he made sure both were alright, checking them over.
"You two ok? Are you hu-"
*GROOOAAAAAARRR*
Peter whipped around in time to see the source of the pandemonium, his eye lenses widening in shock.
It was some kind of giant, gargantuan serpentine-like monster that had plated armor all over its body, four legs and an additional fifth limb on its back.
Spider-man was frozen in both fear and shock though it didn't last as he saw the chaos and destruction it was causing making him shake his head rapidly, slapping his cheeks.
Turning back to the two civilians he had just saved, he told them to run and find safety before facing the rampaging monster.
"Oh man, how do I stop that Godzilla knock off?" Peter asked himself panickingly.
As he asked himself that question, an LAAT gunship that had attempted in engaging the giant monster was swatted aside and crashed down to the ground.
"Ah screw it." Peter felt his heart rate and adrenaline skyrocket. "Don't think, Peter just do."
With a sprint, Spider-man jumped into the skies and fired a web line to pursue after the giant beast.
But he wasn't stupid in facing it alone.
Tapping on his comms to send out an open broadcast, he frantically called out to anyone that would respond.
"Hello? Hello? Anyone? Is anyone there? Cap? Black Widow? Falcon? Uh, Jedi guys? Clone Troopers? Anyone? We've got a big, big problem down here!"
The giant monster roared aloud, slamming through a bridge walkway with more people falling.
"Dammit, Dammit, Dammit!" Peter brainstorming how he could possibly catch all those falling people. He desperately looked through his suit functions and found what he hoped could work.
"Web grenade?" Peter repeated, already running and swinging towards the falling people. "I'll work with it."
"Web grenade?" Peter repeated, already running and swinging towards the falling people. "I'll work with it."
He made several web spheres and tossed them while firing multiple web-lines that connected together. The Web Grenades then burst, giant web nets forming that manage to catch practically everyone save for one unfortunate child that Peter was making a beeline for.
The kid was a young Duros that he caught up to and snatched out of the air.
"I got ya kid." Peter assured, swinging back up to the giant web net.
Many on the webbing were bewildered and shaken by where they were now after suddenly falling from the bridge.
Spider-man arrived and stood upon the webbing with ease.
A female and male Duros couple cried out in adulation upon seeing that their child was safe with Peter carefully maneuvering on the web and handing the kid back to his parents.
"Peter!"
The teen Superhero looked up to see Ahsoka and Barriss descending down within the speeder followed by several LAAT Gunships.
The doors of the gunships opened up with Clone Troopers kneeling down as they hovered over the civilians and began pulling them up to the ships.
"That was beyond reckless." Ahsoka immediately admonished, making Peter jolt. "What were you thinking? Even my master isn't that… well, ok maybe he is."
Before Peter could think of a response, the distant roar of the giant beast echoed up ahead.
"Uh, could we put a pin on that and stop that thing?"
"Agreed." Barriss said, holding up her wrist communicator. "This is Padawan Offee, does anyone copy. Over. Master Luminara? Master Skywalker? Anyone?"
A familiar voice responded. "This is Obi-wan Kenobi. Barriss? What's going on? There are alarms blaring all throughout the city."
"Master Kenobi, I am here with Ahsoka and Peter Parker. We're in pursuit of a giant creature of some kind that's terrorizing the city. What should we do?"
Obi-wan let out a disgruntled sigh. "The Zillo Beast… Keep your distance but make sure to keep its attention on you. See if you could lure it away from populated areas."
"Hey, guys!"
"What Peter?"
"That thing is heading straight towards the Senate Building."
Looking over, they saw the gargantuan beast was indeed heading over there. For whatever reason, they will never know.
"C'mon! We need to go after that thing!" Yelled the arachnid themed hero.
"You heard the kid!" Called out one of the clones. "Move! Move! Move!"
With everyone onboard, some of the gunships took off into the air.
"So any idea where that thing came from exactly?" Peter asked as they flew after the Zillo Beast that made a beeline straight for the Senate Building.
"I don't know." Ahsoka said in slight dread, watching the Zillo nearly take down another Gunship. "I need to contact Master Skywalker."
Luckily, she didn't have to do it herself.
"Ahsoka!" Anakin's voice rang through her wrist comm. "Ahsoka are you there?"
"Master!" She answered. "I'm here!"
"Glad to hear you're alright, Snips." Said the relieved voice of her mentor. "What's going on? Obi-wan just told me you're flying around the city chasing the Zillo Beast."
"You know what that thing is?"
"Yeah, friend from Malastare. But you still haven't explained just what you're doing out there."
"You can blame Peter for getting us involved, for starters." Barriss said. "And apparently Ahsoka is blaming you for some influence on him, for some reason. Being reckless and whatnot."
"Ah guys, come on." Peter whined. "People were getting hurt or they could have been killed."
Both Padawans wanted to retort though quickly shut their mouths at the mention of lives nearly being lost.
"Good point." Ahsoka said sheepishly.
"Where are you all right now?" Anakin asked.
"En route to the Senate Building, which the Zillo Beast is heading towards right now."
Anakin grumbled. "Of course it is."
"Master?"
"I'm at the Senate building right now with senator Amidala and Chancellor Palpatine." Anakin stated. There were the sounds of roars and rumbles on his end with a momentary inhale of breath.
"And it's looking right at us now."
"We see it." Ahsoka said, having seen the Zillo beast scale the building and stop at one spot in particular.
"You need to get them out of there now!" Peter said as he went towards the gunship door. "We'll hold it off as long as possible!"
"And just how do you intend on doing that?"
"Hey, I'm great at annoying people." Peter declared. "So pissing off a Godzilla rip-off should be a cinch."
Like that, Spidey leaped out of the aircraft before shooting out a web line. Swinging with all his might in order to get towards the gargantuan beast.
"...And now I worry which one is more bothersome: Peter or my Master."
"Snips, you're no ray of sunshine yourself." Anakin chimed in.
Ahsoka only puffed her cheeks out, ignoring the light laugh Barriss let out despite the situation.
Spider-man was swinging ahead at full speed when he noticed a blur out of the corner of his eye.
"Was that?" Peter muttered, narrowing his eyes at what was moving towards the Senate Building. "Hey! Hey Mr. Maximoff! Up here."
The blur screeched to a halt and looked up to see the newest Avenger swing down to him.
"Parker? What are you doing out here?"
"Trying to get that big guys attention. Wait, why are you here?"
"I was on a date but then Godzilla here went and made a huge commotion."
"I knew I wouldn't be the only one to notice."
"Are you two done?"
The voice of Captain America came through their comms making them jump slightly.
"Hey Cap." Pietro said cheerfully. "Where are you?"
"On our way to the Senate building right now. You?"
"Same. I'm with Peter."
"I'm aware."
"Cap, we gotta distract that thing." Peter said, looking ahead at the Zillo beast that was now pounding on the domed building.
"Keep your distance." Steve said. "The rest of us will be there soon. Make sure you get any civilians out of the area."
"We'll try our best, but no promises."
"That's all I ask. Don't want to risk your lives on this."
"Please, this is what we do on a daily basis."
Swinging back up into the air once more, Spider-man swung at full speed, Quicksilver already running ahead.
Inside the Senate building, Anakin was leading Padme, Palpatine, R2 and 3P0 to an escape ship within the building made in case of an emergency. Like this one here.
They had entered the ship and shot out but the Zillo Beast spotted them.
As they tried to fly away, the Zillo Beast proved to be faster than anticipated managing to snag them right in the air.
"Aw come on." Anakin shouted out.
The Zillo held up the ship to its eye when something shot right into it making it cry out, letting the ship go. The pilot repositioned the ship giving the tenants inside time to look out the window and see Spider-man swinging all around the beast with Quicksilver running up its spine.
Around it flew a ship with Barriss and Ahsoka.
Down below, Clones scrambled to get the area secure whilst sending people indoors or away from the Zillo Beast.
Coming from another gunship, Scott, Rhodey, Hope and Sam were on being dropped off nearby.
"Jesus, look at the size of that thing!" Scott said aloud.
"Come on." Sam's wings folded out with him taking to the skies. "They need our help!"
Rhodey's own helmet snapped shut around him, flying alongside Falcon whilst Wasp shrank down and carried Scott with her.
The Zillo beast was chomping at thin air as Spider-man had narrowly avoided its jaw when a greyish-black blur flew by its face, releasing blinding lights right in its eyes.
Letting out cries of anger, its neck twitched and jolted for a moment before it began thrashing about.
"Whoa!" Sam recalled his wings into his pack to avoid the tail before bringing them back out. "Watch out for that tail."
Rhodey, who was firing away at the Zillo did indeed keep an eye on the tail though he did momentarily failed to account for the fifth limb that managed to snag him from the air.
"Hey! Let go of Rhodey, you Godzilla knock off!" Spidey called out.
In an odd moment of a response, the Zillo Beast did just that. By flinging the air pilot away from itself.
"Huh, whaddya know. It did listen to me."
Seeing Rhodey flailing about in the air, Peter went after him. Shooting out a web line, it hit one of War Machine's legs. Yanked along for the ride, Spidey shot out another in a different direction which landed on a passing gunship. Pulling with all his might, Peter was able to get Rhodey away from colliding against the Senate Building which would have damaged his suit.
"Thanks for the save, kid." Responded the War Machine, using his thrusters to re-stabilize himself.
"Anytime."
Disconnecting the web line to the gunship, Peter was dragged along by Rhodey as they went back into the action.
"Getting in a report that gas bombs are en route and it'll neutralize this thing." Rhodey stated. "Problem is, it'll take too long."
"We gotta find another way to distract it." Sam said, flying around the beast from above. "Some kind of diversion. Something big."
"I got something kind of big." Scott stated, Wasp carrying him up high in the air. "We've been working on it for a while but it could give us the time we need."
"Well whatever it is, do it." Steve said, standing with Windu, Kenobi, Aayla, Yoda and Rex from afar as they watched the whole thing transpire.
Closing his eyes, Scott did the adjustments on his wrist device before taking in a rapid succession of breaths.
"You ready, Scott?" Hope asked, nervous herself once they reached an optimal height.
He only silently nodded with her letting go and he fell right above the Zillo beast.
"I'm the boss, I'm the boss, I'm the boss." He repeated to himself. Once stopping, he pressed the button to change his size accordingly.
Everything seemed to slow to a crawl for Scott as everything became… different.
For the onlookers, they saw something quite extraordinary.
And their reactions… well...
"HOLY SHIT!" Peter bellowed out.
"OH MY GOD!"
"OK, TINY DUDE IS BIG NOW! HE'S BIG NOW!"
Scott's gigantic frame crashed down upon the Zillo Beast who roared aloud and they both went falling down to the ground.
The Zillo Beast was then punched in the head with a gigantic fist courtesy of his new opponent.
"OH~HOHOHOHOHOHOHO~!" Scott bellowed out, releasing fits of laughter. "I… AM… GI-ANT-MAN!"
"Way to go Tic-Tac." Sam praised with a beaming grin.
On the ground, Steve blinked several times in surprise. "Well… I think that'll work."
The Jedi and Clones could only gape in complete and utter shock at what they were witnessing.
From his spot, Palpatine's mind practically shut down in utter disbelief. Trying to work around what he just witnessed.
He was so distracted; he didn't see the Zillo Beast almost crushing him on the spot. Luckily for him, Anakin used the Force to pull him away just in time.
"You're safe now, Chancellor."
Palpatine didn't say anything as everything in his very being was utterly focused at the present fight before him.
"You wanna get to them, you gotta get through me."
Seemingly accepting the challenge, the Zillo Beast roared before charging at Gi-ant-man.
As they collided, Scott spoke up on the comms. "Okay so I can only hold this size for about four, maybe five more minutes. If I go beyond this, I'm gonna pass out and I don't wanna do that in the current situation here."
"Just hold it back, Scott." Kenobi called out to him. "The tanks are almost here."
"And the gas bombs are only minutes away."
"Right."
Scott reeled back a fist and swung hard, colliding with the beast's face. It roared aloud in pain and anger, quickly snapping back and butting its head against his chest.
Gi-Ant-Man stumbled back into some oversized piping. He dented the piping with a piece jutting out. Blinking, Scott saw the Zillo Beast charging at him.
Thinking fast, he grabbed the piece that stuck out and pulled out a large chunk of metal that smashed against the Zillo's neck, making it fall and crash down.
"Guys, we gotta think of something." Scott wheezed out, feeling his heartbeat against his chest growing faster. "I've only got three, maybe two minutes left."
The Zillo returned to its feet in a moment, roaring at the Gi-Ant-Man that challenged it so.
Looking at the Zillo Beast's many legs, a lightbulb went on in Spidey's head.
"Guys! I got an idea!"
"We're all ears, kid." Falcon called out, firing a volley of blaster shots at the beast's head.
"We need to tie up those legs." Peter began, hurling his body away from one of its limbs. "And gonna need to trip it so it'll go down."
"Little tricky, but it's something." Captain America said. "Okay, Peter, web up the legs. Sam, help him out on that with your cables. Rhodey, Scott, hit the Zillo Beast in the head."
"You got it!" Chorused the assigned Avengers.
Spider-man and Falcon went low, with the Web-head swinging around both legs and coating them with webbing before creating a long web line.
"Hey Quicksilver." Peter called out to the speedster, tossing him the web line.
Getting the idea, Pietro grinned and zipped around at the Zillo beast rapidly with Peter continuously providing webbing which was reinforced by Sam's cable.
The Zillo Beast began wobbling about, trying to keep a steady footing. It was about to use its arms and extra appendage to stay standing though some powerful object smacked itself hard against the top of its head, rattling it.
It barely got enough time to see the two giant fists swinging up to its face before they collided hard against its chin.
With the Zillo Beast going down, Peter cheered.
"Yes! Man that was awesome!"
His celebration distracted him from the beast's fifth limb, striking Peter when he came too close for comfort.
"PETER!" Ahsoka cried out, her and Barriss rushing towards his flailing body.
"Oh crap." Sam flew down as he too saw the kid get hit hard by the fifth limb.
As they got close, the two Padawans used the Force to help cushion their young friend's fall. Yet he was coming in too fast as he ended up colliding with them. The three tumbled across the building's surface, which Anakin used the Force to help stop them from hitting a broken piece of a gunship.
With them coming to a stop, the three teens let out fits of groans.
"Thanks for the assist, guys." Peter weakly said.
"No… problem." Ahsoka muttered out, feeling her head rattled.
Barriss started to raise herself back up when she felt something against her.
"Peter." Barriss began.
"Yeah?"
"Mind taking your hands off me?"
Pulling up his head, Peter widened his eyes and saw his hands were placed on a peculiar area on Mirialan teen. Quickly retracted his hands, he quickly produced his apologies in rapid succession.
"Sorry, sorry." Peter was so glad his mask was on.
"It's alright." Barriss dusted herself off, offering him a hand though he waved her off stating he needs a moment.
"Are you guys alright?" Sam asked, landing in front of them with Anakin jogging over as well.
"Y-yeah." Peter said tiredly, taking his mask off. "I think… I think I'm done for today."
Collapsing onto the building's surface, Scott eventually pressed the button which regulated his size. Once changing back to his normal size, Hope rushed towards his size just as he popped out his faceplate.
"Scott!" She cried out in utter concern. "C'mon, focus on me. Focus on me."
He didn't say anything at first, only gasping for air as the means to control his rapid heart rate. After several moments, he spoke.
"Does anyone have any fruit slices on hand? I could kill for some right now."
All Hope could do was chuckle a little, hugging her boyfriend in the process.
"Guess we could call this a successful test." Scott said weakly.
"Yeah, if only dad were here to see it." Hope remarked. "He'd have ten criticisms ready."
"Well… that's something you certainly don't see every day."
The two looked up to see Captain America with Kenobi and Secura in tow.
"You always had something like that up your sleeve, Scott?" Steve asked in a humored tone. "Could have used that against Ultimo."
"What? No, no." Scott played off, heaving a tired breath. "That would just be… showing… off."
With those final words, Scott passed out, snoozing against his girlfriend who gave him a fond smile and kiss on the forehead.
Their attention was caught by the sounds of something scraping against metal and a loud growl.
Looking over, they all saw the Zillo Beast trying to get back up. As it did, they saw a good number of gunships zooming straight towards them.
And they had something extra on them.
"Are those-"
"Yeah, I believe so."
Soon a good dozen or so missiles were fired and headed straight towards the Beast. Once colliding, large clouds of green vapors surrounded the creature; even some exploding into its mouth. It screeched and flailed about as the assault continued before it started slowing down considerably.
Everyone on the rooftop had to make a break for it or else they would get caught up in the vapors as well.
As the green cloud got too close, the present Jedi used the Force to push the smoke back so everyone else will be safe from harm.
Eventually, the Zillo Beast collapsed onto the Senate Building with the light leaving its eyes.
"Well... that wasn't depressing at all." Peter muttered as the sounds of the Zillo beast dying rang throughout the area. "Almost reminds me of Peter Jackson's King Kong ending."
"What?" Asked the present Padawans.
"Movie from home."
"We didn't have to do that." Windu said with a grunt of frustration and disappointment. "We were close to incapacitating it."
"The last of a species just died before us." Kenobi said somberly. "As Jedi… this was a great failure of our duty."
The Jedi Master looked over to Steve, catching the man's eyes before turning back to the Zillo that was motionless and remained that way.
All in all…
Not the best ending to the day.
Alrighty then, the clash so many had wanted has at long last occurred hope we didn't disappoint.
Then again, if that wasn't enough for ya. So here's a take two.
-Omake-
With Gi-Ant-Man confronting the Zillo Beast, many looked on in conflicting moods. The fight eventually got out of control and ended up away from the Senate Building. The two large forces attacked each other with many nearby buildings
"The arrogance of man is thinking nature is in their control." Steve muttered out.
"And not the other way around." Obi-Wan added in.
In an odd eerie silence, Peter calmly spoke one thing.
"Let them fight."
The others looked at Peter in an odd way, which ranged from "seriously" to "WTF".
"Shouldn't we try to get them away and…"
"Let them fight." Peter repeated once more.
"Guys, you do realize, people are in dang-"
Gi-Ant-Man began trading fists with the Zillo who fought back.
It was a gargantuan battle of literal epic proportions as they both in their giant frames collided with one another with one hit after another.
"The gas bombs are gonna come in at any moment now, Peter." Sam said. "We need to get these two away from the major areas and back to the Senate Building."
"LET THEM FIGHT!"
It soon dawned on Pietro on what's going on in the youngest Avenger's head right now.
"You… You just wanna see two giants fight, don't you? A Godzilla styled fight?"
Peter slowly looked down onto his feet as one of them brushed against the ground. And in a weak, pouty voice, he spoke. "Let them fight, dammit."
"I'm entertained." Anakin said. "LET THEM FIGHT!"
"Ani!" Padme yelled in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"
"What? Can you blame me, this is pretty cool."
"I cannot believe you right now."
Scott ducked under the swipe of the Zillo's fifth arm and wrapped his arms around it before reeling back and performing a back German suplex to the ground.
"WOOO." Peter and Anakin cheered with a few Clones who were close by, joining in.
Shit, had it not been for forces beyond my control I would have extended this longer but duty calls and such.
Jebest4781: Yeah and think this little bit is good enough and hard to continue from there. Making it longer than it would take away what we did on the earlier joke we did.
FMW: So yeah, Ant-man vs Zillo beast happened something you've all been wanting for quite a while now. Along with many other small sub-plots to come.
Tensions beginning to rise between Jedi and Avengers now that two of them are aware of the Jedi's restrictive ways and Steve isn't one to just ignore such matters.
I'd like to say more but I have other responsibilities to fulfil.
Jebest basically helped in churning this one out in less than a day or two, and I'll see you guys on the next chapter or story the two of us cook up
Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day.