Avengers: Infinite Wars

by free man writer

The Clone Wars are in full swing with the galaxy divided. The Jedi lead the clone army against the infinite droid army of the Separatists. Yet a wild card enters the fray. The Avengers. From there, newer, more sinister and deadlier threats emerge and The Galaxy, no, the universe, shall never be the same again. Co-written by Jebest4781 and BulletStormX. Now in Season 4.

32. D-Day

Kinda knew this one would take a bit longer to update due to the length and amount of story I wanted to convey here. There's also A Song of Fire Ice and Hearts Jebest and I have been working on, on top of my brand-new story Spirit Unto Dawn that my comrade BulletStormX and I have been working on for some time now in preparation.

And let's not even begin on Final Fantasy 7 Remake that has taken up a good portion of my time. God that game is a fucking blast.

But above all else, all else for me aside from FF7 Remake, is the beginning of the end. The Siege of Mandalore, the last four episodes of the Clone Wars have begun.

Season 7 Episode 9 is one of the best Clone Wars episodes I think I've ever watched cause my god, it literally felt like a movie. Just…. That episode defined why I love the Clone Wars so much, why so many of us love the Clone Wars so much. And there's so many Easter eggs ON TOP of Dave Filoni's little Easter egg involving Grievious's attack on Coruscant to the OG 2003 Clone Wars with Shaak Ti defending Chancellor Palpatine during the Separatist attack. So much awesome that I can't describe and this is truly the beginning of the end. Thanks Filoni, you are the fucking man.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 32: D-Day

Natasha Romanoff stared long and hard at the little baby in her lap that stared right back at the Avenger with curious eyes.

"You know, if you keep looking at her like that you may burn a hold through her."

Rhodey was very much amused at watching the two, especially Nat being put in a situation clearly alien to her. Much more alien than being on a literal alien planet.

Natasha only hummed in response, her lip twitching upward as the baby girl held out her hands to reach for her hair.

"Not for playing." Nat deadpanned, gently taking Mara Jade's hand with the baby instinctively grabbing her hand with a delighted laugh.

"If that's not adorable, I don't know what is." Sam wryly stated with a smirk.

"You almost look natural like that, Nat." Steve commented, smiling slightly at her position.

Nat wanted to rebuff in some way shape or form yet couldn't as Mara's laughter made her smile herself, bouncing the babe slightly in her lap.

"So, we're babysitting these little ones now then?" Scott stated, staring at the little green baby that comes from the species that Yoda originates from with its wide eyes gazing about the Avengers with curiosity and wonder.

"They said that they were Force-Sensitive." Pietro said, crouching down to the baby-Yoda and gently lifting him up.

"Pietro, that's not how you hold a baby." Hope said with a twitch of her brow.

"And how would you know?" Pietro challenged.

"Call it a woman's intuition." Hope dryly said. "And Scott's talked about it when his daughter was a baby."

Pietro regarded her, then Scott then the Babe in his arms that was staring blankly at him.

"Then what's the right way?"

"Give him here." Scott gestured to him to come over. Carefully, Pietro approached Scott and handed the baby into his hands with Scott feeling a sense of familiarity as he made sure to hold the child properly.

"There, like that." Scott said, pointing to his arm that supported the entirety of the baby-Yoda's body. "Nice and comfortable for the little guy."

"This is just weird." Peter Parker said, hanging upside down as he gazed at the babies.

"You're telling me." Matt Murdock stated. "I was supposed to be filing the forms for my next court cases. And now, I'm here."

"We all are." Steve said, sighing aloud. "And we're still missing Wanda and Viz and this prince you two mentioned."

"T'challa, yeah." Peter said, letting go of his web line and landing on his feet. "He was with us when we popped up here in this galaxy."

"Meaning he's somewhere out there just like Ms. Maximoff and Mr.…. Vision." Matt said.

"We've gotten lucky so far." Sam stated. "Every single one of us either found their way back to the group or we just stumbled into a situation where one of us was there."

"So… what?" Rhodey said. "We just keep hoping that we get lucky? I'd rather not leave it to luck."

"Specially with what you four told us." Nat said, looking to the three New Yorkers and bird-based Avenger. "There's the chance that there are other enemies that have arrived in this galaxy."

"Also leading to possibly more coming in." Pietro said with a grave tone.

"Well~" Scott let out a sigh. "Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."

"Preaching to the choir." Sam said. "So then, what's our play Cap? We've helped out with the Jedi and the Republic with these past few weeks. They've provided us a place to stay but honestly, not really keen on staying here much longer."

"Agreed." Pietro said, playing a little with the baby-Yoda in his arms. "I'm fine with staying at the temple and all but would like my own place at some point."

"What about the kids?" Peter asked, now walking over to Nat with Mara Jade who gazed up at Peter curiously. "Can we take them? Are we even allowed to? Qualified even?"

"Aside from Scott and Hope, not so much." Sam admitted.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Dude, you're a dad."

"No, not that part." Scott waved off. "The other. What do you mean we can't take them?

"In case you forgot, these little tykes are Force sensitive and need to be put under protection of the Jedi order." Rhodey pointed out.

"And make them into emotionless drones for the Republic that's clearly a lot more corrupt then they let on?" Nat said dryly, holding Mara closer to her. "Yeah, thanks but no thanks, had enough of that back on Earth thank you."

Some of the Avengers shifted about uncomfortably with Matt in particular tightening his hold on his walking stick rather tightly.

"From what I looked up, the earliest the kids can be drafted are a few years from now when they can properly walk and talk." Steve said

"And what about this little guy?" Pietro gestured to the baby-Yoda.

"...He is up to debate." Rhodey said plainly.

"Why?" Hope asked.

"Apparently, since he comes from Yoda's species they age rather differently compared to all of us." Rhodey explained.

"Yoda said he was near 900 years old." Steve recalled. "And this little one is only thirty."

"So… What? We gotta wait a hundred years for him to hit puberty?" Sam asked rhetorically.

"Cap, not try to say anything here but I'm pretty sure the only one of us who might make it past those hundred years is you." Scott said sheepishly.

"And that means?"

"Your stubbornness will outlive us all." Nat dryly said, making Steve snort.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Think we should give this little guy a name?" Scott asked, holding the Baby-Yoda up slightly. "Gonna get tired of calling him 'The child' or 'baby-Yoda' all the time."

Some of the Avengers looked at the baby-Yoda with the child staring back at them with its large black innocent eyes.

"How 'bout Kevin?" Peter asked.

Nat said with a dry look. "Kevin?"

"Why Kevin?" Sam asked in bewilderment.

"I don't know, just throwing ideas out there." Peter said plainly.

"We can put a tab on that later. Probably give us some time in making a list of names appropriate; that are not like 'Kevin'." Sam stated.

Peter merely rolled his eyes with a small pout. "At least I thought of a name."

"Comrades!"

Tap's sudden statement for their attention made several jump with Mara Jade beginning to cry, Nat trying to calm her down.

"Tap, give us a better warning next time." Rhodey said with a frown.

"Apologies." The AI said earnestly. "But I have news! Gather around my comrades and behold."

"This better be worth it." Nat grumbled. "It took forever last time to calm Mara down."

From the workstation, out popped seven rectangular cards.

"Thanks to comrades Matthew and Peter's timely arrival, I have at long last completed the completion of Mr. Stark's Secondary project for new Avengers team!" Tap said happily. "Your Avengers ID cards, my Comrades."

The Avengers save for Scott and Nat, each came up to take their new ID cards with Steve handing Nat hers and Hope for Scott.

"So how do these work exactly?" Steve inquired.

"Retrofitted with best Communications capabilities." Tap boasted proudly. "Difficult to jam, able to interface with any comms channels."

"How's the distance between them?" Scott questioned. "Since there are no satellites to originally work off with, what is the reach?"

"With the network processing needed within this galaxy, several systems over." Tap said. "I've had to utilize and optimize the use of the Republic communications systems across their controlled space."

"Wait, so we can communicate with one another on separate planets?" Pietro asked excitedly.

"Should probably test them out in the field at some point just to be sure." Rhodey said with many nodding in agreement.

All the while, the Jedi Council with several other members were conducting a meeting of their own. The majority of the council was present with a select other Jedi members; Jedi being those that have worked constantly or at one point with the Avengers.

"Geonosis has been retaken by the Separatists." Windu said in grim countenance as the assembled Jedi stood around the projected planet of interest. "And their factories have been started back up, including-" A section of the planet was highlighted with a separate display of a particularly large set of stone structures. "-the largest known droid factory to date."

"From the data file that Senator Amidala has retrieved for us from Cato Neimoidia, this droid factory is not only one that produces battle droids but a new kind of tank that may prove to be devastating to our war efforts overall." Kenobi added.

"What is to be done then?" Ki Adi Mundi inquired.

"Attacking the main factory will accomplish nothing." Anakin stated, stepping forward. "This factory has been heavily reinforced with multiple Anti-aircraft and vehicle guns as well as a personalized ray shield from the inside."

"It means we are looking at a more brutal, ground based assault." Aayla added. "We will need to secure landing zones if we are to take out this factory and retake Geonosis."

"And it's not gonna be easy." Anakin said, moving the map over to another portion of the Geonosis a distance away from the main factory. "After consulting with Admiral Yularen and several other officers, we've all agreed that these trio of factories and bases to be our best bet for gaining a foothold and staging area on re-taking Geonosis."

"They appear to be the least defended of the factories on Geonosis though that's not saying much." Kenobi said with a frown.

"We're gonna be in for a fight, no matter how many different ways we look at it." Anakin said grimly.

"What of these Sith Acolytes that some of us have been encountering these past few weeks?" Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di asked aloud. "I have noticed that several of us have been encountering a disturbingly high number of these acolytes of Dooku."

"Couldn't help but agree with you on that." Anakin grumbled, thinking back to Mustafar.

"A greater disturbance, there is." Yoda spoke up for the first time since calling for this meeting. "Learned of a greater betrayal, unfortunately I have."

Walking slowly forward, the Geonosis layout was shrunken down to be replaced by security footage of the Jedi Temple holding cells.

"Tampered with, this was." Yoda said, giving clarification as to why he was showing this. "But after extensive reconstruction, answers to forgotten questions we have."

The holo-video displayed a Jedi in a holding cell. A Jedi master by the name of Prosset Dibs. with him being released by one…

"Master Bulq?" Windu spoke up in both surprise but also… disappointment and even slight heartbreak.

"Another master it seems, fallen to the sway of the dark side, has Master Sora Bulq." Yoda said with a grim tone that made Windu lower his head.

"This war is proving to be more disastrous than it first started." Kenobi said soberly at the loss of yet another Jedi. enough were dying as is but more and more it seems were turning on the order, on the Force itself.

"As much as I understand this matter to be grave," Plo Koon spoke up now, briefly glancing over to a stoic Windu. "There is still the matter at hand with Geonosis."

"Mast Plo is right." Windu stated, gazing back up with a dark glint in his eye. "We will handle Sora Bulq when the time comes. Right now, our efforts on retaking Geonosis is paramount."

"How many Jedi are we talking about then?" Aayla asked. "How many companies? Divisions? It took the entire Clone army introduction just to win the first time."

"We need to tread more cautiously." Mundi said. "Throwing Clones recklessly into the frontlines like that would be the death of us all."

"We can't send everyone, though." Kenobi pointed out. "Too much of a force would leave us more stretched thin then we already are."

"Too little and we would be kicked off before we could even get our fighters out." Windu added. "We need an ace in the hole to level the playing field."

"Should we ask for the Avengers' help in retaking Geonosis then?" Ahsoka Tano, who had been respectfully silent during the meeting, perked up at the idea of an 'Ace in the Hole'.

Several of the present Jedi conversed with themselves with this present question.

Anakin, however, didn't hesitate in stating the obvious. "Why shouldn't we ask for their help." He rhetorically said. "They're friends and have helped us out since arriving here. They would not hesitate in accepting our request."

"You are not thinking rationally, young Skywalker." Windu sternly.

"What's that supposed to mean? With the growing threat, we need all the help we can get." Anakin pointed out. "And they've been with us with every step of the way since they got here."

"Most of that was circumstantial, Anakin."

"Obi-wan, how could you even believe that?" Anakin called his master out on his own statement which he knew his former master barely believed. "The Avengers helped us in saving those children and in getting back our Holocron."

"They've also saved our lives and our troopers on numerous occasions." Aayla compounded on Skywalker's statement. "We cannot so light discard this idea."

Anakin moved his hand over to the Twi'lek Jedi and made a face that screamed "see!".

"There is truth to this." Plo agreed, crossing his arms in thought.

"We should at the very least approach them cautiously." Obi-wan said. "I've managed to at least build a solid rapport with them, same as several of us here. Our best bet is several of us that they trust."

It was rather humorous at how many of the Jedi looked at Anakin and Ahsoka so blatantly.

"What?"

-Scene Cut-

Natasha was smiling, finding herself greatly amused at the waving arms of a happy Mara Jade who she was holding high in the air.

"You're not as fat as Clint's little newcomer, thankfully." Natasha said teasingly, lowering the baby and tapped her on the nose.

"Good thing she can't understand those words just yet." Hope said, smiling at the laughing baby.

Currently, Pietro, Scott, Sam and Rhodey were getting rather hungry with the group going out to eat. Steve and Matt were getting better acquainted with one another whilst Peter kept himself busy by trying to figure out how his suit functioned completely. There were so many damn programs and attachments to his suit, he had a feeling Mr. Stark had rather over done it. Right next to the Web-head was the Baby-Yoda swinging around in a small web-swing Peter made for him to keep him entertained.

"This is interesting." Tap spoke up from Rhodey's armor set, transferring over to one of the computers that Scott and Hope had set up. "I found something Comrades. Something of interest."

"Whaddya got." Steve asked, making the other Avengers look to Tap's holographic display of radio waves.

"I was utilizing the Republics intergalactic comms channel and I found some kind of match, so to speak."

"What?" Peter's head perked up. "A match? A match of what?"

"A match of an Earth based Communication-wave." Tap revealed, gaining the undivided attention of all the present Avengers.

"Are you serious, Tap?" Hope asked, wondering the odds of such a thing. "How, when… where?"

"A place that you and Comrade Natasha have recently learned of that the Senator Padme brought back." Tap stated plainly.

"Geonosis?"

"Yes Comrades."

"Geonosis." Steve mused to himself. "Anakin and Obi-wan told me that that was the planet where the war began. And you two with Senator Amidala talked about a droid factory being built there, right?"

"Yeah." Nat murmured, eyes on Mara who had successfully snagged a piece of her red locks in her chubby hand. "So… there's a chance that one of our friends or an enemy could be on Geonosis."

"Wait, how do we know that it's one of ours?" Hope asked. "Or even if it is recent? This could be weeks old for all we know…. Is it?"

"It is very recent, Comrade Hope." Tap stated. "Measuring how long the message was sent out and received into the Republic communications system, the communication relay is only a week old."

"Well that solves everything." Matt said sarcastically. "What do we do then?"

Peter hummed aloud. "Well… aside from that Rumlow guy who was with us in that warehouse when we got sent here, the only other guy that was there was Klaue aside from the Prince of Wakanda. And there's still Ms. Maximoff and Mr. Vision out there."

"So a 1 out of 4 chance of finding a pain in the ass-" Hope held out one hand with her index finger up. "-and a 3 out of 4 chance of finding one of our lost heroes." She held out her other hand with three fingers up.

"25 percent is still a big chance out of four." Nat murmured.

"What do you think, Captain?" Matt asked respectfully.

Steve regarded the blind lawyer with a bemused smile, expression changing a moment after into deep contemplation.

"Before I try to make any final decisions, we do need to talk with the Jedi."

"Why?"

"Need to be sure we could try and get over there. From what Nat and Hope discovered, it's a Separatist territory once more and that means we could be walking into a trap."

As if by chance or fate itself, the door to their room opened and in walked Ahsoka, Anakin and Obi-wan Kenobi.

"Speak of the devil." Peter said, shooting Matt a knowing look which he knew the blind lawyer could detect with his other senses. Matt only deadpanned at the young teen.

"Anakin." Steve greeted. "Obi-wan, Ahsoka, what can we do for you guys?"

"Is it too much to just check up on friends?" Ahsoka said cheekily, looking on in amusement at the Baby-Yoda still swinging on his web swing happily.

"If only it would be such an occasion." Obi-wan bluntly said. "I'm afraid we come here with a very serious request."

"Which is?"

"Geonosis."

The Avengers looked at each other for the briefest of moments with varying expressions crossing their faces.

"Uh… Nice timing I guess." Peter said, rubbing the back of his head.

Ahsoka quirked a brow. "What's that mean?"

"Let's just say we've discovered something recently from our helper, Tap, that correlates with your request about said planet." Matt stated vaguely.

"Something that may involve one of our lost comrades." Hope said. "Or… an enemy."

Now it was the Jedi that exchanged looks with one another.

"Perhaps we should discuss things with the others."

-Scene Cut-

Captain Steve Rogers stood with Colonel James Rhodes, Lieutenant Sam Wilson and Special Agent Natasha Romanoff around a holo-table within the flagship of Anakin Skywalker's fleet, The Resolute. Spider-man hung upside down, gazing at the bridge they all resided in.

Around the table was Anakin, Aayla and Ahsoka in person with Captain Rex and Commander Bly. There was also the holo-transmissions of Jedi's Obi-wan, Mundi, Luminara, Barriss, Ima-Gun Di, Windu and Yoda. their respective commanders and captains were with their assigned Jedi generals. Cody, Gree, Bacara, Jet, Keeli, Ponds and Thire. And last but not least was Chancellor Palpatine who was a part of this large assemblage of individuals.

The Avengers were also present upon separate ships throughout this conference call, all linked from the massive fleet that had been brought together and was nearing the planet of its destination.

Geonosis.

"This is it everyone." Anakin said aloud with a gleam in his eyes. "Let's go over Cap's plan carefully now."

After meeting with the Avengers back on Coruscant with the matter of Geonosis as well as the situation they are facing, Sam Wilson and James Rhodes immediately made a joke of some kind. They said something about D-day with Steve holding an intense look in his eyes at the mention of this "D-Day".

Steve was given an overview of the layout of the targeted factories, their defenses and after careful deliberation formulated a plan of action.

And now was the time to put said plan into motion.

"To think we would be back here again." Mundi muttered as they gazed out onto the barren world where the war had started.

"What I worry about is the way this war seems to be drawing out with no end in sight." Commented Kenobi, earning stern nods from the others.

"Which is why our invasion on Geonosis meets with success."

"Agreed."

"Our ships are in position, and we are ready to begin our campaign against the Geonosians."

"And what about Poggle?" Windu inquired. "Any report on his location?"

Obi-wan had a display ready for them with the droid factory schematics Senator Amidala retrieved for them prior to this invasion.

"It seems he's holed up at the primary droid foundry here. It's protected by a shield generator. And it's heavily protected." Some displays appeared with a coordinated strategy highlighted. "Teams with the following: Anakin and Aayla, Ki-Adi and Ima-Gun Di, and Luminara and I shall attempt a three-pronged attack through their defense lines to a staging area just short of the shields. Once we have landed, we shall knock out the shield generator, which is our primary target."

"Isn't it risky committing six Jedi generals to one area of the attack?" Palpatine questioned. "If something went wrong, we could be dealt a serious blow."

"To prevent the rise of the Geonosians, Capture Poggle we must." Yoda stated.

"Hmmm, be that as it may, Master Yoda." Palpatine said with a concerned frown. "This does not assuage my worries."

"That's what we're here for, Chancellor." Rhodey stated confidently. "Us and the clones will make sure the Jedi get out of this mess in one piece."

Some of the commanding Clones managed to reign in their snorts and snickers with some of their Jedi counterparts giving them amused expressions.

Several holograms appeared before Steve displaying Gunships carrying troops and tanks along with multiple Y-wing and Arc-wings.

"Alright, in part of Obi-wan's plans; this is a multi-pronged assault here." Steve said. "From what we've got on the defenses, the key here is keeping those anti-aircraft guns off the gunships. We can't risk the Venators and Acclamators and orbital bombardment is practically null and void thanks to some of the droid factories being underground. Which is why bombers and fighters will be extremely important here. We're gonna need three sets of fighter formations. An advanced bombing run to begin their first attack, getting into those ray shields around the factories and softening up some of the enemy forces. They'll be on alert and will counter heavily. That's when wave two and three from all ships come in.

While wave one of the fighters circle round to prepare another bombing run and keep off whatever planet side air support the Seps may have, Wave two will provide another bombing run as well as a defensive offense that can keep the guns off our troop transports long enough to land us on the ground. Each set of transports will have a fighter escort of no more than three Y-wing bombers and three Arc-wing fighters. We need to make sure that we keep the fighters rotating to keep the Geonosians and Droids disorganized and from being able to hit the gunships. The more gunships get taken down, the lower of a chance we have in securing Bravo, Point Rain and No Man's Land."

As Steve described the plan, the holographic displays of the bombers, fighters and gunships showed Cap's plan in motion with the area "Point Rain" being a red circled area in the center front of the three factories they would be attacking.

"Landing the artillery within the ray shielding of each factory is paramount." Rhodes stated. "Having those guns can speed up the battle, with us gaining our foothold sooner than later."

"Let's not forget that the droid factories we're targeting will undoubtedly be sending out droids of their own to fight back against our forces." Commander Cody pointed out.

"There's also the Geonosians." Captain Rex added, recalling all too well at how deadly they can be. "This is their planet and their turf. If anyone would know how to fight us on this planet, it'd be them."

"Landing our troops in defensive formations before the bulk of our forces could be added is the most critical detail it seems." Aayla Secura stated. "We can't just rush recklessly in like last time."

"We won't." Mundi assured.

"This is a well and good plan, my friends." Palpatine spoke up in his calm manner. "Still, I advise you to exercise caution as foolish as a statement that may be in a time of war. I'd rather not lose 6 generals, two up and coming Padawans, the Avengers and our best troopers all in one fell swoop."

When he put it like that...

"Don't worry, Chancellor." Anakin said with pure determination. "We've got one another and the Force for this battle. We will not lose."

Looking at Anakin, Chancellor let out a sigh before giving the group an encouraging smile.

"I'm sure you won't."

With that, the Chancellor signed off the holo-coms.

The fleet drew closer and closer to Geonosis, the Republic and Clone officers all directing their soldiers to their ships and transports.

"We know our mission." Windu said aloud. "You all have your assigned targets and your teammates. Good luck to you all. May the Force be with you."

With that, Windu signed off.

"You heard 'em." Steve said. "Let's get to it."

The transmissions between the ships cut off with the groups of Clones, Jedi and Avengers all moving to their hangar bays in preparation for the upcoming battle.

-Scene Cut-

Aboard the Resolute, Falcon and War Machine headed off to their Starfighters and squadrons who were going over the recent mission details that they had received from Steve's overall plan.

Captain Rogers and Black Widow walked alongside Anakin, Aayla, Rex and Bly.

"Is every trooper prepped for the assault, Commander?" Aayla asked Bly who was right by her side.

"Every soldier is prepped and ready." Bly said assuredly. "Cameron, Flash and Lucky have reported all platoons and divisions are just about loaded to their gunships and tanks."

"Good to hear."

"Rex?" Anakin said expectantly.

"Same on the 501st sir." Rex stated. "Echo and Hevy told me the boys are rarin' to go."

Anakin smirked, looking ahead to see his Padawan standing amongst some of the 501st with Peter sitting beside her on a crate, his suit on save for his mask grasped in his hands. The young teen was a bit nervous, boring holes into his white lenses.

"You sure it's a good idea to be bringing along Parker?" Anakin inquired, turning to Steve who was also coincidentally gazing at the young boy.

Steve immediately shook his head. "Not in the slightest."

"Then why bring him along, sir?" Captain Rex asked respectfully, sending a glance over at the topic of discussion. "Not that he's unskilled, he helped keep a lot of the boys alive during the mission to retrieve the Holocron. But this is an active battlefield."

"A kid like him would have snuck aboard." Steve said with a knowing look. "Someone like Peter, if he sees a situation pointed south and he has the power to do something about it, he will not hesitate in running in."

"So he's basically a fusion of you and Tony into one then?" Nat asked with a knowing grin which Steve snorted at.

Anakin remained silent, thinking on Steve's words. It was rather strange at how easy it was for him to relate to such a notion.

"Kinda like you and me." Steve said, nudging the Jedi out of his thoughts.

"What? I'm not reckless." Anakin said in faux offense.

Steve gave him a look making Anakin chortle with Aayla sniggering to herself.

"He has a point, Anakin." Aayla said with a light tone.

"Er, not to disrespect you General." Bly said with a knowing tone. "But I believe I could list down at least a dozen instances of your own recklessness."

Aayla turned to her first-in-command with her mouth agape in betrayal.

"And I was there for every one of those times." Bly added on making the normally calm and composed Twi'lek Jedi Knight puff her cheeks out with the rest of the group chuckling at her reaction.

Looking back over to Parker, Steve finished what he had originally wanted to say.

"Parker has a mindset to help even if he doesn't know what he's doing half the time. He just needs a few pointers here and there and the rest will come naturally to him." Steve stated. "Besides, he was doing the whole helping people gig well before Stark met him and before he wound up here."

As Steve stated this matter, Anakin looked over to Ahsoka who was conversing with several of the Clone Troopers one of them being Fives with the group sharing a laugh. Though she managed it well enough, he could sense the trepidation coming off from his Padawan. He couldn't really blame her really. This was rather different from Ryloth and some of the other battles they had conducted earlier this year. This was a full-on invasion with the amount of Jedi and Clone Troopers mounted for it on top of the entire team of the Avengers being present for it.

Speaking of Ahsoka…

"Not sure Commander." Fives said knowingly. "Even though you two are Jedi, how will you be able to keep track of the droids you scrap today?"

"Yeah, pretty sure even Hevy will lose count here." Cutup remarked nudging his fellow Clone brother who only smirked in response.

"Just sounds all the more challenging." Hevy remarked proudly, hefting up his Z-6 Rotary Gun. "Me and Hardcase have been meaning to test out who'd get the most in one battle."

Ahsoka shook her head with a small smile, listening in amusement at her Legion banter back and forth in preparation for the battle.

She glanced over at Parker and found herself frowning at the rather intense look he held as he gazed at his mask grasped tightly in his hands.

Going over to him, she placed a hand on his shoulder with the teen glancing at her from the side before returning his gaze back to his mask.

"Nervous?"

Peter didn't bother with denial. "Yeah, kinda am really."

"It's alright to be nervous." Ahsoka assured. Her words were heard by some of the Clones she was talking with earlier. "I know I was for my first few missions."

"What do you got to worry about, kid?" Hevy spoke up, walking up to stand in front of Peter. "Domino Squad here knows how good you are after our run in with that freakshow Durge."

"Yeah, you can handle yourself Peter." Ahsoka said brightly.

He gave them a weak smile. "That was one instance. In an enclosed space where there's a lot more control. This is an open battlefield."

"Well we've got faith in ya, kid." Cutup said aloud, lightly patting the web-head on the back. "With you, the Jedi, and the rest of the Avengers we've got this battle in the bag."

Peter found himself staring a bit in surprise at the confidence the Clone seemed to have for him, a sentiment shared with the other members of Domino squad as well as the Clones present for the Holocron retrieval mission.

"Besides, you already saved my life once with Bane when you first appeared on Coruscant and then went and chased after the Zillo Beast." Ahsoka tacked on, making other Clones catch wind of this.

"Wait, you tried taking on the Zillo Beast?!" A random Clone walked up to the Web-head.

"Uh~ Yeah, kinda." Peter said abashedly.

"Kinda is sort of underselling it." Ahsoka said with a coy smirk. "You literally jumped headfirst off our ship and swung right for it, chasing it to the Senate Building."

"Wait, was that you that was swinging around from the Holo-news?" Another Clone asked.

"They caught that?" Peter asked in bewilderment.

"Well, it's good to see everyone is in high spirits."

Everyone turned to see Anakin at the head of the group composed of the two Clone officers, Aayla, Steve and Nat.

"Everyone set to go?" Steve asked.

"Yes Captain Rogers." The Clones around them answered with sharp salutes.

"Then you know what you all must do." Aayla said stoically. "Remember the plan, your training and stick close together. We will be landing in heavy blaster fire."

"We're more than ready, General Secura." Hevy said confidently.

Without needing anymore words to be said, the Clones, Jedi and Avengers all began to make their way over to their assigned gunships.

Before that…

"Peter." Steve caught the young teens attention. "A moment."

Peter stared at the super-soldier, briefly glancing at Ahsoka who merely shrugged.

Going over to stand behind the LAAT they were to use in this battle, Steve placed a steady hand upon the young heroes shoulder.

"Are you ready, Queens?"

"..."

It was a bit astonishing how the mention of home was all Peter needed to hear to feel everything really hit him now. Here he was, out in a galactic conflict about to step forth on a real battlefield for the first time in his life.

He was not ready.

Peter only sighed, slipping on his mask.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Cap." Peter said warily.

Steve only gave him a hard stare, letting out his own tired sigh.

"I know that if I tried to keep you chained down on Coruscant, you'd have snuck on board or stirred up your own trouble back at the temple." Steve said, making Peter's head shift downward.

"Yeah, I would." Peter admitted.

"Least you're honest about it." Steve said, a hint of approval in his tone. "Which is why I wanted you to come with me specifically. Don't go rushing off doing anything to daring and crazy. Watch out for the Clones, keep them and yourself safe. Watch our backs as well."

"Will do Cap." Peter put on a more determined expression under his mask, with Steve patting him approvingly on the shoulder one more time before the two entered their gunship. The side doors sealed shut before them and they felt the motion of the gunship raising itself up off the ground and flew out into the skies of Geonosis.

Meanwhile, another Avenger was preparing himself for ground combat along with him catching up with several new friends he had made since coming to this galaxy.

"It is good to see you are doing well, Pietro." Jedi Master Ima-Gun Di said with a friendly smile directed at the Avengers' Speedster.

"Well I'm just glad you and the rest of the 71st are doing so well now." Pietro remarked, throwing his arms around both Di and Captain Keeli that was on Pietro's other side. "It'll be just like Ryloth 'cept we'll be kicking twice as much metal ass then last time."

"Just try to make sure you leave some for the rest of us, Maximoff." Keeli said in faux seriousness. "Otherwise all that target practice would be for nothing."

"I could hold up a few droid heads if that'll make ya feel any better." Pietro suggested with a grin making Keeli buck his arm off with his own smirk.

"You would do that."

"Master Di."

The three friends turned to see Ki-Adi Mundi being accompanied by two Clone Commanders.

"Mundi." Di greeted his fellow Jedi. "Are all troopers prepped and ready?"

"Commander's Bacara and Jet made sure of it." Mundi assured, gesturing his head to both Commanders by his sides.

"Two Commanders, eh?" Pietro looked at the two of them curiously. "I always figured each legion has one overall Commander or Captain."

"We are a special case." Clone Commander Jet stated. "21st Nova Corps, otherwise known as the Galactic Marines."

"We specialize in sieging and invading enemy planets." Clone Commander Bacara stated in a gruff tone.

"Commander Bacara is one of the best Clone Officers in the entirety of the Grand Army of the Republic." Mundi said. "And Commander Jet here has been on the frontlines with me and Bacara since the start of the war. They are two men I trust with my life."

"Pleasure to meet you both." Di said cordially to the two Commanders.

"Sirs." Keeli saluted them both, very much aware of Bacara and Jet's reputation, especially of the former.

Bacara is renowned as one of the most efficient and ruthless Clone Commanders within the entire Clone Army and is considered by many who had undergone the ARC training regimen to be one of the most prized students. One did not lead a force as large as the Galactic Marines without having the reputation and the skills to back it up.

"Come on, we've got a long day ahead of us." Bacara said with a no-nonsense tone making several of the group stare as he walked off.

Mundi sighed a moment later. "Apologies for his attitude. He means well it's just how he conducts himself that sometimes leaves a lot left to be desired."

"That's what I'm here for, General." Commander Jet said, placing a hand on Mundi's shoulder with the Jedi giving him an appreciative smile.

"Of which I am thankful for." Mundi said.

"It is time." Gun Di stated. "May the Force be with us all."

As Di and Mundi with their troops were boarding their Gunships, aboard Kenobi's ship, three other Avengers were making their own preparations with the Clones and Jedi.

"How is it that you are able to shrink the tanks down to such a degree?" Barriss Offee inquired with open wonder as she held up a small shrunken down AT-TE with several Clones gathered around her.

"We have our ways." Hope said with a mischievous wink, taking out several more AT-TE's. "Here Commander Gree, hand these out amongst the Clones."

"Appreciated ma'am." Gree said with a nod, going over to several Clones and handing them out.

"So, how exactly does it work?" A random Clone asked.

"Real simple."

Everyone turned to see Scott walking over, holding up his arm.

"Hope and I got the controls registered onto our wrist pads here." Scott explained. "Once on the ground, just place them down and fall back to give us the signal. They'll expand in an instant."

"Will it work?" A skeptical clone inquired.

"Sure will." Another Clone Spoke up, this one being a member of the 212th battalion with his armor being a complete overhaul with it being ARF variant armor with a more dirt texture on the armor overall. One distinguishing trait that stood out from the color scheme and armor was the small familiar Twi'lek plastered on the right side above the visor of this clone's helmet.

"Waxer." Hope said with a smile. "It's good to see you again."

"Good to see you too ma'am." Waxer said, taking off his helmet giving her a friendly grin.

"Where's Boil?" Hope asked, looking around.

"He's prepping with Commander Cody." Waxer said, thumbing behind him. "By the way, been meaning to ask."

"What is it?" Hope said.

"Is that guy with the horned helmet another of you Avengers?"

"Matt?" Scott said. "Yeah, he's one of our newer members from back home that wound up here somehow. So we've got another boost in numbers."

"How many of you Avengers are there?" Another Clone asked.

Scott hummed in thought. "Right now, with us on hand we have nine. But there's still three others out there lost in the galaxy, two back home on Earth and two more… Well God knows where those two guys are."

The Clones stared blankly with Barriss Offee frowning momentarily in thought as she did the math in her head.

"So there's seventeen of you in total." Barriss stated.

"For now." Scott said with a shrug. "When it's needed, there's always more we can recruit."

"We're not all that picky really." Hope said.

"Yeah, if a guy like me could get in, I'd say anyone is eligible." Scott added.

"A guy like you, sir?" A clone said questioningly.

Hope shot her boyfriend a look with an expectant brow raised with Scott slightly cringing in self-deprecation.

"Er… yeah, you see…"

"Alright boys!" Commander Gree stepped in, helmet on. "It's go time, all troops head to your gunships and prep for launch. We're going in heavy with a storm of blaster fire as our greeting cards."

"Story for another time boys." Scott remarked, helmet snapping shut around his head with Hope doing the same. "Let's get to it."

"Ah I wish our helmets could do that."

Whilst the 41st began boarding their gunships, most of the 212th was all set and ready with Obi-wan and Commander Cody being the last of their battalion to board their gunships.

"No sir, I wasn't involved in the first invasion of Geonosis." Cody informed his general as they walked towards Kenobi's gunship.

"Well, you didn't miss much." Kenobi said whimsically. "Last time I was here, I was chained to a giant pole and was attacked by several huge monsters."

"That sounds…" Cody wasn't exactly sure on how to answer that one. "Entertaining."

"Oh it was." Kenobi said knowingly. "For the Geonosians."

"Hey, Obi."

Both Clone and Jedi turned to see Scott jogging over to join Obi-wan in his gunship.

"Ah, Scott, I take it Hope and you have prepared the troops?" Kenobi inquired.

"Yeah, she's all set with Luminara and Barriss." Scott said. "I'm riding with ya."

"Appreciate the company." Obi-wan said, looking to Cody a moment later. "I'll see you down there, Commander."

Cody only nodded.

Kenobi's gunship closed with Cody going over to his own. And waiting for him there was one of the newest enhanced beings that had been found and working with the republic for this attack.

Matt Murdock was silent as he sat within the gunship he was to fly in on and was trying to make heads or tails of his current predicament.

When his old mentor Stick spoke about war and such, the blind lawyer was pretty sure this was not what he had in mind.

Billions of light years away, participating in a war out of sci-fi novel along with being a member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

If he were to have added any of that onto his resume underneath being a lawyer, at the very least the clientele may turn out to be quite interesting.

"Sir."

Matt "looked" up with that Clone Commander that he was assigned to standing before him.

"We're prepped and ready for launch." The Clone said respectfully.

"No need for that, Commander… Cody, correct?" The Clone nodded. "I'm an Avenger, not a soldier. I'll be following your lead and orders and help out when I can the way I know how. This is your battle."

"Understood sir." Cody nodded.

Daredevil sighed to himself, holding up his greatly upgraded Billy club. Clenching it tightly, it expanded out into its bo staff mode with it crackling with electricity before he changed the mode up to wield to electrified Nun-chaku before magnetically attaching them to the sides of his thighs. Breathing to keep himself calm, Matt felt the gunship he stood within lurch forward up out of the hangar bay and down into battle.

-Scene Cut-

From practically all Venators, Y-wings and Arc-wings quickly flew out from the hangars of their ships and flew forward at full speeds down to the ground of Geonosis below.

Sam and Rhodey lead from their own loaned out Jedi Starfighters.

"This is Falcon." Sam spoke up. "All birds and squadrons call in."

"This is Broadside, Shadow-1 ready for first run."

"This is Tag. Shadow-2"

"Matchstick, Shadow-3 reporting in."

"Shadow-4 ready."

"Shadow-5, all set."

"Kickback, Blue-2, set and ready."

"Swoop, Blue-3 ready for action."

"Slammer here. Blue-4"

"Tucker, Blue-5 wings in the air."

"You ready, Rhodey?" Sam asked his fellow pilot and Avenger.

"All set and good to go." Rhodey declared. "Red Squadron, Green Squadron, report in."

"Ripper, Hunter-1 all set to go Colonel."

"Hunter-2, Keg, set."

"Goji, Red-1 here."

"Engle, Red-2."

"Rod, Red-3."

Once the 4 squadrons and fighters all reported in, Falcon and War Machine pivoted their fighters down towards the surface.

"Alright boys, keep formations loose but stay in line." Rhodey ordered. "Seppies will be looking to split us up at every chance we get. Remember formations we've shown you and keep in pairs of up to 2 or 3. Watch each other's Six, it's about to get real crowded up here."

"YES SIR!" Was the collective response of all Clone Pilots.

"Here we go boys." Falcon said aloud, pivoting his ship down into a steep angle headed straight for the surface below with nearly 40 other ships following in his wake.

They were immediately met with a hail of blaster fire from both Separatist Droids and the Geonosians.

"Watch that flak!" Sam ordered as his fighter swooped in low, barely a few yards over the ground with him firing repeatedly, Rhodey following up on the rear.

On their way down, they lost several bombers from the constant fire they were flying straight into. It was a miracle that it was a literal count on one hand amount that they lost as they began their bombing run.

The duo unleashed a hailstorm of blaster fire with the bombers flying in overhead to deliver their payload.

"This is colonel Rhodes. First wave effective and begin our next attack sequence. Wave two, Wave three, you guys are up."

"Copy that Colonel." A Clone Pilot said. "Alright here we go boys. This is Hawk, Torrent-1 all fighters form up behind me."

"This is Sideswipe, Silver-1, all fighters ready to go."

Two dozen more Y-wing bombers flew down and right behind them were the multitude of Gunships and tank carriers that had their sets of Arc-wings and Z-95 Starfighters escorts.

The second wave of fighters flew ahead with them now being bombarded by Anti-Aircraft shells and Geonosian Sonic Cannons. They also were now engaging enemy starfighters, specifically the Geonosian Nantex-class Territorial Defense Starfighters.

"Enemy bogeys incoming." Hawk said aloud.

"Keep on your trajection, Hawk." Rhodey chimed in. "We're coming back around."

No sooner had Rhodey said this, several dozen Y-wings and Arc-wings swooped by right in front of Hawk's group of starfighters.

It was a pincer maneuver led by Sam and Rhodey on separate sides with the two blasting away at the Geonosian Starfighters, their own squadrons following suit. A dogfight erupted with the second and third wave slipping through.

"This is Lieutenant Hawk, prepping bombing run." The Clone LT said.

"Cap do you read me?" Sam called in.

With Anakin and Aayla's gunships, Steve stood with the two generals, Ahsoka, Spider-man, Bly, Rex, Domino and Beta squad.

"I read you Sam, how's the situation in the air?"

"Got a bit of resistance but Blue Squadron can take care of it for the time being." Sam said with a grunt, an explosion going off beside him. "Shadow Squadron and I are gonna form up, add some extra protection. Your ground target area is clear but not for long. If you guys wanna get that factory and bring it down, you're gonna need to hit hard and fast."

"Copy that, Sam." Anakin said, grateful for Sam's added squadrons. "Thanks for the assist."

The skies of Geonosis were filled with explosive airborne shells, bombarding the oncoming wave of Republic starfighters and gunships with some getting shot down.

Yet the Republic pressed on with their attack.

Down below, standing before the factory that was to be the 501st and 327th target stood a single individual in pitch black robes surrounded by several Geonosians and Droids.

This individual was thin in build yet one who held a very athletic body.

A contrast to the bulky and stockier robe figure that joined her upon the plains of the arid planet.

"Tol." The smaller of the two regarded her larger companion.

"Sey." The larger force-user responded in kind.

"It appears our fellow Acolyte's warnings were apt." Kadrian Sey said with anticipation as her eyes drifted up to the oncoming swarm of Republic gunships.

"Yes, our master was wise in having us stationed here." Tol Skorr said, glaring at the army he once served under for a brief time. "We shall not allow Geonosis to fall to those Jedi scum."

"Indeed." Kadrian agreed with a sinister glint in her eyes. "TD-749, Concentrate all fire on sector 2. Focus on the gunships."

"Yes, mistress." The Tactical Droid that stood beside her nodded, walking off to begin giving off instructions.

Geonosian Cannons with J-1 Semi-Autonomous Proton Spider Cannon droids all adjusted their aim and fired upon their new designated targets.

Within the interior of one gunship, Steve, Anakin, Ahsoka and Peter stood with Captain Rex and most of Torrent ground company with Domino squad.

The gunship began shaking about violently, the sounds of artillery fire going off all around them.

"Here we go boys." Anakin shouted out, everyone tightening their hands on their weapons and hanging grips for them to hold onto as their gunship shook about.

"Hold tight, Cap." Sam chimed in on comms. "Beginning our next bombing run. Shadow form up behind me, Beta stay in formation around the Gunships. We need to keep the flak off 'em."

Sam got multiple 'Yes Sirs' from the clones as he accelerated forward with about a dozen Y-wings on his tail. They were met with heavy fire, with one getting shot down yet they pressed forward with the gunners of the bombers firing at the Seppie Cannons ahead.

Falcon's goggles suddenly zoomed in on two figures ahead that were both standing tall before a large battalion of Geonosians and Droids...

With ignited Red Lightsabers.

"Ah shit." Sam grunted. "Hey Anakin, Aayla. We've got a couple of those Acolytes you mentioned on the ground."

"Are you certain?" Aayla inquired in complete seriousness.

"Oh yeah, they got 'em on the ground." Sam said as his squadron was only a few yards out. "Pull up and drop the payload boys."

The Y-wings and lone Jedi Starfighter all angled upwards with the bombers dropping proton bombs.

Tol Skorr and Kadrian Sey held up their hands together, knowing that while they couldn't get them all the least they could do is utilize the force to urge the Proton bombs away from their trajectory.

The rest of the bombs bombarded the area around them with smoke kicking up into the air.

Back with the 501st and 327th…

"Alright, that's our cue." Anakin said, holding up his wrist comm. "Aayla, begin the landing sequence. Get the troops and tanks groundside."

As soon as Anakin finished conveying his order, their gunship got one of its wings clipped and immediately began sailing downward.

"Anakin, do you copy?" Aayla's voice was heard through the comms.

"We've been hit, Aayla." Steve managed to call out. "Going down."

"Get the troops and tanks on the ground now." Anakin stated.

"Brace for impact." Captain Rex called out.

The gunship violently crashed down to desert plains of Geonosis.

Captain Rogers groaned, with him using his shield in his own unique way of weathering the landing better than most.

"Everyone alright?" Cap called out with multiple groans and moans of rattled Jedi, Clones and one New Yorker for confirmation of being painfully alive.

"Come on." Anakin said aloud, force pushing their gunship doors open. "Get up! We stay here, we're Bantha fodder for the droids."

Lightsaber ignited; Anakin jumped out with Steve right by him as the two surveyed the area whilst the rest of the gunships occupants piled out of their crashed ship.

A few miles ahead, they saw their targeted droid factory with the other Gunships dropping off the rest of their troops with the tanks falling in to back them up.

"There they are." Ahsoka came up to Anakin's side, pointing off into the distance with the faint figure of Aayla Secura with Black Widow moving to engage the Geonosians and droids.

"We've got some ground to cover boys." Anakin said aloud.

"And bugs to shoot." Fives yelled out, holding his rifle up into the sky and firing at a swarm of incoming Geonosians.

"Wah!" Spider-man cried out, instinctively throwing up his hands and firing his webbing rapidly ensnaring multiple Geonosians who fell to the ground.

"Whoa! Nice one kid." Hevy said approvingly, with a nudge to the young hero.

Steve threw his shield out, the Vibranium disk bashing aside a cluster of Geonosians before returning to his hand in time for him to spin round and decked a Geonosian in its neck that landed too close to him.

"Where the hell are all these bugs coming from?!" Echo called out, firing in every direction as the Geonosians fired their own specialized weapons while some just went and tried grabbing at them.

"This entire planet has hives of Geonosians all over the place." Anakin stated, slicing through one. "We could be standing above a nest for all we know."

"We can't stay here then." Rex said, DC-17 pistols in hand as he blasted away at the flying bugs. "We're easy pickings for these bugs."

"Yeah, come on, let's go." Ahsoka yelled out.

"Alright men, we're moving." Anakin said, beginning to sprint forward with the rest of the group quickly following after him. "We make for the front line, link up with Secura and the rest of our men."

Ahead at said frontline, Aayla Secura wielded her blue lightsaber at the front of an AT-TE tank that trekked its way forward.

In between the legs was Commander Bly Lightning squad (Cameron, Flash, Lucky and two other Clones).

Most of the tanks managed to get to their landing zone, designated "No Man's Land". This was the factory with the most open and flattest terrain and fewest possible means of cover, meaning that dropping off the tanks was the most important first step in their attack.

The two Acolytes were marching forward, lightsabers deflecting Republic fire as they marched forward.

Droids and Geonosians were running straight for them with AAT and Spider-walkers in tow.

"Looks like we're in for a fight." Black Widow commented from beside the Twi'lek Jedi, DC-17 blaster pistols in hands as she blasted away at the oncoming swarm of droids and bugs.

"Let us hope we will still be here when Anakin and Steve arrive." Aayla said, swatting a bolt back towards the droid that shot it at her.

By now, nearly two dozen tanks had been deployed around them with one already being destroyed from a set of missiles from a droid tank.

"Hailfire tanks!" Commander Bly Shouted. "Concentrate Projectile Cannons of those wheelers."

A set of AT-TE gunners began aiming at the Hailfire tanks rolling, firing repeatedly, taking out the rolling tanks in rapid succession.

"Push forward!" Aayla shouted, beginning to run forward with the 327th and 501st following right after her.

"Sergeant Appo." Nat called out to a blue tinted Clone. "Get those AT-RT's out now!"

"Copy that, Ma'am." Appo nodded, hand up to his helmet earpiece. "We need walkers out here now, get to the front and back up the charge."

From the backs of all the standing AT-TE's, multiple platforms opened up to reveal sets of three AT-RT's being manned by ARF troopers.

Rising up to their full heights, the ARF troopers directed their walkers towards their brothers running forwards to meet the droids and Geonosians head on.

They sprinted at full speed and in a matter of seconds were running past their boots on the ground brothers, firing at every droid and bug in their sights.

The clones all cheered at their momentary reprieve, giving them a moment to better reform into a tighter wall as they continued firing at the Seps.

Yet right behind this wave of droids that were taken out, it was soon to be replaced with another battalion that was being deployed from the base the 501st and 327th were meant to destroy.

"We can get all the help that we can, but if we don't secure that factory and bring it down…" Nat wasn't able to finish her statement as she ducked under several blaster bolts directed at her.

But her unfinished statement was all that was needed to be said by those nearby, making them increase in their pace as they met the next set of droids and Geonosians head on.

All the while...

Rhodey flew ahead of Kenobi and Luminara's set of gunships, finding it more difficult than he had initially anticipated in terms of anti-aircraft fire from the Geonosians.

Turns out the designated landing zone of the 212th and 41st wasn't called "Point Rain" for nothing. It is a literal rainstorm of blaster fire with half a dozen gunships already getting taken down.

"Kenobi, Luminara, come in." Rhodey called through the comms, wincing as he flew through an explosion that went off in front of his ship. "You guys need to start your landing sequences now. The flak up here is too heavy."

"The landing Zone isn't any better, Colonel." Obi-wan said warily, though he couldn't deny the aviators words.

"Be that as it may, I have to agree with Colonel Rhodes." Luminara said. "Commander Gree, begin-ZHZH."

"General?" Rhodey called out in worry. "Luminara? Barriss?"

"Their gunship went down." Obi-wan said.

"Hope? Hope?" Rhodey frantically called out whilst performing a set of aerial rolls around a set of Geonosian defense fighters.

He heard a haggard coughing from the comms. "I'm here Rhodey. Luminara is alright, so is Barriss and some of the clones. Don't know who else survived so far."

"This resistance is beyond what we were expecting." Kenobi noted.

"And more coordinated than anticipated." Cody said with a frown under his helmet.

"What's that mean?" Scott asked.

"Clankers aren't all that smart, even their tactical droids are overrated." Cody quickly explained as the Gunship began going down to the ground. "Even Geonosians aren't all that clever with how they fight. Meaning…"

"Someone else is coordinating this defensive fire." Kenobi muttered in a low tone.

True to Kenobi and Cody's assumptions, there was indeed one who dictated the battle.

Either it was a tactical droid, a really good one at that… or perhaps the Acolytes.

Down on the ground, two Sith acolytes were directing droids and Geonosians to their positions with multiple Hailfire tanks rolling out.

Sith Acolyte Chezo Niva stared ahead at several Gunships that had been shot down in the distance whilst her fellow dark sider continued giving out orders.

And she was certainly a unique Dark Side user among Dooku's Acolytes. Deep blue skin with pupiless blood red eyes, Sev'rance Tann was certainly a unique individual that Chezo had been paired up with in the defense of Geonosis.

Sev'rance Tann was a rare species in public galactic space. She was what her species was called a Chiss from parts that the Acolyte wouldn't discern.

Chezo stood along with Tann, watching multiple AT-TE tanks get deployed in a square like formation in order to establish a landing zone for the troops.

Then came the truly jarring and slightly shocking turn of events.

AT-TE tanks literally appeared from nowhere, as if sprouting from the ground itself.

"What in the Force's name was that?!" Chezo asked in astonishment.

Sev'rance narrowed her eyes.

"If I were to hazard a guess, the Republic's newest allies." Tann stated.

"The Avengers." Chezo said with a spiteful glare.

"Concentrate all fire and forces at the northwest sector of the area." Tann ordered a nearby Geonosian who nodded.

Far behind the established perimeter of Point Rain, Hope was helping Luminara to her feet with Barriss doing what she could with the wounded Clone Troopers. She had meditated a great deal prior to the battle for the use of Force Healing but she knew that there was so much that she could do.

"Commander Gree, what's the status of our position?" Luminara questioned through a strained breath.

"Not far General." Gree said, pointing ahead. "I guess you could say we're lucky to have crashed only several hundred yards away from Point Rain."

"Barriss, Are you well?" Luminara called out to her Padawan who was busy applying a stim to the neck of a Trooper.

"I can move just fine Master."

The Mirialan master turned to Hope.

"Good to go here." The Avengers answered the unspoken question.

"Then let us make for the perimeter." Luminara said, holding up her wrist comms. "Commander Cody, Master Kenobi, can you hear me?"

"Luminara, are you alright?" Kenobi inquired.

"We're still standing." Luminara said, getting a steadier breath. "We've lost half our men from the gunship but the rest are landing at Point Rain."

"We'll send out some reinforcements to help escort you into the perimeter general." Cody assured. "We're facing some heavy fire around here and the zone is hot."

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from Obi-wan's end on the comms.

"We're hit!" Kenobi yelled out. "We're going down."

"Scott!" Hope cried out.

Far ahead in the sky, the group saw Obi-wan and Scott's gunship crash down ahead of the perimeter of AT-TE's and Gunships.

"We need to get up there to help now." Barriss said, supporting a clone over her shoulder.

"Come, we must move quickly."

-Scene Cut-

General Mundi grasped onto his harness as the gunships were buffeted with anti-aircraft shells.

Commanders Bacara and Jet stood with him along with a dozen other clones as they made their way to landing site bravo. This was in front of the largest of the three targeted Droid factories/bases with the largest force assembled.

The Galactic marines led by Mundi, Jet and Bacara were made for this specialty with Di, the 71st and Quicksilver being added on for a sense of overwhelming the droids.

They were met with heavy artillery as they began their descent, having Falcon and Hawk lead in their starfighter and Y-wing squadrons to help soften up the landing zone.

"We stay in the air sir; we'll be picked off one by one." Commander Jet advised.

"But we're not even close to the landing zone." Mundi argued back.

"Right now, the only thing we can do is land in force and double time it. AT-RT's move ahead first with us right behind them." Bacara said gruffly.

"I could help with that." Quicksilver chimed in from his Gunship with Di, Captain Keeli and Sergeant Grit. "Let's get down there now otherwise we'll all just get blown out of the sky."

"We will get better footing on the ground, Mundi." Di added making the Cerean Jedi Knight acquiesce, calling for the start of the landing sequence.

Soon, nearly several dozen Gunships touched down onto the Geonosis surface with hundreds of Clones exiting along with AT-RT's from the back as well as AT-TE's being dropped off.

Bacara began divvying up the 21st with 71st along with Keeli whilst Di, Commander Jet and Mundi met together to overlook their targeted base.

"The Geonosians set up fortifications here and here." Jet pointed to several ridges which had hollowed out caves with the target factory just beyond the two rock formations in the center. "We can go in between the ridges but they'll undoubtedly have a bunch of bugs swarming at us."

"My Legion and I will handle those ridges." Di stated. "Master Mundi, you and the 21st will take care of the main assault upon the factory.

"Agreed, let's get moving."

While the 21st and 71st began their march towards their intended droid factory, Anakin, Steve, Ahsoka and Peter were running across the barren wasteland of Geonosis being constantly harassed by the Geonosians. They were around a more hill-like area with deep craters the Clones used as cover.

"We're trying here, Bly." Rex said through his comms. "Damn bugs are all over us and they keep blocking our path."

"Rex! What's the word? Can Aayla send support to get us out of here or not?" Anakin called out to him, deflecting bolts left and right

"I don't think so, sir. Bly says they're fully engaging the enemy with the AT-RT units leading the assault." Rex informed regretfully.

"Great. Looks like we're gonna need to play catch up the hard way." Steve grunted, grabbing a Geonosian by its leg before throwing it full force into another flying bug in the sky.

Peter was using the flying bugs as his means of swinging around though at minimal success as he had to make sure he was secure to swing around the battlefield.

"This is getting ridiculous." Ahsoka grunted, blocking more blaster fire. "At this rate, we'll never catch up to Aayla and the rest of the boys."

"No time for that kind of talk. Rex, Steve we need to mobilize. Now. Get the men together. We're gonna rush the turret set up and make a break for the frontline."

"Yes, sir."

"Right. Peter, Ahsoka stick behind us and help keep the boys safe. We don't wanna lose anyone out here when making that run."

"You go it Cap." Peter said determinedly. He looked over to Ahsoka who gave him her own look of determination with the two nodding at each other.

"Troops are ready, sirs." Rex called out.

"Now! Go, go, go!"

Anakin and Steve sprinted forward, Cap first throwing his shield before getting behind Anakin who blocked multiple bolts.

Peter thought instinctively, webbing a boulder that was about half his size and with a mighty swing sent it straight at a cluster of Geonosians.

The Clone Troopers all cheered at the display, picking up the pace as they ran at the bugs with guns blazing.

Far ahead of them was the rest of the 501st and 327th, getting deeper into the rocky formations of the droid base they were assaulting.

Black Widow was ducking behind a rock with Clone Troopers Jesse, Kix, Flash and dozen others while Aayla was leading at the front with Commander Bly by her side.

Aayla cut through several B1 droids with Bly shooting down two by to her left.

"We're gaining ground on them, General." Bly informed.

"Yes but Skywalker and Rogers are still not here." Aayla grunted. "And we're losing too many men on the ground in our push."

"Maybe Sam or Rhodey can spare us a fly by." Nat called out to Aayla from her cover, firing at a small cluster of droids.

"Maybe." Aayla quickly contacted the two. "Colonel Rhodes, Lieutenant Wilson, do you copy? We could use a little bit of a bombing run around here."

"We're a bit busy right now." Rhodey said with a grunt from his starfighter.

He was currently pursuing a set of Geonosian Fighters who were attacking one of the Venators. Flying over the Hangar bay of the Venator, Rhodey waited until they angled upwards before firing and shooting two down with him zeroing in on the last one he had in his sights.

"Colonel Rhodes!" Broadside chimed in. "Enemy Vulture on your tail!"

Rhodey looked behind him to see that there was indeed a vulture pursuing him in the air, being joined by two others.

"Focus on other bogeys in the air, Broadside." Rhodey ordered.

"But sir-"

"I'll be fine man." Rhodey said, adjusting his thrusters. "You need to keep Shadow squadron on task."

Begrudgingly, Broadside pivoted his Y-wing away from the direction of the colonel and refocused on keeping the Geonosian fighters off from hitting their ground forces.

Rhodey all the while began to guide the trio of Vultures down to the planet's surface, increasing speed while bobbing about to keep the droids from getting a clean hit on him.

He kept glancing back at the droids on his tail as constantly as he could without losing his course.

The trio of Vulture droids continued in their pursuit of the Avenger when one had its red eyes flicker momentarily before pivoting away from its set course.

Rhodey had his remaining two pursuers begin to gain on him with them increasing their blaster fire. As he drew closer, Rhodey thumbed his controls and counted down the seconds.

"Tap."

"Yes Comrade."

"On my mark, time it right for the chance to angle up."

"Are you certain this will work co- ON YOUR LEFT COMRADE!"

Rhodey's head snapped in the direction Tap bellowed out in alarm, eyes widening as he saw a Vulture droid less than several yards away making a beeline for his ship with only one goal in mind. In less than five seconds, Rhodey shoved his canopy open with his helmet snapping shut around him.

He was violently jerked aside as the Vulture Droid crashed into his Starfighter. Thankfully he had been mostly out of his ship with his thrusters activating in time as the two ships blew up into thousands of fiery pieces.

"What the hell was that?!" Rhodey called out.

"Unclear Comrade, but it appears that Vulture had a death wish."

"Fucking Kamikaze." War Machine muttered when his sensors blared in warning. Looking up, the other two Vulture Droids were now flying straight at him.

Rather than fly in the opposite direction, Rhodey instead had his thrusters flare up at full blast rocketing right at them.

Due to his armor proving to be more durable as well as giving him a significant boost in strength, Rhodey's hand shot out to grab the head of the closest Vulture droid. Using his thrusters, momentum and strength in tandem with one another, Rhodey spun around at full speed and threw the spiraling Vulture Droid into the other.

With both being taken care of, War Machines thrusters fired up once more and flew up into the sky with his shoulder mounted gun beginning to fire off at every passing Vulture Droid and Geonosian fighter while Rhodey simply punched, kicked and repulse blasted any that got within range.

Rhodey halted in mid-flight as Aayla's voice came over the comms.

"This is General Secura, we are losing men down on our end and need air support now!"

War Machine pivoted around with Tap laying out a pathway to the 501st and 327th frontline.

"This War Machine." Rhodey flew at full speed. "On my way."

Over with the 212th and 41st square, the clones under Cody were establishing their defensive whilst dealing with the oncoming swarms of AAT tanks and Geonosians.

"Sir." A clone came over to Cody. "Our Factory has established a shield generator and we can't send in an air strike to soften the blow."

"We'll have to regroup with what we have in order to press forward." Cody said. "Where is General Luminara and Commanders Offee and Gree?"

"On their way sir. A few klicks to the south of our perimeter."

"And General Kenobi."

"Over there."

Cody looked ahead to see Daredevil pointing ahead to a crashed Gunship.

Wanting to confirm, the clone commander pulled out a pair of binoculars and indeed recognized the specific ship his general and Avenger friend was on.

Overlooking the crash site, Cody gritted his teeth with the ongoing battle around him.

"No good. The bugs are splitting up."

It wasn't looking good at all. Parts of their squadron have been split up during the fall and it took some time and effort to salvage from the respective crashes.

It wasn't long before a pair of Troopers came up beside Cody and Daredevil.

"Boil reporting as ordered, sir."

"Waxer reporting as ordered, sir."

Cody nodded and addressed the summoned clones. "We've got a downed gunship five klicks east. We believe it's General Kenobi's. I need you to get out there and check for survivors."

"Sir, yes, sir." Voiced Waxer and Boil.

"Mr. Murdock, can you accompany the two and provide support as well?"

"On it." Matt nodded. "Come on you two."

Matt ran ahead of them both. "Boil watch your left, Waxer slow down."

The troopers were confused yet followed the vigilantes instructions, blinking as explosive went off just a few inches away from them.

"Come on." Daredevil gestured, sprinting forward.

Both Clone troopers shook their heads and rejoined in their run, arriving at the down gunship with the three men leaning against it.

"Why do we always get the fun missions?" Boil complained.

"Oh, this isn't the fun part." Waxer commented. "Getting back to the Square is the fun part."

"Come on, those bugs are starting to close in on our position." Daredevil said, his enhanced senses picking up on multiple movements closing in around them.

The two troopers quickly pulled the gunship doors open revealing Kenobi stirring with one other clone and Scott lying motionless.

"Waxer, Boil, am I glad to see you." Kenobi groaned out. "Trapper, Scott and I are the only ones still alive."

"Good to see you, sir." Waxer said.

"Commander Cody's established the square just beyond this position." Spoke Boil.

"The bugs are on the move and trying to surround us as we speak." Matt stated. "We gotta get going now."

Both the clones and Matt helped get the injured on their feet and had to think on how to get them back to safer grounds.

"Urgh, Matt?" Scott began to stir. "That you? Or is that really the Devil?"

"Yes to both." Matt remarked with a smirk.

"Oh good to know." Scott shook his head, trying to clear his dazed eyesight. "What happened?"

"You guys got shot down and they're surrounding us." Matt stated.

Over by the perimeter, several more AT-TE's were dropped down with the Clones establishing a firmer line to ward off the swarms of Geonosians.

Pulling down the binoculars, the clone beside Cody reported in his finding.

"They've got the general."

Nodding, Cody spoke to his wrist coms. "AT-TE 636, lay down cover fire at 0.35."

"Sir, incoming AAT Tanks, left flank!"

"Get on them."

The Clones and Vigilante soon returned with the rest of their allies.

"Are you injured, General? Scott?"

"No, nothing too serious." Obi-Wan simply said.

"Just need some rest and I'll be fine." Scott added in.

Being brought further into the safe zone, Kenobi requested a small debriefing. "What's the situation here?"

"Ah. We've got no air cover, many of the generals and Avengers on the ground are beyond our position, and a mess of bugs surrounding us. The enemy was more than prepared for our attack, sir. They knew our every move."

"What of Luminara, Offee and Hope?"

"Here, Kenobi."

All heads turned to see Luminara, Offee, Gree, Hope and their contingent of Clones arrive.

"Are you alright, Master Kenobi?" Offee inquired, kneeling down to him with her hands hovering over his arms.

"Much better now that the rest of you are all here." Kenobi said with a small grin.

"We'll be able to hold off enemy forces and prolong their advances until further help arrives." Gree informed the Jedi Master.

"We're not getting any further if we don't take care of all those tanks surrounding us." Matt stated, his head tilted in the direction of all the oncoming droids. "The two in charge… they're ordering for an attack on our position right now."

"What?" Waxer spoke up in confusion. "How do you know that?"

"Super hearing, taste, smell." Daredevil idly listed off. "Compensates for my blindness."

"I'm still amazed you can pick up all that over the fight, Matthew." Barriss commented.

"So what do we do then?" Gree asked. "If we just sit in wait, we will get overwhelmed."

"We're gonna need a plan of shock attack." Cody stated. "Throw them off somehow long enough for us to capitalize and storm the base."

"Probably gonna be my time to shine, again." Scott grunted out, slowly standing to his feet.

Knowing where this was going, Hope voiced her displeasure.

"You can't. You're injured from the crash. We won't know how long you'll last this time and the fallout."

"Hey, it's not gonna be like last time." Scott assured. "That was a Godzilla sized match."

"And this is a damn warzone." Hope shot back.

"Eh~ tomato, tamato."

"I beg your pardon Scott." Kenobi spoke up. "But you're not doing what I think you want to do."

"Oh he plans to, which I'm really against."

"What is it?" Gree inquired.

Hope looked to Scott who shrugged with a grin while his helmet snapped shut around him.

"You boys are gonna be in for a treat." Scott said. "Give me some of those shots and I'll be raring to go."

A few clones were a little hesitant in giving Ant-man the medical shots to relieve some of the pain. It wasn't out of necessary training, but the glare Hope was giving them.

"Just don't become a junky after this." Hope told him. "Don't want to deal with that."

"Trust me, that's the last thing I wanna become. Just give me some cover for now."

After being administered his shots, Scott did a few small stretches before getting to work.

He began to run forward, aiming for the gunship he was shot down in. It was still relatively intact so he wound up his leg and raised his left hand.

Once he had his leg all the way back, he pressed down and his entire world view changed in height and perspective.

Gi-Ant-Man was back and came in swinging, punting the gunship in front of him into an AAT tank which erupted into a fiery display of fire and metal.

Many of the clones stopped firing and had their jaws drop in complete shock. Some even took their helmets in order to confirm that what they were seeing wasn't a trick of the light.

Even the Geonosians flying around the battlefield gaped at what they were seeing.

"Time to go all Rampage on their asses!" Scott bellowed out, grasping a Geonosian ship and throwing it like a football into another.

Far off at the front of the factory, Chezo and Tann froze staring in wide eyed disbelief at what they were witnessing.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

"I was… aware of this ability." Tann muttered, eyes nearly the size of dinner plates. "Master Dooku spoke of it. But actually seeing it…"

Scott ran forward, nearly 70 feet tall, and scooped up an AAT tank before tossing it like it was a baseball at another tank.

Cody was one of the first to snap out of his shock, quickly taking command of the situation.

"We have our opening, grunts." Cody began barking out. "Get the tanks and yourselves in formations and push forward."

With that front now on the offensive, the 71st and 21st were just getting to theirs with the troops assembling in full force to charge forward.

Before that, Commander Jet had called up Admiral Yularen in hopes of getting some form of an airstrike to help soften the playing field for their assault.

"Negative, Commander. We will be unable to provide any air support at this time." Yularen stated. "Lieutenants Wilson and Hawk are barely holding back the Separatist and Geonosian Starfighters as is from the rest of the invading forces.

"I understand that, sir." Jet said. "But we're dealing with serious fortifications and we could get blasted to smithereens."

"This is a planetary wide invasion Commander." Yularen reminded. "I can't divert any forces in the sky without risking getting overwhelmed. All I can tell you is what I can try at this moment."

"I'll take it, Admiral." Jet said, ending the transmission. "Generals, we've got no air support right now."

"Then we're doing this the old-fashioned way." Bacara declared. "Jet get the AT-RT's ready for a head on assault, we'll be covering you with artillery fire while you head up the middle. Keeli, get ready the flamethrowers. Those ridges will be swarming with Geonosians."

"Why not just bring the caves down?" Pietro asked.

"It would take too long and we're on a time crunch unfortunately." Mundi stated.

Pietro only grinned roguishly. "Well, we can cut that down. I am here after all."

"Do what you must." Di said, patting his friend back with Pietro nodding.

"Hey Keeli, did you tell the rest of the boys?" Pietro asked an unspoken question.

"Yes sir, they'll know what to expect with you running around." Keeli assured with a wry tone.

"Excellent." Pietro clapped. "Then gentlemen, do try to keep up."

With that, Quicksilver dashed off towards their targeted droid base with a wake of dust left in his run.

"I hate it when he does that." Keeli said, waving the dust away from around him.

"Come on men." Di said, igniting his lightsaber. "We need to keep up, else Maximoff will hold it over our heads."

Bacara simply shouted. "Begin the attack."

A legion of clones let out war cries as they sprinted forward with their blasters raised, firing off into distance at the large contingent of Geonosians and battle droids all standing in defensive formations. Up on the two separate ridges before the droid base, Geonosians flew out in droves and descended down upon the oncoming clones.

Di led Keeli to one of the ledges with a large contingent of clones, the squadrons deploying hooks to quickly scale up the rocky walls.

While the separatists were already firing back, confusion began to arise with the droids suddenly being shattered at random with Geonosians being bashed away by an unseen blur.

"Sure am glad we got someone like him on our side." Bacara admitted, nodding in an impressed manner at the literal speed of which the droids were being disposed of.

"Indeed." Mundi agreed, his eyes barely being able to catch glimpses of Quicksilver who was moving through the Separatist forces. Seeing the dense numbers of the planet's natives, he spoke towards the troopers. "Bring in the flamethrowers!"

A number of clones soon came out from the back with flamethrowers equipped. Once ready, they started burning the enemy and giving Pietro some breathing room.

"Thanks for the assist." Pietro soon patted his shoulder. "Do try to be careful where you're aiming those next time."

Elsewhere, Aayla and Nat had set up a stagnant line upon the droid base they were assaulting.

"Nat! Aayla."

Both girls looked behind them to see Captain Rogers, Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, Parker and Domino squad at long last make it to their front line.

"It's about damn time." Nat joked. "What took you so long, Cap? Old legs can't handle the desert plains."

"Hilarious." Steve said, crouching down next to her. "What's the situation here?"

"We've managed to push the separatist forces back but they have a fortress wall blocking us access to the droid base." Commander Bly informed the newly arrived group. "Can't get in and continue the assault unless that wall is taken care of."

"That's what we're here for." Anakin said. "What about those acolytes you told me about?"

"I've lost track of them. "Aayla griped.

Just overhead, War Machine flew past them dropping a large cluster of bombs that took out a majority of the droids and bugs ahead of them.

"Alright, there's our chance to move in." Anakin said. "Aayla, you keep pressing forward. We'll deal with the fortress wall."

"I'll stick with Aayla for now, Steve." Nat informed her friend with Steve only nodding as he, Anakin, Ahsoka, Peter, Rex and a dozen Clones made a dash for the fortress wall.

"We can't get into the factory without taking out that fortification." Steve stated. "It's the last thing to get the rest of the boys in and securing this base."

Coming across the dam-like wall, Anakin and Steve's group were being assaulted by enemy fire. They already lost a handful of men on their way here and things weren't looking good.

"Careful, people." Steve called out to the troopers. He then addressed the climbing party. "Ahsoka, Anakin, Peter, you're up."

"We'll cover you!"

Rushing out of their cover, the two Jedi ran towards the rock wall with Spiderman coming up from behind. Using their grappling devices, Anakin and Ahsoka launched a line towards the top. Zipping up from the pull, Peter soon wall-crawled up right after them.

Reaching the top, Spider-man quickly webbed several droids up and pulled on them towards him. He ducked down as they sailed overhead right into Anakin's lightsaber which cut them down.

Ahsoka sliced through her own few while blocking several blasts directed at her.

"How many droids have you shot down so far?" Anakin asked as the two fought side by side.

"Twenty-five." Ahsoka stated

"Ah, you're falling behind." Anakin teased.

Spider-man webbed up several droids before flinging them over and down the fortress wall.

"I think that makes thirty-three." Peter quipped. "Pretty sure I'm ahead of both of you."

"That only counts as one." Anakin stated.

"What?! Don't you dare pull a Gimli on me!"

"Gimli?"

Peter groaned. "I'll show you the movie after all of this is over."

"You better." Ahsoka jibbed in. "I'm getting lost on all these Earth references you guys keep spouting."

"Movie night it is once off this rock."

Down below, a good battalion of droids were assaulting the Republic forces and were breaking through the line.

Steve bashed a B1 down, with the droid shattering into pieces yet the top half of it remained. Cap turned away to continue fighting elsewhere when-

"No… strings… on… me..."

A cold shiver ran down the good Captains spine, snapping around to see the B1 he had just destroyed slump down.

A small feeling of dread came over him, yet he had to focus on the fight before him.

Suddenly, he felt himself get flung forward by an unseen force from behind.

Crashing down to the ground, Steve quickly whirled about onto his back as he saw a blond man wielding a red blade sailing at him overhead.

He raised his shield in time to deflect the lightsaber that bounced off his shield. With a quick reflexive kick, Steve planted his boot upon the Acolyte's chest making him fly back.

The Acolyte landed on his feet, rubbing his chest as he felt it burn with pain.

He was suddenly assaulted by Clones and blaster fire.

"No stay back!" Steve called out to the clones yet it was only in vain.

The large blond Acolyte blocked the bolts before cutting down the Clones closest to him.

In response, Steve flung his shield at the Acolyte who ducked beneath the Vibranium which bounced along the rocky growths before returning to Steve's hand.

"So you must be the fabled Captain Rogers." The Large Acolyte sneered.

"You know who I am." Steve stated, not questioned.

"My Lord Dooku has made sure to keep those who follow him informed of your presences across the galaxy. Your arrival was a shockwave that has left the Force in an erratic phase that must be taken care of."

"And you are the man to do that?" Steve asked in a steady tone.

The blond Acolyte got into a stance with his lightsaber raised up to his shoulders.

"Tol Skorr, slayer of the Avengers leader. Perhaps Dooku will reward me greatly if I were to accomplish such a feat."

Steve was only silent as he kept his gaze focused on the acolyte who made the first move. Tol jumped forward with Steve stepping back, shield raised as he braced his attack.

The lightsaber clashed against his shield yet Skorr quickly went for another series of strikes with Steve blocking every strike.

On top of the wall, the droid fighters were already taken care of, giving the three Republic fighters a momentary pause of rest.

"Look for a hatch." Anakin ordered. "We need to put the explosives inside the wall."

It didn't take Ahsoka long to find one, yet a Droideka rolled on out and activated it's shield.

"Found one."

Looking over, the two men were about to assist her when another hatch opened up with a second Droideka popping out.

As Anakin defended himself against the second droid, Peter went in and slid on the ground. Once past the barrier, he delivered a rising uppercut on the droids head to snap it off. With it out of commission, Peter went to help the Padawan with the same actions.

With them down for the count, a hatch opened back up. The two Jedi and Avenger went on guard for anymore Droideka popping out. Luckily for them, it was just a mere B1 droid.

"Hey, did you get them?"

Unholstering the backpack carrying the explosives, Anakin tossed it towards the droid. "Catch."

"Huh?" Both Jedi then used the Force to push the B1 droid back into the hole as it screamed out in utter horror. "Wha- NO!"

Seeing their task done, the master/padawan duo looked at Spiderman with a coy smirk.

"Come on, Peter."

"Up and away."

"Whoa! Wait!" Peter cried out as he was flung off the wall via Force push. "I could've just jumped!"

Not long after their shared act on the teen Earther, they both leaped off and dived towards the fight below just as the wall exploded from the inside out.

As he fell, Peter fired off a web line to the nearby rock wall in order to help him with the landing. And once coming into a recovery roll, the wallcrawler glared at the two Force sensitives as the wall came tumbling down.

"Next time, just tell me to jump."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Anakin joked. "Come on, we can't keep Aayla waiting."

"Cap!" Peter cried out, spotting Steve clashing with an acolyte.

"Tol Skorr." Anakin said with a glare.

"The Acolyte who you encountered on Mustafar?" Ahsoka said in worry.

"Ahsoka, Peter, go catch up and assist Aayla with the others." Anakin ordered. "I'll help Steve with the Acolyte."

Ahsoka wanted to argue yet they were in the middle of a battle. Right now wasn't the time for ignoring orders.

"Come on Peter." Ahsoka stated. "We can't Keep Rex and Aayla waiting. They're advancing into the droid base."

Spidey regarded Ahsoka for a moment, looking to Anakin who was dashing forward to assist Cap.

"Right, let's go."

The two broke off to run towards the front of their droid base.

And at the front fortifications and trenches of the base was Aayla Secura locked in a heated duel with one Kadrian Sey.

The Zabrak Acolyte had retreated earlier to prepare the defenses for the Droid Base she had been assigned to protect as she had heard some unusual reports.

Droids malfunctioning, explosions going off around the area where there were no starfighters or clones nearby and vulture droids suddenly crashing indiscriminately against either Seppie or Republic forces.

She needed to regain order, though it was proving rather difficult.

Aayla Secura was an adept duelist and the commotion around them with the Clones of the 501st and 327th were in full assault, blasting away any opposition they faced.

This was becoming a losing battle for her end as the Republic was beginning to break through.

"Surrender, Kadrian." Aayla said, their lightsabers clashing with their faces inches apart. "Our forces will overwhelm yours well and soon enough."

"I would rather die." Kadrian sneered, shoving Aayla back with the two re-engaging in a series of lightsaber clashes.

Aayla held her blade upside down to deflect a horizontal strike to her legs, holding it up diagonally a moment later to block Kadrians next strike.

She retaliated with a series of long sweeping swings of her own to gain some distance between herself.

Suddenly, behind Kadrian, a string of Y-wing Bombers flew overhead to deliver a bombing run upon the factory destroying many of the bases defensive turrets and forces.

"Do you not see now?" Aayla asked, standing tall with her being joined by Commander Bly and Lightning squadron who all had their weapons trailed upon her. "Your base will fall and it will be taken by the Republic. Kadrian, it is not too late."

Aayla lowered her Lightsaber though Bly and his clones kept their arms raised.

"Please." The Twi'lek raised her free hand. "Return to the Order, you can still be what you once were."

The glare Kadrian leveled at Aayla would have made most men and women cower in fear. Yet Aayla stares impassively in return.

"I'd rather DIE." Kadrian felt the Dark side flow within her as she unleashed a powerful force wave upon those standing before her.

They all flew back, landing hard on the ground.

Kadrian raised her wrist and pressed a command upon it.

"All Forces retreat." Kadrian said with a furious tone. "This base will fall. We must fall back and regroup."

She spared a glance back to Aayla who was getting back up to her feet with Bly and the others.

Gritting her teeth, Kadrian dashed away.

Over with Steve and Anakin, Tol was on the defensive.

He was facing off against two very seasoned and battle-hardened warriors who were working in tandem with each other.

Skorr was holding up his blade shakily, breathing heavily.

"It's no use fighting us, Skorr." Anakin said heatedly. "You will lose if you keep going."

"Surrender." Steve said evenly.

"Surrender?" Skorr scoffed. "Surrender to the order I spat upon? You Jedi and your self-righteousness. That will be your undoing as Lord Dooku has foreseen. The future of the Galaxy shall belong to the Sith."

"Not gonna happen." Anakin said, leveling his Lightsaber at the former Jedi.

"Steve it's Sam." the two heard the aviator through their comms. "Aayla, Bly and Rex reported bravo base has been taken. The Seps are in retreat."

His voice was heard aloud with Skorr managing to hear the news.

"Well would you look at that." Anakin taunted. "Looks like your base has fallen."

Skorr only sneered defiantly.

"Over here!"

From behind Anakin and Steve ran up Captain Rex with Domino Squad and several more Clones all with their blasters trailed at the Acolyte.

Skorr knew he was outnumbered and outmatched.

He gripped his saber tightly with his teeth grit in anger. How was he supposed to get out of this one?

"You don't need to fight." Steve said.

"Oh, that's where you are wrong, fool." Tol's eyes blazed with anger, as he prepared to fight when the Clones quickly fired upon him, riddling the Acolyte with blaster bolts.

Tol Skorr stood, eyes wide in disbelief as he attempted to move forward…

Only to keel over, dead and unmoving.

Steve stared down at the unmoving body with a stoic face.

He felt Anakin place a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on Steve." Anakin said softly. "Battles not over yet."

"Right."

Rex stepped forward. "Generals Di and Mundi are still fighting for their droid base but they informed us recently that they're gaining the advantage right now."

"And Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked.

"General Luminara informed me that they are pressing their attack but their Droid factory is shielded." Rex stated.

"See if we can get some gunships, get over there to back Kenobi and Luminara." Anakin ordered.

"Right away sir."

Anakin then went to contact another battlefront. "Master Mundi, do you read me!"

"We are here, Skywalker." Mundi replied, slicing through a B2 Super while Bacara grabbed a B1 battle droid by the neck and ripped it straight off.

"Our base has been taken, what's the status of yours?" Anakin looked up to see an LAAT gunship descending down to them.

"We're moving up, General." Bacara stated. "Give us a few minutes and we'll have the base."

"We're moving forward to Point Rain. Turns out Obi-wan is in a bit of a more dire straits then we had expected."

"We can't spare any force, General." Bacara stated. "We need all hands-on deck for this front."

Pietro soon spoke into the conversation. "I can run on ahead and help out what I can."

Mundi nodded. "Do what you must, Pietro."

Giving the Jedi Master a two-fingered salute, Quicksilver sped off and went on ahead to help clear a path for the assembled parties.

From his spot down below, Anakin called out to Sam. "Sam, are you there?"

"Still airborne Skyguy." Sam said with a grunt. "What can I do for ya?"

"Obi-wan is in a bit of a pinch." Anakin stated. "Think you can spare a few fighters to give him an assist?"

"I'll do what I can."

At the crash zone, Scott had to return back to normal size after being oversized too long again. He had to rest beside Obi-Wan, who still hasn't recovered yet from the abrupt landing earlier. As the fight went on around them, the Jedi Master swore to protect his friend and ally if anything were to go south.

And he wasn't the only one as Luminara and Barriss helped block any stray blaster fire coming their way while Hope and Matt assisted the clones in fending off the Geonosians.

Daredevil had begun swinging his electrified nun-chaku about while directing clones at unseen enemies from their blind spots while barking out those needed to move back from getting blasted away.

Wasp was barely visible, flying about the battlefield zapping Geonosians and Droids with some getting knocked out while others were stunned long enough for Clones shot to shoot them down.

They had pressed forward for a short amount of time before the Separatist managed to reform and counterattack with the long line of AT-TE's and clones now on the defensive once more.

To his relief and the rest of his party, a silver blur soon came into the battlefield. It knocked off many of the enemy fighters before coming to a stop near them.

"Did you miss me?"

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Pietro." Obi-Wan said with a pained chuckle. "Seems you're the messenger for Mundi and the rest."

"Yes I am. And they aren't that far out."

"Hopefully it won't be long."

"Reinforcements have arrived!"

Hearing the call from one of the clones, the two men looked over and saw Sam and his fighters swooping in and delivering a payload of bombs on the enemy. It gave them all bits of relief as more and more Republic forces started flooding in.

Rushing towards his side, the Tortuga padawan immediately checked the injured people. "Master Kenobi! Scott!"

Coming to a stop, Anakin had to catch his breath as he gave his former master a strained grin. "Well what happened to you?"

Looking at Skywalker, Obi-Wan saw the man's current appearance. "I might ask you the same question."

Kenobi chuckled weakly.

"Since now we are all together again," Luminara began, "we should get back to what we originally intend to finish."

"You're right."

Soon a holo-map was put on display in the middle of the assembled group. Readjusting himself in his spot, Obi-Wan soon gave out the debriefing.

"Our combined forces should be enough to destroy the shield generator. Anakin, you'll need to take a small squad through the shield, as close as you can get to their gun emplacements. From there, you'll be able to temporarily jam their scanners so they are unable to target the incoming tanks. Once the tanks knock out the shield, Master Luminara can bring the rest of the troops in with the gunships."

"Consider it done, Master."

With everything accounted for along with the assembled strike force organized and sent out to their positions; all that had to be done was given the order to commence the final stage of Operation: Point Rain.

Bringing down his binoculars, the clone trooper turned towards Jedi Master Luminara.

"All units in position, sir."

Nodding, Luminara gave out the order. "Tell Skywalker to start the attack."

Receiving the order, Anakin, Steve, Nat and the rest of the assembled squadron left their cover and rushed towards the barrier.

The rain of blaster fire came down upon them all, with many Republic forces having to do their best to avoid getting hit. Some were not lucky while others were taken by incoming Geonosians.

Yet Spider-man was swinging from up high, webbing up the wings of the Geonosians that dropped down to the ground with Quicksilver rushing in to get the troopers back to the main assaulting force.

Closer and closer they all got to the factory did the enemy fire get harsher and harsher.

The large attacking force got to cover.

"They're set up along fortifications on the upper levels." Steve noted, peeking out from his cover.

"We need to jam their scanners. Droid poppers ready." Anakin ordered aloud.

With the devices pulled out and primed, they were soon thrown and with a bit of a Force push, they were successfully sent towards their destination. And it wasn't long before an EMP wave went off and disabled many of the enemy cannons.

"Looks like it's working." Ahsoka commented.

"It won't last long. Bring up the tanks."

The Republic walkers came strolling in and once situated, they quickly aimed their barrels and opened fire upon the shield generator. The results were instant with the incoming assault. The tower came tumbling down with the shield barrier no longer operational.

As the barrier faded away, Republic dropships came flying in and started deploying a good number of troopers and Jedi onto the scene.

Operation: Point Rain was a success, Mundi and Di had reported successfully taking their Droid base and the next set of operations to retake Geonosis were underway.

Hobbling along to a ship, Obi-Wan was being helped by Anakin while some clone troopers brought Scott in via stretcher.

"So, what happened to you this time Scott?" Pietro walked up to Scott on the stretcher who held his arm.

"Stay there please." Scott said, eyes squinted. "You're keeping the sun out of my eyes."

Pietro chortled aloud when one of the Clones from the 212th came up.

"You should have seen him. He went all-"

"Giant sized?" Hope was now walking alongside her boyfriend on the other side of the stretcher. "Yeah, this idiot here just had to be brave again."

Scott chuckled woozily. "Hey… didn't pass out this time."

Walking into their path, Ahsoka spoke in a perky tone towards Skywalker.

"So, Master, what was your total?"

"Not now, Ahsoka." Sighed out Anakin.

"Come on. Are you afraid you lost this time?"

Rolling his eyes, Anakin gave his response. "Fine. Fifty-five, that's my count. And you?"

"Sixty." She said smugly. "Looks like I won."

"Yeah, but I called in the air strike. Tie."

"You guys are ridiculous." Scott groaned out. "And if I were going by kill counts, I beat you two by a good amount."

"Hey what about me?' Peter spoke up. "I was with the two of you and I got a good number of those robots."

"Droids." Ahsoka absentmindedly corrected.

"Were you keeping track?"

Obi-Wan shook his head at their antics. "I'll never understand how you can simplify these battles into some kind of game."

Handing Kenobi off into the dropship, Anakin waved the others off. "Take care of yourselves. I expect to see both of you back here by the time I've destroyed the main factory."

"We shall do our best."

Before the ship took off into the air, Mundi, who had returned with Ima-Gun Di decided to speak up. "Sixty-five, Skywalker."

This quickly confused Anakin, throwing him off a bit. "I'm sorry?"

"My total. Sixty-five." Mundi answered before curiosity took over. "So what do I win?"

Both Anakin and Obi-Wan shared a look before Skywalker chuckled to himself.

"My everlasting respect, Master Mundi."

This wasn't what the Cerean Jedi Master was expecting. "Oh…"

Wanting to come in to defend his former Padawan, Kenobi spoke on his behalf. "That is a gift Anakin rarely bestows, I assure you."

Scott chuckled on the stretcher. "Hey, if it makes you feel any better I can treat you to something once we're back on Coruscant for your win."

Mundi nodded as the ship doors closed up and took off into the air for its occupants to rest up and be ready for what's to come.

"So that takes care of establishing a foothold." Steve said to Anakin who nodded.

"Now we need to take out their main factory that Padme managed to get from Cato Neimoidia."

Steve was silent.

"Steve?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you alright?"

Steve didn't respond at first, staring off into the distance where multiple Clone forces were being deployed across the surface.

"We got a transmission here." Steve stated. "A transmission that matched one that would come from Earth."

"Are you serious?" Anakin asked in surprise. "So that means-?"

"Someone from Earth is here." Steve said solemnly.

Anakin grinned before it fell, noticing that Steve didn't exactly seem happy at the prospect of finding one of his lost friends.

"What is it?" Anakin asked cautiously.

Steve had his brows furrow in deep thought. "I… I dunno. Let's just say I have this gut feeling that doesn't fill me with warmth."

Steve walked off leaving a confused and rather… disturbed Jedi.

"Well that doesn't exactly make me feel all that better." Anakin murmured to himself.

-Scene Cut-

Sev'rance Tann was kneeling before a holo transmission of Count Dooku. The Count's face was unreadable yet his eyes were ablaze.

"Sev'rance Tann."

"Master."

"You abandoned your base when you could have swept aside the Republic's attacking force." Dooku said slowly. "Why have you done this?"

"Master, I find it difficult to explain to you as to why but I shall attempt to." Tann spoke in a calm tone. "During the assault, I had noticed droids behaving… erratically. Both on the ground and in the air. At first, one may have assumed there to be some sort of glitch so to speak with the droids and their actions. But the consistency and actions that were conducted were not glitches. They were doing this intentionally. Outside of the programming of the Confederacy."

Dooku regarded his Acolyte silently. He glanced up at the two Commando Droids that stood at attention behind Tann.

Kadrian Sey and Chezo Niva had reported similar events with the base that was taken by Jedi's Mundi and Di suffering the same turn of actions.

Someone was sabotaging their droids.

"Leave Geonosis immediately." Dooku stated. "This planet will hold out for only so long. Poggle will decide its fate."

"Master?"

"Do what I order, Sev'rance." Dooku said with a firmer tone. "There is a disturbance in the Force. The Jedi and Avengers are not the only things on Geonosis that are a threat to us."

Sev'rance only bowed her head in acknowledgement.

She quickly departed from the room with Dooku's transmission ending a moment later.

The two Commando droids remained, eyes blinking red for a moment with a rumbling chuckle.

Phew, that one took a long ass while though for good reason.

With so much happening in life as well as the start of a new story with my other good comrade BulletStormX called Spirit Unto Dawn. The first of several Halo/Mass effect Crossovers we have cooked up.

There's also A Song of Fire Ice and Hearts Jebest and I have been working on for quite a while with the two of us trading chapter updates for this story and our other.

Then there's also Final Fantasy VII that I've been playing like a mad man.

Really, so much to do in so little time but I guess you can say that quarantine at least gives us time to make more.

So until next time.

Rate Read and Review and As Always Have Nice Day.