Let's get on with the show cause this battle ain't over yet. Still got a lot to show off for many combatants.
Yeah, figured that would be the response to the death of Di. Really wanted to convey how things are gonna get a lot worse before they get better in this season. Hope you guys are ready for what's to come.
And I see a sort of mixed reception with Taskmaster but not that I included him but that I stuck with his name which is kinda funny but also understandable. Yeah Taskmaster isn't a Star Wars type of name but *shrug* this is a Marvel and Star Wars crossover. Then again, I do admit that's a bit of cheap response. Still, liked that a lot were excited to see him and I wanted to do him right then do him dirty like they did in his film.
Also if there's any confusion, the Zeltron Dani is someone Sam has been seeing and was referenced back in chapter 45 when Spiderman saw him with her. This is actually a character from Legends during the original trilogy but decided to utilize her here cause it's an AU.
But other than that, let's get right back into the thick of it.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.
Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 63: The Battle of Kamino Part 2
"Get on that turret!"
"They're flanking us!"
"Watch those wrist rockets!"
"Super battle droids, take 'em down!"
"We're losing reinforcements!"
"Hold this position!"
"We've got Droidekas!"
"Target the Umbarans!"
"Take out that Battle Droid!"
"Covering fire!"
Shouts and yells of Clone Troopers littered about Tipoca City, capital of Kamino.
Droids and Umbarans were being deployed in multiple sections of the city and were met with fierce resistance by the Clones.
The Separatists were coming in droves but were finding some difficulties in maintaining a proper foothold on the city due to the growing ferociousness of its Clone defenders.
And speaking of ferociousness…
A squad of Umbarans attempted to gain forcible entry into one of the many domed structures of Tipoca. They had managed to force their way through a number of Clones though they had taken considerable losses of their own.
But as soon as they reached the doorway that would lead into their targeted building, the door itself was violently blown out of frame.
The door shot out and smashed into a few Umbarans who fell over and lay on the ground, knocked out from the impact.
It only took a second for the invaders to realize what had happened when two more of them were shot down.
From the doorway jumped Captain Fordo with two DC-17 pistols in hand.
He quickly placed both barrels of his pistols upon the chests of the two closest Umbarans and shot them dead point-blank.
Fordo proceeded to drop down to a lunging sweep kick that tripped up another foe that he quickly disposed of with a shot to the head.
The Arc Trooper threw one of his pistols at full force at an Umbaran that fumbled in raising his rifle at the clone. The pistol struck the helmet of the man, bouncing off his glass helmet and leaving some visible cracks with steam escaping in between them.
Fordo lunged forward, grabbing his pistol that was still in the air and performed a spinning elbow that shattered the helmet with the glass embedding itself into the Umbarans face.
He screeched aloud in agony only to be silenced by a blaster bolt to the head a second later.
The other Umbarans managed to snap out of their stunned stupor from such a sudden and vicious display of death and violence.
Though by this point, it was for naught.
Fordo snapped around and shot down several more who didn't have their blasters up in time when the rest were abruptly shot down by a hail of blaster fire.
The Arc troopers simply raised a brow, spinning one of his pistols in his hand as he glanced over at another Arc trooper in blue armor.
"You showboat too much." The Arc gruffly said.
Fordo snorted. "Like shoving a grenade into the eye of a spider droid?"
"That wasn't showboating, that was sending a statement."
Arc Trooper 77 rolled his eyes under his helmet, catching something out of the corner of his sight and quickly shot it down.
"Right~" He said, the two pausing to turn their heads towards an explosion not too far from them.
Alpha-17 simply nudged his head in that direction with Fordo silently nodding and the two Arc troopers sprinted off.
Elsewhere, the battle continued to rage on across the city.
The western section was heavily sieged but thanks to some quick thinking by Waxer and Boil of the 212th, they managed to scramble together a defense in their sector and held strong until a contingent of freshly trained clones came in to back them up.
"Keep at it brothers." Waxer shouted, trading in his usual DC-15 blaster rifle for a rotary cannon. "Shows these bastards what happens when they mess with the Grand army of the Republic."
His rally cry was met with a roar of defiance directed towards the Separatist invaders, ramping up their torrent of blaster fire.
In the northern part of the city, the 501st linked back up with the 41st, both companies being led by Commander Gree.
"Commander, any sign of our generals?" Jesse of the 501st asked.
"They're handling those acolytes and bounty hunters the clankers brought with them." Gree answered, using the butt of his rifle to bash a Super Battle droid to the ground and shot at its center head piece a second later. "Just focus on holding the line, Lieutenant. You know your general is the last Jedi we need to worry about."
Jesse couldn't help but chuckle underneath his breath, rolling his eyes a moment later at the manic laughter that was Hardcase with his rotary blaster on full display.
Elsewhere…
"Comrade Rhodes, I would advise in a tactical retreat."
War Machine grunted in response at first, flying up whilst firing several missiles at the enlarged and outstretched limb that tried to crush him.
The explosions shredded the limb apart with its owner shrieking aloud in pain yet still charged straight at him.
"Yeah, not really ideal." Rhodey said through gritted teeth. "Otherwise this bastard is just gonna run wild on the city and kill every Trooper he sees."
He rocketed forward at full speed and flipped in midflight and enhanced his boot thrusters to make sure the crazed Gen'Dai got a face full of superheated fire right to his face.
Durge roared in anger and grabbed the Colonels leg and smashed him into the ground several times until James managed to shoot him right in the head.
The stunned Gen'Dai let go of Rhodey who stood back up and had multiple compartments from his suit pop out and unleashed everything he had on hand in his suit.
His opponent staggered back as multiple holes filled his frame though he remained standing.
The bounty hunter then roared aloud and thrust an arm forward that Rhodey avoided by taking to the skies.
As he did so, War Machine raised his right arm and above his wrist popped out a compartment with a small missile that was spinning rapidly.
"Eat this." Rhodey growled out and fired the small projectile that went straight into the chest of Durge.
The Gen'Dai bounty hunter froze momentarily and looked down at his chest to see a small little hole with a bit of smoke coming out of it.
A moment later, Durge began to convulse about and expand in bulges all over his body before a fiery explosion went off from within. His remains splattered the floor and walls of the area that he and Rhodey had been fighting in with some getting on War Machine himself.
"Get up from that, asshole." Rhodey groused out, landing back down onto the ground.
He took a moment to catch his breath before realizing he had some of his enemies gunk on him.
"Alright, that's not disgusting at all." He said to himself in a grimace, shaking his body about to flick off some of the viscous liquid he had on him.
The Colonel took a moment to look around the area that he and Durge had torn to shreds, multiple indents, gashes, scorch marks, holes and an assortment of other words one could use to describe the damage done.
"Jesus H, and I thought Tony had a habit of collateral." War Machine said to himself.
He didn't have much time to dwell any further on the topic as his comms lit up with chatter.
"Rhodey? Rhodey?! Where the hell are you man?"
"I'm here Sam." Rhodey responded quickly. "Sorry about the silence. Been dealing with a regenerative asshole on my end named Durge."
"That douchebag again?"
"Yeah, he's determined to kill me, I can tell ya that much." He remarked, lifting up off the ground and flying out of one of the many holes that were made in his fight against the Gen'Dai bounty hunter.
Upon exiting the dome structure he had been fighting in for nearly a half hour, he saw the battle in the skies raging on as multiple starfighters from both sides engaged one another in heated dogfights.
"What's the situation Sam?" War Machine asked, rocketing towards a vulture droid pursuing a republic fighter and quickly destroying it.
Over with the bird-themed Avengers, the man had several Republic starfighters following after him. They were making a circle around several of the domed structures of Tipoca city before making a sharp turn that pierced right through an entire squadron of Separatist fighters.
The sudden attack caused this group of Seppies to scatter about, being picked off by their Republic adversaries.
Sam landed atop a Vulture droid and with his sharpened wings, sliced right through its mobile head, causing it to fall into the watery depths below.
Down below on a platform, Kit Fisto led his clone legion with Wasp buzzing about the area, stunning the Umbarans and destroying the droids.
Gi-Ant-Man was still in his enlarged state though in a more manageable size as he was a 50 foot walking target initially.
Thirty was good enough. Strength and mobility after all. Not to mention how much limitation he would have at such a height with the surroundings.
Battle continued raging across the city.
Though the Separatists kept pouring in reinforcements, the Republic refused to bow down and let them take Tipoca.
The clones were raging fiercely against the droids and Umbarans, with every clone that perished making sure to take ten or more enemies down with them.
The Jedi and Avengers were fighting on all fronts though several were dealing with singular enemies that were threatening enough to be dealt with away from the battle proper.
Currently, Master Mace Windu himself is engaged in a fierce duel with a man he once considered a pseudo mentor and close friend.
Now he is a student of Count Dooku and the Dark Side, one of many Acolytes that had flocked to the Sith Lords side upon the start or sometime during the war.
"Tell me, Sora. When did you go over to the Dark Side?" Windu asked in a calm, controlled manner as the two Force users circled each other with their lightsabers ignited.
The Weequay Sith Acolyte gave a mocking sneer towards his former comrade and friend.
"I was long fascinated by it. Our work on learning Vaapad, my own secret research into it; it all fascinated me more." Bulq said with a demented reverence. "What I said about Geonosis was true- save only that Count Dooku approached me after the battle was over."
A blaze of rage was now seen in the fallen Jedi master's eyes.
"The decimation of the Jedi on Geonosis disgusted me." Sora proclaimed in anger. "Dooku showed me that if there is ever to be a change in the Republic, we Jedi must make that change. Only the Jedi hold true to the principles of the Republic, so we Jedi must be prepared to rule- Something the Council would never allow."
The acolyte came to a stop, lifting and pointed his lightsaber to his former friend.
"Count Dooku and I will forge our followers into a weapon to remake the galaxy!"
Mace could only frown. "A small flaw in your plan, we aren't dead yet."
"Soon corrected, Master Windu." Sora said with a venomous grin.
The two leapt at each other, blades clashing before both used the Force to push each other away. Sora was the first to recover on the landing, dashing forward to swing his lightsaber from the side, only for it to be blocked and parried.
They exchanged a quick set of flurries with violet meeting scarlet as both attempted to best the other.
Sora parried a diagonal strike and went in for a jabbing stab.
Windu inclined his head back, angling it around the saber and swung in an upward swing.
Bulq brought his blade down horizontally to stop the attack in the mid-swing yet Windu anticipated this.
He used the momentum of the stoppage to go in for a spinning swing that Sora barely blocked, making the Weequay stumble slightly.
The acolyte threw out his hand in response to a force push that Windu weathered by making a quick barrier that made him only skid away from his former Jedi comrade.
"It was a mistake to expose you to Vaapad. I see that now." Windu said, standing back up and getting into his ready stance.
"I have perfected it." Bulq gloated, twirling his blade around. "I have harnessed all that is inherent in it. I am now it's true master- and yours. You can no more withstand me, Windu, than the others can withstand my companions."
Mace only shook his head at the proclamation. "That arrogance will be your downfall."
"Wrong you are again, Master Windu." Sora spat out. "Typical Jedi arrogance. Drunk on the glorious victories of the past. Not at all knowing the coming darkness that will lead to your downfall."
"And how many foolish Sith have uttered those same words in the past and yet we still stand?" The Jedi Council member retorted. "We have stood for thousands of years, survived purges before. Don't think for a second that we can't do the same."
"Not this time." Sora said, grinning widely with a glint of his eyes shifting briefly into a sickly yellow before dashing forward.
Windu simply held his blade upright in a vertical degree with left foot forward and saber held to his right.
Just as Bulq came in close, Windu went on the offensive and the two clashed their blades again.
They collided several times, Mace backing away slightly as Sora was using a flurry of combinations to get the Jedi Master on the backfoot.
"We as Jedi failed the Republic when this war began." Bulq ranted. "Failed when we became generals and war criminals. Failed to uphold the true tenants and ways of the Force."
Windu had his teeth clenched as he kept blocking Sora's attacks.
"You nearly lost your student Depa." The Weequay stated. "You had Prosset incarcerated for calling out the hypocrisy of the Jedi and now here I stand."
"Yes, a once respected master serving the order we swore to defend the galaxy from." Mace countered, going in for another upward swing that this time made Sora stumble back slightly.
Wanting to change things up and hopefully throw off Windu, he rushed in. During an incoming swing, the Weequay acolyte shut off and switched his lightsaber to the other hand to resume the attack. Windu saw the attack too late when trying to evade it, having it land. The Councilmember hissed as the plasma blade grazed him along the side of his arm. If he was a moment too late, he may have lost it.
"Do you feel it in the Force, Windu?" Bulq said with an insane smile in place. "Whichever one of us prevails now, you will fail and we prevail."
"I don't think so." Windu said, retaining his calm demeanor
-Scene Cut-
"YOU'RE DEAD!"
"NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST, FOOL!"
One could best describe this battle as a fiery light show as four lightsabers were used to deflect just one that was being swung around at super speeds that were barely being registered.
Four lightsabers were spinning about as they were constantly struck by a singular blue one that was being used by one vengeful speedster.
It soon came to an abrupt end as the silvery blue blur the cybernetic being was fighting went in for a double leg take down that turned into him being violently tossed away.
General Grievous let out a pained and infuriated grunt as he was promptly thrashed aside and thrown into a nearby wall, indenting himself into the metal. His lightsabers clattered around him, all deactivating upon hitting the ground.
He pulled himself out and glared hatefully at the equally furious opponent battling him.
His frustrations began to build more and more as time went on.
Not because of a Jedi, he was used to their kind.
No, it was due to an Avenger wielding a lightsaber.
Pietro Maximoff stood before the droid General with a glare as murderous as the one Grievous was sending his way.
He grasped the lightsaber of his deceased Jedi friend Ima-Gun-Di tightly as the Avenger vibrated with rage.
Though he was proving to be a formidable opponent for the cybernetic Jedi killer, he wasn't as unscathed as most would assume.
Grievous' technologically altered brain allowed him to process information at a higher rate than most individuals. In having this, he was able to calculate a number of possible avenues Pietro would use as attacks in trying to get to him and had successfully managed to land several hits upon the speedster.
Quicksilver had some burns and bruises visible on his body yet the Avenger remained standing with him ignoring the pain in his body.
In an instant, Pietro was dashing towards him again and this time, Grievous was ready for him.
At the very last second, he managed to catch Maximoff's wrist with two of his arms and swung him into a nearby wall at full force.
His head bounced off the wall, disorienting him slightly as he fell to the ground.
Grievous was immediately upon the Avenger, slamming his foot down hard against Pietro's back.
The Sokovian gasped in pain before he was rolled over and was struck in the jaw by the cyborg.
"I enjoyed killing your Jedi friend, Avenger." Grievous spat out. "He, like the rest of the order, will suffer a similar fate."
He grabbed the speedster by the neck and slammed him down several times before pinning him to the wall.
"I must admit, you are formidable." The Kaleesh warlord declared. "I haven't been beaten this badly in a long time. Perhaps I should kill more of your friends, Avenger. Maybe then I'll actually receive a challenge."
Pietro's dazed expression snapped away and he vibrated his body at such speeds that the arm pinning him cracked.
Grievous let out a snarl of pain before being kicked away by a high speed dual dropkick.
The droid general barely managed to get up in time before he was punched several times in the head by Pietro.
He managed to catch the last one coming in but the speedster quickly grabbed hold of him and spun around rapidly.
Grievous was thrown down the hallway the two were fighting in though he quickly got back up despite his wobble.
"Perhaps no one tried hard enough."
Pietro got in close, unleashing a flurry of jabs on the Kaleesh cyborg's exposed side. The general sought to retaliate, either from lightsaber swings or punches and kicks, but the Sokovian was too quick to land any blows. And when some appeared to have come close, they were knocked back by Pietro's borrowed lightsaber. Even as one of Grievous' four arms were cleaved off.
Of course it was more damaging when the enhanced human appeared before his chest. With his fist reared back, it harshly vibrated before it shot forward and crashed against Grievous' chest plate.
The blow can be considered devastating, having the metal cave in as the cyborg was sent flying once again.
The Separatist general widened his eyes, feeling the container protecting his remaining vital organs starting to break and leak.
In an instant, his hands that hadn't been cut off shot out and managed to grab Quicksilver around his neck.
He began choking the speedster with the man's face turning blue.
Yet the Avenger still had a lot of fight in him and flailed about at high speeds that disoriented the general from a haymaker uppercut that caused Grievous to drop the hero.
Quicksilver immediately whipped out Di's lightsaber and turned it back on. Living up to his moniker, he was quick to prevent the Kaleesh cyborg from retaliating and cutting off yet another arm.
The Sokovian thrusted the lightsaber to the exposed Separatist general, seeking to end him once and for all when a Force Pull threw him away.
"Sorry, but I can't let you do that, Avenger."
Making his landing, Pietro looked upon the one interfering in this fight.
Given by their attire and red lightsaber, this was one of Dooku's acolytes.
"I had this handled, Valen." Grievous grunted out, resting on one knee and coughing heavily.
"Yes, but you are too valuable to die now." The Acolyte said coolly, Lightsaber at the ready.
"You better walk away right now." Pietro said in a deadly voice. "Give me that walking piece of shit scrap metal and I'll let you live."
"I'd say that doesn't sound like something a hero or Jedi would say-"
"Cut the bullshit." Pietro interrupted, holding his new lightsaber up. "Stand aside or I'm going to cut you up into ribbons. I've got the tool I need to do it."
Bil Valen only chuckled. "Oh, it's gonna be good to-"
The Acolyte stopped speaking, having to bring his lightsaber up to block the rushed blow from the enhanced human.
He cringed, both in slight shame, fear and pain.
His arms wrung with pain as he was barely able to deflect the Avenger's quick series of blows. Valen called upon everything he had within the Force, using everything he had in terms of defense and was only just getting by.
He felt cuts and burns all across his body as Quicksilver was becoming more and more of a blue-silvery blur. Even everything else around him became a blur as he was severely knocked back with a kick to his side, sending him flying down the hall.
All the while, one Separatist General was making his escape from the battle, crawling away rapidly on all his limbs.
As much as Grievous wished to continue this bout, he had to flee as he was beginning to end up on the losing end.
But he swore he would seek his revenge against this Quicksilver for this humiliation.
-Scene Cut-
Black Panther jumped up into a spinning corkscrew to avoid the horizontal leg kick that his opponent performed.
Using his enhanced physique and abilities, T'challa backflipped away upon landing whilst watching the warrior known as Taskmaster effortlessly duck underneath the shield of Captain America.
This new enemy was something nobody here had ever encountered before.
Every time they fought him, the man seemingly learned all their moves and tricks in an instant and effortlessly copied and predicted their next oncoming attack.
Only Spiderman had managed to land what amounted to some amount of significant strikes and even then, it didn't last long as the experience of this Taskmaster outweighed that of the wall crawler.
Aayla, Ahsoka, Barriss and Luminara were also bested at every turn with white hooded man countering practically all of their flurries.
He had all the forms and skills of theirs and then some.
It didn't help that the man was adding to his arsenal in the middle of the fight.
All they could do was seek a possible opening, yet it was hard given how quick they seemed to close up with how fast Taskmaster was.
In the span of a few minutes, Taskmaster was already showing a natural proficiency in T'challa's Panther-style of combat on top of the hybrid styles employed by Cap and Spidey.
Currently, the web head was trying for another assault on the opponent, being joined by Ahsoka and Barriss.
The trio were actually getting some headway in but that all came apart the moment he predicted an overhead strike from Tano.
Her wrist was caught, twisted and disarmed and she was held in front of the man just as Barriss went in to assist her friend.
Seeing Ahsoka in her path, the Mirialan Jedi hastily averted her attack, deactivating her lightsaber in time just as she was inches away from her fellow Padawan.
This in turn gave Taskmaster the chance to shover Tano into Barriss and he performed a spinning kick to the Togruta's back, making both jedi crash down to the ground.
He then spun about in time to incline his head away from a spinning heel kick Spider-man directed at him.
However, what he did not expect was the webbing that came over his eyes, blinding him.
"Arg! C'mon!" The mercenary cried out, trying to pry the sticky substance off his visor.
"Nice shot, Peter." Aayla called out, rushing in at the mercenary.
"You obscured my sight." Taskmaster declared, igniting his lightsaber. "But that won't stop me."
He spun around just as Aayla was a foot away and blocked her azure saber.
"Impressive." Taskmaster praised. "Few opponents opt for that choice."
"How can he still fight us?" T'challa asked in frustration, standing next to Luminara who had a frown adorning her face.
"I wonder." She murmured and closed her eyes, reaching out to the Force.
Aayla was currently dueling the man when Steve and Spiderman came in to assist her with the mercenary now retreating as he was getting swarmed on all sides.
A moment later, Luminara opened her eyes with a hard gaze directed at the man.
"I knew it wasn't a mistake." The Jedi Council Member proclaimed. "This man has the Force."
"Does he now?" T'challa asked, eyes narrowed beneath his helm.
"Yes." Luminara nodded. "We must take him out now lest he continues to keep us from the battle at large."
"Agreed." Black Panther stated, lunging forward into a four limber run.
Taskmaster, all the while, managed to get enough space away from his three opponents to use his saber to burn through the webbing obscuring his vision.
Thankfully, his helmet was made from a lightsaber resistant metal that allowed him to not feel the burning sensation of the blade.
Seeing this gave the Prince of Wakanda an idea.
"Everyone." He called out to them. "Be ready to take him out on my move."
He charged forward, running past Steve and Aayla and went in for a spinning kick that Taskmaster blocked with his shield arm.
T'Challa was pushed off by the mercenary, the Prince backflipping in the air and landing in a crouching position.
He and the armored merc exchanged a series of attacks with Panther needing to use his enhanced physiology to stay ahead of Taskmasters replicating attacks.
Then, he saw his chance.
T'challa did a twirling flip and threw out his hand in time to catch the yellow lightsaber of Taskmaster and held it firmly in place with his superior strength.
The hooded warrior tried pulling his blade out of the hand of the Wakandan Prince but found himself unable to.
He then realized too late that he had momentarily forgotten about his other opponents.
The shield of Captain Rogers flew straight at him and landed a clean hit upon the head.
It stunned the man as he stumbled back with him being barely able to remain standing.
Ahsoka, Barriss and Aayla and all jumped forward and threw their arms out together and directed a combined force push that sent Taskmaster hurtling into a nearby wall.
Upon crashing into it, he didn't even have time to register the small set of circular devices that were thrown at his chest.
All he heard was a brief beep before webbing exploded from the devices and completely restrained him, rendering him completely immobile.
"Alright, we got him!" Peter cheered in victory.
"Good job, Spiderman." Said one of the nearby clones.
As they gathered around and prepared to make sure that Taskmaster wouldn't be going anywhere, the mercenary himself was in a bind both literally and figuratively.
He couldn't deny that what he had just experienced was undoubtedly one of, if not the best fights of his life.
The Jedi were definitely a challenge but it was the three unique individuals in the strange costumes and even stranger abilities that held his attention.
The one with the shield was a combat master, having utilized fighting styles he had never experienced before with the same really going for the black-feline themed fighter and the one with the webs.
He had been hearing about these Avengers for some time now but didn't honestly give them much thought.
At the time, he was usually busy on a mission or had just chalked them up to being a form of Republic propaganda that they were using to bolster morale.
But now, after seeing and facing them, he was more than happy to say he was dead wrong.
These people were unlike any he had ever faced and the fact that these weren't all of them made Taskmaster hungry to fight them once more.
He could not allow himself to be captured at this time.
Not when such fresh prospects awaited him now.
No… he wants to, no, needs to fight these Avengers again.
And he sure as hell wasn't gonna do it in a prison cell.
"You think this would stop me? Think again." Taskmaster said aloud, garnering the attention of all those that were present.
It was then that the Force sensitives felt something.
From the web cocoon, Taskmaster quickly built up much of the Force. So much so that his entrapped form began floating in the air.
And it wasn't just him, but everyone else in the area, much to their shock and confusion.
"W-What the-"
"I can't move!"
As seconds passed, the air began rippling at an erratic rate.
"Move!" Steve shouted, as he, Panther and Peter were the ones who were not frozen on the spot from this sudden change in the air with the Force.
At its apex, the mercenary let out a roar as a massive Force Repulse exploded from his very being.
Everyone was sent flying back and crashed either into each other, anything else in their way or to the far off walls.
Landing on his feet, Taskmaster was now free from the webbing; all the while harshly breathing in and out.
He hated using that ability, given it severely drained him.
But what choice did he have? He didn't want to be captured or killed.
All he could do now was more or less get away and recover.
Luckily for him, more separatists droids were coming in.
Retrieving his lightsaber, Taskmaster fled and used the battle droids as cover for his escape.
-Scene Cut-
As battle raged across Tipoca city, a squadron of clones ran through multiple facilities with one objective in mind.
Keeping their young clone sister known as Omega safe.
With them was 99 as he led the group through multiple secret pathways that only he appeared to know of.
"Why exactly are they after Omega, 99?" Fives asked, firing his weapon to shoot down some surprise B1 battle droids they had run into.
"She's far more important than you realize, brothers." 99 declared, pointing to another corridor for them to take.
"How so?" Echo asked, adjusting the young girl who was in his arms and holding on to him tightly.
"After Alpha fled at the beginning of the Clone Wars with our father, the Kaminoans needed to resort to his sister as the prime clone and help create more of us." 99 revealed.
The Domino Squad was silent as they shared a collective look with one another. "You mean-"
"A secret, last resort in case what's left of our donor is taken, unusable or destroyed."
"What would happen with Omega?" Hevy asked, holding a fist out for them to peek around the corner to make sure that their pathway would be secure.
"She would be fine. Just weekly blood donations from what I learned."
"And if she were captured?" Cutup quietly inquired.
99 shook his head. "That's not going to happen."
"Damn right it won't." Fives stated, the group resuming their run as there were no enemies nearby.
Though they had encountered sporadic enemy forces, 99s words held true in directing them through Tipoca in his secret pathways few would seldom go through.
However, the constant explosions, blaster fire and shaking of the city kept the group on edge as at any moment, they may encounter a literal army of Umbarans and Droids at the turn of a corner and Omega would be taken.
"Where's a safe place we can take Omega?" Echo asked.
"Maybe the barracks." Hevy suggested.
"Won't the Separatists be going there as well?" Omega spoke up for the first time in a while, causing her five older brothers to pause in that idea.
"I'd say off world for the time being but that's incredibly dangerous." Cutup chimed in.
"What choice do we have left?" Hevy asked, the group now at a slight loss as to what to do.
There was conflict on all fronts in the most literal sense of the word.
The ocean possibly still had aqua droids swimming about, the air was filled with starfighters, every portion of the city was under siege.
They really didn't have a lot of options to go off of.
"What do we do then?"
Just before anyone was able to think of an answer, a voice from behind caused them all to jolt in surprise.
"Oh, hey boys. What are you doing here?"
The clones all turned to see-
"Ms. Romanoff?" Domino Squad all said at the same time at the sight of the Avenger.
"What are you doing here, ma'am?" Fives asked in confusion.
"I could ask you all the same question." Nat said, hands on her hips when she spotted the girl in the arms of Echo. "Um… who's the kid?"
"We need a place to fortify and keep this one safe." 99 stated, placing hand on Omega's back with the young girl staring at the red-haired Avenger with curious wonder.
The Black Widow eyed the female clone with a questioning expression.
"We'll explain on the way. But for now she's a top priority."
"If you say so."
Before getting far, they were soon met with a small contingent of battle droids.
They were taken care of in rapid succession as Domino and Nat blasted them away with efficient precision.
Of course a grenade went off when more came from behind, leaving a thick cloud of smoke.
99 soon spotted something moving from within the vapors some moments later.
"Look, there's more-"
"Wait, don't shoot." A young voice from the hazy mist.
From the smoke, they saw a small group of-
"Cadets?" Fives said aloud. "What are you doing here?"
"We got separated from our group." The lead cadet stated.
"Where were they taking you?" Hevy asked.
"The barracks."
A look was shared with the clone troopers.
"Seems we have no other options now."
99 nodded in compliance. "I know the best way there. This way.
Minutes passed on by as 99 helped navigate the assembled group through the best route he could think of.
It was a struggle, given Natasha and Domino Squad now had to protect a bunch of cadets.
Arriving at their destination, they all had to take some time to rest and come up with their next course of action of fortifying the barracks as best as possible.
Omega, however, seemed to feel a sense of defeat washing over her.
"What are we gonna do?" The young girl asked. "The Separatists just keep coming. The whole city is burning."
99 then said, "A Separatist victory means death for all of us. Omega is right. What are we gonna do?"
"We can't stick around here for long." Natasha stated. "If we stay here, those bots and Umbarans are gonna be on our ass's."
"Sorry to say this, but we have to fight." Said a deep, yet familiar voice.
The others whirled around and saw-
"Rex, Cody." The Avenger of the group greeted with a nod.
"Natasha." Said Captain Rex in return. "What's this I hear about not fighting?"
A clone cadet then spoke up.
"What do you mean we fight? Our training's not finished."
"That's not what matters." Cody said sternly. "What matters is the here and now, not a simulation that you've all sat at."
Fives was the one to speak next.
"Look around. We're one and the same; same heart, same blood." The Clone said, thumping his chest for emphasis.
Echo picked up from there. "Your training is in your blood."
"And my blood's boiling for a fight." Hevy finished off.
"This is our home." Cutup added in. "This is our war, whether we like it or not."
"What about weapons?"
99 came up and spoke to the group. "The armory. It's just a few corridors away, here in the barracks. I can help retrieve all the firepower we need."
"Not alone you aren't." Said the Black Widow with Cody and Rex nodding in agreement.
-Scene Cut-
From a stark white room, Asajj Ventress walked up to the main console and began typing.
The reason for her presence here was simple, extracting the DNA container of Jango Fett.
As much as she would love to combat the Republic Forces, she had a job to do.
If they wouldn't be able to take out the cloning facilities, they needed to fall back on an alternative: getting rid of the very source of the clone army.
The Dathomirian assassin would rather destroy it and be done with it, but her masters had other ideas.
In one argument, the DNA of Jango Fett could unlock new possibilities for them. Even going as far as creating their own clone army and using them against the Republic.
Ventress sensed there was something else about this, but it was not her place to really question it.
The machine whirled as it soon brought out her objective. Once in hand, Ventress made her way out to her extraction point.
Yet the door whooshed open with the sound of a lightsaber being ignited.
"I was beginning to think my presence went unnoticed." Ventress said casually, turning around to see none other than Anakin Skywalker standing before her.
"You weren't planning on leaving without saying hello, were you?" Spoke Skywalker.
Using the magnets on her belt, she secured the DNA container on her person before retrieving her dual, curved lightsabers and ignited their red blades.
Skywalker rushed forward with a swing of his weapon, but Ventress leapt over him. Landing by the doorway, she used a Force Push to knock the Jedi Knight into the room's main console.
He recovered and once back on his feet, he rushed forward with a downward swing. Ventress brought her weapons in an X-formation to block the attack as they now took their fight into the hallway.
-Scene Cut-
"Come on, you little bug. Is it too much to ask that you share?"
"You are one demented bitch, you know that?"
Wasp ducked beneath a lightsaber swing from her old "chum" Chezo Niva who held a sadistic look of glee on her face as she rapidly swung her blade about in an attempt at cutting Hope into pieces.
The Avenger soon shrank down and flew back whilst blasting away at the Acolyte who deflected the stinging bolts and ran after the shrunken hero.
"Ever since I saw your little boyfriend in a compromising position, I've dreamed of getting him back to have my fun with him." Niva exclaimed, using a Force Push to make Wasp flail in the air.
Luckily, Hope managed to right herself quickly and grew to full height to deliver a boot to the Acolytes chest.
"You ain't gonna touch him again, you hear me." Growled Hope.
"Make me."
"What are you, a child?" Hope asked, now unimpressed with the comeback.
Just as Chezo was about to go on the offensive once more, a small disk suddenly found itself latched onto the shoulder of the Acolyte.
Both women looked down at the disk when it turned on and electrocuted the Acolyte into unconsciousness.
Wasp stared in shock at the now downed enemy that she had been fighting for the past few minutes.
"Hope."
She looked up to see Natasha running up to her with Rex, Cody and a slightly deformed Clone in tow.
"Natasha?" Hope said in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"Helping out the boys." Nat said plainly. The former spy then raised her wrist and fired a pair of electrified bolas that ensnared Chezo in place.
The Acolyte writhed in pain, being snapped out of her unconsciousness, trying to free herself only to pass out once more.
"Uh…" Was all Wasp managed out until Nat patted her on her shoulder.
"Come on, we'll pick her up afterwards." Romanoff promised. "We've gotta hold the fort down here now. The Seps are coming in force to the barracks. They're after a clone that can lead to the ruin of the army."
"R-right." Wasp could only nod dumbly, running after the four of them while momentarily looking back at the bound Acolyte.
Hopefully she won't go anywhere anytime soon.
But knowing her luck, that was unlikely.
All the while, the battle raged across the city.
Falcon had dived down and engaged Crossbones in a one-on-one brawl.
War Machine was battling against Umbarans that were being led by the Sith Acolyte known as Sev'Rance Tann.
Kit Fisto was dueling with an Acolyte of his own and Gi-Ant-Man was pulling a squid droid out from one of the domed structures and crushing it in his grasp.
Shaak Ti was leading her own forces at one of the many hangar bays of the city, slowly pushing the Separatist Forces back.
Pietro had at last bested his enemy and was standing over the dead body of Bil Valen though his look of rage had yet to subside, running off to pursue General Grievous.
Obi-wan Kenobi had engaged the large Acolyte called Rodri, the two dueling on a landing pad with blaster fire going by them.
The Daredevil continued his battle against Prosset Dibs, the two having landed significant blows against one another yet both remained standing.
Windu had locked blades with Sora again and the Weequay Acolyte was showing signs of exhaustion. He continually glared at the deadly focus Mace held and they both clashed once again.
Gree, Bly, Wolffe, Fordo, Alpha and Bacara were managing to lead their battalions and legions in tandem now with the Separatist forces showing clear signs of breaking.
Reinforcements were becoming less frequent as the battle in orbit was at last starting to favor the Republic.
Plo Koon was now leading successful strafing and bombing runs on the Separatist ships, softening them up for the Republic Venators to go in for the killing blows.
Back down on the surface, Steve with his group of Avengers, Jedi and Clones had regrouped and were now helping multiple Clone squadrons in beating back the Separatists.
The Umbarans were chosen as primary targets due to their far more advanced and deadlier weapons.
Though the battle had started out in mayhem, the Republic forces were slowly managing to come together to repel the Seps.
Anakin continued his duel with Asajj, chasing after her throughout Tipoca as she still had the strand of Jango's DNA attached to her hip.
All the while…
Back at the barracks, Natasha, Wasp and the clones were dealing with the droids breaching their makeshift fortifications.
Blaster fire went all over as the fight went on.
From cover, 99 helped provide his brothers with any spare ammunition and explosives they needed.
With Wasps assistance, they had been able to bring back far more weaponry and equipment with Hope having shrunken down so much to take back with them.
They held strong but the Droids were being led by Umbarans who appeared to be far more competent at their job then most tactical droids. They were directing the droids into clusters to make sure they would overwhelm the small squadron of Clones that were holding them back.
This made them priority targets for the two Avengers that were on hand, Natasha and Hope going in to take them out.
At one point, Romanoff spotted the battle droids coming at a certain spot in the barracks. From her wrist com, Natasha barked out an order.
"Kids, now!"
From the sleeper pods from up above, they opened up to reveal Omega and the cadets as they began firing at the droids. They had the advantage at this time and used their positions as some good defensive covering.
As this contingent of enemies came to an end, the kids had the sleeper pods close back up once some ammo magazines were thrown to them for reload.
Rinse and repeat was the plan until the invasion was over or until they were forced to retreat elsewhere.
Unfortunately, not everything can go exactly as planned.
Being handed an explosive, Commander Cody got a bit of bad news.
"That's the last one." Said 99.
"I'll make it count."
Timing it right, Cody primed the explosive and threw it far. It clattered and rolled onto the floor near the opening of the barracks before-
*KABOOM*
A spray of metallic parts flew all over as many droids came to their end.
Seeing this as his chance, the hunchback clone took off. And his action was not unnoticed.
"Where do you think you're going, 99?"
"I'm gonna get more."
"Not now you ain't."
"But I'm a soldier like you-"
"I got him." Wasp said, flying after the deformed clone. "Come on 99, let's go. Together this time"
99 smiled up at the flying Avenger and the two rushed out of the barracks with Hope managing to keep him safe by making sure no blaster bolt got his back.
As the duo rushed out, Natasha stood in the center of the barracks with Rex and Cody by her sides as they kept the droids at bay.
The Umbarans were taken care of so all that remained were the droids.
A voice soon came out from the wrist comms.
"Commander Cody, this is Shaak Ti."
"Yes, general. What is it?"
"The droids have been pushed back to the main hangar."
"As much as I like to head over there, we are trying to hold the line at the barra-."
Just as Cody uttered those words, a bluish-silver blur arrived on the scene with a lightsaber in hand that tore apart the droids that were in the barracks at the time.
The Commander blinked at Quicksilver skidding to a halt with a droid arm in one hand and a lightsaber in the other.
"Hey guys." Pietro said, waving with the severed arm.
"Whoa~" Said the clone Cadets and Omega, looking up at the speedster in awe.
"Uh… what's with the kids?" The Sokovian asked in slight bewilderment.
"Long story but good of you to come through for us." Hevy remarked with a wide grin.
"Yeah, nice timing Pietro." Fives said in relief.
"Where'd you get the lightsaber?" Echo asked, looking down at the azure blade in the hands of the Avenger.
The Sokovian's mood instantly lessened as he gave his answer.
"A fallen friend." He said in a downtrodden manner, deactivating it and holding it to his chest.
Not much was said after as the area had to be secured before a number of their party went elsewhere.
-Scene Cut-
Back in Kamino's orbit, the battle waged on.
A majority of the Separatists' ships had been destroyed or disabled at this point with the remaining ships and their commanders realizing that this was officially a losing battle.
Soon, a retreat was being called upon with all forces being told to abandon the mission and flee from the system.
Multiple Separatist and Umbaran ships were now turning tail to run.
Groundside, the Umbarans, Acolytes and hired guns of the Separatist used the droids as their means of a distraction as he fled.
One by one, they reached their escape transports, either their own or pilfered in order to live for another day.
All the while, this battle was being observed from afar by one individual.
From an unknown or perhaps a lost recorded hyperspace lane, a ship arrived onto the scene.
It's make was relatively unknown to both Separatist and Republic forces. For it was rather newly designed.
Within them were no occupants at all.
If one were to see this, they would wonder how this was possible.
In truth, these ships were being remotely controlled by a new power in the galaxy.
"Appears I'm late to the party."
From his digitized throne, Ultron looked on as he surveyed the last leg of the Battle of Kamino.
The Republic had won it seems, though at a great cost.
He had tried accessing the system within Kamino but found himself being unable to from not just one, but two AI programs that had established a defensive firewall around the planet.
It was easy for the mad AI to deduce not who these AI were but who made them.
"Stark." Ultron muttered in disgust and rage.
It appeared that even in space, that man's shadow loomed over him.
No one in this galaxy has ever bothered to create AI outside of the droid programs. They were considered VI's at best.
This was the only explanation.
It appears he'll need to figure out his next moves if he were to try accessing Kamino's servers.
Much as he had left a deep impression upon the galaxy with his surprise entry into the war on top of his victory on Jabiim, Ultron wasn't as stupid as he was last time.
He had a rushed plan and wanted to get rid of humanity as quickly as possible.
The AI understood now that the plan he had in mind would not work so a new one needed to be made.
One that hinges on patience, time and the creeping dread he had instilled in all that he wanted to kill.
His time will come.
A new age has dawned upon this galaxy and he would lead it to its salvation at the end of it all.
Just as the ship arrived on the scene, Ultron commanded his vessel to leave the sector and return home before any opposing forces would detect his arrival.
-Scene Cut-
With many Separatist forces vacating Kamino, the Republic were regaining ground after a grueling battle.
Many assault craft were being taken down, yet their impact damaged the capital with a number of support structures beginning to tilt and crashing down to the sea below.
This in turn resulted in many calling off such attacks, otherwise they would be causing more harm than good to Tipoca.
So many Clones watched as the Separatists fled on their ships with few pursuing after them.
"Look! It's the general!"
Many clones looked on at where one of their own pointed out.
At the source, they saw Skywalker combating Ventress as he was chasing her down.
Blue and red lightsabers were a flurry as their wielders sought to take down the other.
Eventually, Anakin got the upper hand and knocked the assassin down.
Seeing her fallen, Anakin saw the DNA capsule was in the open now. Using the Force, he retrieved it from the assassin's belt. By the time it got into his hand, he had to quickly defend himself against his opponent, who got back up with fury in her features.
Her blades came down hard, forcing Skywalker to retreat back. He didn't have time to put the confiscated item away and use both of his hands to fend Ventress off.
After a series of swings and kicks, Anakin was knocked down and dropped the capsule.
Smirking, Ventress used the Force to retrieve her objective. It was pulled towards her and was nearly in her grasp.
However-
"Yoink!"
A strand of webbing snatched it and was yanked away.
Snapping her head to the side, she saw Spiderman landing on one of the fallen assault crafts as he brought the DNA capsule to his person.
"Nah, uh uh~! This doesn't belong to you." The Wallcrawler said, holding the capsule up in a taunting manner.
Captain America, Black Panther, Aayla Secura, Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee and Luminara Unduli joined in.
In mere moments, she began to be surrounded by a litany of clones with Anakin getting back onto his feet.
"I suppose you expect me to surrender."
"That would be a good option for you." The First Avenger said to the Sith Assassin.
"I'd rather plan to let the clones execute you right now." Said Skywalker.
Ventress merely snarled. "Not this time."
Gathering much of the Force, she sent it outward to knock nearly everyone back.
She used this opening to retreat as many clones fired at her.
Spider-man leapt forward and fired a strand of webbing at her back though she managed to spin around and cut the web with one of her lightsabers.
Just as she reached the edge of the platform, the Sith Assassin jumped off and fell to the sea below.
Rushing to the edge, a number of Republic forces had to rear back when a Kaminoan escape pod flew up and reached towards the sky. And from its surface, they saw Ventress crawl inside for her escape.
"Well… crap." Peter said, throwing his arms up in annoyance at the Acolyte escaping.
"Hey, chin up, Pete." Anakin said, walking up to the teens' side. "We made sure they didn't get what really mattered."
Spider-man nodded, holding up the canister that contained the DNA of the clone army and held it out for Skywalker to take.
Giving the Queens native an appreciative smile, he took the container out the teens hand and clipped it onto his belt whilst looking back to the others.
"The day is ours." Declared Skywalker, being met with uproarious cheer from the clones as they chanted in victory.
-Scene Cut-
At the hangar, like many other areas of the capital, a massive cleanup was underway for both droids and fallen clones alike.
Everyone contributed in order to assess their losses.
The Avengers, Jedi and Clones all worked in tandem in assisting the wounded and helping move the deceased.
Barriss went straight to the medical facility of the city with Ahsoka and Peter joining her.
Daredevil worked with Wasp and Scott in directing Clones to where they could find any of their brothers that were buried under rubble with Jedi assisting in moving debris with the Force.
As all this went on, a number of meetings were also underway.
One that was exclusively between Clones.
Standing on a platform were a number of them being composed of soldiers from four specific legions and corps.
At the head of them all were two Arc troopers inspecting those that had been assembled by their leaders.
"These are the ones?" Fordo asked the Clone Captains and Commanders who all nodded.
Fordo and Alpha stood before a motley crew of Clone troopers chosen by their leaders to be here.
From the 501st, stood Domino squad; Hevy, Fives, Echo and Cutup.
The 212th was represented by Waxer and Boil.
104th were Comet, Sinker and Boost
And the 327th was Flash, Lucky and Cameron.
"Attention!" Echo said aloud, the clones snapping to a salute before the two Arcs.
"At ease, men." The Captain of the 501st spoke up, their arms falling to their sides.
Walking in front of them, Captain Rex scanned them all.
"You all really stepped up in the heat of battle this day."
"We did what we had to do, sir." Said Fives.
"What any clone would have done." Waxer added in.
A number of smiles and nods were formed from the higher ranking clones.
Fordo now stepped forward.
"I've been going over some interesting files that were given to me by your superior officers." The Arc trooper stated. "Something Alpha and I have been reviewing for some time now, actually."
Alpha-17 spoke next in his gruff tone.
"All of you for the past year have displayed a level of willpower and courage that very few soldiers can match. Tenacity and creativity in the face of overwhelming adversity is the first lesson drilled into my head during my time training as an ARC trooper."
"We are here to inform you all that you're officially being submitted into ARC trooper training." Fordo revealed.
A look of surprise was shown from the assembled troopers. Yet they were proud, excited and honored with what's to come.
"I don't think the Separatists will be coming back here anytime soon." Cody stated.
"But if they do, Kamino will be lucky to have clones like you defending it." Bly added on.
"Good job, men. You've earned it." Rex praised the chosen Clones, all holding their heads higher now.
Salutes were raised and received.
Meanwhile…
"It's an honor to meet someone like yourself, sir." 99 said with a wide grin as he stared up at the man known as Captain America.
"Pleasures all mine." Steve said, holding a handout for the clone to shake which he did emphatically. "I've heard a lot about you actually from Domino squad. Nothing but good things about you."
"Well, I wouldn't say that." 99 said bashfully, rubbing the back of his head with a wide smile. "I just… want to make sure my brothers can perform to the best of their abilities. If I can help in any way that I can, I'll do it."
Steve found himself smiling widely at the Clone. He could see why so many of the other Clones held this one in such high regard.
His spirit was that of an unbreakable sort. Despite being dealt what many would assume to be a bad hand, 99 chooses to do what he is able to for those he cares for.
He just wants to help.
Something that feels all too familiar with the super soldier.
"You remind me of myself years ago." Rogers stated, making 99 blink in surprise.
"How so?"
Steve gazed down at his hands, both of which were clenched tightly. "I wasn't always like this, you know? I was sickly and frail like you with too many health conditions to count."
99 gazed up at the veteran in surprise. "So… what happened? How'd you end up the way you were now?"
"I refused to surrender to it." Steve said, expression determined and fierce. "I wanted to prove to myself and to others that I can make a difference. Time and time again I was told no until a good man gave me a chance. He saw that I wasn't going to quit so he chose me. He granted me the chance of a lifetime, which resulted in becoming the man I am today. Every day I fight, I fight to make sure I honor his last words to me."
99 was silent, his expression asking 'and those words were?'.
"Erskine told me that to be the man I am, I shouldn't be a good soldier who follows orders." Rogers said, pointing to 99's chest. "But a good man."
"A good man…" Parroted 99.
"Even if you can't live up to others' desired expectations, you continue to give it your all." Cap said, placing a hand on the clone's shoulder. "Keep your head up high, 99. You're gonna keep getting chances to prove why you're more than what you are. I promise."
The aged looking clone gave the soldier a teary eyed smile, reaching up to pat his hand in appreciation.
"99!"
The two turned to see none other than Omega running towards them and instantly jumping onto her older clone brother.
"I've been looking all over for you." The little one declared. "Why do you always have to leave me alone?"
"I was just having a talk, Omega." 99 said with a light chuckle, patting the girl atop her head.
"Talking to… who…" Omega pulled away from her brother to look up at Steve who was giving her an amused look.
"Hello there." Steve said kindly, kneeling down to her eye level. "You must be Omega. Natasha told me about you."
The girl's jaw dropped. "You're Captain Rogers! I've been seeing vids of you all over the holo-net with the other Avengers."
"A pleasure to meet you, Omega." Steve said graciously.
"I can't believe I got to meet so many new people today." Omega said excitedly, bouncing on the soles of her feet. "It gets so boring around here."
"Hey." 99 jokingly complained. "I didn't realize I was so boring."
The young child's eyes widened dramatically as she began to profusely apologize to her older brother who laughed at her reaction.
Rogers chortled at the interaction when a shadow loomed over him.
"Steve."
The Super Soldier looked up to see Natasha standing over him.
"Hey Omega." Widow greeted with a smirk. "99, could you two excuse me for a moment, I gotta talk with Steve. Got the other Avengers waiting for him."
The aged clone nodded as he escorted his sister away.
Steve stood up and had a raised brow at his friend.
"What's going on, Nat?"
"Something I know you'll want to see." Nat said, leading Steve towards a secluded spot of sorts. "I know you normally don't like it when I go AWOL on a mission but for this instance, I think you're gonna appreciate it."
Coming to a rondevu point, the two Avengers met up with several others who were available.
Sam, Rhodey, T'challa and Pietro were standing around a console that Nat had set up for them to use.
"What's up, Nat?" Sam was the first to speak. "You told us you got something for us from Tap?"
Nat simply nodded and accessed the terminal that they surrounded.
"So~, Sam."
"Hmmm?"
"Remember when I reunited with you guys, I asked a couple questions pertaining to how our Clone buddies came to be, right?"
Sam blinked at the question when a look of realization dawned on him.
"And I know that other than Pietro, that's a question you all likely shared." Nat said, ignoring the small "Hey!" from the speedster. "So I knew that this was likely going to be one of our only chances we'll get in this whole madness to get an idea as to where this army had come from."
"So you hacked into their systems." Rhodey chimed in, making Nat nod.
"Not alone at least." Romanoff stated. "Now, Tap, what did you get for us?"
During the cleanup, Nat had to return to the console she plugged the Avenger AI to earlier before the Separatist attack arrived.
"Quite a lot, comrade Romanoff." Said the AI. "There's enough for Senator Amidala and her compatriots to work with and then some."
"You did good work, Tap." Nat praised with a wide grin.
"Mind giving us a sample?" Steve asked.
Upon Pietro's request, a hologram appeared before them.
"What are we seeing here?"
"A list of orders and contingencies that the Clones have hardwired into their brains." Tap revealed.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Sam said aloud. "Hardwired? What the hell does that mean?"
"Programmed at birth." Tap answered. "These orders are drilled into their heads both figuratively and literally for them to follow without question."
"The literally part concerns me." T'challa said with a frown. "What does that mean exactly?"
"It took a bit of time, comrades but I have found this to be the primary reason." The Avengers Personal AI soon brought up the image of an organic looking substance of some kind.
"What… What is this?" Rhodey asked, squinting his eyes at what they were looking at.
"The Kaminoans labeled this an inhibitor chip." Tap said. "Something that prevents the Clones from tapping into their more aggressive aspects that come from their donor…"
"Or making them do whatever order is given to them without question." Black Widow said with an intense gaze, fists clenching slightly.
"You mean they're slaves to this?" Rhodey questioned with shocked disgust.
"Kinda already were when ya think about it." Sam wryly pointed out. "Pretty sure that they weren't given a choice in being soldiers or not."
"I think Rex's friend on Saleucami would argue otherwise." Steve retorted knowingly.
"Do they know?" T'challa asked.
"Subconsciously." Was the AI's quick response.
"Meaning what?" Asked the Sokovian.
"They're basically activated sleeper agents." Said Natasha. "They just don't know about the chips and orders until activation."
"But… you mentioned these orders, yes?" Rhodey said, making Nat nod and Tap verbally confirm his question. "Are there any orders that stick out to you?"
"One in particular stands out the most." Tap said in an unusually grave voice.
Steve's frown deepened, a strange, unwelcome feeling welling up in his gut.
"And that is…?"
"This one here. Order 66."
AN
Alright folks, last chapter for Infinite Wars for the year 2021.
Felt as though it's been a damn good year for this story in particular since we got three arcs done for season three which was awesome.
Jebest4781: Doubt we could squeeze anymore in time on this story to do so for another chapter entry. But who knows depending on our schedules and motivations.
FMW: Yeah, originally, this chapter was gonna be way, WAY longer, like close to 20k plus with the ideas in mind but then I kinda realized that we would have been stuck on this chapter for a lot longer. So in one rush, Jeb and I got this one done as soon as we could.
Jeb: Granted we did do a long chapter last time to do the bulk of the Battle of Kamino, so there's that to consider.
FMW: On top of the introduction of our version of Taskmaster and really, much as we wanted to focus on the individual battles for each of the Avengers, Acolytes and Clones, there would have been a lot more writing we had to do and the chapter would have hit the 30k mark. And that would've taken weeks to do. So we got what was needed here and now and have ten times more to do in the coming arcs and chapters.
So yeah, quick rundown of things to address.
Got our likely last chapter of the year out with A Song of Fire, Ice and Hearts, thank God.
Spiderman No Way Home was utterly fantastic.
Hawkeye was a surprise hit, one of my personal favorite MCU shows.
Witcher season 2 is out, Jeb having watched it, me needing to see it.
Arcane was completely spectacular from start to finish.
Avenging Remnants Reboot was released being Age Of Remnant.
And there's probably a bunch of other stuff to address but I'm forgetting so in light of that…
If this is the last chapter between me and Jeb at the end of this year, then Happy New Year's everyone. Hope you've all had a Merry Christmas, a more enjoyable Holiday season and we will see you all in 2022.
Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.