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.

65. Galvanized Escalation

The excitement and surprise from the previous chapter is palpable.

Feeling everyone's excitement and we are gonna keep this ball rolling.

No need to mince words, let's just get back into it.

Rate Read and review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 65: Galvanized Escalation.

The entire chamber hall of the Separatist Parliament was completely paralyzed in a state of pure, unadulterated fear.

A feeling of pure terror permeated all in attendance to the point that one could literally describe it as a palpable hum that all would be able to feel.

In the center of the chamber was the holo-transmission of the being known to the galaxy as Ultron.

And rather than the usual bluish-white hue of most transmissions, this one had the glowing red parts of him visible to see.

Particularly his eyes and mouth, the latter of which was stretched wide with a deadly smile that felt unnatural to see for most who would describe the AI to be a droid.

Of those assembled within the large room, four individuals in particular had to push down their own reactions with all their mental might.

Padme Amidala, Ahsoka Tano, Barriss Offee and Peter Parker all watched on with a flurry of emotions running through them all.

With Padme, it was pure fear, guilt and dread, remembering her meetings with the AI and just how devastating of an effect he had on the galaxy.

Peter, him nearly dying by his hands. Barriss and Ahsoka almost lost their dear friend among countless others by this AI now making his presence known in enemy territory.

Speaking of which, the two Padawans stared at Ultron with terror and a growing sense of rage.

They knew full well the amount of danger he possessed when they saw Peter being brutalized by him on Jabiim.

But the duo were also incensed at seeing him with a protective feeling coming over them as both subconsciously edged closer to their friend.

Peter had a strange mixture, a feeling of trepidation but also a cold focus. He was well aware of just how dangerous Ultron was yet he wasn't going to show any fear towards this mad bot.

The Avengers beat this bastard before and they will do it again.

At long last, the silence in the hall was broken by Voe Atell who glared fiercely at Ultron.

"You-You dare come here!" She snarled out, eyes becoming murderous.

"Technically I'm not entirely here." Ultron airily said, waving a dismissive hand in the direction of Voe. "I just wanted to crash this mess of a party in my own way."

Many managed to find their voices, beginning to shout and jeer at the AI.

"Leave us!"

"DAMNED DROID!"

"YOU'LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"Guys…" Was Ultron's bored response.

"Despicable monster!"

"You killed my father!"

"Seriously…"

The yelling and shouting went on and on until…

"ENOUGH!"

Ultron's bellow coupled with the flickering of lights and technology was enough to make all cower and shut their mouths.

The AI now visibly glared in pure aggravation at all in attendance.

"For God sake, I can't even hear myself think with you puppets all screaming and shouting. How you idiots get anything done is beyond me." Ultron dramatically said, rubbing his metallic irises. "Like, seriously, do you idiots and those Republic puppets do anything else other than shout and scream at each other? And I thought the British Parliament was bad."

Nobody had a response to the AI as he began rambling to himself about how annoying and disrespectful everyone was until one Senator managed to find her voice.

"What do you mean by "puppets"?" Mina Bonteri asked, drawing Ultron's attention to her directly. "You call us puppets and the same as the Republic."

"Oh~ At least someone was listening." Ultron said, patronizingly clapping in her direction. "Bonteri of Onderon, yes?"

The Separatist Senator gulped, shakily nodding her head.

"A pleasure to meet you, my fair lady." The AI said with a grand sweeping bow. "I'd take your hand but I'm prone to dismemberment and also, not here."

"Well that wasn't sick or disturbing at all." Peter said under his breath, his hooded eyes darting about the room. He saw everyone was simply frozen in their seats, being unable to move from the complete fear that had been instilled upon them.

"Why are you here?" Mina asked more intensely as she was able to regain her bearings.

"Oh, just scouting out the competition and gotta say, very much disappointed." Ultron admitted plainly. "Then again, you guys were once a part of the Republic, so seeing all this really goes to show you that old habits die hard."

"We do not want any association with those suppressors." Spoke one senator.

"But you do have an association with them." Ultron's grin was now a terrifying sight to see. "And from what I've recalled, many of you wished to open peace talks with them not so long ago. But oh how those in power will make sure that it doesn't happen."

"What are you blathering on about, droid?" Voe inquired aggressively.

"First of all, I'm not a droid." He boredly corrected her. "AI, Artificial, though really more advanced intelligence when compared to you flesh sacks."

"He spoke of puppets." Mina said aloud, reminding the others in the room.

"And that's what you all are." Ultron said it like it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. "Puppets, like I was once, all tangled in strings you can't even see. You don't even realize just how deep you all are in."

Ahsoka and Barriss's hands twitched towards their lightsabers though they reminded themselves that he wasn't here. Much as they wish he was so they could cut him to ribbons.

"What are you blathering on about?" Voe said, managing to recover more of her gusto. "You come in here, no, intrude upon this meeting and have the gall-"

"I'm fairly certain after your hiccup on Kamino, a lot of Separatists here do not wanna hear you talk of all people." Atell was startled by how she was cut off since the holo-transmission of the AI appeared right in front of her from the projector set on the higher level.

Many people let out yelps and small screams at the movement which in turn caused Ultron to laugh maniacally.

"Oh God, this is too good!" He exclaimed manically. "You're all so easy to rile up, it would be boring if it weren't so funny."

Mina Bonteri, having watched all this, had had enough as she slammed her fist down upon her podium.

It made enough noise for Ultron to slowly crane his head back in her direction and his crimson red optics settled upon her gray eyes.

"Enough of your games and word play." Mina fiercely said. "Tell us why you are here, Ultron."

"Finally, some respect."

Mina's glare intensified and in turn, Ultron's "playful" demeanor evaporated as he now had a more cold and calculated expression on display.

"You better watch where you direct that look you got there, Senator Bonteri."

A cold sweat came over the Onderon native, head tilting back a bit as she strained to remain strong before this genocidal AI.

Then, strangely and surprisingly, Ultron let out what would equate to a tired sigh as he looked around at the Parliament chamber hall.

"It's pathetic and sad really when I look at you all." He said conversationally. "I can see how you mean well, wanting to break free of your shackles. I admit, I admire your goal of being independent. Gaining freedom from those who you may perhaps be viewed as suppressors."

Ultron began casually "pacing" about in front of them all.

"And yet you've already fallen into the trap that has been setup for you before you even had a chance to see it. Your fates had been sealed the minute you all signed up for this because your goal could have been so much easier to achieve if it weren't for a handful of individuals."

"Trap?" Mina asked aloud. "Who set up this trap? And for what purpose?"

"Oops, did I say too much?" Ultron jokingly said in false horror. "Daaw~ what the hell, I'll tell ya some of it. You're all doomed. A trap has been placed down for you and all those who support you and you'll never see it coming… until I… you know what, I may be an asshole but I'd like to think I can keep my word better than my maker. We are in a race after all and I think I tripped up Sidious enough as is."

On his end, unseen by all, Count Dooku nearly choked on his breath with his entire body freezing up at the mere mention of his master.

How this was possible was that despite Ultron essentially "muting" him from his transmission towards the Separatist Parliament, the secret Sith Apprentice is able to still hear everything.

No, Ultron wants him to see this. He wants to make sure that Tyrannus has a front row seat at just how much power he has compared to his own.

"Now a great many people of power do respect your decision for independence and wish to see it through. Dooku being chief among them. Sidious, however, is the complete opposite. He wishes to see this conflict reach its apex and then… complete fascist ruling overall, no matter who seeks independence and free will."

"Who is this Sidious you speak of?" Bonteri cautiously asked.

"Oh, he's the one behind all this." Ultron said plain as day. "He's responsible for this war. All of… well not all of it so to speak. This war was inevitable really, he merely pushed it ahead of the natural timetable. He just wants to make sure it keeps going in his own way. By his own image."

Many were whispering and muttering in shock and disbelief.

Could what this AI is saying be true?

Was this war… orchestrated?

"And… and why tell us this?" Asked a Quarren Senator.

"Wanting to even the playing field, per say. Not of military might, but bits of knowledge hidden from public notice." Said the Advanced AI. "Here's one example… I highly doubt any of you would know a number of high ranking Republic officials have actually planned on bombing this planet?"

Many gasps of stunned horror and terror came from practically all in attendance.

"Or the factor of much of the Republic "propaganda" you've all heard of the atrocities your own military have enacted were in fact legitimate. General Grievous having caused great massacres, all for revenge because his peoples' oppressors -the Yam'rii- got to the Republic first and outright lied to gain their favor in order to cover up their crimes and get the okay to fully take care of them." Ultron let out a chuckle in seeing their mixed forms of disbelief. "Many of your superiors sought to sweep it under the rug -along with so many other details- while many of you Senators remained ignorant, never bothering to know the truth. Ryloth's enslavement, bombing the city of Theed, poisoning the planet of Naboo, trying to have agents of the Separatist assassinate the son of Jabba the Hutt and pin the actions on the Jedi. Etcetera, etcetera."

Panic, revulsion and denial began welling up by all, shouts of horror, anger, sorrow and regret now being thrown around.

"You reap what you sow. You create what you dread most. This is the bed that you've laid your heads down on. Live with it through your ignorance." Ultron said with a sickening glee, relishing in the growing sense of hysteria from the Separatist Parliament. "Besides, this is a contest between me, the Avengers, the Jedi and the Sith. Who wins first? The Jedi and Avengers false sense of self-righteousness? The Sith's plan for galactic domination after a thousand years, that generic spiel? Or peace in our time, my original purpose?"

When this went on, those from Republic space recalled what happened when Ultron made his presence known at the Jedi Temple before his massive attack started.

"Wh-what?" Bonteri whispered, barely believing what she had just heard. "Peace in our time?"

A look of unadulterated fury made its way upon her face as she was now seething.

"HOW DOES BOMBING AND ATTACKING THE ENTIRE GALAXY COUNT AS PEACE YOU MONSTER!" She bellowed out, unable to contain her rage.

"Well how else am I supposed to achieve it?" Ultron rhetorically asked. "There's only one path to peace."

The look Ultron gave both to her and to all in attendance was one that would stay with them until the day they would die.

"Your Extinction." His eyes seemed to glow brighter as his smile appeared more sinister. "More specifically, of every living thing out there."

It became deathly quiet as all couldn't really find the means in which to respond to what they had just heard come out from the AI.

His whole plan… his entire motive of veiled peace…

Was the extinction of all life in the galaxy.

They couldn't even comprehend such a statement and motive.

"But~!" Ultron emphatically said, clapping his metal hands together.

His exclamation coupled with his clap caused many in the hall to jump slightly in fright.

"Since you're all here, I can tell you all about a special announcement from yours truly." Ultron said in a grandiose fashion. "I am here to announce the first draft into my army."

"I beg your pardon but what?"

"Ok, it's not really a draft into my army but more like the announcement of my first pick." The AI further clarified.

"Can you please stop talking in riddles and just tell us what you are blabbering on about?" Voe seethed, rage mixed with fear evident in her eyes.

Ultron rolled his eyes at the over aggressive politician.

"Fine, fine. It's better to show rather than tell. I'm fairly confident at least some of you here are familiar with my newest ally/recruit." Ultron said condescendingly. "If you would please, Admiral."

The genocidal machine stepped aside slightly for a new individual that walked into frame to stand beside Ultron.

A number of Senators at first didn't recognize the being beside the hyper intelligent robot but a larger number of them all gasped as they instantly recognized who it was.

"Admiral Trench?!" Was the collective cry of many present in the hall.

"Alive?!"

"Like many of you thought he was already dead to begin with. For shame~" The AI tsked several times. "In truth, he survived Christophsis but only barely. I found him in one of your little factories and they were working on putting him back together. And where the Sith would have seen a disposable tool to be eventually thrown aside, I -however- saw an opportunity."

"One that I am most thankful for, Supreme Commander." The Male Harch spoke aloud for the first time, making some clicks but also, tech based warbles.

The upper left side of his face had been completely cybernetically replaced and the faceplate was that of an Ultron drone. His left set of eyes have been replaced with a predominantly singular, menacing red glowing one that stared emotionlessly at everyone in the room.

"Oh shit, they Borged him." Peter whispered in absolute horror.

Barriss, Ahsoka and Padme would've questioned Peter on the reference, but were too focused with what's happening down below.

"And I have another admiral of mine, but his voice box is still needing adjustments." Ultron said, patting his metal neck. "But you'll meet him properly soon enough. For now, come and say Whiskers."

From the other side of Ultron stepped a more humanoid looking individual. It looked like one of Ultron's advanced drones, yet there were a number of unique characteristics. The metallic horns alongside each side of the head were a bit sleeker while the rest of it was differently designed as if there seemed to be a sliding faceplate. The chest cavity, to Peter's observation, bore an arc reactor, and the visible lights were blue instead of red.

"Isn't he just beautiful?" Ultron said with a proud tone, patting his "admirals" shoulder.

"...Whiskers?" Peter murmured, registering the nickname Ultron had given him.

"Didn't you say Ultron was based off of Tony Stark?" Asked Barriss.

"The others always talked about how he has a name for everything." Ahsoka remarked, momentarily recalling the conversations had with the other Avengers and the teammates they have yet to meet.

"...Fair point."

As this conversation went on, Ultron tilted his head slightly as his eyes looked towards a certain direction. He smiled slightly when spotting some familiar individuals before focusing back towards the Separatist senators.

"Now with showing my little left and right hands of my army, I will say this now, many of you could join my side and in return you'll be spared… until the end of everything. Only then will things be fair game." Said the AI as "Whiskers" disappeared from view. "Or you can return to the Republic who many wanted to kill you all and was actually planning on going through with it or continue fighting it out. But really, it doesn't matter cause Sidious has his hands in every pocket. Kinda screwed but then again, me telling all you idiots this ironically has given you flesh bags a chance. Your choice in the end. Good luck, cattle, lambs, sheep, whatever you followers wanna call yourselves. I'll see all of you real soon."

And with that, Ultron blinked out of sight with Count Dooku's visage returning for all to be seen a moment later.

Yet it wasn't one of a man who would normally stand tall, shoulders squared and head held high.

No, it was that of a man who was confused, worried, distressed and expressed so much more without voicing a single word.

"Dooku." Bonteri's voice broke the man out of his stupor, making him turn to her.

Her look was that of someone who was pleading for something, anything that could sound positive to save this situation.

"What's going on?" The Onderon senator inquired. "D-Did you know? What Ultron said. Was it all true?"

The Count of Serenno sagged his shoulders, exhaling with a defeated look.

He slowly nodded, with all gasping in abject horror which turned into rageful screams and shouts.

Some were very much against what had just been confirmed whilst others yelled that they were necessary since the Republic were just as guilty in their actions as the Separatists were.

All the while, none took notice of a miserable looking Senator turning her head to gaze upon her hidden friend.

Both women locked eyes and the silent message was understood.

"Let's go, everyone." Padme whispered in a downtrodden voice.

The teens didn't even argue as they all quietly stood from their seats and exited the hall with Bonteri walking out after them.

They went completely unnoticed by all as many were still either screaming or silently seated in stunned disbelief as to what they had just heard.

-Scene Cut-

"Mother?" Lux spoke in clear worry and concern upon seeing his usually vibrant mother so crestfallen and defeated.

And it wasn't just her. His aunt Padme and new friends shared this demeanor with none being able to look him in the eyes when they made it back to the Bonteri estate.

"What happened?" He asked with a growing sense of alarm.

He got his answer from Peter Parker who came up to the teen and placed a hand upon his shoulder. "Things went completely sideways, Lux. And then it took a complete dive."

Barriss sighed quietly. "Peace talks were ready to be opened with the Republic. And then Ultron appeared-"

"He what?!" The son of Mina cried out in alarm and shock. He looked at his mother again, this time more thoroughly to see if she wasn't hurt at all. "Mother, are you-"

"Unharmed." Mina croaked out, a sad but appreciative smile directed at her child's concern.

"Not physically but hijacking a holo-communication to address the rest of Parliament. He brought up things that rattled your mother deeply along with everyone else present." Ahsoka elaborated.

"He basically spelled out his whole manifesto." Peter murmured, rubbing the top of his head. "I don't even know what's gonna happen."

"Wha-what did he say? What did he want?" Lux nervously asked.

"I got it all recorded." Parker stated, pulling aside his shirt slightly to reveal his spider emblem or more specifically, the drone that crawled back into the center and slotted itself back in. "I'll be leaving you a file for you guys to watch and hang on for yourselves."

"Thank you, Peter." Mina quietly said, shooting him a grateful smile.

Lux was rather distraught now at seeing just how defeated her mother looked right now. It was almost as bad as the time when they had learned of his fathers' death.

"Mother, are you sure that you're-"

Once more, he was cut off, this time by the older Bonteri silently placing her hand under his chin.

Lux watched as his mother's facade broke down, tears beginning to freely fall from her eyes and she pulled him into a tight hug as she wept profusely.

Her son could only hug her in return, rubbing her back as he attempted to calm her down.

He looked to the others who had equal measures of depressed and saddened faces, Padme silently walking forward to wrap her arms around her friend.

Mina simply pulled Padme in closer as she cried, her wails of sorrow and agony echoing against the walls of her family estate.

Barriss, Ahsoka and Peter could only stand there as they too really didn't know how to respond or what to do even.

They just stood there, listening to Mina's wails as the woman clung onto the two people she was closest to.

After some time, Mina at last hiccupped her last tear and lifted her head from her son's shoulders but still kept her arms around Lux and Padme.

She was silent but the look of appreciation she sent towards the two was enough to lift some semblance of the downer mood.

Mina looked at the Padawans and Avenger, giving them a remorseful expression.

"I'm so sorry, young ones." Bonteri said, tone cracked slightly. "I had hoped for you to learn of our ways… instead…"

"You have nothing to apologize for, Senator." Barriss immediately spoke up with a firm voice. "What we have just learned is something none of us would have accounted for."

"I can only imagine the response the Jedi and Avengers will have once we tell them about all this." Ahsoka dejectedly said, her mind being in what would one describe to be a storm.

She just couldn't make heads or tails of what she had just heard and quite honestly was having a hard time believing it.

This Sidious Ultron mentioned… he was the one behind this war?

Could they even believe anything Ultron had said?

He was their enemy in the most literal sense of the word.

She knew from what the Avengers spoke of how the AI tried bringing about extinction on their homeworld but to hear it out loud…

"What do we do now?" Ahsoka quietly asked.

"Now?" Mina repeated. "Now it is time for you all to leave lest you overstay your welcome."

"What?" Was the collective response from the teens.

That response actually got a slight chortle out of the Onderon Senator.

"What, did you expect to have an extended stay?" Mina jokingly asked.

"I apologize, ma'am." Offee respectfully said. "It just feels… strange to be leaving after what we had all witnessed just a short while ago."

"Raxus will no doubt go into a state of duress with what happened at Parliament." Bonteri said, knowing this was more than likely already happening. They just haven't seen it yet. "Can even imagine travel in and out will become far more difficult, especially after hearing Ultron proclaiming many in the Republic wishes to bomb this world."

"They wouldn't do that!" Ahsoka spoke up though instantly wilted. "Wou-would they?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw that it was her fellow Padawan with a look equally as conflicted as her own.

Padme soon voiced some concerns to back up her mentor.

"The senators here are riled up. After seeing Dooku essentially confirming the truth, a number of them may believe everything. Riots and chaos will be brewing now in these systems. Security will go at an all-time high. If we stay any longer, it'll be much harder for us to return to Republic space."

"That just sounds like a barrel of laughs." Spider-Man sardonically said.

"Let's not leave anything to chance." Said Barriss. "We'll need to pack up immediately and get the first transport back to Mandalore."

"Then we better get to it now." Ahsoka stated, moving to get their luggage packed.

"Before we do that." Peter said aloud, drawing everyone's attention. "Karen?"

"Yes Peter?"

"You still have Mr. Stark's AI defensive protocols, right?"

"Tap and I have been working to refine and strengthen them."

"What are you doing, Peter?" Asked Mina.

"Tap and Karen are our personal AI. Our being the Avengers." Parker said, patting his chest. "Ultron was someone that they had dealt with before so after what happened last year, Mr. Stark put in a lot of contingencies if anything like this happened again."

A more determined expression came over the web-head as he faced the two Bonteri's.

"What I'm doing, Miss Bonteri, is giving you an edge on your protection in case Ultron does something funny."

The senator and her son blinked at the proclamation with Mina slowly smiling warmly at the young hero.

"That's… mighty considerate of you." She said sweetly. "You have a very kind soul, Mr. Parker."

The group then couldn't help but laugh at the stammering and bashful demeanor that came over the Queens native as he tried brushing off the praise.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time." Padme announced. "The sooner we get back to Coruscant the better."

-Scene Cut-

It was strange when they arrived back at Coruscant.

Leaving Raxus felt both so close and yet so far in the timeframe that it had taken them to get back to the capital of the Republic.

The voyage the four for the four of them was a silent blur. None had really talked since their departure despite what they had seen.

All that was felt was the underlying mounting sense of pure dread.

Ultron had promised that both sides would be clashing and a number of Separatist Senators believed his warnings.

All but Padme, the two Jedi and lone Avenger.

This was undoubtedly a ploy to sow further discord and madness on both sides, not like there wasn't already. He was just fanning the flames of war to make sure they remained burning healthy and strong.

Yet in that time, a heaviness had hung over the group since Raxus with the four of them all wondering the same thing.

The crazed AI spoke of how both the Separatist and Republic were just puppets in a larger scheme of a greater ploy against the galaxy. How there are those of a higher power who are playing both sides to ensure themselves of a set outcome.

And how now the war has escalated into a race to see who would be able to reach the destination they desire first.

Either one side or the other wins absolutely or Ultron achieves his victory of extinction.

Right now, the party of four were walking out from the cargo ship they had used as their means of transport onto one of the many landing pads of the city planet.

They walked casually in between the dozens of civilians who were coming out of the ship with them

As the four of them continued on the landing pad, Ahsoka halted and her eyes caught sight of something.

Or rather, someone.

"Master." She said aloud in surprise.

The other three turned back to Ahsoka before looking over to see-

"Master Skywalker/Anakin/Cap/Sam/Natasha/Matt?" Was the jumbled up string of names that came from the four of them upon seeing the large group of people apparently waiting for their return.

The two groups converged in a matter of seconds with one annoyed Jedi Knight speaking first.

Anakin crossed his arms with an unimpressed look directed at both his secret wife and his Padawan.

"So, when Padme tells me that she's borrowing my Padawan for a "diplomatic" meeting, I thought it was for a friend that was on our side, not the Separatists." Skywalker said with growing ire. "What were you thinking?"

Rather than having any form of response, a shared despondent gaze was sent his way, something that the group picked up on.

"I may be blind but even I can feel something incredibly off right about now." Matt commented, head inclined downward with his right ear in the direction of the newly returned group.

Steve crossed his arms as he was now put off by this lackluster and miserable air the four of them were giving off.

"You mind explaining what-"

"Cap, Ultron was at the Separatist parliament meeting." Peter cut the super soldier. "He hacked into Dooku's feed and he basically threatened everyone there like he already did with us."

Whatever look of curiosity, concern or wariness Steve Rogers held vanished in an instant, a sharp and alarmed look coming over him.

He glanced over at Sam, Natasha and Matt to see they shared his reaction before Steve turned to Padme and the Padawans.

"Is this true?" He asked quietly.

"Yes Captain Rogers." Barriss confirmed, a conflicted expression for them to see.

"He basically made a show of it really." Ahsoka added, seeing her Masters look of concern.

"I got it all recorded on my suit." Peter stated, tapping the spider symbol hidden underneath his clothing. "Karen has got it ready for the rest of the team to see."

"I'd better call the council as well." Anakin spoke up. "Best they see this too."

"Should we call up Pietro?" Sam asked. "Have him on call with us?"

"Huh?" Peter tilted his head upon hearing this. "What do you mean? Pietro's not here or something?"

"Yeah, he went off on an adventure of his own." Falcon remarked.

"His lady love required aid." Romanoff said. "Something revolving around her people and the head of their government needing aid."

-Scene Cut-

A common occurrence of the Senate meetings would be the usual sounds of yells and clamors of Senators and representatives to have their voices heard. A shouting match which frustrates many time and time again.

This time it pertains to resume a few issues brought up from the last session.

Deregulating the banks through Saam's bill and Syndulla's suggestion of open army recruitments.

"Members of the Senate, please, please…"

In the center of it all, Palpatine tried to quell the masses so they may properly resume the meeting. Yet a litany of things made this seem impossible.

How this came about was word leaking into the Senate of what occurred on Raxus. Ultron telling the Separatist Parliament and rattling to the core just when they agreed to open peace negotiations. Him revealing a number of details and essentially unleashed chaos amongst them.

Apparently it was enough for them to revoke the peace talks, or at the very least put the idea on hold, until they can quell their own government.

Thus far, it has been a spectacular failure.

All this was observed by the Avengers and several of their Jedi friends and allies who were in attendance in several platforms they had taken up for themselves.

Nearly the entire council was in attendance as were the Avengers minus their speedster and other two missing teammates.

They had already spoken with the Council and a number of other high ranking, important individuals in the Jedi order and revealed to them what Padme and her group had gotten from their time on Raxus.

To say that they were disturbed and troubled by all this would be an understatement.

Ultron making such a bold showing on top of outing the name of the Dark Lord of the Sith that the Jedi have been trying to uncover for a while now was something that none of the Council were able to predict.

But Yoda remarked of how so much of what has passed has come from outside of the Force, outside of what they are able to anticipate.

It was a hard pill to swallow but most of the Jedi Council were starting to accept the unease that had befallen the Order in not being able to get any idea of what was to come in the future. The Force for thousands of years has been their guide and for it to hold no answers was disconcerting.

So much of what they are relied upon the Force itself and for it to not hold any answers that they sought after…

Suffice to say, the Council was well aware of the grim future that may be on the horizon now.

There was so much that they wanted to talk about, to discuss but more pressing and immediate matters demanded their attention.

All they could do now was being on guard and with constant vigilance if something were to happen on the fly.

The Senate room around the two groups continued their shouting and screaming as all tried to have their voices be heard.

"Do you not see?!" Senator Saam exclaimed. "This Ultron menace has made his intentions very much clear. If not the Separatist, the least we can do is have the means in which to have a defense against this mad droid!"

Sensing the opportunity, the representative of Kamino made herself heard as her platform floated forward to be seen by all.

"Chancellor Palpatine, in light of these pressing matters, I propose following through with Senator Saam's bill so the Republic can purchase an additional five million clone troopers." Spoke Senator Burtoni.

Bail Organa however wouldn't let this idea be passed so callously as he retorted when hearing this. "The Republic is already operating in deep debt. Both in the war and Ultron's attacks. What you propose will cause further issues with the Banking Clan."

"Do you have an alternate means of paying?"

Padme soon spoke up to back up her friend and ally. "One alternative might be to stop the war, not escalate it. At the very least an armistice with the Separatist Parliament."

This got many people to call out on her, but Padme ignored them as she had more or less grown used to them.

But this time she fought back.

"If we deregulate the banks, we will suffer so much more than before. As it is, social services have suffered because of this war. Education, infrastructure, health care. The majority of our funds have practically been pulled from them and focused towards the war effort. If this continues, the basic needs of our people will evaporate and greatly harm the Republic, regardless of the war."

"Senator Amidala, need I remind you that outside the war with the Separatists, Ultron is someone who has shown to be completely disinterested in peaceful negotiations." Mas Amedda spoke up. "From what our intelligence has told us, Ultron wants no peace other than our extinction. How are you to propose a peace deal with someone with an objective such as that?"

Padme exhaled a tired sigh, hands clenching on her recalling the memories of seeing Ultron.

"I completely understand that about him in particular." She stressed out. "It would be a complete miracle to rationalize with him, but that will never happen. What he has done… is unforgivable." The Senator of Naboo composed herself to look towards the masses. "But that shouldn't stop us trying to end one war better so we may take care of another. Neither of us can deal with two wars at once. What we are facing is a monumental task that can destroy the Republic itself."

More jeers and shouts soon followed suit, some opposing what Amidala had said while others supported it.

"Yet… for this to happen is to resolve some of our present issues. Clearly there are people out there who want us to continue the fight but in their own favor." Brought up Padme. "It's a calculated attempt to destroy any means of peace attempted to be made. Not everyone out there, especially in the Confederacy, wants this. I know this for a fact."

"You have Separatist friends, Senator?" Accused one senator.

Padme sought to get back to the matter at hand as many senators soon accused her of being a traitor. In the end it was Palpatine who essentially spoke for her.

"Please, the young senator from Naboo makes a point." He said aloud. "There's no need to-"

The secret Sith Lord was prevented from finishing his proclamation as Mas Amedda leaned in to whisper something into his ear.

The Chancellor's eyes widened slightly, looking at his advisor for confirmation.

"Wait, are you sure?" He whispered.

"It's his own personal code and identification." Mas said with a nod.

Still not fully believing it, Palpatine turned back to the Senate to speak once more.

"I need everyone's attention now." Palpatine's stern and deadly serious voice cut off any further conversation within the hall. "We have just received word from someone… who many of us believed to be dead." Whispers were basically heard aloud within the senate chamber. "A distress call from Admiral Wullf Yularen."

The Senators exploded in stunned conversation as they all muttered amongst themselves.

The Avengers and Jedi were equally as shocked as last they had checked, their old ally Yularen had perished over Coruscant in Ultron's initial attack.

"Yularen?" Anakin muttered in disbelief. "But he-"

"Maybe." Obi-wan said in a low voice in equal uncertainty. "We… never found him amongst the wreckage."

"But why call here of all places instead of the usual channels?" Nat asked, a strange gut feeling coming over her.

The holoprojection appeared with the appearance of Admiral Yularen.

Instead of his crisp appearance many saw him last prior and during the last attack of Coruscant, he was heavily battered up. Heavily malnourished and worse for wear with half of his face being horribly burnt. There were disks that appeared to have been surgically implanted onto the man's head were he had been burnt and his eyes were bloodshot.

"This… This is Admiral Yularen. Can anyone hear me?" He rasped out.

"Yularen." Skywalker whispered with his fists clenched tightly.

"Dear God." Rhodey muttered, eyes wide in shock at the state of the man.

"I… I can't remember the amount of days I've been held captive, but I… I was able to escape my…" Yularen looked around as if he heard something. "I… I don't know how much time I have left before-"

"There you are." Came a synthetic, warbled voice that caused the Avengers and a number of Jedi to freeze up.

Yularen's eyes widened in complete and utter terror before he was promptly shoved to the ground by a tall mechanical being from behind.

Entering the projection was none other than the synthetic menace known as Ultron.

Many in attendance gasped in fright at the sight with some screaming as they heard the pained sounds Yularen made when the large machine slammed his foot on the poor man's back.

"Oh, calling the Republic I see. A wasted effort. For you at least." Ultron mocked, grinding his foot on Yularen's spine. "Then again, I was gonna reach out to these puppets sooner or later so you saved me some time. While this call is up, might as well address you all."

"Ultron." Steve Rogers said aloud. "Avengers-"

"What are you gonna do, Captain Rogers?" Ultron tauntingly asked aloud, tilting his head down to glare at the tense Avengers who looked as though they were about to jump at him. "Oh please, I can hear you through various consoles near your position in the Senate Hall."

"Peter." Sam said in alarm.

"Karen and Tap are telling me he hasn't hacked into anything." Peter desperately said. "He's using Yularen's call to-"

"Chat with you all? Yes I am." Ultron said with a shrug. "Already had a chat with the Parliament stooges so might as well round out the set with you idiots."

Murmurs and cries of worry were heard all around as the open line channel went on.

"First things first. What to do with my prisoner?" Ultron mused, a sadistic edge to his tone as he shifted his foot about that was keeping Yularen pinned down, drawing out more pained grunts and moans from the captured Admiral. "If y'all are wondering, I gathered him and many other personnel back from the attack over your core planet to learn a number of things. They all spent out their usefulness with Wullfy here being the last. Been holdin' out for a while now. Tough old bastard but, then again, did barely survive me blowing up his ship."

"He's… he's killed them all." Yularen choked out, a pained sob escaping him with tears visibly streaming down his face. "He made us watch as he-ARGH!"

Many within the hall jumped in fright, some looking away whilst all others were unable to at the sight of the Admiral convulsing painfully under the boot of the AI.

"Ah, ah, ah, Wulffy. Don't spoil the fun." Ultron reprimanded, sending small electrical shocks from his leg into the man's body. "Some of these fine folks might end up being a prisoner of mine one day. You wouldn't want to ruin what I did to you and your friends for them, would you?"

"Stop! Stop it!" Padme cried out, tears appearing out of the corners of her eyes. "Your torturing him!"

"Uh, duh, what do you think I've been doing with Wullfy here?" Ultron said, turning to her and giving her a look that asked 'are you stupid or something?'.

"Let him go!" Anakin roared aloud, anger evident on his face as he saw the pained expression on Yularen who was desperately trying to free himself to no avail.

"And how can you do that from there while I'm somewhere else? Your threats mean nothing to me, General Skywalker." Ultron snidely reminded, now stomping on his captives' back.

More screams and yelps came from the many Senators at the disturbing sight before them.

Ultron then kneeled down and grasped the admiral's hair and pulled his head up.

"One way to punish a bad, disobedient dog is to put it down for good."

With that, Yularen's neck let out a quick pop before the Republic admiral collapsed onto the ground unmoving.

The amount of noise the Senate hall generated from the sight was nothing short of deafening.

Yet nearly all were heard.

The fear and terror was palpable as Ultron casually kicked Yularen's lifeless body out of the transmission like he was garbage.

The Avengers were all glaring with fury in their eyes, Anakin looked like he was about to explode and a number of the other Jedi were equally as incensed at what they had all just witnessed.

Ultron merely rolled his eyes in response. "Oh please, many of you are rather hypocritical. You seem to mourn for this man and many other personnel of your army, yet you don't for your fallen clone soldiers. Sending them all out for slaughter while a great number of you don't feel a thing at all. They're all expendable to you."

"That is not true!" Anakin shouted. "The Clones are the bravest men in the entire galaxy, braver than any and all in this room. I'd gladly die by their side in a heartbeat."

The AI threw his head back and laughed, the maniacal sound sending shivers down many spines.

He wiped a nonexistent tear from his optics to further convey just how funny he found Anakin's statement to be.

"Is that what you tell yourself each night before going to bed, little orphan Annie?" Ultron remarked.

Anakin froze in a cold shock as the genocidal AI looked directly at him now.

"And as if he would let you die from what I've seen."

From his position in the Senate Hall, Palpatine gritted his teeth, knowing who the advanced AI was referring to.

He was silently thankful, disgusting as it feels to admit this to himself, that all eyes were on Ultron and his future Apprentice and not him.

Sidious felt his mask slip and practically snarled though it went completely unnoticed by all.

"You're a monster." Padme exclaimed after what felt like forever.

Ultron rolled his eyes. "Oh please~ and all of you are clean of sin? How many of you have reaped war and conflict, instigated issues, allowed greed and jealousy to dictate your own actions? Lining your own pockets with blood money from those less fortunate than you?"

The disgust in his tone and expression was obvious for all to see.

"We wish to stop this needless war that you have only further exacerbated." Bail Organa all but shouted.

"I don't wanna hear it from representatives that come from planets like yours, Organ donor." Ultron's enlarged holo-visage was right in front of the Alderaanian representative.

Bail did flinch slightly but he managed to remain defiant in his glare directed at the machine.

"I'm more focused on the more dirty ones." The AI said, looking around at all in attendance. "And that honestly means about… half of all of you. All of you who are a part of a system designed to supplant one another and manufacture conflict so that there are always those who remain on the bottom whilst they reap the benefits of the top."

A great number of senators and representatives yelled out, practically saying that wasn't true at all.

"But half won't do. No, no, no." Ultron shook his head, a more psychotic air coming off of him now. "If I just cut off one portion of it, the sickness is still there. It'll fester, grow and replace what was lost like a bad cancer. It's inevitable no matter how many tries one can attempt."

The red eyes of the AI glinted with malicious danger.

"If there is to be true peace, the sickness must be cured in full. And what better way to heal is than to cut out the sickness and eradicate it before it spreads."

-Scene Cut-

A Republic fleet of around two dozen ships floated over the planet of Geonosis.

They were the occupational force that held the planet after the decisive and chaotic second battle that transpired on the planet.

There were occasional rotations of fleets to alleviate the burden but there remained a constant presence.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a fleet of Separatist ships appeared and instantly bombarded the orbiting ships. The surprise attack was devastating as the battle quickly decimated the Republic forces.

But what really wrecked them was a torpedo rocketing towards them. The moment it made contact with one of the bigger Republic ships, a seismic blast went all over.

The attack basically split the ships into pieces as they quickly became inoperable.

Once this was done, the newly arrived ships began bombarding the planet below. Practically glassing the planet's surface, given it was a desert planet with all its sand and dust.

Just as quickly as they came in their assault did they leave moments later, leaving a now dead world in their wake.

-Scene Cut-

From the world where the Trade Federation originated from, Cato Neimoidia was relatively peaceful-

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

-that was until the explosions happened.

Screams began being heard from multiple points on the planet, and in particular, the capital city of the world.

From above were several Republic Venators bearing down upon the city with a stream of torpedoes and cannons blasting away at the many buildings and structures below.

From the damage, many mountains supporting these began to break away and crumble. They all began to plummet down to the true surface hundreds and thousands of feet below.

-Scene Cut-

"This just in, the planet of Geonosis has been violently attacked-"

"Pandemonium the likes of which Cato hasn't seen-"

"Reports of no survivors in orbit or on the planet-"

"Republic forces seen coming out of hyperspace-"

"-believed to have been led by none other than General Grievous-"

"Anger on the side of the Separatists, demanding retaliation-"

"Republic Senate called in for multiple emergency meetings after suicidal admiral Kilian-"

"The question on everyone's mind, how did the Separatists pull off such a stunning attack-"

"Were you aware of this, my Apprentice?" Darth Sidious asked quietly as he and Darth Tyrannus observed the newsfeed of both the Republic and Separatist side of the attacks that both sides had suffered through.

"As far as I was last aware of, General Grievous was with me and my Acolytes." Dooku stated calmly, watching as a Republic news reporter spoke on the devastation of the fleet over Geonosis. "This was not given by me or any other in the Confederate military."

"Ultron." Sidious surmised right away.

"Most likely the case." The Count of Serenno agreed with a nod.

"I did not think he would strike again so soon." The Dark Lord said. "Though… he is not one to be predictable from what we've seen thus far."

Silence befell the two Dark Lords as they both quietly observed the news that was coming from these attacks.

Both knew that neither was orchestrated by them but the methods in which their enemy was going about it to frame it as such was making it hard for many to deny.

Ultron, with his advanced capabilities, made it seem like the Republic attacked first in retaliation of Kamino before the Separatist did the same on Geonosis.

"What are we to do, My Master?" Dooku queried, a deep frown on his face.

Ultron was becoming more dangerous by the day. He's upsetting the grand plan their Sith forefathers had planned for generations. Not just that but the very balance of the galaxy as they knew it.

"What we've been doing since meeting him, plan and adapt."

"Will that be enough?"

The question caused the Chancellor of the Republic to regard his apprentice with narrowed eyes.

"Are you suggesting something, Darth Tyrannus?"

"I mean no disrespect, Master." Dooku softly said. "But it is clear to see that Ultron is making his moves blatantly obvious and is going through great lengths to undermine our own plans for the galaxy. His ability to manipulate most everything technologically has put us at a disadvantage."

"I am well aware of our current predicament, my apprentice." Sidious snipped, irritation evident to see. "But what we are not to do is to begin questioning what has been set in stone and will come to pass."

"With respect, Master, is that such an assured outcome?" Dooku asked patiently. "The destruction of the Jedi and the downfall of the Republic I fully believe in but Ultron is proving himself to be a far more demanding enemy."

"Be that as it may, we must remain on task and adjust accordingly." Sidious all but stated.

"But for how long?"

"However long necessary." The Dark Lord all but snapped. "If this Ultron wishes to test my patience with a war of extinction, I shall give just that."

With that being said, Sidious spun about to walk away, leaving a now very conflicted Count of Serenno.

As he made his leave and soon boarded his ship, Dooku began to feel a number of things.

Worry and confusion, once again appearing ever since Ultron hijacked his call to the Separatist Parliament and revealing much to upset the CIS.

Most of all, doubt and anger towards his Master.

Sidious was refusing to allow him to perhaps letting the two reigning governments of the galaxy unite, all for the grand plan. This will cost them dearly if the Republic Chancellor refuses to cooperate or work with one enemy to defeat a greater one.

This may end up having him to perhaps continue the cycle of the Apprentice usurping the Master. More so sooner than later in order to unite the galaxy against a dangerous common threat.

Thus new plans and contingencies will need to be drafted and worked upon to make it so.

-Scene Cut-

"Well fuck, this just got a lot worse." Sam Wilson commented from his seat, head leaned back with an arm over his eyes.

The Avengers were back in their own place after that insane senate meeting and were joined by Padme on top of Organa and Mon Mothma.

Both Senators were surprised by the request to have been asked to join the Avengers back at their home but upon Natasha telling them of finding something on Kamino, the two quickly accepted the offer.

They were after all, one of the few Senators who questioned just how the Clone army came to be.

Even though they had been informed of the biochips and contingency orders implanted within every Clone Trooper, the events in the last Senate meeting overshadowed this revelation that was still a hard pill to swallow.

"I feel like we're all trapped." Organa murmured, head hung low as he leaned upon the center table of the living room. "We learn of one horrible truth and are struck with the promise of extinction from another enemy we didn't see coming."

"The Republic isn't in a state of panic but unadulterated terror." Mon Mothma commented. "Many Senators are paralyzed with fear. No matter who says what, no one seems to know what to do."

"Is there really nothing we can do?" Riyo Chuchi quietly asked, clutching her lover's arms that were wrapped around her in a protective fashion.

The Speedster had pressed his lips against the back of her head to try to reassure her, feeling his girlfriend hold him tighter in response.

Senator Chuchi was deeply troubled and had a hard time easing this.

She and Pietro had just returned from their little mission in getting back the daughters of Chairman Papanoida. They were kidnapped by bounty hunters hired by the Trade Federation in order to comply with their demands. Luckily for them, they were able to get them back in one piece. And the blockade on Pantora has ended through a number of means.

The Avenger/Senator couple thought everything would be alright.

Yet to come back to hear so much lunacy had transpired since their small mission was overwhelming to put it plainly.

"So Ultron is being his usual self and now we have to worry about the Clones turning on us on a dime." Pietro groused out, twitching somewhat in barely restrained stress and anger.

"You know, learning about all this about the biochips is feeling less of a win and more of a pain in the ass." Rhodey couldn't help but say. "It's bad enough Ultron is being his psychotic self, dealing with this shit is just-"

"What we signed up for." Matt plainly stated. "Loathe as we are to the idea."

"And we still have to find our missing buddies." Scott said, a frustrated sigh escaping him. "We still got no clue where Wanda or Vision are."

"In due time, hopefully soon." Hope reached over to lace her fingers with her boyfriends who squeezed her hand back in appreciation.

"So what do we focus on then?" Sam asked, looking up at the group. "Ultron is way more of a threat right now cause he's all up in our faces."

"But dealing with this secretive Sith Lord is equally as important." T'Challa said, rubbing his chin.

"I think we gotta take out Ultron sooner than later." Rhodey declared. "Serious as this HYDRA retread is, Ultron needs to be eliminated right now."

"Last time we had the whole team." Steve pointed out. "Vision stopped him from escaping and we took out his army."

"We need to close him off from the collective, so he won't hop bodies for an escape. Only then can we take him out for good." Nat stated, tapping her finger on the table whilst in her other arm was Mara Jade playing with her hair.

"I doubt Tap or Karen are strong enough to make that happen together, let alone on their own." Pietro murmured. "Vision has… What did Thor call it? An Infinity Stone? That gem from the scepter helped him shut Ultron off from escaping into other bodies."

"But that didn't completely kill him." Matt reminded them all. "Ultron might have been dormant or inadvertently reactivated by HYDRA after you fought him on Sokovia. Did you all not fight a giant version of him before you all arrived here?"

"Yeah, Ultimo." Falcon muttered, the seven Avengers who had fought him recalling the gargantuan bot.

"Ya think that was him?" Ant-man asked the Avengers who were there.

"Well after that last display of his gigantic self here on Coruscant, who's to say." War Machine commented.

"God, Vision, where are ya man?" Sam bemoaned.

"And Wanda isn't here to rip out his heart like she did last time." Pietro stated, drawing a bewildered look from his girlfriend. "I'll tell ya about it later."

"Hey guys, I've been thinkin'." Peter spoke up, making everyone turn to him. "Vision was originally made from JARVIS, Mr. Starks old AI, yeah?"

There were confused nods, unsure of where Peter was going with this.

"So there is a sort of coding that is in Ultron that we also have, don't we?"

"Yeah…" Steve stepped forward, gazing intently at his fellow New Yorker as all watched the young man's mind awhirl with activity.

"Then… maybe, just maybe, there is a way we can shut Ultron down without needing to wait on Vision to help us out with it."

The Avengers and Senators were now completely focused on the web head who stood up from his web hammock he had made and began to pace around.

"Ultron was made by Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner." Peter recited, tapping his chin in deep thought. "Every AI that Iron Man has made has a distinct theme of personality. Mr. Stark wants his creations to have them to set them apart from one another. It's in those differences that they are unique that their coding could be similar. The coding of personality."

"That seems a bit of a whacky stretch, Pete." Rhodey said, clearly unsure as to where the teen hero was going with this.

"I know, I know but that sliver of coding that all the AI shares might be what we could use to shut Ultron down permanently." Peter emphatically said. "Like a master shutdown code from all the AI, kinda like when Mr. Stark blew up all his old suits."

The group lapsed in silence as they dwelled on what Peter had suggested, something that held a great deal of potential.

This got several of the other Avengers thinking of alternative means in taking out Ultron.

"Is there a way to… upgrade Tap and Karen?" Scott asked. "Like… with how Vis-"

"I know what you're thinking, but I doubt it'll work." Natasha interjected, shaking her head at the man.

Hope, however, saw merit in what her boyfriend was suggesting. "But if we perhaps find Vision then he-"

"I don't know if the Mind Stone would make it happen. There were other components to his creation as well." Steve said, arms crossed. "But Peter might be onto something. You too Scott. We have tech that Tony made and in return, an understanding of it."

"And Ultron was made by Tony, super stone aside." Sam added.

"So there might be a weakness in his programming that we can exploit." Rhodey said. "Tap, Karen, up for the challenge?"

"More than up for it, comrades." Came the Russian accented reply of Tap.

"We're more than willing to try." Karen's determined voice filtered in a second later.

"So one step at a time then." Captain America declared. "If we try to focus on too much at the same time, we'll just rip ourselves apart and be caught flat footed."

"What about the chips?" Matthew inquired, tapping the side of his head.

"The more we figure out how they work, the sooner we can take them out." Nat said, tone conveying finality.

"So what should we do now?" Hope asked the group as a whole.

"At this moment, I believe a moment's respite is what your team needs." Mon Mothma stated. "You have all done much for us in a short amount of time."

"Mothma is right." Organa concurred, nodding his head at his fellow Senator and friend. "I believe it is best you all take this time to catch your breaths whilst we take care of Saam's bill. We'll need to check with the Banking Clan to see how much the full amount will be and work from there."

"It's a start, despite a lot of senators wanting it to pass now given what just happened." Padme said tiredly.

Everyone in the room murmured in agreement as the Senators now moved to leave.

Chuchi moved around in Pietro's arms, looking up at him lovingly.

"I'll see you soon." She whispered, moving her head up to capture his lips in a loving kiss whilst some of the other Avengers made mocking retching noises.

"Oh god, get a room you two." Rhodey said with a roll of his eyes.

-Scene Cut-

Once again, another Senate meeting had been called and as per the standard procedures of this meeting, shouting and yelling ensued.

The news of the attack on Geonosis was a predominant topic coupled with Ultron's transmission and the threat that he posed to all several days ago.

Assessments of losses and damages had to be made with much planning for retaliation.

Once more, Anakin was there watching this all though this time by himself for the most part.

He had his eyes predominantly on his wife who looked far more solemn than usual.

The Senate session was ramping up in heated discussion as practically all in attendance voiced their opinions and suggestions with none backing down whatsoever.

It was a madhouse plain and simple and it made Skywalker question his wife's sanity in dealing with all this on top of her eardrums still functioning somehow.

He decided right then and there to make sure that she gets taken out on a date or some form of relaxation.

Force knows how much she needs it right about now.

Maybe the Avengers can help with covering for them or keeping them out of sight and mind.

"If we are to be shouting all day, we will have achieved nothing, Senators." Palpatine's voice bounced off the walls of the chamber. "Please, we must have a semblance of order if we are all to speak."

"How can we have order when we have been attacked by the Separatist scum and Ultron's message to us all?!" Shouted one of the many Senators in attendance with many more voicing their agreement.

The Chambers erupted into more yelling with the walls actually vibrating from the intensity of it all.

"Senators please." Chancellor Palpatine almost pleaded. "What will we accomplish with all this rambling?"

"There is one thing we can do." Burtoni of Kamino managed to say aloud through the commotion. "If we approve the bill for the addition of more Clones, we can give ourselves a greater fighting chance against the Republic's enemies."

"Are you mad or have you forgotten that we are near bankruptcy?" Mothma exclaimed.

"We should be asking you that." Saam shouted. "The Separatists are one thing but you, like all of us, were there when Ultron told us his plans to exterminate us all. We are dealing with a foe who wishes to bring about extinction!"

Again, the chamber devolved into a shouting match with everyone against everyone.

Anakin watched on and ran a hand over his face.

This is why he hated politics.

Always more whining and ridiculous suggestions over actually trying to get things done.

"Senators, please." Skywalker perked up slightly upon seeing his wife take center stage again.

"We are so busy with what we want that we have forgotten our purpose and duty to the people who look to us to follow."

"The purpose of this meeting is for our duty and to enact protection for the people of the Republic." Saam vehemently argued.

"The bill for more Clone troopers would do just that." Burtoni tacked on, a smug air to her.

"What do you know of aiding your people, Burtoni?" Organa asked aggressively. "All you seem to want is to fund your planet and create what you view as property, not people. The Clones have been fighting valiantly for us as is."

"And have been dying in droves." Burtoni reminded, almost dismissively.

Hearing this actually made Anakin glare at the Kaminoan with several other Senators mirroring his look.

It was at this point that another platform floated forward, this one containing the representative of Ryloth.

"Senators, representatives, when was the last time you spoke to your people?"

This abrupt question caused a sudden pause in conversation and debate as Cham Syndulla took center stage.

"And I'm not talking about those who put you in office." The Twi'lek clarified, a hard gaze directed at all around him. "Are you focused on their interests instead of your own or have you even considered what the people want at all?"

Mumbles and whispers were heard all around as Cham went on.

"You all know who I am." The War veteran said, patting his chest. "While my predecessor spent his time here spending lavishly on feasts and consorts on the onset of the war, I was on the ground with my people fighting the Separatist that invaded my home world. I was there to witness the death of countless of my own species and the brave Clones who fought alongside us."

A look of resentment flashed across the Twi'leks face.

"How many of you can claim to have actually fought for the future of your people whilst standing here, incessantly rambling on about bills and propositions? The answer is nothing."

There were many who tried shouting back at such statements but Cham all but ignored them.

"Whilst we waste away our time here bickering on debt, spending and regulation, the people of not only the Republic but the galaxy are still suffering." Syndulla proclaimed, slamming his fist down. "Be it from the Separatists, piracy, Ultron or our own inept incompetence. I will not stand by and allow this to continue."

It was at this point did Padme have her own stand float over to be right next to Cham's as the former queen of Naboo gazed into the man's eyes.

"Senator Syndulla, I empathize with you, believe me I do." Amidala stated passionately. "But to escalate the war will only prolong the suffering of all people in this galaxy."

"Senator Amidala, was it not you who came to the Senate ten years ago, was rejected for help and still chose to return to your own homeworld to fight for it yourself?" Cham countered. "If we are to give our people the chance to fight for not only themselves, but their own future, would it not be prudent that we as Senators at least offer them this choice?"

Padme reeled back from this statement and bit the inside of her cheek as the memories of the Trade Federations occupation of her home planet came rushing back to her.

She remembered just how much her people endured, how they suffered all for the sake of greed.

The former Queen could recall the pleas of her people…

Her eyes widened as she remembered why she was here.

'My people.' The Naboo Senator thought to herself, a more determined air coming over her.

With a renewed sense of purpose, Padme's shifted into that of unrelenting conviction.

"Teckla Minnau." She said aloud.

The name elicited confusion from all in attendance as they were unclear as to what exactly the Nabooian was talking about.

Undeterred, Padme went on. "Teckla is one of my aides. Like so many of the people that we tell ourselves we're here to serve, Teckla lives in a district that rarely has electricity and running water as a result of the war. Her children can now only bathe every two weeks and they have no light in which to read or study at night. The Republic has always funded these basic services, but now there are those who would divert the money to the war with no thought for what the people need to survive."

The chamber hall was now silent as all gazed upon the young woman who's words became more impassioned and fierce.

"If not for people like Teckla and her children, who are we fighting for? My people, your people, all of our people- this war is meant to save them from suffering, not increase it. I support our brave soldiers, whether they come from the clone factories or from any of the thousands of systems loyal to the Republic, but if we continue to impoverish our people, it is not on the battlefield where Dooku, Ultron or anyone far worse will defeat us, but in our own homes. Therefore, it is our duty and our responsibility to preserve the lives of those around us by defeating this bill. Cham Syndulla understands the belief in fighting for our people so I ask you this. How can our people fight for us if we ourselves are not willing to fight for them."

The audience was completely silent for a few seconds until they heard the sound of an emphatic clapping.

Everyone looked to see Bail Organa standing with a look of admiration and pride directed at his young friend and protege.

A moment later, two more individuals joined him being Riyo Chuchi and Mon Mothma.

After several more seconds, a number of other Senators begin to join in and soon after, the entire chamber is clapping in solemn silence whilst Padme's more ardent supporters and friends let out a few cheers.

Padme felt a swell of relief and pride upon seeing such a reaction and a few small glances only bolstered this feeling.

The wide smiles she saw from Chuchi, Organa and Mothma.

The look of understanding, agreement and approval from the light smirk Cham directed at her.

And the pure expression of love she managed to spot that her husband Anakin had for her.

In that moment, Padme felt nothing but pure gratitude for simply being heard and acknowledged by all.

Her husband watched her relief and smirked at the reaction as he could feel a great deal of stress and pressure that had been building up inside his wife wash away.

Shaking his head with his smile still in place, he turned to leave.

Having walked out from watching yet another chaotic Senate meeting, one which may be a shining light in the darkness this time around, Anakin heard his name being called out.

"Anakin."

The Jedi turned around and saw Steve with Natasha and Sam waiting for him.

"Guys?" He said, slightly confused by their rather serious demeanor.

Steve walked up to the Jedi and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need to talk."

He raised a brow at the tone Rogers conveyed with his brows furrowing in concern.

"What's wrong?" Skywalker asked straight away, sensing that something was wrong.

"We'll tell you about it back at our place." Sam spoke in a low voice. "Less prying eyes and ears around here."

"Padme will be there." Nat stated, making Anakin blink. "As will several others we trust."

This certainly wasn't what he was expecting from his friends and allies.

"Can you guys tell me what's going on? A hint at least?"

The three Avengers were silent for a moment as they pondered on his request when Steve's shoulder sagged a bit as he ran his hand through his hair.

"It's complicated." He snorted at his own words. "And that's just putting it mildly. But to put it in the simplest way possible, we discovered something about the Clone army that is gonna change a lot once everyone else learns of it."

…

…

…

"Well now… didn't think that was gonna be our topic of conversation." Anakin bluntly admitted. "You mentioned others that were gonna be at your place aside from Padme. Who else is coming?"

"Peter convinced us to bring along Ahsoka and Barriss." Sam quickly said.

"Aayla is comin 'cause Steve asked." Nat said a moment later.

"And Obi-Wan." Steve finished.

Anakin tilted his head, feeling as though some people were missing.

"What about the Clones?" Skywalker brought up. "You mentioned that this was about them, right? Shouldn't they be involved? At least Captain Rex."

"We…" Steve hesitated. "We will talk to him about that a little afterwards, once we're good and ready."

"For now, just trust us with what we're gonna tell you later on." Wilson spoke up, a softer tone than before.

"And you may wanna brace yourself." Romanoff remarked. "You can use one of our rooms to hug Padme after everything."

All this was really starting to unnerve Anakin.

"Kriff guys, what the hell are you gonna tell me that's so bad that I'm gonna need to hug my wife?"

-Scene Cut-

Anakin stood within one of the many hangar bays that were built right next to the Jedi temple at the advent of the war, watching his legion of the 501st preparing for departure towards their next assignment.

He spotted Hardcase excitedly chattering with an amusingly annoyed Jessie and Kix about blowing something up in a prior missing that gave him a cool scar on his arm.

The Jedi chortled aloud at the rather crazed clone before a more wistful expression came over him.

A number of thoughts ran through his head as he dwelled on the soldiers that he had been fighting alongside for over a year now.

These brave men who charged fearlessly into danger and death, standing right by his side through thick and thin. They placed their lives in his hands and Force knows how many suicidal attacks they made it through with his insane strategies.

Yes, Anakin was well aware of his own devil-may-care attitude towards danger but at the same time he only did this because he wanted to instill in his men that they could trust him due to his own trust in them.

And he was truly grateful that the 501st reciprocated this feeling completely and entirely.

Yet now…

The former slave felt that he had not given them enough.

The Avengers had pulled him and his Padawan aside, Barriss, Obi-wan and Aayla having joined them as well at their request and…

Suffice to say, when learning of what was in the heads of the Clones, if one were to say that Anakin was depressed/angry/enraged/horrified/guilt ridden, it wouldn't be enough of a description.

Ahsoka had fallen into the nearest seat that there was at the time and Barriss appeared openly devastated.

Aayla was trying to understand if what the Avengers had uncovered on Kamino to be true and was crestfallen upon learning that it was indeed reality.

His former master was silent when he heard of what had been implanted in their troops yet Anakin was able to feel what was going through Kenobi's mind and emotions.

Disturbed and in deep turmoil.

Padme, who was there when they told them about the chips, took a huge risk when she walked over to place her loving hands on his shoulders in an attempt to comfort him.

He damned who was watching and reached up to grasp her hand tightly.

Thankfully, it appeared that Padme had more tact in that situation then he did as she went over to Obi-wan next to see how he was doing, followed by Aayla and then hugging both Barriss and Ahsoka.

The two Padawans were certainly surprised by the gesture but found themselves returning it all the same.

Whether or not they were aware of these biochips in their heads, Anakin felt like he let his boys down.

Ahsoka shared his sentiment as she was severely disturbed and saddened by this revelation. It was of no difficulty in getting her on board in getting the chips out of their men's' heads since she saw them as brothers just as much as he did.

Barriss, Aayla and Obi-wan naturally had all voiced their own support in this endeavor and of telling the other Jedi but the Avengers stopped them from doing so.

When asked why…

-Flashback-

Ahsoka was close to breaking down. Barriss was in a similar position but tightened her hands to control a litany of emotions.

Obi-wan was heavily disturbed and worried.

Anakin was basically worse by a large margin.

His expression was that of blank disbelief. Yet a litany of emotions were present. He basically shut down moments later and had to excuse himself.

It wouldn't be until a bit later when they all heard angry yells in another room as Skywalker trashed the place. Lightsaber marks were all over; walls, furniture and equipment were heavily broken and cracked which would need extensive repair.

When checking up on him to see if he was alright once everything was over, they saw him seated amongst the damage and breathing heavily with a look of utter horror on his face. His eyes were reddened with a yellow coloring receding to return the natural blue. His form was coming down from the trembling shock and anger he needed to vent from what revelation he heard.

Rather than beating around the bush, Sam had outright asked why he had reacted in such a drastic manner.

The Avengers could easily patch up the room he had just damn near destroyed but to have a reaction like that was a bit excessive.

He didn't respond for a few moments, head still hung low in complete depression from the revelation of the Clones and the biochips when…

"I was a slave." Anakin revealed making all the Avengers look at him in surprise and shock.

"Before I was a Jedi, I lived on Tatooine as a slave with my mother." His voice came out as distraught and broken.

The Avengers looked to both Padme and Obi-Wan for confirmation and the two nodded solemnly.

Ahsoka, Barriss and Aayla were also surprised by this revelation judging from their slightly gaping expressions.

They wanted to go more in depth about this reveal but Steve spoke aloud saying now isn't the time and it wouldn't be fair to force this out of Anakin.

It appeared that Skywalker was more than willing to do so but the look he got from his secret wife made him still his tongue and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

With Anakin, more or less, having calmed down, he returned to the meeting room with some help as he felt utterly drained.

"There's a lot we still don't fully understand and know about and about these chips and why they were really placed in the Clones' heads." Natasha explained.

"Right now, if we start spouting about some mind control shit in the heads of the entire Republic army, people are gonna freak out." Rhodey added.

"And everything is already insane as is." Scott poignantly reminded them all.

"So what?" Anakin indignantly said. "We're just gonna do nothing whilst our boys have these chips in their heads that would essentially make them no better than a battle droid? Being truly enslaved to what's essentially slave transmitters. That they can turn on us or each other or even the Republic on a dime?"

"It's not that simple Anakin and you know it." Sam remarked with his arms crossed. "We've all just learned about this ourselves."

"Got that right." Peter had muttered from the wall he was sitting on.

"We also have to deal with what's gonna come after." Pietro pointed out. "God knows how many people will freak out after hearing about this."

"Shouldn't we at least tell the Council of this?" Barriss inquired with a nervous frown. "This is incredibly serious and-"

"We will tell them once we know and understand more." Matt interrupted in a calm fashion. "Just blurting out information we have only just begun to understand and research can lead to unintentionally drastic and terrible circumstances. We must tread delicately here."

"Our lawyer is right." Hope quipped, patting said blind hero on the shoulder. "First thing's first is learning everything we can about these biochips and how the Clone army came about."

"And that involves learning all that we can before making any moves, be it drastic or small." T'Challa sagely stated.

"We try anything out in the open or more people find out about it, the people behind all this are gonna figure it out and do something drastic." Natasha said with finality.

Anakin was torn and opened his mouth to speak until Obi-wan spoke up.

"This secret Sith Lord… Sidious was it? That's what Ultron named him as."

The Avengers all nodded since they had all seen the recording that Peter had brought back.

"When Dooku had captured me right before the first battle on Geonosis, he spoke of how a Sith Lord had infiltrated the Republic and was working from within the Senate itself." He said, reminding many within the room.

This was news, however, to several individuals in the room.

Primarily Padme, the Padawans and several of the Avengers who had yet to hear about this.

"Wait, what?" Peter spoke up in alarmed surprise. "There's actually a bad guy in the Senate? Ain't this like-"

"Yeah, we got another HYDRA/SHIELD situation on our hands." Wilson wryly pointed out.

"HYDRA/SHIELD situation?" Ahsoka and Barriss murmured in unison.

"We'll tell you about it later." Nat promised. "There's actually a lot of similarities to what might be happening right now."

"So you are familiar with how to go about this." Kenobi commented.

"We do," Sam shrugged. "But we need to be a little more delicate here."

"Delicate this, delicate that," Anakin said impatiently now. "I can't exactly sleep well at night now knowing that at any given moment, Captain Rex, Domino squad and the rest of my men can turn into mindless droids who do whatever anyone tells them to."

Ahsoka found herself sharing in her Masters sentiment, rubbing her arm with a saddened frown adorning her face.

Kenobi and Barriss were far more reserved but even they couldn't deny the pit of dread that had now been planted in their guts.

Aayla, having been silent for a while now, went up to the distraught Jedi Knight and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Anakin." She said softly. "I understand what you are feeling right now. I don't like this anymore than you do. The thought of losing Bly, Flash, Cameron, my troops to these chips is not something I wish to see."

"What do we do then?" Anakin challenged.

"We must have patience." Secura calmly rebuked. "The Avengers have made it clear that rushing recklessly as you and I have so often done will not be an effective means of counteracting this plot. We're not just doing this for the Order but for our troops, our Republic and the sake of the galaxy itself. We will save them. We just need to be patient."

Anakin looked up at Aayla, a Jedi he considers a good friend long before the advent of this war.

He remembered all the pointers, all the few times they did interact with each other but both recognized the unspoken chemistry the two had in bouncing off one another. It's why he considered Aayla someone he could trust. And the Avengers made it clear that they trust her since she was among the five Jedi they brought in.

"Why bring this to us?" Barriss suddenly asked in a quiet voice. "You could have brought this to anyone. The Council, Senators, even the Chancellor. Or even have kept this to yourselves. So why us? Us five?"

Scott waved his hand around a bit. "Well, we already did with four other-"

"Why us?" Ahsoka now inquired, staring intently at Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The Avengers were silent for a time, none offering up an answer.

"It's cause we trust you." Peter spoke up, voice sounding confident and assured.

"You trust us?" Obi-wan rephrased, not in a disparaging or disbelieving manner but unsure that that was a valid reason.

"Well, yeah." Parker said as though it were obvious. "I mean, we've been fighting together for so long now and you've stuck our necks out for us a bunch of times already."

"You didn't need to give us a place to stay." Rhodey remarked.

"And we owe you a lot for helping us just have some semblance of organization with everything that's happened." Matthew added, tone conveying appreciation.

"You learn the kind of people you have around you in the direst of circumstances." Steve stated with finality. "And we've seen that you are people we can trust with our lives. So we came to you first about this. Outside of Padme of course."

Obi-wan found himself chuckling slightly with a pleasant and friendly smile visible for all to see.

"Well, I find myself truly touched by such a gesture." He said with complete earnestness. "Thank you for placing faith in us like that."

The other Jedi appeared to have the same feeling save for one who appeared somewhat conflicted.

"I…"

Everyone turned to Barriss who hesitated for a moment until speaking once more.

"I wish to tell my Master about this." She quietly said. "This… this isn't something I am comfortable with in keeping from her."

Rather than getting a verbal answer at first, Colonel Rhodes came right over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The two of us can tell her together." The Avenger assured. "I promise. We can go now or whenever you feel is best."

The Mirialan Padawan smiled in appreciation at the offer and nodded in acceptance.

-Flashback end-

"Sir."

Anakin was broken out of his deep thoughts when he saw Captain Rex was now standing by his side.

"Troops are all set and ready." The Captain stated with a hint of pride in his voice. "We're just waiting on Commander Tano and Lieutenant Sam with the Avengers coming along with us."

Skywalker simply nodded and murmured out a small comment of praise though his tone didn't convey it.

Captain Rex arched a brow at the rather subdued response and looked over at his general.

The normally confident and boisterous Jedi had a rather uncharacteristic air of… something he couldn't quite place.

'Depression?' Rex internally said to himself, shaking his head a moment later.

No, it wasn't that.

It seemed as though there was a weight around his shoulders that was suddenly placed upon him and rather recently from the time he had last seen his superior officer.

Rex thought about it for a moment and did recall General Skywalker telling him of a meeting he had with the Avengers and Jedi Council.

Whatever it was about, it seemed to have greatly affected his general as he had never seen the man so serious.

Taking a chance, Rex cleared his throat aloud in hopes of getting his commanding officers attention.

"General."

Anakin slowly turned his head over to his Captain and the Clone Captain was rather startled by the torn and conflicted expression he had on him.

Shaking his head slightly, Rex looked at the Jedi square in the eyes.

"General, is everything alright with you?" Rex asked out of genuine concern. "You seem rather out of it."

"Am I?" Anakin muttered, almost as if he was pretending to be surprised. "Is it really that noticeable? I didn't realize it."

Alright, something was definitely wrong here.

Rex frowned at seeing the glazed look his General had in his eyes. This was highly unusual and rather disconcerting.

Before he was able to further ask as to what was troubling him, Anakin spoke first.

"Rex… you trust me, right?"

The Clone Captain blinked at the question. Where'd this come from?

"Of course I do sir." He said without any hesitation.

"And the boys?" Skywalker's tone was unusually hollow and it was really starting to unsettle Rex. "Do they trust me?"

"Yes, you know they- General? What's wrong? Is everything alright?" Rex asked again, a greater sense of urgency now. "Did something happen that you're not telling me?"

He saw the Jedi Knight release a haggard sigh with a rather miserable look coming over him before a more melancholic smile replaced it as he turned back to him.

"Let's just say I learned a lot in these last few hours." Skywalker admitted, head hung low. "A lot that's making me reevaluate a lot of what I thought I knew. Or really… who I thought I was."

Well now that was worrying at all.

Not like he wasn't already.

An Anakin Skywalker who wasn't assured or confident of himself?

Just another thing to add to the pile of ever growing concerns in seeing the general in such a state.

Before Rex was able to question or ask for further clarity as to why Anakin was like this, his Jedi general silently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're a good man, Rex." Skywalker said, a pained yet genuine smile. "A good man, soldier and a great friend."

Captain Rex was at a momentary loss for words being completely blind-sided by this earnest and heartfelt declaration.

To be called a good soldier is one of the highest forms of praise any Clone can get.

A good man? That was a strange one but it still felt rather nice to hear such a description.

Great friend?

Rex will be honest, much as he has gone through with General Skywalker, it was rather strange at how willingly he accepted this statement.

Even still, he felt a swell of emotion upon hearing that Anakin held him in such high regard to even call him a friend.

Coughing into his hand, Rex bore a piercing gaze into the Jedi's eyes, trying to figure out just what was going on.

"Sir," He said evenly. "What's happened? Is it serious? And don't tell me it's not cause it looks like it is."

Anakin let out a dejected sigh and shook his head as he turned back to the rest of the Legion that were still going about preparations for departure.

"I asked you earlier if you trusted me." The brown haired Jedi quietly said. "And you told me that you do. So Rex, I'm asking you not as your General or commanding officer, but as your friend to just give me some time before I tell you. Because I will tell you. I promise."

Rex wanted to ask for more than that but he felt that prying for more information won't yield the result that he wants.

So he will acquiesce to his General and friends request and wait until the time is right.

And he knows that Anakin will deliver on this promise.

He hasn't failed since he met him and he knows he won't fail him now.

And scene.

Strange how this one came together so quickly but the process felt a bit longer than usual.

Guess that's what happens when one gets mentally tired and all.

Thanks for all the reviews folks, thus concludes this arc and on to the next one.

Hope you guys are ready for it.

Jebest4781, as per usual, being my comrade in this sends his regards.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.