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.

66. Mandalorians in Motion

MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!

Yeah, last chapter was a Wham chapter wasn't it? Nice reference Darkfusion, gonna use that from now on when it feels appropriate.

Well now, judging by everyone's reactions, guess you guys really liked the last chapter a lot.

Sometimes you don't need action to deliver on an exciting chapter.

Glad everyone was so hyped up on the last chapter and can't wait to do more.

This one is gonna be a more interesting arc as well cause we're returning back to our favorite T-visor wearing warriors.

And this is something I'm gonna use once and only once. See, a lot of reviews that I've seen have this assumption that this story is gonna go a certain way. Let me just tell you to dispel this notion cause in the words of Luke from *HURL* The Last Jedi (That was painful to say), "This is not gonna go the way you think".

Strap in guys, let's have some fun.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.

Avengers Infinite Wars Chapter 66: Mandalorians in Motion

The planet of Concord Dawn.

It has long been associated with the history of the Mandalorians with some of its greatest warriors and leaders originating from this planet.

And now it once again served the people of Mandalore as it served as the base of operations for the Protectors.

Currently, within the primary base camp of the Protectors, a number of over five dozen children were all gathered in one of the many training grounds of said base camp.

There were a dozen other adults, all garbed in Mandalorian armor that surrounded the kids and everyone had their eyes on one man.

He stood at the head of the group with an analytical expression as he took a few seconds to go over each and every child in attendance.

They were all relatively within the same age group, ranging from nine to twelve with a few outliers being younger or older than the majority.

Still, they were within a similar age range.

That's good. It means that this group will be able to develop a far stronger bond in being around the same starting point.

The man that was analyzing them was none other than Spar, better known as Mandalore the Resurrector.

He was once meant to be an Arc trooper, bred to serve in the grand army of the Republic.

But… something had changed with him at the onset of the war.

He was always an outsider, so to speak, amongst his Clone brethren for one distinct reason.

Spar somehow retained the memories of their donor, Jango Fett.

Call it a one in a trillion chance or something else entirely.

That meant that rather than being raised with memories being formed as he grew up on Kamino, Spar had to deal with the fact that he had the mind of a man that wasn't his own despite him being his clone.

It was quite the dilemma to say the least and one that led him to desert from Kamino and make his way to the many planets and locations Jango Fett once went to.

Concordia, Ordo, Tatooine, Concord Dawn and eventually, Mandalore itself.

It was there that he had met and befriended three other Mandalorians who went on to become his closest friends and companions.

Fenn Shysa, Tobbi Dala and Dax Ordo.

It was with them that he had found his purpose, taking on the knowledge that his predecessor had held and went on to take up the mantle of Mandalore.

And what a time he had chosen to do such a thing with the galactic war in full swing.

The Mandalorian people needed a leader to guide them through these tumultuous times whilst helping rebuild what had been lost in their own Civil Wars.

Spar would do just that with his closest companions at his side.

Being Mandalore was a strange sensation as at one point, Jango held this title years ago before his imprisonment and loss of his original army.

To be one now in this trying time was definitely something he wasn't sure he would be able to handle.

But dammit if he wouldn't try.

And the next part in being Mandalore starts now.

"Mandalorians." Spar said aloud, causing many who were whispering and talking to one another to quiet down as he began to speak.

"We are not a singular race or people but a culture. An idea." He stated, beginning to walk back and forth in front of the Foundlings. "We are a people that date back to the start of recorded history in the galaxy where we were once a singular race. But that changed over time as our predecessors saw that there is strength in perspective. In seeing the ways of the Mandalorian not through a singular view. It is through Mandalore the Ultimate's decree that any and all who accepted our martial ways would become a Mandalorian themselves. From then on, the way of our culture would never die."

The adult Mando's in attendance held their heads a bit higher as Spar continued to speak.

"When you become a Mandalorian, you are accepting that your life will be that of conflict." He declared. "Not just in battle and bounty hunting but of internal and external factors meant to shape and form you into the man or woman you are to become for the rest of your life. The Mandalorian who will serve their tribe, their clan, their family."

The Resurrector gazed intensely at the children.

"Glory comes to those willing to seize it for themselves! Who are willing to risk it all and show the galaxy that they are to be respected and feared."

"For thousands of years, the name Mandalorian was meant to instill two things and all just that. Fear and respect. Fear that we know every means of attack, every means of how to kill you, every means of how to break you. But respect that we are not brutal hearts and vile scum who kill for the sake of it and for a demented glee in commerce. We take jobs out of necessity but only that it abides by the tenants of the Codex and the ways of old. To fight and seek out wealth is not the way of a Mandalorian."

The kids all looked upon him with anticipation, nervousness and confusion.

Spotting a young Togrutan girl who shivered under his gaze, Spar went right up to her and kneeled to her position.

"Tell me little one, are you scared?" He asked, voice far more softer than before.

She shuddered a bit but managed to nod out.

"Why?"

The Togrutan girl stammered for a few seconds before she managed out her response.

"Th-This sounds scary. B-Being a Mandalorian." The child stuttered.

Spar arched a brow with a wry smile coming on his face.

"Is it now? And why is that?"

"Because you said we have to fight." The girl said with a more clear tone now. "I-I don't want to fight. I don't want to hurt anyone."

Spar hummed to himself and held out a hand for her to take.

She hesitated.

"Come on." He lightly gestured. "I'm not going to hurt you."

The Togruta girl slowly placed her hand on top of Spar's much larger one and he gently turned it around.

"What's your name, young one?"

"Bero." She answered.

"Bero." He parroted, laughing quietly. "That's a beautiful name."

Bero smiled slightly, her tension lessening somewhat at hearing him say that.

"Tell me Bero, where were you found?"

The Togruta girl tilted her head, unsure as to why he asked but she mumbled out…

"I saw the men with the helmets take out the men who hurt my family. Who took them away and… and I…" She choked up as the memories came rushing back to her and tears began to freely fall from her eyes.

Spar didn't hesitate in pulling her into his arms and held her as she wept on his shoulder with all present silently watching the two.

Nobody moved or made a sound with the only thing being heard were Bero's soft cries.

After several minutes, the child slowly hiccupped her tears away and had her eyes dried by a cloth Spar had pulled out from his belt.

"I'm sorry I had to remind you of that, young one." He earnestly said, placing a hand on her cheek in order to make her face him. "But it's in that it is why you have been brought here. You may never see your original family again. And I'm sorry I had to tell you that."

Bero sniffled, more tears threatening to spill out.

"But it is also why here, you have a chance to start anew." Spar went on, moving to take her hand with his other arm. "To find and make yourself a new family. To become something more and find the strength in yourself and in others to keep safe what you will grow to love."

She was clearly unsure but Spar was undeterred. "You have a kind heart. I can see that as do others. And we will turn that kindness into strength that will help guide the future of the Mandalorians to a better tomorrow. You need us to keep you safe, no? Well one day, we will look to you and will know you will be able to do the same. Can you at least try, not just for me, but for your brothers and sisters around you?"

Bero rubbed her eyes, not entirely sure of herself until she looked around at the other kids surrounding her.

Some had neutral expressions, some had sad frowns, others tried smiling in an attempt to cheer her up.

But one thing that she saw that they all had was something Bero had seen when she looked at herself in the mirror.

Loneliness. A place of loss.

She lost everything she knew and a majority of the kids here had also suffered the same fate.

Sure there were some kids that were children of Mandalorians but a majority of the kids here were orphans of war, crime and other horrendous circumstances.

All of whom were saved by the Protectors.

Seeing them around her gave Bero a feeling of want in finding her place here.

She doesn't know what happened to her family but this new one that had saved her and taken her in…

Bero refused to let anything happen to them.

Spar didn't need her to say anything as he saw a resolve appear and harden in her eyes.

The Mandalore grinned widely and lightly nudged her cheek with his knuckles, making her look back at him.

"Atta Girl." He praised, patting her head now. "You're on your way, little one."

Bero blinked for a moment until she puffed her chest up and quickly wiped away any other tears she may have had and smiled at Spar who returned the gesture as he stood back up.

He walked back to where he had initially begun addressing the Foundlings and turned back to them all.

"Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language, our leader; all help us survive." He said aloud. "That is what you will be learning in your time here. You will strengthen your bodies, your minds, your wills and your bonds. You will forge your own means of fighting, your own armor and weapons whilst learning the language and songs that unite us all. Listen carefully to your instructors, do not hesitate to ask questions because challenging yourself is as important as challenging others. It is how you will become better."

Spar's head then tilted up to see a ship flying down towards the base camp, one he instantly recognized with his lip twitching upwards upon seeing it.

He turned his head to the closest Mandalorian and nodded at her.

She nodded in return, dawning her helmet and taking his place as he walked away.

"Alright then Young Ones." The Mandalorian spoke aloud. "We shall begin with our basics-"

Spar walked through the large base camp of the Protectors, passing by many of his people who were going about their day to day business.

Weapons and equipment maintenance, training, relaxing, chores, agriculture, ship maintenance, etc.

Many who had seen him called out to him in respect or simply bowed their heads slightly with him patting them on the back or shoulder whenever any were close to him.

He walked towards the field that served as the landing area for all the Protectors ships, effectively their shipyard for the most part.

The Mandalore watched as the ship that had flown above the base slowly lowered itself down to the ground.

Once landing, several hisses came out of multiple parts from the ship before the back landing ramp opened up.

Spar waited for a few moments until he saw the three individuals he had been waiting to see come out from the ship.

He smirked at them until his expression became guarded at the sight of a stranger walking out from behind them.

And suffice to say, this individual or man really was rather bizarre to look at.

An entirely red face with a yellow gem in the center of his forehead with a light greenish body suit with red "gloves" and "boots" coupled with a rather extravagant yellow cape.

His eyes narrowed at the stranger who appeared to be gazing around the area with open wonder and curiosity.

He turned his head to the three Mando's who had now walked up to stand in front of him.

"Alright." The center one in green armor said with a hand raised. "We can explain."

"So you bring back… a new recruit? Or is it someone else?" Spar asked, crossing his arms as he awaited an answer.

"Jeez, are we getting reprimanded, scolded or what?" The one left to the center muttered, looking down and away.

"I think scolded and reprimanded are the same, Tobbi." The one on the right in gray and silver armor remarked.

"Naw, they seem the same but there's levels to it." Tobbi Dala said, facing his silvery armored friend. "See, Scolded is like being told how stupid you were acting by your parents or relatives. Reprimanded is more like-"

"Dax." The green armored Mando spoke up, interrupting the conversation with a hand running over his face. "Tobbi… for Kriff's sake."

Spar let out an amused huff at seeing Fenn's reaction, gesturing his chin towards the red face stranger who was now standing several feet away from them.

"So mind telling me who this is?"

"A friend, I'd like to think." Shysa said resolutely. "And sort of lost."

"We found him on the planet of Attolon after we were led there with the Preservers journal." Dax said, holding up the journal of his ancestor in his hand.

"He helped us, Mandalore." Tobbi said with the utmost respect. "He knew what we were looking for and got everything onto our ships with ease. Wasn't for him, we'd likely have been there a lot longer."

"And now you owe him a favor." Spar stated more than asked.

Fenn shrugged, opting not to deny such a matter. "More or less."

Mandalore wordlessly looked back at the newcomer who was staring right back at him. Spar silently moved past his lieutenants and approached the strange man whilst the trio of Mando's watched on with anticipation.

The Clone Mandalorian stood before the cape wearing man, face unreadable and stoic as his eyes bore into the newcomers.

Said newcomer gazed right back neutrally and thoughtfully as both men simply stared at one another for a number of seconds until…

"My men told me that you assisted them recently." Spar stated.

"Did they?" The caped man remarked airily. "I believe them assisting me in rescuing me from the world I was stranded on to be one of greater note."

"Oh?" Spar raised a brow. "And tell me, what was it that you did that warranted my men helping you get off your stranded world?"

"They appeared to be seeking out relics important to your culture and way of life." Vision explained. "In my time on Atollon, I explored a great deal of the area that I had landed in and located a tomb of sorts that had the skull of the Mythosaur emblazoned over it."

"So you did help them out a great deal."

"I don't think helping them move objects from one location to their ship should count that much." Vision sheepishly admitted.

"Be that as it may, what you have helped us with is important to our religion and culture." Spar dismissed the modest response with a wave of his hand. "In that, you have my thanks and the thanks of the clans who follow me."

Vision simply bowed his head. "I thank you for your hospitality."

"Come, I shall show you around." Spar gestured for him to follow him which Vision did by falling in line behind him.

Fenn, Tobbi and Dax gave half-hearted waves at the synthetic Avenger before they went back towards their ship to begin unloading what they had brought back.

Spar led Vision through the base camp of the Protectors, passing by many armored individuals all of whom took a moment out of their time to look intently at the cape wearing Avenger.

It was a mixture of curiosity, bewilderment and suspicion.

The last feeling was subdued as they saw Mandalore was with this newcomer so there was a benefit of a doubt mixed in with their apprehensiveness.

It wasn't their problem until Spar said otherwise.

Vision watched on in open interest, taking in the many sights of just the simple goings on of what was happening around him.

After being on Attolon for so long without that many species to see and converse with -in his own way- being here now was a breath of fresh air.

There were some children here and there and Vision looked on in bemusement at seeing them either playing about innocently…

Or comparing armor and weapons that they had on them.

But seeing other species was also a highlight.

There were many humans but also races called Twi'leks and Togrutans, Rodians and Zabraks, Durosi and Trandoshans and even several large furry creatures called Wookiees.

To be exposed to so many new alien species at once was incredible for Vision to see and he knew from his mentor Bendu that this was just the tip of the iceberg.

He was at the forefront of a new frontier to learn more about life outside of Earth. And he has been given this chance in doing so.

Vision would not waste it.

Eventually, Spar led Vision to the biggest tent that was in the center of the base camp and both walked into it.

There were a number of other Mandalorians in there who were promptly instructed to vacate the entire tent and leave him and Vision alone.

Spar walked to the center chair situated in the tent and sat down as he gazed intently at the Avenger.

"Answer me this, my boys told me you requested something in return for their troubles. What was it?" The Resurrected demanded.

"A means of leaving Attolon so I could be on my way."

"And where would you be going?"

Vision opened his mouth only to close it a moment later with a frown on his face. He hadn't really considered what to do now that he was off Atollon. The Avenger knew he needed to find the rest of his friends and allies but the Mind Stone on his forehead warned him of an old enemy that was well and alive.

He just didn't know where.

Perhaps a tactful approach is needed here as he had been told of in the past.

No need to be so blunt.

"I'm searching for my friends who I've been separated from, nothing more."

Spar raised a single brow, looking into the eyes of Vision and trying to discern whether these intentions were false.

"And where do you assume your friends could be?"

Vision raised both his hands. "I can only hazard a guess. Let us just say that we were all likely separated in the situation we found ourselves in."

"What situation would this be?"

"Trying to bring down an organization that wished to inflict harm upon many people." Vision said in an enigmatic fashion.

Mandalore the Resurrector hummed to himself. "So you are familiar with combat, then."

"My occupation would be one that requires the ability to fight."

"This occupation being…"

"A superhero, by all accounts."

That got quite the reaction out of Spar who couldn't help but guffaw aloud.

"A superhero you say?" Spar chuckled, armor shaking slightly. "Well you do have the cape for it."

"And the capabilities." Vision said and without needing any prompt, levitated into the air, effectively silencing the Mandalorian as he stood from his seat.

Spar stared with great intrigue but slight trepidation as he inspected Vision from head to toe as he tried to figure out just how he was doing this.

"How are you able to do this?"

"It's a natural ability I have." Vision plainly stated. "It just… came to me naturally."

The Mandalorian narrowed his eyes. "Are you a Force user?"

Vision shook his head immediately. "No, what I have, my abilities and my powers are not associated or come from the Force."

"Yet you display them."

"I do." Vision said. "But believe me when I tell you that this isn't a Force related ability. Where my power stems from is from my own being to a degree. The Force is not associated with it."

Spar appeared to be skeptical but opted not to question it any further.

He only knew so much about the Force so who was he to question things he himself didn't understand.

"Well then, you are welcome to stay here for the time being." Spar said. "Perhaps with your abilities, you can assist around the camp, helping us if need be."

"Do you require someone with flight? Because it seems to be the jetpacks you all wear cover that field."

Spar snorted. "If you have more abilities that can come of use, I'm sure we'll find a way to exploit it."

"You are rather forward with your forthcomings and intentions."

"I'm just an honest man, trying to make his way across the galaxy for his people."

Vision gave a nod of understanding.

"Right then." Spar clasped his hands together. "I take it you must be hungry, no?"

The Avenger was actually unsure of how to answer that.

"Come." The Mandalore gestured for him to follow, unaware of the internal conundrum of Vision.

'Well now.' Vision thought to himself. 'Wonder if I can actually eat.'

Afterwards, The Avenger began ingratiating himself into this warrior like culture as he spent his time watching, observing and speaking with the Mandalorians as they went about their daily lives.

He had sat in on combat exercises, lectures, foundling "classes" and found himself getting further absorbed into this warrior culture.

Vision found himself greatly intrigued and even found agreement in what was taught to the Foundlings on how one must confront conflict and go towards it for self-improvement to make oneself better. He just wasn't entirely certain that combat was always the right answer but regardless, the ideas were warranted.

He had also learned how to eat food and had found himself greatly enjoying the tastes.

Vision actually didn't even realize he could even taste anything or eat for that matter.

Vibranium. Really was as versatile as it comes.

There he slowly ate, chewing the given food and being sure it was all in smaller bits. Even partaking some drink to help wash it all down. He was more or less cautious to be sure nothing got snagged or stuck in his inner workings and caused a malfunction.

He may be precautious, but he had to be at this time in order to not be offensive to his hosts.

Still, learning that he was able to eat was a welcome surprise.

He knew he can't go hungry but at least he can participate now in eating.

Of how he may manage his waste… well… he'll do that in private and figure it out from there.

For the next several days, Vision continued his education of the Protectors whilst meeting a few others in the basecamp.

There was Ursa Wren, leader of her clan, with her husband Alrich.

A boy named Boba Fett who appeared to be Spar's son given their similarities who was very skilled for one so young as he was.

Bero, a young Foundling who had red skin similar to his own, came up to ask if he wanted to join her friends in a game.

That little playtime was one where he inadvertently displayed his ability to phase through objects when a ball was thrown his way.

Rather than catching it, he instinctively became intangible and the ball sailed right through him.

That little moment essentially got him assaulted by a parade of never ending questions and infinitely curious Foundlings who swarmed him after that happened.

After that, when the word spread about what Vision had done, Spar came to him and outright asked what else he could do.

He didn't want to reveal everything so opted for the basics.

His super strength, his intangibility, solidifying to the point of being unbreakable and his flight.

Since then, he was given a more proactive role in the camp, one he took on with great gusto because in this new role, Vision began to learn more about the operation of starships and fighters.

His intangibility on top of instructions from the Mando's, particularly the three he was most familiar with, had him phasing through ship after ship.

He learned of their inner workings, how they can be fixed and taken apart and where improvements can be done.

Having a supercomputer for a brain assisted him in retaining all this information easily and he knew it would serve him well later on down the line.

Vision had spent a number of days, close to several weeks with the Protectors until that time came to its end.

In the middle of one of his mediation sessions, Fenn Shysa approached him and told him to come along as they were leaving Concord Dawn.

"You wanted to search for your friends right? Well you won't find them sitting on one planet and waiting for them to come to you."

The Avenger couldn't fault him for that logic and so joined Fenn with Tobbi and Dax who had also brought along Boba at the request of Spar.

Bidding goodbye to the Mandalore along with some of the children he had befriended on Concord Dawn, Vision found himself seated in the ship that had gotten him off Atollon and was on route to a new world.

"So where is it that we are going?" He asked, seated behind Dax who was reading the journal of Canderous Ordo. It had become a slightly common sight for the android to see the Mandalorian doing.

"Tatooine." Boba answered. "One of the center points of the Outer Rim when it comes to bounty hunting jobs and merc work as a whole."

"Seems…" Vision was unsure what to say here.

"Yeah, it's not exactly the friendliest place in the galaxy." Fenn said with a laugh. "You'll never find a greater hive of scum and villainy."

"So what does that make us?"

"Mercenaries. We do need to acquire more funds for the collective."

"And me?"

"Well… do superheroes get paid?" Boba innocently asked.

Vision gazed up at the ceiling in thought.

"That… is a strange question to answer as I believe yes and no apply." Vision remarked.

"That doesn't feel like an answer." Tobbi dryly said.

The Avenger shrugged. "It's the only one I can come up with."

The topic was eventually dropped as Vision was soon informed of the basic ins and outs of their upcoming destination.

Tatooine was a desert planet which was practically ruled by the Hutts, a group of large space slugs that have a criminal empire thousands of years old.

There were also the tusken raiders or "sand people", who claim to be the original residents of the planet. Often seen as scavengers with their own race, culture and beliefs that many believe is too barbaric to never bother in understanding.

Asides from the typical crime businesses, casinos, repair and modification centers, one kind of lucrative type of business present were the moisture farms. Yet those often get raided more often than one believed.

Upon arriving at the planet of two suns, the Mandalorians and Avenger walked through the streets of the city Mos Espa. Vision had been introduced to dozens, if not hundreds of new alien races in one stretch of this city alone.

It was an astonishing sight for Viz, taking it all in with his supercomputer brain being able to store so much new information in seconds.

Of course, this place being a self-described nest of scum and villainy, it lived up to its moniker as shady individuals were seen left right and center.

Some openly eyed the Mandalorians with spite, greed and rage yet kept themselves in check.

What interested Vision were the ones wearing a sort of uniformed jacket, trench coat or other maroon like garments having a flame symbol emblazoned on them and regarded the Mandalorians in a far more friendlier disposition.

Something his new friends returned with nods or walking by to pat them on the shoulder or arm.

"Are they friends of yours?" Vision inquired after Dax had greeted a Weequay who was wearing the Maroon trench coat.

"Allies." Fenn clarified. "We've been getting along with them with jobs and such cause of our friendship with their leaders."

"Their leaders being…?"

The Mando's all snorted.

"Arrogant and crazy bastards." Tobbi said, shaking his head.

"You know what they call themselves?" Dax asked with a chortle. "The "Guardians" of the Galaxy. Can you believe these schmucks?"

"Guardians of the Galaxy?" Vision parroted with a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah, weird right?" Dala shook with laughter. "They're the furthest thing you'd think of when it comes to "Guardians". They ain't no Jedi, can tell ya that much."

The cantina that they were approaching had one of the windows abruptly shattered as a body was thrown through it with a boisterous loud laugh being heard from within.

"Ah, looks like they're in." Fenn idly commented, passing by the unfortunate soul that had been tossed out of the Cantina.

Vision was slightly wary though still trusted his new friends enough to follow them into the bar where there was clearly a fight going down.

Walking in, The Avenger jolted a bit when a body collided against him and dropped down to the ground.

He looked down at a Nikto female that moaned in pain at being thrown at a being made of Vibranium.

Viz turned his attention to the brawl going on in the center of the bar with a number of notably unique participants.

There was a gray skinned humanoid with what appears to be red tattoos, but they were in fact natural markings holding a human by the neck before tossing him away.

A large tree-like entity having ensnared a Quarren with what appeared to be a raccoon of all things running up to punch the squid-like face in the eye.

There was one Kyuzo fighting alongside this bizarre trio with a large circular hat that he used as a blunt instrument to knock out one of the other patrons.

"Keep at it Drax." Dax said over the commotion. "You got 'im."

"Come on." Fenn said, nudging Vision. "Our friends are back there."

Arriving back to the table with several drinks was a green skinned woman with long dark maroon colored hair. A Zabrak female took one of the offered drinks as she laughed alongside a peculiar rustic colored assassin droid who was cheering on the fight in the middle of the cantina.

Amongst the group was someone Fenn spotted quite easily.

"Yo, Mantis!"

The wide eyed woman in green with a pair of antennae smiled as she practically bounded towards the Mandalorian.

"Fenn! It's so good to see you!" She exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

Shysa stumbled back a bit though he smiled a second later, hugging the Guardian back.

When she pulled away, she instantly surprised the Mandalorian with a passionate kiss that completely took him off guard and appeared to have shut down his brain function.

The green skinned woman hung her head though a smile was easily seen despite this, the Zabrak raised her cup up to cheer the gesture and the droid let out retching noises.

Dax and Tobbi wolf whistled and cheered whilst Boba hid an amused grin since Fenn appeared to be completely frozen over.

Eventually, Mantis pulled away from the utterly flabbergasted Fenn who appeared to be unable to comprehend what just happened.

"Well look at that, he's absolutely speechless." Dax chuckled out.

Tobbi smirked at the scene. "Now we know a way to finally make it happen again and again."

"Um… Mantis…" Fenn croaked out. "Not that I don't… love what you just did…"

The wide eyed woman giggled with red dusting her cheeks.

"But uh… what… brought this about?"

Mantis pointed behind her to the Zabrak grinning madly.

"Sugi told me that you're "my man" and I needed to claim my territory." She innocently revealed.

"And I think you've done an exceptional job of doing so, Mantis." Sugi proudly said, raising her cup once more before downing its contents.

It was then did Drax notice this, looking away from his fight and spoke aloud. "Now you must slay any woman who threatens to steal what is yours."

"That will be a sight to see." Said the talking racoon.

"I am Groot."

"Can you all stop beating everyone up for five minutes and get back here." The Green skinned woman said. "Our friends are here for us."

"No, no, finish what you were doing." Tobbi encouraged. "Don't wanna interrupt."

"Meh, these clowns were easy to beat the shit out of." The Racoon declared, going over to the table they had all gathered around. "This was just to help Groot out with catching dipshits like these bozos."

"I am Groot."

"So where's Peter and Kraglin?" Dax inquired. "They said they had something special for us."

"Finishing up whatever it is they wanted to talk about." Sugi said with a frown. "They're bein' awfully secretive about it."

"Peter mentioned that it's something that'll benefit both Ravagers and Protectors." Mantis said. "Did Peter tell you anything, Gamora?"

The green skinned woman named Gamora shook her head. "Nada, same thing he told all of us."

"It is unlike Peter to be so secretive and withholding information like this." Drax said with his arms crossed.

The hat wearing Kyuzo spoke in a language Vision was unable to discern.

"You tell me, Embo." The Racoon sarcastically said. "Does Quill or Kraglin come across to you as guys who have a plan?"

"Eleven percent is a good indicator." Drax spoke in defense of these two individuals Vision had yet to meet.

"Just trust Peter, Rocket." Gamora chided. "Not everything has to be a competition with you."

Rocket simply waved her off until his nose perked up and he turned to the ever silent Vision, something the rest of the Guardians did upon seeing their Racoon comrade do.

"Who's this clown?" Rocket asked.

"Query: He does not seem like your typical meatbag." Spoke the droid.

"Relax HK." Fenn said, finally recovering from Mantis's actions though he still held her close since she still had her arms around him. "This is a friend of ours that we made recently."

"A friend you say?" Sugi said with some suspicion. "What kind of friend?"

"Well, if you want to know, he's actually a proper hero." Tobbi said, resting an elbow atop Vision's shoulder. "Did you not notice the flowing cape?"

Skeptic looks were seen all around, which was quite reasonable.

"I am Vision." The Avenger politely said, stepping forward. "A pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"Vision?" Several of the Guardians parroted.

"I am Groot?"

"Does he look blind to you?" Rocket rhetorically asked the sentient tree being.

"Well met, Vision." The gray skinned, muscled alien said. "I am Drax. These are my compatriots Gamora, Sugi, Embo, Rocket, Groot, HK-47 and Mantis who is in the arms of her future husband."

"Future what now?" Squealed Fenn.

"You heard him."

"I-I did, b-but-"

"Yay!" Mantis hugged him tightly now, rubbing her cheek against his. "I knew Sugi was right."

"H-hey, wait a sec." Fenn looked to his fellow Mandalorians for assistance. "N-not that I don't like her but-"

Dax sniffled alongside his blood brother as they continued their teasing.

"You think Spar would approve?"

"Maybe if we introduce her with the rest of these band of misfits."

"You guys aren't helping!"

"I don't know Fenn." Boba spoke up, a wide smirk in place. "She did just mark you as her property."

"Oh come on." Shysa whined out. "I didn't even take her out on a date yet."

"You… you mean… you don't want to." Mantis said, antenna and expression wilting slightly.

This caused the green armored Mandalorian to go into a panic. More so when he spotted some of her comrades' reactions.

At the moment, he didn't know if they were taking the joke in stride or being outright offended. Especially with Drax cracking his fingers with a scowl for added effect.

"N-no, hell no, of course not!" Fenn quickly said. "I really like you, Mantis. It's just I don't wanna rush into something that would hurt you. I care too much about you to do that."

And like that, Mantis' downer demeanor was dropped and she cheered, pulling him into another kiss that he melted into moments later.

"Oh my God, can you not suck each other's faces like that." Rocket grunted, looking away.

"Statement: Meatbags have a very unusual means of displaying affection when it boils down to the most primal means of reproduction." HK commented.

"Can Mantis even have Fenn's kids?" Sugi asked, appearing genuinely curious.

"No clue."

"I am Groot."

As this conversation went on, other than Vision, one other individual had not said a word and was instead focused on the aforementioned android.

Gamora was remotely silent. She would've added into the conversation but her attention was focused elsewhere.

Primarily his forehead.

Something about it made her think she knew it somehow.

It'll be something that'll clearly bug her for some time.

"A pleasure to meet you all." Vision said, gaining their attention once more.

"Well, if you're a friend of these bozos then sit down." Rocket said, picking up a mug for himself. "Can talk while we wait for Kraggy and Quill."

"Most certainly."

"So where are you from, Vision?" Gamora asked.

"A planet called Earth."

"Earth?" Sugi repeated. "You're planet's called dirt?"

Some of the other Guardians had a more tense look on them as they all stared at the Avenger.

"...I'm sorry, can you repeat that again?" Gamora politely asked.

"I'm from Earth." Vision tilted his head in confusion. "Is something the matter?"

Rather than getting an answer from them, a new voice spoke up from behind Viz, announcing his arrival.

"Hey guys, we're all good to go. Kraglin here got everything ready for us."

Viz turned to see two humans approaching them with both being garbed in the maroon clothing he had seen before.

"Hey, Quill, this yahoo says he's from Earth." Rocket says, pointing at Vision.

Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord and leader of the Guardians looked at Vision in surprise.

"Whoa, really?" Peter said aloud in excitement. "Are you seriously, like legit from Terra or you're joking cause-"

"Terra?"

"Another word for Earth most of the galaxy calls it."

"Ah, then yes, I'm from Terra/Earth. New York to be more precise."

"Whoa~~" Quill said in excitement. "No shit? That's awesome. I'm from Missouri. I haven't been back on Earth in years. Like thirty I think. What's it like now? What movies are there? Any new songs? Shows? Toys? Bands? Wait… Tell me… is Footloose still the best movie back home?"

Vision tilted his head slightly as he thought about that for a moment. "...No it's not. There are quite a number of films that are considered far better after Footloose's release back in February 1984."

"What?" Quill said in an insulted tone. "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, have you not watched Godfather? Or Lord of the Rings? Citizen Kane?"

Peter groaned. "No, my mom never let me see Godfather. Told me I should watch it when I got older." The human then paused. "Wait, what do you mean by Lord of the Rings? The animated movie?"

"Not the one directed by Ralph Bakshi in 1978. There was a trilogy of "live action" films in the early 2000's directed by-"

"Okay, that's probably enough out of you two." Gamora interrupted them both.

"But… But…"

"I shall show you later." Vision assured. "It is a film series that is considered far greater than anything that has come before. Practically reignited the love of the "fantasy" genre after many years."

Peter was now giddy at the thought of getting something more from Earth to see.

"Uh… boss?"

All heads turned towards Kraglin Obfonteri who awkwardly stood there, waiting for a chance to speak.

"You remember-"

"Oh, right, right, sorry bout that guys." Peter said. "Yeah, so, Kraglin and I got some real cool news. Got some friends of ours waiting for us on this space station just a jump away from here. Got ourselves a new base we can set up instead of always comin' here."

"Disappointment: But Master Quill, I do like it here. This is the only place I can shoot someone without many forms of repercussions. Nothing a few credits can't help with in sweeping it under the rug."

"HK." Gamora miserably said, rubbing the temples of her head. "You can't just kill everyone who looks at you funny."

"Statement: They were not looking at me funny. Declaration: They had sinister intentions within their eyes. I am quite well versed in discerning Meatbags intentions, Master Gamora." HK almost defended himself childishly.

"Yeah, lay off him, Gamora." Rocket said with a laugh. "He needs to vent. Those coolant systems are there for a reason."

Vision watched this exchange silently as the Guardians with their Mandalorian friends began to bicker and banter with one another, throwing playful insults until they managed to get back to the subject Peter wanted to talk about earlier.

"So, there's this place Kraglin found out about from some friends of ours called Glavis." Quill informed.

"Glavis?" Fenn perked up on hearing that.

"You know this place, Fenn?" Drax inquired.

"So do we." Sugi lightly slammed her cup down. "That place is a more fancier version of Tatooine."

"Less crimes but a lot of jobs." Boba added in. "Was there a few times once with my dad."

"A more high end sort of place." Fenn finished for the group as a whole. "Got two jobs from there once. Paid handsomely to say the least."

Embo turned to Quill, speaking to him in his alien language.

"Glad you asked Em." Peter said, slapping the Kyuzo's shoulder. "See, since it's an important fixture in the Outer Rim, some friends that we've made got a place for us to set up shop as a second base."

"Really?" Sugi said with a raised brow.

"Yup." Kraglin stated with his chest puffed out in pride. "Got ourselves a new spot for us to work out of."

"We'd need it too with how many people we've been recruiting." Gamora noted, nodding her head to the idea.

"Query: Is this a place where we will be able to store the Meatbags we have slain, Master Quill?"

"N-no, goddammit HK." Peter muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We deliver bounties, not keep them. Why would we keep them?"

"Statement: One must find the means to intimidate any and all that would choose to, as Master Rocket would say, mess with us." HK said in a proud voice.

The Racoon laughed uproariously while Drax nodded his head in approval.

"HK's words hold merit, Peter. We should seriously consider-"

"No." Gamora cut the Destroyer off. "Don't even think about it."

Embo spoke up, making a few joke sounding comments that got a laugh out of several of them.

"Hey, the skull of a Krayt Dragon doesn't sound all that bad." Sugi said approvingly.

"Yeah, but they're hard as hell to kill." Tobbi remarked, patting his armor. "Beskar is resistant as all hell to its bite and bigger ones' acid but we underneath it sure ain't."

"I believe this to be a challenge that we can take." Drax boasted. "We survived the Abilisk on Sovereign. Who is to say a Krayt Dragon would pose a threat to us?"

"What's an Abilisk?" Fenn asked the question on everyone's mind who did not fight such a creature.

"A wormy douchebag with too many tentacles and can travel between Dimensions." Rocket elaborated which only further confused the group.

"Pardon." Vision spoke up after some time of observant silence. "You mentioned that it can travel between dimensions?"

"Yeah but he-" Quill winced before he coughed slightly, feeling an itch at the back of his throat after eating a small bite in hand. "Someone *HACK* finish for me."

Gamora shook her head, reaching over to pat the choking leader of their group on the back.

"We killed it a while back on a job." The Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy revealed.

"Still, you said it comes from another dimension?" Tobbi muttered with a curious gaze. "How… how does that work?"

"Hell if we knew that sucker was just a job we had to take out." Rocket waved off. "No muss, no fuss."

"Uh-huh." Was Sugi's dry response.

"Disappointment: Oh what a battle it must have been to fight a creature not of this dimension. Masters, why did you not find me sooner?" HK dramatically bemoaned.

"I am Groot."

"Musing: Hmmm, your words hold great truth, Master Groot. We will more than likely kill many large creatures in our career."

"Well, he ain't wrong." Kraglin said in amusement, turning to Quill. "But boss, we should get goin'. They're probably waitin' for us on Glavis."

Peter grunted as he moved to stand from his seat. "Yeah, you're right. Don't wanna keep 'em waiting. Let's go guys."

"Can we come along?" Asked Dax. "Kinda wanna see this place you're gonna set up for yourselves."

Ordo's two Mandalorian friends voiced their agreement in wanting to come along with the Guardians.

"Actually, we wanted to invite you." Kraglin said, slapping Ordo's back. "This place that we got set up can work for the both of us since we're friendly and all."

"A joint place, really." Peter declared. "Mando's and Ravagers alike."

"So we're basically an inspection team." Fenn stated in faux-seriousness.

"Gotta be up to snuff with you T-heads." Rocket said, hopping down from the table as the group began to stand and depart from the cantina.

"Come on, Vision." Tobbi said. "We're leaving."

"Already?" Viz inquired.

"What, you wanted to stick around here longer?" Dax asked.

Vision shook his head. "Just surprised at how quick you are all to leave."

"In our line of work, we often have to move at a moment's notice." Fenn informatively stated. "Besides, you're looking for your friends right? Better to keep movin' then just sitting and waiting in one place."

Vision couldn't really fault the logic considering his own situation in these past few months.

The group separated with the Mandalorians going for their ship with the Guardians headed for theirs.

It didn't take long for the Mandalorians and their companion to reach their ship and quickly fire it up.

Taking off from Tatooine's surface, the Mandalorian ship eventually rondevu with the Guardians in the planet's orbit as it's hangar began opening up. Eventually they docked their ship inside of the Guardian's large vessel.

Inside of its hangar, Vision saw two other ships with the third being where the renegade, misfit heroes walked out of. One seemed to be in a state of construction with multiple wires, scaffolding and schematics strewn around it. The other one appeared to be undergoing extensive reconstruction by the looks of the surrounding equipment and parts sprawled about.

The large group soon made its way up to the primary cockpit of the ship where there seemed to be a rather abundant amount of spots and seats for everyone to take despite their large group.

Quill sat at the front with Gamora on his right, Drax and Rocket seated behind the two as they punched in the coordinates to their next destination and the ship hummed with activity.

Vision couldn't help but stare in wonder and awe as a moment later, they entered the blue, white and black tunnel of Hyperspace.

It was truly a sight to marvel at and one he had only seen three times now.

"Meh." Rocket barked in boredom. "Too quiet."

"Got just the remedy." Peter said, grinning widely and flicking a switch on his controls.

Soon enough, a particular song began playing in the background; courtesy of Starlord.

While the original Guardians knew of the song, given it was in Peter's recorded cassette tapes from Earth. It was relatively new in the present galaxy given what the Mandalorians and new Guardian members can recall.

Vision, however, knew it quite well.

"Hold on." He perked up, a smile of nostalgia worming its way onto his face. "I know this song. This is… this is "Since You've Been Gone." by Rainbow! My friends from Earth have listened to this song before."

-Insert Rainbow: Since You've Been Gone-

"Hey, you know your stuff." Peter said approvingly from the pilot's chair.

"Indeed." A reminiscent gaze was seen in his eyes. "I had learned much of Earth music during my time there and found it to be very enjoyable."

"Kinda curious what sorta music is on Earth now." Peter mused to himself.

"There have been some changes, but that's par for the course in music." Vision frowned then.

"What is it?" Boba spoke up, confused by the androids sudden silence.

"I do admit… I had noticed a strange obsession as of late with people and their rears."

A number of odd reactions were given out, causing the synthetic Avenger to give a response.

"Don't look at me. I'm confused as to the reason why." Vision stated, hands raised in surrender.

"Why would they sing about rears?" Dax asked in bewilderment.

"That sounds like Peter's movie with the people and the sticks up their butts." Gamora shook her head sympathetically. "Needlessly cruel."

"Gamora, it's a figure of speech, I told you that already."

"It is still a horrible means of conveying stubbornness."

"Not really." Fenn said, hands behind his head as he reclined back in his seat. "It's kinda why the Protectors are a thing."

"Having sticks up your ass?"

"No furbag, you know what I mean."

Time went on as other topics were brought up before they exited hyperspace to arrive at their destination.

Overlooking from the nearby window, Vision's jaw dropped slightly at the wondrous sight before him.

"Damn." Fenn remarked. "That sight never gets old."

The ship neared a large, ring-like space station with multiple ships flying in, out and around the large structure.

It was rather beautiful to look at and Vision felt a familiarity to what he was looking at.

'What was that game Pietro and Wilson were playing?' The Avenger used his supercomputer brain to pull up the memory that he had been seeking. 'Halo, was it? Yes. A Halo.'

It was truly a sight to behold.

"Amazing." Drax muttered, finding the space station breathtaking to look at.

The large ship soon docked at a port that was able to take their ship and Quill tossed a large amount of credits to make sure there was added security to discourage anyone from trying anything to their ship.

There were always some who just couldn't help themselves.

"Where is this base of yours located on this station?" Dax asked, looking up at the ever changing skies above.

Peter reached into his jacket, frowning until Kraglin held out a tracking fob for him.

"Thanks Kraglin." Quill said appreciatively, taking the device from Obfonteri's hand. " If you'll follow us…"

Traversing through the station in such a big group would've indeed drawn quite the amount of attention. Some of the entourage did have to pay attention to the surroundings in case they were being followed.

Going through a number of levels and alleys, they eventually came to their destination.

There was nothing noteworthy about the general area, but that was the point. No one wanted to practically have anything giving away their base of operations on Glavis.

Soon enough, they arrived at a distinctly isolated doorway and there were two people standing in front of it.

One was a rugged looking man in primarily red chest armor and pack with beige clothing and a black scarf wrapped around his neck. The other was a blind man wearing black robes, leaning against a cane.

"Peter Quill." The man with the cane greeted with a small smile. "The Guardians of the Galaxy and the Mandalorian Protectors. It is good to see you all."

Quill snorted, walking up to the man and the two grasped one another's arm.

"Hey Chirrut, Baze." Peter said friendly. "What have you got for us?"

"Something that should sate your drunken tendencies." Baze stated with a knowing smirk as he regarded the large group with a nod. "We've gotten this place set up for you. Just wanted to make sure you're all satisfied with it."

As the group exchanged pleasantries, Chirrut found himself focusing his attention on a strange outlier of the group.

Squinting slightly, moved his head about in small gestures as he sensed something in particular about him. He was curious about a number of details. Especially when he focused towards the forehead of this individual.

A sense of intrigue washed over the man of the Wills, no doubt wanting to voice a number of questions. Yet he withheld them for the time being.

And it seemed his detection didn't go unnoticed as he felt the strange man turn his attention towards him.

He would need to address this later as Baze told the group to enter into the base they had found for them and inspect it for themselves.

Walking in, they found that the doorway was hiding a large, expansive area that had ports, rooms, storage areas, etc. It was really everything and more that they could have asked for.

"Holy shit!" Rocket said aloud, jumping atop a railing to look over what was essentially akin to a warehouse/docking bay fusion.

Fenn whistled in appreciation. "Whoa~ Where'd you two find this place?"

"Rather spacious." Gamora hummed with an approving nod.

"Statement: Yes, this is quite a find."

"How'd you get a place like this?"

"Pulling a few strings." Baze remarked. "Glavis has many ports at its disposal but like any city, there's always places that get abandoned over time."

"This was once an operating base for a bounty hunting guild." Chirrut stated. "But it has long since been left behind and in a state of disrepair as the guild found itself a new home on Nevarro."

"Nevarro?" Tobbi repeated. "Wait… does the name Greef Karga mean anything to you?"

"Oh, you know him?" Imwe inquired, walking forward with the large group following after him as they went down to begin overlooking the base proper.

"My father spoke of him and our clans have multiple agreements with him." Boba piped up. "He's one of the heads of the Bounty Hunting Guilds. He's been supplying us with jobs for the past few months."

"Us to, recently." Gamora murmured.

"And you would all be right about that."

All heads snapped in the direction of none other than the man they had been speaking of.

And with him was a man clad in blue Mandalorian armor that the Protectors were all too familiar with.

Greef Karga stood with a wide grin in place with his arms spread out wide open in a welcoming gesture.

"It's good to see you all doing so well." Greef greeted the group, particularly the Mandalorians. "Paz was getting anxious in seeing you all once more."

Fenn, Boba, Dax and Tobbi all stared at the helmeted Mandalorian of clan Vizsla who appeared unperturbed by their gazes.

"Was he now?" Fenn said evenly with the helmed Mandalorian nodding his head slightly, a gesture Shysa returned.

"What're you doin' here, Karga?" Ordo inquired, walking over to the guildsman's head.

"What else? To see you all." Greef remarked, a wide grin visible for all to see. "I knew I had to be here to give this place away to you all. Figured it would serve you better than it ever will for me and mine."

"He's the one who reached out to us and offered us this place." Baze revealed, making several look at Karga with a level of surprise but also slight suspicion.

The man took the looks in stride with a playful scoff. "Come now, what's with all these looks. Is it not so hard to consider this my gift to you all?"

"In our line of work…" Quill left his sentence unfinished as the message was clear.

"Observation: Guardians we may call ourselves, our line of work involves killing many meatbags." HK morbidly pointed out. "That means making enemies who would eventually wish to make us into portable meatbags."

"Disgusting but accurate." Gamora deadpanned.

Greef chuckled. "Well, I withhold nothing."

The man's expression then became far more serious with a somber look coming over him.

"You see, I understand that with everything happe-"

*CLANG*

"Ah dang it BD! What'd I tell ya about wanderin' when I'm workin'. Poodoo BD, that's the fourth antenna this week."

Everyone blinked at the sound of a woman's voice echoing off the walls from an unseen part of the base with the sound of droid chatter and further complaints.

The Guardians, Mandalorians and their allies all looked past Greef in bewilderment with Paz Vizsla letting out a withering sigh and Karga chortling to himself.

"And… that was?" Tobbi looked at head Guildsman expectantly.

"The help." Was all Greef said.

Drax had tilted his head up and squinted as he focused on his hearing. "She sounds familiar."

"Come on." Greef waved for them to follow. "Bet she'd like to see just who she's doin' all this for."

Karga led the large group down to a lower part of the base into what was essentially a built in docking bay.

There were a multitude of ports, almost three dozen, all of varying sizes that can house multiple smaller crafts to ships even as large as the Guardians' Quadrant ship.

And in the middle of it all was a woman in her mid-40's surrounded by tools, equipment, ship parts, port parts and a litany of droids helping her.

She had frizzy brown hair and matching eyes and a brown jumpsuit with black boots and gloves.

Around the woman were several DUM-Series Pit droids and a singular BD unit droid that were assisting the woman in her work.

"No, no ya dang Bantha, wrong again." The woman scolded a Pit Droid who held out a device to her. "I said flat and a circle, not a cubicle."

"Peli?" Several of the Guardians said aloud in surprise, garnering the woman's attention.

The brown haired human looked up and instantly had a wide smile in place as she walked out from her workstation and came over to them.

"Well~ if it isn't my favorite band of customers." Peli Motto happily declared. "And you've brought guests this time around."

"What are you doing here Peli?" Mantis inquisitively asked though she was happy to see the engineer.

"Hey cutie." Peli greeted the wide eyed Guardian with a wink. "I was recruited here by Karga. I helped his Mando buddy spaz-"

"Paz" Vizsla corrected absentmindedly.

"-out a few times and got a glowin' recommendation by the big lug to help out in making these docking ports functional." Motto said with her arms wide open. "Heck of a challenge but if it's to help out the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Ravagers in helpin' keep order in the Outer Rim, I'm all for it."

"Nothin's blown up yet, right?" Rocket dryly asked.

"Oh knock it off, Rocko." Peli said, rolling her eyes. "You and I both know that modulator was a bust."

"Didn't mean we couldn't make it work." Rocket shot back.

"I'm not the one who revved up the engine unnecessarily."

"Amusement: It was quite the sight to see Master Rocket with such a large bald spot." HK's voice was tinged with the first word of his sentence.

"What'd I tell ya about bringing that up?!"

"I Am Groot."

"Ah shut up, you were no better."

"It's good to see you again, Peli." Gamora greeted kindly.

"Nice to see ya too, Gammy." The engineer said friendly. "So, who's your Mando friends?"

"Our friends." Peter announced, patting Fenn's shoulder. "Got a "workin" relationship with these guys."

"Somewhat." Shysa said with a slight chuckle. "I'm Fenn Shysa. We're with the Mandalorian Protectors."

"Tobbi Dala."

"Dax Ordo."

"Boba Fett."

"Fett?" Peli concentrated on the young boy with a scrutinizing look. "What, like Jango Fett?"

Boba's eyes widened slightly. "You… you knew my father?"

Motto laughed, clapping her hands together. "So you are his kid. Dank Farrick, you look a lot like him. I used to help your old man out back with ship repairs when he was a Bounty Hunter."

Her expression fell a second later, becoming a tad awkward. "I uh… I heard he passed recently. That true?"

Fett looked down at that reminder with him clutching his fists tightly whilst Fenn placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

Peli sighed with a forlorn face of regret. "Sorry kiddo. Didn't mean to bring that up."

Boba murmured that it was alright though kept his head down.

Motto sighed, internally berating herself for bringing up something that was clearly sensitive so instead looked at the rest of the group for a way out of this situation.

And she found it with what she would describe as the strangest and most unique individual standing amongst them.

"Well now, that's a fashion statement." Peli said aloud, eyeing the synthetic Avenger in the yellow cloak, looking over his entire being. "Can't say I've met you or your kind before. New recruit? Mando? Guardian? Far too… un ravager to be a Ravager."

"Ah, no Ma'am." The bearer of the Mind Stone responded politely. "I am Vision. A friend to the Mandalorians. They have been providing me a means of getting around the Galaxy as I seek out my friends."

Peli guffawed, putting on a slight show with her twirling her hair around her finger.

"Ma'am?" She parroted, teasing grin in place. "You sure are an odd Bantha with these troublemakers. Only Drax and Gamora speak like that and even that's a rarity."

"Hey!" Squawked a number of the Mando's and Guardians, Chirrut and Baze chuckling at their responses.

"We're incredibly polite and well sophisticated." Drax said defensively. "Right Gamora?"

The Zehobarian only blew some hair out from in front of her face. "Coming from you, Drax…"

Peli simply grinned at the interaction, turning her attention back to Vision.

"So you got roped into these hoodlums then, huh? I don't envy you in the slightest."

The Avengers' shoulders moved up and down slightly. "They're not as bad as some would assume. The Guardians gave quite the first impression."

"Good or bad?" Rocket asked.

"Statement: Simply wonderful I imagine."

"I Am Groot."

"That's not applicable here."

As the Guardians and Mandalorians devolved into chatter, insults and banter, Vision silently watched on in interest.

This odd group of people were in many ways a lot like the Avengers. Or at the very least reminded him of aspects of his team.

An odd, differing and eclectic group of individuals who are all somehow on the same team and are able to coexist with one another.

A sad sense of yearning was present in the synthetic as he hoped to return to the others as soon as possible just so he may have a better sense of comradery like these people before him.

His thoughts and the conversation as a whole abruptly ended when Ordo inquired on a matter that didn't get an answer.

"You know, you never answered our earlier question." Dax spoke up, looking intently at Greef. "Why give us this base?"

"Yeah, wanna know that too." Rocket remarked with a suspicious look. "Shithole as this place may look, there's still a lot of function that could be used here."

"This place can still work as a basecamp for your guild." Boba pointed out. "You don't need everything to be fully functional, you know."

Karga silently nodded, expression now far more serious than his usually relaxed mood.

He was quiet for a time with his hands on his hips as he walked a few steps away from the group to think on the question.

"I don't need to tell you folks how crazy the galaxy is right now." Greef said with a tired sigh. "Systems breaking down into chaos. Social upheaval. Bounty hunters and mercenaries getting far more dangerous work. War encroaching on neutral systems and worse. We thought the Republic and the Separatists were bad enough but then Ultron-"

"Ultron?"

The entire group practically jolted where they stood upon hearing the normally calm, quiet and reserved Avenger speak up with a voice conveying clear alarm.

They all looked to see Vision being deadly serious as he walked right up to Greef Karga, the man taking a nervous step back from the intense air radiating off the Vibranium-humanoid.

Paz Vizsla stepped in between him and his boss only to get the shock of his life, including several others as Viz simply turned intangible and phased right through the man.

The Mandalorian patted himself down, breathing heavily from the sensation before looking back to see Vision standing over Karga.

Vision lifted his hands and placed them on Greef's shoulder, ignoring his flinch as his cybernetic eyes bore into the man.

"You said Ultron, yes?" Vision asked quietly. "With blue or red eyes, multiple drones and antennae on either side of the foot soldiers."

"Y-yeah." Karga stammered out. "He attacked the galaxy and is waging war on it all."

Vision let the man go and stepped back with a deeply troubled expression for all to see.

"What, you didn't know about this?" Rocket asked in disbelief. "The hell is your deal? How long have you been living under a rock?"

"I've been on a planet without outside communication for months." Vision revealed. "Quite literally, no civilization to be had."

"I believe it's a metaphor."

"Drax… you got bad timing on that response." Peter said, dragging his hand over his face.

"What has he done?" Vision's grim tone was startling to say the least, greatly off putting the group.

It was unsettling to see someone who normally appears so calm and tranquil to now be just about ready to snap.

Tobbi rubbed the back of his head. "That's a bit of a-"

"No." Vision cut him off. "I want to know everything."

"That's still a bit of a long story." Boba dryly said.

"You want the long or short version, Viz?" Fenn asked.

"Just what has he done as a whole." Vision elaborated. "Where has he attacked, who, when, where."

"It's not a matter of who he attacked but who he hasn't attacked." Baze Malbus said with a disgruntled voice.

"For a while, the galaxy's been attacked all over by this Ultron. Metallic bastard's been terrorizing, well, everyone." Rocket said, hocking up a quick spit.

"Ultron attacked a bunch of places that would be considered important." Fenn went on. "The capital worlds of the Republic and Separatist, Nal Hutta, Nar Shadda, sections in the Mandalore system and other bases, military, mercenary, you name it, he jumped it."

"He took over Jabiim and had every sentient life there booted off its surface and claimed that system for himself afterwards." Dax stated. "Rumor has it that he's already left that place but it's essentially an abandoned and dead system for all intents and purposes. Nobody goes there anymore."

"After that, it's just been a nightmare. Security and a lot of protocol has been extremely tight, making a number of jobs more annoying to deal with." Greef now spoke, regaining his bearings after a rather intense "confrontation" with Vision.

"Quite recently it's gotten a bit worse. Word from the joganevine is he made contact with both leading governments to declare himself officially taking part in the galactic war; just to wipe out everyone."

'It was that extensive?' Was the Avenger's thought.

"Extinction." Vision said quietly, a shiver being sent down the spines of all. "Trying to accomplish his objective once more, it seems."

Gamora eyed the Avenger with a scrutinizing gaze in all this.

"You know him, don't you? Personally, I mean."

Vision hesitated momentarily before nodding. "We have history together."

"Wait, what?" Was the collective response from a number of people in the group.

"What the hell does that mean?" Quill asked rather accusatively.

"What is it that you know?" Drax pressed.

"Inquiry: Have you seen him slaughter Meatbags before?"

"HK…"

"Innocent defense: I am simply asking that which we have seen as well."

"If you consider him attacking an entire country, converting it into a meteor to wipe out an entire planet but failing…"

"What?!" Once more, the group exclaimed in unison, completely thrown off by the declaration and broke into incoherent speech with Vision looking back and forth between them all as he tried to answer.

*TAP* *TAP* *TAP*

The sharp sound caused everyone to fall silent as they all looked around rather tensely to locate the source of that sound.

Chirrut Imwe stepped forward, tapping the ground with his walking stick again, the blind man gazing at Vision.

"Allow him to speak." The follower of the Force said quietly. "Vision. What is it that you know of Ultron that we do not? What is your relationship to him?"

The Avenger sighed aloud.

"How can I explain our… relationship." Vision pondered for a moment. "You can say he's both my brother and partial creator."

"Brother/Partial Creator?"

Some had now reached for their weapons and looked at Vision with open suspicion but Fenn gestured his arms up.

"Hey, hey, hey, let's not get hasty here people." Shysa said, trying to keep any itchy trigger fingers from going off.

"He's not our enemy." Chirrut declared. "If he was, none of us would have fared long."

"And how the hell can we trust that?" The bio-modified Racoon said with a snarl.

"Do you trust me?"

Rocket froze up a bit as he glanced at the daughter of the Mad Titan out of the corner of his eye.

He knew that her eyes were boring into hers and his ears twitched at the sound of a guilty sigh coming from Quill and some of his teammates and friends.

Grunting to himself, Rocket lowered his gun which shrank back to its portable size and placed it on his back.

Gamora's lip twitched upwards at seeing him like that and turned back to Vision.

"So, you know him." She said as it was obvious. "What is he to you?"

"I am a defender of life." Vision said plainly. "But he is not, as you already are aware."

"Enemies then." Baze plainly clarified, the Avenger nodded.

"What's the story between the two of you, then?" Boba asked, still wary but willing to give Viz the benefit of the doubt.

The red/green themed hero was silent for a time, thinking over his words carefully.

"I was meant to be Ultron's Vision for his future." He soon gestured towards himself. "More specifically this body. Unfortunately for him, my companions halted this from happening while I took possession of it in the end."

"Wait, what?" Once more, this was blurted out by many.

"Ultron is not like your typical droid, as you are all well aware of by now." Vision stated. "He is an AI, a being composedly based off of a human's brain. Greater capacity for intelligence and evolution in one's function. He was created to be a peacekeeping program back on my home world. Yet an unseen factor during his creation more or less warped the intended goal into what you now know today."

"Extinction." Rocket sarcastically said. "What a lovely "evolution" of a goal."

Gamora shifted about where she stood, her hands that were crossed together, grasping the sleeves of her jacket tightly.

"So you're a droid then?" Peli muttered, stroking her chin in thought. "Here I thought those were just implants, but I guess not."

"I am organic… in a sense. It's complicated to explain in full specific and scientific details on how this body was created." Vision said, patting his chest. "But know that I am unlike any droid or even any other Ultrons there may be out there."

"Sure as hell don't know a droid that can eat that's for sure." Ordo commented.

"It was a… learning experience." Vision said, pleasantly smiling. "I was unaware that I could even consume food, let alone taste anything."

Unbeknownst to the group, Imwe inhaled sharply with most not noticing this save for two.

Baze, who was right next to him and Peli who had by chance turned to look over to him.

"You okay there, Chirrut?" Motto asked worriedly, seeing the blind man leaning heavily on his stick for a second as he shook his head.

"I sense a troubled feeling in the Force." Chirrut frowned, as he concentrated intently for a few seconds. "No… someone. Someone here on Glavis. He… he has the Force though far less refined but a link to it all the same."

"A Force user?" Fenn said with a frown. "You mean like a Jedi?"

"No, no." Chirrut shook his head, his expression morphing into one of focus, delving further into this feeling from the Force. "In fact, I sense something quite familiar to him. Like you."

Fenn and the other Mando's all blinked as Imwe had now concentrated on them.

"Us?" Tobbi asked to be sure, gesturing to himself and his Protector friends. "Like all four of us?"

Chirrut nodded. "I believe assistance is required."

"Well I'm game for anything. Let's move out."

-Scene Cut-

"COME ON OUT, MANDALORIAN!" Bellowed out a bounty hunter. "WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!"

"Make sure you cover the flanks." Shouted a Falleen male. "This piece of sh-GURK!"

The Falleen fell over, blood spurting out from his neck as some of the mercenaries and soldiers around him saw a knife protruding out from the now deceased criminal.

"THERE HE IS!" A Rodian male shouted and the large contingent of mercs and soldiers resumed fire as the individual they had come to kill dove out of sight.

Within the confines of what was once a diner was a lone, ebony armored fighter utilizing many of the upturned tables as his means of cover from the onslaught of blaster fire that endlessly reigned down upon him.

He had his back leaned up against the table, sitting almost casually as his mind was a whirl with ideas on how to get out of this situation.

"Ya really did it this time, Wes." The black armored warrior muttered to himself. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

He felt a thrumming from his head with his hand shooting out on its own accord without him even realizing it to catch a thermal detonator that had been thrown his way. It was tossed back and he smirked beneath his helmet to hear the sound of screams followed by an explosion to silence several of them.

"That's twice now." He commented, moving to dive into a booth for better cover. "These people never learn, do they?"

The man reached up to check on a device attached to his vambrace and gave himself a nod before quickly whipping out of his cover to fire a series of metallic needles.

Several missed as they flew in between his attackers but a number did find their marks with some being injured while others were killed.

"DAMNED MANDALORIAN!" Roared a human who was enraged by his attack as one of the ones who perished was a friend.

"Stay calm." Said an ice cold woman's voice. "This is exactly what he wants. Keep the pressure on him otherwise you'll wind up like your friend there."

The merc grit his teeth, shaking his head to refocus on the objective of killing off the target.

And who was this target that so many mercs, bounty hunters and Black Sun foot soldiers were trying so very hard to kill?

He was a warrior who went by many names and monikers.

And as of late, the growing consensus was he was the Eclipse of the Black Sun crime syndicate.

Wes Journ. Bounty Hunter, swordsman, weapons master and Mandalorian.

The last Mandalorian of his clan that was exterminated by the Black Suns who had been on a bit of a revenge spree as he had recently killed his fifth Vigo of the Suns.

Vigo being one of the twelve heads of the Black Suns and in the past few months, Wes had single handedly killed nearly half of them.

But how did this come about, one may ask?

In terms of criminal enterprises, few are as feared and revered as the Black Suns with only the Hutt Cartels and Pyke Syndicate being some of the few that rivaled their empires.

It all boils down to one word or really, one being.

Ultron.

His galactic attack was a destabilizing agent onto a number of planets, systems, organizations and galactic stability. Not that the galaxy was stable, what with the war and all going on.

No, Ultron's chaos came in the form of utter anarchy and disregard for whoever he attacked.

Nobody was excluded in his initial onslaught and his victory on Jabiim was like the entire galaxy was doused in an ice cold bath that caused a great deal of panic and fear. It started spreading like wildfire with any and all factions, sides and players scrambling to regain a foothold or retaliate.

Many of the crime organizations and families were in an uproar and had called for a ceasefire on any hostilities, open engagements or tensions that were had between them to focus on the bigger problem.

There had been many meetings in the underworld since then to discuss what was to be done about this metal menace.

The usual sort of ideas were thrown around.

Tracking him down, seeking out anyone precious to him, sending a bounty hunter after him, make a threat/statement etc, etc.

But then came the litany of issues with these methods.

The one primary being that this was a "droid" and this "droid" wanted to bring about extinction.

Not power, not overthrow an established power or take out all the major crime organizations.

No, just straight up annihilation of all life on a galactic scale.

How does one try to reason or even rationalize a means in fighting back against someone and something like that?

Truth is, you can't.

So they had to think of other methods.

However, aside from Ultron's attack on the galaxy, another problem arose from the many crime syndicates across the galaxy.

And that was the opportunist looking to capitalize on the chaos.

There were a number of criminals and warlords with a measure of influence that had tried and failed in trying to overthrow the established order.

Now, had it been any other era or time, these upstarts would be treated as a nuisance at most and quick examples at the very least.

But these weren't normal times.

These opportunists were leaving behind visible damage with every attack showing the growing chinks in the armor of a multitude of Syndicates.

And that was just them alone.

Here comes along this sole Mandalorian with the sole purpose of dismantling the Black Suns, a criminal empire that has stood for thousands of years.

And he has already killed five of its twelve Vigo's, the heads of their organization.

So, a panic within the Black Sun crime family would be a mild response.

Currently, what could be described to be a small army was assembled to kill this sole Mandalorian.

Their leader was a human woman by the name of Guri.

She would best be described as a femme fatale with her flowing blond hair, skintight latex suit and multitude of weapons she carried on her being small blasters, knives and needles.

Whilst most would describe to be a stunning beauty, those with the more observant eye would be able to pick on something off about her.

There was a cold detachment to this woman in both her gaze, posture and movements.

Something that her target was familiar with by now.

From his cover, Wes Journ peeked his head out from over the booth and spotted the woman who was leading this charge against him.

"Guri." Wes muttered to himself, shaking his head.

'Leave it to that pompous Prince to send his best.' Was the internal thought of the Mandalorian as he ducked back down to avoid getting spotted. 'Surprised it took me killing half his head honchos for him to send her after me.'

Wes craned his head around to gauge at his current predicament.

He was surrounded for the most part, the diner that he had been cornered in being nothing but rubble now.

The back entrance collapsed after getting struck by a rocket launcher and now he was trapped.

"Dank Farrik." Wes groused out as he jolted at the corner being struck by a large blaster bolt.

He was running low on options if he really had any left by this point.

His Beskar armor, while durable, only covered so much.

One shot to the openings to his legs and knees would immobilize him.

One to his neck would be enough to either paralyze or kill him.

These morons had the accuracy of a B1 battle droid on a bad day but if enough of them were fired, they would undoubtedly hit something that would damage him.

"Dammit." Wes growled, the booth that he was using at cover shaking violently from a number of blaster bolts hitting it.

His cover could only take so much.

Wes would need a damn miracle now.

Speaking of which…

"Get him!" Shouted a Falleen male. "He can only hide for so long. He's still in there."

"Who is?"

"That Mandalorian bastard that we're here to kill, you fool."

"Oh, right, right, I remember… wait, is he a Protector?"

"No."

"Death Watch."

"No."

"So he's technically a lone wolf and free agent."

"Why in the galaxy would that matter to ya?"

"Just askin. And potential recruit after all."

"Potential what now."

The Falleen turned to see a blaster pointed straight at his head being held by a Mandalorian in green armor.

And he wasn't alone.

"We'll take it from here, gentlemen." Fenn Shysa cheekily said, shooting the Black Sun in the head. "Clear them out!"

Three more Mandalorians were in the skies above being joined by a Racoon and murderous assassin droid.

The five reigned down fire upon the large group of mercs and soldiers who were completely thrown by this sudden arrival of backup.

On the ground where a dozen others rushed right their ranks, blasting and swatting away any and all that were in the way.

A Mandalorian with a chain gun slowly trudged forward with his rotating canon mowing down mercs and bounty hunters left and right.

Next to him was a Kyuzo male and his pet anooba that covered his blind spots and up ahead was a Zabrak female with a wide eyed girl with antenna.

Blaster fire flew all over the area amongst the chaos.

"We gotta get to that Mandalorian." Dax shouted.

"We got it." Peter said through the comms. "Drax, Gamora, you two are up."

"Loud and clear." Came the response from Gamora.

Drax dropped down from the building above, driving a pair of his daggers into the backs of two offenders. This had them fall before the Destroyer threw one of them to some clumped up enemies before using the other as a meat shield.

Gamora swooped in and used her sword to cleave through several weapons before swiftly confiscating one. With it, she openly fired at a few enemies before tossing a grenade. In mere moments, the enemies were thrown about from their previous position from the explosion.

Star-Lord flew in from on high, spinning his guns about and fired a triangular device in the center of a group of mercs.

Once hitting the ground, it snapped open and sent out electric tethers that stunned and froze a dozen of them in a shocking prison.

They were shot down moments later by Groot who then opted to use his gun as a blunt object to whack a Twi'lek across the head. With his other arm, it extended into a giant whip and whacked a number of others before ending up skewing through them. From there, the flora colossus threw the dying individuals to collide with their fellow comrades.

A Falleen yelled in frustration, turning his gun to shoot at these newcomers but he pointed his weapon at a bounty hunter with a circular hat.

Marrok the Anooba didn't take too kindly to his companion being threatened like that so he tackled the Falleen and dug his teeth into the man's neck.

Embo saw this, smirking beneath his respirator as he now didn't have to worry about feeding his pet.

Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus had also joined the battle, the latter using his blaster rifle to take out almost two dozen enemies all at once.

The blind Force user utilized his customized bowcaster coupled with his walking stick that tripped up or bashed away any and all that had come close.

"No lightsaber?" Malbus casually questioned his friend.

Chirrut shook his head. "No need to. Would be a bit unfair with who we have as our ace."

"And who would that be?"

Imwe's lip twitched upwards as there was a whoosh that passed by in the air.

Baze looked up to Vision floating above, seemingly doing nothing but watching the battle take place.

Yet the man was stunned silent at the yellow beam that shot out from the Avengers' forehead that tore into the Black Sun forces, sending them into further disorganized chaos.

Some had tried shooting at him but he became intangible with every bolt just flying right through him.

He landed on the ground and simply punched or kicked, almost lazily so, at any poor soul that tried to run at him or was close by.

"Oh… you were talking about him." Malbus murmured, watching Vision quite literally walk through everyone in his path.

"The Force is with us today." Chirrut cheekily said.

As this went on, Guri only watched on in silence.

These individuals coming in to rescue Journ was certainly something she would never have anticipated.

The Mandalorians… perhaps considering there may be a loyalty to their own.

But these other strangers were completely unforeseen.

She recognized a number of them rather quickly.

The one with the red eyed helmet, the tattooed warrior, the green skinned assassin, the unidentified furry rodent, the tree-like being, the antenna'd girl and the HK assassin droid.

From the joganevine, she recalls their group being called the self-professed "Guardians of the Galaxy".

An arrogant moniker, on face value.

Yet it appears they take their title rather seriously.

For a price of course.

But there were many instances of this ragtag group of maniacs helping others simply because they were able to.

And they had started a new group that had been garnering a rapid rise in reputation called the Ravagers.

Her Prince had been keeping a close eye on them but seeing them up close doesn't do the rumors justice.

The tattooed brute had strength beyond that of what she had seen with him literally rag dolling every enemy he encountered. She had seen him throw a human a good distance away and with his knives cleaved through practically everything in his path.

He may have appeared to be uncoordinated but Guri easily recognized his warrior's prowess.

And while he was a warrior, the green skinned woman was one cut from her cloth.

An assassin.

A lethal one at that.

Her precision and fighting skills were nearly unmatched and effortless with how she weaved about the battlefield.

Then there was the rodent looking creature with his seemingly limitless number of gadgets and weapons on hand that seemed to almost spring out of nowhere.

Their anthropomorphic tree was simply wreaking havoc and their assassin droid took great pleasure in killing every "meatbag".

That girl with the antenna was also no slouch either, moving about the area and simply touching people to just have them fall over.

Pressure points, perhaps? A Force ability?

She heard the sound of a sharp whistle and a red streak zipped through the area, killing a number of her men.

That must be Kraglin Obfonteri, the head of the Ravagers.

And now Wes Journ had joined the fray, running into the midst of battle with his blackened Beskar sword.

Guri simply shook her head, seeing that by now, their mission was a bust.

The Guardians and Mandalorians were too much for her forces to bear. They were simply outclassed in skills, abilities and firepower.

She looked over at a Falleen standing next to her, the two locking eyes as a silent agreement was made.

They knew this was a lost cause.

So they had no choice but to retreat.

It didn't take long for the rest of their forces to either be killed, knocked out or chased off with the Guardians and Protectors standing tall in the end.

"Well now, was this necessary or just a waste of time?" Sugi asked, walking over a number of bodies.

"What're you talking about? Of course it was necessary." Rocket jovially exclaimed. "These new babies of mine worked to perfection.

While a number of them continued bickering or looting the deceased, one Mandalorian decided to take a look at who exactly was being fired upon in the first place.

Coming to the hiding spot, Dax was quickly met with a black blade to the face, only for both him and the other to halt.

"Wes?"

"Dax? That you?"

"What are ya doing here?" Ordo asked in amused surprise until he realized something. "Wait… were you the one these bozos were trying so hard to kill?"

Wes huffed, lowering his blade. "Yeah, basically."

"Wait." Fenn frowned, gazing at the black armored Mandalorian. "So it's been you?"

"Huh?" Was Journ's response.

"You're the rumored crazy bastard that's been waging a one man war on the Black Suns?" Fenn stated more than asked.

"Crazy bastard? Is that it?" Wes chuckled to himself. "Was honestly expecting something more really."

"Well it's good to see ya again, Journ." Ordo cheerfully said.

"Uh-huh." Wes said dismissively, making Dax deflate slightly.

"Oh come on, really?" Dax said, now irritated. "We just saved your ass. Least you can do is show some appreciation."

"I thought I already told you my answer on your Mandalorians, Dax." Wes sharply said. "I'm not joining the Protectors."

"And Death Watch is a better alternative?" Dax shot back.

"Hey!"

The two turned to see Gamora walking up to them both.

"Anything happening here?" The adopted daughter of Thanos eyed the one before Dax. Her hand tightening slightly around the hilt of her sword. "He with the others we fought?"

"No, this ungrateful jackass is a loner." Ordo snarled, shooting an annoyed look at Journ who returned it.

"I'd be more grateful if the ones who saved me weren't the same warmongering Mandalorians that led to our peoples' ruin so many times before."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Fenn now spoke up, anger evident in his tone.

"We're not Death Watch." Boba retorted, a tinge of aggravation directed at the black armored Mandalorian.

"Oi!" Star-Lord nearly shouted. "We came to help, not start a fight, remember?"

The Mandalorians all turned away from one another with scoffs all around.

"Well that was pleasant." Rocket dryly said.

"What's wrong Fenn?" Mantis innocently asked.

"If you wanna know, Mantis, they have history and things didn't go so well." Gamora summarized as it was a rather easy assumption to make.

"Well thanks for your help but I'm out of here." Wes declared, turning to leave.

"If you are a warrior who considers himself honorable, the least you can do is show some appreciation." Drax spoke up, arms crossed in annoyance.

They all saw the black armored man halted in his tracks, slowly turning to look at the man called the Destroyer.

"Are you not a Mandalorian?" Drax rhetorically asked. "I am well aware of the debts your people owe."

Hearing this, Dax smirked under his helmet and looked at Journ expectantly.

"Well?" He goaded. "Are you or are you not a Mandalorian, Wes?"

The man clenched his fists tightly, silently cursing the canons of honor as he begrudgingly looked back at them.

"What do you want?" He bitterly asked.

"A lot really." Ordo greedily said, only to be elbowed by Fenn. "What?"

"Don't prove to him that we're jackasses." Shysa dryly said.

"Alright, can you all just stop for a moment." Gamora spoke again with growing irritation. "We just saved you Journ so the least you can do is answer a few questions for us."

"And who are you supposed to be?"

"I am Groot."

The Guardians all flinched at the talking tree.

"You are what?"

"Whoa!"

"What's with the language?"

"Astonishment: I was unaware that vernacular can be used in that matter."

"Farrik, he's getting mouthy."

Wes looked at the really strange group and then at the Mandalorians.

"Um… anyone care to fill me in."

"We don't understand the tree either." Tobbi plainly said. "All he can say is I. Am and his given name. Apparently the same applies with the rest of his species."

"Then how…"

Fenn crossed his arms. "It's… rather hard to explain. Mantis told me once and… lost me halfway in. Just know these psycho's understand what he's actually saying."

"And what he was trying to say," Star-Lord glared at Groot to keep quiet. "Is that we're the Guardians of the Galaxy."

Wes stared in utter bewilderment at them.

"What?"

"I know." Peter shrugged. "Wasn't our idea.

"But it is catchy and insanely marketable." Kraglin proudly said.

"...Right… so I was saved by crazy people."

A number of the Guardians opted to raise or open their mouths in defiance yet stopped midway through their apparent rebuttals, murmuring that he wasn't wrong.

"Well shit." Wes muttered. "I'm indebted to you guys now."

"What a glowin' review." Rocket sarcastically said. "You're no ray of sunshine yourself."

"Notice the black armor."

"Notice the finger."

"Can we get outta here?" Kraglin abruptly spoke up. "I'm gettin' real peckish."

"Yeah, that beatdown made me thirsty." Sugi said.

"Who the hell are these people?" Wes couldn't help but ask.

"Trust me when I say it's better not to question it." Dax said.

"Who's the guys with the cape?"

"Vision."

"And those two?"

"Chirrut and Ba-what's up Fenn?"

Shysa was standing still, hand on the side of his helmet with his head inclined down.

"Fenn?" Dax said, stepping forward as he immediately felt a more serious aura come over his friend.

"What's wrong?"

Ordo and Journ jolted from Vision standing next to the two with his gaze directed at the nonplussed green armored Mando.

After a few seconds, all they heard was a soft 'I understand, Mandalore'.

Fenn looked up at Dax, speaking in a grim tone.

"Mandalore just received a message. An invitation really. Satine Kryze has called us to come and meet with her on Mandalore."

Ordo did a double take. "...I'm sorry what?"

Fenn looked him dead in the eye, despite their helmets. "You heard me."

"And I'm having a hard time processing. Duchess Satine Kryze, a pacifist who hates her warrior heritage, is inviting us for a meeting." Dax stated.

"Are you not enemies?" Vision inquired.

"Not in the way that most would think." Fenn murmured. "We're ideologically opposed."

"And what has Spar relayed to you?"

"That myself along with Dax, Tobbi and Boba are to rendezvous with him on Mandalore and meet with Kryze." Fenn said in complete seriousness.

-Scene Cut-

Looking through the nearby window, Vision saw a desolate planet with white sands stretching on as the eye could see.

This was Mandalore.

Mandalore was once a lush, hospitable planet teaming with life. But about 700 years ago, the Jedi and Republic bombed the planet's surface which soon resulted into what it is today. Now giant domed cities were all that remained of this world to sustain the local population.

The Avenger was honestly confused as to why he had come along.

When their business on Glavis had been concluded, Chirrut Imwe approached him and spoke of the Protectors journeying to the homeworld of their people.

He was asked about what he knew about them and Vision could only answer from what he had seen, heard of and experienced for himself.

When asked why the question, the blind force user only smiled enigmatically at the vibranium being.

All Chirrut could say was that the Force needed the Avenger to be there and never told him why.

Taking his lessons under the Bendu to consideration, he trusted the blind man on the decision.

So here he was, headed towards the planet that was the birthplace of the Mandalorians.

"I'd say it was beautiful but,"

Vision partially tilted his head to see Fenn standing next to him.

"It's a barren wasteland really." Shysa admitted in a neutral tone. "Bombed into oblivion no thanks to the Republic and their Jedi."

"Unwarranted?"

"Unwarranted or not, it's hundreds of years in the past now." Fenn brushed off. "Some of it was needed, others not so much. But we're Mandalorians. Survivors, warriors, strugglers and all. This didn't set us back. Just stalled us until we came together again."

"And now?"

"Now… let's just hope that whatever Kryze wants doesn't involve her asinine belief of pacifism."

Vision hummed, taking a moment to gaze at Shysa before looking back at Mandalore.

"You don't refer to her as the Duchess."

"Pardon?"

"Satine Kryze. Is she not the Duchess of Mandalore?"

Viz saw the derisive scowl Fenn had on now, lip curling up into a grimace.

"Mandalorians and titles of royalty are like oil and water." Fenn spat out. "It implicates birthright over merit. Mandalore's are those that represent the best of our people, not just as skilled warriors or even politicians. Mandalore the Uniter is the ultimate example of such a thing. He was the son of a rug weaver and yet he is now hailed as one of the greatest of our people. Spar, a clone meant to serve the Republic is our Mandalore and who knows who our future leader will be. The idea of a "duchess" or a "duke", king, queen, pompous bastards calling themselves Mandalorians…"

This time, Fenn genuinely spat on the ground before quickly wiping it away with his foot.

"These "New" Mandalorians are just puppets and imitators of the government that shattered our people." Shysa's expression was fierce and furious. "I don't know why Spar is even bothering to speak with Kryze."

"Desperate times." Was all Vision said and Fenn's anger subsided slightly.

"But…" Shysa sighed. "Guess I'll just have to wait and see. Hmmm… what about you?"

"What?"

"Why'd you come along with us?"

"Ah. You can thank Chirrut for that."

"Chirrut?" Fenn parroted. "What'd he do?"

"He told me that a feeling in the Force nudged him to speak to me about coming to Mandalore." Vision elaborated.

"The Force eh?" Fenn snorted. "Well, I'm no specialist in that matter other than what I've learned in how to handle Force users."

"Yes, of that I'm aware." Vision remarked.

The two felt the ship shift about slightly and they had realized that in their conversation, they failed to notice that their ship had now docked.

"Well then, as the saying goes on my homeworld, it is time to face the music."

"Music?" Fenn grunted. "Keep forgetting to take some copies of Quill's music with me."

Vision only chuckled as the pair met up with Spar, Tobbi, Dax, Boba and several other Mandalorians with the rampway off their ship opened up to the sight of a number of guards waiting for them.

"Mandalore." The lead guard said in a respectful bow. "The Duchess awaits your arrival."

Spar, helmet on, looked back to his group and briefly on Vision before facing the guards.

"Let's not keep the princess waiting then, shall we?"

So then, another chapter is done and the start of the newest arc to season 3, back with the Mandalorians but just one aspect to them.

First things first, Wes Journ.

Who is he, some of you may ask.

Well he's an OC Mandalorian created by comrade BulletStormX over on the spinoff to this story, Tales of Infinite Wars.

So if you want his story, go check it out, chapter 2 and 7 primarily that focuses on his journey.

And for a visual, on my DeviantArt, there is a cover poster of the Guardians of the Galaxy and their allies under the Aldo Raine collection.

He's the black armored Mandalorian wielding a black sword so there's your visual.

Now then, Book of Boba Fett.

Last two episodes were nothing short of amazing with everything we've seen and what's been shown. However, some complaints I'm finding a bit annoying in how they threw in these Mandalorian focused episodes cause the series wasn't doing so well.

It's like… these episodes were filmed before anyone had even seen this series. They were planned from the get-go. God, sometimes Star Wars fans know how to complain and other times they complain way to fucking much.

Like Jesus, be more intelligent about how you critique something sometimes.

But really, that's beside the point.

Lot happened in this chapter I know you guys are gonna love.

Vision meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy being the primary one most likely.

Other than that, all I got to say honestly in this ramble of an AN.

Rate Read and Review and as Always Have Nice Day.