Forces of Infinity

“When Dooku got captured by Hondo Onaka it wasn’t just a hilarious moment in Galactic history. It was the first meeting between the Avengers, Jedi, and Guardians of the Galaxy. And it wouldn’t be the last. ‘Cause those assholes were relentless. They would do everything they could to stop the war. Because the path to peace is always a good one, no matter how many turns it takes.”

“That was good, Han. Meanwhile, Darth Sidious would begin altering the Grand Plan to accommodate for the Avengers’ heroics.”

-An excerpt from The Fight For Justice (featuring Han Solo) by Luke Skywalker

“What do you guys make of this?” Quill asked his team.

The Guardians stood around a holotable projecting a map of the Galaxy.

“It’s like the Kree-Nova War all over again,” Nebula noted.

“That bad, huh?” Rocket asked.

“So many innocent people are getting caught in the fight,” Gamora added with a frown.

“I am Groot?”

“What else are we gonna do? We’re gonna help them,” Quill said.

“Where do we start, then?” Rocket grinned.

“Let’s get what connections and other info we can from Hondo. Then we’ll figure that out,” Kraglin suggested.

“Sure, let’s-wait, where are Mantis and Drax?” Peter asked.

They walked out of the room into the main hall where they saw the pirates gathered at one table. They got closer and saw Drax arm wrestling a weequay, with Mantis cheering him on.

“Come on, mate! You can do it!”

Drax slammed their arms down so hard that the pirate fell out of his seat. The Destroyer laughed gleefully. Mantis whooped in joy.

“Well, your friends are certainly making their presence known,” Hondo chuckled. “Drink?” he offered to Quill.

“Sure,” he shrugged and took the gift.

“What’s on your schedule today?” Nebula asked.

“We’re scouting our neighboring planet for any crashed goods. It happens there a lot more than you’d think. You can come if you’d like.”

Quill and Gamora shared a look before nodding.

“Sounds good.”

“Just be sure to give us your contacts,” Gamora clarified.

“Oh, of course. You're in a new galaxy afterall. Wouldn’t want to do business without knowing who’s who and how to reach them,” the pirate leader grinned.

The large group got onto the main ship, and Quill couldn’t help the wave of deja vu that came over him.

Huh, I guess the people on Terra were right.

The Guardians took to resting in rooms that Hondo offered while they made the trip. Gamora was sitting on a bed reading when Quill walked in.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Can I sit with you?”

She nodded.

He sat down next to her.

“Whatcha reading?”

“I’m reading about what started this war.”

“Already? I’m still trying to learn this alphabet.”

“Of course you are,” she smiled fondly.

“What have you learned?”

“This Republic is corrupt. While not as bad as the Kree, they should be treating their planets better.”

“Of course,” he sighed. “What about these Separatists?”

Gamora frowned deeply.

“They were right to leave. But the war crimes committed by their soldiers like General Grievous…it reminds me of what Thanos did.”

Quill wrapped an arm around her in comfort. The two were silent for a while.

“I think we should stay in this galaxy. Even if we find a way back,” he suddenly said.

She raised a brow.

“Why?”

“I can’t help but feel like our attempt to kill Thanos would have gone badly, no matter how good that plan was. And maybe it’s better this way. Because now you and Nebula will never have to worry about him again,” her lover explained.

Gamora’s face softened and she silently looked down at her feet. Peter had a point. Just because the plan was good doesn’t mean it would have worked. There were still a lot of ways it would have gone wrong. And if that happened then Thanos would have gotten her…

…and found it.

But now he never would. Because she was finally out of his reach.

So Gamora smiled, feeling a weight she forgot she’d been carrying lift off her shoulders, and kissed the man she loved sweetly.

When they finally reached Vanqor, there were two ships that had crashed onto the surface. One was a Separatist shuttle and the other was a solar sailer. The pilots were nowhere to be found so the group simply started looting the vessels.

“Alright, let’s see what’s in this crate,” Rocket announced. He pulled out a laser cutter and removed the lock. He pushed off the lid to reveal piles upon piles of credits. “Jackpot, baby!”

The pirates cheered.

“Load them onto the ship,” Hondo ordered.

“On it, Boss!”

The pirate leader examined a mask.

“What is this? Some kind of Jedi thing?”

He looked through it and saw on the other side was an old man in fancy brown clothing.

“Well, well. What do we have here?”

Two pirates who had been fighting landed near the pair. Hondo’s pet monkey-lizard, Pikk, laughed.

“Who are you?” the old man asked.

“More importantly, my friend, who are you?”

The group of Guardians and pirates gathered around the two. Gamora’s eyes widened upon seeing the new arrival. She pulled Nebula and Quill close to her.

“That’s Count Dooku. The leader of the Separatists,” she whispered.

“What’s he doing out here?” Quill wondered.

“Who knows? But that’s not important. What is important is that if the Republic gets him, it will end the war.”

“Are you sure?” Nebula questioned.

“Those Avengers this Holonet is always talking about says that they already captured the leader of their military. Without leadership they will surrender,” Gamora stressed.

“So we take him down, hand him over to the Republic, end the war, and make some money along the way. Sounds good. I’m in,” Peter agreed.

The three began to listen to the Count and Hondo’s conversation.

“If you need transport, the nearest planet is Florrum. It’s six parsecs away,” the pirate offered.

“Is it civilized?”

“That depends on your definition of civilized.” He started walking towards the ship. “But you would certainly be more comfortable there than here. Vanqor is no place to be after dark.”

Dooku followed him.

“Perhaps I shall take you up on your offer.”

“Very good. Now all that’s left to do is, uh, settle my fee.”

“Fee?”

“What? You expected we’d be doing it for free?” Rocket joined the conversation. “It’s a hard life in the Galaxy.”

Hondo pointed to the racoon with a smile.

“Exactly! And it shouldn't be a problem for someone so obviously wealthy as yourself.”

Dooku moved his cloak to cover his lightsaber.

“I’d be happy to compensate you for your services.”

“That’s it boys! We’re heading home.”

They arrived back at Hondo’s fortress and walked onto the landing pad (dirt, really) surrounded by armed pirates training their blasters on Dooku.

“Welcome to Florrum,” Hondo announced.

Realizing that he’d been played, the Sith reached for his lightsaber…

Only to find it gone. Skywalker’s as well.

“Lose your flashy sword? Are these what you were looking for, Jedi!” Hondo taunted, holding both weapons.

“I am more powerful than any Jedi. Know that you are dealing with a Sith Lord,” Dooku challenged.

He raised his arms, ready to unleash a torrent of Sith Lightning.

“You’re still outnumbered.” The pirate confidently circled him. “The leader of the clanker army and a Sith Lord, no less. Someone is sure to pay a pretty price for you.”

“Provide me with the proper means of communication. I will arrange for any ransom to be paid.”

“You will arrange for your armies to crush us as well. You don’t survive in the Outer Rim by being stupid. If the Separatists are willing to pay to get you back, chances are the Republic will offer even more.”

Hondo began to walk away.

“You will pay for this,” Dooku threatened.

“How about we over you?” Drax suggested, giving everyone confused looks.

“What?” Hondo questioned.

“Drax, what are you doing?” Quill asked his friend.

“If he’s as powerful as he says he is, then he should get a chance to prove it,” he explained. “You against us,” he gestured to the Guardians. “We win, we give you to the Republic. You win, we let you go.”

“Seems fair,” Nebula agreed.

“…Guys, we got him. We don’t need to do anything more,” Quill tried to reason.

“…It may be good to know what we’re dealing with in this galaxy,” Gamora pointed out.

“Yes! Let’s fight!” Mantis cheered.

“I’ve got my blaster ready,” Rocket added.

“I am Groot!”

Dooku blinked at the strange individuals before him.

Quill sighed.

“I’m the only one against this, aren’t I?”

“Pretty much,” Kraglin said.

“Alright, fine. Hondo! Give him back his saber.”

“And let you all die fighting him?! Well, okay.” He tossed the Sith his lightsaber. “Let’s have some fun! If they die, at least we’ll get a good show!”

The pirates cheered.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Hondo,” Quill deadpanned.

“You're welcome! And I will miss you, my friends!”

Gamora pulled out her sword, Godslayer. Rocket cocked his rifle. Nebula’s arm morphed into a blaster. Drax drew his knives. Kraglin let out a low whistle and his arrow hovered beside him. Mantis and Groot got in fighting stances. Quill activated his mask and readied his blasters.

Dooku activated his red blade and took his makashi stance.

The adversaries stared each other down for a long series of moments.

Star Lord Fired his blasters at the Sith, charging forward as he did.

Dooku swung his blade and blocked every blast that came his way. Then he moved to the side as Gamora swiped her sword at him, narrowly dodging it.

He moved to cut the blade in two but was surprised to see that the weapon withstood it.

The green woman smirked as she clashed her sword with his, putting them both in a deadlock.

A whistle was heard as the flying arrow flew right for the Count’s shoulder. He raised his hand and it halted on the spot. Then he flung it and Kraglin to the side. The Guardian crashed into a pile of crates, falling unconscious.

Dooku breaks the deadlock, pushing Gamora back. He tries to stab her, but she jumps away.

Quill hovers above and shoots at the Sith Lord. He blocks the blasts and responds by using the Force to pull Peter towards Gamora. The two crash into each other before they can do anything.

Rocket hops on the Count’s back and places an explosive on his back.

“Happy trails, asshole!”

Dooku hastily removes his cloak and flings it at an incoming Drax, Mantis, and Nebula. The bomb goes off, sending the three of them back.

He raises his arm but struggles and widens his eyes to see branches tugging on it. Baby Groot roars as he tries to pull the Separatist to the ground.

The other Guardians rise up and charge at the Sith.

Dooku cut off the branches, freeing his arm, and fires a large blast of Sith Lightning upon his enemies. They all groan in pain as they collapse.

All except for Drax.

By sheer will, the Destroyer took small steps through the lighting one after the other.

Dooku couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Drax was getting closer by the second. He was only a few steps away, now.

The Guardian raised his knife high in the air, aiming for the Sith’s hand.

The Count sent a Force Push with his saber hand and sent Drax flying back to his downed teammates.

Dooku marched towards his adversaries and raised his saber. He was about to bring it down on Quill when Mantis took hold of his ankle

It only took one word and it was all over.

“Sleep.”

“So, you guys wanna explain why we just had to rescue you from a cave and a hairless gorilla?” Rhodey questioned Anakin and Obi Wan.

“You were in very big trouble,” Ahsoka added.

“Trouble? We were searching for Count Dooku,” Kenobi denied.

Anakin coughed.

“Yeah, we had the situation well under control,” the Knight added with a smile.

“Oh, I see. So which part of the situation did you have under control?” she asked smugly.

“All of it,” Skywalker answered.

“You mean the blocked entrance, the poison gas, the hairless gorilla?” Rhodey listed.

The clones with them chuckled.

Anakin rolled his eyes and started walking towards the ship.

“Enough. There’s still Dooku to deal with.”

“You let him get away?” Ahsoka exclaimed.

Her Master halted.

“No, not get away exactly. Just…”

The Avenger and Padawan deadpanned, with Kenobi smiling in amusement.

“Dude…you caught him last time,” Rhodey said flatly.

“Chime in, anytime,” he begged Obi Wan.

“Oh, no. I’m enjoying this far too much.”

“Sirs,” a clone called out, gaining their attention. “Admiral Yularen requests your presence on the bridge.

“Tell him we’ll be right there,” Anakin replied, eager to get out of this situation.

“You know we’re never gonna let you live this down, right?” Rhodey asked.

Skywalker just sighed.

“…His only stipulation is that you arrive unarmed,” Windu’s hologram finished explaining.

“Unarmed?!” Anakin exclaimed incredulously.

“We know very little about these pirates. We may very well be walking blind into what very well could be a hostile situation,” Kenobi pointed out.

“We can’t let Dooku slip through our fingers again. Not when we are this close to ending the war. Report back as soon as you arrive.”

The hologram flickered away as the transmission ended.

“I don’t like this,” Rhodey said. “I’ve dealt with hostage situations before, and let me tell you. There are a lot of ways this could go wrong.”

“Do we really have a choice?” Ahsoka questioned.

“Not really, no,” Obi Wan admitted.

“I’ll get the Twilight ready,”Anakin sighed.

“I’ll go as well,” War Machine volunteered. “Someone needs to keep you two out of trouble.”

Palpatine was utterly fuming. Dooku had now been captured twice! And Grievous was already in Republic custody with no signs of escape in sight. If his apprentice was brought to Coruscant, then the War would be over. And the last thousand years put into the Grand Plan would be wasted.

So the moment his shuttle arrived at his hideout in the Works, he immediately began unleashing Sith Lightning upon any non-essential item he could find.

Once the anger wore off, Sidious knew what he had to do now. He entered the ritual chamber in the back, and stood over the cauldron.

“11-4D,” the Dark Lord of the Sith called out.

“Yes, Master Palpatine?” the old medical and archive droid inquired.

“Bring me a blood sample from the collection Dr. Hemlock brought us.”

“Yes, sir. But I must inform you that the amount we have stored is very limited. Are you certain that you wish to use it?”

“I am.”

The droid left and soon returned with a vial of blood. The Sith took it and stared at the red liquid with a hunger in his eyes.

“Leave.”

“As you wish, Master Palpatine.”

Once the droid was gone Sidous began to chuckle.

“The blood of Captain Rogers.”

He levitated the vial in the air. Then he sent lightning into the cauldron, filling it with blue fire.

“Soon I shall use it to see your future.”

Palpatine poured the blood of Captain America into the fire. When it was empty he threw the vial in as well. There was a loud crack and a burst of more flames.

The Sith then took his right index finger, and used it to cut his left palm, drawing blood.

“And my own.”

His left hand hovered over the cauldron, and drops of blood began to fall into the blue fire.

The Dark Lord of the Sith started chanting in ancient Sith and waved his hands over the flames, fingers dancing with them. Then he let out another torrent of lightning, and the flames reduced significantly.

Out of the blue fire came a greenish-yellow leech like creature. It screeched monstrously as it saw Sidoius.

Then he grabbed the little monster and plucked it into his mouth. He chewed it up and swallowed, blood covering his teeth and chin. 

Palpatine gasped as the images and voices of his Force Vision began.

He saw terrifying ships under construction on a world surrounded by a metal ring. And several more traveling across the Galaxy.

“I have never seen a more horrendous vessel in my life.”

He saw children, no older than infants, crying on a molten world.

“I can offer you more than Sidious ever could.”

The captured Separatist leads rode away on a speeder across the Coruscant cityscape.

Dooku stood over a wounded Captain America on a desert planet.

“Surrender, Rogers.”

“This ends here and now!”

He couldn’t tell them apart, but he knew he saw more Avengers coming to their aid, winning a victory from the jaws of defeat.

“I’m ready to accept your deal.”

A droid unlike any ever seen floated over Coruscant. There was nothing but chaos everywhere.

“I can cut the strings that bind you.”

Grievous battles Kenobi, with Rogers joining in.

“A wise king never seeks out war. But must always be ready for it.”

There is a battle around a massive space station over a dead world.

“I’m dead in this world?”

“Joining the Republic is the best idea for our planet.”

“Humans have lost their claim on this galaxy.”

Avengers, clones, and Jedi alike look at each other with distrust.

“We need to be kept in check.”

“I’m not letting an innocent person suffer the consequences for actions they didn’t commit.”

“Together, all three of our groups shall bring a new order to the Galaxy.”

“Good soldiers follow orders.”

A ruined planet exploded into oblivion.

“What have I done?”

“Too late for what?! The Republic to fall?! It already has, you just can’t see it!”

Palpatine sees himself unleashing more Sith Lightning than he ever has in his entire life.

“…the first ever Galactic Empire!”

All the life and color is drained from a world right before the eyes of the Jedi.

“Unlimited power!”

“We can’t beat him, Steve! Don’t you get it?! It’s over! We lost!…He won…he won.”

“Join me, Anakin.”

Sidous grinned as the vision ended.

“Nothing can stop the Revenge of the Sith.”

As this went on, countless Force Users across the Galaxy were left utterly disturbed. Children who slept began to have horrifying nightmares. The Jedi on the battlefield and the Temple froze. Yoda himself had all the color drain from his face. On Florrum, Dooku quirked a brow, wondering just what his master was up to. Wanda Maximoff fell to her knees, gasping for breath.

Yet somehow, everyone knew the same thing.

The worst was yet to come.

Anakin and Obi Wan froze in their seats on the Twilight

“You guys alright,” Rhodey asked his friends.

“We’ll be fine, I think,” Kenobi waved off. But he still looked shaken up by the unknown experience.

“There’s the landing zone,” Anakin announced.

After landing and being checked for weapons, the three of them entered the main hall and were greeted by the sight of several drunken Weequay pirates. The one at the end of the central table was surrounded by various other species they couldn’t recognize. Aside from the two humans and a…

“Is that a raccoon?” Rhodey asked.

“So then we woke up and realized that his eye was gone and…wait, who called me that?!”

The raccoon then pulled out a rifle and pointed it in the new arrivals’ direction.

The individuals surrounding him took the angry creature into their arms and pulled him away.

“Rocket, no! You’re drunk!” the younger human chided. He then turned to the Jedi and Avengers. “Sorry. He doesn’t like being called that.”

James just nodded, not knowing what else to say.

“Gentlemen. Can I offer you something to drink?” Hondo greeted.

“No, thank you,” Kenobi declined.

Hondo shoved a drink to them anyway, some of the green liquid spilling out. Anakin and Rhodey gave disgusted looks.

“Congratulations on your capture of Count Dooku. Very impressive,” Obi Wan praised.

“Yes, it was. You should have seen it. It was a spectacular show, and he put up quite a fight. Blasters, canons, lightning, that glowy thing.” Then he swung his arm and made whooshing noises. “But he was no match for my friends here.”

“You’re the ones who took him down?” Anakin crossed his arms at the group.

“We fought him, but Mantis was actually the one to knock him out,” the green woman gestured to the girl with antennae.

“Hi!” she waved happily.

Rhodey raised an eyebrow.

“And how did you do that?”

She placed her hand on a pirate’s shoulder. Then her antennae glowed.

“Sleep,” she commanded.

The pirate instantly closed his eyes and fell to the ground, causing the gray man with red markings to laugh loudly.

“That’s some trick,” Anakin chuckled. Then his eyes narrowed when he saw that the lizard-monkey was holding a very familiar lightsaber in its tail. His lightsaber.

“All be taking that back,” the Jedi said before Force Pulling his weapon to his hand.

The pirates pulled their blasters on him in an instant. The small creature climbed across the blasters and took the saber back.

“Easy now. We’re not looking for a fight. We just want to make sure you have that old guy,” Rhodes tried to diffuse the situation.

“I will arrange a meeting,” Ohnaka conceded.

“Here, I’ll take you,” the young man said as he got up and walked toward the cells. The three followed him through the hallway.

“What’s your name?” Rhodey asked.

“Quill,” he answered. “What about you?”

“Rhodey. You with these guys?”

“Just until we can get our footing in this galaxy. We’re not exactly from here.”

Rhodey paused.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s hard to explain. Long story short, we got sucked in a wormhole and ended up in a completely different galaxy,” waved off, not wanting to get into it.

The Jedi and Avenger’s eyes widened.

“You too?”

Quill halted and turned to face them head on.

“You too?”

“My friends and I got sent through what was basically a wormhole to this galaxy,” he explained.

“…Was it blue?”

“Yes.”

“Holly shit. Was it the same one? Where’d it start from?!” he hastily asked.

“Our home planet. Earth. Do you know it?”

“I don’t know, but it rings a bell. What can you tell me about it?”

“Uh, third planet from the Sun, lots of countries like America…”

Quill’s jaw dropped.

“No way! I’m from there! Dude, feed me a corndog and call me Springsteen, cause I was born in the USA!”

Obi Wan coughed before War Machine could respond.

“If we could please have this discussion later, we really need to see Dooku.”

Quill nodded and couldn’t help the smile that spread on his face.

After a few more minutes they arrived at a door guarded by two pirates. They stepped aside to allow the three guests in.

And there Dooku was.

“Look how the mighty Sith Lord has fallen,” Kenobi taunted.

“This place suits you, Count,” Skywalker teased.

“The one you had on Coruscant has been waiting for him though,” Rhodey continued. “Can’t say no to that.”

“It wasn’t so long ago that you were in similar surroundings on my ship,” he told Skywalker. He turned to Rhodey. “And my are you so smug without your suit,” he smirked.

“Oh yeah, I gotta give you this.”

Rhodes placed a holodisc on the ground and turned it on. A projection of a file emerged.

“What is this?,” the Sith question, baffled.

“It’s my bill for the damage you did to my suit.”

The Count’s eyes examined the bill and he recoiled in absurdity.

“I’m not paying you 2.16 billion credits!” he exclaimed, causing the Jedi to laugh. “This situation will rectify itself soon.”

“Soon you’ll be brought to the trial before the Senate that you missed and the War will be over.”

“And that’s if you’re lucky,” Ankin said in his face.

“We already have Ventress, Gunray, and Grievous in custody,” Rhodey added. “Looks like you and your master are through.” He crossed his arms. “So the best thing you can do is tell us who he is.”

Dooku chuckled.

“Oh, you naive young fools. You must be overly optimistic if you think these Weequays plan to let you leave the planet with me. Or that the Sith will not recover from your string of victories.”

Skywalker laughed.

“They’re planet-hoping thieves looking for a quick score. They have no interest picking a fight with the Jedi and Avengers.”

“They are devious and deceitful and, most importantly, stupid.”

“Seems like you’d fit right in,” Rhodey taunted.

They began to leave the cell.

“You underestimate them at your own peril.”

After contacting the Republic to confirm they had Dooku, the Jedi and Avenger returned to the main hall to join the pirates for their Weequay banquet.

“So, the Cold War is over?” Quill asked the Colonel.

“Yeah. How long have you been gone?”

“Since 1988. What about you and your team?”

“We’ve been here for six months. But we’re working on a way to get back.”

“Huh. Cool,” Peter responded before taking a sip of his drink.

“You don’t sound very enthusiastic at the prospect of returning to your home planet,” Kenobi noticed.

“Listen, Hans Gruber. If I wanted to go back to Earth, I would have.”

“Why haven’t you?” Anakin asked.

“My mother died,” he answered plainly. “I got closer over it last year, so I’m good. That doesn’t mean I don’t wanna go there though.”

The others were silent. Anakin frowned deeply at hearing this. Then he felt a hand on his arm and turned to see it was Mantis (they’d learned the others’ names). Her antennae glowed and she gasped painfully.

“You feel sadness,” she said, gaining the others’ attention.

“What’s happening?” Skywalker questioned.

“She can sense your emotions with a touch,” Gamora explained.

“You feel loss. And guilt. And anger!” she exclaimed, her face contorting to each emotion. “And you feel empathy with Peter.”

Anakin had know idea what to say. Especially with his master hearing all of this. He turned to Obi Wan and was surprised to not see judgment…but…guilt?

Quill put a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s not fair that we had to go through that.”

“…No. It’s not.”

The moment was ruined by Hondo standing between the two Jedi and wrapping his arms around them and Rhodey.

“Now can I persuade you to join us for a drink? It’s a tradition, in the name of friendship.”

“All right, but nothing too stong. He’s flying,” Obi Wan conceded.

Ohnaka grinned.

“Bring our guests some…refreshments,” he called out to one of the servers.

Drinks for the three were brought to them and they looked at the beverages with suspicion.

Hondo raised up his own.

“To our new friends of the Jedi and Avengers! And to the ones who took down the /sith Lord to begin with!”

The group from beyond the Galaxy groaned in frustration.

“Hondo, please…” Quill pleaded.

“The Guardians…” he paused, hysterically laughing. “Of the Galaxy!”

Every pirate in the room laughed at the Guardians.

“Wait, what?” Anakin chuckled.

“It’s a…long story,” Rocket said.

Just as everyone raised their drinks, the Jedi used the Force to switch their and Rhodey’s drinks with other pirates. Those pirates took one sip and instantly collapsed.

Seeing no further danger, the three clinked their beverages with the Guardians.

Sidious stood in the dark ritual chamber of his hideout. Before him were two Sith holocrons. The red glow of the small pyramids illuminated the room.

There was one last thing he had to do.

Using the Force, Palpatine lifted the holocrons into the air and opened them. Projections of a Sith Lord emerged from each pyramid. One was a large bald man and the other was a young blonde woman.

“It has been many years since you have spoken to us, Darth Sidious,” the bald man spoke.

“What knowledge of Sith Sorcery do you seek this time,” the blonde woman asked.

The current Dark Lord of the Sith bowed in respect towards his predecessors.

“Greetings, Darth Bane. Founder of the Rule of Two. And to you, Darth Zannah. Slayer of Darth Bane. We have much to discuss.”