Fishing the Multiverse

The Avengers gathered on the bridge, ready to make their egress. Alongside them stood Clint, his wife, and children. Tony had Pepper and Happy. Thor brought Jane. Banner, Steve, and Natasha were the single dogs and stood alone.

All of them were electric with anticipation; this would be their first real excursion to an alien world. Or was it even in this universe?

Even Thor, who roamed the nine realms, was eager. Perhaps he would find worthy opponents. His father often told him that the reason for his slow progress in strength was a lack of worthy opponents. Thor was always bored; now, things could be different!

They waited with bated breath.

"Okay, the rules," Jonas began.

He handed each person a communicator, shaped like a fish leaping out of water, with a faint crescent moon etched in the background. It was whimsical but functional.

Everyone now had one.

Tony had also designed protective gear for the group. Not full Iron Man suits—just compact, stylish protection. He called it a "light" body armor, but being Tony he went overboard. This was especially true for the kids. 

Optional helmets could deploy if needed, but for now, they looked like any group of well-dressed tourists.

It was unlikely that they would match the local fashion trends, but Jonas told them, "No need to play dress-up. This isn't a period piece."

Patch disagreed, of course. He still clung to his version of the Prime Directive, believing disguise was smarter, but Jonas was the captain. His rules stood.

"We're going to scout first," Jonas said. "Avengers only. If the coast is clear, the rest can come up. Otherwise, stay put."

"I'll go first," Jonas volunteered.

"Captain," Patch interjected. "Perhaps I should."

"No, Patchwork. I need you here. If something goes sideways, I want you at the controls."

Patch nodded, understanding. Jonas could fly the ship, but Patch flew it with surgical precision. A machine flying a machine.

The TARDIS wheezed and groaned, whining as it touched down.

When the door opened, Jonas stepped out onto a skywalk, suspended high above a sprawling futuristic city. Hover-vehicles zoomed past at varying altitudes, while walkways and platforms stretched between shimmering towers. Pedestrians of many different races, strolled along other skybridges nearby.

Everything seemed calm.

"Avengers up first," Jonas called out.

Tony was the first through the door, using his HUD to scan the area. Patch brought up a screen inside the TARDIS, providing real-time visuals for the rest of the crew.

Once no threats were detected, they brought the others up: the kids, Laura, Jane, Pepper, and Happy. They stepped onto the platform and froze in awe.

Towers spiraled into the sky. Flying cars buzzed in elegant streams. The city was a dream of chrome and color, pure science fiction made real.

Then Jonas spotted something, movement near a distant tower.

He squinted, pulled binoculars from his coat, and zoomed in.

A figure exploded from a window covered in lightning and falling from the uppermost floor of the building.

His eyes widened. He shouted to everyone!

"Okay, guided tour is over! Kids, back in the TARDIS! Now!"

Avengers snapped to alert.

"Patch!" Jonas barked. "You see that man falling over there?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Catch him. No splat."

"Understood."

The kids, Laura, Jane, Pepper, and Happy, rushed back inside.

Patch dropped through a hatch and sprinted to the navigation console, bypassing the main TARDIS controls. He began calculating flight trajectories, mapping wind vectors, and fall velocity, every variable instantly computed.

The suitcase took off. This wasn't a dematerialization. This was raw flight. The suitcase TARDIS twisted into a tight spiral as it streaked toward the target.

Jonas was already moving. "Come on!"

Tony called out, "What's going on?"

"Kids!" Jonas shouted, "We need to save the children!"

He pulled up a tablet linked to the TARDIS, mapping system overlaying city schematics.

He pointed to a distant platform.

"Hulk. Cap. Natasha. Hawkeye. Fury. Go. Head there and intercept whoever's on that platform."

"There's no one there," Natasha said.

"There will be. Hulk, guys in white armor bad!"

Banner looked at Jonas, "I'm not the Hulk, he said.

"You are the Hulk, what I say to you he hears, understands, and acts on. Why do you think he loved Betty like you? I don't have time for this, transform yourself, there isn't much time!"

"What are we walking into?" Cap asked, already tightening the strap on his shield.

"I don't know. Might be easy, might be a nightmare. But see that guy falling? He's connected to it."

"Copy that," Cap said, shield ready.

"Listen up," Jonas said, voice tight with urgency. "The most important—and most dangerous—person will be the one surrounded by the white-armored troops. If you see someone in dark robes with an energy sword—that's your target. Be careful. Those blades cut through nearly anything."

He looked straight at Cap. "I don't know how your shield will hold up. Same with Hulk's skin. Don't test it head-on unless you have no choice."

He swept his gaze across them. "He's got telekinesis. Some precognition. Combat skills. A real mix. Think Jedi, but meaner. Don't try to take him down. Don't kill him. Just hold him off for a few minutes, then disengage and fall back. Understood?"

Cap nodded. "Got it."

Natasha and Clint gave silent, determined nods. Their faces said the same thing: Let's get this done.

Off to the side, Fury checked the magazine on a compact rifle, slinging it low.

"You sure about that?" Jonas asked, eyeing the weapon.

Fury shrugged. "Old habits."

"Won't do much. His troops are armored. The man himself—he'll just swat bullets and lasers away. He might even redirect them."

Fury raised a brow, then holstered it. "Noted."

"Widow, give him one of the guns you took from the Workshop," Jonas said, looking at her. She didn't deny it and pulled out a weapon. 

"I was just looking at it, I was going to put it back," she said. 

"When, after you shot someone?" Jonas shook his head, "It doesn't matter now."

He saw that the weapon she gave Fury was the Law Giver from Judge Dread. It had various rounds that could be fired, and a few rounds were AOE. Two more weapons she had, one was a phaser, and another an arc pistol. 

"Give the other one to Cap," Jonas said. Reluctantly, Natasha reached into the bag she carried and retrieved a DL-44 blaster, the Han Solo special. 

"We'll talk about boundaries later," Jonas looked deeply at Natasha with a frown.

"Go," Jonas said. The five-man team of Avengers nodded, finally. 

Jonas turned to Iron Man and Thor. "Tony, I'm uploading a tactical route. Guide Thor. I'll catch up."

Patch, from the TARDIS console, routed a detailed 3D map directly to Tony's HUD.

"Got it," Tony said, already lifting off.

"Follow him," Jonas told Thor.

The god of Thunder spun Mjolnir and launched into the sky after his teammate.

Jonas turned and bolted down the walkway.

Natasha glanced after him for a moment, her face unreadable, then turned her focus back to the mission. The civilians—including Jane, Laura, Pepper, and Happy—watched from the screen in the TARDIS, faces tight with concern.

"Should I go now?" Banner asked. "I could probably make that jump."

Cap held up a hand. "Not yet. If you miss, we'll waste time trying to find you. We go together. Once we spot him, then you smash."

"Ok," Banner said.

"Clint, you're our eyes. Long-range, if possible. If this guy can reflect later beams, maybe some low-tech concussive arrows will work. Widow, you engage the white troopers—not the sword guy."

"Understood," Natasha said.

"I'll test his blade against the shield if it comes to that," Cap gave a nod. "Let's move."

The four of them, honed veterans, dashed across the skyway, weaving through civilians, calculating their route with military precision. Black Widow and Hawkeye had the route memorized from a single glance at the map. Cap's instincts took care of the rest. Banner followed from behind, huffing and puffing.

Meanwhile, Jonas sprinted down a parallel skybridge. In his right hand, his omni-tool glowed, scanning. Scanning.

Come on, come on...

Then he saw it: a row of parked speeders.

He flicked his wrist, pointed the omni-tool at one of the speeders, activated a command sequence, and powered it on.

Without hesitation, he vaulted into the seat. The machine hovered, hissed, he reversed out of the parking area, and then the speeder screamed forward as he throttled after Iron Man and Thor.

Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye. Hulk and Fury waited for their guest. Banner hadn't transformed; he was wringing his hands at the side. He knew he was going to transform. The scary part was not whether or not he could complete his task; it was what he would do after that. Where would he wind up? He had no idea how far it was to the ground. Could the Hulk survive a fall from this high up? Then there was his real concern: who would he hurt after dealing with the bad guys?

He had more confidence after the Battle of New York. The Hulk didn't rampage; he was irritable, and Banner eventually transformed back. Would that happen again? 

He knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. Based on Jonas's urgency and conviction, they knew they had to hold the line for a little while to give the others more time.

Natasha found a shadow to hide in. Nick Fury waited patiently while Hawkeye found a perch to keep his eyes on everything. They all kept up with one another through their communicators.

Right now, Patch was putting them in a closed circuit, only he and they would be talking to each other. Another closed circuit was between Thor, Iron Man, and Jonas. Patch also monitored that channel.

Jonas started way behind Thor and Iron Man, but his speeder eventually caught up. He sped over to Thor, who landed in his speeder in the second seat. Iron Man refused to enter and continued to zoom toward the destination.

It didn't take long for them to approach their destination. There was a huge building, it looked part industrial complex, part ziggurat, and at the very top, Persian-like minaret towers stretched upward.

The four out of the five spires were arranged like the corners of a square, while the fifth spire stood at the center. The central one is the largest and tallest of the five towers.

That was where the Jedi Hell Council met.

It was in one of the other areas that they would locate the object of their rescue mission: the Jedi younglings. Any other Jedi they could find, they would gather. This was what Jonas had explained to them.

Neither Thor nor Iron Man understood what Jedi were, but they did understand that younglings meant children, and that meant this was a rescue mission for children. Iron Man, like many from Western civilizations, had an extremely soft spot for children. The thought of children being in danger, of their lives being at risk, infuriated him.

Thor, too, though as an Asgardian who lived by the motto of a glorious death, saw the deaths of children as less uncommon than Westerners did. But he still valued the lives of the young, seeing in them great potential.

They landed the speeder outside the primary entrance. The three of them disembarked and ran inside. They were stopped at the door by a pair of Jedi guards.

Now, they were not actual Jedi. They were Force-sensitives who were not strong enough in the Force to become Jedi but were strong enough to serve in the Jedi Temple as guards.

In recent years, their role has become more ceremonial. When these three strangers arrived, they asked about the nature of their business.

Jonas stepped forward, "There is an imminent attack on the Jedi Temple, and any Jedi, including the young, are in danger."

The guards looked at one another. "That's absurd. Who would attack the Jedi Temple?"

"The Sith, and one is on its way. We don't have time for this! Put me in contact with a master. We need to secure the younglings and anyone else in the vicinity. You as well, all of you, are in danger, please!"

Jonas' desperation touched one of the guards. "Okay, give me a moment." 

Back at the TARDIS, Patch wasn't just handling communications; he had also been tracking his target. With R2's aid, he created a net to catch the falling man. At the opening of the TARDIS, the luggage entrance flipped open, and the man, smoke billowing from him, crashed into the net, sending R2 careening off.

Thankfully, the net had just enough give to keep the man from being crushed, but not so much that he came crashing down and became a mess on the floor of the Tardis. Patch brought the man down and instructed R2 to take him, still in the net, to the medical bay and have the Doctor take care of him.

The Doctor was a combination of Starfleet and Star Wars technology. Using a medical droid as its base, a holographic overlay was added: a balding man in his late forties, arrogant yet dedicated, received his new patient.

The man was placed on a table. The Doctor began examining him, removing the brown robes and noticing a missing hand. R2 didn't stick around. He flew back off to the bridge.

Back on the main walkway with Fury's team, they saw a man walking out of the main building, wearing black robes. His hood was up. Behind him marched men in white armor: stormtroopers.

They moved in formation as he stepped forward.

Cap, checking the strap on his shield, took a deep breath.

"All right. Let's take action," he said. He looked at Banner. "All right, Banner. Why don't you scatter them for us?"

Banner looked at Cap, nodded, and said, "Okay. I hope this turns out okay."

Banner transformed quickly into the Hulk. The Hulk growled in his awokenness and leapt into the air.

The man in the lead, Anakin Skywalker, now renamed Darth Vader, sensed a powerful rage. It was a powerful disturbance in the Force. 

At first, he couldn't quite tell what it was, but then he realized: some sort of monstrous green creature was falling from the sky. It came crashing down amid his soldiers.

Vader dashed forward to get out of the creature's path. He rolled, came up, his hood falling from his head. He pulled out his lightsaber and activated it, waiting.

But then, he sensed something else.

He turned and felt projectiles coming toward him. The solid ones were melted by his saber. The energy beams were deflected.

Captain America used his shield to absorb or reflect the energy blasts, protecting Black Widow. An arrow dropped from above. Vader sliced it in half, but just as he did, he sensed something.

He raised his hand.

Force push!

Not far away, the arrow exploded—knocking Vader off his feet and off to the side.

Vader got up, rage boiling inside him.

Who are these insects? he thought.

Not even the Hulk could intimidate him. He was angry. He had a task to perform for his new master. He would not be deterred.