The Avengers' new apartment sat three blocks from the Jedi Temple—close enough to reach in minutes, far enough to feel like their own space. It was larger than their previous quarters, with actual separate rooms instead of shared bunks, and a common area big enough to hold tactical briefings without everyone sitting on each other's laps.
Peter had already claimed one corner for his web-hammocks—three of them strung between support beams in an elaborate network that made Sam mutter about fire hazards and structural integrity. The kid was currently sleeping in the middle one, mask pushed up to his forehead, snoring softly.
The rest of the team sat around a circular table in the center of the common room. Holographic displays floated above the surface—data files, schematics, command protocols, all pulled from Kamino's systems by FRIDAY and Karen working in concert.
Seven Avengers. Seven sets of eyes reading the same horrifying information.
"So these inhibitor chips," Sam said, breaking the silence that had settled over them like a shroud. "Every clone has one?"
"Not every clone," T'Challa corrected. He pulled up a specific file—personnel records for the earliest clone production batches. "The first generation of ARC troopers—what the Kaminoans call 'Null-class' and 'Alpha-class'—were produced without chips."
Natasha was already cross-referencing those records with chip development timelines. "Interesting. According to this, the inhibitor chip program began after the first ARCs entered service." She highlighted a date. "Six months after deployment. Someone decided the originals were... problematic."
"How many clones are we talking about?" Hope asked. "Without chips?"
Matt's fingers moved across his datapad—text-to-speech software reading the reports in his earpiece while tactile feedback let him navigate the documents. "One hundred and six confirmed Alpha-class ARCs. Null-class numbers are redacted."
"That's it?" Rhodey's voice was tight. "Out of millions of clones, only about a hundred are free?"
Scott leaned back in his chair, ran both hands through his hair. "And the rest have these things in their heads. Command protocols hardwired into their brains."
"According to these files," Hope said, reading from her own datapad, "the chips were initially sold to the Jedi as a behavioral modification tool. To suppress the 'aggressive tendencies' inherited from Jango Fett." She looked up. "But that doesn't track with what we've seen. Rex, Cody, the others—they're not mindless drones. They question orders. They improvise. They care about their brothers."
"The chips are dormant," T'Challa said. "Until activated by specific protocols. Order 66 being the most concerning, but there are others. Order 65, for instance, calls for the removal of the Supreme Chancellor if deemed unfit. Order 37 covers mass civilian arrest. The list goes on."
Sam frowned. "Wait. Go back. You're saying the chips don't actually suppress aggression?"
"They suppress free will," Natasha said flatly. "When activated. The behavioral modification story is a cover. These aren't safety features—they're remote kill switches aimed at the Jedi."
Matt tilted his head—his version of looking thoughtful. "There's another layer here. Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas originally commissioned this army. According to Republic records, he did it because he foresaw a coming war. Wanted the Republic to have a defense force loyal to the Jedi Order specifically."
"But the clones aren't loyal to the Jedi," Scott pointed out. "They serve the Republic. The Senate. The Chancellor."
"Exactly," Hope said. "Something changed. Sifo-Dyas died ten years ago, shortly after placing the order. And in those ten years..." She pulled up a galactic timeline. "The Naboo Crisis. The formation of the Separatist movement. The Military Creation Act. The start of the Clone Wars."
"The Trade Federation blockaded Naboo," Natasha added. "That was the catalyst. One planet's struggle became a galaxy-wide conflict."
Matt's expression darkened. "The same Trade Federation that's now part of the Separatist alliance. Which is led by Count Dooku. Who was a Jedi before he left the Order."
The connections hung in the air like strands of a web, visible but not yet fully formed.
"We're seeing a pattern," T'Challa said carefully. "Someone—or multiple someones—has been orchestrating events. Naboo. The clone army. The inhibitor chips. The contingency orders."
"But to what end?" Sam asked. "Start a war? We already have one."
"Not just start it," Rhodey said, his jaw tight. "Control it. Both sides. The Republic has an army of pre-programmed soldiers with kill orders aimed at their Jedi generals. The Separatists are led by a former Jedi who knows exactly how the Order thinks and fights. Someone's playing both sides against each other."
Scott whistled low. "That's... that's a hell of a conspiracy theory."
"Is it a theory if we have documentation?" Hope gestured at the holographic displays. "We have the chips. We have the contingency orders. We have the timeline showing Sifo-Dyas's death right after he commissioned an army, and that army ending up under Senate control instead of Jedi control."
"We're missing the connection point," Natasha said. "The person—or people—coordinating all of this. Someone with access to the Jedi Order, the Kaminoans, the Senate, and the Separatist movement."
Matt leaned forward. "Padmé mentioned something during our last conversation. She said there's been a significant increase in executive power during the war. The Supreme Chancellor has been granted emergency authorities that bypass normal Senate oversight."
"Chancellor Palpatine," T'Challa said. "Former Senator from Naboo. Elected during the crisis there. Has been in office throughout the war's escalation."
Sam held up a hand. "Okay, let's pump the brakes. Are we seriously suggesting the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic is orchestrating a galaxy-wide conspiracy to... what? Kill all the Jedi? Destroy the Republic from within?"
"I'm not suggesting anything," T'Challa said. "I'm observing facts. The Chancellor has accumulated unprecedented power. The clone army has built-in protocols to execute Jedi commanders. Someone is coordinating both sides of this war." He paused. "I don't believe in coincidences on this scale."
The silence that followed was heavy with implication.
"We need more information," Natasha said finally. "We're seeing pieces of something, but we don't have the full picture. Could be Palpatine. Could be someone else. Could be multiple actors working toward different goals."
"But we know enough to act," Rhodey said. "We know about the chips. We know about Order 66. We start with what we can control—getting those chips out of clone heads."
"Steve said the same thing," Sam confirmed. "He's planning to brief the Jedi Council about the contingency orders. Once they know, we can start working on removal procedures."
"That's going to be complicated," Scott said. "These things are embedded in brain tissue. Removing them requires neurosurgery, and we're talking about millions of clones across hundreds of worlds."
"Then we start small," Hope said. "With the clones we've fought beside. Rex. Cody. The others who trust us. We prove it can be done safely, then expand from there."
"FRIDAY and I can work on the medical protocols," Rhodey said. "With KAREN they can help coordinate. We'll need Kaminoan medical records, surgical procedures, post-operative care..."
"I'll handle the political side," Natasha said. "Talk to Padmé, her allies in the Senate. If we're going to do this on a large scale, we need support from people who can authorize medical procedures for clone troopers."
T'Challa nodded. "And we continue investigating the larger conspiracy. Someone engineered this war. We need to know who and why before they activate their endgame."
Matt's head tilted. "You think Order 66 is the endgame?"
"I think it's a weapon," T'Challa said. "And weapons are only useful if someone's willing to fire them. We need to find out who's holding the trigger before they pull it."
Sam looked around the table at his teammates. "We're really doing this. Going up against... what? A conspiracy that spans the entire galaxy? Possibly the Chancellor of the Republic himself?"
"We've faced worse," Rhodey said with a slight smile.
"Sith?" Scott blinked. "Did we establish there are Sith involved?"
"Dooku is confirmed Sith," Natasha said. "The Jedi call him 'Darth Tyranus.' And if there's one, there's probably another. The Jedi keep mentioning something about there always being two."
"Great," Sam muttered. "So we're looking for a second Sith Lord. Possibly one in a position of significant political power. Who has access to secret clone army protocols and is orchestrating a galaxy-wide war." He rubbed his temples. "Why can't we ever have a simple mission?"
"Because we're the Avengers," Hope said with dark humor. "Simple isn't in our job description."
Peter chose that moment to wake up with a snort, nearly fell out of his hammock, caught himself with a web-line, and blinked blearily at the assembled team. "Did I miss something important?"
"We're uncovering a massive conspiracy that might involve the galactic government and will probably require us to perform brain surgery on millions of soldiers while hunting for a secret Sith Lord," Scott said conversationally. "So, you know. Tuesday."
Peter stared at him. "I can't tell if you're joking."
"I'm really not, kid."
"Oh." Peter thought about that. "Cool. I mean, not cool, but like... we're doing something about it, right?"
"Yeah," Sam said, and despite everything—the conspiracy, the chips, the uncertainty—he smiled. "Yeah, we're doing something about it."
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