Duncan and Amanda walked hand in hand down the stairs to the dungeon. Cyrus had called them down, saying everything was ready. As they descended, they heard the familiar sound of the droids at work, but when they entered, they saw Cyrus standing behind a table, smiling at them.
On the table before him lay three stacks of clothes, but off to one end, they saw something extraordinary. They witnessed four very large men in white armor over black under armor. The helmets had large glossy black eyes. There were also two much smaller, feminine-looking soldiers in similar armor, but with a large brow ridge that hung like a shelf over their helmets.
The armor was white with a black under armor. Cyrus smiled at them knowingly. They approached the bench and finally looked down. There was nothing subtle about the armors laying before them. The smaller, more feminine one was a silver version of the armor the large white troops seemed to be wearing, but it was sleeker and had gold trim all around it. It was clear that a certain amount of artistry had gone into it, because it wasn't just functional—it was also highly decorative. She felt the texture and realized it felt softer than hard plastic, yet it was extremely durable.
Duncan picked up his suit and looked it over. His was interesting. It had purple, gray, and silver armor with a black tight bodysuit underneath. There was a gauntlet, one of which seemed to be connected to some sort of nozzle. But then there was something very fascinating, a backpack that looked suspiciously like a rocket pack.
"Go put these on, and I'll explain what they are," Cyrus said to Amanda and Duncan. He pointed in a certain direction, and they saw a place where they could change.
A few minutes later, they walked out. Amanda looked very impressive in her armor. It was just as beautiful as she thought it would be when she saw herself in the mirror. The helmet was graceful; it didn't have the big bug eyes that some other armor had, and it didn't have the T-shaped visor like Duncan's. It had two simple white slits for eyes, something you might see in narrow sunglasses, but this was all part of the armor itself. A similar breathing apparatus was available.
Cyrus, however, was dressed in an all-black combat uniform. On his chest were controls—buttons and switches—and black gloves covered his hands. Dangling from his belt was that lightsaber of his. The only thing missing was a helmet, which was sitting on the table before him. It looked like a combination of a samurai helmet with large black orbs for eyes and an almost mask-like breathing system. Combined with the inner cloak and cape, he already looked terrifying; with the helmet, he looked even more so.
Duncan's armor was quite fascinating. With his helmet on, he had a heads-up display showing various system functions he could activate. He finally took off the helmet, as did Amanda, and they placed them on the table.
"This will be the combat armor that we'll use in the coming battle," Cyrus said. "It can conceal who we are, but it also offers a great deal of protection. It's meant to blunt any blade, and if somebody has, for some strange reason, a laser gun of some sort, it'll reduce a great deal of the heat from that."
"I'm giving you an assortment of weapons. Duncan, I've given you two Westar-34 blaster pistols. And for you, Mom, I've given you a few different weapons. You have two vibro-machetes that can fit on your back. Your Rheinlander sword, made of exotic materials like Beskar and Phrik, it can be worn at the hip or attached to the back of your armor. You've also got a KYD-21 blaster, the recoil isn't too bad on it."
"Now then, you wanted to have both, so here's your lightsaber." He pulled out from underneath the counter a beautiful, thin, small gold handle and gave it to his mother. When she flipped the switch, a beautiful blue beam stretched out from it. The gold color and trim, it was just the kind of elegant weapon she liked.
Duncan, aside from having his two Westar-34 pistols, also received a stunning katana utilizing Beskar with Phrik hand guards. The blade was incredibly sharp; he couldn't wait to test it out. But he also received a lightsaber. What Cyrus explained to the two of them was that if they had a lightsaber, they could even take it on planes and wouldn't have to worry about how they were going to get the weapon in and out of customs through airports and so forth. This meant they would never have to worry about not having a weapon available to them. Duncan saw the wisdom of this, and Amanda just really liked it.
There were six additional speeder bikes aside from their three. These were meant for those in white.
"These are clone troopers," he said, laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" Duncan asked. He didn't get the joke.
"Well, because they're droids using my Terminator units with the same faces. Each unit carried an A280 blaster rifle," Cyrus said.
"But I don't want to completely throw all the rules of the game out the window. I'm not sure what would happen if we did that," Duncan looked flustered.
"Don't worry," Cyrus began. "This is just in case they decide to stack the deck against us by having a bunch of Immortals. If it's one-on-one, you can fight as you like, but I'd recommend keeping the helmet on. There's no reason to take the risk. If they can't cut through the armor, well, that's just their problem."
Amanda was always happy to hear sensible things like that. She always told Duncan he was a little too honor-bound to do things the "right way," which in her mind was often times the wrong way. How he had survived to this point, she had no idea. At least her son seemed to understand. Although he had a strong sense of justice himself, at the same time, he wasn't foolish; if he was going into battle, he was going to go in with everything he had.
"So what's the plan?" Duncan asked.
"It's pretty simple. We'll load these up, along with the speeder bikes, into a truck, pull out tonight, and then tomorrow we strike."
"You said you were going to make it so the Watchers couldn't follow us and wouldn't know what's going on," Amanda reminded him.
"That's true, and I intend to keep that promise. The truck we're loading is going to depart from here first. It'll be arriving soon. We'll load it up and send it on its way using our doubles. Three more Terminators stepped forward, but they looked exactly like Cyrus, Amanda, and Duncan.
From the outside, what you'll see is the three of us waving the truck on. The Watchers will never know. They'll think we're still at the house. They won't care what the truck is for; their job is to watch us.
It's not the best plan, but I think it'll do for a first run. We'll need a long-term solution for these Watchers. I'm afraid I don't have anything very sophisticated yet, but that'll change soon."
"So we're leaving tonight?" Duncan asked.
"Yes," Cyrus responded. "We'll leave tonight, check out the area, and tomorrow night we'll launch our attack."
"And after we've dealt with all the Immortals?" Amanda asked.
"If that's all the Immortals there are, then we're done. If there are more, we'll hunt them down too. But there's something dangerous there. I can feel it. The feeling is reduced with this gear, but it's still there, and I don't know what it is.
If it's an Immortal, let me deal with it. If it's something else, let me deal with it. I'm much stronger than the two of you. My Force abilities compensate for my lack of pure sword skill. And don't forget, we've got blasters. If it's too crazy, we'll just blow it up."
"Blow it up with laser guns?" Duncan asked.
"No, with thermal detonators." Cyrus showed a series of round objects. "Think space grenades, only much more powerful. Be careful when you use them."
Duncan looked at all the gear. "I feel like you're sending me off to fight in the Great War. I don't really think we need all this."
"If we don't, that's great," Cyrus said. "We'll just take care of the troublemakers who decided to hunt us. But better safe than sorry."
Amanda agreed. She wasn't taking any chances.
That night, with the truck loaded up, they left behind three P-800-series. Sure enough, three Watchers had finally gotten beyond a certain perimeter. Whatever had been keeping them back was gone, and they could get close enough to see them waving off a semi-truck. Perhaps furniture, perhaps goods bought or sold—who knew. But they could see the three were still there. Each of them had a Watcher, even the new one—Cyrus.
They arrived at their destination by morning. Cyrus deployed scanning equipment from the semi, and he was shocked, as were Amanda and Duncan, by what they found. There were over fifty Immortals, or people they weren't entirely sure about.
They weren't close enough to feel the Buzz. It could have been a mix of Immortals and mortals, or all Immortals. Either way, if they'd shown up unprepared, they would've been killed for sure. Duncan was glad he hadn't been stubborn this time.
That night, they dressed in their armor. Duncan and Amanda turned when they heard a very creepy breathing sound. Cyrus stood there in his fully armored form. He looked like a nightmare in black armor. As he spoke, his voice was extremely deep and mechanical.
"There will be no one to stop us this time."
"How should we go in?" Duncan asked.
"Loud," Cyrus responded.
They climbed aboard their speeder bikes and took off, followed by six others. As they drew closer, they saw that the place was like a military compound. They didn't bother considering an alternative. Cyrus had already taught them how to use the cannon lasers on the speeder bikes. Several blasts tore through the troops.
They suddenly felt the Buzz. As they closed in, they were shocked when Cyrus flipped off his bike and, in one smooth motion, ignited his lightsaber and began cutting through the ranks.
Duncan dismounted, as did Amanda and the clone troopers. The troopers used their blasters in a military style, laying down cover fire and shooting anything that moved. Amanda and Duncan sensed the Immortals and engaged them directly, slicing through them quickly with their lightsabers. Cyrus suggested that when wearing the armor, they use their lightsabers to avoid revealing too much.
It didn't take long to tear through those outside.
It was a complete army of Immortals. They had planned to use hit-and-run tactics, wearing the three down until one of them could take a head. But the plan failed. Cyrus used his Force powers, pushing, pulling, and throwing Immortals across the battlefield. The area filled with the sight of Quickening energy pouring into Cyrus, into Amanda, into Duncan. The armor not only held against the Quickening but channeled it, slowing it so they could absorb it more easily.
Dozens of Quickening events occurred.
Cyrus finally left what remained outside to Amanda and Duncan. The Terminators mowed down anything that moved, and any Immortal who revived was put down again. But Cyrus could still feel danger inside.
When he entered the building, he saw it was strange, a central open courtyard. In the middle sat a man. Cyrus could feel his power. Of all the Immortals he had faced, this one was the strongest.
The man laughed. "Quite amazing weaponry you have there," he said, unafraid of the blazing laser sword, unconcerned by the armor.
"You rely a great deal on your external assets," the man continued. "But I wonder how strong a warrior you truly are."
"There's only one way to find out," Cyrus said.
The man stood and removed his cloak. He was large—six foot four or five by Cyrus's estimate. He rushed forward with a broad sword. Cyrus swung his lightsaber—but it didn't slice through the blade.
Cyrus attacked again. This time, he noticed the sword was covered in strange blue electricity.
"What is that?" Cyrus asked.
"When you become old enough, you learn different ways of using your Quickening. If you take my head, you'll learn it too."
"Then I'll take your head," Cyrus replied.
They fought fiercely. At first, the man's strikes didn't penetrate the armor—but that changed. Fragments flew. Cyrus sped up, but the man matched him. Cyrus was getting tired—something he hadn't felt in a very long time.
"Who are you?" Cyrus asked.
"I am Gath."
"Why are you so powerful?"
"I'm old. Over six thousand years."
Gath smiled. "I gathered weak Immortals to hunt stronger ones out of boredom. I didn't expect to draw someone like you. Once I have your head, imagine the power."
"Your tricks are no match for the Force."
"Then tell me your name."
"You may call me Darth Vader."
Gath laughed. "Tonight will be the end of your legend."
"You underestimate me. I find your lack of faith disturbing."
They clashed again. Cyrus unleashed Force lightning—unique, neither Sith nor Jedi. Gath staggered. Cyrus pressed forward, fully opening himself to the Force. He grew faster, stronger, energized—but Gath kept up.
Finally, Cyrus severed one arm, then the other. Gath smiled.
"There can be only one."
Cyrus beheaded him.
A maelstrom of Quickening followed—far greater than anything before. Amanda and Duncan fled the building as it was destroyed by lightning and energy pouring into Cyrus.
The knowledge was overwhelming. Cyrus entered a meditative trance, sealing memories into hidden compartments of his mind. The Quickening lasted nearly an hour.
His armor was ruined. His body was charred. Then he healed.
Amanda and Duncan carried him out. He slept.
When he awoke, he was home.
Only one thought remained:
Tomorrow, the MCU.