Having failed their mission and returned to the Temple was not a pleasant experience for Anakin Skywalker.
Cad Bane had effortlessly escaped their pursuit, and worst of all, he'd obtained exactly what he was after—the holocron containing information on every Force-sensitive child in Republic space.
Anakin and Ahsoka now stood before the assembled Jedi Council.
"Bane's escape presents a severe threat," Master Windu stated grimly. "He now has access to the identities of every Force-sensitive child in the Republic."
"But what possible use could he have for this information?" Master Depa Billaba asked with concern.
"We know Bane was hired by the Separatists for this mission," Anakin replied. "Don't forget who leads the Separatist movement."
"Count Dooku," Windu said with obvious distaste.
"Devastating damage to the Jedi Order, he could inflict," Yoda observed gravely.
"Then we must act swiftly," Plo Koon declared. "The sooner we determine Bane's intentions, the sooner we can apprehend him and recover what we've lost."
While the Jedi prepared to meditate in hopes of discovering which Force-sensitive children Bane might target first, Spider-Man and Pietro were helping an exhausted and concussed War Machine recover.
All the available Avengers had participated in the Republic mission, leaving only the still-unconscious Scott Lang behind. Fortunately, Pietro's Jedi friend Aayla Secura checked on Scott periodically.
"FRIDAY, what's the diagnosis? Is it a concussion?" Pietro asked.
"Affirmative. Colonel Rhodes will likely require at least twenty-four hours for full recovery."
"How's the armor holding up?" War Machine groaned, massaging his throbbing head.
"Repairable, but it will require time and specific materials. I've compiled the necessary schematics and resource requirements."
"That's something, at least," Pietro muttered, frowning and crossing his arms.
"So what do we do now?" Spider-Man asked, sitting down and feeling somewhat drained. "That blue-skinned psychopath has the list of potential Jedi. Who knows what he's planning?"
"The Force-sensitive children list? What's happening?"
"Scott!" the trio of Avengers exclaimed in relief upon hearing their teammate finally regain consciousness.
Scott looked confused but managed a weak smile as he slowly sat up, with Pietro and Peter moving to assist him.
"Hey, guys," Scott said wearily. "How long was I out this time?"
"This time?" Spider-Man recalled Hope explaining the physiological costs of Pym technology. "Oh right, about two weeks."
"Two weeks?!" Scott shouted, then immediately grabbed his head and doubled over in pain before collapsing back down.
When Scott opened his eyes again, he noticed that a significant number of the Avengers were missing. Only War Machine, Spider-Man, and Pietro were present.
"Where is everyone?" Scott asked.
"Just a mission with the Jedi," War Machine replied with a grunt.
"What's wrong with you?" Scott asked with concern.
"We just returned from that mission. Got banged up pretty badly and I'm still dealing with the aftereffects."
"Basically, our capture operation was a complete failure," Spider-Man added in frustration.
"So what's the plan now?"
"We don't know," Pietro said. "This is technically Jedi business, but it involves a lot of innocent children, and that calculating bounty hunter Cad Bane is behind it."
"Wait, what?" Scott was confused by the information. "That blue-skinned maniac is back?"
"Apparently, he was hired by the Separatists to steal information on all the Republic children who could potentially become Jedi," War Machine explained, taking a drink to help with his headache.
"But seriously, what are we supposed to do now?" Spider-Man asked again. "I don't want that twisted space cowboy going after innocent babies."
"Space cowboy? You mean Bane?"
The men turned to see Natasha and Hope entering the room.
"Scott!" Hope exclaimed joyfully, immediately rushing to embrace him and give him a tender kiss.
"Are you alright?" she asked with obvious worry.
"Just a mild headache," Scott replied tiredly.
"Where have you two been?" Pietro asked.
"Helping Senator Amidala deal with some political complications involving potential future security threats," Natasha said cryptically.
"Glad to see your spy skills remain as mysterious as ever," War Machine joked.
"What happened to you?" Hope asked, examining the damage. "Your armor looks severely damaged, Rhodes."
"Colonel Rhodes, Mr. Maximoff, and Mr. Parker engaged an enemy combatant designated as Durge," FRIDAY explained for them. "His armor sustained significant damage and requires extensive repairs."
"Well, at least I'm back and Scott's awake," Hope said optimistically.
"But what's this about Bane?" Natasha inquired.
"The bounty hunter was hired by the Separatists to steal something called a holocron from the Jedi Temple," Pietro explained. "That holocron contained a complete list of every Force-sensitive child in the Republic—basically their future Jedi recruits."
Natasha's eyes narrowed when she heard about the Jedi and their recruitment practices, but she said nothing, only asking, "Alright, so what's our next move?"
"That's the million-credit question," Pietro muttered. "I think we'll have to wait for the Jedi to figure something out."
"Why can't we take action? Do we have to follow the Jedi's lead?" Hope asked.
"Since it involves the Force, Anakin and Ahsoka explained that holocrons only respond to them in specific ways," Spider-Man said.
"So there's really nothing we can do right now?" Natasha asked again.
"Pretty much," Pietro shrugged. "But you could tell us what you've been up to helping Senator Amidala, right?"
"Almost finished. But it's... complicated," Natasha replied.
"And dealing with those tedious politicians," Hope added, settling beside Scott.
"Sounds mind-numbing," War Machine commented, knowing all too well the frustrations of political bureaucracy.
"Tell me about it."