"Ahhhhh..."

Dan sunk into his bed, exhaustion in his bones. The last few weeks had been a ton of work. May ordered endless plants, even animals, via Ultron's holonet connection. Dan helped get things into place, his mind firm in its goal to ignore the fact that they had no money.

"Ultron is definitely hacking the system to pay for everything..."

Dan didn't mind, but it was a bit morally grey. Still, it was convenient to simply purchase technology to study. Once Ultron got his hands on this galaxies tech, it was only a matter of time before the A.I. improved it.

Hearthstead would be known for its technological innovation, if they chose to share. For now, Dan wanted to keep a low profile. Palpatine would kill his master once he became Chancellor. Until then, Dan planned to leave the Sith alone.

The door whispered open. May had returned from the fields, Bear and Stormy in tow.

"In bed already," She teased. "You're still all dirty!"

"Just resting my eyes while I waited for you," Dan grinned, an evil glint in his eyes. "Now come here!"

He seized May in a grapple, hands a blur as he tickled her to tears.

"St..stop, stop tickling me!"

"Bwraff, ruff-ruff!"

Bear nibbled on his ankles in defense of his mother, while Stormy curled into a ball and watched.

"Stop me yourself!"

The scuffle led into the bathroom, where May dumped him, head-first into the tub.

"Serves you right," She glared at Dan, who nursed a lump on his head. "You know I hate it when you tickle me!"

"I know, I know..." Dan clambered free of his porcelain coffin. "But I'm getting bored with all the gardening."

"Well then, why don't we go out tomorrow?" May turned on the taps in the bath. "We can go off-world and take the boys for a walk?"

"Sounds good, I..."

Dan paused, shirt halfway over his head. The system had chimed, a new quest on display.

"Quest available: Take an unearned Vacation: You've only been at it for a few weeks, but it's time to kick back and relax! Visit five planets in ten days, bonus if you can visit ten! Rewards: To be announced..."

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"Cheeky system..."

"Another quest?" May pried his shirt away from his face. "Anything good?"

"I don't know, the reward is hidden," Dan shrugged. "But it's an excuse to visit a bunch of different planets."

"Well then, problem solved," May shoved him back into the bath. "Now get cleaned up, you STINK!"

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The kryptonian scoutship slipped from the phantom zone, a flash against the void. This time it arrived around a green-blue pearl, home of Witches and Nightsisters.

"Dathomir... it's more beautiful than I imagined, like Earth."

"It's a lot like Earth was, when the dinosaurs roamed," Dan leaned closer to the viewport. "They've got semi-sentient giants and spell casters as well."

"Casters, you say?"

Merlyn edged over, nose against the glass. He'd insisted on joining them this time. Maybe now he would shut up about the fortress incident...

"I've been itching to meet the practitioners of this universe," The wizard's eyes shone. "The faster I understand this 'force' the faster I can train the boy!"

Dan had tossed Anakin into Merlyn's care. The wizard had raised King Arthur, so maybe he could straighten out another chosen one's path.

"Well, you're in luck," Dan pointed at the pristine world. "We're here for a crashed spaceship, and I think it's being used as a base by force users."

His memory was spotty. Either the Witches controlled the crashed Jedi ship he was interested in, or it was their darker cousins. The nightsisters were xenophobic and merciless, so he hoped for the witches.

"Let's go," May stomped her foot, impatient. "Your quest said we got a bonus if we visit ten planets, that's one planet a day!"

"Alright, alright," Dan smiled. "Take us down, Ultron!"

The scout ship pierced the clouds, on the hunt for a landing spot. Soon, Dan and May would set foot on their third alien world.

----------------------------------------

"Can we keep them!"

May snuggled next to an unconscious monster, eyes lit with the fire of a collector.

"I don't know... rancors are semi-sentient," Dan sighed. "They can make good pets, but it's like keeping a dolphin."

The second they'd left the ship, a pack of hairless giants had descended from the oversized jungle. Ultron's drones zapped the beasts into dormancy. Now, May wanted to keep them.

"Well... maybe we can ask them if they want to come along?"

"We can try," Dan shook his head at his wife's 'catch-em-all' desires. "But you might want to step back."

Dan walked next to May, Ultron, and Merlyn at his side. Hidden in the jungle shadow, several large forms observed their group.

"Dan-El greets the Witches of Dathomir, we come on a peaceful mission!"

Dan decided to use Jor-El's last name. He already planned on using the Superman symbol, so it made sense culturally to be of the house of El.

"Child of another world," A thin voice followed the wind to their ears. "Your mission may be peaceful, but the spirits recoil from you in fear."

"The spirits..."

"She means the lines of fate, a part of the so-called 'force' that you talk about."

Merlyn stepped forward and waved his staff at Dan and May.

"Now see here," His wizard eyebrows bristled in the dim light. "There are some things that even magic can't see, these two are among them."

"And who might you be, a male witch?"

"I am a WIZARD, thank you very much," Merlyn huffed. "don't compare me to a back-woods practitioner like yourself..."

A bright flame, compressed into a man-size bullet, launched from the forset's edge. A smirk played on Myrlen's lips as he walked toward the attack.

"The flailing of children..."

The wizard pinched two fingers, a gesture that shrank the fireball into a marble. He tossed it skyward, a firecracker that brought no harm at all.

"If you wish to see some real magic, then I'll show you!"

Merlyn remained the same, an old man with a walking stick, yet he was somehow different. A pressure, centered on the old man, leaked into the air. The wizard was ten feet tall as he chided the witches.

"Come, come, and heed my call," A black light filled the air with the chant. "Honor your pact, until I fall!"

The air popped, a crackle that snapped at Dan's ears. The wizard continued, despite a wave of new attacks from the witches.

"The door is open, now take my hand," Shadowed lightning fell with muted thunder. "Useless demon, Etrigan!"

The darkness condensed into a door, void of color. An ink-black foot stepped forth, wreathed in grey flame.

"Horrid wizard, befoul your tongue!" Steel teeth loomed from the shadow. "It hurts my ears and reeks of dung."

White orbs opened above the mouth, twin moons that held no emotion.

"We agreed, a lyric to call me out, not some insult, you incorrigible lout!"