A piercing sound was the only thing Captain America could remember when he regained consciousness.
He lay curled up on the ground, groaning in pain. A suffocating numbness surged through his body, making it nearly impossible to focus. His hands instinctively moved to cradle his throbbing head.
With considerable effort, Captain America sat up, feeling a solid wall behind him that had been supporting his weight. As his consciousness slowly returned, he rubbed his eyes and blinked several times until his vision cleared.
Looking around, he found himself in an alley. Standing up through sheer force of will, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Glancing down, he spotted his shield lying silently at his feet.
Cap breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of his weapon, retrieving it from the ground and securing it to his back.
A groan nearby caught Captain America's attention. Turning around, he discovered his trusted ally, Falcon, who had fought alongside him countless times.
Relieved to see a familiar face, Cap quickly moved to his teammate's side and called out to him.
"Captain?" Falcon asked uncertainly, then shook his head as if trying to dispel the persistent dizziness clouding his mind. "What happened?"
Captain America shook his head and helped Falcon to his feet.
Falcon leaned weakly against the wall and asked, "Where are the others?"
Cap frowned and replied, "I don't know. I just woke up myself. You're the first person I've found. Do you remember anything?"
Falcon rubbed his tender head, concentrating to recall the strange events that had transpired. "I can only remember the laboratory in the Hydra base... that strange light... and the gyroscope spinning out of control. Then... nothing until I woke up here."
It seemed Falcon's experience matched his own. Captain America surveyed their surroundings, then activated his quantum communicator, hoping to contact the team. All he received was silence. Gritting his teeth, he tried again: "If anyone can hear me, please respond."
He was met with only oppressive silence.
"Black Widow? Ant-Man? War Machine?" Cap persisted, refusing to give up.
"Cap, I haven't been able to reach anyone either," Falcon admitted dejectedly, finally steady enough to stand without support.
Captain America sighed in frustration and gazed upward at the unfamiliar sky. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of laughter. Turning toward the source, he walked to the alley's exit and spotted several children running past, apparently chasing something in a game.
"Did that mysterious gyroscope teleport us somewhere unknown?" Falcon speculated, studying their surroundings with increasing concern.
"Possibly," Captain America replied as he moved forward cautiously. "Let's take this one step at a time."
The two heroes carefully emerged from the alley and found themselves standing beneath a beautiful and oddly designed building unlike anything they'd ever seen before. What truly caught their attention, however, were the beings surrounding them – aliens with elongated faces and fin-like ears. A few appeared human, but their exposed skin was entirely blue.
Captain America and Falcon soon noticed what appeared to be soldiers, dressed in pristine white armor that covered their bodies from head to toe, each carrying what looked like a rifle.
"Cap, we're definitely not in Kansas anymore," Falcon muttered to Captain America, who could only nod in stunned agreement.
Looking around, they observed the white-armored soldiers and various civilians moving about. In the sky, spacecraft flew back and forth, with several heading in the same direction. Captain America followed their trajectory and spotted an enormous, magnificent palace in the distance.
"Those are definitely military personnel," Falcon observed quietly, eyeing the white-armored soldiers positioned around the area.
"Maybe they can help us," Falcon suggested, watching the soldiers closely.
"Maybe," Captain America replied thoughtfully, rubbing his chin as he observed children playing on a nearby terrace. Their guide appeared to be a teacher. Some passersby had noticed the two Avengers and were regarding them with curious expressions.
The soldiers on duty in the area finally noticed the two unusually dressed men who seemed disoriented.
"Uh... any idea who those two guys are?" one of the armored soldiers closest to them asked into their comm unit.
"No clue. Are they droids?" the second soldier replied with a shrug.
"Definitely not," the first soldier countered. "Sergeant Buck, do you recognize them? They don't seem threatening."
Sergeant Barker was easily distinguishable among the six armored soldiers due to the green markings on his helmet and shoulder pads.
"Stay at your positions. I'll check it out," Sergeant Buck instructed, approaching the two strangers to initiate contact.
Captain America and Falcon both noticed the soldier approaching and maintained forced calm expressions.
"Gentlemen, I'll need to see your identification," Sergeant Buck requested politely.
"Captain Steve Rogers," Captain America stated.
"Lieutenant Sam Wilson," Falcon added.
Both men introduced themselves with crisp military precision. Though they had no physical identification, Sergeant Buck had been stationed on this planet long enough to know when a direct approach was needed.
"I'm Sergeant Barker of the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic," he introduced himself, offering them a salute. While he didn't recognize either of them, their tone and bearing made it clear they were indeed military officers.
The two heroes exchanged glances before returning the sergeant's salute.
Sergeant Buck's eyes reflected doubt. Apart from immigrants, few people would use such a formal salute.
"No offense," Captain America said diplomatically, "but my companions and I find ourselves in a bit of a predicament."
"What he means by 'predicament' is that we have no idea where we are," Falcon clarified bluntly, studying Sergeant Buck.
"Uh... what?" Sergeant Buck seemed momentarily confused.
Captain America quickly adopted a friendly smile and said warmly, "I can assure you that we're not here to cause trouble. We were on a mission when something unexpected happened, and the two of us suddenly found ourselves... where exactly are we?"
Sergeant Barker finally understood their confusion and replied, "You're in Theed, the capital city of Naboo."
"Naboo?" Captain America and Falcon repeated in bewilderment. "What's Naboo?"
Sergeant Buck stared at them, somewhat skeptical that anyone would ask such a question, but he patiently explained: "Naboo. You know, Planter Naboo? It's one of the most powerful allies and supporters of the Galactic Republic."
"Planet Naboo" was the only part that registered with the two Avengers. They slowly turned to each other, trying to confirm whether they had heard Sergeant Buck correctly.
"Another planet?" Falcon muttered, struggling to digest this difficult revelation.
"Well, now we know what Hydra's device was for, but that knowledge doesn't help us much at the moment," Captain America whispered bitterly.
"Are you two alright?" Sergeant Buck asked, concerned.
"I apologize," Captain America said with a slight bow of his head. "Listen... Sergeant Buck, I'm not sure how we got here, but we're definitely not from this planet."
Buck didn't appear particularly surprised by this admission. "I suspected as much," he said seriously. "From your clothing and behavior, you don't resemble the Naboo citizens."
"Damn it," Falcon cursed under his breath. "What do we do now? It's not just about us – we don't even know where the others are."
"I don't know either," Captain America admitted, his voice revealing rare frustration. "All of this is completely unfamiliar territory."
Falcon shook his head and crossed his arms, deep in thought about their impossible situation.