"I want to gather as much intelligence as possible before the Jedi arrive," Padmé said, her voice carrying the measured authority of a seasoned politician. "See if you and C-3PO can download the memory cores from any other battle droids we find. I'm going to locate that laboratory."
Captain Typho, ever the cautious protector, stepped forward. "Senator, are you certain it's wise to venture out alone?"
"She won't be alone," Steve interjected, his tactical mind already formulating plans. "Natasha, Peter—you're with us. Rhodes, stay here and see what else you can uncover. Keep your eyes open. If the Separatists decide to make a move, I want our walking arsenal ready to give them a proper welcome."
Rhodes nodded, then turned to his AI companion. "FRIDAY, go with Peter. You'll be more useful supporting him in the field."
"I'm sorry, but why would that be necessary?" FRIDAY's mechanical voice carried genuine confusion.
"What?" Rhodes blinked, exchanging puzzled glances with the other Avengers. "What do you mean?"
"Young comrade Peter already has an AI integrated into his suit," FRIDAY explained matter-of-factly, leaving Peter slack-jawed.
"I have what now?!" Peter's voice cracked with surprise.
"Yes, I'm quite surprised Mr. Stark didn't inform you of this particular upgrade," FRIDAY continued with the patient tone of someone explaining the obvious.
Natasha quickly intervened before the conversation could derail further. "We'll sort this out later. Right now, we have work to do."
"Agreed," Padmé nodded, already moving toward the exit. "Come on, let's get started."
Peter, still processing this revelation, called out hopefully, "Before we go, could you maybe wake up this AI in my suit?"
"Of course, Parker."
A few moments of electronic humming and beeping followed, but nothing happened.
"Uh... Hello?"
"It appears you require a specific activation protocol for this AI," FRIDAY said apologetically. "Without the proper authorization codes from Mr. Stark..."
Peter groaned in frustration, and Steve gave the kid a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "You'll figure it out, Queens. You always do."
The Avengers took to the skies in their borrowed Naboo aircraft, now outfitted with hazmat suits as protection against whatever biological weapon the captured droid had mentioned. The sleek vessel cut through Naboo's pristine atmosphere as they headed toward the Eastern Swamp.
As they flew over the planet's rolling plains, Padmé spotted a rocky outcropping ahead. Several large creatures lay motionless on the ground nearby, their forms unnaturally still.
She brought the craft down in a clearing, and everyone disembarked with cautious steps.
The group's first sight upon leaving the aircraft was devastating—several shaaks lay dying along the riverbank, their powerful bodies wracked with illness. The magnificent creatures, normally symbols of Naboo's vibrant ecosystem, appeared to be knocking on death's door.
"This is really bad," Peter said softly, crouching beside one of the suffering animals. His enhanced hearing could detect the creature's labored breathing.
"What happened to them?" Steve asked grimly, watching in horror as blood began to seep from the shaak's eyes.
"It has to be that virus," Padmé said, her voice tight with anger and sorrow. "We must be getting close to the source."
As Peter examined one of the creatures more closely, his spider-sense suddenly flared with sharp warning.
"Guys!" He spun around just in time to see a Gungan female launching herself at Padmé from behind.
The attack lasted only seconds. Steve's enhanced reflexes allowed him to quickly disarm the attacker, while Natasha smoothly drew her DC-17 blaster pistol and aimed it at the Gungan's face.
"Who are you?" the Gungan demanded, her voice filled with desperate fury.
"We should be asking you the same question," Natasha replied coolly, steadying her weapon. "You attacked us."
The Gungan's eyes blazed with accusation. "Why are you here? What do you want?"
"Easy," Steve said, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "We're not here to hurt you or anyone else."
"Are you the ones who released this plague?" the Gungan asked, her voice breaking with grief.
"Listen to me," Steve said firmly. "We're here because we know about the virus. We're trying to stop it."
The Gungan woman's expression shifted as she processed this information, and she shared a crucial detail.
"The virus—it's not airborne. It's in the water," the Gungan shepherdess said, her tone urgent. "The river carries the sickness."
Upon hearing this, the group immediately removed their helmets, realizing the hazmat suits weren't necessary for respiratory protection.
"Who are you?" Padmé asked gently, her diplomatic instincts taking over.
"Peppi Bow," the Gungan woman replied, some of the fight going out of her. "My shaaks... they're all dying. Do you truly know what's happening?"
"We believe the virus that's killing your animals originated from somewhere upstream," Padmé explained. "From a hidden laboratory."
Peppi nodded grimly, then pointed further up the river. "Follow this waterway, and I'll take you there."
However, Padmé stopped her with a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. "No, Peppi. You stay here with your shaaks. I promise you'll have help soon. I'll send soldiers to escort you back to Theed. Tell them what's happening with the river—they'll need to quarantine it from the rest of the population until we can neutralize the source."
Peppi nodded reluctantly and returned to tend to her dying animals, while the group boarded their craft and headed upstream.
They eventually reached the eastern swamplands, forced to set down on the outskirts since no stable ground could be found within the marsh itself for a proper landing.
"Keep your eyes open," Padmé instructed as they waded through the muddy terrain. "Look for anything that seems out of place."
Unbeknownst to the group, a small periscope emerged from the murky water behind them, tracked their movement for a brief moment, then silently submerged.
Peter stopped abruptly and turned around, his enhanced senses picking up something.
"Peter?" Steve called out. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah... I think so," Peter said uncertainly, still scanning their surroundings. "Thought I saw something move, but..."
They continued deeper into the swamp, their vigilance increasing with each step.
After reaching a more open area, they paused to assess their situation.
"Where to now, Padmé?" Natasha asked, and the Senator looked around thoughtfully.
"I'm not certain," Padmé admitted. "The Eastern Swamp is one of Naboo's largest wetlands, stretching for kilometers in every direction. A thorough search could take days."
Steve had begun examining their surroundings when a brief glint of light caught his eye. He blinked and looked down, squinting at something metallic beneath the mud.
Moving closer, Steve narrowed his eyes and then deliberately stomped his foot on the ground. The sound of boot meeting metal rang out clearly.
With a sweep of his leg, he cleared away the accumulated dirt and debris, revealing their objective.
"Found something," Steve announced, and the others quickly gathered around him. "Looks like some kind of access hatch."
Padmé smiled with satisfaction and activated her comlink. "Captain Typho, I believe we're standing directly above the laboratory. I need a geological scan of coordinates SP-127."
Peter's spider-sense suddenly erupted into frantic warning signals.
"Uh, guys—"
"We can't open this hatch ourselves," Padmé was saying into her comlink. "We'll need—"
"Nobody move. Stay exactly where you are."
The group turned to find themselves surrounded by Separatist battle droids, their weapons trained on the small team.
But they weren't alone.
Several figures stood among the mechanical soldiers, and Natasha and Steve immediately recognized one of them.
"Kadrian Sey," Steve said grimly.
"Ah, you know of me, Captain Rogers?" Count Dooku's Zabrak apprentice responded mockingly, igniting her crimson lightsaber with a menacing hiss.
"I'm afraid so," Steve replied evenly. "Aayla Secura mentioned you. The child kidnapper."
Sey's expression darkened with rage. "How dare you compare me to those sanctimonious Jedi!"
"I don't like them any more than you do," Steve admitted.
"How are we any different from them?" challenged another figure—a particularly imposing man among the four dark side adepts facing them. He had gray skin, pale mint-green eyes, and was dressed primarily in black with an ornate metal headdress.
"Selfish, petty, and evil," Peter said bluntly, his usual quips taking on a harder edge.
"We don't need to resort to violence," said a third figure, his eyes hidden behind dark wrappings. "If we wanted to..."
He ignited his red lightsaber and pointed it directly at the Naboo Senator.
"Can you guarantee her safety?" he asked with quiet menace.
"She can take care of herself, thank you very much," Padmé replied defiantly, drawing her silver blaster.
"Against these droids?" the bandaged figure gestured toward the B1 and B2 battle droids surrounding them. "Perhaps. But against us? I think not."
Peter's spider-sense screamed a warning just before he and Steve were struck from behind by an invisible force, sending them flying through the air to crash hard against the swamp floor.
Natasha attempted to strike back with her enhanced combat skills, but her legs were caught mid-kick and she was hurled aside into the murky water.
Padmé tried to fire at her attackers, but her blaster was knocked from her grasp by an unseen force. A moment later, she felt a strong arm wrap around her body and the cold edge of a blade pressed against her throat.
"Try not to move too much, Senator," growled the man holding her hostage from behind his distinctive mask—white with a skull design painted across it.
When Steve struggled to his feet, his expression hardened as he recognized their captor.
"Crosshair."
"Hey there, Cap," Brock Rumlow, the former HYDRA agent turned galactic mercenary, replied with savage satisfaction. "Nice to see you again. Hope you don't mind me taking a job in your new neighborhood."
Steve, Peter, and Natasha found themselves surrounded by battle droids and dark Force users, while Padmé remained trapped in Rumlow's deadly grip.
"Drop your weapons," Rumlow commanded, pressing the vibro-blade mounted on his gauntlet against Padmé's neck. A thin trickle of blood began to flow.
Faced with no alternative, the three Avengers slowly lowered their weapons to the ground.
Moments later, stun blasts from the battle droids sent them all into unconsciousness.
The laboratory would have to wait.