"I want to get as much information as possible before the Jedi arrive. See if you and Threepio can download the memories of any other battle droids. I'm going to go find that lab.

"Are you sure it's wise to go alone?" asked Typho, the captain of the Royal Security Guard.

"We'll go with her," Steve said. "Natasha, Peter, you go too. Rhodes, stay and see what else you can find. Keep an eye out, too. If an attack were to occur, we'd like our walking arsenal to give the Separatists a warm welcome."

"Tap, go to Peter." War Machine ordered. "You can be more useful to them."

"I'm sorry, comrade, but why?" Tap began.

"What?" Rhodes was as confused as the rest of the Avengers. "What do you mean?

"Young comrade Peter already has an AI in his suit," Tap said, leaving Peter dumbfounded.

"have?!"

"Yes, I'm surprised Mr. Stark didn't tell you about this." Tap said.

Black Widow quickly chimed in. "We'll talk about that later. We have work to do right now.

"Agreed." Padme nodded and said, "Come on, let's get started."

"Before we go, would you mind waking up this AI in my suit?"

"Of course, Comrade Parker."

...

...

...

“Uh…Tap?

"It seems you need a specific method to activate this AI." Tap said. "So, unless Mr. Stark gives you any means..."

Peter just groaned, and Steve patted the kid sympathetically. "You'll figure it out, Queens hero."

The Avengers fly to the Eastern Swamp, now equipped with hazmat suits to protect them from whatever virus the droid mentioned.

As they flew over the plains of Naboo, Padmé spotted a rock structure ahead, with several animals lying motionless on the ground nearby.

She landed the boat nearby and everyone was getting off.

After leaving the boat, the group looked at the seriously ill Shaq lying on the river bank. It seemed that they were knocking on death's door at any time.

"This is really bad," Peter said, crouching next to one of the pitiful creatures.

"What happened to them?" Steve asked anxiously, watching blood shoot out of Shaq's eyes.

"It has to be that virus," Padmé said in a grim tone. "We must be getting close."

As Peter examined one of the creatures, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head.

"Guys!" He turned around in time to see a Gungan female attack Padmé from behind.

After a few moments, she was quickly disarmed by Steve, and Natasha pulled out her DC-17 blaster pistol and pointed it at the Gungan's face.

"Who are you?" the attacker asked.

“We should ask you the same question,” Natasha said, moving the pistol closer. “You attacked us.”

the Gungan scolded. "Why are you here?"

"Don't move." Steve ordered sternly. "We're not here to hurt you."

"Are you the ones who released the virus?"

"Be careful," Steve replied. "There's a virus spreading."

The Gungan woman quickly told the group an important detail.

"The virus isn't in the air. It's in the water," the Gungan shepherdess assured.

Upon hearing the news, the group took off their helmets.

"Who are you?" Padmé asked.

"Pepi Bow," the Gungan woman said. "Do you know what happened?"

“We think the virus that made your animals sick came from the Perrot tree.

Pepi nodded in understanding, now pointing ahead.

“Follow this river, I’ll take you there.

However, Padmé stopped her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No, Pepi, you stay here. I promise you'll be home soon. I'll send some soldiers to pick you up and take you back to Sid. Explain to them what's happening with the river, and they'll isolate it from the rest of the populace until we can figure it out.

Peppy nodded in understanding and went over to check on her sick Shaq, while the group returned to the boat and headed upstream.

They eventually reached the swamps to the east, having set out from the outskirts, because no stable ground could be found on which to land.

"Keep your eyes open. Look for anything unusual. Padmé said as she walked across the muddy ground.

Unbeknownst to the group, a scope popped up from the ground and spotted them all. For the briefest of moments, it returned to where it came from.

Peter stopped and looked behind them, but saw nothing.

"Peter?" Steve called him. "Are you okay?"

"Nothing..." Peter said absentmindedly. "I thought I saw something."

They walked on, looking around the swamp with increasing caution.

Stopping in a more open area, they took a moment to get their bearings.

"Where to now, Padmé?" Natasha asked, and the Senator looked around.

"I'm not sure," Padmé admitted. "The Eastern Swamp is one of the larger swamps on Naboo, and persists for a long time. A complete search of the place may take a while."

Steve chose to look around, trying to find anything unusual, when a beam of light briefly entered his eyes. He blinked and turned to the ground, squinting at something glittering beneath the mud.

Steve walked up to it, narrowed his eyes, and then planted his foot on the ground, being greeted by the sound of boot meeting metal.

With a sweep of his legs, the dirt was moved aside, revealing...

"Found something," Steve said loudly, and the others gathered around him a moment later. "Looks like some kind of entry hatch."

Padmé smiled happily and continued her comms. "Captain Typho, I think we are standing on top of the lab. I need a geoscan for the coordinates of SP127.

Peter's sixth sense started to go crazy as Padmé ordered.

"Uh, guys..."

"We can't open this. We have to—"

“Freeze it. Leave it there.

The group turned around to see various Separatist droids pointing their weapons directly at them.

They are not alone.

There were several people standing among the robots, and Natasha and Steve recognized one of them.

“Cadrien Sai,” Steve said loudly.

"Ah, you know me, Captain Rogers?" Count Dooku's Zabrak attendant said in a mocking tone, igniting her crimson saber.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said. “Ayla Secura mentioned you. The child kidnapper.

Sai's expression turned angry. "Aren't you a Jedi?!"

“I don’t like it any more than you do,” Steve admitted. “But at least they do it for nobler reasons than you Sith.”

"How are we Sith?" said a particularly large man among the four waiters standing in front of them. He had gray skin, light mint eyes, and was dressed mainly in black with a metal headdress on his head.

"Selfish, mediocre, and evil," Spider-Man said.

"We don't need to fight," said another waiter, his eyes bandaged. "If we did..."

He ignited his red lightsaber and pointed it at the Naboo Senator.

"Can you guarantee her safety?" he threatened.

"She can take care of herself, mind you," Padmé said, pulling out her silver blaster.

"From these robots..." said the bandaged waiter, pointing to B1 and B2. "Yes, maybe. But from us? And him, I believe it's fake.

The back of Peter's head made a warning noise before he and Captain Rogers were hit from behind by a force that sent them flying and crashing to the ground.

Natasha kicks out with her heels but her legs are caught and she is thrown aside.

Padmé tried to fire at her attacker, but her blaster was tapped away, and a moment later she felt an arm wrapped around her body and a blade pressed to her neck.

"Try not to move too much," the man holding her hostage growled from behind his mask, which was spray painted white with a slight skull design.

When he stood up, Steve glared at him when he saw who it was.

"Crossbones."

"Hey, Cap." The former Hydra agent now a mercenary for the galaxy. "Nice to see you again. Hope you don't mind if I take a job here."

Steve, Peter, and Natasha are now surrounded by battle droids and dark servants, and Padmé is in the clutches of Rumlow.

"Put down your weapons." Rumlow roared, pressing the knife on his hydraulic glove against Padmé's neck, and a little blood dripped down.

They know they have no choice.

Moments later, the three Avengers and the Senator were unconscious.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like