Rumlow and Steve locked eyes in a silent battle of wills, their shared history crackling with unspoken tension. Natasha maintained her own cold stare-down with Kadrian Sey, neither woman willing to show weakness.
But Peter's attention was fixed on the wall lined with vials of the deadly virus. His mind raced through possible stra tegies to stop this madman's plan to unleash biological warfare across the galaxy.
As awareness fully returned, he instinctively reached for his Avengers communicator and found nothing. His best guess was that Rumlow and the dark side adepts had confiscated all their equipment when they captured the team. If they were in an underground facility, getting a signal out would be nearly impossible anyway.
His time with the Avengers had taught him patience—the importance of waiting for the right opportunity rather than rushing into a doomed rescue attempt.
So for now, he allowed the battle droids to escort him and the others deeper into the laboratory complex.
They would find their chance to strike back against this lunatic and his hired HYDRA mercenaries.
Back on the surface, Rhodes was reviewing his findings on the Separatist situation with FRIDAY and Captain Typho when he received notification of the Republic fleet's arrival.
Walking to the hangar, he watched several LAAT gunships descend and land, disgorging clone troopers from the 212th Attack Battalion, 41st Elite Corps, and 501st Legion, along with five familiar Jedi.
"Hey there," Rhodes called out, waving to the new arrivals. He and Typho approached with Peppi Bow, the Gungan woman Padmé had sent from the plains, to greet their allies.
Luminara Unduli and her Padawan Barriss Offee bowed respectfully in greeting.
"Good to see you again, Luminara, Barriss," Rhodes said, looking them both over with relief.
"The pleasure is ours, Colonel Rhodes," Luminara replied warmly, giving the armored Avenger a gentle smile.
"I think we're past the need for formal titles, Luminara," Rhodes said with a slight grin.
Meanwhile, Typho had begun briefing Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka on the situation.
"General Kenobi, Skywalker, we're so relieved you're—"
"Where is Senator Amidala?" Anakin interrupted the captain, his voice tight with concern.
"She went to locate the laboratory that the tactical droid mentioned," Rhodes explained.
"You let her go?" Anakin asked, his anxiety spiking.
"Do you really think we could have stopped her?" Rhodes shot back, raising an eyebrow.
"Once Senator Padmé makes up her mind about something, it becomes quite difficult to dissuade her," C-3PO interjected helpfully.
Anakin's head dropped in frustrated recognition. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." He was all too familiar with his wife's determination.
Typho cleared his throat loudly to gain everyone's attention, then gestured to the Gungan female standing beside them.
"This is Peppi Bow. She was the last person to see the Senator's team. Padmé ensured her safety before proceeding to the swamp."
"They were searching for the source of the sickness," Peppi said urgently. "I saw them heading toward the eastern marshlands."
"They?" Obi-Wan inquired.
"She means Peter, Natasha, and Steve," Rhodes clarified. "The three of them went with Padmé to investigate."
Hearing that three Avengers were accompanying his wife eased Anakin's worries considerably.
After a moment, R2-D2 beeped and whistled, and Anakin nodded to his astromech droid.
"You're right, Artoo. We need to move fast."
"What's our next step?" Ahsoka asked.
"We need to proceed with extreme caution," Rhodes advised in a serious tone. "Typho and I have uncovered some disturbing intelligence that has us concerned. The others haven't checked in yet, but we believe it may be connected to what we discovered."
Anakin and Obi-Wan exchanged meaningful glances with Luminara before turning to their Padawans.
"Ahsoka, Barriss, I want you two to accompany the Gungans," Anakin ordered. "See if you can locate any trace of the missing team."
"Understood, Master," Ahsoka replied, while Barriss nodded her agreement. The two Padawans departed with Peppi following close behind.
"Now, what was this about intelligence that has you worried?" Luminara asked.
Rhodes gestured toward the detention area. "Come on, let us show you what we found."
Minutes later, the three Jedi Masters stood around a holo-table with Rhodes and Typho, all studying the extracted memory core of a B1 battle droid.
"We performed a mechanical memory extraction on this battle droid, and FRIDAY managed to piece together the fragmented data," Rhodes explained.
After a moment, the holographic image of a tall, gaunt humanoid materialized, complete with distinctive purple markings beneath his eyes.
"Who is that?" Kenobi asked.
"Dr. Nuvo Vindi, former senior researcher for the Perma family. He disappeared from public records ten years ago," Typho explained before activating the recorded message.
"Excellent news, my mechanical friend. We now have sufficient quantities of Blue Shadow Virus to begin loading the bombs."
"He said bombs," C-3PO observed with obvious distress, while R2-D2 whistled nervously.
"We need only deploy one bomb to each key star system. Work efficiently—I want them ready for deployment within—"
The holographic playback cut off abruptly as the memory data became corrupted.
"So we're dealing with your typical megalomaniacal scientist," Rhodes said grimly, crossing his arms.
"Blue Shadow Virus," Luminara repeated in disbelief. "How is this possible? That plague was eradicated from the galaxy."
"If those bombs are deployed, we'll be facing a galaxy-wide pandemic," Obi-Wan said, his voice heavy with dread.
"War will become the least of our concerns," Luminara agreed solemnly.
"There is some encouraging news," Typho said, activating a geological scan that displayed a large, multi-level underground facility. "Senator Amidala located the laboratory. Before communications were lost, she transmitted these coordinates. We've managed to complete a comprehensive geological scan of the area."
"That's tremendously helpful," Kenobi acknowledged.
"It appears there are three potential entry points," Captain Typho highlighted the three access areas on the holographic map, then indicated another location. "This appears to be the main laboratory complex."
"Where are the virus bombs being assembled?" Luminara inquired.
"This section shows elevated radiation readings," Typho highlighted another area on the scan, closer to the facility's center. "This is most likely their weapons assembly area."
"If Padmé's presence has somehow alerted them to our discovery..." Obi-Wan began.
"If Padmé and the others are in there and we attack, they'll probably be killed in the crossfire," Rhodes pointed out bluntly.
"What about the other Avengers?" Anakin pressed. "You said Steve, Natasha, and Peter were with her."
"They've most likely been captured as well," Luminara speculated.
"How could they have been taken?" Anakin asked, concern evident in his voice.
Rhodes fixed the Jedi with a serious look. "This Dr. Vindi may have hired additional security to protect his operation. Any assault would put all our people at extreme risk."
"It's a risk we have to take," Obi-Wan said firmly. "Dr. Vindi and those virus bombs cannot be allowed to leave that laboratory."
"What if we accidentally detonate one of the bombs during our attack?" Anakin countered.
For a moment, a hint of desperate calculation entered Kenobi's voice. "Better to lose one planet than the entire galaxy."
"That's not going to happen," Rhodes said sharply, his voice cutting through the grim atmosphere. "We're getting all of them out, no matter what it takes."
It was a bold declaration, though the Jedi Masters knew Rhodes was expressing what they all truly felt.
The thought of sacrificing an entire world—even to prevent galactic catastrophe—was something none of them could truly accept, regardless of Jedi teachings about the greater good.