By this point, several smaller skirmishes were raging throughout the laboratory complex. Ahsoka, Barriss, and Rhodes had successfully defeated their dark side opponent, but were caught off guard when Prosset Dibs and Bil Valen retrieved their fallen comrade and retreated deeper into the facility.
Elsewhere, Peter was moving through a corridor when he passed a room that caught his attention. Glancing back, he realized it was some kind of greenhouse facility. He entered cautiously, unsure of the chamber's purpose until he spotted a pair of stubby mechanical legs attempting to hide behind the vegetation.
Peter smirked and crouched down, crawling under a work table to get a better look at the LEP servant droid clutching the missing bomb.
Peter fired a web line and yanked the explosive device from the droid's mechanical grasp.
The servant droid let out a startled electronic shriek and tried to flee, but Peter caught it effortlessly and lifted it into the air.
He examined the bomb carefully, and his expression shifted from satisfaction to confusion, then to outright alarm.
"Guys!" he called into his communicator in panic, carefully setting the bomb aside. "The virus isn't in this bomb!"
"What?!" came the collective response from multiple team members over the comm channel.
Peter looked at the captured droid and glared at it menacingly.
"Where's the real virus bomb?" Peter demanded, deliberately tightening his grip on the mechanical servant until its photoreceptors flickered with distress.
Through his enhanced vision, Peter noticed fresh scratches and damage on the droid's chassis—damage that hadn't been there when he'd first seen it with Dr. Vindi.
"Where did you get these marks?" Peter pressed.
Surprisingly, the droid responded in its monotone voice. "Mercenary took virus sample."
Peter's eyes widened in shock. He immediately released the droid and activated his communicator.
"The virus is with Rumlow, everyone!" Peter shouted into his comm. "He's got the real sample!"
"He's with Dr. Vindi," Steve added as his team raced toward what appeared to be a hangar bay.
Upon arrival, they encountered numerous battle droids forming a defensive perimeter. Behind the mechanical forces stood the remaining acolytes, Dr. Vindi, and Brock Rumlow.
"Jedi scum!" a super battle droid bellowed, opening fire. The Jedi immediately drew their lightsabers to deflect the incoming blaster bolts while the clone troopers returned fire.
Natasha drew her commandeered blaster pistol, while Steve accepted a DC-15 rifle from one of the clone troopers.
"Move!" Anakin commanded, charging forward to cut through the droid line.
Once inside the hangar, the three remaining dark side acolytes ignited their crimson lightsabers, while Rumlow activated his hydraulic gauntlets with an ominous hiss.
"I want my shield back, Rumlow," Steve said with deadly calm.
"Come and take it," Rumlow challenged, raising the vibranium disc mockingly.
Anakin's attention, however, was focused on the fleeing scientist.
"Leaving so soon, Doctor?"
"You are running out of time, Jedi," Vindi taunted as he backed toward an ascending landing platform. "You cannot fight the inevitable."
"We tend to specialize in impossible odds," Natasha replied dryly, and the group rushed toward the enemy forces.
Vindi simply stepped onto the rising platform and began his escape sequence.
Rumlow engaged Steve in brutal hand-to-hand combat, keeping one eye on the retreating mad scientist.
The former HYDRA agent grunted as he deflected Rogers' punch and delivered a devastating counterattack. Using his hydraulic-enhanced strength, he managed to send Cap flying backward and leaped onto the platform just as it reached sufficient height.
"Damn it," Steve muttered. "They're going to escape."
Several clone troopers opened fire on the ascending platform, but their shots went wide.
"Don't shoot!" Anakin shouted while parrying Kadrian's crimson blade. "If that vial breaks, we're all dead!"
Suddenly, repulsors roared to life as Rhodes burst through the hangar entrance and flew directly toward the landing platform.
"Son of a bitch," Rumlow growled, preparing for aerial combat.
The Colonel streaked upward, heading straight for the mercenary, who dodged multiple strikes and retaliated with two powerful punches to Rhodes' chest armor.
Rhodes, now airborne, used his stabilizers to maintain position, raised his palm, and fired a concentrated repulsor beam at Rumlow, who hastily raised Steve's shield to deflect the energy blast.
"Rhodes!" Natasha called out urgently. "They have the virus sample! If they drop it, we're all dead. Be careful!"
Hearing this warning, Vindi retrieved several decoy vials from storage compartments on his person and hurled them into the air. Seeing the potential catastrophe, Rhodes was forced to disengage from combat with Rumlow to catch the falling containers before they could shatter.
Rumlow had Steve's shield secured to his back when suddenly a web line snagged it from below and yanked it away.
The mercenary spun around just in time to see the vibranium disc flying into Peter's waiting hands.
"I'll take that," Peter called out tauntingly. "Here you go, Cap!"
He tossed the shield in a perfect arc, and it landed directly in Steve Rogers' grasp.
"Thanks, Peter," Steve said with relief, sliding his arm through the familiar straps. "Feels like being naked without it."
Below, the three remaining acolytes recognized that they needed to retreat immediately or face capture or death.
"We must leave now," Prosset insisted.
"Agreed," Valen nodded.
"What about the others?" Kadrian asked.
"They are either dead, captured, or have found their own means of escape."
"We'll learn their fate when we report to Count Dooku."
"What about the mercenary?"
The other acolytes remained silent, uncertain how to handle Rumlow's independent agenda.
After pursuing the ascending platform, Peter hovered momentarily, locking eyes with Rumlow across the distance.
He wasted no time firing two web lines, which Rumlow caught with his enhanced gauntlets.
Peter used the connection to pull himself forward and tackle the mercenary, but Rumlow held up the vial he had taken from Vindi's equipment.
The one containing the actual Blue Shadow Virus.
Peter's eyes widened at the sight of the deadly sample, and he froze mid-swing, his spider-sense screaming warnings, but it was too late as Rumlow's hydraulic punch sent him sprawling.
"Just a kid playing hero," Rumlow taunted, walking toward the escape craft.
"Hey, what about me?!" Vindi protested, only to be roughly shoved off the platform.
"Dead weight. Don't need you anymore," Rumlow said in his gravelly voice, boarding the ship.
The engines roared to life, and everyone below watched in dismay as their primary target began to escape.
This provided the distraction the acolytes needed, allowing them to force their way past the Jedi, clones, and Avengers and make their own hasty retreat.
"We have to go after him!"
Rhodes had already launched himself skyward, with Anakin Force-jumping to follow.
Peter joined the pursuit, web-swinging onto the platform just in time to see Rumlow's ship lifting off.
Instinctively, Peter fired twin web lines to snag the ascending craft, but he realized he would have to deal with more than just the ship.
He heard maniacal laughter and turned to see Vindi clutching additional vials.
"Catch these!" Vindi cackled, hurling them into the air with mad glee.
Peter gasped behind his mask, immediately releasing his web lines as the ship gained altitude.
He fired replacement web lines, catching both vials and pulling them safely into his hands.
"I'm going to have a heart attack if this keeps up," Peter muttered, sighing with relief.
Looking up, he saw that Anakin had caught up to Vindi and was holding his lightsaber at the scientist's throat.
"You're under arrest, Dr. Vindi."
Rhodes flew past them, pursuing the ship as it began gaining serious altitude.
As he closed the distance, the craft's rear cargo ramp suddenly opened, and several thermal detonators tumbled out, forcing Rhodes to dodge frantically. The explosions created shock waves that momentarily stunned him.
That brief delay was all Rumlow needed to escape, his ship disappearing into Naboo's upper atmosphere.
"Damn it," Rhodes muttered in frustration, watching helplessly as his target vanished.
Meanwhile, Anakin and Peter faced Vindi, who held another vial threateningly, making it clear that any aggressive move would result in its release.
"Go ahead, try something," Vindi giggled maniacally.
Peppi Bow suddenly appeared from nowhere and tackled the mad scientist to the ground. In the struggle, the vial flew free and landed several meters away—fortunately without breaking. Vindi tried to retrieve it, but Peppi's determined attack quickly ended when Anakin's lightsaber appeared at his throat.
The Doctor then heard his wrist communicator beeping rapidly. He glanced down and saw that the countdown timers for all the bombs below had reached zero.
"Ha! The bombs are detonating and we're all going to die!" Dr. Vindi laughed hysterically. "Come on, die with me!" Then he noticed his device suddenly go dark. "What? What happened?"
Anakin was curious about the situation below, so he contacted his Padawan. "Ahsoka, report."
"Master, I'm here. All bombs have been successfully deactivated with time to spare. Have you captured Dr. Vindi?"
"We have him. Is Padmé safe?"
"She's right beside me. Everyone's fine," Ahsoka confirmed.
Anakin smiled and looked down at the defeated scientist.
Victory was theirs...
Above the planet, however...
A lone Separatist ship fled Naboo's atmosphere, followed by several other craft carrying the escaped acolytes.
Inside the shuttle, once Rumlow confirmed he was safely away, he pulled a small device from his utility belt.
Lifting the protective cover, the former HYDRA agent smirked.
"Enjoy this surprise, Rogers."
He pressed the activation button.
Back in the underground facility...
In the main laboratory where all the Blue Shadow Virus samples were stored, several clone troopers maintained security, watching for any signs of trouble.
Without warning, they heard a faint electronic beeping echoing through the chamber. Initially thinking it was someone's communicator, they soon realized the sound was coming from something else entirely.
It didn't take long to locate the source—the beeping was emanating from the glass storage container holding all the virus vials.
When Rumlow realized the mission would likely fail once the Avengers arrived, he had devised a backup plan to deliver a devastating blow when they least expected it.
In a covert operation, the former HYDRA agent had planted several explosive charges where the Blue Shadow Virus samples were stored. These bombs were connected to a remote detonator with an experimental range that could function from planetary surface through atmosphere.
Now, in the present moment—
BOOM!
The explosion rocked the entire laboratory complex, alerting everyone still inside and those on the surface platform.
"What was that?" Luminara asked with grave concern.
"It came from the main laboratory," Obi-Wan said grimly.
As the realization dawned on them, many began to understand what had just occurred.
Dr. Nuvo Vindi began laughing maniacally.
"It's all useless!" Vindi shouted ecstatically. "The virus has been released! Naboo's doom approaches! You have all failed!"
The Blue Shadow Virus was now spreading through the facility—and time was running out for everyone trapped inside.