"Obi-Wan?"
She looked up at the Jedi Master, barely able to suppress her amusement as she saw a wide-eyed, completely stunned Obi-Wan Kenobi standing frozen before her.
The Republic's most composed Jedi Master—a man who seemed unshakeable in battle—had been rendered speechless by a simple kiss.
"Just like old times," Satine said with obvious fondness, shaking her head in amusement.
The Duchess reached out and gently patted his cheek several times, effectively snapping him out of his daze.
"Good to know that particular technique still works," Satine said with a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying the sight of the Jedi Master's reddened face.
Clink... beep
Both of them looked down to see a thermal detonator rolling toward their position, its timer already activated.
In a split second, Obi-Wan used the Force to push Satine clear of the blast radius, then dove in the opposite direction just as the explosive device detonated.
BOOM
Thick smoke filled the alley while emergency sirens wailed throughout the surrounding area. As the ringing in her ears subsided, Satine saw a Death Watch operative advancing toward her with his blaster drawn. Before the terrorist could fire, Obi-Wan charged directly at the Mandalorian warrior and engaged him in fierce hand-to-hand combat.
"Satine, go! Get out of here!"
"But—"
"Now!"
The Duchess did as instructed and took off running, glancing back only once to see Kenobi locked in desperate combat with the Death Watch assassin.
All she could do now was attempt to reach the Senate building. If she could turn herself in there, perhaps the situation might resolve more favorably than it had begun. She could only hope that Obi-Wan would successfully deliver the data disc to Senator Amidala in time to save Mandalore from invasion.
As she reached the end of the pedestrian walkway, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
The reason was immediately obvious: four Death Watch operatives stood directly in front of her, all with blasters trained on the Duchess.
Satine found herself completely surrounded by the Mandalorian terrorists, with nowhere to run.
"It's over, Duchess," one of the operatives sneered with obvious satisfaction.
Satine straightened her posture, her expression remaining defiant despite the very real fear of what was about to happen to her.
"Is it?"
Everyone looked skyward to see a figure in distinctive gray and silver armor diving directly toward them, his metallic fist connecting solidly with the helmet of the nearest Death Watch member. The impact was so severe that the terrorist's head snapped back before he collapsed unconscious to the ground.
A moment later, a silver-blue blur streaked past with incredible velocity, striking another Death Watch operative and launching him into the air. The Mandalorian quickly activated his jetpack to stabilize himself, but didn't remain airborne for long as a red and blue figure dropped from above, knocked him to the pavement, and immediately ensnared him in synthetic webbing.
One of the remaining terrorists attempted to flee, but met a similar fate when a winged figure descended from the sky and tackled him to the ground with precision.
The last Death Watch operative standing looked around frantically as two more figures emerged from the shadows and delivered simultaneous punches to either side of his helmet. The Mandalorian crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap.
"Duchess Satine?"
Satine turned around, her eyes widening slightly as she saw Steve approaching with Natasha at his side. She then glanced around to discover the entire roster of Avengers surrounding her... except for one notable absence.
"I apologize for the delay," Steve said respectfully. "We're still learning to navigate this city efficiently."
Satine couldn't help but offer a grateful smile to the heroes who had formed a protective circle around her.
"Once again, I find myself rescued by the remarkable Avengers."
"You can thank Kenobi for that," Natasha said with a knowing smile. "He was the one who contacted us and requested our assistance."
"Really?" Satine asked with obvious curiosity, glancing toward the Jedi Master, who displayed a rare moment of genuine bashfulness. The Duchess then frowned slightly. "Aren't there nine members on your team?"
"Oh, Matt?" Peter interjected quickly. "He said something about pursuing a lone target."
Satine simply nodded in understanding.
"I believe it would be advisable for you to accompany us, Your Grace," Steve suggested diplomatically, extending his hand.
The Mandalorian leader looked at the assembled group with obvious concern.
"Unless you'd prefer to be processed by Republic authorities?"
"Captain Rogers, I would be more than honored to be escorted by your... colorful team."
Above them, positioned on the rooftop of a nearby building, a lone Mandalorian warrior breathed a quiet sigh of relief upon seeing that Satine had been successfully rescued.
The solitary figure watched as the Duchess was protectively surrounded by these Avengers, who had become the subject of considerable galactic attention over recent months.
Satisfied that the Duchess was safe and secure, the Mandalorian prepared to depart when suddenly sensing someone approaching from behind.
"Well now, this is quite a surprise to find you lurking up here," came a calm, measured voice.
The Mandalorian froze completely, feeling an electrified staff being positioned threateningly near her neck.
"Don't try anything foolish. Drop your weapons immediately."
She cursed silently under her breath. How had this individual managed to approach so stealthily? And why did his voice sound oddly familiar?
"I can sense you reaching for your sidearm," the man continued, tapping her shoulder plate lightly, which sent an involuntary shiver through Bo-Katan. "I'd prefer not to use this weapon at full power. It would take far too long for you to regain consciousness."
She was now grinding her teeth in frustration. Who did this person think he was?
In a lightning-fast movement, she spun around and raised her right gauntlet. A torrent of flames erupted toward the opponent she could now see clearly.
He wore a form-fitting red and black suit that appeared almost metallic in texture, topped with a deep red helmet featuring two small horn-like protrusions. The design made him look somewhat like a Devaronian.
The man ducked beneath the stream of fire and swung his electrified staff horizontally toward the Mandalorian's helmet. She jerked her head backward and immediately deactivated the flamethrower.
She quickly launched herself skyward with her jetpack, but the mysterious figure proved to be recklessly determined. He sprinted forward, leaped high into the air, and grabbed onto her legs, causing both of them to tumble through the air until she used her jetpack to stabilize their chaotic flight.
The man maintained his grip on her ankles while his enhanced hearing picked up multiple familiar heartbeats approaching their position. Using the advanced communication systems built into his new suit, he contacted his backup.
"Could use some assistance up here," he said tersely.
She was doing everything possible to shake him loose, spinning and diving through the air traffic, but the persistent individual simply held onto her legs with iron determination, showing no signs of releasing his grip.
As she reached for her blaster, his hand shot up to grab her wrist, and the two began struggling in mid-air with neither able to gain a decisive advantage.
"How nice to see you just hanging around up there, Matt."
She finally stopped her evasive maneuvers and hovered in place, looking left and right to discover not one, but two flying Avengers flanking her position.
"Very funny, Rhodes," the man clinging to her legs muttered. "Now can you help me apprehend her so we can get some answers?"
In response, Rhodes's shoulder-mounted weapons activated, targeting the Mandalorian directly as she frantically calculated possible escape routes.
"If you're thinking about running," Sam called out loudly, "you should know there are six more of us who can pursue you."
She clenched her fists and took a moment to reassess her increasingly dire tactical situation. She paused at a distinctive whining sound and looked back to see the armored colonel raising his hand, with energy visibly building in his palm repulsors.
"There's a significant chance I might accidentally damage your jetpack if you keep moving erratically," the Colonel warned. "Are you prepared to surrender?"
Her Mandalorian pride roared within her, demanding that she fight to the end. But a more practical voice whispered that she needed to survive, because she still had responsibilities to Satine and their people.
Eventually, the Mandalorian reluctantly began descending toward the ground, with two armed flyers maintaining their weapons trained on her.
"You know, Matt, you can release her now," Sam called down to him.
"At this point, I'd rather not take unnecessary risks."
"Any one of us could have caught her if she'd tried to escape," Rhodes pointed out logically.
"I maintain my previous position."
"You're literally only a few meters from solid ground now. Let go."
Matt released his hold without comment, then stood up as the Mandalorian landed gracefully in front of the assembled Avengers. He looked over his shoulder as Duchess Satine stepped forward with Obi-Wan Kenobi at her side.
There was a moment of tense silence as the Death Watch operative stared directly at the blonde woman before her, then she sighed deeply. She reached up to her helmet and removed it completely, revealing auburn hair, piercing green eyes, and facial features that bore a striking resemblance to...
"Hello, Satine."
"...Hello, Bo," Satine replied after a long pause. "It's... good to see you after all these years."
"Is it really?" Bo-Katan asked, raising one eyebrow skeptically.
No one spoke for several moments as everyone exchanged uncertain glances, observing the two women who clearly shared some significant history.
"Forgive the interruption, Your Grace," Steve said diplomatically, "but who exactly is this woman?"
Satine's gaze shifted to the red-haired warrior. "Allow me to introduce Bo-Katan Kryze to everyone. She's my sister."
The assembled Avengers remained silent at this revelation as both sisters continued staring at each other with obvious tension.
"Well... this isn't awkward at all," Peter muttered under his breath.