Latest update:October 21, 2023
Summary:After a mission goes sideways Obi Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Padme Amidala, Captain Rex, and Ahsoka Tano find themselves appearing on a planet where 80% of people are born with quirks. With no way to return home the fivesome set about creating new lives for themselves, altering the destiny of the world forever.
Link:https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14062386/1/The-Force-Is-Not-A-Quirk
Word count:168k
Chapters:46
Episode I
The Quirked World
As more and more planets find themselves dragged
into the conflict that has become known as THE CLONE WARS
the JEDI, once merely peacekeepers of the Republic find
themselves forced to become commanders.
Of the Jedi commanders of the Grand Army of the Republic
no two are more famous that Jedi Master OBI WAN KENOBI
and his former padawan ANAKIN SKYWALKER, who see
themselves called on to help in the conflict more often
On the planet Rathbin II the two Jedi, along with Anakin's
new Padawan AHSOKA TANO and Senator PADME AMIDALA,
prepare to meet with Separatist representatives who hope to
find a peaceful solution to the conflict…
"I don't like this," Captain Rex said as they sat in ornate and, in his opinion, rather gaudy office. While some might have thought that his dislike of opulent places was a clone thing or a soldier thing it was actually a Kamino thing. Even in their private homes the Kaminoins believed that everything should serve a purpose and that embellishments such as color were just wastes. Rex didn't QUITE go as far as his creators did, who preferred as muted of colors as possible; after all he dyed his hair blond. But he did believe that offices such as the one they were in now were pits where credits were tossed to die.
"Come on Rex, have a bit of optimist!" Anakin teased, leaning back in his chair. He looked utterly relax but everyone in the room knew he was anything but. Anakin had learned how to master the ability to appear relax in tense situations while keeping his sense of what was around him and the dangers they might pose in sharp focus. It was in private matters, with those he SHOULD feel comfortable around, where he couldn't hide his emotions at all. Put him with a bunch of scared civilians and no matter his frustrations or worries he came off as collected. Put him with annoying Senators and he would brood but otherwise maintain his composure. Put him with the Jedi at the temple or the clones under his command and a keen eye could see the worry. Have him with Padme or Obi Wan and he became an utterly babbling wreck.
"You, an optimist?" Obi Wan said, a smile tugging on his lips. "Now I do fear that the end of the galaxy is coming."
"I can be optimistic!" Anakin complained.
"Oh yes, of course," Obi Wan assured him. "When it comes to being utterly reckless you are always telling me how 'this will be fine, master'."
"Exactly!" Anakin declared with a grin.
"But when it comes to everything else you are always looking for the negative, the downside."
"That isn't true!" he turned to Ahsoka. "That isn't true, right?"
"I'm not getting in the middle of this, master" Ahsoka said; while she'd only been working with Anakin and Obi Wan for a few standard months she'd learned quickly never to butt into one of their squabbles. There was fun teasing and there was the headache that came from those two nagging at each other like an old married couple.
"A padawan is supposed to defend and aid their master in their time of need," Anakin countered.
"Are you saying you are so weak you need me to help you against Master Kenobi's watered down insults?"
Both Jedi began to sputter at those insults, causing Padme to roll her eyes before leaving her chair and moving to stand next to Rex. "What has you so worried?" she asked. "Things seem to be going well. We got several concessions out of the Separatist committee and what we've given up I would have agreed to anyway. It will be a bit of a harder sell to the full Senate but I am sure I can make them go along with what we came up with." She smiled; she was growing more and more used to talking with the clones and they with her, even if most were still stiff around her and far too formal.
"Two things are playing around in my gut… and I've learned to always trust it."
"And those are?" she asked.
"Things are too easy," he said with a shake of his head.
"And that's a bad thing?" Padme asked.
"Yeah," Rex said simply. "In war things don't go easy. You have to fight for every advantage. No matter how perfect your plan is there is resistance. And if there isn't that usually means you're either in the wrong place… or you're in the wrong place and it's a trap."
Padme though smiled, patting his arm. "We aren't at war. That's the point of these negotiations-"
"This is war, Senator. Just one with words instead of blasters. You are fighting to get gains on the battle field. The concessions are you losing some ground to gain territory other places. It's a fight and it's going too easily."
She didn't believe that for a second as, while happy with how things had gone, she would never say it had been 'easy' but she didn't say that aloud. Instead she merely looked at him and raised a single eyebrow. "And the other thing that is bothering you?"
"I don't like negotiated with things that don't have faces."
As if summoned by his comments the Separatist Committee entered the room. They were made up of two humans, a Sy Myrthian, and a rather plain and smooth looking droid whose head was a smooth ball with two pinpricks where its eyes should have been and a collar of thick black metal around its neck. The droid belong to Ny Karoo, a member of the Banking Clan who hadn't been able to attend in person.
Rex scowled as the droid sat down and the collar flared, causing a hologram of Karoo's head to form around the droid's. Instantly the body language of the droid changed for rigid to the familiar fluidity of the Muun.
"We apologize for the delay," Karoo said, raising its hand in a motion of apology. "Some matters came up that we had to deal with."
"Completely understandable," Padme said as she took her seat across from the rest of the committee members. "Now, I believe we were going to discuss humanitarian corridors. There are many beings on both sides of the conflict who wish to avoid risk to themselves and their families and I believe all of us don't want to begin using innocents as hostages."
"Actually," Obi Wan said, having not taken his seat, "there is something else I think we should discuss first."
"And that is, Master Jedi?" one of the humans, Tin Plobar, asked with a raised eyebrow.
Obi Wan smiled as he looked right at Karoo's holographic face. "Why are you delaying us… Count."
The droid sat there for a moment before it suddenly twisted, a blaster extending from its arm and shooting the Separatist committee members dead. At once Obi Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka had their lightsabers out, Rex going for his blaster while Anakin shoved Padme behind him. The droid turned and the hologram flickered, revealing the face of Count Dooku.
"And here I thought I might be able to draw this out a bit longer. I rather did enjoy discussing matters with you, Senator Amidala. Ny Karoo was so very kind to let me stand in his place for this and I must admit you were a fair negotiator. A shame we could not have interacted truthfully."
"A pity you don't have an honorable bone in your body."
Rather than answer the droid turned away from Padme. "Tell me, Master Kenobi, how did you see through my disguise?"
"The way you kept reaching up to rub your chin," Obi Wan said, not dropping his defensive stance. "A Muun would never do that, as touching one's face is considered rude in their culture."
"Ah, of course. It seems I've become forgetful in my old age. I would say that you would come to understand such things but I am afraid your time is short."
Anakin frowned, pressing his lips together. "What is your game, Dooku?"
"Haven't you guessed? There are many in the Separatist movement who believe that war is not the answer… they were willing to break away when the Republic was weak but with its clone army they have grown worried about the fighting. Whispers of wanting a truce, to find some way to bring about an quiet peace, have begun to crop out like mushrooms. But when word gets out that you killed several of the leaders it will make the rest fall in line, knowing that the Republic can't be trusted." The Count let out a sigh. "It is too bad you died in the explosion that followed. It would have been so wonderful to bring you to justice and learn of why you did such things. All the pity."
And with that Dooku's hologram head disappeared and the droid collapsed just as the glass windows were sealed with heavy blast shields, the lights cutting out so that the only illumination came from the drawn lightsabers.
"He's going to blow up the building," Anakin said.
"Yes, that was rather obvious," Obi Wan said, looking about.
"Master, what should we do?" Ahsoka asked, eyeing up the now-covered windows. "Can we cut through the blast shields?"
Anakin though shook his head. "I don't think so, Snips. Too thick." He pulled out a comm. unit. "R2? Can you read me?" He frowned. "R2?"
"Jammed, General," Rex said. "I can't reach any of the troopers we left with the ship."
"Then we just need to find a way out," Anakin said.
"The ceiling," Padme suggested. "We cut through that and make our way up. I doubt Count Dooku sealed off the entire building."
"That might work," Obi Wan said. "Rex, some blaster fire to weaken it. We can then use the force to create a hole."
"Yes General," Rex said, drawing his guns. "I knew this was going to turn out bad." He fired several shots and Obi Wan and Anakin set to work tearing out bits of the ceiling, revealing the next room above them.
"Okay," Anakin said, walking over and wrapping his arms around Padme, his wife looping her own arms around his neck. "Ahsoka, you help Rex up. As soon as we are up there we-" He paused, looking at Obi Wan… who had begun to glow an odd blackish-purple. "Uh… is that some new trick they teach council members?"
"Not unless they've taught the rest of you," Obi Wan replied, looking at the others who had also began to glow.
"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this," Padme said just as the five of them seemingly blinked out of existence, the building exploding moments later.
~MC~MC~MC~
"Ooowwww," Ahsoka moaned as she rubbing her rear; it wasn't a dignified Jedi thing to do but honestly she was aching all over and really didn't care at the moment. One moment they had been standing on solid ground and the next they'd been 8 feet off the ground… and rushing back towards it. "Are we dead?"
"If you feel pain you aren't dead," Obi Wan said, leaning against a wall and rubbing his forehead.
"One of the benefits of being alive," Anakin stated. He was sprawled out on the ground and while he knew he should get up Padme was currently lying on his chest and frankly any chance for him to have her rest on top of him was rather nice.
"I'd like to know HOW we are alive, General," Rex said as he patted himself down, making sure that he had all his weapons and gear. "Because the last thing I remember is that we were in a building about to blow up."
"Does it matter?" Ahsoka asked. "We are alive!"
"It does if we are trapped on some hostile planet," Obi Wan stated, bringing her good mood seriously down. "And considering I've never seen buildings like this before I would say there is a 50/50 chance of that."
"We also were dealing with Count Dooku," Anakin said, finally getting up.
"…70/30 then," Obi Wan said. "At least Ventress hasn't leapt out to attack us."
"That is odd," Anakin admitted, dusting himself off. "usually she loves popping up to flirt with you. I'm surprised she wasn't hiding under the desk."
Padme began to look about their new location as well. They were on a street though it was made of some weird dark material; nothing like the durasteel of Corusaunt or the stonework found in Thebes. Not even the hard-packed soil many planets had. It had painted lines on it that she couldn't make much sense of other than them seemed to divide it in two. The buildings were also odd; tall and straight like Coruscant architecture but much smaller. There were also tiny buildings that looked like the shops one would find on Naboo, complete with odd produce in wooden square baskets. It looked all smashed together, like someone had taken several different planets and tried to mix them together to create a city.
"Careful," Anakin warned her as she walked over to one of the smaller shops.
"It's alright, Ani," she told him. "There is no one around."
"That's what worries me," Anakin said, looking at the empty streets. Despite the city looking rather complex it seemed utterly empty. In his experience people didn't leave towns utterly empty and avoid of life without a very good reason.
"I wish it were night time," Obi Wan commented. "Then we could see the stars and try and determine just where we were." He looked at Anakin. "Have you tried radioing for R2 again?"
"No… good idea." Anakin fished out the communicator. "R2?" Once more though he was greeted with quiet. "Just a moment…" He began to fiddle with the comm.. "This isn't a jamming this time. We're out of range."
"Same," Rex said, having tried his helmet's comm..
"Everyone, come over here," Padme said. "This is so odd."
"What is it, Senator?" Rex asked, slowly moving towards her, his blasters out and ready. Obi Wan and Ahsoka had their lightsabers (thankful they hadn't lost them when… whatever… had happened) while Anakin moved off to the side, trying to adjust the comm. unit in hopes of boosting the signal and reaching R2. It might end up frying the thing but if he did it right he could get it to cover the entire planet. Rathbin II wasn't that large of a planet…
Padme held up a red fruit. "This looks like something we have on Naboo. Only…" she tapped it against the wall of the shop and it made a hollow sound. "It isn't organic."
Obi Wan took the weird fruit from her. "Rex, a knife?" The clone handed a blade over and Obi Wan cut into the fruit, revealing that it was mostly just air. "How strange… it seems to be made of plastic."
"Why would they sell plastic fruit?" Ahsoka asked.
"Maybe whatever species lives here needs to eat plastic?" Padme ventured. "Though I must admit I don't know why they'd make it look like fruit. To blend in maybe…"
"I can't reach R2," Anakin said, joining them. "Even if he'd taken the ship into high atmosphere I should have been able to reach him."
"So we are definitely off planet. That is… worrisome," Obi Wan said, rubbing his chin.
"And then there is the fact that we have no lost time," Rex said, tapping his helmet. "My chrono reader didn't even skip a second."
Ahsoka frowned. "If we were taken why leave us with our weapons?"
"All really good questions," Padme said, setting the fruit down. "I think we should-"
Anakin instantly moved in front of her, lightsaber swinging as he cut down a projectile that had been rocketing towards her. It was an orb, just a bit smaller than one of the training devices used to teach younglings how to wield a lightsaber, though it was black in color and lacked many of the normal features of the device.
The group was too concerned though with someone FIRING on them to really examine it.
"No blaster fire," Anakin said as another two orbs shot at them rapidly, Ahsoka and Obi Wan slicing those up easily. "Just those weird balls."
"So either someone is trying to merely capture us or we are dealing with rather primitive peoples," Obi Wan said just as the wall beside them began to roil and shift. "Oh, that can't be good." He quickly wrapped an arm around Rex and leapt up, Anakin snatching up Padme while Ahsoka went on her own, the three Jedi leaping to the roof of a building just as the side of the shop they had been standing next to suddenly rushed out, closing around the spot they had been standing in moments earlier. "No, definitely not good!"
"Master!" Anakin said, pointing as the cement wall changed paths and began to rush towards them. "It's trying to box us in!"
"Then let's not be here when it arrives!" Obi Wan said and once more he pushed off, Anakin and Ahsoka leaping after him with Rex and Padme held on tight. The cement crashed into the building, sealing up the roof, but the five were on the ground and running once more, now forced to use their lightsabers as they hurried down the road to keep the orbs from striking them.
"If I could just get a moment I could see who was shooting at us!" Rex said as they ducked around a corner… and a projectile arced after them, bursting open as it hit Padme and wrapping her up in a thick net. "Senator!"
"I'm… I'm okay!" Padme assured them as Rex caught her. "It doesn't hurt. I just-ugh!" she grimaced as she wiggled, her movements stilling. "I take it back… if I move it tightens."
"Then let's get it off," Anakin said sternly only for Obi Wan to hold out his hand.
"Its too tight around her to use your lightsaber and we don't know if it will crush her if we try to use the force to pry it off. Let Rex focus on getting her out while we deal with our pursuers."
Anakin narrowed eyes before nodding. "Right. Rex, get the Senator out of that."
"Yes General," he said, reaching into his belt and pulling out a set of clippers that were used for dealing with droid wires, kneeling down and beginning to work on Padme as she tried to maintain her balance.
"Ahsoka, keep watch on that end. Anakin and I will defend this end."
"Uh… master?" Ahsoka said, her voice tense. "I think I need you on THIS end!"
Anakin and Obi Wan turned to see that two fingers had appeared at the end of the alley. One was a man with long black hair, wearing golden goggles and with a gray scarf around his neck. The other was a woman dressed in a flesh-colored body suit and black leather that resembled Twi'Lik garb and holding, of all things, a whip.
"I don't know how you naughty boys got in here but I'm going to make sure you are punished," the woman said with a saucy smirk before releasing a pale purple smoke at them.
"Oh, I think we're a bit too old to be punished, my dear," Obi Wan said with his own smile before thrusting out his hand, using the force to send the smoke right back at the two. The man with the scarf quickly leapt out of the way, grabbing onto some metal attached to the building to his right to vault over the cloud while the woman's eyes went wide in surprise that they shoved her attack back.
"Hmmm," the man said, landing in front of them. "Let's see you try that again," he declared, staring right at Obi Wan, his hair rising up as if caught in an updraft. "Midnight!"
The woman fired off another cloud that went right by the man, parting around him like a river around a massive stone, only for Obi Wan to once more thrust out his hand and push the cloud back. That… clearly caused the scarf man to start in surprise.
"How…"
"Eraser! I thought you erased their quirk!"
"I did," the man, Eraser, told the woman known as Midnight. "I don't know how they did that!"
"I don't know what a 'quirk' is," Anakin said, stepping forward and spinning his lightsaber, "but I do know that you can't block the Force. I also know that I'm not really in a good mood considering I almost got blown up so why don't you tell me right now who you work for before I MAKE you tell me."
"How about not?" Eraser said and suddenly his scarf launched out, startling Anakin so much he couldn't leap away before it wrapped around him. "Instead why don't you tell us how you got here?"
Obi Wan lashed out with his lightsaber, cutting through the scarf which instantly fell to the ground. "We suddenly appeared her, as strange as that might sound."
"A teleportation quirk?" Eraser said, remaining tense and ready even as he looked in surprise at his destroyed scarf.
"Its possible," Midnight said, walking forward, some of the aggression they had seen earlier leaking away. "Would explain how they suddenly appeared here and set off the alarms but didn't trigger any other ones. Doesn't explain how they are able to use their quirks still with you staring at them."
"Again, not sure what a 'quirk' is," Anakin said, pointing at the two with his lightsaber.
"What you just did to push away Midnight's Somnambulist," Eraser said as Midnight slowly walked towards them, lowering her whip while Eraser looked over his scarf.
"That, my dear, was not a 'quirk' or whatever you wish to call it. That was the Force." Obi Wan stepped forward, Anakin frankly glad because he hated having to explain to the ignorant what the Force was. It always came off as stilted and made him cringe. "The Force in an energy that surrounds and penetrates all beings in the galaxy. There are some who are strong in the Force and can use it in all manner of ways."
"…so a quirk," Midnight said.
"It's not this weird quirk thing you keep bringing up!" Anakin complained. "We're Jedi, okay? We use the Force. Now I'm going to ask again: who are you working for? Dooku? Gunray? Did they do some weird genetic altering to you to let you shoot out that gas?"
"Forgeiners?" Midnight asked Eraser, ignoring Anakin's question.
"Possible. But they'd have to be rather sheltered to not know what a Quirk was." He let out a weary sigh. "Probably part of some backwater cult."
"Excuse me?" Anakin complained.
"Whatever the case might be, they aren't a threat!" a voice chimed out and Anakin turned to see a 2 foot tall rat-mouse thing popping out of a tall cylinder that had been sitting in the alley.
"GAAAA!" Anakin cried out, leaping back. He hadn't even SENSED the creature was there!
"Hello there!" the white rat-mouse thing said pleasantly. "Sorry for all the trouble here. You must understand we were quite startled when you suddenly appeared on our training grounds."
"Understandable," Obi Wan said as Anakin tried to catch his breath; he didn't know WHY he was so startled as he'd faced down bigger threats and more startling surprises but the weird creature had freaked him the hell out. Padme, who was finally free of the net, walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder while Rex and Ahsoka moved to stand with the rest of the group. "We, after all, did trespass here even if we didn't mean too."
"Apology accepted and please accept mine for rushing to attack you so quickly!" The white rat-mouse thing held out a stubby paw-like hand. "I am Principal Nezdu. May I present Kayama Nemuri-" Midnight smiled, "-and Aizawa Shōta." Eraser merely stared them down, still not relaxing. "They are two teachers here at U.A. High School."
Obi Wan bowed slightly. "Greetings. I am Jedi Master Obi Wan Kenobi. With me are Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Padawan Ahsoka Tano, Captain Rex, and Senator Padme Amidala."
"Those are some interesting names and titles," Nemuri/Midnight said with a smirk. "Quite the mouthful."
Anakin huffed. "I could say the same thing, 'Midnight'."
"Anakin," Padme chastised before looking at Principal Nezdu. "We truly are sorry to intrude. We don't know how we got here and didn't mean to cause any trouble. If you are able to point us to your nearest communications center we can call the Jedi Temple and arrange for someone to pick us up."
Obi Wan nodded. "What planet are we on. I thought we were on Rathbin II but I know of no schools there."
"…planet?" Nemuri asked.
"Yes," Padme said.
"Earth," she said slowly.
"I've never heard of Earth before," Obi Wan said, rubbing his chin. "What system is that in?"
"The… solar system," Nemuri said slowly, clearly confused.
"Like… after a sun?" Ahsoka said, crinkling her nose. "Who names their system Sun?"
"Well," Nedzu said, looking at the interlopers with a bemused smile. "It seems we are all quite confused. Why don't we return to my office and we can see if we can figure this all out, shall we?"
After a moment Obi Wan nodded, finally deactivating his lightsaber. That was a signal for the others to do the same, Rex holstering his sidearms. "Very well, Principal Nedzu."
"Splendid! I have some lovely tea I think you will enjoy."
"Why thank you!" Obi Wan said with a polite smile. "You know it has been far too long since I had a decent cup."
"And isn't that just a tragedy!"
"Oh no, there are two of them now," Anakin moaned as Nedzu and Obi Wan began to walk out of the alley, discussing their favorite teas.
Link:https://m.fanfiction.net/s/14062386/1/The-Force-Is-Not-A-Quirk