"I swear, I am so SICK of us having to study Kurosawa films!" Bakugo snarled as he stormed out of school, is palms sending small explosions behind him as he stalked towards the sidewalk. "I've already seen then ten times! I know more about them than our shitty teacher! He's actually making me hate them!" He let out a violent snort as he continued on his way from school. "I only have to do it because of you extras!" he snapped at his tagalongs who were following just behind him. "I swear, I am so mad the next person I see is getting punched in the face so fucking hard their grandparents will feel the explosion!"

Izuku waited an extra five minutes before clamoring out of the empty dumpster he'd dove into when he'd heard Bakugo coming. While he was his closest friend Izuku knew that sometimes Kaa-chan needed to blow off steam… and blow UP on people. And at the moment, for the first time in ages, Izuku had better things to do than trying to get his best friend to see reason.

Sneaking his way home, Izuku entered his apartment and darted into his room, tossing his book bag by his bed and putting several of his notebooks on his shelf before opening his closet and looking over what he had in there. He had no idea what Rex might want for them to do so he wasn't for sure what would be the best clothing to wear for their first day of training. He'd only mentioned that they would meet at Dagobah Beach (and had gotten an odd look on his face when Izuku had suggested it as the perfect place for what he needed).

"That area is a trash heap," he muttered to himself. "After the city lost its funding to clean it up and that storm sent all that garbage onto it everyone just began to dump anything they didn't want anymore there. No one goes there if they can help it so I guess that makes it a good place to train… but it also isn't the best place to have freedom of movement."

Realizing he only had about a half an hour left to get dressed and head down Izuku finally settled on going with layers he could easily strip off as well as packing a pair of shorts he didn't mind getting dirty or torn. He also quickly threw in some thin gloves his mom had gotten him to wear during the winter that might help if he needed to paw through the garbage. That finally settled he hurried out the door, not bothering to leave a note as he'd already let him mom know he'd be back at supper time.

Dagobah wasn't fair from his house but it was just far enough that he didn't go there often. There were plenty of other parks he could head to if he was in the mood for fresh air and considering some of the bullies that liked to bother him it was better to be close to home if he needed sanctuary.

So he wasn't worn out at all when he finally arrived at what had once probably been a rather nice beach and was now an utter garbage pit. He hurried down the steps when he spotted Rex sitting on a car that was more rust than auto, checking over something that resembled a gun but looked rather sleeker.

"You're here!" Izuku exclaimed.

"Told you to meet me here," Rex commented, putting his blasted back in its holster. At his feet were a couple of bags.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah but I'm used to people telling me they'll meet me somewhere and not showing up. Or if they do they claim they didn't actually want me to show up and get upset." Rex just stared at him, utterly startled by that admission. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bugged you about that."

"You absolutely should have, kid," Rex said firmly, making a snap decision. This poor little greenie might have been Ahsoka's age but there were clone cadets that had only been made 3 years ago that had more backbone that him. The kid had been beaten down far too much if he accepted such treatment as acceptable and Rex knew that it was ending now. "You ever have anyone pull that poodoo on you again you give me a ring. I'll gladly talk with them."

"It's fine!" Izuku exclaimed, waving his hands about frantically. "I mean it… no big deal at all! I just make things sound worse than they really are! Really!"

"Mmmmhmmm," Rex murmured slowly, deciding to let that go… for now. "Alright, well looks like you dressed good for training. Old clothes?"

"Yeah. Wasn't for sure what we would be doing but figured I might get dirty."

"Oh, you'll be getting dirty!" Rex said with a smirk that had Izuku feeling just a touch nervous. "You know what I called the new recruits? Shinies. Because their armor was all nice and neat and clean. Straight from the factory. A real soldier? You were able to tell them because their armor had dents and scuffs and scratches and were covered in grim." He looked down at Izuku and said in a voice that was half teasing and half chilling, "I'm gonna get you to skip the shiny phase."

"Oh… okay," Izuku said. "I guess that makes sense. I know there are heroes who don't like to get dirty-"

"You ever have to work with people like that you be prepared for them to do nothing," Rex said, cutting Izuku off. "Good s… good heroes are in the trenches getting dirty. They don't care if their gear is covered in muck as that is better than a civ being covered in blood."

Izuku rapidly nodded at that. "Yeah! Totally get that!" He looked around the beach. "So what are we going to do? Clean up this place to build up my muscles?"

"Why would we do something foolish like that? This beach is perfect!" Rex held out his arms and looked at the mountains of junk.

Izuku… just blinked.

"It… it is?"

Rex glanced over at Izuku and forced himself not to sigh. He understood where the kid was coming from; after he had gotten done being interviewed (interrogated) by the UA staff he had done his own research into this world and its heroes and he had a rather good understanding how things worked and how one rose up in the ranks of hero society. Izuku's confusion had just shown him that he was right and he had to quietly remind himself that while he was going to train Izuku like he would have a cadet the teen wasn't a brother. He was a civvy and he needed to remember he had that mentality.

"Who are the current Top Ten Heroes in Japan?"

Without missing a beat Izuku happily declared, "Gang Orca, Ryukyu, Yoroi Musha, Slammoth, Crust, Edgeshot, Best Jeanist, Hawks, Endevour, and All Might!"

"And what do you see nearly all of them having in common?"

Izuku frowned at that, unable to stop himself from muttering about the heroes. "They all have different types of quirks. Mutation, Transformation, and Emitor. They live in different places too. Country of origin… maybe but… no that…" He began to think about their quirks, this time going from 1 to 10. "Strength amplifier, fire, flight and wings, fabric manipulation-" Izuku stopped as it dawned on him. "Nearly all of them are known for their direct attack approaches!"

"That's right," Rex told him and Izuku beamed at the praise. "Everyone except Hawks, Edgeshot, and Crust focus on direct offense." He paused, wanting to make sure Izuku was paying attention to what he was going to say. "Now, of all the crimes committed in Japan this year, what percentage do you think were stopped by the Top Ten together." Rex knew that was a rather complex question he was asking but Izuku had shown that he was a bright guy and he was sure he could figure it out.

"Okay, so there are roughly 1,219 heroes activate in Japan right now, though that isn't the actual number as many hero rankings group teams together as a single unit. So that means the Top 10 account for less than 1% of the total hero population. But they're are also far more activate. Roughly a third of all heroes are rescue heroes…" He began to do the mental math, remembering All Might's crime fighting statistics, the crime rates in Japan, and other factors before declaring, "The Top Ten account for 15% of all crimes prevented."

"Good kid," Rex said with a smile. "Except its not even half that. You were right when you said they were 1% of the Hero Population… they account for roughly 2.7% of all crimes stopped or prevented." Rex made a mental note to thank Obi Wan again for helping figure that out.

"But…" Izuku said in shock, jaw hacking down, "but… how can that be?! All Might-"

"Actually brings the amount up by a lot. I should have removed him from the equation, actually. In fact if you get rid of him, Endeavour, and Hawks you end up at barely .5%."

"That… no!" Izuku exclaimed. "How-"

"How many muggings does Crust stop?"

Izuku blinked, startled by the question… because at once he got what Rex was getting at. "They only handle major crimes."

"Exactly," Rex said. "The news loves to show the flashy crimes… and the flashy heroes. All Might punching out some crimmy who is trying to blow up a city block, Hawks taking down some kidnappers. They don't cover the 10 muggings that Ingenium stops in a single night and he is one of the flasher patrolling heroes." He patted the car he was leaning against and Izuku came over, hopping up onto the hood, resting his feet onto the bumper. "Don't get me wrong, sometimes flashy is needed. I've dealt with whole armies before. Armies. And some of the people I've fought with had amazing abilities. Ones that felt utterly impossible. Those powers… sometimes they turned the tide of battle for us. Took out threats that would have taken a thousand fighters to deal with. But… there was only a handful of them. Most of the battles were fought with people like me. Who just had their guts and their skills."

"Okay," Izuku said slowly. "That makes sense. But… what does that have to deal with this beach?"

"You ever seen battlefields before, kid?"

"I've watched a lot of hero fights," izuku told him.

"And what did they end up looking like after a few minutes?"

"Well, it depends on the hero. With All Might there are a lot of craters if the villains dodge his blows or if he's forced to hit them into buildings. With Endeavor he tends to burn down things or melt them. Hawks doesn't do a lot of collateral…" He trailed off and Rex smiled as Izuku realized just what he was getting at. "It's not clean."

"No. No it isn't." Rex waved at the beach. "That's why this place is perfect. It's a battlefield already torn up. A street that has seen a villain fight. You don't have a quirk, kid, which means you can't leap over or punch your way through an obstacle. You need to learn how to get through. How to dodge, roll, sneak." He nodded towards the garbage. "You are going to go through that. You'll learn not to fear the sharp points and the wet puddles but see them as opportunities to escape, hide, and counterattack."

"Well… yeah!" Izuku said, warming up to the idea. "That sounds like a great way to train!"

"Yeah," Rex said, his smile turning a bit more… sinister. "And to motivate you…" He lifted up one of the bags he'd brought with him and pulled out an overly ripe tomato.

"You're… going to throw those at me?"

"Yup. And you know what they'll represent?"

"A wound?"

"Nah," Rex said, tossing the tomato lightly up and down. "See… these things represent a person you can't save. Every hit? That is a child that died because you were a bit too slow. A woman who won't see her family again. A man who won't ever come home. Because that is what matters… you don't avoid hits to protect yourself. You avoid them so you can protect others."

"…right," Izuku said with a nod.

"Then… GO!"

Izuku raced towards the first pile of trash, weaving quickly to avoid Rex's throws.

~MC~MC~MC~

As Anakin, Obi Wan, Padme, Ahsoka, and Rex went about their lives, adjusting to their new reality on Earth, others were discussing them.

And… the matter of their deaths.

"I'm afraid I simply can't not agree, Master Jedi," Chancellor Palpatine said with a sad shake of his head. "Nor can I authorize the release of such a statement."

Mace Windu though merely continued to stare right at the Chancellor. Beside him sat Yoda and behind him Kit Fisto and Plo Koon stood, solemn and grave. The four Jedi had come to the Chancellor's office with grim news, the kind they knew would upset the leader of the Republic.

They had been prepared for shock. Despair. Maybe even fright.

But collected dismissal?

"Chancellor," Mace began, "I understand that this news affects you… just as much as it affects us. Senator Amidala was your protégée. You and Skywalker had a close friendship. But denying the truth will not bring them back."

"You are certain they are dead then?" Palpatine asked. "You have their bodies?"

"Remains seen, we have not," Yoda admitted. "But clear, the truth is. Gone, they are."

"It seems to me that Master Kenobi and Anakin have gotten out of such situations before," the Chancellor stated. "I am sure you can think of five different situations right now within the last ten years where we lost contact with them."

"While that is true," Plo Koon stated, "we knew where they were this time. The building they were in exploded."

"And yet no remains were found," the Chancellor repeated.

The Jedi were silent.

"Tell me, Master Jedi… can you not sense when one has passed on?"

"It is… if there is a strong bond between Jedi they can feel it when one passes."

"And yet you have not felt Kenobi and Anakin pass." The Chancellor smiled slightly at that. "So either you were not close to them… or they are not dead."

"While I understand your wishful thinking, Chancellor, we cannot cling to hope when all evidence points to their deaths," Mace stated.

But the Chancellor pressed on, steepling his fingers together. "We believe this was a Separatist trap, correct? That it wasn't an accident?"

"Deliberate, it appears to be," Yoda confirmed.

"The lost of Senator Amidala and two Jedi of such renown would be a rather grave strike to moral for the Republic and at the same time a rallying cry for the Separatists. And yet they have not said a word about it. Our spies state that they have made no move to capitalize on this. Now… why would that be?" He smiled. "Could it be that our missing five heroes are in fact still alive?"

"Chancellor-"

"And according to this most recent report," he pushed a data pad over to the Jedi, "the Separatist negotiators that met with the Senator are still alive." He smiled. "How very… odd."

"We will need to investigate these claims ourselves," Mace said.

"Of course," the Chancellor said with a polite smile. "But until you can provide me more solid evidence I am afraid I cannot agree to cause a panic."

The Jedi nodded and moved to leave, though Yoda lingered. "Mourn, so do we. Them well, wish for we do. Accept what happened though, we must."

And with that he shuffled out.

Palpatine waited until he could long feel their pathetic presences leave the area before he allowed his smile to truly fall and the rage he was feeling bubble over.

Sealing off the room from any prying eyes Palpatine donned his robes before turning on the secure holocommunicator . He only had to wait a moment, for his apprentice knew better, no matter the time on whatever planet he was on, to keep him waiting.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" Darth Tyranus asked, bowing his head.

"How goes the search Skywalker and the rest of his party?" he snapped.

"I am having our forces scour the planet, my lord, but I have found no trace of them."

"Then send Ventress to look if your droids can not find them," he growled. "I want Skywalker found."

"My lord, it is entirely possible that the explosion-"

"It. Did. Not." He glared at his apprentice. "Skywalker is the Chosen One. He would not be slain in some mere explosion. Now FIND him and report back to me once you do! All depends on us finding him!"

"Yes, my master."

Once the holo shut off Palpatine rose, feeling the Dark Side roll around him like a hungry predator, seeking to snap up some tender prey. It made him feel strong, powerful… but he did not bask in the feeling.

Skywalker had to be found.

That was all that mattered.