If there was one thing you could count on when it comes to children, it's that a lot of them love to play pretend and use their imaginations to play lots of different characters. Some liked to be firefighters, others liked to be knights in shining armor fighting dragons and saving damsels in distress. Some kids even liked to pretend they were Jedi Masters fighting Sith with the Force. But one thing lots of kids loved to pretend to be was... superheroes.
The children in the Naboo palace were no exception.
"There is no escape from Dr. Kraken!" Boba cackled, dressed as a squid themed villain.
"Or me, Lady Shark!" Omega said, pretending to chomp on the building.
"Someone save us!" Diamond pretend screamed as she stood on a building made out of a bunch of blocks and pillows with Goldie.
"Can no one stop these horrible monsters?!" Goldie feigned fear as Boba and Omega were pretending to be super villains moving the building back and forth.
"Have no fear!" Gabby said, rushing in wearing her Princess Powers costume. "Princess Powers is here to save the day!"
Lamenta also jumped in wearing blue armor.
"And me. Starry Knight!" She declared.
The little girls jumped in and pretended to battle with superpowers and fought the villains. Well, Gabby mostly resorted to tickling, which defeated Boba for real very easily.
"Gabby, stop it!" Boba guffawed, unable to escape his younger sister despite her being smaller than him.
"I'm your worst nightmare, Lady Shark!" Lamenta said, pointing a balloon staff at Omega.
"En guarde!" Omega said, grabbing another balloon.
And the two girls engaged in a balloon sword fight until Omega accidentally backed into the block tower and made Goldie and Diamond fall. Luckily, Omega caught Goldie and Diamond flew down.
"That wasn't supposed to happen." Gabby said.
"Maybe you guys need more hero training. And that's coming someone who used to be a villain in reality." Boba said.
"Yeah, he's right." Lamenta said. "Pretending to save the day is not the same thing as when we fight villains in our waking lives."
"Wouldn't it be cool to be superheroes though?" Goldie wondered out loud. "The only difference between you guys and what we saw in the movies and comic books is you don't have secret identities."
"Yeah, it's kinda hard to have a secret identity when you're in a high profile family." Lamenta said. "I'm surprised Count Crescendo has still been able to keep his."
Just then, Hunter came in to get the children.
"Garrett says it's time for lessons now, kids." He said.
"We're coming, Hunter." Omega said.
"What's with the outfits?"
"We were playing superheroes," said Goldie. "Gabby and Lamenta were the heroes, the twins were the villains."
"Didn't quite go as hoped though." Gabby said. "Somehow we're better at fighting real battles than we are in pretend ones."
Hunter chuckled and said, "You do look adorable in your outfits, though."
"Hmm. Maybe I should wear armor more often." Lamenta thought, looking at herself.
So, the kids got to their training. This course of training, the grownup and the kids had to fight each other. According to Garrett, it was important for the children to recognize that they would not always have their parents around to protect them if a villain came to attack, and there was still the possibility Mariverde may clavatize any of them. Therefore, they needed to know how to defeat each of the grownups themselves with minimal bodily harm.
"Alright, Omega. Kara will be your opponent. Lamenta, you're with Anakin, Gabriella, Carmine, and Boba... you get Qui-Gon."
"How come me and Omega get the harder ones?" Boba whined.
"You're the big kids," said Lamenta. "At least you're not stuck fighting someone who looks exactly like your dad."
"Hey, I'll go easy on you this time, Little Star." Anakin smirked.
Lamenta then changed her demeanor to look tougher this time.
"You think I need easy?"
Lamenta turned invisible and quietly got to her opponent. Anakin could feel Lamenta climbing all over her and quickly grabbed her.
"You'll have to do better than that if you wanna- Whoa!"
That was when Anakin was tripped by a purple vine that wrapped around both his legs.
"You were saying, Uncle?" Lamenta smirked.
"A little help here?!" Carmine shouted as he was pushed against the wall by a really strong wind made by Gabby.
Gabby and Lamenta were able to easily face their opponents. Boba and Omega, however, were having a little more trouble.
Qui-Gon only held his hand against Boba's face and he couldn't get close to him.
"Grandpa! Let go!" Boba groaned.
"You have to figure it out, Boba." Qui-Gon said.
"See if you can keep up, Omega." Kara teased, Omega starting to lose her breath as she kept trying to catch her very speedy aunt.
It should've been her, the child, who could outrun the adult, not the other way around.
"I wonder if this is anything like how superheroes train." Omega thought out loud.
"Based on my knowledge from the movies and comics I used to see when I was your age, I'd say very much so. Being a hero is tough job. It may look cool in made-up stories, but the risks heroes take are sometimes greater than the advantages of stopping villains. And unlike this family, superheroes tend to have secret identities to protect their loved ones, which I hypothesize is the true most difficult part of it."
"You don't even need to have superpowers to be a hero, children." Mariposa said. "Just look at your mothers and grandmothers. They each committed great heroic acts without mighty strength, speed, flight, or any supernatural abilities."
This, the kids realized was very true when they really thought about it. Padme was a hero and an inspiration to so many people who looked up to the Senate for guidance in who and what to vote for to aid in keeping the peace, and she did so by having the courage to speak up for those who would otherwise be helpless to do so. Caroline... her superpower was being perhaps the most organized woman in the family; she managed Count Crescendo's career from day one, planned the perfect coronation for each member of her family, and even organized the four original Bad Batch members' very first birthday party by taking into account things each of them would love. Susy and Shmi each were a hero to Anakin and/or Carmine; each of them raised an exceptional young boy as a single mother while also working hard to secure a better future for them when they got older.
Even those with super powers didn't always need to use their magic to be heroes. Like Anakin. He was a good listener and a wise teacher who knew how to use experience as a method of teaching his Padawan Ahsoka as well as learning in the process. Carmine also didn't need magic to be a skilled musician; any time he saw someone was feeling sad, he would get out his guitar and play a song to make them feel better. And Kara, she may have super speed, but when it comes to her family, she slows down to assess the situation if ever they are in distress, and she wastes no time embracing every second with all her nieces and nephews.
Qui-Gon was a true hero to each of his children and grandchildren with his high spirit and kind, gentle heart. He was that even to those who weren't his own children, whether it was offering his wisdom in kind words, picking someone up when they fell down, or giving them the best hug ever. Little kids looked at him and thought he looked like a giant, but once someone grew into an adult, no matter how close they came to his height, one thing that was always truly giant about him was his heart.
The children also could be heroes even without magic whenever they wished. Lamenta if you wanted to learn a thing or two about ballet or constellations, and Gabby if you just needed a big hug or someone to make a fun piece of artwork to brighten up your day. Boba and Omega especially knew that they didn't need powers to even be considered special, as they'd both spent at least the first twelve years of their lives with no magic of their own. And both of them did do something heroic without powers.
Being a good big brother to Gabby was, of course, the most critical thing he'd done in his life, but also saving her from the bounty hunters when she was held hostage, risking everything to make sure she got back to her family safely. Even though at the time he fully expected he would be alone for the rest of his life, he was not heartless enough to let another child lose her family the way he did.
Omega, on the other hand, didn't realize it at the time, but when her brother had to be away from his adoptive family, she was a hero because she was the good listener he needed to share his feelings with. Before her, the only person Boba had ever been comfortable confiding in about anything was Gabby, but she was among the ones she had to stay away from in order to keep the rest of the family and their magic safe. But then, Omega showed up, and she listened as Boba shared how much his adoptive family meant to him and express his frustration with the problems he used to face for being the only adopted child in the family. And then she eventually became part of the family, as did five more of their biological brothers. In a way, without even trying, the Bad Batch were heroes to the children just by being themselves.
Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair were all born different from the other clones, and they served as proof that it was okay to be different; in fact, it actually was what made them each unique, special in their own way. And that was so whether their strengths resided in smarts, athletics, art, or simply being of a royally big heart.
And the Heartwoods had their share of heroic acts too. Mariposa literally saved Garrett's life when they met, and Garrett returned the favor just before they officially fell in love. Goldie wasn't sure what the best act of heroism she'd performed was yet, but her parents told her she was definitely a hero to the plants in the garden with the way she helped take care of them.
Later, after lessons were over, it was raining outside and the kids were getting bored, and so they decided to watch a movie. And, fitting with how they were playing superheroes earlier, the children decided to watch a movie about superheroes.
There were so many to choose from, but they ultimately decided to watch this one Lamenta hadn't watched since she was 2. It was a movie about a family of superheroes who were in hiding because superheroes had, sadly, been made illegal. Putting it simply, heroes were not allowed to save the day; their secret identities were to become their only identities. But, having to live as ordinary citizens and hide that some of them were born with powers sounded far from easy.
The magical members of the royal family were living proof of that. Gabby first got her powers when she was not much more than a baby and couldn't hide them even if she knew how at the time. Then, Anakin proved to be a late bloomer and had trouble controlling his own abilities. Qui-Gon even struggled with his super strength after his powers started to return when he was revived. Sometimes, they still faced errors in their abilities, whether they were activated because the magical beings got scared, angry, or excited, or because they were practicing a new spell and struggled to master it for one reason or another.
The movie turned out to be an incredibly exciting show, but one of the kids got a little curious about something.
"If heroes were made illegal," said Gabby. "What happened to all the supervillains?"
"Maybe they went into hiding too," shrugged Omega.
"But that doesn't make sense." Gabby said. "Villains aren't usually law abiding citizens. If anything, most probably would've taken advantage of superheroes being forbidden to come and save the day."
The other kids started to think about it and realized Gabby was right.
"Yeah," said Goldie. "Robbing banks is illegal, but that doesn't stop even ordinary criminals from doing it. They just do what they think will help them get away with the crime, but one way or another they get caught eventually."
"Maybe the police just figure out how to stop the villains," said Boba. "Like our parents said, we don't need superpowers to be heroes."
"Maybe not," said Omega. "But would the police be able to take down a super powered villain they know nothing about, but superheroes do and have faced? How exactly would that play out if the villain has some kind of weapon that neutralize anyone and anything, but a superhero is literally the only one who can get in, fight, and survive long enough to defeat the bad guy?"
That did sound like it made sense. From what the kids knew about supervillains, having faced many themselves, a lot would take any advantage they could to get what they wanted, including getting rid of whatever or whoever would get in the way by any means necessary, whether that was disabling security cameras, murdering witnesses, framing an innocent bystander, or getting someone on the inside to warn them when the authorities were coming or how they planned to capture the criminal.
"Hmm..." Lamenta started thinking. "There are a lot of possibilities. Maybe we can come up with our own ideas."
That was when the kids decided to get out the art supplies so they could write their own superhero story. Each of the kids drew pictures of different superheroes they created, and some villains. The kids even got out some of their favorite comic books to find some inspiration for new heroes and villains. Goldie got out her notebook and started writing down some notes for the story.
"What should we call the story?" Goldie asked.
"Forces of Justice?" Boba suggested.
"The Fantastic Batch?" Omega suggested.
"What about Rise of the Enchanting Jedi Heroes?" Lamenta said.
"Getting there, but not quite." Gabby said.
Luke and Leia started cooing.
"Dada," said Luke.
"Cute, but I'm not sure that's the best title either, Luke."
"Gah!" Leia babbled.
"Thanks, Leia. But, no."
The other kids couldn't help laughing at how cute the babies were. They started to think more and more about what they should title this story they were writing.
"Oh! How about, Rise of Fantastical Forces?" Gabby suggested.
The kids all liked the sound of that. It combined a little bit of each of the initial first ideas, and it rolled off the tongue pretty easily too.
"Okay, so how does this story begin?" Gabby asked.
"Well, here's the idea I came up with." Goldie said, turning the page. "In a world, where great powers can come to anyone, there are those who know with great power comes great responsibility. But with it also comes danger."
"I'm intrigued already," said Boba. "What else have you got?"
I like both the Incredibles movies, but recently it just popped in my mind as to why no supervillains took advantage of the superheroes being made illegal and went on an all-out crime spree. Not that I don't think local authorities are strong on their own, but if a supervillain with incredibly dangerous weapons or even superpowers came along that civilian non-super heroes knew nothing about, I'm not sure even SWAT teams, air forces, and the military combined would be able to stop it. Especially if they were anywhere as dangerous as the tripod aliens from the 2005 movie War of the Worlds.