Qui-Gon Jinn, formerly known as Captain Hardwear, was devastated when superheroes were outlawed. But it wasn't just him he was sad for.
Kara spent hours crying that very night; she'd dreamed of being a superhero just like her father and biological mother before her, and now that dream was never to be true all because of the new law. Qui-Gon just knew Tahl would've been devastated by this as well. He couldn't bear to see his baby girl so upset.
Neither Qui-Gon nor Kara knew a lot about living as ordinary citizens, but they were fortunate enough to have Shmi, a woman who grew up working hard without superpowers, to help them learn to live like ordinary people. With help from the program created to help supers start new lives, the Jinn Family was moved to a nice new house in a beautiful neighborhood on Planet Alderaan. And as luck would have it, Qui-Gon's family friend Mace Windu, formerly known as Weather Man, moved into an apartment a few blocks away with his new fiance Brenda Monroe.
Qui-Gon was able to get a job as a body builder/fitness instructor; it seemed fitting since he used that as a cover story before revealing his identity to Shmi, and a good career for his strength to blend in. Meanwhile, many of his friends were assisted in finding new jobs themselves. Some even got married and started families of their own. As for the sidekicks, they were pretty much on their own where careers were concerned, given that many of them were still children. Those who didn't have families of their own were given to former heroes to be raised and cared for until they could get on their feet and make it on their own.
10 years later...
"Again! One, two, and lift."
Qui-Gon was in the middle of instructing a pilates class, and he was pretty good at it.
Body building was pretty much the best career choice for the hero formerly known as Captain Hardwear. The board in charge of the hero relocation program thought about other jobs that took place in office buildings or something. But after one incident where Qui-Gon left a huge hole in the wall of an office building after getting his tie caught in the vending machine and kicking it too hard to get unstuck... they decided it was best to place him and other heroes in jobs that would best camouflage their abilities.
But with some heroes starting families, that didn't come easy for the children. Had heroes not been illegal now, they would've been the next generation of superheroes. Sadly, they were on their own in finding their futures, aside from the fact that they had their parents to assist them.
There used to be special schools just for superhero children, but after the ban on superheroes, those schools were shut down too. The only alternative for them? Home school until they had complete control over their powers.
Kara Jinn had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. What could she possibly use her super speed for other than getting her homework done super fast, or take advantage of the fact that being able to run so much so fast in so little time so easily meant she could eat literally thousands of calories a day and stay model thin? And she wasn't alone either.
Months after heroes were made illegal and soon after the Jinns moved into their new house (right on time), Shmi went into labor and gave birth to not one, but two adorable, healthy baby boys. Their names were Anakin and Carmine.
By the time the twins turned five years old, each of them demonstrated superpowers of his own.
Anakin, the oldest twin, found out he could control plants. He could make them grow at excessive speeds to massive proportions, and even communicate with the plants to know what they needed, which did wonders for his mother's flowers. At first, he wondered why he'd never seen other kids do anything like that, run super fast like his big sister, or other grownups lifting heavy objects so easily like his dad. When his father told him it was because he was a former superhero, it made him want to be a hero too. But then Qui-Gon told him heroes were illegal now.
"Why?" Carmine, the baby of the family, had asked.
"The people in charge of our old neighborhood, before you were born, believed heroes were becoming a problem, costing the government millions in damages, and called us a menace."
"But what if someone needs help?" Anakin pointed out.
"It seems those matters simply have to be left to the police, the fire department. Putting it simply, non-super heroes."
Anakin was disappointed; he wanted adventure, and based on the stories his father shared of his days as Captain Hardwear, he wanted to face the excitement of saving people in danger.
Carmine, on the other hand, was not as daring as his brother. He was a pretty shy kid, but he quickly found that he did not need super powers to find that he was a naturally skilled singer and dancer, but he also found he had the power to play any instrument and control all kinds of things with the power of music.
For the next year after the twins got their powers, Qui-Gon kept them at home and had some help homeschooling them from his friend and next door neighbor Plo Koon, formerly known as the hero Resistor, a hero with the power to withstand the vacuum of space and fly super fast and high through all kinds of weather. After the ban on heroes, he turned down an offer to be a military pilot, the closest thing to remaining a superhero, and became a high school literature teacher so he could be at home with his wife Shaak Tii and their adopted daughter Ahsoka, who was recently found to have exceptional agility and jumping abilities. The last thing any of them needed was for the children to accidentally unleash their abilities at school, thus forcing them to move and erase people's memories of them to ensure their safety.
Qui-Gon eventually got to the final part of the workout, in which had his students lay down and take a breath before gently taking a full body stretch and gently sitting up.
"Great job, everyone today!" Qui-Gon said.
Of course, a lot of people were very sweaty and out of breath, but otherwise felt pretty good. Qui-Gon proved to be an astounding workout coach. He was very motivational and pushed his students to push it to the limit. Of course, he always helped his struggling students with alternative movements and stretches to practice at home so they wouldn't push themselves too hard or hurt themselves in the process.
"Particularly great work today, Lydia." Qui-Gon said to a teenager with her mom. "Keep it up and you'll look and feel better than ever at your prom."
"Thank you, Coach." said Lydia, the girl.
"I don't know how you manage to teach this class without breaking a sweat yourself." Lydia's mother, said.
"Let's just say I'm accustomed to some rigorous labor." Qui-Gon said, picking up his towel, when he spotted a man trying to lift a heavy barbell. "I don't advise you to attempt such a lift yet."
Qui-Gon took some weight off the barbell and gave the young man some advice on how to improve his strength.
"Try to lift too much weight at once, your journey will take longer than you may have been willing to wait."
"Jinn! My office, now!" shouted a woman's voice.
Qui-Gon sighed. As much as he liked his job, there was one thing he didn't like about it: his boss, Ms. Wanda Huff.
Ms. Huff was a very strict, very bossy woman with a really habit of harassing her employees, namely the men.
Don't get me wrong, Qui-Gon liked his job. He was paid well, and he felt like a hero because he helped so many people feel healthier and beautiful by helping them with all kinds of things. Whether it was to gain some muscle or flexibility for athletic activity, weight loss goals to shrink a dress size, or simply to live a healthier life, Qui-Gon felt like a hero making so many of his students so happy with his encouragement and how much they progressed. But, his boss made his life a living nightmare sometimes.
Last Life Day, she scolded him when he was eating a cookie that was being served at a company party, a few months ago, she yelled at him for not yelling at the patrons more, and just two weeks ago, she yelled at him over the phone when he called in sick because he caught a cold after Ms. Huff told him to stop taking a pod to work and only jog there despite the fact that he lived over ten blocks away and that he had to pick up his children from school sometimes.
"You wanted to see me, Ms. Huff?" Qui-Gon said.
"What are you wearing?" said Ms. Huff.
Qui-Gon looked at the jogger outfit he was wearing.
"My jogging clothes?" said Qui-Gon, confused.
"Don't play dumb with me. That outfit is completely unacceptable."
"How, exactly? The materials are breathable and absorbent for sweat, and allow unlimited movement."
"I warned you about the dress code here."
"You said to wear more appropriate clothing, and I stopped wearing neon colors, like you said."
"I said to wear something more revealing."
Qui-Gon scrunched his nose at that.
"I've been looking at the numbers. You need to get back to wearing a tank top and shorts to work."
"It's autumn. The weather has been cold."
"I don't care if it's snowing! We got a lot of women coming in now, and women like when a guy shows his muscles. And more guys buy bigger, more profitable memberships when they see what they could achieve. But that becomes impossible when you insist on hiding your own body like you've been turning into one of those fat slobs who so desperately walks in only to quit one week later like the lazy slobs they are."
It really irked Qui-Gon so much of the time the way Ms. Huff seemed to have no problem body shaming people, including those who came into the gym. People who were considered obese or overweight, according to doctors and/or a cruel society, she thought were just a waste of time, but people who were regulars or already looked fit, she was perfectly fine with giving excellent service. She considered any woman above a size 4 and any man without big muscles or rock hard abs fat, and she preferred to use the 'F' word to simply saying overweight. A real bully, she was when it came to her business, and she had no problem shaming her employees for anything she could. The only fat she truly cared about was how fat she kept her profits.
"I don't think it is necessarily laziness, rather that we have received complaints of others verbally-"
"Shut it! I don't wanna hear another one of your sympathy sob stories. This is a business. So, I'd better see some skin next time you come in, or you're fired!"
That struck fear into Qui-Gon. Despite having great super strength, Qui-Gon knew better than to inflict harm upon his boss. He already started looking for work at other gyms, but finding work anywhere was turning out to be really difficult. Everyone was looking to higher younger trainers. At the moment, he wasn't that old, but he was certainly in great shape and had plenty of energy. All the clients loved him too. Unlike some other coaches, he didn't judge anyone for their size, age, or gender; the only thing he cared about was helping people stay active and making them feel good physically and emotionally. He always told the guys that their health and their worth was not defined by the size of their biceps or how defined their abs were, and girls that they didn't have to be stick thin to be beautiful.
"So, one more time. Tank top and shorts tomorrow, or you're fired. Do you understand?"
Qui-Gon sighed and reluctantly said, "Yes, Ma'am."
"Good. Now get out." Huff said, getting back to her computer.
Qui-Gon left the office and grabbed his things to go home. He might not be battling supervillains like Bridezilla anymore, but he sure found himself facing a lot of villains within the work place.
Meanwhile, at an elementary school, Shmi Jinn walked into the principal's office to see the twins and a Rodian boy and his mother.
"Ah, Mrs. Jinn. Thank you for coming in on such short notice." said the principal.
Shmi looked at the twins. Anakin quickly turned away when he saw his mom, while Carmine just hid under the hood on his sweater.
"Ani, Carmi, are you both okay?" Shmi asked.
"No." Carmine squeaked.
"It's Greedo's fault!" Anakin said, pointing accusingly at the younger Rodian.
"You started it!" Greedo exclaimed, and the boys would've started fighting if their mothers hadn't grabbed them and pulled them back.
"Boys! Settle down." the principal said.
Once the kids and their moms sat down, the principal explained that a new incident came about. Apparently, according to the twins, Carmine was practicing playing music on the piano in the music room, when Greedo started teasing Carmine, calling him a wimp for making music. That was when Anakin came in to defend his brother, and he and Greedo got into a fight, and Greedo ended up sitting in a very spiky rose bush (which Anakin had grown, to no one else's knowledge, but Shmi suspected such).
"I was only trying to protect Carmine." Anakin said.
"And it is noble of you to want to protect your brother, Anakin. But fighting is never the answer. As for you, Greedo, respect is a virtue you need to learn and practice more." said the principal. "Ladies, I trust you will deal with your sons and ensuring they all learn the importance of respecting each other and not resorting to violence?"
"Of course, Principal Winters." said Shmi.
"I can assure, my son's behavior will be dealt with when we get home." Greedo's mother said.
Principal Winters dismissed the Jinns and the Rodian family, and they all left the office.
Shmi put the boys into her speeder and began to drive them to pick up Kara on the way home.
"Boys, this is the third time this year you've been sent to the office." Shmi said. "We need to find a better outlet for your energy. Namely you, Ani."
"But I didn't wanna hurt him!" Anakin said. "I was only trying to help Carmine."
"I know, Ani. But you can't always spend your time worrying about your brother. We need a new outlet for your competitive energy. And Carmine, we need to work on improving your social skills. I know you're worried that your anxiety will get in the way, but that is only if you let it. Both of you are very talented boys, but you each face a weakness you need to overcome."
"Why can't we just go back to home schooling?" Carmine said. "I can always keep practicing my music and still learn."
"And why can't I join the robotics club?" Anakin said. "I'd only be the best by a tiny bit."
"Anakin, you know how I feel about you and machinery." Shmi said.
Ever since one incident where Anakin learned how to hot wire a speeder and make it go to hyperspeed through down, she didn't think it was such a good idea to let him go into robotics. Qui-Gon disagreed though. Even if the kids couldn't use their powers, they should've been allowed to use their natural talents to find a backup career. And Anakin didn't seem that interested in working in his mother's diner.
"Dad always says our powers make us special, and we can't even use them." Anakin groaned.
"Ani, everyone is special." Shmi said.
"Which is another way of saying no one is."
"You forget, Ani. I never had superpowers, and yet I own a nice diner and I take care of you and your siblings. There are plenty of things you can do without superpowers."
"Like what?" Carmine asked.
"Make music. You're already great at that, Carmine. With some effort and overcoming your stage fright, you could become a great performer or a music teacher someday. And Anakin, you are very intelligent. Something worthy of your potential will come your way. We all have a place somewhere in the universe."
Meanwhile, Kara Jinn was just putting some books into her backpack, when one of the school's mean girls came up to her and said, "Hey, Jinn. You better have my essay done by tomorrow."
"I already told you, Casey. I'm not gonna help you cheat."
"You don't have a choice." Casey remarked. "Get it done, or else."
Kara just rolled her eyes, closed her locker, and walked away, but not without using her super speed to play a little tricky on Casey without anyone seeing.
"Hey, I'm not done with you-!" Casey was stopped mid-sentence, and she and her friend both face-planted to the floor after someone tied both girls' shoes together.
Kara just smirked as she walked out the school's doors.
"Funny how quick karma comes, sometimes." she smiled to herself.
That was when she heard a horn beeping.
"Come on, Kara!" Kara's little brothers exclaimed.
Kara met her brothers and stepmother at the speeder and boarded with them to head on home for dinner.
