Padme knew what it was like to face defeat.

Her campaign to become the Queen of Naboo might have been a roaring success but that was only because she had done so much good work in so many horrible places. Volunteering at hospitals where children died on a daily basis because of lack of equipment. Visiting planets that had suffered manufacturing disasters that ruined their environment. Watching as others gave into despair as things never seemed to get better before finally dropping out of the good fight, leaving her to battle on alone.

And her reign as Queen?

Well… the history books had been long written about that nightmare. Oh yes, many praised her for doing the impossible and keeping the Trade Federation from fully taking over the planet. But all Padme remembered was the work camps hidden in the forests, the starving citizens who hadn't understood why any of that had happened to them, and the peaceful ways of the Naboo torn away and replaced with a need for war. While they would never field a grand army the fact that they allowed Republic scientists to work on new weapons of war upon their soil…

And then there had been the War.

The War. Despite how much she protested to everyone that she was against it time and time and time again she'd found herself sucked right into it. It sometimes had felt like there was some sinister force that was manipulating things behind the scenes to get her into the worst places imaginable just so she could be killed for some dark purpose.

The Separatists should not have achieved the victories they did. Even with their droid armies that could be manufactured quickly they had destroyed their ability to make credits. What planets joined them weren't buying up their goods and services and the republic certainly hadn't been. And yet time and again she had seen the Republic pushed back, defeated. Clones treated little better than droids themselves, forgotten about within hours of their deaths. Jedi going from the keepers of peace to the generals that the public looked upon as failures. Senators cursed and hissed at for failing to stop the War.

Yes, Padme knew what it was like to face defeat.

That is how she knew… All Might was losing.

"What?" the Number One hero said as he found Nomu able to counter his strike with one of his own.

Shigaraki let out a laugh. "Did you think it was going to be a cake walk? I wasn't underleveled for this boss raid, old man! Nomu's Shock Absorption means that he can take any hit you send his way and just tank it! But you can't do that with one of his hits!"

All Might merely continued smiling. "Then I will just have to keep trying till I find a weakness!"

But Padme could tell… he wasn't as confident as he tried to make it seem.

"Come on, get inside," she said, directing more of the crowd into the office building. "Go down the stairs to the basement… its reinforced so you should be fine. Hurry!" She waved for more to continue down before moving away, ducking around rubble and debris to keep an eye on the fight without attracting attention to herself. The street where they'd been holding the press conference had become a warzone, with cars flipped over, the road torn up, and buildings crumbling. One blow by Nomu had sent Yagi into a building, causing it to collapse, and Padme prayed there was no one inside of it. But she couldn't hold that hope… not with the bodies of reporters and civilians littering the ground, taken out by Shigaraki and his forces. The pale man in question was alternating between mocking All Might, cheering on Nomu's blows, and leaning down to turn the injured and dying into dust with a touch of his hand. The rest of his group were just enjoying causing pain and suffering, reveling in the cries of fear and screams of agony.

Padme clenched her jaw.

"Yagi…" she whispered, reaching into the hidden pocket of her costume, "forgive me."

She took the Pill and swallowed.

At once it felt like she'd grabbed onto a life power cable. But rather than be fried her body felt energized, sucking in the power and then directing it out. Padme panted, clutched her knees as she doubled over, breath coming out in gasps.

"Look at what we have here…" she heard and even though she could tell the voice was close it sounded so far away. "All Might's kid… heh…" It was Shigaraki, she could tell that even without seeing his form. "Cowering like a little bitch? Or are you just camping, waiting to steal the kill? Well… I can't have THAT!"

And then… the lights began to flash in her vision and she heard HER.

"This power has been entrusted to the next generation by many people, praying that it would work for the good of all. That One for All would bring peace to the world. Yagi has carried the torch for so long… far longer than the rest of us. But his time is over. Now… it is your turn."

"Let's see if hero brats crumble like everyone else!"

"Tell my boy he was right. You are going to be the greatest of us, Padme."

Padme caught Shigaraki by the wrist.

"You first," she whispered before snapping the appendage, causing the villain to howl before she kicked him hard, sending him flying away from her before she leapt into the air, rocketing toward Nomu who had been grappling with All Might, slamming down feet first into him and breaking the hold due only to the fact that Nomu hadn't been expecting her.

"Pa…" All Might began only to catch himself. "Star Might…"

"Hi dad," Padme said with a smirk before turning towards Nomu, eyes narrowed even as she continued to grin. "Mind if I join in?"

"Not at all," All Might said as he moved to stand with her. "But I must warn you… this one is hard to beat."

"I've faced worse," Padme stated, catching a glimpse of her reflection in a window. She was taller… where before she looked like a child next to Yagi now she easily came up to his shoulders, which was impressive when the man was well over 7 feet tall. Her muscles had become far more defined, not bulging out to be certain but she had suddenly gained 10 years of hard training in only moments. And to truly mark her as All Might's successor her eyes had changed to black and blue, just like his own.

Her smile grew bigger as she turned towards Nomu.

"What do we know?" she asked.

"He can absorb my blows," All Might said. "And he can hit hard."

"And he can heal," Padme stated.

"Hmm?"

"Even with Shock Absorption it should be taking damage. But it looks just like it did as you two fought."

"That shouldn't be possible," All Might said as they waited to see what Nomu would do next. But it was just standing there, watching them. "Shock Absorption shouldn't allow it to heal…"

"I think this thing has more than one quirk," Padme said.

"That… that's not possible."

Padme just quirked an eyebrow and gestured at herself.

"…fair."

"NOMU!" Shigaraki screamed, emerging from where Padme had kicked him, his broken wrist pressed to his chest, blood leaking from his lip.

"Young Master Tomaru, we must go," one of Shigaraki's allies said, coming to him.

"NO! I'm not backing out of this raid! That's how you get banned from the fucking server!"

"You've been hurt… I must see to you-"

"We can still do this…"

A cry went up and Padme turned to see several new heroes rushing towards the scene, taking out the villains that had strayed too far from the center of the battle.

"The game has changed. We must go."

Shigaraki let out a strangled scream of frustration. "If I didn't need you to get me out of here I'd dust you! Go!"

The man nodded and portals began to form around them.

"We can't let them escape!" Padme said, blasting herself towards Shigaraki and the man that seemed to be made of black clouds.

"Another time, hero bitch!" Shigaraki said as he stepped into the portal. "Nomu! Kill everyone you can!" At once the massive monster lunged forward, stomping on a downed civilian, now focused on just doing as much damage at he could rather than just taking on All Might. "Going to leave them to die?" Shigaraki taunted, just his head visible.

Padme turned on a dime and rushed back towards All Might, who was struggling to stop Nomu from attacking. There was never any doubt what her choice would be.

'Has to have a weakness,' she thought to herself, looking over Nomu. All Might kept pounding on him, trying to drive Nomu away from the injured that littered the streets. The other heroes were working to take out the other villains, giving her and All Might the space needed for their fight… but they weren't slowing Nomu down. Distracting, redirecting… but he just kept coming. "What am I missing?" she whispered as All Might bellowed "DETROIT SMASH!" and punched Nomu right in the head, clearly hoping that the exposed brain might be the weak spot. But the villain only staggered before striking All Might right back and he didn't have the healing quirk the villain did. She grimaced as All Might staggered, clearly aching after the blow. "He can just take the blows-"

Blows.

Padme ran as fast as she could, cocking her fist back.

"ALL MIGHT!" she shouted and just as she expected he shifted, allowing her a chance to smash the villain.

She didn't.

Padme leapt over Nomu, landing behind him before jumping onto his shoulders, hands wrapping around his neck.

He absorbed blows.

So she wouldn't push.

She'd pull.

With a hard CRACK! Padme snapped Nomu's neck.

At once Nomu fell to the ground, body twitching but still alive.

"We need something to hold him," Padme said. "Cuffs strong enough to hold you. He'll heal from that and I don't watch him able to move around when he does."

"Right," All Might said.

"All Might… I…"

"It's okay," he assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling softly. "We'll discuss it later. But… I'm proud of you." He paused, looking at some of the reporters who'd managed to remain hidden during the fight. "But now… I think you need to address them."

"Right," Padme said before putting on her most confident smile, turning to the reporters that had remained during the battle. In a sharp clear voice she called out, "Do not fear, citizens! For WE are here!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Obi Wan focused on his breathing even as he felt the sweat beading on his forehead. He didn't force his body to ignore the pain but rather he merely accepted that there was pain and then moved beyond it. That was the way of the Jedi, as he had been taught since he was a child in the crèche. One did not ignore something, hoping it would go away. They accepted that it was a reality then moved beyond it. And it served him well now, as he called upon the Force to hold up tons of steel and concrete, keeping it from coming crashing down upon him and the others who hadn't been able to escape the building's collapse upon the alley.

He looked down at Nemuri only to force his eyes back up. She was alive, he could feel it, and that was what was important. Not the blood that was smeared on her forehead or how the only movement she made was the shallow rise and fall of her chest. She was alive and that was what truly mattered. But she wouldn't be alive if he let the building finish what it had started and crush them all.

He had to hold it up. For him. For Nemuri. For the little girl-

Something happened outside, he didn't know what, though it sounded rather explosive, and suddenly steel and stone he had thought was secure and thus hadn't been held by the Force began to crash down towards them.

Obi Wan held up his other hand, crossing it over his right to catch the material, and he felt his very being burn as his extended his conscious into the Force, asking it to aid him. To give him the strength needed to do this. He was the only one that could save them.

'No,' the Force whispered.

Suddenly the debris shifted but not towards him. No… it was being pushed back.

He slowly turned, eyes widening, as Eri held out her hand, tears leaking from her squeezed shut eyes, face twisted in concentration as she mimicked him.

The rumble was pushed from them.

'There is another.'

Obi Wan only allowed himself to feel shock for a moment before he held up his own hands and joined Eri in slowly expanding the space they were trapped in. Dust particles floated in the air and cracks of light began to form as they both pushed, Obi Wan slowly moving towards Eri, seeing that the strain was still there but it wasn't as bad as it had been before. He shifted his body, making contact.

He nearly fell down as he felt IT.

A cord… a connection thick as durasteel… snapped into place. Not physical but not quite mental either. Far greater than that. One end anchoring itself to his very being, the other reaching out and wrapping around the girl beside him.

'The Force,' his Master's voice stated in his mind as the Force Bond formed between Obi Wan and the girl he'd only met minutes earlier, 'works to bring together… those that belong together.'

"Qui Gon…"

Eri slowly opened her eyes, staring at him. With a final push the rubble collapsed around them, not a single piece landing near them, and Obi Wan blinked as the sun shined down on them.

"…you're mine," she whispered in awe. "You've always been mine. And… I've always been yours." She smiled and lifted her hand up to him. "Master."

Obi Wan smiled at her as he reached down and took her hand, swearing to never let go. "Yes… padawan."

And the Force SANG in triumph.