Chapter 24: Unsettling Possibilities
Summary: Wait, Izuku's Quirk is what now?
Chapter 24: Unsettling Possibilities
Ood Bnar's tests had taken the rest of Izuku's day and left him sufficiently exhausted that he and Aayla had simply collapsed into bed together, rather than get up to anything more fun. Those tests hadn't been physically exhausting, so much as they had stretched Izuku mentally. The vast majority of them had focused on his telepathy. Specifically, on using his existing techniques in combination with conscious knowledge of the Force, to produce results he had never considered before. Master Bnar had been pleased with the those results, claiming they were what he had half-expected to discover, but had put off answering questions until the morning. Izuku had been just fine with that, considering the mental fog he was suffering from as a backlash…though now that morning had come he'd been a bit twitchy about discovering just what the Neti had figured out. Thankfully the Jedi Master was happy enough to share his suspicions over breakfast, the Neti himself not really needing to eat much and quite willing to talk while the rest of them listened.
"My tests with young Izuku were of two types. One was regarding suspicions about why all of us have been brought together. The other was regarding his odd connection to the Force. I'll address the latter first, as I believe it to be relevant to the former."
At their nods of acknowledgement, he pressed on.
"I cannot absolutely confirm this, without access to specialized equipment. But I believe Izuku's connection to the Force is fundamentally different than ours. We, as well as all Force users in our dimension to my knowledge, actually connect with the Force through an intermediary. Specifically, midi-chlorians. While three of you may know this, for Izuku's sake I will explain what they are more fully. Even the three of you who do know may wish to pay attention, however, as research into them was…restricted. Even in my time. Meddling with midi-chlorians leads to some extremely dangerous things, including occasionally inducing a violent backlash from the Force itself."
Izuku was fully confused, having not heard this before. But he could tell that even Fay was curious, indicating that Master Bnar might well be understating things.
"Midi-chlorians are microscopic life-forms that live symbiotically inside the cells of all living things. While not absolutely true, generally a being's potential for Force Sensitivity can be measured via a count of how many midi-chlorians they have per cell in the body. Normal, non-Force Sensitives, might have a few hundred. Perhaps up to a few thousand. Weak Force-Sensitives may have between five and seven thousand. Strong Force-Sensitives might have counts up to eighteen to twenty thousand. Though those numbers would be exceptionally rare. This is common knowledge to any Jedi, or should be?"
Master Bnar paused to look at the three Jedi around the table with him, getting quick confirming nods from all of them. He seemed satisfied with that, perhaps pleased that such a fundamental knowledge hadn't been lost to time. Or restricted by the current, much more cautious, Jedi Council.
"What far fewer know, or knew in my time at least, was one of the reasons that research on them was banned. Specifically, that midi-chlorians are intelligent."
All three of the Jedi, even Master Fay, blinked and gaped at him at that revelation. Something like a grin worked its way over his face at their reaction.
"Still not common knowledge then. Probably for the best. Yes. Research into midi-chlorians throughout history has revealed that little detail. They aren't quite what we would consider sapient or sophont. Instead, they are a collective intelligence that are thought by many researchers to actually be a sort of translator between sentients and the Force. That they act as an intermediary layer between Force sensitives and the extremely Alien consciousness of the Force, whose exact nature no one has ever managed to understand. Or they aren't sharing, if they have. It is the midi-chlorians purpose to filter the Will of the Force into something that a host can understand. The collective intelligence of the microscopic beings enables this, by giving them a truly universal view into how all living things think, reason, and view reality. Quieting our minds, as we Jedi do to access the Force, essentially just makes it easier for us to 'hear' them."
Even Fay was looking a little mind-blown at the concept. Which only seemed to please the old Jedi Master, who was clearly fully into his role as an academic and educator at the moment. Izuku, however, was starting to get a migraine from trying to sort through the revelation.
"That's…I don't even know what to do with that. But how does it relate to my odd connection?"
"Because, Izuku, I suspect if we had the tools to run a midi-chlorian test on you, we would find something quite out of the ordinary. Specifically, I believe we would find something you recognize as a Quirk Factor, but that we would know as a distorted type of midi-chlorians. I think that your universe is far younger than ours, and that the Cosmic Force native to your reality is still attempting to feel its way into a solution that the Cosmic Force here already found. The mysterious appearance of your Quirks was, I believe, caused by your Cosmic Force attempting to express itself in a way you could understand."
Izuku gaped at him, mind struggling to reorder his understanding of reality. It was…actually true that Quirk Factors could be measured in a similar way. With similar counts actually. All Might was known to have a Quirk Factor of over 20,000, for example. But…
"What does that mean, exactly. How is…I mean…"
"Most relevantly, I think your Quirk, specifically, possibly along with other telepaths and telekinetics of your world, was a testbed for something like our midi-chlorians. Only on a more macro scale. For all intents and purposes, I think you are a midi-chlorian. Or, at the least, close enough in nature to one that you are tapping directly into the collective intelligence of the midi-chlorians in our galaxy. You are bombarded with an overwhelming torrent of information constantly, unless you block it out or filter it, because that information is flowing through said collective. Of course, your mind can't handle it all, so even at default you're likely getting only a fraction of a fraction. But I believe it to be what's happening."
It was actually Mei, of all people, who immediately put it into a context the rest of them could wrestle into place.
"Muscles isn't using a translator, like the rest of you are. He is the translator. Your mystical meditation stuff is like turning on a translation program and asking it to give you a translation of something you need to read. Since Izuku is the translator, the information is just there. Like a part of a database he's plugged directly into."
Expressions cleared up, even if all of them save Mei and Ood Bnar still looked a little bit like they'd been hit in the face with a brick. The old Neti seemed pleased with the comparison, saying it wasn't perfect but a good summary. He patiently engaged with Mei, who started asking dozens of questions and sharing what she knew of Quirk Theory, while the rest of them just…tried to digest the new information. It all fit, they realized. Even if making the whole thing make sense required some mental gymnastics none of them had been quite prepared for over breakfast. Celeste, head in her hands, eventually broke up the discussion between the two geniuses.
"Okay. That's…going to take a bit to work out the implications of. If I ever can fully wrap my head around it. But it's also only half of what you said you had to discuss, Master Bnar. You also believe you have an idea what the Force wants with us?"
Everyone, save Master Bnar and Mei, seemed relieved at the change of subject. The Neti reluctantly broke off his discussion with Mei, which both of them had seemed quite into, to address the new subject.
"Yes. Though I caution that it is only a theory. A partial theory, at that. A place to begin, or perhaps not even quite that much."
He got various nods of acknowledgement about the qualifier from his audience, with a gesture or two to the effect of 'get on with it already' mixed in.
"I believe something that Master Fay said has merit. It is no accident that none here are currently in touch with the Jedi Order as a whole. At the same time, it is quite suspicious that we have all of the traditional roles represented. While I do not know how the order's factions have changed, in my time the split was between Guardians, Consulars, and Sentinels. Is this still the case?"
Aayla was the one to answer this time, quickly realizing that even Master Fay would likely be a bit out of date on the subject.
"Sort of. Technically, those three divisions are still recognized, but they've fallen out of importance and general use in the last few hundred years. Many Jedi don't formally declare their type, and most that do so are Consulars. Guardians are rarer and Sentinels rarer still. I'd say probably a good twenty percent of the order don't even acknowledge the difference anymore. They only care about the Padawn, Knight, and Master titles."
Master Fay frowned nearly as much as Ood Bnar at that, clearly not having been aware of that little detail. Celeste looked more offended than both of them combined, and didn't have any issue expressing that fact, either.
"That's moronic. If they don't take a specialization, how does the Council know which Jedi to send on combat operations versus diplomatic duty? I'd be a terrible diplomat, and no one was silly enough to expect me to be one."
Aayla shrugged helplessly.
"I don't know. I'm only a Padawan, after all. I think there are so many more Consulars than any other group though, that they usually just send the ones they know are combat capable when it's expected? The order doesn't actually do that many direct combat missions, anyway. Usually, combat comes from missions gone wrong, not intentional deployment."
Celeste looked completely appalled at that idea. In fact, only Fay seemed unbothered. But, then, she was a Consular herself. One who felt the best way to serve the Force was by acting as a mediator and healer.
"That is…"
Celeste trailed off, with Ood Bnar taking up the thread of conversation at her speechlessness.
"That actually makes my own thoughts more likely, not less. If a new Sith threat is on the horizon and the current Jedi Order has demilitarized to that point, my guess is doubly valid. Specifically, that I think the Force is pulling together a seed group for a new…faction might not be the right word, but it will do." He pointed at each of them in turn, starting with Aayla, then moving to Fay, Celeste, and Izuku. "Guardian, Consular, Sentinel, and Battle Master. With myself being a Sage and archivist with knowledge of all areas to call on, even if not the skill to use each of them fully."
All of them blinked at the assertions, Aayla, Celeste and Izuku all attempting to speak at once, only for it to get jumbled. The younger pair quickly ceded the first question to Celeste a moment later. She hesitated, then shrugged.
"Technically, virtually all Shadows were sentinels, including me. We needed to use all available tools to track down and eliminate targets. I'm more curious about you calling him a Battle Master."
Izuku nodded as Celeste hooked her thumb in his direction. That had actually been his question, too, after all.
"That is what I was testing. I suspected, and proved to be correct, that Izuku's unique connection and his previous experience with both telepathy and Force Bonds, would give him a strong foundation for Battle Meditation. I was correct, too. Despite only knowing the basics myself, and that mostly from an academic standpoint, I was able to talk him through using that rare ability."
Celeste blinked, gaze darting to Izuku with far more interest than before. Fay frowned, looking troubled…and Aayla looked blank. She apparently didn't know what that was, either. Izuku could guess, based on what Ood Bnar had been having him attempt. But he wasn't exactly certain what it meant in the bigger picture. Fay cleared that up somewhat when she spoke up next.
"That is a very rare ability. One that normally needs both talent and quite a bit of time. It also has disturbing implications if you're right, however, as there's only one real use for that skill."
Ood Bnar nodded, his own voice solemn as he explained to the youngest pair, who were still visibly confused.
"Battle Meditation is a rare talent that allows a Force User to link up armies or fleets worth of people. Used correctly, it can provide a major boost to morale, stamina, communication and overall battle prowess for one's allies, while weakening one's foes in those same areas. It allows bringing even non-Force sensitives into a sort of gestalt, allowing them to share information and collective skill on an instinctive level. While it is somewhat useful in smaller skirmishes, where it truly shines is in large scale combat. It is, if you'll pardon the poor pun, something of a Force multiplier for armies and fleets. Historically, it has often allowed a much smaller or weaker fleet to defeat a larger by dint of greater coordination and superior morale. Odan-Urr and Nomi Sunrider are just two examples of those who used it to great effect when forced to battle."
Master Fay sighed, running a hand through her hair in an atypically distressed gesture none of them missed.
"Bastila Shan, too. One of Revan's few losses was to a strike force using her ability with it. It was enough to overcome arguably one of the greatest strategists of all time in Revan, allowing them to confront and capture him. If it's surfaced now, with the Force intending it to be used, that could mean a new galactic scale war. That's…concerning. Particularly given the weak and fractured state of the Republic."
Ood Bnar nodded.
"It could be nothing, of course. I doubt the Force could have planned for Izuku, given his origins. But that it has seized on him and thrust him into this particular group may be meaningful. It is, however, only a guess…though having said it aloud now, it feels more like a strong possibility."
Celeste's eyes were sharp.
"A contingency. That's what you meant. The Force is preparing a contingency plan, because it believes the Jedi might not be enough. Or that they are compromised in some way." At Ood Banar's nod, Celeste's smile grew sharper. "Well then, Izuku. I think it's time I got a feel for your abilities. Aayla's too. If Master Bnar is even half-right, we will need to make sure you two can take care of yourselves…"
Aayla and Izuku both gulped at the look in her eyes, shivers running down their spine at the sudden feeling of being in the presence of an apex predator…
... ... ...
A/N: Mwhahahaha! I got to reveal one of the little surprises I've had planned from the very start. I've given hints all along that Izuku's Quirk wasn't just 'has the Force.' Instead, I intended this to be what was going on in the background pretty much from day 1. The stuff about Midi-Cholorians is something I came across while trying to create some sort of unified understanding of the Force in general. There are a LOT of contradictions between authors, even inside current Canon, let alone the EU. So, fair warning, what I've pieced together may not exactly match what you are familiar with. Bit it is more or less all at least legends compliant. Midi-Cholorians and their purpose really is as described here. The only fuckery I really did was give Izuku a Quirk that caused him to be treated like part of the Midi-Cholorian networks, as it were. While also establishing that the reason that was a thing was because Quirks themselves were essentially an early experiment by the equivalent of the Force from the MHA reality, trying to work out how to influence the galaxy properly. Essentially, treating the MHA universe as if it's MUCH younger and the Force there is still figuring shit out, whereas in the Star Wars Galaxy...well, you get the idea! Notably, this means that Izuku is immune to things like the Veil of the Darkside, since his connection is too direct to be affected by what the Sith are doing. This does not come without its own complications, though, since he's going to struggle to find specific details in the absolutely massive ocean of information. Just as the Veil of the Darkside doesn't hinder him, the Light Side can't help him much directly either...