Clone Force 99/Bad Batch Original Batch Headcanons

Bad Batch Headcanons: Original Batches

Now, it originally was just the Bad Batch but somehow two other characters, Lot and Gears, popped into existence. Thanks to Soundwavetherav on tumblr, those characters (who I was originally gonna kill off) are now fully vibin on Lothal with fleshed personalities and a lovely pack of Loth wolves! We've put in some WORK into these boys lol. I'll post their story on my tumblr eventually.

For this post, behold my headcanons (which verge into slight AU) on what happened to the original batches of Clone Force 99!

Also... F in the chat for Eyes and Ears... I'm so sorry.

Angst ahead

Sergeant Hunter

· Hunter did not have a batch in the standard five-man sense. He was a "pet project" of one wacko longneck who wanted to see if it was possible to fuse another species into a clone and get away with it. There were clones before him, but they were all deemed failures. Either too mutated to pass as a regular clone or horribly disfigured to the point they wouldn't survive, Hunter was the only result the kaminoan deemed "acceptable". The only result that could survive on his own. Fused with a semi-aquatic, agile predatory species with strong sensory capabilities including electroreception, Hunter would be the perfect tracker.

· Soon after he was seen as a success, the kaminoan scientist tried again, this time combining a clone with a Loth Wolf. This clone however soon showed a striking mutation: stark white hair and eyes closer to the color gold than brown. But since he was physically acceptable to the scientist, the longneck kept him to see how he would fare with mental tests. Both Hunter and the other clone grew pretty close with Hunter taking the role of older sibling. Since the other clone did well for the mental tests, the scientist did not deem him a failure.

· As they grew older, both clones began to show undesired side effects of the fusion. For Hunter, it showed in his sharper teeth, sensitivity to sensory stimuli that could cause crippling headaches, and tendency to grow aggressive and/or display predatory behavior when exposed to the scent of blood. For the other clone, it showed in his sensitivity to high pitched sounds and strong smells, delayed vocal abilities, producing grunts and growls in place of words, and a habit of sometimes chasing anything that moved. While it was frustrating for the scientist, he was forced to keep the pair together as if he tried to separate them at any point, both would shut down or grow very hostile even at a young age. It was the other clone who gave Hunter his name, and Hunter in turn gave the other clone his name: Lot.

· Unfortunately, the pair did not remain together past the biological age of twelve. While testing to see if Lot could access the Loth Wolf ability to access a realm beyond the natural one, Lot disappeared and never showed back up. Alone now, Hunter found himself failing tests as he was lacking the sense of community that gave him strength. The kaminoans noticed this and soon Hunter found himself with a new brother; a ten year old Tech.

Crosshair and Wrecker

· Crosshair and Wrecker are from the same batch, but are the only survivors. Created a year after the success of Hunter and Lot, one of the clones was infused with the DNA of a Clawdite in an attempt to create a clone with the ability to shapeshift. Unfortunately, unlike Hunter and Lot, this clone did not survive past its first month. Instead, the result was similar to the kaminoan scientist's previous attempts, and he was too malformed to survive. That left four; Crosshair, Wrecker, and two other clones, who were supposed to be able communicate telepathically with each other.

· However, the two other clones had a major malformity; one was blind and the other was deaf. Together they were each other's eyes and ears, but separate they were not satisfactory. Nevertheless, the kaminoans kept them to study the extent of their telepathy and how it functioned. Crosshair showed advanced eyesight capabilities, but had a hard time building muscle, showed signs of dyslexia, and was subject to narcoleptic episodes. Wrecker, on the other hand, exhibited an abnormal growth rate and superior strength, as well as an advanced healing rate to cope with frequent muscle and ligament tears, but was often tired after using his strength, had severe headaches, and was hard of hearing.

· The remaining four clones grew close with each other, but it would not last. When the batch was seven biological years old, the telepathic clones (nicknamed Eyes and Ears) were taken away and "culled" due to their inability to be used on the battlefield. The loss of their batchmates deeply affected both Crosshair and Wrecker, although each dealt with the loss in different ways.

· Crosshair, who was fairly amiable despite his mistrust of any strangers, developed a deep-seated fear and anxiety about losing people he cared about. In his mind, should anyone get close to him they would only be taken away from him again. To combat this, his outward demeanor became cold, callous, and almost cruel to a degree. His attitude grew very cynical and suspicious, the latter especially true of any authority figure.

· Wrecker, however, handled it in a different way. Unlike Crosshair, who attempted to push his brother away, Wrecker grew highly protective and tried to keep his last remaining batcher even closer than before. Should anyone act in even a slightly threatening manner towards Crosshair, Wrecker would not hesitate to use his already impressive strength to intimidate or physically confront the attacker. In time, Crosshair grew to accept Wrecker's protective nature although he still maintained a cold front towards his brother when others were around.

Tech

· Tech is the only one of them to not only have all of his batchmates make it past six months (1 year Biologically). They all showed an elevated mental prowess compared to their peers, but the kaminoans wanted to test just how more advanced they were to see if they could factor this into later batches of regular clones. They began to subject the young clones to rigorous mental testing, which was far more in depth and challenging than the standard tests given to developing clones.

· As per usual with kaminoans, the penalty for falling behind or for failure to keep up with their peers resulted in only one thing: termination. Unlike Hunter, Crosshair, or Wrecker, there were still mentally elevated clones who the kaminoans could test and study. Since the remaining clones were better performers in the tests anyways, the kaminoans saw this as a win-win.

· From the start, Tech had proven to be one of best in his batch and the kaminoans began to take a special interest in him. They continued to push him and his (dwindling) fellow batchers harder and harder in the mental tests. Only one cadet could even remotely keep up with Tech; Gears. Gears greatly resembled Tech, in the shape of his face, but possessed the darker skin and hair found in most other clones. Like Tech's brain, Gear's brain proved stronger than the others, as while their brains would "shut down" from information overload, Gear's and Tech's continued to handle the influx with relative ease.

· However, this strong brain came at a cost; Tech's heart was not as strong and he had a heart murmur which could show itself in sudden chest pains while Gears would be prone to narcoleptic episodes. Despite this, both cadets performed satisfactorily in physical tests and the kaminoans simply took note of the conditions. Both cadets' eyes also proved not as strong as their peers but due to their value the kaminoans out fitted them with corrective goggles rather than lose their hard work. To counteract Gears' narcoleptic episodes, the kaminoans would give him stims to keep him awake.

· The pair continued to excel in tests even when their fellow batchers began to fall behind. Rewarded by the kaminoans for besting their batch mates, they began to try even harder. Preoccupied with filling his head with information that would allow him to succeed, Tech failed to realize that his batchmates weren't being taken away for further "training". Gears however began to notice, and soon realized the price for failure; decommissioning.

· Then came the day when the pair was ten (chronologically) that Gears realized the test would decide who progressed and who was decommissioned. Even with his mind being eaten away by the stims the kaminoans gave him, Gears couldn't bear to continue without Tech. Purposefully botching his own test, Gears allowed Tech to pass him and he himself was taken away to be decommissioned. Once this happened, Tech began to falter in the tests. After all, every clone was engineered to rely heavily on their fellow clones and without any support. In an attempt to combat this, the kaminoans stuck him with another lone mutant clone; young Sergeant Hunter.