A Shot At Nothing

Prolouge

800 years ago, humans made contact with the aliens. They were beautiful creatures, shimmering, graceful, powerful. They were like gods. And they acted like them. Kind, helpful, and as always, fearless. Perfect. But just like every single person had suspected, the aliens were not here to help the humans.

They were here for the earth. The land.

And so there was a battle. It lasted for 200 years, until one day, the last human soldier put down their gun and fled. The aliens were just too powerful. From that day forth, bit by bit things started to changes. It started when the alien queen placed herself on the throne as the ruler of the world. It started when the world leaders evaporated into stardust. It started, when an alien told a little girl she would make a very, fine pet.

It was a dark age for mankind. They had been reduced to nothing but entertainment. They lived in fear, obeying the aliens every command. Around them their homes were torn down and replaced with palaces. The air sparkled with power, and the once great cities became forests as they were forgotten.

But not all hope was lost. The humans had heroes. So 400 years later, a group of teens hatched a plan. They drank an alien's blood, and suddenly, they were superheroes. That was the turning point. The superheroes killed the queen alien with their newfound powers, and banished the surviving aliens from the earth, telling them to never return again. Mankind rejoiced, throwing off their shackles and chains, and festivities were thrown to honor the heroes. But that was only the start of the story. What no one realized, was that the queen alien had died on the earth. Her blood spilled into the soil. Which meant, her power entered the earth and spread through the ground. It bloomed in the tree's and in the grass. Power humans could not contain.

60% of the people on the earth were not affected. They ate some flora or fauna, and the power entered them, and exited, like a person touching a warm counter and the heat dissipating. 20% of the people died, whether it was a quick death in hours, or a agonizingly slow one which could take years. 5% of the people went mad. They killed people, and destroyed cities. The superheroes put a stop to them of course, and the newspapers didn't stop screaming, "Superheroes Save the World Once Again!" for months. Another 4% evaporated, just like the poor world leaders all those years ago. Their bodies were just too weak. And finally, 1% gained superpowers. Just like the superheroes.

The world was in chaos. Half the people wanted that 1% to be killed. The other half wanted them to be personal guards. Fights broke out everywhere. It seemed as if the world would never be in peace.

Finally the teens stepped forward again.

"Kill them" they said, "They have alien blood in them. They could turn on us. Please, remember the trickery of the aliens, their power. We have to stay safe."

Of course, no one mentioned they had alien blood in them too.

100,000 dead in weeks, whether they had superpowers or not, no one could confirm. People wore stickers saying, "I'm just a very average human" in hopes they would survive. Finally, one of the superheroes realized that they, the heroes themselves, were part alien too, and the killings stopped. But the damage was done. The accusations piled up against the heroes until they had nowhere to run. They were executed quickly and publicly. It was decreed that all who were, "infected" with the alien blood where to turn themselves in, for experimentation in order to cure them. 700 did, and they disappeared from public eyes seemingly forever, until one by one they turned up in graveyards. No one said a word about it.

Everything went back to normal within a few years. Well, almost normal. Because 500 infected humans survived.

And that, was the start of the biggest catastrophe yet.