Extraterrestrial life. Aliens. Otherworldly beings.
Perhaps just a year ago, people would think it was ridiculous that there were so many out there. Of course, they knew there was life out there because their greatest defender was from another planet.
But that was it. There were billions of planets out there, and yet just a single one has shown itself for hundreds of years– some thought that was it.
Humans and Themarian.
It wasn't arrogance as much as it was fear to think they were the only ones. After all, maybe they got lucky that the first alien that visited their planet was friendly? There was no guarantee that the next ones would be as kind.
And they were right. Less than two years ago, 2 aliens invaded the Earth at the same time– almost laying waste to entire countries… but not even close to erasing human civilization. The reason?
Earth has superheroes. Super-powered individuals that did everything they could to ensure the safety of their people– even if it meant their lives extinguished.
It had been a long debate if superheroes were really necessary; a debate by the people, and a very long debate by its government.
But with the invasion, that discussion ended. If it were not for the superheroes, then the humans might have found themselves extinct; or worse, a slave to another civilization.
Superheroes are needed– almost the entire population is now in unison. United to the point that they voted a superhero as the new leader of the World Government.
The World Government. Now that the threat of extraterrestrial invaders was prevalent, it gained a whole different meaning– it became literal. Previously, its main purpose was to maintain peace and order all over the planet; as a war between supers would prove a threat to the entire population.
But now, its main purpose is to decide the actions of the entire planet… against their would-be invaders.
And the one standing on top of that was Adaeze Akuchi, also known as Empress when she was still an active superhero. One might think that the pressure of her work was now less than she was a superhero, but no.
Currently, right at this moment, her stress level was at its peak.
"Let me out there!"
"M… Madam, please, not again!"
Adaeze was currently being blocked by several guards. They were supers, of course; but still, the one in front of them was one of the strongest superheroes that ever walked the planet– so the only thing they could really do was plead for her not to go out there…
…and fight the alien invaders currently on their planet.
"Empress, there is no need for you to go out there. There is a 100% chance that the aliens would retreat even before they step a single foot or tentacle on the planet."
But finally, after a few more seconds of pleading, a bald man stepped inside the office; giving the guards the chance to let out their breaths.
"Leave us."
"Yes, sir!"
And with that, the guards quickly made their exit; leaving their chief to deal alone with Adaeze.
Butcher, aka, Butcher.
"You should really stop making it hard for the people serving under you, Empress."
"...I told you not to address me that way anymore," Adaeze also finally calmed down as she walked back to her desk.
"I am a creature of habit, Empress," Butcher only stood near the door, "I will only take a fraction of your time– the Baby Crew are the ones dealing with the invaders, so there should be no proble–"
"Connect me to them."
"I do not think that is nece–"
"Connect. Me. To. Them… Now!"
"..." Butcher only blinked a couple of times before finally walking to the desk, and pressing something on it that released some sort of keyboard… in which Butcher typed in something. And after a few seconds, a voice started to echo through the room.
[Ah, fuck! When will these motherfuckers just leave us alone!? If I wanted to be an astronaut, I would have actually studied like a normal person!]
[Focus, Monarch. Threat level is low, but them aliens could still do some damage to us if we careless. Remember what happened to the Crib last time?]
[Who the fuck cares. I'm just waiting for cultivators to invade us so I can come with them!]
[Really, ni– Monarch? You still thinking about–]
[Can that two of you please stop using the fucking comms? Fuck, just peace and quiet. Is that hard to understand?]
[The 8th formation of–]
[Gary, fuck! Stop!]
"..." Adaeze then slowly turned her eyes towards Butcher, whose head was slightly looking down to the floor.
"...86%," Butcher sighed.
"..." Adaeze stared at Butcher for a few seconds, before also letting out a sigh of her own, "Enough. I take it you didn't visit me just because of this?"
"Yes. It's regarding… Endless Dark."
"Them again?" Adaeze could only lean back on her seat, "Fucking Darkday worshippers. And what did they do now?"
"Their leader, Nightqueen. She…
…is amassing more and more members."
***
"...This ID has been expired almost a hundred rotations ago."
"I didn't really get the chance to renew it. Can you let us slide for now?"
In front of a certain gate somewhere, a brown, almost golden-haired woman was in the very front of a very long line. The people behind her seemed to whisper; the expressions on their faces, a little annoyed.
Although… it was quite hard to tell what they were really thinking since most of them did not look quite human. They resembled a human, yes– but some aspects were different, especially when comparing it to the golden-haired woman in front of the line.
"..." And in front of that woman, was a purple-skinned humanoid; 4 eyes, 4 arms– his ear on top of his head.
He was inside some sort of booth, covered by a glass that dimly reflected the green sky above them. There were 3 moons littering the green sky, different sizes and apart from each other. The land they stood on also looked like a desert– but not quite, as if one were to look closer, they would find there was no sand. The ground was just one big solid block.
Clearly, not somewhere on Earth.
"It says here that you are from… Protus? Never heard of that before." The purple-skinned humanoid closed 3 of his eyes as he looked closer at the card he was holding; taking glances at the golden-haired woman from time to time.
"It's… somewhere on the edge of the Sol sector," the woman said as she slightly looked to the side.
"Sol… sector?" The purple-skinned humanoid squinted his eyes as he looked the woman straight in the eyes, "Also haven't heard of that. Are you sure this is a legal ID? Do you have any other documents?"
"Listen, my companion and I have come a very long way and we–"
"...Companion?" The purple-skinned humanoid then quickly turned all of his eyes toward the cloaked individual that has been quietly standing beside the woman since the start,
"Does… this companion of yours have an ID?"
"No," the woman quickly blocked her companion from the purple-skinned humanoid's view, "He was only born like 18 years ago. Haven't managed to get him an ID yet."
"...Can you tell your companion to remove his robes?"
"How about you just let us pass?" The woman chuckled, "I don't remember Oria being this strict."
"Probably because the last time you've been here was a hundred rotations ago. I need an ID, or I will call for security and–"
And before the purple-skinned humanoid could finish his words… he suddenly began floating into the air. And it wasn't only him, all of the individuals that were lined up behind the woman also started floating in the air.
It lasted for a few seconds, before they all fell at the same time.
"By the four gods! Have they forgotten to charge the gravity–" And once again, before the purple-skinned humanoid could finish his words, he could not help but stop as the woman in front of her was nowhere to be seen anymore. Gone, along with her cloaked companion.
"W–" The purple skin was about to get out of his booth, but was not allowed to do so as the next one in the line stepped forward. And judging by the smoke coming out of its… nose, she wasn't going to wait any longer.
As for the woman and her cloaked companion, well… they were already on the other side of the gate– leaping over the colossal walls that guarded the streets they were now carefully walking on.
And like the individuals lined up outside the city, the people inside were… also diverse. They all did have one thing in common, all of them could be considered humanoids. Perhaps in the grand scheme of the universe, it was the form that was most suited for beings with intellect.
"I told you not to use your powers!"
"You did… mother."
And in these diverse groups of humanoids, the ones that looked closer to the humans of Earth were the woman and her cloaked companion.
"Then why did you use it!?"
"Because you were not handling the situation well," the cloaked individual finally removed the hood on his head, revealing a set of long white hair that almost reflected the green sky above them,
"I also want to rest, mother."
"...Are you sure you still don't have your memory back? I am starting to feel like you're just fooling me, Riley."
"No, mother," Riley shook his head as he looked straight into Aerith's eyes, "Besides the abilities I have…
…I don't remember anything."
ᴡ ᴏᴠʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀʀ ᴘᴜʙʟsʜᴅ ᴏ ᴀʟʟ ᴏᴠʟ ꜰᴜʟʟ.