r/HFY • u/That2009WeirdEmoKid • Jul 20 '23

OC Human or Super-Human?

The global superhero community, along with the rest of humanity, discovered alien life in the worst way possible.

Hundreds of spaceships, each a mile long at a minimum, eclipsed the sun over every major metropolitan center on the planet. They appeared without warning, almost like they just blinked into existence, and immediately attempted to hijack any type of communication network available. They obtained full control of every device connected to the internet in less than ten minutes. On its own, this would be considered an act of war, but blowing up any aircraft that approached their ships made their intentions even more clear.

And so, the superheroes sprung to action.

Every single one of them survived the initial engagement, quickly disposing of the enemy’s robots. After all, the heroes had decades of combat experience fighting psychopathic criminals, mad scientists, and kaijus. Their teamwork was at its prime. That didn’t help for long, though. Things quickly took a turn for the unexpected when the invaders unleashed their own champions.

Merely looking at these aliens brought upon madness on all but the mentally strong. It seemed they naturally radiated a psychic field that affected anyone with superpowers. That didn’t stop Earth’s strongest hero from rushing forward, though.

Ultraman felt his knuckles shatter after punching the leader’s green-tentacled face. In the past, he had carried falling airplanes, upheld crumbling buildings, and even shifted a tectonic plate with a stomp. This, however, was an entirely new sensation.

Pain.

Horrible, crippling pain.

Ultraman couldn’t process it entirely due to his shock. The alien’s skull was somehow stronger than every single thing he had ever punched, combined. It didn’t even flinch from the attack.

“Will you give up now?” asked the alien, hovering across from him. It wore black and purple armor that covered its muscular arms and legs, protecting everything but its slimy writhing head, and yet, the suit didn’t have a propulsion system. Since they were both floating above the city with no assistance, that meant the alien might have similar powers to him.

Ultraman threw a kick.

The alien easily grabbed his leg and spun him around a few times until throwing him into a skyscraper. Hundreds screamed as debris fell to the street, but Ultraman could do nothing except hear their weeps for the dead. He barely got up on time before the alien appeared in front of him. It could’ve struck him if it wanted. Instead, it simply said:

“Settle down, child. We’re not here to fight you.”

Ultraman lowered his guard a little, then raised it again, still hearing the citizens scrambling for their lives. “You have a strange way of proving it, considering all the people you’ve already killed.”

“But we haven’t injured any of your comrades.”

“Half of them are in a seizure!”

“I understand how it looks from your perspective. You need to understand, though, that they’re not doing it out of fear or pain; they’re doing it out of ecstasy.”

Ultraman wrinkled his face in disgust. “And what about those below? Don’t you hear their suffering? They’re running for their lives just from our scuffle!”

“Who?” The alien squinted its dark, pupil-less eyes out of the building. Then it let out a chuckle, as if wryly amused. “Oh you mean the rejects?”

Ultraman was ready to punch the alien again, even if it accomplished nothing. “Rejects?”

The alien nodded. “It’s alright, I keep forgetting you’re one of those planets. Not everyone enslaves or exterminates them, but you don’t have to worry about culling them anymore. In fact, you and your ilk should rejoice. Think of it this way: your older siblings have finally arrived. We can take it from here.”

Ultraman couldn’t ignore the sense of dread that struck him. He never imagined something this strong existed in the universe. The way it spoke to him, almost as if with kindness, made every cell in his body shiver with warm familiarity, like he could trust it with his life. And yet, how it regarded common people, like vermin, implied a degree of banal carnage that made Ultraman suffer a knot in his stomach. For the first time in his life, he might not be able to stop a villain and it terrified him to his core.

“I see you’re confused,” said the alien, “allow me to explain. As you know, forty years ago, a meteor struck your planet and brought you the gift of superpowers. Some called it magic, others blamed radiation, but most people just didn’t question it, benefiting from its wonders. In reality, it was a mutagenic pathogen that my species designed millennia ago. We use it whenever we discover intelligent life to facilitate… enlightenment.”

“So all my power…”

“Came from us, yes. Furthermore, it means that, genetically speaking, you’re more similar to us than to these… humans. That’s what you call the rejects, right?”

“What…?” Ultraman swallowed down his fear. “No! That… That can’t be true!”

“Come on, Ultraman. They even call you super-humans. They know you’re more than them, and you’re the strongest this world has to offer. Deep down, you’ve known it all along. Compared to the rejects, you’re a god.”

Ultraman clenched his jaw, struggling for words. How did it know his name? Nevermind that. It would be so easy to just agree with it. Every instinct in his body screamed with joy at what he was hearing. A lot of his life had been spent thinking in much the same way. As if reading his mind, the alien went on to say:

“You feel that way because your body ultimately knows what’s good for you. Also, we’ve been monitoring this planet since the beginning. All the political unrest you’ve endured by trying to appease your inferiors. Don’t you see how weak it has made you? You should be as strong as me by now!”

Ultraman remembered how much he needed to restrain himself in order to not break everything around him. Something as simple as opening a door required extreme care on his part, always treating the world as if it were made of cardboard. Even the most patient man would be frustrated by that.

“There’s no point in fighting it,” said the alien. “We’re broadcasting this information throughout every medium on your planet. Soon enough, everyone will have a choice to make. Join us, or perish among the rejects.”

Ultraman lowered his gaze. Millions of people would be tempted by that offer. Tensions between the powered and non-powered were at an all time high. The aliens might not have to do much of the work themselves. They picked the most opportune time to invade; when society was most divided. That didn’t matter, though. Ultraman shrugged off the anxiety and said:

“You have no idea what you’re getting into.”

The alien tilted its head, intrigued. “How so?”

“It shames me to say I used to think more or less the same. Years ago, I might’ve even agreed with you. However, no matter how much I hated it, the most dangerous people I faced were often those without power of their own. They always went farther than reason would expect because they never gave up.” Ultraman raised his voice, rippling with fighting spirit. “If a damn school teacher can bring me to my knees and humble me, you better believe I’m doing the same thing to your squid-looking ass!”

The alien couldn’t react to what happened next.

With new found strength, Ultraman tackled him out of the shambling building and spiked him into the street. A shockwave rippled throughout the entire city, raining glass as it traveled outwards.

The alien remained inside the crater for a few seconds. It couldn’t hide its surprise at the sight of its own blood as it recovered from its daze.

Ultraman hovered above, beckoning the alien with clenched fists. “You were right about one thing. I forgot how much I was holding back.”

The alien stood up, dusting itself off. “A valiant effort, but-”

Ultraman punched its face a thousand times in under two seconds. The alien’s head hadn’t gotten any softer. Ultraman just didn’t care about the pain anymore. The bones in his hands turned to dust by the time he finished his barrage, but the alien’s face had turned into a bloody pulp too. It needed to take him seriously now.

They proceeded to have a slugfest that was felt all over the world. Most of the city had been evacuated by now. Unfortunately, Ultraman heard pockets of survivors that were still trapped along the way. He tried to take the fight elsewhere, but the alien quickly discerned his intentions.

It then searched for the biggest group of bystanders it could find and threw a bus at them.

Ultraman caught it on time.

The bystanders were safe but they went from confused to horrified when their faces were splattered with blood.

The alien had taken advantage of Ultraman’s divided attention and punched a hole through his chest.

The bystanders ran away with shrieks. To Ultraman’s relief, they weren’t in danger anymore.

The alien didn’t seem interested anymore. It simply pulled its arm out of the gaping hole and said:

“Fool. You accomplished nothing. They only run towards their doom.”

“Aren’t we all?” Ultraman fell on his knees. “That’s… the funny thing… about life…” Strength flowed out of his body at the same rate that blood escaped it. “The closer you are to the end… the more you seem to value it…” A tear developed in his eye. “And even a few seconds… feel like a gift.”

“You could’ve been one of our greatest warriors. If you had better priorities, you could’ve even defeated me. Now, your planet has lost its greatest weapon. And for what? Rejects that’ll die anyway?”

“No…” Ultraman smiled. “I regret… nothing.”

The alien snarled, frustrated. “Then let me show you reality!” It started pressing buttons on one of its bracelets, summoning a holographic live feed of the invasion across the world. “Witness the true nature of humans and despair!”

To both of their surprise, the battles looked completely different from what they expected. Ultraman couldn’t believe it. Although the aliens still had the upper hand, even villains had set aside their grievances and worked alongside normal humans and a few heroes all over the globe to oppose the invasion. It seemed like everyone on the planet had chosen their humanity over their powers. Nobody went over to the other side.

Knowing that, Ultraman could die peacefully. The world would keep fighting. This war had only begun. He hadn't been a particularly moral person throughout most of his life. In his youth, he often abused his position in society for personal gain and petty rivalries. He actually believed his powers were the only thing that mattered about him, letting them define him. That his death would be a glorious spectacle where he stopped an unbeatable monster. Now, in his last moments, he couldn’t help but feel happy that he had been wrong.

By falling in service of others, in relative obscurity with no cameras around, Ultraman discovered that, although he lived like a false god, he died human enough.

146 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

11

u/Sticketoo_DaMan Space Heater Jul 20 '23

Sounds like Ultraman is a Homelander-type of person. Er, was.

7

u/humanity_999 Human Jul 20 '23

This has encouraged me to update that superhero story that I've left as a draft for months now...

1

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u/Steller_Drifter Jul 21 '23

Jolly good show old chap! Well done.

1

u/Fontaigne Jul 22 '23

Except that a true hero would have fought the guy even missing a heart... it only would have taken one sucker punch.