Somewhere in Alabama…

Deep in the swamp a fire was quenched.

The scorched metallic sphere sat half sunken in the mire, no longer steaming as the murky water had cooled it to the surrounding temperature. The long trench that had been furrowed through the swamp had quickly filled, leaving no trace that this enigma from the heavens had actually crashed and wasn't instead some strange anomaly that had risen from the depths of the swamps.

The alligator had returned to this area less then 30 minutes ago, swimming through the channels of the swamp, uncaring of the lightshow far above that had ended a few hours previous. It was only interested in the strange thing that now was within its personal territory.

The fourteen footer swam languidly around the object, able to feel the residual heat still in the water warming it's cold blood. Was this thing an egg?

And just like an egg, it did suddenly crack open. The gator, wary, swam closer towards the seam. It could smell something familiar yet different.

Meat. But not a meat is was familiar with.

Not that it mattered. The Gator was ravenous now. All the prey had fled the area with the firestorm. He needed sustenance. So he kicked off with his tail and poked his snout into the sphere.

And a black gauntlets lashed out and grabbed the Gator's torso and twisted, snapping the reptiles back in one fell use of deadly force. The black gloved hands dropped the carcass back into the swamp, and retreated within the metallic shell.

The swamp was quiet once more, except for the sound of shallow breathing from within the egg that had spawned death.