"In Ancient Times. Before the birth of the First Mutant. Before the Hyborean Age. Before the fall of Ancient Atlantis... Before even the birth of mankind as we know it...
"There came the Celestial Host.
"The Celestials are ancient, massive beings with incomprehensible cosmic power, the Gods of the Gods. And they are, first and foremost, scientists. Coming to Earth over one million years ago, they took three groups of burgeoning Proto-Humans. To one group, they simply spliced in a handful of latent genes and released them to see how the otherwise unguided course of evolution would do with their latent Potential.
"To the second group, extensive modifications were preformed allowing for rapid mutation and change with each successive generation. While one in a million would appear as humans with Godlike power, for the most part, the Chaotic Deviants were merely warped and twisted with maybe a handful of biological enhancements."
To the observers, the storyteller presents images of a dozen humanoids with a dozen different body types and sets of proportions, each in a clearly distinct color. They are quite ugly.
"And to the third group, even more, extensive enhancements were performed. As the Deviants embodies Chaos, so too did the immortal and unchanging Eternals with their cosmic power embodied Order."
Another image is presented, six humanoid figures in futuristic takes on the sorts of outfits one might traditionally see worn by various native peoples in the Americas, or by ancient Greeks or Romans, or other less familiar cultures still.
"These tests done, the Celestials Departed, leaving their creations to fight amongst themselves: The Deviants to conquer the world and the Eternals to protect it and oversee the growth of humanity whose potential still slept dormant within them.
"Over the course of millennia, the Eternals defended the Earth from the Deviants, in the process often making mortals see them as battles between Gods or Angels on one side and hideous demons on the other, and many other threats, eventually driving the Deviants back to their own hidden city.
"However, over time, be it by experimentation by men or Aliens..."
An image of a man in blue and white armor throwing a mighty shield is constructed against a man in all black with a tuning fork on his head with a purple-clad woman with ridiculously voluminous ankle-length red hair standing before a crowd of people.
"Ancient traditions..."
A man clad head to toe in a skin-tight black armor giving him a distinctly feline profile.
"Freak accidents..."
A massive muscular and barrel-chested man with jade green skin was juxtaposed against four fearless figures in blue, one drawn so as to be transparent, one stretched out like taffy, one flying through the air while lit aflame, and a figure, almost as large as the green giant, covered in an orange, rocklike substance.
"Or natural evolution..."
Six figures, five men and one woman. Five in yellow and blue costumes. One man conjuring Ice, one with a figure like an ape mid-jump, one with wings like an angel soaring like an eagle, one firing crimson light from a visor on his face, and a young woman lifting a large stone with not but her mind, all surrounding a bald man in a wheelchair.
"The latent potential within mankind began to emerge. With the Deviants vanquished and mankind now in possession of its own protectors, the Eternals retreated from the world, getting involved only when absolutely necessary and, for the most part, letting mankind solve its own problems."
"Wait, wait, wait," Missy interrupted, making Ashley, in her academic outfit, lose her train of thought.
"Yes?" Ashley said while gesturing to the older girl with her pointer(actually it was All-Love. No more need to borrow a pool cue.)
"So... You're telling me that superhumans in your world are the result of a bunch of bored Super-Mega-Ultra Gods doing a science experiment a million years ago?"
Ashley shrugged. "It's a bit more complicated than that, but basically... Yeah."
"And you think we're the weird ones?"
AN: Celebrating the 103rd Birthday of Jack "The King" Kirby by having Ashley share the secret history of the world and characters that he helped create.