Chapter Text
Invaders.
That's what the humans would call them decades from now when they'd have taken over half the population. When everyone was paranoid that their best friend, their lover, even their sister was an alien in disguise.
Our story doesn't begin there in the chaos of the Doppleganger War. This was before any human realized that the meteorite that crashed in the middle of the California desert was no rock but a space ship.
Our story begins with two Invaders. Leech like creatures with colorful streaks of skin and rows of razor sharp teeth. They would fit right in with the beasts of the amazon yet they only got a curious glance from passing humans.
The larger of the two had patches of blue across his belly resembling the stars they had come from. The smaller of the two had purple streaks across his slimy back.
The two were coiled into each other like snakes as they whispered in a foreign tongue.
They had a dilemma on their hands.
Namely, finding good hosts.
See, the invaders had no malicious intentions.
They only wanted what every other animal wanted to do: survive.
Their own planet’s resources were far and few between. Earth wasn't the first planet they had come to in search of a new home but it was one of the more promising ones.
The invaders were parasites by nature which means they needed good hosts to survive.
Humans were a good fit. Their pathology made it easy for the invader to infect them and grow the necessary parts to reproduce and digest their needed nutrients.
The human DNA was easy to disassemble and copy with their own proteins which gave them the genetic information they needed to take full control of their host’s system.
An invader would attach themselves at the base of the head right in the cerebellum. From they would spread their slimy branches to the rest of the brain and the body until they had total control of their hosts functions as well as all their memories.
It wasn't an easy process but the results were always worth it.
The larger invader uncurled himself from the other with a hiss.
The two invaders were not like most of their brethren. They were left outside a host for too long and had developed their own personalities instead of gaining the quirks of their hosts.
It had its benefits, they understood their purpose and didn't have to deal with an identity crisis, but it also meant they were quick to question their leaders judgement as well as each other.
Currently the two were fighting over what host the larger blue one would take.
He was a broodmother which meant the host he chose would have to be perfect. Broodmothers took a longer time to change their host's biology so it was harder to go from host to host like a servant or guardian would.
<It’s a good host Gyro!> The larger invader clicked.
Their language was incomprehensible to the human ear but still Gyro looked around in a panic before squirming back to the others side.
It was natural for a guardian to be wary of anyone near its broodmother but Gyro had been in constant alert mode ever since he was paired to Johnny. Only Johnny's safety inside a host body would ease his worry.
<That human is sluggish, Johnny.> Gyro gestured with a flick of his tail to the scene the two were observing.
A young blonde boy was sitting in a doctors examination chair. His legs were unmoving as the doctor ran his hands over them squeezing gently at certain spots and talking with the patient.
The invaders had been observing the odd ritual known to humans as a check-up since the patient had entered the room hobbling on crutches.
<It is because that human is sluggish that he would make a good host. The humans care for their odd ones and meet their needs. No one would threaten me in such a body.> Johnny clicked rapidly, crawling away from his partner’s body.
<What if you are threatened? If your host cannot protect you it's a bad choice.>
<I have you to protect me, don't I? These two humans are a couple it would be the perfect hosts.>
<But that human has extra arms! What if they are causing the human to be sluggish?> Gyro flicked to the patient's crutches.
<The extra arms are good. It means I can reach things farther. That human has more arms than any other human that we've encountered therefore it must be special. Don't you think I deserve a special body?>
Gyro mulled it over. It had already been three days of searching with no unanimous decision. Whatever Johnny chose was too dangerous for Gyro and whatever Gyro chose would draw too much attention for Johnny. The scraps they got from attaching to smaller animals was soon to starve them. He didn't like the idea but the thought of letting Johnny die on this odd planet was much worse.
<We can test it out. If there are issues we have to try again.> Gyro clicked in resignation.
Invaders wouldn't smile but expressed their happiness through the waving of their tails. Johnny tail was waving so much his entire body wiggled. Without another word, the two began to crawl into the room from the windowsill taking their positions on the doctor’s desk.
Johnny could not understand what the humans were saying so he curled next to Gyro and waited for a signal to attach himself to the host.
The doctor leaned back in his chair away from the patient their session now over. The patient stayed in the examination chair and reached for his crutches still conversing with the doctor. As the two were distracted gyro crawled up the doctor's back and motioned for Johnny to do the same.
The humans didn't have time to register the odd sensation on their skin before they collapsed to the floor having their mental capacity suddenly shut down.
For Johnny and Gyro, it was a new beginning.
For their hosts, Jonathan and Julius, it was the worst day of their life.