Ransom

October 31st, 2028.

That is the date the world would soon come to know as “Infinitum”, better known as the day Earth developed superpowers.

It was subtle at first; a few self-proclaimed psychics here and there, spread throughout the English countryside, but of course, in those times, no one took them seriously. For who would? Magic, and by extension, superhuman capabilities, was not a thing of the world; at least, not of the living.

Shortly after, in true comic book fashion, the rest of the planet began showing similar abilities. Within two to three generations, it became abundantly clear that this was no longer a simple, contained incident. It was universal. And it was not going away.

In an effort to keep up with the ever-growing vastness of possible powers; governments all around the globe held a meeting of top importance. During this convention, all wars and all hostilities were put aside in order to come up with a simple series of guidelines and a way to incorporate all that had changed.

The first and the greatest of these was the naming of one’s powers; more commonly referred to as Traits. It was determined thereafter that there would be three classifications for Traits.

A Rank: the highest, strongest and most powerful of all Traits; the ones who could uphold the true title of “hero”. They would have full permission within the government to step into dangerous situations in which everyday civilians would not be able to control.

B Rank: the sidekicks to the heroes; the ones called in for emergencies and life-saving conditions (ie. police officers, emergency personnel, nurses, doctors).

C Rank: the lowest of the low. Ranked at the very bottom of the totem pole, if you were tested and you classified as a C rank, your powers are deemed either unmanageable or too weak to manifest anything of necessary value. Your Traits, and all hopes of becoming an A rank, cease to exist.

But that is not the end of the story, for there are tales, legends, some even say, of heroes born of fire, those whom the world deemed unworthy, the lowest of all society; heroes just like you and me who rose to the top of the rankings; not because of their raw abilities, but because of their willingness to go above and beyond, to push the limits of normal human society.

This is that legend.

And it all started a long time ago, with a boy who should never have survived that explosion...

~Inkheart