A YJA Moment - Deviants

The Eternals were members of sentient races which were uplifted by the fabled Celestials into powerful and immortal beings.  However, the process used by the Celestials did not always result in an Eternal, but caused a massive mutation in their cellular structure, creating individuals with a varied and sometimes hideous appearance.  The Eternals referred to these people as Deviants, but they themselves have called themselves the Changing People.

Though their mutations often gave them superhuman abilities, they lacked the cosmic-fuelled powers of the Eternals.  They often made up for this by using their hyper-intelligent members to create incredibly advanced technology.  Regardless, it was common for conflict to arise between Eternals and Deviants. Unfortunately in many cases, such as on Krypton and Titanos, this resulted in the Eternals wiping out all the Deviants.  I

On the Skrull homeworld, it was the Eternals who mysteriously perished, leaving the Deviants as the dominant lifeform on Skrullos.  The mutations would later stabilize, resulting in a separate species of shape-shifting aliens.  This species, now called the Skrulls, would eventually rise up against their normal counterparts and destroy them.

On Earth, a cold war existed between the two peoples.  Knowing they were unable to directly face the Eternals, the Deviant hid and indirectly attacked them through schemes and third parties.  From their base on Ashomia in Japan, they developed knowledge and technology that was centuries ahead of the rest of humanity.  Yet they refrained from acting against the populace, lest the Eternals intervene.

The end of the Deviants on Earth came in 1625 with the arrival of Sir Isaac Newton, scientist, and leader of a secret cabal of exceptional humans.  Seeking out a portion of what he called the Five-Fold Understanding, he stole the Book of the Hidden Arts from the Deviants and used advanced explosives to cover his theft.

Unexpectantly the blast disrupted the city's power grid, creating explosions and fire throughout the city.  Without the automated defenses to combat the blaze, the entire city to Ashomia burned to the ground.  The remains of the Deviant people were forced to flee into enclaves throughout the world, never to gather in such numbers again.