『Krypton』

The ground quaked. Explosions off in the distance. The world had become an unstable and a very deadly place. There was nowhere to hide and only places to run. The world was surely falling apart around everyone's ears. Beneath their feet, the core of the planet had become drained of its life as the people had lived off its power for far too long.

They had murdered their planet, and their planet was taking as many of them with it as it could.

There was a lone facility in the most northern pole of the world. Partially submerged in crystals and ice, prisoners were held here in stasis. It was a lesser punishment than being placed in the Phantom Zone or Fort Rozz. Individuals innocent of violent crimes were sent here, as they were only mere violators of minor laws and obstructions.

As the years had gone by, punishments had become more severe with the rise of Rebellion and Revolts, mostly those who wished to save the planet by attacking the government. General Zodd and his movement was at fault for that. So because of this, there were little to no prisoners here. There was barely even a skeleton crew manning the positions within the facility.

However as the world shook, energy throughout the planet was giving way. There was no more to fuel everyday needs. Hospitals were left powerless. Backup generators were all that stood capable, but even then, they didn't protect from the destruction.

Suddenly the power shorted, the electrical lines leading to the prison facility erupted. The towers exploding, collapsing in on itself as the world swallowed their supports.

Deep within the facility, a single pair of oddly colored luminescent green and copper eyes, brought life to a cell engulfed in darkness. A single ray of light grazing a pale fair child's skin, revealing her raven black hair, freckled cheeks.

She sat there huddled in a corner, wearing a black straight jacket which kept her arms in check. There were even shackles on her legs which kept her from walking. It was to ensure that if the power to the facility was cut for any reason, they wouldn't be able to escape without aid of another.

A massive explosion several clicks away shook the cell, dust and stone fell from the ceiling, causing the girl to squeal and fall to her side on the dry floor. She squirmed and then curled into a ball as best she could, squeezing her eyes shut. She was in the dark, she was alone, she believed she was going to die here.

Where was mom? Where was dad? Why didn't they come to save her? Her thoughts went to those she began to believe abandoned her. She knew nothing of the ten years which had passed.

'Never fear, little one.' A disembodied voice floated about inside her head.

Her body tensed at the sudden feeling of a presence. One she had never known, one she didn't understand nor could she see. Her eyes darted from every corner of the cell, but there was nothing.

'They're coming for you, little one.'

When the poor girl began to speak, she could only cough. She didn't understand, her throat was dry. The more she attempted to look around, the more she began to notice that she couldn't see very well either.

As she cast her eyes onto the rays of light coming in through the singular slotted window at the top of the wall, she glared. The rectangular slot was surrounded by a halo, she could only assume this was a variant stasis sickness. Hallucinations were normal, right?

'I am NOT an hallucination..." The disembodied voice sounded angry, or annoyed. The girl couldn't tell, she still didn't know what or where the voice was coming from.

As she attempted to talk again, she could only blow air out of her mouth while moving her lips. She crunched up her face in frustration.

'You must be wondering who I am... You will learn in time. Speaking of time... There is about one hour remaining until the world is rendered uninhabitable.'

Pulling herself up into a seated position, she pushed herself up the nearest wall until she was standing up. Her eyes narrowing towards the door as weapons fire erupted not too far away. She could hear the robotic caretakers of the prison demanding whomever it was who was storming the facility to surrender.

It didn't seem like these invaders were going to do just that. After a few minutes the next thing she heard was the robotic guard in front of her cell come crashing down to the ground. With itty-bitty steps she took a short journey to the door of her cell and peered out the tiny window by hopping up and down.

The moment she got a glimpse outside the door, her eyes had locked with those of her own mother. Law, Justice and Integrity. They went against it all to come and save her, even though allowing her to go down as she did was a breach of integrity.

"Clear the door, My Little An!"

Hopping to the side, like a rabbit with its front paws tied, in doing so she dodged the door as it was blown clean off the hinges.

A big burly man who stood over six feet in height came storming into the room. He looked over at her with a strapping smile.

"Pa...Pa..." As the girl spoke, it was more so just sounds. For all people knew, she was making childish gun sounds. As if she was unable to speak, the quivering smile she gave in return, spoke wonders.

The large man came barreling towards her, wrapping his arms around her petite frame and squeezed her tight. "C'mere my lil Princess!" Her father was a bit corny, but he adored and doted on her no matter what.

They didn't apologize for leaving her here for so long. It wasn't as if she actually knew she had been left there for a decade. At least she no longer could assume her parents had abandoned here as the planet went to hell.

Her eyes closed, her perception began to change. An interface engulfed her vision as she opened her eyes once more.

'Hello Little One, it seems we are fully integrated.'

The girl hid her puzzled expression in the shoulder of her father as he picked her up. She wasn't capable of walking on her own and they weren't slowing down to undo the bindings.

Her boyish raven black short hair bounced at her cheeks, her eyes on her mother as they began to escape from the facility. They had already taken out security, no one was going to bother stopping them. There was no point, the world was literally coming to an end.

For the first time in ten years, her skin was greeted by the unadulterated rays of Krypton Prime, their red sun. She didn't bother to look up at it, she just kept her eyes on her mother who was running behind them. Her mother was smiling with tears going down her face. Why was she crying? Was it because she had a full head of white hair now? No, she was crying while she looked at her.

For some reason she began to feel her own eyes well up with glossy liquid, causing her eyes to shine even more with their odd luminescent nature.

"Ma...Ma..." She said, her voice muffled in her father's shoulder. She could see the snow, the crystals. In the distance there was a city on fire. The landscape was changing on its own, no terraforming technology present.

'Are you ignoring me?'

She nodded into her father's shoulder, a sound of laughing filled her ears, followed by silence. The interface which had been forming within her eye, vanished just the same.

They entered another building, one not too far from the prison. Her eyes grazed over a handful of dead lawmen, they had been shot in the back. Suddenly her father placed her down, but not on her feet. She quickly found herself in a symbioship, her eyes narrowed forward.

Her mother wasn't crying because they had saved her, they weren't crying because they had grey hair, they were crying because even though they just reacquired her, they were sending her away again.

"No..." She said dryly, trying to push herself upward, only for her father to close the canopy before she could resist.

"It's too late my lil' Princess." The big burly smile that had once held the man's grand expression of love, was now a smile of dread and sorrow. He couldn't bring himself to frown, he couldn't cry. He caressed the glass canopy as if it was her forehead.

"Hekate... We weren't there for you... We didn't protect you... But we wish to give you what was denied to you... What we couldn't give you," Her mother spoke in a quiet voice, her hands cupped against the cool metal hull. "Goodbye, my little bundle of Justice, my little An."

"Ma..." The girl smashed her head against the window, causing it to reverberate, but there was no damage. The canopy didn't open. All the systems within the ship were coming online. "Don't... Leave... Me... A-alone..."

Her father and mother, took several steps away from their daughter. They were visibly shaking at the shoulders. It was clear, very clear, that they feared the end. Yet instead of piling into the tiny vessel, they sent their child alone.

As the ship began to start up, it began to the sleep sequence. "No! No! No!" Hekate squirmed and tossed, turned and kicked. She bashed her feet against the canopy, but nothing was working. She could feel her muscles relaxing, her body going into hibernation. Her consciousness began to fade as the small symbioship left the atmosphere of planet.

The robotic voice of the ship spoke, "Suspended Hibernation activated..."

Hekate could barely process the words as the universe froze over from her point of view.