2 Krypta
Krypton
Cheyenne Anderson; Rhyan Crall; Brayden McNear; Aiden Petersen; and Meghan Taylor (illustrator)
One fateful day, a young geologist by the name of Kris Reynolds was on her way to work at the lab when suddenly the sky went dark. Thunder aggressively boomed and lightning lit up the sky. Dr. Reynolds squinted at the bright sky and noticed a spot in the sky transforming into a crimson-orange color. She thought she was seeing things as she was disoriented from the bright bolts of lightning, but the crimson-orange became brighter and quickly started to spread throughout the sky. Abruptly, a fiery ball emerged from the thunder and lightning and crash-landed just outside of the city. Then, like it had never happened, the dangerous storm subsided, and all was calm.
Dr. Reynolds was a well-known geologist and immediately received a phone call asking for her help at the crash site. Upon arriving at the scene Dr. Reynolds was debriefed on what was known about the unexpected meteorite. It seemed to have suddenly spawned from the sky during the storm, no footage or warnings were captured on satellites, and it was about 15 feet in diameter. Upon inspection Dr. Reynolds saw nothing unusual about the meteorite, so she decided to investigate further and drill into the meteorite to see if anything unusual was inside. Dr. Reynolds heard a strange hissing noise, but she did not think much of it and continued. All of a sudden the spot she was drilling blew open and a wave of mysterious freezing wind hit her, and she fell unconscious.
Dr. Reynolds awoke with a bright flash of light in her eyes and energy flowing through her veins. Without realizing it, she set off an electrical surge in the equipment and electronics that surrounded her. The lights flickered, the warning lights on the monitors flashed and everything became quiet and dark. Dr. Static, a tall but scrawny man burst through the door holding a flashlight, “You are awake!” exclaimed Dr. Static with enthusiasm, in an accent Dr. Reynolds did not recognize. “Where am I?” asked Dr. Reynolds in a perplexed tone. “You are in Peru in a city called Brightville, my dear!” replied Dr. Static.
Dr. Reynolds eyes widened, and her face became pale as she was overcome with fear and confusion. Dr. Static attempted to calm her down by describing how she arrived in Brighteville. “Do not worry dear, you will be ok. After you fell unconscious, you were rushed to a nearby hospital where they attempted to treat you but quickly ran out of options as your health rapidly declined. From there the CIA stepped in and took you to an advanced secret government care facility. They contacted me, told me your situation and asked if there was anything I could do. I was reluctant but decided to take on the task. You were hit with an alarming ray of pure krypton gas. Although usually completely harmless to humans you took on so much gas that the oxygen within your blood stream was being forced out and replaced with krypton gas. I was able to keep you alive however …”
Dr. Reynolds was not calmed, and her face became paler as sweat began to stream down her face. Dr. Static looked at her kindly and continued, “Your body has now completely adjusted to the presence of krypton which has led to unexpected abilities – you may have noticed the electricity surge you created when you awoke. Luckily, I have a backup generator to turn all my tech back on.” Dr. Static then walked over to a silver lever on the wall and pulled it down. The lights came back on, the instruments in the room began to beep and hum. Dr. Reynolds peered over to the monitor that displayed her vital signs and watched it flicker and beep as it reset. Once the monitor was fully back on, she saw her body temperature sitting at a stable –155.4° Celsius. Dr. Reynolds gasped. Dr. Static continued “Being an expert geologist I am sure you know that –157.37 to –153.42 degrees Celsius is the temperature your body must maintain to keep your blood flowing since that is when krypton is in its liquid form. While we were evaluating you, we noticed that you have the ability to form intense lasers from your hands. We assume it is from the krypton you emit reacting with the fluorine in the atmosphere.”
Dr. Reynolds could not believe what she was hearing, she thought it was a dream, but it turned out to be reality. Her abilities include a body temperature of -160° Celsius which turns her skin into a protective crystalline armor, the ability to emit lasers from her hands, and raising her body temperature to above –150° Celsius which allows her to fly. She now goes by the name Krypta and has used her new abilities for good.
Fun Facts:
- Krypton is named from the Greek word kryptos meaning “hidden”. This is fitting considering krypton is colorless, odorless, and flavorless.
- Krypton is very rare, and thus very expensive but it is sometimes used in neon lights and produces a bright white light.