"Keep your cousin safe, my beautiful daughter." My mother says to me with tears in her eyes. I know what's going on, my planet is being destroyed and the only hope of living is the planet Earth, so far away it cannot be seen without being inside the planetarium. I have a duty now, to protect my cousin. It's a big job for a 12-year-old, but I'm certain that I can handle it.
My father leans over and kisses the top of my head, "We love you, Kara." Then the glass cover closes and the pod shoots off into space. I get one last tearful look through the reflection in the glass at the exploding planet behind me before the serum to keep me asleep and in stasis is injected.
I wake up to voices speaking in a foreign language, the sounds so different to the Kryptonian dialects. I don't know whether I should hold still or move to announce my presence. The voices stop speaking, so I decide the latter. I try to blink open my eyes, but then I realise my face is covered with some kind of itchy cloth and I begin to panic once I notice that I can't move from rope surrounding my body.
My voice is muffled when I try to speak, "Who are you? Why am I tied up? Where is my cousin?" The voices start speaking again, and I realise that the people they belong to aren't in the same room, but through the glass I can see through the blindfold. I can see the bones of the humanoid and it gives me hope to think I've reached Earth. When my parents said I would develop strange powers from the yellow sun to protect my cousin with, I never dreamed that this would be the result.
I know my parents told me to be strong, but right now all I want to do is cry, in relief and in pain from the burn of the ropes on my bare skin. It takes all my will to hold it in, after all, my cousin comes first. Suddenly a pungent, nauseating smell comes through the vents. I'm starting to feel lethargic when I realise that it smells similar to the serum used to put me to sleep in the pod. Whoever they are, the humanoids in the next room are trying to make me sleep. I'm feeling really confused, why do they want me to sleep? In the end, I don't get an answer as I once again fall asleep.
The next time I wake up, I'm in agonising pain. I can open my eyes fully this time and I see people in white all around me. I try shouting, but my mouth feels like it was stuck together with Kai - a Kryptonian liquid that solidifies in seconds after applied to give machines a patch job. I feel the pain centred around my left leg, and try to sit up to protect it. To my suprise, I can sit up and the straps typing me down are completely torn once I finish sitting up. The humanoids in white coats notice me and immediately flee to the other side of the room in slow motion, pressing a huge green button. The lights turn red, metal doors drop down around the room and a high-pitched wailing sounds from seemingly everywhere. I clamp my hands over my ears and manage to scamper off of the table the white coats held me on to rush into the corner the furthest away from the strange people. The people in white are extremely intimidating, but they seem to cower as I look at them.
I don't know what to do. As time passes, the shrieking from somewhere above causes my ears to bleed. I don't know what's going on. Where am I? Where is my cousin? Why did they hurt me?
It's obvious that I can't get any answers, so I try to listen to what the people are saying. It's difficult to make out with the wailing above, but they seem to be trying to leave. I try to stand to see if I can help, but my leg gives way almost immediately. Then I remember the pain. I look back down at my leg and the blood is flowing heavily from the wound. I look up and see them trying to leave. If anything, I think I made them more scared. Their thumping on the door increases and the leader seems to be shouting into a machine near the door.
Suddenly it's all too much and the black spots are covering my vision.
I wake up again. I'm in a bland room with cold grey in every direction. The only source of light comes from the ceiling. I'm lonely and bored. At least my leg doesn't hurt anymore. After a while, someone comes in. The questions I asked before, I ask again. I receive no answer. Maybe they don't understand me?
The person leaves a tray on the floor and leaves. Now that they've come and gone, I can see where the door is. It blends into the wall easily.
The tray is also grey. It has something on it that smells weird. I decide it can't be something used for cleaning, so maybe it's a toy? I touch it and I had the texture of food from the prisons on Krypton. Maybe this is a human delicacy? Mother said they were stupid, though from what I've seen, they should be feared.
Either way, I scoop some of the mixture into my hand to eat. I giggle as I realise my parents would go crazy to have seen me eat in such a rude way. My laughter stops suddenly as I remember that my parents are dead. All I've got is Kal, and I don't even know where he is. My appetite ruined, I push they tray away.
I want to ask questions, but I can't see through the wall anymore. I just play with my food, wondering when I will see my cousin.
The food is entirely unappealing but I eat it anyway, I'm too hungry not to. Soon after I realise that was a mistake, as I loose consciousness again.
Once again I wake up on a table. The straps hold me down more firmly this time and I can't move. I hurt all over. The people in white are here again and cutting into me. They don't seem very scared anymore and one even laughs as I struggle to escape. I don't understand. Why are they doing this?
The one that laughed holds up a sharp-looking metal tool and speaks again in the strange language.
The blade is brought close to my face, and the struggling does nothing. I scream as the flesh in my head is being cut into. I sleep again when they start drilling into my skull.
Time passes. The pain continues. I don't know what to do anymore.
They've taught me how to speak now. They call me 4873.
They say i came here alone. I miss my parents. They would know what to do and how to leave.
It's been a long time. I have grown more than usual despite the lack of food I'm given.
I still haven't seen my cousin. I don't understand why I was picked for the job.
They call themselves the Estrano famiglia, and they experiment on and train people they want to be assassins for them. They chose me. I don't know whether to be happy or sad anymore.
They teach me new skills. I feel so numb. They teach me to smile, and I practice until I looks real. They say I'm a natural with pretending. As a reward, they teach me how to use weapons.
It starts with knives. They said I don't put effort into it. I'm punished by more experimenting. There is now this energy inside me. The Estrano scientists say it will help me for the future. I am to be trained in this new energy soon.
My new energy is called Flames. They were so proud and happy when I activated them. I love the orange colour. I get to go outside for the first time since my arrival. The sun feels amazing. Snippets of memory where a woman talks about protecting my cousin and power from a yellow sun resurfaces. The woman seems familiar somehow.
My brain suddenly floods with information. My name is Kara Zor-El. I'm from the planet Krypton. I'm supposed to protect my cousin... Where is Kal? I need to find him.
I'm grabbed from behind by someone after I don't reply to what they said. My head is killing me but I need to leave. Now. I start running but the bullets being shot hurt. I fall to the ground and soon there is people surrounding me, picking me up, bringing me inside. I struggle but only succeed in falling down. I'm taken to the operating room. The use a gas to make me sleep.
I don't understand why everyone treats me like I'm going to hurt anybody. I just focus on my knife skills and my pretty flames. They show me to the transport room and ask me about this strange thing they say can fly. I have no answers for them. Why does it make them pleased?
It's been more time. They say I'm turning into a woman now because I bleed every month. I'm taught computers until I know everything about them.
The guns are easy. As a reward, I am tasked with learning swords. It's the most I've felt in a long time.
Swords get boring. I've been shown how to fight without weapons before and now I get to use this knowledge against someone.
I enjoy the kill. It makes me feel something instead of the constant ache of forgetting something important.
I'm given my first assassination mission. The rules include not going out in the sun. Something stirs in my memory, but I comply anyway.
The mission is complete. I get sent out on more than I can count. It's exhilarating.
Someone is learning how to use a rocket launcher in the training stadium today. They miss and it hits the roof above my head. The sun feels so beautiful.
My head aches. I suddenly remember everything. I have to get out. I can't stay here. I know where I need to go. My pod is still here and intact. I think I can fly it.
Everyone is in slow motion when I decide to make a run for it. Two lefts, a right and continue straight then turn left. There! I hop into my pod I arrived with and smash out the metal door. I don't know how to steer. It's going up. I don't know what to do or how to control it. My head is killing me. The pod is really fast and before I know it, I'm crashing somewhere in America. It seems pretty far from Italy on the world map, and I hope it's far enough.
I'm coughing from lack of oxygen and before I can do anything the lid is being ripped off. I wipe my eyes and see a tall dark haired man standing over me. With my family's crest.