The Kryptonite Chronicles: The Weather Man

Chapter One

weatherman |ˈweT͟Hərˌman|

noun ( pl. weathermen )

a man who broadcasts a description and forecast of weather conditions.

USUALLY, THE HARDEST part of writing a book is the introduction, and I’m sure that all famous writers can vouch for me. So, if you don’t like the introduction to this story, find someone else to complain to, because I’m way too busy killing monsters and evil-doers and saving the world to care about people’s opinions of m y writing.

If you saw me and my friends walking on the streets, you would pay no attention to us because you’d think that we were average, normal, everyday teenagers, which is too bad for you because we’re a lot of fun. We aren’t really supposed to give off our true identities to random strangers on the street for a few reasons: 1) they would probably have no idea what we were talking about and they would take us to a mental hospital or something; 2) they would complain to the head of our school asking for similar talents, and then, our headmaster would throw us off a cliff for telling someone about the school; and 3) if we told anyone, we would have to kill them on the spot and I’m sure none of the people reading this would want a murder on their hands. So, I wrote this book so I don’t have to tell anyone. You can read for yourself.

It was my last day at Maria Frank School, even though I didn’t know it. Maria Frank is a boarding school in Florida, and that’s where I live. This story begins as I was in the middle of my stupid history test. It was hard to concentrate with all the background noise coming from outside. I didn’t study too hard, though. I knew I would get, like, a D anyways.

I stared blankly at the piece of paper that was supposed to have words on it. Searching my mind, I couldn’t even think of the question. Who even cared what the original name of New York was? We don’t use information like that in everyday life!

I took my eyes off my paper and from my amazing eagle doodle and glanced around the room. Some of my classmates were scribbling away at the test, scrambling for more time. Others were gazing out the window, clutching their head, or just staring at the test, either too overwhelmed by the amount of information in it or just hoping the answers would fly though the window. But, hey, I was doing that, too.

The clock mocked me. It seemed to be ticking slower and slower every minute. My teacher, Mr. Conaway, sat at his desk, reading a newspaper. Every so often he would peer over his large spectacles, searching for someone (like me) who wasn’t paying attention or wasn’t working. Whenever he looked in my direction, I would immediately bring my head down and pretend to be scribbling a detailed answer.

Once Mr. Conaway had resumed his reading, I searched the room again. My focus wandered to Kelly Adams, who sat directly in front of me and was furiously jotting down her answers. She was probably the smartest girl in middle school, studying every night, even if we have no assignments due the next day. Things just stuck in Kelly’s mind like glue. I was mesmerized by her black ponytail swinging back and forth like a pendulum as she quickly wrote everything down. Kelly was a very straight-forward, logical person. She got things done, the right way and quickly. Although she was not very outgoing, around me and our friends, she was pretty crazy.

I looked across the room at my other best friend, Jamie Stark. I could tell he wasn’t trying very hard on the test, either. I watched him as he made paper airplanes from pages in his notebook and, when Mr. Conaway wasn’t looking, tossed them out the window, trying to hit a sophomore who was on his break. Jamie was wearing his huge grin, which always seemed to be stuck on his face. His hair had been gelled straight up and looked as though something blew up in his face. Everyone knew that he was the class clown — the guy who seemed to make a joke out of everything, no matter what the situation, and the person who wasn’t afraid to embarrass himself in front of a crowd of people — that’s Jamie. He hated to study and felt that school wasted the lives of the youth, that teachers brainwashed kids, and that standardized tests were degrading to our intelligence, and blah, blah, blah. Jamie had lots of talent, but only in areas other than academics.

I was much different than my two best friends. I was taller than other two, built like a string-bean, had dark hair, and, honestly, had absolutely no talent. I was not very smart, had no musical ability and was horrible at most sports. I couldn’t even draw a stick figure correctly. The only thing I could do (barely) was make toast and an occasional bowl of cereal. Also, I got picked on. A lot. I was the main target for bullies here. Popular was not a word to describe me. I kind of thought of myself as just an extra at this school. Just here in the shadows, as opposed to Kelly (the genius) and Jamie (the clown). I was just … here. Despite all these problems, there was one attribute about me that I like — my left eye was green and my right eye was brown. My eyes made me stand out from the rest of the world … a little.

I snapped out of my daydreaming and turned my attention back to the test. I looked at the next question: "Explain in depth the cause and effects of the London fire." I rolled my eyes, not really feeling like answering. I sighed and looked down at the next question: "What was the cause of the Black Plague that spread across Europe?" Wow! I knew that! What an accomplishment! I wrote down the answer and looked at the clock. Ten more minutes and then I could go back to my dorm to forget everything that happened and prepare myself for the horrible grade that I would soon be getting. I sighed and looked over the next question.

Suddenly, the door opened and the worst teacher in history of Maria Frank walked in: Miss Bradstein. Man, I hated that lady. She would throw me in detention for a month because I didn’t have the date on a homework assignment or because I accidentally spilled some ketchup in the cafeteria.

I was the only one to notice her come in. Miss Bradstein haughtily stalked up to the front of the classroom and whispered something to my teacher. Mr. Conaway nodded and stood up. He cleared his nasally throat and announced, Kelly Adams, Jamie Stark, and Zach Jones. It seems that you three are wanted at the Headmaster’s Office.

When I heard my name, I almost had a heart attack. Kelly’s head shot up from her paper. Jamie raised his eyebrows as if to say, "Do you really want to take me to the Headmaster’s? ‘Cause I think raw eggs would look lovely on your car." He took his feet off his desk and casually strolled over to the door. Jamie got called to the Headmaster’s Office at least a dozen times each year — he knew the drill, but this was new for me and Kelly. We slowly rose from our seats and followed Jamie out the door. I heard whispers as the door closed and Miss Bradstein led us to the office.

Why are we going to the Headmaster’s? Kelly asked nervously, after a long silence. Of the three of us, she was the only one that Miss Bradstein didn’t absolutely hate. But today, it seemed like our teacher was taking three wild pigs to be slaughtered.

"I don’t know why, but I am sure that he, she thrust her head at Jamie, has something to do with it. No more talking."

We exchanged glances.

After an eternity, we arrived at the office and sat down on a bench. Miss Bradstein told us to wait as she went inside. As soon as the door closed, Kelly and I turned on Jamie.

Did you do something to get us in trouble? I asked.

Jamie shrugged. Probably.

It’s not funny! Kelly exclaimed, punching him in the shoulder, but it was obvious that she was trying to hide the hint of a smile.

Honestly, Jamie had pulled us into some pretty crazy pranks over the years — like when we filled a teacher’s car with raw meat, set off the fire alarm, switched the janitor’s keys, completely covered the classrooms with baby powder, and … well, you get the idea. Kelly and I tried to be good, mature students by not getting in trouble, but Jamie made that hard for us, and his only goal at school was to play a joke on someone.

Jamie tried to lighten the mood by telling gross jokes but, because of the situation, Kelly and I didn’t find them very funny. Whenever I’m around, things always seemed to go wrong. I guess it was just a curse, or a jinx, or something. I wasn’t really superstitious —– it just seemed like bad stuff was always happening.

Finally, the door opened and Miss Bradstein walked out. She stared daggers at me and then gestured for us to enter. We walked into the office and closed the door behind us. Our Headmaster, Mrs. Nickerson, was really intimidating — that’s probably how she got the job. We sat down and waited for her to say something.

Silence hovered for a good sixty seconds.

I couldn’t take it anymore. Uh … Mrs. Nickerson? Why did you call us here?

She sighed. I’m going to get straight to the point. It seems that your parents are taking each of you out of school.

Really?! Jamie whooped. We get a whole day off from school? That’s great!

No. I mean that your parents are taking you out of this school for good. They want you to leave now.

We were in shock. I could tell from my friends’ expressions that they were as confused as I was.

Are you joking? asked Kelly.

I don’t joke.

Why would our parents do that? I asked her.

Apparently, they are enrolling you to a different school called …. she paused, ‘Da Vinci Academy.’ Now, I have never heard of such a school, but they want you there today. She seemed to find our expressions amusing.

We’re being transferred to some random school that no one has ever heard of? gulped Kelly.

Yes, Mrs. Nickerson stated. I’m as surprised as you are, Kelly. And your uncle has agreed with their parents, gesturing at me and Jamie, and wants you there too.

Can we call our parents? I asked.

No. Not right now. They need you to leave immediately.

B-but, this is a boarding school. What about all our stuff? Jamie stammered.

Your things will be taken to the other school, Mrs. Nickerson told us, as if we should’ve already known. You will be transported by a good friend of yours. Your parents didn’t give me the name, but said .… Oh! Here she is now!

We looked out the window and saw a shiny, black convertible pull up. A woman stepped out of the car … and none of us knew who she was.

We failed to convince Mrs. Nickerson that we had never seen that woman in our lives. She shooed us into the car, still in shock and very confused. I half expected our principal to jump out, right as we were leaving, and yell, Got you! I’m kidding! I can’t believe you fell for that!

The lady who drove us, we soon found out, was very conceited and a little crazy. She looked quite bizarre, had curly, light blue hair and pale skin that gave her a ghoulish aura. She wore go-go dancer boots, fishnet tights, and a neon leotard with a crocodile scale skirt, down to her knees.

We got in the car, which had winged doors. The seats of the car were leather, and had that new-car smell. Everything about the car looked expensive: diamond-studded window wipers, and gold door handles, with a mini-bar and TV.

After the initial shock wore off, I demanded, Will you please tell us what the heck is going on?

Jamie was about to lose it. Are you an undercover cop? Are we under arrest? Is this because I put those baby seals in the teachers’ bathroom? I didn’t mean for the seals to die. I even tried to keep them alive….

This has nothing to do with seals.

Are you kidnapping us?! Are you going to kill us?! Jamie almost shouted.

Quiet. Everything will be explained when we get there, she snarled.

Can I call my parents? I asked.

I don’t care.

I took out my cell phone and called my house. After explaining the situation to my dad, he said that they had planned the transfer when enrolling us for another year at Maria Frank. My dad told me that we would learn everything about the new school when we arrived. I put away my phone and listened to Jamie leave a message. (Hey, mom! Some psycho lady is kidnapping us and taking us to a mental institution! Call me when you get this.)

I looked over at Kelly. She sat silently and patiently, staring absently out the window. I always felt so bad for her, knowing that she was an orphan. Her family died in a plane crash when she was nine, and she had an uncle as her guardian, but he was never around. Jamie’s parents and my parents helped pay for her school tuition, but I had no idea where she lived in the summer or how she took care of herself, without parents or an uncle who cared about her.

The name’s Lisa, the lady continued, once we were off our phones.

Will you at least tell us where we’re going? asked Kelly.

No. Stop talking.

Wow, you sure are a ray of sunshine, aren’t you? muttered Jamie.

Listen, kid. I don’t need your sarcasm right now. I didn’t even want to pick you ugly munchkins up, but my boss made me come here, despite all of my protesting, and I really don’t want to listen to you talk about whatever it is that you kids talk about these days! Lisa shouted at us. The car swerved and we almost took out an old lady with her shopping cart. I hate kids. They sicken me.

I took no offense to this, but Jamie clearly did, snorting and asked, So, why do you work at a school?

Again, we swerved and nearly killed a baby in a stroller. I got the feeling that this woman was not the best driver.

Don’t sass me! Lisa snapped. If that’s the way you want it, then no one will say a word until we get there!

We said nothing until we arrived. After a very, very long time, the car came to a stop. We were at a big open field that stretched out for miles. There was nothing there.

Ah … home, sweet home, munchkins. Lisa climbed out of the car and gestured for us to follow.

Yeah, this pasture is sure making me feel welcome, Jamie grumbled sarcastically. Where is everybody? You did kidnap us, didn’t you, and brainwashed our parents!

Just stay here and try not to blow anything up. I have better things to do than explaining to my boss why three dead kids are in front of the school. Lisa walked over, leaned over a rock and said, Lisa Williams here, with the three new students.

This lady’s nuts, Kelly whispered to us. I suggest we run away, like, now.

We were about to leave, when we heard someone respond. It was a deep baritone voice that responded, Come right in, Lisa.

Thanks, Lisa smiled.

I swear that I was just about to pass out. All of a sudden, a huge school campus had flickered into existence, right before my eyes, as if a light had been turned on. I could tell it was school, but it had so many branches and different parts and sections over hundreds of acres. People were bustling around, middle schoolers and high school kids and lots of adults. It immediately reminded me of a European palace that was in my history book — Versailles. There was a huge, old-fashioned gate (definitely gold) that surrounded the whole institution. It was about the height of a two-story house, with vertical bars about a foot apart and clearly was the defense of the campus. After a long, stunned silence, Jamie whispered, Are you guys having the same dream as I am?

I didn’t even waste my breath answering. This was either the most amazing thing that I had ever seen in my life or I had just hit my head getting out of the car.

The big gate doors slowly swung open and Lisa smiled at our faces. I guess she saw this kind of expression a lot and it must have seemed priceless. She rolled her eyes, and declared, Well, munchkins, welcome to Da Vinci Academy.

Chapter Two

superpower |ˈso͞opərˌpouər|

noun

a power greater in scope or magnitude than that which is considered natural or has previously existed.

THE REST OF the day went pretty well … at least until I found out what power I had. We went through the big gate, which slammed shut b ehind us.

Is this for real? I asked.

Of course, it is, munchkin! Lisa said.

Will you please tell us what the heck is going on, then?! Kelly demanded.

I was just about to. Lisa led us to one of the smaller buildings, opened a door and we went inside. It looked like a typical meeting room: a big polished table in the middle with about half a dozen desk chairs (the spinning kind — thankfully), with plastic plants in the corner. We sat down in a chair and Lisa closed the door and sat down with us.

This is a boarding school for special kids, Lisa told us, getting straight to the point.

Excuse me? Kelly was immediately offended.

I mean that you have special talents. This is a school for people with … talents, that are almost like superpowers. She paused. You three have powers. We don’t know what yet, but we do know that you have powers.

Suddenly, Jamie burst into laughter. He doubled over and fell out of his chair. It was funny to watch. Kelly and I started giggling, and I thought that even Lisa cracked a smile. She put her serious face back on and waited for Jamie to get control of himself. He sat up, grinning, and said, Yeah right, and I’m the Queen of England.

Lisa muttered to herself, They never believe me. She turned to us again. I am very truthful.

Jamie snorted again. "Yeah, I completely believe you."

It is pretty far fetched, Kelly said. Did you really expect us to believe you?

"Oh, course not! Kids never do, Lisa replied. Have you ever done something odd, but, you didn’t exactly know what happened?"

We sat silently looking at each other. I knew their answer was the same as mine.

"Look, Miss Williams, Jamie sneered in a mocking tone, We have no ‘special powers.’ We’re not, like, part of the Justice League. We’re normal kids. We just happen to be way better looking and more talented than most. Personally, I think that you might want to see a doctor or something."

Lisa sighed, stood up and went into the hallway. We sat quietly, and I thought, This is so crazy! I had an urge to just walk away, go back to Maria Frank, crash in my room and pretend that it was all a dream. But, this clearly wasn’t a dream.

Lisa entered, followed by a very tall man with a mane of dark, curly hair.

This is Richard, Lisa said. He also has powers. Please demonstrate, Richard.

Richard nodded and raised his hand. Nothing happened. This is ridiculous, I thought again. We were being pranked. Yeah, that must be it. Richard seemed to be concentrating very hard. I could see a vein popping out on his forehead. Without warning, the big, glossy table in the middle of the room exploded. I shielded my eyes. I felt my hands being hit by the flying splinters of wood. When it was over, I lowered my hands. My friends had cuts on their faces, arms and hands. I looked down and saw blood streaming from my knuckles. We looked at each other.

In shock, Jamie shouted, Dude!

Lisa was extracting chips of wood from her hands, but Richard seemed completely unharmed. "Thank you, Richard, but next time, don’t explode the table."

Richard nodded and left. We stood there, motionless. What just happened? I demanded.

You saw a power in action, Lisa grinned. Richard has the power to explode things.

You’re saying that we can explode things too? Kelly asked.

No. I am saying that you have superpowers too. Lisa sat down in one of the chairs. They can range from flying, to telepathy, to growing and shrinking in size — there is even a power of organization.

Jamie grunted. "There’s a power of organization? That is so lame."

Lisa stood again. That just so happens to be MY power!

Jamie laughed, but tried to pass it off as a humorous cough. Oh.

It’s okay, Lisa mumbled, plopping herself back down. I know that I have a dumb power. I was one of the unlucky ones. We get people with really great powers and people with the most boring, useless powers ever. It’s a huge range.

But, how do you know that we have … uh … a power? Kelly spoke as if the words were being forced from her mouth.

People get powers from having parents with powers, Lisa explained. You need a woman with powers and a man with powers to produce a baby with powers.

"You’re saying my parents have superpowers? Jamie asked. That’s a joke!"

It’s not a joke. That’s the only way that you could have gotten them. Lisa rose. Come with me. We’re going to determine what powers that each of you has. And I want you to meet my boss.

I continued to pick the wood splinters out of my hands and wiping the blood on my clothes. We walked out of the building and onto the campus. Lisa showed us everything at Da Vinci Academy, starting with the dormitories, the cafeteria, the classrooms and the library. As we walked, we saw the battle arena and practice area, the weapons’ shed, the laboratories, the garage (where they keep the flying cars!), the pool, the ice rink and the cow house.

"The cow house? Jamie asked. What’s in there?"

Cows are sacred, Lisa told us. We enchant them to produce magic milk. The milk helps cure sickness and wounds, but when they have to get rid of waste and need to … you know … excrete….

I don’t need to know that much, Jamie interrupted quickly.

We kept walking through the beautiful campus, but it was pretty hard to concentrate with so many questions swimming around in my head. The biggest questions (besides what my superpower was!) were about my parents. What were their powers? Why hadn’t they told me anything? But, I quickly answered myself — because, I would have thought that they were crazy!

Here we are, announced Lisa. The Determination Center. This is where we will find out what power each of you possesses.

We went inside to the waiting room. Lisa told us to stay while she talked to someone.

This is so exciting, Kelly commented, as soon as Lisa left. Who would have ever thought that three average kids like us were so special?

I still don’t believe this nonsense, Jamie yawned.

This is really cool, but, I added nervously, I don’t even know if I want to find out what powers I have.

Why?

"Because, knowing my luck,