DC Super Hero Girls #1

by Lisa Yee

  Buses, cars, airplanes, jet packs, and even some old-school spacecraft poured into the parking lot adjacent to the massive LexCorp Super Triathlon Arena.

  As they made their way to the tunnels under the arena, some teams looked nervous, and others looked angry. Wonder Woman and the rest of her team felt calm and confident in their uniforms designed by Star Sapphire. Star Sapphire herself was wearing a team jacket over her costume, and so was her assistant, Golden Glider, who was dressed in a LIVE T-shirt and a shimmering skirt that matched her skates. Bumblebee had on a new warm-up suit with the school logo on the back. All needed to be comfortable in their supporting roles. And even though Hawkgirl was an alternate, she was in full competition gear, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.

  The CAD Academy team, clad in red metallic uniforms, brushed by them. Captain Cold sneered at Star Sapphire and stared down Golden Glider, then accidentally-on-purpose shoved Bumblebee. The spare weapons Bumblebee was carrying spilled onto the ground.

  “Hey!” she yelled at Captain Cold as Heat Wave and Ratcatcher laughed. “Not cool!”

  “Not cool?” Heat Wave asked. “Okay, let’s heat things up, shall we?”

  Before he could ignite a fight, Katana brandished her sword.

  “Stop it, Heat Wave,” the only girl on the CAD Academy team ordered.

  “Why, Magpie?” Heat Wave whined. “I got this.”

  “We’ll settle this on the field,” she said. Her lips curled up into an evil grin.

  Wonder Woman stepped between the two. “Save it for the competition, Katana,” she told her friend. “If you lose your temper, we could all get disqualified.”

  Her eyes flashing, Katana put her sword down. “No one hurts my friends,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’ll see you in the arena!” she called to the CAD Academy team.

  Ratcatcher had already knocked someone over from Stalwart Secondary, and the rest of the team were now mocking the mascot from Pluto Prep, chanting, “Live evil!”

  Just then Harley ran up, her video camera in hand. The red Record light was blinking. “Did I miss a conflict?” When no one answered, she turned the camera on her roommate. “Wonder Woman, in less than an hour, you will lead Super Hero High in competition against the top teams in the universe. How do you feel?”

  “I feel great,” Wonder Woman said, looking straight at the camera, as Harley had taught her to do.

  “Anything you want to say to the other schools?” Harley asked.

  “Yes!” Wonder Woman nodded. “To all of our competitors, including Team CAD Academy, I wish you all good luck! Let’s have a fun and fair Super Triathlon!”

  “You meant that, didn’t you?” Lois Lane asked Wonder Woman as Harley left to chase down a rumor that Superman had made an appearance. He had competed in the Super Triathlon when he was at Super Hero High.

  Wonder Woman nodded. “Of course.”

  “Thought so,” Lois said. “I need a quote for you for Super News. But first I have something for you.”

  Wonder Woman froze as Lois held out a note. She had almost forgotten that someone wanted to see her fail.

  “Open it,” Lois encouraged. She didn’t look upset.

  Slowly, Wonder Woman unfolded the paper. The writing was in neat block letters. As she read it, her smile grew. It said:

  Best of luck, Wondy. I hope you and the team do well. I’m rooting for you! I couldn’t get out of work, but I’ll be watching on TV. Win or lose, come into the Capes & Cowls Cafe for a free smoothie, my treat!

  —Steve (Trevor) from Capes & Cowls Cafe, the boy with the braces

  While Wonder Woman’s team warmed up in their state-of-the-art locker room and control center, they couldn’t help looking at the bank of TV monitors that lined the walls. A Who’s Who of super heroes strolled, rolled, and flew down the red carpet on their way to the VIP (Very Important Paragons) skyboxes that floated above the LexCorp Arena. Rival TV and Web channels jostled to get the best interviews, but none of them were as aggressive, or as successful, as Harley Quinn of HQTV.

  Harley was interviewing the ultimate hero of modern times, Superman. “Well, of course I’ll be cheering for my alma mater, Super Hero High,” he said. “I’ve heard that this year’s team is one of the best ever.”

  Wonder Woman felt warm inside. And it wasn’t just from the relentless abdominal presses Wildcat had made the team do, or the leg stretches she was doing now. She stopped suddenly and looked up when she heard a familiar voice.

  “My name is Hippolyta, and I am Queen of the Amazon warriors from Paradise Island.”

  “Which team will you be rooting for?” Harley asked. “And why?”

  “Team Super Hero High, of course,” Hippolyta said, as if that were a silly question. “My daughter, Wonder Woman, is the Team Captain, and I am so proud of her. She has proven to me that she is living her own life and doing a great job of it. She is my role model.”

  Wonder Woman felt a lump in her throat. But before it got her all choked up, Wildcat yelled, “LET’S GO! Team Super Hero High, line up for the march of the super heroes. Our time is now!”

  The elaborate opening ceremony at the Super Triathlon exceeded Wonder Woman’s dreams. Of course, it was to be expected, with this being the hundred-year anniversary of the event. As Wonder Woman and her team swept into the LexCorp Arena, the All-Stars Symphony played the majestic strains of “Victors’ Theme,” the official song of the Super Triathlon. Wonder Woman, Katana, Beast Boy, and Frost were met with a roar from the crowd. All waved in practiced unison before taking their seats on the green marble dais that occupied the center of field.

  The arena was huge, and for spectators and super heroes in the audience who did not have super-vision, giant videos were projected into the sky. Enterprising merchants were hawking souvenir Super de Duper Eye Goggles at a buy two, get one free discount. School merchandise ranging from plastic shields, capes, masks, and the ever-popular energy juice bottles were also selling swiftly. T-shirts featuring individual competitors in heroic poses were everywhere.

  The competition was being broadcast live by all the major networks and streamed to more than two dozen planets. Plus, of course, there were upstarts like HQTV, who in several short months had become the go-to Web channel for everything about super hero teens.

  Because it was boring to watch teenage super heroes take written exams during the academic portion of the competition, the organizers had set up a karaoke contest featuring audience members. Karaoke prelims had taken place prior to the Super Triathlon, and the finals were being held live. In a crowd-pleasing twist, all finalists were duos. On the stage stood Black Orchid and Firestorm, Thunder and Lightning, and crowd favorites Green Arrow and Black Canary.

  Wonder Woman could hear the strains of music seeping under the door in the Quiet Quiz Room, where the teams were taking their exams. Liberty Belle had prepped her team well in the facts, fiction, and legends of super hero history. However, everyone knew that the team from Interstellar Magnet had the inside track on the academic portion of the competition. Wonder Woman flexed her muscles, then tackled the test.

  After the papers were handed in, nine of the fifty teams were disqualified for cheating—mind reading was not allowed in the test room. The remaining forty-one teams were sent to the Interview Station to test their public relations mettle. Every super hero knew that how they presented themselves in public was part of their legacy and lore. You could be a great super hero, but if you mumbled or muddled your way through an interview, your popularity might plummet.

  Each team member was interviewed independently, though all were asked the same questions:

  1. Why do you want to be a super hero?

  2. How can you make a difference in the world?

  3. If you were a tree, what kind would you be?

  4. Who is your favorite super hero, and why?

  When it was Wonder Woman’s turn, she remembered to smile, introduce herself, and shake each of the judge’s hands.

  “
I don’t just want to be a super hero,” she said. “I need to be one. It is part of who I am and my destiny.”

  “My goal is to help rid the world of evil and bring about peace.”

  “Oak.”

  “My mother.”

  Going into the last event of the prelims, CAD Academy was in the lead, having nailed the interviews. Their arrogance seemed like confidence to the judges. As expected, Interstellar Magnet won the academic section. Super Hero High had come in sixth in Academic, and a decent fourth in Interview. They would have been higher, but Wonder Woman had accidentally squeezed too hard when shaking one of the interview judges’ hands, causing him to yell, “I surrender!” as the audience roared with laughter. Luckily, Super Hero High’s strongest event was up next: Abilities/Powers, also known as the A/P test. Because it counted for 50 percent of the prelim score, expectation and tension were high in the LexCorp Arena.

  The preliminary round went quickly. It netted ten teams that moved up to the semifinals, including three-time champion Intensity Institute. Few were surprised by the prelim results, for as the old saying goes, “A strong meteor shower separates the flyers from the fallers.”

  The other schools in contention were, in no particular order, Wheeler-Nicholson Prep, CAD Academy, Powers Alternative Education, Cavalier Community School, Interstellar Magnet, Stalwart Secondary, Foundation for the Telepathic and Telekinetic Talented & Gifted, Super Hero High, and a controversial ad hoc team of upstart homeschooled super heroes from a small suburb on the planet Bismol, who went by the symbol

  Round two, the semifinals, ramped up the competition. This time, Interview counted for 10 percent, Academics for 20 percent, and the all-important A/P test made up the rest with a whopping 70 percent. The competition was fierce, and in the end three teams were disqualified and two were wiped out, clearly out of their league. Many had scrapes to their bodies and their egos, and the coach of Intensity Institute threw a hurricane-force hissy fit before demanding a recount.

  “And now, representing their schools in the final and most challenging round of the one hundredth annual Super Triathlon are…,” the Unseen Voice boomed across the LexCorp Arena, “CAD Academy, Interstellar Magnet, and…”—Wonder Woman held her breath—“Super Hero High!”

  As the audience went wild, the team from Wheeler-Nicholson Prep threw down their weapons in protest and stomped on them. Then a clot of unruly parents from Cavalier Community School started a fight in the stands and had to be forcibly removed from the stadium.

  Amidst the commotion and congratulations, the finalists took the stage. Ratcatcher, Magpie, and Heat Wave from CAD Academy oozed confidence as Captain Cold led them in a bow, his ice-blue eyes locking on Wonder Woman as he smirked.

  Interstellar Magnet looked like they were in shock, and Team Super Hero High hugged and waved to their family and friends, who were all sitting together in the stands, cheering.

  Soon the flashy halftime show was under way, featuring “the unique smilin’ ’n’ stylin’ of ultra-famous superstar singer Enchantress! and her 777 backup dancers.”

  As she cast her spell on the crowd, the competitors returned to the locker rooms to recharge. In this last and most important segment of the competition, the scoreboard was wiped clean. Academics and Interview was no longer part of the event. Now it all came down to the A/P test.

  No one knew what was ahead, only that they would be tested like never before. One year, the teams were sent to uncharted distant planets and charged with pushing their gravitational rotations in the opposite direction. Another year, it came down to a simple race around the world, albeit through a meteor shower and other crowd-pleasing disasters. What would it be this time?

  “Wondy, a few words?” Wildcat said.

  Huh? Wonder Woman looked up. Her team was waiting for her to speak. Bumblebee was checking the weapons for the umpteenth time, and Star Sapphire and Golden Glider were taking inventory of the uniforms. Cheetah stopped by to drop off some energy drinks.

  Wonder Woman stood up and faced her teammates. “You all are amazing,” she began. “Though our training has been tough, it has brought us together. Katana, Frost, Beast Boy, and Hawkgirl, I am so proud of you. Win or lose, or anything in between, you have brought honor to Team Super Hero High, and I thank you. Now let’s go out there and show them what we’re made of!”

  Bumblebee took her role as Weapons Manager very seriously. As each competitor marched past, she handed them their weapons or checked their powers. A freshly sharpened sword for Katana, buffed and polished bracelets and tiara for Wonder Woman, along with her tightly coiled lasso. Beast Boy’s and Frost’s weapons were themselves—their innate abilities to draw from within to defend or attack. Bumblebee had Beast Boy turn into five creatures in ten seconds and made sure Frost could freeze a fire before allowing them to proceed.

  Hawkgirl, the alternate team member, was outfitted with her newly upgraded Nth Metal belt, which granted her the power of flight, and enhanced her strength and sight.

  Once all were cleared by Bumblebee, they passed by Star Sapphire, who ensured that their costumes were all in order, checking that Wonder Woman’s lasso was securely attached and her bracelets were on the correct arms as Golden Glider’s ice-blue eyes double-checked for any rips.

  Team Super Hero High was now ready for the final competition. Everything was in its proper place. Or was it? As the team marched into the arena, Wonder Woman thought she saw Cheetah slip into the shadows.

  There was a roar of approval as the finalists made their way onto the stage. Wonder Woman and Interstellar Magnet’s Team Captain, Kanjar Ro, nodded to each other, while Captain Cold from CAD Academy refused to look at anyone, preferring to act bored.

  “How do you think our competitors will do?” Katana whispered to Wonder Woman.

  “I have no idea,” she said. “But don’t let yourself get distracted by that. Instead of focusing on them, let’s focus on what we can do.”

  The crowd gasped as the giant black tent was lifted by several state-of-the art prototype Ferris Aircraft spacecraft. Before them was a floating model of Earth that expanded as it levitated, rising above the LexCorp Arena.

  The Unseen Announcer allowed the crowd to settle down. “In this year’s competition,” he began, “our young super heroes will be battling the elements: land, air, fire, and water. The team scores will be tallied, and the one with the most points will be declared the one hundredth Super Triathlon champion. Plus, we will name an individual Super Triathlete of the games. Are we ready to superpower through this?”

  The crowd cheered.

  “What? I can’t hear you!” the Unseen Announcer teased.

  A roar shook the arena. It seemed so loud that some of the lesser planets might have actually realigned.

  “That’s the spirit! Now, finalists, you know this, but I will say it one more time. Not only are you allowed to use your weapons and powers, you are expected to. However, you may not use them on your fellow competitors. Injuries will result in an immediate point deduction and possible disqualification. Understood?”

  All the competitors nodded, though a couple of super heroes from CAD Academy could be seen sneering. “Live evil!” Captain Cold hissed so softly that only Wonder Woman could hear him.

  “Good!” the Unseen Announcer said. “There are four events, beginning with land. Within each challenge, the teams will be scored on the four Ss of Superdom: strategy, speed, strength, and skills. Now…let’s find out who our champions will be!”

  The first A/P Test seemed pretty basic—the teen super heroes were charged with moving something. This final phase of the competition always began this way. In past years, teams moved towering blocks of granite awash in grease, a mega cruise ship buried in the sand, and a massive fleet of monster trucks. Wonder Woman had heard via HQTV’s new Hearsay Everyday gossip hotline that they would be moving a mountain. That made sense—the earth portion of the test was up first.

  “I’m ready! I’m ready!” Beast Boy chan
ted eagerly.

  Frost shot him a chilly glare and Katana shushed him so they could hear the Unseen Announcer. “You will be moving…” However, instead of saying, “a mountain,” the Unseen Announcer said, “…a MOLEHILL!!!”

  Ultra-bright spotlights hit the center of the arena. When Team Super Hero High saw the little pile of dirt with their name next to it, they were perplexed. Interstellar Magnet huddled together and whispered, while Team CAD Academy laughed.

  “Super Triathletes,” the Unseen Announcer boomed, “you will move a molehill from point A to point B and leave not a single speck of dirt behind.” Two hundred feet away hung a large letter “B” with an arrow pointing down at a ten-foot circle of chromium, the world’s hardest metal.

  The Unseen Announcer continued. “Team Captains, raise your hands if you understand. Thank you. Now let’s get these games started, shall we?”

  Wonder Woman put on her game face, focusing on the task ahead. Magpie from CAD Academy grabbed the molehill, but as he held an armful of dirt, another molehill popped up in its place. When Maxima from Interstellar Magnet tried to push their molehill, it fell apart, scattering dirt everywhere.

  Team Super Hero High stared at their molehill. Wonder Woman bent down and picked up a handful of dirt. Instantly, more dirt flew up from the ground, replacing it. She stared at the fresh dirt and said, “Beast Boy, can you turn into a mole and tell me what’s happening underground?”

  “Sure thing!” Seconds later, Beast Boy emerged from the molehill. “The moles aren’t very happy about this,” he reported. “They take great pride in their work. They don’t want anyone touching their molehills.”