by Lisa Yee
“An outside source?” Katana echoed. “I don’t understand.”
“Nor do I,” said Miss Martian. “However, I sense that something unavoidable will happen soon and you’re at the center of it.”
Katana knew that people assumed she was strong and self-assured. A take-charge kind of girl. Wonder Woman and Supergirl were always saying this. Sometimes she felt empowered by their confidence in her. But like everyone, Katana sometimes had her doubts, especially at night.
Back home when she was young, Katana’s parents worked late hours, as teachers often did. Though she loved them dearly, Katana didn’t mind this at all, since it meant that her Onna would be there to take care of her. Both loved this special time.
Now, with only memories of her grandmother, Katana’s thoughts raced back and forth—from the past to the present. She recalled the days of her youth, learning to wield her sword under the tutelage of the world’s best—and then rushing forward to Super Hero High and the swords that had somehow presented themselves to her—for what? To store? To use? To protect?
Katana tried to stay awake when thinking about these questions, because falling asleep meant that the strange bad dream could come again. The one where an unseen shape was chasing her, catching her, and then…
Katana’s own cries always awakened her before she could see who was after her. It was bad enough that she had this nightmare, but what was worse was that now she was thinking about it in the daytime, too.
In her spare time, which was not much with the Legacy project looming, Katana had taken to visiting the swords. She liked picking them up and trying them all out, lunging, swinging them over her head, and parrying. This was good practice. There was an opening for captain of the fencing team at Super Hero High, and Katana was set on getting it.
The swords were so fancy compared to the one Onna had given her. Katana wondered if one of these could make her better in battle. Each was an individual work of art, and some were so ornate they would not have been out of place in an art gallery or museum. Katana considered bringing some to Ms. Moone’s art class to show her teacher. It was a shame, she thought, that the swords were locked away.
“It’s probably nothing,” Star Sapphire said. She was paired up with Katana for Waller’s pet project, Team Clean, where Supers tried to learn more about each other as they helped clean up Metropolis.
The teens were supposed to help with recycling and maintaining a clean city but usually created more of a mess. Today they were on loan for the purpose of cleaning Centennial Park—and to set good examples for the youthful citizens of Metropolis.
Star Sapphire levitated a battered old boot with a glowing light-construct glove from her power ring. While the boot was lifted by her violet energy, Sapphire still felt the need to hold her nose with her free hand. A few feet away, Katana speared some old newspapers with her short spear, called a te yari. Supergirl flew overhead carrying a dumpster, and Sapphire tossed the boot inside.
“Hey!” Beast Boy yelled. He stood up in the dumpster. “Watch where you throw things!”
“Thanks, Sapph,” Supergirl yelled as she continued on. “Trash! Anyone got trash? Who’s got trash?”
“One time, someone sent my mother a huge treasure chest,” Star Sapphire told Katana. “It was sealed tight and took an army of mutant welders to laser it open.”
“What was inside?” Katana asked. There were some empty bags of jalapeño potato chips scattered about. She speared them with her sword.
“Not much,” Sapphire said, shaking her head. Her deep-purple-highlighted hair blew in the wind in slow motion, like something in a shampoo commercial. “Some old photos. A few trinkets. No gems or gold. Nothing of value.”
“Well, maybe the things in them were of value to whoever once owned the chest,” Katana mused.
“Exactly!” Star Sapphire said. “Those swords aren’t really worth much to you. I mean, c’mon, it’s like someone’s asking you to store their old stuff.”
Katana thought about this as they continued picking up trash. An old car left abandoned near the school, a bag of discarded bomb casings, some stale pizza. Maybe, she thought, the swords were sent to her for a reason. Was she supposed to use them? All of them? That wouldn’t be possible for one person to do.
“Swords!” Miss Martian declared.
They were in Lucius Fox’s Weaponomics class, and he had given them free time to work on anything defense-related. Katana had just buffed and polished her sword. To make sure her powers were in play, Star Sapphire kept pointing her purple ring at people and checking off their names when they smiled at her. Bumblebee was practicing her beesting blasts. Batgirl was refining her magnetic net caster. Cheetah was practicing her agility by dodging Wonder Woman’s Lasso of Truth and Harley’s heavy mallet.
“Swords!” Miss Martian said again.
“Is that right?” Poison Ivy asked Katana.
Katana nodded. She had been thinking about swords.
Mr. Fox walked up to Miss Martian. “How’s it going?” he asked.
She gave him a small smile. “Good,” she said, and then added, “But I’m still having trouble with my power. Sometimes I think I may be mind reading, when really I’m tracking random brain waves.”
Mr. Fox nodded. “This is not uncommon,” he assured her. “I had another student from Mars who experienced the same thing. But you’re really progressing well. You’ll get there.”
Miss Martian blushed and said “Thank you” to Katana, who was thinking good thoughts about her.
“What am I thinking now?” Poison Ivy asked.
“That you could use more time for your science experiment?” Miss Martian said.
Ivy nodded.
“And me, what am I thinking?” Katana asked.
“Still swords,” said Miss Martian. She giggled. “I wasn’t reading your mind that time. You think about swords a lot.”
She was right again. Katana could not get the swords off her mind. But just then, she heard the strangest sound. She looked at Miss Martian, who covered her ears and scrunched her eyes shut.
Miss Martian whispered, “They’re…”
“What is it?” Katana asked, wondering what the clicking noises were.
Others heard them, too. Everyone in Mr. Fox’s class was either staring at Miss Martian or trying to find the source of the noise.
This time the shy green girl from Mars spoke up. “They’re coming.”
ho’s coming?” Harley asked. She turned on her video camera and aimed it at Miss Martian. “What’s that sound? Everyone, quiet! We’re trying to listen!”
“Not now, Harley. I’ve told you before,” Mr. Fox said patiently. Clearly, he had dealt with Harley Quinn before. The Weaponomics teacher inserted himself between the two of them, protecting the alien from Harley’s oversized personality.
Leaning toward Miss Martian, Mr. Fox asked gently, “Can you tell me what’s going on? Are you reading someone’s mind right now?”
Miss Martian shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m getting,” she said, putting her fingertips on her forehead and covering her face. “But whatever it is, it’s getting closer.”
Just then there was a crash in the hallway, followed by Parasite howling, “Get away!” Everyone could hear him swatting something with a wet mop. “Not in this school, you don’t!”
As Katana and the others stuck their heads out the doorway, they could see the janitor flailing about with his mop and bucket. “I just mopped the floor,” he said angrily, “and they ruined it!”
“Who ruined it?” Batgirl asked. She had taken an intense-vision magnifying glass out of her Utility Belt and was surveying the scene. As she scrutinized the area, she brought a detail into focus: little scratches that lit up red under the ultraviolet light of her magnifying glass.
“It was them,” Miss Martian said, as if in a trance. “They’ve arrived.”
Katana and the others looked down on the wet floor but didn’t see anything.
“Critters!” Parasite said, grumbling. “Scrambling so fast, I couldn’t really even see them.”
“Was it a Parademon?” Big Barda asked, rushing down the hall. She looked hopeful. “I kinda miss them little critters.”
“More likely it was a rodent,” Beast Boy weighed in. “They’re wily creatures.” To prove his point, he turned into a green mouse and started chasing Frost, who hated mice so much that just the sight of one would cause a crack in her usually cool demeanor.
“Well, whatever it is, it’s gone now, and it doesn’t seem to be a threat,” Mr. Fox said, herding his students back into the classroom. “Frost, stop trying to blast Beast Boy with icicles. Beast Boy, stop being a mouse. Whatever it is, let’s let Parasite deal with it.”
Katana looked at Miss Martian, whose apologetic shrug said she had lost whatever vibe she had been getting. For everyone else, the episode had merely been an interesting diversion from class, but Katana couldn’t help thinking that another mystery had just presented itself.
Though their schedules were packed with June Moone’s art projects, Mr. Fox’s weapons checks, Crazy Quilt’s costume redesigns, Commissioner Gordon’s forensics demonstrations, and Doc Magnus’s computer assignments, the majority of Supers had Liberty Belle’s Legacy project on their minds the most. Katana in particular.
“What do we know about Japan?” Liberty Belle asked.
Batgirl raised her hand. “Japan is a string of islands on the eastern edge of Asia. People arrived over thirty thousand years ago—”
Liberty Belle nodded after Batgirl went on for another five minutes, giving a broad history of the country. “Thank you, Batgirl. Now for a more personal perspective—Katana,” she said. “Will you tell us a little bit about where you grew up?”
There was a scampering sound, like lots of tiny tapping. Liberty Belle ignored it. Teachers were experts at ignoring distractions. More and more, the sounds were being heard around the school. But no one could figure out what was causing it. Some teachers pretended not to hear it. Others, like Crazy Quilt, ran around trying to find the source of the sound. And Wildcat, the phys ed teacher, stomped and growled whenever the scampering was near.
“Ignore the noise,” Liberty Belle said. “Katana, please go ahead.”
“I was born in the Tottori prefecture,” Katana said, smiling at the thought of her coastal village. “It boasts the largest sand dunes in Japan, and there’s even a museum dedicated to sand sculptures. Up nearby Mount Kyusho are the Tottori castle ruins. I loved going there and seeing the entire city from up above.”
As Katana continued telling her classmates about her hometown, others began to daydream about theirs, and some even got a little homesick. Liberty Belle smiled at Katana when she was done.
Big Barda leaned over to her and whispered, “I wish I was from Tottori. My homeland is Apokolips, and I never want to go back there!”
Supergirl couldn’t help but hear the conversation. “Your home is here with us now,” she reminded Barda. “You don’t have to go back.”
Katana nodded in agreement. Apokolips was a desolate and unforgiving place. It was there that Granny Goodness had trained her army of Female Furies—Big Barda among them. But unlike the other Furies, Barda didn’t want to conquer other worlds. She wanted to be a hero, and she was set on proving this at Super Hero High.
“May I have your attention, please?” a voice boomed.
All heads turned toward the video screen in the front of the room. Principal Waller’s imposing frame filled the screen. “Supers,” she began, “as most of you have figured out, we have some sort of critter problem at Super Hero High. It’s more of a nuisance than anything else, but it’s a distraction and a disruption we can’t afford. Therefore, if any of you have any information or insight as to what the cause is, please let me know immediately!”
There was a lot of buzz in the room after Waller went offline. The biggest theory floating around was that the new tech wizard who had replaced Batgirl was to blame. Lena Luthor had turned out to be a villain. She had created Kryptomites and unleashed them on the school before she was found out and captured. The small, colorful annoyances could be quite destructive, and not all of them had been found.
In the halls outside Liberty Belle’s classroom, Parasite was grumpier than usual after the announcement. The creatures that no one could see were driving him crazy. For a while he blamed Granny Goodness, the former librarian Supergirl, Batgirl, and the others had defeated in an epic battle.
“She probably left some of her Parademons behind to annoy me,” he said to anyone who would listen.
Like the Kryptomites, the Parademons were small and had an appetite for destruction.
“If you catch one can I have it?” Big Barda asked. “I’ll take good care of it, I promise!”
“You can have all of ’em!” Parasite said.
Barda beamed at the thought.
Granny had been responsible for the mischievous critters, but they had all been captured along with her, or so it was thought.
“Or…it could be mice or mini robots or those new snake-turtles everyone’s talking about,” Beast Boy said as he set the traps.
Harley was videotaping and getting in the way. “Tell me about this,” she said as she stuck her finger in one of the traps, and yelped when it sprang on her.
Beast Boy puffed himself up and motioned to Arrowette and the others who were now helping him place the thin metal cages around the school. “I’m president of the FOW,” he explained. “The Friends of Wildlife club—and we have a catch-and-release program. Once we capture the creatures, we’ll find their natural habitat and return them!”
Still, with everyone on high alert, no one had seen the creatures, but they could hear them scattering about. Every now and then someone would say they caught a glimpse….
“They’re microscopic, and there are thousands of them!”
“They’re small but have huge claws!”
“The sounds came from their rows of horrible teeth chattering.”
“It’s just one creature, like a centipede but with a thousand tiny horse hooves!”
Katana wished she could stop the noise. For whatever reason, it always seemed to follow her. At first she thought it was a coincidence. But later the Junior Detective Society ran some tests and discovered that the noise was indeed more prevalent whenever Katana was around.
“It’s almost as if whatever it is, is trying to get your attention,” Bumblebee told her after the JDS had finished their analysis.
Well, it has, Katana thought. What now?
arth to Katana, Earth to Katana,” Poison Ivy joked.
“Are you going to eat those?” Wonder Woman asked, pointing to the plate of sweet potato fries in front of her.
“Huh? Oh, sure, you can have some,” Katana said. They were at Capes & Cowls Café, and Katana had been thinking about becoming the fencing team captain. Onna would have been so proud of her, if she got it.
Katana recalled her grandmother training her every day in swordsmanship. “Hold it like this,” she had instructed Katana. “No need to grip it so tight. Be at one with your weapon.”
“Hand it over!” someone yelled.
Suddenly, the silence cut through the café like a knife.
Steve Trevor looked stricken. Instantly, Wonder Woman was at his side. She lifted her shield in an effort to protect him from a large reptilian creature who had a bad habit of robbing banks, stores, and restaurants. Even across the café, Katana could see how the scaly behemoth’s savage disposition had earned him the nickname “Killer Croc.”
Batgirl reached for her Batarang. Katana put her hand on her sword. Big Barda gripped her Mega Rod.
“The money is in the safe…,” Steve Trevor insisted.
“I believe you,” Croc hissed, grinning and showing his snaggleteeth. “But my friend here does not.” He motioned to a huge gray humanoid shark who was snacking on the lunches Steve had just served to his customers.
“
We are not having this conversation,” Wonder Woman said. She looked at the patrons of Capes & Cowls, most of whom were cowering under the tables. “Steve, step away. I’ll handle this.”
“Listen, little lady,” Croc said. His scaly skin looked like it needed moisturizer. “This is about the money, not you. So I suggest you scram before anyone gets hurt.” He motioned to the oversized criminal with a sour look on his ghoulish face. “Isn’t that right, Sharky, ol’ pal?”
King Shark finished off a peach pie, then made his way toward them, leaving pools of seawater with each step. “This place is a dump!” he said, picking up a table and throwing it across the room. “Or at least, it will be when I’m through with it.”
Before the table could hit a boy from Metropolis High, Wonder Woman whipped out her Lasso of Truth and caught it just inches from his head, then swung it toward King Shark.
Croc laughed as he stood tall and swiped at a bin of forks and knives. The utensils flew with lethal speed around the room and stuck into the walls.
As the non-Super patrons started to scatter, Wonder Woman used her shield to protect them, while Barda tossed her Mega Rod at Croc’s massive feet. The hurtling missile knocked the criminal’s feet from under him and he fell toward Katana, who leapt out of the way. Suddenly, she heard someone whisper, “The sign,” and looked up. Yes! The Capes and Cowls neon sign, she thought. She took aim at the chain that secured it to the ceiling and sliced the metal with her sword. Coming loose, the sign fell…hitting Croc. Stunned, he looked around and roared.
Stepping back, Katana took a deep breath and counted down, “Three…two…one!” With that, she sped forward with a series of front flips, kicking Croc in the chest with the final one. As Croc tumbled, Batgirl released a small amount of the reptile-repelling tear gas she had been working on. Croc’s eyes swelled red as he began to wheeze and cough. Wonder Woman took the opportunity to wrap him in the Lasso of Truth. His big, bulky body crashed to the floor, totally tied up.
