Katana at Super Hero High

by Lisa Yee

  Today’s Save the Day drill was a two-person-team exercise. Each duo was given an assignment, and they fanned out east, west, north, and south. “Remember,” Waller instructed. “I am challenging you to think outside the box! Yes, use your special skills and powers, but also employ some creativity. And remember, teamwork!”

  Katana could smell the ocean before she could see it. The salty sea air reminded her of home. The Supers passed a mass of seagulls flying in the opposite direction. In the distance, past the forest was a rolling ocean of waves.

  “Over there!” Hawkgirl called, pointing.

  Katana squinted and then saw him. It was Parasite, sitting on a wooden raft bobbing up and down on the waves. He looked annoyed at having to participate in the exercise. When he saw them circling above, he shouted, “Well, it’s about time you got here.”

  Without warning, the sun disappeared behind black storm clouds. Lightning struck and thunder boomed as water poured from the sky. The ocean bucked like a bronco as the waves thrashed around, sending the raft up in the air and then slapping it back down on the water.

  “Help me!” Parasite yelled. This time he was serious—and his normally purple face became tinged with seasick green. “Save me!” was the last thing Katana heard before Parasite was hit by a wave as tall as the Amethyst Tower. Instantly, the raft shattered and he disappeared under the turbulent surface.

  ithout hesitating, Katana ditched the jetpack midair and plunged headfirst into the ocean. She was glad that years of swimming and surfing back home had prepared her for this.

  The rain was relentless. Hawkgirl caught the jetpack before it hit the water and secured it around her waist. Then she readied a rescue rope and harness and got into position.

  Over and over, Katana dived under the water in search of Parasite. At first the cold sea seemed murky, but soon her eyes adjusted. Above the surface the storm was unrelenting; however, there was a calm under the waves. The serene silence was at odds with the tumult each time Katana shot up and broke through to the surface to catch her breath.

  “Do you have him?” Hawkgirl would call out above the thunder.

  Katana just shook her head.

  She dived deeper and deeper. She was glad that not being too far from the coast, the water was not as deep as it might have been farther out. At one point Katana finally touched the bottom of the ocean. The sand was soft, and she thought she saw a Ghost Crab scampering to safety under a colorful coral reef.

  But where was Parasite?

  On her fourth dive down, Katana heard a confusing sound wafting toward her. It was coming from a conch shell floating peacefully past. She reached for it and rose from the waves to listen.

  These Samurai swords

  Entrusted to Katana

  Prepare for battle.

  What battle? Katana wondered. The battle to save Parasite?

  As she listened to it again, she thought it said, “Over there, I see him over there!”

  The familiar voice knocked Katana back to her senses. It wasn’t the conch shell speaking—it was Hawkgirl. She was pointing toward the bobbing purple head of Parasite, who was waving frantically. Katana tucked the shell into her pocket and with strong determined strokes swam to the janitor just as he went under. When he didn’t reappear, Katana took a deep breath and dived down for a final time.

  Parasite looked unusually calm. Katana swam over to him and grabbed his hand. She motioned for him to follow her and swim to safety. He shook his head. That was when she realized…Parasite couldn’t swim!

  Katana tightened her grip on the panicked janitor, who now began thrashing. She held him tight and then, using all her strength, kicked upward. Crashing to the surface, both gasped as they ravenously inhaled the air. The rain continued to pound, but at least they could breathe. Hawkgirl tossed the rope down to Katana, who secured it around Parasite’s waist and then gave her partner a thumbs-up.

  Though the jetpack was drenched, it still worked. Thank you, Batgirl, Katana thought as they flew out of the storm and back to Super Hero High with Parasite in tow.

  “Don’t tell anyone,” Parasite said as they passed back over the mountains. Though he didn’t elaborate, Katana knew what he meant: that he couldn’t swim.

  “Your secret is safe with me,” she assured him.

  “What are you talking about?” Hawkgirl asked as they neared Super Hero High.

  “Nothing,” Parasite said. He wasn’t happy to be dragged through the sky by two super hero girls. But the sun was shining and the ocean was far, far away. By now, everyone had dried off.

  “I’m just glad you’re safe,” Katana said to him. “I doubt when you were sent on this Save the Day drill anyone knew that the weather would turn on us.”

  Parasite grumbled, but then added, “Thank you, Katana.”

  Everyone was talking about their Save the Day drills.

  “Raven and I saved Ms. Moone from the jaws of a giant snake,” Beast Boy bragged.

  “I saved Wildcat from a crack in the earth’s tectonic plates that were about to crush him,” Star Sapphire announced.

  “I was there, too,” Miss Martian said quietly.

  “Starfire and I unearthed Crazy Quilt from several tons of boulders,” Supergirl added as the two high-fived. “He was not happy about the dirt that got on his blazer.”

  Though the weird change of weather and Parasite’s rescue were foremost in her mind, Katana’s thoughts kept straying back to the Ghost Crabs. Had she really seen one under the water?

  That night, as Katana slept, she dreamt of the turbulent ocean, and of Parasite. Well, it looked like Parasite, but somehow she knew it wasn’t really him. He was beckoning her to follow him under the sea. When she did, Katana saw the Ghost Crabs. As they stood on the coral reef, they welcomed her with their claws waving as she began to swim toward them, but before she could get near them, they scattered until not a single one could be seen.

  In that instant, the warm water turned cold, and the dream turned into a nightmare. Katana tried to swim to the surface. But something was holding her back. She tried in vain to escape. Something or someone was after her again….

  hy can’t we use the swords?” Harley asked. It was hard to keep a secret at Super Hero High, and by now everyone knew that there was a cache of swords hidden under the school.

  It was pizza day in the dining hall, and Katana had pineapple on her two slices. She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, not wanting to answer the question or have her lunch disturbed.

  “Well, everyone wants to join the fencing team now that you’re team captain, but there aren’t enough swords to go around and there’s a roomful of spares just sitting there. It’s a no-brainer!” Harley said. To make her point, she hit her mallet on the table, causing the pizzas to spin in the air before landing back on their plates.

  Hmmmm…it does make sense, Katana thought. The Ghost Crabs had disappeared as mysteriously as they had appeared, and with her Legacy project under control, she was free to focus on the fencing team. As it was, with the lack of swords to go around, Katana was forced to improvise. In addition to traditional fencing, she had begun to incorporate other martial arts. And then, when her teammates wanted to be challenged, she had introduced other kinds of swordplay, like Kendo and Mugai-ryu using wooden swords.

  This had caught the attention of so many Supers, the fencing team was the team to be on.

  “I want you to take the team to the next level,” Coach Wildcat told Katana. They were in the gym moving the rock-climbing wall, being careful because some rocks were booby-trapped to give the exercise a degree of unpredictability. “We have quite a few members, as you know, and we’re ranked among the best in our league. But I want to see how far the Super Hero High fencing team can go, and with you at our helm, who knows?”

  Katana had always wanted to be team captain. It was a chance to use her sword skills to teach others and to bring honor to the school. When the news got out that she had been selected, sign-ups had skyrocketed, acc
ording to Batgirl, the official team statistician. Katana had felt pride—and pressure—when she heard. Supers were always up for new and fun ways to fight and test their skills. Plus, it went unsaid that they wanted to best the other fencing teams. The school had recently won the 100th Super Triathlon, beating the top schools from all over the solar system. Everyone knew that Super Hero High students were hardworking and competitive.

  As Katana consulted her lists of fencing strategies and moves, she thought back to what her grandmother had taught her. Even as a child, Katana was always eager to fight and show off her skills. However, Onna was always reminding her to slow down. She didn’t understand why, though. Wasn’t faster better? Coach Wildcat was always pushing everyone to “Go faster!” and “Break the sound barrier!”

  “Like this?” Cyborg asked as he lunged.

  “Try to relax a bit more,” Katana instructed him. She wondered if his metal ever caused him to have stiff joints or to rust.

  “I’ve got it! Katana, look at me! Look at me!” Harley called out. She had a sword in one hand and was trying to record herself with the other. “I’m a natural!”

  “She’s a natural something,” Frost said as she parried away from Cheetah, who was as graceful as she was lethal. Since there weren’t enough swords to go around, Frost had improvised and was using an icicle.

  “What about leaps?” Harley asked, jumping into the air and doing a back-to-front flip in the process.

  “What about leaps?” Katana asked. She was adjusting Big Barda’s grip on her sword. “There’s no need to hold it so tight,” she told her. “You should be at one with your sword, not smash it.”

  “But what if I feel like smashing something?” Barda asked.

  “Don’t look at me!” Beast Boy yelped.

  “Hmm, leaps?” Katana said, getting back to Harley’s earlier suggestion.

  When she’d taken the job as team captain, Katana hadn’t realized how hard it would be. It seemed like everyone was trying to get her attention at the same time. Was this what the teachers had to go through? Was this what her parents had to contend with every day?

  “Yes!” Katana cried, startling Supergirl, who was standing right next to her. “Let’s do leaps and gymnastics, and other martial arts moves. Why not?”

  “Because it’s not a good idea?” Cheetah said. She was standing in the middle of the room looking fiercer than usual. “When are we going to get enough swords for everyone? I’m tired of sharing with her.” She pointed to Poison Ivy, who was taking her turn with their shared sword as she cut, thrust, and parried with Lady Shiva.

  Cheetah had a valid point. Katana realized that she had a lot of work to do to make this all happen. And having enough swords for her team was a big part of that.

  By the time the next fencing team meeting arrived, the gym was packed with Supers. Word had gotten out that not only would they get phys ed credit for being on the team, but it was fun, too!

  As Katana led the group in warm-up exercises, some Supers showed off by doing a thousand jumping jacks instead of a hundred. Others, when asked to lunge across the gym, lunged all the way across campus and back. But when it came time for actual swordplay, everyone got serious.

  “Your sword is an extension of yourself,” Katana instructed, trying to remember what her grandmother had taught her. “Fencing is a martial art. And there’s emphasis on the word art.”

  June Moone watched from the back of the room and nodded as Wildcat stood with his arms crossed, taking note of who was doing what—but most of all assessing Katana. By then, everyone had heard of the amazing job she was doing with the team.

  “Line up!” she ordered.

  In a nanosecond, the Supers were in straight rows. “Put your swords down,” Katana said. “Now walk away from them.” There was grumbling and a few complaints, but they did as they were told. “Now, back to your weapons!” Katana shouted, and they ran quickly to reclaim their swords. “Take your stance!”

  The Supers smiled as they gripped the handles of the swords. Each person’s stance was different—unique. Some, like Cheetah, crouched impossibly low, looking ready to strike. Others, like The Flash, looked quick and…flashy. And still others, like Bumblebee, were agile and light. As much as Katana was teaching her peers about fencing, she was learning about their individual styles—and learning to appreciate them.

  By now, Katana was creating a new kind of sword fighting that combined martial arts, saber, foil, legend, and superpowers. With each training session she let her imagination take hold, determined to use each Super’s skills to their best advantage.

  June Moone smiled at Katana as she left the gym. “Art is everywhere,” she could be heard saying. “It is a part of you.”

  “I guess it would be okay?” Katana said to the Junior Detective Society.

  “I don’t see why not,” The Flash said. “And that part of the haiku about battle…I think it means we’re supposed to be prepared.”

  They were in the underground sword room. It was dark and cool. The weapons stood at attention as Batgirl counted. “Still one hundred,” she announced. “All accounted for!”

  “The fencing team needs them—we have so many members,” Katana said, trying to convince herself. “No one is fond of using a pretend sword. Well, okay, Harley, but that’s because she can pretend her mallet is a sword.”

  “It’ll be okay,” Poison Ivy spoke up. She admired a sword with an inlaid pearl handle of flowers intertwined with vines.

  “I’m not so sure,” Hawkgirl said. “We don’t know why these are here.” Just then she noticed a sword with a majestic hawk carved into the teak handle and embellished with gold. “Although, maybe it’s all right.” She picked up the sword and held it aloft. “What if we just use them for the fencing team and then return them every day after?”

  “It’s easy enough to take a daily inventory,” Batgirl said. “I can put micro monitors on the swords and create a computer program to keep track of them at all times.”

  The Flash was already gathering them. “Fun with fencing!” he exclaimed as he began to take off.

  “Stop!” Hawkgirl warned, flying after him. “You know that you’re not supposed to run with sharp pointy objects!”

  Katana couldn’t think of a reason not to use the swords. Maybe, just maybe, that was why they’d been sent to her. Though the fencing team was gearing up for competition against other high schools, everyone knew that the skills they were learning would translate to battle, should it come to that.

  And quite frankly, if the swords were not going to explain their purpose, then she was going to give them one.

  Remember the haiku, Katana told herself.

  These Samurai swords

  Entrusted to Katana

  The story unfolds.

  These Samurai swords

  Entrusted to Katana

  Prepare for battle.

  “Okay,” Katana said. “Swords for everyone.”

  cheer went up as Katana—followed by The Flash, Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, and Batgirl—entered, carrying a hundred swords. By then the gym was full. Luckily, this time there were enough swords to go around. Team members were each assigned one as Batgirl logged it into a database. Everyone was thrilled to be in possession, however temporary, of the beautiful Samurai weapons.

  “Supers, get ready,” Katana announced as she did a triple backflip, followed by a series of roundhouse kicks. “You’re going to learn swordsmanship like no one’s ever seen before!”

  As she led the team exercises, Katana thought she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

  The Ghost Crabs were back.

  Earlier, with Batgirl’s help, they had been able to look up several articles about the mythical creatures, and had even unearthed some ancient cave paintings of them. But that was all they could find. It was as if the Ghost Crabs chose to be invisible. And yet, here they were.

  Katana spied them watching from the bleachers with quiet approval.

  “Look at
me!”

  A green swordfish holding a sword bounced on its tail past Katana.

  “Beast Boy, stop that!” she ordered. “You need to respect your sword, it is not a toy!”

  A chastened Beast Boy turned back into a teenager and muttered, “You’re no fun,” before quickly regaining his good-natured disposition.

  Katana turned back to where the Ghost Crabs had been, but they were gone. Disappointed, she returned to teaching her peers about how to respect and handle their swords. She had thought that maybe the Ghost Crabs had gone into hibernation, or had gone home, wherever that was.

  Not knowing what to make of them, Katana figured they were just somehow drawn to her.

  “Remember when that flock of parrots flew alongside me for three days in a row?” Hawkgirl said.

  “Bats like me, and it’s mutual,” Batgirl mused. “I wonder where Batty is now?” she added, thinking of the adorable baby bat she had befriended a short while ago.

  “Kittens love me,” Cheetah had told her. “Can you blame them? I’m their role model.”

  Katana sat alone in the bleachers and turned her focus from the Ghost Crabs to the very real fencing team, who were working hard, practicing, practicing, practicing. She had named Cyborg, Arrowette, and Lady Shiva as her assistants, and they were doing a terrific job. Still, Katana wished her grandmother were with her. Onna could have told her if she had done the right thing by using the swords for the school’s fencers. She could tell her what the conch shells meant.

  These Samurai swords

  Entrusted to Katana

  The story unfolds.

  These Samurai swords

  Entrusted to Katana

  Prepare for battle.