by Lisa Yee
hat does he think of me?” Star Sapphire asked Miss Martian. She was looking across the room at the Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who was about to bite into a sandwich the size of his head. Her curiosity seemed idle, but her ring glowed warmly on her finger regardless.
“That’s not the sort of thing I use my powers for,” Miss Martian said quietly but firmly.
Green Lantern looked up from his dinner, and when he saw Sapphire staring at him, he grinned—not realizing that Sapphire’s ring was emanating a friendly vibration-wave in his direction—just as Beast Boy walked between the two of them.
“Wow! I feel warm and fuzzy,” Beast Boy said as he was caught between the purple glow emitting from her ring and the power coming from Green Lantern’s ring. “I am warm and fuzzy.”
Star Sapphire rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t meant for you,” she said to Beast Boy, who was still wobbly as he made his way to join Animal Man and Silver Banshee at another table.
“Hey there!” Katana said, setting down her dinner tray. Fencing practice had gone particularly well that day, and she was pleased with everyone’s progress. “You don’t mind if I sit here, do you?”
Miss Martian looked relieved to see her. “Please have a seat,” she said, motioning to the chair.
“Listen,” Star Sapphire said to Miss Martian before she left. “If you ever need a new spacecraft or anything, you could work for me. Okay?”
Miss Martian nodded, suspecting that there would be strings attached to any favors done by Star Sapphire. “Um, okay?” she said as they watched Star Sapphire return to her table in the center of the room.
“You’re doing well sticking up for yourself,” Katana said. She dug into her vegetable casserole. Tonight’s was especially good since everything was fresh from the organic garden that Poison Ivy was overseeing on campus. Katana especially liked the mushrooms.
“Thank you,” Miss Martian said. She looked up as other Supers joined them.
Katana was just about to say “You’re welcome” when she heard a familiar clicking coming from beneath the table. The Ghost Crabs were back! The Ghost Crabs remained a mystery, but even though they could still be very distracting, only Parasite seemed concerned. “Always running around just when I’ve mopped,” he grumbled. “Pests, that’s what they are. Pests!”
The crabs had started causing mischief, like running for cover and causing Supers to trip—and depending on the powers of the student they tripped, the results could be spectacularly destructive, causing Vice Principal Grodd and Parasite endless grief. “The crabs ate my homework” was not an excuse accepted by the faculty—except one time when the crabs tattered Cheetah’s fashion project and Crazy Quilt declared the results to be a marvelous example of distressed couture.
It was as if they wanted attention. Yet whenever anyone tried to capture one, they escaped with incredible powers of speed and stealth. The only teen they seemed to show any deference to was Katana, and now they were following her around campus, marching in straight rows, albeit at a respectable distance. And they were certainly well behaved when they watched the fencing team practice with the swords Katana had found. It seemed like that was the only time they weren’t scampering around.
When Katana saw them again, she realized that she had actually missed the little creatures.
Katana had never had a pet before, though she had always wanted one. But her parents had insisted that pets were like family, and to have one meant you also had to have the time to devote to them. Katana was so bent on getting into Super Hero High that she seldom had any time for herself, much less for a pet. So instead, she had stuffed animals. These Ghost Crabs were the closest things she had ever had to pets.
It wasn’t uncommon for Supers to have otherworldly pets, although they had to be registered with Waller, and then the pets had to prove themselves to be manageable. Just last month, Harley’s monkey, Calliope, had to be sent to a training camp because it kept swinging from the overhead lights and ripping them from the ceilings. And Wonder Woman had an adorable riding kangaroo named Jumpa, but it proved to be too distracting, because everyone wanted to play with it rather than study.
Batgirl had taken care of an injured baby bat recently. Poison Ivy often had butterflies follow her around…though maybe those didn’t count as pets. Bumblebee had fostered the most adorable honey bear until she found a home for him. And Starfire even had an alien silkworm named—what else?—Silkie.
“There’s one now!” Harley said as the girls were clearing their dishes. She gave Katana one of her irrepressible grins. “Hey, wanna see what I made? It’s hilarious! I’m gonna get tons of hits when I post this.”
Katana cringed as she watched on the small screen of Harley’s camera. It was a clip of the Ghost Crabs scampering around the corner following her. Then the video ran backward and forward, backward and forward, set to lively music that made it look like they were dancing.
“Seriously, Harley?” Katana asked. She wasn’t keen on being on Harley’s Quinntessentials. Oh, sure, some of the other Supers loved being on the Web channel, and even courted it. But Katana, like her grandmother before her, took high school a tad more seriously.
“You’re a natural!” Harley assured her. “And if you don’t like this clip, there are plenty more I can make. Like how about one of you tumbling and leaping up to avoid squashing one of the little critters?”
Katana blushed. That did happen. They had been underfoot often. “No, no thank you, this one is just fine,” she assured Harley.
“There you are!” Bumblebee said, flying over to them. She held a pink slip of paper in her hand. “Waller would like to see you in her office.” She handed the summons to Katana.
“Ooooh, are you in trouble?” Harley asked. Her eyes twinkled—this could be a story. “I’ll go with you!”
“I’ll go alone,” Katana said, standing her ground. “Whatever Principal Waller wants to say to me is not for your video channel.”
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Harley said, giving an exaggerated frown.
Before Katana could respond, Harley had run off. “What’s that I see?” she asked, looking off in the distance. “Supergirl’s sneaker laces are untied again, and Beast Boy is headed in her direction with a stack of condiment-slathered sandwiches he can’t see over—this can’t end well! Gotta go!”
“Katana, have a seat,” Amanda Waller said. She motioned to the wooden chair across from her. There was the usual stack of folders and some confiscated weapons on the principal’s desk—a goo blaster, a still-glowing cannonball, and a pair of sharpened metal boomerangs.
“Yes, ma’am,” Katana said. Her parents had taught her to always respect her elders.
“These Ghost Crabs, what do you know about them?” Waller asked. She was not one for small talk.
“Not much,” Katana admitted. “But I think they like me.”
“Well, that much is evident,” the principal noted. “We’ve had lots of incidents with fans—be they human, alien, or otherwise—following our students around. And that’s what I’m thinking the Ghost Crabs are. Fans of yours. And while it is flattering, it can become a nuisance. I’m going to have to ask you to have a talk with them.”
“I’m supposed to talk to them,” Katana told Miss Martian as they walked out of Liberty Belle’s class. It was ironic, but when they were first assigned the Legacy project, Katana had wondered if she had enough information. Now she was overloaded. “But I’m not sure if they will understand me. That’s why I’d really appreciate it if you came along.”
“I don’t know,” Miss Martian said. “I really can’t read the minds of animals…not that I’ve ever tried.”
“Will you at least come with me?” Katana asked. “Please?”
“All right,” Miss Martian agreed. “But I can’t promise anything.”
Usually the Ghost Crabs came to Katana. This time, she went to them.
“This is where they sometimes hang out,” Katana told Miss Martian as they entered Harmo
ny Garden. “According to my research, they live underground. But they seem to like it here when the sun’s out.”
The garden looked the same as before, but with one difference. Katana had enlisted Frost and Supergirl to enhance it. Supergirl had dug a small pool. Frost had filled it with ice, and then Supergirl melted the ice with her heat vision to create a peaceful pond.
A sea of flowers surrounded them, their petals gently rippling in the breeze. Miss Martian paused to inhale the perfume.
Slowly, the Ghost Crabs came out from under leaves and behind bushes. “Hello!” Katana said brightly. “I’ve brought a friend.”
The crabs turned to Miss Martian, who gave them a tiny wave. Some waved their claws back at her.
“I’m not sure how to tell you this,” Katana told them, “but Principal Waller would rather you not follow me around everywhere and, for that matter, um…disrupt classes anymore.”
The Ghost Crabs stood unmoving. Katana turned to Miss Martian. “See, I don’t think they understand me. After all, they’re crabs, and I don’t speak crab. Do you?”
Miss Martian gave her a smirk that said, Do I look like I speak crab? “Maybe I can get some impressions of feelings, or something….”
Her eyes grew big. Miss Martian stood very still and stared at the crabs, nodding her head. Then she took in a deep breath, relaxed, and exhaled.
“What is it?” Katana asked.
Miss Martian held up her hand. She chose her words before speaking. “Not only do they understand you,” she said, “but they have also sent you a message.”
a message that could affect the world.”
Katana’s heart was racing. “What? What is it?” she asked. The Ghost Crabs had marshaled themselves in rows of ten again. All were standing at attention. Not a single one moved.
Miss Martian shook her head. “It’s so weird,” she said. “I’ve never been able to read the mind of a crab before.”
“What did they say?” Katana pressed. “Miss Martian, focus!”
Miss Martian bent down to the Ghost Crab leader. She kept nodding. “Okay. Hmmm. Okay,” she said before standing back up.
“This is truly amazing,” Miss Martian mused. “I don’t think anyone in my family has experienced this. Not even my cousin J’Onn, and he is really great at reading minds.”
“MISS MARTIAN!” Katana heard herself demand.
When Miss Martian looked taken aback, Katana instantly regretted losing her temper. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “But you said there’s a message that could affect the world. What are they saying?”
“Yes, yes,” Miss Martian said. “Okay, right, the message. I’m getting a message from all the Ghost Crabs, sort of like chatter. So much that it’s hard to understand. But from what I can tell, the main message is that there is danger coming our way. Katana, they want you to know that it is up to you to thwart this. The future is in your hands.”
Katana could not believe what she was hearing. Danger was coming to Super Hero High!
“What am I supposed to do?” Katana asked, but when she and Miss Martian looked down, the Ghost Crabs had quietly disappeared again.
“Supers!” Katana called out. “Take your places.”
Instantly, the goofing off and gossiping stopped, and like the well-trained super heroes that they were, the teens took their places. Katana had directed the fencing team to gather on the massive Heroball field outside the gym. They needed plenty of room for what she had in mind.
“Fighting stance!” Katana yelled. “And…go!”
Paired off, the Super teens looked as though they were trying to decimate each other. That was far from the case, though. Instead, they were battling each other in an effort to train longer and harder than ever before, to make themselves better. Katana had Arrowette and Cyborg help with swords, and Lady Shiva oversaw the martial arts. With such uncertainty looming, Katana knew that she too would need all the help she could get.
Waller stood by observing and nodding. She pulled Katana aside.
“I like what you are doing,” the principal said. “This mash-up of martial arts and swordsmanship. It’s important for us to be able to supplement our powers with other methods of fighting. It’s an element of surprise that keeps the bad guys on edge. Keep up the good work!”
Just then Batgirl raced up to Waller. “I’ve been monitoring the airwaves,” she said. “My Geographical Scanner is telling me that something off the charts is happening. It’s caused a disruption in the ocean’s currents and created a tsunami in the Chugoku region of Japan.”
Katana felt panic wash over her. That was near her hometown. She hoped her parents were safe.
“Who’s causing this?” Waller asked. She lowered her voice. “What can you tell me?”
“I haven’t got a strong lock on it yet, but it appears to be a large reptile. The initial indications show that the wave is gaining speed and strength.”
“Continue your research,” Waller instructed. She turned to Katana. “Can you train these Supers even faster? We may be called in on this, and I want everyone to have every advantage possible.”
Katana nodded.
“Well?” Principal Waller bellowed. “What are you standing around for? You all have work to do!”
There was no time to sleep, and hardly any time to eat. Katana was exhausted—as were the rest of the Supers. She was in the Bat-Bunker along with Supergirl.
“Any news?” Katana asked. She handed Batgirl a sandwich.
“It appears to be a dragon,” Batgirl said, biting into the peanut butter protein baguette that the cooks made when Supers needed quick fuel. She adjusted the controls on her tech board and a hazy figure appeared on-screen. With her fingers flying over the keyboard, Batgirl was able to zoom in on the creature, cleaning it up digitally so that they could see it. “Thanks to Supergirl, I was able to secure some DNA.”
“I flew to Japan to see if I could help, and while I was there, Batgirl called me on our com bracelets,” Supergirl said. “I was able to bring back a steel plate from the damaged ship hull that the reptile had recently attacked. Whatever it was had already moved on. I didn’t get a visual because I had to save the sailors.”
Katana looked at the ship’s plate leaning in the corner. There were three long score-marks in the metal, like they had been raked by some creature’s horrible talons.
Next, Batgirl scanned the photo into a VaC (Villains and Criminals) program she had created for her father, Police Commissioner Gordon.
“This could take a while,” she said while the database ran through thousands of profiles.
“Look!” Supergirl said, pointing to the screen.
“That was fast!” Batgirl noted.
Katana stared at the profile, then read it out loud.
“ ‘Dragon King. Wanted criminal. Cold-blooded. Komodo dragon with powers of strength, flight, and a toxic bite. Armed and extremely dangerous.’ ”
The trio stared at the screen. Something about him was familiar, Katana thought, but what?
Batgirl began accessing her computer resources. “I’m picking up military and police scanners,” she explained. “This ‘Dragon King’ is moving through small towns and big cities, causing mayhem and destruction along the way. But even worse, it appears that he’s amassing an army of handpicked volunteers—mostly criminals—whom he enhances with reptilian genetic material.”
“Why? What does he want?” Supergirl asked.
Batgirl pushed her chair away from her control panels. “That, I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “There’s not a lot of information on him. He seems to have mostly operated in the shadows.”
Katana felt a thud in the pit of her stomach. Whatever he’s after has something to do with me.
Soon it was all over the news. Lois Lane had broadcast that the Dragon King was indeed headed toward Metropolis. Commissioner Gordon and his police department were on high alert. Waller called a special assembly.
“Students,” she said, “t
his is serious.” Parasite stopped sweeping and leaned on his broom, listening. Katana sat between Batgirl and Big Barda. No one moved. “Our sources tell us that there is an enemy who is on the path toward Metropolis, and our intelligence says that his ultimate destination is Super Hero High.” Katana squeezed Batgirl’s hand. “I will need some of you to fan out and assist those in need as the Dragon King causes destruction in his wake. You will be charged with protecting the citizenry. Others will stay on campus, training and getting ready.” She paused before adding, “Supers, you must prepare for battle.”
Prepare for battle, Katana thought. Where had she heard that before? Suddenly, a chill ran through her.
These Samurai swords
Entrusted to Katana
The story unfolds.
These Samurai swords
Entrusted to Katana
Prepare for battle.
xhilaration—and even a little panic—ran through Katana as she formulated a plan for what to do next. Though there were stronger and more confident Supers, it was Miss Martian she turned to.
“The haiku hold the key,” Katana explained. “They are telling me to prepare for battle, but I need guidance. You said you thought the Ghost Crabs were trying to tell me something. Can we go to them, please? I need all the help I can get!”
“I’ll do what I can,” Miss Martian answered, “but you know I don’t function well under pressure.”
Katana nodded. “We’ll do what we have to do together.”
Miss Martian beamed and for once didn’t look like she was going to turn invisible.
The Ghost Crabs were restless. As Katana neared Harmony Garden, they scampered into their ordered ranks.
“Ghost Crabs,” Katana said. “I know the Dragon King is headed our way and that there is a battle brewing. But I don’t know why. The swords appeared out of nowhere, and then a week later, so did you. And the haiku—what about the haiku? I know it’s all connected. If you have a specific message for me, now is the time to share it.”
