As the weeks rolled past, Wonder Woman felt more at home at Super Hero High. Her once-daily communications to her mother had lagged, and now were often quick replies rather than long messages. She had gotten used to the idiosyncrasies of her fellow Supers—as much as one could. Plus, so many of them were still trying to get their powers under control. Wonder Woman could be having a perfectly normal conversation with someone and suddenly—whoosh!—they’d make something catch on fire, or they’d grow an extra arm or two, or they’d vanish and she’d be left standing there looking like she was talking to herself.

One constant was Wonder Woman’s roommate, the indomitable Harley Quinn. Like so many other things, Wonder Woman had gotten used to her nonstop videoing, the most recent of which had captured Wonder Woman earning a new school record for the fastest, most efficient Save the Day in school history, right after Superman’s. It had been light-years more impressive than her slow-as-molasses save of Mr. Fox from atop the school’s Amethyst. Yet with so many classes, and so much homework, plus her clubs, Wonder Woman often found herself stretched thin. Not like Plastic Man, who could stretch his body to impossible lengths. No, Wonder Woman felt stretched thin just from trying to do it all. But she loved it.

Right after lunch one day, Wonder Woman had only a few minutes before Weaponomics class to run to her room and grab her lasso. But before she went in, something stopped her. It was another message. This time, the note was attached to the door with a strange piece of metal. She kept both to show Lois and Hawkgirl.

“Before we begin,” Mr. Fox said to his students, “I have a special announcement. He adjusted his red bow tie, which had an L on one side and an F on the other. “As you know, selections are under way for Super Hero High’s Super Triathlon team. For those of you who are unaware of how this elite team of teens is chosen, it goes like this.” He cleared his throat and put on his glasses before he began to read from the official rulebook.

“ ‘The selection tribunal is made up of three anonymous committees.

“ ‘One. The faculty committee confers and analyzes the students’ strengths and abilities.

“ ‘Two. The student committee assesses their leadership and teamwork.

“ ‘Three. The committee committee takes the recommendations of the two other committees to make their final recommendations, which are then sent to Principal Waller.’ ”

Fox lowered the rulebook and added, “While Principal Waller can’t add any names to the list, she does have power of veto. Does anyone have any questions?”

Wonder Woman raised her hand.

“Yes, Wonder Woman?” Fox said.

“How many teams compete in the Super Triathlon?”

“According to the rulebook, it starts out with fifty teams, and ends with the top four in the finals. Any other questions? Yes, Wonder Woman?”

“What are the events?”

“Let’s see,” Fox began. “There are three areas—hence triathalon!

“There’s the Interview, which includes a live TV Q-and-A and panel discussion on super hero issues. That’s twenty-five percent. Academics counts for twenty-five percent as well, and includes a written test on super hero history, plus a College Bowl–type team competition. But the biggie, weighing in at fifty percent, is the A/P test: Ability/Powers. This includes individual challenges, such as flight, fight, agility, and athleticism.”

Many of the Supers, including Wonder Woman, sat up straighter when Mr. Fox talked about this. The A/P test sounded the most exciting.

“Once the final teams are selected,” Fox continued, “the scoreboard gets set back to zero and the main competition begins—the super hero obstacle course, which is total A/P all the way. Any other questions? Yes, Wonder Woman?”

“How many students are on each team?”

“There are four members and one alternate. Any other questions? Yes, Wonder Woman?”

“How much time goes into training?”

“Training is seven days a week, twelve hours a day–more as the event nears. Any other questions? Yes, Wonder Woman?”

“How can team members train and go to their classes?”

“Team members are dismissed from most of their classes,” Mr. Fox explained. “Students get class credit for their time spent training. Any other questions? Yes…Wonder Woman?”

“Do you have a special bow tie for the Super Triathlon?”

Mr. Fox smiled wearily. “Yes,” he said. “Are there any other questions?” He looked directly at her. “Anyone besides Wonder Woman?” When she just waved at him, he raised his voice and said, “All right, then! Let’s begin with our Weaponomics demonstrations!”

With some startling abilities, and more than a few startling failures, the Supers began demonstrating their skills with weapons. Hawkgirl was up first and confidently approached the test ring. The goal was to disarm the oncoming villains, find the lethal gas canister, and destroy it. With stellar focus, Hawkgirl headed straight for Fox’s Fiends, as he called the robot villains—forged in Professor Magnus’s very own on-site Metal Man Factory. Without blinking, she maced them with a direct hit, then continued to fly around the burning forest and up to the mountain cave, where the canister, disguised as a stalagmite, was hidden. Scooping it up, she tossed it miles into the air. The canister imploded, and the toxic fumes dissipated before they reached Earth.

As the test was being set up for the next super hero, Hal Jordan came forward. He took a green ring out of his pocket and slipped it on his finger. Wonder Woman had never seen it before. It must be new, she thought.

Instantly, Hal seemed to stand taller and appear stronger. He truly was a Green Lantern. He set his square jaw and took off running at a high speed. Using both his left and right fists—and the rock-solid barrier his ring had formed around his hands—he knocked Fox’s Fiends over with a single blow to each. Then Hal began to fly toward the burning forest, but instead of going around or over it, he went right into it, catching himself on fire.

After the safety team doused him with fire-retardant foam, despite his (major) protests, he was benched for the rest of class.

“You look good with foam on your face,” Frost said as he slunk past her. “Like you’re ready for a shave.”

“Next!” Fox yelled.

Frost strode confidently up to the starting line. Acting as if she did this all the time, she spun around and froze Fox’s Fiends around her. Then she ran toward the mountain that was ablaze with fire. Standing her ground, Frost absorbed the heat from the flames so that not even an ember remained. She raced up to the cave and froze the canister, causing the lethal gas to crystallize into tiny pellets, none of which were lethal on their own. Then she tossed the pellets into the wind, scattering them in a million different directions.

Katana was next. She cartwheeled up to the starting line armed with three weapons: a samurai sword, a katana blade, and a sai—a pointy pronged baton like the one fellow student Lady Shiva wielded. Katana studied all three before tossing the sai aside. Then, with amazing precision, she fought the Fox Fiends with her samurai sword, defeating them all before heading to the burning forest. There, she took out her namesake katana blade and cut down the burning trees with such speed that the fires were extinguished. Taking hold of one of the smoldering logs, Katana catapulted herself up into the mountain cave. With super-speed, she attached the hilt of her sword to the hook on the canister and whirled it over her head. Like a shot put, she heaved it into the air, where it landed in Poison Lake and was consumed by the other toxins.

“Wonder Woman,” Mr. Fox called out. “You’re up!”

“No, I’m right here,” she answered, tapping him on the shoulder.

Mr. Fox adjusted his bow tie. “Over there, Wonder Woman,” he said, pointing to the starting line. “You may begin whenever you are ready.”

Wonder Woman took a deep breath. She thought about what Lucius Fox had said about the teacher committee and wondered if he was on it. Either way, she wanted to make a good impression.

She decided to approach Fox’s Fiends from the air, where she’d have a tactical advantage. However, even through the Fiends were audio-animatronics, they were capable of guessing their opponent’s moves. They were clearly some of Professor Magnus’s greatest inventions to date. Soon they were in the air, too, and that was their mistake. Wonder Woman got out her lasso and was about to rope them when one sent out dual laser beams.

“Okay, you asked for it!” Wonder Woman said, raising both bracelets in the air. The lasers bounced off them and back to Fox’s Fiends, causing them to short-circuit.

Wonder Woman flew over the burning forest, then circled it, getting closer and closer to the fire with each lap. She sped up, agitating the air and creating pressure waves that displaced the oxygen and put out the flames. With the fire out, she was free to address the lethal gas. Throwing it as hard as she could into outer space, Wonder Woman tossed her tiara and it collided with the canister, detonating it and creating a fireworks display before returning back to her.

“Well done, Wonder Woman,” Mr. Fox said appreciatively. “Well done!”

Cheetah, who was watching from the sidelines, growled.

During phys ed, Wonder Woman was still in a happy mood. As the class ran a twenty-mile warm-up, Hawkgirl caught up with her.

“I’ve got some news you’re going to want to hear, and some news you’re not going to want to hear,” Hawkgirl said.

As the two ran side by side, Hawkgirl continued, “Bumblebee hears things. Sometimes on purpose. Sometimes by accident. Either way, she has the buzz, so I asked her if she was working in Waller’s office the day Mandy Bowin was expelled.”

“Was she?” Wonder Woman asked.

Hawkgirl nodded. “Bumblebee heard Mandy begging, ‘Please, please, Principal Waller!’ and The Wall saying, ‘No, I will not allow it!’ ”

“So maybe Cheetah was right. She was forced out,” Wonder Woman mused. “I wonder how that feels. It must be awful. And it’s all my fault.”

“It is not,” said Hawkgirl. “The Wall never does anything on a whim. She must have had her reasons. Besides, we don’t have concrete evidence of this. Here’s the news I didn’t think you’d want to hear. Remember that note and blade you gave me?”

Wonder Woman nodded. Both girls were quiet as Golden Glider sped past them, followed by Star Sapphire, with Miss Martian trailing behind her.

Hawkgirl continued. “That blade had to come from somewhere. Remember when Katana threw her sai aside in Weaponomics? Well, that’s because one tip of the forked blade was missing. However, it’s not missing at all. It’s right here.” Hawkgirl held up the broken blade from Wonder Woman’s door. “It’s a perfect match,” she said.