Wonder Woman was impressed. She had no idea someone could glare for so long without blinking. Finally, The Wall crossed her strong arms, arched an eyebrow, and said in her how-dare-you voice, “You weren’t talking to me, were you?”

Wonder Woman was speechless. She thought she’d been talking to her, but now she wasn’t so sure. Never in her time at Super Hero High had Wonder Woman felt so scared. Not when the Scarecrow was testing his new Fear Gas in Science Club and Wonder Woman couldn’t stop cringing for two days. Not when she’d walked into a history midterm test that she didn’t know about. Not when she ate goat cheese for the first time.

“Student. Files. Are. NEVER. Discussed,” Principal Waller stated firmly. “Not Mandy’s, not yours, no one’s! Instead of worrying about someone who is not here, you ought to worry about yourself!”

“But…,” Wonder Woman started to say. She shook her head and slowly backed out of the room. “I’m sorry,” she mouthed. “So sorry.”

And she was. She was sorry that she had brought up the question, and she was sorry that it was even a question in the first place. Wonder Woman had ignited the wrath of The Wall. Had Principal Waller insinuated that she would be the next person expelled? Then what? Back to Paradise Island as a failure? What would her mother think?

As Wonder Woman wandered down the hallway, Bumblebee sped up to her and gave her a hug. No words were needed.

By the time she got to phys ed, class was halfway over. Even though the relay race was something Wonder Woman normally excelled in, today she could hardly focus.

“Next two teams!” Wildcat growled as he looked at his students. His grisly voice and stocky build belied his speed and agility. Everyone shifted nervously. Wildcat was known to pounce with deadly accuracy when confronted.

Team One was made up of Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, with Cheetah anchoring. Team Two featured Star Sapphire, Beast Boy, and Wonder Woman bringing up the rear. The fifty-mile course circled Super Hero High three times and then wound through the forest, along the cliffs, and down by the river and ended up back where the race had started. Instead of passing a baton, each team passed a fully charged Shock Stick.

“An added incentive to run fast,” Wildcat explained. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “The Shock Sticks are specially calibrated. If you slow down, you will be zapped. If you stop, you will be zapped. If you complain, you will be zapped. However, if and when you make it to the finish line within the allotted amount of time, just toss your stick into the defusing bin, where it will harmlessly deactivate. Any questions? No? Good. Go!”

The first two legs of each team did well, as expected. When the sticks were handed to the last runners, the air crackled with bolts of blue electricity. Cheetah and Wonder Woman started off running stride for stride, neither one letting up, neither one out of breath. As they neared the forest, Cheetah asked, “How’s your life, Wonder Woman?”

When Wonder Woman started to answer, Cheetah just laughed. Is everything all right? Wonder Woman asked herself. She was so busy thinking about the anonymous messages that when they turned a sharp corner along the cliffs, Wonder Woman accidentally bumped into her opponent.

As Cheetah tumbled down the rocky mountain, her roar could be heard all the way back in the teacher’s lounge.

Instantly, Wonder Woman flew to where Cheetah had landed on the rocks.

“My leg! My leg! Ouch!” Cheetah cried out. “I’m hurt.”

Wonder Woman reached toward Cheetah, but she batted her away. “You’ve done enough damage already, don’t you think?”

Wonder Woman’s eyes teared up. “I am so sorry,” she said.

“Go get Wildcat,” Cheetah growled. “I don’t need any more help from you!”

Suddenly, there was a huge electric burst that could be seen over the tops of the trees.

The Shock Sticks had gone off, and the resulting mega–shock wave caused some of the nearby rocks to fall. Wonder Woman grabbed Cheetah and flew to safety as the two watched the rest of the rocks tumble down. Had Wonder Woman not reacted so quickly, they both would have been crushed.

Wonder Woman was speechless, but Cheetah was not. “This was all your fault. Don’t think I’m going to forget this, Wonder Woman.”

That Cheetah clearly despised Wonder Woman wore on her. Couldn’t Cheetah see it had been an accident? She would never have hurt her on purpose.

Cheetah was hobbling around on crutches, her leg bandaged, telling anyone who would listen that it was Wonder Woman’s fault. Harley scored an exclusive interview with Cheetah. Cheetah told her, “I don’t know if I’ll ever walk again, thanks to Wonder Woman. Ouch! Ouch! Oh, ouch! I’m in such pain! Ouch.”

Though few took Cheetah’s constant complaints and accusations seriously, it didn’t stop them from passing along the gossip. After the accident, the online chatter ramped up tenfold. Everyone had an opinion about Wonder Woman, and for the first time, she was cast as a villain.

Poor Cheetah, one person wrote. She was a frontrunner for Super Hero High’s Super Triathlon team. Could it be that Wonder Woman pushed her off a cliff to make sure Cheetah wouldn’t make the team?

Rumors of a rivalry between Cheetah and Wonder Woman ran rampant. Wonder Woman tried to shake them off, and was actually glad she had after-school detention because no one was allowed to talk there. Plus it gave her time to finalize her design for Crazy Quilt’s class. The big costume presentation was coming up, and it helped take her mind off the gossip, which hurt more than the crush of rocks would have.

When at last the time came for Wonder Woman’s costume unveiling, the room was abuzz. Literally. Bumblebee’s costume had malfunctioned again, sending electrical stings all around the classroom, which heightened the excitement. This was a big deal. If done right, a super hero costume could become iconic. If done wrong, they could be featured on Harley’s new video segment Fashion, Function, or Failure?

Crazy Quilt had erected a catwalk down the middle of his loftlike classroom. Supers sat along the sides in folding chairs. Crazy Quilt himself occupied what looked like a lifeguard chair, cradling his clipboard as he critiqued each outfit.

“Wonder Woman! Let’s see what you’ve got!” Crazy Quilt called through a megaphone, even though a megaphone wasn’t necessary in the small room.

“Don’t mess up,” Golden Glider said to Wonder Woman with a playful grin, blowing snowflakes at her.

“Good luck, partner,” Star Sapphire whispered. “Do well for us!”

“Thank you!” Wonder Woman said brightly. Without Star Sapphire, her costume wouldn’t be half as good it was. Though it was Katana who’d helped Wonder Woman the most, it was Star Sapphire who’d insisted that Wonder Woman keep the long cape.

“Your stumble was purely from inexperience,” Star Sapphire said kindly. “Nothing beats the majestic flow of a regal Amazonian cape in action.” Her violet ring glowed as Golden Glider nodded in agreement.

The crowd gasped when Wonder Woman stepped onto the stage. Her costume looked fresh, but familiar at the same time. Simple…yet functional…smart…yet stylish. Katana had guided Wonder Woman, who had used organic materials recommended by Poison Ivy. The color palette was bold, as suggested by Harley, and the red, blue, and gold complemented each other. Hawkgirl had suggested a clasp on her belt to secure the Lasso of Truth when it was not in use.

Wonder Woman’s pants were bright royal blue with white stars lining the outside seams and a stylish belt of gold around the waist. Her bright red shirt, with capped sleeves, was topped with a golden collar that featured stacked double Ws flaring out like wings on her shoulders. High but flat red boots accented with gold piping and white wings completed her look. And much to Katana’s obvious dismay, Wonder Woman did choose to wear the cape that Star Sapphire had suggested. There was no denying that it brought an air of ceremony as well as spectacle to the princess’s costume, but Wonder Woman liked the addition.

Crazy Quilt pressed the button on a vintage boom box, and disco music began to play as Wonder Woman stepped up her stride. Her friends cheered. Suddenly, a trio of barrels was shot at her. She raised her bracelets and deflected them. As the barrels bounced off the walls, the ceiling opened and a vat of orange Jell-O tilted, poised to splash its contents on Wonder Woman. She leapt out of the way, nearly tripping on one of the barrels. It wasn’t just a catwalk—it was an obstacle course!

“We want to test fashion and function,” Crazy Quilt said from his lifeguard chair. His eyes sparkled with glee. “Keep going, Wonder Woman. Let’s see what you and your costume are made of!”

Thrilled, Wonder Woman continued down the runway, batting away rubber bullets with her bracelets, lassoing oncoming drones, jumping over hungry reptiles. Suddenly, the Save the Day alarm went off. This time, Wonder Woman didn’t hesitate. She called to Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, and Katana. “Let’s go!”

The foursome rushed to the top of the administrative building, where the alert was coming from, and stopped cold. Looking up, they saw an incredible scene. A trio of teachers wearing matching sweatshirts had captured Principal Waller and locked her—and her desk—in a sealed glass jail that was perched precariously on the ledge of the roof. If not for the tiny air holes, The Wall would not have been able to breathe for long.

“What does the ‘EV’ on their sweatshirts mean?” Wonder Woman asked Hawkgirl as they flew over to get a better view. Wonder Woman’s long cape was giving her an aerodynamic edge, and she could feel the extra surge of power.

“Evil Villain,” Hawkgirl explained. “Teachers wear EV sweatshirts during the drills when they’re playing bad guys. Although Waller always reminds us that real villains aren’t always that easy to spot.”

“I’m getting bored in here, Supers,” Principal Waller bellowed as she shuffled paperwork at her desk. She looked at her watch. “Someone better get me out of here fast, or everyone is in trouble!”

The glass jail seemed to be magically getting smaller and smaller—or else Principal Waller was getting bigger. Soon she would be squished!

Katana was scaling the building. Lagging behind her was Cheetah with her injured leg.

“Why don’t you just take the elevator,” Green Lantern asked as he flew past them.

The flyers hovered, looking for a way to break Principal Waller out. A few Supers, like Miss Martian, stayed on the ground, not knowing what to do. In the distance, a gray mass had enveloped the clouds and was threatening to storm over Super Hero High.

Harley caught it all on video.

Cheetah and Katana were close to the top of the building.

“I can get Waller out,” Poison Ivy said from below. Only Wonder Woman heard her. She flew back down.

“How?” she asked.

“This,” Poison Ivy said, holding out her hand. A small seed rested in her palm. “I just need to get it into the box.”

Wonder Woman shouted, “Bumblebee, I have a job for you!”

“What’s up?” Bumblebee asked.

“Fly with me and I’ll fill you in,” Wonder Woman said. “Thanks, Ivy!”

Bumblebee made herself small and entered the glass jail through one of the air holes.

“Oh, hello,” Principal Waller said, looking nonplussed. The glass ceiling was practically touching the top of her head.

By then Katana and Cheetah had made it to the roof and were arguing over what to do. Katana was trying to break the glass, and Cheetah was looking for a hidden door.

“Bumblebee, do your thing!” Wonder Woman yelled. She flew higher to get a better view. A gust of wind swirled the cape around and suddenly Wonder Woman was flying backward. As she tried to adjust, Wonder Woman got more tangled up in the material. Instead of rescuing Principal Waller, Wonder Woman worried that someone might have to rescue her. She began to plummet….