Buses, cars, airplanes, jet packs, and even some old-school spacecraft poured into the parking lot adjacent to the massive LexCorp Super Triathlon Arena.
As they made their way to the tunnels under the arena, some teams looked nervous, and others looked angry. Wonder Woman and the rest of her team felt calm and confident in their uniforms designed by Star Sapphire. Star Sapphire herself was wearing a team jacket over her costume, and so was her assistant, Golden Glider, who was dressed in a LIVE T-shirt and a shimmering skirt that matched her skates. Bumblebee had on a new warm-up suit with the school logo on the back. All needed to be comfortable in their supporting roles. And even though Hawkgirl was an alternate, she was in full competition gear, ready to jump in at a moment’s notice.
The CAD Academy team, clad in red metallic uniforms, brushed by them. Captain Cold sneered at Star Sapphire and stared down Golden Glider, then accidentally-on-purpose shoved Bumblebee. The spare weapons Bumblebee was carrying spilled onto the ground.
“Hey!” she yelled at Captain Cold as Heat Wave and Ratcatcher laughed. “Not cool!”
“Not cool?” Heat Wave asked. “Okay, let’s heat things up, shall we?”
Before he could ignite a fight, Katana brandished her sword.
“Stop it, Heat Wave,” the only girl on the CAD Academy team ordered.
“Why, Magpie?” Heat Wave whined. “I got this.”
“We’ll settle this on the field,” she said. Her lips curled up into an evil grin.
Wonder Woman stepped between the two. “Save it for the competition, Katana,” she told her friend. “If you lose your temper, we could all get disqualified.”
Her eyes flashing, Katana put her sword down. “No one hurts my friends,” she said through gritted teeth. “I’ll see you in the arena!” she called to the CAD Academy team.
Ratcatcher had already knocked someone over from Stalwart Secondary, and the rest of the team were now mocking the mascot from Pluto Prep, chanting, “Live evil!”
Just then Harley ran up, her video camera in hand. The red Record light was blinking. “Did I miss a conflict?” When no one answered, she turned the camera on her roommate. “Wonder Woman, in less than an hour, you will lead Super Hero High in competition against the top teams in the universe. How do you feel?”
“I feel great,” Wonder Woman said, looking straight at the camera, as Harley had taught her to do.
“Anything you want to say to the other schools?” Harley asked.
“Yes!” Wonder Woman nodded. “To all of our competitors, including Team CAD Academy, I wish you all good luck! Let’s have a fun and fair Super Triathlon!”
“You meant that, didn’t you?” Lois Lane asked Wonder Woman as Harley left to chase down a rumor that Superman had made an appearance. He had competed in the Super Triathlon when he was at Super Hero High.
Wonder Woman nodded. “Of course.”
“Thought so,” Lois said. “I need a quote for you for Super News. But first I have something for you.”
Wonder Woman froze as Lois held out a note. She had almost forgotten that someone wanted to see her fail.
“Open it,” Lois encouraged. She didn’t look upset.
Slowly, Wonder Woman unfolded the paper. The writing was in neat block letters. As she read it, her smile grew. It said:
Best of luck, Wondy. I hope you and the team do well. I’m rooting for you! I couldn’t get out of work, but I’ll be watching on TV. Win or lose, come into the Capes & Cowls Cafe for a free smoothie, my treat!
—Steve (Trevor) from Capes & Cowls Cafe, the boy with the braces
While Wonder Woman’s team warmed up in their state-of-the-art locker room and control center, they couldn’t help looking at the bank of TV monitors that lined the walls. A Who’s Who of super heroes strolled, rolled, and flew down the red carpet on their way to the VIP (Very Important Paragons) skyboxes that floated above the LexCorp Arena. Rival TV and Web channels jostled to get the best interviews, but none of them were as aggressive, or as successful, as Harley Quinn of HQTV.
Harley was interviewing the ultimate hero of modern times, Superman. “Well, of course I’ll be cheering for my alma mater, Super Hero High,” he said. “I’ve heard that this year’s team is one of the best ever.”
Wonder Woman felt warm inside. And it wasn’t just from the relentless abdominal presses Wildcat had made the team do, or the leg stretches she was doing now. She stopped suddenly and looked up when she heard a familiar voice.
“My name is Hippolyta, and I am Queen of the Amazon warriors from Paradise Island.”
“Which team will you be rooting for?” Harley asked. “And why?”
“Team Super Hero High, of course,” Hippolyta said, as if that were a silly question. “My daughter, Wonder Woman, is the Team Captain, and I am so proud of her. She has proven to me that she is living her own life and doing a great job of it. She is my role model.”
Wonder Woman felt a lump in her throat. But before it got her all choked up, Wildcat yelled, “LET’S GO! Team Super Hero High, line up for the march of the super heroes. Our time is now!”
The elaborate opening ceremony at the Super Triathlon exceeded Wonder Woman’s dreams. Of course, it was to be expected, with this being the hundred-year anniversary of the event. As Wonder Woman and her team swept into the LexCorp Arena, the All-Stars Symphony played the majestic strains of “Victors’ Theme,” the official song of the Super Triathlon. Wonder Woman, Katana, Beast Boy, and Frost were met with a roar from the crowd. All waved in practiced unison before taking their seats on the green marble dais that occupied the center of field.
The arena was huge, and for spectators and super heroes in the audience who did not have super-vision, giant videos were projected into the sky. Enterprising merchants were hawking souvenir Super de Duper Eye Goggles at a buy two, get one free discount. School merchandise ranging from plastic shields, capes, masks, and the ever-popular energy juice bottles were also selling swiftly. T-shirts featuring individual competitors in heroic poses were everywhere.
The competition was being broadcast live by all the major networks and streamed to more than two dozen planets. Plus, of course, there were upstarts like HQTV, who in several short months had become the go-to Web channel for everything about super hero teens.
Because it was boring to watch teenage super heroes take written exams during the academic portion of the competition, the organizers had set up a karaoke contest featuring audience members. Karaoke prelims had taken place prior to the Super Triathlon, and the finals were being held live. In a crowd-pleasing twist, all finalists were duos. On the stage stood Black Orchid and Firestorm, Thunder and Lightning, and crowd favorites Green Arrow and Black Canary.
Wonder Woman could hear the strains of music seeping under the door in the Quiet Quiz Room, where the teams were taking their exams. Liberty Belle had prepped her team well in the facts, fiction, and legends of super hero history. However, everyone knew that the team from Interstellar Magnet had the inside track on the academic portion of the competition. Wonder Woman flexed her muscles, then tackled the test.
After the papers were handed in, nine of the fifty teams were disqualified for cheating—mind reading was not allowed in the test room. The remaining forty-one teams were sent to the Interview Station to test their public relations mettle. Every super hero knew that how they presented themselves in public was part of their legacy and lore. You could be a great super hero, but if you mumbled or muddled your way through an interview, your popularity might plummet.
Each team member was interviewed independently, though all were asked the same questions:
1. Why do you want to be a super hero?
2. How can you make a difference in the world?
3. If you were a tree, what kind would you be?
4. Who is your favorite super hero, and why?
When it was Wonder Woman’s turn, she remembered to smile, introduce herself, and shake each of the judge’s hands.
“I don’t just want to be a super hero,” she said. “I need to be one. It is part of who I am and my destiny.”
“My goal is to help rid the world of evil and bring about peace.”
“Oak.”
“My mother.”
Going into the last event of the prelims, CAD Academy was in the lead, having nailed the interviews. Their arrogance seemed like confidence to the judges. As expected, Interstellar Magnet won the academic section. Super Hero High had come in sixth in Academic, and a decent fourth in Interview. They would have been higher, but Wonder Woman had accidentally squeezed too hard when shaking one of the interview judges’ hands, causing him to yell, “I surrender!” as the audience roared with laughter. Luckily, Super Hero High’s strongest event was up next: Abilities/Powers, also known as the A/P test. Because it counted for 50 percent of the prelim score, expectation and tension were high in the LexCorp Arena.