by Lisa Yee
“There are rule followers, rule breakers, and rule makers,” Granny was saying. Supergirl nodded as she backed up. Then she took a deep breath and was about to speed recklessly ahead when the old woman, who was more powerful and quicker than her Furies, blasted a yellow mind-control beam at her. Supergirl countered with her heat vision, which coupled with Barbara’s de-trancer earrings, blocked the ghastly light. Still, something was wrong. Supergirl recalled Barbara’s advice to go slow and steady.
Taking heed, Supergirl slowed and focused, whipping around and tackling Granny. “I can see through walls and now I can see through you!” she yelled as the two fought.
“Barda!” Granny ordered. “Come here! Now!”
Big Barda was fast. She lunged toward Supergirl, who released Granny, knowing she couldn’t hold on to her and fight the Fury.
“Catch me if you can,” Supergirl said as she flew toward the obstacle course. Hovering on her aero-disks, Barda was in fast pursuit. Supergirl soared toward the poles. At the last second, she dived out of the way and her nemesis slammed into the steel column—but this didn’t stop her. Supergirl deftly flew up and down around the lasers with a skill and precision she’d never employed before. Barda tried to follow, but a laser zapped her leg, causing her to grab it and feel actual pain.
Still, the chase did not cease. In the tunnel, Supergirl dodged the cannons as Barda was struck hard by a stream of the sticky, gooey green goop. As Barda attempted to shake it off, Supergirl soared to the finish line, hitting the button with her fist as she passed. The electronic score tallied 100!
Supergirl wished Barbara were here to see it. Just then she heard a voice.
“Supergirl!”
“Babs?” Supergirl said into her com bracelet. “You should have seen what just happened.”
“I did!” Barbara said, tapping her on the shoulder.
Supergirl looked at her bracelet, then at Barbara standing next to her. Confusion gave way to a smile.
“I was listening in on our com bracelet,” Barbara explained. “So I knew where you were and what was happening. After I set up a security force field around the school to keep the Furies from escaping, I headed straight here.”
There was a noise coming from the tunnel. Both girls looked over in time to see a battered, goop-covered Barda stagger toward them, then collapse.
Wonder Woman flew in, looked at the score, and said, “Way to go, Supergirl! But do you mind? Granny is still on the loose, and I could use some help saving the world.”
Supergirl was the first to spot Granny and Perry racing across the Tower’s terrace toward the Amethyst. Cradled under Granny’s arm was something familiar—a cookie jar.
“Where are you going with those cookies?” Supergirl called out as she and Wonder Woman flew toward her.
Granny stopped but didn’t turn around, allowing Perry to charge recklessly toward them. In a heartbeat Wonder Woman whipped out her lasso, catching him in the loop. As she cinched the rope, Perry exploded into a dozen small, harmless green parademons. Like roaches, the Perrys ran here and there, bumping into everything, including one another.
With the mini Perrys causing a distraction, Granny headed for the Amethyst. Supergirl flew toward her, but with a powerful stroke of her arm, Granny sent her sprawling across the terrace, crashing several stories down to the ground. Stunned, Supergirl staggered to her feet. Granny grinned and held her cookie jar aloft.
“This jar is, in reality, a Granny grenade!” she said, her cackle echoing around Super Hero High. “Did you really think I liked baking that much?”
As she continued laughing at her own joke, Supergirl could see Barbara sneaking up behind Granny Goodness….
With the stealth of Cheetah, the agility of Katana, and the confidence of Wonder Woman, Barbara silently crept up behind Granny and got into position. She unfurled a B.A.T. computer cable and lassoed the old lady’s ankles, bringing her crashing down. Granny roared, and in a fit of anger twisted the cable with her bare hands until it snapped.
This gave Supergirl enough time to pull a flagpole out of the ground and fly to the terrace. As Barbara distracted Granny, Supergirl bent the steel pole and wrapped it securely around the old lady. Granny struggled against the metal binding, dropping her cookie jar. Slowly, it rolled over to the very edge of the terrace and teetered back and forth, threatening to fall.
Supergirl held her breath.
Barbara gasped.
Granny’s face lit up.
“When that hits the ground, kaboom!” Granny Goodness boasted. “My cookie jar has the capacity to destroy the entire city of Metropolis, and even a few of the suburbs!”
Then, Granny puffed out her cheeks and blew the cookie jar off the ledge.
Supergirl raced to stop the cookie-jar bomb before it hit the ground. Just as she was about to grab it, someone else got there first.
“Wonder Woman!” Supergirl shouted.
“That’s me!” Wonder Woman confirmed. Both friends smiled. But seconds later, their smiles disappeared. The jar began to beep. Slowly at first, then faster and faster.
“It’s going to explode!” Babs cried.
Without hesitation, Supergirl grabbed the cookie jar from Wondy. She tucked it under her arm and soared straight up, ignoring Barbara and Wonder Woman yelling, “No, Supergirl, nooooooo!”
Never in her life had Supergirl been so scared, or so sure of what she had to do. As she pierced the clouds, the beeping grew louder and faster, and planet Earth got smaller. Supergirl pushed herself past her limits, rocketing out of Earth’s atmosphere, and then, when the lights on the bomb turned red, she tossed the cookie jar with all her might into the emptiness of space.
The explosion was huge. For the first time since her escape from Krypton, Supergirl was at peace. Though her hair was practically standing upright, her heart was beating fast and strong. At last, Supergirl knew what it meant to be a super hero.
Turning around, Supergirl took her time heading back to Earth, passing through the rain of cookies and stardust that littered the sky. She could hear crying as she neared Super Hero High. What had happened? she wondered. Had they lost the battle?
As she got closer, cries turned to cheers when Hawkgirl pointed up and yelled, “It’s her! Supergirl lives!”
“Supergirl saved the day!” Cyborg called out.
“Smile, Supergirl!” Harley yelled, training her camera on her.
Everyone was ecstatic. Even Cheetah was heard saying, “I always knew she had it in her.”
As she was carried on the shoulders of her fellow Supers, she saw Bumblebee with Mr. Grodd. “I have to keep saying it. I am sooooooo sorry,” Bumblebee was saying. “I should never have accused you of being anything but a good gorilla.”
Barbara cut in to say, “Vice Principal Grodd, you saved my life!”
Embarrassed, the gorilla tried to shake off their apologies and compliments, but he reluctantly relented and awkwardly let them hug him.
Principal Waller, Wonder Woman, Barbara Gordon, and Supergirl gathered in the Boom Tubes room. Granny and four of her Furies were secured in handcuffs as Beast Boy, who had turned into a fierce dog, guarded them and the many tiny Perrys, who were tumbling around and playing in hamster cages. With a hard yank on the lever, Waller sent them all to the Belle Reve Penitentiary and Juvenile Detention Center.
“You can never stop Darkseid!” Granny’s voice echoed through the Boom Tubes portal until there was silence.
“Wait a minute! Where’s Big Barda?” Waller asked.
“I’ll find her,” Supergirl volunteered.
Using her X-ray vision, she scanned the school and was surprised by what she saw.
“Barda!” Supergirl hollered, walking slowly toward her, ready for anything.
Big Barda was gently picking up a sculpture that had fallen to the ground during the battle. She placed it securely back on its pedestal.
“That’s all well and good, Barda,” Supergirl said softly. “But it’s time to go.
”
Big Barda did not put up a fight. In silence the two walked side by side back to the Boom Tubes. When they got there, Grodd picked up a Super Hero High brochure and slipped it to Barda. “Some reading material for your ride to Belle Reve,” he said with a wink.
Barda looked down at the brochure and shook her head.
“Something tells me you could have done a lot more damage than you did,” Supergirl told her. “Maybe, after paying for your crimes, you’ll see a way to use your power for good…to help your friends.”
Barda scowled and said bitterly, “I don’t have friends.”
Supergirl smiled warmly. “It may seem that way, for now,” she said. “I was alone when I arrived here, as well. You might come around to seeing what Earth has to offer, like I did.”
“Unlikely,” Barda said sullenly. “This place is terrible.”
Supergirl noticed that Big Barda was holding tight to the brochure.
After Principal Waller sent Big Barda through the same Boom Tubes portal Granny Goodness and her Furies used to get to the Belle Reve detention center, the heroes of Super Hero High began to scatter. Before she left, Barbara pressed something into the palm of Supergirl’s hand. Supergirl looked down to see the familiar warm glow of her crystal and reattached it to her necklace, where it belonged.
“Are you here to help me seal the Boom Tubes door once and for all?” Principal Waller asked. They were the only two left.
Supergirl nodded. “But first, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it?” said Waller.
Supergirl looked serious. “May I see the Krypton portal?”
The Wall stood silent and then said in an uncharacteristically kind voice, “Supergirl, you know there’s nothing there. The planet was completely destroyed.”
Supergirl nodded. “I know. But I need to see it for myself.”
Waller nodded and stepped aside. Supergirl took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the Krypton portal and lifted the black cloth that covered it. After staring for a long while, she finally said, “You were right, there’s nothing left.” The pain in her heart was searing. “Everything is gone.” Her voice was trembling. “Everything was destroyed when my planet exploded.”
“Not everything,” Waller said. “There’s something that wasn’t destroyed. Something very valuable that meant a lot to your parents.”
Supergirl’s eyes were moist. Though she could lift mountains, outrun trains, and fly faster than a comet, she couldn’t stop her tears from flowing. “What is it?” she asked. “What could possibly be left?”
“You,” Waller said. “Supergirl, as long as you are here, so is Krypton. It lives on in your mind, in your heart, and in your deeds.”
Though the portal was dark, Supergirl could hear her mother saying, “Always do your best, Kara, and you’ll be fine. I promise.”
Waller walked Supergirl to another portal. They could see Korugar Academy in session. “Well?” she asked.
Supergirl took a deep breath and faced Waller. “I’ve seen enough. Now it’s time for me to get back to school. This school. Super Hero High is where I belong. I have a lot to learn, and there’s no better time to start than right now.”
At the assembly, Waller praised the students, teachers, and staff, many of whom were bandaged up or wearing their casts with pride. When Supergirl nodded to newly promoted Executive Janitor Parasite, he just kept sweeping, putting his head down to hide his smile.
“Special thanks goes to Wonder Woman, who led the fight against the Furies, and to Bumblebee, Hawkgirl, and The Flash, who were on the case from the start,” Principal Waller continued. “A special commendation goes to Vice Principal Grodd, who acted nobly and is a role model for us all.”
Commissioner Gordon led the applause as Grodd stood awkwardly. Bumblebee flew onstage and handed him a basket filled with fresh bamboo.
From her seat, Supergirl looked up to the rafters, where Barbara was perched, wearing the black outfit Katana had made for her.
“And now,” Waller was saying, “I’d like to introduce our Super Hero of the Month. Someone who, in a short time, has proven that it’s not enough just to have superpowers, it’s what you do with them that matters. Someone who risked her life to save others, and who tries her best at everything she does…Supergirl, join me onstage!”
The room broke into thunderous applause. Stunned, Supergirl thought her heart was so full it might explode. As Waller continued her speech, Supergirl whispered into her com bracelet, “Babs, you helped me become who I am. You helped save the world from Granny Goodness and her army. You deserve to be up here, too.”
“In my dreams, Supergirl,” Barbara replied wistfully. “In my dreams.”
“Supergirl,” The Wall said, pushing her toward the microphone. “Would you like to say a few words?”
Supergirl nodded. The room hushed as she held on to her crystal necklace. It began to glow brighter than it ever had before.
“It was all of us in this room who helped bring down Granny Goodness and the Furies,” Supergirl began as she looked at her friends. Bumblebee leaned forward. Katana sat tall. Hawkgirl smiled. Poison Ivy nodded. Wonder Woman waved. Harley videotaped. “But there is one person who always goes unrecognized, yet was instrumental in the battle against evil. Someone who has the heart of a super hero.”
Supergirl put her hand over the microphone and whispered something to Principal Waller, who listened seriously, nodded, and then took a step back.
Supergirl lit up and said loudly and proudly, “With the approval of the faculty and school administration, I would like to welcome our newest student to Super Hero High! Batgirl!”
When the figure dressed in black swung down from the rafters and landed onstage, there was silence and confusion.
“Who’s that?” Cyborg asked.
Katana couldn’t keep the secret any longer. She leapt up and yelled, “Hey, everyone, it’s Barbara Gordon!”
The Supers and all the teachers murmured, then cheered—all except for one person who sat stunned, staring at the girl in the Batgirl costume.
“Oh, uh. Hi, Dad,” Batgirl said, waving nervously to Commissioner Gordon. “Um, I can explain….”
Lisa Yee’s debut novel, Millicent Min, Girl Genius, won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award. With nearly two million books in print, her other novels for young readers include Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time; Absolutely Maybe; Bobby vs. Girls (Accidentally); Bobby the Brave (Sometimes); Warp Speed; The Kidney Hypothetical, Or How to Ruin Your Life in Seven Days; and American Girl’s Kanani books, Good Luck, Ivy, and the 2016 Girl of the Year books. Lisa has been a Thurber House Children’s Writer-in-Residence, and her books have been named an NPR Best Summer Read, a Sports Illustrated Kids Hot Summer Read, and a USA Today Critics’ Pick, among other accolades. Visit Lisa at LisaYee.com.