The Bald Girl

"You are so weak," Vivian remarked with disdain.

Then she turned to Mandy and Zinnia, saying, "Let's go. You heard the instructor; he said if we don't reach the finish line by noon, we'll get our heads shaved."

"She's right," Lyra said, giving Zinnia a gentle push. "Go ahead, I'll catch up soon."

As the group hurried away, Lyra took a moment to use her superpower to regain some strength. She focused, using her power to protect her lungs and force herself to keep running.

She hadn't made it more than five hundred meters when a pigeon robot flew overhead, its eyes glowing red.

"Unauthorized use of superpowers, first warning," the robot intoned.

Lyra sighed, stopped using her powers, and pulled out Schedar, creating a simple support frame to conserve energy.

The robot's eyes flashed red again. "Unauthorized use of auxiliary tools, second warning."

The cold, mechanical voice made her clench her fists.