Lunella, Karma, Superheroes, and Love in New York City

"Karma! Karma!" the crowd echoes. A 11-year-old girl, from the close-knit neighborhood of Hansberry Heights, with a thick, dark brown curly afro, steps onto the stage. She begins speaking into a microphone. She starts her rap song:

My name's Karma / when it comes to friends, they say I'm the greatest! / Let me tell a story about how my heart was beating faster than ever before / I started questioning who I was / and was feeling it in my core / Now do I try to hide a part of myself / or do I say the truth? / Which path do I choose? / I don't wanna be uncouth!

The rap song ends. Karma turns toward the camera, almost like she has done this many times before. She begins speaking normally, without any background music, or sick beats to back her up. She wants to challenge the listeners. Have you ever felt like you had to hide a part of yourself from your family and friends? The pages of her diary begin fluttering. Karma's voice continues. Stick around. I'mma show you what went down!

Karma walked with her good friend, a White girl named Alex "Switch" Stein, to a local restaurant, the Duet Diner. They usually got purple scones, one of the specialties of the diner's owner, Chef Scott Crowley. These scones were one of their favorite foods to eat. They were almost a local delicacy. As they entered the store, he greeted them happily, as did everyone in the neighborhood. "It's nice to see you all again! Are you getting the usual?" Karma and Switch nodded.

They had hoped that Winston, their talented videographer friend, would be joining them. That was not be. Instead, he had to help at local record shop that his mom owned. So, he wasn't there, at least this time. 

"Hey, Switch," Karma began, as she sat down at a small table inside the shop, where her friend was already sitting, "how's that violin beat box class going?" She was curious about it as an aspiring musician-of-sorts herself.

Switch sighed and shook her head. It hadn't been going as well as she had hoped. She didn't want to admit it, but at the same time she didn't want to hide anything from her. That wouldn't be right.

"I kinda wish the community center was still here. Everything seems so disparate without it." She then added, "thanks to this damn virus, no one wants to come to my classes in person anymore...it is so sad."

Karma nodded. She knew what Switch was talking about. She had attempted to save the center, with the help and backing of the entire community. They had almost done so until the awful, conniving Cece entered the scene, wanting to steal the spotlight only for herself. She turned off the power to the entire building, preventing them from reaching their financial goal. They were still furious at what she had done to them.

"I know what you mean, Switch, and I…" She stopped in mid-sentence. Her ears perked up. She heard a voice which caught her attention. She first saw her out of the corner of her eye, then she turned her head and saw a short, slender, brown-skinned girl. Her hair was tied up in large bushy, pom-poms, one on each side. The girl was standing at the counter. "Hi, I'm new here. I heard you had legendary purple scones here. Some person on my socials recommended it," she said sheepishly. This was one of the first times she had gone somewhere based on what was said on social media. Usually, she took recommendations from her good, and savvy, friend Casey "Case" Calderon.

Chef Crowley was excited. He smiled back. He was glad to serve any customer. "Yeah, we sure do, miss. How many would you like?"

Through her large, and round, violet glasses she stared right at him. She began thinking about how to answer his question. Almost a little nervously, she said softly, but loud enough that he could hear, "I'll have...two dozen."

He was puzzled. What would she be doing with all these scones? He didn't question. Business was business. Standing at the cash register, he entered the total. "That will be $15.95." She pulled out her wallet. The outside were a beautiful mix of pink and blue, almost like she had made it herself. Perhaps she had. She pulled out a crisp $20 dollar bill, which she got from the mayor for helping out the LES. She handed it to the chef. He quickly entered "20.00" into the register. It made a sound (cha-ching!). He placed her scones into a custom box which he had prepared for just this occasion. He was ready to hand them to her. There was one last step he needed to complete first. 

After he gave her the change, she shook her head. "Keep the change. You'll surely need it a lot more than me."

She left the store, with the box in hand, speeding away in her roller stakes, and grinning with a wide smile. Karma was flabbergasted. Who was this girl? And why had she been so generous? A tip of over 25%!

She had to know more. The girl's style had been unique, to say the least. She'd never seen anything like it before. She wore a black t-shirt, long undersleeves, pink skirt, long denim jeans, and tennis shoes. Almost instinctively, and without realizing what she was saving, Karma blurted out, "that girl was…so COOL!" Switch shrugged. She wasn't that impressed. Weirdness permeated Hansberry Heights. Why was this one girl different? She didn't get it. Not at all. She liked being around Karma, and around Winston. But, she wasn't directly drawn toward anyone, not romantically, as far as she knew. Of course, that could change.

While they continued to chow down on their scones, Karma started fidgeting. She couldn't stop herself. Switch had never seen her friend act like this before. She seemed a bit different from how she usually was around people. It appeared that she was excited. Pulling Switch's hand, she ran out of the diner. "We have to catch up with her!" she exclaimed. While she didn't care much about this girl, she went along with it. It was the least she could do to support her friend.

Karma ran out of the store, while she held onto Switch's hand. She shouted the loudest possible she could, "I'll be back, Mr. Crowley, this'll only take a second!" He nodded. Like Switch, he didn't know why Karma was being like this. At the same time, he knew she was a good customer who had brought him so much business. So, if she didn't pay this one time, it wouldn't matter. Next time she'd hold her to it.

Once outside, she searched around every nook and cranny, but she could find no one resembling the person who came into the Duet Diner. She heard a familiar voice. Was this her? A girl wearing a black spandex suit covered a yellow, and cyan, vest, and shorts stood in front of her. The girl's chest was emblazoned with a small crescent moon. Like the girl she'd seen before, this person was new as well. 

She wore cyan glasses with red lenses in the front. These glasses changed based on how the girl inside felt. She had programmed them to do this. To top this off, she had large black skating boots with yellow lances, yellow and cyan helmet, elbow pads, and knee pads, along with red gloves. She did all she could to hide her identity. She couldn't let anyone find out. That could be an utter disaster.

Karma was impressed by all of this and the girl's cyan-colored backpack. Little did she know, but the backpack could sometimes transform into a jetpack!

"Are you the same as the girl inside the diner?" Karma asked innocently. The girl laughed. She wouldn't be revealing her secret identity, especially to someone she just met. She tried to figure out a way to explain it.

"No…no...no...That's uh, Lunella Lafayette...she's uh, my friend...I'm Moon Girl, the hero of the LES!"

Karma looked downcast. She had hoped she could make a connection. Perhaps that would never happen. She felt a little sad. Maybe she'd see her around sometime. At least she hoped she would

Lunella recognized Karma's uneasiness. She couldn't leave Karma like this. She had to make her feel better without revealing that she was actually Moon Girl.

Was it even true that when you put out love, you get love back? Karma wasn't sure. Usually in situations like this she would be upbeat. This time however, she couldn't feel that way, as much as she tried.

Out of nowhere, Moon Girl disappeared in a cloud of smoke, which filled the alleyway. Luckily for her, this time, Devil wasn't with her. As such, she could make a rapid getaway. In no time at all, almost like it was magic, Lunella appeared on the nearby sidewalk. She had quickly stuffed her disguise in her backpack, but carefully enough to not smoosh the scones. She hoped she didn't have to open her backpack. So, she began thinking of reasons she didn't have to.

"You're the girl from the diner!" Karma exclaimed. She knew she'd see her again. She was so glad that she had returned. She had so many questions she wanted to ask her.

"You know that Moon Girl person?… she said she was your friend."

This was a tough subject. She tried to pass it off and move on. She began laughing so infectiously that you could feel happier almost instantly. Her large, round violet glasses almost fell off her face, nearly embarrassing her. 

"She's my friend...but you know...she's everyone’s friend. She's just a nice person, that's all." She hoped this would stop her questioning. She was grateful that somehow it did. "I'm Lunella. Nice to meet you."

Karma was a little nervous. She knew that Lunella wouldn't be there for long. She might even be returning to her neighborhood. She tried her best to ask the question. "So, I'm Karma, by the way. Can I...ask for your...uh…"

She usually didn't have this much trouble. Luckily, her friend Switch was there. She knew what Karma was trying to ask. She'd been following this closely. She'd do anything for her friend, even something like this. That's what friends did for each other. They were as tight as those two friends in Green Gables she had read about in a high school literature class. "She's trying to ask for your number...she's just kinda nervous because she thinks you're mega-cool."

While Karma would have chastised her, she decided not to. Not this this time. Switch would always be there for her, no matter what. She was the same. She'd be there for Switch too. That's just how they were with one another.

"Sure!" Lunella jubilantly replied. Not many people asked for her number, even those her age, since she mostly did her own thing, although she had some friends at school. So, this was unique, to say the least.

After they exchanged numbers, Lunella walked her own way, back to the LES. Switch and Karma walked the opposite direction. She declared to her friend Switch, "see, you'll get love back after you put out love! That phrase is rings true!"

Some time later, Lunella returned from Hansberry Heights. She'd come back to her home. She crashed on the sofa in her lair underneath her house. It still remained hidden. She hadn't told her parents about her secret identity at this point, although she planned to possibly do so, someday. She wasn't sure how to tell them. Her friends Case and Devil Dinosaur were watching one of their favorite movies and chowing down on on bags of popcorn, a usual activity.

"Hey Case, I had...an interesting experience today." She paused. She hoped Case would be supportive. "This eleven year-old girl in Hansberry Heights asked me for my number...and well, I gave it to her."

Case almost spit out her popcorn. Who was this go-getter? She started to get a little jealous. These feelings intensified after she saw Karma's photo. On the other hand, she was glad that Lunella was making friends. She still wanted to be close to her friend and as long as they did stuff together, that was okay with her, even if a romantic relationship developed between her friend and this girl.

She tried to be positive. She wondered if she felt romantically toward her friend but convinced herself she was imagining it. She couldn't ruin their friendship. "That's great, Lu! Let's both visit Hansberry Heights some time!"

Lu was glad to hear that Case was being so supportive. That made her happier than anything. "Yeah, let's make it a date!" she exclaimed. Case didn't read anything into that comment. She only saw Lunella as a friend. They were good friends, and friends did stuff like this, right? You didn't have to be in a relationship. And she didn't want something like that right now. What happened next would be up to Lu and Karma...