Min never knew her real parents. She was discovered near the Yangtze River by an old couple whom she knew as Auntie Jun and Uncle Wei. These two raised Min as if she were their own daughter. However, Min knew that she was different from her adopted parents and the other children of their collective. She really was a dragon in disguise. When Min turned six, the local party boss came to her collective looking for young children to enroll in the National Gymnastics School in Beijing. The man took one look at Min and his mind was made up. It was her green eyes. According to the party boss, Min had to join the school, whether she wanted to or not. In a way, ti was sort of a relief to Min, because she knew if she let anyone know about her true nature she was sure to be sent off to the People's Revolutionary Superhuman Collective. And who knows what might happened to her if she had been sent there. Many a night, Min woke from a nightmare about the superhuman collective. Many tears were shed that night, as Min didnt think she'd ever see her beloved auntie and uncle again. The small family shared their final meal together before they had to take Min to the train station for her trip to the capital. The trip was hard on young Min, who had never been away from home. As a parting gift, Auntie Jun had given Min a stuffed animal shaped like a mouse. Min held onto her stuffed animal all the way to Beijing. At Beijing, she was met by Master Xaio, headmaster of the National Gymnastics School. Master Xaio's age reminded Min of Uncle Wei, but in truth, he was nothing like her sweet uncle, who often took Min fishing on the Yangtze River. Master Xaio was quite the taskmaster.Early each morning, Min along with the other new recruits had to clean the school, then have a quick breakfast followed by hours upon hours of training in gymnastics. Min soon learned to fear Master Xaio and his cane. Those students who didn't meet Master Xaio's exacting standards often felt his cane on them. It only took Min a few strokes of the cane to learn her lessons. Over the next couple of years, Min excelled at tumbling and other specialty tricks. She had a naturally grace about her that attracted Master Xaio's attention. He became convinced that she would make a perfect addition to the troupe of acrobats that was going to be sent to America to work at a capitalist theme park in Florida. Now Mins' training took a turn. She no longer practiced with the other students, but was given private lessons by Master Xaio and other members of the troupe. In addition to the special training, Min was taught English, something she has never been able to excel at. Min was also assigned a cultural attaché (translation: a watchdog), as she was to be the star attraction of the troupe. After Master Xaio was satisfied that the troupe was in excellent order, he sent them to the plane for their long trip to the capitalist West.Min proved to be quite the hit at the theme park; ending each performance with the audience clamoring for more. This was all due to Mins' amazing acrobatic ability. In many ways it was almost magical. While at the theme park that Min celebrated her birthday with an American-style birthday cake. It was also during this time that Min became acquainted with an alien girl named Pix'l Ta'Myx. It was Pix'l who insisted that Min have a birthday cake. Min and Pix'l quickly bonded. At times Min grew quite lonely, and Pix'l seemed to be of a similar age. Little did Min know that Pix'l was actually more than a hundred years old. To Min she appeared a girl just like her and Pix'l spoke the most fluent Mandrin. Meanwhile...Billy Bob Quesnel was an alcoholic, and he knew it. And today his boss Larry learned about it as well. Larry felt that he had no choice, and fired Billy Bob. Actually Larry didn't have much choice but to fire Billy Bob. Billy Bob worked as a pyro-technician for the theme park, and it wouldn't do to for any of the men who set off the fireworks to be a fall-down drunk. That night, Billy Bob thought he'd get his revenge on Larry and his high and mighty theme park. It was a child's play for Billy Bob to get back into the park as a guest, then find his way to where the fireworks were stored. Billy Bob would put on the biggest fireworks display they had ever seen in the state of Florida, or at least that was what he thought. And his good buddy Jim Beam was going to help him do it. Billy Bob was really starting to sweat. He just knew that one of the security guards had seen him. Taking a big slug of Jim Beam, he stepped outside of the fireworks lock-up. Staggering a little, Billy Bob set off down the path into the theme parks public area. It was near the Chinese Pavilion where Billy Bobs luck finally ran out."All right," said Josiah Gold, the entertainment company's chief of security. "That's far enough, Mr. Quesnel," Gold had to be really careful with this man. It was obvious that he was holding a large amount of explosives in his hands. You could never be too careful in such situations, especially with innocent park guests nearby. "Larry?" said a drunken Billy Bob. "Is that you? I'll show you." And before Gold and his team could react, Billy Bob set the fireworks off in his hands. The explosion knocked everyone down and shattered windows in the nearby buildings. As for Billy Bob, he was consumed in the fireball. It also happened that Min and the rest of the troupe of acrobats were performing at the time of the explosion. And Pix'l was standing in the front of the crowd. The fire panicked everyone in the crowd. The pavilion even caught fire. It only took one look at Pix'ls horrified face to convince Min that she must do something. And that something was a fact that she had kept secret from everyone in her life: Auntie Jun, Uncle Wei, Master Xiao, and even her best friend Pix'l. Min wasn't really human at all. Min was really a Chinese dragon in disguise, and that night she knew that she finally had to reveal that secret to the world. The transformation was painful at first, as this was the first time she had ever dared to become the dragon. Pix'l, who was standing next to Min, was awestruck at the change. One moment, her good friend was standing next to her and then the next a gigantic lizard was there. Willing herself to fly, the dragon that was Min flew up into the sky. Circling over the fire, Min called upon her draconian powers. Soon it started raining. The rain came down in big fat drops. As the rain continued, the fire quickly died down. What could've been a major disaster for the theme park turned out not to be so severe. Min stayed up in the air creating rain for as long as she could before exhaustion overcame her. With a mighty crash, Min slammed into the ground outside the dorm. Panting, trying to get her wind back, Min knew what was going to happen. Her cultural attaché rushed toward her with his gun out. The only thing that saved Min that night was her friend Pix'l. Throwing her arms up, she valiantly stood in front of the crazed man, protecting the dragon. "No!" Pix'l screamed in perfect Mandrin. Her clothing was bedraggled and her hair hung limply from all the rain. Mud even covered one of her sneakers. Her shout seemed to bring the man out of his shock, even though he seemed as pale as a ghost. With a bow, he placed his weapon back in its shoulder holster and shakily walked away. "Are you hurt?" asked Pix'l. "No," said Min, "just only really tired." And so saying, she once again became the girl that everyone knew. Tears of shame washed down her cheeks. Now Min knew that she would be send back to China to await a fate she didn't even want to contemplate. It astonished Min to look at Pix'l. The alien girl was actually smiling. "Oh, my little dragon," said Pix'l, "I must introduce you to Mike Bowman." Then the two girls clutched each other: one an alien and the other a dragon from a far-away land. And in the sky above the rain continued to fall...The next day, Min and Pix'l sat outside of Mike Bowmans' office. Pix'l was back to her usual cheerful self and shined like a new dime. Min wore a clean set of clothes as well. As they sat there, they rocked their legs back and forth, listening intently to the conversation within. About two hours ago, Ambassador Yang Jiechi had come to the office of Mike Bowman after a redeye flight from Washington. The two, the ambassador's bodyguards, and Josiah Gold had closeted themselves in Bowmans' office. Min and Pix'l strained to hear what was said. However, no matter how hard Min tried she only caught the occasional word, words like "return," "asset," and, possibly, "heroine." Suddenly, the door to the office was flung open and the ambassador walked out followed quickly by his two bodyguards. The ambassador only paused a brief moment to give a slight bow to Min before leaving. Min was stunned. She was sure that the ambassador was there to take her back to China and who-knew-what fate awaited for her in China. A smug look crossed over Pix'ls' face, and it was, in a way, kind of annoying to Min, just like Pix'l knew that this was going to happen. "Pix'l, Min," came the voice of Mike Bowman from the interior of the office, "could you two come in here for a moment?" Pix'l practically skipped into the office. Min, however, was in more of a reluctant mood and dragged her feet on the carpet. "Come on, silly," chided Pix'l merrily, "Mike won't bite, but I don't know about Josiah." This was the first time Min had ever been in the office of Mike Bowman, who was known around the theme park as Doctor Tomorrow. At first, Min was a little intimidated. But then she saw a picture proudly displayed on Mikes' desk: Mike standing next to a giant mouse. Relief flooded through her limbs as she took a seat next to Pix'l: It was the same mouse as the stuffed one she'd been given by her aunt and uncle. As for Josiah Gold, he stood behind Mike, peering out the window at the departing ambassador. "Hello, Min," said Doctor Tomorrow. "My name is Mike Bowman. On behalf of this company, I'd like to thank you for your quick thinking last night. If it wasn't for your actions, the fire could've been much worse." "Now you might be wondering why the ambassador didn't take you back to China with him. Well, the simple fact is that he and I discussed the situation and we have come to an understanding. He won't be taking you back anytime soon. However, in addition to your participation with the acrobats, I think I might have a need for your fascinating abilities. I'd like to offer you membership in our superhero team here in Hero City. So what do you say, Little Dragon?" Min was greatly taken aback from Doctor Tomorrows revelation. Soon, she was hugging Pix'l and tears quickly flowed in both girls' eyes. For Min, a new day had begun, or maybe even a new life. |
