A Karma Girl Christmas Read Online Free Page A

information trader, Lulu knew everyone who was anyone in Bigtime—especially when it came to things that weren’t exactly on the up-and-up. She used to slip me information about Bigtime’s heroes, villains, and various criminals in exchange for my writing newspaper articles on Yee-Haw!, a therapeutic riding center that she helped fund.
    These days, Lulu was one of the people who knew that I was really Karma Girl. She also knew the identities of the other members of the Fearless Five, because she was engaged to Henry. Lulu might not have a superpower, but she’d helped us with her tech skills more than once when we were chasing down the latest, greatest ubervillain.
    “Um, a little help here, please?” Lulu asked, struggling to pull herself up onto her feet.
    I snapped out of my daze. “Sure. Let me.”
    I put my arm under Lulu’s shoulder and helped her stand. Then, I bent over and picked up the cane she’d dropped and handed it to her.  
    “Thanks,” Lulu said. “I’ll be glad when I can get around without using this thing. Although I can’t complain too much. I’m doing better now than I was this time last year.”
    Lulu had once been caught in a battle between the Fearless Five and the Terrible Triad, and she’d been paralyzed as a result and forced to use a wheelchair. Then, earlier this year, Lulu had been in the middle of another battle. Only this time, she’d been struck by a massive energy ball, thanks to an ubervillain named Siren. Lulu’s heart stopped, and she’d almost died, but the electricity had actually done some good in the end because it had kick started all of the dead nerves in Lulu’s spine.
    Since then, Lulu had been undergoing physical therapy with the goal of walking on her own—and she was slowly getting there. I was happy for my friend and all that she’d accomplished. In her own way, Lulu was tougher than any hero or villain.  
    I offered to help Lulu, but she insisted on walking over to the toy tree by herself. Still, I picked up the backpack she’d dropped and carried it, despite her protests that she could get it herself.  
    We stood there in front of the tree, staring at all of the toys, lights, presents, and ribbons, and Lulu let out a low whistle.
    “Damn,” she said. “I never had a Christmas tree like that when I was younger. Makes me wish I was a kid again.”
    I grinned. “Me too.”
    I grabbed a couple of chairs from a nearby lawn furniture display and dragged them over to the tree so we could sit there in comfort. Lulu unzipped her backpack and pulled out a solidium thermos and two cups. She unscrewed the top of the thermos, and the rich smell of hot chocolate filled the air.
    “Hot chocolate?” she asked. “I even brought those mini marshmallows shaped like the F5 insignia you like so much.”
    My grin widened. “You’d better believe it.”
    Lulu fixed us both a cup of the steaming hot chocolate, which she’d generously laced with a delicious raspberry syrup. I held the cup in my hands, just letting the warm, sweet aroma fill my lungs. We sat there in companionable silence for several minutes, sipping our sugary treat and enjoying the way the gleaming lights cast out a kaleidoscope of colors and star-shaped shadows everywhere.
    “So you want to tell me how you got past the store’s security system?” I finally asked. “Because apparently, it’s not as foolproof as it’s supposed to be.”
    Lulu shrugged. “It was easy. All I had to do was hack into the store’s security network and tell the system to unlock one of the side doors. Nothing to it.”
    I raised my eyebrows and looked at her.
    Lulu sighed. “But I was a good girl. I made sure the door was locked and shut behind me, and I reset the security network while I was at it. I think that’s enough to get me on Santa’s nice list this year. Besides, we don’t want any ubervillains crashing our holiday party and making off with the tree, now do we?”
    “No, we don’t,” I said.
    Once