by Lisa Yee
Bumblebee tried to ignore him. But as she watched him eating, she wished she had some bread and honey. Or tea and honey. Or anything and honey! One way or another, she was going to have to get to the bottom of the bee problem, but right now, the sound of everyone sneezing was making it hard to focus, especially when someone like Supergirl sneezed and blew all the library books off the shelves. Or when Frost sneezed and froze Miss Martian, who had to be thawed out by El Diablo, who had to be monitored by Hawkgirl, lest he sneeze while sending out flames and accidentally light her on fire.
“You know,” mused Bumblebee, “we didn’t sneeze at all when we were rescuing Coach Wildcat.”
“That’s true,” Batgirl said. “And none of the others mentioned sneezing during their Save the Day drills.”
“There was no sneezing in the Alps or in the Arizona desert, and others reported that no one sneezed in outer space, Finland, or Bora Bora,” Bumblebee concurred. “It seems like it’s isolated in and around Super Hero High and a few other areas.”
“It’s a totally regional thing,” Beast Boy noted. He took a bag of chips out of his backpack and began munching and sneezing, accidentally spewing potato chips on the girls.
“Ewww!” said Batgirl, jumping up and wiping off her Batsuit.
“What she said!” Bumblebee cried. “Watch where you spew.” When she brushed some chips off her super suit, she noticed a dusting of yellow pollen again. Bumblebee stared at it on her fingertips, then said, “Hey, let’s ask Ivy to join us in Mr. Fox’s science lab. I want to determine whether this pollen is coincidence…or conspiracy.”
* * *
Poison Ivy looked up from the petri dish she was studying under the microscope. “Dr. Akita-Janowitz couldn’t identify this pollen because it’s man-made,” she concluded. “It causes sneezing, and drowsiness if delivered in mega mega doses.”
“Is it deadly?” Bumblebee was quick to ask. Since she had been using Mr. Fox’s lab so often lately, he had allowed her to set up some personal research space in the corner of the room.
Ivy shook her head. “It’s not lethal. The sleep-inducing potential is so minimal it would only work on a tiny creature. But why anyone would create something like that is a mystery.”
The Supers had lots of questions but not a whole lot of answers, and there wasn’t time to get into it anyway.
“Since no lives are in danger, you can investigate after Super Hero High Visitor Day,” Waller said. “We’ve dealt with mutant armies, evil criminals, and mountains imploding, so what harm is a little sneezing? For now, I want any of your spare time to be focused on our upcoming event.”
That meant that the massive sculpture Katana was carving of Onna-bugeisha, her super-hero Samurai grandmother, would be put on hold. And so would the new show Harley was creating, Harley’s Pampered Pets, featuring the world’s richest animals.
As the principal’s key aide, Bumblebee had her hands full. With all the errands she had to run, it sure would have been easier to fly around the school, but her battery pack was holding even less of a charge than before. Sure, there were times when Bumblebee could fly for a full twenty minutes, but other times she could only go for three and then needed to recharge.
Bumblebee tried to hide how worried she was. This wasn’t the first time she’d had problems with her super suit. There was that time when she was bee-sized and didn’t have enough battery power to make herself transform back to full-sized. It was so scary, and it wasn’t until—
“Tissues?” Waller asked.
“What? Oh, yes,” Bumblebee said. She was working extra hard and trying to make herself indispensable to Waller. The last thing she wanted was for the principal to think she wasn’t super-hero material. “Yes, tissues are under control,” Bumblebee assured her. “And if we run out, I know where there’s a stockpile.” She recalled Dr. Arkham’s supply.
Bumblebee had managed to secure several truckloads of tissues and assigned Supers to hand them out the second a visitor’s nose began to twitch. Good thing, because amid the sneezes, Super Hero High Visitor Day soon arrived and guests started to stream in.
It seemed like everyone’s eyes were watering, and the sneezing was echoing between the buildings and ricocheting down the hallways of the school. Even Amanda Waller couldn’t help but let out a sneeze or two. However, there was one visitor who didn’t appear affected.
Bumblebee couldn’t help but stare. The woman looked like a glamorous old-time Hollywood movie star with her wide-brimmed hat complete with a black veil, and a dress that looked like a cross between haute couture and a beekeeper’s suit.
Star Sapphire, who was one of the school’s resident fashionistas, gave the ensemble her highest compliment.
“I’d wear that,” Bumblebee overheard her telling Cheetah as the two of them headed for the “Ask a Student Super Hero” seminar they were giving.
Everyone was so busy looking at the elegant woman that it was only as an afterthought that they noticed the young man lumbering three paces behind her. He wore glasses so thick that they made his eyes seem to bug out. He looked this way and that, waving to people as he passed. “Oh, hey, hi!” he’d say, then chuckle like he had made a funny joke. His baggy black pants and striped black-and- yellow sweater made him look like a nerdy oversized bee.
When he saw Bumblebee, he lit up and nudged the elegant woman. Bumblebee heard him whisper, “Look, it’s her!”
Bumblebee had to smile. How could she not? Like most Supers, thanks to Harley’s web channel, she was used to being recognized by fans. Still, she never tired of it. Some of her fellow students—especially those who had been born with powers—had gone to super-hero pre-K, super-hero elementary school, and super-hero middle school, so to them, being a Super was a way of life. A few sometimes felt burdened by fans, claiming they had no privacy. But not Bumblebee—at least, not in a big way. This was what she had always wanted, so to be recognized as a super hero was a big deal.
Ever thoughtful, Bumblebee always made sure to send thank-you notes to the Honey Bees when they sent her gifts, and had even been considering creating a Bumblebee website for fans who wanted to hear more from her.
The thought of her fans also brought her mind back to the situation with the bees. She’d have to look into it more thoroughly as soon as—
“Excuse me,” the young man in the black-and-yellow sweater said brightly. “Hi, hello! Bumblebee! I’m Cuckoo Bee!”
“Hello!” she said brightly as she strolled over to Cuckoo Bee. Cuckoo Bee grinned bashfully as he looked up at her.
“Well, hello to you,” the elegant woman said. She looked down her nose at Bumblebee. “I am Beatriz, and Cuckoo Bee is my assistant.”
“That’s me!” Cuckoo Bee said, still waving as he hovered next to Beatriz.
“Are you thinking of sending your son or daughter to Super Hero High?” asked Bumblebee.
“My niece,” Beatriz replied quickly. “A distant niece. She’s currently off planet and couldn’t make it; that’s why I’m here.”
Cuckoo Bee nodded. “Off planet!” he repeated. “Yes, she’s off planet. Off planet, not here. Nope, not here. Don’t see her.”
When Beatriz glared at him, he immediately stopped talking and lowered his head.
“Not to worry. I’m sure you’ll find a lot of good information to share with your niece,” Bumblebee assured her. “The Flash will take you on a tour, and then Wonder Woman can answer any questions you might have. Or you can sit in on some of our classes.” She handed the woman a holographic brochure that contained testimonials from current and past students. “And lots of guests are having fun in our 3-D Super Hero Video Booth, where you can try on different classic super-hero costumes and play with powers.”
“NO!” Beatriz bellowed, before catching herself. She adjusted her hat. “Um, no, thank you,” she said sweetly. “I’d rather not do any o
f that or have The Flash give me the tour. I want you.”
Bumblebee hesitated. “You want me…to what?”
Beatriz adjusted her long black gloves. “I want you to give me a tour,” she said.
“Oh, but I just coordinate the tours,” Bumblebee explained. “We have lots of students who are wonderful tour guides—”
“I want YOU,” Beatriz said firmly, like a woman who was used to getting her own way.
Hawkgirl flew up to them. She closed her wings and asked, “Is everything okay here?”
“My dear,” Beatriz said, turning to Hawkgirl. The woman’s movements were slow and graceful, like a ballet dancer’s. “I’d like Bumblebee to give me the school tour, but she says she can’t. Why is that?”
Hawkgirl looked at Bumblebee, who shrugged. “Bumblebee,” Hawkgirl volunteered, “why don’t I take over tour coordination while you show them around?”
“Yay!” said Cuckoo Bee enthusiastically. “Bumblebee gives the tour! Bumblebee gives the tour! Bumblebee gives…” Beatriz shot him an angry glance and he stopped, though Bumblebee heard him whisper, “…the tour.”
* * *
“…and this is Mr. Fox’s Weaponomics Lab,” Bumblebee was saying as they neared the end of their tour.
“What’s your weapon?” asked Beatriz. She didn’t seem interested in the buildings or the new ballistics test field, which was equipped to simulate any state-of-the-art arsenal.
Bumblebee smiled. “I have sonic blasters, and I can fly,” she said. “Plus, I can shrink and grow.”
“Shrink and grow? Well, now, that’s impressive,” said Beatriz. “I’d like to see that!”
“Me too! Me too!” said Cuckoo Bee. “Please, Miss Bumblebee!”
Bumblebee had to laugh at his enthusiasm. “Oh, all right,” she said. It wouldn’t use up too much battery power if she did it just once. Bumblebee took a couple of steps back; then—WHOOSH!
“Where is she?” Cuckoo Bee gasped.
Her lighthearted laughter made the worried look on his large face disappear. “I’m right here,” Bumblebee said, flying circles around him.
“She’s right here,” Cuckoo Bee assured Beatriz.
“How does it work, this shrinking business?” Beatriz asked. “Did they teach it to you at school, or is it a power you were born with?”
“Neither,” Bumblebee explained. “The super suit I created gives me the power to change size, and it also has the power to sustain my flight and strength.”
“I can get small,” Cuckoo Bee said. “Watch!” He blinked and seemed to be concentrating, then asked, “Am I small?”
“You’re still the same,” Beatriz snapped. “And that’s not necessarily a good thing. Let’s get out of here. I saw what I needed to see, and now there’s work to be done.” She paused for a moment and then turned and stared at Bumblebee. “I’ll be seeing you later.” She smiled in a way that gave the hero the creeps. “I’m sure of it.”
As they left, Miss Martian suddenly appeared. “Something’s not right with those two,” she said.
“Oh, they’re just a little odd,” Bumblebee noted. “But then, so are a lot of others around here.”
As if on cue, a green ostrich ran past, being followed by Cheetah, who was yelling, “Not funny, Beast Boy! I’m going to get you!”
“And that is how you weaponize a pashmina scarf,” Crazy Quilt said, bowing. When no one reacted, he waited and bowed again. Supergirl nudged Barda and the two began to clap until the whole room joined in. “Oh, stop! Stop!” The costume teacher waved his hands in the air. “You’re embarrassing me!”
When everyone settled down, Crazy Quilt strolled back and forth along the large wooden worktables that flanked the runway cutting through the middle of the room. A wall of windows ensured that there was plenty of light to shine on Crazy Quilt and his students’ creations.
“Today is all about problem solving,” Crazy Quilt began. “Now, I know some of you think your super-hero costumes are perfect. But there is always room for improvement.” He turned serious and raised one finger in the air, then slowly pointed to himself. “For example, look at me.”
When Crazy Quilt leapt onto the runway, Big Barda knew to start up the disco music that filled the room as he strutted up and down like the fashion icon he had once been. Bumblebee admired his dual-colored platform shoes, bell-bottom pants, and turquoise shirt with a wide collar and puffy sleeves.
When the music stopped, Crazy Quilt struck a pose, mimicking the image of his younger self splashed across the cover of Super Hero Super Style magazine. “Now, I know what you’re all thinking,” he said.
Bumblebee wondered if he did. She was thinking about her battery pack issue.
“You’re thinking, ‘He looks perfect,’ ” the teacher guessed. “Well, you’re wrong, of course. Watch this!”
With a sweep of his arm, he made a light appear out of nowhere. Its flashing colors bounced off the walls, mesmerizing the students. “The flashlight was hidden in my sleeve,” he explained. “However, would it be better if I had created a hidden compartment in the back of my belt? YES! The light would be easier to reach, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it getting stuck in the swaying fabric.”
Several Supers nodded. As usual, he was correct.
Crazy Quilt smiled. “So, as I was saying earlier, today is all about problem solving. I want you to come up with one thing that you would like help on to make your super suit the best it can be, and we will brainstorm together.”
* * *
Supergirl was still having problems with her shoelaces coming untied, and Cheetah suggested triple knots. When Star Sapphire couldn’t decide which outfit to wear since she had so many, Batgirl volunteered to develop a matrix so she could rotate her clothes without wearing the same one twice in a month. And Hal Jordan said he loved his green mask but sometimes he couldn’t see. That was when Miss Martian suggested, rather shyly, that he cut his shaggy brown bangs.
When it was Bumblebee’s turn, she knew what she wanted to discuss. “As most of you know, I’ve been having battery issues.” Everyone nodded. At Super Hero High, there wasn’t much that could be kept a secret. “So until I get my main battery pack issue sorted out, Batgirl and I have come up with an eco-friendly supplement—a solar battery.” She smiled at Poison Ivy. “It was inspired by jars of sunshine I saw. But what I need has to be much smaller than a jar, lightweight, and worn outside my suit to maximize the sunlight.”
Instantly, all hands and one snout went up in the air.
“How big is small?” asked Beast Boy in anteater form.
“Do you want it on the front or back of your super suit?” Hawkgirl said.
“Is this to blend in, accentuate, or be invisible?” Katana wondered aloud with her art pad and pencil in hand. She was already sketching.
It was Cyborg who suggested the photovoltaic module be miniaturized in Mr. Fox’s lab.
Katana thought that by adding a micro panel similar to the one between Bumblebee’s wings to the sonic blasters on her wrists, she would have more access points to gather sunlight.
Raven had noted that the material on the sleeves of Bumblebee’s super suit could be coated with a heat protection film. “Even though the panels are harvesting and storing the sun’s energy,” she explained, “they might also work like a magnifying glass to make something melt or burn, and I’d hate for that to happen to you.”
“Beast Boy, stop flittering around as a butterfly and get serious,” Supergirl said as he made his way around the room.
“Hey, lady, I am being serious,” he said. “Everyone knows that butterflies are great fliers.”
“Wait!” Batgirl leapt up. She began typing so fast on her computer keyboard that Bumblebee thought she saw smoke coming out of it. “I’ve got it!”
“Got what?” Beast Boy asked, now back to a gree
n teen.
“Biomimicry!” shouted Batgirl.
“Yes, biomimicry!” Beast Boy yelled. “Um, what is that, exactly?”
Batgirl explained to the class that biomimicry was a multidisciplinary approach to engineering in which science piggybacked off nature to create the most efficient devices.
As Batgirl went on, Bumblebee’s mind began to whirl. Of course! she thought. The answer was right in front of her…in the shape of Beast Boy butterfly.
“The solar panels!” Bumblebee said in a rush of excitement. “Instead of isolating them to chips, we should mimic butterflies. Their wings are often iridescent—that is, they appear shiny when the light hits them. We can bank on this with my wings, because they would be the most efficient draw of sunlight and hence the perfect place for the solar panels….”
“But what if they weren’t just panels?” Hawkgirl asked excitedly. “What if the whole wing could absorb sunlight?”
“Shiny?” said Star Sapphire. “Like diamonds. We could use the strength of diamonds to fortify the panels….”
“But where could we get diamonds?” Green Lantern asked.
All eyes turned back to Star Sapphire, who blinked innocently and looked up at the ceiling before letting go of a huge sigh and saying, “Okay, I may have a few that I can give up.”
As the class talked excitedly about the possibilities, Waller stood at the back of the room. Before she left, she gave a nod of approval to Crazy Quilt, who was beaming.
The Bat-Bunker wasn’t big enough for all that had to be done, which meant that it was a busy night in Mr. Fox’s Weaponomics Lab. Under Cyborg’s direction, Supergirl was slicing the facets of the diamonds into sturdy microscopic cells with her heat vision. Bumblebee was reengineering the solar panels and fitting the diamond cells into the new wing configuration she had created.
