by Lisa Yee
“Uh-oh,” Beast Boy said. “Gee, what’s a bird to do?” He smiled and added, “Oops, did I say ‘bird’? I’m an armadillo!”
The killer-bee stings were no match for Beast Boy armadillo’s hard shell. “You’re tickling me! You’re tickling me!” he shouted as he rolled around on the ground. “I know, let’s play a game called ‘Who’s Beast Boy Now?’ ”
As he ran around the expansive grounds, Beast Boy morphed into a honey badger who was also indifferent to beestings. “This is fun!” he shouted, before turning into a bear.
No one was laughing inside the castle. Bumblebee had never been more serious in her life. The vault to the queen’s massive honey collection remained open, the golden glow of the jars of honey spilling out into the throne room. But all Bumblebee could focus on was the evil queen standing before her.
Queen Bee stepped down from her throne and made her way slowly toward Bumblebee, who was clenching and unclenching her fists to loosen up. Katana had taught her, “In order to fight to the best of your best ability, instead of rushing…slow down.” Wonder Woman had said, “Don’t use everything you have all at once.” And Batgirl had insisted, “Even without the battery, you’re a formidable opponent. Never forget that.”
Formidable opponent or not, Bumblebee now only had a few precious minutes left in her battery pack, and she was determined to take Queen Bee out in that time. She calculated how long each of her defensive and offensive moves would take, parsing out her power in seconds. Rising two feet off the ground, Bumblebee strategically positioned herself in front of her opponent. It wasn’t enough to be strong, or to have a weapon like the sonic blasters; you had to know how to use your powers wisely.
Bumblebee looked around the room for places she could hide should she need to shrink. The diving suit cast a long shadow on the floor. Wait! A shadow? Bumblebee smiled. She knew what that meant. The sun was finally starting to break through the clouds. Without a light source, there would have been no shadow. Bumblebee glanced outside and spotted a green bear lumbering around with a jar of honey stuck on one paw and swatting the Royal Army away with the other.
“You refuse to try my honey, but how about this?” a voice said.
It was Queen Bee. Bumblebee turned around, but it was too late! Before she could defend herself, the queen grabbed an atomizer from her desk and sprayed her slumber dust in Bumblebee’s face. “If that’s not enough,” Queen Bee asked mockingly, “then how about another helping?”
Her evil laughter rang through Honeycomb Hall as she reached for another atomizer and emptied a big blast of slumber dust in Bumblebee’s direction. Instantly, Bumblebee shrank down and flew behind Queen Bee to evade the gas, knowing that this would drain her battery even faster. She had weighed the odds and figured that if she was sneezing nonstop, it would affect her ability to fight. And right now, she needed to be prepared for battle.
“You can’t hide from me,” Queen Bee said. “If anyone knows bees, it’s me! I will rule them, all of them, especially you!”
Still sneezing and small, Bumblebee circled Queen Bee’s head. When the queen swatted at her, Bumblebee grew big and knocked the queen down with her sonic blasters. In a heartbeat, Queen Bee rose. She ripped off her veil, revealing a face etched with rage.
“Take THAT!” Queen Bee shouted, firing a round of lethal stingers from under her flowing sleeves.
Bumblebee flew and dodged the first set, but one from the second round nicked her and she fell to the ground, quickly tucking into a roll and jumping up again. She was thankful her super suit was reinforced with synthetic para-aramid fibers that enabled it to deflect oncoming projectiles. Still, her shoulder hurt where the stinger had hit. But that only made Bumblebee more determined to fight.
As she flew around the room to shake off the pain, the vault of honey beckoned.
“I see you staring at my treasure,” Queen Bee said haughtily. “I’ll share with you—if you share with me. Just give me the secrets of your super suit, and I’ll put you in charge of my Royal Army. Plus, you’ll have all the honey you can eat!”
“No, thank you,” Bumblebee said. She raised her blasters, aimed at Queen Bee, and fired. The momentum pushed her backward into a metal shield on the wall. The clang echoed around the room.
Queen Bee took cover behind her massive throne, which deflected the blasts, sending them ricocheting off the ancient weapons of war that lined the walls. Some of the blasts hit jars of honey in the vault, shattering them.
“That wasn’t nice,” Queen Bee warned. “Now that Cuckoo Bee has run off, who will clean up that mess? Oh, wait, I know! Karen Andrena-Beecher will. Because once I have Bumblebee’s super suit, she won’t be a super hero. No, she’ll just be some kid who’s going to need a job.”
As Bumblebee continued to blast Queen Bee, her battery warning light went from green to yellow, signaling that she was going to lose power soon.
“How’s about a little more achoo for you?” the queen asked, reaching for another atomizer of slumber dust.
Bumblebee ducked and avoided the fake pollen. As she did so, she felt herself starting to weaken: her super suit began to automatically power down. The red light was now blinking! Bumblebee had less than one minute of energy left before she became powerless.
“You don’t scare me!” Bumblebee shouted, even though she felt fear in the pit of her stomach. She flew over to the vault and began tossing jars of honey like missiles at Queen Bee, creating a sticky mess around the throne.
“Hey!” Queen Bee shouted. She took aim at Bumblebee, ready to shoot another dose of fake pollen.
Then, with only seconds to spare, Bumblebee shrank down to bee size and flew into the round metal helmet of the diving suit right before Queen Bee’s slumber dust would have hit her.
Buzzing inside the suit, Bumblebee screwed her eyes shut. Ten…nine…eight…She didn’t have much time before she lost all power! Seven…She took a deep breath and focused with all her might. Six…five…Bumblebee knew what she had to do. Four…three…
Her heart raced. With merely seconds left before she’d lose power, bee-sized Bumblebee rose inside the metal diving helmet, pushing against it so that it lifted off the suit when she did. She took a big breath; then, with all her might, she flew toward the window. Queen Bee stopped screaming and stared at what looked like a bowling ball soaring through the air…then shattering the glass.
When the diving helmet struck the ground outside, Bumblebee was tossed around until it rolled to a stop. Gasping for air, and with a huge headache, she crawled out, feeling battered and weak. The grass was wet, and the sunlight felt warm. Bumblebee managed to sit up and looked around. The rain had cleared the slumber dust, and the sun was shining.
There was no time to lose. Bumblebee spread her wings. With zero power left, she needed to absorb as much sunlight as she could to recharge her solar panels. Luckily, the new wings were fast-absorbing. In the distance, she could see an army of killer bees being chased back into the castle by a green skunk.
Bumblebee hoped her juice pack was back to full force before—
“Ah, there you are, you little pest,” Queen Bee said, looking down at tiny Bumblebee. The queen was dripping with honey. “It was nice knowing you. And as for the secret to your super suit and shrinking abilities, well, I’ve observed and studied you enough to know I can probably figure this out on my own. Just how hard could it be?”
With that, Queen Bee gave an evil laugh as she lifted one of her pointy-toed shoes to crush Bumblebee.
In an instant, Bumblebee grew big, grabbed the shoe, and rolled over, tossing Queen Bee to the ground in the process. Leaves and dirt stuck to the queen. Bumblebee leapt up and aimed her blasters at her opponent, but before she could fire, Queen Bee spat, “You may have won the first round, but I will win the second!” From beneath her sleeve, she unleashed a stinger point-blank at Bumblebee.
> Though the super suit was too strong to be penetrated, the stinger still struck her with such force that Bumblebee was knocked down.
“Royal Army,” Queen Bee ordered as she swiftly retreated behind Honeycomb Hall, “I need you NOW!”
Bumblebee stood up, twirling to make sure the warm sunlight hit her wings from every angle. It would do her no good to go after Queen Bee while her energy was depleted. When she shaded her eyes, Bumblebee spotted the Royal Army swarming toward their queen. A green skunk was yelling after them, “Scaredy-cats!”
Bumblebee checked her battery. She was now up to 20 percent power. When that doubled, she decided, it would be time to stop Queen Bee once and for all.
The Royal Army was lined up in front of their queen. She revealed a small black box. Bumblebee knew it couldn’t be good as Queen Bee pressed a red button on the top of it.
“Too late,” she said, beaming at Bumblebee. “By tinkering with your shrinking technology, I’ve reversed it. It was simple, really. And now a dozen of my best Royal Army killer bees will soon become a very, very BIG problem for you and your friends!”
“Making things bigger can make them more unstable,” Bumblebee warned. “Please. It might be dangerous for your bees!”
“They are mine to do with as I command,” Queen Bee said, laughing. “It’s possible that there may be some technical difficulties, but there’s only one way to find out, right?”
Bumblebee’s eyes grew wide. Slowly, one by one, a dozen soldiers in the Royal Army began to grow. Suddenly, a familiar figure appeared at her side.
“Get away!” Bumblebee shouted. “Cuckoo Bee, get out of here.”
“And go where?” he asked. “I want to help.”
“Then go get help,” Bumblebee said. “You can do it! Cuckoo Bee, go for help.”
“As if he can help anyone,” Queen Bee scoffed as he ran off. “He’s a dolt. However, I am a genius. Just look at my magnificent army!”
Just then, a green bear lumbered past. “Excuse me,” he said, oblivious to the giant bees now awaiting their orders. “I was looking for a snack. Unless, of course, there’s a battle to fight.”
“You want a battle?” Queen Bee asked Beast Boy bear. “I’ll give you a battle like you’ve never seen before!”
The killer bees kept growing until they were the size of rhinos. To see them floating in the air would be at once impressive and intimidating to most, but not to Bumblebee. Bigger is not better, she thought.
“I guess I don’t need you after all,” Queen Bee said, waving her arms dramatically.
“You still don’t know my secret to shrinking…or growing big,” Bumblebee warned her. “Without the right program and settings, the results of altering their size could be disastrous!”
“I’ll take my chances. Plenty more bees where they came from,” Queen Bee said haughtily. “Now I’m off to conquer the world.”
“No way!” said Beast Boy, back to being a boy. “We’re gonna stop you.”
“Are you still here?” Queen Bee asked, not even attempting to stifle her laugh. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all week. You two and who else will stop me and my Royal Army?”
Bumblebee looked toward the castle. She smiled when she saw Cuckoo Bee’s reflection in one of the leaded glass windows. “Who else will stop you and your Royal Army?” she asked. “I’ll show you.”
Behind Bumblebee, over the wall of Honeycomb Hall, rose an army of super heroes from Super Hero High, with Cuckoo Bee sitting alongside Wonder Woman in her Invisible Jet, leading the way.
“Hi, Queen Bee,” Cuckoo Bee said, waving. “Uh, I’m with them now!”
Queen Bee’s eyes narrowed and her lips pursed into a sour expression. “Army,” she ordered, “get them!”
Instantly a battle raged, with Queen Bee’s giant killer bees leading the Royal Army on one side, and several Supers on the other. Wonder Woman began lassoing the giant bees. Batgirl was on the ground, analyzing their flight patterns, calculating their next moves, and relaying that information to the Supers in the air.
Supergirl took on two giant killer bees at once. Her speed and strength overwhelmed them as she flew in circles, creating a vortex that spun them dizzy. Barda batted two more over the castle wall with her Mega Rod.
As Queen Bee shouted out orders to the giant killer bees, Bumblebee flew at her, grabbed the control box, then tossed it to Batgirl and shouted, “Reprogram this!”
Bumblebee turned to Beast Boy, who nodded back to her. “We got this covered,” he told his friend. “You do what you need to do.”
While The Flash taunted a duo of giant bees into chasing him, Frost lay in wait. Just as The Flash jetted past, she leapt into their path. “Not so fast,” she said, freezing both. The ice-cold giant bees landed on the ground with a thud.
Harley Quinn, who had a video camera in one hand and her mallet in the other, was cheerfully multitasking. “Hey, Harley’s Quinntessentials fans, while Poison Ivy is busy regenerating the world’s flowers to grow and produce much-needed real pollen, here at Honeycomb Hall, we’re having an epic battle!”
As she was talking, three giant killer bees headed straight at her. “WOWZA, you don’t want to do that,” Harley shouted gleefully, cartwheeling end over end in a series of forward flips. She used her momentum as she brought her mallet down, scattering the three killer bees. “One! Two! Three! They’re out!”
As the fight raged on, with Supers versus giant killer bees and small Royal Army bees, Big Barda spied a frightened Cuckoo Bee cowering behind a rosebush. She rushed over to him.
“I’m scared,” he said mournfully. “This is all my fault.”
“You did good,” Barda told him. “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.”
* * *
Back in the throne room, another battle was about to commence. But there were no cameras or armies or battalions of super heroes here.
“Nice of you to agree to meet me alone,” Bumblebee said.
“Hurry, hurry, we’ll need to hurry. I’ll do away with you and then I need to get back to my army,” Queen Bee said dismissively. “You’ve been a pest for far too long.”
Bumblebee began to circle Queen Bee, who stood before her throne. The floor was sticky with honey, and shards of broken glass were everywhere. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, now that the rain had washed away the dirt. With each second, Bumblebee could feel her battery pack gaining more power.
Despite the roars and cries of battle outside, inside, the room was eerily quiet. Queen Bee got into fighting position. Bumblebee took a stance, raising her arms and aiming her sonic blasters at Queen Bee.
“I have my powers back online,” Bumblebee warned her nemesis.
“Good thing,” Queen Bee said. “Because without them, you’re just plain old Karen Andrena-Beecher, super-hero wannabee.”
A troubled look passed across Bumblebee’s face.
Queen Bee’s lip curled into a sneer. There was an evil glint in her eyes. “Oh, yes, that’s right. Everyone knows that without your super suit, you’re just another little girl pretending to be a super hero. I’m surprised Waller even let you into Super Hero High. My, my, how the standards have dropped.”
Bumblebee’s jaw clenched.
“You are nothing without your super suit,” Queen Bee taunted. “NOTHING!”
The jab of Queen Bee’s words pierced Bumblebee. For the first time since she’d gotten to Honeycomb Hall, serious doubt washed over her. Was she just playing super hero? That was the question she had been asking herself for weeks. Bumblebee looked at her power-control panel. The light was green, meaning she was charged up with energy and ready to use the full force of her resources.
Queen Bee was still smirking. “Am I right?” she asked. “Isn’t it true you are nothing without your super suit?”
Bumblebee let the
question play out in her brain. Finally, she took in a deep breath as her eyes narrowed. “You are wrong,” Bumblebee told the queen. And with that, she turned her power off.
“Seriously, you’re not using your battle suit?” Queen Bee said, laughing. “And I thought that shape-shifting Beast Boy was the crazy one.”
“You know Beast Boy?” Bumblebee asked, surprised.
“I’ve kept tabs on all you Supers,” Queen Bee boasted. “But, oh, you two. You’re delusional, and he’s nothing more than a green goof-off—and certainly no match for me. In my day…”
As Queen Bee droned on, Bumblebee’s quick mind allowed her to take inventory of the room. Within seconds, she had mapped the surroundings and formulated a plan. Slowly, Bumblebee backed up, then grabbed one of the heavy metal shields off the wall.
“What!” Queen Bee cried. She raised her arm and shot stingers at Bumblebee, who used the shield the deflect them.
As stinger after stinger pelted the shield, Bumblebee headed toward the corner. Once there, she crouched behind the iron cannon, pushing it toward the honey vault and pocketing a magnifying glass from the desk as she passed.
“This isn’t even a fair battle,” Queen Bee said, sounding bored. “I’m royalty, and you, you’re just a regular girl—and not a very smart one, at that. If you think you can best me with a rusted old cannon, have at it.”
Bumblebee grabbed a jar of honey off the vault shelf and placed it in the cannon. Quickly, she held the magnifying glass up to the window and watched as the sunlight lit the taper of the cannon. Soon the sizzle of the burn could be heard in the throne room.
Queen Bee rose to fly toward Bumblebee, but Bumblebee was ready for her. She picked up a crossbow and tried to remember what Arrowette had taught her about taking aim. Holding the bow parallel to the ground, and anticipating her opponent’s velocity, she shot at Queen Bee, who had to duck to avoid getting hit. Then Bumblebee aimed the cannon. With a powerful BOOM, the honey jar shot out and struck its target dead center, knocking Queen Bee to the ground.
