by Lisa Yee
“Three…two…one…blastoff!” Batgirl yelled.
A brilliant smile lit up on Bumblebee’s face as she began to attain liftoff. As she flew in tight circles around the Bat-Bunker, Bumblebee felt light and happy, a feeling she hadn’t had since the Bee Tree crashed into her house.
“Okay,” she told Batgirl. “I’m going to do it!”
“You sure?” Batgirl asked.
“Better now, under test conditions, than out in the open,” Bumblebee said.
Batgirl nodded. “Copy that,” she said. “I’ll count you down again. Three…two…one…NOW!”
In a split second, Bumblebee went from big to bee-sized. Her heart raced with happiness as she swooped around the room, doing aerial somersaults and dips and dives. “Wheeeeee!” she shouted over Batgirl’s cheers. But suddenly she felt a jolt. “Uh-oh” was the last thing she said before the crash. “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! And did I say ‘ouch’?”
Batgirl was by her side. “What happened?” she asked.
“My suit misfired,” Bumblebee told her. “I wasn’t in control when I started to grow big again, and it threw me off balance so much that I was forced to crash-land.”
“Luckily, we weren’t outside, over a ravine, or in battle,” Batgirl noted.
Bumblebee nodded. “I am so sorry,” she said. She got up off Batgirl’s table, which was now flattened. Tools were scattered everywhere. Bumblebee felt awful. Not just sore from the fall, but awful in the pit of her stomach, and in her head, and in her heart. As she started to gather the tools off the floor, she didn’t feel much like a super hero.
“The good news is that when the house is done, you’ll have a brand-new tech lab!” Ms. Andrena-Beecher said brightly.
“Thanks, Mom,” said Bumblebee. “But I think maybe I ought to also be thinking about creating a lab here at Super Hero High. Batgirl’s been letting me use her Bat-Bunker, and I realize how convenient it is to have one where I live.”
“Oh, okay,” her mother said softly. “Well, that does make sense. But we’re rebuilding your room for when you come home. You will still come home for Sunday suppers, right? And weekends now and then, like before?”
Bumblebee could hear the worry in her mom’s voice. Sometimes Bumblebee was so busy talking about all the amazing, fun, and scary things that happened at school, she forgot that her parents were always thinking about her. Bumblebee made a mental note to call them more often. After all, she was their only child.
“Of course, Mom,” Bumblebee reassured her. “I will always come home, I promise! How else will I get in my Mom and Dad fix?”
Ms. Andrena-Beecher’s laugh sounded like crystal bells ringing. “You have always been good at sweet-talking us, Bumblebee,” she said.
Bumblebee could hear her father in the background, saying, “Is that our daughter? Tell her that I’m still taking photos. Just because my photo studio is gone doesn’t mean I have to stop.”
“Bumblebee,” her mother began, “your father said that he’s still taking photos—”
“I know, Mom,” she said. “I could hear him.”
Bumblebee missed her parents. Sometimes they could drive her crazy, but then, most of her friends said the same thing about their parents. Just then, what sounded like the rat-tat-tat of explosives carried over the phone. Bumblebee startled.
“Whoops! Excuse me, honey,” said her mother. “That’s just me sneezing. Allergies. The pollen is unseasonably strong today!”
Bumblebee let go a sigh of relief. “I’m glad it was just a sneeze,” she said. “For a moment, I thought it was some-thing worse.”
* * *
As Bumblebee walked through Centennial Park to meet Beast Boy, the plants looked like they were wilting. She had been doing a lot of walking lately, to conserve her batteries. For the first time, Bumblebee had even asked to sit out and observe during Red Tornado’s Flight Training class.
The sound of sneezes filled the park. Everywhere they went, Bumblebee and Beast Boy observed people sneezing and dabbing their eyes with tissues. As she neared a familiar cluster of evergreen trees, Bumblebee slowed. She loved greeting the honeybees who inhabited several hives nestled in the tall branches. Usually there were bees buzzing around, and Bumblebee would get bee-sized and fly along with them. Though she couldn’t speak their language, they seemed to be fond of her, and she certainly was a fan of theirs.
The hives were unusually quiet. In the distance, Bumblebee could hear sneezes, but what she couldn’t hear was the low, sweet buzz of the bees.
“Hello?” she called up. “It’s me, Bumblebee!”
She always called ahead before visiting. It was never a good idea to disturb a hive. The bees might think you were trying to invade and would attack to defend their queen.
“Hello?” Bumblebee called again.
There was no answer, no group of bees to greet her. Instead, strangely, there was silence.
“Maybe you offended them and they don’t want to see you,” Beast Boy said as he walked up to her. “Or maybe they’re on a field trip. Remember when we all went to the Great Pyramid of Giza yesterday afternoon? Or maybe they’re on vacation.”
Bumblebee shook her head. “That’s not how bees work,” she said.
“Bees work?” asked Beast Boy. “I thought they just buzzed around sniffing the flowers.” He morphed into an energetic hummingbird and flew away but then came back a few minutes later. “Couldn’t find any flowers,” he said, turning back into a teen.
“Bees work really, really hard,” Bumblebee explained. As they headed to the Metropolis Library, Beast Boy kept waving to everyone he knew, or didn’t know but wanted to know—which was everyone.
“Bees fly around from flower to flower,” Bumblebee continued, “sipping the sweet nectar while collecting tiny grains of pollen. When they have as much as they can carry, they head back to their hives, where it’s turned into honey.” She paused, thinking of honey and how she was now down to three jars. And they weren’t even big jars.
“Hives? I got hives once,” Beast Boy said, his eyes lighting up at the memory of it. “Big bumps all over my body. It was awful and awesome at the same time. So I turned into an alligator until they were gone. Wanna see a photo?”
Bumblebee shook her head. “No, thank you. These hives are where bees live. Here they work together, and every bee has a job to do, starting with the queen, who lays the eggs.”
“How many queens are there?” Beast Boy asked. He sneezed so loud that Rainbow the cat jumped out of Scooter’s arms and up a tree.
“Just one per hive,” Bumblebee told him. “Everyone else works for her.” She brushed a light dusting of yellow off her super suit. What is this?
The pollen started drifting down so slowly that hardly anyone noticed at first. It was the sneezing that caused the commotion.
“The weather is unusually warm,” noted Mr. Fox as he pulled handkerchief after handkerchief out of his pocket like a magician and sneezed into them. “I wonder if this has anything to do with it. Poison Ivy, any idea where all this pollen is coming from? Achoooo!”
“I’m already on it!” she declared. “Watch Harley’s Greenhouse Hullabaloo tonight.”
Greenhouse Hullabaloo was amassing a huge audience and was one of Harley’s most popular shows. Most viewers tuned in to see what amazing, exotic, and wondrous plants Ivy would feature, like…a talking flower! Plants that turned themselves into famous sculptures! A tiny cactus that could hold hundreds of gallons of water! But there was an enthusiastic portion of the audience who watched specifically to cheer on Poison Ivy. Her flubs and flusters were winning her a new legion of fans.
That night, several Supers gathered in Wonder Woman’s room to watch the show.
“Dr. Akita-Janowitz,” Ivy was asking a jaunty-looking botanist whose vest pockets were overflowing with gardening tools, serious scientific i
mplements, and lollipops, “what is your took—er, talk—er, take—take on the pollen saturation—er, situation?”
“Speak up, dear,” Dr. Akita-Janowitz chided her host. “I can’t hear you.”
Ivy blushed and blinked at the camera apologetically. “Sorry, sorry,” she said, then took a deep breath. “WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE POLLEN SITUATION??!!!!”
The botanist and the viewers covered their ears. “No need to shout, Ms. Ivy.” Dr. Akita-Janowitz lowered her voice. “It’s not good for the more delicate plants.”
She motioned to the ghost orchids and chocolate cosmos that were still trembling. When Ivy knelt and cradled the fragile flowers in her hands, you could practically hear the audience exhale a group “Ooooooh.”
“I’m sorry, Casper. So sorry, Luminus,” Ivy said, looking so concerned that some viewers got weepy.
As the interview went on, Dr. Akita-Janowitz admitted that even she, one of the top botanists in the world, was at a loss to identify the source of the pollen that was causing so many people’s sinuses to go haywire. At the end of the show, Poison Ivy thanked her distinguished guest and then, blushing, said, “So, um, from Harley’s Purple House, er, Greenhouse Hubba, Hubba, um, Hulla, Hello…”
Dr. Akita-Janowitz stuck her head into the frame and said helpfully, “Greenhouse Hullabaloo, starring everyone’s favorite plant pal, Poison Ivy!”
“And Casper and Quuminus, or is it Jasper and Luminus?” Ivy said as she nervously twisted her long red braid.
Bumblebee shook her head. “I told Ivy that there are just way too many plants there for her to name all of them.”
Wonder Woman, who was munching on popcorn sprinkled with shredded Parmesan cheese, nodded. Through a mouthful, she said, “Anyone else notice that ever since the show, Ivy’s been distracted?”
“It’s no wonder,” Bumblebee said. “She’s putting all her time into the greenhouse.”
“Well, it is the largest in the world,” Big Barda pointed out. She looked at Wonder Woman’s bowl of popcorn. “You gonna finish that?”
“Yes,” said Wonder Woman, defensively pulling her bowl closer to her chest.
“I’m here with more!” Supergirl announced as she passed out more popcorn. “I heard that Ivy was so busy with the greenhouse that she forgot a major assignment in Liberty Belle’s class.”
Eyes widened. The only times Waller allowed students to make up an assignment were when they were needed in a battle, citizens had to be saved, a crime had to be thwarted, or they had a note from the school nurse or their parents.
“Someone should tell her to ask more people to help with the greenhouse,” Bumblebee declared. “Us Supers helping is not enough. Plus, we all have school, just like Poison Ivy.”
“School, schmool,” Harley quipped as she tossed three empty popcorn bowls in the air. “What’s a little multitasking, anyway?”
“Not everyone is as good at juggling as you are,” noted Barda as she watched Harley add a bowling ball to the popcorn bowls and keep them all in the air at once.
“Well,” said Harley, “that’s true. I guess there’s money in the show budget for her to hire an assistant.”
“It’s settled, then!” Wonder Woman said. “Who will tell Poison Ivy?”
“How’s about her?” Harley said, pointing to Bumblebee. “It was her idea!”
* * *
“What are they saying?” Big Barda asked Supergirl.
“I don’t know,” Supergirl said. They were looking where Ivy and Bumblebee stood facing each other some distance away in the orchid section of the greenhouse.
“Well, you have superhearing. You can just tune in,” Barda insisted.
“It’s only for emergencies, to save lives, and when there is general danger and mayhem,” Supergirl explained.
Barda faced Miss Martian. “You can read minds,” she said to the shy alien from Mars. “What are they thinking?”
Miss Martian shifted uncomfortably. “I can’t tell you that,” she said softly.
“Sure you can,” Barda insisted good-naturedly.
“I only use my power for—” Miss Martian began.
“I know, I know,” Barda said. “It’s only for emergencies, to save lives, and when there is general danger and mayhem.”
Bumblebee and Ivy had their heads together. Both looked serious. First Bumblebee would talk and Poison Ivy would nod. Then Poison Ivy would talk and Bumblebee would nod. Then both were nodding.
“I can’t stand this!” Big Barda said. She ran over to the two of them and asked, “What are you saying?”
Bumblebee looked at Ivy. “Are you going to tell her, or shall I do it?”
Poison Ivy let go of a sigh. “I will,” she said. “Despite my reservations, I’m going to hire someone to help me take care of the greenhouse. The ad will go out tomorrow.”
“Look happy about it,” Bumblebee encouraged her friend. “None of us likes asking for help, but this will make your life easier, and that way you can focus on what we’re all here for—to prepare to be the best super heroes we can be!”
Reluctantly, Ivy nodded. “Yes,” she said. “But what if no one applies?”
“I’m glad Ivy is taking out that ad,” Batgirl was saying to Bumblebee. They were in the Bat-Bunker. “She’s so overworked, but despite what she thinks, she can’t do everything by herself.”
“Don’t I know it!” Bumblebee said. What was it that made the Supers think they could do it all? “We’re trained to help others. But we’re not so good about asking others for help.”
Batgirl nodded. She picked up two pairs of laser-shield goggles and handed one to Bumblebee. “Safety first!” Both slipped them on. Then Bumblebee pressed the glowing yellow button.
Instantly, an alarm sounded. Red lights flashed as the two Supers stared at an object the size of a bowling ball. It rested on a stand inside the triple-glass enclosure that Bumblebee had fabricated using ultra-aerodynamic levitation to form the world’s highest and strongest protective barrier. Lasers spun before they all focused and hit the object. It lit up, then began to sizzle, until—BOOM! And then the room went dark.
Batgirl took off her goggles and said dejectedly, “Lights, on.” The room lit up.
Bumblebee was staring at what was left of the burnt object. Smoke billowed from it. “So much for that battery,” she said. Using Bumblebee’s engineering calculations and Batgirl’s computer wizardry, they had been trying various batteries for her super suit. But none had worked the way Bumblebee needed it to.
There was a knock on the door. “Hello,” a voice said outside the Bat-Bunker. “Everything all right in there?”
Batgirl looked at the security monitor and buzzed Poison Ivy in.
“Good news!” Ivy announced. Her face was flushed with excitement. “I’ve finally narrowed down the search for an assistant! But I could really use your help testing the finalists tomorrow.”
* * *
Hundreds of people had applied to work with Ivy, but now there were only three: Petey Bogg, Jason Woodrue, and Karena Tisk. Each was given a written test, a plant problem, and a worst-case scenario.
The written test consisted of identifying some of the rarer and more exotic plants, and all three scored well. The plant problem proved more challenging.
Ivy had set up an obstacle course for the applicants. With Batgirl manning the timers, they each were challenged with watering, feeding, and caring for dozens of plants from different parts of the world. Petey Bogg slipped up and spread fertilizer over the cactus garden, but Jason Woodrue and Karena Tisk each managed to weave through the obstacle course, picking just-ripened fruits and pulling weeds, without any problems. However, when they were getting ready for the worst-case scenario, a real worst-case scenario began to materialize.
Poison Ivy wanted to see how they would respond when a plant was
in danger of being overwatered. Bumblebee had just created an indoor arch-gravity dam and tributaries to create a flood, when what sounded like an engine humming got louder and louder. She checked the dam, but it wasn’t coming from there. That was when Petey Bogg pointed up. “Bug! Big bug comin’ at us!” he yelled, and ran out of the greenhouse.
Sure enough, a man-sized bug was perched on the glass roof. He smiled menacingly and waved at Poison Ivy, Batgirl, and Bumblebee.
“Firefly!” Poison Ivy gasped. “He hates beautiful gardens and is always trying to burn them down.”
“I’ll handle this,” Bumblebee said, pressing her power button. Nothing happened. The last five times they had tested the battery pack in the Bat-Bunker, it had worked beautifully. She pressed the button again. Nothing.
Meanwhile, Firefly had used his fusion laser to cut through the glass and was flapping his metallic wings as he flew around the greenhouse.
“HELP!” yelled Karena Tisk when she saw him. She was in such a panic she ran right into the rare, sticky, and stinky Koloff tree and got stuck. “I’m scared of bugs,” she wailed. “Get me out of here!”
Keeping her eyes on Firefly, Batgirl reached for her Batarang. “I got this,” she said, sprinting toward him.
“Right behind you,” said Poison Ivy as they raced toward Firefly.
“Me too?” said Bumblebee. As she ran behind her friends, Bumblebee was flooded with memories of little Karen Andrena-Beecher running around her backyard, pretending to be a super hero.
Just then, Firefly used an energy weapon to release a stream of fire and began torching the greenhouse. Batgirl flung her Batarang, knocking him over, and Poison Ivy summoned the kudzu plants from the Southeast Asia garden to envelop him.
Bumblebee charged over to the fire. She was hoping to activate the sprinkler system when she felt the spray of a large amount of water rushing by her and putting the fire out. Jason Woodrue, knee-deep in the flood, was smiling.