Bumblebee at Super Hero High (DC Super Hero Girls)

by Lisa Yee

  Bumblebee returned to her tea and scone. “That was weird,” she noted. “I thought he was just a goof-off. He never pays attention in class.”

  “Give them a chance and people can surprise you,” said Poison Ivy.

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, when Bumblebee called her parents, she asked them why it was taking so long to rebuild the house…and her lab.

  “It’s the perfect time to make some changes I’ve always wanted to do,” Ms. Andrena-Beecher explained. “Like skylights. They’ll let more sunshine in.”

  “How are you doing?” her father asked.

  “Things are okay,” Bumblebee said. Knowing how much her parents worried about her, she wasn’t about to mention that her battery pack seemed to be losing more and more power each day. Recharging it seemed to be a full-time job. She was hardly flying at all, much less shrinking, and she didn’t dare try to use her sonic blasters.

  “Although…,” she said.

  “Although what?” her mother quickly asked. It was amazing how tuned in to things moms were.

  “Although,” Bumblebee continued, “there is some sort of shortage of honey and produce.”

  “I’ve noticed that, too,” her dad said. She knew how much he liked his apple a day. “Better stock up while you can!”

  Bumblebee nodded. That wasn’t a bad idea, and if she was going to have Beast Boy as a study partner, she’d sure need honey to help get her through the ordeal!

  * * *

  That evening, before meeting up with Beast Boy, Bumblebee opened her closet door. On a shelf were jars of honey—some she had bought, some were gifts from the Honey Bees, and others were from friends and family. There was one jar that had a photo of her parents on it. They had given it to her as a joke. The label read ICE—IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!

  In the photo, her mom and dad were making funny faces. This gave Bumblebee a tiny pang in her stomach. Unlike a lot of the other Supers, she got homesick from time to time. Bumblebee counted how many jars she had, then did the math to figure out how much she should ration. What if the honey shortage went on for weeks? Was that even possible?

  She opened a jar from the Honey Bees. This one was from the group in Yunnan, China. Just a taste, Bumblebee thought. Just a little.

  That night, after a moderately successful meeting with Beast Boy, Bumblebee made sure her super suit was plugged into the charger. Feeling guilty, she glanced over at the empty jar of honey. Bumblebee hadn’t meant to eat the whole thing, but…well, it was honey…and it was soooo delicious.

  This shortage better be over soon, Bumblebee told herself. It had to be, or else at this rate, her stockpile would disappear in no time—and how would she ever get through Super Hero High without it?

  The following morning, even though Bumblebee was getting her breakfast on the run, she couldn’t help but notice a few things as she made her way through the cafeteria. Cheetah was munching on seven-grain toast without jam, Hawkgirl was spooning up Wholly Oats cereal without fruit, and Starfire was eating a bran muffin—without berries. Instead of orange juice, Beast Boy guzzled chocolate milk, and Wonder Woman sipped coffee (which she immediately spat out, having never tasted coffee before).

  Bumblebee stared at her own tea and realized that it contained only the teeniest, tiniest dollop of honey. These little shortages really are getting strange, she thought. And the bees—what would cause them to produce less honey? She hoped nothing was wrong with them.

  Later, as Liberty Belle went on about the Natural Disaster Project, Supergirl nudged Bumblebee. “You were daydreaming,” she whispered.

  Supergirl was right. Bumblebee had been daydreaming, about a beautiful place with a lush garden filled with colorful flowers. Honeybees were buzzing everywhere and heading to and from their hives, which were heavy with thick golden honey.

  “And because of that,” Bumblebee heard Beast Boy announcing, “I predict that my partner Bumblebee and I will ace this Natural Disaster Project!”

  “Wha…?” she said.

  “He just told the class that you two have an incredible plan to battle tornadoes,” Supergirl told her.

  “Is that right, Bumblebee?” Liberty Belle asked.

  “Whatever he says,” she answered.

  Beast Boy beamed and gave her two thumbs up. “Teammates!” he said happily. “With me as the captain.”

  Bumblebee tried not to laugh. That would only encourage him. Plus, she didn’t want to let on that she was actually starting to like being his partner. Beast Boy reminded Bumblebee of her Bee Tree Lab. To an outsider, it may have appeared to be a mess, but once you got to know how it worked, it was actually quite remarkable.

  * * *

  On her way to Principal Waller’s office, Bumblebee decided to power up and take a short flight. It felt good to make her way down the flight lane. Students had the option of walking, running, or morphing and flying to get where they needed to go. The only rules, according to Hawkgirl, who was head hall monitor, were “Don’t impede traffic, keep moving, and be courteous to your fellow Supers.”

  CRASH!

  Supers were tumbling over each other before landing on their feet. “I am sooooooo sorry,” Bumblebee said as Hawkgirl helped her up. “Are you going to write me up for an infraction?”

  “Not if you have a good reason for stopping midair and then crashing down onto everyone,” Hawkgirl said.

  Bumblebee shook her head. “My battery,” she moaned. “It just stopped. Usually I get a warning. But not this time.”

  “Okay,” said Hawkgirl sympathetically. She adjusted her red Nth Metal belt, which held her mace. “You didn’t do it on purpose. However, might I suggest you get that battery fixed?”

  “I’m working on it, but—”

  “Bumblebee!” Waller called out from her office. “I need you to fly this to Police Commissioner Gordon ASAP. He’s teaching his forensics class, and I want him to see it before he heads back to the station.”

  James Gordon, the police commissioner, was also a teacher at Super Hero High. That was how his daughter, Barbara Gordon, also known as Batgirl, had learned about the school and gotten interested in it. In a short time, Batgirl had gone from Super Hero High’s tech whiz, helping the students and staff with the technology issues, to a full-time student.

  “I’m sorry, Principal Waller,” Bumblebee said, racing into Waller’s office. “I can’t do that.”

  Waller looked up from the massive pile of papers that threatened to overtake her desk. “Excuse me? I thought I heard you say ‘I can’t do that.’ That’s not a phrase we say here at Super Hero High.”

  Bumblebee’s heart was racing. The last person she ever wanted to disappoint was Amanda Waller. “Well,” she began, “it’s just that I had a crash recently, and I can’t fly anymore. That is, not until I recharge my super suit. But even then, well, as you know, my lab was decimated. I was working on a new battery pack system, but now I have to start from the beginning. In the meantime, I’m dealing with a faulty battery, and I know…I know…it’s a pain, and it’s getting in the way of my job as office aide. And I want you to know how much I love this job. But if you’d rather fire me and get someone else, I totally understand.”

  With that, Bumblebee turned around and began to drag herself out of the office.

  “STOP!” Principal Waller ordered.

  “Yes?” Bumblebee said softly. She was waiting to hear that she was fired, that she had disappointed Waller, and that perhaps she shouldn’t even be attending Super Hero High School.

  Waller handed her an envelope. “If your batteries don’t work, you can walk this, instead of fly it, to Commissioner Gordon.”

  “I’m not fired?” Bumblebee stammered.

  The principal shook her head. “I would never discipline a student for something out of their control. But there is one thing you can do for me.
”

  “Name it!” said Bumblebee, brightening.

  “Get on the battery situation!”

  “Yes, Principal Waller!” Bumblebee said, skipping out of the office as Waller tried not to crack a smile. If students saw her smiling too much, it could ruin her reputation.

  * * *

  “How goes your battery pack project?” Batgirl asked as she digitized the WWD, the World Weather Database—something Waller had asked her to do. Even though she was no longer the school’s official tech whiz, Batgirl still got called in on special projects.

  “Batteries, batteries, batteries,” Bumblebee grumbled, and recounted what had happened in the hallway. “Without proper batteries, my super suit might as well be a set of pajamas. My ability to shrink and grow, my flight, my sonic blasters—I can’t use anything when my batteries are dead.”

  Batgirl walked over. “You mind if I take a look?”

  “Have at it,” Bumblebee said. “The battery pack is in the back.” Even though she knew she needed a solution to her problem, and quickly, Bumblebee was having trouble getting motivated. Dr. Arkham had told her that most likely, she was still devastated by the Bee Tree crash and the destruction of her family home.

  “What can I do?” Bumblebee had asked him.

  He had set down the book he was reading, written by himself, and said, “If someone needs help from the Supers, what do they do?”

  Now Bumblebee took a deep breath. She recalled Dr. Arkham’s question. “Hey, Batgirl. Um, would you mind teaming up with me to brainstorm solutions?” Bumblebee paused, then added, “I could really use some help.”

  Batgirl grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask! I’ve already written down some ideas but didn’t want you to think I was being pushy!”

  Bumblebee and Batgirl stayed up late into the night, brainstorming.

  “What would really be useful, instead of single-use battery packs, is one that’s self-regenerating,” Bumblebee told Batgirl. They were taking inventory of the Bat-tools. Everything Bumblebee could think of, and even things she couldn’t imagine what they were for, were there. All were stamped with Batgirl’s logo. Bumblebee reminded herself to be a little more on the ball with her own branding.

  “I’d like to do some electrochemistry experiments,” she went on. “And I like your idea of a mega battery source. We just have to figure out what that might be.”

  * * *

  “Why do you keep yawning?” Beast Boy asked. They were in the library after school, and he refused to stop changing shape—and chattering. First he was a parrot, then a prairie dog, then a chimp. “Are you trying to tell me I’m boring? Because no one has ever told me that before,” a chastened Beast Boy chimpanzee asked, scratching his armpit.

  Bumblebee’s sparkling laugh put a smile back on his face. “You’re anything but boring, but please slow down! I didn’t get much sleep last night,” she admitted.

  “Slow down?” asked Beast Boy. “I can do that for my disaster partner!”

  “Can you call me something else?” Bumblebee asked the green sloth hanging upside down from the rafters. “ ‘Disaster partner’ sounds like I’m a mess!”

  Beast Boy shook his head. “Bumblebee, you’re the furthest thing from a disaster!” he said sincerely.

  She tried unsuccessfully to stop blushing. “Please stop slothing. We’ve got a lot to do.”

  As the two began talking tornadoes, Bumblebee was impressed by how smart Beast Boy was, though this shouldn’t have been a surprise. After all, he had helped the Junior Detective Society crack lots of cases.

  “Here’s what I was thinking,” he said, landing on two feet. Bumblebee was glad Beast Boy was back to being himself. Of all his transformations, his own basic green-teen self was her favorite. “Maybe if we understand how tornadoes begin, then we can figure out how to end them.”

  “Exactly my thought, too!” Bumblebee exclaimed.

  As they continued exchanging ideas, all around them, teams were working on their Natural Disaster Projects. Batgirl and Barda were bent on taming storm systems. After much arguing, Cyborg and Cheetah settled on avalanches. Frost and The Flash were working on blocking blizzards. And Thunder and Lightning, who knew more about weather than anyone, were there to answer questions and assist whenever they could.

  * * *

  After a few hours of researching, Beast Boy suggested they take a snack break. “All this talk about tornadoes and rapidly rotating storm systems is make me dizzy,” he said. To make a point, he stood up, walked in circles, and then fell on the floor.

  Harley cartwheeled over. “Be careful where you fall,” she said. “You don’t want anyone to trip!”

  Bumblebee stretched her arms. A couple of weeks ago, this would have been a good time for a honey break. But with the honey shortage, she didn’t want to dip into her supply.

  “What about popcorn?” Beast Boy suggested as he got up off the floor. “Or, I know!” he said, turning into an elephant. “Peanuts!”

  As the two sat outside on a bench, munching on roasted peanuts, they could see Poison Ivy working in her greenhouse. Her normally happy self looked serious. “Come on,” Bumblebee said to Beast Boy.

  “Where to?” he asked.

  * * *

  “Are you all right?” Bumblebee asked Poison Ivy. The meticulously curated rows of plants seemed to go on for miles. “Do you need us to help you?”

  “ ‘Us’?” asked Beast Boy, backing away. “What’s this ‘us’ business?”

  “Sure,” Poison Ivy said, looking relieved. “When Harley invited me to host Greenhouse Hullabaloo, I had no idea how much work it would be!”

  “Your last interview, the one with the forestry agent agronomist, went well,” Bumblebee told her. It was true. Ivy had forgotten how to talk only once or twice.

  “Thanks!” Poison Ivy said brightly. “I still get nervous, but it’s so important to feature these amazing scientists. So what’s up with you, Bumblebee?” she asked as the trio began pulling weeds.

  Bumblebee let out a deep sigh. “Batgirl’s been letting me share the Bat-Bunker, but I don’t want to overstay my welcome. It’s frustrating and feels like it’s taking forever to create a new battery system.”

  “Batteries,” said Ivy. “I know lots about plants, but I’m no battery expert.”

  Beast Boy, who was poking around the sweet potato crop, spoke up. “I know everything about batteries,” he boasted.

  “Oh yeah?” said Bumblebee. “Tell us.”

  Beast Boy stood up and cleared his throat. “Batteries are things we use to juice up our computers and stuff!”

  “Well…yes, but how do they work?” Bumblebee said, locking eyes with Ivy. The two smiled at each other.

  “Um, you know,” said Beast Boy.

  “I do,” said Bumblebee. “The most common battery cell has three parts: an anode, which is a negative charge; a cathode, which is a positive charge; and, of course, as everyone knows, the third is an electrolyte, the chemical medium that facilitates the flow of electrical charge between the other two. When something is connected to the battery, the chemical reactions occur on the electrodes to create a flow of electrical energy.”

  Beast Boy nodded slowly and turned to Poison Ivy. “Hmmm,” he said, stroking his chin. “I believe she’s right. Yep. That’s what I was going to say.”

  It was so much easier to address her battery problem now that she had Batgirl to bounce ideas off of. “It seems so old-school, the way batteries are made,” Bumblebee lamented. “Plus, they’re really expensive, especially for something as complicated as my super suit.”

  “Ooomph!” Batgirl fell over and held up the spiky weed that she had been trying to excise from the ground. “Got it!” she yelled triumphantly as Harley shot video for the next Greenhouse Hullabaloo—a “sneak-peek behind-the-scenes spectacular on the world’s largest pl
ant nursery.”

  The greenhouse was laid out like a United Nations of plants. Flora from various countries were all growing side by side, divided only by narrow dirt walkways. There were farmlands, a cactus garden, a tropical paradise, and more. And all of it was overseen by Poison Ivy.

  Luckily, once word got out, lots of Supers volunteered to help, even teaming up their complementary powers. Supergirl was surrounded by cacti, using her heat vision to create the dry air of a desert environment around them, while El Diablo used his fire power to regulate the temperature of tropical microenvironments. Meanwhile, Katana was using swords, one in each hand, to cut back the overgrowth and trim trees, and Catwoman was trying to coax the corpse flower, the stinkiest plant in the world, to bloom.

  As Batgirl lay on her back, she looked up through the glass ceiling. “Hey, that one looks like a tree,” she said, pointing to a cloud.

  Bumblebee lay down beside her. “It reminds me of the Bee Tree,” she noted. “And look, there’s a dragon!”

  “I hope it’s not Dragon King,” Katana said as she joined them. “That would be bad news!” She singled out a cloud in the distance. “That one looks like a castle.”

  “And there’s the queen!” exclaimed Bumblebee as she watched the clouds float by on a sea of blue sky. A queen and a castle, she mused. What a lovely thought.

  * * *

  “Okay,” Bumblebee declared. “I’m ready!”

  She was back in the Bat-Bunker with Batgirl. The two had found a temporary solution to her battery pack problem. After taking several batteries, welding them together, and then supercharging them, they were finally able to apply them to the super suit.

  “It’s heavy, but I can handle it,” Bumblebee assured Batgirl. “Give me a countdown!”