On the other side of the lab, Ivy was creating a nonflammable nitrocellulose adhesive spray. As a big green woolly mammoth, Beast Boy was grinding leftover diamond bits into a fine powder in a mortar by using his muscular trunk to work the pestle. With his trunk doing all the work, Beast Boy’s mouth was free to sing, “I’m the inspiration!”
Ivy poured the diamond powder into a large test tube with the micro solar cells and the nitrocellulose. She then handed it to Cyborg, who shook up the mixture at high speed with his bionic arm. Satisfied it was ready, Ivy filled up a high-intensity pressure sprayer with the solar solution. “Goggles on,” she ordered. “Three, two, one…here I go!”
Everyone was giving Bumblebee looks of support as Ivy sprayed on layer after layer of the mixture. When the sprayer was empty, there was a chorus of oohs and aahs. Bumblebee’s wings now took on a glittery golden glow.
“Test them,” said Batgirl. “Do they feel heavier?”
Bumblebee flew around the room. “Only slightly,” she reported. “But if this allows me to access the sun’s energy to power my super suit, it’s worth it!”
Batgirl was busy on her computer, inputting the details of the experiment. “Your wings are now lightweight solar panels. The diamonds will focus the sunlight and give your wings added strength,” she said, looking at the statistics. “When they’re fully charged, you’ll have a good four hours. Plus, when you finish engineering that optimization program for your battle suit, you’ll have even more time, depending on your flight speed, use of sonic blasters, and, of course, how often you shrink and grow.”
“Absolutely,” Bumblebee said happily. “I’ll still need a backup battery pack for when there’s no sunlight. But we can work on that later. There’s no hurry.”
The sneezing had taken on new life and would not let up. It was as if the world had a cold, although some places seemed to have been hit harder than others.
“The crops are failing,” Poison Ivy reported from her greenhouse. “Not everywhere, but in enough places to warrant worry.”
“Failing!” Jason Woodrue echoed as he stuck his head into the camera frame.
“Um, thank you, Jason,” Ivy said. “I was just saying that.”
“Failing!” he repeated, then smiled at her before stepping away. “Excuse me, sorry. This is your show.”
Poison Ivy tried not to look at him staring at her, and continued, “Luckily, here in the greenhouse, all the plants are thriving, thanks to the ideal conditions we’ve been able to replicate.”
“And thanks to Jason Woodrue,” said Jason Woodrue as he held up a trowel in one hand and a red watering can in the other. “Thriving!”
After the show, which featured “Festive, Colorful Flowers from Hue to You,” Batgirl, Bumblebee, and Beast Boy had a meeting. “I’m seriously concerned about what’s going on with the honey,” Bumblebee said.
“Me too,” Batgirl replied. “And not just because of the paper we have to write.”
“At first I thought the lack of honey was just an odd dry spell,” Bumblebee said. “But my sources tell me it’s everywhere now. And a lack of honey signals something even worse.”
“Achoo!” Beast Boy let out a series of sneezes.
“Exactly!” said Bumblebee. “It’s the pollen.”
“The weird fake pollen,” Ivy added as she joined them. “We’ve tried to investigate it, but—”
“It’s affecting the crops,” Beast Boy said. He had a tissue stuffed up each nostril. “At least, it seems like the culprit. But by the time the crops are failing, there’s hardly any trace of the fake pollen left. And that makes it difficult to track it to its source.”
“But the damage has been done, and that’s why we’re short on fruits and vegetables,” Ivy went on.
“And honey,” Bumblebee added. “The bees are being targeted in some regions, causing a honey shortage.”
“I don’t get it,” said Beast Boy. “Why only in some places? Why the bees? What does this mean?”
“Bees are vital to our world’s ecosystem,” Bumblebee explained. “Most of our crops are pollenated by bees. Remember when I explained how bees visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen to make honey?”
“That’s nice work if you can get it!” Beast Boy exclaimed.
Bumblebee went on, “By doing that, the bees spread pollen from plant to plant, helping those plants reproduce.”
“So why the fake pollen?” Ivy asked.
“Wait,” Beast Boy said, scratching his head. “Someone must be spreading it to confuse the bees. Instead of real pollen, they’re attracted to the fake kind!”
“Exactly,” Bumblebee agreed. “And this fake pollen makes the bees drowsy, so they don’t visit as many plants or make honey for their hives to live on.”
Poison Ivy jumped in: “That’s why the flowers are all turning brown—not only does the fake pollen affect the bees, it affects the plants, too. Plus, the fake pollen is what’s making everyone sneeze.”
“Who could be behind this?” Bumblebee asked.
Beast Boy began to walk in circles. “I’ve got it!” he said, then sneezed. “Tissue companies!”
“Or a super-villain,” Poison Ivy added.
“Or a honey company,” Bumblebee said. “One that wants all the world’s business. But then why would they hurt the bees?”
As they kept coming up with theories, the sneezing went on, the crops continued to fail, and there was no honey to be had anywhere.
While Batgirl was tracking the supply chains of tissue manufacturers, frozen and canned food companies, and any others who would profit from the damage caused by the fake pollen, Bumblebee was talking to her mom.
“A free vacation?” Bumblebee asked. “That sounds pretty cool.”
“I know!” Ms. Andrena-Beecher said. “And we don’t even remember entering. But you know your dad—he’s always entering contests.”
Bumblebee smiled. She did know. There was the time he came up with the jingle for Superior Sudsy Soap and won a lifetime supply. Or when he was closest in the Guess the Number of Jelly Beans contest at Benny’s Donut House. Or when he entered the Bake a Better Bread contest and his honey-butter bread recipe won second place—Bumblebee had helped him with that one.
“So what’s the prize this time?” Bumblebee asked.
“You’re not going to believe it,” her mother gushed. “An all-expenses-paid trip to Bialya!”
“Wow, that’s amazing!” Bumblebee cried. “Um, where’s Bialya?”
“We’re not sure,” Ms. Andrena-Beecher confessed. “But with the house still under construction, I think we’ve overstayed our visit with Cousin Keisha. Plus, it would be nice to get away for a bit. We’ll call you when we get there.”
“Have fun!” Bumblebee said. “Talk to you soon.”