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…