“Batgirl got your message,” he said. “But it was all garbled and the location coordinates didn’t transmit clearly, so we split up to look for you. The reception here is horrible!”
“Is everyone outside?” Bumblebee asked hopefully. Queen Bee was now staring out the window and pontificating about why it should be an honor for everyone to have her in charge.
Beast Boy bee shook his head. “Waller put most of the Supers out on natural-disaster detail. They’re using what we learned to wash away the fake pollen to get the world’s ecosystems back on track.” He pointed to Queen Bee. “Is she serious?”
Bumblebee nodded. “Sadly, yes. Tell me about the rest of the Supers, but hurry!”
“Supergirl and Wonder Woman are diverting rainstorms to farms, with Thunder and Lightning using their powers to help keep the storms manageable,” Beast Boy said in a rush. “Frost is harnessing ice from an avalanche, and El Diablo’s melting it to feed into rivers. It’s natural disasters to the rescue, but once the Supers are done, they’ll be headed here. That is, if they can find us.”
Bumblebee smiled. Leave it to the Supers of Super Hero High to save the day. But now it was her turn. “Beast Boy,” she said quickly, “I want to take on Queen Bee. But those guys”—she motioned to the Royal Army, who were now hovering near the doorways—“are in my way. Can you distract them, get them out of here?”
“Can I?” asked Beast Boy, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “You just try and stop me!”
“Oh, and there’s something else I need you to do,” Bumblebee told him.
Queen Bee had worn herself out and was now resting on her throne. “I’m going to get your secret,” she warned Bumblebee as her attention shifted back to the young hero. “But first, it’s time for my afternoon honey break. Cuckoo Bee! Honey. Here! Now!”
Cuckoo Bee ran to the vault and brought out heavy glass jars of honey. He handed them to his queen, who drank them one after the other.
Bumblebee nodded to Beast Boy. “Go,” she said.
“Gone!” he said as he turned into a wasp. “Hey, Royal Army killer bee dudes and dudettes, look at me! I’m one of you,” Beast Boy wasp shouted as he buzzed circles around them.
As the Royal Army began to give chase, Beast Boy wasp taunted and teased, and turned off the live video feed of Bumblebee’s parents, as she had asked him to do. “You wasps aren’t fast enough to catch me!” he yelled. “Oops, I meant killer bees, or are you bozo bees?”
Queen Bee looked up from a jar of honey. “What is going on?” she demanded. By then, Beast Boy had led the Royal Army away from the throne room and down a corridor.
“Don’t listen to her,” Bumblebee was saying to Cuckoo Bee as he retreated to his corner. “I know you’re not a bad guy. Stand up to her, I’ll protect you!”
His big eyes began to water. “You will?” he asked.
“I promise,” Bumblebee said.
“YOU!” Queen Bee yelled, pointing at Bumblebee. “This is your doing! Well, enough of me being nice to you. If you don’t respond to my invitations, I’ll just have to take what I need, and that means your super suit!”
Cuckoo Bee was trembling.
“Cuckoo Bee, get over here!” Queen Bee ordered.
He looked at Bumblebee, then Queen Bee, then back at Bumblebee. Cuckoo Bee lowered his head and mumbled, “I am sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Queen Bee spat.
“For this,” he said.
Bumblebee watched Queen Bee’s anger rise as Cuckoo Bee abandoned her, scurrying from the throne room in such a hurry he ran into the wall. He picked himself up and dashed out of sight. “He’s an idiot,” Queen Bee said as she turned to face Bumblebee. “But he’s my cousin’s son, so I had to give him a job. Anyway, now it looks like it’s just you and me.”
“As it should be,” Bumblebee said, stepping into fighting stance. “Let’s get this over with!”
Beast Boy wasp flew out a keyhole at the far end of the hall and into what was left of the once-impressive gardens—with the Royal Army right behind him. It was now raining, and the killer bees were more than a hundred strong, but Beast Boy wasn’t worried.
“Look, I’m a sparrow!” he yelled. He was so busy laughing that he didn’t realize he was headed straight toward the tall garden wall. Before he could fly over it, the Royal Army surrounded him. The killer bees moved in slowly and deliberately for the attack.
“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.