“You’ve been named Super Hero High’s Super Hero of the Month,” said Lois Lane. “During a crucial battle, you even turned off your cameras, which meant your popular web show, Harley’s Quinntessentials, was off the air. Then, while your web empire went dark, you captured the evil Mad Hatter without anyone watching! What’s next for Harley Quinn?”
Harley, who had suddenly done a handstand, was upside down when she replied, “What’s next is whatever’s new!”
“Over here!” the green kangaroo called out while waving from the sidelines. “Look at me!”
“Stop that,” Bumblebee whispered. Beast Boy could be so annoying sometimes. “Shhhh!”
While most of her friends were inside Capes & Cowls Café enjoying the towering “Congrats, Harley!” cake that shot sprinkles from the top, Bumblebee was outside watching the interview with interest. Harley looked totally confident. Super Hero High’s class clown was a natural super hero who basked in the attention, unlike Bumblebee, who wasn’t nearly as comfortable with the spotlight that sometimes came with saving the world.
Beast Boy would not stop hopping. “Calm down,” Bumblebee told him again. “This is about Harley, not you.”
“Aw, you’re no fun,” Beast Boy grumbled as he morphed back into a furry green teen with pointy ears and purple high-tops. Not able to keep a sour face for long, he poked Bumblebee and said, “Hey, buzzzzzz, wanna play freeze tag?”
Before Bumblebee could say “No, thank you,” Frost sauntered past and used her powers to freeze Beast Boy in place. Just then, Bumblebee’s phone rang. The familiar “Flight of the Bumblebee” ringtone signaled her mother calling.
“Hey, Mom, what’s up?” Bumblebee stepped away so as not to disturb Harley’s interview. “What’s that? I’m having trouble hearing you. I thought you said ‘bad news.’ ”
“I did,” Ms. Andrena-Beecher said. Her normally warm and comforting voice trembled. “Oh, honey, first I want you to know that your father and I are safe. His arm is broken, but we’re fine. The damage, though, was pretty bad—”
“The damage? What damage?” Bumblebee’s heart began to race. “Mom, what happened?”
“The tree…the crash…house destroyed…,” her mother tried to explain.
Bumblebee began to gasp for air. Supergirl, who had wandered out of the café carrying a plate of cake, rushed over. “Are you okay?” she asked.
Harley glanced at the commotion and cut off her interview with Lois Lane. “Bumblebee?” she said, bounding over to her friend. “WHOA and WOWZA! You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
By then Bumblebee was picturing the worst. She always got high marks in creative writing at school—but now her imagination was in overdrive.
Beast Boy, who was standing closest to Bumblebee, threw his hands up in the air defensively. “Not my fault!” he insisted. “I think she just got some bad news.” He reached out and relieved Supergirl of the cake she was still holding.
Bumblebee nodded. Before Beast Boy could take a bite of cake, she flew away, leaving her friends worrying and wondering what had just happened.
