If you remembered, Bumblebee is hurt (and maybe that was a little too dark, I admit) and stuck at small size. If you've seen "Hero of the Year" then you would know that this has happened before. To be honest, this was the best idea I could come up with for a Bumblebee-centric chapter. I just really enjoyed her scenes with Batgirl while she was in her small predicament. Pardon the pun.
Enjoy.
CHAPTER 4: BUMBLEBEE
Harley was still tied up on the chair, rolling around looking for the others. She had showed up at Capes and Cowls Cafe where Steve Trevor was still cleaning up the mess caused by Giganta's rampage. Harley knocks on the door with her head. Steve helps her inside, as well as freeing her from the restraints.
"Where's Bats?" Harley asked.
"They left to fight Giganta. After that, I don't know," Steve answered.
"Hey, my mallet!" Harley cried happily, seeing her mallet on a chair.
"Yeah, Katana came in here with that. I preferred not to ask, though," said Steve.
Harley picks her mallet and smashes a table with it, too excited to have her favorite toy back to think about anything else.
"Hey, c'mon. Not the table. I just washed that," Steve whined.
"Sorry, but if you don't mind, I got a bat to squash," Harley said, grinding her teeth together in anger.
"Don't let me get in your way," Steve said nervously, distancing himself from the clown.
Bumblebee finally wakes up. Her sight was a little blurry, but it was clearing up fast. The first sight she sees is Ivy, looking down at her with a relieved smile.
"Thank goodness you're awake," said Ivy.
"Sorry to scare you," Bumblebee apologized. "But why am I lying down on wood?"
Bumblebee finds herself lying down on what appears to be a wooden table. The chemical equipment look bigger. She looks up at Ivy again and realizes that she's huge. She checks her battery pack and sees that it's damaged.
"I'm stuck in small size, aren't I?" Bumblebee guessed.
"Unfortunately, yes," said Ivy. "Until we can repair your pack, you're stuck at this size."
"But, hey, look on the bright side. You won Hero of the Year at that size, so you'll be just fine," said Katana.
"Where are the others?" asked Bumblebee.
"Off to fight Lena Luthor," Katana answered. "She used Red Kryptomite to make Giganta and us angry."
"That girl is such a pest," Bumblebee commented.
"Agreed," said Katana. "Right now, you need to rest and recover until we hear from the others."
"Just keep the plants away from me, please?" Bumblebee begged, eyeing Ivy's rampant experiments.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you," Ivy promised.
"While you do that, I'm gonna go find Harley. She escaped," said Katana.
"But she's not even the guilty one," said Bumblebee.
"True, but she was supposed to stay put," said Katana.
While Katana searches the school for Harley, Ivy heads to the cafeteria while carrying Bumblebee in her hands. Ivy can see that Bumblebee is upset about her current predicament. She can only hope that a slice of cake will help.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Metropolis, Batgirl and Supergirl were continuing their search for their missing classmates. Batgirl had downloaded all of Lena's files, including the one still heavily encrypted, and she discovered that Lena is planning to test her mind-controlled supers on the docks at precisely three o'clock.
Supergirl has been waiting by the docks for two minutes. Batgirl soon arrives in her Mobile HQ.
"I know you promised your dad that you're gonna obey the rules of the road, but this is actually a serious situation," said Supergirl.
"Hey, a promise is a promise," said Batgirl. "Besides, I'm ninety seconds early."
"So, just the two of us against an entire school, huh? I still like those odds," said Supergirl.
"That's why I brought contingencies," said Batgirl.
"Wait, you have contingencies for all of us?" Supergirl questioned.
"Just in case of mind control," Batgirl defended herself.
Supergirl crossed her arms and glared at Batgirl, definitely not okay with the idea of contingencies for all the supers.
"Does any of these contingencies include Krpytonite?" Supergirl accused.
"Of course not," Batgirl said, scratching the back of her head nervously. "A red solar grenade, maybe."
"Batgirl!" Supergirl shouted.
"Hey!" Batgirl shouted back. "You never know if..."
Batgirl stopped when she saw Catwoman in the distance, looking at the horizon.
"Hey, girls," Catwoman greeted them. "How you doin'?"
"She doesn't look mind-controlled," Supergirl whispered to Batgirl. "Maybe she got away."
"Let me test that," said Batgirl. She walks towards the cat burglar and says, "Hey, Catwoman. How did you..."
Catwoman cuts off Barbara by kicking her.
"Never mind. She's mind-controlled," said Batgirl.
"And I'm not alone," said Catwoman.
A mind-controlled Hawkgirl comes out of nowhere and hits Supergirl with her nth-metal mace, sending the Girl of Steel crashing to a shipping container.
"Are you okay?" Batgirl asked, approaching her friend.
"I'm angry and it's not because of Red Kryptomite," said Supergirl.
"I'll take Catwoman. You take Hawkgirl," said Batgirl.
"I think they just decided it for us," said Supergirl.
In the cafeteria, Ivy cuts a small slice of honey cake for Bumblebee. Unable to use a fork, Bumblebee had to use her hands. After asking Ivy to take her to the sink so she can wash them, she started eating.
"Thanks, Ivy," said Bumblebee.
"No problem," said Ivy.
"I just can't believe this is happening again," Bumblebee said with her mouth full. "I mean, sure I can still be a hero, but..."
"Being small makes you feel small," Ivy guessed. "A flower can say the same thing about itself. It's so small, so fragile, anything can destroy it. Well, I think the thing is to not be afraid."
Three individuals enter the cafeteria. Supergirl, Lady Shiva, and Big Barda.
"Hey, guys," Bumblebee greeted them.
"Lena sent Shiva and Barda after me and Batgirl," Supergirl explained.
"But they saved us," said Big Barda.
"No more mind control," said Lady Shiva.
"Oh, good," Ivy said happily. "But where's Batgirl?"
"Searching for Lena and the rest of our friends. We just came here for some snacks. I'm starving," said Supergirl.
"Uh, okay..." Ivy was confused. Something about Supergirl's voice sounded weird.
Supergirl and Big Barda get some snacks while Lady Shiva sits down near Bumblebee, who was almost finished her very tiny slice of cake. After Bumblebee chewed the last piece, Lady Shiva raises her hand and descends it upon the tiny superhero. Bumblebee sees this and jumps out of the way before the big hand squashed her.
"What was that, Shiva?" Bumblebee asked, enraged.
"Darn it," Shiva cursed. "That's it! No more pretending! Girls, attack!"
Supergirl wasn't Supergirl at all. She was Miss Martian in disguise. She, Shiva, and Barda were all mind-controlled. Miss Martian uses her heat vision and knocks out Ivy.
Lady Shiva tries to squash Bumblebee again, but she jumps off the table to avoid the giant hand coming down at her. She tried to fly, but remembered that she couldn't. All she can do is run. Big Barda tried to smash her with her Mega-Rod, but Bumblebee avoided it by jumping backwards. Lady Shiva tried to step on, and she nearly succeeded. The force of her foot making impact with the ground caused Bumblebee to lose balance. Shiva then grabs her, closing her fingers around her tightly.
"C'mon, Shiva. Squeeze," said Big Barda.
"That's what I'm doing, you big dumb brute," said Shiva.
"Hey! Who're you calling dumb, skinny?!" Big Barda yelled.
Shiva argues with Big Barda while squeezing Bumblebee, hurting her. Fortunately, Bumblebee manages to free one of her arms. She shoots Shiva with one of her energy stingers, causing the martial artist to drop her. After a rough landing, Bumblebee makes another run for it. She finds a rat hole near the corner, but before she can make it, Miss Martian blocks her path with her Heat Vision.
"Ivy, now would be a good time to wake up," Bumblebee hoped.
Ivy remained unconscious.
"Okay, I'm on my own then," Bumblebee said, trying to feel brave.
Back at the docks, Hawkgirl was chasing Supergirl through the skies. Batgirl and Catwoman fought hand-to-hand.
"Hawkgirl, you have to wake up. You're being mind-controlled by Lena's Kryptomites," said Supergirl, desperately trying to save her friend. "I'm your friend."
"You're not my friend!" Hawkgirl shouted.
Hawkgirl throws her mace at Supergirl, but the Girl of Steel smacked it away. The mace hits Hawkgirl, dragging her down until she crashes down.
"Sorry," said Supergirl.
Catwoman was moving so fast that Batgirl could barely keep up. Batgirl wanted to use her gadgets, but she wanted to win this fight fair and square. After blocking Catwoman's kick, she punches Catwoman and then hits her with a spin kick. Catwoman gets up and pounces. Batgirl gets on her back and uses her two feet to kick Catwoman. The cat burglar falls inside a crate.
"The cat is back in the bag," Batgirl quipped. "Or box. Back in the box, if you prefer."
"So, what now?" asked Supergirl.
"We take them back to Super Hero High. Keep them contained just in case knocking them out didn't snap them out of it," said Batgirl. Shen then turns on her call bracelet. "Oracle, can you patch me through Katana and Poison Ivy?"
"Yes, Batgirl," said Oracle.
"Girls, we're coming back with two of our brainwashed friends," Batgirl reported.
Bumblebee remained frozen while Lady Shiva, Big Barda, and Miss Martian looked down at her. She knew that if she took one step towards the hole, Miss Martian would fry her.
"C'mon, Bumblebee, think," she said to herself. "Wait. I got it." After clearing her throat, she says, "Hey, Big Barda! Shiva said that armor makes you look fat."
"She said what?!" Big Barda yelled.
"And Shiva, Big Barda said that your hairstyle is stupid," said Bumblebee.
"She said what?!" Lady Shiva yelled.
"And Miss Martian said you two are horrible people," said Bumblebee.
"What?!" Shiva and Big Barda yelled, glaring at Miss Martian.
When a fight breaks out between the three, Bumblebee runs into the rat hole. She crawls through another hole that leads to the air vent. The ventilation blew her to the direction of the current. She screamed as the wind dragged her through the vents. She couldn't fight it even if she tried, due to her small stature. She was about to be blown towards fan blades.
"Why does this only happen to me?!" Bumblebee complained.
Bumblebee destroys the fan blades with her energy stingers. She gets blown out of the vents and onto the grass outside, barely missing a rock.
"Phew! That was close," said Bumblebee, relieved . She looks at the rock and says, "Have you been waiting for me or something?"
Bumblebee was about to move on, until a white boot almost crushes her. The white boot belonged to Katana, who came as soon as she heard the fan blades blow up.
"Hey, Katana! Down here!" Bumblebee called.
Katana looks down and sees Bumblebee. She picks her up and holds her in her hand.
"What are you doing out here?" asked Katana. "Should Ivy be watching you?"
"Miss Martian, Lady Shiva, and Big Barda showed up. They were under influence of the Red Kryptomites. They got Ivy," said Bumblebee.
"Which means they might know that Batgirl and Supergirl are coming back," Katana said worryingly. "Batgirl called us. Shiva, Barda, and Miss Martian could've heard it through Ivy's comm-link. I have to warn them."
Katana was about call Batgirl, until Heat Vision startled both her and Bumblebee. Miss Martian has found them.
"You won't warn anyone," said Miss Martian.
"We're doomed," said Bumblebee.
Cliffhanger!
Notes:
- Batgirl and Harley may not be enemies in DC Super Hero Girls, but I thought it would be okay to manufacture sugarcoated conflict between them.
- I'm sorry that the other students/heroes are brainwashed individuals that our seven main heroes have to be forced to fight, but I'm not exactly an expert writer. Plus, trying to write a story that lasts for seven chapters while trying maintain focus on all the seven main heroes is not easy for me.