Honeybee | Wanda Maximoff {AU}

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Buckfast

Music is "Gasoline" by Halsey.

Picture is Claudia Doumit as Sarai.

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Apis Mellifera Buckfast

Commonly referred to as the Buckfast bee, Apis Mellifera Buckfast is a man-made species of honeybee, created by Brother Adam in 1919 at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, United Kingdom. This hybrid was created by crossing many different species of bee; among them are A. M. Linguistica (North Italian), A. M. Mellifera (French), A. M. Anatoliaca (Armenian), and A. M. Cecropia (Greek). The modern Buckfast bee also contains heritage from two rare and docile African bees, A. M. Sahariensis and A. M. Monticola. However, A. M. Buckfast was not interbred with A. M. Scutellata, from which the aggressive and uncontrollable Africanized bee (or "killer bee") was derived.

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Chapter Twenty-Eight: Buckfast

People start to leave the conference hall in a hurried yet orderly fashion. Max turns towards them with frustration, running his hands anxiously through his hair. "C'mon, everyone," he pleads. "There's not really a fire. It's just a drill."

"We'll let the fire department sort that one out, Rurik," Jane Goodall states before leaving with all the other speakers.

No one seems to pay much attention to the fact that several young adults are the only ones that remain inside the conference hall. I suspect it has something to do with the spell Wanda casts, maybe one that causes them to leave without question.

Max turns to us as Tony, Peggy, Rhodey, and T'Challa run down the stairs to the first floor to join the rest of us. Steve, Thor, and Carol burst through the doors after everyone has left the building. Bucky, Sam, and Clint firm their stance between Max and the hive, but I suspect it won't remain that way for long.

Max looks from person to person, eventually allowing himself a small laugh. It's not an evil cackle like I half-expected, but more of a surprised chuckle. He seems genuinely surprised to see all of us here.

"Well, you all have more gut than I thought," he eventually says, shoving his hands into his jean pockets. "Surely, I thought after all those setbacks, you'd give up--or at least wait it out. But nope! You're here. Good for you."

"Oh, yeah, great for us," Sam says with an eye-roll. "Just not so great for you."

Max turns to me with mild disappointment on his face. "You two surprise me the most. Sarai's tried several times to get to my bees. In fact, her intrusion was the first sign of trouble. Sure, I had security before you stole a security badge and sneaked into my lab, but after that, I made sure I had three times the locks installed."

"You knew from the moment in the elevator, didn't you?" I sign.

He nods. "I got the security alert just before I saw you inside. I didn't think you were a real threat, so I let it pass. I figured Wanda would talk you out of it." He shrugs, turning his gaze to his niece. "Seems the opposite has happened."

"This isn't the way to fix things, Max," Wanda pleads, her eyes watery. "These bees are not going to make things better, only much worse."

"They've destroyed colonies," I add in ASL. "They're not just going to help bees or fill the gap. They're actively killing them!"

Max laughs louder and shakes his head in disbelief. "That's lunacy. Sure, the plan is that my bees will eventually replace the insect. Keyword: eventually. They're not seeking out hives and destroying them."