Honeybee | Wanda Maximoff {AU}

Chapter Twenty: Hybrid

Music is "Without Me" by Halsey.

Picture is Claudia Doumit as Sarai.

}0{

Apis Mellifera Hybrid

Commonly referred to as the Africanized honeybee or killer bee, this species is a hybrid created by cross-breeding various subspecies of Apis Mellifera (A. M. Ligustica and A. M. Iberiensis with A. M. Scutellata.) The Africanized honeybee was first introduced in 1956, Brazil. However, 26 swarms escaped quarantine in '57, and have since spread all across both North and South America. This species of bee is much more aggressive than other honeybees, and have been responsible for over a thousand human deaths since they sting ten times more than other honeybees. Although they were originally created to increase honey production, ironically, they do not produce nearly as much as other honeybee species.

}0{

Chapter Twenty: Hybrid

Walking through a crowd of busy people, using magic to disguise yourself, is one thing. However, it's an entirely different thing when you're doing all that while walking into the dragon's lair, for all intents and purposes. MaxEffect Industries is crawling with people, employees and visitors alike, and everything is ramping up for the Fair tomorrow. We have basically twenty-ish hours. That's it. If we can't take those bees down today, that's all the time we have to make and execute a Plan B.

Which means there's no Plan B. This is the plan we have, and it's all we got.

Curses fly through my mind as I navigate through the docking area. We try to walk with purpose, like we know where we're going, but sweat pools on my temples all the same. Loki and Stephen follow closely behind, and I can see them scanning the area with curious and cautious eyes. We're all scared as hell, trying to put on a brave face.

Once we get to the entrance to the building, we come to the first security lock. Stephen creates a tiny sigil that inserts itself into the key-card scanner, and a moment later, it unlocks. We push through that door, heading straight for the massive elevator a few meters down the hall.

The three of us pile inside, and I reach for the call button for the twelfth floor. Stephen puts his hand in front of mine, stopping me from pressing it. When I give him a questioning expression, he states one word: "Fingerprints."

I pull my hand back, and he pushes the button with his sleeve pulled over his hand. The elevator ascends, and I shake my head at an almost rookie mistake. We can't leave anything that could lead Max or the cops back to us. We have our illusion disguises, but our DNA and fingerprints are still our own. We have to be extra careful.

The elevator stops at the twelfth floor, and the doors open slowly. We step into the familiar, curved hall. I gesture for the boys to follow me to the right, and we circle around a few meters until we come to the only door on this floor, the one that leads to the special projects lab and--hopefully--Frankenstein's monster.

A pit forms in my stomach when I see the improvements made to the door since the last time I was here, under the name Clementine Alexander. Other than the high-level security key-card needed for entry, now there are several layers of biometrics implanted on the wall. My snooping must've caused Max to hype up his security, especially in this part of the building. He doesn't want anyone either finding out about or screwing up his work, even more than ever since the Fair is only a day away.

"Shit," Stephen curses. "Was this here last time?"

I shake my head. None of this was here, and it's my fault for being so clumsy--for leaving the security pass--that it's here now. If I had been more careful, we could've slipped in easily. Now I'm not sure we can get passed at all.