"Just a bug? Then feel my STING "
So I had an art collab with my friend @hirakaz33 discussing how techno-organic Bumblebee's biological changes upgrade oneself ,
Here are the assumptions :
Since he has electrical stingers as his main weapon, I suppose his conducted levels of voltage might increase gradually by having another pair of extra limbs . One of the traits of Bumblebees in real life is that they use the positive node to navigate the flowers' negative node to collect honey and spreading pollen .
In other words, Bumblebee's electrical transduction sensory hair and the increase in his physical size might also contribute to the stingers' damage to his enemies, by four in total. And again, if he uses all four of them by combining together, the charge is assumed to be equivalent to a lightning bolt in high targeting precision
And here's is my friend's version :
OOOOOOOOOOOOH, he's looking EXTRA monstrous and buggy! I really like the brighter teal color you and hirakaz gave him, along with his armor plates being more similar to that of an actual bug's around his stomach!
I like your idea of him having an even more powerful electrical output thanks to his secondary pair of arms, especially since I hadn't even considered the possibility that his smaller set of arms would have stingers!
As for my personal headcanons on techno-organic Bumblebee, while he still has his stingers and can use electricity-based attacks, he "uses up" his charge much faster than he did before "the experiment". Following his mutation, Bumblebee is still a robot, but he's not necessarily a machine anymore. Moreso, he's a robotic animal, and what used to be an innate mechanical ability of his has now been limited by his animal biology. Much like how an animal can be exhausted or an insect could use up all its venom, Bumblebee only has so many charges a day he can use before he has to let his body recharge with time and rest. Whether that's several small voltage attacks or one explosive lightning surge like you described, he can still "burn himself out" and effectively have zero electrical power available to use with his stingers if he does push past his capacity!
Here, for the sake of interest, below is a very simple list of the "pros" and "cons" of Bumblebee's techno-organic Biology:
Cons:
- Significant loss of max speed compared to previous car alt-mode.
- The electricity the body generates for stingers has a limited capacity, and can be quickly burned through in a single day, requiring a rest period to build back up.
- Much greater sensitivity to temperature and pressure changes than before.
- Greater dermal sensitivity than before, which can lead to being easily overstimulated and an overall MUCH lower pain tolerance.
- Can go significantly less time without food and rest as part of his insect-metabolism.
- While he still can digest metals and energon, he can no longer consume petroleum as an energon-substitute.
Pros:
- He can FLY now.
- His stingers are longer, and sharper than before.
- He is SIGNIFICANTLY physically stronger than he was before "the experiment", now able to carry things tens of times heavier than himself.
- He is able to communicate with bees and bee-related organisms.
- He has a highly attuned sense of smell, sight, and hearing.
- He is no longer prone to most Cybertronian illnesses.
- He can digest organic-foods, especially those high in sugars.
And there ya go! I'm flattered to hear that you've been having fun with this silly AU idea of mine, and I've certainly had fun chatting about it with ya!
Thank you again for this genuinely fun, dramatic, and thoroughly thought-through piece, and I'm excited to see what other projects you and hirakaz get up to in the future!
