Chapter 31
Love or No Love...
Not even a week after beating Trigon, the Titans once again found themselves in a new high stakes fight. This one was far different than the previous one they had faced.
After bailing the Doom Patrol out of a tight situation due to their connection with Beast Boy, Robin decided to really push the idea of going global. The reason being is that the Brotherhood of Evil was a global threat, and it made sense to Polybius. The mute Titan had long supported this idea, as he saw it as a way for the Titans to get stronger.
In terms of the organization of the Titans, however, Polybius didn't fully back Robin's idea. Polybius argued for a more decentralized and autonomous system. He explained that the recruits should be able to continue the way they did things, rather than standardize it like the League had, as everybody knew it had run into severe problems.
After a lengthy discussion, Robin agreed to many of Polybius's points but still stayed more centralized than Polybius would have liked. Regardless, Polybius was happy that Robin did see things his way.
That being said, there was still the massive problem of going global. That being, the Titans had few honorary members, Titans East and Wonder Girl, being the only ones to come to Polybius's mind. If they were to go global, they would have to go on a massive recruiting campaign.
And thus, Robin then decided to launch a recruiting camping in a rather unconventional manner. Rather than trying to reach out to them, Robin wanted to go to them.
"Couldn't we just mail them T communicators and call them over the phone like normal people?" Beast Boy questioned as the team split.
"No." Robin said, "Mailing them leaves too many possibilities for interception by the Brotherhood of Evil. We need to deliver these in-person to maximize the safety of the delivery."
"Great." Beast Boy said, "What about Polybius, what is he doing?"
"We lost touch with Wonder Girl a week ago." Robin said, "I'm sending him to see what's up."
"Maybe her mom caught her and took her phone away from her." Beast Boy replied, "And what good is sending Polybius gonna do? Don't they all hate him?"
"Yes." Robin answered, "However, if anything goes wrong, or is wrong, Polybius is the one who can most likely take care of it on his own."
"He is the toughest." Beast Boy agreed, "So, where are you sending him?"
"He's starting in Izmir, in her last known location." Robin said, "From there, he is going to follow the route we think she took towards Syria and Iraq where we think she headed."
"But aren't they super strict on how women are supposed to be over there?" Beast Boy questioned, "Why would she go that way?"
"It's more than likely she doesn't know about that." Robin replied, "And quite possibly, she got herself in an ugly situation."
"Oh." Beast Boy said, "Then shouldn't somebody go with him?"
"As of right now, we need to rush this mass recruitment effort." Robin said.
"But still. What about the Syria civil war, or ISIS? Aren't they coming back in the region?" Beast Boy questioned.
"Again, yes." Robin said, "However, out of all of us, Polybius is the most likely to survive."
"Survive?" Beast Boy asked, "You don't mean she's dead?"
"Possibly." Robin answered, "We think from Iraq, she may have gone either east to Afghanistan or south to Saudia Arabia."
"So why are you sending Polybius to a warzone?" Beast Boy asked, "We don't want him to die!"
"He volunteered for this." Robin countered.
"Cause it's Donna?" Beast Boy asked.
"Maybe." Robin said, "However, I'm quite sure he would do the same for the rest of us."
"I swear, that girl is gonna get him killed." Beast Boy commented.
A few hours later, Polybius touched down in Afghanistan. The trail he was on seemed to lead her to her coming here, towards the end of Taliban controlled and Afgan republic territory. This meant there were more than likely several threats in the area, and thus, Polybius decided to go on foot to minimize the danger to himself.
Hiking towards the mountains, Polybius had reason to believe that for whatever reason, she decided going into the mountains of Afghanistan alone was a good idea. Polybius was confident that she had no clue what she was doing, and was just trying to do a good job. She just had to learn as to where to draw the line between an attainable goal and lost cause, and whatever she was chasing was a lost cause. Especially for females in this region of the world.
Regardless, Polybius traveled deep into the mountains in the summer heat of Afghanistan. Sweat coated his body as he marched towards where he believed he might either find her or his next clue.
As he got closer to his objective, he took a seat on a rock to rest and drink water. As he did this, he saw an American convoy roll through the valley below. Somehow, they didn't spot him as he was sitting wide in the open. He watched as they moved down the valley and then BOOM!
A massive explosion rocked the second humvee, blowing it to bits and sending pieces flying in every direction. Polybius was taken off guard by the blast and was startled by the suddenness of it all.
Looking back down in the valley, Polybius was quick to scram as the American soldiers began pulling security, and he didn't want to get shot. Once to safety, Polybius remembered something he had been told to watch out for in the region.
Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs as they were more commonly known.
Robin had said that IEDs were the number one killer of American soldiers on the battlefield and that Polybius needed to be extremely careful of them. It was strongly advised that he stayed off of main roads and away from deep water, as that was where they were most likely to be.
Soon after getting to a safe distance away, Polybius took off on foot and resumed his search for Donna.
After a long and exhausting, but relatively quiet journey except for the IED. And his trip ended up in a cave in the mountains.
Looking at the cave, Polybius's theory is that after a recent terrorist attack in Izmir, that Donna stopped, she found out that the Taliban had taken responsibility for it in response to some political action Turkey had done recently. Donna, wanting to prove to herself that she was now a hero and not a damsel in distress, she went after them. And more than likely was either captured, dead, or hopefully lost.
And this cave is where some local Afghans had said that a woman with a description that matched Donna's, had gone.
Entering the cave, Polybius swapped over to his heat vision, his eyes turning orange. He moved slowly and cautiously as he advanced.
And it wasn't long until he found something.
Looking down the cave, Polybius clearly saw a person at the end of the tunnel. Who it was, he couldn't tell. But they were sitting down and had their knees in their chest, and were more than likely asleep.
Walking towards the person, they did not detect his presence as they were indeed asleep. Getting right next to them, Polybius swapped over to his night vision, causing his eyes to turn green. And when he did, he was happy with what he found.
What he found was Donna passed out sleeping. She looked to be unhurt and sleeping somewhat peacefully.
Reaching into his backpack, Polybius pulled out a flashlight and swapped over to his normal vision. Turning it on, Polybius pointed it at her feet and not her face as he knelt down next to her.
The mute Titan gently shook her awake, and she jumped hard.
"Ah!" Donna shouted as Polybius backed off, "Who are you!?"
Polybius then pointed the flashlight to himself. Donna went wide-eyed for a split second before calming down.
"Oh, thank the gods, it's you." She said with relief.
Polybius smiled as he took the flashlight off his face. From there, he extended a hand to her, and she took it.
"Okay, so you're probably wondering what I'm doing down here." Donna said as Polybius began leading her out of the cave, "And hear me out."
The mute was all ears as he listened to her story.
"So, you remember those guys who attacked and tried to kill you?" Donna asked.
The mute nodded.
"Well, I went over to that city in Turkey to see if I could get some answers, and from there, somebody said that the badge was a member of somebody from a Taliban group known in English as 'The Containers.' Their job is specifically to learn how to combat and neutralize western superheroes. And that after my older sister, Wonder Woman, stopped an attack from happening in DC, they decided to try and assassinate you to retaliate." Donna explained, "Because taking another look at the list, I realized that the other people that were on it were also superheroes with close relations to Diana. And that Superman was actually on a mission in Thessaloniki when I ran into them in Athens."
Polybius continued to listen intently as the two exited the cave.
"So thinking I could get to the bottom of this myself, I decided to see if I could investigate while my mother and sisters performed a multi-day ritual. I figured I could escape long enough for me to perform an extended investigation of this. However, what I found was nothing. No people, no weapons, no supplies, not a darn thing."
Polybius thought about what she had said for a moment before using his phone to text her a response.
'Well, not all leads lead to a good outcome. Most lead to dead ends, but you do have valuable information. If true, then we need to inform your sister, the Titans, and the League of this development.' Polybius texted.
Donna pulled out her phone, read the text, and nodded.
"At least I've got that going for me." Donna commented.
'Don't feel bad. It took me almost a year to bring down Montezuma, the same with Robin, to bring down Slade the first time. It may take us a year to bring this down.' Polybius texted
"It's not that." Donna said, "I just hate the thought that there are people out there who want you dead."
'People wanting me dead is nothing new. Before I was born, people wanted me dead.' Polybius texted.
"Since before you were born?" Donna asked, clearly confused.
Polybius nodded but chose not to elaborate on it. He instead began making his way down the mountain, and Donna quickly followed. However, she did not let that drop.
"What do you mean before you were born?" Donna asked.
The mute shook his head. He didn't want to tell her about that. And luckily enough for him, Donna picked up on that and dropped it.
The trip back to Polybius's ship was a short and quiet one. Donna didn't say much as the two hiked towards the ship. Once there, Donna noticed a rather major underlying problem.
"Uh, is there only one seat?" Donna asked.
'We both can fit in there.' Polybius texted.
"How?" Donna questioned.
'Just sit on my lap or something.' Polybius texted back.
Donna gave him a concerned and slightly embarrassed look about the idea. However, both of them knew she needed to get back to her island as soon as possible.
However, this would have to wait, as, without warning, they heard the classic cartoon sound of something falling.
BOOM!
A massive explosion fifty meters away from them and the ship blasted the two young heroes. The force of the blast was enough to knock both of them off their feet, but the ship sustained no damage.
Hitting the ground, the two were able to quickly able to pick themselves up and take up a battle stance.
"Where did that come from!?" Donna shouted.
Scanning the mountains, Polybius spotted an observer who had eyes on them. Polybius could tell he was talking. He was almost sure that the person was calling in another strike.
As rubble rained down on them, Polybius quickly rushed to Donna's side and pointed at the observer.
"Got it!" Donna said.
Grabbing hold of her hand, Donna flew the two of them up the mountain. The observer quickly got up and took off, but not fast enough, that the two heroes weren't able to catch up to him. Flying over him, Polybius let go of Donna's hand and dropped down on the observer. Landing on their back, Polybius quickly forced them into submission.
The observer began shouting in an Afghani language the mute didn't understand. However, as Donna pushed on to deal with the mortar team, Polybius got hit with another explosion. This one from the forward observer, whose head exploded.
Polybius got splattered in blood and brains as he was pushed off the observer by the blast. Hitting the ground hard and landing on his back, Polybius rolled over to his side and quickly picked himself up and looked at the headless corpse.
Polybius was sure this wasn't a coincidence. This had to be linked with what happened to him in Jump City.
Hearing another series of explosions, Polybius ran up the mountain a little bit to find Donna covering her face and looking away, eyes shut tight. She walked back a few paces before stopping and lowering her arms to see a bunch of headless corpses.
"What in Zeus's name?" Donna questioned as she looked at the bodies.
Polybius, too, was shocked by what he was seeing. This made no sense to him.
Donna looked back up at the mute and went wide-eyed.
"Polybius!" Donna shouted.
Reacting faster than he did, Donna quickly flew forward and right past Polybius. The mute could hear the sound of her fist punching someone.
Looking back, Polybius saw a man with a hatchet in his hand lying on the ground. Two seconds later, his head was blown off as well.
"Are you alright!?" Donna immediately questioned.
The mute nodded his head and pointed at her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Donna replied.
Polybius then gave a thumbs up and began looking around at the bodies and equipment to see if he could find anything. Donna did the same, and the two scoured the battlefield for an hour only to come up with nothing.
"Polybius?" Donna asked as he examined another body, "I've gotta go."
Polybius looked up at her, and she pointed in the direction of the ship.
"I can't stay out much longer." Donna said, "If I do, my mother will find out if she hasn't already."
Polybius nodded as he stood up. Looking around one last time at the battlefield, he began making his way towards the ship.
Boarding the ship, Donna hesitantly sat on the mute's lap as they took off. Polybius could tell Donna was a little uncomfortable by this. However, they didn't have a choice. The pods of the ships weren't designed for two people.
It took them a few hours to reach Naxos, where they would part ways. However, once on the ground, Donna stopped and looked at him before she took off.
"I'll, uh, see you later." Donna told him.
Polybius held up his phone before texting her.
'Just keep in touch.' Polybius texted.
"Right." Donna said.
She hated saying goodbye to Polybius. However, she knew she couldn't stay with him much longer.
She hesitated as she turned her back to him. However, just before she took off, she heard someone shout.
"WAIT!" A feminine voice shouted.
Looking back, Polybius and Donna saw Starfire flying towards them at high speed.
"Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye to me!" Starfire shouted, "And not without a hug!"
Starfire then flew into Donna and wrapped her arms around her in one of her hugs. Polybius swore he could almost hear Donna's bones cracking under the pressure as Starfire held onto her tight.
"Good to see you too, Starfire." Donna managed out.
Polybius could see Donna was in obvious pain and quickly moved to separate the two. Starfire, while reluctant, did break off of her as Polybius got between them.
"How have you been friends!?" Starfire asked happily, "Are you undamaged?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Donna replied.
"You must tell me what happened to you!" Starfire demanded, "I do not like it when my friends stop communicating with me."
"Oh, I was just chasing after a lead." Donna said, "That's all."
"That took you to the place called 'Afghanistan?'" Starfire asked.
"Yeah." Donna replied, "Thought I got a break on the case of the guys who attacked and tried to kill Polybius."
"Did you find anything?" Starfire questioned.
"No." Donna answered.
"I see." Starfire said, glancing over at Polybius, "Come, why don't we sit down, and you can tell me all about what happened!"
"No can do Starfire." Donna replied "I've gotta get going home. I've been away for long enough."
"Then I shall fly you over there!" Starfire declared.
"You don't have too." Donna said, "I can take care of myself."
"That is unacceptable!" Starfire proclaimed, "I have long been seeking to spend time with you, and every time you show up, you spend all of it with Polybius! I am starting to think you might be avoiding me."
"No!" Donna quickly countered "It's not that at all. It's just the last time I ran into him, and we got caught up in work, and this time he was sent after me. I promise you I'm not avoiding you at all."
"Then let me fly you home." Starfire said.
"Starfire, you know I can't let you do that." Donna said, "What if my sisters catch you?"
"Then I will stop just before we come within eyesight of your home." Starfire said.
Donna then looked to Polybius for support. The mute attempted to convince Starfire otherwise over text. However, she refused to look at her phone to respond.
"I will not look at my phone, so you can try to convince me otherwise." Starfire declared.
Polybius grew frustrated as Starfire knew that pissed him off. He grabbed her shoulder, but she brushed him off.
"I am going to fly Donna home, and there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise." Starfire said.
Polybius looked back at Donna, frustration visible on his face. She picked up on this and quickly tried a new tactic.
"Why are you making Polybius upset?" Donna questions.
"I am not!" Starfire said, "Polybius just needs to stop doing the hogging of you all to himself."
"He's not!" Donna said, now growing angry.
"He is too!" Starfire said.
Donna let out a sharp sigh before putting a hand on her head in an angered manner.
"Look." Donna said, "How about, next month, I come to visit the tower and spend most of my time with you. Will that make you happy?"
"Yes!" Starfire said, "But you must still let me fly you home."
"Fine." Donna conceded.
"Yay!" Starfire said happily.
Polybius looked at Donna with a look of concern. He was afraid of the outcome of this decision.
"It's alright." Donna answered, "I'll text you later."
Polybius gave her a thumbs up.
"Come, friend! Let us get going! I am eager to speak with you!" Starfire said, grabbing Donna's hand.
"Bye, Polybius." Donna said.
Polybius waved as he watched Starfire and Donna fly away. Once they were out of sight, Polybius boarded his ship and began to make a report to Robin of his findings.
Meanwhile, Starfire and Donna flew towards Paradise Island. As they did, Starfire was quick to fire up a conversation.
"I must ask Donna, why do you choose to spend all of your time away from your home with Polybius?" Starfire asked.
"Why?" Donna said, "I already told you why."
"And you wouldn't be upset if I said that I do not fully believe you." Starfire said.
"What do you mean?" Donna questioned.
"Oh, isn't it obvious?" Starfire asked.
"No." Donna said, "What is it?"
"I think you love him." Starfire stated.
Donna stopped dead in her flight and was shocked by what she had just heard.
"Love!?" Donna questioned.
"Oh yes!" Starfire said, "And you two would make such a cute couple!"
"Us? A couple?" Donna questioned, "No, there is no way that could happen. And my mother would kill me if she found out."
"Oh, who cares what your mother thinks." Starfire countered, "It's obvious to the rest of us that you two certainly like each other a lot."
"But we're more like best friends." Donna said, "Not lovers. I don't think I look at Polybius in that way."
"Maybe not how Polybius looks at you, but how you look at him is far more believable." Starfire said.
"I don't love him." Donna asserted, "He's just my best friend off the island, that's it."
"And why is that?" Starfire asked.
"Because he is a man, and I don't have many guy friends. I've grown up around females all my life, and having a guy friend is a nice break from the norm." Donna explained.
"And?" Starfire pressed, "What is it about him that you like."
"Everything!" Donna answered, "I wish I could be more like him in my life."
"Really?" Starfire said.
"Yeah." Donna assured her, "He's so open-minded, strong, tough, nice, caring, awesome, sweet, and everything good! I just love it! I love him!"
Donna went wide-eyed as she realized what she had just said out loud. She quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. Starfire had heard it all.
"I told you." Starfire stated.
Donna was shocked by what she had just said and started to realize that maybe she did love him. She lowered her hands from her mouth and looked at them.
"I love him." She repeated, "I love Polybius..."
And there you have it! Donna finally admits it, however, does Polybius feel the same way? We'll find out soon, but until then I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a wonderful rest of your day!