Chapter 7
Problem One...
Artemis was in full-blown panic mode. She was freaking out as the Team had just been captured by two Red Tornado sibling robots, and she had no hope of beating them. She didn't know what to do or where to turn to as her mind raced for possible solutions as she crawled through the vents.
However, because she was so focused on finding a solution, she didn't realize that there was a drop, and she fell straight through it and landed in the trophy room. It took her a moment to recover from the fall before she picked herself up.
"This is hopeless." Artemis told herself, "My only hope is that the League finds me before the Reds do."
"So that's it?" A male voice spoke up from behind her.
Artemis let out a shriek of terror as she turned and faced the man. However, a wave of relief washed over her when she saw that it was Polybius.
"Polybius!" Artemis greeted happily, but also confused, "How did you escape the Reds!?"
"Not important." Polybius said as he approached her, "But what is, is what are you going to do?"
"Me!?" Artemis asked, "What do you mean me!?"
"I'm asking you, what's your plan?" Polybius asked.
"What plan?" Artemis asked, "There's nothing I can do!"
"So nothing." Polybius said, "That's your plan?"
"Do you have a better idea!?" Artemis asked, "Because I'm all ears."
"Hey, I'm the innocent civilian caught in the line of fire here." Polybius explained, "It's not my job to save the world, just to clean up the mess you make saving it."
"That's not helping!" Artemis shouted, "Ugh! Out of everyone I could get trapped with, of course, it had to be you!"
"What's wrong with me?" Polybius asked.
"You remind me of my Dad!" Artemis said.
"Is it that?" Polybius asked, "Or is it because you're afraid that I know something that you don't want getting out?"
Artemis's blood ran cold as those words left Polybius's mouth. She had always suspected that he knew more than he let on, but now, he just confirmed that he did.
"You… You can't tell!" Artemis quickly defended herself.
"If we stand here and argue, there won't be anyone to tell." Polybius pointed out.
Artemis looked away from the young man and held back tears. Her situation was so hopeless, and she felt like she had no good options.
"So what are you going to do?" Polybius asked.
"Stop asking me that!" Artemis shouted, "I already told you, there is nothing I can do!"
"I don't think you realize what's at stake here." Polybius said.
"Yes I do!" Artemis said, "The lives of my friends!"
"And so much more." Polybius added.
"How?" Artemis asked.
"With their deaths, it's likely the League won't want to pursue young heroes. Which would put you out of the game." Polybius started, "But what would be worse is it could lead to extremism within the League."
"Extremism?" Artemis asked.
"With the deaths of so many young heroes, it may cause the League to become harsher, and cross lines they didn't think they were going to cross." Polybius started, "And when they find the person responsible for these attacks, the League may execute them."
"Woah, calm down, Polybius." Artemis said, "The League doesn't kill."
"Right now." Polybius countered, "But you should believe no one incapable of anything, but instead, everyone, capable of everything."
"So you're saying that if I do nothing, the world is going to hell!?" Artemis asked, concern high in her voice.
"Maybe." Polybius said, "Or you can save the Team, earn their trust and respect, and change the course of history."
"Change history?" Artemis questioned, "Why can't you help me do something!?"
"Because this isn't my fight." Polybius explained, "It's yours."
"They're your friends as well!" Artemis pointed out, "And I'm pretty sure Black Canary won't be happy if you just sat by and let them die!"
"And what am I to do?" Polybius asked, "I'm just a bystander. The innocent civilian in harm's way."
"Can't you think of something to do!?" Artemis demanded.
Polybius didn't answer her question as he walked towards the wall of souvenirs. He grabbed the arrow that was on a stand and looked at it.
"I've been in this position before." Polybius started, catching Artemis off guard, "As you know, I saved the League a long while ago. But I had a choice that day. I also could have walked away and left them to their fates. But I chose to do something, even though, at the time, it seemed hopeless and stupid. Because of my actions, and mine alone, the League still exists. And it'll be through your actions on this day that will decide the next thousand years."
Polybius then turned and faced Artemis.
"So let me ask you again. What are you going to do?" Polybius questioned as he extended the arrow.
Artemis looked at Polybius and then down at the arrow. She was unaware that Polybius had saved the League, but it did make sense to her. It would explain how he got so close to them and why Black Canary would adopt him.
Artemis approached Polybius and grabbed hold of the arrow.
"I've gotta try." Artemis said, "Even if it doesn't work."
"Teach them respect." Polybius encouraged.
Artemis nodded as Polybius let go of the arrow.
"I will." Artemis assured him.
While Artemis's plan was successful and would save the Team, it would ultimately lead to Red Tornado suddenly changing sides and turning on the Team. Polybius watched all of this unfold from a safe distance. He knew that he didn't stand much of a chance against the powerhouses. However, seeing all of the Team go down, this prompted him to finally reach out to his mother, who was on a date with Green Arrow in Gotham. He would have done it a lot earlier if the cellular signal hadn't been cut off.
"Polybius?" Black Canary questioned, looking down at her phone.
"What does he want?" Green Arrow asked, "He knows you're on a date, right?"
As Polybius listened to the phone ring, Red Tornado spotted him.
"Kill him." Red Tornado ordered.
"Hello?" Black Canary asked as Polybius realized how much danger he was in.
"MOM, I'VE GOT A PROBLEM HERE!" Polybius shouted over the phone as he got up and quickly began to run, which was loud enough for Green Arrow to hear as well.
Despite moving as fast as he could, the fire robot was faster and launched a fireball at him. This subsequently caused an explosion, knocking Polybius off his feet and his phone out of his hand. This also caused stratnel from the blast to fly everywhere.
"OOF!" Polybius let out as he felt the explosion hit him.
"Polybius!" Canary panicked over the phone.
The only response the adoptive mother would get would be the static from the other end of the phone as the robots reblocked all signals.
"What's going on?" Green Arrow asked, concern high in his voice.
"Polybius! Answer me!" Canary demanded.
Static.
The two sat in silence for a moment, hoping that Polybius would respond. However, none would ever come through.
"Come on!" Canary said, standing up, "We've gotta go!"
"Right." Green Arrow agreed.
"I'll stay on the line with Polybius in case anything comes through." Canary said, "You call everyone else and tell them that something's happened to Polybius."
The two rushed out of the restaurant as fast as they could. The first person Green Arrow called was Superman.
"Hello?" Superman asked over the phone.
"Clark!" Green Arrow said, "Something's happened to Polybius."
"What!?" Superman asked, concern quickly rising in his voice, "Where is he?"
"We don't know." Green Arrow explained, "We're headed to the cave now because that's where he most likely is."
"I'm alerting the others now." Superman replied, "I will see you both at the cave."
The two wasted no time getting out of the restaurant. Once they got out, they ducked into a nearby mall, changed into their costumes, and took off on foot to the nearest Zeta Tube entrance.
"Damnit!" Black Canary cursed.
"What's wrong?" Green Arrow asked.
"The Zeta Tubes at the cave are offline." Canary replied.
"Hold on." Green Arrow said.
Green Arrow was quick to call up Batman.
"Batman!" Green Arrow said, "We need a pick-up. Zeta Tubes at the cave are offline."
"Meet me at the park." Batman ordered, "I'll pick you up there."
"We're on our way." Green Arrow replied.
It didn't take the two long to get to the park. However, they got their way ahead of Batman and found themselves waiting. This was torture to the two, especially Black Canary, who was visibly anxious. She was trembling and on the verge of tears.
"He's going to be alright." Green Arrow assured her as he took her hand, "He's been through much worse."
"Yeah." Canary agreed, not fully paying attention to him, "He'll be alright."
"Hey." Green Arrow said, now gaining more of her attention, "Remember where you found Polybius? Remember how bad that situation was for him?"
"Yes." Canary replied, her quiver betraying her attempt at confidence.
Green Arrow couldn't help but notice how distraught she was. Normally, she was a very clear-headed individual and knew how to deal with stress. However, this situation seemed to the one that was breaking her.
"He'll be alright." Green Arrow assured her, in a softer and calmer tone.
Canary didn't respond as Batman finally showed up in his ship. The two wasted no time climbing on board and soon began heading to Mount Justice. The trip seemed like an eternity to Black Canary as no matter what she did, she couldn't stop worrying about her adopted son.
However, they weren't the only ones worrying, as the entire League was now alerted to the situation, and all available members we're all heading to Mount Justice with the exception of one Leaguer and her sidekick.
Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl had stopped to rest and catch their breaths as ever since they had gotten into Tartarus, it had been nearly non-stop fighting. However, their mission did not take as nearly as long as either of them had anticipated. They were able to complete it much faster and were getting ready to head back to the United States.
However, as they did so, Wonder Woman got the alert.
"Oh no." Wonder Woman said once she got the alert.
"What?" Wonder Girl asked.
"Something happened to Polybius." Wonder Woman answered.
"What!?" Wonder Girl asked in a panicked tone, "What's going on!?"
"Nobody knows." Wonder Woman answered, "All they know is Zeta Tubes to Mount Justice have gone offline, and Polybius's last words were him saying that he had a problem."
"We've gotta go!" Wonder Girl said, standing up.
"Agreed." Wonder Woman quickly said.
With that, the two took off towards Mount Justice, but it would be hours before they would arrive.
However, the first person to arrive at Mount Justice was Superman. He saw that someone had left the hangar door open.
"I'm at Mount Justice." Superman reported in, "Someone's left the hangar door open. Moving in to investigate."
"Be careful." Batman warned over the radio, "If whatever took out Polybius is still there, then it has likely also taken out the Team. Approach with caution."
"Will do." Superman replied as he approached the door.
Superman flew into the hanger and scanned the room. The first thing he saw was the Team lying on the ground, unconscious.
"I've found the team." Superman reported, "They're all unconscious."
"And hostiles?" Green Arrow asked.
"Not that I can see." Superman replied, "I also don't see Polybius."
Superman landed by the Team. As he touched the ground, he was joined by Flash, who came running into the room.
"What happened here?" Flash asked as he joined Superman in tending to the Team.
"I don't know." Superman answered.
Looking around the room again, Superman saw some flames still burning bright that were blocking off a hallway to the rooms.
"But we've got to deal with that." Superman said as he moved to deal with it.
As he did, Batman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow landed outside and ran into.
"I've got it." Aquaman said as he and Martian Manhunter came out of the water.
As the flames were extinguished, Batman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow entered the cave right as the Team began to wake up.
"Artemis." Superman said, "Artemis, can you hear me?"
As Artemis opened her eyes, everyone grouped around the Team.
"She's alright." Superman called out.
"That accounts for everyone except for-" Martian Manhunter started but was cut off by Black Canary.
"Polybius." Black Canary finished.
"Artemis." Superman started, "What happened?"
"What happened?" Artemis asked, "The Reds happened! Tornado and his- wait, where are they?"
"Gone." Robin answered, "All three of them. Gone."
"How do you know this?" Batman asked.
"I woke up right as they were leaving." Robin explained, "However, I was too weak to try and stop them."
"That still leaves Polybius unaccounted for." Green Arrow said.
"He was in the trophy room last I saw him." Artemis spoke up, "But that was before Red Tornado turned on us."
"Do you know what he was planning on doing?" Black Canary asked.
"I know he was hiding away from the other two." Artemis said, "I don't if they went after him after knocking us out or what he did."
"They did go after him." Batman explained, "He managed to get through to Black Canary before communication was cut off, alerting her that something had happened here, but he wasn't able to say what as an explosion cut him off."
"Do any of you have any idea what happened to him?" Superman asked.
The Team shook their heads.
"Then we need to spread out and search the facility." Batman ordered, "Find him."
The first place everyone looked was where the flames had been burning before Aquaman put them out. Once there, they saw a pool of blood at the far end of the hall.
"Over here!" Superman, who was the first to see it, called out.
The pool of blood was a decent size and also looked like someone had been dragged through it as blood streaks created a path down the hallway and away from the hangar door.
Following the trail, they found it to lead directly to Polybius's room. The door had been shut, but there was blood on the control panel used to open it.
"The trail ends here." Batman said as he moved to open the door.
Upon opening the door, the group was greeted with a grizzly sight.
Polybius was in his room, lying on the floor by one of the boxes. He had managed to drag himself from the hall to his room and performed self-aid as he was wearing a turner kit on his right leg. However, his right leg from the knee to right above his ankle was torn up. Chunks of flesh were hanging freely, but the hemorrhaging had stopped thanks to the turner kit. However, it seemed that shortly after applying the turner kit that saved his life, he passed out.
"Oh shit!" Green Arrow said, being the first to see Polybius.
Superman and Batman rushed in. Black Canary and the Team tried to do so as well but were stopped by Green Arrow.
"You guys aren't going to want to see this." Green Arrow told them.
The Team stopped, but Black Canary tried to push past him.
"Get out of my way!" Black Canary demanded as she tried to move past him, but he stopped her.
"Trust me, Dinah." Green Arrow pressed, "You really don't want to see this."
"He's my son!" Black Canary shouted, "I don't care!"
Pushing past Green Arrow, Black Canary rushed into the room and saw Polybius. She gasped as she rushed to Polybius's side.
"Polybius!" Black Canary called out.
Polybius didn't respond and was barely breathing.
"We need to get him to a hospital." Batman stated, "Superman, go!"
"Right!" Superman agreed as he picked up Polybius.
As Superman picked up Polybius, the Team was moved out of the way so they wouldn't see Polybius.
"What hospital are you taking him to?" Canary asked as Superman stood up, "The one in Happy Harbor doesn't have the equipment to deal with something like this."
"The one in Gotham City does." Batman spoke up, "Take him there as it's the closest."
"Will do." Superman said.
With that, Superman took off. Martian Manhunter worked swiftly to get the Zeta Tubes back online. As he worked, Black Canary impatiently waited for him to get done. She kept herself under control but was visibly shaken and distraught, and the Team noticed it.
"How bad do you think Polybius is?" Kid Flash asked the group.
"Bad." Aqualad answered, "If they did not want us to see him, then it must have been-"
"Gruesome." Robin cut off Aqualad.
"Yes." Aqualad agreed.
Miss Martian looked over at Black Canary. She could sense that the adoptive mother was on the verge of tears but fighting hard to not cry in front of everyone. Miss Martian wished there was a way she could help her but knew there was nothing she could do.
"I hope Black Canary will be alright as well." Miss Martian spoke up.
"She will be." Aqualad assured her.
The Team then watched as Green Arrow and Batman approached her.
"You need to change into civilians." Batman said, "We can't risk compromising Polybius's safety while he's in the hospital. If you show up in uniform, you will only put him at a greater risk."
"R- Right." Black Canary stumbled, surprising the Team.
Green Arrow walked with her and walked to Polybius's room. Green Arrow waited outside as Canary changed into civilian clothing. However, as she did, her eyes caught the pictures hanging on Polybius's wall. Specifically, the one from the day she adopted him. She remembered how happy that day was and seeing Polybius cry for the first and only time. It gave her a moment of relief from the misery she was in now.
However, it was only a brief moment as her mind quickly returned to the situation at hand, and she promptly finished changing and rushed back to the Zeta Tubes.
It wasn't long after Green Arrow changed that Martian Manhunter finished restoring the Zeta Tubes, and the two were able to go Gotham.
"I'll be there soon." Batman assured them.
"We'll see you there." Green Arrow said as they were teleported away.
Batman then shifted his attention to the Team.
"How bad is it?" Superboy spoke up for the group.
"It's bad." Batman said, "Polybius has lost a lot of blood and has sustained severe damage to his lower right leg."
"Then how did he get to his room if he couldn't walk?" Kid Flash asked.
"He crawled." Batman answered, "He managed to stay awake long enough to crawl all the way from the explosion to his room, where he was able to apply a turner kit to stop the bleeding. However, it wasn't long after that, that he passed out."
"Will he be alright?" Miss Martian asked for the group.
"We don't know." Batman answered, "The damage to his leg is severe, but the fact that he was able to apply a turner kit on himself has likely saved his life."
The Team let out a sigh of relief.
"Now we just need to get payback on those Reds!" Superboy declared.
"You will do no such thing." Batman ordered.
"What!?" The Team questioned.
"Red Tornado is a League member, making him a League priority." Batman explained.
"You expect us to sit by and let you guys deal with it after what just happened!?" Artemis demanded, "Not gonna happen!"
"Please, calm down." Martian Manhunter said, jumping in the conversation, "I know you all are upset about the androids and Polybius, but Batman is right. We will handle this."
The Team grumbled but didn't protest as they knew they weren't going to win.
Roughly an hour later, Polybius was on life support. Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Superman, who was now in his civilian disguise, were all waiting outside. Inside, doctors had Polybius on a respirator and were performing emergency surgery on the damaged area of his leg in an attempt to save the limb.
Now that things had finally calmed down, and Polybius was in the best care he could possibly be in, Dinah relaxed a little. However, her thoughts did not stop as she found herself spiraling downwards with them. She knew she was making the situation worse in her head than it actually was, but no matter what she did, she couldn't stop it.
Oliver and Clark both assured her that Polybius would be alright, but it didn't help. The fact that Polybius was on life support was what was really getting her.
"He's going to be alright, Dinah." Oliver assured her again, "Polybius is a tough guy. He'll pull through."
She didn't respond as she wouldn't be given the chance too. As soon as he finished those words, Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl, both dressed in civilian clothing, entered the waiting room.
"Diana." Clark greeted, "I thought you two were out on a long mission?"
"It ended up not taking us as long as we thought it was going to." Diana answered, "How is he?"
"It's bad." Superman said.
"How bad?" Donna quickly jumped in.
"He's on life support in the ICU." Dinah answered.
"Is he going to make it!?" Donna demanded.
"He managed to apply a turner kit on himself." Oliver explained, "However, he's lost a lot of blood, and the damage to his leg is severe."
"But is he going to live?" Donna asked.
"We… We don't know." Clark answered, "All we can do now is wait and hope for the best."
With that, both Diana and Donna joined the group in waiting to hear the results about Polybius. They were all on edge and prayed that Polybius would be okay.
And there you have it! Chapter 7! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't be afraid to let me know what you think about this, and as always, have a good one!