Chapter 12
No Breaks...
Irene wasn't sure of what to make of the results. While they were certainly disappointing, they admittedly exceeded her expectations, as well as those of her counterpart, Chief Z.
"I really don't understand this." Irene commented as she looked over the test results again.
Irene had decided to listen to Claudia and try things out with an organic brain with the new weapon system they were building. They were able to find a willing volunteer to be tested on and integrated them into the system successfully.
"I think we used the wrong candidate." Chief Z pointed out.
"What?" Irene questioned.
"Well, I mean, the person we chose is a very strong and vocal advocate for pacifism." Chief Z explained, "He is very anti-war and all that nonsense."
"You think he sabotaged himself or the project?" Irene asked.
"No." Chief Z countered, "I think his natural lack of violent tendencies and an even greater lack of both training and experience led to this failure."
"So you think if we got somebody else to do this, we'd be better off?" Irene asked.
"I think we had better luck with a robot brain." Chief Z stated, "Seriously, where did you get this idea from?"
"I ran into my ex, Claudia, not that long ago, and she threw that idea out there." Irene said.
"Wait, Claudia?" Chief Z asked, "Ex?"
"Things didn't end badly between us!" Irene said, "Honestly, I think we'd still be together if it weren't for our jobs."
"Wait, I thought she was straight!" Chief Z said, "I mean, wasn't it just a few months ago everybody was talking about how she dumped Mat?"
"She's bi!" Irene corrected.
"Oh…" Chief Z said, "You see, I didn't know that she was bi."
"We both are!" Irene said.
"Wait, you're bi too?" Chief Z asked, "I thought you were just gay?"
"Ugh!" Irene let out a long groan, "No, I've had boyfriends and girlfriends!"
"Hey, calm down!" Chief Z said.
"It's not like I hide this either." Irene said, "I'm bi, and I'm proud!"
"Again, calm down." Chief Z pleaded, "You know I'm horrible at picking up both chicks and hints."
"Well, maybe that would explain why you don't have a girlfriend." Irene teased.
"Well, maybe I'm gay!" Chief Z returned.
"Dude, I've seen what you watch on Pornhub." Irene slyly stated, "You're not gay."
Chief Z was left stumbling over his words, unable to formulate even a single sentence. This caused Irene to laugh.
After being thoroughly embarrassed, Chief Z awkwardly shuffled out of the room. Irene assumed it was so he could go to his personal laptop in his room and wipe his internet search history. That was how she had figured it out in the first place after he had brought it into work one day because his work computer was down.
Shifting her attention to her computer, Irene couldn't help but think that Chief Z was partially right. If they had a better candidate, she was confident that they could achieve better test results. All she had to do was find the person.
Meanwhile, back in Mount Justice, Polybius was finally getting around on his own more. And while he was happy about that, what he wasn't happy about was the lack of progress being made on Donna's situation.
It was now Halloween night; however, not long ago, the Team had been through quite a traumatic experience. And due to how much of a down-low Donna's situation was kept on, they had effectively taken priority over her.
Despite this, Polybius also knew it wasn't really their fault. Instead, he was growing more worried and upset with Donna. While her nightmares had finally gone away again, she had yet to sit down with Dinah and have a formal session. He knew that she really didn't want to face her trauma and understood where she was coming from. However, he knew that for the sake of her health, she had to face this.
But tonight was not going to be the night he confronted her about it. Rather, Polybius had encouraged her to go out and enjoy herself. This resulted in her caving to him, and she was going to be out late with some of her girlfriends.
And with the rest of the Team deciding to do their own various activities to celebrate the night, the cave was going to belong to Polybius as he wasn't a fan of Halloween. The main reason was seeing people dress up as the superheroes he worked with and considered some family was very off-putting to him. The one that really stuck with him was his first Halloween, where he saw a girl who decided to try and rock a Black Canary costume, even though she was about four hundred pounds too heavy for it.
Polybius shuddered just thinking about it.
Speaking of his mother, she had wanted to drag him along and get him out of the cave, as he had yet to leave since returning from the hospital. However, he declined. Polybius was not all that interested in seeing the flirty side of his mother because, sure enough, Oliver was going to be there as well. And Polybius neither liked seeing and hearing the flirty side of his mother when he was around, nor did he enjoy being their third wheel.
Regardless, Polybius was excited to have some alone time. He had been doing a lot of thinking lately as he wallowed away in his bed. It was mostly of his past and thinking back to both better and worse days. The good times he had with his brothers and sister and the pain he shared with them.
For the first hour of the night, things were quiet and calm. Polybius sat in his room in his wheelchair and went through some of his possessions. He read up on some of the old files he had hidden away in his safe, as well as looking at some of the old pictures he had. And for that hour, he felt a peace despite feeling so much emotional pain during it.
However, a surprise knock on Polybius's door brought him out of his thoughts and shifted his attention to the door. He was initially extremely confused by it as there shouldn't have been anyone in the cave. He shouldn't even be getting harassed by League, for if they weren't out on patrol, they were holding a little Halloween party upon their Watchtower that Polybius knew about.
"Excuse me?" Polybius whispered to himself as he set down the picture he was looking at.
Polybius waited for a moment to see if the knock would come again. And sure enough, it did.
"Hello!" Polybius called out.
When no answer came, Polybius instinctively reached for the handgun that he kept in the safe. He put everything back in the safe and locked it up tight before investigating.
Polybius knew that no matter what happened, he was at a disadvantage. With him being in a wheelchair, he was permanently on the low ground.
Wheeling over to the door, Polybius angled himself as best he could so he wasn't directly in the doorway when it opened up. And when he did open the door, he saw that no one was there and that all of the lights in the hall had been shut off except for the one at the end of the hall.
"The hell?" Polybius questioned as he looked down the hallway, "What kind of bad prank is someone trying to pull on me?"
Polybius then heard what sounded like metal hitting the floor.
"Aw hell naw." Polybius said as he closed the door.
Polybius then wheeled himself back over to his safe. However, before he could open it up, sure enough, there was a knock on his door.
"Oh, you need to piss off." Polybius grumbled to himself.
Deciding to ignore it, Polybius grabbed his phone and began scrolling through Facebook. This was a mistake as all of his Facebook friends were posting about how much fun they were having on that night, accompanied by a myriad of pictures of them either seeing and/or doing very questionable things.
And as Polybius scrolled, the knocking on his door continued to come and go periodically. He continued to ignore it; however, he was starting to get annoyed by it.
And after ten minutes of repeated knocking, Polybius decided to do something about it. Wheeling himself over to his door again, Polybius got there and opened the door.
"Let somebody knock on this damn door again!" Polybius shouted into the hall as he began waving his gun in the air, "You gon get shot the hell up!"
Polybius closed the door again, and this time, sat and waited. He sat and was daring whoever was ding dong ditching him to do it again.
And sure enough, another knock came. Polybius was quick on the release with the door but was surprised to see no one there.
"Oh…." Polybius said, realizing what was going on, "Diana got a crew in on this now!"
Polybius then remember a few weeks ago when Diana had told him she had something big in store for him to top off what he had done to her on her birthday. This led him to believe that she was trying to pull a major prank to get him back.
Putting his handgun back into his safe, Polybius knew he didn't need it. They weren't gonna actually hurt him, just try and unnerve him.
"Okay!" Polybius mockingly shouted down the hall, "Oh no! There's a mysterious knocking on my door! Whatever will I do!? Oh, I know! I'll go be the Scooby-Doo gang and go check this out! I hope nothing bad happens to me, like a scary monster jumping out of the dark! I really hope it does not try to murder me!"
Polybius then wheeled himself down the hall towards the training room. Once there, he found all of the lights on and the handful of Halloween decorations the Team had decided to put up.
"You know what, I changed my mind." Polybius declared, "Alright, look y'all, I don't play this Halloween bullshit! Now whoever the hell keeps knocking on my damn door needs to knock it the hell off!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that." The feminine voice came up from behind him.
Looking back, Polybius saw a green-skinned woman with red hair come walking out of the shadows. Her clothing reminded Polybius of leaves, and she was also accompanied by several large vines.
"Ha, ha, ha!" Polybius laughed, "Honey, who are you, the ghost of Mountain Dews past? Ha, ha! You here to show me all the Mountain Dews I've had, and how I don't appreciate them enough?"
"What, no!" The lady returned.
"Wait! Burh! Oh shit! I know what's going on!" Polybius declared, "You're gonna give me one of dem rings so I can be the next Green Lantern! While I probably won't use it responsibly, just give it to me, hun! I promise I won't let you down!"
"I'm not that person either!" The lady said, "We're here to kidnap you!"
"Oh shit! Where we gon go?" Polybius asked, "With how you dressed, we going to the strip club, ain't we! Come on! Let's go! Let's go!"
"I'm not-" The lady started but cut herself off from getting too angry, "No! We're going somewhere where they won't find you?"
"A dirty locker?" Polybius asked, "Cause you look like the stench from a locker!"
"That's it!" The lady shouted, "I'm not some dirty, nasty stripper! I'm Poison Ivy!"
"Wait." Polybius said, "Weren't you like, just arrested a few weeks ago? How are you here?"
"Cause I busted her out!" Another feminine voice declared.
Looking over, Polybius saw Harley Quinn come out from behind the decorations with a huge mallet.
"Wait." Polybius said, still in a playful mood, not believing he was in any actual danger, "If she's the ghost of Mountain Dews past, then are the ghost of white powdered red velvet cake's past?"
"Oh, now I could go for some cake!" Harley stated.
"Focus!" Ivy shouted, "We're here to kidnap him! Remember!"
"Oh yeah!" Harley piped up, "Wait, who are you again?"
"Me?" Polybius asked, "I'm Polybius."
"Polybius?" Harley questioned, "That name doesn't ring any bells."
"Well they should have warned you two about me." Polybius stated, "Cause I do not care that you two are females. I'll slap the hell out of both of you."
"Good luck with that!" Ivy taunted.
Hearing movement behind him, Polybius looked back to see vines heading right for him, too fast for him to make an effort to dodge them.
"Oh shoot!" Polybius laughed, "I'm actually in danger."
Polybius then felt the vines begin to wrap around him and his chair.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey!" Polybius shouted, causing Ivy to stop.
"What!?" Ivy demanded, anger high in her voice.
"Please, mind the leg." Polybius pointed to his bad leg, "I'm trying to surprise everyone by walking on the first day of winter instead of Christmas like I promised."
"You think I care-" Ivy started but was cut off by Harley.
"Oh, please mind his leg!" Harley begged, "I like him! He's funny!"
"Thank you!" Polybius called out.
"Fine!" Ivy grumbled.
The vines then began moving, and Polybius chuckled and said, "I'm in danger."
Polybius didn't actually think he was in any danger. He assumed this was a prank by Wonder Woman and a few other Leaguers she got to help her. Even as the real Poison Ivy strapped him to his seat with the vines, and the real Harley Quinn watched on.
"Let's get outta here before anybody shows up!" Harley said as she ran up and put a bag over his head.
As the two made their getaway with the crippled Polybius meanwhile, Claudia looked over at her calendar.
"Halloween?" Claudia questioned herself, "Can't say I remember the last time I celebrated that."
Claudia then looked away from her calendar back at her desk. She was both physically and mentally exhausted. Several empty cans of various energy drinks lay scattered around the room as Claudia fought to keep herself awake to continue her work.
However, instead of going back to work, she let out a long sigh and pulled out her phone. She opened her camera and looked at her face.
"I look horrible." Claudia said as she looked at the baggage under her eyes, "Maybe some makeup wouldn't kill me."
Turning off her phone and tossing it to the side, Claudia let out a huge yawn.
"Or maybe I'm missing something." Claudia also said to herself.
Claudia then looked over at the mini-fridge she kept in her office. She reached over and opened it intending to grab another energy drink.
"Dang it!" Claudia said when she saw she was out, "Did I really drink that many?"
Claudia then looked around her office and counted how many empty cans there were.
"I really did." Claudia said, "Oh well. Guess that means I've gotta send somebody to the store tomorrow then."
Claudia then let out another tired sigh and looked over at her laptop, and then back up to her calendar.
"Halloween." Claudia repeated, "When was the last time I celebrated Halloween? Had to be at least five years ago before I started this job, right?"
Claudia closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Did I start this job five years ago?" Claudia questioned, "Or was it six? Maybe four or seven? Gosh, I'm too freaking tired!"
Claudia stood up and yawned again.
"Question is, do I wanna sleep here again, or go to my room and sleep?" Claudia asked herself, "Actually, when was the last time I slept in my room?"
Claudia then glanced over her calendar again.
"Today is Tuesday… So maybe a week ago?" Claudia asked, "Or the Sunday before that?"
Claudia yawned again, and this time lifted up her arms to stretch out. However, as she did so, she caught the nasty smell of her own body odor coming from her armpits.
"Ew!" Claudia said, quickly dropping her arms, "I need some deodorant."
Claudia then grabbed her purse that she kept on top of the fridge, pulled out a deodorant bar, and used it.
"That's better." Claudia said as she took a seat in her chair.
Claudia yawned again.
"I don't think I'm gonna make it to my room." Claudia told herself, "Welp, looks like I'm spending another night in my office."
Using her office chair that had wheels on the bottom, she rolled back and locked her door so she wouldn't get any unwanted visitors as she slept. She then leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
About an hour later, Polybius had finally realized that what had happened to him was not a prank but was an actual kidnapping. He now found himself in an unknown location, tied down by vines to his wheelchair, which was also bound to a wall by those same vines. He had been gagged by the vines as well and couldn't talk.
All he knew is that the room was covered in plants and somewhat dark. There was a door at the far end of the wall across from him. He was also in a corner of the room, which he found a little odd, but didn't question it. However, he was glad that the two females who had kidnapped him were nice enough to leave his injured leg alone.
"Alright!" The voice of Harley Quinn echoed in the room as she walked in, "Let's do this!"
Polybius then found himself ungagged as the vine retreated from his mouth.
"Hey funny man!" Harley greeted as Poison Ivy walked in behind her, "I've got some questions for you!"
"Okay." Polybius said, "Ask away!"
"There's no point in resi- Wait, what?" Haley questioned, "You're not gonna resist?"
"Why would I?" Polybius asked.
"Don't you wanna protect your friends?" Harley asked, "You know, hero code and all that?"
"First off, I ain't no hero." Polybius said, "And secondly, I'm just a janitor."
"Wait, you're the Justice League's janitor?" Ivy asked.
"Yeah." Polybius replied, "I take care of Mount Justice for them."
"I thought they abandoned that place?" Harley asked.
"Kinda sorta not really." Polybius answered, "I mean, obviously, you two know that it's being used."
"Yeah!" Harley confirmed, clearly lying, "We obviously knew that!"
"Sure…" Polybius said, realizing that they didn't know that it was occupied.
"Well, I suppose if you're going to be cooperative, I'm gonna go get some takeout." Ivy said.
"Oh! Can we get some pizza instead!?" Harley asked, "It's been so long since I last had pizza!"
"Sure, whatever." Ivy said, "You want some from that fancy place or the cheap place?"
"The fancy one!" Harley said.
"You know, I'm gonna have you chip in if I go to the fancy one, right?" Ivy asked.
"That's alright." Harley said, "I'm sure funny man here has got some money in his wallet, right?"
"Actually, my wallet was left at Mount Justice." Polybius said.
"Aw!" Harley said, "Go to the cheap place then. It's closer anyway."
"Okay." Ivy said.
"You want anything, Polybius?" Harley asked, looking over at him.
"You're offering me good food?" Polybius asked.
"Good is not a term I would use to describe the pizza from that place." Ivy said, "But I mean, we may be villains, but we aren't going to starve you to death."
"Aw, thanks!" Polybius said, "If that's the case, then I'll do a meat-lovers."
"Alright." Ivy said, "And I already know what you want."
"Hawaiian!" Harley piped up.
"Not what I guessed, but alright!" Ivy said.
With that, Poison Ivy left, leaving Polybius alone with Harley Quinn.
"So! My interview!" Polybius started, "Tell me, what is it you would like to know!"
"Well, first off, I want to know, as a man, do you think this outfit looks good?" Harley asked.
Polybius was unfamiliar with Harley Quinn but had been aware of her existence. He looked her over and saw that she was wearing a skin-tight red and black shirt, as well as skin-tight red and black yoga shorts with skin-tight red and black boots.
"Well, if you're looking for a sexual attraction opinion, I'm not the person to ask." Polybius said, "But, I mean, it looks good."
"Really?" Harley asked, "You don't think it makes me look fat?"
"Naw!" Polybius said, "Honestly, it highlights your figure very well."
"Aw, you're such a sweetheart!" Harley said.
"I mean, honestly, I think if you were worried about looking fat, you wouldn't have chosen something skin-tight." Polybius pointed out, "Although, why skin tight?"
"You think it's too tight?" Harley asked, "The guys at the tailor I went to said they got it right! I'm gonna be pissed if they didn't!"
"No, no, no, no, no!" Polybius said, "I'm just confused why so many people in the hero and villain industries chose to wear skin-tight clothing? It just doesn't make sense to me."
"Oh!" Harley replied, "Well… Honestly, I don't know. You got me there."
"I mean, I'd imagine that if things are so tight, sooner or later, it's gotta get in the way of fighting and moving, right?" Polybius asked.
"Not really." Harley said, "It's made out of a super stretch material that works really well."
"It must." Polybius agreed, "Although, I personally wouldn't wear it. I think yall miss the value of a good pair of sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt."
"Really?" Harley asked, "That's what you'd rather fight in?"
"I honestly don't care what I fight in." Polybius said, "For me, it's more about personal preference, you know?"
"I get ya." Harley said, "I mean, I suppose it's the same for a lot of us."
"Yeah." Polybius agreed, "Honestly, for about a year, I always thought y'all were like, advertising, trying to hustle some money on the side."
"You thought we were all hoes?" Harley asked.
"Yeah!" Polybius said, "I mean, where I come from, the only people who wear clothing that tight are adult dancers, so I was really confused for a long time until I realized that Superman was getting no action."
"Wait!" Harley said, "You mean Superman has trouble getting laid?"
"He's been courting the same woman since he started his career." Polybius said, "And it's the slowest thing I have ever seen! Dude is getting no action!"
"That's funny." Harley stated with a small giggle, "Despite all his super-ness, he can't even get laid!"
And there you have it! Chapter 12! Firstly, I want to take a moment and say thank you to everyone! This story has blown up quite a bit in the last three days. So thank you to everyone who has thus far left a review, favorited, followed, and shared this story! You all make me really want to work on this and I'm already halfway done with the next chapter, so expect that very soon!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please don't be afraid to let me know what you think. I know I'm really pushing the T rating of this story, but I'm going to try and keep it T, but any feedback would be very useful.
And of course, as always, have a good one!