Chapter 35
Complacency...
"So anyway, I started blasting." Polybius said after being rudely interrupted by Kid Flash.
"Are you alright?" Donna asked.
"Me?" Polybius questioned, "They never laid a hand on me."
It had been a few days since everything went down on the Watchtower. He let the Team take the credit for the victory, as he didn't want it. He was afraid that by taking any credit, this would revive the League's push to get him to join.
What he didn't know, however, was that the League already had a plan for him.
Polybius was currently down in Mount Justice, just getting off of work. And today was Donna's first day back from Paradise Island, so the two naturally wanted to spend some time together.
"Well, I'm glad everything turned out alright." Donna told him, "Still, I wish you could have called me."
"Yeah, well, it's not my fault your people chose to live in an age long past." Polybius answered.
"You know, we do have some technology way ahead of man's world." Donna pointed out.
"But still way behind mine." Polybius said, "And don't even get me started on your metal. I would have figured you guys would have developed at least Synthetic Super Tungsten, if not Ultra."
"Synthetic Super Tungsten?" Donna asked.
"My world didn't develop gunpowder until it was super obsolete." Polybius quickly explained, "Because of this, fighting with metal and swords stayed a lot longer, and we developed some pretty crazy stuff. Synthetic Super Tungsten is essentially tungsten artificially created but was roughly a quarter of the weight. Was great for armor until Ultra was developed, which was even stronger and lighter."
"Oh." Donna replied, "So is that what your armor was made out of?"
"No." Polybius said, "My armor would have been slightly worse than yours, or Diana's bracelets."
"Really?" Donna asked.
"From what I've seen, that's about the best analogy I can come up with." Polybius told her, "I tell you, if I had five wishes, that would be the fifth thing I would wish for."
"And what would be the first four?" Donna asked.
Polybius never got a chance to answer that question, as the two were approached by Superman, Black Canary, Batman, and Wonder Woman.
"Good Afternoon Polybius." Superman greeted.
"Hey." Polybius replied, "That dang generator is back up and running again, although, I tell you, I think it's at the end of its life. With how much work I've put into that one generator, it's probably going to be cheaper to just replace it."
"Thanks for the input." Superman said, "But that's not what we're here to talk about."
"Oh boy, I'm getting fired, aren't I?" Polybius questioned.
"No! Not at all!" Superman quickly said, "This is nothing bad. You haven't done anything wrong. But we do want to talk to you about something important. Actually, a few important things."
"Something we've been meaning to talk to you about." Wonder Woman said.
Polybius let out a long sigh of mild frustration as he didn't want to do this. He was eager to run off with Donna, but he knew that if he did, he would be thinking about this while they hung out.
"Fine." Polybius said, "What is it?"
"Let's talk somewhere more private." Black Canary said.
"Oh boy." Polybius mumbled before saying, "Well, my room's a good place to hide. That's where I hide from the Team when I don't want to deal with them. But before we go, is this something Donna should sit in on, or no?"
"That's up to you." Black Canary replied.
Polybius then looked over to her.
"You wanna?" Polybius asked.
"If you want me." Donna said.
"Then come on." Polybius said, "Let's go."
Kid Flash watched as the group made their way towards Polybius's room. He couldn't help but wonder what they were going to talk about.
Once in the clone veteran's room, they shut the door behind them, and Polybius took a seat on his bed, and Donna took one next to him.
"Alright." Polybius said, "Lay it on me."
"The first thing we want to address is what you were talking about with Savage." Batman started.
"You wanna know about that thing?" Polybius asked.
"Polybius, none of us have ever heard you talk about anything like that before." His adoptive mother told him, "I mean, you've brought it up to me, but when we were reviewing the security footage, it was clear that whatever it was scares you."
"Try terrifies." Polybius corrected, "And you all had better pray to whatever god you want that that thing doesn't come here. Because none of you have the power to stop it. I don't have the power to stop it. And I'm pretty sure no god has the power to stop it either. At least none I've ever heard of."
"What can you tell us about it?" Batman pressed.
"I'm not talking about it." Polybius quickly shot down, "Because I know if I do, I'm gonna have nightmares tonight. Hell, I had nightmares the night after that whole ordeal went down. And let me tell you, having to dream your deaths to that thing was not a pleasant experience. It never is, and is sadly, one that I keep repeatedly seeing."
"Well then, at least answer this." Wonder Woman said, "You said you weren't sure if it was actually killing people. What do you mean by that?"
"Because I saw a… uh… a fellow clone, who got shot and killed…." Polybius hesitated as he was petrified, "Uh. Well, one of those things came up to him. It…"
Polybius was visibly trembling at recalling this memory. Donna took his hand to try and comfort him but to no avail.
"That- That thing. It got to him and kept working at him, at his armor and clothes, trying to get them off." Polybius went on, "Eventually, it got to him and… H- He started screaming—blood-curdling screams. I'll never forget those screams. Those damn screams. And then how he got up and started coming after us again."
"Like a Zombie?" Batman asked.
"Like that but worse." Polybius said, "Much worse."
Even Batman would be lying if he said he wasn't a little surprised to see just how badly Polybius was trembling at just the thought of this thing. Superman, Black Canary, Batman, and Wonder Woman all exchanged looks with each other as Donna did her best to comfort her boyfriend.
"And there's nothing that can stop it." Polybius said, "I don't know how to stop it. If I did… my squad would still be alive."
A question then suddenly crossed everyone's mind when Polybius said that.
"Was that clone one of your squadmates?" Batman asked.
"Ironic." Polybius answered, "His name in English would have translated to 'Zombie' too."
A heavy silence fell in the room as Polybius had remembered his fallen squadmates, and everyone began to grasp a big part of the reason he was so afraid of them. From what they could precise together, it wasn't because the thing he was scared of was truly all that powerful as he was saying, but instead, because they were what finally brought his squad down.
"Enough of this!" Polybius suddenly declared, "Let's all be glad that these things won't come to this world and that we are free of them. Because if they ever came here, no one could stop them, not even one of them. What's next!?"
"The next thing we wanted to talk to you about is your relation to the League." Batman said.
"Now I already told you, I'm not getting involved with that!" Polybius quickly shot down.
"Hear us out first." Black Canary begged, "We think we've got a plan you'll actually like."
Polybius let out another frustrated sigh but allowed them to continue.
"We know that you don't want to fight, nor do you want to be a public-facing member." Wonder Woman started, "But, your experience and knowledge has proven time and time again to be vital in several victories, including the most recent one."
"So?" Polybius asked, "I'm happy with being a close friend and not a member."
"Well, we were thinking about making you a 'silent-member.'" Superman said.
"Silent-member?" Polybius questioned, "What do you mean by 'silent-member?'"
"The idea is that you don't go on missions unless we absolutely need you." Superman started, "You also don't have to engage with the public, but you do get to sit in on League meetings and get a say in League matters."
"As well as advise on us on various matters, and gain full access to all League information." Wonder Woman added.
"No." Polybius quickly answered.
"No?" Black Canary asked, surprised.
"I've told you all once, I've told you all a thousand times, I'm not fighting, and I'm not getting involved!" Polybius pressed, anger now swelling in his voice, "I've seen more than enough in my life to get back into that. Now, I am more than happy to be someone you all can fall back on, like what just happened a few days ago. However, you can ask the Team. I was planning on staying on Earth and letting them go fight that battle. The only reason I went up there is because Savage wanted to talk to me, and that was the best way to hold his attention for the longest amount of time. If that had not been the case, I would have stayed planetside."
"And it would stay like that." Black Canary explained, "You would be an absolute last resort."
"No." Polybius said again, "I like being a friend of the League. I like my position."
"Why are you so afraid of fighting?" Wonder Woman asked, "You've proven yourself to be one of the best fighters on the planet, yet you chose not to fight. I don't understand why."
"Then how about I give you an example that'll hit close to home." Polybius started, "Superman, Metropolis has about what? Ten million people?"
"Yes." Superman confirmed.
"Alright." Polybius started, "So now let's picture a world where one side extensively uses cyborgs as a fighting force. And we are in control of a city, Metropolis in this case, and we can't hope to defend it. It's going to fall into enemy hands. Now mind you, these cyborgs don't consent to joining or becoming cyborgs. They are forced by the state to be cyborgs. So with this in mind, what do you think happened to all those people living in that city? Huh?"
Nobody answered that question, but everyone did begin speculating the fate of those citizens.
"Well, I'll tell you." Polybius said, "They're all dead. Every last one of them. And we killed them. And pushed their bodies into mass cremators with giant bulldozers."
"You?" Wonder Woman asked.
"We." Polybius corrected, "Orders came down from the very top. Leave none alive so they can't be used to fuel the enemy's war machine. The city was never really happy about our rebellion and sided with the loyalists, but due to their geographic location, they fell into our sphere. However, they did have several attempts to run us out of the city, so you can imagine that there were quite a few of us who were more than happy to light them all up."
"Did you take part in the slaughter?" Batman pressed.
"Your damn right I did." Polybius coldly answered, "Had no choice. Either listen to orders or suffer a fate worse than death."
This sent an eerie silence around the room as everyone stared at Polybius. The clone veteran had never revealed his involvement in any genocide to them but had hinted to it in the past. This was the first time he had admitted to being complacent in a genocide.
"Now, I am telling you this because my side was supposed to be the good guys." Polybius started, "We were the ones fighting against tyranny. The ones trying to overthrow an insane monarch and replace them with a more stable one. And before you say anything!" Polybius pointed at Diana, anger also rising in his voice, "Orders for mass killings like these came down from the top. And were trying to replace one monarch with another. And both the reigning and the pretender were both females. So it's not man's nature. It's not human nature either. It's the nature of intelligent beings. And I'll be damned if I am forced into a position where I have to be complacent again! So many good people died, and for what? The resistance was defeated! We lost! And both sides committed these kinds of atrocities! This tells me that the League could one day commit these kinds of autocracies. And if that should be the case, then I'm gonna be the one who stands against you! Even if I stand alone! I will not let what happened to my world happen to this one! And the best position for me to do that is to be on my own and support those who share the same vision as me. However, should you all fall from grace on that slippery slope you all stand on, I will put my feelings for all of you to the side and do what's right. And unlike all of you now, who shy away from killing, I'll stack bodies. And I'll stack your bodies if it comes down to that."
There was a moment of silence as everyone except Batman, who spoke up and said, "Good."
"Good!?" Superman, Black Canary, and Wonder Woman questioned.
"It's good that there is someone on the outside who is ready to do what is necessary to keep us in line." Batman started, "Without him, what will stop us from going down that slippery slope."
"We would never-" Superman started but was cut off.
"Yes, you would." Polybius countered, "I've seen people say they would never kill another human, or even hurt a fly, turn around and help crucify ten people. A few words I live by are 'Believe no one incapable of anything, but instead, everyone capable of everything.'"
"And what would we do if you were to go down that path?" Wonder Woman asked.
"Then I would expect you all to go as far as you need to to stop me." Polybius answered, "And if that means killing me, then so be it."
Meanwhile, Claudia was, for the first time in months, upon the surface. Her office, as well as her facility, was located underground, and since Claudia rarely left her office, she was never really exposed to sunlight. And now she was paying for it because even though it was an overcast day, her skin and bones were undoubtedly taking the brunt of the pain of being outside in almost a year.
"Geez." Claudia muttered to herself, "Why does it have to be so dang cold!?"
The reason Claudia was out of her office was that she was being forced to. The way days off in the Organization worked is they accumulated every month. The person then had the option to use them or save them until the end of the calendar year. By the end of the calendar year, if they hadn't used them, they would be forced to use them. That way, the Organization could save a little money, as wages were one of their biggest expenses.
By the end of the year, it totaled up to about a month's worth of time off. So the Organization decided to make it a block leave for those people, which usually encompassed the last two weeks of December, and the first two weeks of January.
Claudia had tried to wiggle her way out of taking that time off, like she had in the past, as she was much happier working than she was not. However, she got denied and was actually forced out of the facility and told she couldn't come back until her time off was done.
Fortunately for her, money wasn't a problem as she spent very little, having no need to spend it on any large items as The Organization provided most of that for her.
Claudia now found herself in Washington DC. When she was younger and still had a life outside The Organization, she had wanted to visit it. However, as she grew older, she gave up on herself and gave herself to her work.
So, with nothing better to do, she decided to book a plane ticket and a motel in DC and visit some of the sights she had wanted to see.
And today, she was going to visit the Hall of Justice.
The Organization knew of the existence of the Watchtower and had eyes on it. They also knew that Savage had done something recently but didn't know what. They monitored the situation closely until the League was saved by their covert ops team had put a stop to it.
However, Claudia didn't pay close attention to anything regarding the League as she was just uninterested. Her primary focus was Entity 82.
Walking into the Hall of Justice, Claudia was a little surprised at the grandeur of it all. She wondered who built this and why they decided to depict these heroes like gods? The massive golden statues of the founders didn't sit well with Claudia, as she knew of a few entities that could easily take them all down.
After taking it all in, Claudia watched as a young man walked past her. He seemed angry and in a rush. However, that wasn't her first thought. Her first thought was, 'Dang, he's hot!'
What Claudia didn't know was that the young man was Polybius, who was pissed off. He just had a long argument with Superman and Wonder Woman. They both claimed that Polybius was too worried about something that would never happen and expressed their concern over Polybius, saying he would kill them if necessary. Polybius, on the other hand, argued that they were naive fools to believe they couldn't go down that slippery slope and expressed his desire to not kill them. And he would only if he had to.
Polybius wished Donna hadn't been in the room for that argument as he said some pretty nasty things. Towards the end of the fight, likely because of his lingering PTSD that was now being given new fuel due to all the torn open wounds, he lost his temper. Donna had tried to comfort him, but he brushed her off and just wanted to be alone.
However, back in the Cave, inside Polybius's room, Batman, Black Canary were now the ones arguing with Superman and Wonder Woman about what had just happened.
"Look, even though what he said wasn't right, you two were definitely pushing him too hard." Black Canary said.
"This is our fault!?" Wonder Woman asked.
"We all know he has PTSD!" Black Canary pointed out, "This is not a secret! And with all the old wounds that have been torn open the past few days, I'm honestly surprised he hasn't had a flashback yet."
"I thought he was over that." Wonder Woman said.
"Nobody ever fully recovers from PTSD." Batman said, "They just learn how to live with it."
However, they weren't the only ones in the Cave talking, as elsewhere in the Cave, behind the closed door of Superboy's bedroom, the Team had gathered to hear Kid Flash.
"Dudes!" Kid Flash started, "Polybius just had a really heated argument with Superman and Wonder Woman."
Kid Flash was filling them all in on the details he had eavesdropped on. He had heard almost everything that had been said between all of them. However, he stopped as soon as he heard that Polybius admitted to being part of a genocide.
"He doesn't want League membership because he's afraid of what the League could become." Aqualad said to make things simple.
"I don't get it." Rocket said, "If he's afraid of those things happening here, then why isn't he fighting to stop them?"
"He says he's seen enough." Superboy said, "And that he's done fighting."
"Does it matter?" Kid Flash asked, "Dude's taken part in a genocide!"
This raised eyebrows around the room as Kid Flash had left the part out about how Polybius had no choice. It wasn't that he knowingly left it out. It's that he didn't hear that part.
"That… That makes so much sense." Zatanna started.
Superboy, Zatanna, and Miss Martian then filled in the Team on Polybius's past talks of genocide.
"There you have it!" Kid Flash said, "Dude is a freaking genocidal maniac!"
"Now, hold on." Superboy jumped in, "Polybius doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do this stuff."
"He admitted it!" Kid Flash said, "I told you guys all along that Polybius was no good!"
"If Polybius were a genocidal maniac, the League would have taken him down." Robin countered, "In WWII, many the soldiers involved in the Holocaust said that they were just following orders and didn't have a choice. It's very possible that Polybius also didn't have a choice, as often, those soldiers faced the same fates the Jews did for not complying."
"Following orders is not an excuse!" Kid Flash said, "He admitted to taking part in it!"
"It's gotta be out of context." Artemis said, "There is no way he would do that."
Hours later, towards sunset, Polybius had made his way to a location that only he knew about. It was a small clearing in a forest in the middle of nowhere with four tombstones. There were no bodies buried here, but these tombstones represented something else to him. It represented closure for him.
These tombstones were made by him in honor of his fallen squadmates. There were four in total, and on each one, they had their name and a saying engraved on them in Polybius's native language.
'What you are, I once was. What I am, you will become.'
As the years went on, he visited them less and less, as he didn't need to. He generally only visited them when he needed some sort of comfort he could not get from this world. And while there was no connection to his fallen squadmates, it did bring Polybius a sense of closure. Like he was finally able to lay them to rest, even though in his tradition, they were supposed to be cremated but never were.
"Hey, guys." Polybius started, "Long time no see."
Polybius hated talking to the tombstones, yet every time he came here, he couldn't help but do it. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like there was something inside of him that was almost forcing him to talk.
"Gosh…" Polybius started, "How I wish I could be with you guys."
And there you have, a dark Chapter 35. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, don't be afraid to let me know what you think of it, and as always, have a good one!