Chapter 37
A Hostile Polybius...
"Well… With Montezuma seemingly gone again, I think I'll be moving back into the cave." Polybius told his mother.
"Are you sure?" Dinah asked in a disappointed tone.
"Yeah." Polybius said, "Now, it's nothing you did, Mom! I want you to know that, but I do like being a bit more off on my own. You know."
It was clear to Polybius that his mother was not happy about his decision to move back into Mount Justice. However, she was never happy when he told her he was going to move unless it was back into her apartment. Yet each time, she would swallow her anger and support her adoptive son's decision.
"Fine." Dinah quickly replied.
Polybius brushed it off as he knew she would get over it.
Once back in the cave, Polybius could immediately tell something was up with the Team. The way they all stared at him when he walked into the kitchen was a dead giveaway.
"What are y'all staring at me for, huh?" Polybius demanded, "I move back in, and now y'all are feeling nervous?"
"The League said they needed to have a word with you." Kid Flash started, "Something about a genocide."
"And I need to explain myself to you?" Polybius followed up, "And I'm pretty sure they didn't tell you that."
"They only told us that they needed to talk to you." Artemis said before nudging Kid Flash and saying, "This one over here eavesdropped on your conversation."
"Did he?" Polybius asked, locking eyes on him.
"Yeah!" Kid Flash admitted, "I haven't liked you since day one! I always knew you were no good!"
"I don't care what any of you think of me." Polybius followed up, "There isn't much you can do outside of straight-up lying and staging stuff that'll get me out of this job."
"But the League-" Kid Flash started, but Polybius cut him off.
"But the League ain't judges!" Polybius spat back, "They don't have the right to be my judge, and none of you do either! None of you were there or know a damn thing about what I went through. So shut up, and leave me alone, will ya!"
Polybius then left the kitchen and headed back to his room. He was still pretty angry and upset about the whole situation that had unfolded. And while he did get a good outcome, a better one than he had expected a few days ago.
Once back in his room, Polybius shut the door behind him and leaned up against it before sinking to the ground. He just wanted to be alone, but that seemed to be too much to ask for, as within a minute of dropping to the floor, there was a knock at his door.
"What now…" Polybius groaned as he stood up.
Opening the door, he was extremely surprised to see Diana standing on the other side. This caught him off guard as she was one of the last people he was expecting to see.
"Me now." Diana said, hearing what he had just said.
"Don't take up an attitude with me." Polybius warned, "I'm not in the mood to be nice."
"I am fully aware." Diana said, "However, Batman is about to send the Team on another mission. And knowing how angry you are, especially with myself, I was hoping you'd at least be open to a little sparring."
"Sparring?" Polybius questioned in a confused tone as he couldn't figure out why she asked him to do this.
"Yeah." Diana said, "It's a good way to get your frustration out. Plus, with it being against me, I know you won't go easy. Not only that, but it'll be a good chance to, oh what do they say? 'Patch things up?'"
Polybius let out a long sigh. While usually, he would say no, the idea of connecting a few hits on her was a certainly pleasing aspect. However, there was one major problem he had.
"Now, if we spar, and I end up dominating, and you get upset, what's to keep you from unleashing your Amazon powers on me and completely overwhelming me?"
"There is a new device that is supposed to replace the inhibitor collars that disables all powers in a localized area." Diana explained, "We've got one and have tested it. The thing does work on me."
"Interesting…" Polybius started, "Well then, I suppose the idea of connecting a few hits on you is really tempting."
"As if!" Diana pushed back, "You won't even get close to hitting me!"
"Oh, so now I gotta humble you as well?" Polybius asked, "You know what, even though I would normally say 'no.' This time, I'm gonna say 'yes.' Just to kick your butt!"
"I knew you would." Diana said, "Meet me where the Team does all their training in thirty minutes."
"Sure." Polybius replied.
After Diana left, Polybius was hoping to be alone for a short while. However, as if someone was messing with him, another knock at his door came.
"What the hell?" Polybius mumbled to himself as he opened it.
This time, it was Donna on the other side.
"So?" Donna asked as the door opened, "How'd it go?"
"Went fine." Polybius answered, "They said they aren't going to do anything to me, so that's a plus."
"That's good!" Donna said.
"Your sister has also asked me to do some sparring with her." Polybius added.
"Did she!?" Donna asked, genuinely surprised.
"She just did." Polybius said, "So I'm gonna beat the shit out of her."
"You said yes!?" Donna asked, even more, surprised.
"Hell yeah." Polybius confirmed, "Let me get out some pent-up frustration."
"Well, as her sister, I only ask that you don't be too rough." Donna asked, "But yeah, rough her up."
Polybius let out a chuckle hearing that.
"So, what are you up to?" Polybius asked.
"I wanted to come see you!" Donna said, "Nobody tells me anything about what goes on with the League as Diana keeps me in the dark about a lot of that stuff. Honestly, I learn more about them from you than anywhere else."
"Figures." Polybius muttered, "Well, I'm sure Diana wouldn't mind you either joining in or at the very least, watching her get her ass handed to her hand over fist."
"I probably should." Donna said, "Be a sorta referee in case one of you takes it too far."
"Well, I've been told that there is a device that is going to be there that will disable Amazonian powers, which was the selling point for me."
"You mean that thing that is supposed to replace the collars in Belle Rev?" Donna asked.
"I don't know." Polybius answered, "That's just what Diana told me."
"Well, at least that'll help protect you." Donna commented, "That way if this does go badly for my sister, she can't just try and obliterate you with her powers."
"That's what I said!" Polybius agreed, "I almost feel like I'm walking into a trap."
"I don't think Diana would do that." Donna countered.
"I believe no one incapable of anything, but instead, everyone capable of everything." Polybius countered.
"Those are good words to live by." Donna said.
"They've saved me before." Polybius told her, "On more than one occasion."
There was a brief moment of silence between the two before Polybius's mind suddenly jumped on something he had forgotten about in the wake of his confession.
"Hey!" Polybius said, "Step in here real quick."
Donna then wordlessly complied, and Polybius shut the door behind her.
"This completely slipped my mind, but I want to take this up with you first before I take it up with your sister." Polybius started.
"What is it?" Donna asked.
"Do you remember that reality anchor I have, right?" Polybius asked.
"Yeah." Donna answered, "What about it?"
"Well, you remember how Diana says she's made of clay, through a magical process, right?" Polybius went on, "And how I've always thought that if she were ever exposed to it, she would revert back to clay."
"Yeah, you've told me." Donna said, "Why?"
"Well…" Polybius started, "Back when Savage took control of the League, he sent Diana after me. I took the reality anchor with me to protect me, but she got too close."
"How is she still alive then?" Donna asked, "I mean, from everything you've told me, she should be clay right now!"
"Unless she's not made of clay." Polybius countered, "And that your mother has been lying to you two."
Donna seemed to be shocked by this. However, this quickly faded away as her mind began to grasp possible answers as to what was going on.
"Our mother lied to us?" Donna questioned, "To her?"
"You seemed surprised." Polybius said.
"Yeah!" Donna said, "I mean, it's our own mother after all!"
"Parents often lie to their children in an effort to protect them." Polybius explained, "And you know your mother has lied to you before, saying 'all men are trash' and whatnot. Because if that were true, you wouldn't have fallen in love with me."
Donna shook her head.
"I know." Donna said, "But why lie about something like that?"
"I don't know." Polybius said, "That's between you two and your mother."
Donna was confused and somewhat upset by this. She then began to question her own origins and wondered if anything her mother had told her was true.
"Are you good?" Polybius asked, noticing the hurt look on her face.
"Y- Yeah." Donna replied, "I just don't understand why she would lie about this."
"Well, let's think about it." Polybius started, "You and your sister, like me, were brought up in an extreme situation. You grew up hating half the population because of the way they were born. It wouldn't surprise me that this was an indoctrination attempt on your mother to try and either keep you two on the island or to further distance yourselves from men."
"But to go that far?" Donna asked.
"It's not really that far if you think about it." Polybius said, "I mean, your people kill any man who steps foot on the island with only one exception, that being Steve Trevor. Your people hide away from the world, so you don't have to deal with them. Given that, is it really hard to believe that your mother decided to lie to you two about this?"
"No." Donna said, "I suppose not."
"Exactly!" Polybius said, "Now, next question, how do we break this to Diana?"
"Should we?" Donna asked, "I mean, I don't want to hurt her."
"She has a right to know." Polybius expressed, "I mean, the way I see this situation, is almost like when a parent has to first break to their adopted child that they're adopted, and the child doesn't know it."
"So then, come on easy?" Donna offered.
"Well, I think with you there, it'll certainly be a big help for the break." Polybius said, "You know way more about your people's culture than I care to learn."
"So what, we pull her to the side like a child?" Donna asked, "I don't think that'll go well."
"No, no." Polybius said, "Uh… What about that double date Diana talked about at one point. I mean, I know Steve is an old man and looks more like a sugar daddy next to her, but still."
"I'm not sure how much longer Steve has left." Donna said.
"What do you mean?" Polybius asked.
"He took a hard fall recently." Donna said, "Fractured his hip and broke a few ribs. Age is not treating him well at all."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Polybius said, "I didn't know that."
"Yeah, well, Diana has been keeping quiet about it." Donna said, "That and his situation is not improving."
"What do you mean?" Polybius asked.
"I suppose between the war and time; his body is almost too weak to heal itself." Donna explained, "Doctors are saying even if he does recover, he's gonna be wheelchair-bound and need round-the-clock care."
"Yikes." Polybius said.
"Yeah." Donna said, "And I know Diana loves him, but I think we're gonna be burying him here sooner rather than later."
"Then, if that's the case, then we should wait." Polybius said, "If we create too much stress on her, especially with all of that going on, she might react more poorly than we want."
"We can't sit on this!" Donna said, "I mean, what if Steve ends up in a sorta limbo?"
"I'm worried about Diana's head state." Polybius said, "And I know from personal experience that having someone close to you die can cause people to sink into a depression. And I know this is gonna get her bad, so I think we should wait until a couple months after he passes, and Diana bounces back from this."
Donna shook her head.
"I really think we should tell her now." Donna said, "Well, maybe not right this moment, but later this month or within the next few, after we figured out the best way to break it to her because it's gonna hurt her."
"Alright." Polybius said, "I'll take your advice on this. We'll plan this out later."
"Okay." Donna said.
As Polybius was having his conversations with Diana and later Donna, meanwhile, the Team was discussing Polybius's hostile interaction with them.
"Well, he's pissed." Rocket was the first to say.
"I don't blame him." Superboy said, "Everybody seems to be hammering him hard."
"Uh, hello!?" Kid Flash spoke up, "Didn't you just hear him admit he took part in a genocide!?"
"But who are we to judge him?" Aqualad said.
"Uh, we being good people!" Kid Flash countered.
"No, Polybius is right." Miss Martian said, "It's not really fair for us to judge him since we weren't in his situation."
"Come on!" Kid Flash groaned.
"You are right to an extent." Aqualad said, "Polybius has done horrible things. However, his point about us not being in his situation is a very valid one. We do not have the full story, and without it, our judgment is off."
"He KILLED innocent people!" Kid Flash pressed, "How can anyone forgive that!?"
"The League clearly did." Robin said, "If not, Polybius would be in a cell right now."
"Plus, the League knows him way better than us." Zatanna added, "I mean, if I remember right, I think Polybius saved a big portion of the League at one point."
"He did." Robin confirmed, "I doubt the League would even exist if he hadn't stepped in based on what I read about the situation they found him in. Because they were also marked for execution."
"But the League would have made it out of there without him!" Kid Flash scoffed.
"Don't be so sure." Robin said, "The way this log is written, it really sounds like they would have never made it out of there without him."
"That's because he's got all of them all wrapped around his finger!" Kid Flash pressed, "I'm telling you, if somebody doesn't hold him accountable, then no one will, and he'll just do whatever he wants!"
"If Polybius wanted to commit a genocide here, with how much he knows about both the League and us, who could stop him?" Aqualad asked, hoping to put an end to the conversation.
"We could." Kid Flash mumbled.
Before anybody could say anything, they were called up by Batman to perform a mission. Shortly after they left, Polybius and Donna emerged to meet Diana in the training room.
"Alright." Diana said, tossing Polybius a long wooden staff, "I hope you're ready, Polybius because I'm not going easy on you."
"I would be disappointed if you didn't." Polybius replied.
Donna took a seat on the floor at the edge of the arena and watched the two square up against each other.
"Hope you're ready to get the shit beaten out of you." Polybius told her, "Cause that's what I'm about to do."
"I'd like to see you try." Diana slyly replied, confident in her ability.
"Begin." The system announced.
As soon as the system said that, Polybius immediately went on the offensive. He charged Diana with a loud battle cry in his native language.
"Stulta morti!" Polybius shouted.
Polybius crashed his stick into Diana's stick, and since she had no powers, and her strength was now far below that of Polybius's, she was driven back. Polybius pressed the attack on her, not letting up as he began by testing her defense.
Polybius began rapidly bashing the sides of his stick against hers. Diana was able to block these attacks, but barely. Polybius's surprising speed and aggression with his attacks put her on the defensive. She did not anticipate him being like this.
Neither did Donna, who watched as Diana slowly gave ground under the endless barrage of Polybius's attacks. While she had seen Polybius in a fight before, she was also fighting and never really got to just watch him like she was now.
After testing Diana's defense, it didn't take long for Polybius to identify multiple weaknesses and formulate a plan.
Taking a half step back with his right foot, Polybius came up for an under swing on Diana's left. However, he intentionally went wide on the attack, not intending to hit her but to catch her staff, which he did.
Diana, a little unsure of what Polybius was doing, attempted to go on the offensive, but this didn't last long, as the clone veteran had her right where he wanted her.
Catching her staff on his upswing, Polybius swung the staff over their heads and back down on the opposite side.
Letting go of the staff with his left hand, Polybius tried to grab Diana, but the Amazon moved back. Responding to this, Polybius used his staff like a spear and began taking stabs at her. However, Diana was able to move back out of range before the blows could connect with her.
Moving with her, Diana was able to get her staff back in front of her and block the stabs, prompting Polybius to take a two-hand grip on his staff again, and once again, press his attack once more.
Donna was surprised at Polybius's aggressiveness. Diana had yet to go on the offensive, and Polybius was, by all means, dominating the fight. Diana was also certainly on the losing end of the engagement, which surprised Donna. It was very rarely that Diana was ever beaten, and to see her getting beaten so soundly was shocking to Donna.
Launching a brutal attack on Diana, Polybius this time jumped in the air and smashed the right side of the stick against her desperate block twice before landing on the ground and trying to take a cheap swing at her lower legs with his left. Diana managed to block this; however, Polybius staff got within an inch of connecting with her.
At this point, it became abundantly clear to Donna that Diana's defense was failing, and this fight was about to end unless Diana did something desperate.
Polybius, also seeing that he was nearing victory, continued with another series of lightning-fast strikes, which Diana was barely able to block, before finally finding an opening.
Using the middle of the staff, Polybius used it and shoved it towards Diana's face. As Polybius predicted, the Amazon did block this; however, Polybius rolled off of her staff on his right side. She moved down to avoid getting hit in the neck, and the staff brushed past her hair, moving it as Polybius moved.
As he moved, Polybius let go of his staff and moved to grab that same hair, which he got ahold of. Using it to control her, Polybius quickly threw her to the ground and tried to finish her off. However, Diana was able to save herself by deflecting what would have been a finishing blow to her throat by Polybius by using her right bracelet.
This delay, however, didn't buy Diana the time she was hoping for, as rather than try again, Polybius instead dropped right on top of her and dropped his staff as well. He landed in a seated position on her stomach and mounted her. She tried to use her staff to force him off, as well as her legs. However, at this range, there was no practical way to wield it to get him off of her, so she, like Polybius, dropped it. Despite this, without her powers, Polybius was simply too big and too heavy for her to throw him off, and a desperate struggle began.
Polybius then moved to grab her neck to simulate a choke out. Diana, hoping she could reverse the situation, grabbed Polybius by the wrist and elbow so she could roll the two over onto Polybius's back. The clone veteran, however, responded, dropping his torso and getting chest-to-chest with Diana. The clone veteran then began pressing his full body weight against her as she struggled against him. Polybius also began tightening his grip around Diana's throat, as he was now getting a little bit too into this fight.
Without her powers, Diana was helpless against Polybius and couldn't get him off of her. She began having difficulty breathing; however, she did not want to admit defeat and kept the struggle going.
The only person to realize the fight was over and Diana had been defeated was Donna. She noticed Polybius's hands sinking into her sister's throat and realized she needed to jump in.
"Polybius, stop!" Donna shouted as she ran over to the two of them from where she was.
Unfortunately, with the way the device they were using, Donna was also powerless. However, that didn't stop her from jumping in and try to get her boyfriend off her sister.
"Polybius, she's beaten!" Donna said, as she tried and failed to pull him off, "Diana! Tap out!"
Diana, never one to admit defeat, kept struggling. And Polybius, waiting for her to stop struggling or admit for her to admit defeat, kept her down.
"Polybius! Stop! You're gonna kill her!" Donna shouted as she wrapped her arms around him and tried to pull him off.
That last sentence managed to get through to Polybius, and he immediately let off of Diana. The Amazon took in a massive breath of air as her lungs were finally allowed to receive fresh oxygen. However, the sudden intake caused the Amazon to begin coughing somewhat violently.
The clone veteran, realizing he had taken the fight too far, immediately got off Diana and looked away, embarrassed.
"Diana!" Donna said, moving to her sister's side and helping her sit up, "Are you alright?"
"I'm f- fine." Diana managed out between coughs.
"I- I'm sorry." Polybius quickly apologized.
"Sorry?" Diana questioned, "Sorry for what?"
"I- I got too into it and lost control." Polybius admitted.
"It's quite alright, Polybius!" Diana assured him.
This caught Polybius off guard, as he wasn't expecting to hear that. Diana, seeing this reaction, went on to explain.
"Nobody has ever been able to take me down so quickly. While yes, I am without my powers, it proves that my skills are lacking. I wish there were more people, especially within the League, who would be as intense and as aggressive as you are." Diana explained.
"So you're alright that I nearly choked you out?" Polybius asked, unsure if he was hearing her right.
"It's a good reminder that I'm not invincible." Diana brushed off, "Now, how about another round?"
"Are you sure?" Polybius asked, "I mean that last round went for what? Five minutes?"
"Not even." Donna answered.
"Yeah." Polybius said, "Plus, this will probably happen again, as I tend to lose control in fights."
"What do you mean 'lose control?'" Donna asked.
"Well, when I was created, they wanted to create the perfect warrior." Polybius started, "When I'm fighting, my brain is wired to fully commit itself to the fight, regardless of what the situation is, so I don't get distracted. I take in everything that's going on, and it's challenging to pull me out of that state unless the opponent stops struggling or taps out."
"Well, it seems I got you out of that state pretty easy." Donna countered.
"Yeah, and thank goodness too." Polybius said, "Cause man, training with my squad, where four out of five of us were like this, it was intense."
"I can imagine." Diana said, picking up the two staffs.
"But going back to my original point." Polybius started, "I don't want to hurt you, Diana, or anyone for that matter. Especially in a training environment."
"And as I said earlier, if you do, it just tells me I need to improve my skills." Diana assured him.
"Yeah, you do." Polybius agreed, "But I also have a bit of an unfair advantage admittedly, being genetically modified to be the best warrior the world has ever, or will ever see."
"Don't say 'will ever.'" Diana told him, handing him his staff.
Polybius looked at it for a few seconds before saying, "That's just what our creators said."
Polybius then took the staff.
"Just don't be quite as intense this time." Donna asked both of them, "I really don't want to be the one who has to go explain to the League why Diana got beaten up so bad she's in a coma."
"Ha, ha!" Polybius laughed, "Even your own sisters doubt you can beat me!"
"We'll see about that!" Diana said slyly as she took up a battle stance.
"See you get your ass whooped again!" Polybius said, taking up a stance opposite of her.
Donna then backed off to the outside of the arena and watched as the two began to spar again.
And there you have it, Chapter 37! I know it may seem a bit weird for Diana to be so okay with getting choked out by Polybius, but from what I've seen of her character, I think she might be the only one who would react in the way I depicted her here. Regardless, I'm sure I'm going to hear about it from somebody who doesn't like it, but whatever. Never be afraid to let me know what you think about this!
Also, I totally forgot, but I do want to thank NotZerno for his review.
And as always, have a good one!