Chapter 11
Save me...
After the Cardinals dropped the ball in the eighth inning and lost the game, Cyborg was naturally very happy and proud his team had won. And while he would have rubbed it in Polybius's face, there were bigger problems looming over the Titans.
"Why hasn't Robin come back yet?" Starfire asked.
Nobody had an answer, and unable to get ahold of Robin, the team split up and searched the city. And despite hours of relentless searching, nothing came up.
"I don't get it." Cyborg said, "How did this guy just fall off the face of the Earth?"
Nobody had an answer as the Titans met back up at the tower.
Meanwhile, back in what was left of Paradise Island, Wonder Woman was expecting to have a pleasant week visiting the island home. However, she was shocked to see the smoke rising from the ground.
"Great Hera!" Wonder Woman stated when she saw the smoke.
She was quick to land and search the island to discover what had happened. What she saw were the ruins of buildings, a lot of blood, and her injured mother.
"Mother!" Wonder Woman called out.
"Diana." The queen said as she rushed to her mother's side.
In her fight with Montezuma, just an hour before the arrival of Wonder Woman, when he launched her into a nearby building, he broke her leg in the process. This left her dependent on a few helpers to move her around.
"What happened?" Diana asked the obvious question.
"We were invaded." The queen spoke "By a man by the name of Montezuma. He claimed that your sister, Donna, was the descendant of a man by the name of Hernán Cortés. He claimed that she had to pay for his destruction of the 'Aztec Empire.' He kidnapped her and fought us in what he called a 'sunset invasion.' Not really much of an invasion considering that almost as soon as he left, his warriors broke off and disappeared, leaving only destruction and horrid memories in their wake."
"Memories?" Wonder Woman questioned.
"Artemis, your friend and one of the fiercest warriors among us was captured by the invaders. She was dragged atop the temple where our brazen bull one stood. They knocked down the bull and sacrificed her to someone called 'the mistress.'"
"Great Hera…" Wonder Woman said as she imagined what had happened to her friend.
"That's not all." The queen went on "In the sacrifice, the priest cut her open and ripped out her still-beating heart. He then rambled on a little bit before eating the organ and tossing the decapitated body downstairs and putting her head on a pike."
"By the Gods." Diana said as tears began to form in her eyes "What about Donna?"
"I don't know." The queen said "At first we thought this was just a kidnapping, so we didn't want to kill her. However, when it became clear that this was an invasion, it was too late. There were too many of them and we were overpowered."
"How?" Diana asked.
"When they attacked, they came out of nowhere." The queen explained, "They came running out of an alleyway and aided in Montezuma's escape."
Wonder Woman racked her mind as to how this could have happened. How could an army of warriors just appear out of nowhere, only to then disappear as soon as they appeared?
"One more thing." The queen added, "One thing we noticed about the warriors is that they all looked almost exactly like Montezuma."
As Wonder Woman gathered more information as to what had happened, much later in the day back in Jump City, the Titans got a call that somebody was robbing a high tech firm. The team had expected this to be a routine job.
Not to run into Robin who was now working for Slade.
Later that night, after Robin made a clean getaway, the team sat around the main room discussing what had happened and how to deal with this new development.
After hours of listening to the others talking to one another about how to deal with the development, Cyborg then turned to Polybius.
"What about you?" Cyborg asked.
Polybius looked up at the big teen and pulled out his notebook. In the mute's mind, there had to be something forcing him to do what he was doing. Perhaps Slade was threatening something Robin loved, and was using that as his bargaining chip over him.
"That actually sounds quite logical." Raven said after she read what Polybius had written "The question would then have to be what? What is Slade threatening?"
However, this question wouldn't be answered as the crime alert went off.
"It's him." Beast Boy stated.
Going into the mission, Polybius knew for a fact that the tools he had at his disposal were useless. Everything in his backpack, Robin had a better version of it. Everything Polybius could possibly throw at Robin, the former leader could counter.
Expect his powers.
Polybius knew that his only hope in taking down Robin was to use his back tentacles and rely on his thick skin to carry him through the fight. The mute Titan knew that as soon as he got ahold of Robin with one of them, it was over.
He just had to get ahold of him.
After confronting Robin inside the building, the former masked leader made a quick getaway up to the roof. However, while up there, he paused, allowing the Titans to catch up.
"Robin!" Cyborg shouted, "Look, man, we just wanna talk."
The response Cyborg got was a kick to the face from Robin.
After watching Robin take on and bring down Beast Boy and Raven rather quickly, Polybius drew out his stone club in the hopes of fooling Robin into thinking that he wasn't going to use his powers against him.
Polybius swung his club at the masked teen. This swing was promptly dogged and Robin did a spinning sweep under the mute. This caused Polybius to fall onto his back and for Robin to jump away.
As the fight dragged on, it became evident that the Titans were on the losing end of the engagement. However, everything seemed to pause when Starfire and Robin stood ten meters apart. He pointed his blaster at her and she had a Starbolt aimed for him.
The mute Titan dropped his backpack and decided to watch.
After a brief exchange, Robin dropped his act for a brief moment, only for all of the Titans to suddenly get overcome with pain.
But not Polybius.
When Starfire dropped, Robin caught her and set her down. Polybius however, while in severe pain, resolved to bite down on his tongue and carry on the fight.
The mute Titan dropped his backpack and opened up his back. A single black tentacle came out from the teens back and began making its way towards Robin at a blindingly fast pace.
The tentacle slammed into the former leader's face at the same speed and force of a runaway freight train. This sent Robin flying across the building top, but he did not fall off.
The leader then looked at Polybius, who was in a lot of pain, but standing tall while the other Titans could barely move.
"How?" Robin questioned as Polybius faced him.
That question went unanswered as Polybius was quick to raise up the tentacle high above Robin and slam it into the ground. Robin dogged this as expected, but got caught when Polybius elegantly did a side sweep, catching the former leader off guard. This hit Robin hard and caused him to do a couple of spins in the air before landing back on the ground.
However, almost as soon as he hit the ground, he pointed his blaster right at Polybius's face and fired.
The mute Titan took the hit, and while it normally wouldn't have affected him, with how hard he was fighting to stand up at that moment, the hit caused him to stumble backward and fall over.
It wasn't long after that, that the pain that had engulfed Polybius suddenly vanished and he was only left with the pain in his back.
"Dudes…" Beast Boy started "What was that glowy thing that just happened?"
This question would go unanswered as it wasn't long until Robin attacked again. Hitting Polybius first, Robin came flying down from the height he had perched himself on and kicked Polybius in the back of his head on the way down. After that, Robin made quick work of the rest of the Titans and withdrew.
"When did Robin learn those tricks?" Beast Boy asked, referring to the pain they all had just endured.
"I don't think it is Robin who has learned new tricks." Starfire said, "I think Polybius was right, and we are the ones that are threatened."
"So if we can take out Slade, then we can get Robin back!" Cyborg stated.
"We don't know that for sure." Raven put it bluntly "Robin may have a weapon that caused that to happen."
"Oh come on Raven!" Beast Boy complained.
"No, she's right." Cyborg said "We have to be sure that it's us who are threatened. Let's go back to Titans tower and figure it out."
Although everyone was quite sure that Starfire was right, they had to make sure. And sure enough, after hooking up Polybius to a machine, they detected discrepancies on the nanoscopic level. This revealed itself to be probes inside all of the Titans that attacked their red blood cells, preventing them from carrying oxygen to the rest of the body.
"Alright." Cyborg said "I put a tracker on Robin during our fight back there. I bet you he's with Slade right now. If we move in, we may be able to catch Slade and take him out."
"And if he uses his nanoprobes on us?" Starfire asked.
"Doesn't matter." Raven said "We are superheroes. We are willing to lay our lives down for peace and justice. And if that's the price we must pay to save Robin, then so be it."
The team then understood what they were about to get themselves into and decided to go after Robin now, knowing full well that they may lose their lives in the process.
Meanwhile, back in Greece, Montezuma sat watching Donna, who was completely overcome with fear. They were still in their little canoe as a storm had forced them to stay put for some time as they waited for it to pass.
Montezuma sighed as he looked out east to see the sun begin to rise behind grey clouds.
"All for you." Montezuma stated before looking back at Donna.
The girl tried to put as much distance between herself and the Aztec as the boat would allow. However, she was unable to roll over into the water as Montezuma had both tied her to the boat, and to a leash that he held on to.
"So you're probably wondering where we're headed." Montezuma stated "And what I'm going to do to you. Well don't worry, those questions will be answered all in good time, and during that time, you will pay for what your ancestor did to my people!"
Donna let out a muffled whimper as she tried to look for an escape.
"Don't bother." Montezuma said, "You can't escape justice."
Back in Jump City, the Titans had entered Slade's hideout. There, they found Robin fighting Slade, and they all intervened, despite the leader telling them to get out of there. However, just as Raven had said earlier, they were willing to lay their lives down.
And while the first thing Slade did was go after them, in a rather dumb move, he left the device that had infected them in the first place just sitting out. This allowed Robin to then infect himself with the nanoprobes and cause Slade to lose his bargaining chip over him.
Slade then tossed the controller aside, causing it to shut off the device and for all of the Titans to recover from the attack. Subsequently, it led to the Titans kicking Slade's teeth in and him barely escaping them.
"Well alright!" Cyborg said victoriously.
The team then turned to Robin.
"Thanks, guys." Robin said with a smile on his face.
"Dude, we'd never let you down!" Beast Boy said for the team "We're a team, and we've got to fight for each other, no matter how terrible the costs."
"That's the most mature thing I think you've ever said." Raven commented, and Beast Boy smiled.
"Let's go home." Robin said.
As the Titans made their way across town back to Titans Tower, back in the Agean sea, the boat was still stuck in place because of the storm.
"Gosh dang it!" Montezuma said in anger, slamming his fist into the seat "Can't we land in Turkey or something and catch a flight back there?"
Donna looked confused at the man, who seemed to be having a whole conversation with himself.
"Then let's land in Istanbul and you just whip me up the ticket I need to get back!"
Donna couldn't help but wonder who he was talking to.
"We really have to wait for this storm?" Montezuma asked, "It's been going on for hours!"
And what they were saying back.
"Fine, if it's only half an hour until we move forward, that's fine. I've waited this long to bring back Aztec civilization and take vengeance on the conquistadors who destroyed it! I can wait a little longer."
Donna then looked out at the sea, hoping to see Diana, her sister, come flying through the air to rescue her. Or for the storm to suddenly turn their way so it would take this man out.
Thinking about man, Donna realized this was the first man she had ever encountered. She began to think about what her mother had said about men and looked at him in that light.
This man was certainly corrupted by greed and insatiable lust for his desires. How he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, regardless of how many of her sisters were dead.
This then made her think about the invasion. How many of her sisters had died the previous night? Were there any Amazons left? Was she the last one? Was Diana too killed off?
All of these questions floated around in her mind but were suddenly silenced when the man let out a roar of rage.
That was all it took before the Aztec backhanded her hard out of pure hate.
"I can't wait to torture you, Hernan Cortés." Montezuma referred to her by that name for the first time "You took everything from me! I was once the most powerful man in all of the Americas and you took all of that from me! My people, my gold, my wealth, my empire, my family! You used me as your puppet to rule over my empire! You shall pay for what you have done! You hear me Cortés!?"
Montezuma then punched Donna in her stomach hard.
"Oh, we're going to have so much fun once we get back to Jump City." Montezuma said, "And it's all going to end when I sacrifice you to the Sun God!"
Back in Jump City, hours after getting Robin back from Slade, the team met up in the main room and began discussing what had happened. However, this all changed when Raven made a small mistake.
"I know this isn't my style, but we just kicked Slade's butt." Raven stated, "Shouldn't we celebrate or something?"
Everybody looked at the girl with a look of surprise that it was she who put the idea forth, but suddenly, Beast Boy piped up, and Cyborg knew exactly what he was going to say.
"Breakfast explosion!" Was all Polybius caught them saying.
The two then took Raven and ran off into the kitchen, leaving the other three alone. Robin and Starfire began talking, but due to the noise the three in the kitchen were making, Polybius couldn't hear the two of them talk.
This allowed Polybius the time he needed to think about the Titans.
Polybius's mind first went back to that car ride in that Ford Deluxe with Cyborg and what the teen had said to him. How it made Polybius not only feel happy but how it also made him feel like he had a home with the Titans.
He then thought about how far they had all just gone for Robin, a man they had all met not even six months ago. How they all just risked their lives for him, regardless of everything. It made Polybius think just how much, in such a short space of time, he had made the best friends he had ever had.
There was no doubt in the mute Titan's mind that at that present moment with the Titans, he was living his best life. That these five young heroes had made such an impact on his life. How just by chance of being in the right place at the right time, brought forth a golden age for him.
"So Polybius." Robin said, bringing the mute Titan out of his thoughts "I really want to say way to go in that fight on top of the Wayne building you had with me."
Polybius smiled.
"Oh yeah!" Cyborg was heard commenting from the kitchen "There is no pain that can hold Polybius down! No sir!"
"Yeah." Robin added, "I tell you, seeing you fight, despite the severe amount of pain you must have been in was amazing."
"I told ya, Robin!" Cyborg shouted from the kitchen again "Polybius is the most malleable Titan we have on the team!"
"Yeah!" Beast Boy said, "Whatever that m word means, Polybius is tough!"
"Indeed." Raven added.
"And he is a wonderful friend!" Starfire finished.
Despite everything that had ever happened to Polybius, and despite his instincts, never before had Polybius been so glad that he chose to fight that day.
"And the best part is that this is only the beginning!" Robin added, "Who knows what other amazing adventures we'll be going on as a team!"
With that, Polybius smiled. Never before had the mute Titan been so eager to see what the future had in store for him. What challenges he would have to face, enemies he would have to fight, hardships to overcome.
But regardless of what happened, he knew he had at least five people in the whole world he could count on to have his back no matter what.
Meanwhile, back on Paradise Island, Diana looked at the rough sketch her sisters had provided her of what the invaders' faces had looked like.
"You are certain they all looked like this?" Diana asked.
"That's what they all looked like." Her mother told her "I don't know what unholy powers that man had, but he must be taken down and pay for what he did."
Looking down at the rough sketch, although at that moment in time Diana didn't know it, the sketch matched up almost perfectly with Polybius's face, setting into motion events that were going to put a lot of people to the test.
"And please." Her mother asked, "Please try to bring your little sister back safely."
"Of course mother." Diana said, "But are you certain that you don't need my help in rebuilding?"
"We've got the fires under control." The queen told her daughter "We can recover fine on our own. Just focus on Montezuma."
With that, Diana took off to begin her own investigation of the mysterious sunset invaders. Whose leader had finally made it to shore, and hours later, with the help from the Sun God, smuggled Donna Troy all the way back to Jump City.
Hiding her in an oversized duffel bag, the Aztec warrior drove up to his home in his old, beat-up Carolla. Once he parked in his driveway, he went into his trunk and pulled out the duffel bag and hauled it downstairs into his basement where he did all of his Aztec rituals, away from prying eyes.
Throwing the duffel bag down on the ground, the Aztec was quick to finally take the gag off the girl and propped her up on the sacrificial pool table.
"Finally." Montezuma said as he propped her up on the table "Heavier than you look. Some cardio wouldn't kill you, but that doesn't matter. We're home and I can finally get to work with you."
"Hold up." The voice of the Sun God that could only be heard by Montezuma bellowed.
"What?" Montezuma looked away from Donna, who was both too stricken in fear and in too much pain to resist the man.
"Now, now Montezuma." The voice started "You can't just kill her off like that."
"Why not?" Montezuma said.
"Because this is the descendant of Hernan Cortés!" The voice stated, "The man who took everything from you!"
"I know." Montezuma stated, "And?"
"You need to take your time with this one." The voice stated, "A couple of months of torture before you send her off to me would please me greatly!"
"I like your thinking." Montezuma agreed "However, I made reservations at Applebees, so is it cool if I just lock her up in that dog cage over there?"
"So long as you keep her alive and in a relatively okay condition." The voice said "I don't want her starving or dehydrated. She may refuse to eat or drink, so you'll probably have to force it."
"I wouldn't expect any less from the Amazonian descendant of Hernan Cortés." Montezuma said as he picked up the girl and put the gag back on her.
The Aztec then threw the girl into the cage that was barely big enough to fit her in. He really had to work to get her body in there and be able to close the door.
But he was able to and left Donna in a very uncomfortable position and in complete darkness. For the first time since she had been kidnapped, she cried. As tears streamed down her face, she wished nothing more than to be home right now and away from this monster. For Diana to swoop in and save her from him.
But deep down inside, she was almost certain that she was going to die down here, cold, alone, scared, and abandoned.
And there you have it! Poor Donna...
Also, there was no way to write this without writing Wonder Woman into it. She won't be a main character, I promise, but she has to be involved for the story to work.
And lastly, I also ask for some feed back. I don't know how I'm doing right now since I'm not seeing anything. Am I doing good, bad? Please either leave a review or PM me and let me know what's up. Thanks in advance.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story and have a good rest of your day!