Chapter 17
Awaken...
It had taken Polybius, Starfire and Raven a painstaking 12 hours straight of work to heal Donna. Between Raven's powers, and Starfire and Polybius's work, they were able to bring Donna back to a near-perfect condition. While she would be confined to the bed for a few days, thanks to Raven's awesome powers, she wouldn't bear any physical scars.
But the mental and emotional ones she would live with for the rest of her life.
The mute Titan knew exactly what kinds of horrors she was going to face. Flashbacks, uneasy feelings, the sudden feeling of pain in a certain spot when nothing was happening there, hallucinations, and a slew of other horrific things that were going to haunt her down the long and harsh road to recovery.
That being said, Polybius resolved to try and help her as best he could for the time the Titan with had her. Shortly after the operation, he texted Wonder Woman a picture of Donna and about his findings. And while she was ecstatic and relieved to hear that Donna was safe and under the best treatment he could offer her, there was some other news as well.
The massive space rock storm that had been barreling towards Earth only seems to have intensified. More and more rocks kept showing up, seemingly out of nowhere. This forcibly tied Wonder Woman down with this problem she had been assigned. This, by extension, meant that it was going to be at least a few weeks before she could come and take Donna back home. This meant she would be left under his care for a considerable length of time.
The mute Titan accepted this responsibility and was left in charge of Donna. At the moment he texted her, Donna had been given sleep gas so the trio could most effectively perform all of the medical duties they needed to perform.
And while Donna rested, Cyborg, Robin and Beast Boy returned back to the tower after doing an extensive search of Montezuma's lair.
And nothing came up.
"I don't get it." Robin said as the three entered the medical bay where the other four were "How can a guy just disappear?"
"He has to be using some sort of magic." Raven replied "From what Polybius explained, Montezuma looked almost exactly like him. In fact, the only reason he's not sure he looked exactly like him was because it was dark and he didn't get a good look at his face."
Polybius nodded as he sat by Donna's side.
"How is she?" Cyborg asked.
"She is better." Starfire replied "It took us a long time, but she has made the fullest recovery. At least physically."
"Mentally, there is no telling how bad things are going to get for her." Raven added.
"And with all of those torture devices we found down there…" Cyborg trailed off.
"What about Wonder Woman?" Robin asked.
"Won't be here for at least a few weeks." Raven said "The space rock storm that came out of nowhere has her tied down. She's left her in our care for the time being. And made it very clear that Polybius is in charge of Donna."
"That's fine." Robin said.
"Wait, hold up!" Beast Boy said, "If Montezuma looked like Polybius, and all the dudes who attacked her home looked like Polybius, wouldn't Polybius just make her scared?"
That was actually a very good question, but Raven had an answer.
"I don't think so." Raven explained, "When she first wakes up, she might get a little scared, but once she realizes that Polybius is not Montezuma and we explain to her everything, she should be chill with him."
"Raven, did you just say chill?" Cyborg asked.
"Did I?" Raven asked herself.
"You did!" Beast Boy said.
"It's been a long day." Robin said "For all of us. None of us have had any sleep in over twenty-four hours."
"Shouldn't someone stay here with her?" Starfire asked, pointing to Donna.
Polybius raised his hand and volunteered.
"Nah, man, you need sleep." Cyborg said "You were up before any of us yesterday. Go get some rest. I'll stay and watch. I'll just charge my battery as I sit here and watch over her."
"Yes, go get some rest, Polybius!" Starfire said, "After your fight with Montezuma, it sounds like you need it the most."
"Fight?" Raven asked, "More like he clobbered him."
"Oh?" Robin questioned.
"From what Polybius has explained to us, he was able to get the surprise on Montezuma." Starfire explained, "And with how intense Polybius was, the villain wasn't even able to try and defend himself from our friend."
"That's alright." Robin said, "After everything we've found out about this guy, I can't say he doesn't deserve it."
Polybius then looked up at Robin expecting an answer.
"Um…" Robin started looking back at Polybius "You may not want to hear this."
The mute Titan shook his head.
"Well, uh…" Robin started.
"We found evidence of him sacrificing other people." Cyborg put it bluntly.
Starfire and Raven gasped and Polybius went wide-eyed. The news hit him like a crazy train going off the rails.
"Cyborg!" Robin said.
The mute Titan began shaking his head in disbelief. He had suspected it, and both Darkbius and Robin had told him, but he didn't actually think it was really happening. At least he didn't fully believe the two of them.
"What?" Cyborg questioned.
"Polybius?" Starfire asked looking over at the mute Titan who was just shaking his head.
Polybius then proceeded to take off his hat and put both hands on his head, covering his face.
"Yo, Polybius! Calm down!" Beast Boy said as the team quickly moved to comfort him except Robin.
The masked leader was guilt-ridden. He remembered months ago when he had yelled at Polybius. Telling him that people were getting killed. While Robin didn't exactly think at that moment in time that Montezuma was killing people, only then having proven himself to be a petty thief, now…
"Polybius, I- I'm so sorry." Robin started.
"What are you sorry for!?" Beast Boy asked, not harshly, but surprised.
"Remember a long while ago when I yelled at Polybius?" Robin asked.
"Which time?" Cyborg asked.
"The time he was in his garden and I had just gotten back from a dead-end with Slade. None of you were there, but I told you about it later that evening." Robin answered.
"Yeah." Cyborg answered.
"I, uh…" Robin started, "In my anger, I told him that people were dying while he was fooling around in his garden."
"What!?" The entire team questioned in shock.
"At the time, we didn't have any reason to believe that Montezuma was actually killing people. He was just a thief!" Robin defended "I had no idea he was actually doing it! I couldn't have known!"
"Doesn't mean you had to say it!" Beast Boy shouted back.
"Polybius, it's alright." Raven was quick to comfort him, knowing he was headed for the deep end on this one "You did your best! You could not have known that Montezuma was killing people. Just stay calm."
The mute Titan let Raven's words comfort him.
"Yes!" Starfire quickly jumped in "You could not have known, and you were very committed to the search. And you were able to save at least one person!"
"Yeah!" Beast Boy jumped in "You put a stop to him! He's gonna be gone for a long while!"
The mute Titan didn't respond as the shock of the news overtook him.
"Come on man." Cyborg said sympathetically, "Don't beat yourself up over it. Things happen. And my gosh, did you put in a lot of hard work to find and capture Montezuma. You've put a stop to his rampage! That's a win in our book."
The mute Titan looked up at his team who were sympathetically smiling back at him. For some reason, despite how bad he should be feeling at that moment, now that the shock was washing off, he had a hard time feeling sad. In fact, he was feeling a bit warm inside.
"Come on." Starfire said extending a hand "Let's get you to your room so you can rest."
Polybius then proceeded to take that hand. He grabbed his hat and let Starfire lead him to his room. Once there, he took a seat in his bed.
"I shall fetch you a glass full of the water." Starfire said, knowing Polybius always slept with a glass of water in his arms reach.
Starfire was gone for less than a minute before returning with the glass. She set it on his nightstand and then put a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright friend?" Starfire asked.
The mute Titan nodded.
"And you are certain you do not require anything else?" Starfire followed up.
Again, Polybius nodded.
"Very well." Starfire said "I shall let you sleep. I will come and wake you if anything happens, or if Donna requests you."
With that, Starfire left the mute Titan and he quickly wasted no time getting to sleep. However, as he drifted off into that realm, he couldn't help but think about how awesome his friends were, and how grateful he was to have them.
While it was very uncharacteristic for Polybius to sleep long hours, for the first time in a long time, Polybius slept more than 8 hours. He slept for nearly 11 hours as a matter of fact. And when he awoke, he forgot what day, month and year it was. However, a quick look at his phone showed him that it was the next day. In fact, he had woken up at his usual time the next day. Way before the sun, and before anybody else.
Wasting no time, Polybius was quick to digest a health mix and head down to the medical bay. There, he found Starfire watching over Donna, who was still fast asleep.
"Polybius!" Starfire jumped when he entered the room.
The mute Titan then pointed at the sleeping girl.
"She has yet to awaken since we put her to sleep." Starfire said.
The mute Titan nodded. His health mixes were surprisingly filling despite it being made up entirely of plants.
"Please, friend, have you eaten breakfast yet?" Starfire asked.
The mute Titan nodded.
"Well, why don't you go and relax." Starfire said, "As I said a while ago, I will get you when there is an update."
The mute Titan shook his head. He then took a seat at the table Starfire was sitting at and pulled out his phone.
Starfire, seeing that Polybius wasn't leaving, went back to her phone too. The two Titans messed around on their cell phones for about another hour before Donna disturbed them.
"Where am I?" She questioned out loud.
"Good morning!" Starfire was quick to jump up, leaving her phone on the table "You are in Titans tower!"
"Titans tower?" She questioned looking up at the two before pointing to Polybius, who had started making his way over to her "You. You saved me…"
"Yes, he did!" Starfire said happily "And by order of your older sister, the Woman of Wonder, he is in charge of you until she can come and take you to the Island of Paradise!"
"He is?" Donna questioned looking over at the mute "He, he's not gonna hurt me. Right?"
"My friend Polybius would never do such a thing!" Starfire declared, "And neither would I!"
"So, I'm safe?" She asked extremely nervous.
"You are in the safest place on the entire planet!" Starfire declared.
Donna let out a sigh of relief as Polybius took a seat next to her.
"You." Donna said looking over him "Polybius, right?"
The mute Titan nodded.
"Why does he not talk?" Donna asked.
"He is mute." Starfire answered.
"Mute?" Donna asked.
"He cannot speak using his voice." Starfire explained "He has been this way ever since we met him. However, he claims to have had his voice at one point in his life."
"So he communicates by writing things down?" Donna asked.
"And the motions of the body and hands." Starfire asked, "He also texts to get his point across."
"Text?" Donna asked, not knowing what that was.
"Oh, let me show you!" Starfire said, "Now where did I leave my phone?"
Polybius pointed to the table, and Starfire quickly grabbed it. She then began texting a message to Polybius. It wasn't long after that, that the mute Titan's phone vibrated and Donna looked over at his phone.
"That's cool!" Donna commented.
"The best part is, we can text each other from anywhere on the planet!" Starfire added.
"Anywhere?" Donna asked.
"Anywhere!" Starfire confirmed, "So long as we both have the service for the cellular devices."
"That's amazing!" Donna said.
"It's wonderful!" Starfire declared.
Starfire then took a seat on the other side of Donna's bed.
"So this is man's world?" Donna asked, "Like, the real world?"
"Yes!" Starfire answered "You friend, have been in a horrible situation for months by the evil Montezuma. However, you are now freed from that now!"
"So you mean everything I've experienced in this world, is not how this world really is?" Donna asked.
"Most certainly not!" Starfire said, "This world can be scary and strange at times, but both Polybius and I have come to love it?"
"But haven't you both grown up in man's world?" Donna asked.
"I have not." Starfire stated "I grew up on the planet of Tamaran. It is another world far away from this one."
"So you're an alien?" Donna asked.
"That is true!" Starfire said.
"Okay." Donna said, "What about you?"
Polybius then texted a message to Starfire and then she read it out loud.
"I grew up in a very remote, rural location. I, like you, had very little experience when I made the journey to Jump City. In fact, seeing so many people actually made me quite nervous when I first got here. However, now that I have been acquainted with the Titans for almost a year now, I have learned that the world beyond my home is far greater than anything I could have ever imagined! And the people of this world, while not all are good, some, like the two in front of you, are the nicest people you'll ever meet!" Starfire read out loud.
"Wow." Donna said looking at the two.
"Please, before we continue, would you like to be our friend?" Starfire questioned.
"You promise you won't hurt me?" Donna asked timidly.
"Never! Right Polybius?" Starfire asked.
The mute Titan gave a big, and characteristically warm smile and a big nod of agreement.
"Then, yes. We can be friends!" Donna said.
"Oh, wonderful!" Starfire shouted, "I would hug you, but I do not want to risk doing any more damage to you or undoing all of the work we did on you yesterday."
"What?" Donna asked.
"You will be confined to this bed for a few days, but soon we will take you out and explore the city! We will have so much fun together!" Starfire declared.
"Out?" Donna asked nervously.
"Do not worry new friend!" Starfire assured her "Both I and Polybius, and maybe the others will be with you as well!"
"A- Alright." Donna said, still quite nervous.
The mute Titan then took her hand, causing her to look over at him. He gave her a reassuring look with a soft smile.
"Nothing's going to happen." Donna said for him.
The mute Titan nodded.
And there you have it for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed it and have a wonderful rest of your day!