Chapter 18
Rise and Shine...
"You ready?" Starfire asked.
"I think so." Donna replied grabbing onto Polybius.
Polybius, in turn, held onto Donna as she put her feet on the ground. Today was the day she could finally be released from the medical bay. However, because she had lived stuffed in a dog cage for a long while, she doubted her ability to walk, despite Raven's powers. As such Polybius, being the same height as her, offered to help the younger girl.
Then again, younger wasn't a really good term as she was born on the same day as him. April 21st. She was also the same age as him too. The same day, and year. Neither one knew what time of day they were born, so as far as they were concerned, they were both exactly the same age.
Over the course of the past few days, in the medical bay, it had mostly been Polybius, Donna, and Starfire hanging out together. While Raven, Beast Boy, Robin, and Cyborg had visited the girl, it was Polybius and Starfire that kept her company, and she was very grateful for it.
And as such, the trio got to know each other very well. Most of what they did was talk until Polybius brought some UNO cards when the two came back from a mission. This gave the trio something to do as they hung out.
But now, it was time to get Donna out of that bed.
"One." Starfire started.
Polybius then held up two fingers.
"Three!" Donna shouted as she pushed herself off the bed.
Holding on tight to Polybius, she had a hard time catching her balance but was able to soon find it. Once she was balanced, she gave Polybius a nod and the two began to slowly walk towards the exit.
"Thank you." Donna said slightly embarrassed and a little pink in the face.
The mute Titan just smiled as he prepared for the final part.
"Stay close." Donna ordered.
The mute Titan nodded as he slowly let go of her.
When he finally broke contact with her, she almost fell over but caught herself. From there she began walking on her own, but Polybius stayed close by her side.
"Wonderful!" Starfire shouted with glee "Raven's powers truly are the best!"
"Yeah." Donna agreed "So where are we off to?"
"Wherever you like!" Starfire said.
"How about someplace I get some clothes and out of this gown." Donna said.
"Then we shall go to my room!" Starfire said.
The trio then headed to Starfire's room. There, Starfire was quick to pick out one of her extra uniforms.
"Here you are!" Starfire offered.
Donna looked at the clothing and let out a small chuckle.
"What?" Starfire asked, "Is there something wrong with it?"
"No!" Donna quickly said, "It's just…"
"You want something that covers you up a bit more?" Starfire asked, causing Donna to get red in the face.
"Yeah." She replied.
"Well, unfortunately, all I have are uniforms, and so does Raven.
The mute Titan then pointed to himself.
"You think she'll fit into your clothing?" Starfire asked.
Polybius then pointed to his pants and shook his head. But then his finger moved up to his jacket.
"You are right." Starfire said, "She could wear my bottoms and your top!"
"You really don't have to." Donna said, but the mute Titan shook his head as he took off his jacket.
The mute Titan then handed it to the girl, who reluctantly accepted it. However, as she did, she noticed something about his hands.
"Are you, uh, missing a finger?" Donna asked nervously.
The mute Titan then held up his hands to reveal that he didn't have his ring fingers on either hand. Donna took a moment to study this before Polybius put his hands down. The mute Titan then exited the room to allow her to change.
As Polybius stood outside and waited in the hallway, Beast Boy came walking down.
"Yo, Polybius! What up!?" The green Titan called out.
The mute Titan gave a smile and a wave as the other walked up, with Cyborg in toe.
"So you hanging out with Donna?" Beast Boy asked.
Polybius nodded.
"Cool." Beast Boy said.
"You going to get yourself a date with her?" Cyborg followed up "Maybe even smash?"
The mute Titan looked up at Cyborg with a rather angry look.
"What?" Cyborg asked, "Girl is quite hot."
"And thiccc with 3 Cs!" Beast Boy added.
The mute Titan shot both of them the angry look.
"What?" Cyborg asked, "If you are, you, her, Sarah, and I can all go out on a date!"
The mute Titan gave Cyborg a confused look at the mention of Sarah.
"He doesn't know about Sarah." Beast Boy told Cyborg.
"Oh." Cyborg said, "Well, while you were out on your stakeout of Montezuma, I got me a date with a girl."
The mute Titan smiled and gave a small clap. Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Donna and Starfire were hearing everything the two were talking about.
"Men." Donna commented, "Do all of them really just look at women for how our bodies look!?"
"Not Polybius!" Starfire quickly defended.
"What makes him so different?" Donna asked, "I bet he's nodding yes to smashing me!"
"I bet he's not." Starfire said, "Polybius hates that kind of stuff."
"Oh?" Donna asked, not believing fully believing her.
"Yes." Starfire went on "Just the other day, our friend Terra called him cute and hot. He got so angered by this he walked away. Speaking of which, I would highly recommend you not compliment him on his looks as he really does not like that."
"That doesn't really say much." Donna added.
"Well, you may not believe me now, but the longer you stick around Polybius, you'll find out that he hates sexualizing things. And generally avoids talking about the sex period."
"So?" Donna replied.
"So that means out of every man you will ever meet, Polybius is the last one to look at you for your body." Starfire answered
"And why does he not like it?" Donna asked.
"We do not know." Starfire asked "It is sort of an unspoken rule around here that we do not talk about our pasts unless it is important, or we want to share something with the group. Like for instance, going back to Polybius, he never eats around anybody. He always does it in his room alone. I have asked him about it before and he said it's because of personal reasons."
"Okay." Donna replied, "Still, you promise that you are telling me the truth and that Polybius is not trying to smash me?"
"I would put everything I have on it." Starfire assured her.
Donna then calmed down and finished changing. When she finished, from her waist down, she wore Starfire's clothing, while on going the opposite way, she wore Polybius's. When she opened the door, she saw Polybius, who looked quite agitated, staring down Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"Come on man!" Cyborg said, "You can't walk away from that!"
"Yeah, you'd be insane too!" Beast Boy added.
"Insane to walk away from what?" Donna asked as she approached Polybius.
"Uh…" Both Cyborg and Beast Boy said at the same time.
"Well?" Donna asked, "It's not like I could hear you on the other side of the door you know."
Both Cyborg and Beast Boy got really nervous.
"Seriously, do you two just see me for my body!?" Donna demanded.
"N- No!" Both Titans quickly answered.
"Liars!" Donna quickly stated "Trying to get Polybius to have sex with me, right!?"
The mute Titan then looked over at Donna, who now shared the same angered expression he did moments ago. However, his was now replaced by one of concern.
"No!" Beast Boy quickly defended.
"Liars!" Donna quickly accused them.
"Friend, please calm down!" Starfire insisted.
"No!" Donna insisted "Is this world just full of a bunch of perverted people who just want to screw me!?"
"No!" Cyborg said "If anybody, Polybius is the last person who would want to do that! And we don't see you for just your body!"
The mute Titan then tried to calm Donna down by putting a hand on her shoulder. However, she brushed him off.
"Ugh!" Donna shouted in anger "I just want to go home! To a place where people see me for who I am! Not by the size of my tits!"
The angered girl then stormed away. The mute Titan wasn't exactly sure where she was going to go. Starfire tried to follow her, but Polybius stopped her and shook his head. He knew she needed a little time before somebody attempted to reach out to her.
Also, he knew that he was the only one who knew how close she had come to being raped.
Polybius then looked back at Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"Uh… Sorry." Beast Boy tried to defend.
In anger, Polybius, for the first time, shot up his middle finger at them. Which from what he had learned, in this society, it was a very disrespectful thing to do.
"Yo!" Cyborg said, "Calm down man!"
The mute Titan shook his head before letting Starfire turn loose on them.
"You two are very bad friends!" Starfire said, "Talking about things that you know not only makes Polybius mad but also her as well."
"Look, we're sorry." Cyborg said.
"Yeah." Beast Boy said "We just meant to tease Polybius. We didn't mean for any of this to happen."
The mute Titan then left Starfire to let loose on the other two. She was quite upset by what they had done and she was going to give them a piece of her mind. Using this opportunity, the mute Titan then slipped away to slowly see if he could find Donna.
The Amazonian girl meanwhile, stormed off through the unfamiliar halls of Titans Tower. She didn't quite think walking away through as she didn't know the layout of the building. She quickly became lost in the maze of halls and rooms.
However, her luck would have it that she would find Raven.
"Hey, Donna." Raven greeted as she came out of her room "I sense that you are upset?"
"Yeah." Donna said.
"Anything you want to talk about?" Raven asked.
"Do all guys just see women for their bodies?" Donna asked.
"No." Raven responded without hesitation "Did somebody say, or do something that made you feel uncomfortable?"
"Cyborg and Beast Boy were talking about how 'sexy' and 'thicc' they think I was to Polybius." Donna explained, "Said they were just trying to tease him, but still."
"Well, they picked him because they knew it would get under his skin." Raven commented.
"Oh?" Donna questioned.
"Starfire really should have told you already, but don't comment Polybius on his looks. No cute, hot, sexy, or anything." Raven stated with authority in her voice.
"Yeah, she did say something about that." Donna replied, "But that doesn't mean he's not doing it to me."
"Trust me, Polybius has a really hard time with being looked at for his body too." Raven said "If you look it up online, you'll find that he is consistently ranked as one of the hottest men alive. And he hates it. He hates sex in general."
"But how do I know that he doesn't just look at me for my body and is lying to my face!?" Donna demanded.
"Because out of every man I've ever met, Polybius is that last person to do that." Raven said, "And while I don't know this for sure, I think he might be castrated."
"Castrated!?" Donna said surprised "What makes you think that!?"
"Well, about two months back, Polybius got hit between the legs, which as you know may or may not know, causes extreme pain for most men."
"But he didn't go down, did he?" Donna asked.
"No." Raven replied, "And while I've seen him take beatings that nobody else could survive, considering how sensitive that place is, especially for males, I don't think there is anything down there."
It then dawned on Donna that Polybius really didn't look at her for her body.
"So if there was any man you could trust to look at you for your person and not your body, it would be him." Raven added, "And if he is looking at you for just your body, that would be awfully hypocritical of him."
At that moment, Polybius turned the corner.
"And there he is!" Raven said.
Donna turned back to see the mute Titan begin approaching the two.
"We were just talking about you." Raven stated.
"Yeah." Donna said, "I'm sorry I got mad at you."
The mute Titan smiled warmly at her, he waved his hand to signal that it was fine.
"Thanks." Donna said, "You don't, hate me now, right?"
The mute Titan shook his head.
"That's another thing about Polybius." Raven added "Out of all of us, he is the most forgiving Titan. It's quite uncharacteristic of him not to forgive actually."
The mute Titan smiled and nodded his agreement.
"Oh thank goodness." Donna said with relief.
The mute Titan then motioned for her to come along with him. She smiled and the two-headed off.
The two then downstairs and outside. It was around noon and while it was a cooler day, it was still bright and sunny. Donna took a moment to take in the fresh air and feel the sun on her skin. She missed that feeling, and this was the first time she had felt it in a long time.
The mute Titan smiled as Donna took in the fresh air. After pausing for a moment and letting her soak it in, she began to speak.
"I forgot how much I missed the outdoors." Donna commented "Such a lovely place."
The mute Titan smiled and nodded. The two then quickly made their way off to the Garden of Eden.
"Wow." Donna commented, "You grow these?"
The mute Titan nodded.
"What for?" Donna asked.
The mute Titan then pointed to his back best he could.
"Your back?" Donna asked.
The mute Titan nodded.
"You grow plants for your back?" Donna asked confused.
The mute Titan pulled out his phone, having left his notebook inside the tower, he quickly pulled up his notes app and texted a response before showing it to Donna.
"Because of your powers, you have really bad back pain." Donna read out loud "What are your powers?"
Polybius then listed his back tentacles, thick skin, and the ability to change his vision.
"That's cool." Donna commented "But you refrain from using them because of the pain it causes you. Makes sense."
The mute Titan nodded.
"Friends!" The two suddenly heard Starfire shout as she flew over to them "There you two are!"
Starfire quickly landed by the two and smiled.
"I, Starfire, have dealt with the boys." She proclaimed "And do not worry Donna, they have been told to behave better!"
"Thank you." Donna replied.
"And have you and Polybius reconciled?" Starfire asked "Because if you still think that Polybius is only looking at you for your body, then I must tell you that you are wrong! That is something Polybius would not, nor ever do!"
"It's all good Starfire." Donna said "I bumped into Raven and we talked it over. I know that Polybius would never do that."
"Oh, glorious!" Starfire proclaimed "Come, now let us get you in your own set of clothes!"
And with that, the three-headed to the mall of shopping. There, the headed to the clothing store where they got Donna her own set of clothes. Once finished, she came out in a pair of pink tennis shoes, white socks, light blue jeans, Polybius's jacket, which he let her keep and just bought another one, a blue tee-shirt, and she also did her hair back in one long ponytail.
"How do I look?" Donna asked the two Titan as she stepped out of the changing room.
"Gorgeous!" Starfire declared.
The mute Titan gave a smile with two thumbs up.
"Thanks." Donna replied.
"Come, friend!" Starfire said "Let us show you around Jump City! This place has so many wonderful things to see and do!"
After hitting up the mall, the trio then made their way outside to the park. The same park Polybius and Wonder Woman had fought each other in months ago. The city had done a quick clean up of the park and restored it. It looked quite nice now that it wasn't in ruins.
The tree took a nice stroll through the park, stopping on a bench by the fountain in the center of it. There weren't many people there as it was a weekday and they had better things to do.
However, there was one lovely face there that Polybius knew all too well.
"Hey, you!" The voice called out.
The trio looked over to see the guy whose arm had been broken by Polybius twice now approaching them, with girlfriend number three.
The mute Titan rolled his eyes as he stood up.
"Polybius?" Starfire asked, "Who is this?"
The mute Titan shrugged his shoulders as he didn't actually know his name. He only knew exactly what he was about to do and what was about to happen.
"Get over here loser!" He shouted.
"How dare you-" Starfire started before getting cut off by Polybius.
The mute Titan put up a hand to stop the alien girl. She looked at him and he nodded before walking off to meet the guy.
"Man, it looks like we have the lame Robin again!" The teen shouted.
The mute Titan rolled his eyes and began moving his finger in a circle, hoping he would speed it up to the part where Polybius broke his arm again.
"You're in for a real surprise this time lameo!" The teen said "I've been taking karate classes! So now I'll for sure kick your butt."
The mute Titan unenthusiastically slow clapped as he waited for the punch.
"Now my last two girls have left me because of you, but it looks like I can steal two away from you!" The teen said looking at the two girls over at the bench.
"Hey!" Donna and Starfire shouted at the same time, but Polybius put up a hand to stop them.
"Now they can watch as I kick your butt!" The teen shouted.
The teen then tried to throw a right punch at Polybius, only to, for the third time, have it caught by the mute.
"Not again…" The teen begged.
The mute Titan smiled as he quickly got to work. Reaching back, Polybius pulled out his stone club and with one hard hit on the arm, Polybius broke it.
"Ow!" The teen shouted as the arm bent out at an angle it should never bend.
Polybius then let go of the teen's hand as he dropped to the ground.
"I told you it was a bad idea." Girlfriend number three said before looking up at Polybius.
She then seductively approached Polybius and got close to him.
"You know. If you dump them for me, I'll do anything you want in bed." She said seductively, and loud enough for the girls on the bench to hear while also slipping her phone number written on a Chipotle napkin into his hand.
Donna and Starfire both shared a mixed look of shock and disgust at girlfriend number three's words. However, Polybius, by this point, expecting it, replied by putting a hand over her face as she tried to move in for a kiss. Then with using minimal effort, pushed her away from him and walked back over to the other three.
"Call me!" She shouted.
The mute Titan then proceeded to crumble up the napkin and throw it over his shoulder as he walked away. Girlfriend number three's jaw dropped when she saw him do this.
"You asshole!" The girl shouted as Polybius joined his friends.
The mute Titan then motioned for the group to leave. However, the other two had questions.
"Who was that?" Starfire asked.
The mute Titan then pulled out his phone and explained that this guy had tried attacking him three times now. Each time Polybius didn't press charges, but each time he would break the teen's arm, the girlfriend would go for him, he would reject the girl, and he'd leave.
"Wait." Donna said, "This is the third time you two have gone through this?"
The mute Titan nodded.
"Sounds to me like someone needs to put him in his place." Donna commented.
Polybius then motioned again for the trio to leave and the took off, leaving the teen in agony. While Polybius cared enough to get help for him the first time, this time he couldn't be bothered to do it. The way he saw it if the teen was dumb enough to attack a Teen Titan, the guy who fought off Wonder Woman to a draw, and had a reputation for being the most malleable person alive, and had powers that could snap his whole body like a twig, was beyond help.
3rd time is the charm, right? Maybe this guy will learn. Maybe not.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and have a good rest of your day!