DEPRESSION TRIGGER WARNING!

Chapter 7

Darkness...

With two major villains floating around Jump City, Robin decided to split the work with Polybius. The mute Titan would focus his efforts on Montezuma, and the masked Titan would focus his efforts on Slade. By doing this, it gave Polybius a lot more room to more openly conduct his investigations.

However, he was not as nearly as committed as Robin was. Ever since the invasion of the tower a few weeks ago, Robin had consumed himself in an endless search for the mysterious figure. This lead the leader to be working rather ridiculous amounts of time searching for him. Polybius meanwhile set aside a set time during the day for investigating Montezuma. The way the mute saw it, despite all of the thinking he could do, he didn't believe that he couldn't think of anything new within two hours. Especially since they had seen no trace of the man since their first encounter.

Regardless, this had lead to a small argument between the two while Polybius was outside tending his plants.

"Come on Polybius!" Robin had said angrily coming home from investigating a lead "Why aren't you working on Montezuma?"

One thing the mute had learned about arguments is that it was very common among people to not leave time for the other to respond. This usually devolved into shouting matches and things getting nowhere.

This lead arguments between Polybius and the others to be more of them yelling at him and him just standing there and taking it as he never walked away.

"How can you just be sitting down here taking care of a bunch of plants while two madmen run loose in the city!?" Robin demanded "I've given you one job and that's to track down one criminal! But instead of doing that, you waste precious time by doing stupid things! Get ahold of yourself Polybius, or people will get hurt or freaking killed! And that blood will be on your hands as much as it is on theirs!"

Robin then stormed off, leaving Polybius standing amongst his plants.

While it was a small argument, this left the mute Titan thinking about what the leader had said. For a while, Polybius just stood there among his plants before he slowly hauled himself up to his room. Once there, he shut the door behind him, leaned his back up against it and sunk to the ground.

In the mute's mind, Robin was right. While Polybius went off and did rather stupid and mundane things, Montezuma was on the loose. What was even scarier is that from what Polybius had learned from his study of Aztec culture, human sacrifices were common. Very common.

In the Titan's mind at that moment, Montezuma was surely somewhere in Jump City right now! He had most likely already kidnapped pour souls and sacrificed them to whatever god he was trying to appease. And Robin was right when he said that the blood was on his hands too.

Polybius was hit with a wave of sadness as he sat on his floor. He brought his knees into his chest and buried his head. He was glad that no one was around to see him like this.

"He's right." A dark voice said.

Looking up, Polybius locked eyes with himself, sitting on his bed looking down on him. However, this version of himself had a dark aura around him. His voice sounded a lot like his had when he had it, but darker. His skin was entirely light grey and he wore a black business suit with a white shirt and black tie. He also wore no hat, letting his short black hair, which was identical to Polybius's, flow.

Once the two made eye contact, the darker Polybius began speaking again.

"Look at you." He spoke "While you sit here and mope, madmen run loose in the city. While you sit here and mope, people die by their hands. While you sit here and mope, they grow closer to their larger goal of causing the most pain they can possibly create."

Polybius looked away from the dark figure.

"Oh come on now." The dark figure said "Don't look away from me, that's quite rude. But then again, that's typical of you."

Polybius didn't move.

"Well, you know what, it's a good thing you sit here and mope. A very good thing as this little investigation you've been doing has gone nowhere. And why is that? It's because you're an idiot. You're too stupid to figure out basic things." The dark Polybius added on.

The mute Titan just sat there.

"And your friends know it too." The dark figure said "They know how incompetent you are. That's why they lie to you. They aren't your friends, they just pretend to be because you are their plaything."

Meanwhile, in the main room, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven were all watching the TV. Starfire had pulled up some documentary about hotdogs that the others were being forced to watch. However, they were soon joined by Robin.

"Hey, have any of you guys seen Polybius?" Robin asked as he approached his team.

"No, we've been here watching this for the past three hours." Cyborg groaned, "Why?"

"Well, I got a bad lead that led nowhere and took my anger out on Polybius." Robin said.

"Dude…" Beast Boy said "Not cool!"

"Yeah!" Cyborg said.

"Why him?" Raven asked, "You know he can't defend himself."

"Well, I saw him working on the plants in his little garden rather than working on the Montezuma case. And I guess after coming home with nothing and seeing him not working on it just pushed me over the edge." Robin stated, "I want to go apologies to him."

"I think he's in his room." Raven stated, "I saw him walking down the hall when I went to the restroom."

"Thanks." Robin said.

"You owe him!" Starfire declared.

"I know I do." Robin replied.

"And next time, please snap on one of us." Cyborg asked "You were there when the five of us agreed not to snap on Polybius. And you also know that Polybius grows those plants! To help with his back pain!"

About a month back, Beast Boy was having a bad day and Polybius was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The green teen snapped on the mute, who just stood there and took it. The others were there to watch it and broke it up. However, this did cause the mute Titan to leave with his head hung low.

Starfire, upset by seeing her friend so sad, declared that since Polybius couldn't talk, and by extension, could not verbally defend himself, that the Titans were not to be mean to him. Naturally, the others backed this up as being mean to Polybius was like punching a beached shark. It may be deadly, but on a beach and out of its element, it couldn't defend itself.

"I know, I know." Robin assured the team again "I'll make it up to him, I promise."

"You had better!" Starfire finished.

Robin then left the main room and headed for Polybius's room where the mute Titan was still getting hammered by the dark version of himself.

"And you left!" The dark Polybius went on.

There was a knock at the door, causing the dark Polybius to stop.

"Polybius?" Robin asked, "You in there."

"Don't answer it." The dark Polybius said, "You are a burden to him and he doesn't need to be dragged down by you!"

It was clear to the mute Titan that only he could hear the dark version of himself as Robin made no comment about what he had said.

"Look, Polybius, I'm sorry about earlier." Robin started.

"No, he isn't." The dark Polybius said.

"I shouldn't have snapped on you like that." Robin went on.

"It's okay, you deserved it." The dark Polybius added on.

"Look, what happened is I got a dead-end lead on Slade. A lead that seemed really good, but was a bust." Robin continued "And when it came up as a dead-end, I got really mad at the lead and when I saw you not working on the Montezuma case… I- I just lost it and went off on you and that isn't right. I can't expect you to pour in all of your time into a case that literally has shown no lead."

"Uh, yeah he can." The dark Polybius added "You're just too stupid to find one! That and you're too darn lazy!"

"So I want to say that I'm sorry. Very sorry." Robin went on "But I'll make it up to you later! Just, why don't you come out and join us."

Polybius looked up at the button on his door.

"Don't!" The dark Polybius warned.

Ignoring the dark Polybius, the teen stood up and opened the door to come face to face with Robin.

The leader was a little surprised to see the door open but was glad it did.

"Look, Polybius, I'm super sorry." Robin went on "It's not right of me to go off on you like that. Especially since you can't talk. But, why don't you come and join the rest of us up in the main room?"

Polybius smiled and nodded.

"Great!" Robin said, "Hopefully that documentary about hotdogs Star has been making the others watch is over and we can find something more pleasant."

The mute Titan began to follow the lead Titan. However, only just taking a step outside his room, he looked back at his bed where the darker version of himself was once sitting.

Upon looking back, Polybius saw that the figure was gone as if he were never there.

Joining the others in the main room, the two took a seat on the couch with the others.

"Are you alright friend Polybius?" Starfire was the first to question.

Polybius smiled and nodded his head.

"No hard feelings, right?" Robin followed up.

Again, Polybius nodded.

"Good." Robin said.

"Yo, Rae." Cyborg said "Is Polybius lying when he nodded? We want to be sure."

"I don't know." Raven said.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Cyborg asked for the group.

"Well…" Raven started "I can't sense him."

"What?" The Cyborg asked.

"But you can sense the rest of us." Starfire said.

"So why can't you sense Polybius?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't know." Raven said "But ever since we met him, I can't sense him at all. I don't know what he's feeling or where he is. He's like a ghost to me."

"That's weird." Cyborg said, "Because I can't pick him up on any of my sensors either."

"Well at least I know I'm not alone anymore." Beast Boy added, "Because when I'm a dog, I can't pick up his scent either."

Everybody traded looks with each other except Polybius who kept his head low. There was a long moment of silence before Robin spoke up.

"So what we're saying is that Polybius can't be tracked?" He asked.

"Not by any means available to us." Cyborg said.

"That could be quite useful in the future." Robin stated.

"Anyway!" Starfire said, gaining the group's attention "Robin, you and Polybius must see this documentary about hotdogs! It is so entertaining!"

At this point, there was no escaping the inevitable. The entire team found themselves sitting and watching a four hour documentary about hot dogs.

By the end of it, nobody wanted to ever even think of a hot dog again.

However, tragedy would strike the team the following day when Cinderblock broke into prison, and a subsequent major mess up by Cyborg and Robin, caused Cyborg to temporarily leave the team. And while this hit Polybius hard, this development didn't last long as later that week, Cyborg reunited with the team.

The following week, the team got the brilliant idea to head out to the carnival that had come to town to celebrate Cyborg's return. The mute Titan tagged along and found himself sitting on the dock alone again.

Despite the others' attempts to cheer him up, Polybius was still sad. The voice of the dark Polybius had said so many things to him that were true. Polybius now saw himself as more foolish than ever before.

And at that particular moment in time, he was so thankful that he was mute. It was super easy to lie when he didn't have to put any words behind it. And with Raven unable to detect his lies, all he had to do was put a convincing smile on his face, look happy and nobody batted an eye.

The mute Titan looked out at the horizon. The constant booms of fireworks echoed in his ears as he watched the stars dance on the water. It was beautiful.

"Yo, Polybius!" He heard Cyborg call out "Yo, dude! Come on, we're gonna go play some games! Come and tag along with us!"

Polybius looked back at his friend, who was standing by Beast Boy and Raven. He couldn't help but smile as he picked himself up and went off to join them.

The trio headed to a ring toss game where the three boys agreed to try and win the giant chicken for Raven as a joke. All three of them knew she was allergic to their feathers, and it would be the perfect thing to annoy her with.

And when they won it, her reaction said it all.

"A giant chicken. I must be the luckiest girl in the world." She said with total sarcasm.

However, the four were called into action when some pink, robotic space squid attacked Starfire. It led the five on a chase and rather easily bringing the thing down.

"What was that?" Robin asked the alien girl, who had no clue what it was "Then maybe it's best we head to the tower." Cyborg proposed

The team agreed and headed back to the tower. Once there, however, they were greeted by a surprise guest.

"Sister!" Starfire greeted.

The two had a short exchange before the two began walking down the line and introducing her sister Blackfire to each of the members.

"Polybius…" Blackfire said, to get a nod from the mute Titan "Starfire wasn't kidding when she said you were good looking. My gosh, you could get any girl you wanted with looks like that."

Polybius's eyes drifted over to Starfire as a mixed look of anger and disappointment arose on his face.

Starfire let out a nervous giggle as the mute Titan's eyes drifted back to Blackfire.

"But she said you never liked to be complimented on your looks." Blackfire said "But I do hear you are an excellent hunter. I've taken on some real monsters in my time. Might have to chat about them sometime."

Polybius let a small smile slip as Blackfire continued down the line.

The following day, after Polybius, found himself outside in his garden again tending his plants. He knew that regardless of what Robin or the dark figure had said, he needed to take care of these plants. Otherwise, he was quite useless.

However, it seemed that this was everybody's favorite time to approach him, and today it was Blackfire.

"Hi there Polybius." Blackfire greeted the mute teen.

The teen was harvesting some Aloe Vera plants when she greeted him. He looked up at her and gave a warm, welcoming smile.

"These plants." Blackfire commented, "I must say those Marigolds are quite beautiful."

Polybius nodded in agreement as he went back to harvesting his plants.

"I have a question for you." Blackfire stated.

Polybius stopped what he was doing and looked up at the alien.

"Why oh why aren't you using any Zorkaberries?" Blackfire asked.

The teen was confused as he had never heard of that flora before.

"Oh, they were one of Starfire's favorites." Blackfire said "She used to eat them up left and right whenever she got hurt. The reason being is that Zorkaberries can increase the rate of recovery from injuries. And Starfire has mentioned your pain at least once or twice. So I am baffled as to why she hasn't given any to you to use in your mixes."

As if on some sort of cue, Starfire came walking into view and headed straight towards the two.

"Hello, sister and friend Polybius." Starfire greeted.

"Hey, Starfire?" Blackfire asked "Why haven't you given him any Zorkaberries for his medication!? You used to eat them up all the time when you got hurt."

"I never thought of doing that." Starfire stated "But I do not think they would help his pain. Zorkaberries are used for healing things like cuts and scrapes, not as a painkiller, which is what my friend makes."

Polybius couldn't help but notice the slight extra emphasis the girl put on the 'my' before in that statement.

"Makes sense." Blackfire said "But a painkiller would be quite useful. Maybe you can show me how to make it later."

Polybius shrugged his shoulders as he went back to harvesting his plant.

However, this would never come to pass as Blackfire heard about a party downtown that she invited the Titans too. While Polybius didn't want to go and knowing Raven wouldn't either, would have rather stayed at the tower. However, when the location was put out, it grabbed her attention.

Once there, Polybius quickly lost track of the others and found himself alone and isolated from the others.

Moving out to the edge, the teen took a seat somewhat away from the main party, but close enough to where he could monitor it. However, he was soon approached by a very familiar face.

"Hey, Dusche!" The teen said as he approached him.

Polybius saw that it was the same teen who had attacked him a few months ago. He looked like he had just gotten out of his cast as he was wearing a brace on his arm. He also had his presumed girlfriend around that same arm.

The mute teen rolled his eyes as he watched the overly pumped teen walk up to him.

"What are you doing here?" He barked.

Polybius shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, you know what, you got lucky last time." The teen said, "Get your butt outside so we can settle this."

Polybius let out a silent chuckle. He was more than happy to break this kid's arm again. But he really wasn't in the mood to.

"Come on, wimp!" The dumb teen tried to intimidate "Come outside and fight me."

"Come on babe." His girl said "He totally whooped your butt last time. Just let it go."

"No way!" The teen said "He broke my arm and took my last girl from me! There is no way I'm letting him get away with that!"

"He didn't even press charges." Girlfriend number two stated.

"So?!" The teen said "Still doesn't excuse the fact that he broke my arm! Now get up and fight!"

Polybius shook his head. He had zero intention of wasting his time with this loser.

"Fine, you want to get your butt whooped in front of everybody." The teen said "Your humiliation, lame Robin!"

The teen then took his arm off his girl and swung at Polybius using the same arm the brace was in. And just as last time, Polybius caught it and broke the teen's arm again.

"Ow!" The teen shouted as he recoiled in the pain from the quick arm snap Polybius inflicted on him "Oh, you son of a-"

"Oh, shut up." Girlfriend number two barked at him "You deserved it! Attacking this hottie!"

Polybius silently groaned as the teenaged female walked over to him.

"Now why don't you and I ditch this lame party and go back to my place for some fun." The female said getting close to him.

Polybius put an arm on the girl's face and pushed her away before getting up and leaving.

Fortunately for Polybius, duty would call his name again as three more of the squids from earlier attacked Starfire again. This would later culminate into learning that Blackfire was a fugitive on the run and was trying to frame Starfire for her crimes. However, Blackfire would not get away with it as the alien police apprehended her and took her away.

The mute Titan couldn't help but think good riddance as he did not like Blackfire.

And there you have it. The introduction of a darker Polybius. Anyway, the important information is that I am headed to a place where uploading is going to be difficult. I have already prepped chapters for the time I'm in that area, so I'm looking at an upload seclude of Sunday and Thursday, possibly Tuesday as well.

And finally, I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and have a good rest of your day.

Also I don't own Teen Titans. Didn't put that disclaimer in earlier so I'll put it in here so I don't get sued or something stupid like that.