Chapter 2
Establishment...
Polybius woke up and for a brief moment, forgot where he was. But his mind was quick to remind him that he was in his new home of the newly built Titan's tower. He sat up in his bed and looked around his room that he spent a great deal of time yesterday arranging into a fashion of his liking.
Starting at his bed, Polybius positioned his bed at an angle with the window so that way he could wake up and look outside first thing. The head of his bed was up against the wall, and as for the window (when laying in his bed) was to his right. To his left was the door to his room.
Moving back to his right side, directly to the right of the bed but not under the window was a desk with a swivel chair and a laptop, a stand for his cavalier hat, and a few other personal items hidden inside the drawers.
Moving towards the window, Polybius had positioned a rocking chair so he could sit back and watch the outside. Which was nothing but ocean as his window was facing west.
On the far wall furthest from the bed was a wall of shelves and an opening for his closet. Presently there wasn't much on those shelves aside from a few items Polybius had taken out of his backpack, which was currently sitting on the floor at the foot of his bed.
On the wall between the shelves and the door was a large bulletin board with several tacks ready to be used. Currently, the only thing on the board was the BS 'welcome letter' Robin had created up in a hurry to look more professional.
And lastly, on the left side of his bed was a small nightstand with a glass of water and a lamp on it. Otherwise, the rest of his room was open and walls rather bare.
Looking over at the widow, Polybius saw the early morning sun's light dancing on the ocean waters. The black of the night sky was giving way to orange as the sun rose up from the ground.
Reaching over to his stand Polybius grabbed his glass of water and quickly downed what was left of it. He was thankful that he only had to bring his stomach out of his body for digesting food and could drink fluids like the other Titans.
Speaking of Titans, Polybius hadn't really gotten to know any of them that well. Despite only a month passing since the team had formed up, Polybius hadn't interacted with them much at all. He was both too standoffish and nervous to try and get their attention. However, he did get a good idea of who they were after watching them in the motel they had been crashing in for the past month.
Starting with the hastily appointed leader Robin, Polybius had a respect for the young leader. He was certainly determined to make this work and went out of his way to get Polybius involved. Even if it was just with crappy legal matters that he just had Polybius sit in on, it felt good to be involved in something.
Moving to the largest Titan in the group, Cyborg, Polybius saw many similarities between the two. While Polybius had very little technical experience, barely knowing his way around his own laptop, it was in craftsmanship that the two had bonded over. That being the design and construction of the tower.
While Robin, and by small extension the others, had offered ideas as to the design of the tower, ultimately it was Polybius and Cyborg who designed it. Using the plans Cyborg was able to maximize the efficiency of the tower's systems while Polybius was able to maximize the physical space, cramming a lot of stuff into small rooms with a sense organization still evident.
And while Cyborg had plans for stuff in every room, Polybius's proposal won, leaving many rooms in the tower absolutely empty and ready for storage or guest rooms should the Titans ever expand their roster.
As for Beast Boy, the two had few interactions since that fateful day they happened to cross paths and had yet to really find any common ground to bond over. This was in part Polybius's fault as he would avoid eating with the other Titans, opting to eat on his own out of sight of prying eyes. This was because he was afraid of how they would react seeing him extend his stomach out of his body to digest his food externally. He was afraid of being shunned for that.
As for Starfire, it was abundantly clear that she was very positive. She had more than enough positivity for both of them. This was something Polybius needed in his life and while the two hadn't interacted much, the aura she gave off was enough to reach him anywhere he was.
And lastly, as for Raven, Polybius had grown fond of the magic girl. While the two had only interacted twice since that fateful day, there was one thing she did that he loved about her, and set her apart from all of the other Titans. She gave him time to respond.
While this may seem like a small thing at first, one thing quickly became clear to Polybius is when he 'talked' with the other Titans as much as a mute man could, it was more like they were talking at him. The others, even Robin, just tended to talk and talk and not give him a chance to respond with the notepad Robin had given him.
This had led to Polybius learning more about the others than they knew about him. This was alright with the young teen, but it could get annoying at times. Especially when Polybius had something important to say.
And then there was Raven. While she wasn't the most social person to ever live, the fact that when she spoke to him she gave him the time he needed to write down a response meant a lot to Polybius.
Putting down the empty glass, the teen stood up and stretched out, the pain in his back quickly telling him he had made a mistake.
Winching in pain, the teen reached into the lone drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a small baggie labeled 'health mix.' After quickly digesting it, the pain in his back almost vanished as it always did when he took his medication.
After consuming the health mix, Polybius then remembered that he needed to get the seeds planted for the herbs to make his health mix so that way when he ran out, he wouldn't get hammered by the constant excruciating pain.
Quickly grabbing his hat and backpack with the seeds inside, Polybius exited his room and traveled towards the stairs. As he did, he just so happened to run into the alien girl Starfire.
"Greetings friend Polybius!" Starfire greeted the mute Titan "What are you planning on doing on this glorious first full day in our new home!?"
Pulling out his notepad, Polybius scribbled down that he had seeds he needed to plant in the garden he had gotten Robin to let him plant.
"I didn't know you were interested in such activities!" Starfire proclaimed.
Polybius nodded.
"That does make sense. You are the most 'outdoorsy' person among us." Starfire stated.
There was a moment of silence as Polybius watched Starfire's body language. It was clear that she wanted to ask him something, but she was nervous too.
"Please friend, might I join you in the planting of the seeds of plant life?" Starfire asked with the expected sense of nervousness in his voice.
Polybius smiled and nodded.
"Oh, wonderful!" Starfire shouted as her face lit up with happiness "Come! Let us not waste anymore of the light of the day!"
Grabbing hold of her new friend, the alien quickly flew down the stairs and outside. Polybius had already marked off the area he planned to plant the seeds yesterday. It was a rather large area and everything already predetermined. The mute teen knew where each seed was going to go and all they had left to do was plant them.
Once at the garden, Starfire finally let go of Polybius and she turned to look at him.
"You are heavier than you look friend, Polybius." Starfire commented.
Polybius put his hands on his hips and gave Starfire a hurt look. His body language was enough for Starfire to pick up on what.
"Oh I- I'm so sorry!" Starfire quickly said stumbling over her words "I didn't mean you were fat, I- I mean that- that you, um…"
Polybius then dropped the act by letting a smile come across his face and shaking his head. He then gave the alien girl a flick of his wrist.
"What does that mean?" Starfire asked.
Using his notepad, Polybius wrote down an appropriate response and handed it to her.
"Are you sure you are not upset, friend?" Starfire asked.
Polybius nodded. Quite frankly, he didn't care. He knew why he was heavier and he didn't have to explain it to anybody. He wasn't fat, he was thick-skinned.
"If you are certain it is okay, then let us move on." Starfire stated.
Polybius then took off his backpack and pulled out the seed bags, each bag labeled which plant seed was inside of it and the two set to work.
With Starfire's help, it didn't take long for the seeds to be planted, only an hour. However, in that hour, Starfire managed to tell Polybius a little bit more about herself.
Polybius mostly learned more about her homeworld, Tamaran. From what Polybius gathered, it sounded like a beautiful planet full of massive fauna and strange flora. That being said, it also sounded like the flora wasn't as abundant as it was on Earth. As to the cause of this, Starfire never covered. However, from what the mute Titan pieced together, it sounded like either a mass extinction event had occurred on the planet very recently. Sadly taking most of the oversized fauna with it.
Once the garden was complete, the two looked over their work.
"And what purpose do these plants serve?" Starfire suddenly asked pointed to the Aloe Vera.
Polybius wrote down 'medical plant' in his notebook and let Starfire read it.
"So they heal you?" Starfire asked, to which Polybius nodded "That is good to hear that we will have these plants available to us when we need them."
Polybius smiled knowing full well Starfire was most likely never going to use these plants. Same as the rest of the Titans. The mute teen was growing these for himself and his severe back pain.
"Come, friend, let us see if our other friends are awake yet!" Starfire said as the two-headed inside.
Once up in the common room, the two found Cyborg and Beast Boy trying out the new Gamestation system. Robin was finishing his breakfast and Raven was nowhere to be seen.
"Good morning friends!" Starfire greeted "I Starfire and our friend Polybius have finished the garden!"
"Garden?" Beast Boy asked, "I didn't know we were growing food."
"Polybius says it's more for him, but I'm sure we can all reap the benefits of having such a wonderful assortment of plants at our disposal!" Starfire proclaimed.
Polybius gave two thumbs up in a look of fake excitement on his face.
After dropping the act, Starfire went over to the two boys who were playing their game. Polybius meanwhile, took a seat at the table across from Robin.
"Morning Polybius." Robin greeted, to which the mute Titan waved back "You ready for our first combat practice today?"
Polybius nodded.
"Good." Robin said, "At least somebody else is looking forward to it."
Polybius waited for Robin to explain, but he never did. Instead, he just went back to his meal leaving Polybius hanging.
"Come on man, it's my turn!" Polybius heard Cyborg suddenly say.
"No way man! I've still got some time on my turn!" Beast Boy turned.
"You'll never beat that level with the amount of time you got left, give it here!" Cyborg retorted.
Polybius looked back to see the two had entered a tug of war over the controller and Starfire helplessly watched the two struggled over it.
Polybius just shook his head and turned back to Robin, who was eyeballing the situation but not doing anything to stop it.
"Want to take a round?" Robin asked, throwing Polybius off as he had no clue as to what the leader was talking about.
Robin then pointed at the game and Polybius then picked up on it. Nodding at the chance for a new experience, Robin let a small smile loose.
"How about giving us a turn." Robin then interjected.
"What!?" The two Titans in the tug of war shouted.
"You heard me." Robin said, "15 minute turns, pass the controller around and have fun!"
The two grumbled but caved to Robin. They handed the controller over to the leader, who then passed it to Polybius as the two sat on the couch.
The mute teen held the controller in his hand and examined the device. He was giving it a good look over. After thoroughly checking the device out, Polybius then held it in his hands and looked up at the screen.
"Dude, that is now how you hold it!" Beast Boy scolded the mute Titan "Have you ever played a video game?"
Polybius shook his head, taking everybody by surprise. A moment of silence followed and the mute Titan sat awkwardly as they looked at him.
"You've never played a video game before?" Cyborg asked.
Polybius nodded.
"Dang dude." Beast Boy "This is gonna be painful."
Polybius felt himself get really nervous and his grip on the controller weakened. He was having second thoughts about this and wasn't interested in causing anybody pain.
"It's alright." Robin assured him "I guess we'll have to teach you."
After a painstaking length of time that felt like an eternity, Polybius finally got a good handle on the controller and how to use it. What each button did and a few extra tips for the game he was about to play.
"Alright, let's get you through the first level." Robin said.
The game Polybius was about to play was something called 'Star Quests Deluxe.' From the teen's understanding, it appeared to be some sort of game where you had to fly through space, avoid obstacles and fight the enemy all at the same time.
"Let's go!" Cyborg said as the loading screen appeared.
"Greetings Polybius." The game started up in a distinct female voice.
Polybius suddenly felt nauseous as he looked up at the screen and watched the ship fly through space.
"Your mission is to come back to me, Polybius." The voice spoke.
His eyes focused on the lady in the box. She morphed into a very familiar face in front of Polybius.
"Come back to me Polybius." She said, "I miss you, so much."
Polybius suddenly snapped out of his trance and flung the controller forward and put his hands on his head and closed his eyes. This sparked a reaction from everybody else.
"Yo!" Cyborg shouted.
"Dude!" Beast Boy shouted.
"Polybius!" Robin shouted.
Starfire gasped.
The mute Titan began shaking his head as he rushed out of the room.
"Polybius!" He heard Robin shout after him, followed by the others.
Polybius went straight to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Flipping up the toilet seat, Polybius then began the painful process of throwing up.
His stomach suddenly came up and fell out of his mouth and landed into the toilet bowl. The digestive enzymes then began spilling out from his singular talon and turned the water in the bowl a shade of gross, nasty neon green.
As the enzymes spilled out of Polybius, he could hear a fist pounding on the door.
"Polybius!" Robin shouted.
Once his body was finished vomiting, Polybius drew his stomach back inside his body and looked at the toilet bowl full of enzymes.
Shaking his head, Polybius flushed the toilet and stood up. The pounding continued on the door as Polybius made his way over to the sink and looked at himself in the mirror. What he saw was his reflection and only his.
Turning on the faucet, Polybius used the cold water and splashed it in his face. He then ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at the mirror. It was still just him, now a little wet.
"Polybius!" Robin shouted.
The teen then felt a headache set in and he put a hand on his forehead. He needed to lay down.
Walking over to the door, hand still on his head, Polybius answered it and was faced with the four Titans in the room.
"Polybius! Are you alright?" Robin asked frantically.
Polybius nodded.
"Dude, what happened?" Beast Boy asked.
Polybius then made the motion of throwing up.
"You got nauseous, didn't you?" Cyborg asked.
Polybius nodded.
"Well, I don't think we'll be doing that again." Beast Boy said.
Polybius smiled and nodded again.
"Why don't you go lay down." Robin said.
"Yes!" Starfire said "You must rest. Come, I will guide you there."
The next thing the mute teen knew, he was laying in his bed, on his back looking up at his ceiling. His breathing was heavy and a few beads of sweat ran from his forehead. Only two words ran through his mind.
Never again.
I hoped you enjoyed Chapter 2 of this story and that it was an excellent escape from your daily life. Have a good rest of your day and see you in Chapter 3!