Disclaimer: I don't own Static Shock. It belongs to Dwayne McDuffie, Milestone, DC Comics and WB. Shiv would speak perfectly crappy Thai and Japanese.

Warning: Will contain slash, drugs, violence and one sided relationships. This will be a bit riskier than my average fics. Knowing me it'll be okay but I only thought it fair to place a warning. I hope everyone enjoys the rendition of Shiv by a third author. I want to be original and hope this is.

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I have been hearing a lot of the same. The chapters are too short. I thought to myself how can I solve this. So I tripled the size of this chapter. The chapter is nine pages long compared to the usual three. Lots of angst, character development and of course, Shiv.

text
is a flashback

Taken Lightly

Chapter 6: The Counselor

"Home is a place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in."
Robert Frost

Virgil spent the next day at the Freeman Community Center where his father worked. He had promised to help with a charity that was being put on. Static duty had been at a continuous low. One of the many reasons was that Hotstreak had been sent off by his grandmother to some school a ways north. Something about the city air making him cranky and overly aggressive. The Breed was still nowhere to be seen and had, in all of the present parties' guesses, officially abandoned Shiv. Virgil had been surprised actually but he ran the idea by Richie and he assured him that it was true. Richie would know. Speaking of which Richie was also at the center. He had been hauling in boxes with Virgil all morning. He hadn't asked about the case with Shiv and Virgil was glad. It was easier not to worry about it.

"I think that's the last box, V." Richie said putting down several bags placed inside a cardboard box.

"Do you think Haiti really needs all of this stuff?" Virgil said irriatibly.

"Well, the average income of a Haitian family is between 200 to 500 American dollars and judging by our current economic deficit."

"I see, you're point."

"I thought you would." Richie said, grinning.

Virgil picked up the box stacking it with the rest of them in the large gymnasium. "So, when were you supposed to be back home?"

Richie groaned slightly and took off his glasses to clean them. "My dad wanted me back after lunch. I don't see why, really."

Virgil groaned slightly. It was nearly one in the afternoon. They had been up working on the project since nine. Richie had gotten sick of the entire ordeal by eleven and his asthma hadn't helped the situation. However, the minor attacks had gotten both of them several breaks throughout the course of the morning. All in which Sharon and Adam had nagged Virgil about. True, he didn't have to take a break with Richie. It wasn't mandatory but he had convinced himself it was for moral support. "How you feelin', Rich?"

"Fine." Richie said slightly annoyed. Virgil was overly protective about little things wrong with Richie. It was sweet. He had to admit but not without being deathly annoying. "Well, I better get going. My dad'll probably blame you if I'm late and I'll be the kid who acts like a hood again."

"So, he still hasn't changed much."

"He's a success story in slow motion, V."

Richie left on his scooter shortly after leaving Virgil to continue working by himself. Well not technically alone. A fair number of volunteers including Frieda, Daisy, Sharon and even Adam were present, as well. The boxes had to be arranged by around three in the afternoon for some trucks coming to pick them up. The center wanted gather as much as possible so the drop off date was extended to the day before pick up. This left Robert Hawkins and the rest of his family scrambling to get everything together before the trucks arrived. Virgil looked at the box Richie brought in before he had left. It was put together like so many had been. Bags and goods were thrown into the box haphazardly and had to be organized before being taped and sorted. Virgil groaned. He had been lucky and Richie had agreed to organize these messes earlier. However, he wasn't here and Virgil was, leaving it his responsibility.

He looked at the label to see who had packed it. A label on the side read: SOLADA CHEN. Virgil grunted and pulled out the missing child flyer. Jomei Chen. He shook his head stuffing it into his pocket. It had to be a coincidence. There must be at least a hundred Chen's in Dakota. It wasn't an uncommon name on the Asian side of town. He was just being paranoid. He looked inside the box. It was mostly clothes and some old toys. Virgil sighed in relief. It showed no signs of being anything out of the ordinary. Then rummaging through the box, he saw something. It was a shirt. It was baggy, loose and black with a red design on the front. It seemed familiar. He removed the flyer from his pocket again and was shocked to see the same shirt being worn by the boy in the picture. Virgil mentally slapped himself. It was a coincidence. He looked at the shirt and noticed something. Inside the collar of the shirt in silver marker was the word: JOE. This was not a coincidence.

Virgil picked up the box and carried it over to his father's office. He thought to himself how insane this was. However, he expected everything dealing with Shiv would be. He knocked on the door. "Hey Pops!"

Mr. Hawkins opened up the door wondering what it was Virgil wanted. He could guess. Most likely to get out of something. He hadn't been working as hard as he could have. Mostly due to Richie's asthma which Mr. Hawkins had only begun taking serious after a camping trip which they had taken Richie on. To make a long story short, it hadn't gone well. "What is it, son?"

"I was organizing this box and I think its a bunch of stuff that belongs to one of those missing kids." Virgil said it brokenly trying to figure out how much to and not to let out.

Mr. Hawkins looked at him surprised and a little bit suspiciously.

Virgil unfolded the flyer and gave it to him. "This guy. I think this is his stuff."

Mr. Hawkins wasn't necessarily listening. He was looking at the picture with what appeared to Virgil to be regret. Though, he couldn't be sure. "I remember this boy."

"You knew him." Virgil said surprised.

"He was a kid who came into the center for counseling. Poor kid."

"What do you mean?"

"It all happened about a year before the big bang."

Joe sat in the waiting room of the Freeman Community Center. His legs shook and swung back and forth as we waited. He had never been a calm boy. He was always moving and fidgeting in some way. One of the many reasons his parents had chosen to send him to so many psychiatric centers. He got up from the chair and began walking around. He was told to wait in the waiting room. However this had been a half an hour ago and forty minutes was his limit for limited mobility. He walked into the empty gymnasium and picked up a ball. He was soon dribbling and shooting on both ends of the court. What could he say, he had a lot of energy and enjoyed being up and busy.

Mr. Hawkins walked into the gymnasium. It was not uncommon for teens to run off, after getting bored with waiting, to the gym to play basketball and this one seemed like no exception. The fifteen year old boy was running up and down the court in loose baggy clothing dribbling and shooting the basketball. He was apparently talking to himself or more accurately giving a full commentary on the imaginary game. Mr. Hawkins smiled. The boy reminded him of his own son a bit odd but harmless. "Jomei! Its time for you to come in!" he yelled loud enough for Joe to hear him.

Joe dropped the basketball and walked over. He knew how to work with shrinks. You tell them some stuff, they nod and you get pills. It was a simple operation and one Joe wasn't at all displeased with. "Hi there. So I guess, you're my new one. Just call me Joe. I hate my full name. It sounds girly. I have no idea what made my mother name me that. I guess, it was a judgment lapse or something. Are you really a doctor? Can you give me meds? Cause I already have a lot. They don't work real well. Well, they did for a while but..."

Mr. Hawkins stood for a moment trying to take everything in. It was like a storm of continuous dialogue. He didn't even stop to breath.

"Yeah, so my meds made me weird for a while and I lost all this weight. So they switched me to something else which doesn't help much. They say I need it because I'm hyper. I don't think I'm hyper. Do you?" Joe said looking at Mr. Hawkins in the gym waiting for a reply.

"Maybe, we should go to my office." he said leading Joe out of the gym and into his office.

Joe jumped clear from behind the seat into it. He then began adjusting from the landing into a better sitting position.

"So, your parents say you're having trouble in school, acting out and they suspect that you may have a drug problem. Do you have anything to say about that, Joe?"

"I don't like school anymore, I'm too loud and I don't think its a problem."

"Why don't you like school, Joe?"

"Its hard and I don't like it."

"What's hard about it?"

"Paying attention to the teacher."

"You go to a private school, is it mostly lecturing then?"

"Yeah. I just don't stay interested." Joe's eyes were wandering. He was already scanning the contents of the room. He wasn't comfortable, really. He wanted to skip the personal questions and go right to the conclusion.

Mr. Hawkins looked down at his clipboard. He wasn't going to pry too far at the moment. It wasn't unusual for boys his age to dislike school. "So, how are things at home, Joe?"

Joe looked up for a moment. "Fine."

The conversation continued for some time. Joe had managed to deter it onto a number of subjects not previously planned. Skateboards, hair dye, and a huge Bull Mastiff on North Street were a few. He walked out of the building and picked up his skateboard propped up against the side of the building. He got on and skated out into the street. It was busy that afternoon. He had been surprised. It usually was. He skated quickly avoiding the north side. It was notoriously known for gangs on the north side. He had only gone there a few times to save time and it hadn't been much fun.

His house was almost four blocks away from the center. He stopped his skateboard and got off at the front gate. It was a fenced home in a high middle class neighborhood. His father, he supposed, made quite a bit. He was sent to private school and his mother didn't have to work. He picked up his skateboard. Walking in the front gate, he shut it behind him.

Across the yard, a dog sprang to life from a lethargic state. The dog was a brown akita who ignored every human being on the planet besides Jomei Chen and was an ever faithful companion. The dog became wildly entertained with just the presence of his master. The dog jumped wildly half strangling himself against the collar and rope around his neck. He barked and yipped springing up to two feet in the air.

Joe dropped his skateboard and ran over to see the dog. The dog barked jumping up on his hind legs to lick the young man's face. Joe shoved and pet the oversized puppy. "Get down, Spike." he groaned wiping his face. "Did my mother tie you up, again?"

The dog barked loudly and let out a deep howl.

"I'll have to tell her not to or we'll end up on some show for animal abuse." he said, cheerfully untying the dog. "Can you imagine me getting a mugshot?"

The dog stared with blank bliss. He really had no idea what a mugshot was, but he was sure his master would take a good one.

He pat the dog on the head and ran off to the house. Spike followed excitedly. His brown eyes never leaving his master's face. Joe walked into the his house and removed his shoes. Spike immediately became silent and sat politely on the floor next to his master. "You're too well behaved, Spike."

Spike made a groaning noise and licked his master's face. Joe shoved him away and threw his shoes into a pile by the door. He jumped up to his feet and walked from the entrance way of his house. The house was immaculately clean. His mother spent almost the entire day cleaning was his guess. The entrance lead into a hallway which branched off into the other rooms of the house. His room was straight ahead and up a flight of stairs. The dining room was to the left. The kitchen to the right. The living room was down the hall. Finishing off with his parent's room which was on the far right end. He could smell food cooking from the kitchen. He tried to ignore it but he knew it was unavoidable. It was his mother. She was in the kitchen. He hated the chore of going in to talk to her. It wasn't as though she cared whether he was home or not. He walked into the room trying to be cheerful. "Hi mom!"

She stood nervously. She trying not to look at him which was growing increasingly difficult with him staring at her. "Sa-wat, Jomei."

He forced a grin. Great, Thai. His mother was from Thailand originally. However, it had been almost twenty years since she had been in any place where Thai was a needed language. She spoke it frequently. He found it not only annoying and gave him more to remember. "Sa-wat." he said, still forcing a happy face. He did that a lot. Look happy. People liked people happy. "I'm going up to my room, mom. Spike and I are going to play some video games."

She didn't reply.

Joe held back a groan. Typical. He looked over at the counter for the mail. He had a few mail-order skater magazines that he subscribed to and wanted to know if they had come. Nothing. The counter was basically empty except for small appliances, some books his father was forcing him to read and, of course, pills. He and his mother both took medication for one thing or another. He had ADHD medication which either had no effect or made him horribly ill. His mother took medication for PPD. He didn't know what it was but he figured it was why she hated him. He walked out of the kitchen and into his room. Spike followed happily.

Joe jumped on his bed, turned on his playstation 2 and started to play. He had a variety of games: mostly zombie, fighting and skateboard. He sat on his bed absorbing himself into the game. Spike crawled up onto the bed and placed his head on his master's lap. The dog didn't enjoy seeing his master unhappy but sometimes the affairs of humans were even too great for a dog to handle. So, he could only comfort and hope for the best. Joe leaned forward as he reached a closed door on the screen. He knew, oh too well, what was behind that digital door and it was not friendly. Spike moved his head. He knew it, too. As soon as he opened the virtual door, the creature flew out and Joe jumped to his feet on the bed. The dog knew he was smart to move. He could have went flying or worse yet, made his master lose. Joe pushed buttons maniacally as he stood on his bed playing the game. He muttered to himself. Spike whimpered as he repeated, no no no and grew excited with happy groans as he chanted yeah, yeah, come on. They were an inseparable duo and they liked it that way.

His father arrived home within an hour of Joe. His father was a businessman named Tadashi Chen. He walked into the door, removed this shoes and walked toward his son's room. He opened the door. His son was sitting on his bed in his messy room playing video games accompanied by this dog. His father sighed. He should have known. "Jomei."

"What?" Joe said, not turning away from his game.

His father held back the urge to reprimand the boy. "Have you done your homework?"

"No."

"Have you read anything, at all, today?"

"No. Nothing but street signs."

He groaned. "Jomei..."

"Joe."

"Jomei," he repeated louder. "You have to study."

"Joe, dad."

"Jomei, are you even listening?"

"Yeah," he said leaning in toward the screen. "Uh-huh."

He walked over and turned off the game. "You have to been sitting in here doing nothing for too long! Go do your homework!"

Joe was still in a state of shock that he hadn't saved since the last zombie mob.

"JOMEI!"

"Huh?"

"JOMEI CHEN! GET UP AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

His father was completely indignant. He couldn't see how his son had become such a lazy, incompetent bum and worst of all was that he was a bum with a big mouth. "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT, JOMEI! NO VIDEO GAMES! NO MAGAZINES! NO T.V! NOT UNTIL YOU GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!"

Joe stared half shaken. He looked around. His mother was standing in the doorway not saying anything. She had a look of apathy. Joe looked at his father then again to his mother. His father was even now was more comforting. "Yeah, dad." he said dragging himself down to the kitchen to get his school books. He was upset and felt utterly alone. Spike followed nudging at his master's arm.

Joe sat in his room for hours. He couldn't do this. He stared at the text book. It was history. He hated history. He was up until near one in the morning working. He could never concentrate and his father refused to help him with anything. He still hadn't finished but he found lying to his father was the only way to get any sleep. Joe turned off the lights in his room, turned on his video game with the volume down as low as he could and lay on his bed wrapped in his blanket. He stared into the screen as he pushed the buttons on the controller. Spike crawled on the bed next to his master. Joe pulled the blanket over the dog and put his arm around his neck continuing to play the game. Joe leaned his head on Spike's neck. He sniffled continuing to play the game. Spike licked his master's face. "You're a good dog, Spike. You really are."

Spike licked his master's face. He didn't like the balance of the house. He found it frustrating how the older humans treated his master. He wasn't a bad human. He did his best. He was sure of it but it was never good enough. Spike looked at the boy's face. He looked so upset alone in his room. He didn't have to smile for Spike or for the game. Spike licked his master's face again trying to comfort his master. There were some affairs of humans that not even a dog can solve.

Virgil listened intently as Shiv finished talking. He had left the Community Center mid-afternoon and had gone to the center to see if he could learn any more. Shiv had told him apparently, happy to have company. Virgil paused after Shiv ended his explanation. He thought to himself. "Joe."

"Yes?"

"What did you say your mother had medication for?" Static was sure he had heard wrong. It couldn't be.

Shiv groaned lying on the cot, his head hanging off the end upside down. "Well, I don't know what it was exactly but they called it PPD. My guess is she was addicted to pain killers. Seems the type."

Virgil was taken aback. He knew what that was. He had seen at least a dozen news reports on it and heard a good deal of ranting from Sharon. "Joe, that's not a drug addiction. That's post partum depression."

Shiv looked at raising an eyebrow. "Who isn't depressed in cities?" he said, grinning. "You watch way too many sitcoms if you think people are happy."

"Shiv, post partum depression are all those crazy people on TV who hate and kill their babies. I'm surprised you made it past a year."

Shiv looked vaguely distraught for a moment. It was far more human than he thought Shiv could ever be. He suddenly snapped with a grin. The humanity in his face was gone. "Well, I guess I had to get my crazy genes from someone. Always thought it was my aunt in Thailand."

Virgil held back a groan and tried to smile. Shiv's sense of humor was not for him. It was so forced in the small cell. "Well, I have to go, Joe. Don't kill the doctors."

"It wouldn't be like you hero to take the fun out of life," Shiv said leaning over the edge of the cot as Virgil started to walk away. "just when I was starting to like you, too!"

Virgil walked into the elevator trying to leave quickly. Doctor Lin and Jackson were nowhere to be seen and he was sure Richie, being a super genius, couldn't be wrong about every doctor. This guesses were quickly confirmed. Just then an Ethopian doctor namely Doctor Adams. She walked over to Virgil quickly. Her skin was not a far cry from Ebon's and her general presence boded the same. "You must be Static. I've heard you were lurking around."

Virgil didn't know exactly what to do in this situation. She was the exact type of person Richie had been ranting about for years. The cold, uncaring professional with more interest in drugging rats than the beneficial drug that was the final product. He began to think Richie's conspiracy theories were not the unfortunate side effects of being a genius. "Yeah, doing what I can to help."

She looked at him with a half grin filled with delight and disgust. "Well, I am glad at least one metahuman is trying to make things right." She walked off without saying goodbye and Virgil was sure he heard her mention "a loose lab rat".

Virgil flew to the gas station to find Richie scrambling over his computer equipment. He appeared frantic. He could imagine why. Sure, he wasn't wired this time but he had a tracking in his shock vox. He looked in his coat and it dawned on him. He had left his shock vox in his room after he had gone to the community center.

Richie, hearing something, turned around quickly. "Virgil!"

Virgil felt no end to the guilt he felt at that moment. Richie looked absolutely terrified. "Yeah, its me, Rich."

Richie stood up. He had quickly changed from terrified to outrageously angry. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS YOU! WHERE WERE YOU!"

Virgil didn't know entirely what to say. "Rich, I'm sorry. I forgot my shock vox in my room and..."

"I know I went to find you and that was all I found in there. Where were you?" he snapped he was ferocious. The developed and undeveloped sides of his brain were at war. His logic told him it was all a mistake and Virgil was probably rescuing a cat as his teenager emotions protested saying that he was out to drive you mad.

"I was...out."

Richie's logic immediately dropped the cat theory. "You were back at this center, weren't you?"

Virgil grinned rubbing his head. It was obvious that Richie was right.

"You weren't wired, V." Richie said amazed at his accuracy. He was hoping he was wrong. He was hoping that Virgil would have gotten indignant and yelled him for thinking he was that stupid. Sometimes being a super genius bites.

"Rich,"

"Anything could have happened and no one would have known a thing about it."

"Rich, nothing happened."

"Yeah, this time! What about the next time you forget your shock vox? Or the next?" Richie said half yelling. He had a look of absolute distress.

"Rich, I don't think you're cut out for tracking me on this one." he said. "If you wanna help you can but don't track me Rich."

Richie's pupils shrunk. He had never been cut off like this not in a calm moment on Virgil's behalf. "V, I..."

"I'm sorry, Rich. I was have to find out where Solada Chen lives." Virgil said and left the main room of the gas station.

Virgil is getting a bit too caught up in this little case of his.