Disclaimer: I don't own Static Shock. It belongs to Mister Dwayne McDuffie, Milestone, DC Comics and WB. They would tell us something about the characters' backgrounds but then I would feel the urge to write this fanfiction.

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: Finally the slash. I promised. I hope you like this chapter. Its a little rough and I hope it doesn't offend. No flashbacks in this one. But a resolution to the end of the last chapter. I've been trying to ignore this fanfic. Its not working. I hope you enjoy.

Taken Lightly
Chapter 7: The Secret

"So, you're not going to tell me where your mother lives."

"Nope. Not a chance. I'm gone for a reason and I'm not going back." Shiv said sitting on the cot in the small cell. He appeared to be playing games with Virgil.

Virgil sighed. "You making things up, Joe."

Shiv grinned. He appeared amused at the idea as if it were a whole new game to play. "Possibly. Maybe. I don't plan on telling you." Shiv paused for a minute. "But I don't plan on lying a lot either."

Virgil sighed. "You're a human headache, Joe."

Shiv grinned. "A metahuman headache, remember?"

Virgil shook his head. Shiv's games were beginning to annoy him. He had been going to see him for atleast a week now and the threats had stopped and games begun. He was like an overly active child, really. He only cared about games and having a good time. However, he had broken a border he was sure would thoroughly upset Richie. He had broken the hero-villain interaction rules. It was a common understanding that heroes were not to trust and converse casually with a villain as quoted by Richie a number of times. However, Virgil no longer saw Shiv as a threat or maybe he didn't see Joe as a threat. Wait a minute, did he just separate the two. Virgil shook his head. He really wasn't thinking straight but there was no other way to describe the complete difference in Shiv from time to time. He was so genuinely human sometimes and so maniacal the next. It could only be described as two people. One far more subdued than the other. "What do you have to hide, Joe?"

He appear surprised by the question. It was as though he had not anticipated it. He stuttered. "Uh... nothing. What would I have to hide?"

"I don't know. I assume something since you ran away, joined a gang of mutants, and have to real concrete negative emotions."

"I already told you about my home. That was it."

Virgil couldn't get much out of him afterwards. He assumed that he had hit a nerve or something.

He flew back to the gas station to store his Static gear. Richie wasn't there. He wasn't surprised after yesterday. A feeling of guilt passed through him. It wasn't like him to exclude Richie from anything. Richie was a constant part of life and he was tossed aside for the moment. It had been cruel. He thought for a moment wondering where he would be. He knew he wouldn't be at home and the community center was out of the question being they were fighting. Richie had given up on the arcade after he had assumed super genius status and had found the exact formula to beat any high score on any game in the small arcade. He said it was a waist of annoyance, which was primarily money for parts, now that he knew how to beat anyone in the world on any game in the world. That only left the school. It was locked as it was after school hours but that had never stopped Richie before. He had always been more mischievous than Virgil.

Virgil approached the school. It was near twilight and it appeared to be empty. Virgil walked up to the window of the science lab. He saw a small blinking red light easily mistaken for a school camera, Backpack. He'd know that light anywhere. It was definitely his scope camera. "Rich. Its me."

Backpack stared right at him. The machine seemed surprised by not only the awareness the familiar human but by the willingness to reveal himself. It appeared to intrigue the small computer. However, its curiosity and awestruck wonder was interrupted all to soon by an undeniable force of nature. Richie stormed over almost knocking Backpack off on the windowsill where he had descended only moments before. The computer apparently in a state of terror at the sudden violent behavior of his creator withdrew its camera scope and quickly scurried underneath one of the nearby tables. The machine huddled a bit in a defensive position. He was now ready for the fight to ensue.

Richie stared at Virgil for a moment. It was unmistakable anger however he quickly changed his expression to something much more subdued, a more appropriate facade. "What are you doing here? Its after hours."

"I should ask you the same thing."

"Backpack has a heat sensor around the building. If anyone is within 100 meters of the school, I know. If anything over twenty pound gets too close I know."

Virgil groaned a little. He should have guessed.

"What do you need something? I left thirty zap-caps in the gas station and I haven't finished the waterproof gear yet."

Virgil felt guilty. He did ask a lot Richie and he didn't like the reaction of strictly a professional nature. "I thought we should talk Rich."

"'Bout what?" he said going back to whatever he was working on.

"You know what." he paused. "About yesterday."

"I know I took the situation too personally and felt an inappropriate degree of jealousy and protectiveness over a situation that was strictly professional."

"Could you not talk like a computer for a minute, Rich? I know you're mad."

"I'm not mad. I thought it over last night and..."

"You are mad I saw it. You looked at me like you were going to kill me for a minute."

"I was surprised."

"You were angry!"

Richie slammed down his sauter gun onto the table. "Fine! I am angry! I'm angry that you have been spending too much time on a lost cause and THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO SO MUCH AS SAY HI TO ME FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS!"

Virgil was somewhat stunned by the outburst. Though it was characteristic of Richie, it was also very loud.

"We've been friends for ten years, dating for four, and partners for atleast three! Yes, I am jealous Virgil!" With that Richie rushed out the door of the science room and soon after out of the school.

Virgil crawled up into the window. "I'm a jerk, Backpack."

Backpack refrained from his recoil and beeped in agreement.

"I better go fix this mess and get you back to him."

Backpack beeped in agreement again and crawled up onto Virgil's back. Virgil jumped back out of the window, closing and locking it with his powers. He then began to run around the school yard climbing over the fence to get to the main street. He looked around for Richie. He didn't appear to by anywhere near the school anymore. Virgil stood for a moment. He had a feeling he had gone left actually it was more than a feeling. He knew. His powers had always been developing and he had learned to recognize people by their electrical currents. It was helpful if not somewhat creepy. He ran in that direction. It was dark by then with only street lights to see by. They lit three-fourths of the path leading into a relatively unfriendly ghetto. It was on the northwest side of Dakota littered with apartment buildings and stray animals. Virgil knew this was no place for Richie or himself for that matter. The ghettoes were dangerous for bang babies. He turned a narrow corner between two old tenements and heard something.

"You trampin' round here for!"

"Lookin' for someone!"

Virgil turned the corner to what was going on. There were a number of young men all with some type of blunt object and in the middle was Richie. This was very bad. He knew at that instant exact what was going on and it had nothing to do with the Big Bang. "Hey, get away from him!"

The three men turned around. Virgil felt a rush of fear go through him. "So, I guess, its true that they come in pairs."

Gay bashers was the usual term for people like these. Gangs of marauding people who feel it is doing a public service to bash the skull in of anyone who doesn't have the general sexual preference. Virgil had never actually been in contact with people of this nature. Well, he was sure he had been but not like this. "Get away from him!"

"So he's yours, is he?" the man appeared amused. "Isn't that nice."

The other men had revealed the poorly hidden objects. They were a wrench and crowbar. Virgil felt strangely relieved. He knew it was a mistake but, when you are being slowly approached by a group of violent similarly minded people, you have survival instincts. He let out a burst of magnetic energy. The metal objects flew out of their hands sticking to the walls of the tenements. He sparked slightly. "Get away from us."

This was far more than the men had expected. They appeared terrified, mouths agape and eyes wide. It was as though they'd never seem a metahuman before. "He's just like the Breed! Get out of here! He'll kill us!" the leader said beginning to run away.

"What about the other one?" another man said still standing near Richie.

"He's probably one too! Get away from those freaks!" the leader said still terrified and with that they dispersed.

Virgil quickly stopped sparking and sighed with relief. The scare tactic worked. They weren't after metahumans too. He ran over to Richie who was lying half crawled up on the pavement. "Richie!" he said and knelt down next to him.

Richie uncoiled and looked at Virgil. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. Are you all right, Rich?"

Richie appeared to have a bloody nose and a bruise on his forehead and Virgil had to withdraw every instinct to assume the worst. "I'll be fine. Just a scratch." He said sitting up. "Nothing is seriously injured."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, V."

Virgil hugged him. It was a reflex more than anything else. He had to do it. "I'm sorry, Rich. I shouldn't have been so wrapped up in everything. I..."

Richie didn't move. He hadn't expected this sudden outburst of affection but then nothing like mortal peril and himself being injured to end a fight. "V, you don't have to apologize. I'm fine."

"But..."

"You get involved in things which reminds me." he said with a smile. "I'm willing to help you with this little project of yours."

"You are?"

"Yeah. After this little fiaco, I don't feel all that threatened and if, I'm not threatened and you're not threaten, I get curious. I want to figure this out too."

"What about 'don't give attached'?"

"I still stand by that. He is a sociopathic murderer but that doesn't mean I don't want to know what's going on."

Virgil smiled. "Could you find an address for Solada Chen then?"

The next few days went by much smoother than previously. Richie was back to cracking jokes and Virgil again wearing the surveillance equipment Richie told him to without complaint. "Alright V, this is a camera-microphone-communicator, invented by your personal mechanic, to make sure that both of us know exactly what is going on."

"Going on where?"

"You're going back and I am going to know what is going on."

That was that. Not that he minded. It was far better than having himself pitted against Richie. If he was going to have a super genius run his life, he wouldn't want anyone besides Richie to do it. The doctors had stopped addressing his visits by now. They figured he was just doing what he was suppose to be doing and that was that. "Alright V, you're in right." Richie said through the communicator.

"Yeah."

Virgil moved down to the hallway with Shiv's cell. "Hi Joe."

"Why are you calling him, Joe?"

"His name is Joe."

"Who are you talking to?" Shiv said with the utmost curiosity in this voice.

"How does he know about me?"

"I'm talking to you... Richie."

"I know, I'm Richie."

"Is he the blond you're with all the time?"

"How does he know who I am!"

"Is he?"

Virgil's head was spinning for a moment. "Yeah. You used a zap-cap on him before."

"Oh yeah."

"Why are you talking to him?"

"He helps me out."

Virgil could hear Richie chuckle over the communicator.

"So, what was that big secret of yours, Joe?"

Shiv stared up at the ceiling. "I don't have any secrets."

"I know you did drugs, Joe. I don't care. You had a rough life. I'm not going to judge you."

Shiv looked at him for a minute. "I've never had a girlfriend."

Virgil raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"I have different preferences."

And more problems arise, remember to tune in next time for more of the dramaful adventures with Taken Lightly. Back to reality, thank you for all of the reviews and I hope you enjoyed yourself.