Off Grid

Chapter 14: Fool Me Once

When he announced the start of their team building exercises two days later, Seven was the only of the three boys to show any level of enthusiasm. Even so, he was determined, and he refused to allow the dark mood of the room to deter him.

"Okay, so, today we will definitely be starting out with something a little more difficult for both of you," Seven admitted apologetically," but tomorrow we'll play plenty of games to make up for it."

"What exactly are we doing?" Adrian questioned, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Seven had insisted that his two teammates stood side by side, so that their shoulders nearly touched. They had complied, but both were weary of what their friend had planned. Especially given how chipper he was about the whole thing.

"I'm glad you asked! I'll explain, but first I need both of you to close your eyes until I give the okay."

Seven's cheeky grin was enough to put both boys even more on edge than they already were.

"What? Why?" Marcus asked, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Just do it," the hero ordered. "You'll be fine."

He was lying, in a sense. It wasn't that he was planning to harm the two, but he still knew that neither of them would be happy with the arrangement he had in mind.

Once Seven was convinced that neither could see, he reached into his bag, only to be halted by sudden realization.

He wasn't positive that he needed to take the extra precaution, but just to be safe he closed his own eyes before he began feeling around for what he needed. Of course, almost instantly his hunch was proven correct by  a grunt of frustration.

"Cheater!" Seven accused, his eyes flying open.

"I don't know what you're talking about."   

"Liar. You were using your powers to peek."

"You said to close my eyes. You didn't say anything about using yours," Adrian said, his voice lacking any remorse for his actions.

His poor sportsmanship did wonders in clearing up any reservations, few as they were, that Seven had about wrapping the chain around the boys' ankles and clicking the padlock into place.

He was pretty proud of himself for coming up with the training exercise. He'd had the idea earlier in the week, after one of their school rallies had incorporated a three-legged race. Obviously though, he'd needed something a little stronger than a strip of fabric and some velcro to use on two super powered teenagers. Especially when it was against their will.

As the duo stared, slack jawed, at what he had done, Seven lost his composure and dissolved into a fit of laughter. The reaction was every bit as priceless as he'd imagined it would be.

Adrian was the first to recover from the initial shock and voice his complaints.

"This isn't funny. Unlock it."

"I can't."

The horror that passed over their faces did nothing to help calm Seven down.

"What do you mean you can't?"

The hero couldn't respond. Not through his gasping fit of giggles, anyway.

Adrian was sure that his glare would have been enough to terrify even Off Grid.

Eventually, Seven did manage to sober up, but only with a great deal of effort. He still needed to explain the rest of the day's challenge, after all.