Off Grid

Chapter 18: Two Faced

Quick Note: I posted this and Chapter 17 on the same day. Make sure that you read that chapter before reading this one!

Marcus had come to dread the days he trained with Seven.

If going in he had thought that the hardest part of being a hero would be fighting supervillains like Off Grid, he was very quickly proven wrong. Often, Seven's exercises left him more tired, bruised, and sore than any criminal could have.

Adrian, somehow, usually found himself excluded from the torture sessions. It wasn't that Adrian couldn't hold his own, what with his father being the chief of the city's police department, it was just that in his position he rarely needed to. It was just one of the perks of being the team's computer nerd, Marcus thought.

Perhaps he should have taken up hacking for himself. It would have saved him a lot of trouble.

When Marcus entered the warehouse, already braced for the pain he was sure to endure, he was surprised to find Seven alone. His protective other half was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Adrian? I thought we were going to fit some of your awful team building in today. You know, along with our usual awful practice exercises." 

Seven shrugged in response. "He said he had something to do, so it's just us for now. I'm sure he'll show up later though."

"He didn't tell you where he was going?" Marcus continued to pry.

"No, but I didn't really ask either. If it was something important, he would have told me. Come on though, let's get some quick sparring in before we get to the real work," Seven said as he took his place on the training mat.

He wasn't really sure why Marcus was so curious about his boyfriend, but he was quick to dismiss his brief flare of jealousy. He trusted them both, and he was sure that neither of them would do anything to hurt him.

"You sure he wasn't just purposely avoiding telling you about something?"

Marcus swung his fist suddenly toward the other boy's face, hoping to catch him unaware and gain an early advantage. 

"What do you mean?" Seven asked, ducking effortlessly away from the blow.

Marcus grunted in frustration.

"Nothing, I don't know. Just thought it was kind of weird. I mean, he always knows where you are, right? With his powers and all."

Marcus wasn't nearly as good at holding a conversation while he fought. It made his moves sloppy, and the other boy was using that to his advantage. Seven was winning as usual.

"Not really. He isn't using them all the time," Seven explained.

"Still. He can just peek in whenever he wants."

"Adrian doesn't need to tell me where he is every minute of every day. And besides, it's not like he lied to me about it."

"Omission is still lying, right? It's not really any of my business, but people aren't always who you think they are."

Seven frowned and would have continued defending Adrian, had his sidekick's phone not interrupted the conversation. The two broke apart while Marcus checked the message, both breathing heavily.

His eyes scanned the phone only briefly before he gave the hero an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Seven, but my dad needs me for something. Can we put off the whole "you pounding my face in" thing until tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Seven promised with a smile. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"I definitely won't be," Marcus said.