It was an uncontrollable tick, a twitch in her right eye that hadn't gone away since Saturday. It made Larkin want to stab her eye out with a pair of blunt scissors. The twitchy eye could only mean one thing, one thing she'd rather avoid.

Superheroes. And with superheroes, comes super villains.

Her innocent little city didn't need more trouble. One hero is enough, but two? It's an over-abundance.

Sadly, not everyone shared the same opinion as Larkin.

The twitching was driving her insane. She might have to go through with stabbing her eye out if this went on any longer. Larkin Knolls squeezed her eyes shut and continued to shovel oatmeal into her mouth. The TV blared white noise in the background of her morning routine. The news hadn't differed much from yesterday. It was the same ordinary happenings of her mostly ordinary city. Bank Robbers Apprehended by Coalescence. Veterans Honored by New Memorial. NASCAR Race Rescheduled for Saturday. Everything was typical.

Markusville's superhero, Coalescence, had stopped a bank robbery. That one had slightly caught Larkin's attention. She smiled to herself, and continued to chew absently on her breakfast. Then something caught her eye.

It was a small subtitle, scrolling across the bottom of the TV. Black Lightning Foils Assassination Attempt. That was something new. Black Lightning. Larkin wracked her brain, trying for the life of her to remember who Black Lightning was. She could only come to one conclusion. Black Lightning was the new superhero in town.

She switched off the television and ascended the stairs to her room. It seems as if I'll have some competition now. This city is no longer just Coalescence's. And perhaps a new villain will show up, too. I need some excitement, she thought to herself. At the moment, Markusville didn't have any villains, only plain criminals. It was peaceful, not difficult, and that's the way she liked it. Being a super wasn't easy, especially at sixteen.

Larkin's room was on the top floor. It was a fairly typical room, not too large, nor too small. Yellow drapes fell over wide windows, blocking out the early morning light. The sky blue walls held a variety of things. A family portrait hung next to a window, showing Larkin and her parents standing together. Another wall was covered with posters; there were multiple movie posters, some bands, even one for a book or two. It was all perfectly ordinary.

Larkin changed clothes, readying herself for the first day of school. The twitch in her eye still hadn't gone away, and she knew it wouldn't leave until she got close enough to the new superhero. That's how it worked.

Over the summer, her family had gone to a different city for vacation. Larkin's eye hadn't stopped twitching until she came face to face with that town's hero during a convention. She considered her twitchy eye as one of her many gifts. It was annoying, but oddly accurate. And now, it was becoming useful.

The house was quiet as Larkin slipped out the front door and locked it. Her parents left at six thirty for work. Mr. Knolls was politician, and Mrs. Knolls was a divorce lawyer. In fact, Larkin hadn't seen her parents since yesterday morning, on Sunday. She didn't fret though; Larkin was often left at home by herself.

Larkin hummed the tune of a Twenty One Pilots song as she strolled down her driveway.

"Lark! You weren't leaving without me, were you?" screeched Greta, Larkin's best friend. Greta was waving her arms frantically in the air, trying to catch the other girl's attention. It worked.

Larkin rolled her eyes at the silly nickname bestowed upon her by Greta, but otherwise ignored it. She cut through her lawn and pushed through a fence of hedges to reach Greta's yard.

"Of course not, why would I ever do such a thing as that?" said Larkin, a hint of sarcasm dripping from her voice. "It's the first day of school. I would never go in there by myself." She shuddered, thinking of what will be her first day of tenth grade.

"Yeah, we didn't plan last year very well," admitted Greta, letting out a grimace. "At least all of freshman year wasn't as bad as the first day."

Larkin nodded, remembering the first day. She could remember the rain most clearly. It had been an overcast day, the clouds hanging low in the sky, gray and ominous. It wasn't the rain that made the day terrible. In fact, Larkin loved rain and gloom. It was the fact that they had missed the bus. Usually, the two girls would walk, but who would ever choose to walk when it's pouring outside? Larkin and Greta had showed up late to their first class, sopping wet.

The friends walked down the cracked sidewalk, enjoying the peacefulness of the morning. The sun warmed Larkin's face, and a gentle breeze blew all the excess heat away. They didn't speak much; words weren't needed. Eventually, Greta broke the silence.

"Did you see the news this morning?" inquired Greta.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Did you hear about Black Lightning?"

Larkin furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Then, she remembered the report about that superhero foiling an assassination attempt.

"I didn't hear anything about it; I only saw it scroll across the bottom of the screen," Larkin explained.

A grin spread across Greta's face. "Well, you won't believe the news! Black Lightning is staying here! In Markusville! To be our superhero! This is so awesome!" she exclaimed. Gasping, Greta said, "What if Coalescence and Black Lightning team up? They would be so unstoppable!" Greta was gesturing wildly at all the possibilities this new hero had to offer.

"Oh, yh-yeah, totally unstoppable," stammered Larkin. Talking about Coalescence made her nervous. What if she slipped up? One wrong word could mean exposing her secret.

"I wonder if he goes to our school. That would be so cool! Do you think Coalescence goes to our school? I mean, it is a big city, so who knows where she goes. What do you think?" questioned Greta.

"Oh. I don't know. She could go to our school. Do you know anyone who could be her?"

"I always thought Natalie Parks seemed hero-ish. She's definitely a leader, athletic, and she has blonde hair, like Coalescence," said Greta, "but I'm not completely sure. For all I know, you could be Coalescence, Lark!"

Larkin stumbled on the sidewalk, her eyes were wide. Did she know?

Greta chuckled. "Are you okay?"

"I'm wonderful. The idea of m-me being Coalescence is just so p-preposterous," sputtered Larkin. "Look, we're here." She pointed toward the large school building.

The two friends approached the steps of the building. Students flowed out of busses and off the sidewalks into the doors. Larkin spotted a couple of her friends.

"I suppose I'm ready to begin another year of torture," grumbled Larkin.

"It won't be that bad," assured Greta. She was waving to almost every person that passed them, smiling.

"I do not understand how you do it," sighed Larkin.

"What?"

"You're a social butterfly. Everyone likes you, and you like everyone. It shouldn't be possible. Unlike you, there are people at school that I'd rather not see. Ever. And I'm fairly certain that they don't want to see me, either," said Larkin. Just then, a person decided to approach the two girls. "Speaking of people I'd rather not see..."

"Ah! Nice to see you again Greta," chirped a voice.

"Jacob," acknowledged Larkin. Her tone was filled with venom.

The boy, Jacob, didn't even turn to acknowledge that she had said anything. He simply stood, waiting for Greta to respond.

"How was your summer?" she asked.

"It was great! You know, swimming, friends, job. The usual. No annoying people," he stated.

"Nice." Greta smiled, her eyes crinkling up at the corners.

"My summer," Larkin interrupted, "was wonderful, thank you so much for asking."

"That's funny, 'cause I didn't ask," retorted Jacob.

Greta took a step back and studied her fingernails. She avoided conflict like the plague.

"Come on Greta. Class starts in ten minutes." Larkin yanked her away by the arm. They were at the top of the steps before Greta could protest.

"But we have plenty of-" started Greta.

"I despise him more than every other living and nonliving thing on the planet. I hate him more than broccoli and-"

"I must cut your passionate rant short. I am standing right behind you, and usually people take the liberty to insult others when they're not directly behind them."

Larkin spun around, and came face to face with Jacob. A grin split her face, the evil kind.

"I'll see you around, Jacobi," she said, and slapped him on the back before marching through the looming school doors.

"That's not my name!" he called out, exasperated.

Larkin didn't turn around.

()()()

The day was as normal as a first day could get. Larkin followed her schedule, and made it to each class as early as possible. She wanted to make sure no one slipped passed her watchful gaze. Larkin needed to know who Black Lightning was.

She sat at her desk in fourth period, drumming her fingers on top. The bell had rung ten minutes ago, and no one particularly special had come through the door.

Fourth period was German. That class wasn't too bad, usually. But today was the first day, and the first day was always filled with teachers droning on about rules and syllabuses. Mrs. Wagoner stood in the front of the German two classroom, pointing out their major study focuses.

"In the fourth quarter, we will cover future tense and the conditional. These will be on your-"

The teacher was cut off by the rattling of the door handle. It was always locked, in the case of an armed intruder. She strode over to the door in her ridiculously high heeled shoes and pulled it open, sighing.

"I do not appreciate tardiness, but I suppose it can be overlooked today," mumbled Mrs. Wagoner.

Larkin almost didn't notice it, as she had grown accustomed to the petulance in her eye, but the twitch had stopped. She had gotten used to it, and couldn't for the life of her remember when exactly it stopped. Was it just now, or had it been before this class even started?

She sat a little straighter in her desk, craning her neck to see over the head of the girl in front of her.

It was a boy. He was handing a pass to Mrs. Wagoner. Surprise lit up on her face.

"Well then, you must be the student administration was talking about. Forget about that tardy. Welcome to Markusville! New students are always welcome!" she exclaimed with a flourish of her arm.

Larkin watched, entranced as the boy waded through the sea of desks before finding an empty one. He could be Black Lightning. Larkin decided he was her best bet.

She studied him. Well, she studied the back of his head, which was all she could see without standing up in the middle of class. He had blond hair that curled slightly at the nape of his neck. His appearance wasn't that special, but supers weren't supposed to stand out. It was easier to keep secrets that way.

Larkin decided not to approach him at all. Not even after school. She couldn't risk it. What if he wasn't actually Black Lightning? She had to admit, it would be cool if someone knew she was Coalescence. Her parents didn't know. Not even Greta knew, and that hurt Larkin the most.

Before she realized it, it was time for lunch. The bell that signaled the end to fourth period rang, and Larkin was lost in her thoughts. Kids were streaming out of the classroom, oblivious to the superhero sitting in their midst.

"Hey," a voice said, and she snapped to attention. Her friend Silvie stood over her. "Come to lunch with me?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry. Daydreaming."

Silvie nodded understanding and waited for Larkin to gather her things.

They walked down the hall to their separate lockers and met up again before walking to the cafeteria.

"He was cute," mentioned Silvie.

"Who?"

"The new kid." Silvie said this as if it was obvious. "Maybe you'll crack and get a boyfriend this year."

Larkin was thinking of all the reasons she couldn't have a boyfriend. The most obvious one entitled Superhero Duties.

"No. I just don't have time. You know, school, sports, maybe I'll even get a job," she protested.

Silvie shook her head and tsked. "I wonder about you Larkin. Are you feeling okay? You are not a regular girl."

Larkin thought about the truth in this statement. I'm most definitely not normal.

The cafeteria doors loomed ahead of the two girls. People poured through the doors, rushing to get in the front of the line.

"La-ark!" A voice rose above the clamor of the lunchroom. Larkin spotted Greta sitting with her lunchbox at an empty table and waved.

"Are you going to sit with Greta and I today?" asked Larkin as she picked up a lunch tray.

"Sure," replied Silvie.

Five minutes later they were all sitting at one of the long rectangular lunch tables, laughing about their summer misadventures.

"That's when Greta rode her bike right into the fence!"

"No Larkin!" Greta turned red from embarrassment. "I didn't ride it right into the fence. I was turning and you distracted me-"

Just then, someone else plopped their tray right next to Greta's with a smack, cutting her off.

Jacob, and what Larkin liked to call his cronies, sat down at the table and promptly began to eat. His best friend, Evan, who was slightly more tolerable than Jacob, launched a grape at Silvie. It hit her in the face. Larkin knew he was a flirt. She watched his black haired head bob in laughter at the murderous look on Silvie's face. Luke sat next to Evan, staring into the distance. The last boy, Larkin recognized as the new kid.

Greta, ever the welcoming one, said, "Hi."

Jacob put down his sandwich. He cut right to the chase. "This is Finn Davis. New kid, meet my friends. Except for that one," he said, pointing at Larkin. "Larkin does not appreciate my witty sense of humor and charm."

"Ha ha," she said dryly.

Finn said hi to each of the girls. Larkin thought he seemed nice, at least nicer than Jacob.

"So where are you from?" questioned Greta.

"I'm from St. Paul, Minnesota. Right in the middle of the city."

The questioning went on all through lunch. Larkin didn't talk much, content with just listening, but she gathered as much information as she could about Finn. She didn't mean to seem stalkerish, but it was necessary in order to find out if he was Black Lightning.

()()()

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Larkin walked home with Greta after school.

She unlocked her front door. Her parents weren't home yet. They never were.

Larkin climbed the stairs to her room. She dropped her backpack by her desk and pulled out her laptop.

It was time for research. She typed Black Lightning into the search bar and looked at the news section.

There were several results. Most of them were from online versions of newspapers. The most recent was from her city's newspaper, the Markusville Star.

Just yesterday evening during a public political debate, a new superhero revealed himself in Markusville. He calls himself Black Lightning. As his debut, he saved the candidate running for governor, Richard Knolls, from several speeding bullets. State Senator, George Fredericks, who is also running for governor, was shot in the shoulder by a stray bullet. He was admitted to the Markusville Hospital at six thirty four last night. The injury was not fatal.

The gunman was never caught, but local police are currently investigating the crime. No evidence was found to give any clues as to who the gunman is.

Larkin was stunned. That was her father. Richard Knolls was her father. Why her parents hadn't bothered to wake her up last night and tell her that her father had been the almost-victim of an assassination, she didn't know. At least he's alive, she told herself, taking calming breaths.

Besides the fac that her father was part of it, that was a curious article. It reminded Larkin of an incident that she had only heard about in stories. The Newman Murder. It had been orchestrated by the one and only Imposter. Larkin shivered just thinking about that villain. He was the epitome of evil. The Imposter had been gone for years, though, so it couldn't be him.

Larkin read over several articles, some dating back to three years ago. Curiously, all the articles, except for the one from the Markusville Star, were from Minnesota. But none were from St. Paul, like she had suspected.

He probably lied. That's when it dawned on her. This new kid, Finn, was trickier than he seemed. She needed to find him, talk to him. And there's only one way to do that.

Larkin smiled to herself and snapped her laptop shut.

How do I find a super? I only have to find trouble.

()()()