Larkin stood in the shadows of a crumbling brick building. She was wearing a ratty t-shirt and old jeans, to fit in with her surroundings. The dusk had faded to night, and only the streetlights offered illumination on the dingy streets. Trash littered the sidewalks and collected in the corners of buildings.

Across the street, a gas station lit up the darkness. Larkin could see someone lurking in the shadows next to the gas station, probably to mug unsuspecting customers. This was the seedier part of town, so that wasn't unusual. Larkin had come to this particular gas station multiple times to stop robberies and muggings.

Tonight, she was here for a different reason.

I'm such an idiot and this is a stupid idea. Why am I so stupid? Larkin scolded herself for her dangerous idea as she began to walk across the street. She could see the figure in the shadows shift, but it didn't approach her, yet. There weren't any cars at the gas pumps, and only one shabby van was sitting in the parking lot.

Larkin ducked through the smeared glass doors and entered the convenience store. A bell tinkled when the doors opened. It reeked of smoke. The cashier was snoring in his seat behind the counter. The floor tiles were coated in grime and a broken window was covered with plastic wrap.

Larkin remembered the night that had happened. It was only a couple of weeks ago. She had come to the gas station as Coalescence to break up a fight. In the process, a gun was thrown at the window, shattering the glass.

She walked through the aisles of junk food and energy drinks, picking out something random. She grabbed a spotted banana and headed for the counter.

The cashier still hadn't woken up.

"Hey... Um. Wake up," she said, awkwardly waving the banana in front of his face.

He lifted his head up and blinked groggily.

"You know, sleeping on the job could get you fired, or robbed."

The man shuffled around, still not completely awake. "What? Huh? Robbed? I'm... I'm being robbed!" he screeched, mistaking the banana for a gun. "Help!"

"It's not a gun it's-"

Larkin was cut off when the banana was shot out of her hand. Something crackling with electricity shot out from nowhere, snaking around Larkin's waist, slamming her into the wall. Larkin knew what it was. Black lightning, to put it simply. It was the same thing as lightning, but black. A black rope of electricity extended from Black Lightning's hand and coiled around her waist.

It would have severely injured a normal person, but Larkin's body absorbed the shocks with only the slightest tingling. She acted as if she was in pain, though, for the sake of appearances.

"It was just a," she said through a fake gasp, "banana. I'm not robbing this freaking gas station!"

She felt the rope loosen, and finally retreat all together. Black Lightning stood just inside the doors. Half of his face was covered in a navy blue mask, leaving only his mouth uncovered. The mask was attached to a helmet that covered most of his hair. Larkin thought his super suit looked a little like Captain America's, only less patriotic.

"Instead of attacking innocent teenagers, maybe you should go get that shady guy standing outside," Larkin suggested as she brushed off her hands.

"Already did that. And, sorry for the misunderstanding," he apologized, scratching his neck sheepishly.

The cashier had fainted when Black Lightning first appeared in the doors. He was lying on the ground in a heap.

"I can buy you another banana, since I fried the first one, or I could walk you home. It's not safe out there," he offered.

Larkin smiled. Black Lightning was a real gentleman, besides the fact that he almost electrocuted her.

"Oh no. It's fine. I'll be fine." Larkin refused his offers. She didn't even like bananas, and she definitely didn't plan on going home.

As soon as Black Lightning left the gas station, Larkin got into action. She was going to follow him, hopefully to his hideout. Her parents wouldn't even realize she wasn't at home in her bed.

Larkin used her power to put on her suit. She always wondered how her powers worked, but was never able to figure it out.

Her power was coalescence, just as her name stated. She had the power to cause things to come together and form one mass. Like the way puddles coalesce into one stream of water, she could simply touch objects, and they would dissolve into her skin. She always kept her super suit handy, for times like this.

Her silver suit was made out of Lycra and fit close to the skin. Her mask covered the top of her face, and was an aqua color. She also had a vest that was aqua and fit over the suit. Her aqua Nike Pros were her favorite part of the suit, but Larkin loved every part of it.

Larkin was done with the transformation in seconds. She didn't make a noise as she moved toward the door of the gas station. She was guessing that Black Lightning had super hearing (most heroes did), so she stepped right through the door of the gas station without making a sound. That was another one of her powers: the ability to walk through objects.

Larkin stepped out into the night. No stars were visible in the night sky, and clouds covered the moon. She began her search, hoping that she wasn't too far behind.

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