Evening fell into night, and Larkin still hadn't seen nor heard a peep from Greta. After dropping her overnight bag back at her house and sneaking out again without her parents noticing, Larkin had set up camp in the shadow of Greta's house. She only hoped that no one would look too closely into the shadow, or they would see a girl reclined on the grass.

It was after nine o'clock, so Larkin entertained herself by making the stars brighten and then dim. She let the grass tickle her neck as she fought the warm hands of sleep. She couldn't sleep. Not when she was so close to learning what Greta had been up to. She couldn't let this opportunity pass.

Larkin listened. She listened for the telltale signs that Greta might be approaching. However, the fruits of her labor were few, and she could only hear the rumbles of car engines and laughter spilling from the windows of the homes around her.

Two houses were relatively silent. On her right sat the Avers's house. Inside, she could hear the tapping of feet from Mrs. Avers's old Birkenstocks. She was probably pacing in the kitchen, worrying about her missing daughter. On her left sat her home. If she really concentrated, she could make out the thumping of the washing machine in the laundry room. Her parents probably hadn't moved since she left the house, except, maybe, to eat dinner.

So Larkin waited, and her thoughts drifted further than her mind could reach. Slowly, ever so slowly, the hands of sleep grasped her and pulled her towards the edge of consciousness, into a dream that was eerily familiar.

The rickety raft again traveled upstream, against the natural current. Larkin gazed out at the dark sky. Apparently, the sun hadn't erupted yet. Instead, the moon sat just above the tree line, giving the branches an ethereal glow that was reflected on the roiling waters of the river.

George stood at the edge of the raft. He had a long pole in his hand, and he used it to steer the raft.

"George," Larkin called. They were on a first-name basis now. Their time on the river had really bonded them.

The man turned around. He was mumbling under his breath, something Larkin couldn't understand, but she suspected it had to do with the sun.

"See George, out there, see that?" Larkin pointed out into the distance, her eyes locked onto a figure splashing in the river up ahead. The figure flailed their arms, sending water flying into the air. In the dark, Larkin couldn't' tell whether it was a boy or a girl.

George turned back towards the front of the boat. "Yes, yes. That won't do. No, no."

"I don't think we have room for another person," said Larkin, gesturing at the raft. She ran her hand over the sticks and the twine holding it all together. The bark on the sticks peeled off when she touched it.

Without another word from George, they continued floating up the river. The person in the distance seemed to get a bit closer. Apparently, George recognized the person before Larkin did. He mumbled some more.

Larkin squinted. She thought that maybe it was a boy. The person didn't seem to have long hair. Next thing she knew, they had pulled up alongside the flailing person. Larkin smiled when she saw who it was.

"Finn! You're here to join the cruise, I assume?" exclaimed Larkin.

He didn't respond. His frantic splashing and the swirling waters proved difficult for Finn to form coherent sentences.

"Just...boat..." he gasped.

Larkin's eyes widened. "Oh! Yeah, it is small, but I assure you you'll fit. I promise."

"Help me!" Then a gush of water broke over his head, and Larkin could only see his hands, grasping for something that wasn't there.

Finally realizing that he needed help, Larkin reached out for the super, whose powers were not of much use at the moment. She latched onto hand and hauled him on board their raft, which promptly turned into a paddle boat as to accommodate the extra person. As Finn lay gasping on the back of the boat, George spoke.

"Trash. Trash. All these rivers are filled with so much trash." He glanced back at Finn as he said this, not pausing in pedaling the boat. "When I'm elected governor, I'll do something about all this trash."

Finn blinked before sitting up. Larkin sat next to him on the back of the boat. They watched the roiling waters churned out from under the boat by George's pedaling.

"I guess I'm the damsel in distress."

They both laughed at his attempt at a joke, but the sun came up at that moment, making the plastic boat shudder and groan. It burst through the water with a pop, causing a sudden jolt. Larkin and Finn were both knocked off into the tumultuous river.

As they sank, they clung to each other like a life raft, even though they just kept sinking faster.

Larkin awoke to that feeling of falling. She jolted before sitting up and taking in her surroundings. She was still in the grass next to Greta's house. She was still alone. She only hoped Greta hadn't passed her by while she was sleeping.

The dream faded fast. A boat, a river. That's all she could recall, even though she had just woken up.

Larkin pressed the light button on her digital watch, and saw that only thirty minutes had passed. She sighed in relief before standing up. Sitting and waiting had gotten her nowhere, so she decided that going out and actually searching for Greta might yield more results. She stretched out her stiff limbs and walked to the sidewalk that crossed in front of the houses.

The walk to downtown wasn't extremely far from her house, but it was still a good fifteen minutes away. It was at this point that Larkin really wished her parents would have given her a car for her birthday instead of clothes. Who needs clothes anyway? We could all walk around naked and save a lot of money.

Larkin dismissed that idea quickly. It would create more problems than it would solve.

Feeling lazy and still groggy from her nap, Larkin remembered how Finn, or Black Lightning at the time, had let her fly with him. A grin broke out across her face as she realized that she didn't need a car. She would just get Finn to fly her to town.

She called out quietly, hoping he would pick up on her voice with his sensitive hearing.

"Finn," she whispered. "Fi-in, come out, come out, wherever you are. I need your help."

She waited in earnest for the boy to find her. She wondered if he was already asleep in his treehouse.

"Finn! Get your lazy butt outside this instant!" She clasped her hands over mouth, realizing she may have been a bit too loud, considering the fact that she was walking through a neighborhood at night. She stared counting, hoping that he would get to here before she made it to thirty.

Twenty-seven. She heard the feather light touch of feet on the sidewalk, and spun around to face Finn. He was bleary eyed, but looked tense and alert at the same time.

"Where's the bad guy?" he mumbled.

Larkin sheepishly smiled. "No bad guy. Just me."

He groaned in frustration, making Larkin's smile only grow wider.

"Why did you call so early in the morning? The sun hasn't even come up yet," he complained.

With a laugh, Larkin responded, "It's only ten thirty. The sun won't come up for another eight hours or so."

"That is irrelevant. You woke me up. I thought something was actually wrong."

"So you do care!" she teased. On the inside, Larkin was overjoyed. He would protect her. Even though I am totally capable of doing it myself, who wouldn't want a guy like Finn making sure they're okay?

"Of course I do!" he exclaimed exasperated.

"Keep your voice down. There are people sleeping," reprimanded Larkin.

With another dramatic gasp, Finn threw his hands up in the air. This time, in a whisper, "I was sleeping."

"That's irrelevant," mocked Larkin.

"What did you want anyway?"

Larkin paused. Should I tell him? Of course. He goes to school with Greta too.

"Well, you see, Greta went missing. And her mom freaked out, but I told her that Greta would probably show up in the morning. And, you know how Greta's been missing school? Well, I was thinking, maybe this has something to do with it, so I need to find her so that I can make her spill the beans before her mother grounds her. Or I'll only get to see her at school and whatever it is she's doing is probably something—"

Finn cut her off. "She's gone?"

"Isn't that what I said?"

"Yes but—"

"No buts. We don't have the time. I need you to fly me around town so that I can find her quicker. Walking isn't going to cut it."

Finn folded his arms across his chest and quirked an eyebrow. "What's in it for me?"

"What's in it for you?" Larkin screeched exasperatedly. "The joy of saving Greta from the horrors of the night and knowing that you were a part of her search and rescue party."

He shook his head. "You woke me up."

Rubbing her eyes, Larkin shook out her ponytail. "One favor. That's it. And I take back anything I ever said about you being nice."

"Deal. Where do you need to go?"