Jacob didn't bother to stop and speak to Finn, who was leaning against the wall outside the pocket park. He didn't bother to question why Larkin had thought to bring Finn with her, either. He kept walking, out of the park, down the street, away from the people he considered his friends.

He did bother to question how Larkin had found Greta so quickly. He knew that his powers didn't work on Larkin, so perhaps she had heard his and Greta's earlier conversation. They hadn't been at the park for more than five minutes when he had heard her tramp through the gate. No matter how much she tried, Larkin wasn't a quiet person. He had decided to ignore her when he saw her shoe sticking out of the bushes she had decided to dive into, and had continued on his way to the exit.

He knew that Larkin wasn't happy with him. For some reason or another, whenever he ran into her at school, glanced in her direction, or tried to speak with her, she would plaster a look on her face that told him to back off. He didn't know what he'd done to upset her. Sure, he did shoot her father, but he was certain that she was unaware of that fact. He hoped that she never had to find out. It would definitely put a damper on their already suffering friendship.

He sauntered away from the park and looked up at the sky. The stars were brilliant, too much so for a city with light pollution. Nonetheless, they were beautiful. He didn't question it.

On his walk, he had time to think. Lots of it. He remembered the project that was due next week. He also had time to ponder what Greta had asked of him. He made a plan.

He was to do good by doing bad. It was the perfect compromise.

Jacob didn't go home that night. His mother wouldn't notice, and his father wouldn't care. Instead, he spent the night wandering the streets, planning where to strike next. Greta would get her wish, and a whole lot more.

Jacob smiled sardonically at the irony. Greta was asking him to help the supers find the silent assassin, when in fact, they had already found him. He was him. He hadn't killed anyone yet, and hoped with utmost passion that he was never forced to.

With a grim smile, he picked up a rock and threw it through the window of a bakery.

For his own sake, he hoped that the supers stopped him soon. He didn't know how much evil he could take.

()()()

His rampage continued. Jacob was determined to get at least one super out. They couldn't ignore him forever. He just hoped that they would stop him before he was driven as far as robbing a bank.

He really didn't want to do that.

Just one, please. Just one, he begged. He wanted Larkin to show up and stop him from committing more vandalism. Black Lightning would be fine, too. Anyone, as long as they stopped him. He just had to tell them what Greta wanted him to tell them. Get yourself together Jacob. You're supposed to be evil. You were born that way.

As he threw his fourth rock through his fourth window, he tried to take pleasure in the sound of shattering glass. The pleasant crinkle as the shards landed on the ground reminded him of marbles clinking together. The dull thump of the rock as it landed on the floor of the store reverberated around him. He basked in it for a moment before deciding that it was time to move on to his fifth window and rock.

He was afraid that he would run out of rocks before a super showed up and stopped him. It's not like one could simply find a good sized rock anywhere in the middle of town. One had to look for it.

Jacob pondered between a McDonald's and the shoe store next to it. After a few minutes of thinking, he decided upon the McDonald's. They probably had more money, anyway.

Without wasting another second, Jacob drew back his arm, ready to throw the moderately sized rock. However, the chunk of stone never left his palm.

Instead, his arm was twisted viciously behind his back. Constrained, he was forced to drop the rock on the ground. Despite the fact that someone had his arm pressed between his shoulder blades, he was gracious that he didn't have to ruin another perfectly good window. He rather liked windows, actually. They gave him something to look at during his slow classes.

He was ripped away from the sidewalk and into a side alley. His captor pressed his cheek into the rough brick wall lining the narrow space. At that moment, he realized that he was not dealing with Larkin. He decided that it probably wasn't Black Lightning, either. The few times he had seen the super, he noticed that they were about the same size. The person holding him to the wall was much larger than anyone he had known as a super before, except, possibly, his father.

"You insolent children think you can do whatever you want," hissed a deep voice behind him.

Jacob was wrenched around to face a man in a super suit, however ragged and old it was. The man's face was mostly covered, but the patches of exposed skin were lined with wrinkles. His grey mask was frayed along the edges and the sleeves of his suit were too short.

Overall, Jacob thought the man looked shabby. However, his death grip on the back of Jacob's neck told him that it wouldn't be in his best interest to insult this man.

"I am an adolescent" was the only coherent sentence Jacob could produce.

The super squinted his eyes at Jacob, as if scrutinizing a cell under a microscope. He took a step closer. If Jacob could have backed up further, he would have. With a grunt, the intimidating man loosened his grip on Jacob's neck, before fully releasing him.

"You are not the one I was looking for, however, the resemblance is striking," muttered the man.

Jacob furrowed his brows in confusion. He didn't know who or what the masked man was speaking of.

"Would you happen to know," continued the man, "a super that goes by the name of Imposter, or perhaps even one that refers to himself as Contingence?"

Jacob was all too familiar with the Imposter. The other name was unknown to him. He had never heard of that super in his life; he didn't even know whether he or she was good or evil.

With a shrug, Jacob tried to step around the imposing man, hoping to avoid answering that question.

"So you do know the Imposter."

Jacob froze. It wasn't a question.

"I cannot read minds, Jacob," said the man. "I already know of your particular relation to the Imposter, and it is most unfortunate, is it not?"

Jacob could see the man's mouth; it was smiling at him, despite the circumstances. The relaxed posture of the man assisted in easing Jacob of his discomfort, as well. He was safe for now. He felt rather at ease, in fact.

"Yes. The Imposter is rather close to me," responded Jacob.

"Were you wishing to take after him?" questioned the man.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to follow in his footsteps? Do you want to be his legacy? Do you want to be evil?"

Jacob waited before answering. He knew that these were loaded questions. It wasn't a simple yes or no answer to any of them: partly because Jacob had issues with making decisions and partly because he didn't like being put on the spot. He put his words together carefully in his mind before responding.

"I don't want to do any of this. I want to create a balance. I'm doing it for someone else, you see? They wanted me to help them—"

The man cut Jacob off. "And you're going to help them by breaking shop windows? I didn't know that people appreciated that kind of thing."

Jacob started again, ignoring the man's question. He asked a question, instead. Gaining some courage, he asked, "Who are you to be scolding me, anyways?"

Apparently the man decided to dismiss their previous track of conversation and decided upon answering Jacob's question. His smile grew into a grin.

"I am Neutron."

Jacob wracked his memory for a super named neutron. There was nothing. He was certain that he hadn't seen this man in his life before. NeutronNeutronNeutronNeutron. The word buzzed around in his head, looking for a way out, eventually finding its way to his mouth. "Neutron?"

"Yes."

"What do you do?"

"Balance."

And with a careless shrug, he was gone. Jacob sat alone in the alley for a few more minutes pondering over Neutron and his cryptic words.