For once, Larkin's parents were home for dinner. It was the first time in a week or two that they had all sat down and ate together. Larkin wished that she could enjoy it, but she didn't. For a number of reasons.

Reason Number One: What if someone needed help? It was part of her superhero duties.

Reason Number Two: Her parents were awkward. To put it bluntly, they didn't know how to talk to their own child.

Reason Number Three: Larkin was dreading the moment her parents got the call telling them about how she skipped school. They could be terrifying if they wanted to be.

Reason Number Five: He father had almost been assassinated and they had yet to mention it to her.

Larkin shifted uncomfortably in her chair as her parents discussed their work. She shoved the spaghetti around on her plate, occasionally shoveling a forkful into her mouth.

"I just don't know what to do," huffed her mother exasperatedly. "Both the mother and the father want custody of their child, and neither one is backing down."

This was Mrs. Knolls' favorite topic of conversation: her work.

"Larkin, dear, what's your opinion on the case?" asked her mother.

Larkin glanced up, surprised that her mother was even acknowledging her presence at the dinner table. "I don't think I'm qualified to say, Mom. I've never even met these people," Larkin persisted.

"Well, the Bridges family isn't that complicated. I'm sure you have an opinion," urged her mother. "What do you think, Richard?"

"Well," said her father, wiping his mouth on a napkin before setting his fork down, "it all depends on the people and what they're like."

Something Mrs. Knolls had said had caught Larkin's attention.

"Did you say Bridges?" questioned Larkin.

Her mother's eyes grew wide. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say names. Don't tell anyone, Larkin, or I could get in trouble."

She nodded her head to say she understood.

Bridges was Jacob's last name. Could his parents be getting a divorce? she thought. I'm sure there are other Bridges families out there. It's probably not him. Larkin tried to remember the last time she had seen both of his parents. She could only remember seeing his mom at open house nights throughout the years, but never his dad.

The dinnertime conversation evolved from work to school to work again. Larkin was surprised that her parents never brought up her absence from class today. Unless they didn't know about it, she surely would have been grounded already. Or maybe the school's going to call tomorrow.

Right before her parents started another long and drawn out conversation, Larkin stopped them.

"When were you going to tell me about the assassination attempt on Dad?" she blurted. The fact that her parents hadn't even mentioned it to her shocked Larkin. She knew she didn't have the best relationship with her parents, but they did talk to each other. Occasionally.

She could see her father deflate in his chair. The animated look dropped from his face, and the mood at the table instantly changed from happy to somber. Finally, her father spoke up.

"It's no big deal, Larkin. You don't have to worry about me. I'm perfectly fine, and they've set an extra security detail on me." Right after he finished talking, her parents resumed their exciting conversation about the droughts in China.

Finally, the long and agonizing dinner was over, and Larkin retreated to her room, claiming that she had homework to do.

"On the second day?" asked Mr. Knolls. "That seems awfully fast." He was placing dishes in the dishwasher while watching Larkin walk out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, well. Tenth grade is tough," she lied, shrugging her shoulders before she walked up the stairs. Larkin didn't have any homework at all. She just didn't want to be bothered by her parents.

Surprisingly, Larkin didn't get a single distress call all night. It had been a while since Larkin last got the evening all to herself.

()()()

It was ominously cloudy as Greta and Larkin walked to school the next morning.

"I hope we make it before it starts to rain," commented Greta.

"Yeah. I really don't need soaking wet clothes," agreed Larkin. She stared up at the charcoal gray sky, willing it not to rain until they got indoors.

"I heard something funny last night," said Larkin.

"What? Tell me. I love laughing," Greta said.

"No. It wasn't that type of funny," Larkin recalled, frowning. "My mom said that the Bridges family was getting a divorce."

"Jacob's family?" wondered Greta aloud.

"I'm not sure. I was hoping you would know. I mean, you know everything about everyone."

"I do know everything about everyone, but I really don't know that much about his family."

"You are so modest, Greta," joked Larkin

"I know," she bragged

Larkin and Greta laughed at each other as they neared the school. Larkin looked up at the clouds one more time. A raindrop hit her directly in the eye.

"Oh gosh. Greta! It's raining!" screeched Larkin.

The two girls really didn't want a repeat of freshman year's first day of school, so they hurried inside. They walked to Greta's locker, which was pretty close to Larkin's, and waited for the first bell to ring. Silvie joined their group, and even the group of boys they seem to have befriended joined them as well.

()()()

As Larkin left her second period algebra two classroom, she wondered how she was going to deal with chemistry. She hurried through the crowded hall to her locker and exchanged her math book for her chemistry one. She was walking towards Mr. McDowell's classroom when Jacob started walking next to her.

"You don't have to worry, you know. He won't hate you," assured Jacob. He looked over at Larkin's tense face. "Relax, or you'll get wrinkles sooner."

She only scowled at him. "You are never this nice. What is your problem?"

"Why can't I show kindness to my best friend?"

"I am not your best friend, Jacob."

"That is true, but there's a chemistry project coming up, and it's a partner project..." he said, trailing off.

Larkin smiled triumphantly. "So, look who's crawling to the nerd for help," she mocked.

"I called you that one time! You're not a nerd!"

"So are you saying that I'm stupid?"

"No! Stop twisting everything I say!" Jacob was practically shouting when they walked into the classroom.

Everyone who was already there stopped their conversations to stare at the new arrivals.

"Mr. Bridges, it is not necessary to raise your voice in my classroom," scolded Mr. McDowell.

Larkin smirked at him before finding her seat and sitting down. When the bell rang, Mr. McDowell moved to the front of the class and began teaching. He never once confronted Larkin about her absence yesterday. Maybe I should trust Jacob more... Or Mr. McDowell has memory problems.

"There will be a partner project due in two weeks. I will allow you to choose your partners this time, but don't expect that to be a normal occurrence," droned the teacher.

Jacob had been right. Larkin wondered if she should give him a chance. After all, he might not be that bad. Nah, he probably is that bad. That's when Larkin noticed the commotion going on around her. All the kids in the classroom had shot out of their seats and found a partner before Larkin even realized what was happening.

The only person left without a partner was her. And Jacob, of course. He sauntered over to her desk and sat on top of it. Larkin raised an eyebrow at his actions.

"You got lucky because I didn't even know what was happening until all the good partners were gone," she hissed. Larkin glared around the room, and made eye contact with her friend, Abbey. Abbey only gave Larkin a sheepish smile before mouthing sorry and turning back to her partner.

"I take chances as I see them, and this was as good as any. I might as well start the semester off right," he said, shrugging. "It'll be an easy A."

She shook her head in annoyance before they got started on their project.

()()()

"You know I don't want to," argued the boy.

His father glared at him. He squirmed under the penetrating gaze.

"If we sit in hiding for too long, my plan will not work. We need to be ready for action!" he barked, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand. "I told you what needed to be done once, and it should be done on the first request. There is no time dawdling!" This time he smacked the flimsy coffee table, making everything on top shake.

The boy knew it would be easiest to do as his father said. It would result in a lot less yelling. Maybe he would receive some praise, for once.

"I'll try again tomorrow, after school," the boy promised.

His father, the Imposter, nodded his head. "I'm glad we are finally seeing eye to eye." The man cracked his neck before striding out of the living room, probably to go terrorize unsuspecting victims on the street. Nothing out of the ordinary.

()()()

The boy that nobody ever remembered walked down the crowded street. It was about 5:30 in the evening: the time everyone gets off work. He made his way towards The Bistro, which was the most upscale restaurant in Markusville. He knew that the candidates running for governor would be dining at this restaurant tonight.

He debated how he should avoid the deed his father wanted him to do. He couldn't kill a person like Richard Knolls: a good guy. In fact, he didn't know if he could kill anyone.

The boy walked through the heavy wooden doors of The Bistro and sat down at an empty table for two. No one would approach this table; he made sure of that.

At exactly six o'clock, Senator George Fredericks arrived with a trail of cameras and people following him. The bullet wound in his shoulder was doing perfectly fine, much to the boy's disappointment. The senator smiled amicably at them and answered questions before the manager forced the reporters and cameramen to leave. A hostess showed him to his table, along with his posse of dedicated sponsors.

Richard Knolls arrived next. His entrance was less disruptive than his opponent's. Richard arrived alone and managed to avoid causing a scene as he was shown to his table.

The boy couldn't do it. He wasn't evil. His father was. And he definitely wasn't his father.

The boy stood and walked to stand directly in front of the table seating many important political figures. The current governor was there, along with other state senators. They didn't see the brown haired boy at all, or at least, they would forget him as soon as they laid eyes on him.

He was practically invisible as he pulled out a gun for the second time that week. It was too much pressure to put on a regular teenage boy, if you would have asked his opinion. No one ever did, though.

He could have walked right up to Richard and shot him in the head. His father would be proud of him, and the despicable George Fredericks would win the election by default. The Imposter would rise to his previous glory! And he himself would be responsible for it all.

The boy didn't want to be responsible for the rise of super villains. He had a soft side, a good side, to compliment the dark side he had a hard time covering up.

He pointed the gun at George Fredericks' uninjured shoulder.

He pulled the trigger.

Chaos erupted at the table. George Fredericks cried out in agony and his hand shot to his shoulder. Richard Knolls immediately shot to his feet and dialed 911.

The boy stood off to the side, watching the events unfold. He went back to his table for two and sat down, waiting for the police to arrive on the scene.

Meanwhile, George was rushed outside and taken to the hospital. Again. Then the police arrived.

They burst through the doors of the restaurant and navigated their way to the large table in the back corner. Questioning began immediately.

It was time to leave.