Larkin was in shock. She had been poisoned. Someone knew who she was. They had poisoned her.

Someone knows who I am. That was the most unsettling part about this new development. Sure, Jacob knew who she was, but he wouldn't poison her. He didn't even know her weakness. No one knew about it. She was very careful about that.

Usually, gold could only deflect Larkin's powers. She had never ingested it before, and she hoped that she had vomited it out of her system before it did any real damage. Just as a test, Larkin attempted to absorb a pen sitting on the kitchen counter into her hand.

It didn't work. Larkin panicked. She repeatedly smashed her hand down onto the pen, hoping it would disappear like it was supposed to. It didn't. She panicked again.

No no no no no. Not now. Who knows what could happen? I can't get to my base. I can't protect anyone from anything. I can't do anything. I'm practically a normal civilian. She began to pace around her kitchen. Soon, the area of the room became too small for her pacing, and she abandoned the kitchen for the streets.

It may not have been her smartest decision: leaving the house when someone knew who she was, and while being powerless. She walked dazedly down her street, hoping that nothing catastrophic before the effects of the gold wore off. If they ever wore off.

Larkin knew that someone was out to get her. There could be no other explanation. She couldn't tell her parents, her friends, or even the cops. That would involve spilling her identity, which is necessary for her safety, as demonstrated by the gold incident.

Larkin fumed as she began to run. She needed safety. Her base was unavailable, for in a moment of stupidity, Larkin had built it without a secondary entrance. Number one on my to-do list: build a tunnel.

The only place Larkin could think to go was to the forest, the forest with the tree that housed Black Lightning's base. That forest happened to be about a mile from her house. Normally, a mile would be a piece of cake for Larkin. With a super's stamina, she could probably run a marathon.

A mile sounded like 5,280 feet of hell.

Not that she was out of shape or anything.

()()()

When the leafy green tops of the trees finally came into view, Larkin slowed her pace. She was covering the last few yards at a jog before abruptly turning into the woods. This patch of trees barely warranted being called a forest, for it was on the small side, however, the Markusville environmental committee claimed it fit the criteria.

As Larkin navigated her way to the tree she thought was Black Lightning's, she had to agree with the environmental committee; it was quite large. After peering up several tree trunks, Larkin contemplated giving up. Brown is brown. Bark is bark. A tree is a tree. They all look the same to me, she thought., letting her rambling thoughts fill her head.

Larkin stumbled between the trunks, exhausted because she A. had only eaten half a sandwich for lunch B. said sandwich had gold in it C. gold drains her powers, and D. Larkin isn't really that athletic.

It was a horrible combination.

She sighed and peered up another synonymous tree, wondering if she would get a peek of the wood pa eking of the treehouse. She had no such luck.

"Can't you just appear right in front of me and tell me where your stupid treehouse is?" she mumbled, silently hoping Black Lightning would hear her and rescue her from her endless search.

"I thought you just liked trees."

Larkin whipped around, startled, and came face to face with the super himself. Speak of the devil.

The grin on his face told Larkin everything she needed to know. He had probably been standing behind her for a very long time. She scowled at him before letting out a huff of air and stepping to the left, away from the foot of the tree and away from him.

All she could think about was the way she had embarrassed herself last Friday when she practically had a breakdown before sinking into the ground to hide from the world. Larkin mentally face-planed herself, then proceeded to feel awkward about the current interaction with Black Lightning.

"Hey," she said. Deep breath in. "I have an issue," deep breath out, "and I think you can help me." Larkin tried to paste an amiable smile onto her face.

"So, the great Coalescence needs my help?"

Larkin let her façade drop and bit her lip. "I have a slight predicament."

Black Lightning raised both eyebrows, gesturing for her to continue.

"My powers have been temporarily disabled, someone knows who I am, and I am unable to get into my base without my powers." She got it all out in one breath.

"I see the issue," he said, noncommittally nodding his head. He stared off over Larkin's shoulder, not paying attention to her any more.

"Will you help me?" she asked.

He shrugged before returning his attention to over her shoulder.

Larkin frowned before turning around to look in the direction of his gaze. She couldn't see anything, hear anything, out of the ordinary. All she could see was trees, trees, trees, and more trees.

"What are you looking at?" she whispered, suddenly getting the chills. It was only four in the evening, but Larkin felt like night had fallen and the predators had come out to play. She was not a predator tonight. She was prey. She was weak. "What do you see?"

"It's not what I see," mumbled Black Lightning. "It's what I hear."

Larkin remembered her unusable powers, including her super hearing. Despite the lack of enhancement, she still strained her ears in hopes of catching something out of the ordinary. Nothing. Nothing at all.

She held her breath and her body still, but could not discern any new sounds besides the rustling of the leaves in a mid-summer wind. She stayed frozen though, for Black Lightning's sake. Seconds passed, and then Larkin heard a miniscule, almost nonexistent, clicking noise.

Before Larkin had time to react to the faint sound, she was swept off her feet by a flying Black Lightning. A screech escaped her mouth, but it was caught in the whooshing of air all around her as Black Lighting dodged trees and branches. She clung to the straps running along the chest of his suit, praying to God that she wouldn't get dropped. Wouldn't that be the icing on my cake?

A gunshot sounded through the forest, shattering the tense atmosphere. Despite the situation, Larkin laughed wryly to herself. How lovely!

Black lightning landed with a soft thump, and he let Larkin get her feet on the ground.

"Honestly," she confessed, "this day has been terrible, but that was actually pretty fun."

They had landed on a ledge outside of Black Lightning's treehouse, and Larkin decided to climb through the window before she fell off the edge. She swung her leg over the sill, and entered the treehouse. Black Lightning followed.

"I just can't get over how utterly awesome this place is. My parents would never build me a treehouse," said Larkin. She trailed her fingers over the soft fabric of the couch, and her eyes wandered over to the kitchenette. Everything was the same as she remembered it: clean, tidy, but still lived in.

Black Lightning hadn't responded to her comment, so she glanced over her shoulder to see him standing next to the window she had just come through. He had a sardonic smile on his face, and the grin fell from Larkin's.

"I don't want your pity, life story, or your excuses, but at least you have parents," he said.

Larkin shrugged. "True." Pause. "But it doesn't really count if they're never there." She watched as he opened his mouth to throw a snarky comment back at her, but she cut him off before he could get the words out. "They feed me, they clothe me, but they don't know me. I am thankful for them; I am not complaining. I'm just stating the truth."

He opened his mouth again. Like a fish, thought Larkin.

"At least you have parents," he repeated. "Mine are not dead, as you probably think."

He was right. That was what Larkin had been assuming. She waited for elaboration, but it never came. He didn't offer up anymore words. She plopped down upon the futon, and he followed suit. She loosened her tense muscles, and strained her ears in an attempt to hear anything beyond the walls of the treehouse, but to no avail.

To her standards, she was practically deaf.

A puff escaped her lips, and she turned to face her fellow super. He had his feet propped up on the coffee table, and a slight pout graced his lips. She interrupted his reverie by flicking on the forearm. He blinked before half-heartedly flicking her back.

"Thank you," said Larkin.

Black Lightning shrugged it off like it was nothing, and Larkin figured it really was nothing to him. He probably flew people out of situations all the time.

"Larkin, did you see who was shooting at you?"

The question was abrupt.

"No. I heard a clicking noise, though, right before you flew us out."

He nodded in confirmation.

Black Lightning continued. "I swear," he said, drawing out each word, as if he's afraid to say what he's about to say, "I swear I know the person." He stopped and looked Larkin directly in the eyes. "I swear I saw Jacob Bridges behind that gun."