Mr. Forgettable #Wattys2016

1

It was an uncontrollable tick, a twitch in her right eye that hadn't gone away since Saturday. It made Larkin want to stab her eye out with a pair of blunt scissors. The twitchy eye could only mean one thing, one thing she'd rather avoid.

Superheroes. And with superheroes, comes super villains.

Her innocent little city didn't need more trouble. One hero is enough, but two? It's an over-abundance.

Sadly, not everyone shared the same opinion as Larkin.

The twitching was driving her insane. She might have to go through with stabbing her eye out if this went on any longer. Larkin Knolls squeezed her eyes shut and continued to shovel oatmeal into her mouth. The TV blared white noise in the background of her morning routine. The news hadn't differed much from yesterday. It was the same ordinary happenings of her mostly ordinary city. Bank Robbers Apprehended by Coalescence. Veterans Honored by New Memorial. NASCAR Race Rescheduled for Saturday. Everything was typical.

Markusville's superhero, Coalescence, had stopped a bank robbery. That one had slightly caught Larkin's attention. She smiled to herself, and continued to chew absently on her breakfast. Then something caught her eye.

It was a small subtitle, scrolling across the bottom of the TV. Black Lightning Foils Assassination Attempt. That was something new. Black Lightning. Larkin wracked her brain, trying for the life of her to remember who Black Lightning was. She could only come to one conclusion. Black Lightning was the new superhero in town.

She switched off the television and ascended the stairs to her room. It seems as if I'll have some competition now. This city is no longer just Coalescence's. And perhaps a new villain will show up, too. I need some excitement, she thought to herself. At the moment, Markusville didn't have any villains, only plain criminals. It was peaceful, not difficult, and that's the way she liked it. Being a super wasn't easy, especially at sixteen.

Larkin's room was on the top floor. It was a fairly typical room, not too large, nor too small. Yellow drapes fell over wide windows, blocking out the early morning light. The sky blue walls held a variety of things. A family portrait hung next to a window, showing Larkin and her parents standing together. Another wall was covered with posters; there were multiple movie posters, some bands, even one for a book or two. It was all perfectly ordinary.

Larkin changed clothes, readying herself for the first day of school. The twitch in her eye still hadn't gone away, and she knew it wouldn't leave until she got close enough to the new superhero. That's how it worked.

Over the summer, her family had gone to a different city for vacation. Larkin's eye hadn't stopped twitching until she came face to face with that town's hero during a convention. She considered her twitchy eye as one of her many gifts. It was annoying, but oddly accurate. And now, it was becoming useful.

The house was quiet as Larkin slipped out the front door and locked it. Her parents left at six thirty for work. Mr. Knolls was politician, and Mrs. Knolls was a divorce lawyer. In fact, Larkin hadn't seen her parents since yesterday morning, on Sunday. She didn't fret though; Larkin was often left at home by herself.

Larkin hummed the tune of a Twenty One Pilots song as she strolled down her driveway.

"Lark! You weren't leaving without me, were you?" screeched Greta, Larkin's best friend. Greta was waving her arms frantically in the air, trying to catch the other girl's attention. It worked.

Larkin rolled her eyes at the silly nickname bestowed upon her by Greta, but otherwise ignored it. She cut through her lawn and pushed through a fence of hedges to reach Greta's yard.