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"Coalescence! Coalescence! Over here!"

"What's your opinion on the shootings? Why haven't the supers found the culprit?" yelled another voice.

"Have you been working with Black Lightning on the case?" asked another.

Larkin stood behind the podium on the stage. She was being bombarded with questions, and no one was giving her a chance to answer any of them. Inside, she was panicking about how she was going to answer them, but on the outside, she had a calm, schooled expression on her face.

A brief silence fell over the sea of reporters, giving her a chance to respond.

"Black Lightning and I are working in close quarters with the police to find the person who has committed these heinous crimes. I am not permitted to disclose any information to the public without express permission from the police chief," she answered. Larkin let out a breath of relief as the reporters quieted down.

She quickly exited the stage before she could be assaulted with any more questions. Sitting down in a folding chair, she put her head in her hands and sighed. She didn't understand what was happening. Who could be the shooter? How do they keep getting away?

"Hey," said a voice, interrupting her thoughts.

Black Lightning was standing on her left. A grim look was etched into his face. He sat down on the chair behind him, and Larkin could hear his bones crack.

"I'm stumped," he admitted.

"Yeah," she agreed. "No one is smart enough to evade the police this long. It shouldn't be possible for no one to have seen the shooter," said Larkin. She stood up from her chair, frustrated. "No one even knows which direction the bullet came from."

She was tugging on her hair and pacing in front of Black Lightning. The sounds of cameras and reporters could be heard from the stage. The police chief was at the podium now.

"I've been doing stuff like this for a while now," began Black Lightning, "and I've never met a criminal that could evade a super for this long."

"Nothing makes sense and I-" Larkin cut herself off. "Oh my gosh! You're right!"

Black Lightning furrowed his eyebrows. "What exactly am I right about?"

"Um... Take me to a computer and I'll show you," she ordered.

"We could go to my base," he offered.

"That's perfect. Let's just skip the rest of this press conference."

"We can fly. You'll have to get on my back," he stated.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Let's go," urged Larkin.

The two supers found an exit to the outdoors quickly. They were standing in the back lot behind the building the press conference was taking place in. Weeds grew through cracks in the concrete.

Black Lightning turned his back towards Larkin. She got on as if he were giving her a piggy back ride. Without any hesitation, he lifted off the ground. Before Larkin realized what was happening, they were floating above the city.

"This is epic," she whispered. Her mouth was right next to Black Lightning's ear. Larkin was in awe of the sheer size of the city. The buildings sprawled out along the hills and valleys for miles. People on the sidewalks were the size of ants. She felt like they were above the whole world.

"You get used to it."

"I never will."

()()()

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