"Justice, like lightning should never appear
To some men, hope and to other men fear."
My father taught me that poem when I was just a little kid. I didn't fully understand the poem until I grew to know the truth about my family and myself.
The signs were always there, but this is how the journey began.
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Me, dad, and Jennifer were waiting in the police department because apparently, Anissa got arrested at a "peaceful" rally.
While we were waiting, I listened to the news broadcast talk about the 100 gang and Black Lightning, a superhero who mysteriously disappeared nine years ago.
"Dad?" Anissa said when she was released.
Dad kinda just ignored her and left to go to the car. She turned to look at us and looked at what Jen was wearing.
"That's my dress," she stated.
"Oh, yeah," Jennifer said before grabbing the other dress that was in the chair and handing it to Anissa. "So is this one."
"Hurry up and put it on before dad gives birth to a small farm animal," I joked.
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Once Anissa got dressed, we left the police department and started making our way to the school for the fundraiser they were holding.
While in the car, dad and Anissa were arguing with each other while Jen and I were texting on our phones, her texting Keisha and me texting Khalil.
(Text convo, K= Khalil, L= Leon)
K: Wyd
L: Heading to the school for the fundraiser
K: Oh, you coming over later?
Before I could reply, I heard a police siren and dad pull the car over.
"Dad, what's going on?" Anissa asked.
"Just be calm," Dad said.
Two police officers came over to the car, and one flashed his flashlight in the back seat, blinding Jennifer and me.
"Let me handle this," Dad said to us, but Jen pulled out her phone and put the flash on to blind the officer back.
"Yeah, this doesn't feel so good, does it?" Jen taunted.
"Jennifer!" Dad yelled, making her put her phone down.
Dad tried to reason with the officer that was on his side, but he wouldn't listen. He made dad get out of the car and roughed him up as he handcuffed him.
"Hey! What are you doing?" I exclaimed at the cop.
"Get your hands off my dad!" Jennifer also exclaimed right after me.
Jen tried to open the door, but the cop that was on her side kicked the door back in and pulled out his gun, and pointed it at us.
"Let me see your hands! Now!" The officer with the gun yelled at us.
"Stop! Don't shoot, all right? Everybody, just calm down!" Dad said.
"Ma'am, put 'em up on the dashboard," said the officer to Anissa, who was recording everything on her phone.
"Anissa, put your hands on the dashboard!" Dad yelled.
"Dad, I have the right to videotape if I want to!" Anissa said.
"Damn it, Anissa, just do it now!" Dad yelled, making Anissa put down her phone.
The one who handcuffed dad took him to the police car. For a few minutes, he finally uncuffed dad and let him go.
Dad wanted to know what all this was about, but the officer wouldn't tell him anything at first. As dad was getting angry at the cop, the siren lights and lamp post light started flickering.
This was the night, in the rain,
with thunder and lightning as a witness, that Black Lightning was born again.
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"We all know that this city is in a crisis. But under the leadership of Principal Jefferson Pierce, Garfield High is an oasis of hope," the spokeswoman said as at the podium.
"This Olympic gold medal-winner came back to his old neighborhood of Freeland to turn it around. With graduation rates now in the nineties, Jefferson does it all with the help of an outstanding faculty and his family."
We were sitting at a table in the gym for the fundraiser, listening to this lady as she talked about dad and our family.
"His oldest daughter, Anissa, is a medical school student and teaches three days a week at the school as a health educator," she continued. "His two youngest, Jennifer and Leon, are standout scholar athletes just like their father."
As the lady continued talking, dad looked around the table and noticed that Jennifer was around anymore before looking at me.
"Where's your sister?" He asked me.
"In the bathroom with Kiesha," I said.
"I'll go check on her," Anissa said, getting up from the table.
Once Anissa was gone, I looked at dad and asked him if I could go to Khalil's place. He gave me a look before he sighed and said I could go. I got up from the table and left the gym to see Jen and Kiesha exiting the girls' bathroom wearing different clothes.
"Where the hell you two going?" I asked them.
"Don't tell Anissa or dad, but we're going to Club 100," Jennifer said.
"Really, Jen," I said.
"Come on, Leon, twin pact," Jen said.
"Fine, I won't say anything. You just better be safe out there," I said with a sigh.
"Thanks, twin," she said, leaving with Kiesha.
I shake my head and go to my locker to get a change of clothes, and then go to the boy's bathroom and change. Once I was done, I left the school and walked to Khalil's place.
"Alright, who's ready to get their ass kicked in Mortal Kombat," I said, barging into Khalil's room.
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Some time later, after playing a few rounds of Mortal Kombat X, Khalil and I were watching a movie when my phone rang.
"Hello?" I said, answering the phone as Khalil paused the movie. "Whoa, dad, slow down. What?"
"I don't know where Jen is, sorry dad. Alright, bye," I said, ending the call.
"What's up, Le?" Khalil asked me, as I sent a quick text to Jen to warn her.
"So, I might've lied to my dad about not knowing where Jennifer is," I said as I got off the bed and put on my shoes.
"And where is she?" Khalil asked.
"At Club One Hundred," I said.
"What the hell, Le!" Khalil exclaimed.
"What? We have a twin pact. We literally don't snitch on each other," I said.
He shook his head at me, and I rolled my eyes at his response.
"I'll see you later," I said, leaving his room and the apartment.
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I made it home just in time to hear Anissa yelling at Jennifer.
"You are lucky you didn't get shot or end up in some motel room right now, all drugged up and being passed around!" Anissa yelled as her and Jennifer walked down from upstairs.
"All right, you're going too far with it," Jennifer said in an unbothered tone as she passed by me and got on her phone.
"No, I'm not. It's happening every day. Plus, you lied to me. You said you were going to a small house party, not Club 100," Anissa said as she and I followed Jennifer to the living room.
"Well, if I'd said Club 100, would you still have let me go?" Jen questioned her.
"Uh, no, because your fast ass shouldn't be going there anyway," Anissa said to her before she focused on me. "And your ass shouldn't have let her go either."
"What?" I said, surprised.
"Don't what me, I know you knew where she was going, and you should've said something," Anissa said.
"Why are you being such a bitch right now?" Jennifer said taking the focus off her twin.
"Call me a bitch one more time," Anissa said in anger.
"I just won't tell you next time. How about that?" Jennifer sassed back.
"You didn't tell me this time. You came up in this house shaking because you were so scared," Anissa said. "That's what told me. Now you want to act all cool
like it was just, what, some great adventure?"
"All right, I'm already stressed out," Jen said, rolling her eyes.
"Ok, can you two please cool off? We get it, and we both made a mistake, so can we please stop arguing about it," I said, trying to defuse the tension between my sisters.
'God, why do I always have to play the mediator with these two,' I thought.
After a while, things got calm, and mom showed up to check on Jen and apparently restricted our access to social media for a month. We'll see how long that'll last with Jen.
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The next morning, before we got ready for school, Anissa, Jennifer, and I decided to join dad on his morning jog until he decided to be a little competitive and ran the rest of the way to the house.
After the run, we all washed and got dressed for school.
Me and Anissa were getting out of her car when we saw some guy harassing Jennifer, and decided to go over there quickly to get him to leave her alone.
"What the hell is wrong with you, grabbing on her like that?" I said, pushing the guy away from my sister.
"You need to get up out of my face," he said to us.
"You are not a student here
and I'm asking you to leave before I call the police," Anissa said.
"Bitch, I told you to get out of my face," the boy said aggressively, getting in Anissa face.
"That's it. I'm calling the police," Anissa said, turning around to do that when the boy grabbed her arm.
Anissa punched him, and the stomach and Judo flipped him on his ass.
The guy got up and was about to pull out a gun, but dad intervened at the right time.
The rest of us students were ushered into the school while dad dealt with the wannabe thug. Once dad was done with him, he took me, Jen, and Anissa into his office.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Dad questioned Anissa. "I mean, you not only put yourselves in danger, but also the entire school."
"What was I supposed to do?" Anissa questioned.
"You were supposed to follow school protocol, call security, and walk away. It's been seven years since I took over as principal. Seven years, and we haven't had one incident of violence. Not one. And now this," Dad said.
"If you haven't noticed, Dad, violence is everywhere in Freeland. Did you really think it wasn't gonna touch Garfield at some point? Either we help the community as a whole, or we will all go down in pieces," Anissa argued back while Jen and I just sat and watched.
"No. No, this is not about one of your political diatribes right now.
It's not about the community.
A community, I might remind you,
I've been fighting for since before you were born. This is about me trying to keep my kids alive. Period," Dad argued.
"What happened, Dad?
When did you abandon your people?" Anissa scoffed after the bell ranged.
Jen and I got up and hugged dad before we left after Anissa to get to our classes.
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I was pacing around the principals office while dad and mom talked with Henderson about finding my sisters since that wannabe thug kidnapped them.
"I should just go over there and talk to someone my damn self," I heard dad say to Henderson that made me stop pacing.
"Talk to who, dad?" I asked him at the same time Henderson asked him.
"We're at this point right now cause you didn't talk to me in the first place. I'm sorry. It's not your fault. Now, come on, man, let me take care of it. Let me do my job," Henderson said.
"Ok," Dad said.
Henderson left after that, and dad started to walk out too.
"Where are you going, dad?" I asked him, making him stop and look at me and then at mom, who got up and came right beside me.
"I'm gonna go help the police find your sisters," Dad said as he left, leaving me confused.
"Come on, sweetie, let's go to the house," Mom said, grabbing my arm.
We left the school and waited at the house until it was dark and we heard Henderson's car pull in. Mom and I ran out and brought my sisters in our arms at the same time dad came and joined the group hug.
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A/N: There's the first episode. This turned out longer than I thought it would be, but I hope it was an ok chapter to start it off since I could barely find a good transcript for the episode.
I don't know if Leon's powers should come in at the same time as Jennifer's, or if they should appear early.
If they should appear early, what episode should it be, and what would be the trigger for them to come out?