Ari's blood drained from her face.

"Investigators are linking this explosion to the series of terrorist attacks that have been plaguing March City and are working with Peacekeepers to analyse the agenda. More information to come."

"Ari? Ari!"

Ari blinked as Fris shook her. Her eyes refocused on the redhead's worried expression.

"What?"

"Don't do anything stupid. I know you're going to go look for Mina."

"Of course I am!" Ari shook her arm out of Fris's grasp and rolled her long sleeves up before securing her hair tie. "She's my little sister!"

"The Investigators are on it," said Fris, looking frustrated. "I wish you'd show the same initiative with other things in life, but now you shouldn't interfere."

"The Investigators have been looking into these terrorist attacks for months and nothing's changed. All those students who went missing still aren't found." Ari flexed her neck and rolled her shoulders. "I need to be there. Shoot me."

"I don't think you should go, Ari." Fris looked uncomfortable.

"Shoot me," repeated Ari.

Fris sighed, shaking her head, and handed Ari back her tablet. Slipping it into her bag, Ari ran to the nearest building, a crystalline structure that was four storeys tall.

The redhead sighed again and held up her hands, her index and middle fingers raised together. Electricity crackled. White sparks jumped at the tips of her fingers.

"More," said Ari, facing the sky.

The crackling intensified. The sparks turned a bright blue. An intense expression of concentration was on Fris's heart-shaped face.

"Now!" she said, and in one fluid movement she stepped back and shot a bolt of electricity at Ari. It hit her, lighting her in a pale glow. Her dark blonde ponytail rose off her shoulders. Energy seeped through every pore of her body. She inhaled, feeling strength course through her legs.

One minute she was crouching, and the next she rebounded off the crystalline building. She watched her reflection soar at the same speed as her, bouncing between the two structures until she was in the air again. The kinetic energy turned into gravitational potential, shooting through her body. She landed on the flat glass rooftop and was off again, the wind streaming past her face, making her eyes water.

The news reporter was repeating the same details about the explosion and replaying the same clip of Peacekeepers cordoning off the exam centre, which had turned from the intact semi-spherical white domes in the ground to a smoking pile of mess. Ari shook the image from her head and focused on the task at hand. All the noises and worried thoughts phased from her head, leaving a calm stillness behind. The energy levels continued to jump up and down inside her with her every leap. March City spreading before her no longer held its enticing qualities. She ignored the flashing lights, the way the artificial sunlight glanced off the gleaming panels of glass of the spiralling buildings, and the brightly-coloured motor pods zooming along the roads. Ari hadn't far to travel; soon, the wreckage was in sight. She skipped onto last academic building and landed on its rooftop, dispersing the little excess kinetic energy into electricity. The nearby roof lights flickered.

There it was. Of the five round white structures half-buried in the ground, one was split open like an egg. Its shells were scattered several hundreds of metres away, leaving the interior of the examination hall exposed. Ari frowned. The halls were constructed specifically for testing the strength of Users. It must have taken a great deal of energy to even cause a break in its sturdy walls, let alone blasting it apart into shards like that. Rubble littered the ground where a crowd of students were congregated and Peacekeepers, dressed in their collared green uniforms, yelled out orders, shepherding curious onlookers away from dangerous spots. Moving amongst the debris like busy ants were figures in lemon yellow cloaks, their hands held out in front of them.

Several more cloaked figures picked their way out of the wreckage and began deep conversation with each other. Ari saw her chance.

She took a running start. Her left foot stepped on the very edge of the building, the point digging into the sole of her foot, and gave her biggest leap. Her stomach lurched in a familiar manner, her throat closing up. The ground soared beneath her feet. Wind whipped her hair off her face and whistled by her ears.

She gave the building a sideways glance as she plummeted past it. The officials hadn't noticed. The ground rushed up to her.

Ari hit the ground with a thump, both hands on the ground. Loose rocks were crushed to sand beneath her feet. The ripple of kinetic energy sent dust flying into the air, making her eyes water and throat burn. The excess energy flowed out of her, entering the ground.

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, Ari gave another backwards glance. Nobody had seen her. Good.

She moved across the shaded area, taking care not to trip over the rubble. The fake grass crunched beneath her feet. The white dome stood fifty metres in the air with a jagged crack up its side, opening up to a large crater at the roof. Even as she watched, loose bits rained onto the ground.

Mina must be in there, somewhere. Possibly buried under all those rocks. So many students had gone missing over the past few months from the explosions, yet the Investigators hadn't been able to find any of them. They might as well be dead. Mina's ability was so weak there was no way she could have protected herself.

"I'm coming, Mina," Ari said under her breath, peering into one of the openings. There was nothing but darkness, illuminated every so often by a flickering light. Dust was still settling. More rubble lay on the ground. She knew there were multiple layers below and the corridors weaved like a maze. There was a lot of ground to cover, and the quicker she started, the quicker she'd find Mina.

"Hold it right there!"

Her heart skipped a beat. Before she could turn, something flew over her head and slipped to her chest, tightening with a snap. Her arms were pinned to her side. A jolt sent her to her knees. Pins and needles ran all over her body, numbing her brain. She gasped. Her limbs jerked; her body was out of her control.

Electricity.

Closing her eyes, Ari absorbed the energy. The electricity flowed to her core, filling her up. The tingling and jerking stopped. She calculated it, feeling it build up in her being, and turned on the spot. Flicking her wrist, she redirected the current. A spark jumped from her finger at her attacker, who looked about the same age. She let go of the lasso she was holding at once, with a cry, and she sat down, hard, her yellow cloak flying up around her. An astonished expression was on her face.

"Investigator Evia!" Another yellow-cloaked person hurried over. "Are you all right?"

Ari struggled out of the lasso. No longer charged, she managed to get onto her feet, although the instrument still forced her arms against her body. A group of Investigators stood before her, electric lassoes in their hands and cold expressions on their faces.

"Identify yourself!" said one of them, a boy, who was about a year older than Ari. He had brown hair that was slicked back.

Ari opened her mouth.

"Th-that's The Transformer!" said the girl Ari had knocked over. Ari cringed at the name.

"Identify yourself!" said the boy again, glaring at her.

"Ari, Class 5A."

"Transformer Ari."

She cringed again. "Yes, that's me."

"You do realise civilians are forbidden to enter crime scenes, Transformer Ari?"

She wished they would stop addressing her so fully. It made her want to squirm.

"Yes, but my sister—"

"And you also attacked an Investigator. This warrants punishment."

"But—"

"Ari!" said a familiar voice.

Ari looked up. The other Investigators also turned around at the voice. A curly-haired boy was hurrying over, straightening the collar of his green uniform. A badge flashed on his left breast.

"Shon!" Ari said, relieved.

"Peacekeeper Shon," said the Investigator in a stern voice. "This civilian trespassed and attacked an Investigator."

"I shall deal with this."

"I don't care that she's ranked third in the city. This warrants punishment."

"She will be rightfully disciplined, Investigator," said Shon, frowning. Although he was only fourteen, he still squared up to the older Investigator. "Punishment is not your territory. I assure you, I will ensure she gets her due. Please resume your duties as an Investigator."

With a scowl, the yellow-cloaked boy swung around and marched off. His colleagues followed suit.

"What am I going to do with you, Ari?" Running an exasperated hand through his mop of curls, Shon turned and pulled a face at her.

"I can't help it... Mina..."

"Of course. I realised that when I saw the report, but you can't just jump in the middle of this! You've given me so much paperwork from all your crazy jumps already if I get any more, some other Peacekeeper will get the documents, and you'll be sent to detention for sure!"

"Do you know anything about this?" she said in a low voice. "What's been going on... and all that?"

"Even if I do, I can't tell you. You're a civilian."

"And your friend. Come on, I've helped you out tons of times."

"With what? All you do is perform your skills illegally and get into trouble!"

"I'm great at transforming – I haven't had an accident in weeks. Come on, Shon! It's my sister!"

"I can't," he said, with a sigh and a shake of the head.

Ari's shoulders drooped. Her mouth turned down at the corners.

"Don't make that face. I can't, Ari. There's a lot of stuff going on and until we're sure, I can't go blabbing. You'll have to find your source elsewhere."

She sighed, too. "Fine."

"Go on, get out of here."

With a small grin, she turned and disappeared into the crowd. Shon shook his head, muttering to himself, and made his way after the Investigators. Ari watched his departure, chewing her lip. What could she do? Shon couldn't help her. The Investigators would press charges if they found her again. Fris would tell her to keep her nose out, and if it was anything but Mina, Ari wouldn't hesitate to mind her own business...

But what if Mina's in trouble?

Ari weaved through the crowd of curious students, glancing over her shoulder every so often. Investigators and Peacekeepers patrolled the perimeters, with a few Users exhibiting their seeking ability through the wreckage. Perhaps she could come back later that night. At least security would be lax after curfew.

Not wanting to draw further attention to herself, Ari opted to walk back to Area Seven. She passed the other large exam venues, fidgeting all the way.

Something reached out of a passing alleyway and grabbed her. A hand clamped over her mouth.

A voice whispered in her ear, "Don't scream."

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