"Well, isn't this a disappointment."

Ari's head spun. Dull pain throbbed from her spine and legs. She forced herself to her elbows. Hine's shape, approaching her, swam in and out of focus. Guttural noises emanated from her throat as she made her body sit up. Pain radiated around her chest and down her legs. Her temples throbbed. Blinking a few times, Hine's smug face finally came into focus.

"You know, I always thought you were something special, Ari. No ten-year-old gets ranked in the top ten and a title in March City. No-one can maintain their place so steadily for six years when they attend so little teaching and thought so lowly of the education system. Now I know why."

With a groan, she pushed herself onto her feet gingerly. Each breath caught on her ribs, but her breathing gradually improved once the shock wore off. She eyed him, wary. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined this kind of change. Maybe she could recover in time before his next attack. Hine sure liked his melodramatic speeches – she could make use of them. She took in a shuddering breath. Her ribs ached. She needed to take the initiative, maybe catch him off-guard.

"You're a cheat."

The absurdity of the words jerked Ari out of her rumination.

"What?"

"You're a cheat. I should have known. There's no way you could have done so well. There was no way you could break the laws the way you did and not be arrested. You must have a friend in the Peacekeepers to turn a blind eye – the same friend who gives you the high scores, too?"

She stared, all the while clinging to the wall and swaying. Her head almost cleared but her spine still ached. Her legs trembled, threatening to collapse.

"You disgust me." Hine spat at her feet. "To think you get such reverence but you don't even deserve a ranking, let alone one as high as that. Your sister must be ashamed of you!"

"Leave Mina out of this," Ari snapped, her voice still a croak. The effect of the hits wore off gradually.

"Why? Everyone thinks so highly of a cheat and a fraud but you've just lied your way up. You're no Transformer. You're only a faker!"

He approached her, scowling, his clenched fists shaking. Ari stepped back, one hand still on the wall, and almost stumbled.

"You're a joke of a User. Look at them." He flung his hand in the direction of the small group of students huddling next to the door. "They can see their very idol fail. Ranked third and you can't even fight back. You're pathetic."

Ari straightened up. She ignored the spectators.

"Winning one punch doesn't make you the winner of the fight, Hine."

He bristled at her words.

"I had you down on the floor! You couldn't even see my attacks."

"I'm still standing, aren't I?"

He snorted. "If you want to be killed so badly, then I'll grant you your wish. Oh, wait, I think we'll extract your ability before I kill you. Useless as it is, our leader wants it. Beggars belief – she'll probably ditch it once she realises what a load of rubbish it is."

Ari's heart skipped a beat.

"What?"

"You don't know?" Hine's lips curled in contempt. "We've been taking high-rankers – although you've probably found those disappearances too beneath you to take notice – but that's how we've been powering up."

Her blood ran cold at his next words.

"We strip them of their abilities and give it to ourselves."

Nausea washed over her. Whatever was there to gain?

"That's monstrous."

"Monstrous? What's truly monstrous is people like you still live in pampered lives when people like me starve, when people like you get days off school to frolic and I don't get any sleep if I want to put food on the table. That's the monster, not us wanting to get stronger!"

She licked her lips. Her mouth was so dry. She struggled to get her head around what Hine was saying.

"You wanted these experiments?"

She couldn't decide which feeling was stronger: her revulsion or Hine's disdain.

"We want a chance – it's only levelling the playing field. What you are born with, we have to attain."

"By killing other Users!"

"They deserved it." Hine sounded bitter. "All of them a bunch of no-gooders who thrive on our miseries."

"I bet you didn't dare say that to their faces," Ari said before she could stop herself. She bit her lip. Normally she wouldn't involve herself in petty arguments like these but Hine's self-righteousness made her fear and despise him at the same time.

He swelled at her words, flushing again.

"No, I wouldn't, because they would silence me, just as all you lot have been doing for years. But no longer. I will be the one silencing. We'll take over March City. The experiments are revolutionary!"

So it was true. Ari felt sick to the stomach. Kena's experiments were still on-going. They still live on even though she was dead. The low-rankers disappearing weren't kidnapped – they volunteered. There were students willing to power up through unnatural and immoral methods by tearing someone's soul apart, at the cost of that someone's life.

But not Mina. Mina couldn't be one of them. Ari knew her well. Mina would never hurt someone for her own gain. She would never use unorthodox methods to achieve renown or ranking. She had too much pride.

"How many?" she whispered.

"What?" said Hine, breaking off his triumphant speech, confused.

"How many high rankers have you killed?"

"Oh... I've lost count." He shrugged. "Twenty, maybe? Not all of them survived the extraction. Shame, really. Some of them had pretty awesome abilities."

His voice was nonchalant, as if he were talking about brands of tablets instead of human lives.

"But at least seeing how successful my transplant is, I'll definitely have no problems in the fifth year grand exams this year." He smirked. "Maybe I'll even get your rank, after I kill you. I wonder what they'll call me. 'The Accelerator' sounds pretty cool. Or maybe I'll rank higher. We should kill Cryo and Lira. Then I'll be ranked first!"

He guffawed. He had a crazed look in his eyes. Hine didn't look like the stuttering flustered class monitor Ari remembered – what little she could recall. It seemed the transplant did more than just boost and add to the student's ability. The thought of Mina ending up like Hine sent chills throughout her body.

"You won't get away with this."

"Oh, so righteous, for once! I thought petty things like this wouldn't bother the great Transformer."

"You've stepped over the line, Hine. This is disgusting."

"You know—" There was a new edge in Hine's voice. His eyes narrowed. "—if it wasn't for our leader wanting your ability and therefore you alive, I would kill you right here and now."

"You won't be able to," Ari said, acutely aware of the other terrorists closing in. She wouldn't be able to take them all on if they were all like Hine.

"No, wait." Hine held up a hand. They halted. He lowered it, his eyes still trained on her face. "You still sound far too cocky for my liking, Ari. I thought I taught you a lesson."

"You kicked me – once."

He scowled, cracking his knuckles.

"I suppose she can still use you if you have four broken limbs."

Ari was ready for him. As he launched himself forward, Ari leapt out of the way. Hine skimmed by her. Rolling back onto her feet, Ari discharged a little from her necklace. Her legs surged with strength. She jumped towards him. Hine's feet hit the ground, skidding from his initial attack.

Ari landed on him. Her hands clamped over his. They continued to skid from the momentum. She absorbed their movement.

Just before they came to a standstill – and therefore before Hine could jump again – Ari discharged the energy. Electricity coursed up Hine's arms. He yelled, trying to throw her off, but he was weaker this time. His fingers jerked. His eyes squeezed shut, teeth bared in pain. There wasn't much stored from the end of a charge. Ari let go, hopping backwards.

Hine was slowing down. Gasping, he flexed his fingers. A few of the small muscles twitched of their own accord. Fury made his eyes bulge again.

"You're like a fly, you know that?" The arrogance was gone, replaced by a thin façade of bravery.

He disappeared again. Ari knew where he was going next. Sure enough, a wooden chair came hurling down at her from the balcony. Another one followed its wake.

Ari dived out of the way of the first one. The second one hit her head-on. Her hands closed around the legs. Bending her knees, she gave maximum resistance. The kinetic energy flowed through her system, storing in her body.

A third chair. Her core was nearly full. Discarding what was in her hand, she caught the third one. Storing to the maximum, she discharged the remaining through heat. Her hands glowed red. The legs started to turn black and smoulder.

Hine vanished from the balcony. A flurry to her right. Sure enough, Hine used the chairs as a distraction and came at her straight-on again.

With a burst of power, Ari channelled the last of the excess into her legs. She shot into Hine's path. Her movements flowed like water, her reaction faster than lightning. His eyes widened in shock.

They clashed halfway, arms and legs trying to find their target. Ari's stored energy released in slow bursts of electricity, most of which didn't affect him. He brought up a leg to kick her again. Ari swung beneath that and shot electricity into his back. He screamed, his limbs jerking. Ari clamped both her hands onto Hine's sleeves.

Her hands turned bright red. Hine screeched. They both crashed onto the floor.

The scent of burnt cotton and flesh filled Ari's nostrils, mixed with dust. She wrinkled her nose, her mouth turning down at the corners as she suppressed her gagging reflex. Her eyes watered when a thin streak of smoke emanated from Hine's arms. He writhed, collapsing onto his knees. Ari fell with him. When the last of the energy flowed away through her palms, she jumped back, watchful.

Hine staggered, whimpering. He was lying on his side, his arms crossed over the front of his chest. On both of his shaking forearms were handprint-shaped burn marks, bright pink and blistering, rimmed in black crispy edges. He took in shuddering breaths. His feet jerked at random intervals.

"You burned me!" he cried. "My arms!"

The smell dissipated. Ari contemplated her next move. She couldn't bring herself to kill Hine, even though he wouldn't waste a moment to finish her. This was probably enough to put him off from attacking her. She should go before the other terrorists caught her. She touched her necklace. It was recharged again. Mina was waiting.

Hine really was a pathetic sight in front of her. Whines punctuated his heavy breathing. Tears streamed from his eyes despite his furious blinking. His spiky hair had long wilted. Sweat covered him from top to toe.

"Here's the thing, Hine. I didn't cheat my way to the top." He had a right to know. "I earned it every step of the way. I suppose just because you've never seen me fighting all-out has given you this confidence, but I am good. Really good. But I don't like to fight. I'm not like you. It's better to let people think you're weak than challenge them and confirm it.

"But for what March City has done to people like you, I'm sorry. It's unfair. You're right. I should have done something; someone like me will be listened to. You deserve the same as everyone else. But killing me? Killing other students? That's not the way to do it."

"Don't talk like you know what we've been through," Hine spat.

"You're right, I don't." Ari took a step back. "But you don't know what I did to get my title, either."

"I got my power-up. I'm superior."

"You stole those powers, Hine. Can't you see? You can't use it to its full potential because it's not yours – and it's a different class, bloody hell!"

"I will kill you, Ari." His voice came out quiet and deadly. Ari glanced at the door behind her. She could run for it. Hine struggled to his feet, his face white and his eyes dark. "I promise you that. You are going to die."

Ari blinked. Hine vanished.

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