Shon whistled, sliding down against the wall on his back. He ran his hand through his curly light brown hair. His skin was pale, the freckles standing out more than ever. Ari leaned on Rale's wooden table, staring intently at her cooled tea. To her right, Fris curled up with her chin tucked on her knees, red hair framing her face.

Rale stood with his back to the group, watching the sky lights turn from white to orange, bathing the skyline in a flaming glow. He'd objected to Ari bringing everyone back to his place, but the truth was there were no other safe zones. If what Kena said was true, and Ari felt there was more truth to it every second, then they would have ears and eyes everywhere. Everything would be seen and recorded except, hopefully, for Rale's flat, if his ability were to be trusted.

"We're shut out of most of the higher decisions normally, but we Peacekeepers have been told absolutely nothing about what happened in Area Seven yesterday," said Shon. "A few of my colleagues have asked around, but nobody disclosed anything. The Investigators have been doling out some harsh punishment to those who snooped, so we don't dare to ask any more. We just do."

"Do...?"

Shon swallowed. "We've been raiding the homes of all the students involved with Kena. Some of them are in pretty awful states; it's hard to imagine people actually lived there. A few of the Users from down under who survived that onslaught yesterday were hiding back home. It was silly, really... their homes were the first places we'd search. We detained all of them. They're in the cells beneath Administration now."

"Anyway, considering you've had the best of both words, Ari," said Rale, turning around and raising an eyebrow, "being best buddies with both Kena and Lira, shouldn't you have the most information of us all?"

"I'm hardly buddies with Lira. And don't get me started on that madwoman."

"She let you out pretty quickly even though you stormed Area Ten."

Shon seemed scandalised at Rale's words. "Ari did what?!"

Ari shrugged. "Lira wanted me, not Mina."

"Have you learned nothing from this whole thing with Area Six?"

"There are bigger issues at stake, Shon. March City isn't real."

Shon bit his lip, torn. Rale stared at Ari and flopped down next to her.

"What did Lira want with you anyway?"

"I thought she was going to grill me, but she just strip-searched me."

"Just..." muttered Shon, shaking his head.

"She took Kena's vaccine off me. But there was nothing else. I don't even have my phone any more. She didn't seem to care about what I have to say. She just told me to keep my nose out or there will be consequences... as if I haven't been told fifty times already." Ari could see Lira's pale face. The loss of composure was a stark contrast to her usual frigid, collected persona. "Apparently whatever Kena said to her had knocked her pretty hard – I haven't seen the ice queen actually look shocked."

"You think Kena told her about the vaccine?" whispered Mina.

"Why else would she take it off me?"

"You know, if Lira believes her I really don't think Kena is as crazy as she seems," said Rale, cocking his head. "Just as well I kept enough back for us."

"You only need one drop," said Fris. She had been the most hesitant of the lot to take the liquid and took the last drop after much agonising. The empty test tube sat on its side on the table. "I don't think you even need one drop. I've read up on Kena's research since we got back. She's clever. So clever. Super-concentration and perfect distillation of substances would be so easy for her."

The group appeared uneasy.

"So what are we going to do now?" Fris said, glancing at them all. "Nothing? Just sit and wait?"

"Why not?"

Rale snorted at Ari. "Of course you'd be happy to sit and twiddle your thumbs."

"You have something else in mind?" she shot back. Surely Rale wasn't stupid enough to think the five of them could tackle Administration. She wasn't even certain they would survive Lira, never mind all the Investigators and Peacekeepers stationed there.

"We don't have manpower to disassemble Administration," said Rale, as if reading her mind. "But they can't hold against the whole of March City."

Ari's mouth fell open. She waited for him to start chuckling, but the punchline never came.

"Wait, you're serious?"

Rale raised an eyebrow. "What, is the Transformer scared?"

"This is crazy! You're talking about a rebellion!"

"Are you happy letting the city go back to the way it was despite everything you've found out?"

She bit her lip. Mina turned to her, eyes baleful.

"I can't," she said in a tiny voice. "Not after Plea and the others..."

"It's not right," Fris said with a nod, her features pinched. She seemed as terrified as Mina. "But we're up against Lira..."

"I agree: this doesn't sit with my conscience either," said Shon with a sigh. "Someone has to make the first move and we know the most. It's our duty. Lira or not."

"I'm glad we all agree," said Rale, puffing up. He got up and entered several commands into his computer. All their eyes were fixed upon him.

A big screen popped up, showing video clippings of the monsters likely stolen from cameras in Area Six. 'Secretive experiments under March City? Monsters spotted ravaging Area Seven!' shouted the subtitles. Then it jumped to a screen full of student profile pictures of all the rebels who were involved there. 'Students willing to sacrifice their lives to survive in cutthroat system!' Then it jumped to videos of Peacekeepers in their green cloaks forcing residency doors open and snatching the runaway rebels from their own homes. Every assault and bout of abuse was caught, playing with pristine clarity on Rale's screen. 'Peacekeepers in cahoots in keeping major secret! No mercy for protesters!'

Shon's face was white as chalk. "Wh-what are you planning to do with all that?"

"What I always do."

With nimble fingers, Rale fired the commands. Shon leapt to his feet, but Rale had already completed what he set out to do. The large screen split into two; the one on the left showed the current news, still going on about the destruction left in Area Seven. The one on the right was of a continuous run of Rale's compilation of Area Six. There was a flicker of interference in the main broadcast, before Rale's video took over.

Shon grabbed Rale by the collar. Despite being a bit smaller than Rale, he jerked him forward.

"Idiot!" Shon shouted. "You realise you face erasure by doing this!"

Rale grinned toothily, eyes shining like pure light energy. "Makes no difference to me now. They can erase me but they can't erase the entire city!"

Ari shot to her feet and sprinted out of Rale's small flat. Mina rushed after her. Ari slapped the door switch repeatedly until it slid aside, opening to Area Eight's more squat and square buildings and dotted greenery. All the large flat screen monitors displayed Rale's videos from Area Six. Snarls of the monsters echoed on all the speakers, followed by screams of terrified students when they were assaulted by Peacekeepers.

'You think you're safe in March City,' announced the female computer voice, 'but beneath this ridiculous façade is the illicit experimentation exposing the destructive core of this place. Your friends, family.'

Faces of the rebel students showed up, including Kena, Vexi, Plea, Jos – countless numbers of them. Ari dared to glance down at the streets. Several storeys below, all the students stood frozen, their jaws open, eyes locked on the display of dead or incarcerated Users. The video switched to the Peacekeepers barraging through doors and catching the hiding insurgents.

'They claim to keep us safe, and yet the inequality that keeps us down is what gives them strength.'

The screen flickered; no doubt the city's internal security was seeking the breach and trying to override Rale's hack, but the video continued, showing the lives of each individual User who went underground, including their struggles and pains. Somehow, Rale even got access to the city's records of them prior to their defection.

'Just who are the liars and cheats here?' the voice continued, zooming in on the faces of the Peacekeepers and Investigators quelling struggles with violence and weapons. 'Who will keep you safe? Will you take your powers into your own hands?'

It sounded almost like the trailer to a movie, with the voice echoing dramatically between the steel buildings, the streets silent save for the whistle of air as the trains whizzed past. Ari almost expected Investigators to show up on the spot and arresting Rale for breaching the security system, but it seemed they had yet to find out the perpetrator.

In the not-too-distant, something exploded. Mina jumped with a soft cry but, instead of clinging to Ari as she would have previously, leaned on the balcony instead, seeking the sound. Ari scanned the streets, more tightly packed and with more shops than Area Seven. All the students looked equally puzzled at the sudden noise.

"There!" Mina said, pointing a finger. Five streets away, smoke emanated from behind one of the buildings. The video reverted to its start, replaying all the terrified and starved faces of March City's most deprived. Screams and shouts filled the air.

"What's going on?" said Shon, dashing to Ari and peering over the edge too. "Is it the Peacekeepers?"

"No," said Fris, staring down at her phone. "It's a riot."

She tapped on it and a three-dimensional message appeared above the screen. Messages flooded the student boards.

'I knew some of those kids and I'm telling you: there's no way that report just now is fake!' wrote one User. Ten others typed with vigour at the same time.

'I knew Urio and he's a genuinely good guy. Definitely not one of those terrorists we're hearing about.'

'Is that what's going to happen to all of us?'

'I say we all protest at Area Ten. They can punish a few of us but they can't punish all of us if we do it together!'

With that last message, there was a beep and the whole student board disappeared, replaced by an error message.

"They're silencing us," said Fris in wonderment.

Rale snorted, leaning against his outer doorframe. "As if that'll be any use. It's already beginning."

Ari turned to look again. Sure enough, a growing crowd collected near the explosion. The noise increased. Sparks and crackles filled the air: no doubt some were showcasing their powers. It was a hubbub of both high- and low-achievers. The anticipation in the air was palpable.

"Would you look at that," said Rale, appearing impressed. "I may have started a revolution."

He gave Ari a sideways glance.

"What do you say, Transformer? Would you deign to join the plebs?"

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