My skin tingles as the energy courses through me, down to my fingertips. Someone's coming, though I don't know who. Doesn't matter. I know they want my power, and no one's taking that without a fight. As the electric charge in my body builds, my hair starts to lift. I hate when it does that, so I pull up my hoodie with one hand, seeing tiny arcs jump from one finger to the next. There's a thumping sound in the hallway. Time's up.

I tense, ready to fight, concentrating on the door as the handle is jiggled by someone outside. I'm so focused I don't even hear the ones coming up behind. "There she is," a deep voice says. "There's Lightning Hopkins." Before I can even turn around, the voice growls a command. "Kill her.".