[CW: Vivid descriptions of being tasered]

A livestream on ZipLok has been going viral. While the original stream has been taken down, it has been shared and re-uploaded several times by other people, and you'll have heard people talking about it online, even if you haven't seen it yourself

The stream starts on the inside of a very stark modern-looking house. Davy Jenkins (who at this stage is pretty widely recognised) wearing Wallace Udarnik's cape, props the phone up to get a good view of the room and the interaction that's about to go down.

“WALLACE UDARNIK” Davy calls out to the empty room

“like, what is the cape even for? do you want it back? does it make you feel like you're not enough of a hero without something to billow dramatically behind you in the wind??”

Heavy footsteps and clanks of a dozen armoured guards can be heard from somewhere outside of the room.

“do you actually feel like a hero?” he continues

“cause you're not, really. not many people are. i'm not. a hero doesn't break into someone else's house to nick their stuff, I know that. but I'm pretty sure you don't know the hero's the one who tries to save everybody, not just the people they like. not just the one's who're clearly worth saving, because they're not criminals or 'fucking sparks' you know?”

“you wanna know why I came here?”

At this stage, Wallace Udarnik strides in, and stares Davy down.

“cause you see, the first time, it was because i'd heard about this registration act thing, and people were terrified. do you have any idea what it's like to feel desperate, or are you just smugly invincible all the time? but i wanted evidence of some kind of corruption, or something i could get to help put in the way of it being passed.” davy says directly to Udarnik

“i also wanted to find out what happened to my dad.

“see, i don't know if you've ever really paid attention to how sparks get treated out in the real world, from inside your cosy little compound, but it kind of fucking sucks. you ever try getting insurance without your buddy the mayor helping you?”

The guards enter, half a dozen from either corridor.

“have you ever gotten sick? have you ever watched someone you care about get sick, while you can't do anything to help, because the doctors won't do fucking anything, because she's a spark, so clearly it's just part of that and they can't fix it, clearly it's not this easily treatable thing they should have diagnosed instantly, and it's just inevitable that it's getting worse, not because they're not doing their fucking jobs. heh.” He continues to monologue

They guards fan out in a semi-circle, with Wallace at the centre, their weapons raised, waiting for a command.

“do you even care about people at all?” Davy asks

“HANDS IN THE AIR” one of the guards screams at Davy.

“cause a hero's supposed to care. the hero's not the one who chases the villain around a burning building. the hero's the one who goes in and saves the people who're in there, even the ones who were going to rob the fucking bank in the first place.” Davy continues regardless

“TAKE HIM OUT” the same guard orders

Taser wires leap out from one of the guards on the far end, directly hitting Davy. He begins to tense up but still manages to continue.

“do you remember that bank? it was in your little collection of newspaper clippings about yourself. they said you got people out, but they weren't the only ones in there, were they? were they even anywhere near the fire, the ones they said you saved?”

“FIRE AGAIN” More tasers shoot out from the other end of the arc. Davy beings to wince even more.

“the phoenix said they weren't. cause yeah, i talked to her. i went to go find her after i saw the plans for the raid the second time i was here, because i came back to make sure you knew it wasn't any of the people you'd been arresting at random, or just because they might happen to know somebody who was sparked. she said she saw someone trapped and you got in the way when she went to go free them. i don't know if that's true. i'll probably never know, just like i'll never know if it was really my dad who was in there. he didn't tell us what he was up to. he was just trying to do his best for his family in horrible circumstances. did he deserve to die for that? did the phoenix? did bobby?” Davy plows on

“AGAIN” the guard commands

Two more guards fire, and Davy drops to the floor, his body convulsing.

“what… actually…. happened… during…… during the… fallout?” Davy struggles on, just about managing to get the words out.

“was there… actually… a… a… fight? or… was… it… just…” you feel yourself beginning to lose consciousness “someone… whose… whose…. whose…….. spark… got…”

“TARGET NEUTRALISED” the guard declares.

Davy's body goes limp.

“someone whose spark got harder to control under stress being put in a position where they feared for their fucking life?” Davy's words are slurred together

“CONTAIN HIM”

Six of the guards move forward, and begin binding Davy's limbs. Udarnik's cape is removed from Davy as an ominous looking box is brought into the room.

“a lot of people have sparks that have worse effects when they're stressed, you know? what do you think would help with that? maybe a fairer city, where people wouldn't have to worry about losing their job, or not getting insured, or not getting healthcare, because people find out they're sparked?” Davy is determined to finish what he has to say, as he is dragged to his feet and towards the container.

“or, no, I've got it! let's put all the sparks on a big list, and make it illegal for them to keep quiet about having one, that'll work great for keeping sparks under control. it's not like anyone who was planning to use their sparks for illegal stuff anyway is going to refuse to register, surely, we've made it extra illegal now! it's not like there's going to be kids whose parents will kick them out for being sparked, so they have to make a choice between whether they want to still have a house or follow the fucking law! but I'm sure you'd rather all the sparked kids just got sent off to alan hoyne anyway, wouldn't you?”

Davy is thrust into the container, barely big enough to fit a person, but he tries to resist the guards.

“…i just can't understand why you don't care. like, if you think you're a hero, how the fuck do you justify the existence of that place? make as many pretty speeches about opportunities for sparks as you like, they get punished for doing extra work in class! they barely even have a fucking class to begin with, i don't think it deserves being called a school. probably doesn't even deserve being called a prison either.”

Davy is overwhelmed and pushed back into the container.

“i mean, like, if you're going to lock me up, then like, sure. I'll play nice. stay there, so you don't have to figure out some kind of airtight box that can hold me. because that is. my literal worst nightmare. being stuck some place i can't feel the wind.”

The door begins to close.

“would that make you happy? seeing me stuck in a box? would that make you feel like a hero?”

The hiss of the airlocks seal, and if Davy says anything more it can't be heard. The container is picked up and carried out, and the stream cuts out.

Phoebe Hopps

The spark known as “Davy Jones” has recently been detained, following a showdown at the Udarnik Compound. Davy had been sought after by police after having broken into the compound on 3 previous occasions. It is also believed that he had ties to the recently deceased Terrorist known as “The Phoenix”.

The incident was streamed on popular Video-site “ZipLok”, and while authorities have attempted to take the video down, it has been reposted a number of times. ZipLok has stated that the stream violated the platform's terms of service, and is looking into ways of preventing further issues.

Davy is currently in a high-security facility, awaiting trial.

By Francis Akira

‘Out with one Hoyne, in with the other’ was the message at the demonstration earlier today at Cape Falchion. All the students of voting age from the Alan Hoyne Institute marched together to the polling station, demonstrating their support for mayoral candidate Nestor Hoyne. A statement was given by student Ada Oaks, who proclaimed that the current state of the Institute is ‘shameful’, and ‘things need to change’. The students, joined by Nestor Hoyne themselves, led the gathered crowd of people to the nearest polling station and exercised their democratic right to vote for the candidate they felt best reflected their interests.

By Jerry Port

Industry Titan Edmund Stewart's youngest son, Jasper Stewart, is currently wanted in relation to a Spark fuelled incident resulting in the destruction of part of the Stewart residence in the Plaza of Hours. This comes as yet another PR blow to Stewart Industries after last month it was revealed the terrorist organisation Triple Threat was using the firm's defence equipment as weaponry.

Residence have been advised that Jasper Stewart is highly dangerous, evading Wallace Udarnik and destroying a school bus in an attempted arrest last week.

Edmund Stewart has declined to comment.

By Euphemia Bennington

[OC: a week or so before this article, there is an article in The Bolt naming Sharon and Maximillian as the force behind Triple Threat]

Sharon and Maximillian Holmes have been removed from the board of HBG, after an investigation which followed claims from an independent news source that they had been involved in the formation of Triple Threat. Sleuth reporters have been told the investigation received an anonymous tip consisting of a recorded spoken confession by the former board members, as well as evidence of Stewart Industries technology being purchased and transferred to the Triple Threat hideout in the Redevelopment Area.

The Banking Group informs The Sleuth that this is unrelated to the break in at the bank last week, for which the lone culprit, an underage spark who shall go unnamed, has now been detained.

By Rajput Chaudry, editor

[OC: this news breaks shortly before session]

In a surprising and narrow triumph for the burgeoning movement for Spark liberties, Nestor Hoyne has been elected mayor of Citropolis. Their predecessor Winston Meyer predicts widespread social collapse as a result.

However, Nestor has cut a more cautious and conciliatory figure than their opponents or supporters might have expected in recent days. ‘I’m no extremist,’ they said, ‘Meyer’s the extremist. I’m promoting sensible policies, not a total transformation of anything overnight. We need to look at my father’s institute and how to reform it, be led by the evidence, not just shut these questions away and ignore them like Meyer has done. We will respect the process. Change comes slowly, but change will come.’

But will slow and incremental be good enough for the many young Sparks who have put themselves loudly at the forefront of Hoyne’s campaign?

[OC: this is published before the election results]

For the first time in my lifetime, Citropolis’s voters are faced with an actual choice, between stoked division and tired excuses on the one hand, and a confident, forward-looking administration that will work to effect real change on the other. Our Sparked readers probably don’t need this article to know which candidate is right for them. But, for the non-Sparked, it is worth demolishing Winston Meyer’s depiction of himself as the champion of a majority against a dangerous minority. He is no friend to the majority either.

Who, then is Meyer friends with? This reporter is luckily in a position to answer that, having gained entry to one of the many lavish soirées these friends spend their time hosting. It was a charitable event, hosted by arms dealer and prominent Spark-hater Edmund Stewart, well known for his caring heart, and for his lucrative donations to his good friend Winston Meyer. The charitable goal was to fund opera lessons in the Redevelopment District. Two of the attendees, who I had the pleasure of talking to briefly, were Sharon and Maximillian Holmes. It was these Holmeses, readers will no doubt recall, who recently created a scandal for both Horizon Banking Group and Edmund Stewart’s company, when it was revealed that they sought to increase the profit from their Stewart Industries shares by - literally - manufacturing further anti-Spark bigotry, thus increasing demand for its weapons. To do this they equipped non-Sparks with the very weapons they were trying to sell, creating Triple Threat. To hide what they were doing, they claimed to be investing money in the Redevelopment District. The money that was supposed to be being used to complete the endless building work, to put an end to the scars of the Fallout, was funnelled into the bizarre money-making scheme of these bankers and industrialists, while they partied and pretended to be doing so on the Redevelopment District’s behalf.

Winston Meyer gave us one piece of infrastructure, the Meyerrail, as he never ceases to remind us. But how terribly he has failed to repair the real scars done by the Fallout. Tackling this city’s problems would mean standing up to people like the Holmeses and Edmund Stewart. How much easier to champion division, hatred, fear, all of which helps his friends get richer while keeping him in power.

Instead, the movement around Nestor Hoyne knows that Spark and non-Sparked cohesion would help the city heal, rather than making its wounds worse. The lies that allowed us to venerate Wallace Udarnik (another Meyer friend) rather than attach the blame for the Fallout on his police department, that allowed the Alan Hoyne Institute to get away with no oversight in its appalling treatment of those it claims to help, the city cannot move forward until it acknowledges what it has suppressed, and starts to think and dream clearly again. I think we’re starting to. I’ve been to two of the peaceful protests organised by the Lighthouse group, one spoken at by Nestor, one in support of their election bid. The young people of Alan Hoyne are finding their voice; they recently staged a protest of their own outside City Hall. We can’t ignore them anymore. That’s not a threat; it’s a promise, of something better, brighter, more honest.

Meyer has divided us. Each bigoted statement draws attention away from the real work that he claims to be doing, but that somehow never gets done. This city needs to be whole again. We do not need fear, we do not need bigotry and we do not need these spreaders of hatred. We need someone new, someone who sees this city’s wounds and will heal them rather than widening them.

Jay, the spark seen fighting Triple Threat last month, has been doing good around the city – helping cats across the road and saving an Mrs Audery Smith from a tree. Mrs Smith (74) approached the Bolt to report “I was just looking for a rare bird, when I found I couldn't get down! Jay was incredibly polite – I had no idea she'd been out fighting the likes of Triple Threat! I think people would feel different if all sparks were more like that.”

On the larger scale, of course, Jay was instrumental in protecting the public from Triple Threat, the organisation masquerading as sparks to commit acts of terror. Jay is definitely a bright spark who we'll be keeping an eye on.

My name is Eden Meyer. You probably know my uncle; Winston Meyer. I am his nibling, and I have a Spark. And because of that, I will be shunned by my uncle forever. It does not matter how good my grades were, how hard I worked to please my family, nothing matters because I have a Spark, and that means that I will never be the perfect Meyer. I have worked for so hard, and for so long, and put so much pressure on myself so that I could be loved and accepted by people who will never accept me.

I know that people are scared of being hurt. The truth is, so am I. I’m terrified every day what somebody might do to me because of my Spark. Because there are scary people out there. And yeah, some of them have Sparks, because people with Sparks are people, and some people are scary. But most people are just decent people.

I want us all to stop seeing that fear when we look at each other, and try to see the person, and treat each other with decency and compassion, because we're all fellow humans, and fellow citizens of the same Citropolis.

[what follows is an extract of an interview with Ada Oaks, known as ThatSparkGirl on Ziplok, a Sparked activist and resident at the Alan Hoyne Institute]

Q: So, students at the Institute are not able to leave the island at will?

A: No. We have to wait until certain days, like Visitor’s Day, to leave the island – if we get permission. But permission to leave to visit family is a privilege, so that means it can be taken away from us. And you need to have someone to visit, so for students who aren’t on good terms with their family, there’s usually no way off the island.

Q: What sort of thing would get permissions revoked?

A: Oh, you know, whatever. Playing sports without permission, being out after curfew, doing homework at the wrong time, if the Doctor’s in a particularly foul mood…

Q: The Doctor?

A: Oh yeah, Dr. Hilsgen. She’s in charge of our mandatory monthly medical examinations, and it’s pretty clear she hates us. Or, not even hates us, just doesn’t view us as human. She doesn’t like it if we don’t do exactly as she says, or use our Sparks in a way she doesn’t approve of – which is tricky for those of us who can’t exactly turn our Sparks off.

Q: Good grief.

A: Yep! But this month we all – that is, the students – took a vote and decided to have a sit in and refuse to go to our appointments. It was pretty great. She was apoplectic. But what was she going to do, drag us all into her office one by one? We were a united front, and so she couldn’t do anything.

Q: So, when did your Spark come in?

A: When I was 14. But over the summer it got much more powerful. There was an incident at my home. No one was hurt – but they could have been.

Q: That must have been very scary.

A: It was. I think it was worse, though, because I couldn't talk about it. I saw how my parents looked at me – they were concerned of course, but I think there was fear there too. I didn't want my feelings to ruin everything. The longer I bottled things up the worse they got …

Recently, I've been trying to open up more. I've not been squashing the spark inside me down so much. Since then its been easier to control. I think I'm doing much better now.

Towards the back of the issue is a new section – a space for art produced by various sparks. One piece in particular catches your eye – its abstract, splodges of brightly coloured paint on a canvas. Something about the composition draws your eye around it, encouraging you to take in every part. It's anonymous.

The author of these articles wants to be honest with their readers.

My Spark manifested when I was 10 during the course of one day. The power in the entire building began to fluctuate, and devices short circuited. Once my parents worked out with me, they didn't react well – I had to leave, and live with my uncle.

For a long while I was uncertain and very scared. My uncle was very good to take me in, but I still felt out place and worried I wouldn't be able to follow my passions because of my spark.

But now I have the Bolt – a place not only for my voice, but which has shown me there are many other voices like mine. A project that I didn't have to sacrifice my spark to succeed in.

Readers, Sparks can be dangerous, but only as dangerous as we believe them to be. Fear creates threats wherever it can find them and for too long those in this city have been taught to fear Sparks, but I've seen that when people show love and care, the dangers fade. I think this change can come from honesty and the power that the truth holds.

To that end, my name is Zackary Watts, the author of The Bolt.

Below are links to the school news pages for February. You will only have access to the news for your own school.