[SS] Project Radio Noise

July 21st


“Did he hurt his feet?”

A small girl with short brown hair, wearing a blue and white elementary school uniform, was leaning against a metal railing and looking out towards where a boy was struggling to walk. She had been watching with much concern as his hands gripped the poles beside him in desperation, attempting to keep upright and moving. A soft blush was constantly on her rounded cheeks, beneath the large chocolate-brown eyes that sparkled with youth and innocence. At the moment though, they were filled with genuine worry for the boy, wondering what the matter was.

“No, he has muscular dystrophy.”

A tall man wearing a white lab coat stood beside her, also looking out over the railing. When he answered the question with fancy words she failed to recognise, the girl turned her head towards him questioningly.

A loud thud immediately made her head whip back towards the sound, and an involuntary sound of alarm escaped her mouth. The boy had fallen onto the ground, looking completely exhausted.

The scientist explained as if nothing had happened.

“It’s a disease that causes progressive muscular degeneration. It is a heavy burden to bear…”

The elementary school girl’s eyes were fixated on the boy who was now grabbing at the poles to stand back up. She summoned all of her willpower and sent it to him, inwardly cheering the boy onwards to fight and stand.

“… And that’s why he is battling the disease with everything that he has.”

The girl’s face brightened as the boy managed to stand back up again, his mouth set in determined line. Her own fists were clenched tightly, willing him to be strong.

“But… no matter how hard he tries, he cannot stop the muscle degeneration. There is currently no cure for this disease. Very soon, he won’t even be able to stand up. Eventually, he will die from a respiratory or heart failure.”

As these words unfolded, the girl’s cheeriness gradually faded, replaced by an expression of genuine worry, sadness and sympathy for the sick boy. Her eyes filled with tears, but she hastily blinked them away, not letting any fall.

“But,” A small spark of hope surfaced, “this is only the current situation. If we can use your power, we may yet be able to save him.”

The youth turned her full attention to the scientist at this statement, wondering what he meant. The spark of hope was growing.

“The brain controls body muscle through electrical signals. If we can control the bioelectrical signal and route it to a non-conventional nerve signal network, we may be able to gain control of the muscle. If we can identify the source of your power and replicate it, we will mostly likely be successful in finding a cure for this disease.”

The girl’s eyes widened with wonder.

“Would you please provide us with a sample of your DNA?”

For a moment, the girl simply stared at the scientist. Images of the struggling boy flashed in her mind. Others she had seen- in wheelchairs, in pain, smiling despite it all and fighting against the odds. The girl didn’t know anyone personally, it was the first time she had come here for the scientists had invited her, but that didn’t matter. If there was a way she could help, there was only one answer. There had been, from the very beginning.

A smile erupted on the girl’s face, filled with hope and promises.

“Yes!”

The man returned a smile, offering a hand.

“Thank you.”

The girl and the scientist shook hands.

***

Mikoto’s eyes opened. Her mind felt foggy as she found herself lying on her side on the bed with Kilbear in her arms.

“A dream…? Why was it about… that time? Strange…”

Suddenly wide awake, Mikoto felt something digging into her back, distracting her from the thoughts of the dream. Something was tightly wound around her chest and it only took a second to realise what- or rather who- it was. The scenario was just too familiar.

“KUROKO!!”

Thump!

"What you see before you is something that has been manufactured from chemicals and proteins."

With those words as fresh in his ears as if they'd been uttered just moments ago Accelerator stood over the twisted heap before him. With a grin that split his face from ear to ear, exposing teeth like fangs that gleamed under the darkened veil of his hair.

"Tch. This one was done even quicker than the rest." He scuffed his foot on the floor in irritation. "Oh well, I guess I'll drop by the convenience store on the way back." He muttered as he ambled his way out of the darkened alleyway. "I can leave it to you guys to clean up the mess..." He cocked his head towards the shadowy figures that were already disposing of the heap and the dark red smear that spread beneath it. "Right?"

The short haired girl in the Tokiwadai uniform nodded slowly and her sisters followed suit.

"They're nothing but dolls, after all."

***

Kuroko was still rubbing her sore head as they emerged from the dormitory.

"But I only wanted to feel the warmth of another person, Onee-sama!" The twin-tailed girl complained loudly, nursing the growing bump that she felt on her skull. The tears of pain in her eyes may have been genuine, but they were short lived when it became apparent that no sympathy would be forthcoming.

"Anyway, where are we planning on going today?" She asked, not-so-subtly inviting herself along without asking. The petite girl smiled sweetly as she skipped behind Mikoto.

"But I only wanted to feel the warmth of another person, Onee-sama!"

Mikoto ignored the perverted teleporter as they walked out into the daylight. The sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly- Mikoto really wanted nothing to ruin the potentially nice day. She had had an exhausting time only yesterday, spending hours trying to find the idiotic teacher who had abandoned her in a restaurant without explanation. Today however, with musical bird songs filling the fresh morning air, Mikoto felt it to be a promisingly peaceful one. She decided to push Kuroko’s little stunt and the idiot out of her mind. For now.

"Anyway, where are we planning on going today?"

“Hmmm…” Mikoto genuinely pondered the question for a moment. Her eyes suddenly lit up at an inspirational thought.

“Ah, we have the ‘metropolitan society observation’ trip coming up soon, don’t we? I don’t know if I’ll go, but I’m might buy some travel items just in case!”

As Mikoto excitedly pondered what she would purchase, Kuroko fell into a dark despair behind her.

‘She’s going to buy those bizarre kiddy things again, isn’t she? She already has so many of those weird toothbrush sets and bath accessories…’

“Huh? What’s wrong Kuroko?”

Completely oblivious to Kuroko’s suffering at her Oneesama’s childishness, Mikoto looked back at her junior’s sullen form in confusion.

“Ah, it’s nothing!” Kuroko replied brightly, waving her hands wildly to emphasise her point.

When Mikoto stared at her disbelievingly, Kuroko quickly directed the conversation.

“Let’s go on a shopping date then~”

The electromaster’s irritation level rose along with her suspicions.

“You know, this is going to be nothing special, so you don’t need to come.”

Kuroko felt her heart drop. Loosing a perfect opportunity to spend precious time with her Oneesama was equivalent to a living nightmare.

“D-do you need to buy other items?” Kuroko’s voice quivered.

“Hmmm…” Mikoto pointedly turned her back on the teleporter.
“I wonder if they have any items that attack perverts who trespass onto your bed in the middle of the night.”

Kuroko felt sweat dripping. Her spend-the-day-with-Oneesama plan was going completely haywire.

“I… I can still be a lot of help…” Kuroko said weakly. They passed a small alleyway, offering the teleporter what she thought was a brilliant idea.

“For example,” the red-head said with more confidence, “this is the shortcut to the shopping district!”

The alley was so small the two girls had to move single file; there simply wasn’t enough room.

Mikoto followed Kuroko, trusting that her junior knew where she was going.

“You’re pretty familiar with these alleys, aren’t you? Because of Judgement work, right?”

Kuroko opened her mouth to reply when someone else emerged from the opposite direction. The boy's head hung low, his eyes fervently scanning the ground and he barely noticed the girls as he squeezed past them without acknowledging their presence.

She was about to mention how that sort of thing was a rare occurrence when another figure approached. And then another.

And another.

Growing weary of the awkward shuffling of feet Kuroko took Mikoto's hand and in an instant they were on the other side of the alleyway. Looking back, the twin-tailed girl didn't notice the crouching form in front of her and she stumbled, landing atop the unfortunate soul in her path.

Ruiko rubbed her back where she had landed underneath the teleporter.

"Geez, watch where you're going." She hissed before lifting her head to glare at the clumsy oaf who's knocked her over. She blinked, not expecting the sight that greeted her. "Misaka-san?" Her eyes fell on Kuroko who lay dazed on the ground. "Shirai-san? Don't tell me you guys are looking for bank cards too?" She said, surprised at her own assumption.

As she gathered her wits, Kuroko noticed something under one of the dumpsters beside her.

"Huh?" She reached out and took it. A small envelope. Ruiko hurried to her side.

"You found one!" The dark haired girl said, ecstatic.

"Found what?" Kuroko felt what tenuous grip she had on the situation slipping.

***

A pale skinned hand clawed at the sofa as Accelerator lifted himself to sit, slumped over on the edge.

Rail thin limbs slipped into a long sleeved black and white shirt and jeans that fit snugly on the frail looking body beneath. The albino boy ruffled his snow white hair and glowered as he stretched his aching body.

The door clicked shut behind Accelerator and he stuffed his hands into his pockets, taking to the streets.

In such a small space, it was extremely awkward to pass through when another walked in the opposite direction. Before Mikoto could wonder aloud why so many were passing through the normally deserted alleyway, she found herself suddenly teleported to the end of it, thanks to her junior.

When they landed though, Kuroko stumbled and fell onto someone in an undignified heap.

Mikoto looked down, alarmed.

"Geez, watch where you're going," came a pained hiss in a familiar voice. The hostile tone fast transformed into one of immense surprise.

"Misaka-san? Shirai-san? Don't tell me you guys are looking for bank cards too?"

“Saten-san?!” Mikoto said disbelievingly. Out of all places within Academy City, this was the last spot the Tokiwadai girl would have expected to meet her friend by pure chance.

“What are-?”

Her astounded question was cut short by Kuroko’s strange discovery of an envelope from where she fell and Ruiko’s sudden excitement.

"You found one!"

"Found what?"

As Mikoto helped Kuroko stand up, the teleporter quickly brushed the dust off her uniform, trying to maintain an air of dignity. She stared at the letter in her hand warily.

“There’s nothing written on the envelope…”

“Of course there isn’t!” Ruiko piped up, “See? Look inside!”

Something fell out of it easily, for the envelope appeared never to have been closed. Kuroko caught the object and looked at it with astonishment.

“It’s a bank card.”

“Yep~” Ruiko said happily.

Kuroko turned to her friend with suspicious eyes.

“What’s going on? What do you know about this?”

“There had been rumours during the past few days that there are dropped bank cards around the seventh school district! So I came here to check and voila!”

The excited girl gave a little wave in the bank card’s direction.

“Apparently, the amount on them varies. Some have less than 1000 yen, others have found ones with more than 50 thousand! There’s a possibility you could hit a real jackpot!”

Kuroko looked a little peeved.

“Why did I not know about this?” she muttered to herself and gave a small sigh. “Did no one think of reporting this to Judgement?”

Ruiko laughed, not the least put off my Kuroko’s obvious annoyance. “I think some did. But I also heard no fingerprints have been found on them.” She gave a wild, happy shrug. “All for the taking then, right? Now, if you don't want that, I'll just...”

She tried to pluck the bankcard off Kuroko, but the teleporter moved away with a disapproving look.

“I’m going to take this and investigate I’m afraid. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this!”

Kuroko gave a sorrowful sigh and turned a heart-broken pair of eyes towards Mikoto.

“Onee-sama… It’s a shame, but it looks like I can’t accompany you today. Maybe we can go out next time.”

So much for all that planning for the perfect day out with Oneesama… Wasted… Kuroko mourned heavily inside.

“Don’t worry Kuroko,” Mikoto said, smiling. There was pride in her eyes for her junior. She knew how dedicated Kuroko was to her commitment and she admired her for it. “I can go by myself.”

With a nod and a wave, the teleporter disappeared, leaving Mikoto and Ruiko behind.

“Alright!” Ruiko said determinedly.

Mikoto had zero chance of escaping her friend’s enthusiasm. No amount of protesting could do it. She soon found herself being dragged everywhere, down every single alleyway they came across within the seventh district. Ruiko was practically crawling around on her hands and knees, peering through every visible nook and cranny and encouraging Mikoto to do so as well.

It was becoming afternoon and Mikoto felt exhausted. Just as she was about to make another pitiful attempt at escape, Ruiko fortunately also decided she had found enough for the day.

“Ah! Look at the time!” Ruiko exclaimed. While Mikoto felt grumpy and sweaty, Ruiko was positively beaming. “We found all this, see?”

She took out a bunch of envelopes and forcibly placed half of them into Mikoto’s hands. The electromaster stared at them blankly, too tired to protest.

“I better go~ Next time, let’s bring Uiharu along as welll! Bye bye~”

After waving back at Ruiko, Mikoto visibly sank into weariness. She stared at the bank cards in her hands uncomfortably. There was this strange guilty feeling creeping up, as if she had actually stolen them all.

“What do I even do with these…?”

Sighing, she decided to make her way out of the area when voices resounded somewhere nearby.

“When I was at the alley taking a leak, I saw a girl hiding those letters so I followed her.”

Mikoto peered around the corner from behind a wall. A group of rough looking guys was gathered around with smug faces. She couldn’t help but eavesdrop.

“She went into an apartment, that must be her place. Judging from the outside, there should only be one woman living there. This will be easy.”

Mikoto soon arrived at the said apartment by discreetly tailing the group. She kept in the shadows as they barged in, getting ready to help the girl when required.

The voices from within were muffled and came in fragments.

"...Those cards that you've been spreading around, we're here to take them..."

"...What? There's only two of them?"

"...She's not got any more on her..."

Inside the group of thugs had surrounded a young girl, her dark, wavy hair hanging in thin, frayed looking strands in front of her face.

"She seems pretty calm." One of the boys sneered as he pressed his face closer to the girl until his narrow, gaunt visage filled her vision.

"Maybe she's an esper." Another suggested, though his partners were quick to dismiss the idea.

"Even if she is, no one can take this many people at once." They were confident of that fact as they dispersed to search the apartment.

All save for one. The largest among them had turned white as a sheet, his skin damp from a cold sweat that flared up whenever her looked at the pale girl with her unblinking, beady looking eyes. There was definitely something odd about her, he had decided and when she moved towards him he couldn't keep from backing away.

"You look pale." She said in an eerily quiet voice. "Are you alright?"

He shook, unable to form a response.

"Now you're breathing erratically." She continued, standing on the tips of her toes to reach his ear. "Do you know why that is?" She whispered something into his ear.

The boy's scream cut through the walls of that place. When his partners returned they found the girl standing over him.

"Wh-what did you do?" The others began talking among themselves, their voices already filled with hesitant fear.

"Life termination." The girl declared. "One touch and no matter where you hide..." She said with a distant serenity to her voice. "...You'll die."

The boys had already started scrambling for weapons and she let her hand brush across each of their arms as she passed them.

"Shit. She got me."

"She's bluffing, you idiot."

"Yeah, but..."

The lights went out.

Muffled sounds in the darkness turned to frenzied shouts.

"Hey! What happened?"

The lights flickered back on. Only now there was just one thug left standing. For just an instant he saw the scattered bodies of his friends before the room was pitched back into darkness with a flick of that girls finger. He swung wildly in the darkness. Every sound and sensation sending him into another fit of flailing.

He felt a hand on his back.

"Now you are a target for my ability." The strange girl whispered.

There was a loud snap followed by a heavy thud. When the light returned only the girl remained. She jostled the paper snapper in her hand and looked over her handiwork.

*clap* *clap* *clap*

Mikoto emerged from where she had been hiding and watching the scene unfold with amazement. This girl really was something else entirely. The electromaster had been expecting a necessary part for her to play, but found herself the audience of a spectacular show instead.

“You just let me see something very interesting…” Mikoto said with a wide smile. She studied the girl who turned towards her, noticing the unkempt hair and constantly widened eyes. Just like fish-eyes, Mikoto could not help thinking.

“I really thought at first that I’d have to get involved in a very dangerous situation… But with only words and actions, you caused these thugs to have a mental breakdown.” Mikoto enthusiastically gestured to the motionless bodies lying around.

“I must say, that’s quite an impressive feat.”

Silence.

The strange girl simply stared at her, goggle eyed.

Mikoto’s smile faded.

“Hmm? What?”

"So, you are the original." The odd girl said. Noting Mikoto's confounded expression, she continued. "You must have heard the rumours..."

Military clones created for the purpose of harnessing the innate talents of an esper for combat application. In other words, a super-powered replaceable soldier. A chilling concept that had been repeated across countless retellings and first hand accounts. Specifics differed with each story, but one detail remained the same throughout.

The clones were created from the DNA of Academy City's own Railgun. Misaka Mikoto.

***

"Heh. It's a little early, isn't it?" Accelerator laughed. Opposite him stood a familiar sight. The girl in the Tokiwadai uniform.

It had been pure coincidence that they had crossed paths. But for that girl it must have been like encountering the spectre of death itself.

"Don't you wanna enjoy life a little bit longer?" He cocked his head to look at the clone, peering at her like a specimen under a microscope. "Or are you that eager to die?" His thin lips drew back into a thin smile that bared his teeth.

He took a step towards her.

"So, you are the original."

When Mikoto blinked in confusion, the fish-eyed girl continued.

"You must have heard the rumours..."

“Rumours…” Mikoto repeated in a strained voice. Her breath hitched in her throat.

A foreboding feeling awoke within her, along with memories of girls whispering behind her back, snatches of conversations that were immediately hushed when she walked nearby. She had ignored them, tried to forget them- for what the silenced words described had disturbed her greatly. ‘Ridiculous!’, ‘stupid!’ were how she had waved those rumours away, but now…

Mikoto crossed the distance between them with quick strides, placing a hand roughly on the goggle-eyed girl’s shoulder.

“What do you know about those rumours?! Tell me!”

Aggression and desperation filled her demanding tone.

***

A brown haired girl in Tokiwadai uniform stared impassively at the skinny figure in front of her. He smiled in a predatory manner, but she did not appear to feel fear.

"Heh. It's a little early, isn't it? Don't you wanna enjoy life a little bit longer? Or are you that eager to die?"

The albino took a step forward, but she stood her ground, her face betraying no emotion.

“It is exactly 8 hours 37 minutes and 28 seconds until the next experiment will commence, Misaka accurately calculates the time. It was mere coincidence that you and Misaka happened to cross paths, she would estimate such an occurrence to be about a 1 in 245,698 chance. Misaka was taking a walk, Misaka explains, to taste of the outside air that supposedly consists of 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 0.9% Argon and other compounds and elements such as Carbon Dioxide, Neon and Methane.”

The girl's strange reply was spoken in a monotone voice, as if she was reading out aloud from a textbook. Her emotionless eyes stared back at Accelerator boldly.

“Misaka must add that she is very disappointed she cannot distinguish these elements and compounds from taste alone. However, the outside world is very different and interesting. It has exceeded her expectations, Misaka reports.”

She continued her answer seamlessly.

“Misaka is not eager to die, she honestly admits, but she has been created for the purposes of the experiments. She still has 8 hours 36 minutes and 4 seconds remaining, Misaka correctly states the time, but that is only if you can successfully kill this Misaka, she warns you with confidence.”

A sharp pain swelled in Mikoto's head. The other girl stood above her, batting at the 'Ace of Tokiwadai' as though she were a misbehaving cat.

"Is that any way to speak to your seniors?" She chided Mikoto. "You're still in junior high school. I'm a senior. You should show some respect."

"In any case, you should just forget about it. You'll only frustrate yourself." The girl spoke an ominous warning. "With your power, you can't accomplish anything."

***

Accelerator's strangled, high pitched laugh carried a mocking quality and he continued to advance.

"Cute." He regarded her with crazed eyes. "I'll look forward to taking that 'confidence' of yours..." His face inched closer to hers, like a beast sniffing at its prey. "And tearing it to shreds." The words slipped through bared teeth.

“OWWWW! Ow? Ow? Ow!”

Tears swam in her vision as Mikoto fell clutching her head. She gave the goggle-eyed girl an accusing glare, but the other did not seem to harbour an ounce of sympathy.

"Is that any way to speak to your seniors? You're still in junior high school. I'm a senior. You should show some respect."
"In any case, you should just forget about it. You'll only frustrate yourself. With your power, you can't accomplish anything."

It was a dark warning, Mikoto could hear it as such, but the stubborn teenager wasn’t going to be deterred so easily. Anyway, did this girl really even know who she was to say such a thing?!

“I’m asking you what you know!” Mikoto yelled defiantly, standing back up. “If you say I can’t do anything about it, what could you do about it?!”

As soon as these words left her mouth, Mikoto found herself on the floor again, clutching at her pain-riddled side.

‘No way… A roundhouse kick? Man, that really hurts…’

From the unsympathetic look on the fish-eyed girl’s face, Mikoto knew what she had to do. Gulping down her pride, the brown-haired girl said in a more pleading and respectful tone,

“…. Can you please tell me about it?”

She really didn’t want to lose this opportunity to find out more about the rumours.

***

"Cute. I'll look forward to taking that 'confidence' of yours… And tearing it to shreds.”

The girl did not flinch away as a normal person would, not at his crazed laughter nor at his threats. She simply stared calmly back, regarding the albino impassively.

“Misaka would like to point out your stupidity by stating the obvious that it is actually physically impossible for one to “tear” into shreds her confidence. It is be possible however, for one to “tear” someone’s body apart, as you demonstrated during the experiment with Misaka serial number 9980.” The girl’s monotone voice was matter-of-fact, as if she were reporting the current weather statistics. “Even so, Misaka would like to insist that the chance of such an event happening to this Misaka would only be about 4.3%.”

July 21st

"Heart Rate is 100% stable.
Nervous system is functioning as expected.
Cell Growth Rate is at 300%.
Serial Number 19956 is 98% complete.
ETA is 5-6 minutes."

The soft palms of a precautious lab assistant was placed against an almost complete creation as if she was checking someone's body temperature. The lab assistant was reaching in through openings of a experimental chamber filled with liquid substance keeping the experiment itself ongoing. Sweat dripped down the side of her face, only to be carefully wiped by her elbow. Knowing fully well, this certain procedure had to be done with care and caution otherwise the experiment would be at stake.

"That should be enough for now, you can stop."

The female researcher behind her marked down necessary information given what she had heard on her clipboard. This woman wore a labcoat over a plain t-shirt coupled with faded jeans and an average pair of sneakers. Her black hair reached only to shoulder length, and consistently carried a bored expression equivalent to a 25 year old's. Her name was Yoshikawa Kikyou.

"You've gotten pretty good at doing this. Guess I became a good mentor afterall."

The other female in a labcoat, scratched her shiny long blonde hair as she sarcastically smiled. The most notable thing about her attire was the signature rosebud clipped onto the side of her hair. Her orange colour pupils stared at her mentor as if a misunderstanding was made.

"Yoshikawa-senpai, you should speak for yourself, you've been lazying out on your lab reports again~"

Yoshikawa inspected her pupil oddly smirking, as if she still was a student in training.

"Oh, have I now? Isn't that why you're here, Kaede?"

The 20 year old girl sighed losing hope in her mentor's duty as a lab researcher. But even though the lab researcher said that, she was prepared to help and look after her mentor's work. Ever since the day she applied to work under her, she could only think of the reason that it would help her and her brother get out of their financial crisis. Not only that, but she initially thought this research project would benefit the sake of others. Regardless, her younger brother had no idea of her involvement in this mysterious project.

She hadn't known the true purpose of this project, but it was along the lines of reaching the limits of genetic cloning and possibly doing more. And the person being cloned was Misaka Mikoto, the Level 5 Electromaster. How Academy City got a hold of her DNA, she did not know. Kaede's only logic to this would be that the Level 5 had agreed to supporting this project, thus handing a strand of her DNA over.

So far 19957 Misaka Mikoto clones have been created, with Kaede only joining in on the project 2 months ago. The procedure of these clones would take 14 days, but with Kaede's esper power: "Blood Control", she sped up the process reducing the process to only 2 days. Kaede was able to control the productions of cells as well as its growth rate by simply controlling the flow of blood within one's body.

"Say senpai, what do you think these clones are used for? I've been thinking for research, but are they going to be hurt?"

Yoshikawa Kikyou is a naive woman but she couldn't really explain the details of this project to a fragile girl like Kaede as simply.

"You're right about research for one. But who knows? I've been here longer than you, and Academy City still refuses to tell me their true purpose of certain things. But I can't say too much, but these clon-"

The beeps were heard in a consecutive tone, alerting the completion of Serial Number 19956 from the isolated chamber it was in. Kaede had dropped what she wanted to hear and immediately started preparing for the results of the experiment.

"Quickly senpai! Get a towel! Some hot water!"

"More importantly!"

Yoshikawa held out two pairs of uniquely designed woman's undergarments, while delightfully smiling.

"Which panties do you think would fit best for this clone?"

Shocked in disbelief of how 'serious' Yomikawa was acting, Kaede was dumb founded.

"If you must know..." The fish eyed girl turned to a nearby desk and started to rifle through its contents. "I planned on using the bank cards to cover the blind spots in the city's security." She explained, holding a stack of papers in front of her. There was a click as she sparked the lighter in her hands. "Allowing me to direct people down alleyways that no one would ever go down otherwise." The papers started to smoke, the acrid smell wafting through the room and she dropped the documents. "If I do that, then maybe I have a chance of stopping it."

"This apartment is rented. We should leave before these guys wake up." She said simply as she passed Mikoto on her way to the door. "It would be troublesome if someone were to find this place. We have to eliminate all the evidence." She slipped on her coat and left without a care.

***

“Misaka would like to point out your stupidity by stating the obvious that it is actually physically impossible for one to “tear” into shreds her confidence. It is be possible however, for one to “tear” someone’s body apart, as you demonstrated during the experiment with Misaka serial number 9979."

Accelerator stood, eyeing the girl with the same goggle-eyed expression one would save for the mentally deranged. This was certainly a new one. She was mocking him.

Just for that he was going to take something painful. Maybe a hand? Or an eye? He let his thoughts wander through the various cruelties he could inflict.

"Even so, Misaka would like to insist that the chance of such an event happening to this Misaka would only be about 4.3%.”

The reedy, bird-like chirp of his laugh interrupted her and Accelerator threw back his head as his laughter rose.

"Heh. Only 4.3%? I guess we'll see soon enough." He took another step towards her. "Just don't lose your nerve before then. Or it won't be as fun." He placed a hand on her shoulder.

How easy it would be to kill her right now.

"I'll be waiting..." He said quietly as they passed and his footsteps slowly vanished into the city streets.

"Heh. Only 4.3%? I guess we'll see soon enough. Just don't lose your nerve before then. Or it won't be as fun."

The girl stood wordlessly as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She tensed slightly under his touch, but that was the only reaction to be discerned.

"I'll be waiting..."

She watched him leave with blank, apathetic eyes.

“There are still 8 hours 34 minutes and 2 seconds remaining until the experiment; Misaka thinks she would like to see more of the world before then.”

With a nod to herself, she continued in the opposite direction, disappearing into a nearby alley.

***

Mikoto stood dumbfounded as the senior girl gave some nonsensical explanation and burned a stack of papers. As the smoke began to fill the air, the goggle-eyed girl simply walked out of the apartment, slipping on her coat.

"This apartment is rented. We should leave before these guys wake up. It would be troublesome if someone were to find this place. We have to eliminate all the evidence."

Alarmed, Mikoto called after her.

“Wait, wait! These people…!”

But if she heard, she did not come back. A fire alarm began to resound, drawing the attention of passerby’s nearby the building.

Swearing, Mikoto dragged the unconscious bodies to relative safety. When she rushed outside, the teenager noticed people gathered around, whispering and wondering what had occurred. Feeling guilty even though she knew it was that fish-eye’s fault completely, she tiptoed away and broke into a run.

“Dammit! That girl not only hit me twice and said a bunch of confusing things, but also left me here and disappeared.”

There were still so many questions to ask… So much to understand…

Her feet carried her to where she knew to be the nearest telephone booth. Inside, Mikoto fished out her PDA from her skirt pocket. The girl had said she was a senior student high school student. Mikoto thought she recognised the uniform to be those of Nagatenjiyouki Academy. Hacking into their school’s server using her powers, she just hoped she was right.

Digital codes flooded her mind, a nonsensical flow of 0s and 1s, but the brown-haired girl could understand it. Academy City’s pay phone terminal firewall was D Grade while the School Teacher’s message terminal firewall was B Grade. The security was so easy to bypass Mikoto could not help but smirk.

“275770-S- Success” read the screen and she immediately pulled out the current record of the Academy’s students.

Her heart drumming wildly, she flicked through the faces as quickly as she could. It didn’t take long. A familiar pair of fish eyes accompanied by the messy hair stood out on the screen.

“Nunotaba Shinobu, Senior High Third Year, 17 years old,” Mikoto’s eyes scanned the information below, “Since she was young, she was gifted in the field of medical psychology. She resumed school after she finished research at the Seventh Pharmaceutical Research Center…”

Mikoto stopped reading, pondering out aloud. “Hiyachi Pharmaceutical’s Seventh Pharmaceutical Research Center… Is that the place doing research on my DNA?”

The sun had already set a while ago and the air was cold, but sweat was running down her back in rivulets.

‘If I ask fish-eyes again, she’ll probably just reprimand me or something,’ Mikoto thought with mild annoyance. She snapped her PDA shut decisively, closing it down.

“Right. I’ll just have to go there and confirm it myself!”

Determinedly Mikoto ran out, having memorised the location of the building during her brief research. Only after a few paces she skidded to a stop, a sudden thought occurring.

“Hmm… Wearing my uniform might not be such a good idea. If anyone sees me, they could easily identify me…”

A sign advertising a clothes store caught her eye.

"Ehhhhh?!?!"

Kaede sped to the back room of the lab to gather the necessary materials for the new clone about to be born.

"Senpai, just get out of the chamber, I'll be back quickly!"

Yoshikawa, with her usual bored face, approached the control panel to the experiment chamber, and started to push several particular buttons. The certain chamber, out of the 50 in the lab, that had beeping noises originated from it suddenly stopped beeping and shut down. The hatchet to the chamber slid open, and a figure had popped out from her just slumber.

Yoshikawa had approached the clone, holding out one of the undergarments she had shown to Kaede beforehand,

"Misaka Clone Serial Number 19956. Here, these are your panties now. Plus I thought they looked cute over the other one."

The lab researcher tossed the pair of panties over towards the clone, slowly floating down and landing softly onto her newborn head. Expecting a response, Yoshikawa closely inspected the bare naked Misaka clone with a forced smile.

"Misaka Clone Serial Number 19956. Here, these are your panties now. Plus I thought they looked cute over the other one."

Brown eyes blinked open slowly at the voice, dull and emotionless. The girl slumped forward as the thrown undergarment landed softly on her head. The clone sat absolutely still as if deeply contemplating its sudden existence. Then she looked up, the long brown hair framing her face and shoulders as the strands dripped with the liquid she had been surrounded in. She did not even appear realise the fact that she was stark naked (minus the panties on her head), or if she did, it did not seem to be of any importance nor bother her.

The girl stared mutely at Yoshikawa, eyes wide and staring incomprehensibly. It was the look of an innocent, confused baby.

For a long while the silence continued. And then-

“WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”

The girl began to wail, tears pouring out non-stop from between her scrunched eyelids. The high-pitched sound was deafening, the longitudinal waves bouncing off the walls of the laboratory to produce thunderous echoing effects.

"Oi! What's with the damn racket?" Accelerator grumbled as he appeared in the doorway. His lank, scarecrow silhouette against the harsh lights of the laboratory's corridor cast a long shadow over the newborn clone. He spared the girl a brief glance as he walked past her towards Kikyou.

"Huh. Can't you make those things without vocal cords or something?" He sneered, the unpleasant sound of her crying cutting through him like a knife. It rang in his ears like a klaxon. It set his teeth on edge.

It made his fucking skin crawl.

"You know they've started mouthing off to me now?" He snorted a disdainful laugh. As though the idea amused more than enraged him. "Can you believe it?" He perched on the edge of a metallic table, resting his feet on the frame of a nearby stool.

The crying continued. Accelerator's fingers scratched at the stainless steel table before balling into a fist.

"Can't you shut that damn thing up!?" He stood abruptly, kicking away the stool as his temper reached boiling point. "Or do I have to do it myself?"

"Can't you shut that damn thing up?! Or do I have to do it myself?"

“?????”

At Accelerator’s outburst, the girl’s wailing suddenly stopped, creating an eerie silence as the last cry echoed and died away. It was as if she sensed something dangerous behind those angered words. Even so, this newborn clone could not understand what he was saying; speech was merely an incomprehensible symphonium of sounds to her.  

With huge, wary eyes, the girl with number 19956 for an identity stared at Accelerator, sniffling and whimpering miserably. Her naked body was shivering violently, still dripping with the liquid from the cryotank whence she was given life.

**

Hiyachi Pharmaceutical’s Seventh Pharmaceutical Research Center.

Mikoto stared up at the building in front of her, her heart beating rapidly with anticipation. She was wearing a simple navy shirt with small yellow hearts printed on the front and plain shorts that she had bought at a clothes store on the way. The bank cards that Ruiko had forcibly given her proved to be useful. Her soul still felt slightly shattered by the fact she did not buy the cute green shirt on the rack, but Mikoto had exercised her self-control. It just hadn’t been suitable for this mission. She knew she couldn’t wear anything too memorable for if she was seen, they would have an easier time tracking her. So sadly, the amazing emerald shirt with the smiling bunny was left behind.

“After I get this ridiculous rumour sorted out, I’m definitely going back and buying it!”

Cheered by this, Mikoto had checked into a hotel to leave her other belongings there. Renting a cheap locker had not even crossed the Tokiwadai girl’s mind.

The security was tight, with high-tech electrical systems guarding the pharmaceutical center. But for the level 5 Electromaster, that was only a minor annoyance. The only thing she had to make sure was that no one saw her. Mikoto’s plan was simple.

Go in. Check out what they've been up to. Go out.

With a deep breath, the short-haired girl rushed in through the front door and along the corridors, sending electromagnetic signals to the security system to suit her needs. Anyone who was watching the live security screens would not see anything out of the ordinary. There would be no one detected.

Mikoto rounded a corner and skidded to a stop in front of a LAN outlet. Connecting to the network with her PDA, she scanned the entire building for her target.

‘Huh? That’s weird… They don’t have proper research departments here…’

She pressed some buttons quickly, eyes narrowing as she inspected something peculiar. Within the connected network that made up the building, there was an empty black space. Mikoto instructed her PDA to focus on it and give her a better view.

‘An isolated area with electrical power but with no LAN attached…’

Suspicion levels rose.

‘It’s odd that only transport corridors have security cameras… It’s like they don’t want other departments to know about their research.’

Mikoto unplugged her PDA, mouth set in a determined line.

‘Right. Let’s just go and check it out!’

The horrifying screech left the teary-eyed newborn clone's wide open mouth and looked as if a toddler was whining for his desired toy. The shriek could be heard from the very ends of the laboratory, resonating and shaking several syringes placed on the table nearby. Yoshikawa covered her ears, thinking to herself,

"Well, this was rather unexpected."

The unbearable noise was enough to immediate a response from behind.

"Oi! What's with the damn racket?"

The bright white silhouette appeared at the entrance to the lab, looking as if someone disturbed his sleep. The white haired albino approached past the clone and towards Yoshikawa, trying hard not to even acknowledge the clone's existence.

"Well an experiment won't be fun at all without any errors on the side, right?"

She tried talking over the loud crying, just enough so Accelerator would be able to hear her words. Yoshikawa suprisingly kept calm and maintained her bored expression even after seeing the Level 1 suddenly appear. Accelerator proceeded to plant himself on top of table nearby.

"Huh. Can't you make those things without vocal cords or something?"

"Ah, no worries. My assistant should be here from the back in a few moments to take care of her. By the way, what brings you here all of a sudden, Accelerator? I thought you'd be sick of this place by now?"

Yoshikawa slightly smirked upon the possibility of Accelerator concerning for the sister's production. Though that probably wasn't likely.

"You know they've started mouthing off to me now? Can you believe it?"

"Badmouthing? Is THAT all you're worried about? Sounds like the great Accelerator is crying over something so small. Just kidding. Probably a bug in the network, shouldn't be nothing too serious."

She sarcastically chuckled. However the crying had gotten louder, to the point where Yoshikawa's calmness was about to break. However Accelerator's last comment managed to shut the clone up.

"Hmmm... That works too."

The feeling of relief was sound within her as infant's cry had disappeared. The feeling of exhaustion had overcome the girl who had just entered the scene. She continuously panted carrying a bucket of hot water and warm towels. Surprised, Kaede quickly approached the whimpering and gently wrapped the blanket around her, keeping the clone within her arms for warmth.

"I heard crying all the way from the back room. What did you exactly do her, Senpai??! She looks completely terrified and scared out of her mind."

"Huh? Oh that. It was surprising for me too, probably felt threatened by me. We probably should get her to the Testament before she starts crying again."

The girl with golden hair sighed, mumbling the word's 'Senpai' to herself in disappointment as if she was a disobedient child. But now Kaede directed her eyes towards the new individual in the laboratory. The white haired boy, who looked to be around his teens, sitting lazily on top Yoshikawa's work table. Yoshikawa noticed her glare towards Accelerator, and then realized that she hadn't met him before.

"Oh don't mind him. He comes in here every now and then. Surprisingly during the times you were off duty. Anyways, this is the infamous Strongest Level 5, Accelerator."

"A-accelerator?!"

She choked on her own words after immediately responding. Acting quite surprised to see someone high as him to be roaming around this laboratory, she took a moment to gather her thoughts.

"That's Accelerator? How does Yoshikawa-senpai know him? He's supposed to be a level higher than Haragi and stronger than the Electromaster... Regardless, could he be involved in this project?"

At this moment, she realized she had to introduce herself. She took a traditional bow and spoke politely.

"I'm the Level 2 "Blood Control" and Yoshikawa-senpai's assistant, Kaede Faye. Nice to meet you, Accelerator."

Somewhere deep within her, she was beginning to realize that he was starting to represent her little brother in some odd way.

The crying ceased and Accelerator looked away with an angry tut. Even the sight of the girl sickened him. He gritted his teeth, his lips curling again into a snarling frown.

"I'm the Level 2 "Blood Control" and Yoshikawa-senpai's assistant, Kaede Faye. Nice to meet you, Accelerator."

He looked at the girl with a dull eyed expression that begged the question 'why should I care?' If her name had jogged his memory it didn't show.

"Whatever? So you help make these things?" He cocked his head towards the clone. "I guess I should be thankful. They're pretty fun to play around with." He said ominously. "A little easy though. Can't you make them more of a challenge?"

The girl meekly allowed herself to be dried and warmed by Kaede, curious eyes questioningly darting back and forth between the speakers. When Accelerator glanced her way again however, she shrank back, as if she instinctively knew what a dangerous person he was. Huddling closer to the kind-hearted blonde, the clone curled into a tight ball. With frightened eyes staring up at the Level 5 warily, she looked as if she would quickly burst into tears again if provoked.

**

“Who’s there?!”

Mikoto froze.

She was just about to take a single step towards her next destination when a man’s voice rang out from around the corner. She quickly leaned back against the wall. Her heart was racing and she was certain everyone in the vicinity could hear it.

“I thought I heard a sound over there…” The man muttered. “Is anyone there?”

Sweat ran down her brow as heavy footsteps approached.

‘This is bad! Worst case scenario, I’ll just knock him out and continue… But I don’t want to leave any evidence behind if I can help it… Gaah, what should I do…?’

A few more steps and he’d be right next to her…

A bright idea suddenly sprang to mind as the Electromaster picked up a signal from nearby.

“Beep, beep, beep!”

The man stopped as a security bot came to view. He scratched his head confusedly.

“Hmm? So it was just a security bot?” He gave a loud sigh, shoulders slumping forward. “Maybe I’m just tired and hearing things. There wouldn’t be any one around here at this time anyways.”
He turned to the security bot and asked as one would to a person, “Is there anything wrong?”

Just around the corner, Mikoto’s eyebrows scrunched slightly in concentration.

“No abnormal activities detected,” the security bot replied in a monotone voice.

“Ah, I knew it! I am tired.” The man let out a massive yawn as if to prove his point. He rolled his shoulders and rubbed his beady eyes. “Well then, looks like I don’t need to patrol the rest of this area.”

Relief flooding through her, Mikoto let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

RRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!

The loud sound made her suddenly tense up again, panic spreading through her body.

‘Why?! Why is this happening?! Did the sensors detect me?! Did I make a mistake?!’

The alarm was deafening, the shrill sound drumming into her eardrums painfully.

“What is happening?” The man was also in confusion, looking around anxiously as if the shadows would jump out at him any moment.

‘I have to get rid of him first and then I’ll work this mess out…’

A single signal, carefully calculated, sent the security bot wild. The artificial intelligence began to spin around and around, letting out distressed sounds from its speakers. Abruptly, it zoomed off in the opposite direction, speeding on its wheels at maximum velocity.

“Wh-what?! Wait!!” Bewildered, the man bolted off after it, obviously determined to carry out his job as a security guard.

Mikoto took this chance and ran the other direction. Thoughts of doubt began to creep into her mind.

‘Should I retreat for now?’

She rounded another corner, trying to block out the annoying sound of the still-shrieking alarm.

‘No… I don’t think they detected me… I’m certain this is someone else. Maybe I can use this situation to my advantage. Anyway, if I come back next time, it’ll be bothersome if they strengthen the security.’

Determination set deep inside her once more as Mikoto rushed up a flight of stairs.

“Okay. Let’s continue!”

"What does he mean by 'They're fun to play around with'? Is he himself a researcher too?"

Kaede squinted her curious endeavored eyes, after listening to Accelerator speak. She faced Yoshikawa, and quietly asked her,

"Senpai, What does he mean by 'play around' with? Is he experimenting on the clones himself as a researcher like me?"

Yoshikawa stood calmly still on her side of the floor. The truth of this project was asked several times before, but she came up with half-assed answers those previous times. However, this time Accelerator was in the room. The female researcher did not want her to fully know the true purpose of this project due to the fact that it might scar her later on. She was still a fragile girl at heart, and something as dark as this unbeknownst to her would surely change her opinion about the way she viewed the world. So, Yoshikawa chinned up as she imitated a smile,

"Well he is in a way, though Accelerator might not know that himself. Anyways, Accelerator could you give me a report on your end in 'progress'? I assume you brought such a report?"

Listening to her half-assed excuses made the assistant feel somehow suspicious of the whole situation and the work she was doing. The room suddenly filled with tension as Kaede tried to put the scattered pieces of information together. Why was she here creating clones of the Electromaster? What was Accelerator's involvement in this project? Is Yoshikawa not telling me the truth? But most important of all, what was the main purpose of this project?

She knew she couldn't ask Yoshikawa straight up what was behind this project. But, on the other hand, Accelerator might know.

"What does he mean by 'They're fun to play around with'? Is he himself a researcher too?"

The albino youth chuckled to himself. So she was also being kept in the dark.

"Well he is in a way, though Accelerator might not know that himself. Anyways, Accelerator could you give me a report on your end in 'progress'? I assume you brought such a report?"

"Not really. But I guess I can go over the details if that's what you really want." Did she really want to know what he did to those clones? He seemed to find that amusing for some reason. "Who knew you were into that sort of thing?" He continued to speak in ambiguous terms for the purpose of confusing Kaede.

He opened his mouth to speak when the alarm sounded, filling the room with a deafening screech.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Accelerator barked and with a scowl he turned his attention to the shrill noise. The world went silent. He could see the two women speaking, but their voices no longer reached his ears, turned away by his ability.

***

Feeling something behind him the guard spun on the spot, his flashlight casting just enough light to illuminate the solitary figure of a girl.

"Who are you?" He asked, only for his expression to flash with recognition as the beam fell upon the girl's face.

"It's OK." The voice of his fellow guard called out from behind him. "I forgot to tell you that someone's coming by to retrieve some data." The other man explained to his comrade. "I guess the guys at the entrance forgot to give her a card." He shook his head. The girl remained impassive as the two men spoke.

‘What is this place…?’

Heading towards the direction of the blacked-out room indicated by the map that she had memorised from her pda, Mikoto discovered an electronically locked door blocking the way. Easily dismantling the security, the Level 5 ran inside swiftly, on high alert for any other security guards.

Now, Mikoto found herself in a complex room full of monitors and machines. It was dark, but a still- on computer screen in the corner lit up the area with an eerie glow. No one was visible, but she proceeded with caution.

A few steps forward found culture tanks silently sitting in rows to her left. Mikoto stared, an ominous feeling arising from her stomach. There were many of them. And they were large. Human- size.

The urge to quickly get to the bottom of the rumours surrounding her DNA came to the forefront of her mind. In just a few strides, Mikoto was in front of the main control computer, busily typing away at the keys.

‘The data has been deleted several times before… But I’m sure it can still easily be recovered in this state.’

Mikoto hardly blinked, eyes scanning the bright screen efficiently as she focused her powers on what she was seeking. It didn’t take long.

“Mass Production Railgun Project: “SISTERS” – Final Report”

It took Mikoto a few seconds to fully register what those glowing, bold letters were conveying. Her eyes widened and she felt her lungs constrict. For an entire minute, she stood staring at the words, willing them to go away. But they didn’t.

With a trembling finger, she pressed the key that would allow her to read on.

“This project is to understand the genetic makeup of power users, and the purpose of this project is to be able to produce the rarely-occurring power users 100% of the time. The original power user that this project utilizes is Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun.”

Her mind felt numb.

‘It really exists…? My…?’

But she couldn’t think. She couldn’t even begin to imagine it.

Cloning project.

The two words alone made her feel nauseous.

Her sweaty palms dug painfully into the edge of the keyboard. Not wanting submerge herself into that dangerous territory just yet, Mikoto forced herself to continue reading instead.

“”Sisters” are created from a zygote containing Railgun’s genetic material which was extracted from the cells in her hair. Although obtaining the essential genetic material was very difficult, through negotiation, we successfully obtained her DNA from Academy City’s Databank.”

Raw anger rippled through her.

‘That time…’

“Would you please provide us with a sample of your DNA?”

“To shorten the experimental time, a method to decrease the time required for body and personality development is required. To accomplish this, chemicals such a Zid-02, Riz-13, and Hel-03 were used. It is estimated to take around 14 days to create a body similar to the Railgun.”

A smile erupted on the girl’s face, filled with hope and promises.

“Yes!”

‘This was their plan…”

“Memories and personality are forcibly implanted using the brainwashing equipment developed and maintained by an outside employee, Nunotaba Shinobu.”

The man returned a smile, offering a hand.

“Thank you.”

The girl and the scientist shook hands.

“… From the very start..?!!!”

“The preparation for mass producing “SISTERS” was theoretically determined to be successful. The project then proceeded to the next phase, construction for the mass production of “SISTERS”.”

Mikoto’s entire body was shaking violently. What she had just read so far shook her to the core with anger. They had fed her lies and had taken advantage of the situation. It was unforgiveable. She didn’t even want to read anymore, but the next pessimistic word caught her eye with surprise.

“However, during the final phase of the project, the super computer, Tree Diagram, predicted there were data irregularities. The power of “Sisters” is less than one percent of the original “Railgun”. Their power is equivalent to level 2 espers. Even from the most powerful clone, passing level 3 is impossible.”

Mikoto leaned forward, eyebrows knit together as she wracked her brain for possible implications.

‘So they can only create a reduced version of me…? Creating a level 2 would be useless in terms of market value…’

It made her feel sick just thinking like this. Their perspective.

“Without genetic manipulation and developmental education, it is impossible to produce a Level 5 esper clone. Due to said reasons, and to minimize any losses, the committee decided to halt all ongoing research on this project.”

Mikoto stared at the final sentences, the strength rapidly draining from her legs.

“The Railgun mass production plan “Sisters” will cease indefinitely. The research groups will be disbanded accordingly. The data will be disposed of according to regulation.”

With a thump, Mikoto landed heavily on her knees. For a while she sat silently in that position, contemplating all that she had read in the last few minutes. Somehow, somewhere along the lines of thinking, the entire situation became… amusing. The Electromaster laughed out aloud.

The sound echoed weirdly in the room.

“What the hell is this…” She said to the empty space. “My clones don’t exist after all…”

She stood up on wobbly legs, turning the computer off with a single zap of her electricity.

“Some stupid researcher probably leaked data accidentally, which led to these rumours.” Mikoto laughed again, turning slowly back the way she came.

“Ah~ Even then, I get goosebumps just thinking about it!” She stretched her arms wide, grinning lopsidedly at the spotless ceiling.

She paused at the doorway and looked back momentarily, briefly lost in thought.

“My DNA... That time…”

The room was just as she had found it. Cryotanks silently lining the left side in perfect rows. Monitors and machines glinting softly with the eerie glowing of the computer screen…

“Oh well… I can’t do anything about the past now.”

With a relieved smile, the Railgun walked out.

The electronic doors closed seamlessly behind her.

It wasn't long after Mikoto left the room that another girl stepped inside.

"Hey. How long is that going to take?" The guard asked, leaning against the door. He watched as the girl stood by the console, tapping deftly at the keys.

"42 minutes and 28 seconds until complete erasure of all data, says Misaka, reporting the time accurately." The girl spoke with deadpan monotone, staring at the screen before her as it the progress bar inched towards the right of the screen.

"Misaka must now confirm with you that there have been no other possible intruders within the past 48 hours. Says Misaka, requesting information as per her instructions." She asked the guard.

"What? No." He looked almost offended. Was she implying they couldn't do their jobs? "Why?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Misaka has been informed that the supercomputer Tree diagram has deduced there is an 86 percent possibility that this facility may be targeted by a dangerous individual. Says Misaka, reciting what she knows." The clone spoke as though reading words from a script.

"What? What individual?" The guard looked incredulous. Just who would think to attack this place?

"The original Railgun. Misaka Mikoto. Says Misaka with certainty."

***

"That's it! I'm outta here!" The albino youth barked, his own voice silenced by the effects of his ability. The doors opened for him as he left to attend to his other 'business'.

"So they didn't designate an area this time..." He muttered to himself. "I guess that means she'll come to me." The thought made him smile, his twisted grin widening. It almost made it thrilling, in a way. Like waiting for a long anticipated present.

But he was feeling impatient tonight. Maybe he'd have to find her instead?