[SS] Project Radio Noise

Kuroko leaned against a pillar and thought about where Mikoto could have wandered off. Could she have been abducted by a perverted pedophile?! No no no, Onee-sama would be able to fry any pedophiles with relative ease and all it would have taken her was glance at them. But what if it was a pedophile with Esper powers?! Pfft~ It can't be. Even if there was a shred of truth in that ridiculous thought, there was no Espers in Academy City that was more powerful than Onee-sama and the only two who ranked higher than Misaka Mikoto were rumored to be hopelessly gay for each other according to a reliable informant in Tokiwadai Dream Y Club.

But alas she was stuck here to supervise Kerri with an ongoing investigations. She watched him across the room, or at the very least what was remaining of the restaurant. There were times when she wanted to teleport a dropkick to the back of his head when Kerri was starting to pull out a demanding Batman trick at the owner of the establishment. Only difference between them were the obvious fact Kerri didn't dress up in a embarrassing cosplay gear and he wasn't demanding answers from a rooftop with one arm holding the establishment owner's left leg while his other hand casually grabbed onto the ledge supporting not only his own weight but that of the owner's as well. What exactly did Kerri have in mind when he applied for Judgment in the first place? Kuroko couldn't help but wonder, albeit they acted as a special support in big investigations such as this, it wasn't exactly their role to interrogate anyone this strictly. Kerri's answer to this was to build up credit to join the Anti-Skill.... but this seemed to be illogical as far as Kuroko could think of a plausible reason why they closed their doors to Kerri on basis he was lacking in transferable credit.

"That wasn't a request sir, it was a demand."

That line almost snapped some reason in Kuroko's mind as she unconsciously reached out for a nail to teleport it up Kerri's nose only to stop it midway which ended up with the nail being embedded on the remaining ceiling above Kerri. Patience... it was something she was often being lectured by Uiharu and Konori-senpai as something she was really lacking and true enough, there were one too many times she got herself in trouble for it. Instead of embedding a nail inside Kerri she decided to patiently standby and let him finish his interrogations. Either way, the one who would have to clean after Kerri's interrogation was most likely going to be Konori senpai who will then shower Kuroko with much of the leftover dark affections once she gets that formal complaint from a certain restaurant owner who was "harassed" by a Judgment member.


How long has it been since he began to batman-handle that poor owner...? By the time it was finally over Kuroko went over to him smiling a big unnatural grin. Before he could tell right from left she exclaimed "Oh good job Mr.McKinley!" and grabbed his right hand as if to shake it, at which moment they both disappeared.

It happened instantly but during that 10 seconds, Kerri noticed the distance from him to the ground was rapidly increasing with each second passing as Kuroko teleported them to the very top of a new building, 58 floors above ground level and still building ever so higher as it was still in construction. Speaking of construction, Kerri found himself standing on a large construction beam loosely suspended by two wires on each end of the beam. It was a good place to have a private chat away from any prying ears and bask in the cold air accompanied by the warm sunlight dazzling before their eyes. That is... if you can ignore the fact one little misstep can be fatal.

Kuroko dropped the smile and grimly sighed.

"Mr.McKinley... I know you didn't realize it at the time but may I remind you that we don't hold the rights to interrogate people? There was nothing wrong with requesting for information."

She scratched her head. In any case the look in the eyes of the restaurant owner confirmed she'll be getting that detention slip anytime soon when he makes that call to the Judgment Head Office who in turn will call up Konori Senpai to ask who had been in charge of supervising the one responsible.

"I understand that you're trying to do what is best to reflect well on your CV for applying into Anti-Skill but I need to ask you to understand that we are not Anti-Skill."

“What’s… that?”

"QIV687OXZ998, Misaka requests the confirmation code." The clone carrying the cumbersome bag rattled off a string of letters and digits before silently awaiting Mikoto's reply. 

Already the other clones were beginning to disperse wordlessly. After a few moments of awkward silence the clone speaking to Mikoto turned as well.

"Please do not pry into matters that do not concern you, Misaka makes a heartfelt request."

***

Accelerator responded by slamming his fist sideways into the carriage of a cargo train beside him. The metal container shook before the thin steel tore open like tissue paper besides the clone.

The Esper took advantage of the distraction to swing beside the girl and he swung his fist at her, the shell of the cargo container shuddering with every punch he threw. His arms pierced and perforated the train as easily ass a high caliber bullet as he chased his prey down.

"QIV687OXZ998, Misaka requests the confirmation code."

“???”

Mikoto blinked at the girls in complete confusion, who patiently waited for her answer with obvious anticipation.

‘What are they… talking about?’

As Mikoto tried to form some coherent setence in reply to the girl’s request, the other girls slowly turned away, dispersing back into the darkness.

The Tokiwdai girl’s hand immediately outstretched, pleading words to stop their leave and tell her everything lingering on her lips. But before she could even form a single word, the clone with the mysterious black bag on her shoulder spoke one last time.

"Please do not pry into matters that do not concern you, Misaka makes a heartfelt request."

With that, the girl followed after her sisters, leaving Mikoto alone in the deserted alleyway, more confused and anxious than ever before.

***

Before she could even blink, the metal container that had been standing beside her suddenly burst open like a terrific explosion. Taken by complete surprise, she shrieked as the sharp pieces bit into her body as they whizzed by. The past experiences stored in the Misaka network and battle instincts that have developed over time told her this was just a mere distraction, but by the time she realised this, it was already too late.

A fist struck her left shoulder powerfully, and 9982 felt something crack under the pressure and the entire length of her arm go numb with pain. The force pinned her shoulder against the cargo container, and the pain almost forced her to fall on her knees, but she did not allow her will to submit.

Focusing on the white blur rounding on her, the clone managed to dodge the next few punches, ducking and evading with her back still pressed against the cold metal. Accelerator’s terrifying power made itself known by the gaping holes left behind on the container where the punches had missed.

She was sweating profusely already, and the lucky misses ran out quicker than she’d hoped.

“Urghhh!” Blood immediately filled her mouth as a punch landed squarely on her stomach. This time, there was nothing she could do against the overwhelming pain. The girl’s back slid down against the metal container, cradling the gun in her arms as she sank into a crouched position.

Fuelled by desperation, the clone quickly maneuvered the weapon with her right arm, aiming it at the albino. As she squeezed the trigger to fire a round, she found strength to push her body off the ground, using the momentum to begin her run. The girl fled away as she continued fire, wanting to put some distance between them.

"Thank you for your time," Kerri said to the man, who seemed rather peeved at Kerri. Not that he cared, he just happened to notice it. He tended to have that effect on people,

Kerri turned, closing his notebook in his right hand, and his pencil in his left, and noticed Kuroko walk up from behind him,

"Oh good job Mr.McKinley!" Kuroko said, as she went to shake his hand,

What's with the sudden shift in attitude? I'd expect that she be reprimanding me for - Before Kerri knew it, he was nearly six stories in the air, suspended on a construction bar hangingby two metal wires,

Kerri looked around, very calm about his current situation. Slightly relieved,

Ahhhh, there it is. The sign of complete displeasure with my actions, Kerri grinned, Well, at least I know she can teleport people, and most likely anything smaller than a person, Kerri thought, speaking to Kuroko, still grinning,

"I take it you're displeased," Was all he said,

After sighing grimly, Kuroko stated after losing her smile, "Mr.McKinley... I know you didn't realize it at the time but may I remind you that we don't hold the rights to interrogate people? There was nothing wrong with requesting for information."

Kerri didn't respond, thinking about what Kuroko was saying,

I guess i was a little too forceful. Oh well, live and learn. I'm new at this whole thing anyway, Kerri listened to Kuroko's words intently,

"I understand that you're trying to do what is best to reflect well on your CV for applying into Anti-Skill but I need to ask you to understand that we are not Anti-Skill." Kerri nodded, faced forward on the construction beam, and casually kicked his legs into the air, letting himself fall so that he was sitting on the beam, causing it to shake a bit too much for a normal person not to be unnerved,

These wires can hold a few peoples weight on them, He thought blandly, as he started writing in his notebook,

Be sure not to force people to reveal information. At the most, be insistent, but don't interrogate them,

As he wrote, he said, "Thank you for telling me that Kuroko-Senpai, but I'm not trying to act like Anti-Skill. I'm a Judgement member, and as such, I will need to show that I am capable of handling the responsibilities of being a member of Judgement before becoming a member of Anti-Skill. I only meant to get information, and I did not mean to overstep my boundaries as a member of Judgement," He stated,

"By the way Kuroko-Senpai," He turned back a few pages in his notebook, filled up with notes about the incident at the restuarant, at least that which he recieved from the manager, "Before I tell you about what I learned yesterday, could I ask you something? I know it's a longshot, but do you know anyone with short brown hair, brown eyes, around your age, a little over five feet high? I was thinking of checking Tokiwadai's database for someone matching that description to get some sort of witness account," Kerri stated, swinging his legs back and forth as they dangled off the side of the construction beam,

Accelerator's bony fist dropped towards the crouching clone like a bomb, impacting just a moment too late to catch her. He reared towards her, raking his arm up from the ground to toss chunks of cement at her quickly retreating form. The bullets from her rifle cut through the air around him, sparking as they skipped across steel containers and thudding home into soft dirt.

He reached down, grasping the train track with one hand. With all the effort of a child hefting a stuffed toy the albino boy wrenched the track from the ground, sleepers straining and snapping away. The metal twisted and snaked in his hands like a whip as he lifted his arm to swing it upwards, uprooting the ground around the clone. It reared up ponderously as he prepared to smash it down on top of her.

Mikoto shook her throbbing head, trying to sort out her troubled thoughts logically by going through the options she had.

She could track down fish-eyes again, and demand further answers. From the conversation she had with her friends earlier, it was obvious that the Nunotaba girl knew much more than she had let on.

“they appear to have been placed deliberately in areas with security blindspots...” Uiharu's report from earlier came into mind.

Mikoto’s lips tightened. It was too dark to see anything right now, but her Electroperception told her what she needed to know. No security cameras here.

And Mikoto wouldn’t hesitate to guess that this might have been a place where one of those bank cards were found.

Just what were her clones doing in places like these?

Somehow, all of this was connected. But nothing Mikoto could come up with made any sense; the puzzle pieces just refused to fit together. All she knew was that it couldn’t be anything too good.

‘Damn it!’ Her teeth crunched togther with frustration. Even if she did manage track down fish-eyes there was still no guarantee she would gain further answers. And the Level 5 really didn’t want to have to resort to hurting the girl if necessary.

The same went for Kaede Faye. Mikoto remembered the genuinely confused and surprised expressions when they had spoken. She had an instinctive feeling that while the blonde was involved in Project Radio Noise, she didn't possess any further knowledge and would be of no help.

Which left one last option. To follow these clones until she discovered what they were really doing. No matter what.

Immediately she broke into a run, silently heading into the darkness where the clones had vanished. Her power’s feedback told her of their whereabouts ahead, maintaining the perfect distance between them.

Eyes determined, Misaka Mikoto stalked the four mirror images of herself, following them into the darkness full of hidden truths.

***

A large chunk of rock slammed into her side, and the girl was sent sprawling to the ground. Bullets reflected off the albino, but whether it was pure luck or intentionally done on Accelerator’s part, she was thankful none of them hit her. She managed to keep a tight grip on her weapon, rasing herself on one knee to unleash another round. But before the clone could even take proper aim, the rail track rose around her like a giant serpent.

She looked up with an expression of shock and horror as it twisted and jerked wildly in the air. The ground beneath her lurched and 9982 was forced to her hands and knees in order to keep herself stable. Quick as a cobra striking its victim, the metallic whip suddenly struck out at her with terrifying speed and the girl only just managed to roll away in the very last moment. Her weapon was not so fortunate however, slipping out of her sweaty palms. It shattered to tiny pieces upon impact, the sound reverberating in the clone’s ears painfully as she felt a pang of loss.

Adreanline fuelling her, the girl pushed herself off the ground and sent the biggest lightning bolt she could find strength to produce hurtling towards the albino. Without waiting to see the outcome, she spun on her heels and tried to flee away, her breath coming out in quick gasps.

Waiting outside of the building that Kaede Faye was in, Mack started considering his plans for tailing Kaede Faye. He needed to intercept her ASAP, and had made the decision to find a simple way of tracking her. He couldn't keep up with her, even with the busing system, if she kept driving around after all.

I should change my plans up. This girl's emotions are all over the place, but she seems to be moving with a purpose, meaning that tracking her shouldn't be too difficult. I've got a feeling that shhe'll be going

Looking around, Mack noticed a few people wandering around, not paying him any particular amount of attention. Now was the best time to do it, but he still decided to be discrete about his actions.

Mack took off his back pack, removing a small, black device from his pack. He immediately stuffed it into his left pocket and after putting his bag back onto his back, he started walking away from the building. As he did this, he removed his cellphone from his left pocket, secretly keeping the small gadget he removed earlier in his grip.

As he walked, he held his phone so that it appeared that he was scrolling through messages in it. He made sure that he was standing by the edge of the side walk while he did this, and that he was right in front of a certain parked car when he purposely dropped it, causing the phone to fall underneath said car,

"Dammit," Mack muttered loudly for a person next to his to hear for the purpose of sounding like  person annoyed about dropping his phone. He crouched onto the pavement to quickly grab his phone. As he did, he quickly placed the small black gadget in his grip onto the bottom of the car, letting the devices magnetism hold it in place,

No one watching would have suspected that Mack had just placed a tracking device onto Kaede Faye's car,

As Mack walked away, he sent a text too his allies, reading,

Using tracking device I took. Serial number #45663. Requesting someone to drive me to the targets location when she moves. Mack wrote, sending his message along with the address of where he was,

After waiting for a response for a few minutes, he received a text telling him,

Go to the end of the block directly to your right, facing the building Mack looked at the text, slightly perplexed. Normally he would have been given a description of the vehicle. Mack's curiosity dried up, and he decided that he'd just trust Haruka's judgement on this,

After walking a few feet, he was immediately able to identify the car he had to enter. The reason being the man standing in front of it,

The man was very tall, and bulky, with muscles slightly noticeable under the suit he wore. Said suit didn't fit his thuggish appearance. His face was unappealing, and his eyes looked mean. The baldness he had experienced didn't help either,

As Mack walked up to the man, giving him an empty "Hello," The man nodded to him in acknowledgement, getting into the car to drive him,

"Get in the pasenger seat Mack," The man said,

"Yes Sir Kyou," Mack said to the man known as Kyou, oddly respectful of him,

Mack slipped into the seat, sitting down and taking out a special device to track Kaede's car with,

"I'll let you know when she moves. We can follow her then," The man known as Kyou nods curtly and looks at Mack as he asks his next question, "So....is there any particular reason you of all people are driving around people on order? Did you get downgraded or something for being harsh on Mari?" Kyou shrugged before saying,

"No, I didn't get a demotion, I just figured that I'd do some odd jobs for Deep-Six to get some extra cash, and kill time until my actual job. Speaking of which," Kyou looked at Mack, and despite his naturally hostile looking face, he seemed rather friendly, "Care to tell me about what your mission is,"

Mack thought for a moment, looking around the car. The windows were tinted, hiding them, and Mack was sure Kyou ensured some "technical problems" would keep the fact that the two of them met a secret, in case any questions were asked,

Sure, why not, we're both... maybe not friends... acquaintances? I don't know. Mack looked forward, and started to explain what he had been told to do,

"The order had come in about a day ago. I was given orders to keep surveillance of Kaede Faye, and attack her when given the chance. I was given a three day time limit, and used the time to gather things that I needed for my other mission, pinning the attack on someone else. I decided that Mari wouldn't mind helping me out, so I asked her and she obliged.  I had reviewed information that was delivered to us about Kaede Faye, and reviewed other information that we found on our own as well." Kyou nodded in understanding, and still stared forward,

"So, how's it going so far?" Kyou asked, and Mack stated,

"I'm sure you know that I'm currently going after my target, so I'm going to have to say that it's inconclusive."

"...I mean, do you think that you'll be able to attack her soon?" Kyou asked, slightly annoyed,

"At this point in time, I can't say. I need her to get to a secluded area. The apartments here have a lot of people living in them. There are plenty who are home at odd hours of the day, so I have a high risk of causing a panic if anyone there hear's what happens."

"So, Mack, does this mean that you're going to wait for her to leave her apartment and hope she goes somewhere that isn't public?"

Mack nods "Essentially,"

"And what if she doesn't? What is it's a place filled with people?"

"I either follow her until she goes to a secluded area, or hope she drives to somewhere secluded," Mack says,

"...And what if this process repeats? As in, she keeps going to different places?"

Mack is about to voice hiss answer, You'll have a lot of driving to do, when he notices Kaede's tracker moving, and looks to see that her car is moving,

"You'll have to find out later, my target is moving," Kyou waited for Kaede's card to go past them before driving to a different road to avoid getting spotted. The tracking device would give them the means to track her,

As they travelled, Mack was sure Kyou grumbled something about 'Knowing what he was really going to ssay,'

Despite his looks, Kyou was easily one of the smartest members of Deep-Six... if anything, he's one of the most experienced,

After a few minutes of driving, with some occasional banter, Mack noticed Kaede's car parking somewhere odd, and after telling Kyou this, he parked somewhere about a block away,

"Thanks for the ride. It feels good being able to order my superior around for once," Mack said in a surprisingly flat tone to Kyou, despite the laugh Kyou gave,

"Sure, sure whatever," Kyou's frown quickly returned, "Do you want some help with this though? I mean, there could be some unexpected elements considering this weird location she's stopped at... there could be other people here." Mack actually acknowledged what Kyou said and agreed.

First, Kaede was found at some sort of random apartment where someone like her would never be seen.

Next, she was wallowing in self-pity at a local park,

After that, she went to her research facility and essentially stole what was most likely classified inofrmation,

The only stop she made so far that made sense was when she was at her apartment. She probably wanted to read over the info that she had stolen, but this last place,

"No, this is my mission, not yours. I won't waste any more of your time than I need to. Just stay here in case she neds to leave. I'll be back soon," Mack ran off in the other direction to where Kaede Faye apparently was.

A railyard.

Mack didn't understand the location, and he honestly didn't care why Kaede was here. All he knew he needed to do was retrieve the tracking device he had used-which was done with ease-and pursue Kaede Faye.

Mack removed his backpack, removing a black mask that covered his entire head, but would still let him see. He ulled the hood over his masked head, and stalked into the railyard, cautiously looking around for his target, and any other potential threats.

The bolt of electricity discharged across Accelerator's body in crackling arcs that were pulled  downwards to the ground. He pulled his arm back and the rail coiled back like a whip once more, threatening to cut the girl in half at the waist. He brought the twisted metal down again and again, smashing the floor and cutting deep gouges where it fell.

The ghastly figure of Accelerator stood at the eye of the storm as the monstrous steel limb slashed around him, carving through the railyard with all the wild force of a hurricane.

As the metal cobra continued to strike down at her relentlessly, the girl was forced to a defensive position, honing the network’s battle instincts to guide her body. Often she used what small control she had of magnetism to push the attacks away. But she didn’t have the powers of the Original. The attacks were too fast, too strong for her to overpower them with her own powers. Some of them landed too close for her comfort, only missing by a hair’s width. As she maneuvered her exhausted body, she wondered how long she could keep this up.

As always, luck ran out too fast, too suddenly.

The metal whip swung towards her again and she twisted her form, trying to dodge. But it whizzed by and before she could even understand what had happened, her right arm was no longer attached to her body. Confused and horrified by the sight of her own limb sprawled before her, she stumbled, widened eyes on the bleeding stump that was left over.

She hardly even felt the pain as the panic hit. 9982 immediately tried to flee away, the metal whip hissing around her. But a strand caught a side of her torso this time, ripping through her brutally. The girl fell with a scream, clutching at the mangled mess the strike had left behind with the single hand she now had left. The overwhelming pain struck and she curled into a protective ball on the cold ground, eyelids tightly scrunched together in a desperate attempt to shut everything out.

***

Mikoto continued on her silent trail in the darkness, keeping tabs on the four figures up ahead. As far as she could tell, the direction they were taking was heading towards the nearby railyard.

Why were they going there?

Mikoto had no clue, but was determined to find out no matter what.

The loud sounds of collision resonated from the railyard. Kaede Faye breathlessly ran through the underlying path, pushing her onto the extents of her stamina. Tears swelled up in her eyes, as she was reaching the center of the railyard through the maze of stacked rails. Each turn she made through the maze, her heart beat louder and louder, trying to still make sense of this experiment's purpose.

As she made way into clear view of the area, what she had seen was a post apocalyptic battlefield that only a true monster could accomplish in creating. Smoke surrounded the area, only to clear up revealing one figure standing. It was the albino-haired boy known as the strongest in Academy City, Accelerator. Kaede's gasping face didn't concern his presence, but someone else's. The figure lying painfully on the ground, with a pool of blood spreading around her, was the one person Kaede didn't want to see in this state. With her right arm missing, the sight of the sister left Kaede not able to breath for a mere second. With a shortage of her breath, she used it to yell,

"STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"

Kaede chased after the fallen clone, ignoring Accelerator completely to come to the sister's aid. She slid onto the ground, grabbing onto her fragile body with tears leaving her eyes.

"Why?! *sniff* Why would you do something so stupid like this?? I- *sniff* I won't let you go through this experiment. I just can't... *sniff*"

Her blood covered hands reached her dismembered shoulder. The loss of blood suddenly discontinued, as it's blood flow altered from its default pattern. Kaede accessed her personal reality, Blood Control, to prevent her from dying. Tears dripped onto the clone sensing, from the flow of blood, that she was in dire pain.

Her head diverted towards Accelerator, trying to form her own words.

"This Experiment is over! Accelerator, please stop!"

Mack

Despite the darkness in the area, Mack had no issue finding Kaede. She was running through a maze of stacked rails and containers in the railyard, but luckily for Mack, she was drawn to the noises breaking the area's silence,

It was also lucky that a woman with long blonde hair running around frantically stuck out in a place like this. Not like a person wearing all black and being careful to stick close to the shadows,

Mack quietly stayed several steps behind Kaede, making sure to move past each corner of the rails and containers to follow her right when she was turning past the next one. He had almost lost her a few times, but she was also breathing heavily, which also aided Mack in finding her,

As I presumed, physical exertion just isn't her thing... at least not with how fast she's currently moving, Mack matched her pace without issue, continuing to tail her,

Mack noticed her stop, looking out into a part of the area not covered in containers or equipment, and slowed his pace, then cautiously went back behind the container. If he had just stopped, he would have skidded because of the loose soil here, alerting his target,

Looking out into the night, Mack saw the devastation and started thinking,

Oh boy, there's someone really powerful here. Better not get involved on my own. If I get killed, I can't accomplish my mission, then someone else will have to pick up the slack because I couldn't do my job, Mack though, seeing two figures clearly illuminated by the moonlight.

The first was a scrawny young man, a teenager, with pale skin, and white hair. Mack couldn't see his eyes, but assumed him to be an albino of some sort. Looking around the area, Mack thought about who this person could be, and learned about a description he heard from a friend of his,

...This must be the Accelerator. It makes sense giving the insane damage... especially considering that the landscape doesn't match up with something that the oter person would do,

Mack stared at the other person on the ground bleeding out. Short brown hair, about fourteen years of age, and in a Tokiwadai uniform. He could make out her face and he knew who this person was. She was missing an arm, and practically swimming in her own blood but he knew...

This person looked exactly like Misaka Mikoto, the Railgun.

...What is this...? It's in poor taste to speak ill of the... well, if they were planning this, then I guess I could say speaking ill of the dead. I'm pretty sure that stealing from them or anything else I was ordered to do isn't much better, Mack thought, trying to process what he was seeing,

He noticed Kaede shaking, and could tell that it would be a terrible find for any normal person...

...But she should have expected this. She came straight here, meaning she must have found it in whatever information she stole. Mack had a feeling what a person like Kaede would do... a doctor going out of her way to heal people,

Mack removed his cell phone from his pocket, still looking up, as Kaede Faye made her move,

She lowered her head, clenched her fists, and Mack could almost hear her struggling to form any words before-

"STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" Kaede shrieked, lifting her head, and dashed out into the open,

Her long hair whipped behind her as she dashed out to the clone, in an act of selflessness and compassion,

In the face of the most powerful esper in Academy City, this kind act is simply ridiculous and asinine, Mack thought, and zoomed in on the event with his phone,

It was a disposable, set so that it didn't automatically light up when opened. The light needed to be manually turned on, but that, along with the fact that it was set on silent, kept Mack from getting noticed as he took a picture of the scene before him,

He took another one, looking at Kaede, through the phone, hugging the mortally wounded girl who appeared to be Misaka Mikoto.

Why?! *sniff* Mack listened to her voice quivering with anger and fear. He listened to her sniffeling, and presumed that she was crying, Why would you do something so stupid like this?? I- *sniff* I won't let you go through this experiment. I just can't... *sniff*

Kaede's hand's were stained with the girl's blood as she reached for the girls shoulder, and Mack watched as the blood oozing out of the deadly wound seemed to stop leaving the brown haired girl's body and seemingly flowed normally... sort of like looking at a small river, only more red,

Her ability Blood Control no doubt, Mack remarked, taking another image,

Kaede looked up from the brown haired girl straight at the Accelerator, and Mack could see the misery and anguish on her face, snot running down her nose, and tears flowing down her cheeks, all coming together ruining her attractive face,

Mack saw as she quickly sucked in as much air as she could to cream, "This Experiment is over! Accelerator, please stop!"

Mack kept taking pictures periodically, staying hidden, and was genuinely curious to see what would happen next. He wasn't wondering whether or not Kaede Faye would get hurt,

He was wondering how she would get hurt, and if he'd actually have to injure her,

Honestly I hope not. Kaede Faye needs to live, otherwise I'd have been ordered just to kill her. Mack stared at the scene, Hopefully Accelerator will just swat her away like an insect, I doubt he sees an altruist like her as anything more...

Mack watched the scene carefully, making sure to catch every detail from the shadows he was hidden in,

"This Experiment is over! Accelerator, please stop!"

Accelerator stopped, a look of distaste writ large across his gaunt features.

"Over?" He spat. "This experiment isn't over. It's just getting started!" His eyes widened with a blaze of murderous glee and his steel 'limb' renewed its thrashing spiral. The ground about Kaede and the clone was torn up by lashes of the whiplike rail as Accelerator drew closer.

"I should be thanking you." He cackled, red eyes catching the moonlight in a devilish glare that stared through Kaede. "This one's been much more fun than the last few!" His tight, reedy laugh sounded out over the roaring blender that surrounded him.

It was dark and cold, but the pain was becoming numb, fading away into the deep recesses of her mind. It was a sensation not completely new to her, and one she recognised as approaching death. She knew, because she had experienced via the Network what the 9981 Sisters before her had seen and felt. But still, this felt different. There was an ache in her chest which she could not identify with, a throbbing pang that resonated deep inside… The time she spent with her Oneesama came to mind, along with the now-lost gift she had given her. Without even realising she was doing so, 9982 wished with all her heart she could have had more chances to get to know Oneesama better, to find the badge with the smiley green mascot again, to apologise for losing it…

"STOP! THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"

Shocked, the girl’s eyes flew open. Weakly, she raised her aching head as Kaede appeared in her vision. Her widened eyes stared at the blonde-haired woman, remembering her from earlier this morning.

"Why?! *sniff* Why would you do something so stupid like this?? I- *sniff* I won't let you go through this experiment. I just can't... *sniff*"

Kaede’s hands were on her injuries, preventing the blood flow, but the clone hardly felt her touch for her mangled body was cold and numb all over. Her bluish lips were half-parted with shock and surprise, completely speechless.

"This Experiment is over!” Kaede turned to the albino. The clone heard the desperation in her voice, and her confusion grew worse. “Accelerator, please stop!"

"Over? This experiment isn't over. It's just getting started!"

The metal whips continued to twirl around them, tearing up the ground. With the blood flow now stopped and the new turn of events having drawn back her consciousness, the girl felt the pain renew. She cringed into herself again, moaning in agony.

"I should be thanking you. This one's been much more fun than the last few!"

“Misaka… doesn’t… under... stand…” The girl suddenly whispered. Her pain-filled eyes were fixed upon Kaede’s, obviously confused and bewildered by the woman’s actions. “You… should not be… here… Misaka… tells you… to leave…”

Accelerator didn't listen. He was consumed by his obsession for power. Metal lashes from the rails tore apart the ground around Kaede and the sister, entrapping them within a hurricane-like spiral. Kaede didn't have the physical or mental ability to even defend against Accelerator's might. She was only a Level 2 esper after all, who knew nothing about physical combat.

The cold words slowly spoke out from the sister's mouth,

“Misaka… doesn’t… under... stand… You… should not be… here… Misaka… tells you… to leave…”

Kaede tearfully looks at her pain-driven eyes, ignoring the incoming storm. She smiled, chuckling afterwards.

"What kind of older sister would I be if I left you in a bind? *sniff* I looked after you since you were just a small girl, and yet you still ask me that? Idiot... *sniff* I'll do anything to protect you and your sisters, if it even means to risk my life. It's how I feel, so please just bare with me for now."

She bit her thumb, causing a pool of blood to form. She knew of the clones' DNA well from her times observing them while they grew. So using "that" method from her Personal Reality was possible. The method she was thinking of was reconstructing her own blood type to match the clones, so she would be able to merge her own modified blood with the clones, resupplying her from what she had lost so that the sister would be able to perform the basic human functions once more. In simple words, Kaede was to perform her own version of Blood transfusion through her thumb as an extraction point. The process should take less than a minute to complete, providing her with 30% of Kaede's own blood.

This had also meant, she was risking her own conscious to perform such a technique that could lead to internal blood loss on her part. But she didn't care. As Accelerator was approaching, Kaede hugged the sister tightly, while performing the transfusion through her missing arm. She braced for whatever was coming for her, shielding the sister and using her own Esper ability.

Her eyesight started to feel hazy, and she felt her body started to lose it's strength. Whatever it took, she would protect her "sister".

"Quit wasting your time with that thing."

Accelerator kicked Kaede aside like a rag doll and he loomed over the wounded clone. The light from the moon cast his face in shadow that was broken only by the jagged line of his teeth, bared in a wicked grin.

"It's already half dead." He half laughed, half sighed as he trod towards an out of service train carriage. Accelerator gripped it by the front end, an action accompanied by the sound of twisting and groaning metal. With little effort the gaunt boy lifted the chassis off of the tracks and hefted it in his hand as though testing its weight. Then, raising it above his head he turned back to the clone.

There was a moment of stillness.

Then the roaring of something cutting the air with tremendous force.

"I'm just putting it out of its misery!" He cackled as the train carriage swung down with crushing force. The impact shattered the ground.

Accelerator released the carriage and it lay embedded in the fragmented cement. He turned to Kaede with a lazy loll of his head.

"I guess that's what happens when I go all out." He scratched at his lank mop of white hair. "Don't feel bad. There's only so much you can do with them. It can't be helped, I guess."

As Kaede spoke, the girl stared at the woman through a hazy film of pain. She saw the smile on her lips, heard the chuckle behind her words, and she felt her heart constrict. But still, she could not understand, and what the woman did next perplexed her even further.

The clone’s eyes widened as the woman bit into her thumb without thought, her teeth tearing into flesh to produce a weeping wound. Placing this opening against the stump 9982 had left, the woman wrapped her other arm around her, encasing her into a warm embrace.

So great was her bewilderment, the girl could not summon her ability form words and simply let herself be hugged gently. She very quickly noticed something strange, a distinctive feeling that she was regaining strength gradually but surely, a phenomena that could not be possible…

"Quit wasting your time with that thing."

The clone cried out in surprise as the warmth was suddenly ripped away from her. She watched helplessly as Kaede was flung away, kicked aside like a rag doll. Something indescribable and new burned in her heart like a fire, and she defiantly looked up as Accelerator loomed over her.

"It's already half dead."

She heard sounds of creaking metal but she refused to let her eyes wander from her Target. The girl did not fully comprehend why the woman did what she did, but she did realise that Kaede had not wanted her to give up. So, she wasn’t going to.

"I'm just putting it out of its misery!"

She was going to win. And then... she would be free to do all that she wanted to do…

A small smile curved her lips as her world suddenly turned black.

***

‘Shit, where did they suddenly disappear to? Did they realise I was following them?!’

Mikoto was running, surveying the area around her as she desperately tried to catch sight of the Sisters she had been following again. They had led her very close to the railyard, but in a momentary distraction, they had disappeared off her radar. No… It wasn’t that their signal was completely gone. They were still there, she could feel them vaguely. But from here, it suddenly felt was if those clones were all around, and everywhere. It just didn’t make sense.

‘Where the hell are they-?!’

A terrifying sound caught her attention and Mikoto pulled to a stop to listen. The cooling sweat on her skin felt sticky and uncomfortable as she tried to gain her bearings in the darkness. Crashes and bangs could be heard in the distance and she hesitated, wondering if following the noise would lead her to where she wanted to be. Quickly deciding that she had no other leads, Mikoto bolted forwards, directly towards the railyard.

Her heart beat wildly as the noise grew louder and louder. Were they gunshots she was hearing? Was she going to stumble upon a battle between espers? If so, she didn’t particularly want to get involved. All she wanted was to find the Sisters, everything else wasn’t so significant.

Her feet pounded on the concrete foundations of the footbridge looking over the railyard. Glancing over the railing as she ran, her eyes widened. Like a huge cobra, something was twirling and twisting in the darkness, the obvious cause of the extreme racquet she had followed. Curious and baffled, Mikoto’s strides shortened to a walk, her eyes trailing the giant snake. Leaning over the railing, she quickly realised this was no reptile- it was long pieces of metal, the train tracks to be exact. An esper controlling them, Mikoto swiftly deduced and her brown orbs scanned the area, landing upon an albino figure in the distance.

She frowned, wondering what they were doing in the middle of the night causing such a ruckus. From the display they were showing off, it looked as if they were a metal-user. And a level 4 at least.

‘Urgh, I don’t have time for this right now. I need to find them….!!!’

Something caught her eye then, a figure she had not fully realised before, for they had been better blended into the darkness than the albino.

‘What…? Is… this…?’

Her pupils constricted, and her breath hitched in her throat. What she was seeing just didn’t make sense at all. It was an image of herself lying in a pool of crimson, only a mangled stump dangling from a shoulder.

She could hardly think straight. Surely, she was seeing things. Somehow this was all a trick. A dream perhaps, a nightmare and nothing more. Maybe she was going delusional. Maybe having met four of her clones was finally getting to her and driving her mad. Nothing made any sense… Nothing made sense… Nothing made sense…

Mikoto did not realise how dangerously close to falling she was, her torso almost entirely hanging off the railing from leaning forward so much. Her eyes were glued on the image of her mutilated self, unable to process anything but the complete confusion and horror this vision had provoked.

She saw the albino approaching the bloodied figure, its forward gait predatory and threatening even from the distance. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

Only when a train carriage was suddenly hanging over the girl’s form did a single scream of denial and horror escape her lips.

“NO!!!!”

But by that time, it was already too late.

With a terrible crash, the carriage landed atop the girl, leaving a horrified and speechless Mikoto staring. A river of crimson began to weep out from underneath, the only sign that the girl had ever existed.

Mack

Mack watched as Kaede Faye placed her thumb against the clones' remaining shoulder, periodically taking pictures with his phone,

Mack thought about one of her more costly abilities of Blood Control, which he assumed she used when she bit her own thumb to start bleeding.

Converting her own blood into the same type as another person's. Normally, I'd see this as valiant... Mack looked up at the scene before him, Accelerator Launching a steel rail at the two of them, smashing the Earth around them, like a tentacle, But considering the monster standing right in front of them, ready to kill, it's just flat out moronic, Mack thinks,

He watched as Accelerator did just what Mack hoped he would-swat Kaede Faye away like a fly. Hopefully that and the blood loss wouldn't knock her out.

Mack listened carefully to Accelerator's words to Kaede... and it was easy to tell how little this girl meant to him. This living, breathing thing was an "It".

Just as cold as the rumors say he is,

Accelerator casually walked away, and when he reached a train carriage, he casually gripped it with his hand, and Mack could see and hear the metal bending and twisting as it was gripped. Accelerator's thin arm went up casually into the air as if it weren't touching a thing, completely ignoring the hundreds of pounds of weight in the train carriage, lifting it as if it were made of cardboard.

At this point, Mack knew what was going to happen. The rate he took pictures increased dramatically, small images that would be able to show a slideshow of what he was about to witness,

I shouldn't miss a single moment of this... I need to make sure to prove what I'm seeing... A Level 5 being murdered by the strongest Level 5...

The moonlight made the wide grin on his face, and red eyes on his pale face all the more visible. Mack knew that look. The look of those inebriated with their power. The joy of being able to destroy what they wanted, when they wanted to.

"I'm just putting it out of its misery!" Accelerator shouted with a short laughter, taking a step forward, and bringing the massive train carriage down, cutting through the air and landing on the young teenage girl, still bleeding on the ground, hanging on by a thread,

Mack stayed silent and calm,

Kaede was horrified,

Accelerator was excited,

Misaka Mikoto's emotions, Mack couldn't read.

The container had been too fast, crushing what was left of her body before he could look back at her. The metal of the train carriage start warping from the impact. He could see the concrete breaking inward, forming a crater, and Mack was almost sure he saw some of the young girl's blood spray out from the impact,

...I haven't seen this kind of carnage in a while... but I won't rule it out as impossible.

The world was silent, naught but a light breeze could be heard. Mack slowed the rate he took pictures to a more methodical one, listening to Accelerator grumble loudly to himself,

"I guess that's what happens when I go all out. Don't feel bad. There's only so much you can do with them. It can't be helped, I guess." He listened to Accelerator muse to himself, with his own thoughts clouding his mind

Poor girl... oh well, that's life. It comes to an end sooner or later, and it isn't always pretty[i/] Mack thought, brushing off the murder he had observed, Well, so much for my charge. I guess I'll have to report in what's hap-

"NO!!!!" Mack's train of thought was interrupted by a new voice he hadn't heard tonight. He turned his phone to zoom in on the source, and saw a young girl, no older than fourteen, with short-brown hair, brown eyes, and a Tokiwadai uniform.

"What is this..." mack mumbled quietly to himself without realizing it. it was a slip he didn't normally make, but it was justified,

He wsa watching a girl who just died in front of him scream in terror over her own death,

Well... at least I'll have an interesting story for everyone... Mack thought, now considering how complicated a supposedly easy job may actually be,

"Quit wasting your time with that thing."

A soft kick to the side of her chest resulted in a blow equal to that of a bat.

"Ach!'

She coughed out blood whle gasping for breath as pain had struck her ribcage. Her grip on the clone loosened and only to ripped apart from her. The distance between them widened. Her body was blown across the railyard only to be stopped by a stack of crates. The collision rendered Kaede to scream in pain.

"Gaaah!"


She found herself helpless on the ground, breathing heavily. Her eyesight was getting hazy and her body was failing her due to the amount of blood she gave to the clone. Right before her, she was witnessing the monster known as Accelerator stare at the injured sister, with eyes filled with killing intent. As Kaede saw this, she ignored her own pain in order to stand.

"No!!! Accelerator!! Stop!! Don't kill her!! Plea- AHHHH!"

Her broken ribcage left her unable to stand. She wasn't able to move. She bit her lips, holding onto the side of her stomach and enduring the pain while she resorted to crawling towards them.

"I'm just putting it out of its misery!"

Painfully crawling with one hand, she witnessed Accelerator lift up a train carriage without difficulty, positioning it over the sister. Kaede widened her eyes, as she began to crawl faster.

"STOP! Don't do this!!"

Tears ran down her face, as she was witnessing Accelerator about to deal the final blow. She picked up her pace, only to be paused by the sheer pain.

"No... it can't end this way. I promised them. I promised so many things...

Flashbacks of Kaede's previous conversations with the sisters were recalled within her memories. Everything she said to them, how she would care for them and even become their older sister after they finished their purpose in Project Radio Noise, even though they were fully away of their own fate, was just too cruel to bare.

The guillotine was swung down, and Kaede's screaming voice meant nothing.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

A loud crash was heard about the railyard. Dim silence followed afterwards.

"Either way, today's experiment: completed." Accelerator congratulated himself. He looked about at the scene left in his wake.

"Maybe I went overboard." He mused, casting a slow gaze over the upturned train carriage. "I wonder if they get to clear this up too?" He shook his head and turned his back on Kaede and the growing pool of blood that seeped from under the wreckage.

"Is this really going to turn me into a Level 6?" He wondered aloud. Today's experiment had been too easy. He hardly felt like he was stretching the limits of his ability. The boy started his long walk back home with a lingering feeling of disappointment.

‘She died… She died… She died…'

The words rang over and over in Mikoto’s numb mind, echoing endlessly. Her dilated pupils trembled in shock, staring at the red river weeping between the loose stones of the railyard.

‘No… That’s not right… She was killed… Killed… Murdered…!!!’

A movement caught her eyes and the brown orbs swiveled to zone in on the pale figure. For a moment, she simply stared as they casually began to stroll away, her empty thoughts icy cold.

‘…. It was that person… That person… killed…!”

A blinding hot rage swept through her being, clouding her vision with a haze of red. It was a feeling she had never felt before- terrifying and powerful, and coursing through her veins like wildfire. Her head pulsed and her teeth crunched together audibly. Every fibre of her muscle tensed, her shaking hands tightly clenched into fists.

Nothing made any sense. Nothing, except one thing.

That person had killed the girl.

A scream ripped out from her throat, full of so much hatred and pain Mikoto hardly recognised it as her own. The burning fire in her veins fuelled her legs into action, and the girl recklessly threw herself off the edge of the railing she had been leaning over. Sparks burst forth from her body, and her control over magnetism allowed her to land unharmed on her two feet. Without pause, the girl charged forwards towards the albino figure. Blue arcs of lightning swirled around the Electromaster’s form, expressing her fury and desire to punish the person who had just murdered the girl before her once-innocent eyes.

The blue fingers of power lashed out without mercy at the albino, crackling violently. As the lightning struck, Mikoto skidded to a stop before the one she now identified as her enemy. Iron sand began to rise from the ground around her, twirling into a monstrous tornado of black dust. It grew and grew, rising high into the night sky before speeding down towards Accelerator to engulf him in its swirl of power.

The Railgun’s unforgiving eyes, so full of rage beyond reasoning, were fixed upon her target’s pale form, and him alone. The Electromaster could hardly care what happened next as long as her powers hurt him just as he had hurt the Sister. She couldn’t careless who he was or why he did it.

He had killed her, and he was going to pay.

The twisting cloud of iron filings engulfed Accelerator just as he glanced upwards with bored indifference and the barest hint of intrigue. The cloud burst open suddenly, swelling then exploding violently in fine shrapnel to reveal the devastation left in the wake of Mikoto's attack.

An image of the moon on a still lake.

The stones had been scattered, blown aside or ground to dust. The concrete had been polished to a mirror sheen by fine blades of iron too small to see. 

And in the middle of it stood the pale figure of Accelerator standing proudly.

He hadn't even been scratched.

"What's this? A new power?" He cackled. "Manipulating iron sand by magnetism, huh? Interesting." He swept the remaining dust aside with a sweep of his hand. "But if there's a gap in the centre it'll do no good."

Mikoto froze in shock as the albino lazily flicked away her giant tornado of iron sand. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The attack she had sent should have reduced him into small particles; instead, he was still standing there, looking amused and as good as new.

Just who was he?

Before Mikoto could even form a coherent sentence to demand the answer to that question, something caught in the corners of her eyes. Her head turned, and for a few moments she blinked, unable to process what she was seeing.

A detached arm.

The end where a shoulder should be attached terminated into nothing, the torn end weeping a thick river of crimson.

‘What… the hell… is this…?!’

Her eyes widened as the slow realisation came, pupils constricting into pinpricks as her breath quickened. It was her arm. The arm of her clone, obviously ripped away brutally from her body.

“@@@@####@@@@@####@@@@!!!!!”

A terrible scream of rage and pain pushed out from her lungs as Mikoto tore her traumatised eyes away, squeezing them shut tightly. The girl cringed into herself, as if to prevent from becoming physically torn apart. Electricity erupted around her violently, but the Electromaster was hardly aware of this. All she could see behind her closed eyelids was the sprawled limb swimming in crimson. All she could feel was the wild fire burning deep within her chest and spreading throughout every fibre of her being.

Pain. Anger. Hatred.

The metal rails around the Elctromaster reacted to her burst of electricity, tearing away rapidly from the ground. They flew into the air, magnetised together to build into a strange formation that was akin to a giant tower. As Mikoto’s rage-filled eyes lifted towards the person she currently hated most of all, the metal rails flew at breakneck speed, to pelt Accelerator like bullets.

The loud crash of the carriage crushed into the ground, blowing the remaining breath of the clone melded into the air. The wind blew this air into the sky, travelling away from the railyard and through Academy City. The air finally reached a point in Academy City, flowing into the ventilation of a gigantic building called Misawa Cram School. A certain spiky haired boy was climbing up the stairs of the building, behind another spiky haired individual. He was on a mission to rescue someone.

Through the ventilation shaft, the wind blown downwards, feeling it passing by his face. He felt unusual cold feeling from this wind, unlike others. Thoughts of the events this morning were recalled. The time when he bought that Gekota stuffed toy for Misaka's sister.

"Why am I thinking of this all of a sudden?...."

He paused his movement, trying to make sense of this. He sighed realizing something else.

"Because of buying her that stupid toy... I'm low on money.... I wonder what she's up to.... Maybe I'll go visit her and ask for money...."

His remaining thoughts faded as he continued to climb the stairs.

The rails speared the ground between the two Level 5s like javelins, slamming home with ringing metallic thuds until they reached the white haired boy who stood, waiting.

Accelerator raised an eyebrow, the corner of his lip twitching in a semblance of amusement. The rails twisted off their course suddenly, spinning and spiraling away at odd angles. One threatened to shear Mikoto in half as it flew at her.

"I see, I see. I thought something was up, since this wasn't according to schedule..." He cackled, the white of his teeth glinting through the darkness in a ferocious grin.

"You're the original, huh?"

Mack

As Misaka released her guttural scream, Mack watched, silently shifting over to avoid the light cast from her electricity. He had lowered the rate he was taking photos of the scene unfolding before him. He wanted to be sure that he got plenty of everything, so he couldn't waste the space in his phone by constantly taking photos.

Mack watched as the Electromaster hugged herself as she threw all of the iron rails around her towards Accelerator, noting how they opunctured the ground.

It seems like she isn't even aiming. Mack noted, taking a picture with his phone at the rails reached Accelerator. Or, she's not completely focused... the way she reacted to that other girl's arm... it's like she's trying to shut out what's she's seen. That girl must be very important to Misaka.

Mack saw her shaking as she sent the rails at Accelerator, Poor, unfortunate kid, having to see that girl's death... Nothing I can do about it. She made her choice, andnow she'll reap the consequences of fighting Accelerator.

Mack turned his gaze from Mikoto and Accelerator, to his intended target. Kaede Faye was barely able to crawl from what he had last seen. now, it was hard to tell if she was able to breathe. The young woman's face was ashen from grief, her eyes hollow and dead, similar to Mack. She was clutching her side earlier, and Mack saw how she had given the clone blood.

She was in terrible shape, and wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

I need to prepare for when these two stop. Mack searches through his contacts and types in a message before sending it.

Subtly's not her specialty, but I'm sure she'll manage. Mack looks back at the ongoing battle, For her safety, I hope she does.

Mari

Not the bees! NOT THE BEES! THEY'RE IN MY EYES!!! AUGH!!! AAAAUUUGH- *BOOM*

"Hell to the yeah, baby!" Mari shouted as she clenched her fist, disposing of the enemy in her game. "Now, I'd better get some health before another splicer show-"

*BZZZZZZT* "Hmm?" Mari looked over at her phone, pausing her game to check her messages.

"From Mack...? Well, so much for my game..." Mari said, losing her carefree tone, reading the text outloud,

"Mari, I need to to meet me at the address posted. It's a railyard where Kaede Faye is right now. Bring the evidence with you. And whatever you do, stay low and be careful. At present, the Number 1 and Number 3 Level Five's are having a rather one-sided battle, and I don't want you getting caught up in it." Mari nodded to herself, closed her phone, and ran to her closet.

She opened the case that she had covered with clothes when Sayuri was visiting and took a black pair of pants, a black long sleeve shirt, and black jacket with a hood on it, and her black mask. Just like every other, it came equipped with it's own voice distorter. She also put on a pair of black gloves. All of these being especially made for her.

Mari suited up, pulling her hood over her masked face, and looked at the weapons she contained in the case.

Dammit... I really want to fight... but I need to focus on helping Mack. Best to leave these here and dull the temptation. I doubt I could stand up against Accelerator any way... Misaka Mikoto on the other hand......... Mari shook her head, No, focus!

Mari grabbed a small bag with the shirt she bought and the badge she... "acquired", and ran out the door, locking it, after turning off the lights, leaving her TV and game system on.

As soon as she left, she stepped on the rail to her apartment, and leapt through the air, going over the fence outside her dorms.

Well, silent or not, I'd better be fast! I don't want to miss what's going down at that railyard! Mari thought, with a wide grin hidden by her mask.