A Certain Scientific Experiment (Arc 3 Main Story)

Kuroko listened patiently to Natsumi's objection and Mikoto's subsequent agreement and sighed. It seemed that they were still in danger from all sides. "So much for that idea." Kuroko muttered.

It seemed that they had not even come close to disrupting the core. It was definitely frustrating. But there was no point in dwelling too much. They had to come up with a way to get out of this situation.

"Well, the core of an experiment is usually the initial base theory or observation that the scientists are bouncing off of. For example, experimentation about nuclear fission was based off of the equation Einstein's Theory of Relativity is famous for. In that case, what assumptions are the scientists going off of here? Maybe if we can break one of those base assumptions, it will force the experiment to halt."

Everything was suppose to go to plan, there was nothing more to it. But for many obvious reasons this time it hadn't been the case. And the sisters had lived life according to a plan, one singular goal and these experiments was that goal. Even if it had ended in their premature death, that hadn't matter to the sisters since they can be created over and over with just a collections of chemicals along with a push of a button.

They hadn't said a word yet, they hadn't said nothing verbally for anyone else to hear but within the Misaka network. The sisters have been in a state of confusion trying to understand and trying to put the experiments back on track. But they couldn't do nothing with the current sister's turn being alive. 10032 had been tending to 10031's wounds as they debated this over the network and they couldn't come up with an answer. But they did agree on something which they both had decided to tackle here and now.

Helping 10031 up on her feet 10032 supported her sister as they started to walk from their corner of the room closer to the main group. 10032 had briefly looked at Natsumi and sighed just a moment before turning to everyone. "May Misaka intercept asks Misaka 10032 who is just as confused as 10031." Both sisters looked emotionless which was there normal expression as if recent events never happened. And before any of them could respond to the sister's interception 10032 had continued without delay.

"Misaka doesn't understand but why you all risk yourself for us sisters when there is only one of you all says Misaka 10032" "Please help Misaka understand for none of this makes sense. We can be recreated and yet none of you can. Misaka doesn't want none of you to get killed for Misaka says 10031."

Just as in reality they had shared the same thoughts over the network they while creepily had finished each other's sentences. It was something the sisters had a habit of doing, but no matter how many times people experience it that habit was kinda creepy. Nonetheless their question was simple one and while she had asked it before neither of them. None of the sisters had understood the reason, it was just foolish to them for people to risk their lives for products and that is what they were in their mind.

Products.

Guy had been uncharacteristically silent whilst the others spoke. The young teacher stood against the wall with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed in a pensive stare at a point in the middle distance.

“So, as I said, if any of you has an idea of something we can do now to get out of this mess then by all means, suggest away.”

"Well, the core of an experiment is usually the initial base theory or observation that the scientists are bouncing off of. For example, experimentation about nuclear fission was based off of the equation Einstein's Theory of Relativity is famous for. In that case, what assumptions are the scientists going off of here? Maybe if we can break one of those base assumptions, it will force the experiment to halt."

"You're all overthinking things." He spoke up at last. "The only way this ends is with that creepy asshole going down." He let that sink in before continuing. "So all we have to do is take him down." He made it sound so simple. Taking down the city's strongest Esper. But in his experience the simplest solutions were often the best.

"Misaka doesn't understand but why you all risk yourself for us sisters when there is only one of you all says Misaka 10032" "Please help Misaka understand for none of this makes sense. We can be recreated and yet none of you can. Misaka doesn't want any of you to get killed for Misaka says 10031."

"I guess there's not much sense to it." Guy admitted. "But if you really need a reason, you could say that no one here wants to see you die." It wasn't the most complex or philosophical reason. It didn't require a strong sense of righteousness or deep seated conviction. It was a plain and simple reason. A pure reason.

"It doesn't matter whether you were all made the same. You." He pointed at 10031. "Are unique. And you." He gestured to 10032. "And all your 'sisters'. You're not tools of Academy City or anyone else. You're people. No matter how you came into this world."

"And besides, we're all in this together now. We either finish what we've started or we get finished by it." He shrugged flippantly.

"So enough moping around and worrying. We've got work to do." He said, turning towards the door decisively.

Had it been in any other, less life-threatening, situation it was likely the entire room would burst out laughing at the outrageous suggestion Guy had made. Yet, the current danger they were facing and how serious he looked about the whole idea only resulted in a mix of incredulity and confusion.

The entire room probably felt like they had misheard something.

“Defeat... Accelerator?” Mikoto muttered in confusion, had that not been what she had tried to do and ultimately failed at? Was the older boy implying he somehow could take down an opponent she couldn't, a mere normal human compared to one of the city's true Elites? “...Don't screw around with me, I couldn't leave a scratch on him let alone defeat him, and you're telling me that somehow we could defeat him?! I tried everything, and you're going to pretend there's such a convenient solution laying around?!!”

She said as she got to her feet in hysteria, her voice gradually rose more and more with each word. However she quickly calmed herself as much as she could and followed with a more reasoned argument when she realised she would attract Skill-Out's attention at this rate. “And if you go with so many high-level Espers, including me, there's no way they won't end up being part of a margin of error! Going alone isn't an option either if his bodyguard is still there! Kuroko is too injured to fight and Hujisaka-san won't tag along your plan that easily!” The concerned girl nodded in a half-surprised manner; either she was way too open about her cynicism or Mikoto just knew that aspect of her that well.

There was no simple way to take out Accelerator without anyone getting killed, people thinking otherwise were absolutely delusional. Anyone would agree on that very simple fact regardless of their place in the world; his plan had to be a suicide plan on the same level she had attempted, but if even she acknowledged her plan had been useless, then there was no way she could believe in someone else's plan succeeding.

Her voice trembled as she approached to grab his sleeve and muttered to him in her returning tearful state.

"...Please don't go anywhere, I don't want to kill more people..."

“Defeat... Accelerator?...Don't screw around with me, I couldn't leave a scratch on him let alone defeat him, and you're telling me that somehow we could defeat him?! I tried everything, and you're going to pretend there's such a convenient solution laying around?!!”

"There's nothing convenient about it." He laughed bitterly. "It's gonna be hard work, no doubt. And we might not be able to pull it off. But there's no such thing as an invincible enemy."

“And if you go with so many high-level Espers, including me, there's no way they won't end up being part of a margin of error! Going alone isn't an option either if his bodyguard is still there! Kuroko is too injured to fight and Hujisaka-san won't tag along your plan that easily!”

"...Please don't go anywhere, I don't want to kill more people..."

Guy stopped in his tracks at the sound of her tearful voice. "Dammit..." He muttered under his breath, cursing his own weakness. He never could turn his back on a crying girl.

"You're right that they'll have accounted for other Espers and powered individuals. But if an outside variable were to interfere, were to take out their supposed 'strongest', then the entire foundation of the experiment will be undermined." He confirmed, placing a hand on Mikoto's head and cracking a confident smile. "They're expecting us to lose." He explained. "So what happens to their carefully laid plans if we win?"

"Of course, taking on that monster and his bodyguard might be more than even I can handle." He cupped his chin thoughtfully in a mocking posture of false pride. "But I can't make any of you go along with this if you don't want to." Guy cast his glance across the room and those present.

"Just remember, We've been given a chance. A small chance, maybe. But we can't let it slip through our fingers because we won't get another." He returned his gaze to Mikoto. "We won't let you face this alone."

If he had meant to comfort her then he had only achieved the opposite, for Mikoto's tears, however briefly, started falling freely at his last sentence. She didn't even try to respond as she felt her voice would betray her in a miserable squeal rather than an actual sentence so she furiously rubbed her eyes and stepped back in an attempt to compose herself.

“Uu..” Mikoto cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed by the display she had shown to not only him but the entire room as she quickly turned around to take a look at everyone. She turned back towards Guy with cheeks as red as her puffy eyes while her voice was still slightly trembling. “...I-I... get it, there's no stopping you now anyway, isn't that right?” She turned her back to Guy and returned to her previous sitting location after whispering something to him without waiting for a reply.

“So you better come back safely, because I'm definitely going to give you a piece of my mind once you do...”

---

As soon as she sat down, someone else spoke up.

"Aren't you more of an outsider anyway?” Natsumi casually pointed out with a yawn as she put her legs down to kick the air like a child. “Having only been here for a few months, definitely not enough to fully grasp the concept of Esper abilities?”

In which case the logical conclusion would be that someone defeating a Level 5 Esper without having gone through the Curriculum themselves would be even more confusing than if it were a low-level Esper that would have an understanding of how the Esper world works. There would be a definite flaw in the assumption of Accelerator being the strongest if someone who was unrelated to the Curriculum were to defeat him.

She had pondered the idea while the two were talking, amongst thinking about other things.

The nonsense of such an unreliable and uncertain plan was evident.

“What are you doing?”

At the sight of Natsumi jumping off the couch, Mikoto called out to her only to be answered with a daunting laugh coming from a somewhat psychotic smile and a hand sign to shove her off, as the girl approached Kuroko to loop an arm around her and drag her in another room to whisper something.

"Feel like heading out with me for a bit to make yourself useful despite your injuries, Shirai?"

So she decided to act like she always would; just in a more active way, a way that would allow her to focus on what she wanted to see the most. And for that, she needed the teleporter's help.

"Defeat Accelerator…" Kuroko muttered under her breath as she listened to the fantastical plan being formed by the people around her. Even when she said it, it sounded absolutely ridiculous. She had experienced first-hand how much of an impossible task fighting Accelerator was. But still…it was the only way.

She could not help but shudder at the possibility. After all, the teleporter had experienced first-hand how dangerous the boy known as Accelerator was. But even so, it still had to be done, somehow.

As she finally finished applying all of the necessary disinfectant and bandages on to her wounds, she shut the first aid kit and left it next to her. After flexing a few muscles to test her mobility, she could honestly conclude that the wounds still stung. Luckily, it was still not enough to be too big a detriment to her mobility so long as she didn't put too much weight onto them.

The next thing she heard was a simple statement from the grand barbarian himself towards Mikoto. "We won't let you face this alone."

Even if the barbarian-sensei was a barbarian, he still said the right thing at times. Even when Mikoto had given the basic tsundere response to barbarian-sensei's declaration, it was fine. It meant that Mikoto had another pillar to lean on. Even if it was not Kuroko who she was leaning on, it was fine. She may have been jealous of what she saw but she could not help forming a gentle smile at the sound of Mikoto's response.

Of course, that girl's warm smile was broken away at the sensation of Natsumi looping around her. Seeing the smile on Natsumi's face caused a suppressed, terrified expression to carve itself onto the teleporter's countenance.

"Feel like heading out with me for a bit to make yourself useful despite your injuries, Shirai?"

"I…guess so…" Kuroko nodded and walked with Natsumi. "What…exactly do you need?"

"Aren't you more of an outsider anyway? Having only been here for a few months, definitely not enough to fully grasp the concept of Esper abilities?”

"I guess so." He replied. "But who finishes him off isn't the important part. As long as we win the experiment is a failure in a way they can't account for." He cracked a strange smile. "Though I'd be lying if I said the thought of beating the tar out of that little prick wasn't appealing to me."

Guy passed the Sister as he left, noticing that the girl had fallen silent. He placed a hand on her shoulder as though welcoming her to the club.

"We'll need your help too. But that's a small price to pay for not dying, right?" He joked weakly. "You know more about him than anyone. In fact you could probably say that you're the closest to understanding him."

"You seem like a good kid. It's a shame you had to get caught up in something like this." He said regretfully before calling out to the rest of them. "I'm going to do some research of my own. You guys see what you can come up with in the meantime."

As if summoned by her yelling, a silhouette loomed behind Mari. Fierce eyes glared down at her and she could feel the breath on the back of her neck. But as she turned to confirm her instincts Mari's feet left the ground, a steel grip around her windpipe lifting her off the floor and slamming her into the container which rattled with a hollow clang.

Accelerator glowered up into Mari's eyes, holding her high by her throat.

"Tell me more about this 'deep shit' we're in." For a second it seemed he might snap her spine right there or perhaps wring her neck. Luckily for Mari, the explosive rage that had overcome him following his defeat was now smouldering like red hot coals.

On a scale of anger Accelerator was now hovering somewhere between homicidal and genocidal, a state which was hard to distinguish from his usual mood.

"Get it straight in your thick skull. There is no 'we' or 'us'. There's only 'me'. I don't give a fuck what happens to you or anyone else in this city. You can die in front of me to that bitch's Railgun or in some alley to a bullet in the back of your head after you fail. It makes no difference." He shook Mari as he spoke frankly. Though right now the latter was Mari's most pressing concern. This amount of damage would be hard for even the Board of Directors to cover up without serious consequences. And as far as they were concerned, she was at least partially responsible.

Of course Accelerator didn't care. He wasn't expendable like the rest of them.

"So either die or get out of my way. Either way I don't have to listen to your noise."

Accelerator tossed Mari aside like she was an empty can of soda and stalked off into the night.

[Are you in position?] The message was short and to the point, lacking the teacher's usual flippancy. A moment after he had pressed the keypad of the disposable phone Natsumi, Mikoto and Kuroko's phones lit up.

It had been fewer than 24 hours since the incident at the waterfront and Guy hadn't paused to rest.

He had been busy. While most of the items he'd required were easy to come by a few of the more 'specialist' ingredients has taken some effort to 'acquire'. It wasn't a perfect plan by any means. With the limited knowledge from their previous encounter and some valuable insight from the surviving clone he has come up with a handful of possible tactics to use against the boy calling himself Accelerator, but there was no guarantee that any of them would be able to penetrate his defences.

Looking at it rationally the chances of victory were slim to none. Same as always, he thought to himself with grim humor.

The automated steel mill would be the battleground tonight. Whether it could be considered a stroke of luck or misfortune remained to be seen as the churning, clanking machinery and furnaces of molten metal could just add easily prove a hazard as an advantage.

Just as expected the next clone approached the facility. That meant Accelerator wouldn't be far behind. As soon as he received word that the others were in place Guy tossed the cheap phone into the glowing furnace. There was no turning back now.

The equally cheap phones lighted up and their respective owners stared at the bright screen for a while as they analysed the brief content of the text. If there had ever been even a slight means of backing down before, now everyone had definitely reached a point of no-return on this “final” battlefield.

(Next time, don't give in to your curiosity, Natsumi...)

Though she was well-hidden between the clanking machinery's thick pipes, the annoyance was very clear in Natsumi's expression as she applied extra force on her phone to destroy it, putting it on the ground as quietly as possible after the fact. She looked around; this place not a familiar sight to her, but if she had at least a speckle of luck and good on-the-spot thinking then it could become an advantage to her...

...well, if there was any situation where she needed an advantage: there was a part of her, clearly uninterested in the idea of dying alongside a group of idiots, still hoping the bodyguard had died in that earlier mess so that the only fight that would remain was the one the stupid outsider planned on carrying out against Academy City's pride. But of course the idea itself was ridiculous considering it was the dark side they were taking on, so Natsumi only silently laughed in self-derision.

(We're all gonna die.)

Pessimistic could almost be her second name.

__

“Position, he says, but I can't even do anything...” Mikoto whispered to herself in desolation as she stood next to 10031 who was sitting on the stairs as calmly as she could.

Currently, they were hiding in a nearby building's flight of stairs that led to a rooftop. They had directly infiltrated said rooftop and unlocked the heavy steel door thanks to Mikoto's strong magnetism manipulation and decided to hide in there. Since she couldn't ascertain whether the building itself was currently occupied without risks of being caught, any other room to hide in would likely have them noticed as intruders so this place was the safest as it was unlikely that anyone would visit the rooftop this close to night-time.

“Stargazing would be quite hard to do in this city after all...Well, I guess this is as good as any other chance to talk.” After destroying the phone herself for good measure, she tried to break the awkward silence between her and her technical sister.

The latest clone approached the steel mill, readied her rifle and slipped the goggles down over her head.

Accelerator's laughter pealed in the night and she looked up at the gantry above. He stood above her, his face twisted into that awful smile.

"Shall we confirm the password before commencing the next phase of the experiment? Asks Misaka as she prepares herself." She asked in monotone.

"Who cares?" He replied, ruffling his hair irritably. "I just want to relieve some tension." He had been waiting too long for this. Ever since that rat and her gang of weaklings interrupted him last time. She readied her rifle.

"Don't be so eager." The voice rang out.

"Who?" Accelerator looked about for the source of the voice. Guy stepped out from amidst the machinery. He flicked the cigarette and the embers dashed against the floor. Guy pulled his hands from his pockets. Accelerator's grin widened. "It's you." He uttered his eyes widening in animalistic fury. "Are you that eager to die old man?" He asked, his fingers tensing like claws.

"Hey! Who are you calling old, you brat? I'm like a year older than you at most..." Guy shot back. "And no. I didn't come here to die." He returned Accelerator's grin with one of his own. "Life's too much fun to just throw away." He reached into his pocket and turned side on to the albino boy. "So why don't you come down here and we'll see who dies."

What happened next would depend on the clone. Though they'd asked for aid from the Sisters there was no guarantee that they'd agree to interfere, much less help. Guy want holding his breath for that possibility.

"That's right. Your hero has arrived." He said with a wry tone and an exaggerated flourish. He leapt back just in time to avoid the jagged steel railing bar that slammed into the ground where he had been standing. Accelerator hopped down from his perch and stalked towards the two of them. He was laughing. A strangled, manic sound like a gasp. Guy turned to face him and an arrogant grin crossed his face.

"You know, kid. Something about you just pisses me off." He said, as though trying to figure it out. "I've got it." He said suddenly. "It's your face." His grin widened. "There's just something about your face that pisses me off." Anger spread across the albino boy's face and he charged. Guy's hand flew from his pocket and something shot towards Accelerator.

The home made smoke bomb burst a foot from the boy's face, spraying a thick, choking smoke through the air and Guy spun on his heel and darted for cover.

A swipe of the albino's hand sent the smoke swirling away. The clone started back at him passively and he felt that there was something mocking about her gaze this time.

"Stay put. This won't take long.." Accelerator told her sternly. "I've got a pest to deal with."

"Hey old man..." He called out loudly in a half laughing voice. There was a flash of movement and he chased after it, there was a loud roar as he split the air. The boy came to a stop inside the darkened warehouse.

The door slammed shut behind him as Guy stepped out into the middle of the room to face him. Accelerator's expression was one of confusion.

"What, you're not going to run? You must be crazy. Or stupid." He cocked his head curiously. "So old man. What's your power?" He asked.

"Power?" Guy chuckled. "What power? I don't have one." He answered. Accelerator's eyes widened in indignation.

"You really must be an idiot then." And he prepared to lunge at the helpless man.

"I'm not the one who walked into a trap." Guy responded casually. Accelerator paused. Was he bluffing? Before he had time to decide he one himself submerged beneath a wave of glowing molten metal.

"You think this is going to stop me?" He laughed, the thick liquid metal already sloughing off his shoulders where his barrier repelled it.

"No. But this might." Guy said coolly as he pulled the lever on the wall. An example played warning about the fire suppression system and within moments the ground around Accelerator erupted in jets of coolant that turned the metal solid.

(OST: Tenka Fubu)

It had finally started, she noted as she heard noise within the facility. Both the fight that would either save or kill them, and... If she had been a cat, her ears would have perked up at the female voice that interrupted her thoughts.

Natsumi's danger alerts went at all-time highs as the familiar sensation from a day ago returned to her. Sensing the fact that staying in this location would absolutely kill her, she pushed her limbs against the various steel pipes to push out of the place in time as a loud noise pierced her ears.

The resistant pipes of the factory's machinery had been crushed with such strength that Natsumi, having barely dodged a blunt hit from that, was slightly propelled against a steel door that wasn't too far away.

Standing up while resting against the door, to find a shrapnel mess where she had previously been after landing on the room's main metal walkway...

The girl was clad in a uniform much different than yesterday's; where she had been only wearing her school's shirt and skirt, she now wore a more professional attire with a messy bun on the back of her head to shorten her hair length somewhat successfully. The high-quality white shirt had been replaced with a plainer one under a sleeveless smoky amethyst vest and accompanied with simple, matching trousers.

The trousers were loose enough to allow a wider range of movements, and were held well in-place by a belt that had numerous pack on the side and back. It would have looked somewhat refined to a certain degree if only it wasn't in high majority clothing only males would wear, and if she didn't wear modified heat-protection gloves.

The girl had, of course, had time and resources to get prepared as well.

“A woman?” She questioned with a frown. “With that attitude of yours I was absolutely certain I was facing a prototype human gorilla from the weirdest parts of Academy City.”

They were standing in a complex pipeline room, right next the facility's main furnace. Suddenly, Natsumi's recollection of a particular memory had her break out in a nearly psychopathic grin as she removed her back from the previously cold steel much like the day before.

“I forgot to ask... I hope that hand of yours doesn't hurt too much, eh?!”

She put a hand on the handle before quickly rushing in the room and closing the door to suddenly face bursts of hot air.

The sound of hot liquid and rattling machinery, mixed with the air that was hard to breathe in showed that this was the furnace room.

The quickly hardening sludge of liquid metal resembled some kind of monster in a cheap horror movie, trudging forward with a deliberate pace and leaving a trail of burning, bubbling molten metal behind it. Outstretched arms class in Guy's general direction. The metal shroud around Accelerator cracked and shrieked with the strain of his movements before ceasing.

"You look better this way." Guy tilted his head. "At least now I don't need to look at your stupid face." He shrugged, using his hands to frame a picture add the gruesome statute while covering his own face against the gases venting into the chamber.

The twisted sculpture turned inside out with a horrid rending noise when Accelerator stepped out of it as though the several inches of hardened steel were mere tinfoil.

"Hit the lights, Sparky!" Guy called out and the facility went dark for a moment.

When the lights flickered on with the emergency backup power the room was bathed in a pulsing red light and that irritating simpleton was nowhere to be seen. Accelerator snarled, prowling around the room searching for a glimpse of his newest victim. There was a strange smell in the air.

"Was that your big plan? Makes sense you'd be running. It was kinda entertaining but in the end it was all kinda useless." He sounded bored as he took a swing at a control panel to his left, it disintegrated, but Guy was nowhere to be seen. Accelerator moved on.

"Not by a long shot. That wasn't even my favorite!" Guy responded cockily, dashing out from his cover behind Accelerator. The youth heard something and spun, wrenching a heavy mechanical arm from its moorings and flinging it across the room where the sound had come from.

"Aren't you afraid? Of angering the next God of this world?"

He stalked towards the wreckage, flipping out our of his way. No bloodstain. No mangled body...

"Does this work for you usually? The Micheal Myers routine, I mean? You sound less terrifying force of nature and more like a dorky teenager with an angsty blog." Guy replied. "Some God alright. At least the Devil has a sense of humor."

Accelerator spun to face the direction of Guys voice. It was clear his composure had started to crack. Against the far wall the huge containers of processed metals were lined up for shipping. Guy was hidden behind one of them, Accelerator was sure of it.

"You won't be laughing when I twist your arms off your body, you motherfucker!" He slammed one container against the wall. Two more to go. Either he was crushed to death or flushed out into the open. Either way the result would be the same. One less loud mouthed prick. That strange smell was still in the air...

"Is this an intimacy thing? Did you not get hugged enough as a child?"

"Don't you ever Shut. The. Fuck. Up!?" Accelerator sent the second container into the wall.

"Maybe you'd be less concerned about ~ultimate power~ if you kissed a girl."

That was it. Accelerator let his murderous grin flourish as he punted the final container into the wall.

Blessed silence. Only the churning of machines and wailing alarms.

"Wait. I've wanted to use this one for ages. 'Your next line will be 'impossible. How the hell are you still alive!?'" Guy announced, dropping from the rafters above into the center of the room. Accelerator turned with a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"Impossible! How the hell are you still..." Accelerator bit his tongue with a scowl and charged at Guy. His heart was pounding in his ears, he was breathing raggedly, getting tunnel vision. All he wanted right now was to see this man dead.

Somewhere between a silverback gorilla and a lion the Strongest Esper ran towards him. But Guy had already taken off running himself. And when it came to running away no one was going to beat him. Taking to one of the side corridors, Guy could hear Accelerator making short work of the facility behind him, tearing loose cables, machines, pieces of wall and piping. It sounded like the whole facility was coming down behind him. He dove sideways, letting Accelerator overtake him into the room at the end.

Guy slammed a large red button with his first and the mechanical press over Accelerator's head started to lower.

Accelerator slid to a stop, denting the far wall with the force of his landing and roared in anger.

"Are you this DENSE!? This won't..." He planned his fingertips into the press descending onto him. "Fucking..." The machine stopped in its tracks, mechanisms groaning. "Work!!" The press stopped completely.

Accelerator staggered a little as he stepped out from under the device. What? Had he really pushed himself this far? His vision swam and he held his head.

"You must be feeling it by now. Dizziness. Confusion. I bet it's getting harder to use that ability of yours. Mental calculations take a lot of effort after all. Even unconscious ones..." Guy said. Accelerator glared at him with renewd hatred. "That coolant wasn't just to freeze metal spillages. It contains Halon gas." Guy let the news sink in as he lowered the covering from his face to reveal a small respirator. "After this long is probably bonded with most of the oxygen in here. It might get a little hard to breathe." He looked at the Esper and saw what he recognized as a glimmer of panic in the younger boy's eyes.

"Go to sleep. This world doesn't need a new God."

Guy stood over Accelerator. The albino esper was struggling to keep his eyes open, fighting the dizziness that was swiftly overtaking him. He looked up at the young man looming above him.

Was this it?

Was this how it ended? Taken down by some nobody. Some wretch without an ability even. It was pathetic.

Inconceivable.

And yet Accelerator felt something he'd not felt in years. A strange chill that came with seeing one's impending doom approaching. Fear. Hopelessness. The irony was not lost on him. Fighting to lift his head he glared at Guy. Fuck you. Don't look down on me you son of a bitch. He reached out in a vain attempt to grab his enemy. This isn't over.

The room shook. Mari's rampage was treating through the facility with little regard for structural integrity. Walls buckled inwards, exploding with the force of her strikes and the cool rush of fresh air hit Accelerator's face. The smothering smell of Halon bonded air faded and he felt a giddy rush of lightheadedness pushing aside the inexorable fatigue.

And he rose to his feet, triumphant.

The crumbling ceiling of the chamber collapsed entirely and it was only Guys reflexes that saved him from being flattened beneath the falling mass of twisted metal.

As the smoke and dust cleared he glanced around. Had the others made it out? The rest of the steel works looked relatively unharmed, but he knew that inside the others were dealing with whatever has made that wall collapse.

But he couldn't think about that now. Because right before his eyes he saw the disheartening silhouette of a rake thin monster stalking unsteadily through the rubble.

"Aw shit."  Guy uttered wearily and with an air of resignation.

Plans A through D had failed. Things were looking bleak and to be frank Guy was running out of ideas. But his only chance now was to figure something out before Accelerator could shake off the effects of his near brush with death. He had to act now, while the enemy was weakened.

Guy lunged towards Accelerator. He threw his arms out towards the Level Five's unguarded neck, wrapping around it and squeezing with all his strength. One twist and that neck would break. But the effort was wasted. Accelerator reached up lazily and tore the older boy's grip open, flinging him across the open ground.

What the hell was that? Guy's mind wheeled to make sense of what just happened. It wasn't just super strength. Or a super tough body. There was something actively resisting his movements. Guy had always suspected there was more to the boy's powers than the obvious. Now he knew it.

But that landing had been harder than he realised and he found himself struggling to rise.

There were many things running through Natsumi's mind right now, but unfortunately nothing she could afford to ponder for very long as she realised that where she was previously standing on a very stable footing, she was now free-falling.

It was already bad enough that Mari had ripped a wall out of a carefully-built structure like this one but the fact that she was pushing said wall instead of making a clean cut meant that the adjacent walls and ground were following it in its path of destruction, making the entire room sensitive to the unbelievably heavy machinery crashing onto the ground because of Mari also destroying the mechanisms that allowed the facility to maintain the equipment above ground and be almost fully automated, made things considerably worse.

In other words, the room had collapsed and they were falling to potential death along with all of the equipment that makes this steel mill what it is. Or made it what it was, at this point

The best part of this was that this was the boiler room.

The idea that the most important room of the entire facility; the one were molten steel was made, was collapsing and that it was very likely that the containers would open once landing on a lower floor was truly lovely.

Overkill. Even Mari herself had to admit that she had gone a few gears too high, however it couldn’t be helped at this point, as the walls, ceiling and floor were breaking apart rather randomly. Everything around was just going to hell, turning the area into a death trap of the first order. Not that something like that was anything to worry about for someone who was capable of controlling force.

Dampening her own fall due to having lost safe grounds underneath her feet, she had once again used her ability. Not only to dampen the landing, but to also to fend off all kinds of incoming rubble, like pieces of concrete and large machinery that had turned into a lethal hailstorm.

«I might have gone a liiiiiiittle too far», the girl finally admitted aloud.

Not wasting her time any longer, her eyes had immediately caught sight of her enemy.

That girl had gotten away without any mentionable scratch. She was obviously alive. Mari gritted her teeth in disappointment, yet quickly removed the gun she had been hiding in her pocket. Checking if the safety catch was truly released, she immediately headed for her prey.

«Still not dead? What the hell are you? A fucking cockroach? I’ll make sure to squish you for real, now.»

Oddly enough she was taking her time at approaching her enemy, making one step at a time, much like an executioner heading to the final stage. Yes, this would become an execution, but that wasn’t the reason for that lack of speed in her approach. Rather the reason for her to proceed cautiously was her defence, attempting to fend off any threats for her life that could come in from above or anywhere else. This had ceased to be a safe area a while ago after all.

A sigh escaped her lips as soon as she landed to safety thanks to means she did not feel the slightest need to reveal. (It'd be really lovely if he was done right about now...!) So she genuinely thought, feeling that there was hardly any way she could fare well against monsters for any long periods of time.

Monsters like the one that was incoming.

(OST: Sensou Demo Shiteru Tsumori ka)

Reaching out to her back Natsumi pulled out a gun stolen from Skill-Out that she had been hiding under her clothes and that was secured by her belt, pointing it sideways towards Mari who returned a much more modern barrel. As Mari came closer with each step, Natsumi carefully marched backwards. “Same goes for you, doesn't it?” She simply answered, noting that the entire room was such a mess that it was really surprising they hadn't been followed by a sea of molten metal yet.

(Yet, that is...) As soon as her heel hit a pile of rubble Natsumi came to a halt. Firing the gun that had its accuracy lowered from the way she was holding it, she threw herself sideways onto a pile of debris while using her opposite arm to stabilise herself and avoid an injury from the "fall". Though a weak barrier, the debris was certainly better than no cover at all.

It may have seemed like the girl was far too desperate by intentionally starting a gun fight that would end in mere seconds, especially when being so close to her enemy, but those seconds were exactly what she needed to allow the buzzing flame ball that was expanding right behind Mari, amidst the sound of gun shots, to at least help her get ever so closer to defeating that mad woman