[SS] Intensify

"You too?"

After the woman heaved what was most likely a small sigh of confident annoyance, Trystan suddenly felt the chains binding him fling him upwards. Gritting his teeth as he was forcibly shot airborne, Trystan wrapped his remaining hansha around himself, strengthening his defenses. There was several possible explanations as to why she would lift him up to this height, but none of the ones Trystan could think of involved anything that didn't end up with her trying to physically harm him at the end. As he finished the process, the chains suddenly reversed the pulling, and instead drew him violently towards the ground.

...this isn't going to end well...

Trystan felt the breath knocked out of him as he made impact with the ground. While he was shielded by his hansha, with the natural gravity of the Earth assisting the blunt force trauma, the blow ended up impacting several times harder than normal. It was unfortunate for him in this case as he was on the receiving end, but it was also the reason why the reknowned "ground-and-pound" was almost always the finishing move for many mixed martial arts fights. On the other hand, either out of good fortune or the simple fact that the woman didn't feel like finishing him off any sooner, she had decided to only do this heavy hitting attack once, and instead started to throw him every which way.

The world spun in his eyes, the whirl of violent movement only stopped occasionally by abrupt and rather sharp impacts. While his defense didn't allow much damage through, every time he impacted into or ground against another object, Trystan could feel the attacks piercing further and further through his defenses. The sheer amount of effort that it took to maintain his defenses, coupled with the mental sensory feedback his hansha were giving him was so great that his skin was actually cut up into ribbons all along his arms, the blood flying off in small dribbles as the damaged skin flapped uselessly in the wind. In later recollections of this incident, Trystan would remember that the skin hanging onto his arms was quite like those bicycle ornaments one would find on children's bicycles' handlebars. After a few moments, Trystan flew into a wall, before being further compressed into the hole. After a few moments, Trystan wearily lifted his head to search out his location; all the spinning had made him lose track of where he was. As his vision finally reoriented himself, he saw Touko struggling on her knees while the woman floated in the air next to Mikoto in the distance. He wasn't far away enough to be called far from anyone else, but he wasn't exactly close enough to use his ability either; the woman had cleanly and easily separated them from each other.

Floating...?

Not only was she able to throw people around as she pleased without making contact, she was able to make herself float?! Trystan cursed to himself, once more wondering just how vital information like this had passed under Judgement's nose. However, these thoughts were quickly swept away as the woman landed a hard kick into Mikoto's chest. A cry of pain was testament to the fact that it had landed cleanly, and had damaged her already weakened body significantly. Trystan struggled in vain against the forces holding him into the wall. He had messed up. He had thought that since she had started throwing him around, he had caught her attention. The fact of the matter was that she was simply removing him from the vicinity; she had separated the three of them from each other so that she could deal with each individually. The wall around him crushed violently as all six of his hansha thrashed along with his mental frustration. Almost as soon as this happened, the forces holding him down was gone. Trystan looked around, the sudden adrenaline rush causing time to suddenly move slowly.

Blink.

Touko was up. Wobbly, but up.

Blink.

Mikoto was tackling the fuck out of Naoto. Excuse the language.

Blink.

He was falling. He was free of the burden that was holding him back now. Reinforcing his legs with three hansha each, Trystan leapt off the wall with an explosive lunge, landing on the ground. His joints creaking even with the reinforcements, Trystan rapidly twisted his body towards Naoto and Mikoto, forcibly changing the direction his body wanted to be carried through in via his momentum, before dashing off at an incredible pace towards the two.

Her sudden confusion had been enough to distract her from the matter at hand. In a moment the two had lunged for her. Mikoto tackled her to the floor, the unexpected last ditch maneuver tossed the two girls to the ground in an ungainly sprawl, Mikoto's final burst of electricity jolting Naoto rigid for a brief moment.

As she came to from her momentary daze to see the musclebound boy sprinting towards her like a freight train upside down. It took Naoto a moment to realise that it was she who was upside down, lying pinned beneath the unconscious level five. Acting on instinct she activated her power. Once again the world spun for Trystan, directing him forward in an uncontrolled fall towards the wall in front of him.

She heaved Mikoto's body off of her roughly to one side and staggered to her feet, wiping her bloodied mouth. She turned towards Trystan and Touko, circling slowly to keep the girl in her sight. That one was the unknown quantity here.

Naoto examined Trystan from the corner of her vision. So her power still worked after all. That meant there was something about that spiky haired girl that kept her from being affected.

"Don't look at me like that..." Naoto laughed humourlessly. "Divide and conquer is a basic element of strategy after all." She explained. "In this instance it benefits me to level the playing field. Better one on one than two on one."

"Sit back down!"

Touko stood, bracing herself as Naoto turned her attention to the spiky haired girl.

...

Nothing happened.

"Huh?"

Naoto's confused sound was echoed by Touko, who looked around, puzzled. Realisation dawned on her after a moment and Touko's smirked confidently despite herself. But before she could make her counter attack, both Naoto and Mikoto fell from the wall in a tangled heap.

She rushed in, stopping just in time to see Trystan's body shoot past her at speed, nearly taking her with him.

"Don't look at me like that..."
"Divide and conquer is a basic element of strategy after all."
"In this instance it benefits me to level the playing field. Better one on one than two on one."

Touko swallowed hard, her previous confidence fast disappearing as both the other girl managed to incapacitate both a level 5 and a level 3 in a matter of moments. Swallowing hard she clenched her fist tight. Whatever Naoto's power was, it was formidable.

Still, Touko had her own ace in the hole...

Gritting her teeth, Touko launched herself forward with a lunging punch aimed at Naoto's jaw.

Naoto raised her hands, adopting a boxer's guard as Touko approached. The girl's first swing flew harmlessly past Naoto's head as the Skill Out stepped back, gauging the distance between them both carefully.

It was a hard punch. Probably enough to knock her out if it hit for a second time. But it was a wide and swinging haymaker that left her completely open. She probably thought Naoto was nothing more than a run-of-the-mill Skill Out thug.

The cold smirk didn't disappear from her lips and she stepped let the next attack flash by.

"Not bad." She stepped in, her hands high to deflect any stray blows the girl may throw her way. A fist cracked out towards Touko's ribs. In an instant Naoto followed the strike with several more rapid, snapping blows. They were face to face now, the distance closed to zero and Naoto's eyes glowed as she dipped to the right, her rear hand flying up and around at Touko's head with a heavy uppercut. "But you'll need to do better than that to beat me!" She roared, rising up after her fist.

Because Naoto wasn't just some ordinary thug. She never would have gotten this far if she had been. She'd learnt to fight smart, fight hard and fight dirty. She'd use every advantage she had to win. And if she couldn't rely on her powers to hold this girl down she could sure as hell rely on her fists.

There's no way she'd go down to a two bit punk like this girl and her esper friends.

"Not bad."
"But you'll need to do better than that to beat me!"

Touko grunted in surprise and dismay as her attack missed. Face to face with her opponent now they locked eyes and Touko gritted her teeth, feeling the punches slam against her ribs. The other girl disappeared from her vision and Touko saw Naotos' hand fly up towards her. She stepped back, Naoto's fist narrowly missing her jaw.

Touko staggered, overbalanced for an instant and she stumbled towards Trystan, retreating to get her breath back after the near miss.

"Hey. Think you can do something about her? I don't think I can hit her like this." She said under her breath to the boy.

Well that didn't work out as well as I had hoped...

Trystan could only comment wryly to himself as he was flung into another wall. This time, he was not prepared for the impact, as he had expected to have reached the woman by now, and had instead took the full brunt of the damage. While the rest of his body screamed in pain from the dangerous impact, he had managed to protect his head with his hansha. He struggled slightly against the chains that bound him, but soon gave up again. Why had they broken in the first place? He couldn't think straight anymore. His vision starting to haze in and out from the accumulated damage, but through this fog, he could still roughly see what was going on.

Mikoto had been heaved roughly off by the woman, before quickly getting up onto her feet, taking up a compact stance. Touko had rushed in with a powerful straight, but it was easily dodged. Unable to recover in time, Touko had instead been countered with a flurry of blows, the majority landing on mark. After narrowly dodging one last uppercut, Touko reeled backwards and landed close by. She began speaking in a low voice as she tried regaining her breath, loud enough for only Trystan to hear what she was saying.

"Hey. Think you can do something about her? I don't think I can hit her like this."

Trystan's brows furrowed as he struggled to focus his vision. The pain from the rest of his body was bringing him back towards lucidity, but he still needed a few more moments to regain his bearings. However, this was no longer a one-on-one. Furthermore, for some odd reason, the woman's powers seemed to have no effect on Touko whatsoever; regardless of the reason for the reality being as such, it was something that they could work to their advantage. So long as he could muster enough strength to help Touko land her power punches, this fight could be resolved soon. Trystan muttered back towards Touko as he pretended to weakly struggle against the chains binding him once more; hopefully, this would project the feeling that he couldn't use his powers anymore.

"...Bring her closer. This one can only operate at full strength within a three meter radius."

He wouldn't be able to do any precise or fine movements in his current state, but it was a different story altogether if it was simply restraining or re-positioning of limbs slightly.

Naoto tutted as her attack missed.

"What a pain. Stay still, would you? I'll make it easier on you if you do." Naoto taunted Touko from a distance. It seemed she had figured out their ploy to draw her in.

"I'm no fool. I saw what you can do to people who get too close to you." Naoto couldn't help but contort her face into a disgusted scowl. The evidence of Trystan's ability lingered in grisly detail around her. The spray of blood from one of his victims had painted the floor with dotted splashes and slow trails from pools of red.

"Does it feel good? Huh?" She momentarily increased the pressure on Trystan's body against the wall. "Ripping people to shreds when they can't do anything to save themselves?" She grimaced with a flash of rage for just an instant. "Well we're not so powerless anymore!" Her anger boiled over and Naoto charged, shooting her right hand at Touko's head with a powerful straight. Her eyes shone, the force of her fist burying into the concrete behind the girl.

"I'm no fool. I saw what you can do to people who get too close to you."

It looked like even if she hadn't heard, she had more or less guessed their plan. While it looked like she wasn't able to affect Touko with her abilities, it was clear that she had the upper hand when engaging in physical hand-to-hand combat. The most that he would be able to manage from here would be to throw a few distracting pebbles, but once they got close, it would be impossible to launch any projectile attack that didn't also put Touko at risk of being hit as well. Suddenly, while he was contemplating this, a wave of bloodlust washed over him; the sheer amount of ill will caused him to instinctively cover up in apprehension of an incoming attack.

"Does it feel good? Huh? Ripping people to shreds when they can't do anything to save themselves?"

Trystan grunted as a massive weight came down on him, pushing down the cry of pain that welled up inside his throat. Honestly, his entire body was screaming in pain, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of hearing it from his own mouth. As for what she had said, it wasn't as if he had any particular feeling towards the methods he had employed. They certainly weren't methods that he could say that his Master would be proud of, but given the situation they were in, he wouldn't have been surprised if his Master had told him to be more heavy-handed. The actual attacks aside, the more he heard from the woman the more he was convinced that neither the Espers nor the Skill-Outs were completely correct. In his own perspective, any violence he might have done was only done in a reactive, self-defensive situation.

From what he understood, their original intentions had been to band together to prevent segregation and violence by Espers towards those who could not utilize their abilities. He would not contest that this in and of itself was a Just notion; it was their implementation of this notion that was childish. How could anyone expect leniency for initiating an assault, that someone would just roll over and let you beat them when you came down upon them like a mob? In her ideal world, it was only logical that since Espers in general had trodden upon those without Esper abilities, once an Esper wandered into territory they had arbitrarily marked, he or she was supposed to grovel and beg for mercy and simply accept their fate to be beaten into submission. Had they forgotten why they had banded together to begin with?

The answer was simple; this was the extent of their weak brand of Justice. However, weak as it may be, he was still stuck here, in pain, unable to focus his vision, and completely unable to move. Why had this woman joined Skill-Out anyways, if she had such abilities? Even disregarding her participation in such a group, why hadn't she used this power before he had gotten to the rest of her comrades? Was it to test their strength? Even if it was , wouldn't the first couple injured individuals have been enough to see through that? Was there some sort of sacrificial requirement that had to be met before she could utilize her powers? Was she some sort of witch? He couldn't think straight.

"Well we're not so powerless anymore!"

Though his vision was hazy, and his body screaming in pain, he could still tell that she was advancing closer. Why had she closed in? It was of no matter now.

Now, he could reach.

He couldn't risk any large changes, as he could easily see himself losing consciousness should the woman decide to apply more of her power onto his body. Afterall, it was probably for some sadistic and illogical reason that she had kept them still conscious thus far. In any case, it would be difficult to try to guide Touko's body in his current state. However, if it was merely disrupting the incoming attack to cause an opening, it was probably something he could manage. Hopefully, Touko would be able to seize the opening. As the punch came flying in, Trystan applied a small bit of force to the tip of the woman's fist. It would be enough to cause the path to deviate slightly, but most likely not enough for her to feel anything odd about the motion; so long as Touko didn't end up dodging into the punch, the attack would probably end up as a close graze.

"...Bring her closer. This one can only operate at full strength within a three meter radius."

Touko nodded in understanding locking eyes with the dangerous girl.

"What a pain. Stay still, would you? I'll make it easier on you if you do." Touko grimaced. Good. If she wanted to talk at least it gave them time to work out a plan. At least that was what she had thought.


"I'm no fool. I saw what you can do to people who get too close to you."

That was bad news.

"Does it feel good? Huh?"
"Ripping people to shreds when they can't do anything to save themselves?"
"Well we're not so powerless anymore!"

Naoto had burst forward so fast Touko barely had time to move. The fist flew past her face, burying itself in the concrete wall as the spiky haired girl's eyes widened

"Now!" Touko stepped forward into the strike, swinging her own fist over the top of Naoto's. Touko had never had training. But what she did have was experience. She felt Naoto's face against her knuckles. She had hit and now she was exposed. Now she could only hope that Trystan was able to hold the other girl in place or else she'd be a sitting duck.

"Now!"

Naoto let out a growling grunt as Touko's fist hooked around, slipping through the inside of her open guard faster than she could hope to bring her arm back to defend. All she could hope to do was stay conscious through another of the level zero's blows. For a brief instant the pressure on Trystan vanished before returning just as suddenly. Naoto had his position in mind at all times. She couldn't allow someone that dangerous to break free. She managed to twist her head, presenting her other cheek and rolling with the hit.

That alone had taken enough of the power from the hit. Her head throbbed and the world became fuzzy around her. Sounds took on a dull, distant echo. No time to clear her head now. She lashed out, her left arm snapping around in a tight hook aimed in Touko's general direction. A blind strike but a powerful one even without her ability.

OOC: Guy and I decided to do the next scene with Karl/ Mai to get things moving- just note that it’s a little leap forward in time.

Karl sluggishly opened his eyes, yawning. He groaned as he sat up from the dusty floor, trying to stretch out his awfully sore limbs. His neck still felt constricted from that esper’s ruthless grip earlier and he massaged the bruised parts gently. Karl vowed he’d return the exact feeling of pain someday- the esper’s image had been burned deep into his mind for the purposes of vengeance.

He slowly looked around for Mai in the low light. After the Tokiwadai girl made her decision to follow him, Karl had lead them to a nearby hideout for the Skill Outs. It was located at a place so obvious that no one would think to be suspicious and take a look. Sometimes, lack of subtlety could be the best disguise. The place was small, but convenient enough. There was a large stash of emergency food and first aid kits hidden away in various parts, which he had offered to Mai for her benefit. He had refused most of the treatment, wanting just to sleep to recover. Karl was used to this kind of life, but he knew Mai was not.

Now though, hunger rumbled in his stomach. He reached out for a packaged biscuit nearby and nibbled on it- the almost mouldy nourishment tasted stale but he couldn’t care less. His eyes were fixed on Mai huddled against the far wall, considering her carefully.

“Yo, did you get some rest?”

His voice was calm and soothing, so unlike the passionate fury that had previously possessed his tenor tone. Karl took another bite of the hard biscuit, and the munching sound crackled across the small space between them.

“Yo, did you get some rest?”

Mai groaned a little as she awoke, her eyes slow to open at first. She had expected to wake to the familiar sight of her dorm room and it took her a moment or two to collect her thoughts.

That's right...

She blinked hard and heavy lids fluttered open, her wide brown eyes focusing gradually on the boy in front of her.

"Yeah." Mai managed to say with another groan as she stretched her arms and legs. She shifted onto her knees, looking about the safehouse with the same vaguely fearful look she wore when visiting the principal's office. As though she were too afraid to even breathe in case she overstepped her boundaries. She should have gone back to her dorms the instant they'd escaped.

So why did she stay?

"What are you going to do now?" She asked with genuine concern.

"What are you going to do now?"

She looked fearful and hesitant, and Karl wondered whether Mai was now regretting her previous decision.

“Me?” He bit another mouthful of the stale biscuit and chewed slowly. Some crumbs cluttered on the stone floor and a large mouse poked its sniffing nose out of a hole on the wall. He threw some at it carelessly and the rodent cluttered away after greedily snatching up a few pieces.

“I do what I always do,” he finally replied, matter of fact. “Survive.”

He tossed Mai a packaged biscuit.

“Here, have this. You might need it.”

Karl gave the Tokiwadai girl a long sideglance, an unreadable expression on his face.

“I think you and I both know the main question isn’t really about me. So… What are you going to do now?”

He was giving Mai a final chance to escape this mess and return to her world. After all, Karl wanted to be absolutely sure he wouldn’t receive accusing fingers pointed at him down the track. He wanted it all to be her decision and hers alone.

On her conscience... He thought with some dark humour.

She was an esper too, after all.

Karl’s right hand snaked to his pocket, feeling relief when he felt the syringe still safely sitting there. He took the object out and studied it quietly, waiting patiently for Mai’s answer.

“Me? I do what I always do, survive."

Mai looked downcast at his fatalistic attitude. She didn't speak, contemplating what he had said. She had never considered survival something that one needed to strive for. But here was someone whose daily existence was a struggle to survive. All because of people like her.

"Here, have this. You might need it.”

She turned to face him, hearing only his voice, not his words and she stared at the straight faced boy. It took her a moment to respond, lost in her thoughts.

"Thanks." Her voice had lost its usual chirpiness.

“I think you and I both know the main question isn’t really about me. So… What are you going to do now?”

Mai turned her face away, looking to the floor and she drew her knees close to her chest.

"I know I should go back." She spoke after a second. "I thought about running away and leaving you." She admitted. "But when I do they'll want to know why I skipped class. What I did today." The full weight of the situation seemed to bear down on her. "And then I realised that none of that matters." She seemed to straighten up. "Compared to what you have to deal with everyday getting in trouble must seem pretty silly." She smiled weakly, her expression eventually settling into one of resolute decision. "I didn't leave you before and I won't leave you now." She said.

"I know I should go back. I thought about running away and leaving you. But when I do they'll want to know why I skipped class. What I did today. And then I realised that none of that matters. Compared to what you have to deal with everyday getting in trouble must seem pretty silly. I didn't leave you before and I won't leave you now."

Karl continued fiddling with the unused syringe absent-mindedly as Mai spoke, noting how her voice became more determined with each word. It was true she hadn’t just left him and run away- she had even mustered enough courage to drag him away from the fight earlier when he ended up being helpless. Karl valued such qualities, and for now, Mai had proven herself worthy of his trust.

He looked up, his green eyes searching Mai’s briefly before nodding in understanding.

“Yeah, I suppose I’d just be a smear on concrete by now if you hadn’t stuck around.” There was some unintentional bitterness mingled in his attempt at a light-hearted tone.

Karl cleared his throat.

He held the syringe in his hand up to better light, his glinting green eyes running across the object with greedy anticipation.

“Hey,” Karl suddenly said to Mai, “if you had the power of a level five in your grasp, what would you do?”

He rammaged around his pocket and took out the other syringe his Skill Out friend had thrown him before hell had gotten loose. Karl tossed it to Mai, shrugging.

“I guess you should have that one. Think of it as a thank you for saving me earlier. I’ll trust you to do some good with it.”

Karl gave the Tokiwadai girl a meaningful stare.

ooc: sorry for short post, trying to get back into the flow @.@

Trystan briefly felt the power pushing him up against the wall wane, before it resumed in full force. While it put him in a vulnerable position he would rather not be in, he had to admit that the concentration she had, able to divide her attention and ability between Touko and himself while fighting was downright impressive. However, it looked like this same focus on the situation in front of her had allowed his slightly modification of her attack to go through unnoticed, allowing Touko a chance for a counterattack of her own. Trystan was about to silently celebrate the clean hit when his eyes widened in surprise at the high level defense the woman had pulled; few had the reflexes to turn with an unexpected counter-blow, let alone do it in a semi-fatigued state and return a counter with another another.

Regardless, the situation was highly volatile, and he had no time to admire the woman's reflexes or consider what actions he could or should take; he could only rely on his gut instincts for now. As the hook closed in on Touko's general direction, Trystan placed a hansha over Touko in the area he predicted the attack would land. That way, when the hook invariably came, he'd probably be able to not only block some of the damage, but also trap the attacking hand. Hopefully, the unfamiliar situation would cause some sort of confusion, allowing Touko another chance at finishing off the woman for good.

For a moment Touko felt contact and as she stepped through with the punch she was certain she'd landed a decisive hit. But Naoto was still standing, and now Touko was falling into the path of her enemy's swinging fist. Bracing herself for impact the Level 0 clenched her jaw.

The attack landed, the other girl's knuckles burying into her ribs. Touko grunted, but remained standing thanks to Trystan's intervention. His last minute reaction had sapped the power from the strike. Now it was her turn. The battle had now turned into a slugfest, the two girls swinging wild blows at one another. She couldn't let it drag on any longer or she'd not get another chance.

Touko's fist swung upwards in a fierce uppercut. With all her weight behind it there was no chance that Naoto could shrug off this hit.

Naoto felt the contact of her knuckles against Touko's ribs for only the briefest instant before she was knocked, head over heels to the floor. The world turned upside down once again as she landed on the floor with a heavy thud. She hadn't even seen the blow that floored her.

How? How had this puny looking girl beaten her? Even after everything. After all her training. All her work. Even after acquiring the power of a level 5 she'd been beaten by some common street punk. And in a fist fight no less. The shame was smothered by the frustration and anger she felt burning in her chest.

Lying there, Naoto could only stare up at the clear blue sky as she felt the last of her power fade. It was leaving her. Her lips twisted into a bitter sneer. Just when she needed it most, her power was leaving her...

"Well, you win." She spat through bloodied lips. "What now?" After all this she still didn't know why these damned Espers had come into her turf. HER territory. That thought only filled her with more impotent rage and she balled her fists.

She'd let her comrades down...

***

“Yeah, I suppose I’d just be a smear on concrete by now if you hadn’t stuck around.”

Mai listened solemnly. She didn't know what to say.

“Hey, if you had the power of a level five in your grasp, what would you do?

She turned abruptly, noticing for the first time the device in his hands.

"Wait-" She started.

“I guess you should have that one. Think of it as a thank you for saving me earlier. I’ll trust you to do some good with it.”

"Don't tell me you're thinking of..." She looked down at the syringe. Was this what all those people were fighting over? What those Skill Outs had been hurt over? She held it delicately in her hands, as though she was afraid of breaking it. Or perhaps just afraid of it full-stop. "The power of a level five..." She rolled the words around in her head until they lost all meaning.

With this insignificant looking thing she could be equal to Mikoto. The sudden recollection of the girl made her stomach tie itself in knots. It had all happened so fast she didn't know what to think. But Mikoto had attacked Karl without provocation. That much she knew to be true.

What did that say about the Railgun?

"I-" She wanted to say she didn't want it, that she was going to throw it away if he gave it to her. But she knew that wasn't true.

"So... you're going to use it?" She asked with an uncertain mixture of anticipation and dread.

"Don't tell me you're thinking of…The power of a level five... I- …” Mai looked uncertain, full of some unknown dread. “So... you're going to use it?"

Karl almost laughed at the question, but he didn’t. Instead, he fixated the Tokiwadai girl an incredulous stare.

“What? You woulnd’t?”

He straightened his back a little, wincing at the pain.

“Be honest. You saw what those espers do with their powers right? Well, I’m not going to idly stand by when I have a chance to go against them.”

Karl’s grip around the device tightened as he licked his dry lips.

“In fact, I’m going to try it out now.”

He ripped open the packaging with a wild, hungry glint dominating in his eyes. Then without hesitation he swiftly injected himself with the drug. He didn’t even flinch as the long needle invaded his skin.

Karl’s figure remained immobile as the drug immediately took effect. He could feel something spreading within him, the tendrils reaching out to take hold of every single cell in his body. He began to pant lightly as his pupils visibly dilated. Information flooded through his nerve cells as raw power gripped him. It was changing him, transforming him.

And it felt bloody fantastic.

Rugged laughter bubbled and escaped his lips. Then he threw his head back and began to laugh for real, the raw sound bouncing off the walls wildly. When the sound finally faded, he closed his half-crazed eyes, smiling.

When Karl opened his green eyes a few heartbeats later, he felt stronger than he had ever before. He was born anew.

“What? You woulnd’t?”

Mai honestly couldn't answer. She bit her lip, but didn't interfere.

“Be honest. You saw what those espers do with their powers right? Well, I’m not going to idly stand by when I have a chance to go against them. In fact, I’m going to try it out now.”

A foreign body entered Karl's system. No serum or 'drug' in the traditional sense. But more like an implant. The seed buried beneath his skin, the pulsating blue visible through his flesh. Mai found herself fixated on the small dot.

His dry laugh sent a shiver down her spine.

"Are... are you OK?" She asked. The expression on the boy's face terrified her.

"Are... are you OK?"

Karl turned and smiled widely at Mai.

“Never felt better actually.”

He abruptly stood up and stretched, loosening his shoulders and flexing his arm muscles. He no longer felt the pain that had been plaguing him. Instead, he felt invincible, like he could do anything with the power in his grasp.

“Watch this.”

Karl viciously struck out a tightly clenched fist at the empty air in front of him. Only a few miliseconds later there was a loud cracking noise at the far end of the room. An invisible force appearing from nowhere suddenly struck against the stone wall, forming a large crack. A few pieces of rubble crumbled down and Karl grinned with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

He cracked his knuckles, wanting to test out his powers more.

At the racquet the cracking wall had caused, the little mouse that had rummaged around earlier scuttled out in fright. It titled its head this way and that as it stood still in confusion, looking for signs of danger. For a moment, Karl stared blankly at the rodent standing a few meters away. Then a rather nasty smirk slowly formed on his features.

“I can even do this!”

Karl kicked out, not moving from where he stood. The mouse stood no chance. Before the rodent could even comprehend what happened, its head separated from its body in a sickening fountain of red. Something unseen had slashed down onto its neck from above, decapitating the creature cleanly with utmost precision.

Karl merely smiled, feeling satisfied with the results.

Touko clutched at her bruised ribs and looked over at Trystan with a short nod of appreciation.

"Thanks. That ability of yours is pretty useful, huh?" She managed a weak smile despite the pain. Her expression went sour again as she knelt over Naoto, slamming her right palm against the girl's chest to hold her down.

"I'll deal with her. You go help Biribiri." She urged him before baring down on Naoto.

"Now we've beaten you..." She sat up, wincing at the pain it caused her to move. "Are you going to tell us what we want to know?" She didn't look to be in a mood for negotiating.

ooc: i'm assuming that mikoto is unconscious, correct me if i'm wrong @.@. for reference, a reef knot is basically a harder-to-untie version of a shoelace knot -3-b

Trystan had to catch himself as the force pushing down on him lifted. Quickly balancing himself, he lifted his head in time to visually confirm the fight between the two ending. The woman was on the ground, and Touko stood triumphantly while clutching her side. He nodded in return as she tipped her head in his direction. Was it finally over? He took a deep breath before exhaling, hoping to quickly regain some strength.

"Thanks. That ability of yours is pretty useful, huh?"

Shaking his head slightly, Trystan flashed a weak smile back towards Touko in response.

"This one still needs more training."

"I'll deal with her. You go help Biribiri."

Nodding, Trystan hobbled shakily over towards where Mikoto had fallen while taking off his shirt and belt. She still hadn't moved from when she had been pushed off by Naoto. If he had to say, the blood loss combined with the blunt trauma from the woman's attacks had probably injured her the worst out of the three of them; it couldn't be a good sign if she still wasn't moving after all this time. Furthermore, even before inspection, he knew that he had to stop the bleeding from that wound. Handing off the belt and shirt to his hansha, Trystan rolled Mikoto onto her back. Putting his index and middle fingers onto her throat, he pushed in slightly, feeling for a pulse.

Pulse is...weak, but otherwise stable...

Holding onto her shoulders, Trystan shook her slightly while calling her name.

"Misaka-dono...Misaka-dono."

While Trystan did all of this, his shirt was quickly torn into several messy strips. A slight indent formed under her arm as one hansha applied firm pressure to a pressure point just below Mikoto's armpit. The bloody wound on her arm was held together as the strips of the shirt quickly tied themselves together, forming a long bandage of sorts. After wrapping around her arm tightly, the makeshift bandage tied itself together in a simple reef-knot. Another hansha lifted a small stone, placing it into the indent, before securing the belt around it and holding the stone in place, ensuring a continuous pressure. After a short moment, Trystan further elevated her legs slightly with a hansha.

"Misaka-dono; can you hear me?"

"Now we've beaten you... Are you going to tell us what we want to know?"

Naoto let out a dry laugh.

"It's not like I've got much choice, is it?" The words dripped with venom. "And what is it you want to know?" She looked away, feigning cool detachment.

***

“Never felt better actually. Watch this.”

Mai flinched, recoiling behind her arms as the impact resounded through the room. She lowered her arms slowly, blinking at the sight of the shattered wall.

“I can even do this!”

Mai's eyes widened at the slow realisation of is intentions. She opened her mouth to protest, reaching for his shoulder.

"Wa-"

The sound was like meat on a chopping block. Mai flinched again, suppressing a wave of nausea and she turned away covering her mouth.

"Why?" She looked over her shoulder at the boy, tears forming at the edges of her eyes, creased in an accusing glare.

Karl stared impassively as Mai flinched and doubled over as if to be sick. He felt a wave of hot anger as the girl sent him an accusing glare. Which side was she on exactly? Hadn’t she just sworn loyalty to his cause- their cause? Why couldn’t she understand?

Calm, Karl reasoned with himself. Kashiwagi Mai- a Tokiwadai student, possessing a rich, pampered, easy lifestyle. She had probably never even chopped meat or twisted the heads off prawns before, with professional cooks lined up to do that for her. He had to try and be understanding, make her see things his way. Even so, Karl couldn’t help but let bitterness and frustration slip into his voice when he next spoke.

“Don’t you get it?! Did you not see what that esper guy did?! What your precious Railgun friend did?! They don’t fucking give a shit about hurting us lower levels with their powers. If we’re going to fight them on equal ground, we have to be just as cruel as they are.”

There was a weird red glint in his normally green eyes as he glared back at Mai, perhaps a side effect of the ‘drug’.

“If you can’t understand that, then go,” Karl continued harshly, “You don’t really belong in this world anyway.”

**
"Misaka…. …. saka-dono."

Someone was calling her. But they sounded very far away. Her mind felt numb, completely exhausted. She grumpily wondered why they were bothering her so.

Something important kept slipping from her grasp, fleeing just beyond reach. There was something to be done, but she could not remember what it was. It kept nagging and begging, gradually pulling her out from gentle embrace of that peaceful darkness which had surrounded her only moments before.

"Misaka-dono..."

The sound was approaching closer, and she frowned at the familiarity of it. What was so important…?

A sharp gasp escaped from between her lips as sudden pain abruptly brought Mikoto to reality. The site of pain quickly spread to devour her entire body, coupled with intense exhaustion. Someone was moving her arm, which Mikoto groggily identified as the first source of pain.

Her eyelids fluttered open, unfocused brown eyes squinting against the sudden light. She could see the dark silhouette of someone hovering over her form, and felt a pressure being applied on her injured arm, making her eyes close once more against the pain. She felt her legs being lifted slightly, but was too tired to protest.

"Misaka-dono; can you hear me?"

Her eyes weakly opened again, uncertainty clouding her usually bright brown irises. She met Trystan’s eyes and blinked slowly, gradually realising why the voice had been so familiar.

“Yamato… san?”

Mikoto gave a tired sigh, “Why am I…?”

Flashes of images suddenly assaulted the forefront of her mind- the green-eyed guy Karl, Mai’s act of betrayal, the fight with the Skill Out gang, the broken piping on the wall, blood, the certain spikey haired girl charging towards the falling debris, Trystan’s blood-bath manner of fighting, and most importantly, the androgynous woman- the leader of Skill Out, who seemed to have powers that didn’t make sense...

Mikoto’s eyes suddenly widened and she immediately tried to sit up. Pain wracked her body, and her hands flew to the side where Naoto had kicked her. Now fully awakened by the rush of anger, Mikoto gritted her teeth and pushed herself to stand up, wrathful eyes searching for the woman.

She somehow managed but wobbled precariously on her feet. The pure fury etched on her features appeared to be the only thing keeping the electromaster standing tall.

“Where… the hell… is she?” Mikoto breathed out heavily through clenched jaws. Her voice was rough, torn in anger and pain.