Prologue/Chapter 1
This is my Life now
No, this isn't about me "rebelling against some oppressive parent" or some stupid crap like that. Although, if that's the first thing that comes to even my mind when I read that… crap, maybe I should re write this whole thing…
No.
I want this to be as personal as I can make it.
SO! First things first, I am not going to give you all the details… at least, not the really important stuff like my full name or what street I live, but I'll probably drop hints like what state I live in, and the general area of where what happened took place. Hell, I'll even stick to letting you figure out what year it was, and even what real life people got involved. However, for security reasons I'll either redact or simply leave out certain names. Can't have a raptor pilot's identity and plane's ID number get revealed and then have them ridiculed over my including them in this.
Well, disclaimer aside… Where do I begin?
I kind of want to start with the scientific impossibility that was the anomaly in space that had some sort of reaction to some radio or electrical signal no one really understood, or what about with my point of view? That would be simpler, I mean, if the smartest scientist on earth couldn't really explain this, how the hell am I going to do it?
But then again, boring you now with something you'll learn via conversation later sounds counterproductive. I do want you to read this, after all. I guess that means I'll start from my point of view of the whole thing.
So, the day reality broke around me.
Literally broke around me.
I guess it was a little after 4:30, afternoon, after one of my college classes, in a town in the northern United States.
Where exactly in the United States?
Well, not were the rest of the story is going to take place, so why would I tell you? You could be a creeper that thinks guys in their twenties make good carpets or something sick like that. Just know that I'm a guy living in the northern U.S.
Statistically, we're more prone to suicide apparently. Fun fact, right? Although, I doubt there's a human alive that hasn't thought about it at least once. "How would people react?" "Who would really miss me?" "Will anyone miss me?" and all those sorts of questions we ask ourselves.
I wasn't raised to think like that and even I thought about it now and then.
As a thought experiment, of course.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Anyway, I drove home in my mom's old car. A nice little Lancer from 2001, dirty as hell, but in decent enough condition when you think about it; especially for driving to college and back home.
It was one of those days were you don't really have anything to do so you just go to your room and want to fall asleep, but the temperature wasn't right I guess, and I wasn't tired enough to sleep. I remember lying on the couch in the living room for a few minutes before unpacking and flipping on my laptop, this efficient little Asus that I'd had since twelfth grade.
I went straight to… well, I won't name the site, but if you watch Anime, you've probably heard of it. You probably know anime, what those kids that are either overweight or underweight base their ridiculous hairstyles and attire choices on. By the time this happened, anime had kind of lodged itself into American culture with official streaming sites and even late night airings on TV. Some people like my dad didn't really understand it. I guess the art style was the issue, since my dad didn't mind the stories too much… except for telling me that they were too "fantastical" for him. That or too tragic. Not a problem, I rarely brought anime to show him after the 2013 smash hit that was Attack on Titan… he was left a little scarred by the first episode so, yeah…
ANYWAY!
I wasn't on the site to watch the current season, but to re watch this old, well, not a favorite if I'm honest. I really liked some of the characters, but it was one of those shows that I couldn't follow the main story as much. I enjoyed some of it, like some of the plot was really well written and interesting but then some of the plot was just kind of dumb, I guess. Not that it was bad, just that I didn't enjoy as much as some of the other fans.
So I started watching episode ten of A Certain Magical Index.
The Sisters arc; arguably one of the better parts of the original series, what with the introduction to Accelerator (the antihero and a fan favorite), the Sisters (clones, also fan favorites) of one of the favorite characters… it was actually the first episode of the series I watched when they aired it on Funimation years back.
The episode was buffering, and I remember noticing that my computer's screen flickered ever so slightly. It was a little odd, I guess. I'd only had the thing for a little more than a year after all, but I ignored it.
Maybe if I hadn't, what happened next could have been avoided.
Actually, scratch that. I doubt anyone could've avoided it.
The second the episode started I noticed that something was off.
Instead of the introduction scene to one of my favorite characters, I saw what could best be described as an overview shot of a beautiful city park. I recognized it was the spot the arc really got started in the main show, but this wasn't how the anime had actually started the episode. Episode ten was supposed to begin with the arc's antagonist getting shot and then deflecting a bullet from a sniper, and only after the opening sequence did it go on to the park where the main character met one of my other favorite characters. This looked more like a stationary art of the park, like a loading screen while it buffered the episode, I figured. I realized then that I could hear the regular opening in the background, but nothing was moving onscreen.
My computer screen flickered again and for the faintest glimmer of an instant I could've sworn I saw feathery white wings.
The show has angels in it, actually, and I thought the site had glitched out and was playing an earlier episode instead, but the thought only lasted as long as the image because immediately after that I heard a familiar voice over the sound of electrical explosions.
Now, at the time, I genuinely thought that I was experiencing some kind of technical problem that could be solved by clicking off the site or restarting the computer and went to do just that.
The second I touched my computer, my home vanished behind me and I noticed that I was sitting on a park bench under the blue sky with cicadas annoyingly screeching in the background as a gentle breeze cooled the back of my neck.
I didn't panic right there and then, I just kind of froze.
Being teleported is not something that's sounds comfortable, at least, scientifically speaking. Your molecules are supposed to be dispersed or something and then immediately reconstructed somewhere else in, like an instant.
I remember blinking, slowly moving my arm to my head and noticing how weird it looked, like I was seeing it through bad goggles or something. My vision was blurry, even though my eyesight is fine, the bench I was sitting on felt off, same for the sunlight; nothing felt real.
It was then that I became aware of the screaming behind me. I awkwardly and slowly turned to look only for a massive accumulation of what appeared to be pitch black sand to fly above me like someone with a shovel had launched it over my head. It had to be the size of a small car, and I heard a pained exclamation come from it, although, that could've been me ducking and falling to the ground.
I saw it crash into the cement; a person started to get up from that and said something along the lines of "ouch" but I can't be sure. I quickly turned to see just what had launched the mass of what I figured had to be iron sand into the park and saw, bear with me here, what appeared to be the freaking dark lord from The Lord of the Rings, only stupider looking.
He was like an edgy looking teenager dressed in a black medieval looking knight's armor. Long, swaying black hair, blood red markings lined the top of his closed eyes, deathly pale skin, and a red and purple aura of what I assumed was spiritual energy or something was emanating from him in a fashion similar to a traffic stop light.
I immediately got up from the floor and took a step back, tripping over my own feet, and falling back on the cement.
Nothing felt real, not even the ground, but I didn't have time to think on it as a massive bolt of energy shot over my head and slammed into the guy in black, who seemed to not really care about it.
But it did get him to speak.
"Interesting… you're an interesting person…" he said in a low and oddly electric voice.
By this point in time I had realized several things. One, I was apparently in the virtual world or something just as crazy. Two, I was glad that I hadn't had lunch yet because I felt sick to my stomach, and I had no idea if vomiting wherever I was would even be an option. And three, the hairs on the back of my neck, my arms, and my head were standing on their own.
Oh, I was terrified alright, but my hair is fairly straight and when I comb it so it stands on its own, it will always drop down without gel.
What's the conclusion? There was a lot of electricity in the air.
The reason for that was standing approximately three yards behind me.
A young girl with chestnut colored hair that just reached her shoulders stood defiantly, her right arm outstretched with blue sparks emitting from it like she had broken electrical wires for fingertips. She was wearing a skirt that was way too short for someone her age, arguably shorter than the shorts she had on, but other than that, her uniform was one that showed the care and quality of a prestigious academy.
She didn't notice me as she launched another lightning strike at the edgy dark lord to my front.
Said edge lord spoke up again.
"I need you to stop that since it won't affect anything other than the amount of time you will remain here."
"I said I'm not INTERESTED in whatever sick plan you're coming up with!" she shouted in an all too familiar voice.
The edge lord scoffed, before raising his hand launching some kind of energy ball which the girl countered with her own two hands, redirecting it away from her. The science behind that move would be fascinating to a physicist, I guess. Assuming the ball was made of plasma, the girl must've output a crap ton of energy to redirect it away from her…
…and towards me…
No, I didn't roll away from it, or even run away, it was just too fast for me to register it in time. It hit the bench behind me exploding in a manner that begged so many scientific questions that Hawking would have a fit.
I however, was more concerned with the heat it caused and being suddenly launched, or better put catapulted, sky high in a half second.
NOW I screamed my lungs out. I felt myself being propelled at an angle of, give or take, fifty degrees.
Mentally cursing just about every saint there was, gravity took effect and I began cursing my way down the twelve or so feet I had left. I would've moved on to desperate prayer if the electric girl hadn't hopped high in the air, grabbed my left arm, and landed on a light post. And by "land" I of course mean grabbing my left arm with her right, then using her left to shoot an electric beam that I'm just going to assume magnetized the nearby post to attract her arm which was already electrically charged so that it would be a magnet on its own, which in turned pulled her onto it as if she was Peter freaking Parker.
Not saying it made much sense, just narrating what happened. Although, it must've been an interesting sight, this girl that's still in middle school standing atop a light post holding a terrified guy by the arm, so he's just kind of hanging there.
"You need to get outta here! This is dangerous!" she shouted. Thank you, captain obvious.
I didn't notice then, but I'm sure the edge lord saw me by that point. He launched what had to be a bolt of plasma or something like that, straight at us.
She reacted, and moved to hop from the light post, not sure what her plan was, but as soon as she did, the park banished around us and I felt myself crash into linoleum floor.
My eyes shot open and I noticed and felt the familiar floor under me.
I was right back home.
Pale, sore, and about to have a heart attack, but I was home with my life and body intact.
"Huh? What just…?"
It was a girl's voice and it was confused as hell. And I noticed that someone was still holding on to my arm. While I was sprawled on the floor facing the ceiling, the girl next to me was looking around in confusion after she pulled what I assumed was a superhero landing, with one arm supporting her on the floor and the other grabbing my arm.
Which she immediately let go and stood up.
I was still catching my breath, when I started to sit up and think about what just happened.
The girl looked around the living room, turned ever so awkwardly towards me and spoke up.
"Sorry about that… you okay?" she asked smiling awkwardly. I could tell she was a bit nervous, and I couldn't blame her. I doubted she'd ever been to a guy's place by herself at this point, let alone one that's out of high school. She was after all, a middle school student.
One that shouldn't exist.
"I'm fine." I said quickly, letting the shock slowly wash away as I began to calm down and realized what the hell had just happened.
"I want to say good thinking on teleporting us out of there, but I need to get back right now." she said, still smiling, but I could tell she was somewhat distressed.
Also talking perfect English… and sounding exactly like her dub voice actress.
Now upon encountering any challenge in life, be it a test in school or crashing your car into another, there are certain guidelines you can follow to prevent the worst case scenario. Number one, don't panic. Which, surprisingly, I had been able to not get a heart attack and instead of reacting in a "flight or fight" sort, I simply went limp and accepted the situation. As if I was tied down and I might as well accept my fate gracefully. Number two, however, was a bit of an issue. Just what the hell could I do here? Being teleported into a fantasy world is more manageable than this! Well, no, actually, that's me jumping the gun. At least here I could… um… what? Call the police? Err… I don't really see a better option here… I don't know if they'll believe me, though.
And maybe she'll only remain here for a few minutes at best?
To be honest, I can't blame those idiot protagonists for hiding the alien or magical girl that pops into their lives from everyone else. Because this is what it was, essentially an alien popped into existence in my living room. Who the hell thought they would ever have to write that?
That being said, I'm an adult. Eighteen going to nineteen, I'm old enough to buy a rifle, drive a car, and join the U.S military, so I'll be damned if I don't act like a grown man!
Problem is I highly doubt anyone in real life has been through this exact situation before.
"I don't know how to tell you this…" I began, carefully, because in front of me stood an emotionally fragile teenaged girl who could obliterate entire buildings with her arm. "But I… uh…"
"Where is this anyway?" she asked quietly. Apparently she wasn't talking to me as she began gazing at random objects around the living room.
I blinked, unsure of how much to say, but I didn't get the chance to decide on honesty or dishonesty. She answered her own question with frightening speed.
"Oh, I see. We're in the U.S, right? Wow, I didn't expect to be this… far from home… can you send me back?" cautious optimism, fake friendliness, but I could've been fooled if I didn't know her.
"Did… how did you figure that out?" I managed to ask, a bit dumbfounded.
"Oh, easy, I just read the electrical signals coming off your computer, telephone, and TV set. Since at least one of those is getting transmissions via satellite, figuring out the nationality is just a matter of reading the coordinates. Even if everything here is antiquated." she added, though I was unsure if it was supposed to be taken as bragging or as a warning not to lie.
"O-oh…" I said, and the implication set in that this girl would figure out where she really was in a matter of minutes, me lying or not, was enough of a call to action.
"Um… you're…"
"Mikoto Misaka, Academy City's third ranked level 5. You didn't know?"
"Yeah, actually… you're kind of a celebrity…"
She gave me a hollow smile. Given who she was at this point in the anime, I couldn't blame her. Her first question, however, remained. I quickly spoke up before her impatience got the best of her.
"Anyway, ma'am… I, uh, have good news and bad news…" (How else would you break the news that a teenaged girl's life is literally an entertainment experience for guys on the net?)
She got serious.
"Uh… good news or-"
"Both! Now!" she said, dead serious.
"Uh… well, you don't have to worry about your sisters anymore…"
Oh great! Pushing all the right buttons! I thought sarcastically.
Her look went from serious to deadly suspicious as she narrowed her eyes and tiny sparks seemed to ignite around her head. Being a somewhat genre savvy guy, I knew what was coming was either an electrical frying in a quest to find answers that would probably lead to a week's stay at the local hospital, or death.
"How do you-?" she began in a dangerous tone, the slightest spark emanating from her head. I didn't let her finish.
"You're in the real world! Your life is a TV show! We have no Academy City here!" blunt, fast, stupid, but to the point; being an adult is great!
She blinked.
Confusion overtook anger and suspicion, and she glanced at the computer behind me.
The episode was still there, buffering, but a still picture of her glaring at the show's protagonist remained on the screen.
I wasn't sure how she'd react.
She looked at me and asked calmly.
"So… this is another world… where the lives of the people I know are shown to an audience as a fictional anime?" she asked, sounding kind of tired. Like someone reviewing the extra work they just got after a long day. As if this was just another crazy thing to add to the already long list of crazy things she was dealing with at this point.
That was one way to put it. I theorized something far less optimistic however, as implying that this was one dimension and she came from another also implied that her friends were real. But I figured that explanation was better than just saying "no, you don't exist exit reality on the left, please" and leaving it at that.
Instead I said: "That's… one way to put it, I guess."
She stared, nervously.
"So… you know about…" she began, the emotions her character must've pushed deep down starting to show themselves now that she was in an arguably "safer" situation, where she could talk about it without anyone getting hurt.
"Y-yeah, I'm… sorry…" I said lamely. I would give anything to be the guy that can console a girl when she's dealing with something so awful, and I should know better, but what else could I say? It killed me to be helpless here, and I couldn't even imagine how she felt like. Though, I had watched the effects of it, because the anime had concluded years ago as well as her spin off.
She took a breath, pushing her emotions back down. And with a determination that characterized her, declared: "Then you know I have to go back! Please, help me stop their murders!"
Oh damn.
"Uh, ma'am… I don't know how… I don't know how to send you back."
"What? But, isn't this your house? Isn't this your computer? Didn't you travel into my-?"
"Yeah, but as far as I know, my world doesn't have the technology to travel into our computers and bring characters into this reality! I was just sitting here and this just… happened…"
I saw the faintest bit of hope drop from her face as soon as I said that.
"B-but I can tell you that your sisters are safe!" I added quickly.
Had to say something to cheer her up or else she might've had a heart attack. Can you imagine fighting for weeks on end, late at night, ignoring school and ignoring your closest friends, to fight an organization that is creating clones of you to fight and be killed by a guy with a god complex, just to get pulled out of it the second you find out that your efforts were all in vain because the organization just started outsourcing? I can't; closest thing to that I ever experienced was when I almost had a mental breakdown because my science teacher canceled a project I had spent entire monthspainstakingly gathering data on, and I imagine that doesn't really compare. And despite all that, she's yet to break down. But getting ripped out of your reality before you can even attempt to renew your efforts? Well, that might do it.
She's a tough little girl, but she needed a break.
"Huh?" she asked, now more confused than anything. At least it removed that hollow look in her eyes.
"The show concluded your sister's… story years ago… I was just re watching it."
She raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the computer.
"But I haven't... How…?" she turned to look at the computer screen, the episode continuing like nothing.
"Uh… the guy… with the right hand helps you defeat… him." I liked both characters, but saying their names would probably trigger more mental traumas with her than I could afford. Also, I realized that I had basically been sitting on the floor that entire time.
"But if I got dragged from my reality and I hadn't saved them yet… how will…? I don't understand how this works…" she groaned as she scratched the back of her head.
I could see her thinking hard. If I'm not mistaken, "level 5s" are supposed to be incredibly intelligent. The good thing about that show is that it at least tries to base itself in some semblance of scientific fact. Her powers weren't just plot convenient or anything, electricity in the "A certain" series appears to be the most common ability given how much of it our brains rely on it in real life. And even then Misaka is like an exception to how much she can do with it. Magnetizing metals and her own body, shooting lightning, and electrifying people are just the basic things she can do. It kind of goes to show how unimaginative some writers can be when they give a super hero their powers; they think "oh, I'll just give him electricity so he can zap things and break computers" and be done with it. At least the "A Certain" series takes the idea of controlling electricity and goes somewhere with it.
I saw her light up.
"I think I get it. This is just a window to that point in time in my reality! You're re-watching the recording of that point in time, so whoever dragged me out of there dragged me through time and space using the computer recordings… that must be it!"
I nodded slowly. I'm already a college student and I don't know if anything she said there and then made complete sense, but it seemed to calm her down. What, did she think this involved time travel? Or was this like copy and pasting memories?
"That means… does this show my visit to donate my DNA or any point before…?"
"Uh, kind of? It shows your visit to the clinic, not the actual-"
"Perfect! I can just travel to back then… if I figure out a way… how did I even get here?"
"That's what I want to ask you. I was just sitting there and next thing I know I'm in the middle of a battle between you and that… guy." I answered, finally standing up.
"Oh him… who was he?" she asked me.
"I don't know… I don't even remember him being in the show." I knew that this edge lord wasn't from the episode or the series, maybe the novels? No, this Misaka doesn't have any of the knowledge her current self has. I had many questions. Too many questions, but an idea did pop to mind.
"Maybe you can create a portal using my computer. It did drag me into it, and I'm assuming it dragged us out. Maybe you can use your ability to figure out how to get yourself home?" I asked.
She blinked, and looked at my computer.
"We… through this?" she asked, pointing at the laptop.
"I don't know. I'm assuming I got dragged into your world through it, so why not? If it's electric, maybe you can use it to figure it out?" although how my computer had zapped a fictional character into existence was beyond me, I figured that maybe my crazy assumption might be right.
Misaka shrugged, and placed her hand on the keyboard. After two seconds she looked at me.
"There's no 'portal' here, or anything that's out of the ordinary in this antiquated computer." She said in a matter of fact tone.
"Well, sorry, but we're nowhere near as advanced as your reality." although you'd think an Asus from 2014 wouldn't be that antiquated in her world, but then again Academy City had an in universe status of being such a technological powerhouse that, cannon wise, the only country that could stand against it is the U.S. Not even Russia was able to slow them down at one point in the story, which is terrifying when you consider that Academy City is only a large city.
"Huh? Oh… uh…" she looked like she had lost her train of thought. She probably had no idea where to go next.
"Anyway… if it isn't a portal in your computer… I guess it could be a particular signal that I'd have to lock onto… maybe… either way, it should be reversible." she said, smiling a little.
With the apparent knowledge that she could simply go back in time in her own timeline, she relaxed exponentially. I guess that knowing you can fix something whenever you want does that to a person. Like saying "no need to rush" or "we can finish this tomorrow".
"Anyway, you have no idea about who that weird guy is?" she asked after a few seconds.
I shook my head. But looking back at it, something felt haunting about the edge lord. Not that I'd seen him before, but a feeling of familiarity was there.
Perhaps it was a familiar dread.
She seemed pensive for a second.
"Odds are he knows more than either of us about this." she mused.
"Yeah, but what if whatever dragged me in there and then pushed us out into reality also dragged him from another series into yours?"
"Yeah, I guess… Does he remind you of any other characters?"
"Uh, yeah! Every edgy kid in every action anime ever made."
"That doesn't really help."
"I know." I said, surprisingly deadpanned. What did she expect? An edgy looking knight is like a must have in any medieval romance anime, right? Whether or not it was a clue, it was all we really had to work with. I figured we had some time to kill, though, so my instinct as "host" kicked in.
"Uh… so… would you like something to drink? Or…?"
I didn't get to say much more because a car drove into the parkway.
Dad.
Aw hell; and here I thought I'd have more time to figure it out.
"Crap, dad's home."
She didn't seem fazed by the fact.
"Is that a problem?" she said without looking at me, she was still too engrossed in her own thoughts from the looks of it. Hey, better than suddenly having her panic.
Still, ignoring the implications of my being home alone with a fourteen year old, there were at least a few problems, and at least two of them involved the fact that fiction had just bled into reality.
"Shouldn't be a problem, he's a great guy, but I don't know how to break it to him that…" I looked at her and she understood.
"Oh! Well, I could say I'm a cosplayer, say I'm from your school, and that I was just asking for some homework info, and that I was just leaving." She said simply. She was ready to just go off on her own, and it made some sense. At least more than staying with some men you just met. And if I was still in middle school, I might've been fine with that arrangement.
But I'm not in middle school anymore.
Now, technically, we had just met each other, at least from her point of view. But from mine, this was the equivalent of having your favorite actor stop by asking for directions. Except it wasn't her voice actress, it was the actual character. I didn't know anyone in my university that watched the Index or the Railgun series so they wouldn't even recognize her, but that doesn't mean I can just drop her off with one of my friends considering most of them still live with their own parents, or with a roommate, or someplace that would probably question who is this guy dropping off a fourteen year old. Her age is also an issue, because legally she can't do a lot of things, and I guess you can add a bit of a responsibility factor to it since she showed up in my house.
Fact is leaving a fourteen year old girl by herself wasn't something I was comfortable doing, even if she could literally pulverize any normal human thug.
Cause I'm the adult here.
"Um… No sense in lying to him. Maybe just be straightforward?"
"And just tell him…?"
"My dad's a cool guy, and odds are he'll be more fascinated than freaked out." I said with a forced chuckle.
By this point he had already opened the front door.
"Just stay right here, I'll be right back." I stated calmly, only to dash to the entrance.
"Hey, dad. How's it going?" I asked the tired man.
"Hey, I'm good, I'm good… you okay? You look a bit pale…" he sounded kind of distracted and tired, but that's typical of a biologist that at this point is kind of married to his job.
He's got nothing else to do really. His parents are long dead, his in laws are too far away to casually visit, and he just has me to worry about.
Not to brag, but I can perform the basic functions required to live alone… I just don't have the money.
"I'm fine… but…"
"But?" I could hear the tinge of parental worry in his voice. Something I had only recently noticed, but when he gets worried, his eyes get a little bit more focused, and his voice sounds a bit smoother in comparison to his tired self.
"To be honest, I might as well show you… because I… I have zero explanations."
I led him to the living room where Misaka was just kind of staring at the computer still playing the episode, looking melancholy. She quickly turned to look at my dad, then at me, and then she smiled and waved awkwardly, her left hand behind her back holding her right elbow as she did so.
"You brought a girl?" dad asked, not really impressed or anything. Though his eyes questioned just what girl would agree to a dress code with a skirt so short.
Especially considering how old she was.
"Hello, I'm Richard junior." he said calmly.
"Mikoto Misaka." She replied, and I felt my stomach turn as the fact that fiction had broken into reality sunk in yet again. Hell, I was kind of expecting she would no longer be there the instant dad showed up, as if this was a weird dream that reality would wipe away as soon as I tried to tell someone.
"Huh, that sounds Japanese… relatives?"
It then hit me that the girl in front of me was difficult to describe now that she wasn't a two dimensional drawing. She looked human, don't get me wrong, and her eyes weren't as big as her forehead, but she did not look Japanese… exactly. In retrospect, the Index series has many characters that don't look Japanese at all, yet hold the names, blonde haired Misaki coming to mind. However, the girl in front of me wasn't easy to ethnically pinpoint. I don't know how to describe her, it's like she looks ever so slightly foreign, yet not foreign at the same time.
A fictional character brought to the real world.
Did this classify as a new race of human or would a character that's more defined look different?
"Uh… It's a bit more complicated…" oh yeah, Academy City apparently became its own country in her story… I think…
"That right?"
I better tell him already.
"Um… dad, you know the shows I watch?"
"Oh, she's dressed up as one of those characters you like?" oh, the scathing voice he used right there!
"Uh… not exactly..." I said, looking at her, then at dad and then as fast as I could, I said "She is the character from a show I watch."
Dad looked at me for a solid three seconds before looking at her for another solid three seconds.
"Uh huh…" he said in his nicest, most patient, I don't believe you but I'll humor you tone he's ever pulled off.
"No, seriously… she's got electrical powers and everything." I said, completely serious. Despite my efforts, I still managed to sound like a six year old describing his future house.
"No really, mom! It'll have a giant waterslide and everything!"
Misaka, however, wasn't going to hide anything. With a bit of a sigh, she immediately launched a low voltage string of blue electricity at the T.V, which switched on to a CNN anchor discussing something.
Dad blinked. Then he smiled awkwardly. He turned to me, and got serious.
"Son, is this a joke?"
I shook my head.
"There's no way… come on. Super powers like those don't exist. This has to be-"
"I can also do this." She said; smiling as she stretched out her right hand, sent a bolt of electricity towards the nearest wall, and in an instant, a magnetic force pulled a metal cup from the kitchen, and a set of keys to the wall. I'm assuming she magnetized an iron bar or some metal pipe inside the wall. Either way, seeing a human do stuff like that is a little unsettling, I'll admit.
Dad took a step back. Shook his head, looked at me again and asked "What is… how?"
"I'm an electromaster." She stated simply.
"You control electricity?" he asked, reacting more surprised than I had been. Poor guy, at least I actually knew the character, he hadn't really had a glimpse of the show.
"Essentially, you haven't seen the show?"
"No!" Dad kept looking to the wall and back to her.
"Well, electromasters can manipulate electricity, and I am the most skilled at it."
"Is…? It sounds like the X-Men…"
"No, it's pretty different." I state.
"How did this happen?"
"It gets crazier." I tell him.
"What could be crazier than this?!"
"I got dragged into my computer somehow, she was fighting someone who isn't even from her show, and before anything really happened, the two of us were transported to the living room!"
Dad blinked.
"That's it? You didn't get hurt?" he asked, calming down.
I nodded.
"Well… like I said, my name is Richard Junior; this is my son, Richard. You've met him."
She blinked, realizing she had yet to ask my name. And then there's the fact that I share my dad's first name.
"Both of you are…"
"Yes. My Grandpa started it, and I think I'll try to keep it up when I get a kid. Three generations of Richards." I said, smiling slightly.
"You're… one hundred percent human, right?" dad asked. Ah yes, the biologist in him finally broke out of his initial shock.
"Well of course I am." I could almost hear her stifle an "idiot" remark. How often did she say that, anyway? She continued with "My brain is just more skilled at controlling electricity to the point that-"
I heard what genuinely sounded like a jet engine starting up just outside our door. Then there was silence for a total of two seconds.
And then the front door launched off its hinges by an explosion of wind and smoke that threw all of us off our feet.
I smacked head first into the couch, whilst dad slammed against the wall. Misaka simply flipped in midair, stuck herself to the wall and front flipped off of it like it was nothing.
The edge lord, the dark lord, whatever the hell you want to call him, walked into my house.
"You!" Misaka exclaimed.
The edge lord looked at dad, at me, at her, but didn't say anything.
"Who are you?" Misaka, the only one even capable of speech at the moment, demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" the edge lord said gruffly.
"Did you transport me to this world?"
"Yeah, actually." the edge lord declared with confidence. Well, there goes one theory.
"Why?"
The edge lord looked around, and then pointed at me.
"Kill him, or his father." He stated simply.
I saw her flinch.
"Or anyone in this neighborhood, really. If you do that, I will send you back to your home."
I saw her hands ball into fists.
I looked at dad, he looked at me, and I am about 90% sure I had the same expression of quiet panic.
"If you do that, I'll send you back, and you can save your sisters from-"
She did not give him the pleasure of concluding the sentence.
I'm assuming she reversed her magnetizing of the wall to launch herself forward or something, because the next thing I knew, the two of them had crashed through the remains of our front porch.
I got up, and turned to dad.
"You okay?" I asked, a little panicked, admittedly.
"Fine, I'm fine! Who was that?"
"No clue. He was fighting her when I got sucked into it. I don't even know where he's from."
Outside I could hear small explosions, like firecrackers, followed by loud blasts of lightning.
"So fictional characters are just popping into the real world? Hope Superman is next." My dad muttered under his breath.
I, on the other hand, was cursing the fact we didn't have a gun or something. For crying out loud, we live in the country that has more guns than people! I could throw a rock at any random direction and odds are it would hit a gun before it hit a person! Why the hell hadn't I gotten my license earlier?
We stepped outside, and I have to admit it was a sight to behold.
She was using the iron sand like platforms to support herself in the air as she tried landing direct electric strikes against the edge lord, who kept shooting colorful bolts at her. The crazy thing is that she would catch them, only to launch them back at him. Causing impressive explosions in the sky, the edge lord threw her off balance at one point, only for her to swing around an electric light post and launch herself right back into the air. With impressive gymnastics that would make the best Olympic gymnast jealous, she flipped in the air in a pose that I had seen before.
Stretching her arm forward, and with the slightest glistening of blue electricity, fired a magnetically charged projectile at three times the speed of sound. The projectile hit the edge lord in the chest, sending him flying across the sky. He returned via teleportation I guess, immediately, unperturbed.
By this point, several of our neighbors had stepped outside, cell phones out either filming or calling 9-1-1. I worried that a bolt might kill one of our neighbors and considered ordering them inside; maybe pretend I was a government agent or something, although it was soon clear that it wasn't necessary.
She wasn't letting a single one of those (plasma?) bolts hit.
"What in God's name is that?"
Holy crap, how could I forget Earl?
You know those redneck stereotypes? Earl is like a civilized variant. He has a job in the nearest city, and lives in the suburbs, along with us, but after he gets back home, he spends his time sitting on his porch with a hunting rifle, usually cleaning it. I think it's one of those big game variants, that look wooden and stuff, but I never thought to ask. Well, he was carrying it now.
"Earl, you see it too?" Dad looked at his kind of friend.
"Hell yes! I called the cops, but they'll take a few minutes. Figured I might as well put my old Patriot to good use." he said, answering my question.
Right then, Misaka fired a several bolts of electricity to the quickly moving target.
"What are these, aliens?"
"I guess?" my dad said. He isn't wrong, I guess.
"Figures…" he said, raising the rifle.
"Wait! The electric girl's on our side." I pointed out.
"Oh. Really?" he asked, pausing briefly.
"Yeah, we talked, and she fought him out of the house." My dad said.
"Huh, great… well, say goodbye to other one. Cover your ears please!" he said. I know it's kind of morbid, but he took killing an alien so nonchalantly that I have to admire him for it.
He aimed up, looked down the rifle's scope, and waited.
She was keeping her distance, launching lightning bolts and waves of iron sand in his direction, while the edge lord had resorted to dodging for the most part. I wondered if he was trying to conserve energy.
"Alrighty, keep your ears covered…" he said again, in a calm tone. Once again, relaxed for a guy who was about to shoot a flying alien with superpowers.
Well, alien in his mind.
The explosion of the rifle firing a round might as well have been right next to my ear. Even though I had covered them on time I felt that shot, and I was surprised that they didn't start ringing like crazy. I glanced up and noticed that the edge lord's head had snapped back, and he was now falling to the ground.
Earl scoffed.
Misaka, looking a little startled but unhurt, allowed the iron sand cloud to dissipate and dropped from her position, landing on top of a house, much to the chagrin of the startled homeowner, who looked more than a little distressed just looking out his second floor window.
Dad still covered his ears, but looked impressed.
I blinked. Don't mess with game hunters, I guess.
The now presumed dead edge lord hit the roof of a house, head first, and then slammed into the ground. To our shock and horror, he got back up. He sat down right on the front steps of the house he had landed in front of. He touched his forehead, and calmly removed the round that was seemingly stuck in the side of his head. I don't talk to Earl too much, I'm not too familiar with hunting rifles, and hell if I know too much now, but those rounds are specifically designed for taking down large game from afar. The size of it is intimidating enough, and I can't imagine what it would do to a normal human being.
He pulled it out like a splinter.
No blood.
Not even any visible damage.
The edge lord simply sat there, stared at it, looked at a guy who was a few yards away, glanced in our direction, he looked up at Misaka who was horrified by what she had seen, and then he disappeared.
The sound of sirens was now audible in the distance.
She hopped down from the ceiling with no problem and walked toward us.
"Everyone okay?" she called out.
Dad and I both nodded.
Earl seemed more freaked out about how that guy had tanked a bullet to head, but other than that, he seemed fine.
She sighed, relieved, then looked around.
There wasn't really any damage other than our home's broken windows and front porch.
"Now what?" she asked. "We didn't get any answers from him."
The crowd of neighbors were now mostly staring at the mysterious electric girl form another reality. Ugh, we Americans can be so judgmental with new people. I mean, here we have a literal alien and all my neighborhood can do is stare! Stare! Why would they be afraid after this girl used her arm to accomplish what normal humans need literal magnetic cannons that weigh several tons to shoot some edgy looking flying guy that shot plasma which she easily deflected away from everyone?
Sarcasm aside, the crowd of… what, twelve people? They were about as curious as they were afraid.
Earl seemed to speak for them.
"So, what exactly are you anyway?"
"Oh, um…" she looked so unsure of what to say, as the police sirens grew louder.
I was about to speak, and I'm sure dad was as well, when she dropped this little gem.
"I'm a science experiment! Top secret! Ha-ha! Sorry for the scare, everyone! No need for alarm! Nothing to see here!…" she said, smiling and waving her arms in front of her just like I'd seen her do whenever she got flustered over something childish. I guess she remembered how shooting lightning and controlling iron sand is considered abnormal in this reality, and her reaction was to not make a huge deal out of it.
Except this was a bit more serious than a simple playground misunderstanding; I'd say this was the weirdest day of my life, but I think the time my dad gave me "the talk" was a weirder pattern of events.
"You're with the government?" Earl asked.
"Uh… Yes! I'll ask the nice police officers to… take me with them… back to base!" she said, glancing at Dad and me and then to the slowly approaching red and blue lights in the distance.
I wanted to say something, maybe tell her she didn't have to do that, but what the hell were her options? At least in this world we knew who she was, and she could prove it. Maybe going with the police would actually prove to be more helpful than if she didn't.
"The government here isn't like the one in Academy City, right?" she asked us, still smiling, but clearly nervous.
"Of course it isn't, we've yet to clone humans, or produce giant combat suits." I said.
Dad looked at me with a raised eyebrow before turning to her.
"I may not be an expert, but we do have rules here. I doubt they'll cut you open or something." My dad answered.
By that time the police car had stopped in front of us.
"We got a call about a disturbance?" a young officer said, rolling his window down. Most of the smoke had been limited to the battle in the air, and with the exception of our front porch, there hadn't been any damage.
"Yes officer, we have a… err…" Earl began; his rifle now slung on his back, but he didn't really know how to explain the situation. Also, don't approach cops with a rifle. The looks in their eyes screamed "Dangerous suspect", and they looked like they were about to arrest him.
So she took charge.
"I have vital information for the U.S government; I need to speak to your chief of police, or city mayor, or whoever is in charge here." she said, the serious leader emerging suddenly.
The officer looked at the young girl, raised an eyebrow, and asked "Yeah? Who are you? A cosplayer? I think I saw a girl dressed like you back in college."
"No. I'm the real deal."
The cop didn't get a chance to laugh as she made an electric wave that didn't hurt anyone, but made the lights in the street flicker for a few seconds. Combined with the deadly serious look she had, the officers eyes widened and they looked at the surrounding houses.
My neighbors just kind of nodded, giving this "yeah, she's legit, don't test her" look.
"Alright… then, miss. You want to go to the station?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you. And thank you for helping me out." She said, looking at us.
"Wait!"
I suddenly realized it was my dad running to the police car.
"I'm a biologist, my son encountered her first, and I would like to help with the investigation."
The cop looked confused, but shrugged.
"Sir, I don't even know if there'll… well hop on anyway."
"Son?" my dad asked.
"Yeah?"
"You coming?"
I looked at him, the two officers, her... I still don't understand myself, despite being an adult.
"Uh… I might as well start fixing the porch. You can come pick me up if you have any questions." I said, smiling awkwardly.
Maybe I just saw myself as an obstacle. What did I know, anyway? I just saw what happened; I barely understood the physics behind it. Misaka using sand and magnetism to hop around, I can kind of understand, edge lord tanking a round from a hunting rifle without taking a shred of damage? No clue.
Dad gave me this sad look, while Misaka just kind of nodded with a tired smile. I guess she figured it'd be better not to get too many people involved. Less to worry about, I guess. She turned to dad to.
"Sir, you don't have to-"
"Sir was my father, you can call me Rich, and besides, I want to help. Maybe I won't be able to do much, but if I can bring some of the guys from the lab, well, we may have some chance at understanding this phenomenon, and you won't have to go at it alone." he said, running up towards me, giving me a tight hug, thanking me for helping out at home, and then turning to leave with the police. He should've seen the effect he had on her. She hid it quickly, but I could tell she was on the verge of tears for a second.
On towards a crazy adventure, I guess.
You can keep me out of it. I like Misaka's character, she is a favorite of mine, but I highly doubt I'd do more than get in the way of the real heroes. Although I do have to admit, it's a little sad being this helpless. No, not sad, frustrating. But this was more a matter of my knowing that I can't really do much more than answer some basic questions, which I assumed they'd call me up on it anyway. I waved to them goodbye, and headed back home.
And just like that, the second weirdest day of my life was over.
The door was more than unhinged, but all that I really needed to replace were the nails. At least, to put it back in place. Fixing the wall and the window, well…
It's crazy how fast things went back to normal.
The news only briefly mentioned it as a bizarre incident in which a house was damaged, although they were unsure if it was because of an attack or an accident that caused it. Earl stayed out of the house, I guess he went hunting, or maybe shooting, and classes went on alright. Dad had called a grand total of six times in the two days he was gone. He didn't say much, referring to Misaka as "insurgent" for some reason. Government stuff, I guess. He mentioned that several agencies were getting involved, but not which ones. Other than that, life went on.
By Monday morning, however, I had convinced myself that I wouldn't see Misaka or the edge lord again. Maybe I'd hear about them second hand, but see them again? Yeah, I doubt it. That's how the story ends for the side characters. My dad and his team would be the big damn heroes helping Misaka Mikoto find her way back home, with help from the Illinois state police and the mayor of Chicago, I'll bet. Meanwhile, I'd be at home, fixing up what I could and doing my homework. That's how it should've ended. That's a good ending right there.
The clock said 10:30, and I was done with my Monday classes for the day. Mornings are beautiful out here. The extra emphasis on the green of the trees, the few clouds in the blue sky, it's all around nice.
People hate Mondays, but I couldn't care much about it right now. My first year of university was going fine for the moment, and I had the house to myself for the last few days. Sure, the doorway was still damaged, and the wall and window were covered by an old sheet, but I could fix it later. I walked up the steps to open the door like I always did.
Footsteps behind me got my attention.
"Uh… hey, you." a familiar voice called when I whirled around.
She was standing in long jeans, a purple top, and her school vest worn under that.
"Oh! Hey." I said to the girl that shouldn't exist.
"Hey, how've you been?"
"Uh, good, good… how's it going with you?"
"Um… we were conducting some tests, recently and we're officially dragging you into this." she said, smiling awkwardly.
"Oh… Okay?" I said, trying not to sound like I cared too much, though I was mostly confused.
"The team should be here in a few minutes."
"Wait, why?" I had expected maybe a government agent or two, why a "team" to come pick me up?
"Oh, I was sent out to find someone…" she trailed off, looking to her left.
"What?"
"She's catching up. Anyway, the team said to meet them here."
"She?" now I was nervous.
"Yeah, she gave off a lot of radio signals when she showed up."
"Another character that shouldn't exist here?" probably shouldn't have yelled that.
"Yeah, actually... The agents and scientist helping me think there's more on the way."
I suddenly become aware of a strange sound. What the hell is that? Like marching? It's a difficult noise to describe. It's kind of metallic.
"Well, who else showed up, someone you know?"
"Ah, no… her name is Iowa." she said, smiling awkwardly, and I could tell she was a bit disappointed.
Wait, Iowa?
"What, like the state or-?" I don't get to finish.
I saw her, and my mouth just kind of went slack.
If the miniature battleship cannons hanging from her sides aren't impressive, her figure sure as hell is. Think of the ideal American beauty, stereotype and all. Long, blonde hair and beautiful eyes that are kind of intimidating in the same way a supermodel is. She pretty much had a perfect figure, and her way of moving showed discipline of someone out of a military academy.
Her clothing on the other hand, well it didn't leave much to the imagination.
I mean, her belt is half the size of the skirt she's using! I'm wondering how she walked around without getting arrested for public indecency! Her blouse is way too unbuttoned for any conservative event, and yet, she somehow manages this weird almost respectful image.
At least until she talked.
"I thought you said I could find the admiral here!" she whined like someone who was still a kid.
Misaka sighed.
"No, I told you, the people that could take you to an admiral will meet us here."
"Oh, yeah, sorry." she said, smiling slightly.
Oh… no…
I swear if she's an airheaded blonde... I ignored that thought and stared at the cannons on her side.
"How… do you carry those?" I asked; weird way to start a conversation if I've ever seen one.
"These? They're not so heavy. Who are you?" she seemed to suddenly see me.
"Uh… I'm Richard the third…" I muttered, not really looking at her.
"The third?" she asked, somehow mixing laughter into it. "Cute!"
"Yeah, I don't know… where is she from?" I half hissed at the chestnut haired girl, though the blonde answered first.
"Why, don't you know? I was made in the good ol' U-S of A! The USS Iowa, at your service!" she said as she posed with a proud smile on her face. How the hell her clothing didn't malfunction would probably baffle the scientists way more than the guns she carried around.
"Something called Kantai Collection." Misaka stated.
That sounded familiar, but I drew a blank.
"Uh, I guess you two might as well come inside while we wait for the team." Also, I don't want my neighbors to freak out about the electric girl and the human battleship.
"Got food?" the blonde asked.
"Yeah… mostly microwaveable, but-"
"Outstanding!" Iowa said, walking up the steps rather quickly despite her heavy guns. She did move surprisingly well. Somehow she was able to avoid breaking anything, even managing to maneuver through the door without getting stuck. Color me impressed.
"How did you find her?" I asked.
"Turns out, we… visitors?" she asked me.
"I guess?" I guess we could just call them aliens, but that's stupid.
"Well, we give off a particular radio wave that even radar can detect. So for me, it was easy to find her. However, it begs the question…" she paused as we stepped into the living room.
We both glanced at Iowa who had sat down on a large couch, waiting for something I guess; the large battleship cannons breaking the fabric terribly.
"How many of you are out there?" I asked.
"No idea. But the worst part is, knowing how many fictional characters exist, how long until at least one world destroyer pops up?" she asked quietly.
"Oh, we can blow them to hell! What's there to eat?" Iowa asked.
So this is my life now? I got dragged into a science fiction tale that no one wanted? Where I could die? Where the whole planet could theoretically die? Who the hell planned this? Who the hell is this edge lord? Why the hell did he want to kill people? I met a fictional character only to get dragged into what could easily become a "save the world" story. Except in real life, those are insanely costly for human lives. Just look at the Chernobyl disaster, or any actual world threatening event! And at the same time my first job in this world threatening mission is to make a sandwich?
Yeah, this is my life now.
A/N: Hello, and thank you for reading the very first chapter of Erasure. I'll be honest, this is the first story I've posted on here, and this is kind of an experiment for me. I'm trying to improve my writing skills, and I had this idea in my mind for a while. I'll say right now that this won't just be an Index/Kancolle fic, as it will involve other series and characters, specifically a few from certain comic books, but I'll figure out how to add those later. Anyway, the idea of bringing fictional characters into the real world really fascinated me, especially thanks to Re; Creators, which came out last year. So, no, don't expect much romance on here, as I'll try to make this as realistic as possible, sorry. Since you made it this far, I do hope you enjoyed the read, but I would really appreciate any feedback, any criticism. I'm still a little rusty with some of the science behind Misaka's ability, and if I made any mistakes writing her action scenes please feel free to let me know. As for Iowa, again, I'll be honest, I'm not a huge Kancolle fan, but I do love World War 2 history, and in looking for characters to include, I kind of fell in love with the concept of a World War 2 battleship in human form wondering around modern day Illinois. I will appreciate any reviews and advice you guys might have for any rooky writers here! Well, that about sums it up for this first chapter, though. Again, I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I hope to have the next chapter out soon.