Chapter 1
Kento's dad is a self-proclaimed mad scientist. Kento, however, does not think so. His dad is working to save lives, something that rarely drives people into insanity. Besides, mad scientists are usually evil, right? (Shut up Steins;Gate fans) Kento lives in Academy City, a technologically advanced city full of espers. Today, he is taking one of those tests that determine what level esper everyone is.
"Very good Kento," said Kento's teacher. "You're a level 3."
"Thanks," said Kento. Officially, Kento is a teleporter. He can teleport anywhere within walking or driving distance. What he can't do however is teleport objects. The teacher was slightly worried about that.
"You're good at teleporting yourself, but not other things. Do you know why that may be?" the teacher asked. Kento shrugged.
"I don't know," he lied. "But I'm still satisfied with being a level 3."
When Kento arrived home, he was greeted by his father, working on some kind of box-thingy.
"Hey dad. I'm home."
"I could see that," said Kento's dad. Kento peeked over his dad's shoulder.
"Is it done yet?" asked Kento.
"No," replied his dad. "But when it is, it will save lives."
Kento smiled. "I hope it does," he said. He then looked at his watch and his eyes went wide. "Crap!" he yelled. "I'm going to be late!"
"Don't 'teleport' out please," said Kento's dad. "It'll ruin my new quantum clock." He pointed downstairs.
"Okay," said Kento. "See you again in a bit." Kento left the house, walked a few blocks away, and "teleported" to where his friends were meeting. When he arrived, he was out of breath.
"Sorry I'm late, guys," said Kento. His friends, Kouta, Riki, and Hana, jumped slightly at his arrival, but went back to normal.
"It's all right, Yo," said Riki. "The test took too long, anyway."
"Say," asked Hana, "What did you guys get? I'm a level 2 now."
"I'm a level 3," said Kouta. "I can even climb walls now! Want to see?"
"NO."
"I'm… a level 0, as always," said Riki.
"That's because they can't measure your power," said Hana. "For all we know, you might even be a Newtype!" Everyone laughed at the comment. Oh Gundam references, you so silly.
"Wait…" began Riki. "Don't I have to live in space to be a Newtype?"
"Umm…" Everyone laughed again.
"How about you, Kento?" asked Kouta. Kento shrugged.
"I'm still a level 3," he replied. Riki patted Kento's shoulder.
"Dude," he said, "You're not teleporter, and you rank as a level 3 teleporter. Heck man! You might be a level 6!"
In case you, the audience, hadn't noticed yet, Kento has a secret. A secret that he only shared to his closest friends. He is a Level 5. A level 5 with such a powerful ability, he had to keep it a secret in order to stop any government from taking advantage of it. Kento could manipulate time, and he does so wisely because, well, you get what I mean.
"Still," said Kouta, "I wonder how level 5 electromasters see the world. I mean, they can see freaking electrons in the air, right? Wonder what that would be like…"
"…says the electromaster that JUST FINISHED being able to do an IMITATION of a railgun move," concluded Riki. Everyone laughed.
Kento couldn't help but smile. This is the view he wanted to see before he came to Academy City. Everyone was like him (to some extent) and these were his friends. He didn't have friends outside. He was always called a freak. His dad was abused, too. Coming to Academy City had benefited both of them.
"Hey," said Hana. "Speaking of the Railgun…" She pointed into a certain café. Inside, "the Railgun" was having lunch and was, surprisingly, alone.
"Isn't that the café we're going to?" asked Kouta.
"Yeah, so?" responded Riki.
"Heck yeah! We actually might be able to meet 'the Railgun'!" said Kouta, being careful not to be loud.
"Do you want to meet her because you're both electromasters or because you're a fan?" asked Hana with a mischievous grin on her face. Riki facepalmed himself.
They sat down in their seat. Riki ordered a hot chocolate (even though it was spring). Hana ordered iced tea. Kouta ordered Sprite. Kento just ordered water.
"Why do you always have to be so BLAND!" complained Kouta. Kento just shrugged.
"Now," said Riki. "Did anyone bring a pack of cards?"
"Oh you did NOT just go there," said Kouta.
"I did," said Hana. She pulled out a deck of cards.
Kento smiled. He wished this could just be what he would see every day. But, of course, the piece of crap known as destiny has other plans.
Meanwhile, Mikoto Misaka, aka the Railgun, who was sipping her drink, looked back at the group that was cheerfully playing cards. She smiled.
"At least someone's having fun today," said Mikoto before finishing her drink, leaving a tip, and leaving. As she left, Kouta looked back and sighed.
"Aw come on," he complained. "She's leaving."
"Sucks for you," said Riki before putting down a joker. "Can anyone beat that?" Kento put down the three of spades. "Damn it."
The group flushed the pile. Kento then played four fives before proclaiming, "Revolution!"
The group looked dumbstruck. Not only has Kento just one the game, he reversed the rules of the game as he did so. (Note: They're playing a game called President.) Kento then looked at the time.
"Well," he said. "I got to leave."
"Aw come on!" said Kouta, who was placing three eights on the table, causing everyone to groan. "Can't you, you know, slow down time or something?"
Kento smiled. "Sure I can," he said. "But that doesn't mean I will."
He waved, and walked out of the café.
He decided to walk normally this time, no stopping time to make it look like he teleported or anything, just walking. He looked up at the sky and began to regret it a little bit. It was already getting dark. He kept walking anyway. He was about to make it home when he something caught his eye. It was a girl. She was heading to the section of Academy City where all the high-class schools where. She must have been in a hurry because she was running and didn't look both ways before crossing the street. Kento thought nothing of it… until a car suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Kento panicked. Someone was about to die. He had to do something. He began to run, but there was no way he could get there in time… in TIME. In his panicked state, Kento paused time long enough for him to get right behind the girl (not in a creepy way). When he pushed the girl into safety, Kento unconsciously let time flow again. Now it was him looking into the headlights of the car. "This won't end well," Kento thought, before being hit full force by the car.
Mikoto Misaka got up and rubbed her head. "What… happened…?" she thought. One moment she was about to get ran over by a car and the next moment she was falling to the ground. She looked back to where the car was. The driver seemed in shock, too scared to move. Mikoto looked to where he was looking. There was a bloody mess on the road. In the middle of the mess lay a boy. His skull looked like it was busted. Mikoto, hands shaking, managed to get her phone out and call an ambulance. All the while, there was one thought in her mind.
"What in the world happened?"
Author's notes: Hello ladies and gentlemen! It is I! Karl the Artillery! I had this idea in my head since... 7th grade...?
Now, let's clear up some stuff.
1. Kento CAN control Time. Not the "control someone's perception of time" BS. I mean legit time control. He can see 95% of all the world lines that could spawn from one decision. (He never uses that part because he doesn't like seeing the future) He can change the trajectory of a moving object in between time. He can move in between time, thus giving the impression that he is a teleporter, not a time manipulator.
2. There is a legit game called President, or something along that line. It's originally a Japanese game and when I introduced it to my American friends I introduced it as "President."
3. Kento, Kouta, Hana, and Riki are all Gundam fans. So is Kento's dad. Thus all the Gundam references you will see in future chapters.
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please PM me or leave something in the review box. Thank you, have a good day or night, and PANZER VOR.