Why hello there my beautiful people! I am here to welcome you to Chapter 3! Updates my so -slightly- because of a new job... but I will still try my best to bring you quality works! Enjoy yourself's people; I made it for you after all!

It's been a long week.

Starting with a massive memory altering spell though, it'd be something you'd expect. And to make it worse, a mecha-suit wearing esper has been making a constant nuisance. Just two days after his arrival, he struck again, destroying a computer that may have had useful information on it. The man threw a few blasts of plasma as a cover and left shortly after. The very next day, he had apparently paid off a gang of thugs to try and attack the duo. It didn't work, naturally, but they had to get away quickly before Anti-Skill showed up. After all, one of the two doesn't technically exist, so she'd obviously get thrown in jail as an illegal. The day after that, they went to another facility, only to find it booby-trapped with all kinds of sharp objects, bear traps, pitfalls, only to find a note with the man's face chibi drawn with a smile saying 'Sorry, nothing here!' for their efforts.

And to top it all off, yesterday, they had gone to a facility close to an Anti-Skill barracks, making it hard to get into to begin with. They did find something useful, though, a diary with dates detailing the past few days, back to when this whole mess started. However… it was booby-trapped. With a time bomb that activated. They were well out of the kill-zone, but Kamijou Touma was kicked into a wall by a suddenly appearing Dynamo, preventing the Imagine Breaker from getting away scot-free. The explosion cut up Touma quite a bit, and the force caused some bruising. Nothing fatal however; Dynamo was keeping to his word, only being a distraction, and never seeking for the kill; he very easily could have with that bomb. Dynamo used the explosion to escape, leaving Mikoto to carry Touma back to his dorm. It is now close to 12:00pm, the day after that incident.

"No way are you coming this time. I can handle it myself for a day," Mikoto sternly said.

"What are you talking about?" Touma replied.

"I mean, I can take care of things this time… your still hurt from that bomb." Mikoto answered.

"I'm still capable of moving…" Touma replied.

"But you probably can't fight… you know that Dynamo is gunning for you each time we go together… let me handle this along so you can properly rest," Mikoto said.

"I just don't want something to happen to you," Touma replied. A blush formed on Mikoto's face, but she quickly shook it off.

"Don't worry about it. I can handle myself…" Mikoto trailed off a bit; looking over Touma's bandaged body. "Besides... you've been taking all these hits for me, right? Your body can only handle so much before it'll break… please stay behind today and get better." Mikoto looked off out Touma's window.

"…If you were worried about me, you could of just said so. No need for the over-the-top explanation," Touma replied. Mikoto blushed red, and fired off a bolt of electricity, only to have it negated. "Fine… just… be careful, ok? I don't want you ending up looking like a mummy like me."

"D-don't worry about it… I'll be fine… just stay home and rest." Mikoto went for the door and opened it. She looked back toward Touma for a moment, as if contemplating something, but closed her eyes and walked out, waving goodbye as she did. Touma waved back, and sighed when his door closed. His eyes wandered toward the diary they found. Perhaps even if bed-ridden, he can be useful after all.

-Lab Number 8926, Genetic Research-

"This is where they studied my sisters after their cloning…" Mikoto said to herself, walking down the metallic halls. Even though it was damaged and abandoned, electricity was still flowing; several of the emergency lights were still on. The hall opened up into a wider multi-levelled area, several desks were thrown out into the area, jumbled. The evacuation must have been hasty after her attack on it. The light tapping of metal against metal was coming from the second level of the room. Mikoto looked up to see Dynamo, leaning against a railing, tapping his foot… humming to himself, and eating an apple. His back was turned, and Mikoto was being sure to make no sound; Dynamo had no idea he had been found. He took a bite, Mikoto decided to sneak in closer. If she could get close enough, she could zap him with enough force that it'd knock him out and he wouldn't be able to dodge it. During her sneak, however, Mikoto accidentally stubbed her toe against one the tables with enough force to move it; she contained her anger, but Dynamo heard the sound, and looked over his shoulder; his red visor was slid up into his helmet, revealing his eyes.

"…Hi?" Dynamo said in a confused tone.

"Hi…" Mikoto said back, but then shook her head furiously. "Wait; don't go greeting me like you didn't know I was coming!"

"…But I didn't?" Dynamo defended. "Weren't you guys going to be hitting the 1313 lab today?"

"…No? We've been picking at mostly random…" Mikoto replied. "…You've been able to predict which labs we were going to so far?"

"…Kind of. I've been using my intuition mostly." Dynamo scratched his chin. Mikoto looked confused.

'Wait… Touma has been the one who picked… which means…' Mikoto let out a heavy sigh after processing her thought; Touma and Dynamo were picking the exact same labs to go to at a pure coincidence. "What are you doing here then, Dynamo?"

"…Eating an apple," Dynamo replied, taking a bite.

"Don't mess with me you dirt bag, what are you actually up to?" Mikoto demanded.

"…I'm eating an apple. I seriously had no intention of fucking with you guys today." Dynamo replied, receiving a skeptical look in response. "What? Is it so hard to believe that I simply wanted to give you guys a freebie?"

"Since you've been spending most of your time trying to kill us, excuse me if I think you're full of shit." Mikoto was getting fed-up with Dynamo's laid back and innocent attitude.

"Well, believe whatever you want then, I thought you two would be heading to the 1313, and I'm over here, so use your brain." Dynamo replied. "Besides… I'm not trying to kill you, I'm just disturbing you. The game is no fun if it's easy, you know." He turned around, leaning forward on the railing, supporting himself with his arms.

"Why do you keep thinking that this is all just a game…!?" Mikoto shouted, sparks flying off her bangs.

"It really is if you think about it… you, me. We're just players. If it wasn't me you were fighting, it would be someone else. Another random encounter designed just to make you mad that you can grow as a person from." Dynamo replied with a slight grin.

"…Why are you doing this to me?" Mikoto asked; a hint of sadness in her voice. Dynamo sighed.

"Wasn't my choice, and wasn't my doing, I'm just the helper in all this." The mecha-man replied. "I didn't want to do it to you… hell; I didn't even want to do it here in Academy City. But she insisted on both, so I don't have much of a choice but to follow along. As for why; I don't have the foggiest clue."

"She…? The magician?" Mikoto asked. "So it's a woman then… but why are you playing along then? If you don't want to do it, then don't!"

"It is not that simple, Misaka-san~" Dynamo playfully replied. "I have given milady my word, and my pride as a man cannot let me disappoint a woman that has such hopes in me to complete my tasks, even if the local and the target are not to my liking."

"Pride as a man…? You're a thief, a liar, and a terrorist as best, why limit yourself by your pride?"

"Because my pride is my last connection to this world you see~" Dynamo replied. "That project I worked on… the ones funding it, the ones working on it, the testing practices… the fatalities… darkness emanated from every corner of it… and I helped it. Let's just say that after it was over I had enough of this city's darkness." Dynamo replied. "But… I shouldn't have to describe this city's dark side to someone like you, would I… little miss original?"

"You know… how!?" Mikoto's furious look returned.

"I found a few working computers… read into the details, wasn't hard to fill in the blanks." Dynamo replied. "You got tricked into it all too huh? That's what made me really not wanna put you through all of this… but milady's word is my command. For what it's worth, I apologize for what I've done and what I may do in the future."

"Claiming it was just following orders doesn't justify your actions you bastard!"

"Justification isn't something I'm after…" Dynamo replied, fully standing. "Now… how is this going to go down from here? Are you going to shoot me from down there…? Or do I shoot you from up here…? Or do we just go our separate ways, acting like we didn't have this secret rendezvous?" The question went unanswered, as a door flung open to Dynamo's right, and a hailstorm of bullets flew. The mecha-man jumped back dodging the barrage, and fired a blast to his left, making a rather large hole, quickly jumping into it and running away, just like so many times before. The figure that had opened fire so suddenly stepped out into the open… and she looked exactly like Mikoto, except she was wearing a pair of goggles and holding a large calibre assault rifle.

"A sister…?" Mikoto asked in shock.

"Onee-sama?" The clone replied in the clone's typical monotone voice. "What are you doing here; Misaka asks in confusion."

"T-that is what I was going to ask you!" Mikoto replied.

"The network has detected numerous anomalies within the city for several days, and Misaka has deduced the man Misaka has shot at is somehow connected; Misaka answers carefully. Also, Misaka had hacked the local surveillance system and saw the man fighting with the savior; Misaka says adding additional information for Onee-sama."

"…So your real reason is that he attacked that idiot… makes sense, but does that mean that the Misaka network isn't affected by the memory alteration either?" Mikoto asked.

"Misaka does not know; Misaka answers truthfully. The memories of the other Misaka clones are constantly broadcasted to the entire network once every three seconds, so even if Misaka's memories are altered, they will quickly be corrected and the changes will be flagged as fakes and deleted due to the overwhelming number of the other correct memories; Misaka says supplying more information to help Onee-sama understand the network."

"But is it just you here?"

"No, all ten of the Misaka clones that are in Academy City are occupying this facility at the moment; Misaka replies reloading her weapon. All exits are being covered except the pathway to the roof, which is more than likely where the man will flee to try and escape; Misaka muses openly."

"Alright… hey, I think I can make us a shortcut to the roof if you think we can climb up a little bit." Mikoto pulled out a small arcade coin, holding it up. The Misaka clone nodded in agreement.

-Roof Level-

"Maaaan… that was a shaker; it's been while since I've been openly shot at, damn." Dynamo broke down the locked door on the roof with a powerful kick. Looking around, most of the buildings were rather far away or low, so jumping from roof-top to roof-top without being noticed was out of the question. "Maybe I should double back to a lower level and break a window to jump out from… or could I land in the back alley without someone seeing me? Decisions decisions…" His thought went unfinished, as what looked like a bright orange laser burst from the floors below at an angle, the rumble from the blast making movement difficult.

"Aw, what the hell now!?" Dynamo said, going down to his knees for balance, waiting for the shockwave to die down.

Dynamo didn't get much recovering time, as gunfire quickly burst from the new hole; Dynamo crated his multi-bladed weapon with his Plasma Caster ability and spun it around quickly to block the barrage. A bolt of lightning grinded across the ground after the bullets, forcing Dynamo to dodge, moving himself not only away from the door back downstairs, but also away from his rear-exit.

"No chance for escape," Mikoto said with a smirk, pulling herself up, the Misaka clone following suit.

"Can't we just be friends?" Dynamo asked jokingly.

"You've been a part of making my life hell for the past few days… so I'll let you answer that yourself." Mikoto replied, sparks flying from her bangs.

"…So sleeping in the same bed at the guy you wanna jump is bad then?" Dynamo cocked his head to the side, appearing confused.

"…Onee-sama." The Misaka clone turned her head, with the closest possible look to a glare she could give.

"W-what the hell does 'wanna jump,' mean!? And don't take things the wrong way, we haven't done anything yet!" Mikoto relied first to Dynamo, then Misaka, pointing at both.

"…Yet?" Dynamo and the Misaka clone asked in unison.

"S-shut up! D-don't gang up on me like this!" Mikoto fired off a bolt of electricity at Dynamo, who replied with his own blast of Plasma energy, the two attacks cancelling each other out.

"Temper, temper… Touma probably isn't interested in hot-headed violent girls, ya know~" Dynamo laughed.

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Mikoto focused a large quantity of electrical energy into a stream of power, launching the wave at Dynamo in anger. The mecha-suited man in question retaliated with a focused blast of plasma energy, the two waves meeting just in-between them both, raging for several moments, before subsiding.

"…So our powers work against each other, eh? My plasma blocks your electricity, and vice-versa… I'm not quite sure if that's how it's supposed to work; I never read anything like that in the instruction booklet." Dynamo shrugged.

"Just what the hell are you talking about? What instruction booklet!? I never saw one!" Mikoto shouted.

"…So this game's used then? Makes sense, it feels like I've been touched all over by someone else~ I can only hope it was a cute girl…"

"Make sense damn it!" Mikoto unleashed another bolt of electricity; Dynamo dodged this time. The Misaka clone opened fire again on Dynamo, who blocked it like before, running down the roof, stopping near the edge.

"Sorry girls~ I wouldn't mind a three-way, but I really must be going, my life is at stake!" Dynamo smiled.

"Oh no you don't!" Mikoto pulled out a small arcade coin and flipped it into the air.

"Oh shit…!" Dynamo leapt over the railing just as Mikoto fired her Railgun, the blast nicking and frying the lower section of Dynamo's back, the part that was covered by his black under-armor. Dynamo landed on his feet, but twitched in pain for a moment from the attack, before running down the alley into the open street, making his escape. Mikoto ran over to the ledge and saw that the Plasma-Caster had left already, and mentally cursed with a sigh.

"We probably can't chase him in open public… can we?" Mikoto asked.

"That course of action would lead to public involvement; Misaka answers. By the way, Misaka is Misaka 10032; Misaka says while hiding how hurt Misaka is that you forgot the Misaka that was saved by the savior."

"Sorry!" Mikoto quickly apologized. "I-it's just that you all look the same and…"

"Misaka has been doing her best to make herself different; Misaka says is disappointment in finding that Misaka's efforts have failed."

"H-hey! C-cheer up!" Mikoto said nervously. "L-like that ass of a man said… I've been staying with Touma… i-if you want, I can bring you back with me for a visit?" Mikoto asked nervously.

"…Misaka accepts your apology; Misaka says trying to express gratitude."

-Touma's apartment-

"Misaka has never been in the savior's room before; Misaka says in wonder."

"…What's with everyone thinking that everything I cook and own is amazing…? It's all just normal…" Touma sighed.

"The room isn't special, but your cooking is a completely different story! Be honest about how you feel!" Mikoto shouted, frustrated that Touma could look down upon his own cooking.

"Onee-sama is the last person who should make such a statement; Misaka says pointing out Onee-sama's ironic statement." Mikoto blushed immediately after. Touma sighed.

"So… you guys were attacked by Dynamo again…?" Touma asked.

"No, we attacked him." Mikoto replied. "He thought we were going to a completely different building, so we got the jump on him. I think I only injured his back though…"

"I see… find anything useful?"

"The magician is a woman, and Dynamo is quite familiar with her… and probably knows where she is. If we can take him down and capture him, we can force him to tell us." Mikoto stretched a bit.

"Would make sense, but since its Dynamo, I can't help but think that it's his way of throwing us off… like making us go after him and it turning out he doesn't know anything." Touma leaned back against the wall.

"But it's the only possible option at this current point in time; Misaka comments."

"Good point… that guy is making us seeking him out our only option… such misfortune." Touma scratched his head. "Oh… by the way, you should thumb through the diary we found, it belongs to that magician."

"Why don't you just give us the short version?" Mikoto asked.

"Because it'd be better if you saw it with your own eyes…" Touma answered with a serious tone, picking up the light book and handing it to Mikoto. She began to thumb through it before stopping on a random page, her face's features turning to dread.

"This… this is…!"

-Dynamo's location-

"Damn it… This stings!" Dynamo shouted in pain, trying to treat his own wound. His cell began to ring, and he quickly answered. "Hello~"

"Dynamo." A woman's voice answered. "What are you doing at the moment?"

"Patching myself up… what's up? You normally don't call me without a hint of rage unless it's important."

"I'm starting to think yelling at you is part of one of your sick and twisted fetishes, so I'm not going shout…"

"…What sick and twisted fetishes? You're thinking of things just to insult me, aren't you?"

"Maybe~" The woman replied in a joyous tone. "I am sending a letter to set-up a distraction for the Imagine Breaker and the Railgun for you…"

"To who?"

"It's a surprise."

"You know I hate surprises!"

"You're right, I do know."

"…Not funny…" Dynamo sighed, the pain in his back finally dying down.

"In the mean-time… I'd like you to take a look into this 'Misaka network.' Anyone who can cancel out my memory manipulation is a problem… so as many of the ones that are non-essential we can eliminate; the better." The woman explained.

"…Sounds fun. Send me the target info and I'll make them vanish like they never existed~" Dynamo smirked. "Besides… speeding up the process a little won't hurt~ just don't lose your nerve!"

"I want that mission accomplished ASAP! Now get to work!"

I'd like to give a shout-out to someone who volunteered to beta-read for me, PokeRescue18. Have two guys on the job to catch errors and make sure everything runs smoothly makes entertaining you all so much better and funner! Have a good day now everyone!