Tachyon has TARDIS noise as his ringtone. :D
When he first gained consciousness, he heard voices around him. He was on a hard floor, and the room he was in had odd odor. A sweet smell, but unfamiliar nonetheless. He kept his eyes closed and intently listened.
"He looks exactly like the photo on the website! I can't believe it!"
"He's sleeping far too long. What if he's comatose?"
"If he indeed is comatose, let him stay that way."
"Shirai-san! That's too cruel!"
"He probably won't be in comatose, I didn't attack him that hard..." An uncertain voice joined the conversation.
"I hope he isn't! I have so many questions to ask him!"
"Well, this is surprising." Tachyon's sudden words halted the entire conversation. "I get knocked out, and then I hear four girls around me. Is this heaven?"
Then he felt a sharp slap to his face. Tachyon snapped his eyes open.
"Alright, which one of you- oh, I see." Shirai had a smile upon her face. "That's for slamming into me with your shoulder." she said.
"...You are still paying me for my jacket." Tachyon replied. He looked around. "Where am I?"
"This is my home." A girl with a flower on her head spoke. "To be exact, an apartment."
"...As opposed to sending me to the hospital?" Tachyon replied in confused tone.
"You are an illegal alien." Shirai said in matter-of-fact tone. "Getting you to hospital would only result in you being immediately deported afterward."
Well, she wasn't wrong. Although as to how exactly she found that out he didn't know.
"Do you feel alright?" The girl with the long hair asked.
"Aside from the head-splitting headache, yes."
"I did warn you." Shirai spoke in smug tone. "Angering Onee-sama will only serve to shorten your life span."
"Oh, please." Tachyon scoffed. "I only got injured because I let her. I didn't actually expect Miss Walking-Power-Plant here to actually hit me with a lightning." He heard a sputter of protest from Misaka.
"Lying even after a definite defeat! A clear sign of a-"
"Actually Kuroko," Misaka interrupted. "He did actually give me a chance to attack openly."
"Really, Onee-sama?" Shirai still showed doubt on her face. "Why did he do that?"
"It's a repayment, as you said before. Now, how long was I asleep?"
"About 10 hours. It's early morning now." The girl with flower on her head replied.
"10 hours. Huh." Grunting, he lifted himself from the floor. It was morning; lights came from the window outside.
"Now that you are awake," The girl with the long hair said. "I really, really need to know – are you the Prince of Time?"
What.
No, seriously, what? Prince of Time? Who the heck came up with that weird and tacky nickname?
"Prince of Time?" Tachyon wrinkled his nose. "Never heard of it."
"But your face matches!" she was on the roll. "On a South Korean Urban Legend Website, there is a rumor where an Esper with the ability to control time is living there! He is considered as one of the top prized materials for the power researchers!"
Prized material? What was he, a rare gemstone or something? He was a human being for goodness' sake.
"Don't be ridiculous Saten." Shirai spoke. "Only Academy City is capable of developing Espers."
"Saten-san," The girl with the flower on her head said. "You browse South Korean urban legends?"
"The language translation by machine in Academy city is 90% accurate, able to pick out and translate even specific idioms." Saten beamed at the flowerhead. "I browse South Korean urban legends, Japanese legends, American legends... all sorts of legends!"
"-You have way too much free time." Shirai sweatdropped.
"There's a picture of your face on one of the Urban Legend websites! Including a list of rumors surrounding you and your powers!"
Tachyon began to silently curse the annoying paparazzi in his past.
"So, is it true that you can control time?" The girl excitedly asked.
"...Control time? No." Tachyon flatly replied. "Nothing can control time. I can however manipulate it. Well, manipulate is a poor choice of word, but sufficient to explain my powers."
Dazzling lights began to shine from her eyes. "Can you show me an example?"
"I can." A voice behind them replied. All five people simultaneously turned their head to see Tachyon, sitting on the chair right behind them. "Hello, me-from-the-past."
Saten screamed in joy before hopping around the room. "I saw it!~, I saw it!~, oh I'm so going to tell the people on the forums!" She excitedly grabbed her laptop.
"Why, hello, me-from-the-future." Tachyon grinned. "Time, please?"
Tachyon on the chair glanced at his watch. "In approximately 5 seconds, you have to transmigrate to this exact spot. 5...4...3...2...1."
The same metallic whir Kuroko had heard many hours before resounded within the room as Tachyon on the floor was gone. Faint, bluish particles briefly remained on the ground before dissipating. Saten shrieked in joy as she furiously began to type on her laptop.
"So, Shirai, mind introducing-" Tachyon halted in middle of his sentence. Grabbing the nearest napkin available, he coughed into the tissue. Droplets of blood came from his mouth, decorating the napkin.
He looked up to see a variety of expressions on the girls' faces, ranging from shock to worry.
"...Well, I probably shouldn't have done that." Tachyon dryly said. "Transmigrating takes away huge chunks of my energy." Grimacing from pain, he slumped in his seat. His breath became slightly louder as he hissed. "So, Shirai," Tachyon picked up from where he left off. "Mind introducing your friends to me?"
"-Ah, yes, well," Kuroko gestured toward the girl with a band of flower on her head. "This is Uiharu Kazari." she than gestured toward the girl now still typing away on her laptop. "This is Saten Ruiko. And you already met us two."
"Hmm, well, thank you for letting me crash on your place, Kazari-san." Tachyon stood up, bowing politely. "Now if you will excuse me-"
"Hold it," Kuroko interrupted him. "You are not getting out so easily. I still have lots of questions to ask."
The sneaky glint within her eyes made Tachyon hesitate. "What questions?"
"Namely, about your powers, for instance. And all other hosts of questions."
"And if I don't want to?" Tachyon replied. "Who's gonna stop me?"
"The moment you walk out of this door I am reporting you as an illegal alien within this city. In minutes you will be actively hunted by the Judgement and the Anti Skill."
"...You wouldn't."
"Try me."
"Blackmail? Really? I thought Judgement members were above extortion."
"Judgement members are also supposed to actively report any crime they see happening." Kuroko replied. "Choose wisely."
After few moments of consideration, Tachyon sunk back on the chair. "-And I am supposed to trust you with my personal information?"
"You have no other choice." Infuriating smile graced Kuroko's lips.
"...Heh!" Tachyon grunted. "Alright, everyone else, please leave."
"Why should we leave?" Ruiko looked up in confusion.
"Because Twintails here is the only one blackmailing me. I don't want many people to know about how my powers work."
"Even if they leave the room, I'm going to tell them later anyway. There is no point." Kuroko flatly replied.
"...Tch. I want all of you to promise me not to tell anyone else this information."
"I give you my word." Kuroko replied quickly, becoming impatient.
Tachyon made himself comfortable in his chair. "What do you want to know?"
"What exactly is your power?"
"...Well, ability to mimic tachyon particles, and to some extent, manipulate." Tachyon leaned back, his arms behind his head. "I'm sure you looked up some information as to what exactly 'tachyon' is at this point. It's a supposedly hypothetical particle capable of traveling faster than c, the speed of light, effectively violating the causality principle."
"I thought nothing could go faster than the speed of light." Ruiko said. "How do tachyon particles achieve that?"
"That's true, in a sense. In the world of theoretical particles, you can split the particles into three primary groups. The group that always travel slower than c, the group that travels at the speed of c, and the group that travels above the speed of c. The mass also varies accordingly. With mass you are forced to travel slower than c (if you have access to an infinite energy source, however, then anything with mass can travel at the speed of light)."
Of course, in a sense, every matter in existence is constantly traveling at the speed of c through time, but then he came to the conclusion that such information will lead to further confusion.
"Then there are particles with no mass- to be exact, no rest mass. Photons are a good example as they are the light themselves. And then there are tachyons, which can travel above the speed of light, as they have imaginary mass. Speed of c is the ultimate speed limit – nothing can exceed it... or go below it. Anything that travels below, at, or above the speed of light is forced to stay on that speed, unless infinite energy is factored in. Look, it's a lot to take in," Tachyon added, seeing the slightly lost expressions of the group in front of him. "Just know that I can mimic particles that can go faster than the speed of light, as impossible as that sounds."
Kuroko spoke up: "So when two of you appeared at the same time-"
"-Ability to travel faster than time allows one to bypass the causality principle. I arrive at a destination even before I begin to travel. Which is the reason why there were duplicates of mine."
"About what happened while we were fighting..." Misaka said. "How come you weren't affected by my-"
VVVVWWWWOOOOOOOOORRRRPPP! VVVVWWWWOOOOOOOOORRRRPPP!
"Ah, excuse me." He took out a blue Gekota phone from his pocket, much to Misaka's surprise. Flipping it open, he placed it near his ear.
"누구세요?"
...
"아, 잘 지내고 있냐?"
...
"아, 그렇구나. 난 지금 학원 도시 애 있어. 무슨 일이야?"
...
"뭐? 지금?"
...
"..큰일 났군. 그래, 알려줘서 고마워. 조심해. 안녕."
Tachyon closed his phone and got up, walking toward the window. He looked out.
"Who was that?" Kuroko asked.
"A friend."
"You have a Gekota Phone?" Misaka asked with zeal.
"Yeah, I am a fan, although I never bought the merchandise. This was a gift. Anyway, I have bad news."
All four girls looked up at his words.
"Alright, how do I put this... someone is going to attack us."
"Attack us-?"
"Listen, there is not much time." Tachyon turned around. How could he explain the existence of magicians in under a minute? "Get out of this building first, and then I will explain what's going on."
"Why? What's happening-" Ruiko's words were cut short by a loud, sudden explosion. The building shook; objects began to fall to the ground.
"NO TIME!" Tachyon yelled. "SHIRAI, GRAB AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN AND GET OUT!"
Out of reflex Kuroko had already grabbed the nearest two people, Saten and Uiharu. Right before disappearing, she cast a worried and regretful glance at Misaka.
Tachyon cursed under his breath. He was rather hoping that she would be able to take at least three people with her, allowing him to escape on his own, albeit risking another collapse with excessive use of his powers.
But now things became more difficult. He only attempted transmigration with multiple people when absolutely necessary, and he highly doubted the chance of succeeding on his current state. He would collapse again, and a dead weight was the last thing they needed.
"RUN!" He yelled, as they both scrambled to the door. He contemplated on waiting for Shirai to teleport back to them, but after a debris from the ceiling came dangerously close to ripping his arm off, he quickly dismissed the idea.
Running down the stairs was enough peril even when one was not in middle of an earthquake. Now, railings and plasters fell off the wall, as they desperately ran down the steps.
"Oof!"
A debris fell heavily on his back, forcing him to trip down the stairs. Thankfully, he was near the bottom; being unceremoniously thrown down the pointy steps was something he did not appreciate, however. Misaka threw a quick, concerned glance as she ran by. Grunting, he got up, and they reached the entrance of the building, partly blocked by rubble.
"Stand back." Taking out her coin Misaka fired into the entryway, exploding and clearing the opening from the scraps of the building. That action however proved costly as more heavy objects began to rain down upon them. Sensing a large object above them, Tachyon tackled into Misaka, punting her out of the exit. He attempted transmigration once more right before a large wreckage fell where he was moments before.
He did not dare to transmigrate too far from his original location. Several meters from the building he rematerialized, kneeling on the ground, and then he viciously hurled the contents of his lunch from yesterday.
Damn... He needed a break.
But he had no time at that moment. He stood up, wiping his mouth. "Misaka," he called out to concerned looking esper, as she ran toward him. "Regroup with others and call for help. I'm dealing with him."
Before she could protest, he sped past her. He already had a nasty suspicion as to who exactly was behind all this. Runic symbols drawn around the apartment in a specific pattern confirmed his theory.
There, on the ground a dozen yard away from the building, stood his adversary. Dressed in a stereotypical mage's clothing, his face hidden within a hood, holding a wooden staff, he looked very out of place, and looked absurdly silly in appearance.
Tachyon slowed his pace, walking in a slow pace toward the magician. "Why hello there, another nameless minion!"
The mage turned to face Tachyon as he approached. Slowly lifting his hood, he revealed a face, a face that would have passed as a normal teenager, if it weren't for the complex tattoos than ran down his temple and his cheeks.
"Sanlaf." Tachyon continued in surprise. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"Did you really think that you would be able to escape my grasp if you fled into Academy City?" The man named Sanlaf replied in a coarse voice. "Did not expect me to attack in a broad daylight, did you?"
"First, I didn't flee. I left you on the ground, knocked out cold." Tachyon shrugged. "Second, coming to Academy City was a pure accident, although an accident within my favor."
"It will do you well not to underestimate me so much." Sanlaf smiled a smile that did not contain normal, everyday pleasantness you might see from people, but a smile that spoke volumes in terms of anger. "I will not rest until my comrades' deaths are avenged."
"Third," Tachyon continued. "If I said it once, I said it thousand times; I was not involved with the deaths of your buddy-buddies."
"WRONG!" In a burst of rage, Sanlaf waved his arm in a large arc – shockwaves originated from where he stood, and ground shook once more. Tachyon leapt from his position and landed on a side to avoid the cracking ground.
"Calm down!" Tachyon yelled in the midst of rumbling earth. "Earthquake is the last thing this island needs!"
However, Sanlaf was on a roll. Runic cards burst from his cloak, scattering all over the place. Cracks on the ground formed in many places as objects on the road began to hop around. Tachyon sprinted forward, avoiding the obstacles strewed on the road. Sanlaf concentrated his attack toward Tachyon, making sure that they had ample space between them to give himself an edge in this battle. Tachyon was forced to dodge left and right to avoid hazards that flew his way; stepping back, Tachyon formed his hand into a gun shape, making firing gestures.
"타키온 탄알!"
Small amounts of tachyon particles were compacted into a shape of a bullet, their movements restricted within the sphere. As their movements were not unified, they were not capable of exceeding the speed of light, but they were still incredibly fast, regardless. It seemed as though blue lasers were being fired from Tachyon's finger gun as Sanlaf initiated air shockwaves to shatter them. Those defensive maneuvers alone was enough to keep Sanlaf efficiently distracted from demolishing the general area. Tachyon desperately wished for some sort of reinforcements to arrive to neutralize the situation, not caring for the fact that he, also, would be found out as an illegal immigrant. He was confident enough to take Sanlaf on, but their latest battle left the general area being uninhabitable.
Battle raged on as both sides concentrated upon ranged attacks, one side wishing to keep the collateral damage low, and the other side willing to do anything to kill his opponent.
He needed food, he needed energy. Taking out a chocolate bar from his jacket, he hurriedly unwrapped it and ate it with his left hand while continuing to fight. This action only caused Sanlaf to be more angered as he mistakenly recognized Tachyon's actions to be a mocking gesture.
Upon receiving a sugar boost, Tachyon attempted transmigration once more to appear behind Sanlaf. Like before, Tachyon appeared behind Sanlaf first even before he initiated the travel. He gave a swift roundhouse kick toward his neck while Sanlaf was still distracted by his doppleganger in front of him. He lurched forward, crashing into the ground. Stepping up Tachyon placed his foot on his back.
"Stop this." Tachyon hissed while breathing hard. "We will only destroy the surrounding area. There is no point."
"I agree." Sanlaf replied in a surprisingly agreeable and small voice. "Bring her out!" He called out loud. Tachyon turned around to see another hooded being, carrying... Index?
She had a tape over her mouth, her hands tied. The hooded figure took out a dagger and brandished it.
"Back off if you don't want her to get hurt." Sanlaf said to Tachyon in a slow voice. Tachyon did as he was told, contemplating his next course of action. "Now than," Sanlaf got up, cracking his neck. "If you resist me, she gets killed. If any of you resist me," Sanlaf gestured toward the four girls that were nearby, watching. "She gets killed." Pulling his fist back, he swiftly punched Tachyon in the face. Using his shockwave powers, he shattered the air in front of Tachyon's cheeks, dealing exponentially larger damage. Tachyon flew ten feet away, crashing on the ground. The skin on his cheekbones ripped as the side of his mouth began to bleed. Sanlaf stepped slowly toward Tachyon, relishing this delightfully refreshing experience.
Then a scream was heard in another direction. Tachyon turned to see the hooded figure KO'd by a single punch from a teen with a spiky hair. After untying Index of her confinement, he ran toward Sanlaf, who the teen identified as an accomplice to Index's kidnapping. Sanlaf didn't stand a chance; with a high-pitched noise the teen's fist shattered the shockwave barrier Sanlaf hurriedly set up and sent him stumbling back from a painful uppercut.
"If you think that you can just kidnap people left and right," the teen shouted in between his punches. "If you can think that you can just use anyone as a hostage for your own good, THEN LET ME BREAK THAT ILLUSION OF YOURS!"
In flew another punch, then another punch, and more, totally ignoring the defenses Sanlaf set up around himself. At last, he was sent flying to the ground, knocked out cold.
Right then and there, Tachyon knew. This man was not a normal person.
This guy was a monster.