"UUUUUUUUUUUUUUiiiiiiiiihaaaaruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

*whoosh

"Awwww, the bunnies today, how adorable!"

"Eeeep, SATEN, stop showing my underwear off to the world!"

"I just can't help it! It's a wonderful morning to flip your skirt!"

"Wow, Saten, you're even more energetic than usual. If that is even possible, off course." Uiharu was still blushing after her panties were flashed to the whole schoolyard of Sakugawa Middle School by her best friend.

"I just felt so happy after waking up today!"

"How come?"

"I don't really know, but I need to tell you something later!"

"Right, class is about to start, we should hurry, or we are late."

The girls started off to their classroom.

"So Saten what was it you were so eager to tell me this morning?"

"Right, I almost forgot, with all these confusing classes in between… Actually, it's more something I wanted to ask you!"

"Go right ahead."

"Well, suppose you bump into someone on your way home and you both fall to the ground. Then while getting up, your eyes meet and both of you can't look away anymore. Like two opposite magnets, your gazes are glued together. Then you realize you were holding onto each other really tight all the time! What would you call that?"

"Hmm, are you trying to make me blush again Saten?"

"No, not this time, I really want to know!"

"Okay, hmm, I would feel really funny. I mean just holding onto somebody completely unknown to me. And just so you know, staring into the other person's eyes without looking away for a long period would be quite awkward in this situation, I think!"

"Ah, I see!" she then added in hard-to-hear volume "But it didn't feel uncomfortable at all…"

"Did this happen to you Saten?" Uiharu asked and her friend was somehow hesitant to answer.

"No way, I'm asking for… a friend, that's it!" now Saten was the one slightly blushing.

"Aww, SATEN, are you having a crush on someone?"

"Hehe, looked right through it, didn't you?"

"Come on, we knew each other for ages! You are different from usual. I already noticed in the morning."

"I hid it that badly?!"

"Yep! What's his name, you can tell me, I won't tell anyone!" The short girl was determined to find out who stole the heart of her friend.

"Ehm, well, I-I might have forgotten to ask…"

"SATEN! What?!"

After school Saten and Uiharu were on their way to have some dinner with Misaka and Shirai. The two students from Tokiwadai met up with their friends on the way shortly after. Classes took a long time off the day, but it felt even later, because the early winter-sun had already set.

They were talking about their school day and forging plans for the upcoming weekend and for winter-break.

A mobile-phone rang, it was Shirai's. She took the small device to her ear and started talking:

"This is Shirai Kuroko. Oh, hello Konori-senpai. What happened? A kidnapping?! We are on our way!"

"Uiharu! Judgement-Duty is calling!"

"All right, I think I am, more or less, in on the picture."

The two girls put on green armbands featuring a shield.

"Let's meet at the restaurant. We'll try to make it there soon!"

With that the two vanished, using Kuroko's teleportation, they could move an around 200 km/h.

Saten and Misaka were at their favorite family-restaurant. They were waiting for their two friends on Judgement-Duty. In order to eat with them together, once they arrived, so the two girls at first just got some drinks.

Shortly after their beverages arrived Saten had something important to talk about with Misaka.

"Misaka, I have to ask you something." Saten hesitated to bring up the topic that moved her heart at the moment.

"Sure, ask right ahead!"

"So, yesterday I had an accidental encounter. I turned a corner and smashed into a boy. He had white hair and red eyes, unlike anything I have seen before. After that, two similar looking girls joined and we went into separate directions. I think I heard your name drop multiple times and the girls had some resemblance with you. It could be just a coincidence, but I really want to know his name and meet him again. Do you know anything about him?" She intentionally kept it vague, not knowing the relationship between that boy and Misaka.

Misaka, knowing exactly, just who it was Saten ran into was shocked at first.

"Are you injured? Did he do anything to you? You are lucky to still be alive!"

"Wha-what?! What are you talking about? He kept me from falling to the ground, made sure I wasn't injured and seemed like a really nice person to me." She added more details about their accidental hug.

"Saten, please keep away from him! He's dangerous!"

"So you know something? Please tell me, Misaka! I have to know! I can't get him out of my head! I can't tell you exactly why, I just saw something in his eyes, something nice, please Misaka! It's driving me mad!" the girl just couldn't hold it anymore.

Misaka, knowing full well, what Saten was feeling and knowing the pain coming alongside felt she had no right to keep it from her. Best case: Her interest would be diminished.

"Okay Saten. I'll tell you. But please, it's a secret. Not even Kuroko knows about that! Promise me, you won't tell anybody!"

"Anything Misaka, I must know!"

"Maybe you have heard of that rumor this summer, the one about clones of me being spotted in the city."

"Yeah, the lookalikes!"

"The rumor is true! There was a project to artificially create Level 5s, they made 20000 copies of myself and linked their brainwaves via our power to manipulate electric current. Their original purpose failed, all of them only reached at most Level 3, so they had 20000 military trained Sisters just lying around."

Saten was following her lips with great accuracy.

"Then the project got shut down and the clones were put to work in another experiment. Their test-subject, the strongest esper of Academy City, the #1 Level 5, should engage the Sisters in actual combat scenarios, calculated by Tree Diagram. After killing all 20000 of them, the computer predicted, he would develop into a Level 6."

Saten's expression was one of disbelieve, but she knew there were some shady elements in this city.

"I tried to stop the killings and almost lost my own life. Touma, that spiky-haired Idiot, saved me from throwing it away in a fight against the test-subject and beat the strongest Esper in a struggle that he almost lost. Maybe you heard the rumor, the strongest of this city beat by a Level 0? You know, that's part of the reason I am so madly in love with him, he helped me when I was defeated and gave me back my determination. But I digress…"

Saten was surprised, how open and honest the other girl talked about such a personal matter, but was glad about Misaka trusting her that much.

"However, by the time we intervened 10031 of the girls already had died in gruesome ways at his hands. We couldn't save them and he thought of them as Windup-Dolls rather than as real people!"

Saten now wanted to know even more, while Misaka was struggling with the painful memories.

"The name of the #1 is Accelerator, he is a slender boy of about 15 or 16 years, but his strongest features are his red eyes and pure, white hair. You met him yesterday."

Now Saten was baffled.

How can that be, he seemed so nice, like he would never do something even remotely like that. But apparently, he is a mass-murderer?! Saten, stop! Now! Don't put more into it, don't try to get to him. But if all that is true, what did I see in his eyes? Am I that wrong?

Misaka noticed how the younger girl was conflicted on the inside. She continued:

"The clone-network has a controlling unit. Her name is Last Order and she looks about 10. After Touma beat Accelerator something in him apparently changed, for the better. He saved her life, but the fight left him with permanent brain damage. Accelerator couldn't use his power anymore, until a certain doctor, who also took in my little Sisters, gave him a device to connect into their network for the calculations his powers required. He now protects the girls, from what I can tell."

Her friend's expression now held a glimpse of hope.

"Also, recently, a new copy of me appeared around him, she is biologically older than me, I don't know much about her though."

Saten thought about it

Okay, so he was a monster, but he changed… I know it's dangerous, but I need to talk to him again, I just have to! This is not just usual curiosity, somehow I care about him? I want to know him, at least for a bit… But what is his position towards Level 0s? I have to meet him again! Damn Saten! Why are you so reckless!

"Please Saten, I know what you are thinking right now. I also know, that nothing I can do will prevent you from wanting to meet him again. So please be careful, we are not on the best terms with each other and I can never tell how he might react. If you really are sure, you want to meet him again, I can ask Touma to arrange it, they got to know each other rather well, during World War III, but please take your time to think about it first."

As she spoke out her warning, two Judgement Officers, they knew very well approached their table.

Their topic was blasted away by a certain teleporter appearing over Misaka while yelling

"Onee-sama! My Onee-sama! Finally, I can embrace you again!"

The girl was shot down by Misakas impenetrable electrical anti-air defense.

In the end, the four girls ordered Dinner.

Shortly before in a back alley, three figures were just cutting short on their way home.

"Misaka is really tired and wants to be carried! Complains Misaka, as Misaka demands!"

"Damnit, just bugger of, I'm also tired as fuck you brat! Move it, I want to get home before the rain starts pouring down!"

"It might be this Misakas chance to…"

"Shut it! I don't want to hear any of that now!"

The three had a bit of an argument over who was gonna carry whom on their way home. It slowly started to rain.

A shrill wavering tone was heard, it sounded a bit like electronic whistling.

Then out of the sudden the two Misakas started convulsing badly, Last Order fell on the ground, while Worst tried leaning against a Wall. They were both Electromasters and their senses were susceptible to an attack by EMP.

Accelerator was already struggling, the interference from the electromagnetic Impulse hindered his connection to the Misaka-Network. His ability to calculate and speak was diminished, which led to problems in his balance.

While the three were still suffering the aftereffects of the pulse a small cylindrical canister was tossed in the space between them. It didn't take long to explode. The grenade was made to stun the enemy, not turn them into mincemeat. A bright light assaulted their eyes, deafening noise stole their hearing for the moment and disoriented them, finally the concussive blast wave swept their feet away.

Figures dressed in black battle-armor dragged Last Order off, they were about to board their escape vehicle, when flying trash bin knocked out one of them.

Accelerator was majorly pissed at their attempt to snatch his ward. He prepared to rush in and break their bones.

He took off using four tornados protruding from his back.

Just as he started rushing through the air preparing to hit, his connection to the Network was severed again.

The electronic whistling was back.

Rather than continuing along his ballistic trajectory, his motion was reversed and he hit the asphalt floor with the back of his head.

Barely conscious, Accelerator lay on the ground facing the attacker. A large Caucasian man in his mid-thirties stood in front of the uniform mass of black-clad people.

The man was at least 190 centimeters tall, his hair was a shade of platinum blonde, almost near white, worn in a military-style buzzcut. His clothes of choice were a black business suit, a dark wine-red shirt and a red-black striped necktie, he wore a white lab-coat over his jacket. The foreigner began to talk in a staccato-fashioned accent while still holding out his hand in the albino's direction:

"Huh, to think it would work that well on you! Hahahahahaha!"

He cracked his neck and continued:

"Where are my manners?! I haven't introduced myself! I am Jonas Engelmacher[1], Scientist and Magician! Your powers were taken away by my EMP-Magic. If you want your little asset here back, meet me in the abandoned Special Ability Institute's branch in District 19's lower area. Bring your best fighting spirit!"

He waved his hand and the ground around Accelerator was pushed upwards, then he was hit by a strong gust of wind, that cut his skin in numerous places, before being tossed aside into the brick-wall at the alley's end.

The man yelled in a foreign language that just sounded angry:

"Bleibt im Zeitplan! Dreißig Sekunden! Sammelt den Verletzten ein und BEWEGUNG![2]"

The assault only lasted 120 seconds in total. After their unconscious comrade was collected, the attackers blasted off in a black van.

The last thing Accelerator saw was Misaka Worst pursuing the vehicle on a stolen motorcycle. Then his mind went blank and he lost consciousness.

EMP Magic:

Science inspired magic technique, to counter technology depending on semiconductors. While magical fire can burn without oxygen, it heats the area nonetheless, the same principle applies to any spell, unless designed otherwise. The User must cast elemental spells with a lightning aspect. The individual spell creates electromagnetic interference and induces electric current in any nearby conductor, additionally it ionizes the surrounding air, creating a secondary EMP. The technique itself is simple, but the user must cast it thousands of times per second to accumulate to the desired effect. Appliances include, signal jamming and destruction of equipment.

[1] Jonas, soft J (Ih), long stressed o, long a Engelmacher = German for angel-maker, an old word for women in the middle ages dealing with unwanted children, could be translated as killer.

[2] Mind the Plan! Thirty Seconds! Collect the Injured and MOVE!

"This Misaka will retrieve the Control-Tower! Accelerator failed after all, now is Misaka's chance to show him!"

She was following the black van down Academy City's roads, soon the chase reached the large main roads spanning between districts. Misaka Worst saw the backdoors of the van opening, then the tingling feeling of the EMP reached her. She was struggling, but holding out, now that she saw it coming, her powers could be used to neutralize the effect.

The high-speed chase went on, luckily there was not much traffic on the roads at the moment, but the increasingly heavy rain made it hard to drive a motorcycle.

The road started cracking and was thrown at her from all directions, as the enemy switched tactics.

Worst however was able to dodge the attacks and continued, all the more determined.

Two of the underlings started firing their assault rifles at her, while the large man at the center prepared something.

He dropped it out of the vans back, where it hit the ground a wall of fire was created out of nothing. Its color was not the normal red you would expect, but an almost bluish color of white, as if there was no rain at all, the asphalt turned first gray and then back to black, it had melted.

Misaka Worst frantically braked and was almost thrown from her vehicle, as it stuck to the now soft ground of the street.

"What was that? The fire won't go out or even care about the rain."She was confused by the happening and started to go through her knowledge.

The fire had been created from the rain, the man called Engelmacher split the water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis, then he ignited it with a small spark. The mix of H2 and O2 is also used as rocket fuel and burns in an almost colorless blueish flame with a temperature of about 2400 degrees, nearly hot enough to boil Iron.

Her analysis was almost complete, off course she couldn't know of the magic Engelmacher had used.

Worst tried calling Accelerator, but, unable to reach him on his phone, she started heading back.

Her bike however was stuck in the soft coating of the road, so the way back would be on foot.