The cool evening air gusted across the rooftops as the sun finished its western descent. The sky was a deep purple as the last rays of sunlight receded into the horizon and the city glowed with its man made substitute. Beautiful in its own way, the light was cold and somehow sterile, lacking the life of the sunlight. It was an imitation, nothing more, and would only ever serve to bridge the gap between sunset and sunrise.

Not that Mikoto cared much.

She landed upon a rooftop and looked out across the expanse of shining buildings, her eyes passing over each in turn until they settled on a small grey building. Antennas and dishes littered the roof and on the side she was just able to make out a logo: ACDMS. The Academy City Division of Meteorological Sciences. What a busy name.

But it did look like the right place. The information Shinobu had passed along had been vague, but had at least given her a name and location. The rest of the digging she'd done on her own, and now she was finally, finally ready to move. Goosebumps that had nothing to do with the chill breeze rose along her arms and she grinned. Tonight. Tonight was the night she started. This wasn't some punk out for a thrill or someone pushing others around for kicks. No, tonight she'd be going after a real monster.

Her phone buzzed in the pocket of her shorts - she'd decided it was probably best to forego her usual school uniform in favor of something a little more subtle - and pulled it out, with a smile. She had a pretty good idea of who that was. There weren't many people that actually had her phone number, and of them there was one that had been messaging her a lot more often lately.

Her smile grew when she flipped it open and scanned the message.

Hey sexy lady! Having a good night I hope?

Mikoto laughed, the wind carrying her voice out across the city. Well, Ruiko certainly seemed to be getting more comfortable around her lately. Made sense, really, given how much time they'd been spending together lately. Ruiko's suspension had actually been pretty convenient, given how little interest she'd had in actually attending her own classes lately. Having someone to hang out with during the days had been nice.

She glanced back at the building and thumbed out a quick response. The night was still young, and there was plenty of time for fun.

Pretty good so far. Are you still suspended?

Yeah, until Thursday. I thought maybe they'd change their mind's and let me start again this week but no such luck.

Idiots. Well, how about lunch tomorrow? I've got testing in the morning so I'm free in the afternoon anyway.

Sounds great! Anywhere you want to go?

Not really. I figure we can just meet up at Seventh Mist and wander until we find something good.

Works for me, see you at about noon?

Make it 12:30. I've gotta take the bus.

It's a plan!

See you then. Don't stay up all night again!

Ruiko grinned and rolled onto her back, rereading the exchange before tossing her phone on her pillow. She may have still been suspended, but at least she wasn't as bored as she thought she was going to be.

Actually, she'd been seeing a lot of Misaka lately. She still hadn't really had the courage to talk to Uiharu, and she wasn't sure if she should bother Shirai or not, but tomorrow would be the fourth time since her suspension that she'd see Misaka. It was nice, hanging out with just the two of them.

She pondered this recent development. When had they become that close? Before, it had always been the four of them together. The only times she'd really been alone with Misaka had been when they'd been waiting for Shirai and Uiharu to finish Judgment work.

But now it seemed like Misaka was actively seeking her out. Like she wanted to spend time with her, and not just as part of a group. Ever since she'd run into Misaka that night in the park, something seemed to have changed between them. But what?

She rolled over and grabbed her phone, flipping through the pictures she'd snapped of her and Misaka over the last week, her grin stretching ear to ear. Well, whatever it was that was different now, she liked it. If someone had told her a year ago that she'd be hanging out with Tokiwadai's famous Railgun one-on-one, she would have called them a liar. But she was!

Misaka might have been acting a little strange lately, but maybe she was just starting to feel like she could actually talk to her about how she really felt. Maybe she was actually letting her in now.

The thought sent a thrill through her body. Heat flooded her cheeks and she flipped her phone shut. It was kind of embarrassing that she was as excited about this as she was. But she'd never had someone that seemed to understand how she felt the way Misaka did. Uiharu was like a sister to her, but not even she had ever been able to peg her feelings as well as Misaka had. She loved Uiharu dearly, but she was too optimistic, too certain that everything would work out in the end, to really understand how she felt.

But somehow, Misaka, third-ranked Level 5, understood her. She understood how a Level 0 with absolutely no noteworthy qualities felt. Ruiko had no idea how someone as accomplished as Misaka could relate to her so well, but the fact that she could filled her with a tingling warmth that spread to the tips of her fingers and toes and gave her the jitters.

She pushed herself up and swung her legs over her bed, her face still warm. Maybe she should pick out something nice to wear….

"The boss have you staying late again, Yamada-san?"

From her seat in front of her monitor, Yamada Hanako blinked. Her chin slipped off the palm of her hand as she jerked awake and she shook her head, trying to push back the cobwebs that had been creeping in. Her eyes refocused and she yawned, wiping away a stray tear as she swiveled in her chair.

"Mm, yeah." She pushed a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes. "What about you, Kurada-san? Going to be burning the midnight oil with me?"

Kurada chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Honestly, I wish I could. But I'm afraid tonight it is my great honor to attend the monthly banquet put on by the board of directors." His face twisted in distaste. "Nothing like getting all dressed up to have a bunch of old men with deep pockets and no practical knowledge whatsoever tell us how we should be doing our jobs. I'm not even sure the free food and booze is worth it."

Hanako laughed at the vexed expression on her colleague's face. She slid her arms out of her white lab coat and stretched them above her head. "Guess it'll just be me here again then." She slid a drawer open and pulled out a bottle and glass, setting them on her desk. "Whatever shall I do to pass the time?"

"Drinking on the job? I'm shocked, Yamada-san!" Kurada swooned, hand against his head. "How could the woman I so admired be such a deviant! I shall have to inform our superiors of your misdeeds, if only to save you from yourself. This path you tread can only end in despair!"

The pair broke down in laughter. Hanako pointed a threatening finger at him once she'd regained her composure. "Do that and I won't be covering for you the next time you decide to cut out early. Where will you be then?"

He paused and tapped his chin as though in deep thought. "Hmm, I guess I'll just have to let this slide, then. I would like to point out though that you are resorting to blackmail, which only serves to add credence to my concerns."

"Yeah, yeah." Hanako grinned and waved her hand. "Get out of here, you old clown. Go have fun with our esteemed financiers. I'm sure they'll be able to offer you some truly riveting conversation."

Kurada shivered. "I would rather get stuck on backup duty than listen to those old codgers prattle on. Honestly, they just like to hear themselves talk. They don't have the foggiest idea what we actually do here. So long as it adds to their bottom line I suppose they don't care. No appreciation for science, I tell you."

Hanako shrugged. "Not much you can do about that. Money always ends up in the hands of those with just enough brains to climb over the masses. The real thinkers are too busy actually making the discoveries that make those geezers rich to pry the cash from their grubby fingers. Guess that makes it as much our fault as theirs."

"Can't argue with that, I suppose." He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Well, I guess there's no point stalling any more. You going to be alright here by yourself?"

Hanako twisted the top off her bottle and tipped it, watching as the brown liquid spilled into the glass. "Oh, I think I'll manage. Have a good time."

"The best." They waved at each other and Kurada took his leave. The smile slipped from Hanako's face and she sighed, massaging her temples.

She liked Kurada, really. He was one of the few people she could actually hold an interesting conversation with, and though she would never admit it to his face she found his wit rather charming. But he was so obviously infatuated with her that she couldn't help but be a little put off. She'd only just gotten out of a relationship that had lasted the better part of her twenties, and it hadn't ended well. That wasn't Kurada's fault, of course, but it still made her a little uncomfortable. It was a shame, really. He wasn't bad looking.

'You could always just stop being a child about it and tell him to give you some time. he's not an idiot, he'd back off a bit if you asked.'

She sighed. Right, and wouldn't that be a fun conversation. "Look, I know you're into me, and I might be into you too but right now really isn't a good time, so would you mind not smiling at me so much? Thanks a ton, buddy."

She downed took a long drink from her glass, the liquid burning her throat on the way down. No, that didn't sound like fun at all. Best to just approach it the same way she approached most of her problems; drink and hope it went away.

That seemed to be the story of her life these days. Hanako leaned back in her chair, glass in hand, and listened to the steady hum of the terminals around her. Their lights blinked in hypnotic patterns, and she stared as a bank of lights flashed in time with a tune that had been running through her head all day. She slammed back the rest of her drink, a pleasant warmth spreading from the pit of her stomach. She might have been hitting the bottle a little hard lately, but damned if it hadn't felt like she needed it these last few months.

She tipped the bottle, once again filling the glass. The brown liquid settled, and she stared at the distorted picture of the room through the dark liquid. With another sigh, she took a sip. Well, that, at least, got easier.

"Just where the hell did everything go so wrong?" she wondered aloud, spinning idly in her chair.

But of course, she already knew the answer to that.

Six months ago, if someone had told her she'd be spending her nights drinking alone in a facility dedicated to the study of meteorology of all things, she would have laughed in their face. Then again, six months ago she was a rising star, doing work on the most promising active experiment in the city.

It certainly wasn't her fault the Level Six Shift project had gone down the drain.

But it had, and she had been out of a job. What was worse, the higher-ups had apparently decided it would be best if they just pretended the whole thing never happened, so she had no references either. No notes, no results, no data. Nothing to show for three long years on the cutting edge of esper research, the only field of study anyone in Academy City actually gave a shit about. What's more, she had been forbidden to even talk about it under threat of serious litigation and potentially getting her licence to conduct research in Academy City revoked. For an academic like her, that was practically a death sentence.

Most research facilities understood that the people they hired couldn't talk in detail about the projects they had previously worked on. Competition was fierce, after all, and there were safeguards in place to prevent people from talking. Usually the threat of losing the right to participate in the greatest academic experiment the world had ever seen was enough to dissuade them, but there were other steps in place as well. There was still the odd case of industrial espionage, but on the whole things were kept pretty tight.

Of course, you were still expected to be able to show something, be it a published paper or a study you had worked on with a noted academic, and with nothing to show, Hanako had been forced to rely on her now ancient education records to get her a job. Unfortunately, this dump had been all she'd been able to find.

From a certain perspective, the work was interesting, even important. With Tree Diagram gone, the study of weather patterns had jumped in importance, but still, it couldn't hope to compete. Once you pursued the power of God, not much else could engage you.

The lights overhead flickered, and Hanako glanced up at them, curious. They blinked again, and she rolled her eyes. "Fucking outdated equipment can't even handle the modern grid."

Most of the facilities in Academy City were state of the art, but of course even then some of the equipment tended to be faulty. A facility like this, that was only really kept around to give the impression that Academy City pursued a diverse field of study, got the short end of the stick. The fact of the matter was they'd been using hand-me-down equipment from when the city was first founded, and it was having a hard time keeping up with the strain put on it.

She'd need to make sure everything was backed up, then reboot in order to purge the system. With her luck, the whole thing would crash on her if she didn't. Really, she was just babysitting the computers.

She took a deep breath and drained her glass. She was starting to feel the welcome fuzzy feeling in her limbs, and she allowed herself a small smile. Well, regardless of everything else, life did have its simple pleasures.

She grabbed the keys to the server room from their hook by the door and made her way out into the maze of corridors that seemed to be a standard part of the floor plan of every research facility in Academy City, regardless of its purpose.

The walk was short, and Hanako had backed up the servers enough times now that she could practically do it in her sleep. A few moments later, everything was saved. Now all she needed to do was disconnect them from the power and check the connections.

She stepped back into the hall, locking the door behind her. The lights flickered again, and this time they stayed dark.

"Damnit." This was not turning out to be her night. The equipment was old, sure, but a full shutdown not at all normal. If something was seriously wrong then she was going have to call their maintenance contractor and that was going to mean a lot of extra paperwork for her.

Besides that, she still needed to check the connections, which meant she needed to grab a flashlight if she was going to be able to see anything in the lower floors. Fortunately, a moment later the generator kicked in and the hall was illuminated in the pale yellow glow cast by the emergency lights. Hanako stuffed the keys in her pocket, her hands seeking out her temples to attempt to ease her growing headache.

"Working late, Yamada-san?"

Hanako let out a yelp and her head snapped up. Her eyes darted around, looking for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?" Her eyes were still adjusting to the faint glow of the tracking lights, but she thought she could see someone at the opposite end of the corridor. "How did you get in?"

"No need to snap at me, Yamada-san. I just wanted to drop in for a visit."

Hanako frowned. No one else was supposed to be here. It was possible one of the other workers had come back for some reason, but if that was the case she was supposed to get an alert when they passed through security. Many of her coworkers may have been laid back, but everyone followed procedure. As the only active researcher in the facility they were required to contact her before being admitted.

Whoever it was had ignored the standard procedure. They had known her name as well, but the voice didn't sound familiar. It was too young, and though she couldn't make out their features, whoever it was definitely looked too small to be an adult. The voice was that of a girl, but no one she recognized. She shook her head, regretting the liquor as she struggled to fight off the slight haze that clouded her mind. Of all the times for her drinking to be a problem….

The figure began to approach, and Hanako caught sight of a pair of slender legs illuminated by the emergency lights. She drew herself up, trying to look as authoritative as possible. "This area is off limits," she said, her voice firm. She may not like her job, but she wasn't about to let some punk off the street waltz in and try and scare her. "You need to leave. This is private property, and you're trespassing."

The figure didn't stop. Instead, Hanako heard a soft chuckle, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Leave? But I just got here. Besides, I was really looking forward to meeting you."

"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to call Anti-Skill."

"Don't do that. Look, why don't we just have a little chat, and then I'll leave."

Hanako took a step back as the girl approached. Only a few paces separated them now, but she was determined not to back down. She may not have been an esper, but she had her pride. Gathering her courage, she prepared to tell the stranger just what she thought of that idea when she stepped close enough that Hanako could see her face and her blood froze in her veins.

"M-Misaka Mikoto."

Misaka smiled. "Ah, I guess I shouldn't be surprised you recognized me. I think we have quite a bit to discuss, Yamada Hanako, formerly of the Level 6 Shift project."

All of Hanako's courage drained from her body as she looked into the smiling face of the third-ranked Level 5 in Academy City. What on Earth was she doing here? The Level 6 Shift had ended months ago, and from all accounts Misaka hadn't bothered to follow up on it since. Why was she approaching her now?

"Just… just what are you doing here?" Hanako took a few steps back, sweat forming on her brow. She could think of very few reasons for Misaka to seek her out, and none of them were good.

"I already told you, I thought we could have a little talk." Lightning crackled along Misaka's frame and her expression darkened. Her hands were clenched into fists and her whole demeanor threatened violence. For the first time since she'd recognized who she was, Hanako was forced to remember what she was. "I was hoping you could tell me a little about your last job."

This is bad. Hanako had heard stories about the Railgun's rampage through their facilities. No one was really sure how Misaka had learned about the project, but once she had she'd apparently set her sights on shutting it down. It had nearly ruined them, and at the time Hanako had been immensely frustrated with the girl. Didn't she realize how important the work they were doing was? So what if a few clones had to bite the dust to get them there?

Her frustration had only grown when even after thwarting the girl's efforts they'd shut down anyway. She still didn't understand why. No one had ever given her a clear answer, and even now her anger with the higher ups burned inside her.

Still, she wasn't about to just sell out her superiors. It had been difficult enough to find this job; if word got out she ratted on her former bosses just because some little girl threatened her, she'd never work again. Even if that little girl did happen to have the power to stop an army in its tracks.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Even Hanako could tell how pathetic the lie sounded. What good was it going to do to deny it now? Misaka knew her name, and had tracked her down even months after she had stopped working on the project; there was little chance she would be able to get away with feigning ignorance.

Misaka's frown disappeared, a smile returning to her face. Something about it sent a shiver up Hanako's spine, and she was starting to have a hard time breathing.

"Oh, you don't remember?" Misaka stepped forward until they were nearly face to face. Hanako was surprised to realize she was almost a head taller than Misaka. The girl's presence was so overpowering that it had made her seem much taller. "Then maybe I should remind you. A few years ago, you started work on the Level Six Shift with Kihara Gensei and a few of his subordinates. For three years you worked under them. I hear you were actually considered to be quite the prodigy. You proposed new methods of experimentation that had my sisters dying by the dozen." Misaka's smile grew, and Hanako's breath caught in her throat at the fury hidden in the young girl's eyes. "The reports I found really praised your initiative. They said you showed real promise."

Hanako had never seen those reports, but despite the situation she felt a surge of pride in her chest. She had been working under some of the best in Academy City. To receive such praise from them was no small feat.

A spark snapped in front of her face, and Hanako fell backwards onto the floor and back into reality.

"I guess I can sort of relate. I've always been rather driven myself." Misaka was towering over her now. She was clenching and unclenching her fists as she stared down at her and there was an anxious energy in the air. "But really, even though I can admire your ambition, I just can't bring myself to praise you. After all, you butchered my sisters."

Hanako pulled herself back to her feet, trying to hide the tremor in her legs. The very air around her was an oppressive weight.

"I-I'm just a scientist." She hated how pitiful her voice sounded. Here she was, cowering in front of a child. It made her sick. She wanted nothing more than to reach out and strangle the little brat, but the rational part of her mind stayed her hand. Child she may have been, but Misaka was incredibly dangerous.

Misaka sighed and shook her head. "You know, I really hate that excuse. Do you really think you were acting in service to some greater good? Do you honestly think that justifies what you did?"

"I-I didn't do anything!"

Electricity arced off of the girl in front of her, her expression turning dangerous. Hanako staggered back with a yelp. This close, she could smell the ozone and feel the tingle of the static prickling against her skin.

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I said we could talk, but you don't seem to be too interested in that idea, so I guess we'll just skip it." Misaka chuckled, and the sound froze Hanako's insides to ice. "To be perfectly honest, I'm okay with that. This was the part I was really looking forward to anyway."

Misaka advanced on her, and Hanako's eyes darted from side to side, searching for an escape route. They were still in the middle of the hallway though, and if she tried a locked door she would be trapped. "W-wait, let's talk. I u-understand you're upset, Misaka-san, but that's no need to do anything rash, okay?"

"No point in saying that now, Yamada-san. I gave you the chance already and you didn't take it." Misaka shook her head as Hanako continued to back away. "You all thought you could use me as a guinea pig and I'd be too timid to do anything about it, didn't you? Cute, innocent, oblivious little Mikoto would never hurt anybody, right? But unfortunately for you, I would."

Hanako's mouth was dry and her tongue was heavy with fear. As someone of some import within the project's hierarchy, she had been privy to the details regarding Misaka's attacks on their facilities. Despite never really having any interest in the girl that had so generously donated her DNA to their cause, Hanako had been rather impressed by the amount of destruction she was capable of. If they hadn't been so well funded, she really would have crippled them. To be facing the girl capable of that was enough to strip her of all courage.

But as Misaka drew closer, Hanako remembered something else she had read in those reports, a little detail that at the time she'd dismissed as an oddity.

Every one of the attacks that they had been able to trace back to Misaka had resulted in zero casualties. In fact, the only injuries she could remember reading about were from smoke inhalation. Given the kind of destruction she was capable of, the only explanation was that Misaka had gone out of her way not to hurt anybody. She'd wanted to shut them down, but she'd either thought she could do it without hurting anyone, or she'd been unwilling to cross that line.

It was exactly the kind of naive, idealistic thinking one would expect from a child, no matter how much power she had. No, it was probably because she had the power that Misaka thought she could do it. The little brat probably thought she was some kind of hero, fighting for justice.

And now here she was trying to play the scary esper in an attempt to weasel information out of her. The realization was enough to make Hanako stop in her tracks, and anger surged through her.

That little bitch! She tricked me!

It was all a bluff. Hanako didn't know what game the girl was playing here, but whatever it was, she was going to put a stop to it. Anger stilled her shaking frame and she crossed her arms.

"Enough games, Misaka-san." Hanako drew herself up to her full height and glared down at the girl that moments before had been terrorizing her, her confidence returning. Misaka quirked an eyebrow up at her. "I think this has gone far enough. You aren't going to hurt me."

"Oh?"

"You talk a good game, I'll admit, but I've got you figured out." Her lips pressed into a thin smile. "Now why don't you run along? I'm sure it's past your bedtime."

Hanako didn't even see Misaka move. Her only warning was a high-pitched whine before something buried itself in her gut. Her mouth opened in a strangled cry as she felt something inside of her break, and she collapsed to her knees, clutching her stomach.

The shock of the attack was enough to dull her senses, but after a moment that buffer faded and Hanako gasped as the pain hit her. It was incredible. Her mind was still reeling, trying to process what had happened, but the fire burning in her stomach was making it rather difficult to focus.

"Ahhh, I think I get it. I guess you were thinking that since I didn't hurt anyone when I attacked the facilities you were safe." Hanako tilted her head to stare up at Misaka. Her eyes were cold, and lightning coiled around her fist. "Too bad for you. I've changed."

Saliva dripped from Hanako's chin as she wheezed, trying to pull air into her lungs. Every breath was torture, sending spikes of agony through her insides as her shattered ribs shifted unnaturally. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, could barely even think. All she could do was crouch pitifully on the ground, staring up at her assailant with terrified eyes.

"Here's something else I bet you didn't know." Misaka held her fist close to Hanako's face, and she flinched away as electricity snapped off of it. "I can use my ability to accelerate my body to high speeds, though honestly it's only over a short distance. If I focus on just my arm, then even someone my size can hit like a champion boxer. If I time it right, I can even diffuse a lot of the force on my hand. Keeps me from breaking my fingers when I do things like this, for example."

There was a flash, and then Hanako's world exploded in pain as Misaka's fist collided with the side of her face. It caught her just below the eye and sent her headfirst into the hard metal floor. Her head impacted with a resounding crack, and for a moment everything went black.

Slowly, things began to swim back into focus. The pale illumination of the emergency lights was enough to see by, if only barely, but Hanako could immediately tell something was wrong. Even through the thundering pain in her head, her right eye felt fuzzy. Something wet traced a trail down her cheek, and her chest tightened in panic.

No...nonononono… this can't be happening.

Hanako closed her left eye and her vision cut out.

Her screams echoed off the walls, echoing down the corridor as she rolled on the ground, clutching her ruined eye. Blood oozed from the shattered socket, coating her hands as she alternated between screaming and sobbing. The pain was exquisite, making it hard to think, but the sheer terror of losing an eye was enough to cut through even that.

"See? Pretty good, right? I hit you hard enough to shatter your cheekbone and the fragments tore up your eye pretty bad. But my hand feels totally fine!" Misaka's voice cut through the veil of agony and terror clouding her mind, and Hanako froze.

She had misjudged the situation. When she had remembered the lack of reported injuries resulting from Misaka's previous attacks, she had assumed the girl wouldn't hurt her. She'd been so sure of it that she'd gone so far as to goad her. But she had been mistaken, perhaps fatally so, and now she was in no condition to attempt an escape.

Tears leaked from Hanako's remaining eye, and she whimpered pitifully as she tried to catch her breath. "P-p-please… stop this."

Misaka knelt down next to her and ran a hand affectionately over her cheek, wiping away the blood. Her expression was calm, her smile almost serene. She leaned in close, until her lips were mere inches from Hanako's ear.

"No."

Misaka drove her thumb into Hanako's ruined eye and she screamed. She screamed and screamed until her voice cracked and her voice went out. Misaka's grip was firm, holding her in place as she thrashed in anguish, her mind searching for any reprieve from the pain.

Never before had Hanako experienced anything like this. Pain was foreign to her. Really, the worst she'd ever experienced was a broken finger. But now she was learning there were depths of pain she'd never even conceived of. It was enough that she might have feared for her sanity, if she had been able to think at all.

Hanako had no idea how much time passed before Misaka released her. She collapsed to the floor as Misaka withdrew her thumb with a sickening "schlurp." It felt as though a railroad spike had been driven into her skull, and it was all she could do to remain conscious. She could feel her heart beating where her eye used to be, blood pumping out of the useless hole.

A pair of tennis shoes filled her vision, and Hanako craned her neck, looking up at Misaka with her one good eye. The girl seemed unruffled, almost bored. With a casual gesture, she wiped the blood from her hand on her t-shirt, before crossing her arms and favoring Hanako with a curious expression.

"After all that, I'd really like to think you learned your lesson. I know how stubborn you scientist types are though. I doubt I've really gotten through to you yet."

Hanako tried to shake her head, and winced as the motion caused pain to shoot through her head. "N-no! I promise, I learned my lesson!" She began to cry, great, heaving sobs that wracked her whole body. "Just p-p-please, for the love of God… stop."

"For the love of God? Oh now that's amusing. A scientist in Academy City pleading to God? Really, if there is such a thing as God then you're the last person he'd help." She barked out a laugh and shook her head. "All you people do is lie. I bet you're lying to me right now, aren't you?"

"I swear, I'm n-not! Just plea—gah!" A pulse of electricity surged through her body, leaping off of the girl looming over her.

"I don't believe you," Misaka said, digging a heel into her side with a serene expression on her face. One of Hanako's broken ribs stabbed into something and her sobs turned to hacking coughs. Blood roared in her ears and lights flashed in front of her eyes, and Hanako was certain she was slipping out of consciousness.

Then the foot was removed, and Misaka spoke again, her voice once again bright and cheerful. "However! I do think I'll give you a chance to prove you've really learned something from this."

Hanko coughed and wheezed, struggling to find her voice. "Y-yes! I'll do anything, please!"

Misaka pointed down the hall to the glowing exit sign at the end. "There's an emergency exit down there. If you can make it there in… let's say two minutes, I'll believe you, and you can go. I won't try to stop you. All you have to do is get to the exit. Simple, right?"

Hanako's heart leapt. All she had to do was make it to the end of the hallway? It seemed too good to be true but her desperation to escape overcame any skepticism and she nodded. If there was a chance she could escape from this nightmare, then she would take it. Her injuries were severe, but her legs still worked, and the adrenaline pumping through her veins would be enough to get her there.

Misaka leaned down and grabbed her by the chin, a smile on her face. Hanako stared into the eyes of the girl that had maimed her and didn't even bother trying to keep herself from trembling.

"Alright, time starts as soon as I let go." She reached up and ran a finger under Hanako's remaining eye. "Oh, and if you don't make it in time I'm taking your other eye."

The words cut to Hanako's core, and she screamed in fear and desperation. Misaka released her and she struggled to her feet, doing her best to ignore the pain that threatened to drive her back to the floor.

"That's time start! Let's see what you've got, Yamada-san."

Hanako summoned all the strength she could manage and began to run towards the door… only to collapse to the ground before she had made so much as a single step.

Misaka walked up along side her. "Hey now, no resting. Your time is running out you know. A minute and forty-five seconds left."

Tears streamed from her eye as Hanako once again forced herself to her feet, noticing for the first time how disjointed the motions felt. This time, she didn't even make it off the floor before she collapsed in a heap.

"W-what's going on? Why c-can't I move?"

"Well, I might have scrambled your nerves a bit. As a scientist, I'm sure you know that muscle movement is controlled by the firing of synapses along the muscle system. The nervous system supplies the impulses, and with a little spark, your muscles move. I just switched which muscles your brain thinks it's moving." Misaka shrugged. "I'm not really very good at it yet, so even I don't know how your brain thinks your body works now. But you've only got a minute left to figure it out and get to the exit."

Hanako's mouth worked in silent horror. Now that Misaka mentioned it, she could feel how her limbs didn't respond the way they were supposed to. She tried to move her left leg, and her right leg shifted instead. The index finger on her right hand moved the thumb on her left. "Y-you can't do that! You promised!"

"You're a smart woman, Yamada-san. I thought you would figure it out. I'm sure once you get the system down there's really nothing to it. Oh, thirty seconds left by the way."

With an anguished wail Hanako threw herself forward, trying to force her body towards the promising glow of the exit. She didn't even try to figure out the connections, she simply hurled herself forward. Her body flopped forward as she pushed herself, banging her knees and elbows against the unforgiving floor and tearing the skin from her palms. All she had to do was make it there. It wasn't even that far. Just keep going, just keep pushing. It would all be over soon if she could just-

"Time's up."

Lightning struck Hanako in the back and she let out a shriek. Her whole body spasmed uncontrollably as electricity surged through her, tearing at her nerves and scorching her muscles until all she could do was pray for it to stop. When it finally did she was left whimpering, curled up in a miserable ball on the floor.

The sound of footsteps alerted her to the approaching menace, but she couldn't move. Her body was ruined. Misaka turned her over onto her back before sitting herself upon Hanako's chest. The pressure forced her shattered ribs to press into her lungs, and she wheezed, stabbing pain bringing her back to her senses.

"Why… w-why are you doing all of this? What did I ever do to you?"

Fingers snaked into her hair before clenching into a fist and pulling sharply. Hanako hissed as Misaka lowered herself to glare into her eye. "I already told you. You murdered my sisters. This is the least I can do to repay you for that."

Something broke in Hanako then, and she twisted underneath the young girl, thrashing against her. "You're doing this for them?! For those things?! They're not even human!" She raged against her attacker, trying to force her off before a pulse of electricity passed through her body and she fell limp. She couldn't even move her tongue.

"Not human, huh?" Fingers tickled around her remaining eye, and Hanako tried to pull away. "You told them that so often that they even began to believe you. But really, I think they're far more human than someone like you. Or me." The fingers forced her eye open, and Hanako found herself staring at Misaka's palm. "I guess in the end it's pointless to try to talk to you people. I don't want to listen anyway. I'll just have to make sure that you suffer a bit of what they went through." Tendrils of electricity began to play along the electromaster's palm, and Hanako's mind went blank with panic.

"It's been fun playing with you, Yamada-san. Perhaps when you wake up we'll play some more."

There was a flash of light, and the empty halls were filled with Hanako's screams.

She'd stopped screaming, finally.

The hall was oddly quiet now, the only sound the distant hum of the generator that kept the floor lights running. All these places were the goddamned same. The sounds, the smells, even the floorplans were all stock. It grated on her, though she couldn't quite figure out why.

She nudged Yamada with her toe. Maybe it was because they were all filled with the same trash. Even this one - it studied the weather for crying out loud - had snakes like this lying in wait, just biding their time until they could hurt someone else.

Well, Yamada Hanako was unlikely to be hurting anyone again in the near future. She was unlikely to be doing much of anything in the near future, really. Though now she did pose a bit of a problem.

Mikoto pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped it open, dialling a number from memory. Fortunately, she had a solution.

The phone rang ten times - the agreed upon number - before there was a click and a familiar monotone voice answered.

"Bonne soirée. You're finished, I take it?"

"Yeah, all wrapped up here. Anything new on your end?"

"Not yet. I told you to be patient. Moving too quickly will alert them to your aims."

Mikoto tsked and ground her heel into Hanako's outstretched hand until she felt something snap. "And I told you that if we move too slowly then they'll figure us out and your info will be useless."

"Douteux. I know how they think. I think I have earned a little of your trust, do you not agree?"

"Fine, whatever. I need you to do cleanup here anyway."

A pause, and then, "She is alive?"

"Yeah, well, mostly." Her mouth twisted into a jack-o-lantern grin. "Though when she wakes up she's going to wish she wasn't."

Nunotaba sighed on the other end of the line.

"Gênant. I did not volunteer to clean up your messes, Railgun. I would prefer not to get directly involved."

"Well tough. Look, you're already involved, and I need to get back to the dorms before anyone realizes I'm gone. I'm already on thin ice with Kuroko and if anyone else starts asking questions it's going to be a lot harder to get out without jumping through a lot of hoops." She leaned against the wall and looked down at the mess she had made. "I don't have time to pick up, and it's only a matter of time before more people start showing up. So quit complaining and get over here."

The line was silent for so long that Mikoto was starting to wonder if Nunotaba had hung up when she finally spoke again.

"C'est suffisant. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Make sure you handle the security for me."

"Already taken care of. See you then."

She snapped her phone shut without another word and stuffed her hands in her pockets, smiling faintly down at Yamada's mangled face. Blood dripped slowly from the eye socket she had ruined, and the other was still smoking, her eye charred and cooked to a crisp inside her skull.

Well, at least she'd have company while she waited.

A/N: This was a chapter I had written a while ago, but wasn't exactly sure where I wanted to put it in the story. I worried about using a made up character here, but honestly we don't know all that much about who was involved in the Level 6 Shift project, so I ultimately decided it would be fine. Really this is about Mikoto anyway, so it's not that big of a deal.

More Ruiko this chapter! She made a small appearance, sure, but I'm always happy to have her show up. I'm enjoying this dynamic as well, so expect to see me develop that in the future.

Thanks again to all the people that are still reading and reviewing this. This month is a bit hectic from a writing standpoint, and it helps to have the encouragement from people that enjoy one of my projects. Leave me a review and I'll try and get back to you! Big thanks to Cun for giving this one a look before I released it into the wild, and hopefully the next chapter will be out without a terrible delay!