A/N: There's a lot going on, so a slower pace might be necessary to ease bits and pieces of information on to the audience. Also, I need to define who this "new" character is, which technically is up to my own interpretation. For the most part, I'm aware of the threads I've left dangling. Eventually, I'll tie them up. As many as I can, anyway.

I feel like I should point out... even if a character says something, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's true. Gag-like comedies thrive on misunderstandings and deception. That said, enjoy the Level 5 shenanigans here and look forward to the next chapter!


Super 6 ½

Level 5s of Academy City were gathered around a long table. Preoccupying themselves one way or another, they all more or less sat in silence.

"…"

Kakine Teitoku seemed to be in hibernation mode, vibrating in place at a certain time interval. Misaka Mikoto had her arms crossed. Underneath the table, she anxiously tapped her foot.

"…"

Mugino Shizuri played with her phone, moving her thumbs in an almost calculated pattern. Shokuhou Misaki sleepily stared out the window.

"…"

Sogiita Gunha rubbed the sore spot on his face from where he was kicked earlier. Hamazura Shiage, the only one not sitting at the table, started observing an interesting pattern in the wallpaper.

As for the small child with white hair and red eyes…

He glanced around the room in alarm. Unsure of himself, he reluctantly half-raised his hand.

"This might be a stupid question to ask, but… What's going on here?"

"That's actually a very valid question."

The Number 3 answered almost immediately.

It's Narcissism

Mugino Shizuri answered the boy's inquiry in a clipped fashion.

"So you don't remember then? Well, where you are now, this is the 'Misaka Mikoto Fanclub'. All of us are standing members."

( Mikoto: Oi.)

The child blinked.

"Misaka… Mikoto…?"

Shokuhou Misaki affirmed.

"That's correct. See that grumpy girl there? That's her."

As the Number 3 gave an irritated glare, they lowered their voices.

( "Why would someone be a member of their own fanclub?" )

( Misaki: It confuses me as well. Originally it wasn't going to be called this, but she insisted on changing the name to its current form. )

"That's wrong!"

Tiny Elephant

Misaka Mikoto stood up from her seat.

"Hey now. Why is no one saying anything about… the most conspicuously thing here? Did I miss another memo? Do you guys know something I don't? Clearly, there's something wrong, right?"

Shokuhou Misaki stood up as well.

"Misaka-san. I recognize that look in your eyes. The type of buzzkill expression that would rather seek answers than have fun. I was once like that too, you know?"

( Shizuri: That was literally a few minutes ago. )

"As soon as you entered the room, I instinctively changed to gears to 'tease Misaka-san mode'. But, you are entirely right. This needs to be addressed immediately!"

With a gloved finger, the Number 5 pointed at the small child with white hair and red eyes.

"…?"

The blonde-haired girl called for action!

"Referring to this boy as 'the small child with white hair and red eyes' is getting real annoying! We have come up with a better name!"

( Mikoto: Why do I even bother… )

Name Calling

Shokuhou Misaki uncapped a dry erase marker. Standing in front of a whiteboard, she initiated a brainstorm!

"Operation 'Renaming the Accelerator Look-a-Like Shorty to Make Thing Easier on the Author' commences! Suggestions! GO~!"

( X-kun: Rename? Why? What's the point of this? )

Mugino Shizuri raised her hand.

"The Accelerator S. It's like the original Accelerator but with incremental enhancements and a smaller form factor."

( X-kun: Oi, oi. Am I supposed to be some kind of product? )

Kakine Teitoku raised his hand.

"Super Accelerator II: Turbo edition. The most up-to-date version of Accelerator currently available."

( X-kun: These aren't serious suggestions, are they? You guys aren't actually considering giving me a ridiculous nickname, right? )

Sogiita Gunha raised his hand.

"The Accelerator U. Why does this exist? No one knows. Probably would have been better to go straight to the Switch."

( X-kun: Are we even talking about me at this point?-! )

Name Calling II

Shokuhou Misaki wrote down suggestions as fast as they were spat out.

"The Accelerator Megadrive."

"The Accelerator Genesis."

"The Accelerator Saturn."

"The Accelerator Lynx."

"The Accelerator 64."

"The Accelerator SP."

"The Accelerator 360."

"The Accelerator One."

"The Accelerator Vita."

"The Accelerator Pro."

( X-kun: What's with all these video game console-like names?-! You think it's funny just randomly making references?-! It's not! )

Kakine Teitoku stood up from his seat to make a point.

"Alternatively, we can retroactively rename the original Accelerator. Something like, Accelerator OG or Accelerator Fat."

Sogiita Gunha jumped up in excitement.

"XL-erator! No! Wait for it! The New N*ntendo 3DS: XL!"

( X-kun: Are you guys all idiots?-! )

Name Calling III

The child's patience was running out. He frowned and growled.

"Accelerator this and Accelerator that… These titles are dang annoying and I refuse to be called by any of them. Why don't you just use my real name?"

Mugino Shizuri answered plainly.

"That would be impossible. You see, there are various issues surrounding that."

"Haah?"

Shokuhou Misaki took over the explanation.

"Well… 'Accelerator' is pretty much your identity at this point. Since Kamachi hasn't revealed what your real name is, no one can call you anything else. Even if you said it out loud, it'd be replaced with [REDACTED]."

The boy stared blankly.

"I take it back. You guys aren't idiots. All of you are insane."

Name Calling IV

The child turned to Hamazura Shiage with a look of fatigue.

"Is all this a part of an experiment? I'm finding it hard to believe that it is."

The dropout in the white coat went stiff. He carefully searched for the right words.

"Erm…! Y-Yeah! It is! Just stick around for a while and… umm, something good will happen? Uh, look, I might appear to be incompetent, but trust me. Everything's perfectly fine, Accelerator-kun."

The boy with white hair and red eyes went silent. It seemed like he didn't appreciate being called this name either.

[ SFX: *vibration* ]

[ SFX: *buzz* *buzz* ]

Hamazura Shiage glanced at his cellphone.

"A-Ah… Sorry. I gotta take th-"

Mid-sentence-

The Number 3 took the phone out of his hand.

"Hello. Misaka Mikoto speaking."

( Shiage: Hey! You can't do that! )

[ "…" ]

On the other end, Nunotaba Shinobu's voice came through.

[ "I see. If you're answering this, that means Hamazura-san asked you six for aid." ]

And a short pause.

[ "Put me on speaker." ]

Refresh

Hamazura Shiage's phone lied in the middle of the long table.

[ "How much has Hamazura-san told you?" ]

Misaka Mikoto glanced at the dropout and the Number 4. The two averted their eyes toward the ceiling. The girl responded.

"Pretty much nothing. By the looks of it, no one knows much about anything really."

[ "Of course. That's to be expected…" ]

Nunotaba Shinobu took a breath.

[ "I'll do my best to explain the situation, but truthfully, I'm also at a loss. So bear with me if events sound outlandish." ]

[ "3:00 PM today, an anomaly appeared above Academy City…" ]

The room slightly darkened from passing cumulus clouds.

[ "It was hole. A rip. A tear. It was a portal that connected this place to another. Only that much could be deciphered in the 45 minutes that it remained static." ]

[ "However, at 3:45 PM, the portal instantaneously moved to our lab." ]

[ "And the last thing I remember seeing... was Accelerator evaporating into the ether." ]

Refresh II

[ "Hamazura-san. Does that sound right? I was knocked unconscious shortly after, but those are the details I remember fairly well." ]

Hamazura Shiage scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Yeah. That's what happened. The sphere disappeared right after that…"

[ "I suppose that means Accelerator is no longer with us then." ]

"Well… actually…"

The dropout went over to glance at the child, however…

"…?-!"

He wasn't in the room.

The door leading out was slightly ajar.

"Oh… oh, fuck."

Quickly pacing off to the hall…

"No, no, no! He was just here! Fuck!"

He called out before breaking away.

"Hold on! I'll be right back!"

With this sudden realization, the others in the room felt conflicted on whether to stay or follow. But before any action could be decided…

[ "So that's how it is. I see. When Accelerator disappeared, something else appeared in his place." ]

[ "That means… Accelerator can still come back to us." ]

Pendulum

Misaka Mikoto looked out the door and back at the phone. A dreadful feeling started to spread. Her inclination to chase after was getting to her.

"What are you saying? Didn't Accelerator turn into kid?"

[ "Turn into… a kid? ]

[ "I suppose that makes sense." ]

[ "Displacements should be more likely to occur when components are similar." ]

"Speaking vaguely like that isn't helping!"

Various people were becoming restless.

[ "It's the law of conservation of energy. Energy in the universe has to remain constant. It can neither be created nor destroyed. And in order for a displacement to occur, a two-way exchange is required, otherwise energy would be unevenly distributed." ]

"Again, you're speaking too-"

[ "In short, it's a requirement for time travel." ]

Silence.

[ "The Accelerator you're familiar with has been relocated into the past. The child-Accelerator you speak of has taken his place in the present." ]

[ "If the following is correct, then the situation is even more dire." ]

[ "As it stands now, any last vestiges of hope to return things back to normal lies with that child, Accelerator-kun." ]

From Past to Present

Meanwhile…

Two sinister figures were having tea in the park. Shadows enveloped faces, obscuring their identities.

"'Misaka is booored,' says Misaka as Misaka leans her cheek on her palm."

"Is that so? Then how about we essentially find ourselves another plaything?"

Across their faces, maddening grins surfaced.

"'Ufufufu~ Sounds interesting. But Misaka wonders if there even exists a person that can keep up with the two of us,' says Misaka as Misaka laments the unfortunate fate of this poor sap."

"Who cares? Essentially, all that matters is that we have fun~ Nya ha ha~"

These two sinister figures could only be described as the secret bosses of Academy City.

"…?"

Taking notice…

"Ara~? Essentially, it looks like someone new has arrived. Shall we introduce ourselves?"

"'Let's,' says Misaka as Misaka plans her assault."


Timeline (condensed): ̵10͢, 1,͏ 2͟, ͞4̧,͞ 8͡, 9, 1̸9-2̸8͟, ̧3,̸ 2͝9,̡ ̶3͢0,̡ x,҉ ͘12-͠1҉7, ͏x,̛ ͟5-7, ͞x̀,̧ ͠1̧1