10,000 people actually had the motivation to click on this story, which quite surprised me. Thanks a lot! (It's also giving me lots of pressure to not make a complete failure of a story, which is making me quite nervous.)

Also, I'm late because I got midterms to study. I ain't gonna let a bad fanfiction like this keep me from getting decent grades.

To clarify why Emilia would give up her DNA:

1. Emilia is unaware of the events that happen in the anime. If she is, she would simply hunt and kill all the antagonists.

2. It is under Emilia's assumption that Azusa would die if she defies any order.

3. Though Emilia is smart and cunning, she doesn't know what it's like to have friends, and thus acts irrationally when they are involved.

Now, let's get started.

It's been quite some time X returned from his business trip. Emilia had to spend most of the days prior to that sitting around in a faculty doing pretty much nothing. She lied to her friends that she had something urgent to take care of, and she wasn't going to be in her dorm alongside Ruiko.

Emilia was sitting watching researchers doing their own thing, walking left and right, holding clipboards and papers. Emilia wasn't even sure if they were really doing their work or not, but she paid no mind to it. Most details of what exactly they were researching were confidential. All Emilia knew was that the experiment had something to do with the Kihara family, and she needed to be careful; especially after foiling Telestina's plans.

She leaned against the concrete wall, with her mask and hood on. She hasn't been too hot or too cold thanks to her ability, and she hasn't encountered any problems yet, but Emilia realized what Azusa had to go through almost everyday.

She was bored.

The job assigned to her was to overlook the security of the faculty, and maybe deliver a few documents from time to time (what was she, a messenger?), but there was almost nothing else to do besides that.

"I'm sure you're sick of being like this all day. Or rather, since you came here." A voice said to Emilia.

Emilia looked up to see who it was. Most of the researchers moved back and forth across the hallway, ignoring Emilia. This voice was the first one who stopped to talk to her.

Emilia expected a middle aged woman, but instead her eyes were met with a teenage girl. Probably 3 years older than her, wearing a lab coat. The girl brushed her unkempt hair. "You don't have to reply. You can feel free to have yourself some fresh air, if you would like."

The girl continued on her way through the hallway, and Emilia stood up. She was right, she could use some fresh air.

She made her way out the place, passing by scientists and researchers of all kinds, footsteps echoing through the eerie hallway. She finally came across and opened a heavy door that leads outside.

The sunlight blinded Emilia temporarily, and Emilia almost forgot that afternoon existed. She removed the mask with her hood up to get some fresh air. Suddenly Emilia heard a huge clanging noise. She put on her mask again and wearily looked around, and realized the noise came from the sky, of all places.

She watched as a helicopter broke down into pieces beyond repair, crashed into a nearby lake, letting out a trail of smoke as it fell. As the helicopter slowly became out of sight, Emilia heard a loud explosion prior to that.

You don't see that everyday. Emilia felt like going to investigate, but she convinced herself that she shouldn't, given that it was her duty to watch over the place. She went back inside the facility, mind still whirling about how a modern helicopter in academy city could possibly crash.

Mikoto was still thinking about Emilia. Though Ruiko informed the rest of the girls that Emilia had to temporarily leave to visit family, she had a wrenched feeling that Emilia still had a grudge against her, and only left so she could have some time alone.

Here she was in her dorm room, almost in thought in the morning.

"Onee-Sama?" Mikoto heard as she was getting herself ready for shopping. "Hm? Yes, Kuroko?" She replied, getting changed.

"Why do you seem like you're thinking about something? Are you studying for a Quantum mechanics test again?"

"Oh! Um, no." Mikoto denied quickly.

"Don't try to deny it, are you thinking about Emilia again? I'm telling you, she's fine. A girl like that would be the last girl that would be in trouble." Kuroko said in a reassuring tone.

Mikoto softened. "Thanks Kuroko."

Kuroko smiled as well. "No problem, but me on the other hand, I need- EEEK!" Suddenly, Kuroko was twitching on the ground, giving a perverted grin.

"Don't even think about it!"

"Please wait for me Onee-Sama!" Kuroko whined, catching up to Mikoto.

Mikoto turned around to face Kuroko. "Shut it, perv! You ruined the moment thanks to your perverted desires!"

"Seriously, why are you so attached with Emilia? If anything, Ruiko should be the closest to her, given that she is her roommate. Is there something she has that I don't?"

"Don't even get me started."

"Hey!" Kuroko reacted to the comment. "Where are you going anyway?"

"There's a field trip in early September isn't there? I figured that I should go out and get some travel supplies."

"Oh! I think I can help you with that!"

"You really don't have to come along…" Mikoto shifted uncomfortably, but Kuroko continued to be clingy.

The two walked together for a while, while Kuroko suddenly spoke up. "Hey, you know about Zero right?"

"No. Why should I?"

Kuroko suddenly groaned and facepalmed. "Why must you be so ignorant?" she muttered.

Kuroko's sudden comment that contracted her clingy behavior caught Mikoto by surprise. "For your information, I stay on par with the news all the time!"

"This one was on the front page." Kuroko said blankly without facing Mikoto.

"Okay… maybe I have been skipping a few days." Mikoto said, giving a guilty look. She scratched the back of her head to avoid eye contact.

Kuroko didn't look surprised. "Zero is the new level 5 Esper that was announced, remember?"

"Oh! Right. So much has happened that I completely forgot about a completely new level 5. I wonder if I could meet him."

"You already did."

Mikoto turned to face Kuroko. "What?"

"The masked figure that we met twice? According to the media, the figure's identity was revealed to be the 6th level 5 esper. He fought Sogiita Gunha and won, too."

"WHAT?" Mikoto shouted, startling a couple bystanders. Looking around, she immediately calmed herself. "He even raised two ranks huh? I wonder if he'll surpass me. But why would he pick a fight with a level 5?"

"Surely not, Onee-Sama! I'm honestly not sure why he would do something like that, but it isn't the point! Oh, here's a shortcut to the mall we were talking about!" Kuroko ran ahead and stood next to a dark, narrow alleyway between two buildings.

"A shortcut?" Mikoto reluctantly followed behind Kuroko. "How do you know about this?"

"It comes with the job. I memorized every nook and cranny of the city."

The girls awkwardly walked through the place. The alleyway was even narrower than the girl's wingspan. After walking for a bit, they came across a boy wearing headphones, eyes glued to the floor.

"Excuse me." He muttered, his back glued to the wall as he scoots through his way.

"Such a narrow alleyway is such a hassle huh?" Mikoto said.

"This alleyway is usually very empty, it's quite a surprise that I'd see someone here." Kuroko said.

But Kuroko's judgement seems to be more doubtful, as the two girls come across more and more people walking through the alleyway. They scoot across almost 3 people now, until Mikoto had enough.

"Are you sure it's usually empty?" Mikoto said in a slightly irritated tone.

"I'm very much sure. Why today of all days?"

They finally came across a rather bulky boy. It was clear that they weren't going to get past him without making physical contact. Kurok had enough and teleported Mikoto and herself into the air. "This is so strange. Why-"

As soon as Kuroko hit the ground, she slipped in an empty can, hitting her head on the hard concrete.

"Kuroko! Are you okay?"

"Yeeeeesssss. I'm fine." Kuroko replied. "Oh? What's this?" Kuroko reached her hand under an air conditioner and pulled out a clean looking envelope.

"An envelope?" Mikoto asked

"There's no address or name on it…" Kuroko said, opening it up as she got herself together to get up.

A yellow card fell through the seal, and Kuroko reached over to pull it out.

"A money card?" They both said in confusion.

As Mikoto and Kuroko went back to the Judgement branch office to turn the card in, Uiharu explained that there have been many incidents reported of money cards being all over the street. What shocked them even more is that all the cards returned so far are genuine.

Mikoto attempted to start her shopping session, but she was met with her friend Ruiko, who was supposedly sniffing the ground.

"Uh, are you okay?" Mikoto asked, a bit confused.

Ruiko's head shot up as she was crawling on the sidewalk. Her eyes lit up. "Ah! Misaka-san! There's an incredible rumor going around!"

"I think I know exactly what it is." Mikoto said dryly.

"You know about Zero too?" Ruiko asked, eyes gleaming.

Mikoto took a step back, caught off guard. "I thought you meant the money cards."

"Well, I am searching for them. But there's an even bigger rumor going around that there is a certain hero going around in Academy City! I wonder if he remembers me!"

"Zero? I doubt he's a hero. He attacked Sogiita Gunha for no reason after all."

"Then why did he save all of us during the chase? I think he's a good person, so I'm hunting for money cards and searching for this new esper! It's a double whammy!" Ruiko cheerfully, throwing her fist in the air.

"I really think you shouldn't do that. What will you do if you actually did encounter Zero?"

"Relax, Misaka-san. You're worrying too much. Hey, if you're that paranoid, why don't you help me search for Money cards?"

Mikoto took a step back, lifting her hands. "I-uh need to go shopping-"

"You can do it tomorrow!" Ruiko cheered, cutting Mikoto off. She promptly grabbed Mikoto's hand and took off into another alleyway.

"Ehh? I-I don't really-" Mikoto stuttered, but the two girls were already long gone to hunt for more money cards.

"Full School curfew is approaching. All students, please return home at once." A voice echoed through the cities.

"Oh, looks like we got a little carried away, huh?" Ruiko said with a guilty look, scratching her head. She reached into her pocket and took out multiple envelopes. "Here's your share!"

Mikoto reached her hand out instinctively, but quickly stopped. "Wait, those need to be turned over."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right." Ruiko said with a laugh. "I'll contact Uiharu later on."

"Never mind that, who do you think is giving away these Money cards? Any rumors about it?" Mikoto asked.

"Hm, I haven't heard much of that did I? Well anyway, see you later Misaka-san!" Ruiko began to skip away.

Mikoto waved back and began to walk on her own. "I ended up wasting the entire day. What am I doing?" Mikoto muttered.

"I said, hand the rest of the Money cards! I know you have more!" She heard a man shout from an alleyway.

Mikoto peeked through the alleyway to see a masked figure, who she immediately recognized as Zero, surrounded by delinquents. What really caught her eye was the fact that Zero was holding several empty envelopes.