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Back at Project SYSTEM HQ
Doctor Gensei Kihara's POV
"Magnificent!" He exclaimed as he watched a man who was arguably the strongest member of the Roman Catholic Church group known as God's Right Seat drop to the ground.
Indeed Acqua of the Rear was viewed by many to be the most dangerous and the most competent of the group known as God's Right Seat. The other three while nothing to sneeze at all had psychological flaws that made them unreliable at times or prone to acts of defiance. Such a flaw that the Roman Catholic Church never saw fit to correct even though each member of the group had been around for quite a few years now. It was all completely logical: never create a powerful weapon that you can't render harmless with the flick of a switch. It was a common problem when trying to create something capable of acting on its own that occasionally it chose not to cooperate despite its purpose in the world. He had done it with the Fulgora prototype after all when he'd used a Testament machine to bring her cognitive abilities up to the level he'd desired them to be at.
Aside from the hidden command to prevent capture there were others in her mind that would activate either in response to a spoken command or if certain criteria were met.
In any case it looked like he wouldn't need to use the anti-capture program within the prototype and with all enemies subdued the retrieval team could move in to collect the spoils of the battle. He doubted that he'd get anything useful out of the Knights but in the case of Acqua he was quite happy to have the chance to examine the body of one of the world's few Saints. True he'd likely have to ensure that the man lived since he had a feeling that the Chairman of the Board would choose to send the defeated warrior back to his masters but he could work within those limitations. It would be child's play after all to disguise any incisions as battle wounds and any burns as a side effect of coming into contact with an intense electrical discharge. Indeed with the remains of the weapon prototypes present it would be easy enough to say that they were responsible for the burns before Acqua managed to destroy them.
As much as he would rather keep the Saint for an in depth examination he knew all too well that such an act would provoke retaliation from the Roman Catholic Church. Even if they couldn't pin the disappearance of their enforcer on anyone specific they would know that he went missing in Academy City and that would be enough to start something. Personally he didn't care but the standard response to such retaliation would interfere with his work and potentially cost him considerable resources. So with great reluctance he would abide by the unofficial rules of Academy City that forbid drawing unwanted hostilities towards the city or disrupting the Chairman's agenda.
It was then that he noticed the prototype suddenly lose a great deal of her electrical output before collapsing to the ground. Frowning he manipulated the console in front of him to zoom in on the prototype and noted that while unconscious the breathing rate was steady with no visible sign of additional negative symptoms. Exhaustion? Possibly. It was one of the routes he'd predicted when running scenarios on how the shift to level six would occur and the possible after effects. For such a monumental shift it was predictable that the prototype would operate at maximum output until the threat was eliminated. Not quite the 'the one who arrives at heaven's intent in an ungodly body' that he had been aiming for but what he'd seen had been encouraging enough to decide against terminating the prototype and developing a more advanced model. It was far more likely that what he'd witnessed was the initial breaking of the barrier between level five and level six rather than the full manifestation of level six properties.
It will take some trial and error to find the right mix of variables but I am confident I can induce a more complete state. He thought as he reached for his phone, It would appear that my decision to follow the path of cognitive merging was the right course of action rather than simply forcing a connection to the original.
When he'd originally considered what to do with the copies from Project Radio Noise he'd considered the possibility of using the 'Misaka Network' as simply a power source and funnelling the energy into the Tokiwadai student Mikoto Misaka. Indeed by his calculations the method would have been enough to propel the level five into the realm of level six but it had a high probability of destroying the student shortly after fully manifesting her level six powers. Not that he particularly cared since he would simply have collected the necessary data from the entire event before finding another level five to do better with. Still in the end he'd decided to go with a somewhat lesser route that still held promise and what he had witnessed over the last ten minutes had proven it to be the right choice.
Dialing up the number for the retrieval team that'd been orbiting the cemetery from a safe distance he told them to move in and take custody of both the prototype and subject zero-zero-one-omega. He'd also advised them to make full use of the restraints and sedatives at their disposal as an added precaution. Once they provided confirmation he hung up leaving him to ponder the subject that up until a short while ago he had thought nothing more than a level four telekinetic. However based on the video feed he had good reason to believe that the subject might also be a level four telepath.
Maybe even a level five but he would need to run some tests to confirm that.
He had after all seen what the subject had done to the knights who'd attempted to harm Project Fulgora's prototype and given the lack of damage to their helmets telekinesis was ruled out. Some might point out that the subject might have used his telekinesis to manipulate something inside of the helmets but he knew better. While the various tests and exercises involving the subject had shown an appreciable amount of increasing skill with his telekinetic abilities precise control over small solids or liquids were shown to be barely present. It was far more likely to be telepathy and given the subject's comatose state since being infected with the techno-organic matter it was possibly a recent development. It certainly would explain the lack of control and to his knowledge there'd been no signs of telepathic presence in the facility prior to the experiment that rendered the subject comatose.
This intrigued him.
Does this mean that depending on a type of stimuli or substance the gene I detected in subject zero-zero-one-omega can change even further? He thought already making a list of new tests to examine the possibility.
He'd have to institute the conventional anti-telepath precautions immediately once the retrieval team had both the prototype and the subject in custody. They already had sufficient precautions in place to counter telekinetic defiance but since the subject had not exhibited any other abilities there were some rather troubling gaps in security. Once the countermeasures were in place though there'd be little cause for concern.
It was then though that movement on the screen caught his attention and when he looked he saw the subject back on his feet if a bit unsteady walk towards the prototype.
THIS…this could be a problem.
Unlike with the prototype he hadn't bothered to install any command phrases subliminally since there had been no need to do so with a comatose subject. As such if something was about to happen, namely the subject going somewhere with the prototype, it could lead to complications he would rather avoid if possible.
In preparation for the trap he'd called in the usual assets to clear the area around the cemetery under the cover story of a traffic accident involving a truck transporting toxic chemicals. On paper and in every relevant database in Academy City it looked to be completely on the up and up with personnel wearing the right uniforms at every point of approach to discourage the ignorant. As for the cameras he'd been using to stay on top of the ambush and record for later analysis had been sectioned off from the main system for 'maintenance'. However if the subject managed to get outside the coverage area and past the personnel keeping others out of it then knowledge of both it and the prototype would spread. While a rerouting of the retrieval team as well as deployment of additional resources could mitigate the damage it was also possible that the subject's newfound telepathy could misfire causing problems for every mind within reach.
Basically with uncontrolled telepathy in the mix the odds of containing the situation would be difficult to say the least.
If all that happened was that those affected experienced odd thoughts or sensations then a story could be handed down to a rogue esper or perhaps an unsanctioned experiment involving the AIM field. Most of Academy City's inhabitants were woefully uneducated and those that might be able to see through the lie were already under contract with the Board. If however the uncontrolled telepathy caused injury or worse fatalities…he personally wouldn't care but it'd create a big mess that would displease the chairman of the Board since it'd require a lockdown on all projects until it was resolved. With so many deaths or serious injuries it'd be necessary to make a show of effort in not only treating those still alive but in hunting down the one responsible in order to avenge the dead. Since such avenging would require the use of Anti-skill in a large capacity the chances of one of their teams stumbling upon an in progress project would rise accordingly. In order to prevent any accidental exposures from happening the chairman would order the lockdown essentially cutting off each location from the rest of the city and shutting down any hardware that might attract attention.
He made a decision.
Dialing a number he was aware of it only took a few moments for the connection to be formed.
"It's odd that you would contact me Doctor Kihara." A digitally altered and distorted voice said through the phone, "I can only assume something unexpected has occurred requiring expediency."
"You are correct. I require the services of your operatives for the apprehension of two of my test subjects. Alive, intact and mostly unharmed." He said keeping the information to a minimum, "While I have sent my own operatives to apprehend them there is the possibility of failure. Your team will be there to step in should they fail."
"What can you tell me about the targets?" The distorted voice asked in a business-like tone.
"One is an electro-master level four though she might be on the verge of graduating to level five in a couple of months. The other is a dual skill telepath and telekinetic with cybernetic implants." He replied mentally cringing at the info he was divulging out of necessity, "Both have been in a violent…altercation…recently. Based on visual data the girl is exhausted and if she regains consciousness will not be able to use her abilities to the fullest. As for the boy he was on the receiving end of a rather powerful blow so a conclusion is probable. Both will have bruises and mild lacerations. Provided you are surgical and plan properly I see no reason why you should be unable to capture them."
"And once we have?" The distorted voice asked professionally.
"Call me back at this number and I will have a second retrieval team drive to your team's location to pick the targets up." He replied before getting the point the man on the other end cared most about, "How much will it cost to see this assignment done as specified?"
"Hmmmmm…ten million yen plus any medical fees incurred due to injury paid out of your pocket." The distorted voice replied after a few moments of consideration.
"Feeling ambitious I see." He said chuckling at the man's audacity.
"For an on the spot hiring against two potentially dangerous targets with live and relatively unharmed capture being a requirement? I think I am being quite reasonable." The distorted voice said without even a bit of guilt, "You do realize that my group is usually utilized with more permanent conclusions in mind? Getting them to reign in their more destructive impulses will require sufficient motivation."
"Twenty million yen then. Money is no object considering the deep pockets of my backers." He said deciding to stack matters a little further in his favour, "So long as ITEM holds up its end of the deal of course."
"I shall be sure to impress upon them what screwing up will cost them." The distorted voice said clearly interested in his price being doubled.
"See that you do. Call me when the targets are secured." He said before hanging up the phone.
There.
ITEM might not have been the best team available but they would suffice for the time being. He could've gone with SCHOOL but he'd heard that Kakine Teitoku was still displeased that he'd been overlooked for Project Radio Noise's attempt at a level six shift. If told about this it could very well lead to him attempting to prove his superiority over the prototype or being needlessly flashy in using his power. Such usage held the risk of an 'accident' occurring and both targets being either killed or seriously damaged neither outcome being acceptable to him. The other factions or groups he could've hired shared similar problems but with ITEM their greed and skill sets had the best chance of apprehending both he prototype and subject zero-zero-one-omega with minimal damage.
As a side benefit if they wound up killing the prototype he could request that the Board give him the team's level five field leader as compensation.
If a prototype copy of Academy City's third ranked level five could impress him with its level six shift then a prototype copy of the fourth ranked could prove to be equally intriguing.
District Seventeen Cemetery
Xander's POV
So how am I looking? He thought to Mote even as he went through the condition assessment checklist all Council field personnel were trained in to help diagnose how bad someone was hurt.
Given the highly combat oriented nature of the Council and more importantly their field operatives it'd become a hardwired part of the training regime to ensure that everyone could properly give an injured person a once over and determine how seriously they were hurt. The mojo users were better at the diagnosing because they could use magic to cheat but for people like him the standard battlefield medic methods were all they could go with. Over time the lessons got refined as new techniques and procedures were developed both for the military and for city based paramedics ending with a lesson plan that'd maximize the odds of survival for injured allies and employees. Not being entirely oblivious to the enormity of what the Scoobies were doing by building a new Council he'd done his best to excel at learning whatever it was decided a New Council operative should know.
In some cases he managed to get into the top two percentile of the class while in others he just barely managed to meet the standard set by the instructor.
This unit has managed to increase efficiency of natural healing by fifteen percent. The Mote thought at him, Bruising and surface lacerations should be eliminated in seven point five minutes. Cranial trauma and afflictions will take thirty-one point three minutes to be reduced to minimal levels of cognitive interference.
So a little over half an hour before I'm fit for a fight. He thought with a groan, Guess it can't be helped. Just work on a way to amp up my adrenaline without making things worse. If someone comes looking for a fight before I'm all healed up I'll need something to give me an edge.
Understood. Beginning analysis and simulations. The Mote thought before going silent.
Honestly considering the fact that he was quite literally attached to his new metal arm and he was betting that the Mote of light he'd discovered in his mind was in it he needed to come up with a real name for it. It'd be like if people just called him 'young man' all the time or 'human' considering the fact that some of the circles he interacted with were anything but human. The problem was that all the names his brain came up with were references to how the A.I had looked inside his head when he'd freed it from the grey goop. That just seemed…lazy.
He'd think it over more and maybe after a good night's sleep he'd have something better to work with.
For the moment though his priority had to be getting the young lady he'd come to this reality to save as far from the cemetery as he could. Kihara's goons would almost certainly be coming soon to pick the two of them up and this was the best chance he'd likely get as far as rescuing her was concerned. Inside a monitored and well protected facility he'd be fighting for every step he took forward and depending on what sort of crap they'd poured into her head he might even have to fight her. But here, after a battle in the open, he had a chance. All he needed to do was get her somewhere where there was enough people still milling about at this hour to make a quiet extraction difficult. He had little doubt that Kihara and the people backing him probably had access to every wired and wireless camera in the city so disappearing would be unrealistic. He'd never been outside of that mad scientists lab facility the entire time he was in this reality and didn't know where anything was. Even if his 'bright' friend provided him with a map it was probable that there'd be things not shown on it like construction since online maps were rarely updated in real time with every modification. So with hiding removed as an option that only left going where there were eyes and people that couldn't be controlled.
Illegal operations like Kihara's tended to avoid scenarios where they could be exposed and even if they tried to disguise themselves it'd lower the level of gear they'd have on them. Concealable weapons as a general rule weren't very powerful and neither did they have great range limiting their effectiveness. Sure there were probably things like stun guns or various methods of delivering tranq darts but with enough people present a mid-to-long range shot would be too iffy. Even a master marksman would have trouble lining up a perfect shot with people moving to and fro through their line of sight. If it came to something up close he'd have the edge both because of his telekinesis and because with his telepathy he'd probably be able to pick up on any hostile intent.
First though he needed to be sure that she was in any condition to be moved.
Before all he'd had to worry about was a concussion, some bruising and some light cuts but after the performance she'd just put on he wasn't about to get careless. At first it'd looked like something straight out of a Dragonball anime series and a part of him had been thrilled watching her school the man in blue like he was a first day rookie. However it was the final exchange though that had him concerned that harm might've been done to her. So quickly he'd almost missed it entirely, probably would've if not for his new techno-organic enhancements, the young lady had shifted into a form made of energy before shooting like an arrow at the man in blue. A part of him thought that the guy should have a smoking hole in his torso where the young lady had hit him but while the guy's shirt had been obliterated and his skin burned that had been the limit of the visible damage. Instead it looked like the young lady had passed through him and in the process deposited a sizeable amount of electricity into him lightning up his pain receptors like a Christmas tree. It lasted for a little past six seconds before dispersing but that'd been enough to render the guy unconscious.
After that the girl in her late teens reverted back to flesh and bone but much like he'd expected her clothes hadn't survived the trip. It was one of the details of comic books and cartoons that he felt the people behind them had intentionally glossed over into order to get past the censors. If a hero or villain could transform themselves from flesh and blood to energy and back by what logic did this transition extend to their clothes. Their clothes weren't a part of them and didn't possess the same qualities that'd allow such transitions to be done perfectly. Oh there'd been a few cases where terms like 'unstable molecule fabric' were tossed about to explain things but that hadn't been enough for him. In the end the only thing that'd made sense to him was that the comic book companies and cartoon studios simply knew that having characters go nude at the end was a big no-no. Cartoons and comics after all were primarily aimed at younger customers after all ranging from three year olds to people in their late teens. Showing a ton of nudity or even implying nudity too often would've resulted in way too many flags with censors and parents alike no matter how realistic it would've been.
Thus the glossed over excuses and fake fabrics were invented to explain how clothes that would've been torn to shreds upon transformation could survive or simply reform.
Unlike when he was a kid he didn't devolve into a stuttering mess at the sight of a naked girl or let his mind fall into the gutter. He'd already been through relationships that'd allowed him to appreciate the fine female form without clothing getting in the way and Slayer work often did a number on the clothes of Slayers one way or another. Plus when a Slayer got injured in certain ways you couldn't let a little thing like preserving their modesty get in the way of treating the wound or nullifying a curse.
He went through the checklist the instructor had drilled into his head twice over just to be sure but based on what he could make out no additional injuries or anomalies had been added to the young lady's existing list. Whether by instinct or pure dumb luck the girl had managed to shift from flesh to energy and back without hurting herself or messing up anything internal. More than anything it looked like she'd just exhausted herself rather significantly causing her body's own self-preservation instincts to send her into unconsciousness while it recovered.
Still it's probably best that I find something to cover her up with. He thought since carrying out a naked well endowed young lady around the city would get him all the wrong kind of attention.
Looking about he didn't find much so without hesitation he looked to himself and thankfully he found that he'd been double layered with a T-shirt beneath a hooded sweat shirt. Taking off both he quickly put the T-shirt on his damsel in distress and fortunately since he had a whole five inches on her the shirt would cover more than it showed. So long as no strong breezes swept by to say hi and no 'up skirt' opportunities presented themselves no one would know that the shirt was all that she had to cover herself with.
Then he stopped, considered the fact that he'd have to carry her for awhile until she regained consciousness, and mentally deduced what the consequences of carrying her bridal style might do.
Without hesitation he slipped back into the crypt he'd woken up in, took off his pants as well as the boxer shorts they'd put on him and then put the pants back on.
Going back to his damsel in distress he slipped the boxers on her and thanked whatever benevolent deities that might be watching over him that the elastic waste band contracted enough so that the boxers wouldn't accidentally fall down from gravity or anything similar. He'd have some explaining to do when she woke up but he was confident that he could bullshit his way through her inquiries without messing up too badly.
Picking her up he stood up and with only minimal issues began to head towards the closest area with the brightest lights. A well lit area almost always indicated people doing something since most people preferred to sleep with the lights off and businesses with lights on were usually busy. He had to be careful of the pace he was setting for himself since anything too jarring induced pain as well as momentary disorientation but even though he wasn't running he was jogging. Upon passing through the gates of the cemetery he made for the nearest alleyway in the direction of the lights intent on keeping off the well travelled sidewalks that the locals used to minimize getting spotted.
As time passed he was relieved that his recuperative powers helped along by his synthetic friend were making respectable progress in reducing the pain from his wounds as well as other side effects of the beating he'd taken. He wondered for a moment if this was anything like what the Slayers went through when they healed from wounds received from a night of patrolling or stopping an apocalypse. Regardless he was reassured that his body would soon be back in fighting form since it'd make it easier for him to deal with any trouble that bastard Kihara decided to send after him and the girl in his arms.
I wonder what he'll send. He thought as he considered the possibilities brought up by his imagination.
If he didn't get to a populated area in time probably armed thugs with a combination of black ops gear plus a few high tech toys no doubt designed specifically to counter his powers as well as those of the damsel in his arms. Depending on the number he could probably manage to take them down but if the number of foes went past a certain number discretion would definitely be the better part of valour. In the comics and other forms of fiction back home people with mental powers could be handled by disrupting their ability to concentrate. Doing this would make defending or attacking unstable if not impossible. In such a situation the best course of action would be to make sure he spotted them before they spotted him and take them out quickly before they could react.
If he did get to a populated area with civilians they'd probably send in some plain clothes agents with concealed weaponry before using chess moves to maneuver him someplace out of the way. If he managed to foil their efforts the wolves hidden among the sheep would likely try to get in close and attempt to subdue him without drawing too much attention to themselves. This would be equally manageable so long as they were limited to tazers, tranqs and guns small enough to be hidden beneath clothing. It was then that he remembered how he'd been caught in the first place and wondered if the scumbags working for Kihara would risk using paralytic gas to capture them.
It's possible. He thought with grimness, If they control the cameras in the area they can erase any visual record of the attack and make up any story they like. Even if the civvies see what really happened assholes like this probably wouldn't flinch at killing everyone a clear line of sight to what they were doing.
Suddenly the idea of getting to a populated area didn't seem like such a good idea due to the fact that it'd potentially put a large number of innocents in serious mortal danger. However when he considered what sort of alternatives he had he found precious few. Heading away from populated areas would only give Kihara's forces more freedom to act both in terms of numbers as well as what weapons they could employ. He might be recovering but he'd lay good odds that the girl in his arms was going to need more time to both wake up as well as regain enough strength to fight anyone. As such he'd be fighting with the handicap of keeping the girl safe and if the thugs sent after him had the same lack of morality as Kihara then they'd definitely home in on that fact and seek to use the girl against him. Either they'd try to sneak around him to use her as a hostage or they'd attack her knowing he'd move to protect her allowing them to know for certain where he'd be so they could attack.
No.
As much as it pissed him off taking this into a populated area with lots of civilian eyes about was the right move strategically. Even if they did use paralytic gas and kill off any potential witnesses there'd still be one helluva a lot of deaths to explain away. Short of dumping a bomb there and using it to turn everyone into hamburger so their real cause of death couldn't be diagnosed it'd still be a nightmare to handle. Assuming all the mad scientist stuff was kept away from the general public then most people probably thought that the city was a safe place to live. A little bit of crime here and there but nothing the local cops couldn't handle. However if something big enough happened people might start to question the people in charge's ability to keep the city safe. Even if security measures were increased to 'prevent the tragedy from happening again' it would likely turn the city into a veritable prison and he was pretty sure that would be lousy for tourism.
Bottom line: while he'd grieve for any innocents that came to harm and would avenge them should the opportunity present itself a populated area was his best bet.
Resuming his jog towards the lights his ears soon picked up the sounds of voices up ahead making him slow to a stop before creeping to the mouth of the alleyway and peeking around the corner. Standing in front of a portable barricade that completely blocked off the street and the sidewalks on either side were four men wearing outfits that'd fit in with emergency services based in a large city. However given the timing and the fact that he could spot a submachine gun poking out of a bag near the four he was pretty sure that they weren't with emergency services. More likely they worked for Kihara with the intent of alerting the creepy old man instantly if anyone tried to get past them. Looking to see if they all had radios or just one of them he was dismayed to see that they all had walkie-talkies holstered at their waists so simply dispatching a single man wouldn't do anything. He needed to get rid of all of them in one shot and then haul ass away from this area since the quartet were probably under orders to check in at set intervals.
Then again maybe I'm making things too complicated. He thought reaching out with his telekinesis.
With careful manipulation he lifted the walkie-talkies out of their holsters before pulling them towards him as quickly as he dared. Luck was with them as he soon had them on the ground in front of him and none of the 'emergency services workers' looked like they had any clue that something had happened. Setting down his precious cargo quietly he quickly went to work disabling all four walkie-talkies carefully making sure that if they were set up to broadcast a constant signal that it'd be uninterrupted. Once he was sure that even if the fakes found their property that they wouldn't be able to call in their situation he picked up his precious passenger before creeping to the closest alleyway that wouldn't take him into the fakes' line of sight.
When he made it there without being discovered he mentally allowed himself to sigh in relief since it'd mean one less problem to worry about.
Continuing on his path towards the safest area of the city for him and his damsel it was ten minutes later when a van with its headlights on came around the corner and he knew he had to get out of sight. Even if he was too far away for the driver to make out any details with the headlights on at this time of night they'd know someone had been on the street. If they were with Kihara then he needed to break their line of sight pronto before finding a way to get away. Seeing the makeshift fence used to surround all major construction projects he made for the door near the corner slamming his metal shoulder into it to break it open. Once on the other side he telekinetically grabbed the heaviest and largest thing he could find before placing it in front of the broken door. With any luck it'd be enough to keep the occupants of the van from getting in easily and buy him precious seconds to find another way out.
ALERT! EVADE RIGHT! Mote thought loudly at him and he didn't hesitate to obey.
A good thing too since a moment later a spot not two feet from where he'd been going exploded with enough force to send him stumbling backwards. With his TK and his muscles he steadied himself wondering what the hell had blown up.
ALERT! ADVANCE FIFTEEN FEET TOWARDS YOUR TWO OH CLOCK! Mote thought loudly and this time he moved quicker with the aid of his telekinesis.
Two more explosions went off behind him but this time he was good enough to get clear of the worst of the blast so his stride remained steady. However he knew that if the pattern persisted sooner or later he'd be too close to a blast that Mote wouldn't detect in time. So he decided to take care of the bomb problem in one go rather than dance around what was turning out to be a veritable minefield. As soon as he came to a stop he discharged a massive shockwave of telekinetic energy in all directions intent on pushing any remaining bombs as far away from him as possible. With a little luck most of them would detonate at a safe distance allowing him to resume finding a safe way out of the construction site and away from the van.
No way someone planted these bombs randomly and the fact that they went off seconds after a moved away from them makes me think they're being detonated by remote. He thought his breathing becoming slightly laboured from his blast of TK energy, Someone has eyes on me and if my luck is as bad as I think it is then that van popped up specifically to make me duck into the construction site.
A trap.
They'd deduced where he'd head, got ahead of him, planted the bombs and then waited for him to arrive before pushing him in the right direction.
Did that mean that all the other ways in or out of the construction site were booby trapped or guarded by thugs? Possible. If so then he needed to come up with something they couldn't anticipate and that of course led him to a trick he'd only started working on a little about three days before he got his new techno-organic upgrade.
Telekinetic flying.
Since he'd found out that he had these powers he'd practiced lifting and manipulating just about everything he could both because he wanted to and because the bastard scientists asked him. However one thing he'd only recently been experimenting with was whether or not he could use his TK to lift himself and further along FLY like some of the more popular superheroes could. Sadly the laboratory facility of horrors didn't exactly have the privacy he wanted and flight was an ace he wanted to keep firmly tucked away in his sleeve until the time was right.
Now though it looked like the quickest and easiest way out of the trap he'd found himself in.
Looking about he tried to find the nearest rooftop since he didn't want to remain airborne long enough for someone with a bazooka or some kind of energy gun to shoot him out of the sky. Even if he did manage to fly he had no illusions about how stable it'd be or if he'd be able to both fly as well as project a barrier around himself. The smart course of action would be to get to a rooftop then hop from one to another until he was outside of his attacker's operating zone. Thus after wrapping himself and the young lady in a telekinetic field he willed himself into the air as swiftly as he could aiming their course for the rooftop he'd selected as his best option.
WARNING! INCOMING ENERGY DISCHARGE! Mote thought at him urgently.
Reflexively he strengthened the TK energy around him into a barrier and just as it was about to be completed a green beam of energy slammed into him knocking him off course and down towards the street. It didn't hurt but rather felt like he was wearing pads over most of his body and had gotten hit with a damn good thrust kick. Reorienting himself so that his feet would hit the street first he landed with a thud before scraping against the pavement a few inches and coming to a stop. They'd anticipated flight? Whoever was after him were better than the run of the mill brain dead thugs that made up most henchmen groups and that meant he needed a better idea of who he was up against. So rather than run he put down his damsel behind the strongest looking piece of cover he could find close by, used his telekinesis to grab more metal to reinforce it and then prepared himself for his attackers to move in.
As few minutes later he heard footsteps and when he looked to the source he saw four people come into view only they weren't what he'd been expecting. He'd been expecting some people on black ops gear or wearing something out of a sci-fi movie that screamed 'we can kill you three hundred and sixty-five ways before you can even blink'. Instead he got four young ladies ranging in age from around twelve to as high as late teens or early twenties.
The oldest was a tall college looking girl with hair the colour of expensive tea wearing a bright short sleeved coat with a belt looking very much like she'd fit in with the VIP girls of Sunnydale High School. However it didn't take him long for him to immediately peg her as Cordy's bitchier older sister in terms of personality and if she was the one that'd shot him out of the sky then she had a temper like Cordy as well. He'd definitely have to watch his step with her and if it looked like she was getting ready for another shot she'd be the first to get hit with a telekinetic strike.
The second oldest looked like she hadn't slept in days and had black shoulder length hair. Wearing a two piece tracksuit and he got the idea that this was a girl who preferred comfort over fashion when it came to her wardrobe. He couldn't glean what her ability was but he doubted any group involved with Kihara would have dead weight so he made a mental note to keep an eye on her.
The third member of the group was a blonde haired blue eyed girl wearing a black sailor top and a pleated skirt the same colour with a beret to round things off. Of all things she had four rag dolls in her grasp but rather than cling to them like someone would a plush toy the handling made them look more like weapons. However when he spotted a device in her hand he got a clue that got him thinking. He'd seen Willow use something similar looking in her personal lab where she tried to take ancient methods of vanquishing demons and put a modern spin on them. The tool she sometimes used was some sort of electric igniter meant to be used on anything from flammable ingredients to triggering small amounts of explosives to test the durability of magical ingredient inventions. If the thing the girl had was something similar and was used in a similar way then she was probably the one who'd set off the explosives in the construction site.
He'd keep an eye on the dolls since he was betting they were bombs ready to be flung his way and detonated.
The youngest of the group looked to be a year or so from hitting her teens with short brown hair with a hot pants and orange hoodie combo for an outfit. With a mellow expression that had him wondering just what she'd look like if she actually got excited about something the girl was tough to get a read on. Nothing about her appearance hinted at what her power was but like the tired looking girl in pink he wasn't about to do something as stupid as labelling her dead weight. If his time with the Scoobies and then with the New Council had taught him anything it was the more ordinary an enemy looked the scarier they actually were once they hit their proverbial stride.
"Decided not to run, huh?" The oldest girl asked with full cockiness, "Good. I wasn't looking forward to chasing you all over the city no matter how much I'm getting paid for this job."
Paid? Mercs rather than goons officially on the payroll? He thought digesting this newest piece of information, Might be some room for negotiation.
What form that negotiation would take…well…he'd think of something.
"How much if you don't mind me asking?" He asked wanting to know just how big a hurdle he had to overcome.
"Twenty million yen." The leader of the quartet replied not caring if he knew.
Twenty million yen translates to about…a hundred and ninety thousand or so American dollars depending on the exchange rate in this reality. He thought feeling a bit more optimistic about his chances.
While the New Council rarely interacted with mercenaries they'd gained enough access to Travers' old ledger to know that quality mercs cost quite a bit. They'd gone through the asshole's dirty dealings one at a time and used their own connections to find out if they were fit to be hired or should be avoided like the plague. In terms of skill and reliability most of the groups listed in the ledger were decent enough but when they looked into the jobs Travers had sent them on…morality hadn't been amongst the list of sought after qualities. Indeed a full third of them were shown to be all too willing to commit horrible acts so long as the pay was right and they were shielded from any and all repercussions.
If this quartet was anything like the mercs that'd worked for Travers then they'd give up as soon as the risk outweighed any possible payday. He just needed to make it clear that he was a bigger problem than they'd been briefed on and they'd probably pull back to renegotiate with Kihara or abandon the deal altogether.
"This job come with medical coverage because you ARE going to need it if you don't back off." He said letting a little of his TK aura show rolling off his body in small waves.
He could tell that some of them were a bit surprised by this and it was no surprise since a few of the more loose lipped members of Kihara's staff had let let slip that his TK wasn't like any that they had on record. He got the feeling that for the people of this reality TK energy wasn't something human eyes could perceive and the only way you knew someone was using it was if you saw something floating without any visible cause. Still he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth if it gave him an edge over the quartet.
"Don't think you're hot stuff because you managed to take one of my blasts. I was holding back." The leader of the group said smugly as a green orb of energy began to form in her right hand, "The client wants you and sleeping beauty alive and mostly healthy. That gives me a lot of room to work with."
Another advantage.
If the college girl had orders to take both me and my damsel in alive and relatively unharmed then once I find out where her self-imposed limit is I can just make it so she has to go past it to win. He thought as he prepared himself to take a few hits to get the data he needed.
Of course if she was as bitchy as Cordy had been back in high school the college girl might decide 'screw the job' and go all in just to protect her pride.
He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.
"It also gives me something to aim for." He said partially glancing over his shoulder, "Since I doubt your 'job' is legal a big enough light show should bring the local cops and S.W.A.T here for ringside seats pretty quickly."
"Don't count on it. Our client's got a pretty good grip on their leashes and even if he didn't this'll be over before they can do anything other than clean up the mess." The leader said before the green sphere floated out of her hand towards him and then unleashed its deadly payload.
Condensing his TK energy into the shape of a shield he took the heat and got solid confirmation that the earlier hit that'd sent him back to ground level had not been her best shot. Still when the beam of green died off a few seconds later he took that to mean that she couldn't fire nonstop and needed time to either recharge or her method of firing was more of a controlled leak. She gathered the energy into a sphere and then cut the spot that would get it to all come out in the direction she wanted the attack to go. Odds were high that if he could keep the amount of time she had to muster the energy to a minimum the damage the following blasts could do would be minimal.
Even if he didn't know what the others could do aside from toss explosives at him it was clear that the leader was the most powerful of the group.
Take her out and the rest might just make a run for it to preserve their own lives.
With that in mind as soon as the green beam of deadly energy stopped he reached out with his TK to pull her towards him so he could deliver a quick KO blow. However before she got even halfway the pint sized blonde threw one of her dolls his way. Not wanting the leader dead and very much wanting to avoid death himself he redirected her away from the estimated centre of the blast before once more raising a shield in his defence. This time though when he lowered his defence to attack the pre-teen brunette was in front of him with a fist brought back for a punch. Deciding that there was no way that a punch from someone so small could be more powerful than the energy beam the leader had fired at him he didn't push any more power into his shield.
BAM!
A mistake his head was complaining at him for making as a momentary headache flowed through it before disappearing.
Somehow, right before her fist would've hit him, the girl had somehow created an explosion powerful enough to displace quite a bit of air and reveal that despite her age she was still quite strong. He was pretty sure that she'd have to wail on him with those blows for a solid minute before his TK barrier would fall but he didn't intend on letting her confirm that theory. With his techno-organic arm he reached out and grabbed her by the throat before tossing her through a nearby door shattering it on impact. While a part of him worried that he might've overdone it the rest of him reasoned that if she was strong enough to give him a headache then her body had to be durable enough to control that strength without destroying itself. He hoped at the very least that the pre-teen would be dazed enough to allow him to focus on the leader and remove the college girl from the fight.
If not…well then he'd see if she was strong enough on her own to force her way out of a box made of bits and pieces of the cars in the area.
Maybe use the cables that were a part of the heavy machinery in the construction site to up the difficulty level even more.
"Saiai!" The insomniac girl exclaimed with concern for her teammate.
"Bad move you bastard!" The leader said before three green orbs manifested with one above her head, one next to her right shoulder and the last next to her left shoulder.
The smart thing to do would be to draw the quartet of enemies away from his unconscious lady, defeat them and then return to resume their journey to a more populated area of the city. However doing so would leave the one he'd come to this reality to rescue vulnerable. Seeing how destructive the green beams were and how strong the brunette pre-teen was they'd make quick work of the obstacles protecting the one he had to protect leaving him with few options without risk.
If only I had better control over my telepathy! He thought as he pushed power into his barrier just in time to take a triumvirate of green beams head on, I could just put the four of them to sleep!
Unfortunately if the knights were anything to go by his telepathy had all the subtlety of dousing the human brain in gasoline before lighting it all ablaze. Sure the knights hadn't died when he'd tried to use it on them but he wasn't sure whether or not they'd had some sort of protection for their minds that had been just enough to keep them alive. He doubted these four girls had the same sort of protection so if he used his telepathy on them he could seriously harm their brains if not destroy them.
No.
Better to stick with his TK and wait for a chance to take each of them out one at a time.
Seeing as how the insomniac had gone to the aid of the one he'd put through a door he instead decided to eliminate the weak link that was the little bomb blonde. The girl still had two dolls ready to fly but from what he could see that was the limit of her ammunition and he could deal with those easily enough just by slapping them off course.
Plan in mind he reached out with his TK to grab four random objects before throwing them all at laser girl to act as a distraction. As soon as the first object was cut in half he reached out and grabbed the blonde with the beret with his mind before pulling her towards him. It was time to see if this group had any sort of friendship binding them together or if they were just co-workers who wouldn't care if one was lost since a replacement would be recruited soon enough. His TK tossed the two dolls the blonde had away quickly enough and before long he had the girl in front of him as a human shield that'd require VERY precise shots if the college girl wanted to keep from harming her 'friend'. If the blonde girl was a friend the college girl would hesitate or try to put up a lie of being indifferent while at the same time attempting to figure out a way to free her friend.
However if his meat shield was nothing more than a co-worker that mattered little in the end than the green beams would tear right through the blonde girl to get to him.
Not that he'd let that happen of course. The second he was certain of the lethal target of the attack he'd cover them both in a TK barrier before tossing his improvised shield away. Hopefully the knowledge that her leader was fully willing to kill her into order to get to him would inspire the blonde to run away. That'd clear the way for him to go after the college girl since to his knowledge both the pre-teen and the insomniac were still in the building.
"How much is that twenty million yen really worth to you?" He asked like a classic villain would, "Enough to burn a whole in blondie here to get to me?"
"Not very heroic taking a hostage. And here I thought you were some stupid samurai trying to save a helpless princess." The college girl snarled anger the only thing in her eyes.
"Who said I was a hero?" He asked rhetorically adjusting the position of both of his shields to prevent a clear shot, "I've just got my own rules and do my best to live by them. As for this…lets just say I've got zero interest in getting dragged back to that bastard Kihara's lab and I can't let my sleeping beauty back there get delivered there either. To make sure that happens I'll do what I have to. The question you should be asking yourselves is if you're really interested in seeing just how far I'm willing to go firsthand. Are you?"
Honestly he didn't want to kill any of them or even seriously injure them but if they proved to be so bullheaded that they'd keep coming until he did take his tactics there…he'd do it.
He wouldn't be happy about it but he'd do it.
"Your bluffing. Going all out would only screw up your escape plans." The college girl said not letting his words phase her, "Anti-Skill, Judgment and who knows who else would swarm the entire area. No way you could take on all of them."
"The same could be said about you going all out." He said countering her reasoning with a little of his own, "You're mercs doing a job for money. That tells me this job isn't legal and you'd have a hard time coming up with a cover story on the spot that'd fool the local police. Guess both of us have to fight with the kid gloves on if we don't want things to escalate."
"Like I need to take the gloves off to deal with you!" College girl said with a smirk, "Besides you've got one weakness I don't mind exploiting!"
Without further delay a green orb was formed before unleashing its contents…directly at his damsel's cover!
Damn!
He'd been trying to test the girl to find out if she was ruthless enough to kill her own co-worker but either she cared or had seen his test for what it was and had chosen to throw a curveball. Then again she might've just assumed that shooting at him was pointless because of his demonstrated ability to create barriers and chosen to shoot at something she could burn through. Whatever the case he couldn't let the barrier of metal he'd erected around the young lady he had to save be sliced to pieces both because of the potential for the damsel to get injured and because it'd leave her vulnerable.
Reacting on instinct he raised his free hand to erect a second barrier in the path of the beam successfully deflecting it off into the air away from its intended target. However since he hadn't quite gotten good enough at TK to use it without involving his eyes that meant he turned his head to form the new barrier and THAT proved to be a bad idea. In a move that surprised him two seconds after he'd deflected the beam there was an explosion of light that blinded him and on instinct caused him to bring both his hands up to his face. As a result the blonde he'd been holding hostage was suddenly free and making tracks for her friends.
Or at least he thought she was before she reached beneath her skirt and…pulled out six black tubes before tossing them in his direction.
He had only a moment to consider them before one end of each tube revealed itself to be a method of propulsion and the tubes themselves as custom made RPGs. There was barely any control over them making him believe that they were meant for a cluster strike rather than precision but that didn't mean that they were pointless. With each explosion his field of vision was reduced until he couldn't see the college girl or the newly freed blonde brat for a few seconds. Strengthening his TK barrier he quickly found this to be a good move when three green beams burned through the residual cloud of smoke and slammed into his barrier with more strength than they had previously. Patiently he waited for the beams to cease so he could blow the smoke away with his TK but that didn't happen because as soon as one beam petered out another one was swift to take its place.
Don't worry! He thought as he felt each beam slam into his TK shield, Doesn't matter how powerful someone's super power is there's always a limitation.
As someone from his favourite cartoon once said 'energy is energy whether it's generated by science or sorcery' and even college girl had to have limits to hers. This was basically the same as one boxer going all out to send punch after punch at their opponent in the hopes of eventually getting through their guard. Sooner or later the college girl would have to pause to take a breather and that would be when he'd strike back. A TK battering ram to her stomach should do the trick nicely and properly calibrated might bruise her up enough to make walking VERY painful without making the damage serious enough to require a hospital stay.
At least that'd been the plan but then he telepathically picked up on some thoughts with hostile intent and since he hadn't been actively looking for them that could only mean close proximity.
BAM!
His head snapped back as something punched it and for a moment all was a blur before his brain rebooted upon hitting something solid. Looking back the way he'd come he found the kid he'd thrown into the building standing where he'd been with her fist extended as though she'd thrown a punch.
Note to self: next time erect a full body barrier instead of just in the direction you expect the attacks to come from. He thought even as he got back to his feet, DAMN that kid can hit hard!
"Payback's a super-bitch ain't it?" The girl asked before charging his position.
Any idea how she's doing this? He thought at the mind in his arm even as he erected a full body TK barrier.
Preliminary analysis of approaching subject indicates that she is capable of controlling the nitrogen in the air to create a barrier around herself. This barrier of super condensed nitrogen is strong enough to defend against handgun and sniper rifle bullets. Mote thought in response before highlighting a faint outline around the girl's body, A secondary ability of being able to control nitrogen is evidently the ability to control compressed masses allowing her to simulate superhuman strength.
Neat trick. Any idea on weaknesses? He thought even as he began to evade her blows.
Uncertain. Theoretically while the projectiles would not pierce the nitrogen barrier it is unlikely that the kinetic energy can be completely absorbed. The mote thought in response as the girl showed she had brawler level fighting skills, If struck with sufficient force it is possible to render her unconscious.
Based on what I've been using so far how much harder do I have to punch to do the job? He thought wanting a rough figure so he knew how far to turn his internal TK dial.
Calculating…calculating…an increase in telekinetic energy output of thirty percent from previous best effort should be sufficient if the blow is aimed at target's head. The mote thought in response after taking some time to do the math.
Will she be in danger of permanent injury or death? He thought back with the intent of coming up with another plan if the answer was 'yes'.
's biology scans as near identical for a normal human female of twelve years old. The mote replied promptly, Provided her nitrogen barrier remains at detected density levels she should suffer nothing worse than a mild concussion.
Good enough.
With that in mind the remnants of his Solider Boy, the training he'd taken along with the rest of the New Council AND a few other things snapped into place.
Once he had a feel for her self-made fighting style he waited until the right moment before executing a passable cross counter punch with the specified amount of TK power behind the blow. Much like he'd expected the girl didn't see it coming and thus her feet kept going forward while her upper body went backwards causing her to actually spin once before impacting on the ground. He watched her carefully for any signs that she might still be conscious but when nothing happened he decided to risk looking away under the assumption that she was indeed unconscious.
"SONUVABITCH!" College girl yelled with anger clearly being the top emotion she was feeling at the moment.
Apparently the college girl could put on a good 'confident leader' act but when one of her buttons got pressed it was like pressing the big red button in the nuclear suitcase. This was proven quite clearly when out of nowhere the girl threw what looked to be a segmented card of shiny black that dispersed only to get hit by three of the green beams and multiply into quite a bit more. However if he expected the fractured beams to be individually weaker he was mistaken because when they hit his body barrier his brain spasmed in pain. In an effort to lessen the burden he moulded the front of his barrier so that the beams would be deflected rather than simply stopped in its tracks. With a sigh of relief it worked as his brain ceased spasming and since he took some care to predict the angles of deflection he knew nothing living would get hit by them.
"Mugino! You're getting too flashy!" The blonde bomber cried out with anxiety, "The contract said to keep things low key!"
"Who gives a shit!? If that shitty old man handed us the job then that means its got the backing of the Board and the Chairman!" Mugino yelled even as she sent another volley of beams at him from angles that forced him to reshape his deflection form to remain effective, "As long as I stomp him flat quick they can handle the clean up good enough!"
It was definitely getting to be something of an exercise protecting himself from the beams but one thing that Mugino had right was that the longer things went on the more the odds shifted against both him as well as his opponents. Thus far he'd been holding back because he didn't see the point in unnecessarily harming the girls but if an increase in flashiness would hasten the arrival of more enemies then he had to take his own kid gloves off and hope that he could take the consequences.
"Shows what you know Mugi-chin." He said at his most disrespectful, "A real pro is precise and efficient. Just like this!"
Reaching out with his TK he erected a bubble around Mugino's head and worked to make it as airtight as he possibly could. Regardless of how powerful her beams were the college girl's body still needed oxygen in order to function. Cut off that supply of air and the girl would eventually pass out. Honestly he wondered why he hadn't thought of it at the very beginning and the only answer his brain could come up with was that he was still too new to his powers. Through extensive practice and experiencing numerous different situations a person with a power can think up numerous different ways to apply that power while at the same time perfecting those ways. Having so recently received his powers and putting limits on his practicing in order to maintain some aces up his sleeve his imagination had been significantly handicapped.
Can't let that happen again. He thought even as he watched Mugino realize how desperate her situation was.
Moving to where his sleeping damsel was he immediately threw up the strongest TK barrier he could without sacrificing the air tight bubble around Mugino's head. As he predicted, when faced with suffocation, the college girl lashed out with all the strength she could muster slamming into his barrier in an effort to free her head.
If his brain had been spasming before it now felt like someone had stabbed him in the brain with an ice pick and was stirring his grey matter.
Again and again and again!
He could see darkness creeping in at the edges of his vision but he refused to let anyone see just how pressured he was or how weak he was becoming. He needed to appear strong, stronger than the four of them, if he wanted them to pull back. Once he was sure that they were far enough away he'd allow himself to relax a bit and resume carrying his damsel to the safety of the throng.
Dammit! How stubborn is this lady!? He thought as Mugino's strikes grew in violence and power when they should've been growing weaker.
Was she that determined to win?
Did failure here mean death?
It wasn't impossible and he'd heard of organizations that followed such practices from Giles to know that they existed. But even if that was the case he couldn't let himself get weighed down trying to protect too many people at once. He had no resources beyond what he had on his person at the moment and had what could amount to a small army after him. If even one percent of them had abilities like this group did then it'd take all he had just to protect the girl he'd been dumped here to rescue.
Like it or not all he could do was take down the remainder of the quartet and hope they just lost their payday.
"Let go of Mugino!" The sleepy looking girl demanded charging his way.
NO!
Didn't the girl realize that by going anywhere near him she risked getting hit by her leader's destructive beams!? With as gentle a palm thrust as he could manage he sent a wave of TK energy at her throwing her backward a good couple of feed before landing on her butt in a daze.
"Leave Rikou alone!" The blonde bomber yelled before throwing both of her remaining doll disguised explosives at him.
Seizing what TK energy he could spare from his barrier and Mugino's bubble he snatched both bombs out of the air before redirecting them to a spot on the ground that'd put the blonde just outside of the harmful blast radius. Thus in the end all the bombs had done was kick up some debris and startle the beret wearing girl but that didn't necessarily mean she was now harmless. The girl had already proven that she liked concealing her weapons of choice so she could quite easily have a dozen other bombs she could send his way. He needed to remove her from the occasion as swiftly as he could while expending the minimum amount of energy since he guessed it'd be another three minutes or so before Mugino lost consciousness. A blow to the head? No that'd be temporary and his TK attacks weren't that precise. A body blow? It'd knock the wind out of the blonde but the odds of it rendering her unconscious was unreliable.
What was something that'd guarantee that the blonde girl would stop in her tracks?
An idea popped into his head and as cliche as it was it just might work. However there was one absolute prerequisite for its use but fortunately he was in the ideal location for it work.
Thus imagining dozens of different hooks tied to unbreakable wires he flung them at the blonde with his mind securely snagging them from top to bottom before yanking on them for all he was worth.
RR-III-PPP!
With a little more ease than he was expecting the blonde's clothes were torn off of her body leaving her in nothing more than her bra and panties. Then, just as he'd predicted, she dropped into a fetal position in order to cover up as much as possible while at the same time letting out a cry of embarrassment. With nothing close by big enough to be used as temporary clothing she'd essentially be frozen in place and as luck would have it his tactic had also confirmed that the girl didn't have any additional bombs hidden on her person.
Thank GOD that Buffy and the others aren't here! He thought remembering the prerequisite for this tactic, If they'd seen or even heard of me doing this Hell would seem like Heaven by comparison!
One of the side effects of being a part of an organization that was comprised mostly of females was that you quickly learned to curb any statements or actions that'd land you in hot water with them. While there were a few like Faith who felt amusement and even tried to mess with the men in return most were in complete agreement that perverse or indecent behaviour warranted punishment.
SEVERE punishment.
Punishment so severe that the fact that he was in another dimension entirely with any witnesses being incapable of following him home was the prerequisite that needed to be met for him to employ this tactic.
Looking back to Mugino as the short tempered college girl sent another green beam at him he could tell that she'd witnessed his less than moral tactic since her anger went an inch higher as highlighted by the increase in crimson intensity of her face. However this proved to be a mistake since increasing her emotional state and her desire to do harm caused Mugino to burn through what little oxygen she still had in her lungs in no time at all. In the end he just had to take one more jade beam to his barrier before the college girl dropped to the ground and promptly lost consciousness.
"And that is that." He said dialing back on the TK energy output but maintaining the protective barrier around him and his damsel, "Do yourself a favour blondie. When your friends are all awake tell them to back down. I'm not getting slammed back into that lab and neither his my lady friend over there. Try to force it again and you won't get off as easily as you are now. Got it?"
"Like hell we're giving up!" The blonde bomber yelled in outrage over her present state, "As soon as I get some new clothes and the others can stand we're hunting you down to the ends of the Earth! You better be prepared for the bombing of your LIFE!"
He should've known it wouldn't be that easy.
With a sigh he turned away from the girl and made his way over to where his damsel was still hidden and based on what he could see none of the beams got close enough to where he'd left her for her well being to be a concern. Telekinetically moving things out of the way so he could get to her he picked her up once more before running as fast as he could for the populated area of lights he'd originally been heading towards before coming under fire.
With the failure of the quartet here Kihara would send others who'd be more impressive either in terms of powers or armaments. He could no longer afford to proceed with stealthy care since his position had essentially been made thanks to the fight he'd just been in. With that being the case he needed to get to his appointed safe zone as quickly as possible if he didn't want to get dragged into another battle.
Dumb luck would only save him so much and he didn't want to find out the hard way what'd happen when that tank hit empty.
Main Labs for Project SYSTEM
Half an Hour Later
Doctor Gensei Kihara's POV
"Well now isn't this a pleasing turn of events." He said hanging up on the liaison for ITEM.
"I take it something has…occurred doctor?" Asked one of his many subordinates whose name he never bothered to learn.
Only those with intellects worthy of his respect needed to be remembered or those who unfortunately controlled the various resources necessary for his experiments.
"Indeed it has. It would seem that subject zero-zero-one-omega has become skilled enough and powerful enough to take down even the fourth ranked level five and her team." He replied going over the ways the confrontation might have occurred, "Two level fours, a level five and a girl who likes to play with explosives. Without the help of the prototype either."
"Would that not make retrieval of the prototype more difficult?" The subordinate asked sounding less than pleased, "ITEM might not be the strongest group of espers in the city but they're not that far down from the number one spot. Who else can we send after them?"
"I wouldn't go so far as to call it difficult but it will require a team whose leader is more prone to tactical thinking. Brute force won't get the job done." He replied considering who could be sent, "Still it's pleasing that subject zero-zero-one-omega is proving to be more than I'd originally predicted. I had thought it nothing more than a new way to possess non-human powers but for it to be as powerful as a level five…wonderful! One has to ponder if what we've seen so far is truly the extent of what it's capable of or if even more power could be brought forth with the right measures taken."
Indeed if the current power curriculum proved anything it was that the initial manifestation of a power did not represent its limits. With proper care and the right approach a level two could be groomed to become a level five. While it was true that espers were created via mind altering formula that allowed for the creation of their own personal realities where their powers existed he was confident that a genetic method could be devised to allow for a similar path of growth.
I might need to brush up on my genetics to ensure that there are no mistakes. He thought making a list of journals and papers to refresh his memory.
The fact that the source of subject zero-zero-one-omega's power came from a unique gene also made him wonder what might happen if he could replicate it and insert it into another subject. Would they develop powers as well? Would it be restricted to just telepathy and telekinesis or would the gene be affected by the subject it was implanted into? Could the gene be tailored to produce a specific ability or would it be completely random?
With so many possibilities to experiment with and explore how could he be anything other than pleased?
As for who to send after the duo he believed it would best not to jump to any quick decisions. They would need to have powers capable of countering both telepathy and telekinesis perhaps with a specialist capable of neutralizing the prototype of Project Fulgora as well. At the same time however he would need to ensure that whoever was sent could be relied upon to acquire both targets with a minimum of damage to either one of them. While he could glean quite a bit of information via an autopsy on both the prototype and subject zero-zero-one-omega creating duplicates so he could continue with his experiments could affect the results.
With his pride that could not be permitted.
At least not without exploring a few options for intact recovery of course.
"In any case he usual assets have been deployed to eliminate all evidence of the battle between the escaped subjects and ITEM. With a little luck no one will think anything odd happened outside of that construction site." The subordinate said addressing an ultimately minor detail.
Regardless of whether or not they did anything the Board would ensure that nothing was allowed to tarnish the image they wanted the world to have of Academy City.
"Good. Use the camera network to maintain a lock on both subjects as best you can." He ordered before getting out of his chair, "Hmmmm….dispatch teams to populated areas in the direction the subjects are going as well. Civilian clothes and a concealable non-lethal load out."
"You think subject zero-zero-one-omega intends to use crowds to limit our options?" The subordinate asked even though the tone implied that the young man did believe this was the case.
"It's a fairly logical tactic. It believes that with so many witnesses we will not be able to deploy some of our more potent methods and equipment." He replied as though it was obvious, "It likely also believes that with such an advantage it will be able to overcome ANY force we send its way. Fortunately it also shows us how naive the subject truly is. For the right outcome there's nothing that the Board and its chairman won't do even if it means the deaths of a few civilians."
Indeed the Chairman had made it clear that in order for the theoretical level six to be made a reality he was willing to go as far as necessary. Naturally the man wasn't so shortsighted that he'd draw unnecessary attention to his efforts or fail to employ the necessary amount of patience needed for any grand undertaking. Indeed it was even possible to come up with a plan that would not require any deaths. After all the Board controlled Anti-Skill and Judgment so it wouldn't take much to fabricate some justifiable charges against both subjects then have them 'arrested' legally before being returned to him. While it was true that the prototype looking like Mikoto Misaka might cause some ripples the obvious differences would work in their favour. They could claim that the prototype was some mentally disturbed fan of Mikoto who had her face surgically altered to look like her idol and even underwent dangerous procedures to gain level five electro-master powers. With the right evidence placed at key locations and the right people paid off to support the fiction few would think to look beneath the surface or have the means to expose the lie.
Seeing his subordinate look uncomfortable at the idea of killing civilians he internally scoffed at the man. Morality and laws had no place in the mind of a true scientist. All that mattered was knowledge and the power that came with it. To that end one had to use their intellect to devise methods by which they could acquire the first and if successful it was only natural that the second would fall into your lap.
"Fortunately I do not foresee it coming to that." He said in order to allay the man's worries, "After all why resort to such unpleasantness when there are other more efficient methods open to us."
"Indeed. I'll see to the dispatching of the teams to the designated points." The subordinate said turning to leave the office.
Once the man was gone he decided to arrange for an experience for his subordinate that would either rid him of his foolish way of thinking or prove that he needed to be 'terminated'. No one involved in Project SYSTEM was indispensable after all aside from him and could be replaced within the week if the need was urgent enough.
Such was the unrelenting path of science and knowledge where only a few exceptional people could divine the mysteries of reality while the rest were fated to merely be tools in service to their betters.