There were certain downsides to maintaining a secret operation, to working off the grid and outside the bounds of the law. Besides the obvious legal and logistical issues, there were a handful of smaller things that had always rather peeved Corrin about working in the facility the Director had set up.
The equipment was, of course, top of the line, and the staff was an excellent mix of the unscrupulous who would do anything for the advancement of science, and those men and women willing to look the other way as long as it allowed them to advance their own careers. Bright minds, all of them, but still there were certain things Corrin did miss about working in the more savory parts of the scientific community.
The commute, for one. He absolutely hated that it took him an hour to get from his apartment in District 8 to the facility. The Director had insisted on extra security measures, and that included a system of dummy routes to detect and throw off potential tails. It was all very practical and Corrin had to admit that it was a good idea, but he still hated that a trip that should have taken twenty minutes ate up a good portion of his day. It annoyed him enough that he now spent most nights sleeping in his office. Of course, he would have done as much anyway - his commitment to his work bordered on obsession, even he could admit that - he just didn't like being told what to do.
Tonight though, there was something else that was bothering him. Windows. He was ranked highly enough within their organization that he had been granted a rather spacious office (to which he had added a cozy little bed) on the top floor of the abandoned "warehouse", and as such he had access to windows. Unfortunately, another of the Director's security policies kept them shuttered.
He didn't really spend that much time in his office - all the interesting stuff happened on the lower floors, after all - but he did like having someplace where he could retreat to take a break and think about the day's work, somewhere peaceful where he could be free of interruption.
But tonight was special. His office would offer the best view of the spectacle he himself had nurtured. The Director's security be damned; he would not miss this.
With a few careful inputs to the security pad at his desk the grates that covered his windows shuddered to life, grinding open with a terrible screech. Rust showered down as the massive metal shutters slid to the side, and Corrin smiled.
The sky was pitch black, a mass of roiling clouds that seemed to devour all light in the city, like a massive parasite, and spit it back out in leaping arcs of brilliant blue and white and purple. The clouds were alive with electricity, and a feeling of immense satisfaction spread through his chest.
He fetched a bottle of twelve-year scotch - saved for special occasions and particularly persistent headaches - and a glass from a drawer and poured himself a drink. Tonight was a night for celebration after all, the first true test of his subject's new abilities.
Lightning split the sky, unnatural in its intensity, and Corrin smiled giddily as he walked to the window. A moment later the glass shuddered as the shock wave slammed into it.
Beautiful.
The drug was doing its work. Thanks to the constant strain of the tests and her own stubborn refusal to accept treatment for her injuries, Misaka was already on the brink of collapse. Her power had peaked during the last test. With the addition of his little cocktail, her AIM field would continue to destabilize, forcing her to maintain the same level of power she'd displayed when she'd atomized his favorite toy.
Well, second favorite toy.
Another flash, and Corrin raised his glass to the sky. "To my best subject. Let's see what you can do, Misaka-san."
Lightning illuminated the blackened sky and scored the clouds. Thunder rolled over the cab and the driver whistled.
"Hell of a storm. Seems like it came out of nowhere. You sure you want to be out here, Miss? Nothing out this way but old warehousing."
"It's fine." There was another flash and Ruiko tilted her head, staring up and out the window. Misaka-san was out there, and she needed help. She could feel it in her bones; something was wrong, and Misaka-san was standing in the heart of it. "Just get me down there."
The man shrugged. "Alright, if you insist. Just be careful; I don't typically make a habit of driving young girls to dark alleys, particularly in the middle of nasty storms."
Ruiko made a noncommittal noise but otherwise stayed silent, eyes searching for any sign of her friend. Part of her recognized that the driver was just trying to look out for her; it would have been easy to just look the other way and take the fare, but he was going out of his way to make sure she knew what she was doing.
That was part of the problem though. Honestly, she really didn't know what she was doing. The plan was to find Misaka-san and… what? She didn't have a clue, but that was a bridge she would cross when she came to it. She had to find Misaka-san before she could start worrying about any of that.
They turned down a dimly lit street and soon the buildings had changed to dark warehouses, some of them barely standing. Ruiko had never been in this part of the city before, and her already swiftly beating heart sped up.
"Anywhere specific you're looking to go?"
"No, anywhere's fine." She paused. "Actually, just drop me here."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
"Alright, if you say so."
He pulled over and fiddled with his meter, mumbling to himself about all the advanced technology and they still couldn't make a counter that was worth a damn. Ruiko's patience snapped and she tossed a handful of bills at him.
"Keep the change, thanks!" She hopped out of the cab, the driver shouting after her, and took off down the nearest alley.
The rain was starting to die down, turning from a downpour to a drizzle in just a few minutes. That was something, at least. She was already soaked, but now at least she wasn't being pounded by rain while trying to track down Misaka-san. The clouds still blocked any light the moon might have offered, but the streetlights, though few and far between, offered enough light to see by and the intermittent flashes overhead lit her way when the lights failed.
She sprinted down the darkened alleys, doing her best to follow the growing storm. It had something to do with Misaka-san, she could feel it. Besides, it wasn't like she had any better leads to go on. That power outage was the only clue about Misaka-san's whereabouts they had; not that specific, but Ruiko was used to sleuthing with minimal information.
Her mind wandered back to what they had discovered on that device. It was almost purely by chance that she had found it in the first place, and it was hard to believe the extent of what had actually been going on. The fact that Misaka-san had somehow been involved in the whole mess only made it worse.
Frustration built in her chest and Ruiko gritted her teeth. As worried as she was about Misaka-san, a growing part of her was also furious with her friend. Misaka-san had promised, promised her, that she would rely on her friends. She had promised that she would tell them when she was in trouble or when she needed help. Whether she realized it or not, she had broken that promise, and Ruiko intended to have a good long discussion with her as soon as this whole mess died down.
In the meantime though, they still had to deal with the Power Pox. Hopefully Shirai-san would manage to track down the pair she'd gone off to chase and figure out exactly what they had been up to, and Uiharu would be able to figure something out now that she had some alone time with the device. If Shirai-san's phone hadn't died then -
She skidded to a stop. Of course! She practically laughed out loud at her own stupidity. They hadn't even bothered to try reaching Misaka-san's phone. She'd just run off without a plan, hoping to get lucky and run into her.
"Guess that's what I get for running off half-cocked."
Another flash, closer now, and Ruiko began running as she dialled. There was still a chance she wouldn't reach Misaka-san, and she had a feeling she was going the right way now.
After a few rings, the phone picked up. "Hello?"
Ruiko skidded to a halt. That didn't sound like Misaka-san. The voice was that of a woman, but she definitely sounded older than her friend.
"Hey who is this?" Had she gotten a wrong number? But no, the screen showed 'Misaka Mikoto' alongside a familiar picture of her friend. "Where's Misaka-san?"
"Ah… you wouldn't happen to be a friend of hers, would you?" The voice on the other end sounded uncertain.
"Uh, yeah! Who are you and why do you have Misaka-san's phone?" An unsettling feeling was sinking into Ruiko and she resumed her search. Now was not the time to be standing around.
"Well, I guess you could say I'm her doctor. Her physician, actually."
"Her physician?"
"Yes." A pause. "This may seem like a strange question, but can I ask you why you called?"
"What the hell? What kind of question is that? This is Misaka-san's phone!"
"Please, just answer."
Ruiko almost told her exactly where to shove her question, but something in the woman's voice made her pause. She sounded almost desperate.
"Fine. I'm worried something bad has happened to her, and I'm trying to find her. Do you know where she is or not?"
"No, I'm afraid I don't know exactly, but she should still be somewhere in the warehouse district."
"I'm already there!"
"Then you shouldn't be too far. Look, I-" She paused and Ruiko heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "I don't know who you are, but I don't have anyone to turn to here, so I'm going to have to put a little faith in you, okay?"
"Listen, lady," Ruiko responded, her patience wearing thin. "I don't mean to be a jerk or anything, but I couldn't care less as long as you help me find my friend!"
There was silence and for a moment Ruiko thought the woman had hung up.
"Alright. I can't go into much detail, but I work with a research organization that approached Misaka-san a few months back in regards to an experiment they wanted to perform. She's been working with us ever since, but things are getting out of control."
That did seem to fit with the timeframe of Power Pox, as far as Ruiko understood it, but that still didn't explain what Misaka-san had to do with it. The device hadn't given them any real details, though Ruiko hoped Uiharu was having some luck deciphering it.
"What about the Power Pox?"
"I'm sorry, the what?" the voice on the other end asked, perplexed.
"Oh, uh, sorry." Ruiko had forgotten that originally the term "Power Pox" had been something she'd pulled from the net, and they'd just started using it. "The incidents with the espers! The ones that have been losing control of their abilities lately."
"What are you talking about? This had nothing to do with... wait," she trailed off, and for a moment she was silent before there she swore loudly. "Dammit! I can't believe I didn't make the connection before now. Oh, I am going to wring that son of a bitch's neck! Okay, listen, I might have an ide-"
She was cut off as the sound of sirens rapidly approached, and Ruiko turned just in time to see a pair of Anti-skill trucks race down the street, headed towards the center of the storm. A cold knot twisted in the pit of her stomach, and Ruiko was now more sure than ever that Misaka-san was over there.
"What was that?" the woman on the other end of the line asked.
"Anti-Skill!" Ruiko took off after them. They turned a corner and disappeared, but Ruiko didn't slow down.
"Anti-Skill… they must be after Misaka-san, which means she's even more unstable than I thought."
That caused all kinds of alarm bells to go off in Ruiko's mind. "Wait, what do you mean "unstable," what's wrong with Misaka-san?"
"Sorry, it looks like I don't have time to explain. If Anti-Skill is getting involved then things are about to get way out of hand. They can't stop Misaka-san, and as she is right now I don't think they'd be able to talk her down either. The best thing for you to do right now would be to turn back. You can't do anything for her right now."
"What? No way!" The sky lit up in the distance, lightning flashing down towards the ground and sound of screeching metal reached her ears. "I'm not running away; I'm going to help my friend."
"Wait, you can't ju- !"
Ruiko angrily jammed her thumb on the end call button and shoved her phone into her pocket, picking up the pace. Her phone immediately began vibrating again but she ignored it. Misaka-san was in trouble, and there was no way some strange woman she'd never even met was going to talk her out of helping her.
There was another crash from up ahead, and Ruiko pushed her legs as hard as she could.
It was several minutes later when she finally caught up to where she had seen the trucks turn, her legs tired and her lungs burning. When she rounded the corner she froze in her tracks. The lightshow from before and some of the sounds she'd heard had given her an idea of what must have been going on, but she hadn't at all been prepared for the sight that greeted her.
One of the Anti-Skill trucks had been shorn in half, a clean cut that left the contents spilling out onto the street. The edges of the metal body were still glowing where something incredibly hot had sliced through the armored shell like paper. Several Anti-Skill members, fully equipped in the riot gear they favored, lay strewn about, several of them smoking and none of them moving. For a horrified moment, Ruiko wondered if they were dead.
It took her a moment to find the other truck. It had been buried halfway into the side of one of the warehouses, nearly two stories off the ground. Even as she watched it teetered dangerously, the flimsy construction of the warehouse barely able to keep it up. The rear axle had been torn free, or perhaps damaged during whatever attack had thrust it through the building, and lay tangled in a mass of sparking wires on the ground where it had fallen after tearing through the power lines.
And there, standing in the midst of it all, her body glowing and her hair dancing as massive arcs of lightning leapt between her and the sky, was Misaka-san. Iron sand swirled in a tempest around her, and her head was tilted up, staring at the dark clouds above.
The street lights flickered, and Ruiko blinked. Her hands were shaking, and her mouth had suddenly gone dry. Just what was going on?
"Mi… Misaka-san?"
There was no answer. She tried again, louder this time, but still Misaka-san didn't respond. Could she not hear her, or was she simply not interested in talking? Ruiko didn't want to believe that could be true, but this… she'd never seen Misaka-san like this before.
Ruiko had always known Misaka-san was powerful; she had witnessed that power on more than one occasion. But this was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Misaka-san always seemed so in control, even when she was angry. The power Ruiko was feeling now wasn't like that at all. It was raw and wild, untamed and without restraint. It was terrifying.
The lights pulsed brightly, and Ruiko caught sight of a trail of blood dripping down Mikoto's cheek. Her insides froze at the sight, and her fear vanished as she rushed forward.
"Misaka-san!"
The other girl finally seemed to hear her, and the whipping sand died down as Misaka-san turned towards her, an unreadable expression on her face. Her brow furrowed and some of the electricity in the air disappeared, though it still coiled around her like an angry blue snake.
"What are you doing here, Saten-san?"
Ruiko froze. Misaka-san's voice was cold and empty, and the look in her eyes was like nothing she'd ever seen before. The warmth and exuberance she was used to seeing in Misaka-san's face was gone, replaced by something hard and dangerous. Even in the darkened street Ruiko could see the blue light shining in her eyes. There was no recognition there, no comfort. Just anger and barely restrained power.
For a moment she wondered if maybe she should have taken the advice of the woman on the phone and turned around, but she shook it off. No, this was just further evidence that something was very wrong, and she needed to put a stop to it.
"Misaka-san… what's going on? What happened here?" She took a tentative step towards her friend, but stopped when another bolt of lightning leapt from her into the sky.
Misaka-san looked around at the wreckage of the Anti-Skill vehicles and the bodies strewn about. The corner of her mouth turned up in a wicked grin and she turned back to Ruiko. "This? This was nothing. They got in my way, so I removed them."
"What? Misaka-san you can't…" Ruiko struggled to find the right words. This wasn't Misaka-san. Not the one she knew, anyway. This was someone else wearing her skin. "You can't just attack people like that! What if they're really hurt, or worse? You could go to jail!"
Bones cracked as Misaka-san rolled her neck and shoulders. "They're not dead, if that's what you're worried about. Give them a little time and they'll be fine."
She turned to Ruiko, that same eerie smile back on her face. "Besides, it's not like they could really hold me anyway. I'm getting so much stronger." She took a deep breath and her whole body shuddered. The air around her seemed to warp, a bubble bending the world around her, and Ruiko felt a tingling sensation pass over her skin. "You don't need to worry about me, Saten-san."
That snapped Ruiko out of her stupor and she narrowed her eyes in a glare. "What's that supposed to mean, Misaka-san?"
The other girl's smile fell and she matched Ruiko's glare with one of her own. "I told you not to worry about it, didn't I? So don't worry about it."
"Misaka-san, please! Just talk to me!" Ruiko was starting to feel frantic. Her whole plan had been to find Misaka-san and tell her about what had been going on. She hadn't imagined her friend would be so difficult. "Look at you! You're bleeding and you can barely stand up straight!"
Misaka-san turned her head away. "I'm fine."
"No, you're not! Why won't you tell me what's going on? You've been disappearing lately and we've all been worried about you. Now I find you getting into fights with Anti-Skill? Why can't you just tell us what's going on? We're your friends, aren't we?"
As she spoke Mikoto's expression grew darker and darker until finally she was practically snarling. The iron sand danced angrily at her feet, like the surface of a lake during a storm, and thunder cracked overhead.
"I'll say this one more time, Saten-san." Her voice was deadly calm, barely above a whisper, though it still seemed to echo in Ruiko's ears. "It's none of your business. Everything's going fine, so you guys can just butt out and leave me the hell alone!"
Ruiko's hands curled into fists and she clenched her teeth together. "That's bullshit! Look at you! You're bleeding in the street, and you just attacked a bunch of Anti-Skill officers! Are you seriously going to stand there and tell me that everything's fine? Well you can forget it! I'm not going to just "butt out", because you're my friend and in case you forgot, you made a promise to me!"
That seemed to give Misaka-san pause, and for the first time her expression faltered. "That… that has nothing to do with this, Saten-san. This isn't something I can rely on you for. You wouldn't understand."
"Why? Misaka-san, if you're not going to tell us anything how are we supposed to get it?" She waved her arms in exasperation. In the distance she could hear the faint sound of sirens, drawing closer. "Don't you get it? We want to be here for you. I want to be here for you, but how can I if all you do is push me away when things get difficult? We know you're involved in something, so just let us help you!"
Misaka-san screwed her eyes closed and gripped her head in her hands, grabbing fistfulls of hair. "It doesn't matter! I can't explain it to you, don't you get it? You're not supposed to understand. I have to do this on my own! I have to or it won't mean anything! I have to get stronger. I can't let anyone hurt them again. I have to be the strongest!"
"You're plenty strong already!" This wasn't right. Misaka-san was supposed to be the cool and collected Level 5. As long as Ruiko had known her she'd always seemed to be in control, and seeing her so lost was tearing her apart.
"I'm not!" Misaka-san shrieked. Lightning erupted from her back, slamming into the nearby buildings. "This isn't enough! I have to be stronger, stronger than anyone! I have to be strong enough that no one would ever even think of touching my friends again!"
"Misaka-san stop this! Everyone is fine!" Ruiko was panicking now, the sight of her friend raging and in pain breaking her heart. "Just come back to the Judgment office with me! Everyone's worried about you! Please, can't you see that something's wrong?"
Something in her words seemed to have an affect, but as Misaka-san turned to her Ruiko felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Misaka-san's eyes were wild, like a cornered animal's.
"You… I thought you were my friend, Saten-san." The ground beneath her feet rumbled and Ruiko nearly lost her balance.
"What are you talking about? Of course I'm your friend!"
"If you were really my friend then you wouldn't be trying to stop me!"
Lightning exploded up into the sky and Misaka-san screamed, rage and frustration clear in her voice. Ruiko took a step back, her palms sweating and fear in her gut. This didn't feel like her friend at all.
"If you were really my friend, then why didn't you do anything before?! It's because you couldn't! No one could! I'm the only one that can fix it!" Her hand curled into a claw, trembling as energy danced between her fingers and she fixed Ruiko with a glare that sucked the air from her lungs.
"Misaka-san I-"
"Shut up! You don't understand! If you're going to get in my way then I'll just remove you too!"
There was a flash and before Ruiko could so much as blink she felt herself being lifted from the ground. There was a deafening crack and the smell of something burning before she crashed back down to the ground in a heap and everything went black.
It had been months since she'd first read through the proposal that had initiated the Level 6 shift experiment, but Mikoto would never forget the way she'd felt as she'd scrolled through it. Fear had crystallized in her limbs, rooting her to the spot as she read over those terrible words again and again. The mad dash to the bridge had come after, and then she'd been confronted with the terrible truth.
When she'd seen the first of her Sisters crushed beneath that train, her life snuffed out in an instant, the blood in Mikoto's veins had boiled and she'd seen red. In that moment, all she'd wanted to do was kill the one responsible. It hadn't been righteous, and she hadn't been thinking about all the other girls he would slaughter if he walked away. She had wanted to hear him scream, to rip him to pieces.
She had wanted to murder him.
For a fleeting moment, that same feeling of uncontrollable rage burst through the surface. She was so tired. Tired of being weak, tired of being lectured, tired of failing again and again no matter what she tried. Nothing she did ever worked, and now that something was finally going right the people she'd thought of as her friends were going to try to stop her? She wouldn't let it happen. No one would stop her, not even them.
The moment the bolt of lightning left her fingertips Mikoto realized what she was doing. But it was already too late to stop it. There was barely enough time for Mikoto to recognize the shocked expression on her friend's face as the bolt struck her in the chest, lifting her from the ground and throwing her backwards onto the asphalt. Her body twitched and shuddered where she fell but she made no sound, and after several terrifying seconds she lay still. Smoke curled up from her chest, and even at this distance Mikoto could smell an odor that reminded her vaguely of cooking meat.
Mikoto stood stock still, her whole body screaming in denial and her hand trembling, still outstretched. It felt as though she had suddenly been encased in ice. The sound of sirens grew louder and Mikoto knew she needed to go over there, to check on Saten-san, to make sure she was alright. She could feel her heart beating, but it was weak. Much too weak. She had to make sure she was okay, but she couldn't move. Her body began to tremble and her breaths came more quickly as dread closed in on her.
It was impossible. This couldn't be happening. After everything she'd done, after everything she'd suffered through to gain this power, the first person she'd used it on had been one of her closest friends. Even at this distance she could see the destroyed remnants of her shirt and the scorched skin beneath. Saten-san's chest rose and fell erratically as she struggled to draw breath.
She'd done that to her. Saten-san was barely alive and it was because of her. Furious tears sprung to her eyes and Mikoto gritted her teeth. She'd lashed out, attacked her just for trying to help. No matter that she hadn't understood, no matter that she couldn't possibly do anything to help; she'd tried anyway, and Mikoto had lost control and attacked her.
No. No that wasn't true, Mikoto realized, her gut twisting in shame. She hadn't lost control, not completely. She had been so angry. All she could think about was that Saten-san was standing in her way, and for an instant she had actually wanted to attack her. It had only been an instant but that's all it took. She hadn't been hallucinating, had in fact known exactly who was standing in front of her, and yet she'd done it anyway.
Lightning snapped off her hand and she staggered back, nearly falling off her feet. She screamed, pouring all her rage and frustration and fear into it as power bubbled up and pierced the sky. It was still there, twisting inside of her, stronger than ever. Kamui had been right; she really couldn't control it, and now it seemed she couldn't even control herself.
"Dammit! This wasn't how it was supposed to be!"
She screamed and screamed until her voice went hoarse, but still the power surged from her, as though it fed on her fury. The ground around her began to glow, a tremendous amount of heat pouring off of her and reducing the asphalt to a molten ring. The metal of the surrounding buildings began to warp as lightning arced between them, and the windows shattered as their frames twisted. Her eyes were aglow and steam curled off her body as her sweat evaporated, but it still wasn't enough. The energy just kept building until at last she couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to her knees.
The ground at her feet smoked and sizzled and sweat poured off her body. The sirens approached and soon the shattered road was bathed in flashing red and blue.
Mikoto stared at the ground, her eyes unfocused. She'd failed. Completely and utterly. It was even worse than before; this time she was the one that had done the damage. There was no one to blame but herself.
Shouts reached her ears and she lifted her head, a heavy weight on her shoulders. Paramedics surrounded Saten-san, smoke still curling off of her, and Mikoto felt a surge of possessiveness that she forced down violently.
"Third-degree burn across the chest and neck! She's still breathing but her heart is just barely beating, we need to get her to the hospital!"
The words struck Mikoto like a physical blow, and she staggered to her feet, a strangled cry twisting its way out of her throat. Heavy footfalls struck against the road as the Anti-Skill officers encircled her, weapons drawn.
"Don't move!" one of them shouted, taking a step forward. "Get down on the ground and put your hands behind your head!"
Mikoto ignored them, staring as the medics loaded Saten-san into the ambulance and then rushed to check on the fallen officers. Sirens blared and the ambulance sped away, leaving Mikoto standing in the middle of the road, feeling as though her lungs were being crushed in her chest.
People were shouting again, but she could barely hear them. The only thing she could hear was the sound of her own blood rushing in her ears as her shock and remorse were replaced by a burning fury that dwarfed the rage that had consumed her minutes ago. It burned white hot, like the core of a star.
This was her fault. She had sworn she would never let her friends get hurt again, and she had failed in the worst way possible. But even more than just that, she had let herself be manipulated. Corrin's smug, grinning face filled her vision and she growled, teeth grinding together. She'd been so sure she was the one in control. Everything she'd done, everything she'd been working towards, and still she'd been the one getting her strings pulled. It made her want to scream, but she didn't. Instead, she took a deep breath. Then another.
There was no getting around what she had done to Saten-san. She would have to pay for that sooner or later, but right now what she needed to do was fix this mess. Corrin had used her, had practically tortured her, all for the sake of another sick experiment. Well, no more. She was going to bring the entire damned facility down on his head if that's what it took.
The crack of a gunshot broke through Mikoto's thoughts and she turned to face the lead Anti-Skill officer. Her weapon was aimed upward, smoke rising from the barrel and her eyes locked on Mikoto's. A warning shot, but it had gotten her attention.
"I said get down on the ground!" she shouted, leveling her weapon on Mikoto.
For a moment, Mikoto stared at her. Her heart beat steadily, even when Mikoto could feel the nervousness radiating off of her subordinates. Rapid heartbeats, shallow breathing; they were frightened.
"What, are you going to shoot me?" She turned her glare on each of them in turn and felt a little thrill as they tensed. "If you think it will work, go ahead."
None of them moved. They weren't stupid, they could see what Mikoto had done, and even with their weapons they knew better than to approach an esper that was capable of such destruction. Well, she could work with that. Electricity coiled around her body, snapping angrily, and she could feel their fingers tightening on the triggers. The clouds overhead rumbled ominously and lit with flashes of light.
"I'm leaving. I have something important to do, and I don't have time to waste with you." A dark cloud of iron sand whipped up around her and shouts rose from the Anti-Skill officers. "If you still want to try and stop me, I'm prepared to go through you."
The Anti-Skill woman glared at her for a long moment, fire in her eyes, before lowering her weapon. "Stand down. We can't stop her, and I'd rather not have to scrape you lot off the pavement."
After only a moment of hesitation the other officers backed off. Mikoto lingered, eyes locked with the commander, before she turned in the direction of the facility. Iron sand snaked behind her and her limbs buzzed with energy, her injuries long forgotten.
"Wait."
Mikoto tilted her head. "What?"
"I'm letting you walk away without a fight this time. I know we can't stop you, but I won't forget what happened here." Her eyes narrowed behind her visor. "Don't think I don't recognize you, Railgun."
"Fine. I'm not going to make excuses. Just take care of that girl, and I'll turn myself in when all this is done."
Questions danced in the woman's eyes, but she simply nodded and signalled to her men. They began gathering up their wounded and loading them into the trucks as Mikoto walked away.
She didn't care what happened afterwards. After what she'd done to Saten-san, jail was probably the best she deserved. But not yet. First, she had to settle things with Corrin and that damned director.
Even if it took every ounce of her new power, she would make them pay for turning her into their puppet.
Uiharu raced down the damp, darkened streets of Academy City, the ground disappearing beneath her feet as she ran. The roads were relatively deserted, but there was still the odd car or bus, and she'd nearly been clipped once already. That hardly mattered though. Shirai-san had been hurt, and she needed to be there.
The call had come not long after Saten-san had departed. According to what she'd managed to pull from the woman on the phone before dashing out of the office, Shirai-san had simply appeared in the middle of the mall on the third floor, along with a pile of debris. She hadn't elaborated much beyond that other than to say she had been in the grip of a seizure by the time paramedics reached her, and had been transported immediately to the hospital.
Uiharu's stomach twisted painfully. It wasn't difficult to figure out what must have happened. Shirai-san had caught up to their suspects, and when cornered they had used whatever let them induce the Power Pox reaction in espers on her.
Just the thought of it sent chills down her spine. Losing control of her power had always been a fear of hers, regardless of how harmless it was. Maybe it was just because she was a Level 1, but she'd never really felt that comfortable with her ability. Not like Shirai-san or Misaka-san were. They always seemed to be in complete control. To lose that, especially with an ability like Shirai-san's, must have been terrifying.
Her lungs burned and her legs felt like jelly but she pushed on. She had to get to the hospital as soon as possible. This whole mess was her fault. She never should have let Shirai-san go before they knew what they were up against. Regardless of how capable her friend was, the very nature of Power Pox could turn her own ability against her if they weren't prepared.
Which was exactly what had happened. They'd all been so eager for a break in the case that she'd let Shirai-san run off without a plan, and now she was paying the price for it. Uiharu could only hope she would be okay.
But things would only get worse. They'd already tipped their hand and now their suspects would likely go into hiding. Even if that reduced the number of incidents Uiharu doubted they would stop, and now Shirai-san was in the hospital. To make matters worse, she'd uncovered something buried in the files on the device's drive, a program syphoning data to a hidden folder that was sparse in details but made reference to a final experiment. What that meant she had no idea, but it could only be bad.
Tears started to form in her eyes as the hospital came into view. Everything was going wrong. Shirai-san was hurt, Misaka-san was missing, and Saten-san had run into the heart of it. Uiharu felt shame burning in her chest. Saten-san wasn't even an esper and she had run into danger without a second thought while she had stayed back, safe in her little office. Saten-san had said she needed to stay and search through the device, and maybe that was where she was most useful, but the truth was she was scared. Scared to go out and risk getting hurt. Everyone else charged ahead, willing to risk injury to do what was right, and she always stayed behind. Like a coward.
She sprinted through the doors to the emergency entrance, turning sideways rather than wait for them to finish opening. She rushed straight to the desk, ignoring the shouting from the nurse she practically bowled over in the process.
"E-excuse me!" Her heart was pounding and it took her a moment to catch enough breath to speak. "Please tell me where Shirai-san is!"
The woman behind the desk took a look at her disheveled state and shook her head, though whether it was out of pity or exasperation Uiharu couldn't tell. "I'm going to need more information than that if you want me to look up a patient."
"Oh! R-right, I'm sorry! Um, her name is Shirai Kuroko, she's with Judgment's 177th branch office. I got a call about twenty minutes ago saying she was being taken here."
The receptionist nodded and her fingers clacked away at the keyboard while Uiharu caught her breath and tried not to fidget.
"Okay, she's here but she's currently in emergency reception. She's stable but I'm afraid we won't be able to let you see her yet. She's suffered some internal injuries and the doctors need to determine if she'll require surgery."
Uiharu felt the tears returning and the woman's expression softened. "I'll tell you what. You go and have a seat, and I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything new, okay?"
Uiharu wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded. Shirai-san was getting the care she needed, and that was all she could ask for right now. As much as she might want to rush down the halls and stay with her friend, she would only get in the way.
A nurse walked up to the desk as she walked away and handed a clipboard to the receptionist. "Another esper related injury just came in. Bad night to be out there, it looks like."
"Another one? This is what happens when you give children super powers I guess. What is it this time?"
"Real nasty, had to be brought in by Anti-Skill. Young girl, severe burns across her chest and neck, and the paramedics had to restart her heart on the ride over. Had to put her on a respirator as well, since her lungs were failing. Honestly, it looks like she was struck by lightning but they're saying it was esper related."
"My God. These kids really need to learn to control themselves or they're going to end up killing each other."
Uiharu's legs had stopped working the moment the nurse had started speaking, and a tingling sensation was creeping into her chest. Lightning strike. Esper related. A young girl. There was no way. There was no way Misaka-san would do something like that, right? It had to be someone else. It was just a coincidence.
She turned around and walked mechanically back to the desk, her whole body numb. She'd check, just to set herself at ease. Yes, once she knew it wasn't Saten-san she could go back to waiting for word of Shirai-san's condition.
"U-um, excuse me, but that girl, the one you were just talking about." She had to force the words out. Her breath was coming in short, ragged bursts, and she realized she was starting to panic. "Could y-you tell me who she is?"
The nurse turned and quirked an eyebrow at her before taking note of her armband. "Oh, Judgment huh?" She spun the clipboard back towards her and skimmed it. "Well, we don't really know too much yet I'm afraid. She did have her ID on her though, so we've got her name at least. Saten Ruiko, looks like she att- hey!"
Uiharu was moving as soon as the first syllable of Saten-san's name left the nurse's mouth, forgetting about her aching legs and sprinting past the startled security guard down the hall. Her ears were ringing and she heard shouting, but she didn't care. First Shirai-san, and now Saten-san as well. It was like something out of a bad dream.
Shouting voices reached her but she ignored them. In the back of her mind, she realized she was panicking. What she really needed to do was compose herself and go back to the front desk, but she couldn't. She didn't even know where she was going but she kept running, racing down the halls without even realizing that hot tears were streaming down her face. Doctors and nurses turned towards her in alarm but she pushed passed them, wild eyes searching desperately for any sign of her friends.
She didn't see the nurse until she'd already been knocked to the ground. More shouting, hands moving to restrain her.
"Let me go! I need to see them! Let go!" she shouted, squirming in their grip. She tried to fight back but soon more people arrived and she was pulled to her feet.
All strength left her body and she went limp in their grip, tears flowing freely. She'd failed her friends. Shirai-san and Saten-san were both hurt, and she hadn't been able to do anything to help them. What good was she if she couldn't even help her friends?
The nurse from before took her and led her into an empty room, a security guard in tow, and Uiharu collapsed on the bed as soon the door closed. She ignored their questions and buried her face in the pillow, a question running over and over in her mind.
'Where are you, Misaka-san?'
A/N: Well, now we're back with this story too! Hopefully this marks the last big break that I'll take before actually finishing this thing. I don't plan to attempt any novel writing between chapters, so that at least should let me focus. That said, I am working on Screwed Up, and I have a dozen other ideas running around my head as well as just snippets of things that I keep doing for fun. Some of them have turned up here, in fact, so if you're interested to see what the heck I've been up to you can check out my profile.
I say this every time I leave for a bit but I'm really grateful to those of you that are still following, or those of you that came in late and are just getting into it. Having people read really helps, and I love getting into discussions with people. Nothing makes me happier than to talk to people about writing, so drop me a line if you saw something you liked, something you didn't, or just have a comment. I'm always open to suggestions, so keep those reviews coming!
I cheated a little bit with this chapter, in that I bended a couple of my writing rules. One of those is to avoid cliche situations, which I sort of broke with Mikoto and Ruiko's scenes. They were just so fun to write though, I couldn't resist. That said, if they really didn't work I would probably have changed them, but I do think they are good, and if you have as much fun reading them as I did writing them then we should be good.
The other is that I try to avoid solving problems through coincidences. That actually happened twice in this chapter, and both times I feel like they were relatively minor. Ruiko finding Mikoto was a lucky bit of guesswork, but I think believable. The other is Ruiko ending up at the hospital and Uiharu overhearing the nurses, but I couldn't help myself. Uiharu has been having a rough go of it in my fics lately. it has been fun though, and I hope you enjoy it. Until next time!