Discovery of darkness

[ASG: Enemy in Sight]

Joule was sitting on a bench, it was a warm day and yet not too hot. The fountain nearby was calming and the trees in the park around her made her feel more relaxed than a bench somewhere else might. Her thoughts mirrored Lumen's observation "Perfect place to do some planning."

Joule didn't consider herself a hero very often, she sung to save GV now and again but seeing how often he was forced to rescue her she felt more like a burden.

She had decided however that now was not going to be like that. Lumen listed off what they know "The level upper is an audio file, the level upper somehow increases the abilities of those who listen, the level upper can cause comas."

Joule thought she could safely ignore the first possibility that she thought of "There might be an esper with a power similar to mine." as Lumen's power required a live performance, a recording doesn't have the same effect.

Lumen suggested the next one "Since Esper powers are mind based maybe the song effects their mind somehow?" Joule considered this one "So what? It sends their mind into overdrive from where it can break and throw them into a coma?"

They both knew that songs could effect people even without some supernatural powers, they can impact emotions and instrument choices could change the 'Feeling' of a song for different purposes. Trying to figure out the instrument choices off just thinking about it was something that would be near impossible.

"Maybe you should call Saten?" Lumen murmured, "Check up on her and ask to hear the song?"

Joule shuddered slightly on that second point, she didn't want to hear that song as it might effect her in strange ways. Regardless of that calling Saten was still a good idea.

She pulled out her phone and dialled Saten's number, it went straight to voice mail. Joule left a small message about checking in with her if she intended to use it before ending the call and pocketing her phone again.

[ACSR: Uiharu Kazari]

Just then she heard someone call her name, she looked up to see Misaka waving at her. Joule smiled and walked over to her waving friend and they began walking together as Misaka explained she was going to the Judgement office to see if she could help Kuroko and Uiharu on their investigation. Joule agreed and they headed together to the office.

As they walked down the corridor they heard talking from inside the office, Misaka began to open the door while saying "Hey guys, I just wanted to see if there were anything I could-" but she got cut off by a loud thump from Uiharu falling from above, both of them getting hurt because of it

Joule poked her head into the room asking "Nothing is going to fall on my head right?"

Kuroko seemed to be a bit panicked as she greeted the concussed Misaka after pulling on a shirt.

A minute later the two girls with bruises on their heads were sitting on a sofa.

Misaka began the conversation by inquiring if anything new had been uncovered.

Uiharu started answering with "Hard to say." While Kuroko explained "We got new information, according to doctor Kiyama there is a device called a testament which can electrically insert data directly into the brain but it uses all of the senses, hearing it alone won't allow it to mess with the mind."

Misaka asked "The file we got was just an audio file right? There wasn't anything else found in the rooms of users?"

Uiharu answered those "We searched the rooms of all the users now in a vegetative state but only found more copies of the audio."

The whistling of a kettle that had been set up earlier dragged Uiharu away as Misaka asked "Ok, hypothetically do you think there might be a way this song could have an effect on all senses."

"Music can effect different senses." Joule spoke quietly and when the other two looked over she continued as she pulled out her phone "I don't think it is particularity strong but instrument choices, timing and even some effects like echoing can change the things a song can make you feel. For an example..." she hit play on one of the songs, and beckoned the others to close their eyes.

[ASG: Abyss ~ Subaquatic Military Base]

A few seconds passed before Joule asked "What does this make you think of?"

It was Misaka who answered first, her voice didn't sound confident but she answered "Either deep underwater or deep space?" Joule nodded at that before shutting off the music.

[ACSR: Judgement no Katsudou]

"It was like you could just feel it right? Cold temperature and the fact that it was away from human contact?" Joule explained "It isn't particularly strong but songs can have more effects like this that could effect the senses, it all depends on how it was composed."

Kuroko thought for a moment before muttering "I'm sure I heard about this before..."

Her and Misaka's eyes light up together as they say the word "Synesthesia!"

Joule tilted her head as Uiharu came back in asking "Syneth-what?"

Kuroko explained "We talked about it the other day, it is when something stimulates more than one sense." Misaka continued "You stimulate one sense and the other's react too."

Joule asked "This like red equals hot and blue equals cold then?" Uiharu scrunched her eyes slightly after putting down the tray of tea "So are you saying the song if made properly could stimulate all five senses to act like a testament?"

"We should tell doctor Kiyama, have her put some input in." Misaka stated with determination.

Uiharu placed the call, from overhearing it Joule figured out that doctor Kiyama agreed with the idea and was going to get access to tree diagram, a massive supercomputer, to run the calculations. It seemed Uiharu was so excited to see tree diagram in action she asked to drop by Kiyama's office as she was using it. She then left to go to it.

Time passed as the three remaining girls began chatting, Joule mentioned that she was thinking about if a telepath could simply deprogram the level-upper from someone's brain. Misaka and Kuroko agreed that it was possible but it was a big job.

More time passed, Joule was humming the melody to one of the songs she had once sang via Lumen on stage. The song was good even if it was used for evil.

[ACSR: Katsubou]

As she began to finish the song a call came on Kuroko's phone. It was hard to tell what was going on but Joule could hear that the call was from Uiharu and she was distressed about something. When Kuroko ended the call she stood up and explained "Something has happened to Saten, we are going to the hospital.

She held out her arms, Misaka grabbed one and Joule grabbed the other. A moment later they were somewhere else, a hospital's lobby.

The girls quickly travelled to the floor that Uiharu had directed them too and saw her crying on a bench outside one of the rooms, when she saw them she brightened slightly and taking a pad of paper with her ran off.

Kuroko then explained the situation "Saten used the level upper and has fallen into a vegetative state." an icy hand gripped Joule's heart, she should have done more to warn her against it. Lumen tried to comfort her as Kuroko continued "Uiharu wanted her to be safe before taking the data to doctor Kiyama."

A moment passed before Misaka asked Kuroko if they could speak alone for a moment, they both headed to the roof as Joule continued thinking, sitting on a bench that was besides the door to Saten's room.

Lumen murmurered something almost out of earshot, which is hard when the sound of her voice was entirely mental. "You should look at her for a moment, look at her brainwaves, you might find something."

Joule knew that she should but she couldn't see her friend right now, she still felt guilty for not warning her away from it. Lumen gave a mental sigh "Ok, at least scan her from out here." Joule sadly spoke to her companion "Can't, not that strong."

Lumen rolled her eyes which probably wasn't easy when she was in butterfly form "Then sing something or hum something, the song from earlier will work."

Joule nodded slowly and began humming the melody for "Truth = Reality"

Just this was enough to sense the minds within a decent area, she could feel sadness mostly which she expected from a hospital.

She honed her focus on the figure in the bed in the room behind her. She was surprised (Though she didn't lose the song as Lumen was keeping her focused) as Saten's brainwaves looked different then she had seen before while testing her ability in the past. The brainwaves were completely different.

Lumen appraised the mind and gave the most direct answer "This is the form the level upper's effects take."

Joule could not do mind control alone, she needed Lumen's power to effect minds. Even then it wasn't safe to mess with brainwaves directly as that risks damaging the brain. This did give her and idea however and she took a copy of the pattern down in her phone so she could remember it later.

As she did that Kuroko and Misaka came back down from the roof, Misaka's eyes were filled with determination.

A doctor looked round the corner of the hall behind them and invited the three girls to look at the data they got from Saten and the other victims.

It turns out they all have a common pattern, Joule could work with this. She noted down this pattern too, if she could remove the signal that is forcing their minds into a single pattern then she could free the sleepers.

All she would need now is a copy of the audio file to begin work.

Back in the judgement office, Kuroko and Misaka along with someone Joule hadn't met before were figuring out how the system worked, that the culprit is building a network of espers to do the calculations for other espers or just to do a lot of calculation.

Joule was paying attention and noting things down, she would not just have to cut of the signal. She would need to create a song that freed each individual member from the inside.

Apparently the others had found a match for the brainwaves so Joule walked over to stand with them to see who the culprit was.

The info box popped up with a name she knew well, the picture confirmed it.

Doctor Harumi Kiyama.

The three girls gasped in surprise and asked whether it were truly possible. Then a thought crossed all their minds at once. "Uiharu"

The woman who Joule didn't know turned around to ask what they meant as Kuroko pulled out a phone to call her and Misaka explained that she was going to Kiyama's lab.

After the call failed to go through the woman (who Joule guessed was some sort of boss to them) stood up from the computer chair "Contact Anti-skill and have them take the doctor into custody, but warn them there might be a hostage."

Misaka requested that she be allowed to help, Joule considered asking too but realised she could be more help from here. Kuroko and Misaka went to talk outside as Joule went over to a table in the back and grabbed the phone that was there.

The boss of the office looked to her in surprise "What do you think you are doing?"

Joule answered in the most straightforward way she knew "I am going to create an antidote to the level upper."

End of chapter

No Joule chat this chapter as she is too determined.