The beast and the diva.

[ACMI2: Daybreak]

With the virus cleared away, Last Order now rested just as peacefully as her caretaker.

Soft snoring was coming from said caretaker's chair. Misaka had taken the time to carefully charge it so he'd have access to his cognative functions if he were to wake up suddenly.

Now it was just a question of what would happen now?

The bands of light had vanished from the skyline. It seemed Touma's team was able to help Kazakiri.

Joule and Misaka quietly discussed what to do. Should they leave the scientist here, contact anti-skill, get Accelerator to the frog-faced doctor's hospital along with Last Order?

There really was so much to do.

Joule checked her phone and dialed the number to call the hospital. An Ambulance came first. As she dialed though, she heard a few thumps. The footfalls of powered suits.

[ACMI: Strain]

She felt a pinch for a second. Someone was forming a telepathic bond with her. Lumen couldn't sense any more bonds in the room, was whoever this was only talking to her?

"I would like it if you waited a moment miss Joule." A calm voice spoke. She lowered her phone and Misaka glanced over.

Joule mouthed "Another telepath." To her, raising a hand to her ear to create the image of a phone call as the telepathic link was stabilized at both ends.

"Who is this?" She asked, both out loud and telepathically.

This 'telephone' trick had been mentioned as a good way for weaker telepaths to maintain solid connections. Joule didn't strictly need it but it both made her look weaker than she was and allowed her to give Misaka at least half of the conversation. She would have just forged a connection so Misaka could listen in but she didn't feel comfortable just doing that to Misaka.

"Someone who would like to speak to Accelerator, do you mind waking him up?"

"Why do you want to speak to him?" Turning her body, Joule nodded at Accelerator. Misaka was distracted with the door though as a powered suit entered. Just one, though there were more of them outside.

The calm voice answered her question without a single change in tone.

"I have a job offer for him, a way he can avoid any collateral falling on his and Last Order for what happened today."

"And what about us?" Joule felt strangely confident as she spoke. Maybe it was because they got through this without much trouble but... "What about Collateral falling on Myself and Misaka?"

"Because I already have leverage on miss Mikoto." The voice explained simply and succinctly, it still made Joule pause for a moment as she glanced at Last Order. The sisters?

Joule turned her attention back on the voice "And myself?"

"..." The voice was clearly sending that silence, it wasn't just dead air on the call. Regardless, he answered in after a moment "Because you have cost me nothing I didn't expect to lose. In fact, you may have actually helped me obtain more than I expected. in this moment, you can take my thanks as the reason you won't get in any trouble because of this. Now, may you wake up Accelerator?"

She glanced at Misaka and gave her a questioning look. Could she read Misaka's thoughts on the matter on her expression alone?

..."Very well." She answered and gave a mental poke to Accelerator via Lumen.

His eyes cracked open a little and the man spoke again.

"Now, while I'm giving him this job offer, may you, Misaka and your mental construct leave the room? Please leave the others here though."

Joule spoke quietly, filling Misaka in on the request. When Misaka looked like she was going to argue, the voice spoke to Joule again.

"Tell her, that I will personally guarantee the safety of all Sisters for the next two weeks."

After repeating it, Misaka didn't look satisfied.

"But I don't know who he is!" She grunted.

"Tell her I was the one who refered to her as 'The sanest of the level 5s.' She should know who I am. If she doesn't, remember, mention the Daihase festival."

Joule did indeed repeat it. Misaka looked confused for a moment before it seemed to dawn on her and her face paled. She glanced at Last Order again, then at Accelerator who was slowly pulling himself to his feet and groaning in more intelligible words than before.

Eventually she grit her teeth and nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

The two of them and Lumen stepped by the powered suit as they left and walked into the corridor. The telepathic link had been cut off. Joule had still traced it back though. He had tried to bounce it around but she still knew it had come originally from the windowless building.

As they walked, they took an Elevator down.

"Who... who was that?" Joule asked.

Misaka's frown deepened.

"He called himself the Chairman of the Academy City Board of Directors. His name is Aleister."

The chairman himself...

The corruption went right to the top then? Well... as long as the city survived, she didn't really care if they were corrupt.

What had he wanted with Accelerator though? What was that job offer.

The night of adventure was over though, the morning would come in a few hours.

Maybe they could ask Touma and Index how their adventure went in the morning?

End of chapter.

Yeah, a bit shorter. At least this had the first proper interaction between Aleister and one of our main characters.