Dragon and Dragon

[ACMI3: Followed by]

Misaka was in shock as she looked at the dragon.

"That's-"

Lightning flared and behind Misaka a giant made of iron sand rose. It reached out towards the girl and her dragon.

A claw-like arm extended, shooting quickly forward to attack as Misaka demanded an answer.

"Why- Why do you have that?"

The inverted cross on the dragon's head glowed as the young woman admitted "I don't really know."

Joule's passenger screamed at her to get away as in that moment the light from the dragon stuck the encroaching arm.

The world distorted. Fractured and reformed.

Misaka's iron sand golem had turned white. Joule sensed what had happened just as the golem fell apart.

"It turned to salt." She gasped as Misaka coughed. There was no time for Misaka to react to that information though as the dragon came flying towards Misaka.

"Sis!" Shirai moved, teleporting to Misaka as she failed to dodge.

Joule knew somehow that she wouldn't make it out. If she couldn't do something now-

Well, the dragon wasn't glowing so maybe it couldn't use that salt trick, either way if she didn't act then her friends were in danger.

Her eyes shone, four pupils with light spilling from each.

The world distorted. Fractured and reformed.

"What?" The woman yelled out. Her dragon froze as she realised she was attacking the wrong spot. Misaka hadn't been over on the pavement, she'd been on the road.

Her dragon quickly spun on the two espers- one esper? Wait. If she was seeing Misaka there, why was Shirai not there?

Joule's illusion shattered. In the place of Misaka, Joule was revealed Where Misaka and Shirai were before was nothing, they'd teleported out in the moment Joule had bought them.

But something had changed about Joule. Off of her throat were two green spikes that were angled away from her mouth. Joule's eyes were also dark, the lights were off and nobody was home.

"Joule?" GV called, rushing over in a panic.

She still stood there, staring at the young woman who grinned intently.

"Oh now that is interesting. You're like me then, whatever that is."

Joule opened her mouth as if trying to talk, but the only sound that came out was a piercing note of singing. As people winced at how high the note was, Joule's mouth closed and GV picked her up and pulled her away as Shirai teleported back to pull them out of danger too.

They appeared on a nearby roof.

[ACMI3: Believe in Miracles]

"Are you okay?" Saten asked as she rushed over before stopping in surprise "Joule?"

Joule's eyes were still blank but she gave a slight nod. She looked down at her hands and turned them over. Once again she opened her mouth to try and speak and all that came out was a low note sung sadly.

"What's wrong with her?" Misaka asked, worried.

GV hesitated "I don't know, I've never seen this before."

Misaka looked at the spikes coming from Joule's neck and recognised something "It's like-"

"What is it?" Saten asked.

Misaka looked to her "Before… um, during Daihase when everything went wrong on the second day. I saw dragons emerge from Touma's arm. One looked like that woman's arm while the other had spikes and eyes like Joule's."

"So the thing possessing her…" GV clarified "You think it's a dragon from his arm?"

"Not just Joule," Misaka gritted her teeth. "That woman we fought, her too."

"Then why can't Joule speak?" GV was half panicked.

Misaka shrugged "I don't know, all I could do is guess. Maybe the dragons need to take something from you, like that girl's arm?"

Well, that explanation would do for now but Joule was still unable to speak properly and it was really hard to figure out what she was feeling from the empty eyes. Joule was locked away, her thoughts unable to be spoken of to others.

Shirai was looking off the side of the building.

"Two vehicles drove out of the smokescreen. They were on the entrance-way road. The one that leads to district 11."

"That's academy city's largest land entrance, leading to western Tokyo." Misaka observed "Are they hoping to take Uiharu out of the city?"

"Maybe." Shirai muttered "But there's something about that idea that bothers me."

"What is it?" Saten asked.

Shirai tilted her head to the side as she remembered "Those three who left the vehicle to find new tires, I recognised them as a group of ATM robbers."

"And now they're kidnappers?" Misaka asked "What's the problem?"

"The weird thing is, they were arrested by Anti-skill. Two months ago."

Misaka and Saten froze and looked over. Even Joule looked up slightly.

"So, they broke out?" Misaka asked

Shirai shook her head "There was no report of it, so either the juvenile hall hasn't noticed or… the second juvenile hall is in on all of this."

"Are you serious?" Saten asked.

Shirai nodded "I know it sounds a bit farfetched, but their leader earlier said they want her skill as the goalkeeper. If they intended to have her program something they'd need a base within the city she could work from. They could escape the city, but Uiharu is still an Esper, kidnapping an esper from the city would bring even more heat on if they used the Juvenile hall, not even Anti-skill could get in easily"

"And the fortress has plenty of Anti-skill countermeasures." Misaka pointed out.

"If so, then the two fleeing vehicles are likely decoys." Shirai pointed out "They likely took Uiharu somewhere else, the juvenile hall maybe."

"Even so." Misaka glanced at Joule but turned back to Shirai "We have to continue the chase. Just in case we're wrong."

Shirai nodded but Saten raised her hand.

"Everyone, let me look into the juvenile hall. I'll get myself taken in for questioning and it will give me a chance to look around."

It was almost settled. GV looked over to Joule "Then we'll head to the hospital, hopefully HC knows something that can help with this."

But Joule shook her head and pointed at Saten.

"Me? What about me?"

Joule's expression was unreadable but she pointed from herself, to GV, to Saten.

"Myself, you and her."

The message she was trying to get across to her friends with no voice or expressions.

Not to go to the hospital, but to make their way into the juvenile hall.

She had been scared of the AIM jammers before but she had a theory. If what she was experiencing now was a "Fully matured" version of her parasite, maybe she could pacify it while being jammed? That was the hope at least.

End of chapter.

Dragon-powered Joule is here. At the cost of her ability to speak and emote, she has (partial) control of the dragon's power.

Note: I don't think I made it clear but it's also playing havoc with her ability to use telepathy to communicate. Her entire power is being parasitized.