Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index
The Trinity of Tokiwadai
Chapter Nine: Präludium zum Kampf
Beta: ShadowofAxios
After a call from Saten, the entire gang met up at the 177th Branch Judgement office. Most were still groggy from rushing from bed to what [Multi-Skill] had called an emergency meeting. The proof of this beyond the fact that most of the girls were dead on their feet was the way they were dressed. Uiharu-chan looked like she'd just thrown on whatever she'd first pulled out of her closet, resulting in a horrendously clashing outfit made out of rainbow leggings and a neon pink blouse. She knew the girl had a better sense of fashion than that. Despite the fashion disaster she was wearing though, the girl for some reason still had her flower crown on.
Seriously? Uiharu-chan? Naru mused as she shook her head at the girl's sense of priorities.
At least the roommates Misaka-sempai and Shirai-chan had theirs in order. They at least were wearing their standard Tokiwadai uniforms even if they weren't as tidy as they normally were.
And what does that say about you then? A strangely awake Kurama noted with a smirk.
Naru ignored her demonic tenant, refusing to give him the satisfaction of admitting that he had a point.
Unlike her schoolmates who had picked out the appropriate clothing, Naru had just grabbed the first decent outfit she spotted which consisted of a casual orange tee-shirt and denim shorts. She hadn't even bothered to style her hair before rushing over.
She felt that it was justified. Thanks to a late night 'research' session last night, she'd only gotten a few hours sleep before the call and was feeling dead tired.
Covering her mouth with a yawn, Naru looked to the girl who had convened this emergency meeting. "We got a plan?"
Konori-sempai, who much to Naru's secret annoyance was as well dressed as normal, was first to speak up. "We should contact Anti-Skill."
"We already have." Heaven Canceller shook his head. "Sadly, they won't be helping us. MAR is still an official unit operating within its purview."
"Those cowards are never there when you need them." Kiyama-sensei spat as she paced the room restlessly.
"Kaa-san," Saten called out soothingly.
The woman wasn't in the mood to be calmed.
"I'm going for a walk." With that, she stormed out of the room. A few of the others tried to stop her, but Saten shook her head at them.
"I'll watch her."
Of course she would, she's her mother. I don't see why the others were worried. Naru mused curiously, perplexed as to why their friends were concerned about Saten's inability to keep her mother safe even from a distance.
They're her friends? You humans always tend to worry excessively about those you are close to. Naru's vulpine tenant opined with a shrug.
You're probably right.
"Kaa-san, just needs to cool off for a bit." Saten said with a sigh before getting back to business. "I've put in a call to get Anti-Skill moving, but it'll take some time."
"Who?" Naru asks curiously. There weren't many people with the clout to do that and she was curious who her friend had tapped to make it happen.
"Oyafune."
"Oh! You're calling in the big guns. I like."
"Who is that?" Misaka-sempai asked.
Geez, you'd think she'd know these things.
"My backer. She's a Director on the City's Board." Saten told their curious sempai.
"Your backer?" Misaka-sempai asked inquisitively.
Saten wasn't ready to address the issue and the can of worms that it would likely open, instead she chose to change the topic. "Since Anti-Skill is not an option yet, we'll have to handle the matter ourselves for now. Something which will be difficult since MAR has multiple bases and we'll need to search all of them to rescue my siblings."
Uiharu-chan jumped to work and turned to her computer. "I'm working on it."
"Multiple bases?" Konori-sempai mused, a worried frown on her face. "If we don't want them to get away, we'd need to hit them all at the same time. Do we have the manpower for that?"
"What choice do we?" Naru asked with a shrug.
"The blonde ojou's right, Mii." Wataru-san chimed in, looking uncharacteristically serious. "Like you said we can't waste time." He then punched a nearby wall. "These are the same scum who were willing to use our old friends as pawns just to test their weapon. The longer we leave those kids with them-"
"Got it!" Uiharu declared, as she gestured for the others to take a look at her monitor. Naru and most of others clustered around her work area to see. Saten and Misaka-sempai on the other hand hung back, seemingly content to use their electromastery to read whatever was being displayed.
"So it looks like they have three bases."
"So anyone else find it ironic that MAR has a base just a stone's throw from the one we used during the Level Upper Incident?" Ruiko idly asked as she casually sent an electromagnetic pulse loose. It wasn't particularly powerful, but still more than enough to short out the two shoddily insulated automated powered suits that were her current opponents.
"I'd describe it as suspicious more than ironic." Her Level 4 schoolmate countered even as she took down another of the powered suits by teleporting her nails directly into its powerpack. She followed this up by teleporting out of the way of its partner trying to shoot her up from around the corner of the hallway they were currently fighting in. Rematerializing, she was just in time to see it vaporized by Ruiko's emulation of the Number 6's destructive beam.
"Saten-san, Shirai-san, hang in there a little longer. I'm almost done!" Uiharu declared from inside the control room that the two higher level espers were defending.
One of the bound and gagged MAR personnel tried to say something, but Ruiko shot him a sharp glare that silenced the man. He and his compatriot had originally been manning the base's security from the control room that the girls had commandeered. Thankfully, some research on the building's floor plans had allowed them to teleport in and catch the men unawares before they could activate Capacity Down, though not suddenly enough to stop them from activating the automated powered suits and the base's other security systems on autonomous mode.
"Take your time, Uiharu." Ruiko told her best friend as she used some telekinesis to disassemble one of the wrecked trio of turrets that had been designed to help defend the control room and that they had been forced to destroy. She needed some ammunition, and there was just something poetic about using the enemy's own remains against their fellows. "We've got this covered."
"Speak for yourself," Shirai-san complained, even as she turned yet another powered suit into a pale imitation of a porcupine. "I'm out of nails."
"Fall back. I'll handle this."
As if to prove this point, Ruiko sent her newly acquired ammunition flying down both sides of the hallway and destroyed three more suits advancing on their location.
"You're enjoying this aren't you?"
Ruiko refused to comment or acknowledge the truth of the matter. Not even as she basked in the thrill of a good fight. It was a good distraction from worrying about her mother's state of mind, even as she devoted part of her mind to keeping an eye on the woman as she continued to stew in frustration back at the 177th Branch Office with only Heaven Canceler to offer paltry comfort.
"Done!" Uiharu declared even as the latest wave of suits suddenly froze mid motion.
The Level 5 felt her mouth twitch into an expression that she didn't recognize.
"You are." Shirai-san noted with a disappointed sigh. "And here I thought you'd be less of a fight junkie than Namikaze-san and Onee-sama."
"I'm not." Ruiko denied with a frown even as she turned to face her best friend who was seated in front of the sophisticated looking machine that served as the base's master computer. "Well, Uiharu are they here?"
"Doesn't look like it." The Level 1 replied, frowning in disappointment.
Ruiko felt the same, doubly so, since these were her siblings they were looking to rescue. She had to be sure that Uiharu was right, not that she didn't trust the hacker, but because MAR was definitely tricky enough to find someway to have fooled her. As such, she called on her powers to simultaneously read the minds of their prisoners and scan the building.
Only to come up empty. Uiharu was right, her siblings weren't here.
"Damn."
Naru was strolling around The Strange in District 11. Uiharu-chan had ferreted out that MAR had set up a hidden lab in the home of the Skill-Outs and the blonde was tasked to investigate.
Alone.
Why do I have to go alone? Maybe I wanted to team up with someone. Or have someone to talk to since this is boring as hell. Naru grumbled inwardly, her blue eyes shifting around the garbage and graffiti filled area that she found herself in.
This is your own fault for volunteering to go alone. It's not like your friends didn't offer to send someone with you.
Hey, how would I know I'd end up being this bored? Naru shot back defensively. She knew the fox was right but she wasn't about to admit it.
Poor baby, you want to talk about Keyboard Kat or something?
Despite the adorableness of that kitty, we're not talking about Youtube videos. She said while shooting the demon a mental glare.
Hmph, fine. I can outplay him anyway, I have actual fingers.
Kurama, not now! We're not going over this again. You cannot have your own Youtube channel.
I'd be a hit!
Don't make me chain you up in there! I've watched a shibari video recently, so I'm full of ideas I'm just dying to try.
As Naru continued her internal argument on views and channel collabs, she noticed a few goonish Skill-Outs walking out of an alleyway.
We could get on Saturday Night Live with my five year plan. And you're not listening.
Sighing, Naru gave the cocky delinquents a bored look.
"What do we have here? You lost girlie?" One of the guys asked rhetorically as he shot her a malicious grin.
"No." Naru rubbed her eyes tiredly. "Look, I'm kinda busy right now. Can we skip this and go our separate ways? It'll save you some grief."
Without waiting for an answer, the Level 5 began to circle around the group only to be blocked off.
And now we're doing this.
"Whoa whoa!" Another of the street toughs said as he blocked her way. "You can't just wander around here, kid. You've gotta pay the toll."
She cocked a blonde brow. "So does that make you a troll?"
A few of the man's buddies snickered at that while the Skill-Out that was blocking her way turned red in the face. "You've got a smart mouth, kid." He pulled out a switchblade and flicked it open. "How bout we fix that."
"...I haven't had enough sleep for this." Naru stated, even as she casually created a odachi out of chakra that had a blade the length of a bus
"What the shit!?" One of the Skill-Outs shouted.
"As you can see, my phallic symbol is bigger than yours." The blond emphasised this point by swinging at a nearby lamppost. Her deadly construct easily cut the street light down. "So leave."
The Skill-Outs didn't have to think twice. Choosing the better part of valor, they bolted like frightened squirrels.
Reabsorbing the chakra, Naru continued her search despite her continued exhaustion and rising annoyance.
"Now where the hell is this place?"
So about that five year plan…
Realising that she had no other company than her annoying tenant, Naru really wished she had accepted her friends' offers to have someone come with her.
Mikoto sulked as she rode pillion on Konori-sempai's motorbike, while Kurozuma-san rode beside them on his own motorbike. The two former biker gang members were racing down the road at speeds and pulling off maneuvers that had the Level 5 sweating just a tad bit nervously.
"Why couldn't I have one?" She asked, trying to take her mind off the duo's reckless riding.
"Do you know how to ride one?" Konori-sempai asked over the roar of the engine.
"...I feel stupid." The Electromaster continued to sulk. She felt like a sidekick!
Thankfully, for her heart and her pride, the ride ended a few minutes later as they arrived at the Multi Active Rescue Base Research Laboratory.
The [Railgun] couldn't have hopped off fast enough.
"Does the vibrating feeling go away?" The younger girl asked as she shook her legs in a vain attempt to alleviate the strange sensation that the ride had left them in.
Konori-sempai chuckled. "First time?"
"Yes." Mikoto nodded as she looked over the facility ahead of them and thought back to the plan laid out by Saten.
~Flashback~
"Aren't you two leaving out their public lab?" Mikoto asked the two younger Level 5s curiously.
Said girls exchanged a look, before Namikaze yawned and waved for Saten to speak for the both of them.
"It's a waste of time." Saten declared confidently. "It's too obvious. My siblings won't be there."
"We should just skip it for now and look at their secret bases. Besides, I'm sure the Wicked Bitch's got some surprises there."
"You mean Capacity Down?" Kuroko chimed in, a worried look on her face.
The blonde shrugged. "She's probably got that in all of her bases. If I were you, I'd wait till I or Saten get done clearing the other bases first and we can join you. We're resistant to it after all."
"I can handle it."
"If you say so Sempai." Naru dismissed tiredly. "Who knows, maybe that thick skull of yours will actually give you some resistance to it."
"Hey!"
"Namikaze-san." Konori-sempai chided, causing the blonde to flinch. Something which in turn seemed to surprise the girl herself if the widening of her eyes were any indication.
"Okay, okay. I'll stop."
Konori-sempai nodded at the Number 2 and turned to the blonde's classmate. "Saten-san, can you tell us anything about what exactly is inside that facility?"
[Multi-Skill] froze for a moment as she wirelessly connected to the internet and presumably double checked her information, before replying. "It's their headquarters and testing lab for new equipment. More concerning however is the attached medical facility to house victims of emergencies that MAR responds to. Currently, it is occupied by fourteen patients hospitalized for unusual responses to the Poltergeist phenomenon."
"So a total BS cover story to run their own little tests under the guise of care?" Namikaze asked.
"I wouldn't phrase it that crudely, but yes."
"Wait a minute." Kuroko cut in. "Wasn't Kongou one of those hospitalized by MAR?"
"Kongou Mitsuko?" Heaven Canceler who had been happy to just observe the planning session till then asked. "Your schoolmate?"
The Tokiwadai girls nodded.
"Then yes. I recall it coming up in the briefings to the hospitals about the Poltergeist. There was a mention that MAR had taken a girl by that name from Tokiwadai into their care."
Kongou's schoolmates exchanged worried and uneasy looks.
"Don't worry girls." Konori-sempai reassured. "We'll rescue your friend. Along with everyone else. Won't we Sempai?"
Kurozuma-san didn't miss a beat and shot the girls a thumbs up.
"Well, if you're going then so am I. You'll need the firepower."
"If Onee-sama is-"
"Shirai-san." Konori-sempai interrupted her subordinate. "Did you forget that Uiharu-san is your partner?"
Kuroko looked torn but eventually yielded with a nod.
"Don't die till we get there to rescue you." Namikaze grimly joked as she stalked off to start her part of the mission.
~ Flashback Ends ~
"Baka-Usagi." Mikoto scowled as she glanced at the cameras that were in view. She quickly used her powers to hack them and put them on a loop. "Cameras are down. Let's go in."
As the Level 5 stalked forward, Konori-sempai called after her. "Misaka-san, wait up. Let me take a look inside first."
"Labs are shielded against most types of Clairvoyance, aren't they? With whatever Therestina is working on, I'm sure this one is."
From what her Kohai explained about these Kihara, Mikoto was sure that the woman would be prepared enough to do such a thing.
Konori-sempai just smirked. "Even if so, I can still take a look and see if I can spot any details that might help us."
Mikoto nodded in understanding and the Judgement officer activated her ability.
The older girl frowned a second later and said. "I really don't like that woman."
"Why?" Kurozuma-san asked.
"Because she's waiting for us. Right there in some kind of modified powered suit." The Judgement agent informed the others while pointing towards the facility's main gate.
"So stealth is off the table, that's fine by me." The red haired man shrugged. "Not my speed anyway."
"As expected of a tactless low life." Therestina said disdainfully as the group stepped through the gate. "Then again that's exactly what made people like you the perfect tools to test Capacity Down for me."
"So you admit to being the one who supplied that system to Big Spider?" Konori-sempai asked with barely restrained anger.
"How else was I going to get the data to refine it?" The mad scientist said waving her hand dismissively. "After all, [The Alien]'s team wasn't even using it. They were letting the gem just sit in their database like a discarded toy. What a waste."
"Alien? Hey, don't make fun of my friend." Mikoto glared heatedly, electricity dancing across her knuckles.
"Oh? You're friends with that thing? How precious." Therestina chuckled darkly. "You have no idea what that thing is, do you?"
"Enough talk, you bitch!" Kurozuma-san shouted, as he slipped on a strange looking glove that had a hydraulic piston powered ram mounted on it and charged at her.
Seemingly unperturbed, the Kihara pulled a grenade launcher from her back and fired a shot at the man. Mikoto wasn't about to let her get away with it however and sent a bolt of electricity at the projectile causing it to detonate in mid-air.
"Are you idiots forgetting something?!" Therestina shouted in anger.
It was a moment later that heavy beats filled the airwaves, and Mikoto felt as if her brain was shaking. The pain was so great she fell to her knees. "Ugh, dammit!"
Therestina laughed as she pointed her grenade launcher at the girl. "Did you think you actually stood a chance?! Goodbye Level 5-chan!"
Wataru used the woman's gloating as the distraction it was to close the distance and strike.
Whatever this woman is, she's definitely not a fighter. Getting distracted that easily in a fight? Amateur!
He realized he might have been counting his chickens before they hatched though when the woman managed to put up a hasty block.
Probably thanks to the suit somehow.
A conclusion borne out by the fact that in her panic the woman had foolishly used her gun arm to block his punch. The force enhancing "Power Fist" glove lived up to everything Saten-chan said it would and easily shattered the powered suit's armor and dealt a bone breaking blow to the arm underneath.
"Like my glove? It's a gift from Saten-ojou." Wataru taunted as the launcher dropped from the grip of the woman's very broken arm and she stumbled back with a scream. "She asked me to use it to fuck you up."
"You-!" The woman's face was filled with utter rage, showing her ugly side in full force. "You filthy little Skill-Out! You won't even be an organ donor when I'm through with you!"
She went to kick him, but Wataru had managed to step out of range long before the kick was even in mid-arc.
"Heh, you're a shit fighter lady. Outside of your toys, I gotta ask, what good are you?"
Despite the advantage he had over the crazy lady at the moment, one glance by the redhead to the side had him frowning worriedly. Both Mii and the Shocky Ojou-chan were clearly in pain. Mii was on her knees and clutching her head while the Ojou-chan was barely staying on her feet as electricity built up around her.
"Take this!" The Level 5 shouted, but only a weak static burst came out. One that fizzled out long before hitting anything. She stumbled on her feet again, holding her head in pain.
He dashed over to help them out, but the bitch took the opening this gave her and shot a sloppy punch at him with her good arm.
Wataru easily ducked under it and and retaliated with a swing of his own. His power fist enhanced blow squarely hitting her in the chest and denting her armor. "Come on, try harder!"
He was going to follow up, but in the corner of his eye he spotted a group of armed troopers heading right for them. Spotting the men too, the cowardly woman backed off and fled behind her armed groupies.
"I'll deal with you later, Skill-Out trash!" The hag screamed even as she ran towards a waiting helicopter some distance away. "Guards, capture them alive! I want to make them suffer. Besides, the more guinea pigs the better. Especially that Level 5."
The men exchanged uncertain looks before with shrugs they put away their guns and instead pulled out electroshock clubs that he recognized as the same make as those used by Anti-Skill.
Damn cheapos. Can't even afford to use original equipment.
He had to put those thoughts on hold though as the men charged him, even as in the background the helicopter carrying their boss fled.
Jumping back into the fight, Wataru counter charged the men and punched one of them right in the face. Once again his power fist lived up to the hype he'd heard about it, from both Saten and on the net, and smashed right through the helmet of the guy's powered suit and knocked him unconscious probably breaking his nose or worse in the process.
"Ugh!" The little Ojou-chan shouted in pain, firing off another electrical burst right into the group of guards.
"Whoa!" Wataru exclaimed and dodged just in time as an unlucky guard got hit by the out of control bolt of lightning. "Easy there Ojou-chan! Watch where you're aiming"
Wataru turned to see another MAR guard taking a swing at him. He ducked once more and brought his fist into the guy's gut, shattering his suit's armor. The force of the blow was so great that it sent the armored man flying a distance before crashing to the ground in an undignified heap.
As luck would have it however this didn't come without a price, with the impressive display also taking its toll on his power fist. It had left some parts of the glove's machinery dented and caused others to fall off completely.
"Well shit." He cursed his luck.
As if things weren't bad enough, two of the men proved they were smarter than the brutes he'd been beating the tar out of when they decided to go after the relatively defenseless girls instead. The Ojou-chan tried to fend them off with bolts of lighting, but her shots were missing by a mile.
Acting quickly, Wataru ran to protect the girls. He easily swerved past the clumsy attempts to intercept him by the first two men in his way, even dancing around one goon who tried to tackle him. Unfortunately, this was exactly what the dude's buddy was waiting for. While Wataru was busy avoiding being hit by a charging armored bull of a man, he was struck in the back with a baton that sent tens of thousands of volts of electricity into his body.
He fell into a heap, biting back the pain.
"Urg, I need a powered suit next time." The Skill-Out grumbled as he shakily tried to get up, but fell to the ground. He looked up and saw the goons jabbing the girls with the electrified batons and cried out in rage. "Hey! Leave them alone, assholes!"
Already out of it thanks to the Capacity Down thingy, Mii was shocked into unconsciousness after a single touch of the glorified cattle prod. Seeing this, Wataru tried to get up to do something, anything. He was unfortunately rewarded for his attempt by being struck in the back by another shock baton. "Ugh, fucker!"
The Shocky Ojou-chan seemed to be safe from the taser, but that just made one of the goons hit her in the head with a baton to knock her out.
The redhead once more forced his pain filled body to get up, but the men were having none of it and began to whale on him with their batons. Grunting with each blow, he tried his best to shield himself.
"Heh, threats neutralized. Cut the CD. It's damn annoying." One of the powered suits said, before turning to the others. "Let's get them loaded up for transport."
"Sir, this one's still up."
The apparent leader walked over to Wataru. "Tenacious shit, aren't you? Just keep whaling on him, I'm sure the Boss won't mind."
Wataru tightened his fist, trying to come up with some kind of plan even as the loud bass beat of Capacity Down was finally turned off.
His two companions were picked up as he took another strike to the back, which made him wince and close his eyes.
He waited for another strike but it never came. In its place was the sensation of a massive gust of wind flying overhead like the wake of a jet plane.
He opened his eyes to see the powered suits all staring upwards in shock. Turning to see what had them so spooked, he spotted their speaker tower's top - where it's speakers had been - had been taken out by what looked like one of their own trucks.
"What do you ruffians think you are doing?" A stern Ojou voice demanded.
Glancing over his shoulder, the Skill-Out saw a girl with long brunette hair in a hospital gown and an open oriental fan in her hand. She was standing in the MAR vehicle shed and glaring fiercely at its owners.
"I knew you were a fishy bunch, what with keeping me locked up here for no good reason. But using that uncouth system and to attack my friends no less is a step too far!"
By this point, Wataru's vision was starting to lose focus but he still managed to catch the girl smacking another of the MAR trucks next to her with her fan and using her ability to send it flying towards the now panicking goons.
"Now that girl has style." The redhead grinned tiredly as blackness took over his vision.
Kongou Mitsuko had never expected to be in the position she was in now. At least not before she'd come to Academy City. A lot of things had changed since she'd transferred into the City. That said, this situation was still a little beyond her expectations.
Here she was sitting in a hospital room in a facility run by someone with the most ridiculous of names, Heaven Canceler, waiting for her friend Misaka Mikoto to get up from being knocked unconscious in a fight against what it seemed were terrorists masquerading as the City's emergency rescue service.
Which is completely insane! Mitsuko screamed in the depths of her mind, well behind the facade of the prim and proper young lady of means she'd been groomed all her life to wear. And the only ones fighting them are a bunch of young girls! And I'm one of them!
Though considering the group included three of the world's most powerful espers maybe it wasn't that crazy. But still! Most of us aren't even 14 yet!
Which was telling as [The Robot], vaunted across their school and the net as being the person possibly most in control of her emotions in the whole world was having a meltdown.
"What if she does something stupid and gets hurt? Or worse? What then Uiharu? I can't lose her. I can't." The Number 3 said in a monotone voice that did nothing to hide her distress.
"Don't worry Saten-san. Kiyama-sensei will be fine. We'll find her before anything happens to her." The girl's best friend comforted, surprisingly calm in the face of the other girl's obvious anxiety. Either she was used to these kind of situations and had learnt how to compartmentalize whatever she was feeling or she genuinely believed what she was saying. Or maybe both.
At least Namikaze-san was there, Mitsuko was thankful for that. It was why she'd tried her best to keep near the blonde the whole time that she'd been in this room of powerhouses and authority figures. Awatsuki-chan's roommate was her anchor in the madhouse she'd suddenly found herself in.
"Saten-chan, calm down. Going into a panic is what that twisted witch wants. You want to play her games?"
The glare sent the blonde's way made Mitsuko inwardly scream as she shifted behind the Number 2.
Namikaze-san! Please don't rile her up!
The Level 4 didn't know what to think of this highly emotional Saten Ruiko, it was so alien to see the usually stoic girl get so worked up. Sure, she and everyone else in school had noted how she'd been thawing lately since she'd started spending time with Namikaze-san and Misaka-san. You'd have to blind and deaf to have missed the signs after the Midsummer Festival. Despite that, the sheer level of emotion that she was displaying at the moment left Mitsuko floored.
Is this the power of friendship? Mitsuko mused. To be able to help someone like [The Robot] out of her shell, their friendship must be something special indeed.
The Aero Hand user was drawn from her thoughts when a noise came from the bed.
"Ugh." Misaka-san said as she pushed herself up from the bed. "Huh? Where am I? What happened?"
"Sempai got her butt royally kicked!"
The [Railgun] went from confused to annoyed in a second flat. "Don't sound so cheerful, you Baka-Chibi!"
"Hehe, I warned you to wait for one of us." The blonde shook her head, the pigtails she set up while waiting moving with her. "You've gotta stop being so rash, Sempai. It was a good thing Kongou-chan was there otherwise I would have had to go on a rampage all over that place."
The blonde patted the taller brunette on the shoulder in appreciation.
"Yeah. Yeah." Misaka-san said dismissively, before turning towards Mitsuko and offering a grateful smile. "Thanks for the save back there, Kongou-san."
Mitsuko flushed at all the praise and snapped her fan open to cover her face with it. "I-It's nothing at all! I was simply doing what was right. Not as if those ruffians were a match for me, hohoho!"
"I know that!" Saten-san shouted from her corner, gaining everyone's attention. "But she's my mother. And I'm worried."
Mitsuko shifted in worry, even as Misaka-san questioned Namikaze-san. "What's going on with that?"
"Kiyama-sensei flew the coop." Namikaze-san explained with a sigh. "Probably to do something reckless and stupid. Saten-chan has been worrying since she lost track of her."
"She lost track of her?"
"Yup. She's Saten's Kaa-san, she knows all her tricks."
Mitsuko was lost, she had no idea what the Level 5s were talking about. She didn't say anything though, admitting her ignorance was a weakness she wasn't ready to allow. So she simply nodded in faux understanding.
"Saten!" Misaka-san called out from her bed. When the aforementioned girl turned to face her, she continued. "Relax will you? Your Kaa-san is probably going after MAR, so all we need to do is to take them out before she gets hurt doing whatever she plans to."
It's probably not a good idea to remind her that her mother is in danger, Misaka-san.
She let out the small whimper she had been holding in until now as the Number 3 glared at their sempai.
"Don't remind me. Each minute counts! And I'm just here sitting on my hands! I have to get out there, we-we need a plan. I have to think." She said and began to pace, muttering words in an incoherent stream tinged with a palpable sense of worry and frustration.
Suddenly, Shirai-san teleported into the room with Konori-san before disappearing again and rematerializing a moment later with that ruffian Kurozuma-san in tow.
"Onee-sama, you're awake!" The teleporter exclaimed, before forgetting all decorum and proceeding to tackle her roommate with a hug. The electromaster tolerated it for a moment before the younger girl's hands began to wander - Hmph! How indecent. - and she shocked her.
Ignoring the antics with an ease that Mitsuko could only chalk up to experience, Konori-san addressed the rest of the room.
"I just got off the phone with Yomikawa-san. Anti-Skill is mobilizing against MAR."
"They won't be much use though, not against the witch's big guns." Namikaze-san declared dismissively.
"Agreed." Saten-san said as she stopped her pacing. "But at least they'll be able to tie down some of her assets."
"Your head in the game now?" Misaka-san asked as she pushed a twitching but insensate Shirai-san off her. "'Cause we need your help right now."
Saten-san took a deep breath before nodding.
"Phew. For a moment there, I thought I needed to get Uiharu-chan to slap you again."
"Namikaze-san!" A red-faced Uiharu-san shouted, sounding scandalized.
A Level 1 slapping a Level 5? What!? Mitsuko's mind stuttered in confusion as she tried to process what kind of insane situation would lead to something like that happening.
Namikaze-san cocked her head in confusion. "What? If you didn't I would have. And I don't hold back when it comes to my love taps."
A slap is a love tap?! Awatsuki-san is right, Namikaze-san can be a bit ruthless when need be.
Even as the others began exchanging banter, Saten-san froze. It was downright unnerving but no one else seemed to pay it any mind at all.
More strangeness? I don't know if I can take any more.
"Done." Saten-san declared in a robotic voice. "MAR is on the move. I've uploaded the data to Uiharu's tablet."
"Got it!"
"Great." Namikaze-san declared with a predatory grin on her face. "It's time to go hunting."
Something about that grin made Mitsuko deeply uneasy.
What in the world have I gotten myself involved in!?
The group was currently driving around in a personalized mobile base. The van was sleek and had all the fancy enhancements to its engines, suspension, tires and other working parts that a Dark Sider would need in a vehicle. All wrapped up in a relatively nondescript package that allowed it to fit in with the busy streets of the City without drawing unwanted attention. With its rear converted into a sitting area that included leather seats with attached variable size cup holders and overhead storage racks for gear and other stuff that included a fridge currently stocked with a selection of drinks, it was quite the luxurious transport.
"Sempai, where did you get the van?" Konori-sempai asked as she eyed the fancy interior.
Kurozuma-san just shrugged. "This is something blondie got me."
"What happened to your bike?" The senior Judgement agent teased.
"Not practical for this. We'll go riding again another time." The man sent back with a smile.
Mii blushed at that invitation, and stammered out a reply. "S-Sure."
Ah! Young love. Kurama commented with a wistful sigh. Naru just ignored him, he was going on a strange tangent again as he was wont to do. She'd learned long ago to ignore him when he did.
"So what do the rest of you think?" Naru asked from her seat, where unlike the others who were belted in, she stuck to her seat via chakra. She was kicking her legs in a carefree fashion as she looked around the interior. "I didn't think Kurozuma would have to use this during this Op, but if it works, it works. Still trying to think up a name though."
"You want to name it?" Misaka-sempai said with a deadpan look.
"It's awesome on wheels. I don't have to drive, but if I did I'd want something like this."
"Too flashy." Saten commented, looking unimpressed. "Big waste of money on unnecessary luxury that will be damaged the moment it sees action too."
"Hmph, you just can't appreciate style. Besides, this is armored and can take a few hits from most conventional hardware. Besides, didn't your toy glove fall apart?"
"It was a prototype." Saten shot back defensively. "Kurozuma-san was never meant to use it in actual combat yet, just test it out. Besides, your armor will mean nothing to an RPG or any of the more lethal abilities out there."
"Uiharu-chan seems to like it." Said girl looked up from sipping the canned drink she'd fished out of the fridge the moment they got onboard and looked between the bickering Level 5s in confusion. Apparently, she'd been too distracted by the tablet in her lap and her drink to keep track of the conversation.
Saten shook her head at her best friend's questioning look before replying with an accompanying shrug. "Sure, but she isn't going to be the one who has to pay for having this thing cleaned when your drinks spill all over the leather or if it gets damaged in a fight and we need to replace things. There's a good reason why combat gear is utilitarian."
You know they're right, don't you? I've been trying to tell you that for ages.
Oh shut up, you walking fur coat!
Naru rolled her eyes. "Whatever, I've got a few of these. And they were given to me for a job I did, so they're free."
"Gotta agree with Saten here, Chibi. You let yourself get fleeced." Misaka-sempai remarked. "Betcha if you didn't demand all the luxurious stuff, you'd have gotten a better deal."
Naru pouted and crossed her arms. "Hmph, let's just go over what we're doing."
"Namikaze-san, don't pout." Uiharu-chan told her. "I think it's nice."
"I do too." Kongou-san added in tentatively.
Naru's ego was appeased by this as Saten shook her head.
"You two are enabling her."
"I don't see what's wrong with it." Uiharu-chan said, as she pressed at the screen of her tablet and activated a hidden projector. "But let's focus on the situation at hand for now. Kurozuma-san is currently driving us towards the MAR trucks that Saten-san found using some traffic cams. From what we can see, Kiyama-sensei is ahead of us."
"Sadly, these are dummies." Shirai-chan frowned, as she looked up from her phone. "Anti-Skill has informed us of this. They've also helpfully began clearing the traffic so we won't have civilians all over the place when we engage them."
"That should make our lives a whole lot easier." Naru continued. "After we take out their Capacity Down systems, Kurozuma, Konori-sempai, and Kongou-chan will stay and tie down the goons in those trucks while the rest of us go after the real targets."
"Leave it to me, Namikaze-san!" Kongou-chan said, looking combat ready, though Naru could see a small quiver in her frame. She was nervous, but willing to help out.
Naru smiled kindly at her. "I know I can, Kongou-chan. Next, the rest of us will group up and track down the bitch of a witch and nail her saggy ass."
"Keep in radio contact though." Saten advised, as she passed out the self contained earpiece radios. "If anyone encounters unexpectedly heavy trouble, call for help."
"Shirai-chan, Saten-chan, and I will teleport to you as fast as we can."
"Let's do this, Team Trinity!" Uiharu-chan pumped her fist in the air.
"Since when did that name become official?" Misaka-sempai moaned in annoyance.
"Um, I thought that was the case for a while now?" Uiharu-chan flustered. "Namikaze-san said you guys were all for it."
The other members of the Trinity glared at Naru, who whistled innocently.
Told you it would backfire.
Don't make me come in there!
"Save the chit chat, girls." Kurozuma-san in a serious voice that he rarely used. "We're here."
With that declaration the van suddenly began to swerve wildly from side to side. Naru unfazed by the force of the sudden motion, stood up and walked over to the rear of the van and grabbed hold of the rear door's handle. "Tell me when!"
"Now!"
Naru pushed the doors open and leapt out while unleashing a barrage of fireballs that took out the tires of the MAR trucks. Over her head, a series of thin lasers curved unnaturally through the air and hit various parts of the trucks as Saten took out their Capacity Down systems.
Under the combined barrage by the two Level 5s, the trucks were forced to brake hard. So hard that sparks flew into the air as they came to a stop. Kiyama-sensei reacted quickly and managed to avoid a collision by quickly switching lanes and going around the now disabled trucks. She shot pass the team's truck before braking and coming to a stop somewhere behind them.
Good. She's out of the immediate line of fire.
MAR wasn't down for the count yet though and several panels opened up on the side of the disabled vehicles to allow two dozen armed powered suits to disembark.
"Let's get this show on the road!"
While everyone filed out of the van to fight the MAR soldiers, Kazari teleported with Saten-san to Kiyama-sensei's car.
"Kaa-san, you were following the wrong trucks. Wait for us to get onboard. We'll escort you." Saten-san rattled off so quickly Kazari barely understood her.
Kiyama-sensei didn't have a problem though and with a frustrated sigh nodded. Just then, Shirai-san teleported into the backseat of the car with long belts of her nails and took a seat.
Misaka-san jumped onto the roof with a thud causing Kiyama-sensei to let out an annoyed hiss. "Second time in a week."
As Uiharu slid into the front passenger seat, she looked behind her to see Konori-sempai, Kurozuma-san and Kongou-san engage the MAR gunmen. Konori-sempai was using her Clairvoyance to spot where the men were taking cover thus allowing Kongou-san to launch random bits of debris with her Aero Hand at them and forcing them into the open where Kurozuma-san would whack them into unconsciousness with the gun he was wielding like a bat. They tried to shoot at the group, but without leaving the backseat Shirai-san quickly put an end to that by filling their guns with her nails. A couple of helicopters were in bound but Naru-san just teleported the crews out and into Kurozuma-san's path while Misaka-san took them out with a couple of railgun shots. Saten-san meanwhile was suppressing the MAR troops with energy beams from atop a floating chunk of the flyover that she kept close to the car.
"Go straight, Kiyama-sensei." Kazari directed as she finished buckling up and turned her attention away from the fighting behind them.
With a nod, Kiyama-sensei sped off.
Namikaze-san who had flown to the right of the speeding car, turned to speak to Saten-san who kept pace on the other side. "Were my eyes playing tricks on me? Or is that redheaded baka using that railgun rifle you gave him as a club?"
Saten-san just nodded her head in agreement. "Yes, he is. He obviously doesn't know how much that thing costs. Ugh! I'll just get him a fancy bat next time."
Namikaze-san snickered.
"Kaa-san, just drive faster please. And don't worry, we'll get them back." The Number 3 changed the topic to offer reassurance to her mother.
"And totally murder that bitch."
"Namikaze-san." Shirai-san warned.
"I'm with Naru-san on this. She's not breathing." Saten-san said in a dangerous tone.
"No killing!" Misaka-san shouted at her two kohai.
"Fine, fine, beat her near to death?" The blonde asked hopefully.
"As a member of Judgement, I can accept that." Shirai-san hummed.
"Kuroko!"
"Onee-sama, I'm sorry, but this woman needs more than a pair of cuffs."
"And you guys say I can't focus on the mission." Namikaze-san chided, earning a chastised look from Shirai-san and presumably from Misaka-san as well. "Uiharu-chan, figured out where she's going yet?"
"Based on her current course… Yes, I've got it. She's headed for an abandoned propulsion system lab in District 23 that's owned by Kihara Gensei."
Saten-san frowned in concentration for a moment before a smirk spread across her face. "There's an exit ramp she'll need to take. It's the perfect place to-"
"Cut her off with brimstone and fire?" Namikaze-san finished with a smirk of her own.
"Lots of fire."
"I love you when you're this ruthless."
"Girls, less talk more fighting the enemy."
"Yes, Kaa-san." "Yes, ma'am."
With their destination fixed, it was a simple matter of stopping the car and teleporting it and everyone in it to the exit ramp they needed to secure.
It seemed that they weren't the only ones who realized the importance of the ramp though, as instead of finding MAR trying to speed down it. They instead saw the large collection of trucks stopped by the side of the road just before the ramp and disgorging an army of powered suits.
Most intimidating of all though were the trio of huge machines that Kazari's research identified as MAR's Gigantic Advanced Movement Armors. They were designed for heavy lifting during emergency rescue situations, but these were heavily modified to serve a far more deadly purpose. They all had shoulder mounted mortars, missile pods filled with micro missiles running down the centre of their backs that were visible as they turned to face the group and a gatling gun mounted on either side of the hips.
"Time to bring hell on earth." Namikaze-san said, conjuring a pair of raging fireballs in her hands.
Electrical orbs floated around Saten-san as she nodded. "Fire."
The blonde combined the two balls of flame and released a tidal wave of fire.
The wave of flame scorched the front ranks of the army and Saten-san's beams blasted deep trenches in their ranks.
"Hey! What did I say about killing people!? Misaka-san demanded in shock at the other Level 5s' brutal opening salvo.
"Don't worry so much." Saten-san distractedly reassured. "They're mostly automated."
"I didn't think we'd be up against an army." Shirai-san gulped, visibly intimidated even as the machines finally opened up with their weapons only for their fire to run into a steadily thickening dome of defensive barriers courtesy of Saten-san.
"It's not that impressive." Namikaze-san told them. "Think of it as target practice."
"Agreed." Saten-san said with a nod. "It's battalion strength at best. Nothing I've not handled before."
"I mean, we've got three army destroyers right here."
As if in response to that statement, MAR took action to even out their odds and started pumping Capacity Down out through the District's public announcement system. Immediately Kazari felt her head overwhelmed by an intense headache that made it almost impossible to think much less do anything. If the agonised expression on Shirai-san's face was any indication, she felt the same. Misaka-san was likely in the same boat too.
"Uiharu!" Saten-san cried out in concern.
"Saten-chan, we've gotta focus and take out the system." The blonde shouted at her as she destroyed another wave of powered suits.
Kazari felt a hand shoved in front of her face. She painfully opened her eyes to see Kiyama-sensei's opened palm holding out two blue glowing ear plugs.
The Judgement officer grabbed them and shoved them into her ears. In an instant the painful sound was gone and she could hear Saten-san calling out to her.
"Saten-san, I'm okay!"
"Sorry, I forgot about those." Kiyama-sensei said with an apologetic smile. "They're a prototype of a system to counter Capacity Down. It's programmed to broadcast the antiphase to the sound it uses, even has sensors and programming to allow it to adapt to any changes in frequency. So it should keep you safe no matter what modifications Lifeline has made." The scientist turned towards the army and shot it a glare that was probably aimed at its leader. "I developed it in my spare time after I learned the enemy was using Capacity Down, but it wasn't really my focus so there's only this one prototype."
"That's-!" Namikaze-san pouted. Most likely upset over the fact that someone had invented a counter to her system. "I'm cool with this for now, but please don't distribute that around Kiyama-sensei."
"No promises."
The blonde looked grumpy at this, but that didn't stop her from taking out another dozen or so advancing powered suits with a barrage of wind blades.
"Uiharu, you need to hack into the District's systems and take out the Capacity Down." Saten-san informed her as she gave Kazari's shoulder a reassuring squeeze and stepped away to help Namikaze-san. "Naru-san and I will hold them off."
"Right."
No pressure. I've just got to stop the system torturing two of my friends while another two of them faces off against an army.
"You can do it Uiharu-chan." Kiyama-sensei said with a confident nod.
No pressure at all.
Done and done! Phew! Another one down. Thanks to the team of Nameless and Ax as usual.
SO LONG CHAPTER, HUH? You gotta be thinking, what else could go into this one?!
Nameless: So believe it or not, this long-ass chapter was supposed to also include the final battle of the arc too. But when we reached the point we did end at, we just couldn't resist the cliffhanger. Hope you guys like it.
Talking about the final battle, we hope we did what's about to come justice by giving MAR some heavier ordinance. Logically, since she's facing three Level 5s this time, two of which are resistant to Capacity Down, Lifeline would make other countermeasures. The heavy equipment so far is only the beginning.
On a related note, we got some conflicting reviews on the nature of our fights. Some want us to just have our MCs stomp any and all opposition, while others want us to give them a challenge. After some thought we, as you might have guessed, have decided to go with the latter. We thought it would be more interesting this way. Stomp fics are fun and all but if the Trinity just stomped all their opposition then they wouldn't grow. People, especially characters in adventure stories like this fic, tend to grow the most when facing adversity after all. So look forward to us trying to put the girls through the wringer in each arc and hopefully introduce them to some increasing difficulty as the story progresses.
E4E: We've had some growing character development here, Saten's emotionless mask is slipping more and more. Sure this event is taxing, but I like her outbreaks and fits. Also, Naru's wallowing on being sent alone shows she's growing accustomed to her companions. And apparently Kurama wants to be a Youtube star, go figure. Wataru had a moment to shine and we got a POV from Kongou! I adored it personally and hope to do it again some time later. It's nice to see our MCs and their actions/antics from minor characters' perspectives.
Nameless: So to continue the theme for this arc's titles we kept it in German as a nod to the German origins of the word Poltergeist. In this case, "Präludium zum Kampf" which translates to "Prelude to Battle". At least, it is according to Google. Again, I beg the pardon for anyone who are fluent German speakers for any errors.
We've been in a German mood as of late, I blame Tanya the Evil, that demonic business loli. Or that Naru has some German themes to her, still hope you've all enjoyed the chapter!
Be sure to smash that review button and tell us what you like! No flames and peace off my peeps!