Unknown Intention

[ACMI: That Which Emerges from Obscurity]

Shirai came to pick GV and Joule up as Joule's telepathy might be helpful in order to find Uiharu.

As Saten called Anti-skill and Shirai and Misaka asked if anyone living in the nearby rooms had heard anything, Joule reached out with her power.

While she worked, she accidentally came across a familiar mind.

"Haruue?"

"Joule?" The level 2 telepath answered with a surprise.

Joule looked to the side "I was told you moved out?"

"I did move out of Uiharu's room, but I still go to the same school as her. Miss Kiyama let Banri move in here with me."

"Where is Banri, I don't sense her?" Joule admitted.

"She's currently at the hospital," Haruue explained. "She and the rest of the class went in to have some implants they're using to help regulate their powers examined."

Pity, but Joule would still ask for help so she reached out telepathically again.

"Uiharu is missing, maybe kidnapped. Do you mind helping me search. I'm outside her apartment."

"Of course!"

It took less than three minutes for Haruue to reach her.

As a bit of a reverse of normal situations, Haruue's unique type of telepathy (Where it reacted at a much higher level if supplied with the right waves) made her something like an amplifier for Joule.

Joule coughed as she went to hum and decided that she should do this without singing. Better to not feed the thing possessing her.

Together, she and Haruue reached out. Their range could cover a decent area but Uiharu's mind was nowhere to be found. She had been taken somewhere then.

"Joule- oh, hello Haruue." Shirai and Saten were running over "None of the residents have heard anything, did you two find anything."

Joule shook her head "At best we can say they didn't just hide her somewhere, but… well…"

"That's clear enough from the evidence." Saten finished for her and Joule nodded.

Heading downstairs to Misaka, they found her coming towards them.

"I've got something." The electromaster noted, holding a small terminal "There was only one vehicle that left the dorm during that time period."

The van had headed east, though there was nothing on the surveillance that showed Uiharu might be inside, it would be a way that she could be smuggled out without any other cameras catching anything.

Saten demanded to come and Joule offered her help too. GV agreed to come too, mostly to keep Joule out of as much danger as he could.

Misaka agreed, but warned Saten it would be a rough ride. GV helped Joule onto his something like a fireman's carry. Sure, it wasn't dignified but it was the best way they'd found for him to carry her.

As Shirai departed via teleportation, the electromasters set off (Though they did say goodbye to Haruue first.

Feet beat against the ground and Joule's thoughts were muddled. She felt like this was the sort of time that Lumen was meant to say some perfectly cutting statement that cleared all the fear and doubt away but…

Meanwhile, some sort of gloom was settling over her. Some sort of… grime. Some sort of Hunger?

"Did you say something Joule?" GV asked. She shook her head though.

"Nothing, I'm just getting a bad feeling."

GV grunted, not taking his eyes off the road as he sprinted along. Misaka had fallen a bit behind him as she wasn't as practised at these "magnetic dashes" as GV was.

As they ran, Joule stretched out her senses again. Her personal range was quite large these days compared to when she'd first got to academy city. She could remember when she needed to sing to give her proper telepathy more than ten meters of range. Now it stretched for a mile or so without any singing at all.

"I sense her." She sent to GV and Saten (Who could navigate for Misaka) "She's still moving so she's likely still in the van."

It was Uiharu's mind though it looked like she was asleep, though if because of drugs or something like that was difficult to determine.

There were a few other minds in there too though and one…

Joule's feeling of gloom grew.

Something prevented her from making a proper connection with her, an internal and external force. Her parasite didn't want anything to do with that mind.

If one could have seen in that moment, Joule's pupils had split once again, and they had yet to rejoin.

As GV turned a corner, the van came into sight. Shirai was standing on top of it.

In a moment, GV caught sight of someone climbing through a hatch on the top of the van behind Shirai. GV only knew because he was looking straight at her but that girl lacked the same "presence" that normal people had.

Humans can sense the presence or absence of others, even if their not in the humans' direct line of sight. There were a few different ways it worked but it could be summed up as all of a human's senses working together to gather and analyse clues. Espers and adepts even got an extra sense to help with the analysis.

The girl who had appeared behind Shirai though lacked that "Presence," even if she could be seen, she was silent (relative to the van) and left no marks. It was something that assassins learned. GV had a variation of it, but he was no expert.

Joule sent a warning to Shirai who spun in time to dodge a knife strike from the unknown assailant. The two clashed for a moment and the girl noticed GV dashing behind. As it looked like she was muttering something through, electrified barbed wire shot out from behind to grab the wheels of the van, hauling it back and stopping it as Misaka arrived (Saten having been left nearby for safety.)

The van slid to a slow crash on one side of the street, it's tires having been blown by the wire.

GV dropped Joule off and he and Misaka advanced on the truck. Joule stayed a short distance behind but did follow, even after GV gave her a look that basically said "Stay there for goodness sake."

The three of them overheard the girl and some thugs who had gotten out of the van talking.

"Go swipe us a new set of wheels."

"O- Okay."

"I won't let you." Misaka stepped in their way, panicking the thugs "Release Uiharu this instant. You'll regret it if you don't."

"Ignore her and go." A new, yet familiar voice spoke. A girl with long white hair stepped out of the van and Joule's instants started screaming at her again. No, not her instincts, the voice of the parasite. It was roaring.

The girl turned to Misaka, GV and Joule, her eyes sliding right off Misaka and GV to focus exclusively on Joule "Oh? What pretty eyes you have girl."

GV glanced back and noticed Joule's eyes properly. "Joule, your eyes-"

Misaka took over "You're not laying a hand on anyone else tonight." She stepped in front of Joule "Now hand Uiharu over, or pay the price!"

It took a moment, but the girl's eyes turned to Misaka.

"The Railgun then. The would-be star of the show."

"You're the leader?"

The girl snorted, "I guess you could say that."

Misaka focused "What was this for, Uiharu's cut of the money."

"No, nothing like that. I'm not really interested in any of your winnings. That never really was the point. I need the skills she displayed in that test. I think someone said she was called Goalkeeper right? Those are the skills I need. I just need her for a quick job, she'll come back to you in one piece, not a scratch on her."

"Do you really think-" Misaka crackled with electricity and GV noticed the iron sand in the ground gathering together behind her "I would just accept that and leave?"

"No." The girl said, ripping off one side of her coat and exposing what should have been her arm.

It wasn't her arm.

The white form expanded rapidly, twisting and mutating until a set of jaws opened and an inverted cross formed.

Joule's head erupted with pain and her thoughts ground to a halt.

The girl continued, the dragon having taken form fully from her arm "Not really."

End of chapter.

And here… we… go! Something that has been building up for almost 100 chapters now (Good lord has it really been that long?) There's a reason the Jailbreaker arc is amazing and this is part of it.