19 Chapter 18

Misaka had finally pinned down the girl. Well, pinned her to the wall to be precise. She knew that she had won the battle. was intriguing that the magician was fighting with such a simple arsenal, but she attributed that to the unconscious state she seemed to be in. In fact, it almost felt as if she was being controlled. Otherwise, the fight would have been even. Still, she had won, the girl was defenceless, and she was ready to capture her. Yet, grandiose plans of capturing the magician were suddenly thrown down the drain in a ball of fire.

She didn't know what had hit her. One moment she was high in the air and the next she was falling, caught up in a blast from behind. That was not supposed to happen. The A.A.A was military grade hardware that most if not all governments would drool over. It allowed for the normal human to rival an army. Yet this machine that was never supposed to fail was now rapidly approaching the ground. It could only mean one thing. That damned bird person had attacked her from behind. She didn't know why and how he had found a weak spot, but she knew that if she caught him… well, to say the least it wouldn't end the least bit well for him. For now, she had to brace for the impact.

"Gaaah!" She grunted in pain. Falling from some 10 metres above the ground would be lethal for the normal person, but she wasn't that. However, it still hurt, and the fact that the A.A.A padded the fall didn't help at all, rather it made it more painful, as it threatened to break, curtesy of the damage it had sustained from the blast.

She struggled to get up. When she did though, she quickly ditched the A.A.A. At this point it had become inoperative, and it's hulking 20-ton heavy frame did more harm rather than good. She scanned the area around her, searching for the Hero who'd back stabbed her, but he had left the scene, or at least, wasn't close to where she was. She had more pressing matters though. The magician had recovered faster, and more importantly, with no wounds that she could see.

The loss of the A.A.A was a setback that Misaka didn't expect, but she didn't think too much of it. She wasn't dependent on it to fight. Once before she was, but the Misaka of then and the Misaka of now were different persons.

She was bleeding blood at an alarming rate, and her body was working overtime to heal her. With the help of the Rampage Dress most external damage had been healed. However, the crux of the damage was internal, and she was having trouble healing from that.

She could not take the initiative now and she had to play defence if she wanted to capture her. So when she saw the girl preparing for the attack that she so religiously used, she put up a shield. Yet she could not focus well. A function of her body that she had become so accustomed to, proved to be her downfall. As her organs were fixed and patched up at an inhuman rate, she had to endure inhuman pain.

Misaka could handle pain. However, every organism had a limit. Misaka knew that, but she had never been pushed far enough in this new world to know this limit. She had once before briefly toyed with the idea briefly shutting down the signals from her pain receptors, but had discarded it, in fear of become something inhuman. Now she regretted that choice. The pain was wrecking her from inside and she stood helpless. No matter how hard she tried to, the shield she managed to raise was not satisfactory. She could do nothing to help that though and she had to do her best to defend against any attacks that the girl would throw at her, hoping that the pain stopped soon enough.

Misaka prepared and soon enough the attack came. Supersonic jade crystals raced to her, and she hoped her shield would hold up. With no way to dodge or somehow destroy the crystals, curtesy of the pain she was feeling right now, it was all she could do, and she hated herself for that. She was supposed to be far stronger than even All Might, smarter at least, and here she was outpowered by a magician who was running berserk. How had it come to this she wondered? Once more, the A.A.A was to blame, or at least that was what she told herself. And in this regard, she was correct. If Hawks hadn't destroyed the A.A.A, right now everyone would be in their homes, content with the result of the battle. The destruction of the A.A.A and the ensuing damage meant that the magician now had the upper hand, and though berserk she might be, she took her chance and shot at Misaka.

Not a second later, the crystals reached her. One by one they impacted the shield and the shield held. At some point though it started to stop destroying any crystal as fast as it was. Misaka tried to keep it up, but it was too much. In a fateful moment a crystal went through the shield and hit her.

The pain was excruciating. She hadn't expected it to hurt that much, though she should have known better from the damage all around her. The pain halted all of the uses of her power, rendering her unable to focus on anything else. A dozen or so crystals followed through and struck Misaka in various places in her bodies. It was a blessing in disguise that the magician hadn't attacked again because Misaka didn't know what would happen then. In the corner of her eye though, she saw her preparing to attack.

"St-stop." Misaka pleaded. It was the only thing she could do through the visceral pain that was tearing through her. Her words fell on deaf ears though.

"St-stop…" She repeated, but she was ignored. Anger brewed inside her. This magician bitch had defeated her and now she wasn't responding. Had she been defeated by a being that couldn't even think? She refused to accept that. She, the strongest person in this city, nay in this country, defeated by a non-thinking magician who only used one attack? While normally this would make a person have a shift in their world view, this didn't happen here. Instead, something snapped inside Misaka. Sure, she had become arrogant, but it wasn't without reason. Really, if she wanted to, she could have killed the magician any moment in their fight. But so far, she had refused to kill anything remotely human. It was a little piece of humanity she still thought she had. That she had not taken the life of another.

As she stood at death's door, she wondered what that stance had achieved. Nothing! All it had done was cause her great damage. So many enemies that at a single thought she could kill, and she had never done anything like that, no matter how despicable they were. If her reward for holding back, for hiding behind a mask of good, for not becoming a killer was this, what harm could come from doing exactly what she had avoided?

"Ha." She laughed; she laughed a mad laugh. She laughed at the face of death, who had come to claim her. In a fit of rage, she willed her body to stand back up, her body protesting, hurting at the exertion of Misaka. Wounds filled her body, and the pain had increased exponentially. But she refused to give up, wounds and pain be damned. She wouldn't lose because of a backstab!

She felt a searing headache. She felt as if something had wormed its way into her brain and taken her over. She accepted it though. It promised revenge, vengeance against the one who had backstabbed her, and the one who had hurt her. She was losing her sense of self; and she roared, letting out a scream so loud, that it seemed as if it was going to reach the heavens.

"Aaaaaaargh!" And wings, black as the night sky spread from her back. The Heaven-Sent Child Loved by Electrons had been offered power and she grabbed it greedily. The hundred-meter-long black wings that tore through what remained of the floor were the sign of that. With a singular goal in mind, and having become similar to the magician, a person that operated on instinct, she attacked, seemingly rejuvenated from all the wounds she had sustained.

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Hawks stood trembling. How could he not? The sight in front of him was terrifying. When the girl in the machine fell down, he had expected her to become injured enough to retreat or surrender. It was what logic dictated. Yet that was reversed when she stood up and reversed once again after she got back up from the barrage of crystals that had hit her. Her body, filled with wounds, and bleeding all over was not what made him cower in fear. He had seen people handling worse injuries.

What truly scared him were the wings that had sprouted from the girl's back. They were dark, so dark that it seemed as if the sun didn't exist in that spot. The only source of light in them were the sparks of electricity that sparked every so often around them. He got lost in this pair of wings, feeling the anger, the hate they contained. He struggled to avert his eyes from them, so captivating they were. When he did though, it was because the winged girl moved, almost faster than what he could perceive.

"D̴͈͎͔̿̾̔I̵̳̘̹͋͝E̵̗̐̉!̴͊͛ͅ!̵̨̤̐͌!̴̬̋́͠"

The girl shouted something that sounded gibberish to him, yet it made the Villain react. A small pause, a hesitation in attacking, gave the girl the perfect moment to strike. He had expected it to be something brutal, a punch maybe or a kick. What happened however was not that. The girl had used those wings to propel herself high up in the air, above the Villain.

A rumbling thunder warned him of what was to come, and having returned to his senses, as fast as he could, he distanced himself from the battlefield.

From the far-away place he was perched in, he observed the battlefield with a keen eye. The fight drew him in, the clash of powers far beyond his own thrilled him. He knew that he was going to be reprimanded, but he was compelled to stay and watch.

He saw the Villain raising a crystal shield and he saw the girl preparing to attack.

He saw the attack first before he heard it. In a flash of bluish-white light and the crack of thunder, everything changed. As he got his sight back from the brilliant flash of light, he witnessed the results of the attack. All around the Villain, the ground had melted under the intense heat and power of the bolt, and the Villain was not in anyway in a better situation. The shield, that had endured so many attacks from them and the girl, had been rendered useless, and the Villain had to endure at least a small part of the attack. However, even a small part of this attack was disastrous. The clothes of the shell-shocked Villain, who he could now clearly see was a teenage girl with long, silver hair, were burned in different places.

Despite the power that had been showcased there, Hawks knew he had to interfere. If he didn't, it'd mean the death of a Villain. A Villain that had to be delivered to justice. He knew that this move was suicidal, but he had to do this, he had to. Without wasting time, he rushed to the scene, ready to sweep in and grab the silver haired Villain.

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In another rooftop, somewhere far from him, Misaka Mikoto was sitting down crying. Her winged self had fallen unconscious, the pain clearly too much even for a creature that had one singular goal. The next time she had awoken, what had happened had hit her like a truck. She hated what her actions had done, the destruction they had brought, for no reason at all. The silver haired magician had escaped, though bloody and battered, and Misaka had only extracted momentary revenge. Yet, the logical part of her brain quickly took stock and control of the situation. What had she learned? Well,

Hawks had arrived too late to the scene. His otherwise superhuman speed had failed him. The many attacks he had done had left his wings almost featherless, and his speed had been impacted.

The sight that greeted him was a horrifying one. The winged girl was on top of the silver haired one throwing rage filled punches. He tried to make out what the gibberish he was hearing was, but all he understood was that they were shouts full of rage and hate.

"D̸̡̛̻̤̞̫͚̙̼̳͕̹̟͓͈̤̩͖̫̋̓͛̊̚͜ͅI̷̡̛̫̫̥̱̘̜̼̟̤̻͔̰͍̲̐͐͂̈́̏̀͂͆̏̑̐̇̽̏̈́̚͘͜͜͠ͅȄ̵̞͙̭̤̼̠͕͈̺̹͙͒ D̸̡̛̻̤̞̫͚̙̼̳͕̹̟͓͈̤̩͖̫̋̓͛̊̚͜ͅI̷̡̛̫̫̥̱̘̜̼̟̤̻͔̰͍̲̐͐͂̈́̏̀͂͆̏̑̐̇̽̏̈́̚͘͜͜͠ͅȄ̵̞͙̭̤̼̠͕͈̺̹͙͒ D̸̡̛̻̤̞̫͚̙̼̳͕̹̟͓͈̤̩͖̫̋̓͛̊̚͜ͅI̷̡̛̫̫̥̱̘̜̼̟̤̻͔̰͍̲̐͐͂̈́̏̀͂͆̏̑̐̇̽̏̈́̚͘͜͜͠ͅȄ̵̞͙̭̤̼̠͕͈̺̹͙͒ D̸̡̛̻̤̞̫͚̙̼̳͕̹̟͓͈̤̩͖̫̋̓͛̊̚͜ͅI̷̡̛̫̫̥̱̘̜̼̟̤̻͔̰͍̲̐͐͂̈́̏̀͂͆̏̑̐̇̽̏̈́̚͘͜͜͠ͅȄ̵̞͙̭̤̼̠͕͈̺̹͙͒ D̸̡̛̻̤̞̫͚̙̼̳͕̹̟͓͈̤̩͖̫̋̓͛̊̚͜ͅI̷̡̛̫̫̥̱̘̜̼̟̤̻͔̰͍̲̐͐͂̈́̏̀͂͆̏̑̐̇̽̏̈́̚͘͜͜͠ͅȄ̵̞͙̭̤̼̠͕͈̺̹͙͒ D̸͓͇͇̩̯͙̽̈́̏̍Ǐ̶̧Ę̸̭̜̮̥̫̍!̵̨̛̱͙͍͒͑̈́!̵͇͓̮̦͆"

The winged girl continued to shout. Keigo had to act fast, otherwise it would truly be too late. The Villain was in a dire situation. With every punch that rained down on her she spurted blood. The winged girl was not in a better situation. Blood had dried on her clothes and from various parts of her body, fresh blood was still running. To add to that, her knuckles had been dyed red with blood. He knew deep inside that he was about to do was equal to suicide, but he had to do it, had to, otherwise the Villain would die before justice had been delivered.

He could see the winged girl panting, struggling to take a breath, and he knew that soon he'd have a chance. He stood across the imposing hundred-meter-long black wings, and he carefully strategized. He'd have to wait until the girl stopped her barrage of punches and then carry the girl and fly as fast as he could. He was confident that even in his weakened state he could fly fast enough to outrun the equally tired girl.

"D̸̡̛̻̤̞̫͚̙̼̳͕̹̟͓͈̤̩͖̫̋̓͛̊̚͜ͅI̷̡̛̫̫̥̱̘̜̼̟̤̻͔̰͍̲̐͐͂̈́̏̀͂͆̏̑̐̇̽̏̈́̚͘͜͜͠ͅȄ̵̞͙̭̤̼̠͕͈̺̹͙͒!̵̨̛̱͙͍͒͑̈́!̵͇͓̮̦͆!̵͇͓̮̦͆"

With that final shout of gibberish that was accompanied by a strong punch to the gut, the winged girl stopped to take a breath. Hawks saw his chance. It was a miracle how he had been ignored, but he guessed that the girl, in her berserk state, ignored everyone else not her target.

He unfurled his wings, miniatures in comparison to those in front of him, and took a deep breath. He did not know why he was risking his life for a Villain. Perhaps the animosity in front of him moved him, or perhaps it was the fact that his conscience as a Hero made him unable to let someone die in front of him. No matter the case, he had sworn to save the girl, and he'd do just that.

With lightning speed, he grabbed the girl in the crater on the ground and took off. The girl added almost no weight, roughly fifty kilos, and he was able to fly at the speeds he wanted. At supersonic speeds, he navigated through the ruins around the mall. The damage of the wings was clear for everyone to see. It was good that the surrounding area had been evacuated, because he retched just by thinking the death toll. All the high-rise buildings had at least one floor cut clean through, and the streets were full of rubble.

"W̶͚̣̱̺̙̘̯̝͙̺͇̒͂̃͑̕H̸̡̺̤̗̜̩̜͖͋̐̒̾̌̚O̴̘͇̥̝̖̯̥̲̅̒͊̍͋͜ ̸̨̲̰̜͉̋̐͂̋̀̎͗̽̍̈̚̚Ą̷͖̠̪͙̜͊̈͛̆̈̃̈́͘̚͝Ṙ̷̝͓̂̆͐̔́Ę̷̼͓̹͚̬̱̞̘̑̂̅̋͆͜ ̷̩͙͚̦̞̖͈̰̱͒̈́͌̎̈́̅͑̔̋͒͝ͅY̸̦̞̱͊̂̆͑͜Ơ̷̧̳͉̣͈̜̤̩̤̳͚͎͊̽̋̂͑̄͊̌̇̈́Ū̷̡̠̜̻͓̱̻͉̗̫̇̽͂͐̃̋͋̏͠?̵̢͕͚̜̥̩̗̙̓̃̐̐̄͐͋͘͜?̵̨̢̥̱̮̹̹̠̝͊̈́W̸̨̃̑H̸̜̗̙̞Y̶̨̯͎̰̱͆̈́́͐̐̍ ̶̮̺̬̺͎͂̏Á̵̻̖̼͓̲̏̍R̴͕̝̣̓̌̈́͂́̅̃͒͆̅͝ͅĔ̸̢̧̧͈̭̜͕͚̲͓̯ ̶̬͕̪͍͕̠͎͂̒̚Y̴̡̫̼̋̅̓Ȍ̴̳̫͇̪̲̾͂̈̓͌̔͋̃Ư̴̞̼̬̭͔̂̓̈͆͐̍͗̂̚ ̴̢̧̛͈͛̓͌̈́͌̋͘͝͠͝͝T̶̢̢̼͇͉̗̰̣̣̺̯͐̈̃̇̀̈́͆͛͘A̵̛̜̺͚͆̅͊͂̕̚͜Ķ̴̳̗̥͕͇̯̺͓͖̥̮͐͝Ị̶̡̳͍͉̭͚̮̱̝͙̝̏̓̄̌̅̅̎̎͆̕̚Ṉ̸̳͈̌̈́̐͆̂͐͘G̸̱̪̜͚̼̻̪̺̉ ̷̥̫͂̿̐͆̈̌̉̐͊̚̚H̴̻̼̉E̵͈̱͈͓̺̙͚̳̠̰͉͐͝R̵̭̳̼̅̀͛̋̑̌͛̄̔͘̕?̵̩͎̍͊̉͊͑͌͘?̸̛̲̻̹̣̈́̾̊̓̒̈́̚͝͝ͅ"

Behind him, the girl continued speaking gibberish. He however continued flying, never stopping to look back.

One flap, two flaps. Accompanied by destruction the girl flapped her wings and flew, flew in hopes of catching the one who had stolen her prey from her hands. It was in vain though. The one who had taken her prey was too fast for her to catch up to. She could attack, but her prey would be caught in the attack as well. That was not acceptable. She had to punish the one who had hurt her by inflicting more damage, more pain. Her torture was not over!!!

Inevitably, Hawks escaped. He briefly wondered why the winged girl had not attacked, but he cleared such thoughts from his head; he didn't want to jinx himself. He landed on the rooftop of a building, gently put the silver-haired girl down, and tried to find the closest Association building with medical facilities. Once he found it, he picked the girl up again and flew towards there.

In naturally she had to rebuild the A.A.A, if for nothing other than mobility. She also had to begin fighting smart again. What was it that had allowed her to fight enemies that trumped her in power? Intelligent use of her powers. Yet now she had slacked on that front. She had become complacent with the power level of this world and thought that she could solve everything with brute power; she could, but that way she'd become a killing machine. She had to become an intelligent fighter once again. Her final realization was one that she made but had struggled to come to terms with.

It was the realization of her ability and willingness to kill something or someone. Ever since she had become a Level 5 every teacher and doctor around her told her to be careful with her powers. She could understand why. With a simple thought she could bring down lightning strong enough to cause city wide blackouts, send out electromagnetic pulses able to turn organs into mush, attack with lightning strong enough to fry a person. It was why she was almost always careful with her power. She didn't want to kill anyone by mistake. The by mistake part was important though. She tried to reject the fact that she was willing to kill someone. Not necessarily now that she was not herself, but the fight with Brunhild and the many other fights she had had after that, clearly showcased that fact. Now, in light of recent events she had to accept it. She had to accept the fact that she was messed up enough to want to kill someone.

Slowly, she stood up and walked down the stairs from the rooftop to the bottom floor. She was thankful that she was still cautious enough to disable all the cameras in the surrounding area. The prospect of her face being leaked didn't scare her, but it would be a major setback. She wanted to walk to her apartment, but a sharp pain reminded her that she had to visit a hospital. She called Mr. Haru to inform him and searched for the hospital closest to her.

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Night had arrived. In another hospital, far away from the one Misaka had been admitted into, a tall, wizened old man stood above a sleeping silver haired girl. In a voice so low that it seemed like a whisper he talked to the sleeping girl, muttering something to her ears. Then, as if he had said enough, he walked away from the bed, and, before he disappeared into smoke he said: "Alea iacta est."

In another part of town, in a small apartment two figures huddled close together. Two figures equalled two voices and the whispers they shared between them were not those of peace. Rather, they were whispers that heralded a fight, a hunt for a singular person.

All around the city of Musutafu, an unsettling air enveloped the populace. Some despaired that a Villain revolution would take place, influenced by the various attacks that had ramped up in intensity. They feared that the Hero Killer, the Winged Demon, those who invaded U.A were only the start of this revolution. Others though looked at the wind of change and grinned, for they were witnessing the start of something new, something exciting, something that would shake the world. They were witnessing their plans materializing, their innermost desires coming true. And in many peoples hearts hope grew, that the Heroes of today and tomorrow would unite, and destroy those who dared unsettle their society.