Chapter 51.3

Alina said goodbye to Katherine and Selena outside of Harvey's before ducking into a deserted alleyway. She looked around to make sure she was alone before using her powers to electromagnetically run up the side of the building. Once she reached the roof she sighed and sat down while laying the briefcase she was holding down on the ground.

Okay, so let's do a recap, Alina thought as she looked up at the sky. A lot of crap has been going on for a while now. First, I run into a kid who coincidentally - or not so coincidentally - turns out to be my niece, who's also Katie's - my one and only friend's - kid. That damn horndog …

Alina gritted her teeth and formed a fist when she thought about Jason. She took a deep breath to calm herself before going back to her musings.

Then, surprise surprise, we get attacked by some ninja-inspired-Altair-wannabes. God, that's a mouthful. My friends and Alice get hurt, everything's thrown under the rug, and Jason pretends it never happened. Urgh … Alina groaned once more while leaning back and looking upwards at the setting sun. 

Then he starts getting all secretive, even more so than he usually is. Like, Batman level secrecy and that's saying a lot. Oh, and did I mention that I'm related to the Rogues? Yep, I'm related to those business mongrels that literally own half of a continent. What. A. Crazy. Month. Well, a month and a half but who's counting?

Now, where was I? Oh, and then, I find out that Alice is a homunculsous - whatever they call it - and then, get this, our penthouse gets blown to pieces. I mean, my favourite hoodie was in there! Oh, and sometime between all that, my brother gets some superhero, or supervillain, inspired armour and goes around maiming and killing people. Believe it or not, that's not the worst thing he's done.

"And … I'm monologuing again. To literally no one," Alina said out loud. "Okay, Alina. Focus."

The carnival attack and the missile strike were obviously done by the same group. The same group that wants Alice for some reason. Jason seems to know the reason but, of course, he won't tell me. Neither can I find anything about it on his computers; A.V.A made sure I can't hack it.

All in all, things are not looking good. Which is probably why Katherine gave me this, Alina turned to the briefcase and opened it. Inside was a prototype under-armour that was similar to the one that Jason uses as Fenrir. On top of it was a half-mask, a breather that covered her lower face without obstructing her vision. Like Jason's, it was shaped like a wolf's maw that was growling, showcasing its magnificent teeth. It was this mask that had caught her attention earlier resulting in Katherine and Selena teasing her for being a lone wolf, just like her brother. [2]

Hehe. Gotta test this out, only to see if it fits … no other reason, Alina gave a gleeful laugh, like a child who discovered a world of secrets, before lifting the skin-like armour from the briefcase. Although … changing here is a little …

Alina looked around and shifted uncomfortably when she realized that she'd have to change into the armour after stripping her clothes. Outside. In public. With zero privacy.

Gritting her teeth, she clutched at the helm of her hoodie and pulled it upwards ever so slightly. 

Ah, who cares, no one is here. I can do this, I can do this … 

Moments later, Alina exited the roof and landed back in the alleyway and she hid her ripe-as-a-tomato face with her hands.

I can't do it. It's so embarrassing!

After regaining her wits, Alina searched for a public washroom before changing into the armor. She wore a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants over her armor to conceal it and placed the mask inside her pocket. She then proceeded to reinforce her joints by wearing elbow and knee protectors before putting on a pair of armored gauntlets. Raising the hood and lowering her head, she covered her face to make sure it was hard to see her features before she left the cubicle. The hood hardened to a certain degree, ensuring that it would be more difficult to accidentally come off, giving her more privacy at the expense of mobility.

Alright, now to find a few baddies to test this on …

Alina ran from rooftop to rooftop, using the sky-high buildings to scale around the city. She made her way to the Sumps, aiming for sleazy areas within the seedy neighbourhood. Soon she came across an old and almost rusted van in an isolated parking space from which loud music could be heard from.

Let's see … Alina thought as she watched the van from the rooftop of a building with narrowed eyes. Looks like a deal's going off. That's what happens in games and shows, right?

She crouched down over the ledge and waited impatiently to see if she was right. Fifteen minutes later, she noticed a figure in a school uniform hesitantly approaching the van. Her eyes narrowed when she recognized the figure: it was the bullied student that she once helped. [3]

What is he doing here . . . ?

Alina took her half-mask out and placed it over her face. There was a click as it closed in and firmly covered her mouth, nose, and ears. She raised her hand and the fingertips, which were covered in her armored gloves, glowed a light purple before cackling was heard: the suit had an integrated sound analyzer that was connected to the earpieces on her mask. With this handy device, she was able to listen in on the conversation despite the distance.

The student, a bundle of nervousness, knocked on the van's door and the music stopped suddenly, leaving a deathly quietness echoing through the area.

"Y-you sell it here?" the student stuttered as he asked almost hopefully to a silent van.

A few seconds passed before the door slid open and a man stepped out. He gazed at the student carefully before gruffly asking, "You wanna buy?"

The student nodded his head fervently and Alina, who was listening in, frowned. From out of the van came out two more men, armed with guns, each watching the surroundings carefully.

Drugs? That student didn't seem like the type to . . . Then again, he was being bullied. I guess desperation is clouding his judgement.

"Guessing you ain't here for the norm," the man studied the student with a leer before sniggering. He went back into the van and pulled a cheap-looking syringe out. "You want Accelerant."

Accelerant? That volatile shit that forcibly levels up an Esper? Alina had been cautioned by Jason of Accelerant. He told her to destroy the drug whenever she encountered it, even if it meant using her true capabilities as it would save people, specifically students. The rumours had been circulating since the start of this year's class, but neither Jason nor Alina had seen the drug, yet both suspected it to be a Practitioner drug, specifically a volatile drug that worked as Qi Supplicants.

Supplicants were used for enhancing the strength of a low levelled Practitioner while simultaneously cleansing the impurities within the body. Unfortunately, Qi Supplicants were harmful to ordinary humans, even those that were Espers, as their body could barely handle the stress of the sudden intake of Qi. Worse, this version was loaded with chemicals and drugs, making the supplicant even more harmful to Espers in the long run.

I can't let him buy that, Alina thought as she lowered her hood as much as she could and prepared to intercept the deal. Taking that drug could ruin his life forever.

Before she could leap into action though, she noticed another student walking towards the van from the opposite direction. His warm brown hair was ruffled by the wind, and his usual innocent face had a look of determination.

". . . Ken?" A stunned Alina said out loud.

[2] A face shield like Zora's mask from Black Clover. That half mask, face shield thingy.

  [3] The student that was being bullied by Markus in Chapter 30 that Alina conveniently saved when she went after Markus.