Coming around, are you?
You're in a certain building in School District 2.
"Did you rescue Misaka?" asks Misaka, expressing her gratitude.
No, this is all just part of the job. I do not need any thanks.
And she's back asleep again.
Well, well, here I thought I had finally found some respectable work again...
"A Certain Scientific Railgun T"
So you're saying that Kihara Gensei
is after the place on the urban legends website?
That's right.
But how did he find out about it?
It wasn't me!
I know that. Chronologically, the order of events doesn't fit.
Could the information be a trap, and he's leading you on?
Like he doesn't really know where it is, and he's tailing us?
It is possible.
But if that's the case,
even if he does find out where it is, I can still manage.
In the worst-case scenario...
Hey! Why did you stop?!
A traffic jam?
What is this?!
One of the unmanned buses that goes around Academy City burst into flames.
All the buses have been shut down while they determine the cause.
And with one of the main means of travel during the Daihasei Festival gone,
there are traffic jams all over that extend for several kilometers.
We're blocked in from behind, too.
Then there's no other choice.
Exterior, commence voluntary will reversal past the 13th pair.
Shokuho...?
The way ahead...!
Drive between them, as fast as you can!
R-Right!
Did Shokuho do this?
Thousands of people, extending several kilometers ahead?
I don't care if she is Academy City's greatest mental ability esper,
there's no way she could exert this much nightmarish power.
How exactly did she do this?
Whatever else happens,
I have to keep it from falling into their hands while I'm away.
Makuwa, what's that you're eating?
Hmm? Melon slices, as you can see.
What food do you hate?
Apples.
Hmm. Shokuho?
It looks like your abilities are coming along nicely.
Once Exterior is complete...
I don't think you really need that thing.
Oh, don't say that. This project will not only benefit us greatly,
but you, as well.
So, can I leave now?
No, before you go, there's someone I'd like you to meet.
Well, how are you feeling today?
Allow me to introduce you.
This is the Prototype, but we just call her "Dolly."
Prototype?
Come on, now, say hello.
N-No!
Oh, pipe down. Just because I saw your tiny boobs...
Don't look at me.
Oh, well, I guess I don't need to go to the trouble of explaining now.
She was born with a kind of illness, you see.
Without those devices implanted inside her body, she couldn't live.
I'm sorry.
Pretty... gross, wasn't it?
No, I wouldn't say that.
Mm-mm, I can't help it.
I used to have a friend.
Mi...
She used to come here every day since I couldn't go out.
We talked about all sorts of things and played together a lot.
But...
...then she got a look at my body.
Starting the next day, she stopped coming.
Why is my body like this?
It disgusted my one and only friend. I miss her...
"Clone Dolly Research Lab 2"
So...
what was your goal in putting the two of us together, anyway?
We're collecting some data from Dolly, you see.
The shock of losing her friend is so great
that we can't read any normal values from her right now.
We want you to help her to restore her inner peace.
I don't know what you expect me to do. With my ability the way it is now,
I can't completely erase the memories of her friend,
and even overwriting them is difficult.
Yes. But what about her sense of recognition?
Pardon me.
You came back today,
Mi!
Why am I the one who has to do this?
Aw, what are you doing--
A-Are you sure you're in middle school?
--Mmm... yes, I am. --Here.
That's what the teacher says.
Though I've never actually gone to a school.
Mi, do you enjoy school?
Huh, that's a good question.
My ability makes it easy for me to get ostracized.
Ostracized?
You know, to get on people's bad side, I guess.
Huh?
But, Mi, I love your ability.
Here.
I can't. They told me to refrain from using my ability.
Aww...
What is it like outside the research lab?
I'd like to see what they call the ocean.
Unfortunately, Academy City isn't on the ocean.
And the checks are so stringent, it's not easy to get out of the city.
But then, if we could get an exit pass, I'd be happy to take you to the beach.
Thank you, Mi!
E-Easy!
Huh? Wh-What gives?
Nothing.
What's going on?
Good progress.
Yeah. Let's watch how this progresses.
I'm out!
Yay! I win again!
I did it!
Hey, that's bad manners.
Mi, you always have to go up next to it to throw things away.
O-Of course I do! Just so you know,
when girls get to be my age, literally throwing garbage away
is the greatest breach of manners I can think of!
It might be fine right now, but once you leave the research facility,
the boys will be sizing up your every move, you know.
You need to adopt a more refined attitude--
You can't make it go in?
Huh?! Huh?! I could easily do it!
Really?
Okay, fine. Just watch this.
Th-That one was...
M-My finger just got a little caught on it!
I-I neglected air resistance!
Ah! I had something in my eye!
I-I'll sink it this time for sure.
She keeps getting closer.
Aw, man!
Hang in there!
Focus! Focus!
I-It went in! You see that, Dolly? When I really mean it...
H-Hey!
Somebody!
Status?
They will come and collect her shortly.
Uh-oh. I knew it wouldn't be much longer, but...
You have to shake it off.
I mean, this is...
What?
Tell me... your name...
Misaki... Shokuho Misaki...
Misaki... thank you for being... my friend...
Sh-She's going to be okay, right? She'll recover and be right back, won't she?
No, this is goodbye for Dolly.
Her body gave out a long time ago.
Even with Academy City's scientific capabilities,
it would be impossible to extend her life any longer.
I'm sure Dolly herself...
"#10 Clone Dolly"
...was well aware of that.
Oh, are you in here again?
You can't do this; you're falling behind in your curriculum.
Oh, right, I got the report, so I'll tell you, too.
Word is that she died.
Good grief,
now it's Shokuho who's having problems?
Even that little girl has feelings.
What if you reveal to her that Dolly was just a clone?
If she knows she was artificially made, she might take it better.
Hmm, well, if the present situation continues, I'll consider it.
This Exterior project is not some project forced on us from above,
whose objective isn't even clear, which has us playing with dolls.
It's the fulfillment of our Clone Dolly aspirations.
But what do we do?
If Shokuho Misaki keeps developing like this,
one day, our mental guards won't be able to keep her out anymore.
Once that happens,
it will be much harder to keep the project's true purpose a secret.
Hmph, that's not such a big problem.
Oh, no? Why not?
Once Exterior is complete, we'll have no more use for the girl.
We'll just wait for the right opportunity to dispose of her.
All right, this concludes our regular meeting.
Good work, everyone.
Well, that's about what I figured.
After that,
I extended my control beneath the surface.
All of the personnel involved in Exterior were brainwashed,
such that no matter what kind of interrogation they underwent,
they would never reveal that information.
So how did Gensei find the location?
Objective passing target point.
Copy.
All units, fall back!
Whew...
I managed to get it to count.
All thanks to this thing.
Let's see, Miss Saten, wasn't it? I thought we were going to meet here.
Aw, man...
"No signal"
No signal?
It's no use. There are powerful radio jammers being used around here.
Also,
it looks as though it wasn't a bluff.
Strange, huh? It's too quiet.
I don't sense any unmanned weapons, either.
Maybe they were staying alert for Miss Misaka and beat a hasty retreat.
Tell me, where is the crew that was working here?
Beats me. They're needed to maintain Exterior, so maybe they got killed.
Exterior?
You saw it earlier, remember?
Earlier?
Exterior is a booster that amplifies and extends my ability,
I guess is the way I'd describe it.
Ostensibly, anyhow.
Ostensibly?
The original purpose of the Exterior Project
was to allow anyone to be able to use my ability.
Hmm... Huh?!
Whether the registered person was an esper or a regular person,
they would gain the power to use Mental Out. That's the kind of toy it is.
This place, Clone Dolly, was originally a research institution
whose goal was to produce geniuses and super-power-leveled people.
But they were blinded by my powers of ingenuity,
and when the researchers took the shortcut of saying,
"It's quicker to brainwash great figures than it is to create them,"
what they developed was "Exterior."
Though, I took the project over once I shut them down.
Mental Out is a power that I, as a person of virtuous character, can control.
If any common lowbrows got it, they might wield it carelessly,
and that would be dangerous.
Amplifying your ability by itself sounds pretty farfetched,
but to transfer it to someone else?
Is this the "DNA computer that can produce abilities"
that was on that urban legends website?
Where would a rumor like that
ever get started, anyway? For one thing,
it isn't exactly a "computer."
I didn't want anyone else to know about this, and now I'm letting you see it.
They cut out a piece of my cerebral cortex,
cultivated it, and created a gargantuan brain.
That's what Exterior is.
You mean Kihara Gensei is plotting to do something with this?
Probably. But I didn't think he could take it with him,
and it takes several days to "register" someone to be able to use it.
Yeah, even in his control, it's meaningless in the short term.
So is the Sister who he was really after?
But I used my ability to place many levels of protection around her.
To get through them all, he would need Exterior.
He won't ever find the critical seam in my defenses.
The room where we were treating your sister is in here.
Follow me.
A signal...?
Hello?!
At last, I made it through.
I'm currently right in front of Exterior. Where are you?
On the roof. She's here with me, too.
Excellent work! The roof? I'll be right--
No!
The ones who attacked us were a squad of skilled special forces.
I very much doubt they let me, carrying someone else, just get away.
It's safe to assume they're trying to lead you up here. Please be careful.
It's all right. I have an Amazon here
whose bust size got swallowed up by her fighting ability,
so there's no need to worry.
Why, whoever do you mean?
Shokuho!
I see. If she's with you--
This isn't what I planned,
but it does save me some trouble.
Can't move...
What is this...?
Whoa...
Hey there.
"Keitz Nokleben"
It can't be!
Complicating the registration process to prevent it from being taken over?
Wishful thinking.
Even without registering, if I tune the giant brain to my own brainwaves,
the ability will be mine.
I'm sure you've at least heard the stories, haven't you?
Level Upper...
I'm the one who gave Kiyama her instructions on how to tune brainwaves.
The multiple layers of protection you placed on the Sister
are now a simple matter for me to undo.
"No way!
This is impossible!" says Misaka Misaka...
Huh? What's wrong?
"All of the protection placed on 10032 has been removed,"
says Misaka Misaka...
Also, I am able to inject a custom virus into the Misaka Network.
Removing the force on a body will...
Is this...
...the Misaka Network? No...
What is this I'm sensing?
Go on, get going already.
For what reason is that gooey girl doing all this stuff?
I don't know exactly.
We just got led around following fake orders, after all.
But there was one puzzling thing about this assignment,
and I asked what their intention was.
The answer was a bunch of doublespeak,
--but given their attitude at the time, I can pretty well guess.
--Whoa... --but given their attitude at the time, I can pretty well guess.
Magnificent, isn't it?
But all of this enormous power
is nothing more than a light show without a use for it.
What would be the most interesting use for it?
Wh-What have you...
...done to her?!
Aleister's favorite, kept tucked away in the shadow of the main plan...
What if I were to use it as a trigger to awaken your dormant powers?
Their true objective...
...is Misaka Mikoto.
Now, let the experiment begin.
Let's see if Misaka can reach...
...the divine will of Level 6?
"Next episode preview"
And just like that, Miss Misaka was beaten.
"Next episode preview" "#11 Joining the Battle"
Starting next week at this time, A Certain Scientific Mental Out,
starring me, will begin in this timeslot.
What an old-fashioned next episode preview.
Are you really a middle-schooler?
You've been beaten, so you keep quiet!