Chaos Theory: Chapter 18 (Patreon)

Chapter 18: Work Life Balance

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Academy City had a form for when your appearance was changed because of an esper ability.

Actually, it had three forms: one for when your appearance was changed as a result of your own ability, one for someone else’s ability, and the last one for when your appearance was changed as result of technology derived from esper abilities. I was filing away the whole Indian Poker Card nonsense under that third category.

Technically, there was also a fourth form that you were supposed to fill out when you changed someone else’s appearance as well, but no one ever submitted that one.

Obviously.

After taking my morning to handle the pile of paperwork—and reassuring my Misaka that yes, I still loved her, I was just disappointed—I went to school with my shiny new ID and a pile of papers to give to the administration. School was mostly the same, thank god. I’d perhaps overacted about my new circumstances; it wasn’t like I was stuck wearing clothing that didn’t fit, but that didn’t stop me from stumbling in the hall as a result of my shifted center of gravity.

Also, all my bras pinched. It almost drove me insane. I ordered a drone delivery to expedite one of my bespoke orders, and I still had to fight against the urge to go home and change into an oversized T-shirt all day.

A day that still wasn’t over.

“Why did I sign up for a club?” I shook my head, pushing into the Ability Development Club’s reserved room. This would be the second week of the club, and while attendance had fluctuated a bit, the allure of working with Tokiwadai’s own Railgun drew many girls to the club. Misaka, for her part, handled it with aplomb, doing what she could to help as many of her classmates as possible, and stretching her own ability in different ways to interact with the abilities of others.

I was first into the room this time. I rolled my shoulders as I fixed myself a cup of tea, settling into a chair at the head of the long conference table. It was towards the inside wall of the room now, allowing for more floor space, and also easy access to the outside patio, separated from the room by a wall of glass broken only by an elegant door frame.

Tokiwadai truly spared no expense for its students.

I looked up as the first student entered the room. “Ah, Misaka.” I raised a hand to the club president. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”

She looked at me for a moment, before muttering something under her breath.

I blinked. “What was that?”

She crossed her hands over her chest. “I thought we were allies, Professor.” She pouted at me, or more correctly my…

I chopped her on the head. “Enough of that nonsense,” I said. “My shoulders hurt, my bra hurts, my back hurts. Flat is justice, and that is all we need to say about that.” I fixed her with a harsh stare. “Are we clear?”

She nodded, clutching the top of her head defensively. “…Yes, Professor.”

“Good. Now, I need to talk to you about this new piece of technology called ‘Indian Poker Cards’; have you heard of them?”

“Hmm?” She shook her head. “Is that some new kind of bank card?”

“No, but it never ceases to amaze me that Academy City can literally predict the weather, but it still uses cash cards.” I pulled out my phone. “I switched to all mobile ages ago, even if these rectangular phones took some getting used to.”

Misaka blinked. “What other shape would they be?”

I paused, slipping my phone back into my pocket. “Don’t worry about it. Anyway, back to the cards. They can apparently interact directly with your mind and body while you’re sleeping.”

“Sleeping?” Misaka tilted her head.

“Yes, the idea is apparently based on dream sharing, but I think it’s useful for a lot more than that,” I said. “Naturally, as a Mind Controller myself, I’m wary of any technology that can do something similar, especially if it can get past my own defenses.”

“Something that can even beat the Professor?” Misaka asked. “That is pretty scary soun—” Her head whipped back towards me. “And they change the body too.”

It wasn’t a question.

I sighed. “Misaka, please, focus on the potential mind control threat please.”

She said nothing for a long few seconds, before nodding. “Don’t worry, Professor! I’ll track down every one of these Indulgent Poki Cards!”

“Indian Poker Cards.”

“Yes, that!” She pointed, a determined expression on her face. “I’ll get Judgement on the case too!”

I sighed. “Well, as long as it means there are more eyes on the problem,” I said. “What were you thinking of doing for club activities today?”

“Oh!” Her eyes brightened. “I actually figured out a new trick today.” She reached over, pouring a cup of water from the standing thermos. Wisps of steam rose from the cup as she set it in front of her, hands hovering on either side. “Water molecules are highly polar, which normally makes them kind of hard to affect, because they want to stick to each other, but if you apply a strong enough charge…” her hands started to crackle with electricity, causing the liquid in the cup to ripple. “You can start making it do stuff like this.”

She shifted her hands with care, bands of arcing white lightning racing up and down her fingers. Slowly, gently, she lifted the water out of the cup without touching it, holding it in a sphere before starting to slowly rotate it.

“That’s impressive.” I watched the display with interest. “You’re planning on working with, ah, what was the girl’s name?”

“Yoshida-chan.” Misaka smiled, sphere of water rotating even faster now. “She really wanted me to help her some so I—”

I saw with my AIM field the moment her control slipped. The sphere lurched, and she stuttered, trying to overcompensate and—

My hand snapped out, a metal tray on the table jumping into my grip right as the bubble exploded outward.

The sudden geyser of water hit the tray instead of my shirt. Small mercies.

I lowered the tray to see that Misaka had flash-vaporized any liquid that would have landed on her, but more importantly, she was looking at me with wide eyes. I could tell she’d felt my own use of electricity. “Professor…”

I sighed for the umpteenth time today, setting the tray back down on the table. “It’s getting stronger.”

She boggled at me. “Stronger?” Her eyes are still locked on my hand. “Th-that’s my…!”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s not.” I chuckled. “I can see where you might think that. It’s Academy City, after all, stealing esper powers makes much more sense than anything productive.” I drummed my fingers on the table. “It’s the opposite.”

“The opposite?” she asked.

I glanced towards the door. No one was in my range. “My Misaka is level 4 now.”

She fell over.

I blinked. “Misaka?”

“Whaaat!” She jumped back to her feet, jabbing a finger at me. “What are you talking about! Are they all level 4!? You’re basically a one woman Level Upper!” She blinked rapidly. “You even wear a lab coat!”

“I… don’t see how that’s relevant?”

“It is. It totally is.” Misaka nodded, folding her arms. “Of course, I thought you could be trusted, but it makes sense that everyone who wears a lab coat is an enemy.”

I slumped back in the chair, rubbing my brow. “I can’t even refute that,” I said. “But from where I’m sitting, a lot of espers have tried to kill me, you know.”

“You’re an esper too!” She glared. “Why are you complaining? I had to fight a giant tentacle baby with a hundred esper powers, and then you just walk in with the same ability?”

“You’re getting a little snippy there, Misaka.” I pinched my nose. “And I have no idea what I’m talking about.” Likely, I wasn’t even in this world yet. “I just discovered this side of my ability.”

Misaka digested that for a second, before her gaze turned more calculating. “Is that why you agreed to chair my club?” Railgun asked. Her AIM field skitters against my own. I leaned back in my chair.

“I didn’t join this club to collect abilities,” I said. “I can barely manage my own, and I don’t need the City taking a bigger interest in me than it already does.” I waved a hand. “So, would you like to get back on topic, or are we going to have one of those big esper fights Academy city loves so much?”

Railgun folded her arms, saying nothing for almost a full minute. Then, her AIM field settled back into a familiar holding pattern. “Not like I could fight you anyway,” she muttered. “Stupid mind controllers.”

I shrugged. “If you want to practice, just let me know. I haven’t found anyone who could resist my ability yet, but I’ve heard you have your own tricks that work on Miss Shokuhou.” My lip twitched. “I can’t be the only one who finds your names amusing, can I?”

She blinked. “What are you talking about?”

“Misaki, Misaka?” At her look of confusion, I waved it off. “I guess it doesn’t really work in Japanese.”

“You’re pretty bad at making jokes, Professor,” Misaka said.

“Yes well, you try in your second language,” I replied. “In any case, I think we’re mostly out of time.” I recognized two club members entering my range. “How about this: I will do my part to keep you more informed about your Sisters’ progress, as well as my own where relevant.” I paused, waiting for her to nod. “You will keep an eye out for those Indian Poker cards, and again, please let me know if you need any assistance.”

She thought about it for a second. “I mean, I was already going to do that.” She gave me a suspicious frown. “Why are you trying to make it a deal all of a sudden?”

I hummed. “I guess that’s because it’s how adults treat each other. We communicate.”

She snorted. “Not from where I’m standing.”

“Yes.” I smiled. “That’s the secret.”

“That adults are all bad at talking?”

“That there’s no moment when you wake up and realize you’re an adult, Miss Misaka,” I said. “There are no shortcuts and no secret answers.” The door to the classroom clicked open. “And that seems like a perfect segue into what we’re working on today, isn’t it?”

Misaka looked at me for a moment more before turning and smiling at her club mates. “Hi Inosuke, Miwaki!”

“Hi Railgun!” Miwaki waved.

I shook off the tension from the conversation as the rest of the girls filed into the room. This time, the touch telepath I’d been working with wasn’t there. I knew she wanted to try joining another club as well, to practice the control techniques I’d introduced her to. Still, it left me without anything to do except ignore the occasional look I got over my tea.

At least, until I felt another presence walking down the hall.

Delicately, I set down the cup before pushing myself to my feet.

“Professor?” Misaka asked from over by the wall. “Is something wrong?”

“No.” I waved her off. “I just need to step outside and take care of something. I should be back momentarily.”

I walked to the door, quickly slipping out into the hall and pulling the handle shut behind me before anyone could react.

Standing in front of me was a familiar shock of white hair over a glowering face.

“What are you doing here?” I asked Accelerator.

The teen snorted, leaning on his medical cane. “Thought you wanted help finding the old man who wanted to get you killed.”

I blinked, before sighing yet again. “Why does my life always follow me to work?”